NeonHorizon: Which Kugutsu is the real one? How many UA students will be shredded by the shadows? Friendly reminder that I don't condone murder and I don't condone relationships like the one Shigaraki and Kugutsu have. I know it's messed up. This whole story is messed up, but I love it...
"This is impossible." Shigaraki dragged his nails along his neck as he glared down at the puzzle in the game. The only thing left keeping him from the item he really wanted. He heard a quiet, but rapid, tapping beside him and looked to find Kugutsu's character repeatedly striking at the gate to the puzzle area with her blades. "Maniac."
"We just…have to break through somehow," she mumbled. "There has to be a way. I'm going to get that item for you; I won't stop until you have it."
He had to admire her dedication. This was a highly coveted item in the game and some players spent a lot of money to get it traded to their character. It was highly coveted, but also highly difficult to obtain. Even the online tutorials and guides were unable to help most; it was just too complex. Yet she was prepared to continue working at this until he got what he wanted.
"You think using brute force is going to work? I thought your character was an elf; not a barbarian."
Kugutsu bit her thumbnail as she studied the screen, her character no longer attacking the gate. "No, but sometimes with these, they put in a weak point. Like that RPG with the hedge maze. There's a point near the first corner and if you try to walk through it with a weapon out, it blocks you. If you go through unarmed, it lets you pass through it."
Shigaraki leaned over, eyes narrowing. "So why is your character armed?"
Her ears flattened in embarrassment and she clicked a few buttons to put away the blades. "Just let me try to work through this. I'll get that item for you, even if I have to die a million times. I can just brew some more potions and buy revive gems. I'm going to get that item."
Once again, he found himself mildly impressed by her dedication to his happiness. He watched her attempt to slip through the gate a few times; trying various spots and button combinations in the hopes of making it work. A few minutes passed as he wondered how she would react to their potential new member when he arrived. She was so vicious. He loved it, but he had to keep her under control or she might actually murder the boy.
Just as he started to consider keeping her separated from the kid, he caught the quiet sound of his phone receiving a message. Shigaraki warily glanced to his phone, sitting on the floor beside him, and back to Kugutsu. He knew it was probably important. The Vanguard Action Squad might have an update on their progress or it could even be his master with some instructions.
As he lifted his phone, he saw it was something from Dabi. It was a simple attachment of some sort. The message itself had no text, but the attachment bore the caption "Where's your girl tonight?" Shigaraki bit his lip, glaring at the screen as he gripped the phone with four fingers.
It made no sense. Why's he asking such a stupid question? And what's that supposed to mean? My girl? She's just my fan girl. It's not like this is something more than that. She's my loyal follower. Still, he found himself looking over at Kugutsu again as he brought the phone closer to him.
She was staring intently at the screen of her handheld console, clicking buttons as she slashed through an obstacle within the puzzle area. Quiet swears left her lips; more colorful than any language he had ever heard from any other villain. Words that no proper girl would utter, yet here she was murmuring them.
He scooted away from her on the floor, moving toward his bed. Only then did he open the attachment sent by Dabi. Instantly, Shigaraki's blood-colored eyes widened and he chewed viciously at his own lip. A hand lifted, nails digging at his neck as he looked from the screen to Kugutsu and back.
The attachment from Dabi was a photo. It was a really weird photo, though. It seemed to be a picture of Dabi, but in the background was an unsuspecting Toga attempting to take a picture of herself with an equally unsuspecting Kugutsu behind her. In the photo, Kugutsu seemed to be talking to Twice.
There was no way that she could have gone with the Vanguard Action Squad and then still showed up to help him with the game. Not unless Kurogiri had opened a warp gate for her, but Shigaraki knew she had not spoken to Kurogiri at all that day. So now his eyes narrowed on the grainy image of Twice standing with Kugutsu in the background of Dabi's picture.
"You must think I'm stupid," he growled, turning his glare to the girl sitting on the floor. "So much for my loyal fan girl." He stood and tossed his handheld console onto his bed, not taking his eyes off of her as he approached.
"What…? Shigaraki, I don't-" She winced as he planted a foot against the wall beside her head. Kugutsu stared up at him with wide eyes, but there was no fear in her gaze. Instead, she looked sad. Like she had just disappointed the most important in the world. Of course, in her mind, that was exactly what happened.
The blue-haired villain leaned down, a hand reaching out. His right thumb and first two fingers closed on her ear sharply, tugging. She hissed, attempting to shrink back. Behind her, the shadow on the wall was writhing and swaying. Kugutsu lifted a hand on reflex, as if to grab his wrist, but she stopped herself and averted her eyes. "Shigaraki, please-"
"You said you were happy to be here."
"I am! You don't understand! Let me explain! Please!"
"You think I'm as dumb as the others," he murmured, glowering down at his fan. The fingers gripping her pointed, feline ear loosened. His little finger twitched and he traced his fingertips along the edge of the velvety, furry body part. "I don't get it. You say you're loyal and that you'll do whatever I say. You say you'll do whatever would make me happy. So why did you go behind my back and do exactly what I didn't want?"
Her shadow stretched into the shape of a trembling demon with clawed hands reaching out to either side. The thing's arms peeled off of the wall, spread wide as if for a hug. "I don't think you're dumb! Shigaraki, I wanted to show you how strong I am! I wanted to show you I can be useful and I wanted to be able to do more for you!"
"Why shouldn't I just end you right now? It wouldn't matter anyway, would it? Who's going to miss you?" he demanded, fully expecting the double to beg for her life. Instead, he saw her eyes close and one of her hands reached up for his wrist. She was trembling as she pulled his fingers away from her ear and began to draw them toward her throat.
Shift P.O.V
"So what's your plan? I thought you wanted to be part of the action. You should've gone with that lizard."
Kugutsu's eyes narrowed on Dabi, but she kept her mouth in a straight line as she walked. On one side was Dabi and on her other side was Twice. Her goal was the same as before; find the kid named Bakugou and cause as much destruction and bloodshed as possible in the process. Unlike certain members that idolized Stain and seemed to have some sort of morals, she was in almost full maniac mode.
"I'm here to help," she stated simply. "Your job is to distract Eraserhead, right? If…Twice…makes a double of you, you're not limited to this area. What else are you planning?" She knew he had his own ulterior motives; he was just the right kind of shady to have some bigger, self-centered plan of his own. Really, he was about as shady as Giran, but with far less charm and instead of smelling like cigarettes, he seemed to carry the smell of burned hair and singed flesh.
In the darkness, Kugutsu smirked to herself. "Nothing like the sweet scent of arson on a starry summer night~"
"That's the second girliest crap you've said since we got here. Cut it out before you make me puke." He smirked as well and lifted a hand, letting bright blue flames dance in his palm. "I'm gonna start burning this place down while my double takes care of Eraserhead. What about you?"
Beside him, Kugutsu stretched her arms over her head and let her fingertips caress the shadows all around her. It was still a little dark, but she could manage control for a while. Three minutes tops before she lost it. What she really needed was some light. "Nothing makes a prettier shadow than a nice, crackling fire."
Dabi saw it from the corner of his eye. As he lit a tree ablaze, she reached out and let a shadow coil up around her arm. It contorted and trembled, solidifying and then traveling along the length of her arm. Spiked, thick armor was formed from the shadow and it looked malevolent. More shadows traveled up her legs and back, wrapping around her chest and shoulders.
Wings made from the darkness extended from her shoulder blades and flapped a few times. Meanwhile, the armor was spreading and finally formed a sort of dark visor over her face to hide her features. The light from his fire cast a cool, frightening glow over her and made her look like something from a child's nightmare.
"Keep your fire burning. I'm going to get some samples for Toga." Her voice came out muffled and low, filtering through the dark barrier around her.
She felt giddy as the wings carried her past the trees. It had been so long since she last made shadow wings. They were nowhere near as strong as real wings, but they still brought her a spark of joy. Like a kid riding their bike at full speed down a hill; pure exhilaration. She could only hope that this fight would be as challenging as her battle with the yakuza had been.
They're heroes in training. They should be strong enough to be able to take on one villain, right? I really just want to tear into one of them and watch them bleed! Show them a taste of the pain real heroes probably feel and see if they still want to be heroes!
It was unfortunate that Kugutsu heard something tearing up the forest, off to her right. It was really unfortunate that she spotted the UA student with the shadow quirk. It was super unfortunate that their eyes met, his filled with panicked tears as his quirk forcefully rampaged and hers filled with the excitement of a cat spotting prey.
Her wings carried her closer and closer, her heart rate picking up rapidly. She wanted to turn that massive, shadowy bird thing against the boy. She wanted to make it rip his weak little teenage body in half and spill his blood and organs. He was probably not Toga's type, but his death would provide a good blood sample for her to use.
As she drew nearer, the shadows around her shifted form. They hugged her close, extending along her limbs and lengthening the stump of her tail until she resembled a large, wavering black cat. She charged forward, sharp shadow fangs ready to tear into him.
Dabi was still able to see her. After all, she had used the shadows to make herself look like a huge black cat and she was still partially illuminated by his flames. Since this was the case, Dabi was one of only two villains to witness the UA student's shadow bird thing smack her aside carelessly. The head and tail of her form were snatched up and pulled apart harshly.
"Huh?" Dabi saw something drip from her as the shadow dissipated. "Wait."
This was when Twice appeared beside him and, seeing that Kugutsu had been hurriedly destroyed, set about making another double. He gave it a thumbs-up before sending it off to continue the first double's work. Meanwhile, Dabi was still staring at the gross puddle that had been the Kugutsu he had talked to earlier.
Looking at Twice with a hint of confusion, he received a brief exclamation that Kugutsu was doing it for love and it was cute, but that he was disgusted that he was helping such a sappy girl. She was willing to die again and again in order to do what she thought would make Shigaraki happy.
Shift P.O.V
She pressed Shigaraki's palm against her throat, but did not close his fingers around her neck. Lifting her eyes to meet his directly, Kugutsu frowned. "Shigaraki, I…never mean to betray your trust. I just wanted to be able to prove myself to you."
He was leaning down over her, his foot still braced against the wall beside her head. "Tell me why I shouldn't just destroy you right now. I could do it. I could touch you and make you into a gross puddle on the floor. I'll just have Kurogiri open a warp gate and drag the real-"
"I am the real Kugutsu," she protested.
"No, you're not. I know my fan and you would never sit off on the side when you have the chance to go in. You're a psychopath. You probably get off on-"
"Shigaraki, I…love you more than I love doing villain stuff!" Kugutsu saw his eyes widen and her fingertips really gently rubbed circles on his wrist. "I wanted to prove myself to you, but…I wanted to be alone with you even more than that."
It was true. Her bloodlust had lost out to her absolute love for Shigaraki. A love so strong, it was almost unnerving. It was a kind of love that would send most running away. "I love you…" she repeated. "I…love you so much that I wanted to see you more than I wanted to kill those baby heroes."
Something about hearing her speak about love and murder in the same breath brought a wicked grin to his face. "You're the real one?"
"I am. I swear that I am."
"So prove it." He said this knowing full well what it would take to prove she was not a double. She would need to take some damage without falling apart.