MHA: Corruption Isn't A Villainous Quirk

Hari's proposal shocked Ren. It was the quickest way to join the Shie Hassaikai. But he wasn't sure if it was the right decision.

While the Hero Association might have aligned itself with Overhaul, the individual heroes had their own opinions. Some didn't care about Shie Hassaikai, but some did.

Especially Mirko.

She was used to fighting against the Shie Hassaikai. If she got to know about Ren being a member of their crime syndicate, she might fly off the handle.

Ren turned towards the window. The first rays of light had emerged in the sky. He had been missing for too long. Mirko was probably searching for him like crazy.

If she finds me now, I'd never be able to set foot outside her mansion.

While he could corrupt her into submission, her inherent traits made it difficult. It could take days or weeks to get her under control. Right now, Ren wasn't in the mood to be her living dildo for god knows how long.

With that thought, Ren threw out the possibility of returning for a while. That left him with one option. Infiltrate the Shie Hassaikai and learn what he could from them. But first, he had to confirm something.

"You're serious?" Ren asked, finally breaking the silence.

"As serious as I'll ever be," Hari replied. "Besides, you already know about the synths, and I don't think Chisaki would let you be."

Ren slowly nodded. He realized Hari's slip of the tongue wasn't a mistake. He had deliberately told Ren about the Synths so Ren would have to join them, either willingly or as a prisoner.

Maybe Hari actually cared about him and did what he had to, or maybe he didn't. Well, it didn't matter. If he wanted to play games, then it'd be rude not to indulge him.

"…will you help me get my revenge?" Ren asked, turning towards Hari. "I want Aizawa to pay for what he did to me. But I can't do it on my own."

Ren put on his best performance to convince Hari. He didn't know what Aizawa had done to him, but Hari seemed to care about it a lot. If he played his cards right, then joining the Shie Hassaikai wouldn't be so bad.

Hari smiled and placed his hand on Ren's shoulder.

"I'll be more than happy to," he said. "You might not have a quirk, but there are other ways to give you strength."

Ren nodded, offering him his hand, which Hari took without hesitation.

It was his second mistake.

[Target Marked: Hari Kurono (Villain Chronostasis)]

[Corruption stage: Initiation (0%)]

So it works on males too. Just not on the synths. Weird.

But there was another problem. Ren had marked Hari, but how was he supposed to progress with corruption? He was as straight as they come and didn't want his mini-me anywhere close to another male.

Ren pushed those thoughts out of his head for the moment. He could think about that later. For now, he wanted to get out of there.

***

Roughly an hour later.

As the doors to the mansion opened, Ren saw a bunch of people standing in neat rows, their heads bowed as soon as Hari entered.

"Welcome back, sir!"

"Thank you for your hard work out there!"

They roared, but Hari didn't respond. His gaze remained fixed on the front as he pushed past the guards. The grunts didn't seem offended; they were used to it.

The Hari whom Ren met in the dingy apartment and the one before him was starkly different. Back then, Hari was just his friend, but now he was the second-in-command of the Shie Hassaikai.

He remained silent throughout. Only when they were inside the mansion did Hari speak.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Where did you get those clothes?"

Ren looked at his barely tattered clothes. While his body was a wreck, no one could've judged he got smacked by a monster by looking at his clothes.

The reinforced wear had saved him from a permanent injury. So, it was obvious Hari was curious about it. But Ren couldn't lie to him.

He knows more about me than I do. I gotta be careful.

If Ren said he bought it, Hari would know it immediately. After all, Ren lived a frugal life, and not by choice. The clothes on his back would cost him both his kidneys and an eyeball.

So Ren told Hari the truth.

"…I'm dating someone well-off. She got me an entire wardrobe of these."

Well, most of the truth.

He won't say he was getting chummy with a pro hero. Who knew how Hari would react to it?

"You lucky son of a bitch," Hari chuckled, wrapping his arm around Ren's shoulder. "You got yourself a sugar mommy?"

"You could say that."

"Meh, I don't blame you. You're ugly but with lots of mommy issues. Girls dig that."

No one digs that.

Ren Rebuked the words internally but kept his mouth shut.

"Ignore all that," Hari mumbled. "There's someone I want you to meet before Chisaki."

They stopped before an ordinary wall. Hari pressed his thumb against a hidden panel. A soft beep sounded, and the wall slid open with a low hiss, revealing a staircase leading underground.

At the end of the stairs, a steel door greeted them. Two guards stood on either side of the doorway. They saluted Hari and stepped aside without question.

But this time, they stopped Ren from entering the room. It was only when Hari told them to step aside did they reluctantly stepped back.

Upon entering the room, Ren covered his nose as the place smelled heavily of chemicals and antiseptic. Bloodied metal tables lined the room's far end. The place was a mix between a laboratory and an operation room.

But the most unsettling thing was the man hunched over one such metal table.

"Doctor," Hari said. "How are you doing?"

"As good as any insane, imprisoned man could be," the man replied, straightening his back.

When the doctor turned around, Ren unsurprisingly saw Dr. Kyudai Garaki. He more or less expected he would be behind the Synths. After all, something like the Nomu or Synth couldn't exist without him.

"And who's this?" he asked, sizing Ren up.

Hari smiled and pushed Ren forward.

"Your new project."