All For Some

Chapter 58: Hunting a Hunter

Izuku made sure his helmet was properly on before Shirokuro stepped into the dark mist of a warp gate. Tomura had taken to bringing in more people at the bar, trying to recruit them. It was a wonder the police or heroes hadn't already caught on to where he was despite USJ making sure they were looking. Merely going to the place felt like a risk, but Izuku felt he needed to keep an eye on his adoptive brother and the people he sought to recruit. At least it gave him a breather between training sessions.

As he stepped out of Kurogiri's warp gate, he encountered yet another new, but this time distantly familiar, face. Giran; he was the man Shirokuro had done business with for his father, one of his first missions. The man had his back to Tomura, who appeared to have destroyed another barstool, and was walking towards the door as Shirokuro appeared in his way.

"Ah," Giran said, smiling. "Finally, some civilized company."

Tomura's hand inched towards another stool until a strand of dark mist slapped his fingers. Kurogiri standing behind the bar counter poured him a drink. Shirokuro took a nearby stool, never turning away from the visitor.

"It has been a while," Shirokuro said. "Did Tomura seek to recruit you, or ask your help to find people?"

"The latter. Tying myself to a single customer would be bad for business."

"So, you are keeping busy?"

"I've had worse times. From what I've heard you haven't been sitting idle either. Caused quite the stir at the hospital. Have to say it was impressive. Most people won't get away from All Might, let alone after he already got a hold of you."

Shirokuro had to focus to not have a reaction his mask couldn't hide at the mention of the so-called hero. He tilted his head towards Kurogiri.

"I had good help."

"Hmm, still valuing those working for you... Are you perhaps also seeking help? People are getting curious about the masked man who outplayed All Might. Some parts of the underworld talk more about you than Stain. I can think of some powerful people who would not last an hour with Shigaraki, but might be interested if your interests happened to align profitably."

In a way Shirokuro was glad he had been successful in working for his father, but couldn't help but wonder what most of the people he cared about would think about that. It had been less than an hour since he last saw them after finishing evening training, but it all seemed so distant.

As much as he loved the fake life of Izuku Midoriya, it was still only pretending. The truth came up as soon as the sun went down at the latest. Shirokuro looked at Giran to politely refuse the offer, at least for now.

"Get out," Tomura seethed as Kurogiri yanked a stool away from the reach of his hand. Giran waved his hand to Shirokuro as he walked to the door.

"Let's talk some other time."

He left, leaving Shirokuro with a seething Tomura to deal with. Even after dealing with Tomura for more than a year Shirokuro could never really feel relaxed near him, even less so when his adoptive big brother was angry. Shirokuro measured the distance between them with his eyes to make sure there were at least a few arm's reaches between them.

"What's wrong?" He asked, trying to sound as calm as possible without coming off as arrogant or condescending in any way. Though you could never be sure how Tomura would take things.

"Stain, everyone talks about Stain and not the League. The only ones that have wanted to join are some scums no better than those who already showed how useless they were at the USJ. What do people see in him that I don't have, that they want to follow him instead?"