"Don't do the crime

if you can't do the time."

-Proverb

"Deku-san, Bakugo Katsuki has been retrieved."

He unconsciously frowned, catching the attention of Kota who rapidly paled. It seemed that the kid had good instincts.

He felt like going pale too, although he knew better than to actually go through with it.

"...I see. We're done here then; ask Kurogiri to send you all back."

He paused slightly, and Dabi seemed to pick up on it.

"Is there something wrong?"

Deku narrowed his eyes at the question. Dabi had been unexpectedly obedient in his presence, and he was starting to draw the conclusion that he was either naive or stupid. For him to pick up on what should have been a mere pause and figure him out... It seemed he needed to give him more credit. Although that raised the question of why he was following him so blindly in the first place. There was a gaping hole in the puzzle that was Dabi, and it was irritating him. It just didn't make sense. Still, he knew his priorities for now. His irritation had no place in the overall scheme of things.

He needed to ensure that Muscular got outed, first and foremost.

"To be blunt, there was an unexpected incident. We'll have a meeting when we get back. Make sure everyone is aware of it before they start wandering around. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. It's rather important to the League as a whole."

"Understood. I'll ensure that they are all aware of the importance of the meeting."

The call ended with a click, and Deku withdrew himself into his thoughts. Kacchan had been successfully retrieved... He was kidnapped. Intellectually, he knew the plan had a very high chance of succeeding. He had planned it himself, after all, no matter how half-heartedly. Their contact had been extremely accurate, there were hardly any heroes here (at least, hardly any compared to the hotbed of heroes that was U.A. academy), and they had a lot more powerful members. Considering U.A. had been thrown into chaos with only himself, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and a Nomu last time, it was to be expected. All Might wasn't even present.

Even with all of these factors, he thought, no, he hoped that the current reality wouldn't happen.

That wasn't even considering the danger this could bring to himself. If Shigaraki got even the slightest impression that they had a personal relationship, he could link Deku back to his original identity. He didn't doubt that Shigaraki would jump at the chance to cause him harm.

And it wouldn't be through harming his person either; Shigaraki wasn't stupid. Although the two of them were roughly equal in power, he came out ahead, just a little bit. Mostly because he actually knew how to fight, courtesy of Zero, and had a range advantage. If the two of them really did fight to the death, Deku would most likely come out as the winner. He could, potentially, round up all of the new members of the League of Villains and ambush him, but no-one really liked Shigaraki. They kind of liked Deku. But the most important part was that they really only cared about Stain. They wouldn't bother doing anything not in line with his ideals.

If by some miracle it did happen, he could always just run away. None of the villains had a speed-based quirk, after all.

It was safe to say that between the current political climate of the League and his own abilities, he was in no danger.

But that was a danger all on its own.

If Shigaraki wasn't able to hurt Deku, he's hurt (kill) those close to him instead. He didn't doubt that he was capable of it. Somehow, he had to secretly persuade Bakugo not to talk about him in front of all of the League of Villains. He also had to deal with Muscular. He felt a headache start to form, but didn't let it phase him. He experienced much worse on a daily basis, after all. This was just natural instead of being caused by a quirk.

'That's right... I've experienced worse. Suicide missions where the slightest bit of hesitance would get me killed in a heartbeat, the distrust and disdainful attitude of All for One, and even infiltrating into U.A. Academy. As long as I keep my wits and don't freak out, there's a good chance.'

Decision made, he let himself return to reality (although he had kept his guard up the whole time), only to be faced with Kota.

"...You guys really kidnapped him? No, what am I saying... You're a villain, after all..."

Deku sighed and leaned close enough to Kota to whisper in the little kid's ear. He didn't want Muscular to hear more than he already had.

"To be honest, I really didn't want to do this either. I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best to get him out of this alive. In truth, I really am just a villain, and none of this makes up for the things I've done, or the things I will do, but I'm telling you the truth when I say I'll try my best. Besides, the heroes stop at nothing to find him. If you don't trust my word, trust theirs. He will be found and rescued."

"But what about you then?! Uhh... I mean... that sounds a little dangerous... For Bakugo, of course..!"

Deku's eyes opened wide in shock at the unexpected reaction. He really was a good kid, albeit a little worrisome.

After all, who shows concern for a villain?

"Don't worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I beat Muscular, didn't I?" His eyes turned as dark as the night. "But, you shouldn't have any concern for me in the first place, Kota. You were right to have that reaction. Normal villains aren't like me. Even what I'm doing now isn't all that praise-worthy... Well, it doesn't really matter. You're smart if a bit dumb in places. Just don't come running back to the fight scene again."

The kid's face lit up in an embarrassed, angry flush. (It was better than the sad look on his face when he was saying he shouldn't worry.) Wordlessly, he threw his tiny fists across his torso, only to cringe in pain from his muscle tone a few seconds later. When that didn't work, he returned to glaring petulantly at him, before grinning mischievously as if he had just had a great idea. From the little twitches in his knee, he seemed to want to launch it forward ruthlessly, but Deku just looked at him with a stare that essentially translated to:

'If you try, you're a dead brat.'

He wisely lowered his knee back to the ground.

"Oh, don't be too surprised, okay? What's about to happen doesn't mean anything. Also, don't tell people my name if you can."

"What do you-..."

A purple fog suddenly engulfed the mountaintop, thrumming with power that seemed to be nowhere and everywhere at once. The fog swirled inwards, condensing, and eventually forming the vague shape of a human in a suit. The yellow silts that were his eyes seemed to furrow in on themselves, somehow managing to display an expression of confusion and surprise. For a non-humanoid face, the sheer depth of emotion he could convey was commendable.

"...A child? And Muscular... What happened here?"

His voice was as cold as a glacier frozen for thousands of years.

"He disobeyed orders, so I had no choice but to put him in his place. Muscular, stand."

He sprung upwards rigidly, like a mechanical doll full of rust and faulty hinges. Kurogiri didn't look surprised at the sight of him moving at Deku's every command like a dog, though. The look of outrage and embarrassment on Muscular's face said that he was aware he was being treated like a dog, and he didn't like it. He was even snarling like an animal, desperately trying to break out of Deku's control.

Still, he couldn't fight against his own nervous system. More than it was forceful, the lightning that Deku wielded was more of a sympathetic connection, that tricked and conned the nervous system into believing it was one of its own. There was a component of force involved, but it was much lesser than the sympathetic connection. That was why it was almost impossible to break free, at least until the lightning lost its energy.

"The child?"

"He was trying to kill him. On a time-constrained mission. Naturally, I couldn't let him get away with it."

His eyes narrowed sinisterly. (He desperately suppressed the urge to chuckle at the melodrama - now was definitely not the time to laugh.)

"The kid was just a side-effect, though. Anyway, we need to get back; we'll decide his punishment with everyone else."

"...We shall do that then. The portal is prepared and ready."

Deku nodded and slowly stepped forward to the now visible portal. Muscular had already been engulfed whole by the fog, sent in first by his new 'master'. Deku completely ignored the faint cry of 'Wait!' behind him, steps even and uniform. Or at least, that was what it seemed like. Secretly, behind his back, his hand waved back and forth in sad farewell. Moments later, his whole body went through the portal.

Midoriya 'Deku' Izuku was gone.

(Kota felt a sting in his eyes, as tears threatened to slide down once more, but none escaped. He wasn't a crybaby. Never had been. But why... Why did the urge to cry feel so overwhelming? He was saved, so why was he on the verge of tears? He had met a real hero, so why was he so sad? It didn't matter that he was a 'villain'. It didn't matter that he was a part of the group that invaded the island. None of that mattered.

He was his hero. And that was the only thing that mattered.

...Yet, why was he so unhappy?)

His eyes were as cold as a raging hailstorm, posture as sharp as an icicle. He was Mother Nature at that moment in time and space, rage unstoppable by any mortal. Almost literally, in fact, as all of the inhabitants in the room felt a chill down their spine. This was the face he wore whenever he interacted with any of the League of Villains, although usually not as harsh. It was easy to produce because it was actual emotions that he was channeling, more specifically, things he had experienced at an earlier date. Things he kept hidden behind lock and key.

His rage had always burned like the sting of frostbite. A very cold, very logical type.

His eyes swerved around the room, taking care to make eye contact with every person in the room. Once he finished his rounds, he closed his eyes with a sigh. Instead of cutting the tension in the room, it grew ever thicker. Slowly, his eyes, still not fully opened, looked at Muscular's sitting place in the corner. He snapped his fingers (he didn't need to, but it was a nice audible cue for the peanut gallery), and Muscular stood up slowly, the same robotic movements, same intense rage. He narrowed his eyes at him as if to say, 'Don't misbehave'.

Obviously, he didn't take to that well, snarling increasing in volume.

He sighed again, purposeful, and he kneeled over panting and shaking from the sudden electric surge. He wasn't snarling now.

"...Muscular, would you care to elaborate as to what you did? I suggest you make your decision quickly. You know what I can do."

He maintained the same defiant stare. Deku started humming Gangnam Style under his breath, and it broke Muscular.

Trauma was a scary thing. It transformed a proud, mad murderer into a pathetic dog.

(No matter how much he pranced around, he was scared of it at the end of the day. Suffering, humiliation, death. Almost all murderers were two-faced, not capable of receiving what they had always done to others. It was disgusting because they didn't think about it. They didn't think about what they would do if they were in the victim's shoes. They were fools that had no right to pick up a weapon, let alone kill.)

"I-... I disobeyed orders..."

His gaze sharpened.

"And..?"

"I tried to kill a brat..."

He prepared his heart to lie once more and took a deep breathe that was disguised as a sigh.

"It's not so much the 'killed a brat' part that I'm concerned about, although that does make me... rather angry. We're not a group of random criminals that exist solely so that you can fulfill your cravings, degenerate trash. No, what truly makes my blood boil is the fact that you outright ignored orders - orders that everyone agreed upon, might I add - and potentially put the mission in jeopardy. You're lucky that Dabi and the rest are actually competent, or I might have been unable to stop myself. From killing you, of course."

The frost in his eyes faded, seeing as he had made his point. The rest of the room was silent.

Maybe they thought he was a simple non-combattant. Ha. He wished that was the case with every atom of his being.

"...Well, I'm just a mere strategist, in the end. Shigaraki, what are you going to do with him? He may be strong, but if he acts like this, there's no point in keeping him. I warned you about this when you were recruiting him; he cares nothing for this organization, just his own obsessions."

Shigaraki stepped forward from the dark corners of the bar. His face wasn't twisted with rage for once upon seeing Deku, nor was he focused on him at all. He was just staring at Muscular with an insane look in his eye. Oddly enough, none of the people in the room flinched or felt intimidated by it. Instead, their attention was solely focused, unconsciously, at the person in the corner of the bar. He no longer emitted such a cold and unfeeling, no, furious aura. The two emotions were almost indistinguishable on him like they were one and the same.

It oddly fit.

The rest of the meeting was shadowed by ice and apathetic eyes.