Be Careful What You Wish For

Gamble and Guidance

"Let's take a walk."

The first thought that passed through Izuku's mind was, let's not, but what left his mouth instead was a simple, "Why?"

Instantly, four of Shigaraki's fingers wrapped around his throat, with the middle one hovering just a twitch away. And despite the somewhat inconvenient grip, Shigaraki was still able to muster enough strength to dig the digits into the soft skin hard enough to bruise.

"Do you remember my quirk?" he asked, and Izuku could feel the man smirk into his hair. "Once this last finger touch you, you'll be nothing but dust. So I suggest you consider your next actions very, very closely."

And oh, Izuku remembered—more than Shigaraki could know, and with memories clear as glass, he remembered.

He remembered how his skin turned dry with decay, flaking off his muscles and floating away in tiny fragments, not unlike a snake crawling out of its old husk. Except unlike a snake, there wasn't a new shiny layer of skin waiting beneath, but flesh and blood and screaming pain. And he remembered the look on Asui's face before her head faded into nothing but ash, mixing together with the blood spurting out of her neck turning it into a dull crimson sludge.

He remembered, but what he couldn't remember, was the fear. He knew of its existence, but it was like words stuck to the tip of your tongue. He knew, he knew he knew, but no matter how far he reached and scrambled, he couldn't find that lost feeling of terror that drowned him like an icy sea, pulling him deeper into its depths until all he had was darkness.

Now, he was only left with anger, which swelled inside of him and embraced his soul like an old friend. Izuku smiled, warm as the sun, and opened his arms wide. A quiet whisper left his lips, and he mouthed the words.

Welcome home.

"I wonder how many I can take with me after I'm done with you before the police shows up," Shigaraki mused with glee, the last finger floating dangerously close by his hostage's neck. "Ten? Twelve? What do you think?"

I think you should get to the point. Izuku pressed his lips into a thin line as he attempted to glare at the villain behind him. Unbeknownst to the criminal however, the threatening words actually filled Izuku with a sense of relief.

He'd be the first to die.

Izuku would be back before Shigaraki hurt anyone else.

Even so, while the boy wasn't worried about the people around them like the villain wanted him to, he kept still. Because through his anger was another feeling; a feeling much more powerful than his urge to rip himself free and take Shigaraki down once and for all. And it was the one feeling that killed more humans than any war ever could: curiosity.

Izuku found himself in a situation with an opportunity too good to pass up, and he did not want it to end so soon. Because what did Shigaraki want? It was a question too tantalizing to go unanswered. So, with a sharp nod and in an even tone, he said, "Alright. I'll come with you."

---

Izuku tried not to squirm as he waited for Shigaraki to speak. The bench under him felt too hard, and his legs were starting to go numb. He eyed the people passing them by to distract himself, listening to their shouts and laughs while they wandered around without a care in the world, completely unaware of the danger lurking in the middle of them. Izuku wondered how long that would last.

When the villain decided that his victim looked uncomfortable enough, he let out a quiet chuckle and in a deep voice finally spoke. "You know, there's a lot of things I hate in this egotistical world... but there's something that's been bothering me especially lately. Maybe you could solve it for me?"