Kurogiri dropped Shigaraki hard on the floor of the bar they were currently calling their base. Pain burned hot and sharp from where he had been foolish enough to let himself be shot, but Shigaraki paid it little attention. He deserved it after that loss, because they had failed. Their perfect plan, ruined.

"You were wrong." The words directed at the TV on the back wall, blank except for its bright white screen, were slow but no less cold. Shigaraki pushed himself to a sitting position, a hand going to his neck. Blood dripped to the floor. "You said All Might was weaker, but he wasn't weak. The game ended too quickly."

A hard voice, muffled slightly by the rising sound of static from the TV, replied. "A slight miscalculation, that's all. You must have patience, Tomura. Greatness cannot be achieved in only one attempt."

"Those low level villains were taken out by a bunch of students," Shigaraki groaned. "And Noumu didn't even leave a scratch on All Might."

"That is what cannon fodder is for, Tomura," the voice chuckled.

"But Noumu-"

"Yes, what about the noumu? Will you be able to recover it?"

"All Might knocked him out of my range," Kurogiri said, "and I didn't have time to go and find him. He's probably in police custody by this time."

"No matter. We can make more. He may have been no match All Might, but we are on the right track it seems. A little more time and-"

"All Might." Shigaraki croaked, his other hand rising to his throat as well, his fingers digging into his skin. "There was a student there…a boy like All Might. That same disgusting look on his face, that same presence…."

"A student?"

"Noumu might have failed, but I had him, All Might, right there! A few more seconds… if that brat hadn't gotten involved with his stupid quirk like All Might's, the symbol of peace would have been dead." His grip on his throat tightened just thinking about it. Just a little longer, that was all he needed, and he would have been able to feel the number one hero's skin turn to dust in his hands.

"This student, what did he look like?" The voice had an excited edge to it now, a plan on the verge of forming. Shigaraki didn't seem to notice, still mumbling about his lost chance. Instead it was Kurogiri who answered.

"Plain looking. Green hair. I believe one of the other students called him Midoriya."

"Midoriya? Well that shouldn't be hard to find. Maybe this venture won't be a complete failure then. You got their attention with this attack, Shigaraki Tomura. Leave the next step to me. I'll make sure that attention doesn't go to waste. We may not have been able to physically tear All Might down from the pedestal society has placed him on today, but I do believe I have an idea that will work just as well for now. In the meantime, rebuild. Become stronger. The world is going to need you to be a symbol of terror, and I know just the thing to help us cement you in that role."