NeonHorizon: Just to clear something up. Yeah...that thing that supposedly happened between Hiyori and Dabi? It happened. Just to clear that up. And. Um. Yeah. Next chapter won't be so lengthy :/
Aizawa. She ran her fingers through her pale hair, sighing in frustration. The girl had just wanted him to know that she was alright so she sent a single message; a confirmation that she was alive. He had replied soon after, asking for her location. She was about to answer, but stopped herself and turned the phone off.
As badly as she wanted to be with him again, to be with the heroes again, Hiyori got a sinking feeling when she thought about it. I don't have enough information yet anyway. I need to know more about what the League of Villains plans to do. They…we…have been gaining more members. I don't want this chance to be wasted. I want to be useful to him.
Hiyori drew her phone from her pocket to check the time. She had left the bar with the hopes of finding a quiet book store to hang out in for a while. The bar was becoming crowded and she was dealing with plenty of other things to frustrate her. Shigaraki had made a habit of not being in the same room as her, but responded to her messages. It was really puzzling.
Yeah. Hanging out in a book store, alone, would be great. She thought this as she looked over her shoulder at the tall, dark-haired young man behind her. Then she glanced at the blonde girl walking beside her. How did I get into this situation?
"What do you want to do, Yori-chan? You were going somewhere fun, right?" Toga leaned toward her, linking her arm with the other girl's.
"I was going to a book store," Hiyori muttered, adjusting her glasses.
"Boring! Hey, let's go find some boys! That would be fun!"
"Boys, huh? How old are you, Himiko-chan?" Her tails twitched faintly beneath her sweater and she heard the girl giggle in response. I don't know what her plan is, but it can't hurt, right? I don't really care…but she looks so excited. How bad can it be? She probably just wants to flirt with some guys. A smirk tugged at her lips and she shrugged. "Yeah, okay. Let's find some cute boys."
Toga's pace quickened, a broad grin taking form across her face. "So what's your type, Yori-chan? Just Tomura?"
"She likes guys with piercings," Dabi answered. He came up on Hiyori's other side now, his expression hard to read.
The blonde's giggling returned and she squeezed Hiyori's arm tighter against her. "What? You're into bad boys?! Doesn't it just make sense that a glasses girl would like bad boys?"
Glasses girl? Hiyori bit the inside of her cheek, forcing a smile to try to hide her irritation. "Heh. Yeah. Really into the bad boys."
They were undeniably an odd group. The blonde girl, wearing a high school uniform and a bright grin. The pale-haired young woman, dressed in black and gray with eyes that screamed "I don't want to be here". The young man with dark hair and patches of burned-looking flesh, appearing to just be along for the ride. People on the sidewalks tended to move out of their way as soon as they came into view.
I hate drawing so much attention. Why is Toga being so loud? And why is Dabi still here? If we're looking for boys, isn't it kind of weird for him to be with us? She glanced over at the young man, frowning. He clearly knew that this was embarrassing for her.
Toga led the way to an arcade, where she proceeded to zero in on a pair of high school boys. Hiyori was dragged over to meet themand she awkwardly played the role of an embarrassed high school girl. She felt creepy, pretending to be their age.
"Sorry, but I have to be honest. You're not really my type," she tried to explain. She was still unsure of where Toga had taken the other boy. They had vanished shortly after she was introduced to the one standing in front of her.
"What? Well, we just met. I mean, I could be your type if we talk more. You want to go somewhere more private to hang out or-?" The boy went silent as he saw an arm slip around her waist from behind, a pair of bright blue-green eyes narrowing on him from the taller man now standing behind her.
"Hey, babe. Is this kid bothering you?" Dabi's chest pressed against her back, his fingertips slipping beneath the hem of her sweater.
Hiyori's cheeks went red. "Wh-what are you doing? There are people-!"
"So? Don't look at them," he murmured, lips brushing her ear now.
She turned her head to try to give Dabi a warning glare and saw the boy hurrying away, his face a vibrant pink. "What was that about?" she hissed, her tails slipping down to wrap around her leg. She tensed as warm air caressed the curve of her ear. "Ngh. S-seriously. We need to find Himiko-chan."
"She's probably having fun with that other boy. You don't want to ruin her fun, do you?" Dabi stepped back, releasing her. He could tell by the frown on her face; she was not amused.
Hiyori chose not to answer. Instead, she stepped outside and listened for Toga's voice. When she heard it from the right, the girl began to walk swiftly in that direction. Meanwhile, her heart was racing. That feeling. His fingertips on my hip. That felt really familiar. What's this weird feeling in my stomach? It's…ugh. It feels fluttery. And warm. Now where the hell is Toga?!
A shout made her twist and dart down an alley, turning quickly into another and coming upon a scene that made her blood boil. What she saw was a large, angry-looking man with some sort of bladed arm quirk threatening the blonde girl. This man's back was to her as he waved a sharp-edged arm at the girl standing several feet in front of him. The boy that she had been talking to in the arcade was lying in a pool of blood on the ground near Toga.
No! No way! Not today! Something ignited within Hiyori and she acted without any further thought. She sprinted forward and leapt as high as she could. Her knees dug into his ribs, her tail curling and poising so her stingers were ready to strike. She managed to get a few punctures in before he began to thrash and snarl threats at her. What happened next occurred in response to her life being threatened. Venom collected in her tails; faster than she could process. A level three dose pumped into his veins and she could feel his thrashing grow more frantic as his senses faded away. She held on tightly, even when his hand found her injured arm and began clawing at her bandages. Gritting her teeth, Hiyori tightened her arms around his neck and withdrew her stingers to start stabbing again.
"Ooooh! It's a level three! Look at him quiver!"
She ignored Toga's words, clinging to the man's upper back even as his knees gave way beneath him. Only when he crumbled, turning into a trembling mess on the pavement, did Hiyori release him. The pale-haired girl glared down at him, her wound gushing fresh blood. "…bastard…" Tears blurred her vision as he went still. Dead. "You…bastard! I didn't want to do that! I didn't want this!"
"Wow! Look at all of this yummy blood~"
It was now that Hiyori turned to look at Toga more closely and felt goose bumps rise on her skin. There was blood dotting the blonde's face and school uniform. Yummy…blood? She glanced from Toga to the high school boy that was still lying motionless on the ground. The pool beneath him was large, his uniform blazer drenched. No…way. No. I didn't know. I thought that it was that man, but…? She saw Toga skip over to the dead man and crouch down, apparently collecting his blood.
The pale-haired girl was silent for most of the walk back to the bar. Walking between Dabi and Toga, she tried to process what had happened. Clearly, Toga was planning to murder someone from the start. Or at least horribly maim them. I misread the situation. I completely misread it. She bowed her head, hands shoved into her pockets. Her tail was sticky with blood, coiled around her midsection to hide it. I killed that guy. He was probably just defending himself, but now he's dead.
On her left, Dabi was saying something and it went unnoticed. He looked over and saw her staring at the ground as she walked, biting her lower lip. "Grayscale."
"…what…?" Her voice was soft, breaking a little even with just one word.
"Was that your first or something?"
"No. I've…done that before. Just not like that. I don't know if he even deserved that." She tried to glance toward Toga to see her reaction, but felt her pulse quicken when she realized that the blonde was no longer with them. "Where's Toga?"
"Don't know. She just took off." Dabi smirked. "Why are you blushing?"
"I'm not. I guess human emotion is difficult for a guy like you to understand. Sometimes a person's face turns red when they're upset."
"There's that sassy nerd."
"You're pretty arrogant for a guy that looks half-roasted," she muttered angrily. A moment of silence passed between the two and was finally broken by her sigh of frustration. Why do I care if I offended him? He embarrassed me in front of strangers. Still. I feel bad about saying that just now. Damn it. Hiyori turned to him, amber eyes ablaze. "I'm sorry. Look. I didn't mean that, okay?" His smirk immediately made her regret apologizing.
"You like me."
"Whoa. Wishful thinking, much? I know I'm an irresistible beast with these thick-framed glasses, but try not to get so hopeful."
"You're pretty bad at lying."
Now it was her turn to smirk. Bad at lying? You have no idea. I'm probably the best liar you've ever come across. I've been doing it long enough that I've perfected it. She pushed up her glasses and felt a grip on her wrist. Turning to him on the sidewalk, she quirked an eyebrow. "Hm? What's that intense look for?"
"We're taking the alleys back. Your arm is starting to draw attention."
Shift P.O.V
"Where's Yori?" He was hesitant to sit at the counter, glancing to be sure that she was not right behind him. Shigaraki finally took a seat and began to fidget with "Father".
"She went out with Toga and Dabi." Kurogiri paused, examining the glass that he had been cleaning. "Women, most women, are social creatures. With Toga claiming to be her best friend, I'm sure that Yori is happy. Toga seems to be the first friend that she's made."
"Her best friend?" Shigaraki's hand left his pocket to start scratching at his neck. "She's my support. She doesn't need those two. Yori doesn't even really like them. She's just with them because I was busy. She doesn't need a best friend; she has me. And she doesn't need that toasted freak. She has me. So why did she go off with them?"
Kurogiri saw the scratches getting deeper, indicating that the blue-haired villain was quickly losing his composure. "Tomura Shigaraki, you have been avoiding her since the day that they arrived. While I can see that you're jealous-"
"What is there to be jealous of? She said it herself; she loves me. So what's going to happen? She wouldn't love a guy like him. And that girl. She's not really her friend. I'm her best friend. I'm everything to her." He had straightened a little when he began to get worked up and now he slouched, sighing. "You don't get it. I don't care. It doesn't matter if you get it or not."
"If you would stop avoiding her, you could go with them next time."
"That was a stupid thing to say. I already know that." Shigaraki peered up at him through his hair, a grimace twisting his chapped lips. It had been nagging at him for a while now. The memory of her holding him and then her lips on his. The quiet love confession and then her falling asleep beside him. It was a little overwhelming, but that had made him undeniably pleased. My girl loves me.
"A good leader would never avoid their strongest support. She is a valuable asset, Tomura Shigaraki. When she returns from her outing with the others, I would suggest trying to make amends with her."
"She's my support," he muttered. "I shouldn't have to share my support with everyone else. They can get their own princess. Yori doesn't like them anyway. She probably thinks that they're annoying, too. Like you. She just needs me."
Kurogiri resumed his task and bowed his head to focus on cleaning the glass. "She needs to get over her fear. If Yori intends to be useful, she will need to be able to kill when you need her to."
"Yeah." His lips stretched into a smile that made the nearest cat's fur stand on end. "I want to see my girl kill for me. My support needs to be able to kill."