Stuck In The Middle

Chapter Thirty-Four: 9 1 1

"To think we'd meet again after all this time, man that just has to be fate, huh?" The hoodie clad man spoke, his voice raspy and ominous as the hand around his throat tightened just a tad, implying his own aggression that he was seemingly holding back. "Come with me, like I said, we have much to talk about, Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku noticed that his full hand wasn't gripping his neck, instead he left a finger hovering. Considering what power he was able to show off during the USJ attack, he must have needed all of his fingers in order to activate it. That was good knowledge to have, especially if Izuku wanted to get out of this man's hold as soon as possible.

"Tomura Shigaraki..." The greenette called, his voice quiet and cautious as he stared at the blue haired individual with fear overtaking his heart. To be caught off guard so easily... It was disheartening.

"Easy now... I'm gonna need you to pretend we're a couple of old pals. No making a scene, 'kay?" The man instructed, he let a silence pass them as he waited for the greenette to speak or nod in order to confirm that he'd comply. Izuku saw no way to catch the man off guard, so in order to wait for the proper moment as required, Izuku nodded, gulping nervously as he did so. "Good. Calm yourself, breathe naturally. I'm only here to talk, no need to try anything funny."

Izuku followed his instructions, relaxing his shoulders and trying his best to keep his breathing regular. That was a bad move on Shigaraki's part, if Izuku was able to calm his racing heart there was an increase for his own escape. Luckily for Shigaraki the boy wasn't good at calming down, at this point he was on the brink of a panic attack and fearing for his life!

"It'd be all too easy, y'know? The second all five of my fingers make contact, you'd turn to dust. It would spread from your throat outward, imagine the pain of being turned to nothing. It must be scary, no?" Izuku's heartbeat quickened as his panic increased. He was trying to make him lose control, trying to make him so fearful that he'd be more impulsive and make the wrong move. What the hell could he want!?

"W-What... What do you want from me..?" Izuku inquired, gritting his teeth in order to stop them from chattering. He used a free hand to grip onto his other in order to stop his shaking and he began taking deep breaths. He needed to remain calm, let the fear set in later after the fact. Right now he needed to survive using his fight or flight response. "You know if you try anything the heroes will show up, right? E-Even if you kill me."

The man grew silent for a moment, the pleased expression from controlling the boy's life in the literal palm of his hand faded and was replaced with a flat line and an unamused look in his eyes.

"No doubt, but by the time it takes to catch me, I could take out twenty- No, thirty innocents. They'd all go down with me." The man replied blatantly, glancing around at the crowd of people around them. It was an endless bounty for the villain to partake upon.

Izuku was no fool, he realized very quickly that Shigaraki was right. There was nothing he could do, he couldn't defend himself, he couldn't defend the lives of the civilians- And Kyoka. Poor Kyoka, she must not have a clue where he is right now. It wasn't worth the risk.

"What do you want to talk about..." The greenette mumbled in response, looking down at his feet as the blue haired villain kidnapping him led him further into the crowd so that the chattering of others would hide their conversation.

Shigaraki chuckled softly, glancing around at their surroundings before spotting a few open seats around some palm trees. "Smart move... Here, we can sit and chat a little easier. Try to relax."

"W-Well?" Izuku inquired, waiting for the man to speak his mind. Shigaraki hummed, raising his head to gaze up at the sky and giving Izuku a good look at his face.