Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Five.

It all started when he was five years old.

He was only five years old when his world was flipped upside down and felt like the universe had pulled the proverbial rug out from under him and now everyone laughed at him as he fell.

He was only five years old when his life went to Hell and he was cast into the flames and left to burn.

The day that he went to the doctor and they told him he didn't have a Quirk was the first worst day of his life, followed by many others later on. His dear, sweet mother held him later on their home as she cried, and he was too numb to feel his own tears slip down his cheeks. He dimly registered her cries as he sat at his desk, re-watching his favorite video that inspired him to be a Hero.

“I’m sorry, Izuku. I’m so, so sorry.” She apologized, grieving for the future her son would never have and the coming pain he would know. She wasn’t ignorant. She knew how a large part of the population treated the Quirkless population. She didn’t want her baby to go through that, but now he had no choice.

After that day, school was nothing less than absolute hell. Izuku was bullied and picked on and tormented by his classmates as soon as word got out that he had no Quirk. He cried and tried his best to fight back, but he was too weak to stop his tormentors. He had tried countless times to make them stop by not fighting back at all, but that didn’t work either. He then tried to report the other children to the teachers. It managed to turn into a huge debacle with parents and teachers alike getting involved. The perpetrators were punished by teachers and scolded by parents and for a while, Izuku thought things would get better.

If only things were that easy.

Things didn’t get any better for him. If anything, it made it worse. The beatings increased, but off school property, so the adults could do nothing and his mother could only do so much to help him. His tormentors were relentless and rare was the time he could come out of it with anything less than a few bruises. He was stocking so much antiseptic and bandages in his house to the point that he started carrying them in his bag everywhere he went. The teachers soon stopped trying and turned a blind eye to his plight and the bullying increased dramatically. The only one who cared now was his mother. She was all the family he had now. His father had left them soon after he had gotten the news that Izuku was Quirkless and after countless fights with Inko on the phone, Hasashi finally announced that he wanted a divorce and did so within the month, leaving them with nothing but a broken heart and a child support paycheck every month.

After those first few months, life seemed to settle into a routine. Get up, go to school, dodge bullies, go home, patch up his wounds, do homework, and write in his journal. He had started to keep track of all the heroes he had heard about and came across, admiring them for their unique Quirks and their status as a Hero. They went around and saved people! They helped those who needed it and there was nothing Izuku wanted to do more than to be a Hero and help those that were hurting. Like him. But by far his favorite Hero was All Might, the number one Hero! He always saved people with a smile and seemed to show no fear. He was loved and admired by all and millions of kids like Izuku looked up to him as their role model. Izuku wanted to become a Hero like him when he grew up. Soon enough, most of the bullies had stopped relentlessly tormenting him and the attention moved off of him. He faded to the back of everyone’s mind and life was fine.

Or, at least, until tragedy struck.

Izuku had come home from school, bruised and beaten like before, but overall had a good day since he had seen a Hero on the way there and had even written down what he saw from the fight in his notebook. But something was off in his home. The door was off its hinges, splinters littering the floor and the lights were off inside.

"Mom?" He called out timidly, tiptoeing into the apartment. The kitchen and living room were little disasters among themselves. Random spots of red occasionally dotted the area, increasing just as the dread in his stomach was increasing as Izuku walked deeper into the house until he ended up in his mother’ room. Stepping into the room, he noticed that there was a large spray of blood on the walls and ceiling, all leading to a pool of red in the middle of the floor. The form in the midst of the crimson sea was drenched in the color, unmoving and cold, the green hair clashing horribly with the red and the eyes that were so similar to his own, normally filled with so much life and happiness were now full and faded. She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. The world shattered around him and he felt something in him break at the same time. It was then that little five-year-old Izuku's heart and spirit broke and he screamed his soul out in agony.

-

The funeral was quiet and somber.

Mellow grief for those that knew her in life and rancid pity for the child she left behind mingled in the air with the toxicity of the gossip of who would take the boy in. Neighbors refused, Inko was an only child, grandparents were long dead, His father didn’t even bother to show up for the funeral. There was no one. Izuku watches, as still and silent as his mother's grave and he felt his heart wrench at the chatter, his eyes dark and dulled from grief and the black hole at his center.

No one would take him.

They didn't want him.

He was a Quirkless child.

Worthless in the eyes of society.

The whispered words pierced through his ears and left a hollow sensation in his chest. The adults didn’t care what he heard from them, preferring to ignore the child. He wanted to get away from the chatter and gossip and pitying and disgusted looks from the adults. He hated it. he hated it all. So while others had turned away, he slipped away, out onto the night, his cloud of misery making him unapproachable and almost invisible. The area the funeral was held in wasn't far from home, so he knew the way back, even in the dark. Climbing up the stairs to his home, he paused at the brand-new door they had gotten to replace the broken one. Logically, he knew it was the exact same type of door with noticeable differences, but the fact that it was new made all the difference in his mind. The door of his home opened for him, left unlocked either by a police officer or some uncaring relative, and he quietly slipped in, ignoring the almost clinical smell of antiseptic and bleach, and continued walking to his room. The ignored how empty and lonely the place looked. The couch and some tables had been removed due to the amount of blood that had stained them, but otherwise, the house looked the same. The pictures of the two of them were hug up in the walls, their happy faces looking down on the sad eyed boy. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Izuku continued on to his bedroom.

There, he grabbed a plain black backpack from his closet and grabbed a few things from his room, stuffing them in the backpack. A blanket, bandages, string, extra shoes, and a reusable bottle of water. Quickly changing out of his funeral clothing and into something more comfortable, he took one last look around his brightly colored bedroom. The room was themed after his favorite Hero, All Might. The Hero was smiling widely and brightly on all of his posters and figurines, Teeth blindingly white and blue eyes shining, always stroking some sort of heroic pose. The more he looked at them, the more the rage inside him built until it seems to trigger something in him and in that moment, he felt nothing but disgust for them.

All of them.

Heroes.

Where were they when his mother needed them? When he needed them? Why weren't they there to save them? He had been hurt so many times by so many people and all anyone had ever done was turn their back on him. And his mother…his mother… she was killed for an insane and stupid reason! His heart burned with fury at the thought and tears spilled from the corners of his eyes in a mix of grief and hatred. He wanted nothing more than to tear the posters to shreds and destroy very piece of memorabilia he had of the hero, but he had no time. It was time to go. Turning to leave, he spotted a picture frame on his table and he grabbed it gently, the rage quelling in his heart momentarily at the sight. It was a picture of him and his mother. They had taken it last year at the park on a whim. It was a day like any other, but they were both so happy and wanted to capture the moment. They were posed in front of the swing set and he and his mother were smiling brightly, their green eyes glittering in the sunlight with mirth. The picture had always brought him so much joy whenever he looked at it before, but the memory was now bittersweet. Carefully, he slipped the picture into his backpack and continued out the door, exiting his room.

He walked back through the apartment to the door and looked back at his home. It was eerie in its silence and the silvery light of the moon only made the darkness of the shadows seem deeper and darker. Taking a deep breath to steady himself and reign in his tears, he turned back to the door and stepped out before taking a moment to brace himself, his fear and doubt eclipsing his desire to leave momentarily before the hatred and anger took hold once again, steeling his heart. Closing the door to his childhood home one last time, he walked down the street into the night, his light green eyes burning in the darkness.

(///)

Chapter Text

Nine years later…

“It’s been getting boring around here.”

“She’s right.”

“Now, now. You know what we’ve been waiting for.”

“Yeah, and it’s already here! We’ve waited long enough! We’re more than ready!”

“Are you sure? It doesn’t feel like we are…”

“Nonsense! This is what we’ve all been training for!”

“I’m getting pumped up just thinking about it!”

“Same! I wish we could just get on with it already!”

“Well, I think we need more time!”

“No one cares what you think!”

“…..What do you think….?”

Twelve figures shrouded in darkness stopped their arguing and turned to the silent thirteenth figure at the head of the table. A sharp smile cut through the darkness and the others smiled in response, getting their answer.

“Let’s give them all a warm welcome, shall we?” he chuckled.

-

All Might huffed as he tried his best to capture the sludge Villain. This was the tenth villain this week! It seemed that more and more villains were making appearances, but that wasn’t too big of a surprise. What was a surprise was they kept getting away or disappearing just as the Heroes would go to capture them! How? How was that possible?! Could it be a teleportation Quirk…? Looking around, the Hero realized that the Villain had done just that. He had disappeared. Holding back an internal groan, the Hero powered down into his normal state, the once proud standing muscled man shrinking into a thin twig of a man with sunken eyes and cheeks.

“Damn! Now where did he go?” he growled to himself, walking out of the alley and into the crowded streets, keeping an eye out for movement in the sewer grates below him and in the back of alleyways, but there was no sign of him.

‘That bastard got away.’ He thought bitterly to himself and his hand ghosted to his side, slightly over where his wound was. His damn wound. If it weren’t for that, he would have caught that Villain by now! He would still be up and saving lives! But…now he was reduced to this. He had a time limit and it was only getting shorter. Soon enough, there would be nothing left of him and the flames of his power would burn out.

The Symbol of Peace would fade.

Before he could dwell any more on his thoughts, he was startled out of it by a scream from within the crowd. People immediately started running away, but he stood his ground, scanning the area for the possible cause. It was then that he spotted it. There, in the middle of the street, was the same sludge Villain he had been hunting down earlier. The situation, however, had escalated since he had last seen him. The Villain was swirling and undulating around what looked like a person and All Might felt his heart drop into what was left of his stomach. As the Villain surrounded the other’s body, All Might ran forward, holding off on his transformation in order to gain a better idea of the situation and not draw attention to himself.

“Nothing personal, kid, just under orders! But let me just say that having your Quirk and body will help me a lot!” the Villain jeered, suffocating the boy even further. Said boy was called Bakugo Katsuki. The boy squirmed and tried his best to escape the Villain, but there was no way to grab a hold of him. His hands kept passing through him and there was nothing substantial to get a grip on. Trying to cry out, he attempted to activate his Quirk, but didn’t feel the usual rush of energy flood to his limbs as it usually did.

“Hey, there, kid. Nice Quirk. Mind if I use it?” the Villain chuckled darkly and before Bakugo knew it, there was a loud boom and the area around them burst into flames as people ran screaming.

His Quirk had done this.

His Quirk was in the hands of a Villain and there was nothing he could do about it…

‘No!’ Katsuki shouted in his mind, struggling even harder to break free now. ‘This is not how I’m gonna die! I’m going to be the greatest Hero that ever lived, goddamit! There’s no way I’m going to get killed right now!’ he thought, but the Villain around him only encompassed him more, blocking off his airways and leaving him gasping for whatever breath he could.

“Not gonna happen, kid! You’re mine now! Just relax and this will all be over soon!” the Villain growled and Bakugo could see black dots around the edges of his vision, but he was still fighting, determined to break free.

“I THINK NOT, VILLAIN!” a familiar booming voice called out from the crowd of screaming people. Heroes had finally appeared on the scene and were either doing damage control, herding away the civilians, or trying their best to get to the Villain in question, strategizing on how to take him down without harming the hostage. The Sludge Villain felt himself quiver at the unfamiliar voice but stood his ground. He knew what he had to do.

“LET THE BOY GO, VILLAIN, AND I PROMISE I’LL GO EASY ON YOU!” the number one Hero boomed, standing proudly in front of the Villain, his ever-present smile stretching over his face.

“Afraid I can’t do that! Y’see, I have a message to deliver and I think that having this little brat here as my hostage will better serve to get the message out loud and clear!” he shouted, smothering the boy even further. It was almost done; the boy was almost dead and then he could bluff his way out.

“I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTOOD! YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!” the Hero yelled and with blinding speed, rushed forwards so that he appeared in front of the Villain in the blink of an eye, pulling the blonde-haired boy out with one hand and cocking his other fist back for a punch.

“DETROOOIIIIIIT SMAAAAASH!” he roared, hitting the Villain with full force and scattering his body everywhere, the shockwave bursting up into the cloud and causing it to rain. The blonde in his grasp had passed out from the lack of oxygen but was otherwise looked unharmed. Panting, All Might looked out victoriously into the smaller pile of sludge on the ground.

“Hehe…so this is what he meant…” the raspy voice of the Villain said softly from the small pile of sludge. Furrowing his brow in concern and confusion, All Might gently lay the blonde aside on the ground and crouched down to the Villain’s level.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHO IS THIS ‘HE’ YOU SPEAK OF?” All Might asked. the Villain simply chuckled.

“’Deliver the message and disappear’ he said.” The Villain rasped, sarcastically. “‘Either escape or make sure you die’ he said…. That bastard…” he growled weakly, his breathing getting slower and more strained.

“TELL ME WHO YOU MEAN! ARE YOU WORKING FOR SOMEONE?!” All Might asked impatiently, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. If this was the start of something more then…

“This is…our declaration of WAR, Mr. Number One Hero…” the Villain croaked. “The Chess Pieces and the King…will come for you all soon…” his breaths now a strangled wheeze. All Might felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. A declaration of war?

“You better…be prepared, because…things will only get…much worse…from…here…” His breaths slowed down to a complete halt and what was left of the sludge was suddenly washed away with the rain, the rest of the bits scattered about lay still and motionless. A silence seemingly taking over as the Villain died. Looking back down to the ground as the rain washed away the last bit of the Sludge Villain, All Might spotted something unusual sticking out from the sludge pile. Reaching in gingerly, he pulled out a small white pawn piece and held it up to the hazy sunlight, a carving in black letters being revealed as he inspected it.

The Game has begun.

All Might shivered, tucking the piece into his pocket before picking up the boy beside him again, carrying him of to the ambulances that had just arrived. He needed to get this boy to some medical attention immediately, then report his findings to both the police and to the Principal at Yuuei. If they had a declaration of war on their hands from a Villain faction, then they had a cause to be concerned.
They would have to be prepared for this.

-

In a dark room, miles away, two figures sat and watched a glowing crystal ball, witnessing the moment that just happened to the Number One Hero in the street. Giggling at the scene, one of the figures tossed her long hair over her shoulder and away from her face, giving an amused smirk to the other in the room.

“’Escape or make sure you die’, huh? How cruel of you, my King.” She trilled teasingly. The other looked at her, unamused, and rolled his eyes.

“He was a terrible person and a vicious murderer. No one else was better for the job. He knew the risks of going but went anyway.” the other replied, giving her a knowing look and she nodded in understanding. Giggling again, she gazed once again upon the crystal ball.

“No turning back now! It’s starting and I’m so excited!” she smiled gleefully. “I gotta go tell the others!” She squealed and skipped off, leaving the other alone in the room. He glanced at the fading images in the crystal ball one last time and sighed, catching a glimpse of the blonde-haired boy. Giving a small huff, he turned sharply on his heel and swept out of the room, leaving darkness and silence in his wake, the crystal ball now empty.

(///)

Chapter Text

Nine months had passed since the “Sludge Villain Incident” and at first, there had been only minor incidences involving the so called “Chess Pieces”. Minor petty crimes being committed more and more frequently like vandalism, thievery, cars disappearing, and other things of that nature with only a single white pawn let in place to serve as a calling card. The culprits were never captured, but there was no lasting damage being done, so the Police put most of the cases lower on their list of priority cases to solve. The crimes were, as thought of by the public, pathetic attempts to get recruit more members and keep themselves in the limelight, but if anything, this caused whatever alarm and precautions that the Yuuei staff and Police first thought they needed to fade away and the police were sent to handle the situations more than the Heroes were. As the months dragged on and these petty crimes were becoming normal, it had almost developed into a comfortable rhythm that The Heroes and civilians had settled into.

That should have been their first indicator that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

After nine months, the day was just like any other. The Police were called in to handle a robbery at a western themed diner. The report came in from a couple of civilians, one of them stating that she was let go by the Villains inside to spread the word, saying that they were a part of the Chess Pieces. As per usual, the Police went in according to protocol, but that was when things went hazy for most people. Most remembered the officers going in with no resistance, and the civilians crowded around, watching with bated breath to see what would happen next.

Stories and recounts divulged here.

Seconds, minutes, an hour passed, but there was no sound coming from inside. The radios and any other form of contacting the officers inside resulted in either static or absolute silence, as some reported, but others thought that they heard panicked or pained screams in between the static. Finally, there was movement from inside the store and they watched as one of the police officers stepped outside, the jingling bell of the door hauntingly cheery in the silence.

“They will see you now.” The officer smiled widely, cheerfully before taking his gun out of his holster and sticking it in his mouth, pulling the trigger. The gunshot sounding like either a roaring crash or like the chime of a bell. As the police officer collapsed to the ground like a puppet without strings, screams of fear and panic rang out from the civilians and the Police tried desperately to control the crowd. The blood that decorate the glass behind the corpse ran down and seemed to cause even more of a frenzy. More officers went in, fully armed, only to come running back out again in horror, some of the officers leaning against the building and throwing up violently while others seemed in a daze and could only babble incomprehensibly. There had been ten people, including the waitress and cook, inside the diner at the time that the call had been placed. Going back in again as soon as the officers had steadied themselves and shook off the madness that seemingly briefly overtook them, they scanned the area.

There were no survivors.

What was left of the patrons and staff could barely be considered human remains anymore. Their corpses were twisted and mangled, their limps in unnatural positions. It was hard to tell what their last expressions were, due to their faces being peeled off, but if the widening of their eyes was any indication, they did not go fast or easily. Strangely, it was discovered that some of the wounds they detected on the bodies were…self-inflicted, and that was what unsettled the Heroes and officers the most. What was done to them seemed to be caused by either their own hands or were matched to another individual from the diner. Blood and skin under the fingernails, torn muscle in between teeth and in the remainder of stomachs, what blood spatter patterns they could detect within the mess of red, and evidence of Quirks belonging to the hostages being used on the others all led investigators to believe that this was all the work of those that were inside, but…there was no way, right? It was a normal day like any other and there had been no catalysts for people to suddenly go insane and attack. In later interviews with the family of the victims, they all had said there had been no indications of such behavior from their family members, so there was no reason for the hostages to turn on each other. There was also the first Police officer who had gone in, then came out and subsequently shot his brains out. Those that had witnessed the event later reported that the man’s last earie grin had haunted their nightmares for days afterwards. That was in no way normal and there was no reason for him to have done that.

So this must have been the work of a Quirk! Possibly the Quirk of the one who had taken the people hostage in the first place!

But which one? What could it be? There were many possible ways for causing destruction and madness such as this, like a Mind Control Quirk or something of the same type, but after searching through the databanks of known Villain’s Quirks, they came up with nothing. Even with Quirks possibly working in tandem, there was still no explanation to how this occurred. Even so, this didn’t stop speculators from immediately pointing the blame at Mind Control Quirks or those similar enough to it, whipping the media into a frenzy. Left and right, there were public accusations of the crime and the reporters were only making things worse. There was no escaping the persecution of the public and the name of the Chess Pieces was known far and wide because of it. Who was it? Who could be a part of it? It could be anyone! The paranoia of the public was at an all-time high.

Finally, the Heroes and Yuuei had to step in to calm the press and reassure the public that something was being done, defending the Quirk users and trying to beat down the sudden rise of discrimination. After many reassurances and promises that their Heroes and Police Officers were working day and night to solve the case, the crowd calmed into restless murmuring instead of cries of outrage. For now, the storm had passed, but the devastation it left in its wake gave the Heroes a wake-up call.

They had dismissed the Chess out of hand, and that had been their first mistake. Letting the vandalism continue had been another. Now they had to try and fix things before they got any worse.

The more they thought about it, the more the Heroes realized how brilliant the plan was. The bastards had lulled them into a false sense or security, making their grand public debut just as any Hero would, before settling later into a false “routine” of petty crimes that would fade to the background of everyone’s minds. It was just another wannabe Villain organization that would eventually fail, after all. No need to worry, right? It was only looking back on the petty crime reports that the Police felt their stomachs drop. Some of those places had been wide out in the open. No one had seen them do it and they were never caught on camera. They became more and more frequent and more and more public.

They were a test.

They were testing to see how much they could get away with and mapping the best possible areas to do so, flaunting it in the police’s face that if they had wanted, they could have caused massive damage already. It was a test that they had failed and now they were paying the price in the form of fear and panic from the people, the consequences of their neglect evident in the looks of mistrust in the eyes of the civilians. The Chess Pieces had made their message loud and clear and there was no mistaking it.

‘The game has begun, and we have made the first move.’

-

The staff at Yuuei had gathered in their office, faces grim and somber. The Heroes gathered around the table and sat in silence, thinking about what plan they could possibly come up with to diffuse the tension from the public. So far, they had come up with nothing. The best possibly solution would be to announce publicly that the Police and Heroes were putting all their efforts into locating and exterminating the Chess, but how would they even begin to locate them? They were practically ghosts and had left no trace of their existence other than the crimes they left behind.

“I suggest we crack down harder on the alley crimes. One of those filthy rats is bound to know or have seen something!” Endeavor growled, the flames on his face swirling in agitation. All Might looked over at the number two Hero and frowned in disapproval.

“Now, now, Endeavor. There is no need to do that. It is highly unlikely that their members would be out in the open like that. and it may cause more harm than good.” The man said but was instantly refuted by the fiery Hero.

“Then would you have us do?” he boomed. “The Police forces are inept and even we are having trouble with coming up with any leads to finding that Villain filth!” he stormed.

“There must be a better option than to resort to that!” Present Mic, a blonde mustachioed man Hero shouted, sparking the rest of the Heroes at the meeting to shout out their own opinions, their frustrations and fear clearly showing through. Their voices rose to the point that not even the Number One Hero could quiet them or bring them to a consensus as to how to best handle the situation.

“Enough!” Nezu finally yelled. The Heroes suddenly quieted down and turned toward the head of the table. What could have been a bear or a mouse or a dog or any possible combination of animal sat in a chair calmly, yet his posture demanded their attention and respect.

“Now, this is obviously getting us nowhere and the frustration of dealing with the public and the press is getting to us.” He said calmly, sipping his tea from his cup.

“Now from what we can tell, the Chess Pieces are no random band of Villain that just started. They seem to be well organized and have unknown numbers on their side along with some mention of a leader. We do not know their intentions or motives or connections and we can only speculate that the time spent before was to gather information and test their limits. The most logical step for them would be to wait and plan for a strategic time and place to attack. It would be an attack that would strike a devastating blow towards all of us in some way. Information gathering and building up their forces would be a prominent part of their time spent until then.” Nezu said, taking a long drink from his tea cup. A black-haired Hero in the back of the room nodded as if in understanding.

“If that’s what their efforts will be focused on, then that will give us Heroes the chance to settle our situation with the press and public. The Villain activity will quiet down for a while until their next move, so we can take advantage of it.” he said, red eyes narrowing. Said Hero had been working overtime more and more, so the permanent bags under his eyes had grown darker as he had less sleep than usual. This was a serious detriment to his health…

“Exactly.” Nezu nodded.

“So what do we do?” a female Hero with long black hair and less than appropriate Hero costume asked.

“For now, we keep our ears to the ground for any sign of the Chess. For now, we need reinforcements and some plans for reinforcing the school have also been considered. For now, we must go above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of everyone.” He finished and the Heroes around him all nodded in agreement.

“GO BEYOND!” All Might boomed

“PLUS ULTRA!”

-

Elsewhere, in a Quiet place, two figures stared at the television screen mounted in the corner, listening to the news reports o the Chess Pieces and the unrest of the crowd. Both were displeased and held a frown on their faces.

“Kurogiri…some NPC beat us to the punch!” the slighter, light haired man growled, his teeth grinding and fingertips twitching.

“I’m sure that Sensei will have something in mind for them.” The second man said lowly. His body was more purplish mist than anything, adding a mysterious aura about him. Though they were small words, it seemed to pacify the other man mand and he released his grip on a mug he had been holding, it beginning to crumble to black dust beneath his fingers.

“Yeah…Sensei will know what to do about those pesky side characters…” he smiled and walked off into the darkness. Kurogiri winced and looked at the TV one more time and turned it off before turning to follow the other out of the room.

(///)