Dance with Darkness (Part 1)

"Just who are you?" Shigaraki shouted.

"Why don't you take a guess?" the black-haired man taunted.

"Go to hell!" Shigaraki snarled back.

The man gave a chilling laugh. "Where do you think I came from?"

A terrifying aura darker than black enveloped him. An overwhelming sense of anguish and despair suffocated the air. There came a deafening, blood-curdling scream. It was neither the roar of a great predator nor the howl of a beast gathering its kin for the hunt. It sounded like a birthing cry… almost as if it were in agony.

"You want to know my name? I've been called many things. But there is one name everyone knows."

His red eyes flashed, and in that moment, death descended into the world.

"I am the Reaper."

"The Reaper... It can't be," Shigaraki murmured.

"The Reaper? The S-rank villain with the highest recorded kill count in all of Japan? The villain who disappeared two years ago after escaping from the combined attempt of All Might, Endeavor, and Hawks to capture him? The villain with the nickname Angel of Death? I thought he was dead!" Deku gasped.

"If you are the Reaper, then why are you helping the heroes? You're a villain!" Shigaraki screamed.

The Reaper chuckled lightly. "That thing. The Nomu. That's what you're relying on to kill All Might, right?"

Both of them didn't answer each other's questions, but none of them seemed to have expected an answer.

Shigaraki started pacing up and down, his scratching not stopping. The Reaper made no intention to move, hands crossed in front of him, his finger tapping lightly to a steady rhythm. Tap. Tap. Tap. Deku watched the two, unsure what to do.

The silence stretched out for a long time before it was broken by Kurogiri. The man made of mist appeared next to Shigaraki. "Thirteen is out of commission, but the heroes will be here soon."

Shigaraki stopped pacing and nodded. Tap.

"Who's that?" Kurogiri asked, looking in the Reaper's direction. Tap.

"A hidden boss I stumbled across."

"A hidden boss? Then, let me take him out for you."

Kurogiri disappeared in his mist. Tap.

The Reaper saw him disappear, but he didn't move. His fingers continued to tap to the rhythm, and his eyes still fixed on Shigaraki. Tap. Tap.

Kurogiri appeared behind the Reaper, lunging at the motionless man. Deku saw Kurogiri and rushed to shout a warning, but when he opened his mouth, Kurogiri's claws were already inches away from the Reaper's head. Tap.

Darkness exploded from the Reaper's body. Deku couldn't see what happening in the darkness, but he did notice one thing: the tapping had stopped. Seconds later, the darkness dispersed, and the outlines of the Reaper and Kurogiri could be seen. The Reaper held the unconscious Kurogiri by the throat.

"What did you do to Kurogiri?" Shigaraki shouted.

"Tch, you may be able to teleport through the darkness, but I am the king of darkness. Trying to use such juvenile tricks against me, you've underestimated me too much." The Reaper commented. The Reaper squeezed his fingers around Kurogiri's neck brace. The creaking of metal rang through the air.

Shigaraki couldn't wait any longer. "Nomu! Get him!"

Both Shigaraki and the Nomu rushed at the Reaper. The Reaper let them come at him. Shigaraki, the faster of the two, lunged at the Reaper with his fingers outstretched. He aimed for the Reaper's left hand, the one holding onto Kurogiri. When his fingers were mere millimeters from reaching his target, the Reaper disappeared and reappeared next to Shigaraki. His free hand, enshrouded in darkness, punched Shigaraki's exposed stomach and sent the man flying back once more.

The Nomu roared and threw a fist at the Reaper's left side. The Reaper's red eyes flashed, and his body blurred. The Reaper's left fist met the Nomu's fist, and a shockwave pulsed through the battlefield. The Reaper growled, and the darkness around his fist flared. A dagger of darkness shot out of his left arm, piercing through the bones of the Nomu's arm. The stalemate was broken, and the Nomu stumbled back a couple steps.

The dust settled, and Deku's eyes widened. Where did Kurogiri go? Then, Deku saw the answer. In order to adjust his body's position to meet the Nomu's punch, the Reaper transferred Kurogiri from his left hand to his right hand. Then, he accumulated enough strength in his left arm to match the Nomu's charged attack. Everything was done in a split second. Deku realized this, and he was shocked. Just how much speed and reaction speed did that require?

The Reaper dusted off the dirt on his clothes with his left hand. "Shigaraki, let's make a deal." The man spoke as if the battle had never happened.

Shigaraki stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth. "What deal?"

"All Might is going to be here soon, and I'm not here to fight you. That Nomu is strong enough to contend with All Might," the Reaper said calmly. "I want to see the show go on, so let's make a trade. I know that the students here are not your main targets. Let them go, and I'll return you Kurogiri."

"And why should I agree to your trade?" Shigaraki snarled.

Suddenly, a wave of killing intent enveloped Shigaraki. The Reaper's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't test my patience, Shigaraki," the Reaper hissed. "I will have my way regardless of the trade or not."

Shigaraki, under the pressure of the killing intent, struggled to stand. He spat out, "The one you said you were waiting for. The one to get the show started. It's All Might isn't it? You want to watch us fight All Might."

The Reaper let out a light laugh. The killing intent disappeared. "I'll take it that you've agreed to the deal." The Reaper casually tossed Kurogiri at Shigaraki and leapt onto the top of a building.

"You're just going to give him to me?" Shigaraki asked.

The Reaper sat down and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "If I can capture him once, I can do it again. So don't try any tricks."

Shigaraki looked at the man for a couple seconds and then spoke into his communicator. "Don't harm the students. Back away from them and return to the rendezvous point now!"

The Reaper stretched like a cat. Anticipation twinkled in his red eyes as he turned his head towards the USJ entrance.

"I AM HERE!"