Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 169 SHADOW CLONE

I formed next to my main body. I knew the plan so there was no reason to talk with my other self. We had learned a long time ago how to give more chakra to shadow clones so I had plenty to play with. Using a transformation jutsu I turned into Zoro and was walking out of the alley. 

In my white shirt and black pants I headed to the meetup point. I had the burner phone, but no access to the Status Screen like my main body had. I did have plenty of tricks at my disposal though. Using Observation Haki took no energy, simply focus. We had been practicing it for 2 years. It was second nature to us. 

Coming to the bar where the League of Villains had met originally, Black Mist and Shigaraki were already there. “Grab a seat,” Shigaraki said. “The others will be here shortly.”

I sat in one of the booth seats after ordering a drink. Shigaraki sat at the bar, not talking. Only 1 hand stuck to his face he looked like a normal person. White/gray hair, black clothes, he wasn’t too creepy sitting at a bar. 

Black Mist was still a black/purple cloud. I was pretty sure he was a Nomu. A human forcibly given quirks. He didn’t have memories of his past life and did whatever the League needed. I couldn’t remember if they ever found out who he was in the past. He kind of disappeared in the manga. 

Dabi soon walked in. The burnt skin made him extra creepy. I wasn't sure how he walked in the open without drawing eyes. He noticed me, sitting opposite me in the booth. 

New villains showed up soon after him. There was Twice. One of my favorite villains. He wore a black skintight suit with gray lines across his chest that formed a T going up. I knew he was technically crazy, as all the villains were. But of the villains he was one I thought ended too soon. I wondered if there was something that could be done to help him. 

After that a weird guy in what looked like a green storm trooper outfit walked in. Then a guy dressed up in a black outfit that looked like the Gimp from Pulp Fiction. They sat by Shigaraki. After them, a tall guy walked in. Brown trench coat, chocolate brown top hat, he wore a black and white mask in front of his face. I remembered his quirk was pretty cool. Some kind of compression skill. Then a tall man with dark red hair walked in. I didn’t recognize him. He wore sunglasses and had thick lips. It was sad how many of these villains I couldn’t remember. They must have died or been arrested quickly.  

Toga came in next. The only girl so far she didn’t appear to mind. Still in her brown sweater and school girl outfit she waved at me happily and moved to sit next to me. 

“Hey Roro,” she said cutely. “I’m glad to see you showed up. I was worried I wouldn’t see you again.”

I nodded, sipping my rum. “You were pretty drunk, yah lightweight.” She giggled but my eyes were drawn to the door as someone else walked in. It was 2 someone’s. But by their demeanor they weren’t walking in together, just happened to come at the same time. 

One was tall. Green scales he looked like a walking lizard. Purple hair spiked up he wore a bandana over his eyes like the Hero Killer. The guy behind him was who I had been waiting for. 

Goto Imasuji, he was over 6 feet tall. Short blonde hair, he was built like a body builder. Huge muscles and frame he wore a gray muscle shirt and green khakis. His left eye was scarred over. Something that made him look tougher. 

He was 1 of 3 men that killed my mom. I already had killed one and only had 2 to go. I looked forward to putting an end to the Villain known as Muscular. But there was a plan and I needed to stick to it. 

“Finally,” Shigaraki said. Turning around in his bar stool he faced everyone as they took a seat. “Welcome to the League of Villains.”

“This everyone?” Muscular growled. “You’re even letting schoolgirls in?” He eyed Toga. 

“I am letting everyone worthy in. Everyone here has been tested.” I didn’t remember being tested. But then again Toga had tried to stab me a bunch. Maybe that was proof enough. Speaking of, she pulled a knife out slyly from her pocket. 

“Not right now,” I mumbled to her. She smiled, giggling again as she put the knife away. 

“I want to welcome you all on the ground floor of what we are trying to accomplish here,” Shigaraki said with a laugh. 

“What is that exactly?” Dabi asked bluntly. 

“I was getting to that, don’t interrupt,” Shigaraki rasped. Coughing slightly he cleared his throat, adjusting the hand on his face to collect his thoughts. 

“For too long we have been afflicted by the false messiah known as All Might. This Symbol of Peace that these weak citizens cling to. At first I hated what the Hero Killer was spouting about. There was one thing he had correct. These so called heroes are a joke. The justice system they claim to uphold is just as broken as they are. Our goal will be to bring to light the flaws. Bring down all of them. All Might most of all.”

“That’s something I can get behind,” Dabi noted. 

“Listen, I don’t care about any causes. As long as you have the means and plan to let us use our quirks to the fullest, that’s all I care about,” Muscular admitted. 

“We have all that,” Shigaraki said. “We have backing and resources to help us achieve our goals. Most of all we have a target.” He stood up, extending his arms like he was presenting something grand. “All Might himself is a teacher at the prestigious UA hero school. With any luck we will be able to attack him directly. If not then we will be able to capture a few students. People we think will be sympathetic to our cause.” 

The room was quiet, staring at him as we expected some profound speech, but that was it. “That was great,” Twice said in a higher pitched voice. “That was retarded,” he said in a deeper voice. “Shut up,” the higher pitched voice retorted to himself. He was struggling with an identity problem. 

“Well said,” Muscular growled. “Enough with the talking. Lets get to the action.” 

“Very well,” Shigaraki said. Pulling his hands back to begin scratching at his neck like some coke fiend needing a fix. He waved us to follow as he walked to the back of the bar. We hesitated for a moment and soon got up to follow him.

“Roro, isn’t this exciting,” Toga said excitedly.

“I’m not exactly sure what we are doing yet,” I said. 

“Ohho I agree,” the magician looking man with the mask said. 

“And you are?” I asked. 

“Oh, I apologize, I am Mr. Compress,” he said. “Roro was it?” 

“Roronoa,” I said, extending my hand. “Just Toga calls me Roro.”

“Oh you were friends before joining?” Mr. Compress asked. 

“Nope, she keeps trying to stab me,” I admitted. “Don’t turn your back on her.” Toga giggled happily. 

“I just try to stab those close to me,” she said with a manic look on her face. 

“I see,” Mr. Compress said. “Then I hope we don’t become close.”

“Don’t say that,” Twice said. “We should become best friends.” He turned his head as if talking to someone behind him. “Shut up. Stop acting so needy.” 

“And you are?” 

“Twice,” he said. “I can clone anything.” 

“What about money?” 

“I used to. But stuck with 1 copy at a time now,” he said in his higher pitched voice. “Yeah we are pretty useless.”

“Cool. Better than me I guess,” I said. “I just know everything that’s going on around me.” I raised my hand blocking Toga from stabbing me with my head turned to face away from her. “I told you to stop.” 

“I was showing them your trick,” she said with a wheeze as if she was struggling from not laughing. “He is impossible to get the drop on.”

“What about you?” Twice asked. “What can you do?” 

“I can turn myself into anyone who’s blood I drink,” she said. “Perfect for infiltration.” 

“Introductions later,” Shigaraki announced as we walked into a large back room. Along the walls were sets of gear, weapons, computers, and plenty of everything that showed he really did have resources. “Some of you, like Toga, we have made gear for your quirk.” He pointed to a tank with canisters that had needles on the end for blood girl. “You can grab weapons or anything else you want to help flesh out your costumes.” 

Some of them looked around excitedly. Others running to racks of different weapons. I was tempted to grab some nice katanas. My Zoro guise was calling for it. But I didn’t want to fight people and the villains ask why I didn’t cut any limbs off. I needed something though. My Taijutsu was good, but it wasn’t really for killing. I had plenty of knives hidden all over my body. What I needed was a way to attack without slicing off body parts. 

Looking over the racks of equipment I found just the thing. 2 tonfas sat hanging from hooks. They were about 2 feet long with forks off the side for hands to hold onto them. Like a shorter Jitte. They were a heavy metal. Picking them up they felt good in my hands. Swinging them around I felt like I had been using them all my life. Great for blocking, stunning, and breaking bones. I could beat up some friends without feeling too bad. 

“These must be your friends, Shigaraki,” a deep voice said from another hallway. We all turned from our armory choices to see a tall man walking toward us. My blood ran cold. He wore a business suit which wasn’t too out of place. But from his neck up he wore a mechanical helmet. A dome for where his head was the neck area appeared to be some type of breathing apparatus. I knew him immediately.

“All-For-One,” Shigaraki said. “What are you doing here?” 

“Me? I was simply checking on things,” the creepy man said. Looking to each of us through the black mask as if he could see us. 

“Yo-you’re All-for-one?” Muscular asked. Fear in his voice he appeared to get nervous. I too was struggling not to run. He had a killing aura around him. A stronger bloodlust than I had ever felt from someone. I couldn’t remember when he made an appearance, but I knew this wasn’t it. “I heard you were dead.” 

“Oh I was,” All-for-one said with a laugh. “But like All Might, I am harder to kill than people think. So tell me, what quirks do you all have?” I became more nervous. Could he identify quirks? I thought he could, but that may have been later. Would he know what mine was? If he thought my quirk was good would he just steal it? 

“All-for-one, these are who I’ve chosen. I don’t want you butting in,” Shigaraki said as he began scratching his neck again. 

“Oh I know. I simply wish to help. Maybe there is more gear we can make for them. We have the resources and the best quirk scientist in the world,” he said. A smile in his voice, but none on the mask he wore to stay alive. 

“I can make myself stronger,” Muscular said. Hiding the fear in his voice now. “Adding muscles to my body to allow me to beat pretty much anything.” 

“Good good,” All-for-one said. He turned to me slowly. 

“I can sense everything around me,” I said. 

“How far around you?” He asked, intrigued. 

“10 feet?” I lied. I could do well over that. Instantly a black and red beam shot out of All-For-One. Like a light bouncing off mirrors the beam zig-zagged from him to me dozens of times over a split-second. During it’s spastic run to me it had looped around and came at me from the back. I dodged to the side just in time to be missed by it. 

“Intriguing,” All-for-one said. Sending 2 more they both looped around but this time I spun the tonfas, breaking the beams as if they were made of glass. “Very intriguing. I can see how that would be useful in a fight.” And as if nothing happened he turned to someone else. The others introduced their powers. He didn’t test anyone else though. I was ready in case he did. Before my goal had been to be able to beat All Might. Now my goal was to be able to beat this guy. I couldn’t as a clone, but if I went all out, could I do it in my real body? 

“Very good to meet you all,” All-for-one said. “Be sure to introduce them to the Nomus. I am sure they will be useful in your first real mission.” Without another word the head villain turned around and walked away. 

“Who the fuck was that guy?” Toga asked openly. 

“Our benefactor,” Shigaraki growled. “Ignore him. We have a lot to review.” 

—

Over the next few days we got to know one another more. I mainly hung around with Dabi, Toga, Mr. Compress, and Twice. The others were either freaky or wanted to be left alone. We gave examples of our moves. Muscular wanted to fight me, but since I only had a set amount of strength and chakra, I didn’t push it. He would get his chance soon enough. 

We reviewed Shigaraki’s plan. Our goal was to attack UA students at a camp where All Might was supposed to be. Muscular wanted to fight All Might himself, and we would take 2 Nomus. The surprising thing was Shigaraki was rather hands off. Pun intended. 

He gave us targets. There were 3. One was a camp counselor. A cat girl by the name of Ragdoll. She had a quirk that allowed her to see people with quirks she had met and knew their weaknesses. I would bet that was a grocery item list for All Might. I was going to have to nip that kidnapping in the bud. The catgirl had met the real me, and could most likely identify that I had the same quirk as my real body. 

The other 2 targets were a little more surprising. One was Bakugo. Shigaraki said there was a psychological profile done on all UA students. He was seen as the most likely one to defect because of his anger issues. The other target was Weston Watanabe. That fucking idiot. Apparently Shigaraki had a boner for me now. I was going to have to nip that in the bud too. 

Other than some minor planning and exercises as a group to show-off our powers we were given pretty good leniency to do what we wanted. There were a couple of warehouses around. We met All-For-One’s head scientist who reminded me of Dr. Robotnik from Sonic. He had the mustache and belly for it. The scientist introduced us to the Nomus. 

The creepy men were in giant purple vats of some kind of goo. Given quirks they were the muscle for the army. Meant to disturb and take the brunt of the attacks. They would be minimal for this plan however. Shigaraki wanted to test us. I was pretty sure he wanted to cut the people that were useless though. He didn’t have much faith in the plan after his informants made it obvious that All Might wouldn’t be at camp.

Either way we were given the green light. Blackmist opened a portal and we stepped through to a wooded area. Shigaraki was first through and we soon followed. The light was fading on the horizon as we stepped out. 

“Remember the targets,” Shigaraki said. “Other than that. Kill who you want. Blackmist will be watching and extract you if things turn bad.” With that he stepped back through the portal and was gone. 

“Well that was fucking useless,” Muscular said. Looking out to where the camp was supposed to be. “I’m out. I’m going to look around and just start killing. You all have fun with the kidnappings.” He turned away from the campgrounds and ran off. 

“Fucking hell,” I said, enjoying the opportunity. “We need all of us. I’ll get him.” I turned and ran after him. No one gave chase. Once I was far enough away I dropped the knives, tonfas, mentally marked which direction Muscular ran, and ended my existence. 

—

“Villains?” Aizawa asked, his voice serious. “What do you mean, Weston?” 

I mentally cursed. All the memories afflicting me had made me say more than I meant to. “I mean there’s fucking villains here,” I said, deciding to roll with it. “I can feel it. A bad energy in the air.” I thought of another lie quickly. “I felt the same way when the League of Villains attacked. Something is off. We need to regroup. Get people out of the woods.” 

Aizawa looked around. “Mandelei, use your telepathy. Get everyone back here. Now!” 

-All students please disregard other orders. A situation has arisen. Return to camp- She mentally sent to everyone in the area. 

“Are you sure, Weston?” Aizawa asked. I nodded. “Alright everyone. Consider it a drill until villains are seen. We stick together. No one out of my sight. Momo start doing a roll-call. I want everyone accounted for within the next 10 minutes.” He turned to the rest of the class as I made a shadow chakra wave around me. Slipping into the shadows I got into the tree-line without anyone noticing. 

Running as soon as no one was looking in my direction I had a man to kill and some revenge to get. The others could deal without me for a bit.