Work Text:
Izuku wasn’t entirely certain how he’d gotten here. All he remembered was Katsuki reaching out and him lunging forward to try to grab him, then… nothing. He felt… odd… It was like he was awake but none of his senses were working. Had he gotten hit with something? Did they drug him? Did the nomu throw him? Was he in a coma? Had he gotten hit with a quirk?
…
. . .
. . .
Hadn’t that one villain had a quirk that trapped Fumikage and Katsuki in marbles? And then they emerged like they didn’t know what was going on? He wasn’t on the list Muscular talked about, just Katsuki and Shoto were. Fumikage the villain had grabbed because he thought him useful after the way Dark Shadow had rampaged. Izuku… He couldn’t think of a reason they would have kidnapped him.
He had to cover his eyes for a second when light suddenly smacked him in the face, even the dim ambience of the room too much. He had a split second to see Katsuki tied down to a chair before he himself found his arms tied down. He figured the only reason he wasn’t nearly as restrained as his classmate was because he was more likely to be calm and reasoned with than the explosive combatant.
Izuku looked up to meet the eyes of Shigaraki Tomura. “Hello again, little hero.” The white haired teen rasped. Izuku knew he was only nineteen. He also knew he wasn’t exactly stable.
“Hello, Tomura. How have things been here?” Izuku spoke as though he was speaking with an old friend. It threw the entire room for a loop, though Shigaraki smiled.
“I took your advice and started doing more on my own, away from my sensei. He insisted I bring Mustard and Muscular with me, though you see we made no real effort to retrieve them.” Tomura frowned. “He was… Like you said he would be. He is… not happy about me branching out on my own. Collecting my own team.”
Izuku nodded empathically. “I’m sure he would be especially unhappy to find that you’ve been making your own path at the suggestion of a heroics student. Though you seem to have found yourself quite the little group. Might I ask what you’re looking for?”
Tomura smirked. “You- when I met you, I didn’t immediately want to kill you, even though you are a hero. And you said it was because battered people recognize battered people.”
Izuku nodded again. “So you’ve been collecting people like you. Why did you decide to kidnap us?”
“That boy there, the explosive one, he’d make a good villain-” Izuku raised his eyebrow at Tomura, who pouted. “Just because you claim we’re more like vigilantes than villains doesn’t change the fact that we are labeled as villains. And him… He acts like a villain.”
Izuku shook his head. “Bakugou Katsuki will never be anything besides a hero. A great hero. He’s too stubborn to be anything else, and he’s worked his entire life for it. And you were labeled as villains when you broke into Yuuei, but what real crimes have you committed recently? A little breaking and entering? Kidnapping? Assault? All things a vigilante does. And when you are calling the shots, you choose targets that deserve it. Corrupt people. Villains. People who hurt others. Sounds more like a vigilante to me. All For One controls the League of Villains… You control the League of Vigilantes.”
Tomura blinked at the greenette. “Perhaps… Perhaps you are correct. This is why I told them to make sure we got you, no matter who we let go. You… You help me see what Sensei keeps me from finding on my own. You make my eyes open.”
Izuku frowned. “How does he stop you?”
Tomura looked like he wanted to say, but the words were physically painful to get out. Izuku looked to Kurogiri instead. The mist sighed. “All For One uses a quirk on young Tomura, it has to be refreshed every month, but it makes it to where the boy cannot see certain things without them being pointed out to him and he cannot blatantly speak out against All For One. That’s why Tomura likes you so much, you aren’t intimidated into silence by his sensei and you try to help him. You are… unlike the other people he knows.”
Izuku nodded along with what Kurogiri said, then looked to Tomura. “Technically, as a hero, it would be my job to take you down and bring you to justice, villain or vigilante. But… since I’m going underground, I don’t have to follow the same rules as the aboveground heroes.” Izuku held out his hand as far as he could. “So, we’ll be friends. Allies of a sort. And take him down. For good this time.”
Izuku ignored Katsuki’s glare and muffled screams as Tomura reached forward and gingerly shook his hand. Izuku visibly brightened when Tomura’s hand connected with his. “Great! Now you can untie me and I can cook for us! Celebration time!”
Tomura immediately decayed the ropes securing Izuku to the chair. “Oh, you can untie Katsuki. He won’t try anything on my friends if he wants any curry. Promise.” Izuku glared at the blond. “Behave.”
Katsuki, now untied, sulked in a different chair while Izuku bustled around the kitchen area, throwing various spices in the pans.
He was appeased by the fact that his portion smelled even spicier than normal- the villains vigilantes might have the most run down fucking hideout ever, but at least their spices were fresh.
He was… surprised but not surprised at the same time when their… hosts responded in much the same manner as their classmates to Izuku’s curry- the only two remaining unaffected being Shigaraki and Dabi. Even Kurogiri seemed to be suffering a bit, the man warping himself a glass and a gallon of milk.
It took him a minute, but Tomura grinned when he realized what was going on. “Can’t take a little heat, plebeians?”
Twice gasped for breath. “A little!?! This kid tried to kill us by spice! I hate him! You did amazing! The food is great and you could rule the world with this!”
Izuku blinked for a solid two seconds before he realized the villains could handle the spice about as well as his classmates could. “... Oops?” Was all he got out before a knock sounded at the door.
“Pizza delivery!” The room froze up. They were eating, obviously no one ordered pizza. The barely dared to breathe, waiting with baited breath to see what happened.
All-Might smashed down the door, and Izuku sprung forward. “WAIT!” He screeched, putting himself between the heroes and the villains. “Just wait. No one attack yet.” Izuku was grateful to Gran Torino for holding All-Might by the ear to make sure he didn’t charge forward and make the situation… dicey. “They aren’t the bad guys.” Torino had to kick All-Might to keep him from protesting. “Look, I know it looks bad, but just hear me out. They had valuable information to give to us, and the only way they could get it to us was to kidnap us. Otherwise their lives would be in danger. All-Might. All For One is alive. Tomura knows where his hideout is, Kurogiri can get us there fast. You aren’t looking at All For One’s League of Villains right now. You are looking at Shigaraki Tomura’s League of Vigilantes.”
Endeavor stepped forward, scowling. “We’re pro-heroes, we don’t work with vigilantes. Especially not former villain vigilantes.”
Torino aimed a quick kick at Endeavor’s ankle. “Maybe you don’t, you wet-behind the ears snot nosed brat, but I worked with plenty of ‘em. Usually better than the licensed heroes too. Vigilantes are useful when and where it counts. Now, kiddos, take me to that bastard.” Torino cracked his knuckles threateningly. “I owe him a few good hits for Nana.”