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The excitement of the free for all training exercise quickly morphs to terror as Present Mic, the one who had been announcing the Wargame and the rules it entailed, is cut down without warning or preamble. The Voice Hero’s body crumbles as he collapses, words dying on his lips, and the static of the open mic scratches through their ears painfully.
Stepping into view is a masked individual, a frightening display of an evil clown presents itself to the entire country as the feed and cityscape of the Warzone is broadcast on all news outlets, the legendary Match was broadcast nationwide. “ Hello children, heroes, and vagabonds alike.” The hijacker tilts their head. “Wannabes, hopefuls, and deceivers .” Gloved hands are splayed out, revealing a black buttoned vest, a black tie standing out over a white dress shirt. “I’m sure you recognize this very special guest. For those who haven’t had the fortune to have made my acquaintance, allow me to introduce myself.” A small gloved hand raises, fingers curl around the front of the mask being worn, and when it’s pulled away, an achingly familiar face is revealed to a stunned crowd of thousands. “Most of you may know me as the hero student with the moniker Deku. I know what you’re thinking, of course I do, Deku can’t be wearing this infamous mask, he’s too pure, too good, it isn’t possible .” The mask is tossed over the shoulder and a feral grin of sharp teeth widens over them ominously. “A very warm welcome to the heroes who took time out of their very busy schedules to partake in today’s activities. Miruko it’s always a pleasure and I do hope there’s no hard feelings, I was only defending myself. All Might, how wonderful for you to be in attendance, truly a blessing, thank you for gracing us all today. Hawks, how are you my friend, I hope life is treating you well . Eraserhead, dear Aizawa Shouta, I do hope there’s no bad blood between us, Mic’s still very much alive…..” An unhinged grin is given as the youth leans closer to the camera. “For now .”
Deku straightens, clapping his hands together. “Let’s make this interesting, shall we, whoever can capture me, hero or student, wins the right to their life . Nothing’s a greater motivator then Living Hostages.” The teen stomps off screen, a groan and thump echoes through the speakers, Present Mic returning to consciousness only to have it snatched from him within moments. “I would say that this is my villain debut. But alas, no such luck, I’ve been around for years . Just ask your beloved heroes . They’ve been playing with me for as long as I can remember. Let’s make this a tad more intriguing, I’m all for a good riddle, if you can figure it out before the clock runs out, I’ll turn myself in with no casualty. I’m neither hero nor villain, I was trained all the same, you got the weapon you wanted, and it’s one you couldn’t tame .” The boy’s toxic eyes seem to glow just a tad bit brighter. “The name’s Toymaker . Welcome to my playground. Who’s ready to have a bit of fun ?”
…..
Chaos erupted in the booth as soon as Present Mic went down, a number of them swore when the hauntingly familiar figure appeared on screen, and silence fell over them as he began to speak.
Miruko grumbles under her breath violent intentions.
Eraserhead growls lowly as his quirk activates subconsciously at the figure on the screen before them.
Nedzu hums with intrigue at the offer of a riddle that could save all of his hero course students. His mind springs into action when the final hint is given, going over possibility upon possibility, all he surely needed was a moment.
“That’s impossible .” Hawks' shocked horrified soft voice gathers the attention of everyone in the viewing booth. “There’s no fucking way. He’s dead . I watched him die. I announced his time of death to the Commission President myself .” The winged man shakes his head, bushy eyebrows furrowing together, fingers flexing anxiously. “But he’s the only one that it could be. It’s much too similar to be anyone else . He’s alive and he’s come back with a vengeance.”
Before anyone can begin to question him, another monitor on the wall comes to life, there’s static before the picture clears up and the same boy is revealed once more. Smiling softly, chin resting on his palms, tapping his cheek with his thumb. “Hello Hawks, it’s been just oh so long since we last met, hasn’t it?” The Toymaker, Deku, the kid with many names, tilts his head slightly. “I must thank you for doing what you did all those years ago, truly , murdering me without second thought or hesitation worked wonders , honestly.” He jabs a finger into the side of his head. “The voices tell me that all the time. They came to keep me company when you had my body disposed of, it was so dark in there, so hot, they offered encouragement as I slowly but surely dug myself out of my own shallow grave . Such sloppy work, we have many critiques, couldn’t even spare the time to dig me a real one.”
“You have to stop this, Midoriya.” The winged man whispers faintly. “Don’t be like me. Be better than me.”
“Oh, I could , I very much could, and I did ponder on that factoid for a total of two seconds before saying ‘ppfffffffff thats no fun!’ and I figured, after being brutally murdered at the young age of eleven and buried in a shallow grave like yesterdays leftovers, that I deserved a bit of fun. And nothing’s more fun than revenge .” The greenette leans forward suddenly. “Let’s see if you’ve learned anything, shall we? I had a bit of a run in with someone you hold quite dear the other day, why he’s even partaking in this game we’re playing. I want you to pull out all those skeletons you’ve got hiding safe and sound inside your closet for all the world to see , or, let’s just say, I’ve never liked the taste of crow but I’ll eat it anyway.”
This has gone from dangerous to something lethal. No longer was this a cruel game. This was personal. Toymaker had delicately made every single decision he had to in order to get himself into this position, what with what transpired his time with the Commission would be known only to those directly involved–need to know only–his enrollment as Midoriya Izuku into the hero course had set him in the very path of his choosing. Charming and too polite but jittery for his own good, so it seemed, it was no contest to set him up as the makeshift villain in this makeshift simulation.
They thought they were doing something for him yet he already had all the cards he needed in his deck to win before their metaphorical game even began.
This was not just simple revenge for simple wrongdoing. Hawks hisses in a very distinct manner as his eye narrow. “You leave him be. He has nothing to do with this, with the issue between you and me, leave him alone.”
“Oh, I could, I may be a little insane but I’m not completely lost.” The teen grins maliciously. “But then, you’ve never felt that heartbreak as you lay on the cold hard floor after being viciously slaughtered by someone who’d claimed to care about you, have you? And I know I know, but our lives with those bastards were so very different, I mean, you weren’t buried alive.” Toymaker presses a hand to his chin mockingly as he tilts his head in thought. “What was his name again? Tokoyami?”
“I’m warning you–”
No. No this was personal. Beyond personal. “You forget that I hold all the cards. I’m already dead there’s nothing more that can be done for me now. You, however?” This was about trust and betrayal of the worst possible sort. “I have special things in place for your beloved little intern, ya’know as a means of introducing myself to him, we were both technically under your tutelage at one point, after all. You know my stipulations, is the price worth the cost, because we may be facing a murder here.” No one finds it as funny as the kid does. “Get it? A Murder? Tokoyami’s quick? Get it? Time’s’a’tickin!”