A Villain's Journey

Chap. 4

Months had gone by since Izuku had arrived at his new place. Two months, to be exact. It was a long process for All For One on getting him fit, but that process paid off. Slowly, Izuku was noticing a change in his appearance but he knew that it was going to take many more months and tiring days for him to be able to get as 'buffed up' as All For One once told him.

"Alright, that's enough for today," All For One announced.

Izuku put the weight bar back on its stand and sat up. He gave a heavy breath and wiped sweat from his forehead. Like most things, the pain wasn't as bad as it had once been two months ago. Though it didn't go away completely, at least now it was bearable.

His emotional pain was also bearable as well. With the help of All For One, he was actually starting to think of himself as someone who wasn't entirely useless. Still, it wasn't as if everything was perfectly fine for him. The depression didn't just go away in a snap and often he found himself curled up in his bed, silently crying. Other times he felt numb. Those days led to Izuku waking up and carrying out the day with no verbal or mental complaints to the work he was given. He just felt... nothing.

He knew All For One and Shigabitch noticed, and surprisingly, they would ask him about it. He would just wave them off and tell them not to worry about it. Everything was fine so there was no point in worrying.

In reality, everything was not fine. He just didn't want to be a bother. But, as the days had passed, the pain was slowly being lifted and he found himself focusing on the task at hand rather than his mental health. The task being getting stronger, as stated before.

"You have the rest of the day off, Midoriya," All For One said.

"Yes sir," Izuku said and walked off towards his room.

It was a cycle that never ended. Work out, eat, sleep, do it all the next day. Of course, he spoke to Shigabitch occasionally, but it's not like their conversations ever went over twenty minutes. They would watch TV together, occasionally, but usually in silence and on opposite ends of the couch so it was as if they weren't even in the same room. And with the fact that Izuku still didn't have a phone, he got bored quite quickly. There were some books, but he'd read them over a thousand times. As much as he was thankful for the opportunity All For One had given him, he was still a fourteen-year-old boy and his boredom was high.

He was excited, however, when All For One told him he was to be working on his quirk and be given academic studies. Yes, he was so bored that he felt giddy at the thought of learning simple subjects like Maths and English. English was his favorite subject, even if it frustrated him with all the grammar and the transition of words from Japanese to English. He just loved the thought of learning a language that wasn't Japanese. It was a subject required in most schools, so almost everyone knew at least a little bit of English. Izuku's excitement only went so far, though, with the academic studies, since that wasn't for another few months- Izuku guessed maybe around four.

All For One told him, at some point, that when his schooling was to begin, it wouldn't be the same as the regular school schedule he was used to since this was on All For One's time. Though, he would be getting the general information that he needed, as stated previously. It was a little confusing to Izuku at first, but then he understood. It wasn't much of a change, just what months he would begin and end (All For One had yet to assign him a month to begin, but he said he guessed in about four or so months).

Izuku sat on his bed and looked out the window, not that there was much to see, per se, but staring at a brick wall seemed like fun. Izuku chuckled before getting up off his bed and pacing around his room. He could go back downstairs and try to start a conversation with Shigabitch or he could stay here in his room and either sleep or read a book. The decision was made almost immediately.