Chapter Text
Izuku was in a bit of a … situation, you could say. How he got here, well, needless to say he was massively regretting not taking Tsukauchi up on his offer to investigate with Eraserhead at his side. At least then he might have a hell’s chance of getting out of here alive.
“-to kill the Symbol of Peace! All Might!”
Here, that was to say, the warehouse he’d painstakingly tracked using a program that pinged certain keywords from suspicious individuals he’d been keeping an eye on. He’d been following them for most of the night and had come across a frankly huge gathering of criminals.
It was too much to call them villains. These were just petty criminals, maybe one or two had potential to be real problems, but for the most part Izuku could swear he’d called in a few of these guys for pickpocketing, of all things.
Why were they all gathered?
“Welcome, everyone, to the League of Villains!”
Izuku’s eyes narrowed on the leaders standing at the back of the large group of lowlifes. He reached up surreptitiously and turned on his communicator.
It barely took a second for soft voices to reach him.
“Argos, it’s Tsukauchi. What’s your status?” The detective sounded on edge and stressed and Izuku could faintly hear the sound of something crashing.
“Eraserhead here too.” Aizawa’s distinct gravelly voice.
Izuku said nothing, he couldn’t risk explaining the predicament he was in but he did manage to slip his phone- the one he used as Argos- out of his pocket and send his location through to the group chat he’d started with both Tsukauchi and Eraserhead in it, for this exact reason.
“I got your location, I’ll organize a rescue detail immediately, Argos, hang in there!” Tsukauchi blurted.
Izuku focused his attention on the three biggest perceived threats. The largest of them was a hulking beast of a- a thing? It looked vaguely humanoid but its brain was entirely exposed and Izuku had never seen something of that size and strength.
The second was a tall, shadowy man who wore a crisp looking suit and a gold embellished helmet that covered a face that may as well have been a black hole.
“As we speak and loiter here, All Might grows stronger and stronger!” The third, the speaker, was a man of average height. He had pale, almost flaky looking skin and Izuku could barely see his facial features through two menacing looking hands that covered his face and pale blue hair. A pair of bloodthirsty red eyes scanned the crowd, completely glossing over him despite his unusual attire compared to the other thugs around them.
There were several hands all over him, two that he could see on his shoulders, five on his arms, and two braced across his chest but there were possibly more that couldn’t be seen from his vantage point. For the most part, his clothing was plain, just black pants and a shirt, though he wore a pair of eye-catching red shoes.
He radiated an aura of evil that had Izuku momentarily breathless. When he spoke, his entire being demanded that people listen.
“The root of all evil is those that try to control us,” he sneered. “They try to conform us, all while spitting on us for our villainous quirks, our miserable lives- and they parade around, saving the good common folk and raking in yen all while we suffer!”
Izuku felt a chill go over his spine at the loud cheer.
“No more!” He cried. “My name is Shigaraki Tomura, and I’m going to kill All Might, once and for all so that all villains can be free to do as they please!”
It was a completely ridiculous speech, somewhat childish and it lacked any gravitas, but it seemed to be enough for this group of thugs because the cheer that rang out was positively deafening.
“Hang in there, Argos, we’re dispatching police and heroes now. Eraserhead, status?” Tsuakuchi sounded even more stressed after hearing the statement from Shigaraki.
“Currently at the USJ with students. All Might isn’t here even though he was supposed to be. I’ll leave the students with Thirteen and be there as soon as I can.” He decided.
“Wait.” Izuku barely opened his mouth to say the word but both men gasped at hearing his voice. He thanked God that he’d worn his mask that contained a voice modulator that disguised his actual voice.
“Join us, join us as we take down the Symbol of Peace today!” he heard twin gasps from his comm, “Where he’s currently teaching the new generations of hero scum at the USJ!”
With that, Izuku watched, anxiety crawling up his throat, as a large, gleaming purple mass of darkness opened against a wall and with loud cheers people started walking through it and hollering as they followed the leaders through.
“I’m going with them. Eraserhead, get your damn students out of there immediately. I’ll see you there.” He snapped. “Tsukauchi, change course for UA.”
With that, he stepped through the darkness and into the bright, blinding light of the USJ that was now crawling with vermin.
Well, Aizawa, I guess I’ll make it to class after all.
❋
Shota was stressed, to say the least.
After a long night where he’d barely slept in order to keep an ear out for Nao’s little analyst, he’d been forced to escort twenty- no, nineteen- students to do a rigorous rescue exercise with only one other teacher keeping an eye on things.
It was a hassle, and mentally he lambasted All Might to his heart’s desire while he let Thirteen take the lead.
It happened while he was stepping backwards, the silent and unnoticed communicator stuck in his ear crackled to life and all he heard for one stressful second was-
“-League of Villains!”
The voice was young, but not as young as his students and Naomasa had probably been just as alert as he was, because his voice came across next.
“Argos, it’s Tsukauchi. What’s your status?”
He looked up and flashed a Look at Thirteen, moving towards the back of the class at her acknowledging nod. A few students noticed him moving but they didn’t say anything further than a curious look.
“Eraserhead here too.” Jirou, one of the students with advanced hearing, cocked her head at him and he realized that she could probably hear him and Argos through the earphone he was wearing. His phone buzzed and when he looked down at it there was a location pin from Argos. He clenched the phone tight enough that he swore the screen would crack.
“I got your location, I’ll organize a rescue detail immediately, Argos, hang in there!” Naomasa said hurriedly, and now Jirou wasn’t paying attention to Thirteen at all. He was about to give her a scolding look when the next words from the comm had him completely stilling.
“As we speak and loiter here, All Might grows stronger and stronger!” The voice was gravelly, like someone extremely young had started smoking too early and now had a perpetually dry throat. “The root of all evil is those that try to control us. They try to conform us, all while spitting on us for our villainous quirks, our miserable lives- and they parade around, saving the good common folk and raking in yen all while we suffer!”
He knew he was pale. Jirou looked just as pale and she took several steps forward, standing right in front of him and he couldn’t even tell her to go away because he couldn’t stop her from hearing. Other students were noticing and even Thirteen fell quiet, looking at him worriedly.
“No more!” The voice cried. “My name is Shigaraki Tomura, and I’m going to kill All Might, once and for all so that all villains can be free to do as they please!”
“Hang in there, Argos, we’re dispatching police and heroes now. Eraserhead, status?” Naomasa’s voice was a welcome reprieve from the grating voice of the villain speaking through Argos’s end.
“Currently at the USJ with students. All Might isn’t here even though he was supposed to be. I’ll leave the students with Thirteen and be there as soon as I can.” He said, clearly, and no one was even pretending to not be eavesdropping. He looked to Thirteen and opened his mouth to speak but the words got stuck in his throat at a barely there whisper,
“Wait.”
That voice was obviously altered somehow, but it was Argos. He vaguely heard Naomasa gasp.
“Join us, join us as we take down the Symbol of Peace today!” he couldn’t help his own gasp and a brief flash of guilt at his annoyed thoughts towards All Might just moments before, “Where he’s currently teaching the new generations of hero scum at the USJ!”
Shota’s eyes widened and he barely had a second to even consider warning Thirteen, or trying to get the students out of the damn building before they were there. A dark black hole opened right in the center of the building and villains were pouring out like flies.
“I’m going with them.” Argos snapped in his ear. “Eraserhead, get your damn students out of there immediately. I’ll see you there. Tsukauchi, change course for UA.”
“Thirteen, protect the students and get them the hell out of here!” He shouted, leaping into motion and pulling his capture weapon into his hands to ready himself for battle.
He couldn’t focus too much on his surroundings. He was in a maelstrom of activity and he couldn’t slow down for a single second, but all of a sudden there was someone pressed against his back. He panicked, jutting his elbow out to punch them right between the eyes but the person just ducked and released a light chuckle, then,
“Easy there, Eraserhead. My eyes aren’t as helpful as yours but I still need ‘em to give you a hand.”
And he couldn’t still, he couldn’t slow down, but the realization that Argos was at his back eased the burden he was carrying somewhat.
“Nice to meet you, finally.” Shota said simply, and then they were fighting.
He didn’t really have the time to notice a whole lot other than the push and pull of battle, but from the corner of his eye and the amount of time he had during quirk use, he noted that Argos was a pretty decent fighter.
The vigilante fought mainly with a pair of knives and mixed martial arts, which was fascinating, and he didn’t seem to be using any kind of quirk.
“The students were split up throughout the building,” Argos said, in a second where they passed each other, and Shota’s heart clenched. Argos twirled back, “Stop using your quirk so consistently, that guy is watching you too closely.”
Almost on instinct, his quirk fell and he used his capture weapon exclusively for a few seconds before needing his quirk again.
“Who the fuck even are you?!” That same scratchy voice from earlier whined. He sounded childish and Shota made a mental note of it. The guy wasn’t talking to him, and Argos made a loud, humming noise as he dispatched two villains at once, sliding between them and using his knives to slice into their kneecaps.
“I’m surprised you didn’t notice me earlier, Shigaraki Tomura.” Argos spoke, his voice confident, though Shota thought he could hear a slight shake even through the voice modulator he was wearing.
The villains were thinning out due to their combined efforts and it gave Shota a moment to take in his comrade.
Argos was shorter than he’d thought he would be. He wore basic black army pants with a strange collared, black and dark blue jacket that was pushed up to show his forearms. Over the jacket, there was a red obi tied around his waist, and he wore black gloves that stopped at his knuckles.
His head was covered with a hood that seemed firmly attached despite all his moving around, and a metallic mask covered his lower face so that his identity was protected. Despite this, Shota noticed that his eyes were bright blue.
“Who are you, you cheat!” Shigaraki cried indignantly. “Kurogiri, you let a damn cheater into the game!”
Argos latched onto the villain’s lingo surprisingly fast.
“Don’t blame your comrade for your shortcomings, Shigaraki. You’re the one playing this game, aren’t you? You’re the one who didn’t notice me sneaking through your servers.” He taunted, and Shota was gripped with a desire to drag the vigilante away, keep him out of Shigaraki’s view and protect him.
“Whatever,” Shigaraki snarled. “I’m not the final boss either way. Meet my Nomu!”
He gestured almost flamboyantly towards the hulking beast that Shota had barely even noticed for how quiet it stood. Argos came to his side, sucking in a slight breath.
Without the fodder in their way anymore, all they had to focus on were these main villains. Just what the hell was this Nomu?
The Nomu was fast. In barely a blink of an eye it was upon them and Shota tried to fight back but he wasn’t a match for this kind of monster- the only thing he could do was push Argos aside and swallow the hit into his body.
Every nerve in his body was alive and tingling with pain. It was like someone had dropped a boulder right on his head and for a few seconds everything was completely white. When he opened his eyes there was a tinge of red in them that he knew was blood. He heard Argos shout his name but he didn’t have the energy to reassure him.
Argos stood before him, facing the villains with his two blades gripped in tight fists.
“All Might isn’t here, Shigaraki. Why bother with us when your real target is missing? Let Eraserhead go!” He demanded, raising his blades, but Shigaraki just laughed. Shota’s heart, which was racing in his chest- racing with adrenaline and fear- stuttered to a horrified stop when Shigaraki pounced forward to attack Argos. They fought but Shota could barely pay attention to the battle through the searing pain he was in. All he could hear was Argos’s pained scream and the shing of blades whipping out in immediate defense.
“How dare you?!” Shigaraki cried. “You hurt my father!”
Shota had no idea what had just happened. He was fast losing energy and he feared what would happen if he passed out. Death had never been closer for him and he was struggling to come to terms with it.
“Shigaraki Tomura,” The shadowy villain, Kurogiri, appeared at Shigaraki’s side, giving Argos a second to gather himself. “I’m afraid a student has managed to escape. Perhaps it would be better to fall back.”
Shota felt abject relief that, at the very least, one of his students was safe.
“The police and heroes are on their way too.” Argos piped up. Shota lifted a heavy eyelid and noticed the vigilante bravely standing between them. His jacket sleeve was completely disintegrated and Shota couldn’t see his skin because of all the blood coating his trembling arm. “You didn’t think I was here alone, did you? Backup is already on its way.”
“Kurogiri, you damn fool!” Shigaraki cursed, stomping his feet in an actual tantrum. “Whatever, I don’t care anymore- All Might isn’t here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still deliver a brutal blow to the Hero society.”
His maniacal grin turned sharper as he looked at Argos.
“I wonder how All Might will feel when he gets here to a bunch of dead kids.”
Argos was prepared for him. Everything from the set of his shoulders, to the bracing of his blades, showed that he was ready to fight.
But it wasn’t him Shigaraki went for. No, he raced off and veered to the right where Shota caught sight of his students watching them.
Asui Tsyusu.
Shota’s quirk flared up at just the right second as the villain’s disgusting hand touched her face.
“No!” Argos screamed.
“Eraserhead, dammit, you really are so damn cool.” Shigaraki praised. “No-”
He didn’t have a chance to give the Nomu another command. Argos was trembling from anger and possibly fear and even in his pathetic state right now, Shota felt awe fill him as a veritable beast burst from the vigilante’s chest.
Tendrils of black seemed to burst from his chest, lifting him up in the air as the world around them swirled with energy. The pressure holding Shota’s head down eased and all of a sudden he was surrounded by warmth and the most gentle touch.
Black vines cradled him softly, lifting him from the ground and depositing him all the way on the USJ steps, far from the activity happening below. It allowed him to see what was happening without the threat of certain death.
Shigaraki was screaming and Argos, still in the air, was like an avenging angel of death. Those black whips of his quirk were beyond strong and they attacked the villains mercilessly. When one tendril was disintegrated, another took its place.
Shota gasped as Argos deposited Asui and Mineta at his side. He seemed completely focused on the villains, but those same demonic looking whips that were fighting the Nomu had simultaneously brought them to safety so gently.
Argos … Shota had felt neither here nor there about the vigilante.
He’d only agreed to wear the comm because of Nao’s affection for the man. He knew that his friend would have never recovered if something happened to his friend, and he had been mildly curious about him as well but now … now it was different.
Argos was incredible. He’d saved their lives, despite being heavily injured himself, and he was still going- fighting through every hit and every blow.
Shota only relaxed when the doors behind them burst open with the force of All Might’s anger. Backup had finally arrived and he heard a blaring gunshot echo throughout the building as Snipe and Tsukauchi arrived.
With everyone safe now, Shota succumbed to the temptation to just … rest.
“Eraserhead!”