Guidance, or To Help (those in need) by orionchildofhades / shwwmf

5. video games?

Izuku felt sick. Like, really so. He kept thinking this might be the biggest mistake of his life. What on earth was he doing, waiting to talk with a villain? And in a coffee shop? This was a bad idea, like downright stupid and would have atrocious consequences.

But he couldn't help but think of what he did. Unintentionally but still, he had read from the people on this internet, victims grateful to see justice finally made, others whose aggressor was still on the run, free of charges because their words were worth more than the people who sought help. He kept thinking of himself in their shoes, when no one bothered raising a finger to help. If something happened to one of his bullies the way something happened to Chronos, how would he feel?

Izuku shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away. Wanting to help was one thing, enjoying other people's pain was another.

Even if they deserved it? Asked a little voice in the corner of his mind, strangely sounding like the faceless man.

The cup in his hands was warm, the coffee half drank. Izuku had spent the time waiting people watching and shutting down the voices in his head. He sounded mad when he said that. But his guilt wouldn't leave him alone, neither would his pride. And the latter seemed to be getting stronger and stronger as he kept looking for people talking about the murder. Izuku didn't know what to think of his conscience answer to it.

So he was waiting. The coffee shop was full enough to give some anonymity but not too full to give Izuku the feeling that he was drowning in the whole crowd. The coffee was good, the barista nice, he hadn't batted an eye when Izuku asked him about the details of his quirk and thanked him for the tip when the teen gave him one.

He didn't know what or who to expect. Surely the man, disfigured and connected to monitors from every inch of his body, couldn't move around. The mist man, Kurogiri, would attract too many eyes, even just in passing. But Izuku didn't know anyone else who could be working with the faceless man. He hadn't thought of the consequences of his actions when he answered the text, asking, stupidly, if he could help more people this way.

So he flinched when someone took the seat in front of him. His mind immediately went to work. He noted the face-mask, giving even more anonymity, the red eyes, tired gaze and chaffed and irritated skin. The guy's hair was light blue, uneven but relatively long. He was holding a cup of what seemed like hot chocolate. His hands were half covered with artists' gloves. Izuku had seen such used in conventions by artists who used numeric pads to draw. Perhaps his quirk needed a 5-finger contact with the subject of the effects and they couldn't be reversed.

The man brought the hand to his neck, scratching lightly and glared at Izuku. "Sensei told me not to kill you but mumbling about my quirk is not very nice on the first meeting."

Izuku immediately sobered up and looked up properly at the guy. He kind of forgot what he was doing here and who he was meeting.

"Sen-sensei? Are you the person I'm supposed to meet about..."

"The analysis. Apparently you're some kind of cheat code, some situation expert to give our team a bonus. Sensei asked to give you a chance. So are you? Some kind of secret weapon? I'm not interested in side-quests."

If Izuku didn't have the same situation awareness as he did, thanks to the bullies, he might have been gaping. Was that video game references? Was that all the man could think about in the situation? It was surely an interesting point of view and Izuku wondered what kind of other metaphor the conversation would bring out.

"I, hum... I want to help people."

The guy kept looking at him without batting an eye. Izzuku squeezed the cup in his hands a little tighter.

"Heroes..." The scratching stopped for an instant. "Heroes don't save everyone, they aren't willing to. I'd like to help the people that the heroes chose to ignore. Your...hum, sensei? He made me realize I could help. I, I might have something to do with the situation with Chronos..."

For a moment none of them said a word. Izuku saw the barista flash a smile to some guy at the counter, a woman trying to keep her child in check as she waited for her turn, two teenagers maybe on a date.

"Are you the one who gave the super-item to Sensei? This notebook he keeps talking about? Is that why you'd be our secret weapon?" The guy's gaze floated a bit, looking around at the room, his eyes stopping on a screen displaying some hero news. "You seem more interesting than most NPCs, I'll give you that." He stared at Izuku for a second before standing. He slipped his hands in his sweater, put on his hood. "Alright. If Sensei thinks you'll be an asset, I'll let you join the party. But I won't hesitate getting rid of you if your stats are not good enough."

He went out and once he was at the door he turned around and stared at Izuku hard . Immediately, he stood up and scrambled at the door before following this stranger out in the street.

This was a bad idea. Like bad bad bad . Stupid and dangerous and Izuku would surely die at the end of the day... but he couldn't forget the look in the guy's eyes when he looked at the heroes. Full of hate and betrayal, hurt and disdain. Izuku liked to think he could change his own gaze this way, cold and fierce instead of pained and weak, even if he feared what it might mean.

So he followed the stranger down the street, and into the nearest alley, and barely hesitated when the guy walked straight into a cloud of purple mist before he stepped into it as well.

On the other side was a bar.

Dimly lit, smelling of coffee and dust with a hint of cleaning product perfumed with oranges, it was almost empty. The lone figure of the mist-man, Kurogiri, stood behind the bar. He was nicely dressed, in the same garment as Izuku last saw him in, and was polishing a glass with repeated motions. Behind him were a pretty collection of bottles of all kind decorated the wall with some yellow lights. The walls were made of the same red as the stools. A few boots lined up against them. The masked man slipped in one of those, grabbing a controller and not giving the other two the slightest bit of information.

Kurogiri's yellow gaze turned to Izuku and the latter gave a weak wave, confused on what he was meant to do.

"Young Tomura, I wasn't expecting a guest."

The guy barely humphed before vaguely gesturing in their direction. "This is the secret-weapon Sensei told me to meet. He can join the league of villains."

"Did you name your villain organization after a pre-quirk video game?" Izuku suddenly interrupted.

"I'll have you know that it's still playable and that..."

"It's not what the audience is looking for anymore and since the beginning of the era, it lost its popularity. The gameplay is alright but there is better now in term of fighting and even plot, I'd say..."

"Not that I'm not glad to see you two getting along," A deep voice, the faceless man's and Izuku assumed this 'Sensei's, stopped him in his rambling. "I'd like to be able to make the presentation. I'm glad you agreed on the addition of a new member, Tomura. This is Izuku Midoriya. His mind is remarkable, and I'm sure if we entertain it, he could become a key member of your group, and an asset for your plans. Izuku, this is my son, Tomura Shigaraki, and Kurogiri, who helps him. I hope all we say here will remain a secret, obviously."

"I don't have anyone to share this with, even if I wanted to..."

"Well I hope we can provide you what you're lacking as much as you can provide us what we might need. I'd like to see this as an even trade. I saw potential in you and I'm going to give you the tools to go as far as you can reach."

Izuku finally found the source of the voice. It was a turned off screen, or so it seemed, with a red dot flashing in and out on the top right corner.

"But enough of all the serious stuff. You should start by relaxing and learning your environment as well as the people who surround you. I'll leave you to it. Know that I am glad you made the choice to reach out to me again. You are going to be a priceless member, Izuku."