Summary: A nine year old girl breaks into the League of Villains' base. All for One sees the potential to raise another villain. Tomura is pissed that she stole his nintendo. Kurogiri is reminded of his painful past. It's only natural that they take this girl under their wing. (To summarize: the villains try to raise a child. Lots of family fluff in early chapters. Pre-MHA main storyline.)
Genre: Family/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort
Ratings: K+ for mild violence, blood mention, and occasional swearing
Pairings: None planned!
Chapter Summary: Kurogiri has more or less, grown accustomed to his life as a villain and part time babysitter. But, his monotonous days are shaken up, when someone begins stealing from the villains' household...
Kurogiri sighs, as he mops up blood from the mahogany floor.
He wrings the mop into a bucket, and the water turns into a murky red color. He sighs again, and looks at the ceiling, wondering what in his life led him to this moment. Contrary to popular belief, getting rid of the body is the easy part. It's cleaning up the blood that's the hard part. Kurogiri glares at the floor. That damned stain won't come out! Just looking at it is already giving him a terrible headache.
This will take me ages to properly scrub out. He throws a quick scowl at the blood's source - a corpse of a man, sprawled across the floor. Serves the bastard right, for not paying the bill. Thanks to him, he's going to have to spend the rest of the night cleaning up his mess.
Not the best way to spend a Friday night, but Kurogiri has already accepted it's part of his job. He's no stranger to blood, torture, and death, after all.
That's the price he had to pay, when he became a villain and was recruited by All for One. Whatever his boss commanded, he must carry out his will. That's probably why he survived so long, working under Japan's most powerful and influential supervillain. Kurogiri is a man who knew how to keep his mouth shut, and this definitely helped him in the long run.
Mopping up most of the blood, Kurogiri picks up the bucket, and warps the contents into the alleyway. He shudders upon feeling the coppery substance past through him. That's going to leave an uncomfortable after taste. He turns to the corpse and rolls up his sleeves. Now to chuck the body into the furnace.
He promptly picks up the dead body, and warps into the basement. As he carries out this morbid task, Kurogiri's mind wanders.
It's nearly been a year since All for One was defeated at the hands of All Might. The criminal underworld has ceased activity, shocked to its very core. Nobody could've ever predicted that Japan's number one crime leader, would fall from grace so spectacularly.
However, unbeknownst to All Might and the villainous community, All for One lived. Albeit, 'lived' is a generous term - the man was a shadow of his former self, currently hooked up to life support and heavily injured. There were wounds to be licked and foundations to be rebuilt. Even in his weakened state, All for One still patiently schemes from the darkness. It's just a matter of time before evil strikes again.
Kurogiri can't help but wonder, though, just when they will strike again. Until his master regains strength and rebuilds his bloodsoaked throne, he's stuck looking after All For One's successor, Tomura Shigaraki.
Now, babysitting was certainly not in job description.
"Kurogiri! Kurogiri, come out here right! Now!"
This time, he couldn't stop himself from groaning out loud. Think of the devil. He chucks the corpse into the flames, and slams the iron doors shut. Kurogiri's straightens his tie and takes a deep breath. Afterall, one must summon their god-given patience when dealing with the nightmare of a teenager that is Tomura.
He warps himself back into the bar, where he heard Tomura shouting for him. Looking impeccable as ever, Kurogiri appears to his young master in a blink of an eye. Hands clasped behind his back, Kurogiri bows to Tomura.
"Yes, Master Shigaraki?"
The teen's gaunt red eyes look almost accusingly at Kurogiri.
"My nintendo. Where. Is. It."
"Pardon, young Master?"
"My NINTENDO, Kurogiri. It's missing, and I can't find it anywhere! Where is it?! Where is it?!" Tomura shouts, stomping his feet for good measure.
Kurogiri had to bite down his tongue from snapping back at the boy. It's one of the many perks from having a non-corporeal body - people can't see his facial expressions. But, he's boiling on the inside. Is this teenaged boy seriously going to throw a tantrum over some lost nintendo? The boy is fifteen years old. It's high time he starts growing up, and if Kurogiri could do it differently, he would teach the boy some manners.
But, he is All for One's predecessor. Whatever his true master decides for the boy, isn't up to him and it isn't in his place.
He can only imagine what sort of psychopathic manchild Tomura would grow up into. Just thinking of an already destructive boy growing into an equally, if not worse, temper-prone young man, threatened to give Kurogiri another terrible migraine.
"Young Master, I truly have no idea." He hears himself say. "The last time I saw you with it was during lunch earlier…If you can't find it, perhaps I can tell Sensei to obtain you a new one -"
"No, no, NO!" He screams over Kurogiri. "I was playing Zelda on that console! If we don't find it, I'll lose all my progress! I want you to find it right now Kurogiri!"
Breathe in. Breath out. This too shall past. Kurogiri keeps his voice light and even. If he raises his voice at all, he can kiss his life goodbye.
"Master Shigaraki, you know how you can misplace things sometimes...remember last week you lost your favorite hoodie? Just a few days later, we found it in the basement…"
"But I never put it down there!" Tomura protests, desperately scratching at his neck. "And I told you last week my hoodie was missing, and you also didn't listen to me!"
"Come now Shigaraki, you know very well it's just the three of us who live here. What other explanation could there be?"
"Fine, if it's not your fault, then someone else is stealing my stuff!"
"Someone else?" This time, Kurogiri couldn't mask his bemusement. "I can assure you Master, people don't just steal from us and get away with it."
"Whatever." Tomura turns his back to Kurogiri and storms away. "You're useless, I'll just look some more myself."
When Tomura's heavy footsteps fade away, Kurogiri lets out a huge breath. His misty body flickers in and out, threatening to burst out of his clothes from pure stress. Breathe in. Breathe out. All he has to do is keep his mouth shut and follow orders.
The incident eventually faded from Tomura's mind. After Kurogiri made a report, the Master appeased Tomura's terrible temper with another nintendo and three more video games to boot. His new games shut the teen up, and he's been glued to the screen ever since.
Peace, more or less, returned to the villains' household. Kurogiri would've never thought anymore of the missing nintendo - until it turned up in the oddest place.
Originally, Kurogiri planned on making a western dish for tonight's dinner. Roasted lamb chops, string beans, vegetable tempura, and some bread to top it off. Cooking was one of the few simple pleasures Kurogiri can indulge in, without anyone interrupting him.
He just finished plating the meat and vegetables. All that was left to do was to slice up the bread. He open the breadbox - and there, lo and behold, is the missing nintendo. Frowning, Kurogiri picks it up and examines it.
Tomura couldn't have possibly put it there - his videogames are practically an extension of his body. How odd. Puzzled, he tugs at his collar. Well, nevertheless, it'd be pointless to return it to the young master. He already has new and shiny toys to distract himself with.
With that mystery solved, Kurogiri tosses it into the trash. Anyway, dinner has to be served soon…
"Hm, I suppose we ran out of bread…and I just did shopping yesterday..." Kurogiri comments under his breath, shutting the empty breadbox without another thought.
The following weeks, more things in the household continued to go missing. They were trivial, really. T-Shirts, hoodies, and socks would go missing from the laundry or drawers. Fruit quickly disappeared overnight. Snack wrappers were trashed in random parts of the house. The signs became undeniable that this was neither Kurogiri nor Tomura responsible for this phenomenon. Perhaps there was a third party, or some petty thief.
Kurogiri decides to put the theory in motion. Every night, he does a daily cleaning routine in the underground bar. Wipe down the counters, sweep the floors, check the stocks. Then, he would turn off the lights and lock up shop. That was what he would've done on a normal night - but tonight is a stake out.
Earlier today, he baked taiyaki, some of which Tomura was more than happy to snatch and steal away to his room. He wrapped the leftovers to leave them on the table, and turned off the lights. It was 10:30 PM, the standard time he locks up.
Now, all Kurogiri has to do is wait.
He melts into the shadows, waiting for...for something to happen. Kurogiri idly speculates. What sort of thief is this person anyway? They were either ignorant or extremely stupid to be stealing from supervillains. On a consistent basis, too. Either way, when he catches the thief, they'll be taught a lesson. Cold thrill shoots through his body. He'll be sure of it.
Fortunately, Kurogiri didn't have to wait long either. Someone is walking around in the darkness, inside the bar - he looks straight at the bait he set up. The only light source is a single yellow lamp, shining above the counter. A figure emerges from the darkness.
Small hands reach for the plate, and the culprit is revealed - the hands belonging to that of a little girl. He doesn't react at first. Dumbfolded, he observes the thief.
She's a frail and pitiful looking thing. The little girl has shocking white-blonde hair, cut into uneven layers and messy bangs. She's painfully skinny and gaunt. Kurogiri isn't an expert on children, but he knows instinctively that her cheeks shouldn't be that hollow. Her small frame is hidden beneath a ridiculously baggy black hoodie - Kurogiri instantly recognizing the article of clothing belonging to Tomura.
Dark amber eyes greedily look at the taiyaki. Her small hands grab two at a time, and they rapidly disappear down her mouth. She wolfs them down, as if she would never get a chance to eat again.
He seizes this chance to confront her. How could a child her age manage to break into the villains' base?
"Hello there." Kurogiri greets smoothly, stepping out of his hiding place.
The girl freezes mid-bite, and her childish eyes grow even bigger. She and Kurogiri stare at each other for a good few seconds. It's as if both were sizing each other up, before properly reacting to the situation at hand.
Suddenly, she drops her half eaten taiyaki, and turns away. Kurogiri lunges for her, warping a portal in front of her.
"Wait just a moment -!"
Before he could say anything else, she blinks out of existence. The taiyaki falls on the floor with a dull thud. Kurogiri gapes at the spot where the girl was once standing. He hurries over to the counter to investigate. Maybe she was hiding? Three out of seven taiyaki were eaten. One taiyaki lies on the floor, with its head bitten off. If it weren't for that piece of evidence, Kurogiri might've thought the girl was a mere hallucination.
Bewildered, he glances over both his shoulders. He scans his surroundings to see if the girl ran somewhere else in the bar. But, he already accepted that it was an unlikely possibility. The nearest exit was twenty feet away, and he would've caught the girl before she ran out the doors.
Sighing, he picks up the now cold taiyaki. His suspicions are confirmed. There is a thief - she's just much younger than he initially suspected.
Kurogiri continued to leave food for the girl, intending to lure her out and question her. However, the plates of food went untouched for the next two weeks. After their encounter, he assumes that he scared the girl off. She got caught, so she most likely moved on to another household to rob. He could only ponder what sort of quirk this little girl possessed, that allowed her to be so stealthy.
Nevertheless, life went on. The days grow shorter and colder. Winter season was particularly brutal this season. It was only November, and apparently, the first snowfall was forecasted for tomorrow. Kurogiri turns away from the screen to help serve his next patron. While pouring a drink, he thinks about the child thief. He wonders if she was surviving on her own, out there, in the freezing temperatures. She looked so young, probably the tender age of eight or nine...she almost looks like…like...
He crushes the memory before it threatened to resurface. Kurogiri swallows thickly, and concentrates on pouring the next empty glass that was shoved under his nose.
Even when Kurogiri closed down the bar, the little girl was still on his mind. He imagines the child wearing Tomura's oversized hoodie, which was hardly the appropriate thing to wear in the frigid weather. When was the last time she ate? Where were her parents? How long has she been scavenging and living on her own?
A growl escapes him, and he slams down a dirty glass. He needs to stop fretting over futile details. That girl - is not his responsibility. She isn't her. Kurogiri thinks firmly to himself, picking up the glass and furiously polishing it. That's all behind you now. That's all in the past.
After cleaning and locking up shop, Kurogiri was prepared to retire to bed. Even after he slipped into his night attire and slipped under his bedsheets, he simply couldn't shake that little girl from his thoughts. From his bedroom window, he can see the rapid snowfall. It's unforgiving weather for anyone to be outside in...Restless, he throws the sheets off himself. Something has to be done, or else he won't get a good night's sleep.
So, as a last ditch effort to appease his conscience, Kurogiri gathers some old blankets. Rummaging through some storage, he even found a couple of Tomura's old winter coats. They were a bit baggy for the child's skinny stature, but it'll keep her warm - if she accepts his offerings.
He goes into the alleyway and leaves the warm bundle on the doorstep. Kurogiri stares down the dark alley, searching for any signs of movement or life. The wind whips around the snow like dust, obscuring his vision. He sighs, shaking his head. Really, he was ruminating on this way too much. Maybe the little girl was just a stupid child who thought it was entertaining to steal. Maybe she was a runaway. Maybe she was just a mere street urchin.
Who knows, he thinks before falling into a dreamless sleep. Maybe she went back to her family. Nobody can be that reckless to stay outside in this cold weather...He finally surrenders himself to sleep, with a more or less clearer mind.
The next morning, Kurogiri went outside to pick up the blankets. But, there was nothing for him to pick up. There was only a fine layer of snow where the blankets once were. A set of small footprints trail off into the streets.
Author's Note: I hope this wasn't a slow first chapter! I just wanted to get a good feel of Kurogiri's character. He's one of my favorite BNHA character designs, and also one of my favorite villains (even though he doesn't get a lot of screentime.) I think it's a shame that Horikoshi doesn't develop some of his villainous characters more, especially Kurogiri. He just got arrested in the manga then put on the bus? And never mentioned again? I can only hope Horikoshi brings back our misty boy….
Reviews are much appreciated!