"Time is a great teacher,

but unfortunately,

it kills all of its pupils."

-Hector Berlioz

(I couldn't find a fitting quote, so have one of my favorite ones instead.)

The official handover was completed without much fuss, beyond the police officer's utter disbelief regarding the whole scenario. Naturally, Deku had not shown his face the entire time, just dropping Stain off in the office, tied in a bow and all. Then, as naturally as breathing, he found himself back at the hideout. While it was true that he couldn't break free of them yet, that wasn't a conscious decision.

It was habit. He had gotten used to it enough for a habit to form.

That brought his attention to something he had been ignoring for quite a while. Somehow, along the road, he had begun to associate the League of Villains as more than a group of children (just Shigaraki, actually) playing around. He wasn't quite sure what was wrong with his brain, but he felt slightly conflicted when he stared at the building. Perhaps, he had unknowingly agreed with their ideals? Not their methods of execution, gods no, but the group's ideology. The current society and its practices were not felicitous. That much was certain.

To spawn true villains birthed of death, tragedy, and unfortunate circumstance... How could that be the best possible option? The temperature dropped a few degrees in the surroundings of his body. It wasn't his business, in the end. It was a shame, but he wasn't an idealist. He was just a desperate, struggling human. A human that screwed up a lot, and regretted a lot of his decisions. He was selfish; he placed higher importance on preventing such things from happening. He had an inkling suspicion that he was infinitesimally close to the edge of passable sanity. Varying events had patched up a few of his worse injures, but they still left scars.

If something happened again, it was entirely possible that they would re-open all at once, and both 'Deku' and 'Midoryia Izuku' would perish from this world entirely. What kind of entity would resurface in the end was something he wasn't eager to find out. That wasn't even considering his quirk. He had done a fair bit of research as soon as he fled from U.A., only to come to an unbelievable conclusion; it was gaining sentience. And it basically had a full access pass to every part of his brain.

If he was to be completely honest, he had no idea how to solve this problem. Starving it of thoughts made no difference. It just continued to grow with time. The day that it would truly awaken and become sentient was only a matter of time. Together with its aggressive nature, it was almost a guarantee that it wouldn't take well to being a mere runner-up. His remaining time was limited. It wasn't something he was incredibly bothered by; just because he had decided to forget about revenge and try to stir his life towards a better path, didn't mean he had magically forgotten all the hate he had for himself. But at the same time, it didn't feel comfortable to just give up his body to an unknown being.

There was no telling what it could do. Deku sighed as he eased himself onto a chair - his chair, unofficially anyway - in the bar. No-one else was there, not even Kurogiri, which was rare. He had a lingering feeling that he was missing something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. There were no missions assigned by All for One or planned operations as far as he could remember.

"Deku, Shigaraki and Kurogiri are at Hosu City. While releasing a horde of Nomus on the street, nonetheless. But they can't quite find the person they're searching for... Would you happen to know anything about that?"

The dark and gravelly voice of All for One resounded throughout the room, startling Deku out of his relaxed mood.

His presence sharpened like a sword just taking out of its scabbard.

"...And who would this person be? I'm not quite sure I follow."

"The Hero Killer, of course. One of my teachings was that Tomura could destroy whatever he doesn't like, and it seems he has taken it to heart. It doesn't particularly matter what gets done with the Nomus; they were failures. It was a good opportunity to dispose of trash. Although it seems like you were a step ahead of him. Don't play dumb, Deku; you know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

'Sure enough, he realized something. How much he realized is still unclear, though. He likes to showcase himself as an all-knowing god, but he isn't. That, or he sees himself as a true god that has everything under his absolute control. Either way, I'm still alive. It would be a pity if I had to die from him of all people, but you have lost what little control you had over me, to begin with. Still, I don't feel like handing over my life to some random Joe that appears out of nowhere, let alone you. You'll have to fight for it.'

"I did happen to get into a fight with Stain, to be honest. I finished it as well. Is there a problem I'm not aware of..?"

The tone of his voice must have taken him off-guard because he didn't respond for a decent time after the fact.

When he did, however, he could hear his smile from the other side. It didn't physically make sense, but he was certain regardless.

"It's nothing big, I'm simply curious why you did not kill him. I'm sure you have a good reason-"

"Naturally. I wouldn't want the new recruits to run away as soon as they've decided to join, after all. Killing someone like Stain is never a good idea. He doesn't just represent himself as an individual; he represents a concept. If I decided to kill him, those religious zealots of his would hunt me down and kill me, let alone joining this organization."

'I naturally thought about this a little. You've shown that you have a knack for budding in when I least expect it, so how could I not?'

The line went dead for a few minutes, and the mood turned serious.

"...You've grown when I wasn't looking, haven't you, Deku? I'm happy for you. I won't pry further considering your most excellent reason. But... You haven't fooled me, child. Still, the game we have going... It is very amusing. Enough so for me to look past your omissions. I have a rather... unfair advantage in the first place. It will only be truly fun if the two contestants start on a similar starting line, will it not? I will only act when you have truly failed, Deku. I wonder when your luck will finally run out. Either way, it should prove to be entertaining."

'He knows?! It could just be a bluff... But that much confidence... No, that isn't the most important issue right now. If he sees this as a game, then he never saw me as a member of the League of Villains in the first place? Damn, where did I make a mistake? No matter how much I think, nothing seems to be amiss with my actions... It must be one of his quirks then. That must be the unfair advantage. Damn.'

He laced his shaking hands into each other, his eyes boring into them with dissatisfaction.

'...I already have not been affected by fear in quite a long time, but All for One seems to bring it out in me as easily as breathing. I have been felled once again by the lack of information, but it is a weakness I cannot cover. He is simply too elusive... Do I have no choice but to play by his rules? No, there must be a path somewhere. I need to carefully analyze each and every one of his words. It wasn't possible because I didn't have very many clues before, but now... You've given me plenty to work with, All for One.'

He pulled out a piece of paper and began to write. While he did have a decent ability in regard to his intelligence, there was no point in arrogance. Putting his thoughts to paper would be much more efficient than deliberating inside his mind. Especially when All for One had the same, or perhaps even better intelligence. He even had an advantage in experience and power, specifically with his ludicrous ability to use all the quirks he could get his hands on. Which, at this stage, might as well be everything. All that mattered was whether it caught his fancy or not.

He only had one advantage over All for One; his arrogance. If he wasn't even aware that there was a game in the first place, he would have stood no chance, but now that he knew the rules, he could play the game. And quite possibly get out of it as well. He pushed the lightning held captive within his head to move even faster, think even quicker. However, it was slowly but surely being forced awake, exercise polishing its ego to perfection. And while it was absurd to believe that energy could appear out of nowhere, it was happening.

The clock was slowly racing towards a stop, and when it ceased to function, those who were bound by it would follow.

Whether that would be enough to fulfill want the individual in question deeply desired...

It was a question without an answer. For now, at least.