NeonHorizon: I rewrote this chapter.

Giran's voice felt like it was booming in the otherwise silent alley. Kugutsu winced, her ears ringing and head throbbing. She lowered her shadow shield ever so slightly and peered out at the alley. Catlike ears swiveled, trying to pick up any sounds that might tell her where her attackers currently were.

No one else had entered the alley, but she still lifted her shield. It was more like a shell. A curved shell of darkness that was currently her only protection from the yakuza men who had not taken kindly to her decision to not join them. Although, in her defense, there had clearly been a breakdown in communication since the impromptu job interview had come as such a surprise.

"I said…I need help," she repeated, her voice low. "Giran-san, I messed up."

"It can't be that bad."

"It's pretty bad! I'm in an alley, hiding from some yakuza!"

Hearing the desperation and fear in her voice, Giran grew serious. As rare as it was for her to show excitement, it was even rarer that she showed any kind of real fear. This was fear "for your life" fear. This was "does alcohol make this medication poisonous?" fear.

"Send me your location and don't move, okay? I'm going to send someone to get you. I'll have to move everything out of office. What a pain!"

"I'm sorry…"

The man sighed, frustrated yet somehow sounding slightly relieved. "Hey, you're okay, right? Nothing broken? No stab wounds?" He tried to sound like he was joking, but it was clear from his tone that he was worried.

"…just a little banged up…should see what I did to them…"

"Alright. Location, got it? Shouldn't take them long to get to you."

With the call ended, Kugutsu now found herself feeling more alone than before. Standing in a dark, cold alley. Shivering and bruised. With only her shadows to keep her company. The brick wall behind her made her feel even colder so she was standing around two feet in front of it to keep away from the chill and to watch for her enemies.

Why do I do this? Why did I think I could be a broker like Giran-san? I got so excited that I didn't even think about the danger. She bit her lip, tasting blood, and ruffled her scruffy black hair. Her clothes were a bit torn, her once tidy hair was back to its usual disarray. The meeting was supposed to be a quick, polite decline, but it had escalated into a near bloodbath with civilian casualties.

Giran-san said we have to move the office, right? What if we have to totally leave the country? I'll never see Shigaraki-san again! Damn it! Why did I do something so stupid?! The dark shell tightened around her, spikes forming on the outside of it as an extra layer of protection. Even if someone saw it, the second they approached she would be able to extend the spikes into their bodies. I just need to stay here. Everything will be okay.

She took a deep breath, trying to settle down, but her heart was racing and her stomach was twisting in guilty knots. She felt like she might vomit. The worst part of all of this was the fear of dying. The men she had faced that day were some of the strongest she had ever fought. I might die and my last words to Shigaraki-san was that I wanted to kiss him! How lame can I get?!

Shift P.O.V

He passively watched Kurogiri while he attempted to stack the cards into a house-like shape. So far, he had managed a pyramid shape and an igloo shape. Not exactly the most exciting way to kill time, but he was starting to get bored of everything else.

The shadowy man behind the counter answered a call and seemed to nod, but it was super hard to tell because his head was basically just a big shifting patch of darkness with eyes. Those eyes turned to Shigaraki now as he continued to talk. "I'm sure he won't mind," Kurogiri said, staring directly at the villain.

A warp gate opened in the middle of the bar, drawing Shigaraki's attention. He slid off of his seat and looked from it to Kurogiri. "What's this?" he demanded, scratching along his neck in irritation.

"Kugutsu needs to be rescued." There was a really weird hint of amusement in Kurogiri's tone as he said this. As if this was a setup. As if this was a big practical joke being played on Shigaraki.

Not about to be toyed with, he hesitated to approach the warp gate. It's just some stupid joke. Why would she put herself in danger? My fan girl's smarter than that. He frowned and chewed at his dry lower lip, waiting for some kind of punchline to the joke or some disappointed reaction from Kurogiri. There was nothing. He just kept staring at Shigaraki like a cat waiting for a glass full of water to hit the ground and shatter.

Now he was more than just bored and frustrated. His fan girl, his one and only fan girl, might actually be in some life-threatening danger. He leaned in through the warp gate and almost wanted to turn back.

Sure enough, Kugutsu was standing in a cold, dark alley with her back to the warp gate. She was trembling and he could see a bit of dried blood on her shirt. I'm not in the mood for this, he grumbled to himself. Why do you have to make me do this? You're my fan. You're supposed to do stuff for me.

He gripped the collar of her shirt from behind and pulled, hard. The other villain yelped sharply and tumbled backwards, her shadowy shield falling in her surprise. Shigaraki moved back quickly to avoid her crashing into him and watched her fall onto her back on the hard floor. The warp gate closed now that she was in the bar and Kurogiri's eyes narrowed as if he might be attempting to not chuckle.

The girl blinked up at Shigaraki in alarm and her cheeks went bright pink. Kugutsu swiftly pushed herself to sit up, running her fingers through her hair again and again as she tried to calm down. "Um…th-thank you," she finally mumbled when she seemed to have her wits about her again.

"I just saved your life, didn't I? And that's the best you can do?" He glared down at her now slouching figure. "What kind of fan makes their idol save them?"

"Ngh…I didn't…mean for things to go bad." She avoided looking him in the eye as if she was avoiding the critical glare of a disapproving deity.

Seeing her look so disappointed, hearing her sound so desperate for his forgiveness, he felt it returning. That rush of blood, that hard and fast beating of his heart, the urge to grin. Shigaraki approached her and set a hand on top of her head, carefully keeping a finger extended. He let her hair run between his fingers before moving on to do what he really wanted.

Fingertips grazed her left ear and instantly brought both of her feline ears perked forward. She half-closed her eyes and lifted a hand to cover her mouth as the purring began. Mixing this with the way her face gradually darkened from pink to red, he found himself pleased.

"She's injured. Giran said that she was in a fight," Kurogiri finally spoke up.

"She's fine." Shigaraki continued to stare down at her, his chapped lips drawing back into a grin. "Aren't you?"

"…I'm fine…" she agreed, her words a bit muffled.

"Let's go. I was going to call for you anyway. Since I saved you, you can make yourself useful and entertain me." His fingers rubbed behind her left ear a bit more before he drew his hand away and began walking off.

Shift P.O.V

She saw him disappear into the passage that led to his room and the alley entrance, but hesitated to follow him. I purred. Right in front of him. Like some kind of attention-starved stray cat. How can I face someone that cool after doing something so lame?

"Kugutsu. It would be in your best interest to remain here for a while. I understand that you're being pursued by a group of people."

The girl turned to look at Kurogiri, still nauseatingly embarrassed. She had almost forgotten that there was a one-man audience there to witness her purring like a desperate animal over Shigaraki's slight show of affection. "Ah…yes, sir. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Not at all." He reached beneath the counter and brought forth a small glass and a bottle of hard liquor. Pouring some of the beverage into the glass, he continued to speak. "Shigaraki Tomura seems to enjoy your company a lot. I would almost wonder if he's fond of you." Screwing the cap back on, he appeared to be staring at her. "How are you injuries?"

"They're…actually not that bad," she explained. "Um…you said…h-he might… well, I mean…" Kugutsu anxiously chewed at her thumbnail, face feeling unbearably warm at the thought of Shigaraki potentially liking her the way she seemed to like him. I wanted to kiss him the last time we were hanging out together! That's not normal for a fan, is it? That's more like a crush.

Kurogiri slid the glass of liquor toward her, eyes narrowing. "Some liquid courage for you, Kugutsu. You look like you could use some."

What do I need courage for? Nonetheless, she downed the liquor and half-closed her eyes as it burned her throat. It pooled warmly in her stomach, but she did feel a little bit better. Slightly less afraid of embarrassing herself again, at the very least.

Fell onto my back like some kind of fool, she thought with a grimace. Ruffling her hair, she proceeded to follow Shigaraki. Just stay calm. Be cool. I don't know if I can actually recover from purring in front of them both, but I have to try!

In his room, he already had a handheld console out and appeared to be waiting for her to get hers out of her bag. The spare chair was still in the room, but he had decided to sit on the floor for some reason. Not about to let herself come across as any more awkward than she already did, Kugutsu settled beside him, but left some room between them.

The game was a multiplayer RPG. The goal was to team up and get through as many dungeons as possible, collecting items that Shigaraki needed for some quests. Kugutsu had already completed the quests, but she was happy to help him however she could.

It was all great for a while. His mood seemed to lift and he moved closer so his leg was touching hers. She probably made some creepy, yandere-like faces when this happened, but that was normal. After all, she was his fan. What fan wouldn't be excited about this? And he really does seem like he likes this.

Then fatigue hit. She had used her quirk a lot when she was fighting the yakuza members and she had taken a beating in the fight. It weighed down on her like a heavy blanket and threatened to pull down her eyelids and force her to sleep. Kugutsu fought it to the best of her ability; blinking rapidly and looking over at Shigaraki in the hopes that her racing heart would keep her awake.

If I pass out now, I'll look like such a weakling. He'll think I'm stupid. And I guess I kind of am. She yawned and tried to focus her gaze on the screen, but her vision was getting blurry. Worse yet, the alcohol was starting to hit her. "You're…really cool," she muttered.

The game was paused. Apparently the slurred words drew his attention. "What are you saying?"

"You're…really cool and I just…wanted you to know that. I look at you and I just…can't believe you wanna hang out with a nobody like me. You're cool and you're cute and I just wanna kiss you!" Kugutsu laughed, sounding a bit delirious. "I'm sorry. Kinda forward. I'm so tired…"

"…shut up…" He scratched his neck, teeth sinking into his lower lip as he looked over at her. "You're my fan girl. Of course you think I'm cool."

Shift P.O.V

On the outside, he was displaying his usual cold mannerisms. On the inside, he could feel his heart beating hard and fast in his chest. She wanted to kiss him. It was an absurd thought, but she liked him so much that he not only occupied her every thought; she wanted to kiss him. She might even be in love with him.

It was a weird thing to think about. Girls usually seemed put off by him or avoided him, but then Kugutsu was far from normal so she must be the exception. As he considered this, she fell heavily against his side with her head resting on his shoulder. Her breathing had quieted now and her eyes were closed.

She felt so warm against his shoulder. The tip of her ear tickled against his cheek when she nuzzled against him, purring softly in her sleep. Shigaraki sat completely still as she settled in, waiting with a frown. When she finally stopped moving around, he reached over to stroke behind her ear without saying a word.

Soft. Warm. Comforting. Nourishing. Something that he wanted always. Kugutsu was quickly becoming important to him in a way he had not thought possible. And after her fight earlier that day and the damage she had taken, he was able to determine something. The next person to join the League of Villains would have to be her.

Shigaraki drew his hand away from her ear, resuming his game. Her character had been slain so she would be of little use now even if he did wake her up. My fan girl. You shouldn't work for someone else anyway; you should work for me. If you're so loyal, why don't you show me by joining?

Kugutsu moved in her sleep and what happened next left him momentarily stunned. Shigaraki's eyes widened as a soft pair of lips brushed along the side of his neck. Every muscle tensed, feeling her press closer against his side. Warm euphoria rushed through him, yet he maintained his frown. She was still asleep.