The motor stopped after what she estimated was a 30 min ride. She had tried to mentally map the road they were following, but quickly lost track, so she had absolutely no idea where they were.

She heard the door on her right open and felt a gloved hand grab hers to help her out of the car. The door closed behind her, and the hand that held hers moved to her shoulder to guide her more easily.

Considering her temporary blindness, she had to rely on her other senses to figure out their current location. She could hear the gentle rustling of water close to her and feel a strong wind blowing her hair in her face. The unpleasant taste of rust in her mouth finished convincing her that they were somewhere around the docks, probably heading to an abandoned warehouse nearby, where they wouldn't be bothered.

A door crackled in front of her and she heard Jin whisper under his breath while leading her inside of the building.

"Here goes nothing."

The door closed behind them, and in the blink of an eye the atmosphere around them changed. It became heavy, uneasy, almost suffocating. She could feel her heart beat faster in her chest and for the first time since Jin talked about introducing her to the League, she felt nervous. She realized what was at stake and who she was dealing with. She might never leave this warehouse.

She couldn't think about that right now, it was too late for doubts anyway. She had to focus, read the room. Despite the oppressive atmosphere, she did not feel any negative feelings from most of the persons present, it seemed that they were open to hear her out. Well, except for one. Right in front of her, she could feel waves after waves of anger, disdain and hostility aimed at her. There was also something else, but she could not quite figure out what it was.

Although she tended to hate it in her everyday life, due to how overwhelming it was, it was sometimes a blessing that her quirk rendered her hypersensitive to emotions around her. Now she knew that this was the person that she would have to work the hardest to convince. Probably not the boss, but it was the person with the highest standards. The kind of person whose opinion is taken into account in this kind of situation, and he was already sure she wasn't good enough. Fuck.

She felt the blindfold fall on her shoulders before she could realize what had happened. Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room, they instinctively searched for the person radiating all the negative emotions she felt before. Right in front of her, he was there, standing. The second her eyes met his, she understood. They were mesmerizing, these turquoise irises that contrasted with the color of his skin and his gaze, it was hard to avert her eyes. In it, she could see the emotions she felt before, and finally put a finger on the one she wasn't able to identify. Pain. She felt overwhelmed by it, just by looking into his eyes, she couldn't even imagine what it was like for him.

"So. Who are you and what do you want from us?"

She blinked a few times to get out of her thoughts and slightly turned her head. The voice had come from a weird blue-haired man, covered in … hands? Well, that was disturbing. Before she could answer, the man beside her started to talk.

"Guys, this is Namie Nanami. I thought she would be great for us to have her because of…"

"My connections and my quirk." Namie interrupted him. "Thanks for the introduction Jin, I'll take it from there."

"ALRIGHT! YOU GOT THIS!" He lifted his thumbs in a good guy pose to emphasize his words.

"I'm a psychologist and I have a lot of pro heroes as clients. As for my quirk, it allows me to access people's memories. I'd say, this is a pretty great combination and I thought you might be interested in it."

Shigaraki considered her words for a second.

"What types of memory can you access?"

"Any memory. I just need to know what I'm looking for. Specific situations, people, feelings, traumas."

"How does it work?"

"I touch someone and we both see their memory and feel the emotions associated with it."

"Huh. Care to show us, then? Try it on Dabi over here." He pointed at the scarred man who caught her attention earlier. "Look at his worst memory."

"Are you sure about that? It can be quite painful."

"He'll be fine." Shigaraki smirked. "Right, Dabi?"

"Whatever. Just get it over with." Dabi rolled his eyes as he answered.

He did not realize what would happen to him. Of course, how could he, none of them knew how bad it could be. He was already in such pain, she felt sick to her stomach to have to do this to him. But she had to do it. It was the only way to prove that she belonged there. It was a struggle to make her way towards him, as every inch of her screamed at her to not do it.

Once she reached him, she took his hand in hers. It was surprisingly warm. She let out a quiet sigh as she lifted her head up to look him in the eyes. I'm so sorry.

In less than a second, Dabi's facial expression changed. His eyes twitched and his lips tightened. It was clear that he was in pain, seeing how his jaw clenched and how his hands began curling into fists. The strain on his mind and body were stronger than expected. Namie's expression changed too, as she was seeing and feeling the memory with him, but quickly her look turned into one of surprise and realization.

"It was you... T-"

The last words did not come out of her mouth as a hand grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall.

"Make it stop." Dabi gritted between his teeth, as the pain started to become overwhelming.

"Let go of me!" Namie clutched the hand on her neck, trying to pull it off, but the grip was too strong.

"Make it stop!" He almost screamed his last words as the pain became too much to bear.

"I-. I can't." Her voice was barely audible and she struggled to speak as he pressed harder and lifted her off the ground. "St-. Still a. Few more seconds."

Everyone around them stared at the scene in complete shock. They had never seen Dabi like that and they were completely helpless.

Just as Dabi's hand started to grow warmer, the effects of Namie's quirk started to wear off. He finally released his grip, and let her fall to the ground. She coughed a few times, trying to get some fresh air back in her lungs. A wave of fear passed through her whole body as she realized what could have happened. A few seconds more and all that would remain of her would be ashes.

She turned her head up to the blue-haired man standing beside her. He knew. Of course he knew this would happen. That was why he had chosen this man for the demonstration of her quirk. What a fucking madman! She looked at him defiantly.

"Satisfied?"

"Very much so. That was quite impressive." Shigaraki seemed thoughtful, as he looked over to Dabi. He turned his attention back to her. "Why didn't you stop when he asked you to?"

"I couldn't." She coughed again, her throat sorer than she had realized. "It's thirty seconds, more if I decide to, never less."

"Interesting." He motioned for Jin to come over to where Namie was still on the ground. "Twice, I think you should drive her back home."

Jin came over to Namie and helped her back on her feet. He grabbed the blindfold on her shoulders, and tied it around her eyes once again. Without a word they made their way out of the warehouse and to the car.

This had been something, that was for sure.

~o~o~o~o~

He had to admit, he was not disappointed. He didn't expect much from this meeting, he actually just accepted out of curiosity. He did not regret it one bit, though. This woman, she would be a real asset for them.

Shigaraki still had chills from the scene he witnessed before. He had never seen Dabi in such a distressed state, it was baffling. If she could do this to him, who was usually so apathetic, so cold and unemotional, what else could she do? She could be useful in more ways than just information gathering. A smile formed on his face as he thought about all the possibilities.

"Well, we're gonna keep her."

He looked over at the other members of the League who had gathered around him. Their faces showed that they were still trying to process what had happened just a few moments before. Not that they cared about Dabi's feelings. He was a real asshole, he had it coming, but it had still been pretty disturbing.

"Good." He continued after they all nodded in agreement. "Now we need a background check. I want someone to follow her for a few days and report back."

"I'll do it." Dabi, who had stayed silent since the demonstration suddenly spoke up. The determination in his eyes made it clear that he was going to do it no matter what.

"Ooh, she made quite the impression on you, didn't she?" Shigaraki couldn't help himself, the opportunity to tease him was too good.

"Fuck you." Dabi grabbed his coat on a nearby crate and made his way towards the door.

Although no one could see it under his hand, Shigaraki's lips curled up into a smile. Now he just had to wait and see.