Unlike Partners

The Madman

  When Midoriya woke, he felt as if someone had smacked him with a pan on the back of his head, multiple times. He groaned, closing his eyes and opening them again, trying to blink away the stinging ache between his eyebrows. He stirred with a low groan, he was placed somewhere soft, it felt too small to be a bed, so a sofa, perhaps. The boy tried to reach and rub his numb nape when he realised that his hands were tightly bonded behind his back. They had been tricked, the woman, whoever she was, had noticed them sneaking behind, there was no other explanation for their ambush. A troubled expression formed on the young man's face. This was on him, had he not been reckless and drugged himself and Kacchan straight thought the villains' lair with no plan to back them up, whatsoever, they wouldn't be in this situation.

"Kacchan" Midoriya's voice echoed in the room. His green eyes scrutinized the simple room. It looked like they had been placed in a resting room; they only thing his eyes could land onto were couches and loveseats, no sharp furniture or objects that could be used in an aggressive way.

"Deku" his response was gravelly and low. Midoriya's head turned towards the direction of his partner's audible struggling. Kacchan was tied as well, his gears and armour removed, and he was sunk deep into a red loveseat, decorated with pink hearts of various sizes. Under other circumstances, it would have been extremely entertaining watching the hot-tempered boy struggling to break free from the clenches of a loveseat. But, this wasn't the time to admire this rare moment of cuteness.

Midoriya shut his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He would use his quirk and get them out of here as soon as possible. Using one for all was a risky option underground, but he was confident that he had mastered enough control to attempt to reduce the power to a small percentage. He attempted to focus one for all on his wrists. He would break free by snapping the ropes in two. No adrenaline rushed into his veins, he didn't feel the heat of the flow of power. What was going on? The boy squeezed his eyes tight and focused, but it felt as if there was a dense, brick wall preventing him from reaching one and for all.

He couldn't use his powers.

"Oi, what is the meaning of this?" Kacchan bellowed in annoyance. "Why can't I blow these ropes off?"

This was bad. This was really bad. They couldn't break free without their quirks, the bonds were too tight and there was nothing nearby that could aid in cutting them.

Before Midoriya had time to think this situation through, the sound of a lock snapping open echoed in the room. The door was opened and on the entrance stood the tall man Midoriya had seen before he had blacked out.

He was young, in his early thirties or late twenties, his attire mostly including a long, white lab coat and thick, dark gloves. His hair was pushed back by goggles. He looked like a mad scientist, the ones you saw on TV. He certainly grinned like one.

"Well, well, well..." his voice was wobbly, as if he had consumed a large quantity of caffeine in a very short amount of time. He started walking towards Midoriya, his heavy boots slamming menacingly on the ground.

"Aren't you an interesting guy, Izuku Midoriya?"

The guy had shoved his face against his, as if he was inspecting an alien species. It made Midoriya extremely uncomfortable; he could see a strange glimpse glazing in the man's grey eyes. It sent shivers down his spine. There was something off about this man.

A gloved hand reached out, grabbing chin and squeezing his cheeks tight. Midoriya snarled as his face was forcefully pushed even closer towards the man's.

"I AM HERE, TOO, YOU DUMBASS!" Kacchan yelled from his loveseat.

The man's face turned, his attention shifting towards the other boy. "Oh, of course, Katsuki Bakugo" a wicked smile formed on his face as if he were staring at a golden nugget. "You were the first to enter UA due to your outstanding talent. You are one of the prodigies of UA, pure combat ability that goes well with your explosion quirk. Aren't you a treasure?"

"How do you know all these, you bastard?" Kacchan asked in a low, threatening voice.

"That doesn't matter. But worry not, Bakugo-kun, I promise you will have all my attention in a couple of hours. For now..." his eyes met Midoriya's once more. This guy was seriously creepy. "...I am more interested in Midoriya-kun, right here. Izuku Midoriya, the quirkless whiny brat who one day happened to inherit the most powerful quirk from the most powerful hero known in the world. Isn't that right, Midoriya?" he squeezed Midoriya's cheeks even tighter.

Midoriya froze still, eyes widening in shock. How did he know all these? No one other than a very trusted handful of people was aware of the fact that Midoriya had been born a quirkless child, and even fewer people knew about the true nature and under what circumstances one for all had been bestowed upon him. Who was this man? Midoriya gazed at him in disbelief. How did he know all these things?

At the green haired-boy's visible confusion, the man menacingly smirked, obviously enjoying the sight of him. There was greed visible on his face, along with something else. Longing? Envy? Midoriya couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The door opened once again, this time surprising even the madman. He finally let go of Midoriya's face and straightened his back. Into the room walked the store thief, the pretty woman they had followed. Her hands were resting on the shoulders of a solemn looking little girl who Midoriya instantly recognized from the missing posters in back in the city. They were the ones who had kidnapped the child. But, why...what could child abduction possibly offer them?

"What is the meaning of this, Serena?" the man snapped.

The woman, Serena, took a hesitant step back. "It's the child, Rin...she's scared. She completely ruined the room again; this is the only other safe room I can get her to"

Midoriya watched in curiosity as a concerned expression appeared on the woman's pretty face.

"She doesn't look good, Rin" she blubbered out with difficulty, as if she was scared of Rin. "I don't know what you've been doing to her, but perhaps it's too much. Look at her, she looks as if she's about to collapse"

Rin's eyes landed on the child's vacant face. He glanced up again, demonstrating minimal concern for the little girl's wellbeing.

"I know what I am doing, so stay out of it" he spat, authority visible in his tone. "Just leave her here, it's not like she can do any harm, anyway" he dismissed them with a careless hand gesture before turning his back to her.

"I see you have a lot of questions" he was talking to Midoriya again. "But, chit chat time is over for now. Midoriya-kun, say goodbye to your friend, you won't be seeing him for a while"

Midoriya didn't have time to react; the strange man snatched a handful of his hair and plunged him off of the sofa. He drugged him on the floor as if he weighted as much as a sack of potatoes. Midoriya snarled, struggling against the man's steel like grip. But, it was pointless; the man kept drugging him, completely unfazed, towards the door.

"Oi! Where do you think you are taking Deku, you psycho-bitch?"

"Catch you later, Bakugo-kun!" The man cheerfully responded before shutting the door behind him, locking Kacchan in.

"It's time to spend some alone time with Izuku Midoriya."