NeonHorizon: I don't know how descriptive I want to go with the next chapter...
"You're in a room full of villains with incredible quirks. Each of us could kill you in five different ways if you try to start trouble. Do you understand?"
"Just let me up already! I've gotta go to the bathroom!"
Kugutsu's left ear twitched and she nodded at Twice to release their new member. The second his restraints were off, she sent a shadowy tendril shooting out to wrap around the boy's wrist and link it to hers. He said he'd join us, but we can't totally trust him. At least this way he won't be able to run away.
Bakugou glared down at the link, but made no move to try to remove it. "I said I'd join! You think I'm gonna run away?! You said you'd make me stronger!"
She nodded, keeping her face neutral. "We will. As long as you don't double cross us. Listen…I've had captives before. I've had a captive say they'll cooperate and then they turn against me. And then…we've got liters of blood on our hands and I have to hide a few bodies."
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"She's psychotic," Dabi spoke up from the side.
Kugutsu ignored him and pushed her free hand into her hoodie pocket. "Bathroom. Then breakfast. Let's go."
This was the day after she had convinced him to join. She had slept in the bar with everyone else, curled up in a corner. Of course, she would have preferred to sleep curled up next to Shigaraki in his room. After how intimate things got last time, she felt self-conscious. If things had gone any further, he would have inevitably seen the disfigured stump of her tail and he would have been disgusted.
It had happened before. Kugutsu would like a guy, they would spend some time together and, if she really liked them, they would try to hook up, the guy would see her tail, get grossed out, and Kugutsu would leave their mangled corpse in a dark alley after being dumped. She felt a grin trying to take form as she waited outside of the bathroom, remembering the last ex she had disposed of.
What any normal, sane villain would probably be thinking about now was how to deal with the heroes and police officers currently searching for Bakugou. Honestly, the bar was far from being a secure hideout. All Might could easily smash through the wall like a powdered drink mascot and then it would all be over for them.
That was the last thing on her mind right now. Kugutsu ruffled her scruffy black hair in the dim passage, trying to calm herself down. I need to focus. I have to act professional again. Every time I'm around Shigaraki…my heart starts racing and I can't control myself! I look so lame!
"Hey, Yami. Everything okay?"
She froze and looked toward the door to the rest of the bar. Her face went red, but thankfully she was in a dark enough area for it to go unnoticed. "I'm fine."
"Do you want me to-?"
"I've got this," she interrupted, holding up a hand. Her ears flattened in embarrassment and Kugutsu stared at Spinner. He was just lingering near the door like he was undecided if he really believed she had everything under control.
She decided to just let him stand on the other side of the door as they waited for their new member to finish up. If he tries to run, I'll know, she thought as she looked to the shadowy link between her and Bakugou. And if he runs…I'll cut off his legs. I'll livestream him being broken apart online so all of his classmates can watch him die!
"Yami? You were grinning. You have an idea, right? What is it?" Spinner gave her an excited half-grin in the dim corridor.
"I can't tell you yet." She smirked as the bathroom door opened and tilted her head as she looked at the teenager who emerged. "Wash your hands?"
"Shut up! I'm starving. What'd you get me for food?"
"Don't talk to Yami like that! You just joined so respect your superiors, kid!" Spinner turned from scolding Bakugou to look at Kugutsu. "Shigaraki's still out. Should we wait for him or just eat?"
She was blissfully chewing on her thumbnail as she walked ahead of the two, having fallen into a gory daydream. Imagining the way Bakugou would scream as his bones were snapped and limbs contorted. The terror that would be in his eyes. The trauma this sight would cause his classmates. The baby heroes would be broken in spirit and that would be the perfect time to strike and eliminate them all before they could act first.
Shift P.O.V
After staying up all night, researching and planning, everything seemed to be coming together. Of course, sleep deprivation can make anything look good. He rubbed at one eye as he paused in his steps, grumbling.
He felt sleepy, but this was a sleepiness he was used to. Not the kind you get from staying up for days on end, but the kind of tired you feel after you stay up all night playing a new game. Telling yourself over and over again that you would go to bed after the next level, then the next level, then after getting that weapon, then after upgrading it. Finally, it reaches ten o'clock in the morning and there is no point in trying to sleep.
Leaning against a doorway, he listened for any sounds that might indicate someone else was there. Just the sounds from cars passing by. Normal city noises. The building seemed to be just as abandoned as it looked from the outside.
Shigaraki was convinced this was the place to go. After all, heroes and cops were still going to be looking for Bakugou. Even if the brat had agreed to join. Now it was just a matter of getting everyone moved to this new location. Kurogiri's help would make it go a lot faster; he would just need to remember the coordinates of the building.
He continued to wander through the old building and took in every detail. Old wooden floors. Walls that were a little crumbly. Most of the windows were intact, but with spider-web cracks. It was a three story building so that meant plenty of rooms and plenty of places to hide if they had to. An ideal hideout.
It was on the second floor that he came across the old futon. Not in terrible condition; just a little ragged in appearance. It smelled a bit stale, but not unbearably. He stared down at it for a long moment before his lips curled into a grin, cracking his chapped skin.
How perfect, he thought as he nudged the futon with his shoe. It's almost like it's fate. Let's see. What else do I need now? He made a mental note of where the futon was in the building and casually left the premises.
Shigaraki had spent a large chunk of his night researching and trying to decide if he wanted to attempt the next level of making Kugutsu his. He was determined that if he did attempt this, he was going to set about it with confidence. He was going to act like he knew more than her in the hopes of actually having learned more than she already knew.
That thought made his head hurt a little so he paused on the sidewalk and chewed at his lower lip. If he made this move, so many changes would take place. Their safe little location would be traded for this big pit of despair and broken dreams so they would at least have more room.
They needed to test their new member and this area could be a good place for that. Shigaraki needed to start giving the rest of the League more orders anyway; it barely felt like he was in charge at the moment. After tonight, he was sure that would change. His confidence would magnify and he would direct them like a true leader.
Shift P.O.V
"Nnngh?" Kugutsu jolted as her eyes slid open and were met with the sight of Shigaraki's face looming inches above hers. His dry, cracked lips were stretched into a grin made from nightmares and he reached out a hand to rest it on top of her head. What…? Her face burned with a blush.
Shigaraki had been gone all day. The others, without direction, were left trying to figure out what to do. Dabi took the opportunity to leave and go do whatever edgy bastards do in their spare time, Twice following after him to get cigarettes. Spinner and Kugutsu had played their mobile game as Toga and Magne watched. When night came and Shigaraki was still absent, Kugutsu had gone to sleep in the corner as she had the night before.
Now he was crouching in front of her. Her blue-haired idol with eyes the color of blood and lips so chapped that they bled. The grin he was wearing would have made any sane person's stomach twist in unease, but it made Kugutsu's heart skip a beat.
All around the bar, the others were dozing. Even their new member. Shigaraki's hand drifted to her left ear, four fingertips skimming along the curve of her feline ear and drawing a quiet purr from her. Those same fingertips slowly trailed down the side of her face and beneath her chin, making her purr even louder.
To her embarrassment, she leaned into his touch and bit her lower lip. "Sh-Shigaraki? You were gone-"
"Come with me." His grin spread even wider and it was like something from a fever dream. Like his excitement was just too much for his own face to handle so it might split. He gripped her wrist, careful to keep a finger lifted to prevent his quirk from hurting her.
Kugutsu got up and followed him eagerly. Her excitement was quickly mirroring his. This was a feeling like when a new game case is opened and the game is put into the console. The feeling of anticipation and bliss as the title screen comes up.
To her surprise, the villain led her out of the bar. Outside, the dark sky showed no stars and the summer air was warm. She regretted not taking off his sweatshirt before they left. Of course, Kugutsu was not about to start complaining. She loved that he was still letting her wear it. It was like having a constant hug from Shigaraki and that was all she could ask for.
Walking ahead of her, still holding her wrist, he had his head down so his hair covered his eyes. Shigaraki was silent, but scratching at his neck with his free hand. Almost as if he was anxious about something.
She wanted to ask where they were going, but she bit her lip to stop herself. I don't want to upset him. Wherever he's taking me, it's probably for something important. Maybe he wants to talk about a plan to kill All Might! Or he might have a plan to throw the heroes off our trail! But why would he only tell me about it? Does he…really trust me more than them?
He eventually led her into a three-story building that looked abandoned. There were no sounds within to suggest anyone else was there. Of course Kugutsu, having plenty of experience as a broker's assistant, was on high alert for attackers. She had been in buildings like this before to do work for Giran. She knew people could easily hide away in a place like this.
The girl's feline ears flattened as she followed him up to the second floor, her muscles tensed and ready to fight off an attacker at any moment. When he led her through a doorway, she finally summoned the courage to ask. She only managed to get his name out before she caught sight of the interior of the room and her words died on her lips.
It could only be described as the creepiest attempt at romance ever to exist. An old, worn futon on the floor. A few battery-powered lanterns around the room to cast a pale glow on the scene. Beside the futon was a plastic bag with a few items she could see through the plastic and easily identify. All of this in a warm, abandoned building. A little after one o'clock in the morning.
Kugutsu, ever the blissful fan girl, failed to see the creepiness here. To anyone else, this would have most likely looked like a crime scene in the making. This was the sort of thing people probably saw shortly before their organs were forcibly cut out and sold on the black market. Kugutsu's rose-colored view, altered by her insatiable love for Shigaraki, had her seeing a romantic makeshift bedroom instead of a potential site for homicide.
Her heart was racing at an insane pace as she watched him sit on the futon, his back leaning against the wall behind him. Locks of pale blue hair fell partially over his face and the villain's eyes narrowed. He lifted a hand and beckoned to her with one finger, his other hand resting at his side near the bag.
She hesitantly approached, her palms starting to sweat and a lump of nervousness forming in her throat. They had never been this alone together. Usually when they were alone, it was at the bar and Kurogiri was still in the building. Or they were together at a shopping center, but they were surrounded by mouth-breathers. In this moment, it felt like they were the only people left in the world.
Shigaraki reached up to grip her sleeve and pulled her down onto her knees so she was kneeling between his legs. His free hand lifted, four fingertips trailing along her cheek and then down toward her neck. He paused, eyes narrowing on the bruises that were still slowly fading. Reminded of when someone else had touched her. His index finger wedged into her choker necklace and dragged her down.
Kugutsu's lips were met with his chapped ones as the male villain's other hand pressed against her upper back, keeping one finger elevated. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might pop. When he finally broke the kiss, she blushed red.
He released her choker and dropped his hand lower, gripping her belt buckle. "I want something. Something special that only my loyal fan girl can give me."