[Night time]
[undisclosed location]
The time of day was past ten P.M., and the bar was empty. The lights were dim, creating a peaceful yet eerie atmosphere that would make any who entered feel cautious. Inside, there were only three men.
The bartender was a man seemingly made from purple-ish black smoke, with growing golden eyes, wearing the typical bartender uniform, and paying careful attention to the glass he was methodically cleaning.
Sitting before him was a pale, skinny man with a hand that wasn't his own covering his face; his hair was ashy grey with a hint of light blue; he wore black clothes with only his shoes being red.
The TV was on, and he had paused it when the news anchor showed the unblurred image of a UA student taking down a villain.
"It seems UA is putting out students of a higher caliber every year. This is the first time I've seen a student do hero work"
The man with white hair and gold rings on his fingers spoke before he took out a cigarette from his pocket. His name was Girran, an underworld broker with connections to probably most criminals in the city.
"It's sickening, really. Naive kids being sold and indoctrinated to the flawed ideal of heroism"
The man with a hand on his face spoke, his voice raspy and scratchy. He spoke as if he needed cough medicine.
"I mean, it sells. Kids naturally want to look cool and will imitate things that are cool."
Girran stated before returning the cigarette to his pockets, remembering there was a no-smoking rule.
"That is true, but it doesn't make it any right. He is nothing but a naive child who's been fed nothing but lies all his life. To him, it's the truth."
He said before he began scratching his neck; seeing the image of a kid probably a few years younger than himself acting heroic irritated his skin and brought him unpleasant memories. He continued to scratch himself, each scratch becoming fiercer each time.
"That is true,Tomura Shigaraki. That is nothing but a naive child raised on lies and propaganda"
The bartender spoke, and the man hearing his name stopped his scratching and was quickly brought out of his funk.
"UA is currently a symbol of hero education and is currently lauded as the best hero school in Japan. I don't like that"
Tomura expressed himself, Heroes were irritating, hero schools were irritating even more, and hero course students made him feel angry. He hated it. He hated this society that sought to create things that irritated him.
"I want to destroy those students, They irritate me!"
He said with an unhidden malice in his voice.
"Indeed Tomura, if you don't like something, then simply destroy it"
The voice was disembodied, and as they heard it, the person who spoke was not in the room. Kurogiri and Shigaraki were not surprised by this; however, Girran felt chills run down his spine as the voice reached his ears.
He maintained a cool exterior as he observed that his hosts were not surprised by the voice, so he figured he had little to worry about, not unless they specifically called him here to kill him. He tucked his hand under his suit right below his upper torso and waited.
"Master! Are you saying you're going to help me?"
Shigaraki spoke his scratchy voice filled with hopeful expectation. If one were to see the eyes hidden behind the hand covering his face, they would see them gleam with expectation and wonder, like a child waiting to be praised by their father.
"Of course, you were already planning something, weren't you? Then it's only right that I lend a hand"
The voice responded, behind every word was undeniable confidence that spoke volumes about the power the voice believed itself to have.
However, Girran could sense condescension in its tone; he has been around the type before and understands that when they talk, each word is a statement, either about themselves and their ego or about their subordinates and their incompetents.
The brief exchange between Shigaraki and the mysterious voice told him that the voice valued Shigaraki but still saw him as a child, someone not worth respect but worth keeping around.
"Thank you, Master, you're the best!"
Shigaraki expressed as much, his voice filled with an unnecessary amount of gratitude.
"Don't mention it, Tomura, just tell me when you've done your planning"
The voice expressed with an unhidden glee before it went silent, and Girran found himself finally being able to relax.
"Well, Kurogiri, it's time to start preparing; UA University is about to get a rude awakening. Find out which class that kid is in, other than All Might, he'll be our second target"
Tomura Shigaraki spoke, his voice a bit happier. Getting help from his master was always something he appreciated, and it made him feel valued. His master was the only person who ever saw value in him.
….
Somewhere in another undisclosed location, in a dark room illuminated by only the light of the television, a man hooked up to a life support machine looked at the picture with curious intrigue.
The life support machine beeped at constant intervals, notifying whoever that the person that was using it was alive and was in no danger at the moment.
The TV was replaying the footage of Taro taking down a villain with a single attack; the man Shigaraki had referred to as his master was the one watching the footage.
"Very fast"
He commented, the curiosity about this new specimen practically dripping from his mouth. It was incredibly rare for a student to perform a heroic act. Even when they have their provisional hero licenses, they usually do not act alone and have a mentor to guide them
In this case, Mount Lady and Kamui Woods were already on the scene, meaning that either one of them was the kid's mentor or the kid acted alone. The former was unlikely.
He is quite knowledgeable about a variety of heroes and thus knew that neither Kamui Woods nor Mount Lady had any students under their care, meaning this UA student acted alone.
"Is he perhaps eager to be a hero or reckless and careless"
Regardless of whichever is the case, He has been intrigued, and he was now curious about the true potential of this new specimen.
"Tomura is already quite perfect as he is. A few little things need to be changed, but overall, he should suffice but… a secondary option never hurts"
He said to himself, smiling but also wondering if he was being a bit too greedy at the moment. However, he quickly shook his head, and it was not like him to doubt himself.
Regardless of whether he's being greedy or not, he understood from experience that sometimes plans can go sideways and you end up beaten, battered, and on life support. As such, having a contingency is always beneficial.
A memory of his last battle with All Might flashed in his head; the hero's entrails strewn across the ground was a vivid sight, and clear as if the battle had only taken place just yesterday.
Despite having left the man in such a state and delivered enough damage to affect his heroic career, All Might was still standing proud and smiling, being the symbol of peace, and he was here on permanent life support.
It was maddening beyond belief that All Might ruined everything he built, decades upon decades of work ruined in a single night.
All for one grits his teeth hard, his hatred for the symbol of peace showing itself and his heart beat faster and causing the machine to beep fast, alerting him of his abnormal heart rate and causing him to calm down before focusing back on the current issue.
"I'll need to test this new specimen before I do anything else."
He uttered as he began to think of what would be a good test for this new specimen he has found.
.....
A/N: Yeah Taro got the attention of individuals he shouldn't have.