Kohaku Kobun had always prided himself on his sharp instincts. If it wasn't for those sharp instincts then he wouldn't have survived all this time in the line of business. To be more specific he was a street level provider of certain substances that the law would rather he didn't and part of his job was to always be on the lookout for heroes, policemen or even rival competitors. Thus it was a rather big deal when he started to feel a bit of a tingle in the back of the neck that signalled he was being watched. It had unnerved him and he had passed off many chances of selling today due to the chance that somebody on the side of the law was watching him and just waiting for an excuse to arrest him.

That feeling had sharpened over the day and he had decided to head home early; nervously examining all the nearby streets for any sign of his possible pursuers. It was only when he finally inserted the key into the door leading to his crappy apartment and stepped inside that he managed to breathe easily.

"Nice place you have here," a feminine voice said and he felt his body jerked forcibly pulled inside the house at the same time that the door slammed shut behind him. He stumbled, barely managing to keep his footing before he managed to catch sight of the intruder. A young woman in a black suit and tie lay relaxing on the couch her long red hair splayed on the arm rest and her hands occupied by a Shiba Inu that panted while he watched Kohaku. "I'm lying of course," she said sitting upwards. "Don't they pay you better for selling poison?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kohaku said examining the woman nervously. He had felt her Quirk previously and it was probably some form of telekinesis. While it was probably powerful there were likely drawbacks and if he could get in range it wouldn't matter. He felt the amber beneath his skin stir as he tried to stall for time while waiting for a lapse in concentration. "Why have you broken into my house? If you're a villain then I don't have any money."

"I am a villain," the woman said confirming Kohaku's worst fears. While a hero or vigilante would likely hold back and try to lock him up; there was a good chance a villain would kill him outright. "But don't worry. I do not want your money. In fact I really shouldn't be wasting time talking with you. Your fate is up to the Boss after all."

It was at the moment that she mentioned her boss that her concentration seemed to lapse and she briefly looked to the side allowing a small window of opportunity. Kohaku lunged forward in that momentary lapse stretching out his arm and feeling the rush eject from the tips of his fingers. In just a few seconds she would be trapped and suffocating within the amber and it would be no time before she was suffocating. While he didn't enjoy killing he would do it easily if that prevented him from going to prison.

Except none of that happened and he felt a force hit in his midsection causing him to bend over briefly before he flew backwards and impacted the wall of his apartment. Bones broken on impact and a wave of darkness almost consumed him as he battled to stay conscious. His eyes fluttered open and he watched as that little innocuous Shiba Inu that he had overlooked stepped forward, but now it no longer looked half as innocent. Muscles bulged along the creatures body as it swelled up to a height of over two metres and its flesh warped into something indescribably horrifying, unrecognizable as any member of the canine family. Kohaku tried to struggle valiantly but his attempts to move were futile as its mouth opened, splitting into four pieces and Kohaku found himself enveloped in darkness.

xxx

Kohaku hit the ground hard as he was ejected from the darkness barely a second later and he rolled over a few times from the momentum. He tried clambering to his feet, only to wince as the effects of any broken bones he incurred prevented him from moving too quickly. Instead he was forced to stare at the grey concrete as he slowly tried to get to his feet.

"Well done Tiny," a smooth masculine voice said and he watched as that dog…. thing moved on past him before he arrived in front of the form of a man on one knee who scratched at the creature's ears. The man had neat, well-combed red hair and a pair of piercing yellow eyes that affixed Kohaku before he continued to minster to the dog uncaring of the dirt that he could possibly get on his immaculate blue suit.

"What about me Ears," the girl who had previously been in the apartment said; and Kohaku noticed that the pair of young adults looked to be very similar in facial structure and general body shape. Maybe they were brother and sister.

"If Tiny hadn't been there you would have failed, Hands," Ears said. "You still need a lot of practice."

"And she will Ears," a third voice said and Kohaku for the first time noticed the third person in the room. Unlike the previous two villains this person wore somewhat of a more informal attire. A large green overcoat, a match for his viridescent hair, that was a few sizes too big for him was draped over his shoulders and a white bandanna with a pair of whiskers on it lay across the bottom half of his face. He sat lazily on a wooden throne chair holding a baseball bat lazily in his left hand. "She still has time to practice and get used to her new position and her new power," he said as he got up out of the chair and started walking towards Kohaku, his baseball bat in hand.

"Okay Boss," the red-haired man said. "I'll let it go this time. What are we going to do with this… individual?" he said his voice full of distaste as he looked at Kohaku.

"I don't have anything on me," Kohaku screamed defensively raising his hands, feeling his injuries scream in pain. "All of my stash is back in my house. If you want it then I can give it to you. I can work with you. I know all of the…"

"That's enough," the green-haired man said and Kohaku shuddered at the coldness in his voice. As he walked closer he mentally revaluated the age of their boss down from young adult to teenager. He must have either have a very powerful Quirk or else he might be the son of somebody very important to these villains. "Kohaku Kobun, eyewitness reports claim that you have been selling the drug known as Trigger to the local populace. Just whom did you get this from?"

"I can't tell you…" Kohaku blurted out almost immediately and flinched back from the three hard looks he got, even the dog didn't seem to be happy with him. "If I tell you they will kill me."

"What makes you think that I won't kill you if you don't tell me," the leader of the trio said, his voice positively glacial. "I don't deal in drugs, nor do I tolerate people selling them on my turf. So, tell me Kohaku Kobun, just what is stopping me from feeding you to Tindalos?" He paused for a moment before his expression took on a happy mannerism. "That's my dog by the way," he said gesturing to the Shiba Inu. "I have no idea how the name Tiny came around but he seems to like it."

"Please, my elderly mother…" Kohaku started only to be cut off once again.

"I've got it all Boss," the man, Ears, said calmly. "It's the Yakuza. They're the ones who've been dealing in this shit."

"The Yakuza," their boss said looking thoughtful. "Well done Ears. That's certainly some interesting news."

"You want me to go out and bust a few Yakuza heads," Hands said, the well-dressed lady sounding eager to impart some violence.

"Despite how they have waned over the years the Yakuza are not a small-time gang," the boss said walking up to his chair and sitting down again. "And while we recently have several things going for us, we are unfortunately still a small-time gang." He looked thoughtful for a moment before he turned to Ears. "Think we can get anything more from him?" he asked dispassionately.

"I can only try," Ears said dispassionately as he walked out towards Kohaku.

"Wait, I'll talk," Kohaku said, feeling fear bubble inside him and realising that they had already got the information and that the Yakuza would likely come after him anyway.

"Handle it as you see fit Ears," the boss said as he strode away. "I'm going to have a little chat with Brain. Maybe ask her for some advice on our Yakuza problem."

"Good luck boss," Ears said. "Goodbye Tiny," he said addressing the dog that followed the boss from the room. The two of them left Kohaku's field of vision and after a moment the man's expression changed. "Restrain him Hands," he said.

"Okay, okay," the girl said and Kohaku suddenly found his entire body held still by near crushing force. "I don't know why you're so strict on me Sessho. The Boss doesn't seem to mind."

"Codenames when on the job Hands," the man, Sessho, said sharply. "Boss does care about this place and the rules associated with it and he's being very generous in showing you slack. Do you want to disrespect him after all that he's done for us?"

"No," Hands said after a moment and there was some regret in her tone. "My apologies Ears," the girl said with renewed determination. "I'll step up my game; starting with this interrogation."

"That's all I can ask Hands," the man said and there was some pride in his voice. "Now on to you," he said with some disgust as he declared looking at Kohaku.

"I'll tell you everything," he said flinching at the malicious look in the eyes of the well-dressed man.

"Yes, you will," Ears said with a wicked grin. "That was never in doubt. The only question is: How intact will the police find you." And as he reached down to touch Kohaku and the force around his body tightened; Kohaku for the first time since his parents had died simply broke down and cried.

Xxx

"Thanks Brain," Midoriya Izuku said as he placed his cell phone in his pockets on his walk home through the streets of Musutafu. Even in the middle of a very important meeting she still managed to make time to send him a message indicating she would look into it. Brain or 'Sakura Algernon' as she liked to be known was his right hand in the Living Tree gang and probably amounted to over half of what made the group successful. It wasn't easy to make a living out of crime, especially when you refused to indulge in two of the biggest sources of revenue, namely drugs and human trafficking. Still nobody in the gang was poor as a result of the business and Brain successfully made sure that each one of them had a hefty sum of legal assets to their name.

Looking back at today the newest member of the group didn't do to poorly. Hands was (mostly) professional, eager to learn and showed a good amount of devotion to the Living Tree. Compared to those traits minor issues such as her inability to use her new Quirk, her clumsiness, and lack of experience were easily able to be worked around. So far the recommendation from her brother was more than accurate and he was more than satisfied that the work that he put into her upgrades.

Izuku pulled out his phone again intending to tell his mom that he would be a bit late today when a slight scraping noise alerted him that he was not alone. Normally this minute audio clue would be dismissed by most people as irrelevant or ordinary but he didn't get to where he was today by letting his guard down. Firming his grip upon his baseball bat he leapt to the side pushing off with the hard ground a second before a wave of noxious smelling gunk landed in the spot he was standing in.

"Is this an attack by a villain," Izuku muttered to himself. "I haven't seen him before. I wonder which one of my enemies has paid him to target me. Are we going go through a gang war again," Izuku said his green eyes hardening in determination. Gang wars were mostly bad for business, but could open up a great number of opportunities if cards were played right. Not to mention they were very exciting allowing him to observe a great variety of different Quirks and beat up their wielders.

The person who attacked him now had a body of green liquid that looked rather viscous and smelled terribly. Despite the amorphous nature of his body there were clear defined eyes and teeth representing clear weak points. From a brief evaluation Izuku guessed that the enemy would be resistant to physical attacks while likely weak to changes in temperature or other elemental attacks, although it was impossible to tell without an inspection of part of his body.

"You dodged," the man/woman/other said. "But you can't do that forever. Don't worry I'll just be taking your body. It'll be quick." As he said that he lunged forward trying to smother him and Izuku darted backwards just out of range of his lunge taking a closer look at the revolting if intriguing Quirk. That look almost became a lot closer than he wanted as a tendril of slime darted outwards at Izuku's face almost hitting the young gang leader if he hadn't had the sense to tilt his head to the side. In retaliation he swept out with his baseball bat blowing off a chunk of the creatures "flesh?" and watching as the remainder moved to fill in the gaps. He was definitely getting a sample of this Quirk factor. Despite how disgusting it was the Quirk was truly interesting and he itched to reproduce it.

"Just stay still kid and I'll make it quick," the villain said and Izuku was hit by a mixed feeling of irritation and gratitude. By this point it was fairly obvious that this had nothing to do with any of Izuku's activities and he was merely an 'innocent' bystander.

"Interesting Quirk," Izuku said giving a smile that couldn't be seen beneath his mask. "Let's try it out, shall we?" As he said this he spun around the baseball bat, before taking it with both hands and lashing out with a series of heavy blows that tore through him ripping chunks out of his body. While the bat didn't seem to be doing any lasting damage it was certainly helping to tear him apart and Izuku dodged backwards from another rush before spinning the bat around with all the RPM of an industrial fan and tearing the slime creature in two. The criminal collapsed at the force and Izuku strode forward placing the bat right in front of the teeth of the villain.

"Relax kid," those words came from behind him and in the very next second the creature was blasted to pieces and Izuku manually had to adjust his speed of perception upwards. A prickling cold sensation touched his skin as he was overcome by a hyperawareness that caused him to kick up to 110% combat readiness. There in front of him only a metre or two away was the greatest hero in Japan, maybe the greatest hero in the world. With short blonde hair swept into two tufts, a large smile, and two piercing blue eyes All Might stood there in all his heavily muscled, over two metre tall glory. He was giving him a shrewd, discerning look, but Izuku couldn't really blame him. He did look every inch the gang member after all, that was what he aimed for.

Still that was a fascinating Quirk he had. From a brief inspection it looked like an emitter, but the mechanism wasn't clear. Was it biological, an increase in muscle mass, some form of physics manipulation, was it simply energy or something more esoteric. Without a greater amount of observation it was unlikely he would be able to find out. If he had to place money he would bet it on a sudden release of energy that fuelled the force behind his punch. He had detected a sudden shift when it was released as if the energy of the punch suddenly spiked in that second but it was very well controlled. But if that's the case by what mechanism did the energy draw from; food, sleep, or life force; Izuku had no clue.

"Kid you're mumbling," All Might said giving him a concerned look. "Have you taken any injuries? Should I call an ambulance?"

"He didn't lay a finger on me," Izuku said. "I'm sorry I was just distracted by the fact that the number one pro hero just appeared in front of me. Your Quirk is fascinating."

"Thank you young one," All Might said still with the persistent smile on his face. "Now if you don't mind I have to put away this villain." His words were punctuated by him holding up two bottles of soda that he promptly drained on the floor.

"Let me help," Izuku said taking a bottle. He wanted to help and also take a close look at this villain. Despite taking a blow from All Might and being scattered all over the criminal was still alive and Izuku eagerly scooped the majority of the goop into the bottle (only taking a small sample for future analysis). In under a minute the two bottles were filled with the gunk and All Might was holding them both in his bag.

"Thank you very much for your help," All Might said apologetically. "I try not to make errors like that but it seems you were able to do well against him. You are very strong for your age and despite your manner of dress you look like you could be a great hero."

"Thank you All Might," Izuku said despite his current lack of intention to become a hero. It was nice being acknowledged by the strong. "I really admire how you use your Quirk. It could not have been easy to control something that powerful." Izuku really, really, really wanted to know how his Quirk worked; maybe get a blood sample or something.

"Years of training and practice," All Might said, giving Izuku a discerning look that he barely picked up, before he turned and walked off a bottle in each one of his pockets. "Now I'm sorry to cut this conversation short but I have to turn this fellow over to the authorities and I have no time to waste."

"Farewell All Might," Izuku said looking at the man that he might eventually have to fight one day. As a villain he and the heroes would always be separated by that fine line that is called the law. Still something felt off with the hero and Izuku waited the mandatory thirty seconds as All Might disappeared from sight before he called his backup.

"Tindalos come out," he said watching as the Shiba Inu appeared from seemingly nowhere. "Follow him," Izuku instructed and he watched as the little dog morphed into something that would have been horrifying for virtually anybody else. He stepped forward watching as the maw of his beloved pet opened up allowing him to enter into the mouth and falling into blackness as the jaws snapped shut.

The Quirk using dog shrank down to less than a metre in size before he disappeared into one of the many corners of the street.

xxx

"All Might is gravely injured," Izuku said to himself as he sat down on his bed in his pyjamas, noting how strange those words leaving his lips were. To many people All Might stood as an unrivalled, invincible existence and yet as he looked through gaps in teeth Izuku was able to see the horrifying truth. All Might would not be getting better. At least not with any Quirk that he knew was registered. An overwhelming disappointment overcame Izuku at this point. He guessed at one point he fancied facing against All Might in a final fight to display the full power of the Living Tree. That would likely never happen now.

For a brief moment he thought of undertaking Quirk research to find a way of curing All Might but he quickly stamped down any thoughts in that direction. As great as All Might was, he was still a hero and only a fool would empower his enemy too much. Besides if All Might the hero of the people and the No.1 hero couldn't be cured by the full resources of the Hero Commission then what could he do?

Izuku lay down on his bed; grateful that he didn't have to go to school tomorrow. Brain had figured out of a way of that cesspit when he expressed his desire to leave. School was not pretty for those that were perceived as Quirkless and it had taken years for his Quirk to even show itself due to its innate complexity. Apparently his Quirk was originally a mutation being unrelated to his father's fire breathing and his mother's control over small objects.

"Still we got quite a haul today," Izuku said. "Didn't we Tindalos?" His faithful friend appeared from one of the corners of the room before leaping up on Izuku's lap panting joyfully. "I got a lot of information about that Slime Villain, but the real prize is All Might." He pulled out a plastic container with a few drops of blood on it. "I'll ask Brain to see if she can analyse the genetic sequence relating to his Quirk. Can you believe that All Might's Quirk is a stockpiling Quirk? I never would have expected that but it's obvious with how his body bulges up with energy and when he relaxes it causes damage. I still don't know what kind of energy he taps into but it is interesting. I'll send the documents to Brain and ask her to give me her second opinion."

Suddenly Tindalos perked up just a few seconds before the door to Izuku's room swung open and Inko Midoriya, his mother, walked in. His mother was a housewife who had raised him when his father left to take an overseas job and had been the most important person in Izuku's life for a long time.

"Hi Mom," Izuku said offering her a casual greeting. "What's going on?" He idly realised that she looked to have lost a good few pounds over the last few months; a good thing considering her propensity to stress eat. Well Izuku had been keeping a firm lockdown on information on his actual activities. From what she knew Izuku was an intern in a new pharmaceutical company (which was technically true for tax purposes) and he was going to attend the general course in U.A. (also true, the thought of getting a look at those Quirks up close caused him to salivate).

"Your Dad's on the phone," Inko said smiling at him as she handed him her cell phone and he returned that smile. His dad had been calling more recently these last few years for some reason. He lived overseas in America for many years working on behalf of some banking company and sent back monthly routine deposits that provided more than enough to live on. Honestly despite not seeing his father for a long time he held no ill will towards the man. Everybody had their own dreams and despite his goals of working up the corporate ladder he still provided enough money for him and mom to live a comfortable life. Izuku wasn't sure what choice he would ever make if he had to choose between his dream and family.

"Hello Izuku," the voice of his father said as he placed the cell phone to his head. His father always did that. As quiet as he thought he was being, his father always seemed to sense when he was there.

"Hi Dad," he replied. "How's work going on."

"Nothing has really changed," his father replied. "I've been quite busy mentoring recently and I'm delegating a lot of tasks to my protégé now. I've got the work down to such a fine art that sometimes it seems that I hardly need to do anything. But don't tell my company that," he said playfully. "You wouldn't want them getting rid of your father now."

"Your protégé," Izuku murmured. "Is that the childish one you've been talking about? The videogame one?"

"That's precisely that one," Izuku's father said. "Still despite his immaturity I can see the potential. Maybe some day when you have underlings you will see it to."

"I think I already do," Izuku said thoughtfully. "You know my work at the pharmaceutical company father. I have this co-worker and they're new and they're honestly a bit clumsy and they still don't know what they are doing. Still the boss thinks that those are all temporary problems and eventually they will go away but their good qualities won't."

"Seeing talent is a good skill to have Izuku," his father said with interest. "Maybe I can give you a few tips sometime; convey a little bit of the things I've learnt on the job. Then you can soon be the boss that sees the potential in the new hires."

"That sounds nice Dad," Izuku said. The two of them chatted for a long period of time probably racking up pretty hefty phone bills. Still it wasn't as if his father would not pay them.

"I head you are applying to the U.A general course," his father said after half an hour of speaking. "Have you not thought of going for the Hero course. You used to love heroes when you were younger."

"I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you," Izuku said unapologetically. "I grew up. The general course offers one of the best educations in the country and I won't have to break my bones to survive it. Besides I can still look at the cool Quirks from the general department."

"There are always some really interesting Quirks coming out of the hero course," his father agreed with him. "Still it is perhaps better that you don't try for the hero course. The Quirk you inherited from your mother is really not suited for combat."

"It is rather useful in getting things off the shelf," Izuku said. "Unfortunately, I don't think I've inherited your height."

His old man laughed at that and the pair spoke for another few minutes before his father hung up for the night, but not before wishing him well. His father had never displayed much appreciation for heroes, a feeling Izuku could sympathise with. From his experience most heroes were eminently disappointing and deserved in no way to be put on the pedestal that they were placed upon.

Still All Might was pretty cool today and Izuku could easily see how his attitude got him plenty of fans. Unfortunately he couldn't afford to look up to him. He couldn't afford to start liking the heroes and start rooting for them because if that were to happen then one day he would be blinded by his admiration and he might go too easily or act too slowly and then his dream would amount to nothing.

Izuku Midoriya had long sworn to himself to become the No. 1 villain in the world. That night he went to bed with visions of a vast empire run by loyal companions that looked up to him with respect and admiration.

Author Note: Yes, yes I wrote a new thing. I'll try to finish off the old.