The atmosphere in the room was tense, the tension thick enough to make her nearly choke on it. Kugutsu's hands were sweaty, making her constantly adjust her grip on the game controller. A look to her right showed the other villain glaring intensely at the screen, his chapped lips twisted into a frown.

This is Shigaraki. All for One's protégé. His champion. The "chosen one". He has that decay quirk that injured a pro hero in the USJ incident and he tried to take on All Might. This isn't a person to fuck with. So the big question is…should I start letting him win?

The screen blinked with their scores, showing a large "K" to proclaim the winner. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face and she saw him begin to scratch his neck beside her. This was the third game in a row that she had won. The first match, she had forgotten who she was playing with and just played normally. After that, she had wanted to impress him.

It was a game she had at home. Something she had anticipated the release of, stood in line for, played for seventy-two hours straight after acquiring, forced Giran to play against her a few times, and ultimately used as stress relief. So of course she was good at this game. She was actually pretty good at most video games.

"Again," he finally determined. Shigaraki set it up for another match and the villain's crimson eyes shifted to look at her reflection in the screen.

Kugutsu was unsure if it was just the shape of his eyes and the wrinkled flesh around them or if he was actually becoming infuriated. Whatever the case, he looked like he wanted to bash her skull in with his controller. I have to let him win.

This round, she used only the bare minimum of her skills in order to let Shigaraki beat her. As she watched his character's sword thrust through the chest of hers, she felt her lips twitch into a slight frown. She had been winning before, but not by a lot. Their skill levels were pretty close.

How much gaming does he do? Her gaze flicked to the haphazardly stacked game cases and winced. Most of the cases were cracked or damaged in some way. Doubtless, he took out his irritation on them when he was having trouble getting through a level.

When her character's hit points reached zero, his expression changed. The irritated scowl twisted into a grin that sent a shiver down her spine. "Let's play again."

"Sure…" Kugutsu let him set it up as her mind clicked through various topics. She wanted to talk to him. After all, this was Shigaraki Tomura. The young man that Giran had told her about. Though they were not all praises, he had sounded kind of cool when her boss told her about him.

He's right there. I should just say something. What's a good topic of conversation for villains? I usually just talk to Giran and we usually just talk about money or stuff I need to do for him. Seeing the excitement in her new acquaintance's eyes, she swallowed her nervousness.

"Did you…see the trailer for the new RPG that was announced yesterday?"

At her side, he tensed and his grip on the controller tightened. He looked at her reflection on the screen and his eyes narrowed again. "What're you talking about? Which RPG?"

"It's new. It was in development for a few years and the release date kept getting pushed back due to bug fixes and tweaks to the boss monsters' abilities, but it's got a release date for four months from now. The graphics look really good and there's a big skill tree that you can follow after you pick your character class so you can specialize in different areas and…"

Kugutsu continued to ramble on and on about the game as she saw the anger fading from his expression. Her feline ears perked forward and she almost wanted to smile. Apparently, this game sounded more interesting to him than the game they were playing because he soon turned off the game without warning.

Moving closer beside her, he gave the young woman an expectant stare. "Show me the trailer. I want to see if it's really that cool."

When Kurogiri came to announce that Giran had returned, he found Kugutsu and Shigaraki sitting close together as they stared down at her phone screen. "Giran is back," he stated.

She snapped out of her mini-trance and Kugutsu shifted away from Shigaraki. Her heart started to pound after she realized how close together they had been sitting. "Sorry. I kind of…invaded your bubble there."

His nails dragged over his neck, leaving red lines in their wake. He seemed to study her for a moment before turning away to resume his game on one-player mode. Not even sparing her a good bye.

"He seemed to enjoy your time here," Kurogiri remarked.

Her ears flattened and she pushed her hands into her pockets, walking alongside the shadowy man back to the bar. "I suppose we have things in common," she confessed.

"It's unusual for him to have visitors. I'm sure that he would appreciate seeing you again."

You make this sound like a matchmaking thing set up by nosey parents. She glanced to the man walking next to her and one of her ears twitched. Kurogiri. I've heard his name before. I'm sure Giran mentioned him at some point.

"Hey, there's our little Shigaraki fan girl." Giran chuckled when he saw her face turning pink. "How'd the play date go?"

"…wasn't a play date and I'm not a fan girl…" she muttered, her tone venomous. Kugutsu stalked to the door and stood there with her head turned away, fighting back a scowl. He keeps picking on me today. I shouldn't have said anything about wanting to meet Shigaraki. Lesson learned.

"So, seriously, how'd it go? She's my assistant so if she messed up at all-"

"He seemed to enjoy himself. I'm sure that he would be pleased if she came to visit again," Kurogiri answered.

Why are you wording it like that? She threaded her fingers into her hair and tugged gently, trying to calm herself down. Kugutsu prided herself on her ability to keep her emotions in check, yet this single visit to Shigaraki was testing her.

Shift P.O.V

Kugutsu Kurayami is a stupid name. The click of buttons and flash of images on the screen were a good distraction from the pain in his still healing limbs, but he vaguely wished that she could stay to play another round. Scratching an itch on the side of his neck, he narrowed his eyes. Dropping the controller, he listened to the faint voices in the distance.

Giran, Kurogiri, and the quieter voice of Kugutsu. He ventured out of the room, walking slowly and approaching the bar with hesitation. It was still perplexing to think that she had wanted to meet him.

She has those stupid cat ears. And she dresses weird. What kind of person doesn't let their "boss" win in a game anyway? Useless. He reached the door and peered into the bar.

Kugutsu was lingering near the other door, ready to leave. Giran was attempting to make a joke, but Kurogiri seemed to not grasp the punchline. Shigaraki lifted a hand to scratch his neck again, letting his nails dig in a little deeper as his gaze settled on Kugutsu.

Something seemed a bit "off". She had a hand pressed against the wall near her, upon a shadow. As he watched, the shadow seemed to shudder and twitch as if coming to life. Shigaraki blinked slowly, his scarred lips twisting in confusion. The shadow began to sway and shift now as Kugutsu released a soft, frustrated sigh.

What's her quirk anyway? I bet it's just something stupid. Some useless little…He saw Giran look over and the man appeared to understand that she was growing impatient. Bidding Kurogiri farewell, the other two left the bar.

Shigaraki lingered there for a moment longer until Kurogiri turned in his direction. He began the trudge back to his room, intending to return to his game. Next time I'll beat her the first round, he determined.

The door opened behind him and Kurogiri entered the back area. "Shigaraki Tomura, what did you think of Giran's assistant?"

He paused and glared at the man over his shoulder. "She looks like a secret character from a dating sim," he muttered, letting his irritation shine through his words. "Kugutsu Kurayami is a stupid name. It sounds like a username for a dark web account."

"She seemed to enjoy meeting you. You have a fan."

Shift P.O.V

"So was it everything you'd hoped it would be?" Giran lit a cigarette as they began the walk back to his office.

"…it was okay…" Kugutsu chewed at the skin around her thumbnail, trying to vent her emotions subtly. In truth, she had a lot of fun playing against Shigaraki. It was clear that he was really serious about gaming and she admired that. She was a little disappointed by the fact that he looked so weak compared to how she had imagined him, but the villain's venomous attitude made up for it.

"Did Shigaraki make your twisted little heart skip a beat?"

"Please stop."

He sighed in resignation and shrugged. "I'm sure he had a great day though."

"Hm?" She glanced over to see him smirking sheepishly.

"Well, in case you didn't notice, he's a little socially inept. The poor guy probably hasn't been that close to a girl since he was a little kid. So imagine that. Now imagine this cute fan girl shows up and plays video games with you. Sounds like a pretty good day, right, Kugutsu-chan?"

She bowed her head and chewed a little more viciously at the skin around her thumbnail. "You think he had a good day?"

"I think he had a great day."

Kugutsu blinked and shook her head. "Don't call me a fan girl."

"Alright, alright. So. What do you want for dinner? I'll treat you tonight to celebrate."

She winced when he patted the top of her head and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I want yakiniku. From the good place near the office. And I want a beer." Seeing him about to argue, she frowned. "You owe me after ditching me."

"Fine. I think I could go for a drink, too." Giran smirked again. "You like him, don't you? I haven't seen you that nervous before."

"Just…don't call me a fan girl."