NeonHorizon: I debated whether or not Kurogiri was in character this chapter. I mean, I could see this weird exchange happening. He just kind of sounds like an irritated parent. Anyway...here's more content.

Fan girl. I have a fan girl. The light of the screen illuminated his face in a most unsettling way as he hunched forward a little. Buttons clicked as he skipped through a cut scene to get to combat. He was determined to beat her on the first try the next time they played against each other.

His fan girl was now required to come with Giran every time the broker visited. So far, neither of them came to the bar. As perplexing as that was, it gave him the opportunity to mull over what it meant to have a fan.

Video games had fans. Movies had fans. Television shows had fans. Heroes had fans. Even serial killers had fans. Anyone or anything that was important had a fan. If Kugutsu was his fan, then that must mean he was important to her. The very thought gave him a boost of confidence.

Shigaraki was still healing after being shot in all four limbs, but he had every intention of making a move again. Whether it was another attempt on All Might's life or simply making himself more established as a villain. He had goals and the knowledge that someone admired him enough to be a fan only added fuel to his fire.

My fan girl, he thought with a quick scratch to his neck. What's my fan girl doing right now?

"Shigaraki Tomura, do you plan to leave your room today?" Kurogiri's voice penetrated the door. He could easily just open a warp gate and enter, but was respecting the other villain's privacy.

Pausing the game, he narrowed his eyes at the screen. His character was in mid-attack, about to deal the finishing blow to his opponent. Turning his head to glare at the door, he chewed at his lower lip. "I don't feel like it."

"I will be leaving soon to run an errand."

"Do what you want. I don't care." He slouched again and resumed his game. The room was fairly dark with the exception of the illumination of the console's screen. The dim light never bothered him; he preferred it.

When his fifth opponent was defeated, Shigaraki released a pleased sigh and leaned his head back. He wanted to challenge her to another match now that he had beaten so many enemies in a row. Imagining her feline ears flattened in disappointment brought a feeling of contentment. The villain could only imagine how it would feel to see it in real life.

It was still perplexing that she had cat ears, but no tail. That freak. She looks like she's cosplaying. And every time she looks at me, she stares like she's in love or something. He looked toward the door and once he was sure that Kurogiri was gone, he left the room. I should make her do something for me. She's my loyal fan; she'll do anything I want, right? What should I make her do?

Shift P.O.V

"Chisaki Kai."

Giran pushed up his glasses and quirked an eyebrow. "Who?"

"This guy. Chisaki Kai," Kugutsu brought up an image on her phone and tapped an obsidian nail against the screen. "He's got potential so why aren't we trying to work with him?"

The man frowned, leaning back in his seat at his desk. "Because we work for All for One mostly. I don't think it's a good idea to go looking for more clients right now, Kugutsu-chan." He saw her shoulders droop and he smirked. "What? You have yourself another little crush? He's not a bad-looking guy, I guess, and he's probably around your age. You could just talk to him-"

She bristled, ears going back. "This isn't about a crush," his assistant grumbled. "I'm talking about a legitimate business move. We can cover more villains this way and bring in more money."

Giran shrugged. "Okay, but you're missing something here. This guy isn't a villain; he's yakuza."

Kugutsu blinked slowly. "Yakuza? And that's…?"

"Mafia? Organized crime? You've never seen any old crime movies, have you?" Seeing her shake her head, the man clicked his tongue. "I'll just put it simply then; we don't work with yakuza." He could see that she was becoming frustrated, even a little disappointed. "Okay, I'll tell you what. If you want to reach out to this Chisaki Kai and offer to work with him, be my guest. I'll back you up."

"You mean that?" Her pulse quickened, excitement flooding her veins. She had always just assisted in the shadows so to be able to work one on one with a client was a big deal for her. It took her a step closer to becoming a real broker like Giran. However, she still kept her lips in a straight line and her eyes neutral.

"Sure thing. Just be cautious though. We mainly work for villains so a yakuza boy might not take too kindly to you reaching out. He might think you're trying to insinuate something."

"I'll be careful," she assured him. "For starters…I'll call for the initial contact. If he does agree to work with me, I'll only meet one on one."

Giran could see the sparkle in her eyes, despite her neutral expression. After seeing the way she looked at Shigaraki, he became pretty good at identifying when she was having a fan girl moment. With a smirk, he leaned forward in his seat and lit a fresh cigarette. "Maybe doll yourself up if you meet him, huh? Never thought you'd be good eye candy, but Shigaraki appreciates you."

Blood rushed to her face, filling it with a warm hue, and she gripped her phone tighter. "I-I don't care…as long as he works with me," she muttered.

"I still can't get used to how you change when you fan girl out over a guy. It's almost cute. Okay, so, go make your phone call and let me know how it goes." He made a shooing motion with his cigarette, his expression rather smug.

It's not that, she told herself as she went to her own desk. I admire power. I admire ambition. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Shigaraki is a guy and that he's kind of cute and damn it! She aggressively ruffled her short, dark hair and growled in frustration. Across the room at his own desk, Giran started to chuckle. I hate losing control of my emotions. Why do I get like this every time I think about Shigaraki?

Once she had calmed down and managed to regain control of her emotions, Kugutsu began her search for some sort of contact information for Chisaki Kai. Not an easy task, by the way. He had no social media presence and rarely even showed up in articles, but what she did find impressed her.

The dark web brought her information regarding certain incidents that he happened to be a part of and his quirk seemed to involve disassembling and reassembling organic and inorganic matter. In short, the man was absurdly powerful. She managed to find someone that was part of the Shie Hassakai, but they were just an underling. After spending half of the day on this one project, she finally got a number for someone called Kurono.

"Make any progress?"

She jolted and bristled at Giran, who was standing behind her and looking at her notes over her shoulder. "I've got a phone number."

"Only took you half the day," he taunted. "Anyway, put a pin in this because I have an actual job for you to do."

"…this is actual work…"

"That's your little side project, kid. I'm talking about something that's actually going to pay. While you were trying to dig up information on your yakuza boy, I got a call with a job for you specifically. You up for a challenge?"

"A job for me specifically?" Kugutsu closed her notes and lifted her gaze curiously. An ambush job for my "shadow play"? Or maybe I need to sneak into a place for something? Usually Giran just gives me the stuff he doesn't want to do.

The man leaned against the side of her desk, unable to hide the smirk that drew at his lips. "Yeah. So?"

"I guess I can put this on hold."

"Good. To be honest, you'd probably call and get hung up on anyway."

"Thanks for the confidence boost."

"Hey, I'm a good boss, aren't I? I pay you too well to also be your friend," he argued half-heartedly. "So anyway, I need you to go to the mah-jongg place and-" Giran paused, seeing her mouth twitch and a faint warmth rise to her cheeks. "Before you get all cutesy, starry-eyed fan girl about it, listen to the rest of what you need to do. This isn't a delivery or something. You need to actually put some effort into this job."

Kugutsu leaned back in her seat and nodded. "So…?"

A full on grin took form on her boss's face. "I need you to take Shigaraki somewhere and show him a good time."

"…I'm not an escort…"

"I didn't mean like that! I mean, take him somewhere fun and just get him out of the bar for a while. He's All for One's protégé, but he's still got stuff to learn. He needs to learn social skills and stuff so why not have his cute fan girl help him? Just give him a good day."

"The day's half over." Though she was speaking calmly and keeping her face moderately composed, her pulse was racing and Kugutsu could feel sweat forming on her palms and hairline. Spend half the day with Shigaraki? I want to. I really want to do that, but what if I let him down? What if he gets bored?

"Look, I know I asked if you wanted to go, but you don't really have a choice here. I'm not going. This is seriously something only you can do."

"…the pay…?"

"I'll reimburse all the expenses for the day so keep your receipts. The base pay will be about twenty thousand yen for the half day and I'll tack on a bonus if you do a good job." He winked, making her stomach turn, and returned to his desk. "Might want to wear something casual."

Kugutsu made her way to her room and immediately began rummaging through her clothes for something to wear. Casual. I can't wear sweatpants though. I don't want him to think I don't care. I don't want him to think I care too much. She ruffled her hair and grimaced. This is too complicated! What's the perfect outfit for hanging out with a cool villain like Shigaraki?! He's a real villain!

She decided to let fate decide on her outfit. Closing her eyes, she felt around for some pants and retrieved a pair of jeans from her dresser. Combining these with a random t-shirt with a cartoon cat on it, she looked like the very definition of casual wear. Brushing her hair would make it look like she was trying too hard, so she just left it wild.

The young woman grabbed her messenger bag, shoving her favorite console and game case into it as well as an energy drink from her mini fridge. It was as she was leaving her room that her phone rang and displayed "unknown caller" on the screen. "Kugutsu Kurayami speaking. Who is calling?"

"I heard that you were looking for me," an unfamiliar male voice replied.