Shigaraki remained silent, processing everything thrown at him.
"Heh." Dabi chuckled with his eyes closed. "That's quite a good deal."
"Of course it is," Replied Garaki, adjusting his spectacles.
This was practically what Shigaraki was allowed to do when All For One was still here. The only difference being ... "However, do not forget your limits. If you're captured again this time, it would be truly over for you." This was his test for Shigaraki.
Due to All For One's death, proceeding patiently was no longer a possibility. Of course, he couldn't throw an immature Shigaraki and his upstart league to face Gigantomachia. With Machia's current mood, he would sooner send Shigaraki to meet his master before ever accepting him as a replacement. However, cuddling him wasn't possible either.
"Now, while you are out there working on that... you can do a little something for me in return."
Shigaraki's head snapped up. "You want something from us?"
"Naturally. I have something I have been meaning to test out on the field for a very long time."
"A field test?" Shigaraki quickly caught the phrasing. The memories of the Hosu city incident flashed through his mind—the exact words his Master had used when handing over the Nomu for the encounter with the Hero Killer.
"You mean...?"
"Exactly, Tomura," Garaki said, gesturing dismissively toward the corner where Compress was still organizing their salvaged inventory. "These Nomu you brought back here are all low-end prototypes, regardless of whether they function or not. They are failures, in a sense. None of their biological specifications can even match the baseline performance of the one you deployed at the U.A. Simulation Joint."
Shigaraki nodded silently. The USJ Nomu had been a beast engineered to match All Might's physical limits; the ones they had scrounged up afterward were mindless drones by comparison.
"Hence, why I developed a much higher breed," Garaki explained, his voice rising with scientific pride. "Super Nomu. High-Ends. Equipped with multiple, highly compatible quirks and constructed as near-perfect masterpieces of bio-engineering! Of course, only one is currently fully stable and ready for deployment. I still need specific, real-world combat calibrations to tune the remaining specimens, which is why a field test for this first one is absolutely necessary. All For One specifically granted this particular unit unique quirks to make him truly useful."
Shigaraki's eye glinted. "You'll give him to us, then?"
"Hehehe, why not? Consider it a helping hand for whatever grand plan you decide to come up with," Garaki said, waving his hand dismissively as he turned his chair back toward his primary diagnostics.
He reached into a side drawer, pulled out a handful of black sub-vocal earpieces and tossed them onto the console table. "If there's nothing else, you can go back now. Take these as well. Direct line to me in your times of need. Don't abuse it."
The old man adjusted a few dials on a small Nomu, prepping the black liquid warp sequence once more. "And find somewhere to squat and eat while you're at it. I'm not supporting your finances or your bellies with a single yen until you've proven yourselves... so do hurry."
"I'm not a patient man by nature, and I've already spent more time talking this evening than I typically do in a week. As for the Nomu, you'll get it once I bring it out of stasis. Use the time in between to think of a plan for yourselves."
"Fine then." Shigaraki uttered. "Send us back. I suddenly feel motivated to think of something."
"Hehe, as you should. Now Johnny." He turned the last dial. "Send them back if you please."
The Nomu on his lap let out a small squirm before spitting out a massive of black liquid that rushed towards the group. Engulfing them before they could say anything else.
"Goodbye, Tomura. I do hope you prove yourself right.' Garaki's voice fell into his ears before he disappeared. With that, silence returned to the chamber except for the automated cycling of the aeration systems. Garaki's eyes lingered on where Tomura Shigaraki had disappeared, shook his head with a "Tsk" and turned his attention back to the screen before him. Of course he could see how Tomura was still unconvinced.
It was the same with the vast majority of youths he had seen. So strong willed and stubborn in their beliefs. Hopefully, this test of worthiness would enlighten Shigaraki on his many flaws while he remained smart enough to avoid getting caught or killed.
How long would it take till he lived up to his potential? He didn't know. For now, he could only assume All For One's role to guide him in that direction. Meanwhile, back at the railyard .....
Black sludge poured into Shigaraki's senses, swallowing sight, sound, and balance in an instant. Then, the suffocating reek of rotten fish and stale copper vanished as instantly as it had arrived.
'Ugh.' He coughed violently and spat a glob of black liquid onto the rusted rails beneath him.
Around him, the others were faring no better.
"BLEGH! BLEGH! THAT IS SO DISGUSTING!" Toga aggressively wiped her tongue with the sleeve of her sweater before immediately regretting it. "Now my sleeve tastes gross too!"
Mr. Compress adjusted his mask with whatever dignity he felt he had left. 'While I admire Doctor Ujiko's transportation methods from a practical standpoint... I find the experience itself utterly barbaric."
"Suck it up."
"YOU SUCK IT UP. I'M DYING! NO, I'M PERFECTLY FINE!"
Shigaraki ignored them as he observed his surroundings only to confirm they were still in the same abandoned rail yard with rusted freight cars and overgrown weeds. Exactly where they had left.
"...We're at the same location,"
Compress noted.
"This would be similar to the warp quirk of your previous member, Kurogiri. Wouldn't it?"
"Yes." Shigaraki scratched his neck and replied. Knowing that there was another warp quirk in the leagues possession was somewhat reassuring.
What wasn't, was how he, as his Master's successor, was unable to access it at will.
'Impulsive, reactive, underserving ..'
Thinking of Ujiko's words, Shigaraki's scratching intensified. The old doctor could summon them across Japan. Had hidden facilities they never knew existed and possessed resources beyond anything the League could currently get their hands on. His help was crucial without a doubt. However ...
"So..." Toga tilted her head as she watched him.
"What are we doing now?"
No one replied. The silence stretched for a long time. Twice rubbed the back of his head in the silence.
"Well..."
"We should think of something. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY DOOMED!"
Dabi sighed. "You really are no help."
"I'm EXTREMELY helpful!"
Dabi turned his gaze away. There was no use in arguing with these freaks.
"Hey, you got something or not?"
Everyone's attention fixed on the White haired leader. However, ... The man still didn't respond.
The atmosphere quickly cooled off.
Watching this, Dabi sighed. "No clue huh? Figures."
"If I may, I would suggest we regroup." Mr. Compress interjected, raising a gloved finger to capture the audience.
Toga pouted, crossing her arms over her soiled yellow sweater. "Oi, that still doesn't change anything. It's not a thing to do, is it? We're just moving from one patch of dirt to another."
"Who knows," Compress replied, adjusting the brim of his top hat despite the layer of grime coating it. "We'll be able to think better once we're all together, won't we? After all, there's no set criteria from our medical friend, and the boss is basically free to decide on whatever he wants, isn't he? This should be cleared up easily once the full cast is present."
"Don't count on it," Dabi interjected. Everyone turned to see him leaning heavily against the rusted hull of a freight car. "The way I see it, this whole thing has been rigged from the beginning."
"Huh?"
Toga was surprised. Not surprisingly, she wasn't the only one.
"Don't tell me you haven't seen it yet. The old man just handed you a blank check and told you to write your own exam. He never said you'd grade it yourself."
Dabi closed his eyes. "After everything he said back there, it's obvious he isn't satisfied with us. Our leader especially, so there's no way he'd count anything we could do easily as qualified. Doing any random thing isn't gonna be enough to qualify you as the next Symbol of Evil," He paused, then chuckled.
"Plus, he said he'd give us a ... What'd he call it again? High end right? ... If it's worth whatever he says, then it'll pack a lot of power, making whatever we do easier. Then there'll be no struggle in it and it'll just prove everything he said. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he had no intention of passing you to begin with."
His gaze turned to Shigaraki. "You've probably figured that out, haven't you."
Shigaraki remained silent.
"So, unless you do something as big as collapsing U.A or something. It's gonna be pretty hard to get a passing grade in this. We've certainly got our work cut out for us."
Twice tilted his head, looking back and forth between them. "He's right, it's a cakewalk! WE'RE GOING TO FAIL COMPLETEDLY!"
Shigaraki's fingers twitched, hovering just above his collarbone. The skin there was already raw and inflamed, but Dabi's words had struck a nerve deeper than any insult the Doctor had thrown. Worst of all, he was right. A mindless slaughter wouldn't buy his loyalty; it would just exhaust the League's last remaining asset.
Dabi let out a quiet scoff when Shigaraki remained silent. "So, you've got a plan yet?"
"And what if I don't?" Shigaraki asked expressionlessly.
Dabi chuckled, pulling his head back from the rusted metal to look at the sky. "Then we're just spinning our wheels, aren't we?"
He lowered his head, turning his gaze to the distant city lights beyond the railyard.
"Hero Society's already bleeding. Trust in heroes is already collapsing. The country's being held together by duct tape and propaganda. So pushing it off the edge should also count as a great achievement, right?"
"Point is, you hardly need to do anything to ruin everything now. Just push in the right places."
His eyes slid toward Shigaraki. "Of course, that's just my opinion."
"You can ignore it."
"But if you need help..." He straightened from the freight car. "I've got an idea that'll work." Silence returned once again with a heavy tension accompanying it.
"Hmm? Why does the atmosphere feel off?" Toga muttered, she's gleaming with interest.
The silence continued. Shigaraki's scratching stopped dead. His single crimson eye fixed on Dabi through the gaps of the plaster hand on his face.
Then he turned away, walking toward the far end of the clearing without explanation.
Dabi's eyes tracked him. "...You're not even going to hear it?"
"We're leaving," Shigaraki uttered flatly. Rappa was the first to follow, alongside Deidoro on his shoulder. Toga looked between them, and Compress adjusted his hat brim. They all watched as Shigaraki walked away and ultimately chose to follow.
Shigaraki however, was far from calm. In that quiet moment of rejection, Shigaraki finally saw a glimpse of exactly what Garaki had been talking about. Not because of what Dabi had said, but because of the ease with which Dabi had said it.
'I've got an idea. Let me tell you what to do.' His eyes narrowed.
First week with a brand new League. More than half of them were strangers and already there was someone in his ear with a direction he hadn't chosen and a plan he hadn't formed convincing him to take it on.
Finally, the first ray of light broke through the darkness of his ironclad conviction. His currently obscured purpose meant that his direction was vague. And because he lacked a concrete, definitive goal of his own right now, he was fundamentally susceptible to being pushed around. To being told what to do by anyone with a loud voice and a private agenda.
'Impulsive. Reactive. Undeserving.' The words stung even worse than they did before. If he turned around and listened, even if the plan was good, even if it was better than anything he had — he would just be doing for Dabi what he'd spent years doing for his Master. Moving in someone else's direction because he hadn't found his own.
What difference would that be besides making him a tool for others? How could All For One's successor, be used as a tool?
"Twice." He called out without turning back. "Get on the phone. Find out why Magne and Spinner aren't here yet. We need to regroup." He was not going to prove the old man right in the first ten minutes.
"On it, boss! I'LL REACH THEM IMMEDIATELY! THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO ANSWER!"
Twice yanked his phone out and jammed it against the side of his mask. "Let's see if the lizards are still alive ...."
TWIP.
Several metallic objects sliced through the air. A customized tracking dart shot out of the dark perimeter weeds, burying itself directly into Twice's right thigh.
"What the —" Twice looked down at his thigh, seeing the tranquilized dart above the knee, feathered with a fluorescent orange tail. "Hey. Hey. That's in me. That's ... that's actually in me ..."
TWIP
Rappa reached out, swinging his fists. Numerous darts heading for him and Shigaraki were smacked away before they could reach.
"DOWN!"
Shigaraki yelled at the sight.
The next moment, a laser beam shot towards them from the distance, blasting a hole in the earth.
BOOM
__
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon.com/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading