In Each of Our Hearts

Black

Izuku woke with a groan, blinking away the blurriness from his eyes. He attempted to wipe away the remnants of unconsciousness, but found himself unable to move his arms. In fact, he couldn't move at all.

   It took a solid thirty seconds for Izuku to remember exactly how he'd grown to be unconscious in the first place. Midoriya was suddenly very awake.

"Oh, so you're awake." Came a painfully familiar voice. Though, the last time he'd heard it, it was insulting All Might. Midoriya looked up, and was met with the mostly covered face of Shigaraki, a supposed coordinator of the USJ attack.

"W-What do you want with me? Where... Where am I?" Izuku demanded, though he was unable to keep himself from stuttering. His eyes searched the room, desperately trying to gain some shred of information. He appeared to be in a bar, with only himself, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri occupying it. Izuku wasn't tied to the chair as he'd first thought, but rather chained to it. His hands were trapped by a heavy metal box; likely to keep him from breaking free. His legs and feet were thoroughly bound, leading Midoriya to believe that they had paid at least some attention to his quirk during their previous meeting. Maybe they hadn't seen him during the Sports Festival? He could try to break free, but would such an obvious plan work? Would he have a chance to run at all?

"I wouldn't recommend attempting to escape. Those bonds are made to hold even the most powerful quirks." Kurogiri said casually, though there was an obvious threat in his voice.

Dammit Izuku, think! There has to be a way out of this! He couldn't see his bag anywhere, so he couldn't contact anyone. Wait a minute, his mother! She must be worried sick by now! Maybe she would contact the school? It would take at least a day for them to gain enough information to warrant searching for him to any degree. And he didn't think anyone had been nearby when he went into that alleyway.

Damn it! Why hadn't he been more careful?! He should have known that he would be targeted, with his obvious affiliation with All Might.

"What does Master want with this child? Why can't we just kill him?" The pale villain spoke, exasperation heavy in his voice.

"Now Shigaraki, you know his orders were to keep the child alive." Kurogiri sounded as if he were speaking to a child, rather than a grown man. Whoever the "Master" was that Shigaraki spoke of, Izuku was sure that he didn't want to meet him. But how could he escape?

"Midoriya Izuku. Master says you didn't have a quirk, is that true?" Midoriya froze at the words. Other than All Might and his mother, no one knew that he was quirkless. How did this "Master" know? Rather than attempt his luck at lying, Izuku chose to simply remain silent. "So, you're not willing to talk? Why does no one want to chat?"

"Don't despair, Shigaraki. Midoriya will listen to you." Came a smooth voice from someone the captured student couldn't see. He only realized that it came from a speaker when Shigaraki stood the side revealing a small computer screen. "As for your earlier question, Midoriya, I wish to recruit you."

Izuku openly gaped. They wanted to recruit him? Were they insane?

"Come now, Midoriya. You remember having no quirk. You were treated as if you were less than human; nothing. Even your own mother refused to have faith in you. And now that you have a quirk? You can do nothing but shout and break your own bones. Should you join us, we would train you. We could reshape this world without its warped sense of "justice," without heroes and villains."

Silence permeated through the air. Midoriya was truly shocked; not only by the offer, but also that this Master (as he assumed) knew so much of his past.

"You're wrong," he muttered, deciding that stalling would likely be his best option. "Heroes protect people, give them hope. They help those who need it, and put away villains who abuse their power. I could never join people who want to destroy the safety All Might worked so hard to create." A sigh came from the monitor.

"That truly is unfortunate. I had hoped for you to come of your own free will, but some things cannot be avoided, I suppose. Kurogiri, bring out Kiotoko." The gaseous man stepped out at the order. Midoriya's pulse skyrocketed, adrenaline spiking in fear. Who, or what was Kiotoko? Would the heroes be able to save him before Kurogiri came back? Izuku doubted it. His doubts were proven correct when the villain stepped back into the room a matter of minutes later.

Midoriya looked up in thinly masked fear when he saw a man. He had long, dark hair. It was tied back, but still hit mid-back. His face was sharp and angular, stature relatively average. One eye was covered by bangs, while the other was nearly black in color. If he had to guess, Izuku would think him to be mid-twenties. Overall, Kiotoko looked extremely nondescript.

"I believe you know what to do?" Kurogiri asked, taking his place behind the bar once again. The newcomer nodded silently, slowly walking towards where Midoriya was bound. He felt panic begin to set in. He needed to get out, now.

Too late.

Kiotoko stood directly in front of him, leaning down slightly. Izuku could practically feel the stares of the villains in the room. He didn't have time to dwell on the thought too much, however. The man touched their foreheads together, bringing with it an almost comforting darkness.