"Where've you been?! Do you have any idea what you did?"
Kugutsu had just walked into the office and stared blankly at Giran, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Tilting her head slightly, she kept her face expressionless. "…you're not my dad…"
"This isn't a joke! Damn it." The man ran a hand through his hair, leaning against his desk and grimacing. "You messed up! Why weren't you answering your phone?"
"Phone…?" She rummaged in her bag for her phone and saw that she had missed one call from an unknown number and then a multitude of calls from Giran. To be fair, her phone had been buried under the various gaming supplies and Shigaraki fan gear that she had started toting around so it was probably really muffled when it rang.
What's this unknown number? The girl studied it, trying to decide if she should call it back or not. For all she knew, it might be from a yakuza member that had tracked her down.
"You don't ignore a call from All for One, Kugutsu-chan!"
The phone slipped from her hand and she quickly moved to catch it before it could hit the floor. "A-All for One?!"
"The big boss tried to call you. I don't know what you did, but he was asking a lot of questions. You know how lucky you are that Shigaraki likes you? If he didn't, I'm pretty sure another villain would've taken you out for not answering your phone. I can't believe you ignored his call!"
All for One…wanted to know stuff about me? Kugutsu's ears perked forward curiously. While she was afraid, she was still excited. In her eyes, All for One was the top of the pyramid. The absolute boss. King of the villains. A step even higher than her idol Shigaraki. To think that someone so important had wanted to speak with her was almost unbelievable.
Giran lit a cigarette and pointed it at her. "Call him back, if you know what's good for you."
"Right…yeah." She called the number, her heart hammering in her chest and her posture becoming kind of curled inward. The villain bit at her thumbnail as she heard the phone ring and found herself beginning to pace a little near her desk. She felt eyes on her and glanced up to realize that Twice was apparently in the room with them, but had once again chosen to remain silent.
An hour passed. A long, pulse-pounding hour in which Kugutsu politely and calmly introduced herself to All for One over the phone. She answered all of his questions. She told him her backstory and included every gruesome detail. She explained how she had been working toward being a villain since she was twelve and the lengths she had gone to in order to make herself inconspicuous.
The only time she hesitated was when it came to explaining her quirks. The shadow manipulation quirk was easy enough; she touched shadows and gained control of their shapes and depths. It came from her mother's shadow dancing quirk, which was similar to Kugutsu's, but she had been unable to solidify shadows.
The cat quirk was different. Her father had been even more catlike than she was; complete with fangs, a long sleek tail, and actual claws. He had been very athletic due to his quirk. Kugutsu was far less catlike than he was. She had no claws. She had no fangs. Her tail was a small stump; most of it having been amputated after the accident when she was younger.
When the call was over, Kugutsu was surprised to find the other two still in the room. Giran actually looked a little shocked. Of course, she had never divulged all of her past to him before. Twice was visibly crying through his mask and it made her incredibly uncomfortable.
I've got better things to do than deal with this. I don't want their pity. All for One gets it. She walked to her room, head bowed and a grin tugging at her lips. He called me a valuable asset! I can't believe it! All for One thinks I'm useful! He thinks I have what it takes to be a villain!
She fell onto her back on her bed and rummaged in her bag. Drawing forth her crocheted Shigaraki doll, she hugged it to her chest and bit back a giggle. Shigaraki said that I'm special! I still can't believe…how lucky I am! She rolled back and forth a bit, cuddling with the plush and then finally falling onto her back again. A deep frown took form on her face as she chewed at her thumbnail.
But I still wish I could go with the others tomorrow. I wish Shigaraki would let me prove myself to him! If I could go with them, I'd be able to show him and All for One how great I can really be as a villain!
A knock at her open door made her jolt and Kugutsu's head snapped in the direction of her doorway. Her ears flattened in embarrassment and she lowered her gaze, one hand moving to shove her doll under her pillow. "Jin-san. I didn't know you were there."
He asked her what was wrong, in his odd way where he immediately contradicted any concern he showed with a gruff statement that she had to toughen up and stop acting like a kid. The other villain ventured a step into her room, head tilted as he waited for her to answer.
Twice was one of her favorite villains so she explained the situation to him without much hesitation. "So…I guess I'm just disappointed that I won't be able to help everyone else." She saw him rub the back of his head and when he made a suggestion, Kugutsu's face lit up with excitement. "Yes! Jin-san, that's perfect!"
Shift P.O.V
Shigaraki had heard her phone ringing. He just chose not to say anything. Mostly because he was sure it was Giran or her fan. Just thinking about Spinner calling her made him become agitated. He scratched at his neck as he sat at the bar and glared across the counter.
Kurogiri seemed mildly curious about why he was so annoyed, but chose not to ask. Instead, he decided to talk about something else. "Our master has been asking questions about Kugutsu today. It seems as if she's drawn his attention."
He tensed and sank his teeth into his lower lip. "Why does he care about her? She isn't important. She's just an underling."
The other villain had been pouring a glass of water and paused now, the glowing eye shapes in his supposed face narrowing. "Shigaraki Tomura, I don't think you appreciate the significance of Kugutsu Kurayami. Someone that was self-motivated from a young age to become a villain is extremely uncommon."
He grumbled quietly and slouched, a hand going into his pocket and gripping onto something special. Not that he would ever in a million years refer to it as special. It was just a token from his fan. The good luck charm she had given him.
As much as he wanted to just pretend like this was no big deal, it was actually a very big deal. His master had taken an interest in Kugutsu. Whether it was for her shadow quirk or because of her obsession with Shigaraki, it did not matter. Now she was going to be scrutinized and he, in turn, was going to hear about what his fan was doing.
His free hand scratched at his neck and he scowled. Standing, he shot Kurogiri another glare. "I don't have time for this. Did you really think I'd care about something so stupid? I don't care what happens to her. She's just a playable character. That's it."
Kurogiri waited for him to almost reach the door to the back area before he spoke again. "So what is your reason for keeping her here tomorrow night instead of sending her with the others? Kugutsu Kurayami is a powerful ally. She would do well in a fight alongside the rest of the League of Villains, but you decided to keep her at your side instead."
Shigaraki pressed four fingers to the door, tempted to put the fifth against the smooth surface and just demolish the door in one go. It was bad enough that he had made that stupid, vaguely emotional, confession earlier. Of course, he had never intended to say such sappy words. Kugutsu had forced him to do it because she kept insisting that he send her with the others.
The next afternoon, he waited for her at the bar while the rest of the villains went to the UA summer training camp to capture their target. As disgusting as it was, he actually found himself looking forward to spending the next few hours alone with Kugutsu while the others worked. He had certain games in mind that he wanted to play with her and he knew that she would bring him something. She had made a habit of trying to outdo herself by bringing him things that might impress him. Like a cat killing mice or birds and proudly bringing them to their owner.
When Kugutsu showed up, she was wearing that blank look that she often displayed when the other villains were around. Hiding her true emotions and keeping her quirk under control. She managed to keep herself in check until they ventured from the bar to his room.
Her face went bright pink upon sitting beside him at the computer, a smile tugging at her lips. She looked absurdly happy without even doing anything. Kugutsu's hips wiggled a bit, as they often did when she was so giddy she simply could not stand it.
"I want to get some items before our new member gets here," he explained. Shigaraki produced his handheld console and grimaced when he saw the distance between himself and Kugutsu. He hooked a leg through part of the bar seat and dragged it closer so she was just sitting a few inches away.
The game started and he found himself glancing over at her. Shigaraki remembered what Kurogiri said about his master taking an interest in Kugutsu. It was still baffling. To Shigaraki, she seemed like she should only be special to him. He was still perplexed by how enthusiastic Spinner was about her.
It doesn't make any sense. She was just a broker's assistant. She barely even qualifies as a villain. So why does my master care about her? Why should anyone else care about her? It's not like she cares about them. She's my fan. My loyal fan…
Kugutsu was smiling beside him, her head bowed and her scruffy black hair falling forward. It seemed like she had realized he liked her outfit the day before. Instead of wearing her villain costume, she was wearing black shorts and black shirt with mesh sleeves.
Shigaraki grumbled and paused the game. The girl sitting next to him looked up in surprise and began to quietly purr when he rest a hand on top of her head. "You're happy you didn't go, aren't you?"
"Y-yeah…I'm really happy," she admitted. Kugutsu subconsciously nuzzled her head against his hand, her face turning red with embarrassment.
"You're better off with me anyway. If I'd let you go, you would've caused a bloodbath. I can just imagine my faithful fan girl tearing those hero students to shreds."
Shift P.O.V
"I want to tear these hero students to shreds. Look at them. I thought that school was supposed to be professional, but they're running around like the brats that they really are."
"Yami, that was pretty dark." Spinner looked at her from the corner of his eye and saw her lick her lips. He knew next to nothing about cat body language, but he could guess that this was probably what a cat looked like when they were contemplating murder. Not that he really minded.
This was different from the last time she was prowling. They were at least hidden in the forest this time so there was no chance of drawing the attention of someone who would arrest them. Rather than get worried like last time, Spinner was excited to see her go after the students.
Her ears were drawn back and flattened, hips swaying side to side lazily as she stared down at the training camp in the distance. She wanted to protest, but she knew it was dark. However, she wanted to see blood and chaos. It would really just be the cherry on top if she could scar at least one of those hero students.
"Of course it's dark; she's Yami-chan," Toga argued with a small grin. She came up beside Kugutsu, standing way too close for comfort, and looked up at the older villain with sparkling eyes. "Hey, hey. If you make them bleed, use one of these to get me some blood, okay? Some yummy blood, okay? You're a girl, too, so you know to go after cute ones, right?"
Kugutsu's brooding, villainous image was shattered by Toga shifting the topic of conversation from potentially maiming heroes in training to finding cute people. She narrowed her cat-yellow eyes at the blonde, but stuffed the droppers into a pouch on her belt. "If I have my way, you'll get tons of samples."
"Easy there, kitty. We're just here to grab that one kid." Dabi set a hand on top of her head, ignoring the way she bristled. "Weren't you supposed to stay behind and keep the leader company?" he taunted.
"…I'm not an escort…" she growled back, despising his tone.
"Nah. Escorts wouldn't do it for free."
"She's doing it for love," Toga argued.
Kugutsu thought of Shigaraki in that moment and forced her features into a blank expression. She loved him. She would do anything for him. Which was why she simply had to take part in this capture mission. He would see how well she did and he would be proud of her. That was her ultimate goal this night.