'That'll be ¥749.'
I rummage through my pockets as the hood on my head slips further over my eyes. I pull some loose change from my last run out of my pocket and drop it onto the counter. Without saying a single word I snatch the items from the counter and take off.
The streets are nearly empty. My gaze is aimed at the ground as the rain pours onto the hood of my sweater and splashes onto the ground.
I turn a corner and sit down. The ground is damp but the storefront keeps the area around as good as dry.
I take the wares out of the plastic bag and roll up the sleeves of my hoodie. I then apply burn ointment and some gauze as I wrap both of my forearms with bandages. This isn't the first time this has happened and it certainly won't be the last time either. One of the recoils of my Quirk includes burning my own hands and arms when I either heat up the spheres too fast or too much. Obviously, finding the limits can only be done by trial and error. I was a hell of a pain in the ass for my parents trying to discover my own limits.
I finish wrapping up my arms and stuff the remainders of the supplies back in my pockets.
I look up at the sky. It's filled with dark grey clouds, not a single bit of moonlight is able to slip past it and shine down.
My phone buzzes so I take it out of my pocket and take a look at it. Tomura…. I really don't feel like talking to him yet. I stuff the phone back in my pocket and get to my feet.
I stroll through the streets again with no real purpose. In the distance I hear sirens roaring past.
I pull the hood further over my eyes and keep my gaze down. I'm watching the puddles ripple beneath my feet as I step in them.
'If I'm just a pawn, then why don't just use me,' I mumble to myself. 'Why take all the effort to take me in, to act so nice to me, if I'm just as disposable as all the others.'
Rain is dripping from my hair onto the ground. My entire hoodie is soaked and I'm shivering. Shadows are moving past me as people pass by without even caring to look my way.
All of a sudden someone bumps into me and I stagger sideways.
'I-I'm sorry!'
I glare out from underneath my hood and stare straight into those innocent emerald eyes that I've been seeing over and over again.
His eyes carry a trace of shock as his brain struggles to understand who I am.
I avert my gaze and walk away. I didn't come here looking for trouble. I came here to get away from him.
I continue walking the streets on my own for a little while until my eyes start drooping in exhaustion. I don't really feel like going back yet so I turn into an alley.
I gather some cardboard boxes to keep myself dry during the night. The makeshift bed looks nothing like the comfy one I've grown used to over the past few years and it's actually way worse than what I've built before. Been a while since I had to do this so of course I would've lost that knowledge.
I lie down and roll over so my face faces the dark concrete wall. I'm shivering intensely. I'm soaked from head to toe but I have something to prove to myself. That I'm no longer reliant upon him. He doesn't need me, so I don't need him. Easy as that.
It takes a very long time for me to fall asleep but when I finally do, I don't sleep peacefully.
I slowly open the door to see if any of them is home. I hear voices coming from the bar, more than I'm accustomed to.
My clothes are still soaking wet and I feel like I'm going to get pneumonia if I continue to walk around like this so I tentatively step forward and try to sneak past towards my room to get a change of clothes.
'Yuna.'
I stop dead in my tracks and glance over my shoulder. Tomura is standing in the doorway leading to the bar, his creepy hand covering has face as always, his red shot eyes visible through the fingers.
'I want you to meet our guests.'
I huff. 'No thanks,' I say and turn around. I stomp upstairs to my room and quickly change. The warmth of dry clothes envelop me in an instant and I feel better.
'Yuna?'
'Yeah, Kurogiri?' I reply. 'Tomura is still requesting your presence.'
I spin around on my heel and cross my arms.
'Does he really think that I'm just gonna forgive him like that?'
'You know what he's like. He doesn't believe he has done anything wrong.'
'Well, he has.'
'He missed you yesterday.'
I huff and look away from him. Trying to pull on my heartstrings. Bastard.
'He really does appreciate you, he just doesn't know how to express it.'
'I know that,' I snap back. 'I'm just so sick of being treated like a toy. I'm a human being, y'know?'
'Yes, I know.'
I start down the hall.
'You're going?' Kurogiri asks, a hint of surprise in his voice.
'That asshole is useless without me. You know that.'
I hear him chuckling as I make my way towards the bar.
I'm lurking at Dabi and Toga from across the room as they chat with Tomura. Toga is dressed as a normal school girl, complete with short skirt, sweater and tiny buns on her head. The only thing that isn't fitting is her insane smile that's spread across her face all the time. Her right hand keeps lingering around her waist. I make a mental note to myself to stay cautious of her.
Dabi is standing next to her. He has an extraordinary appearance, even in the world of Quirks. His hair is black. He's dressed in normal clothes, but his face is covered in scars that seem purple. They seem like burn marks, but they seem to have a certain pattern and neatness to them. They seem… self-inflicted. His hands are shoved in his pocket.
The three of them seem to be arguing. I catch things about conviction here and there. I've also seen the video of the Hero Killer Stain that has been circulating on the internet, but for some reason, it didn't inspire me as much as it did to others. As, apparently, it did to Toga and Dabi.
Tomura is trying to convince them that Stain isn't comparable to us, but the both of them start to look slightly offended, yet not changing their actual expressions.
'It seems that we cannot agree on this matter,' Tomura says, shrugging it off.
'If you're not the same as Stain, you're not a real villain,' Toga says.
'I suppose opinions on that subject differ,' he simply replies. 'Kurogiri, please escort them outside again. They're not even good enough to be used as pawns.'
I see Toga's smile grow wider and Dabi's glare lower. In an instant they both lurch forward, Toga with knife in hand, Dabi creating flames out of thin air. Reminds me of someone else's Quirk…
Tomura also lurches forward, his hands outstretched, ready to inflict pain upon them, when Kurogiri jumps forward and releases his warp gates to avert everyone's attacks.
Toga's knife sticks into the ground, Dabi's flames scorch the ceiling and Tomura's hand reaches into thin air.
I shove my seat backwards and stomp towards them. In a swift movement I kick Toga's knife out of her hands, knock Tomura off his feet and blast Dabi into the wall behind him.
Tomura gets to his feet but is smart enough to back off instead of charge towards me. Toga retrieves another knife from somewhere hidden on her body and twirls it around in her fingers.
'This is an interesting change of pace,' she grins.
Dabi gets back to his feet and brushes the dust off of his jacket as he glares at me.
'What was that supposed to mean?' he asks.
'I'm tired of people like you,' I simply state.
'People like us?' he replies, his voice emotionless.
'People that follow someone that's already done for. People that have no aspiration but to create havoc. You say we're not real villains, yet we've achieved more than you have. Simply killing people is not an art, it's sad, pathetic.'
An emotional outburst makes me continue rambling about things I only half-heartedly believe in.
'Then what have you achieved?' Toga asks me.
'Fear.'
'Fear?' Dabi interjects.
I glance over at him. 'The most important thing to bring a society to its knees is fear. Fear envelops the heart, captures it in a cage of panic and blurs the sight of people trying to fight back. When the Symbol of Peace is gone, fear will rage within the hearts of everyone that believed in him and that's when we'll strike. We'll break society and reshape it the way we intend to. That's what it means to be a true villain.'
They both glare at me.
They exchange glances before relaxing.
Toga slips the knife back into the waistband of her skirt and Dabi puts his hands back in his pockets. He leans sideways to look past me at Tomura.
'You're lucky you have someone that truly believes in what she says.' He looks over at Kurogiri. 'Take me back. You can fetch me later when you want to make further plans.'
Kurogiri looks at Tomura who nods back at him. He continues to open his warp gate to transport Toga and Dabi back to where he found them.
I sigh. 'So, that's why you wanted me to come down?' I say without looking at him.
'You have a certain charisma that I lack.'
'You spelled compassion wrong.'
The heaviness of a hand on my shoulder surprises me.
'I missed you yesterday, Yuna.'
I shake his hand off and take a step towards the door.
'Did you even bother to come looking for me?' I ask, gritting my teeth.
'I had other affairs to take care of.'
'Like threatening a kid in a mall? Yeah, I saw that.' I had been checking up on the hero news on my way home. I wonder what Midoriya was doing that late on the streets after such an incident…
'Those are things that are necessary for us.' I turn around, suddenly angry.
'For what? Not for what I just said! Maybe they're right, maybe you aren't a real villain.'
'And you are?' he questions.
'I might be a better villain than you are and I didn't even want to become one!' He looks at me with a questioning look as I realize that tears have welled up in the corners of my eyes.
He takes a step forward and puts his hands on my shoulders again. I look up at him, feeling extremely vulnerable.
'But you are one now. And you're doing a great job.' Flattering words. Kneading my weak heart into the shape he wants it to be. Using me as his pawn, but yet making me feel like I'm not. 'You are special to me, I hope you know that.'
I wipe away the tears. 'Yeah, I know,' I mutter.
'Please don't run away again. It makes me worried.'
'I won't.'
I'm not meeting his gaze.
'Good.' He takes his hands off my shoulders and moves away. 'I actually have a plan that requires a lot of your help,' he says as he settles into his seat.
I sigh and sit down as I reach over the bar to grab myself a drink. 'Please tell,' I say, a little, yet insincere, smile tugging on my lips.
