Mastermind: Strategist For Hire

Dragon

"Alright, I can work with this." Izuku put his notebook away as the future assassin in front of him stood and bowed. "I'll get the plan to you by the end of the week."

"There you are, Mastermind! I've been looking for you."

Izuku scowled as Hisashi Midoriya, aka Dragon, aka dead-beat dad of the year, walked into the room like he owned the place. It had only taken a few months in the villain world for Izuku to figure out the truth behind the whole working overseas thing he'd been told his entire life. The worst part was, he wasn't even surprised. Sure, Mom might believe that her loving husband was just working overseas because that was where his company needed him, but Izuku had always thought it was just a little too suspicious that he'd been unavoidably transferred right after Izuku was diagnosed quirkless.

Izuku glanced at the man his meeting was actually with, who looked just as surprised to see Hisashi as he was. Good, that meant he wouldn't have to kill him. Izuku put enough hatred behind his glare to send most seasoned villains running and turned to his father, "Get out of my way, Dragon. I have no interest in talking with you."

He moved to walk past Hisashi, who stopped him by grabbing his arm. His father really was an idiot wasn't he? Did he conveniently forget what Izuku did to those who crossed him, or did he just delude himself into thinking that couldn't possibly happen to him?

"Now, now, Mastermind. I just want to talk. Giran was being an ass and trying to keep us apart, but he's out of the way now, so there's no need to pretend you're not honored to work with a major player in the underground such as myself."

"I assure you, the decision not to work with you was entirely my own." Izuku growled. Maybe if the guy wanted to work with him, he should have stuck around to raise him. As it was, Hisashi couldn't even recognize his own son's voice.

Hisashi frowned, "Come on, now, Mastermind, be reasonable! The Dragon's Horde is an extremely successful gang, we have the money to pay you for your services."

"There is no sum of money you could pay me to convince me to work with you." Izuku wrenched his arm out of Hisashi's grip. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

He kept a few knives ready in case Hisashi's men tried to attack him on the way out, but apparently they were smarter than their boss because they let him pass. Someone followed him, but Izuku lost them easily enough on the rooftops. Izuku shook his head as he changed out of his villain outfit and walked home.

Why his mom had ever married an asshole like Hisashi, he would never know.

Hisashi knocked the papers off his desk in frustration, "Who does that...snot-nosed kid think he is? I am Dragon! I am respected! Mastermind hasn't even been on the scene two years! What gives him the right to snub me like that?"

Hisashi took a deep breath. He wouldn't stand for this. Mastermind didn't have a monopoly on threats and blackmail. The people he had taken out were weak or new to the game, but Hisashi had been doing this for twenty years and The Dragon's Horde was a force to be reckoned with. He wasn't about to take orders from some kid barely out of diapers! He just...had to find something to hold over his head.

"Boys, I need you to find everything you can on Mastermind." Hisashi's face broke into a feral grin. "I think it's time that brat learns his place."

Hisashi looked at the photo his lackey had handed him, crumpling the edges slightly from how tightly he was gripping it.

"Are you sure this is Mastermind's civilian identity?"

His lackey nodded, "Yes sir. The brokers would only sell it to me if I proved I wasn't a cop. They did warn us not to get on his bad side, though."

Hisashi hadn't actually seen Izuku since just after his fourth birthday, when he realized his son was always going to be useless. If he'd thought it would work, he would have tried to convince Inko the boy wasn't worth her time and dropped him off at the nearest orphanage, but Inko had always been too attached to go for that idea, so Hisashi had just decided to send child support checks and have done with it.

But it seemed that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Of course his son was cunning enough to become Mastermind, he really shouldn't have been surprised. But that just made Mastermind's refusal to work with him all the more confusing. Shouldn't Izuku have some respect for his own father? Maybe he didn't know?

Well, this made things much easier. All he had to do to get Mastermind on his side was to rekindle his relationship with his wife and son, then the world would be in his hands. Once Izuku realized that the illustrious Dragon was his father, Hisashi was sure he wouldn't hesitate to obey him. That was what sons were supposed to do, right, obey their fathers? And if Izuku didn't want to obey him out of love, then maybe guilt would do the trick? Make it seem like a nice father/son activity they can do to get closer and make up for lost time. His plan was flawless!

But...there was always the possibility that Izuku would be stubborn. Hisashi had heard teenagers were like that sometimes, it was an annoying trait that just came with age. Of course, his Izuku would never knowingly disobey his father, but it paid to be prepared. Hisashi thought for a moment. What would he do if, after everything, Izuku refused to obey him?

He frowned. It would be inconvenient, because he had always cared for his wife and he would inevitably be questioned if anything were to happen to her, but there were other women in the world, many even more attractive than Inko since she'd put on weight during the last decade. Hisashi nodded as he cemented his plan. In the highly unlikely event that Izuku refused to do his duty to Hisashi, then threatening Inko would be more than enough to keep him in line.

"Clear my schedule for tomorrow." He grinned. "I'm taking a family day."

Izuku raised an eyebrow at his mother when somebody knocked on their door as they watched TV after breakfast. They weren't expecting anyone, were they? The only time they ever really got visitors was when the Bakugos came over for dinner, but they never showed up on Saturdays.

"I'll get it!" Inko smiled at him as she stood to go answer the door. "You just stay on the couch, sweetie. I'll be back in a minute.

Inko bustled to the front door and there was a long moment before Izuku heard her gasp. He jumped up from the couch and ran to the hall, already coming up with a dozen plans to protect her if it came to that. She was staring at the man on the doorstep, but turned around when she heard him behind her. There were happy tears in her eyes as she gripped the man's hand and Izuku carefully hid his scowl as he took in who exactly was at the door.

"Hello, son." Hisashi smiled. "Long time no see."