Notes:
Me, Sunday morning with my hangover: I need to write for "Karma in Retrograde".
My brain: If you think for even a moment that I'm going to cooperate unless you write this very specific scene from your crack fic, then you're an idiot.
Me: Shit, you right.

On the bright side, now I can finally write for my other fics without this scene popping into my head. It wasn't originally from Kurogiri's POV, but every time I tried to write the beginning, it wouldn't work and then I decided that I wanted to write about these two from an outsider's perspective. Because Shigaraki and Uraraka do make a weird team, but in the scope of this series, they bring out the best and worst in each other. Also, I like playing with the idea that Shigaraki isn't alone - and yet he very much is still isolated. Thanks, AFO, best dad of the year award for manipulating not just Shigaraki but also Uraraka (and later on Deku as I add more theories to this ridiculousness).

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own ridiculousness and need for sibling angst.

Kurogiri had just finished tending to Tomura's wounds when he received the call. He had been expecting it and so he did not hesitate to pick up the phone. It came later than he'd thought, but then she had gotten tied up by the police and the U.A. teachers. Her position made it a little more difficult for her to be in constant contact with them. Tomura hadn't been pleased about that. He didn't like it when she was out of reach too long.

"Is it her?" Tomura demanded, hunched over in the chair.

"It is." Kurogiri answered it. "Yes?"

"Would you be so kind as to give me a lift?" Her voice was sweet and kind, which he knew spelled trouble, and it was all she needed to say for him to know what to do. Despite feeling smarted by her actions earlier, he hung up the phone and opened a warp gate large enough for a person to step through. A few seconds later, the caller walked through the warp gate into the bar.

"You're late, 'Chako," Tomura growled.

Ochako Uraraka was a small, soft girl, especially while wearing her U.A. school uniform with cute pink cheeks and big brown eyes, but when she put her hands on her hips and stared down the leader of the League of Villains down, she somehow didn't look adorable at all. She looked dangerous, as expected of All for One's daughter.

"Late?" Ochako countered sharply. "I'm so sorry for getting stuck being interviewed by the police for hours over your mess. Not to mention being coddled over by the teachers. Ugh, it was so annoying. Oh, those scary villains must have terrified me. Right, as if. They were chumps."

" My mess?" Tomura demanded in a low threatening tone. Being injured and bandaged did not make him any less dangerous. His short temper didn't help matters either. "Did you forget that we came up with the plan together? Besides, it's your fault that the authorities were involved so quickly in the first place! It's thanks to you that the heroes showed up."

Not afraid of him in the slightest, Ochako scoffed. "It's thanks to me that All Might arrived. You know, the entire reason that you broke the League into the USJ in the first place, the hero that was supposed to be killed by that ridiculous, dumb bird monster you had created specifically for that very reason?" She tilted her head curiously that was not curious at all, fire in her eyes. "Tell me, how did that turn out?"

"You forget who created the Nomu," Tomura snarled, teeth bared behind the hand that covered his face. "Do you mock Sensei's work?"

"It's not my father's work that I'm questioning," Ochako retorted and Tomura seethed.

Her eyes roved over him. To anyone else, that cold, analytical gaze in her eyes would've looked strange. She was sweet and innocent-looking to the outside world and even all of them. Kurogiri had known her for nearly her entire life. He'd seen her grow right before his eyes and he had watched her harden under her father's tutelage over the years. That gleam in her eyes fit her as far as he was concerned.

Ochako folded her arms across her chest. "I can't believe you got shot and almost caught."

"I can't believe you floated Kurogiri and let a student escape!" Tomura shot back. That was something. Kurogiri had been shocked when he'd felt Ochako activate her quirk on him. It had occurred to him in his struggle that she'd never done it before, although he was familiar with her quirk after watching her use it on Tomura often enough. "Whose side are you on?"

"The side I was born to be on!" Ochako exclaimed, her cheeks flushing with anger. "Are you seriously going to question me? Ever since I joined U.A., you've been on my case all the time, like you don't trust me."

Unable to contain his offense, Tomura jumped to his feet and snapped, "I trust you-" but then his injured leg buckled under him and he nearly collapsed. He might've fallen on his face if not for Ochako catching him. She leaped forward and caught him by his arms, careful to make sure that she didn't use all five of her fingers.

It made Kurogiri think of Tomura with his quirk. They held up their pinky fingers the same way out of instinct. All the times he would pick Ochako up, carry her on his shoulders, shove her away, reach out to her. Kurogiri knew that some of his colleagues actively flinched away from Tomura. He knew that they didn't trust him with such a dangerous quirk. It had often been suggested that he was a threat to Ochako. She trusted him though. He was no threat to her. Anyone else that was had to face Tomura first.

There had been a villain one time, a few years ago, that had looked at her the wrong way. He'd not lasted long. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise that Tomura had seen to dealing with him first before All for One had found out, but then again, being slowly disintegrated could not be a pleasant feeling. Tomura was not the forgiving type. No one would dare say or do anything to her again, not that she'd even been aware of what had happened.

The coldness in Ochako's eyes melted away and the tension in her body faded as she looked at Tomura now. "You were shot, Tomura. Kurogiri was nearly killed by Thirteen. They could've caught you." She held him gently, concern written all over her face. Even though he was frustrated by the limitations caused by his gunshot wounds, Tomura let her ease him back into the chair. "Don't scare me like that."

"We were so close," Tomura grumbled. "If that damn brat hadn't gotten in the way…"

Ochako raised her eyebrows. "Deku?"

"It'd be easier if I could simply kill him," Tomura complained.

"Don't be jealous," Ochako told him. "It's not becoming of you."

"I'm not jealous," Tomura snapped, the comment stinging him.

To be honest, Kurogiri wasn't sure how either Tomura or Ochako felt about Izuku Midoriya. The revelation of his relation to All for One had been startling, especially for Ochako since she'd not been aware of it until after she had excitedly told them about her U.A. Entrance Exam. He thought it had shaken her up, finding out that she hadn't been the only child. Tomura didn't seem to like it either. He wasn't fond of sharing and he was very proud to have been chosen as All for One's successor.

Midoriya's involvement in the USJ attack did bring up some questions. They'd have to keep a closer eye on him until All for One decided what he wanted to do with the boy. Luckily Ochako was in the perfect position to do that.

As for now, she eyed Tomura carefully, but didn't push the topic further, knowing his irritation would only drive them to bicker again. She returned to looking over his injuries, a frown on her face, while he went oddly silent. Truth be told, Tomura had his spells where he went from not talking at all to ranting. This felt different. He was wounded, both physically and mentally, and was trying to recuperate. The damage to his pride had been severe, leaving him feeling unsettled as a leader.

This was a test, one that he could see as either a failure or a chance to learn from his mistakes.

He wasn't the only one who was being tested though. For the first time in fifteen years, Ochako's two worlds had crashed together. She'd always been able to keep them separate, even when she'd applied for U.A. in order to infiltrate the school and hero society at its core. When he had warped to the top of the stairs to stop the students and Thirteen, Kurogiri had seen the fear in Ochako's eyes that he'd never witnessed before. She had known that he wouldn't warp or hurt her, but she had still been afraid. Of what? Failure? Hers or the mission's?

"I'm sorry for using my quirk on you, Kurogiri," Ochako said, not looking back at him. "We did all that work - the recruiting, the planning, getting you into the USJ - just so Nomu would have a chance at defeating All Might, except that he wasn't there. I just thought, maybe, if Iida got out, he'd run to the Number One Hero, and we'd get the opportunity to fulfill our goals."

"You certainly caught me off guard," Kurogiri told her, "but you were correct in your assessment. It brought the other heroes, yes, but All Might was drawn in as we'd wanted."

Tomura clenched his hands into fists. "He wasn't any weaker though. That Nomu was the strongest one we had, but he was blown away."

"Then we make the next one stronger," Ochako said decisively, "and the one after that even stronger." With the sort of gentle touch meant to calm a wild animal, she slowly began to peel those stiff hands off Tomura and set them aside on the counter. He let no one but her do that and even then she was slow and careful about it. Tomura complained about, teased, and bickered with Ochako near constantly, but she had a way with him only rivaled by her father. "This isn't a game over. We're just starting back at the save point."

"It feels like such a waste." Tomura slammed a fist down on the bartop, rattling the glasses behind it. "All those villains captured, allowing themselves to get taken down almost entirely by one pro hero alone, and the loss of Nomu, not to mention we can't manage to sneak in again. A pathetic waste!"

Ochako stood up straight. "They were weak and we have no room for that kind of uselessness in the League."

It was a cold statement coming from her, the kind that could make a person shiver. She could temper Tomura's manic state with a few words or a simple touch, a talent cultured by growing up together. It was odd seeing the two of them together like this. Two pieces that looked like they belonged to two entirely different puzzles and yet they fit together as one.

"We must find stronger members to fill our ranks then," Tomura said.

"That will have to be up to you and Kurogiri," Ochako told him. Then she smiled. "You'll have to brush up on your people skills. Try not to threaten or kill every potential member."

Kurogiri sighed from his spot behind the bar. It would have been much easier to do recruiting with Ochako, who was better with people than Tomura, but he was learning. Ochako's position was precarious. Only key members of the League knew the truth about her. They couldn't have every villain running about knowing that she was a mole inside the top hero school in the country. It was why he'd not warped her into another part of the USJ during the attack. Besides him and Tomura, none of the other hired villains knew that she was a part of the League. They hadn't even known the truth about who had formed the League either. That left Tomura as the face, ironic as it was. He was getting better though, learning, growing.

It did not stop him from immediately resorting to violence when he got angry.

Growling in frustration again, Tomura reached up to compulsively scratch at his neck, but Ochako was quick, snatching him by the wrist and stopping him short. Her frown on her face was deep, but not one of disapproval as she stared him down. "You're doing it again. You're going to make yourself bleed if you keep that up."

"That would be the least of my worries," Tomura said snidely.

"Stop being such a baby," Ochako scolded. She let go of his hand and stepped back to sit down at the bar. Shorter than Tomura, her feet didn't touch the ground and she swiveled around on the stool. When she bit her lip, an air of nervousness coming over her, it was hard not to feel that pull of wanting to protect her. Judging from the way that Tomura sat up straight despite his injuries, Kurogiri knew that it affected him, whether he realized it or not. She looked so young and innocent in her school uniform. "Was Papa mad?"

"No," Kurogiri reassured her. "He was understanding."

She stared down at her hands as she played with the pads on her fingertips. "This was our first big mission together and I wanted to make him proud, but we lost. I feel like I did nothing to help. For the most part, all I could do was stand there and watch as you all did the work."

"We all have our roles to play," Kurogiri told her as Tomura remained silent. Of course he was wondering the same thing. He'd been upset after they'd returned to the bar and angry over the potentially wrong intel, but it had been more at himself than anyone else. He wanted to prove himself to his sensei. Suffering such a humiliating defeat was hard on him. "You are in a key position that doesn't allow you as much freedom to move as us. We're in the shadows, yes, but none more so than you. It would have been remiss to do away with your position now."

"You're right," Ochako said, nodding her head. "I just…" She lifted her eyes up to Tomura, who was watching her in return. "I don't like being so separate from you all."

It had been like that her entire life. Since she'd been born, she'd had one foot in their world and one foot in the other. Unlike Tomura who lived on the fringes of society, Ochako was fully immersed in it. She had only ever been allowed to dabble in their world on occasion. Her record was spotless and she'd been brought up by a couple who owed their quirks to All for One. She'd gone to school with other kids where she'd done plays and volleyball.

She did not live in their world, not truly, but it had only started to affect her within the past few years. She was a part of them, but in a way she wasn't one of them. She was an acceptable member of society. Kurogiri did not think how far apart they were had truly sunken in for Tomura until she'd been accepted into U.A. Only then had he perhaps realized that she could easily fit into a world that had so painfully rejected him. They were different. She could be more. The world could give her more.

Such a precarious balance act could tip one way or the other at any moment. Luckily, should she fall, Ochako was excellent at floating. They had to have faith in her and, for all his snide comments, Tomura did. She could have hated him for how her father had chosen him to succeed him, but she never had. On the other hand, he could have resented her for the way his sensei treated her with such fondness and gave her a normal life, but he didn't. They had each other's backs.

"Don't get all emotional on us," Tomura said dismissively as rested his head on the bartop and closed his eyes. Ochako glared at him and then leaned over to poke the bandaged wound on his right leg, which made him swear and swat at her hand.

Kurogiri bit back another sigh. Now if only they could make it through one day without fighting like two alley cats.