July 8th, 11:00
Unknown location.

The Man walked slowly between the two lines of wrestlers who stood rigid and silent along a wide metal platform. These henchmen wearing black tights and masks were of different sizes and complexions, and each of them may have his own story, but all of them shared the red and black mask logo on their chests, as well as their loyalty to its owner.

For a considerable while the only sound it could be heard where the big man's heavy walking. Then, at the end of the platform he got up some steel steps to a stage from where he looked at his most recently initiated men with that penetrating behind his own mask.

"Losers. Worthless. Good for nothings. Useless. Failures. That's how they called you" his voice sounded louder, clearer and more intimidating than usual with the help of a micro he held in his hand. "Some of you were born with no Quirk at all; others, with Quirks too weak to protect yourselves in a dark and cruel world. A world that rejected you and assumed that your only role in life was to die in order to make way for a stronger generation. But I didn't."

Shigaraki relaxed on his seat from a lookout in the distance. He had to admit his host had one hell of a lair: the place was built in the inside of an inactive volcano, and from the lookout of The Man's comfortable office, full of weights and training machines, along with belts and other trophies, posters and photos that gave testimony of the past of a great figure of wrestling, he could view the sophisticated and well equipped arena where the members of the band trained and fought. A mechanism would make the platform lower deep into the bowels of the volcano, where the fighters would be surrounded by magma and other amusing and creative ways prepared to guarantee a great show, while the personal would make the huge platform change its shape or features under the orders of their boss. And how would the heroes or the police know something about it, when The Man was a billionaire who owned the whole island they were in?

"I didn't" The Man continued. "Because, much like you, I didn't ask for the world we live in. We were simply told to deal with the fact that world was built way before we were born. We had to face lies, discrimination and worse things from a society based on Quirks. That's the world heroes created. Heroes... those who claim to fight for freedom, equality and justice... while we were considered mediocres or directly crashed by more powerful people. The hero society was as full of corruption as the mobs, but people who were pushed into crime to avoid getting eaten and achieve their goals were targeted as villains, while they kept posing for the cameras and telling a submissive population everything would be OK for the sake of their fame and wealth. When I was young it didn't bother me very much, though. I was born a fighter, and I found in wrestling a reason for living, but I was also born with a handicap that would prevent me from achieving my dream to become the best wrestler in that world. Luckily, there was a man who put into practice a different vision..."

"Yes" Shigaraki thought from that distance. "The vision he shared with me. The vision he trusted me and I will make come true in time..."

"He was one of the many crime lords I met when I was fighting to make a name of myself at Japanese wrestling. He taught me becoming the best in the eyes of a hero society meant nothing. It is in the underworld that exists beyond their presumptuous eyes where the true nature of a fighter can be revealed, so once I received and developed my power and skills I progressed and became the supreme leader of illegal wrestling mobs in America. They say fighting 'til the death is a cruel, barbaric and inmoral source of business, but they don't have what it takes to understand only in this ambient of self-destruction and reborn the true beauty of the fight takes shape. All of you have faced pain and death for all your lives because of the world such presumptuous people created, and you have done whatever it took to survive, until someone gave you the opportunity of being something more. Tell me... who was that someone?"

With perfect coordination and timing, the henchmen cried the name of their leader. Shigaraki just sighed condescendingly He actually admired the spirit of those criminals, but that was exactly what prevented him from becoming friends with The Man: the big guy was a man devoted to spectacle... but that was it. Shigaraki would do businesses with him as long as necessary, but the destruction All For One and him sought was far from a mere entertainment. The Man didn't actually care if the heroes stayed at the top of society as long as he could keep those matches where desperate fools killed each others for himself. The leader of the League of Villains on the other hand had an ambition only All For One could fully understand and only he was worthy of fulfilling. Taking control over the Meta Liberation Army in his early years was only the beginning. To that day the villains who worked under his name moved and operated like ghosts among the very same heroes and his contacts in America had already reached one of the most powerful villains in the continent. If only The Man knew how close he was to be overshadowed for the ages...

Nevertheless, there were things to do before and sooner than later they would be done. Japan had the widest and most prepared heroes its history had ever had, and he Shigaraki had never lost his target. He had brought together the vastest and most formidable rogue gallery, and they were all under his command in the country, ready to face the heroes who remained there. Oh, yes, he knew: the man who had put all his soul, his heart, his blood, his sweat, in becoming his nemesis was coming. When the bait is as irresistible as the one he had set, heroes would always find an excuse to act beyond the law. And it was there, right in his own yard, where he would put an end to the story of All Might's successor and make sure the world witnessed it.

"Now!" Oh true, the usually quiet mobster was still giving a lecture. "This time the rules will be different: this man here, one of our guests, has kindly volunteered to help you in your initiation" The Man introduced Dabi, who looked specially excited and amused at what was about to happen. "His Quirk is Cremation, and is powerful enough to defeat whole hordes of opponents. Now you have the Quirk serum the League has delivered to us running through your veins, and have had time to test your new abilities, you are going to face him at once down there. In order to pass, you must either kill him or stand a fight against him before the time is up. Remember: either you survive or die, giving a great show is what makes us true wrestlers. The match shall be viewed by thousands that would love you for every second of epic spectacle you give, so once down there, live, fight, kill and die for the life we chose" The Man activated a mechanism and the platform slowly descended even deeper into the volcano, from where Shigaraki was sure most of the fighters wouldn't return. "Good luck to everyone and die the way you lived: as my pupils and fighters!"

Dabi greeted his boss from the huge platform as he and his opponents disappeared in the dark that would lead them to the magma pond where carnage was about to take place.

"Your friend is entering dangerous territory, Tomura" for a moment Shigaraki had forgotten he wasn't alone in the office. "That boy is one of your most powerful followers indeed, but the serum I developed is stronger than ever. He shouldn't be that confident."

"Don't worry, Dr Garaki. I know my soldiers and I can tell he's in no trouble. Those suckers fight like rabid dogs with no purpose; the serum wasn't made for them. But I need to make every villain understand soon I will have control over Quirks worldwide, and in the meantime I can use the help of The Man's henchmen."

"But before that happens, heroes will come. And we have no time to waste. The Nomus you requested are ready to fight, but..." the scientist's shined with evil greed. "Perhaps we could still use the girl. If only I could start some tests on..."

"I told you, doctor" Shigaraki replied. "We need her, but we won't be using her that way. There are other ways of earning her cooperation."

"Listen, Tomura" the doctor remained calm, but Shigaraki knew he wasn't happy with his current decision and wouldn't give in so easily. "Everything is disposed for you to succeed, but her Quirk's potential is unmeasurable and there's more to study than it meets the eye. Why don't you let me take care of her as you just focus on welcoming the heroes...?"

Dr Garaki was interrupted when the door of the office was opened and two talking Nomus escorting a silver haired and red eyed teen girl with handcuffs of last technology came in.

"We brought the girl, boss..." the hissing voice of the Nomu was as unpleasant as his looks, which gave Eri chills as she did her best not to turn her head and look at the anthropomorphic creatures behind her. They were really spine chilling.

"You are going to have to excuse us, doctor. Please keep working in the lab; I'll go later" Shigaraki said. That scientist served him and his mentor before him loyally, but Shigaraki was no longer an apprentice, and the doctor must remember it.

Garaki didn't answer for a second and looked coldly at Eri.

"All right... I'll see you there later then..." he finally said as he walked towards the door. The doctor briefly gave a last glare at Eri before leaving, which didn't help to calm the girl's nerves in that situation.

"Thank you two. Now: remove her handcuffs" Shigaraki ordered the Nomus, who obeyed without question. Eri's heart had been running fast all the way there and still was, but now she was as afraid as she was surprised and wondering what the infamous leader of the League of Villains would be up to. A man so powerful and fearsome to be a thorn on Deku's side for years would undoubtedly be aware of how imprudent it would be not to have an imprisoned and scared Eri's Quirk under strict control. "My apologies, Eri; work has prevented me from calling you sooner. You have been locked for over a day and you have been given no explanation at all"

Eri just stayed there and didn't say a word, distrustfully looking at the blue haired villain who extended a hand towards the chair the sinister doctor with a mustache had occupied before she was brought there, implying an invitation for her to take a seat, which she carefully did. She might be defenseless against such a terrifying being, but she wouldn't be fooled. Overhaul's accomplices also tried to give her toys and shamelessly pretend they wanted to be her friends as if that way she would be able to forget what their boss daily did to her with no remorse.

Shigaraki didn't lose his mood and wouldn't insist. The girl's reluctance to speak was anything but unexpected.

"Leave us" the Nomus obeyed once more, leaving Eri face to face with the man behind her kidnapping. "I know what you are thinking, but you are wrong: I have nothing to do with Overhaul..."

"You are holding me in a cell" somehow Eri had the courage to reply with hardly any stutter. "And there is only one thing you can want from me..."

"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Shigaraki knew it wasn't convenient for his plan to terrify the girl, so he took a seat in front of her "I'm sure you have heard about me, but I should be polite and introduce myself personally: my name is Tomura Shigaraki..."

"Once I heard Deku saying you used to have another name..." despite her situation, that just came out of Eri's innocent curiosity. It didn't take much for her to internally regret it as she noticed the man's red eyes narrowing behind the hand that covered his face and his own hand meeting the side of his neck, which he aggressively scratched for some time. There was something in that gesture that froze Eri's blood as she watched.

"Deku, huh?" he asked in a not so polite tone. "Well, what he has to say about my name is out of the question, I can guarantee..." Eri remembered she should pick more carefully her words when she talked to the Decay user who could exterminate whole bunches of people with hardly one move and could give any hero, including her dear friends, a run for their money in a fight. "Returning to the subject..." he continued when he was done with that unnerving habit of his, "... as you know, I am the leader of the League of Villains; the organization that once controlled Japan from the shadows under the rule of All For One, and nowadays, thanks to my efforts, I am closer than ever to surpass my own predecessor and mentor. And that man I was talking with before you arrived is Dr Kyudai Garaki: a brilliant figure in the field of medicine and the study of Quirks, and a key piece for the League since the golden age of All For One..."

"And how is that supposed to calm me?" the look the bald scientist with the mustache didn't go unnoticed for Eri. She had been looked like that too many times as a child and she didn't need to ask what kind of interest would a man like that have on her.

"I'll tell you the truth: you are right, this man wanted to carry you to his lab and study your Quirk in depth, but he won't" Shigaraki leant forward and crossed his fingers below his chin. "You know why? Because he has committed his life to the League and I am the man in charge. And you are no laboratory rat and won't be treated like such. Not anymore."

"W-why would you care...? Eri gulped. Whatever game the creepy looking man was playing she didn't know the rules or feel like playing at all. "You are Deku's enemy. In fact... you are an enemy to everything that heroes represent..."

"What a smart girl" a grin that would give Eri nightmares was drawn in Shigaraki's masked face. "But now you mention it, tell me: could you explain what is exactly that a hero represents?Please, take your time to answer."

As confused as Eri was, she had no choice but to follow that strange conversation. To a girl of her age and backstory, Deku, Lemillion, Eraser and the rest were like champions of good against all evil. They had saved her from hell itself and gave her a life not even back then she could have dreamt of, not to mention all the care, support and love she had received in UA. Each hero was unique to her: there was Lemillion, the one who once sacrificed her own Quirk to save her and raised her like a little sister during her first year living in UA; Tsukuyomi, who despite his gloomy appearance and persona shared her love for apples and had a living friendly shadow which was always glad to play with her; Uravity, the girl who made her float so she could play to be a flying superhero and always gave her a smile so warm it could rival a mother's... and of course, there was Deku, whose bonding with her was such that made him stand out among everyone. The thought of the person she considered the embodiment of heroism made her mind work in the answer as she remembered a past talk about the subject...

*********************

Eight years ago,
UA; Eri's dorm.

"Lemillion..."

"Eri, please, I already told you: when I'm here I'm a student like you. You can call me Mirio inside the campus" Mirio answered as he returned the pencil to Eri so she could keep doing her homework.

"Mirio..." Eri repeated with a lump in her throat. "I wanted to talk... about what happened to... well... your Quirk..."

Mirio remained silent and deviated her eyes from the sad looking little girl for a moment. He knew sooner or later that was a subject that Eri would bring to the table. As energetic and smiley the boy was, there was no way to deny it was hard to get used to his new life without his Penetration Quirk. But both Sir Nighteye and All Might had taught him it was in the hardest situations where a hero smiling is needed more than ever, and that is the example he would set for Eri and his pals.

"I know you are worried, little one, and I think you are very kind for that, but believe me, there is no need to. It's true I miss training and trolling my new friends with my Quirk, but I'm fine taking care of you. Actually, I'm glad I got the chance to study this lesson again with you" Mirio raised the grammar notebook with both hands and exaggeratedly checked with narrowed eyes, like a chimp who had never seen a thing like that before. "I used to have a hard time learning this, you know?"

However, that time Eri looked far from laughing at her temporary guardian's over the top acting.

"It was my fault, wasn't it?" Eri lowered her eyes and her lower lip began to tremble foreshadowing an ugly cry. "I am here alive and safe because you gave your Quirk in the process of rescuing me... and Sir Nighteye..."

Mirio's trained smile vanished and brought Eri's head to his chest, as he tried to find the correct words to solve what his silly jokes definitely wouldn't. She had suffered enough in the past, and the last thing Mirio wanted is that a feeling of guilt was added to the trauma she would carry inside all her life.

"There, there, don't you cry, please" Mirio kept it as cool as he could despite feeling a bit gut wrenched in that situation. "Listen to me, Eri" he made her raise her head and look into his big blue eyes. "You are guilty of nothing here, understood? You were a girl in danger, we came, there was a fight against Overhaul and the Six Precepts of Death, one of those bullets hit me and it happened what it had to happen, yes? Midoriya would have done the same, Kirishima would have done the same, Tamaki and Nejire would have done the same... and I regret nothing because I fulfilled my duty like the hero I've always wanted to be. I chose to put my Quirk at the service of those who needed my help and that is exactly what I did."

Eri nodded, but her watery eyes revealed that she wasn't fully convinced yet. Feeling responsible for a tragedy wouldn't go away just like that.

"As for Sir Nighteye... well, to be honest... I also felt somehow responsible for what happened to him..." Mirio had dedicated so much effort and time to take care of Eri from then he had almost pushed that thought away. "After all, when Deku and I met you for the first time, it was Deku who reached you first. As soon as he held you Deku was certain you were in danger and was ready to take you away from Overhaul, but I was the one in charge and I sticked to the rules when I mustn't. I felt like it was my choice what brought all that happened next, all because I decided to leave you in the hands of that criminal when I could have ended your torment right there. I must say... it was Deku and not me who acted like a real hero then..."

For once, Mirio didn't look innocently happy in front of her, and that worried Eri in a new way, but back then she was too young to find something to say.

"Sorry. What I'm trying to say is that you have nothing to feel bad for" Mirio went on petting her long hair. "If anything, I am the one who should apologize to you and the people who got hurt. But Sir Nighteye was my mentor and he wouldn't want me to be so pessimistic. He would want me to cheer you up as many times necessary and complete the work we started, which is giving you a better life and a future."

"But... you did nothing wrong. Both Deku and you, and many others, risked your lives for me..."

"I know it is hard to understand now, Eri. But whatever our mistakes from the past were, we must keep moving forward. For our greater good and the others'. Phew, I must thank you" he confessed with affection. "This is something I had been keeping deep inside and I feel better now you gave me the chance to let it all out. You see? The first step for the people to help each other is being honest and sharing their feelings. And that's something you achieved today all by yourself. You should be proud!"

"Th... thank you... I don't know what to say..." Eri's shyness and blush joined the service.

"And who knows? You have one hell of a Quirk still to be developed. Maybe it will allow you to rewind lost Quirks in the future if you work hard!"

When the girl heard that, she took a deep breath and picked the grammar notebook back with determination.

"It's true" she resolved. "If there is a chance I can return your Quirk, I will study and train as hard as I can."

"That's my girl! Deku will be proud of you!" Mirio cried in joy. "Oh, but don't tell him what I said before about him being the real hero. He can get over enthusiastic and I don't want him to get confident and distracted from the great work he is doing..." he muttered, making her nod in agreement. "He still has a lot to learn, but he has all the skills and qualities to become a hero who could rival All Might."

"Oh, Mirio..."

"Yes?"

"That you just mentioned before... about being honest and sharing feelings... do you think that is something Deku and Uravity should do?" she asked with the innocence only a girl like Eri could ask with. "I feel like they act weird when they are close to each other..."

"Ohh, if I told you... it exists a whole debate about that..." Mirio smirked.

***********************

Eri came back to Earth, where Shigaraki was patiently waiting for an answer to his question, like he said. That may be the first time she would say it out loud, but her thought on the definition of a hero was anything but unclear to her.

"Heroes represent hope. They work hard and dedicate their lives to protect the people because they believe in it" that was basically the version Deku had shared with her several years ago. "Every decision or move a hero makes is based on what is best for everyone, including criminals. Deku also says that smiling no matter what, like All Might did before him, is crucial in order to transmit that hope. All in all... a hero must embody the best a society has to offer..."

She could have kept telling her personal definition of a hero, but when the villain in front her returned to compulsively scratch his neck, she knew she had talked enough. If he wanted to give her the impression she was safe with him, he wasn't being very lucky. Eri was no fool though; she knew there must be a reason for him to keep her alive and safe, like there was when they captured Bakugou in the past. Only she didn't have an Explosion Quirk and the pomerian rage with which he would use it against villains.

"Hope... believing... smiling... All Might..." Shigaraki hissed through greeted teeth. "That's exactly the answer I was expecting. And even if it is not your fault how wrong you are, it still makes me sick..."

"But it is the truth!" Eri protested. "That is how Deku..."

"DEKU..." that was the first time Shigaraki abruptly interrupted her, making her heart jump. "Deku... Deku... Deku... you certainly are a big fan, aren't you?"

For Eri that affirmation would be an understatement, but the change in Shigaraki's temper scared her and wasn't sure about what to answer.

"I am close to your favorite hero too, did you know that?"

The girl couldn't tell if it was her imagination or the blue haired man was some inches closer to her now he was upset.

"Since his first year in UA I knew I was going to have a special hatred for him: his conviction to become a hero, his insane admiration for All Might, the unusual teacher-pupil bond they shared to this day... his Quirk..." Shigaraki began to tell, as if he was talking more to himself and less to Eri. "Oh, yeah, the evolution of his Quirk caught All For One's interest soon enough..."

"All... For One..." Eri muttered. Despite never have seen that man in person, that name was known for everyone, specially in UA. She remembered an old video where that nightmarish villain was faced by the once Hero Number One All Might in his last stand as an active Pro. Deku never talked to her about that night, but she knew for sure that, as his biggest fan and successor, he would have seen that video more times than he could count.

"You may be surprised, but you and me... are more similar than you think" Shigaraki's voice returned from threatening to its usual spooky tone, but now Eri was already too thrilled to care. "In fact, if you think of it, our past is almost identical."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"As a child, I also thought that heroes were the coolest thing in the world..." that was something he hated to remember, but the occasion deserved it. "I never understood why my father hated them to the point of hitting me if I mentioned it... until one day my elder sister and I discovered his mother, our grandmother, who I never met and about whom my family never talked about, was one of the best heroes of that generation. When it came the day my Quirk manifested..." Eri instinctively backed down in terror when Shigaraki slowly extended his pale palm and showed to her the instrument that had taken so many civilians, villains and heroes' lives. "That day I was a small and terrified kid who didn't know what was going on when all the members of my house disintegrated as I touched them begging for help. My dog, my sister, my mother, my grandparents... and finally my father appeared. And what did he do at the sight of the horror he couldn't explain and was killing me on the inside? He found nothing better than taking a stick and trying to beat me with it in a rage. However, by the time that happened, my mental state was such that I pounced on him... and I willingly killed him."

Eri was horrified. The manifestation of Quirk also ended in the demise of the father she never actually know and the rejection of her own mother. And much like Shigaraki, back then she was a child who knew nothing about her own power, but Overhaul made sure she felt like a monster that deserved all the pain she went through until she was rescued and convinced otherwise by Deku. But that man who wasn't much elder than her favorite heroes seemed to be enjoying the memory of such an atrocious crime.

"Don't you see, Eri? We went through the same traumatic experience" Shigaraki spoke as politely as he did at the beginning. "But unlike you, when all was over, no hero came to save me."

"All For One did, didn't he?" Eri responded, surprising Shigaraki for the first time. "I mean... everybody knows you plan to sucess him like Deku plans to sucess All Might..."

"He did" Shigaraki confirmed. Now the conversation was taking the shape he wanted. "The people, those who claimed to believe in that concept of hero you just described, avoided and got disgusted by me, and kept saying some hero would take care. But it was the most feared man in Japan who offered me guidance. All For One gave me a new name and a purpose in life, as he showed me the true face of the hero society. He was a true villain, the one the world overpopulated with heroes and festered in their hypocrisy needed."

"You lie. Heroes are always there to protect the innocents from villains..." Eri said.

"Really? Where were they when I was unable to control my Quirk? Or when I was going insane after I killed them?" Shigaraki sternly inquired. "And who are those innocents, Eri? My father, who beat me like a dog when I was a kid who knew nothing about life? The rest of my family, who just followed his rules and smiled like nothing happened? Maybe your mother, who delivered you to a Yakuza leader and his sociopathic pet when your Quirk did basically the same after manifesting for the first time?"

"I don't remember my mother...or my father" Eri clenched her small fists in a mix of sadness and anger, but she wouldn't let it hurt her. She wasn't the same girl Overhaul once had under his thumb. "Overhaul always used that to easily manipulate me, but when Deku and his friends found me they gave me a family and more."

"Deku is a fool who has taken to heart every word All Might ever said" Shigaraki growled. "Some students have good intentions, others big ambitions, others just want to be cool... in the end all they will want is to be acclaimed and will stop caring about people with real problems. At that moment you were a child in danger and they saved you like the world expected them to do, but heroes are not family material, like my grandmother wasn't. She left my father behind to dedicate herself entirely to the hero business... and in the end, I paid the consequences of that negligence. And he..." Shigaraki suppressed his maniac laugh. "... he thought he could get married and continue with his hero life like that. Don't you find it... risible?"

"Why did you bring me here?" Eri was intrigued by what she was listening, but she needed to know that already.

"You and me, Eri... we are two sides of the same coin: he have almost identical backstories because of Quirks that defy today's knowledge of Quirks. You were raised by heroes and I was raised by villains. Yes, yours may seem to have a way sweeter ending, but you still can't see the truth."

"I see what you believe to be the truth" Eri wouldn't have it, no matter how dangerous he was. "You believe heroes are like disease and you plan to eradicate them..."

"Like I told you, I am not Overhaul" Shigaraki knew the moment of truth had arrived. "I don't want you to force you into anything like he did. I captured you and brought you here so I can share my vision with you. You know the effects of your Quirk, Eri, and you also know there lies the key to keep the each day more powerful Quirks that proliferate today. Don't you want to save children from the traumas people like you and me suffered because of this society's mistakes? All For One did no more evil than the one required, and I am the one destined to follow his steps. I can bring a balance the world never saw again since Quirks appeared. Deku and his friends are carrying out a futile war against people labeled as villains, a war that will never end or bring a better tomorrow, even if they come here and rescue you, because ideals and powers are not enough. I need your help, Eri, but I also want to help you."

Eri stood in front of Shigaraki in silence. The trace of terror in her face had almost disappeared, which Shigaraki interpreted as a good signal.

"As the heroes become more powerful, so must become we the villains, and that only leads to a bigger chaos" Shigaraki's voice was almost smooth in comparison with what it used to be. "The League is full of people with tragic pasts too. They have suffered as much or more than the heroes because of today's socially accepted beliefs. Think of the easier lives you could give to all the people you care about... including Deku and Uravity. All you have to do is work with me. What do you say?"

Shigaraki put a pale blue glove on his right hand; like Mirio's costume, the glove was made with the villain's DNA so it was destroyed in contact with his hand. Then she slowly extended his now assured hand waiting for Eri to take it. But if Eri saw it, she hardly noticed it, since now she was looking at Shigaraki in a different way.

"I say... you haven't thought clearly for years" Eri said. Now it was her who leaned forward to talk, only she was totally ignoring his hand. "I think you never actually cried for your family and that is been tearing you apart for ages. Deku once told me it is okay to cry, because that is a hint on how much we care about the rest..."

"Deku... again..."

Roles had been reversed. Now it was Shigaraki who had negative emotions erupting on the inside and was having a hard time finding the words.

"You are right: you need help" Eri said compassionately, looking at a person who was way unluckier than her as a child. Unfortunately, compassion was not a gift Shigaraki was familiarized with. "You have committed many crimes and that's really bad, but it doesn't have to be that way forever. Perhaps Deku could help you when all this is over. And if you really don't like him... perhaps another hero..."

"... I'm sure a hero will come and help you..." an old woman's nervous voice resounded in the League of Villains' boss's memories...

Shigaraki would remember to have made a sound. He couldn't tell if it was a cry or a roar, but judging by the new look in Eri's once again terrified eyes, he could tell it must not have been pleasant to hear before he violently got up from his chair and cornered Eri against hers. His gloved hand was on one of the armrests, preventing her from running away, but his bare left hand was harshly holding her chin with four fingers, forcing her to look into the eyes of his now unmasked face.

"A hero will come and help me, huh?" he asked in a voice that perfectly matched his mad lunatic expression. "Well, you can keep thinking Deku will come to stop me, rescue you for a hundredth time, smile to the camera and go with Uravity to Disneyland for their honeymoon. There is much you don't understand, little one, but you can believe this..." Shigaraki was so out of his mind it couldn't follow the rhythm of his threats and bloodlust. "As soon as your dear heroes arrive, they will find hell itself waiting for them. AND WHEN I FIND DEKU IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT CHAOS, I CAN'T GUARANTEE I WILL LEAVE A TINY PIECE OF HIM SO YOU CAN BURY IT!!!"

As brave as Eri was, he couldn't help but close her crying eyes while the scariest villain she had met since Overhaul shouted just inches away from her. All she wanted to do now was to get away from there, even if she had to spend days in her cell. Much to Eri's relief, Shigaraki backed down as he breathed heavily and used a button in the desk to call the Nomus back:

"The talk is over. Take her back to the cell" he ordered to the two creatures. "And when you're done go check the two hostages and report. I'll be at the lab."

"Wait... what!?" Eri felt like she was about to be sick out of pure stress. Did anyone else get captured during the wedding? What if one of them was Kota? He couldn't ask as the Nomus made her walk the way back to the cell, paler and trembling more than when she arrived.

Shigaraki needed some minutes in the office to calm down. He was still wondering how a teen who wasn't even trying could have made him so mad with only one conversation, when the door was knocked and he heard Dabi's voice calling.

"Come in" he answered. The bad boy of the League had returned from playing with The Man's wrestlers.

"Looks like you weren't lucky at convincing the girl..."

"I'd rather not to talk about that" Shigaraki wasn't in the mood yet. "How did it go this time?"

"Tons of fun, as usual" Dabi smirked, making the scars in his face tense. "They fought well, but... well, you know me."

"Do they actually try to kill you?"

"Those are the rules: they must kill me or survive against me. And as you can see, they just keep trying" his sense of humor was as dark as his clothes. "I admit some of them are more than decently strong and skilled, though. That serum makes wonders."

"I see" Shigaraki preferred he didn't take that as just an amusement. "Have you killed many of them?"

"None that could have been useful" Dabi shrugged. "Out of those last thirty, eight have survived."

"And what am I supposed to do if one of those creeps is strong and skilled enough and gets to kill you?"

"Well! If one of those creeps is strong and skilled enough to kill me... waste no time and make sure you hire that bastard!" Dabi chuckled (a.n: Game of Thrones' fans who read the second book might remember a similar dialogue XD).

Shigaraki chuckled in response and his villain's grin returned to its place. There was still work to do before their "guests" found them, including deciding on what to do with Eri, but he couldn't wait. What they did at UA would soon look like a child's game compared to what he had planned. The world would then know what was the word "hero" worth of in a world where too many heroes existed.

End of chapter 26

WANTED

Name: Honest Fiction.

Crime: promising an Izuocha wedding fanfic and delivering a story so full of content its readers sometimes forget what the hell they are reading, with too much character development and not enough cute ship moments. Also, it takes him a while to update.

Reward: 100000 follows.

Penalty: GIVE THE STORY AN ENDING ABSOLUTELY EVERY READER GETS SATISFIED WITH!!!

Sorry, sorry, I am a bit of a drama king💀💀...

I totally wanted to write a scene where Eri comes face to face with Shigaraki since they have indeed a similar backstory. Dialogues usually play an important part in a story (not in WALL-E, I know) and as a writer I must practice it, so there it is! You'll decide if I succeeded in bringing personality to the characters and tension to the scene.

As usual, feel free to vote, comment, share, follow if you like, and let me know if you have any idea on what I can write to celebrate the over 75 followers of this profile! You deserve something special, don't you think?

Once again, thank you all Watties! You are the stuff of hugs! Keep reading, writing and having fun in this amazing platform (now I need to sleep 🥱🥱🥱😪😪😪)

See you soon!!