NeonHorizon: Just a fan girl with a fan boy having a fan fit. Nothing to see here.
I'll never be as cool as he is. He's just sitting there, but he looks so…perfect. Am I just trying too hard? Kugutsu lowered her head when she realized that she had been staring for just long enough to look like a stalker. One hand continued to press buttons on her handheld console as her other hand lifted.
She chewed at her thumbnail, slouching in her seat as she tried to keep her eyes off of Shigaraki. Which was not easy. Kugutsu liked looking at him. She would go so far as to say that she loved looking at him; he was one of her favorite things to look at. That was why she had so many pictures of him on her phone and in her computer. Pictures she hoped he would never find out about because she had a feeling he would be irritated if he found out she had been taking pictures of him when she thought he was distracted.
Her crush, her object of affection, was sitting on her left at the counter. He was literally just sitting there, staring down at the countertop. To anyone else, it might look like he was bored, but Kugutsu was in love and her perception was a bit different. She saw him as being deep in thought. Probably planning his next move or what he would say to encourage their captive to join the League of Villains.
Glancing toward the little hero wannabe, she tilted her head slightly. Earlier, he had fought against his restraints and snarled insults. It might have been intimidating if not for the fact that he was a kid and he had fluffy hair. Instead of looking fierce, he just reminded her of a picture of an angry bunny she had once seen online.
Even more puzzling was the fact that he was now slumped over asleep. It was barely midnight and he had dozed off like a child on a long car ride. Kugutsu wanted to go over and poke him, just to see how heavy of a sleeper the student was. He looks ridiculous. Can that kid really become a villain?
Kugutsu ruffled her hair with her right hand, trying to make herself focus. Her stomach hurt since she basically ate two meals. Forced herself to eat two meals; there was no way she was going to let Dabi get away with making fun of her. Now karma was punching her in the gut. She could ask Kurogiri if he had anything for stomachaches, but then she would look weak in front of Shigaraki.
"What game is that?"
She tensed and glanced to her right, where Spinner was now sitting. "It's a monster hunting game."
"That new one that was released last month?" He saw her nod and his eyes lit up. "I should've brought my console! I got that game the day it came out and I play it every chance I get!"
Her right ear twitched and she turned to actually look at him. "What items do you have?" She decided that if he had the item she had gotten for Shigaraki, she would ask him if he wanted to trade it for something. It would be so cool to have matching weapons with Shigaraki! I'd be able to help a lot more, too!
Spinner attempted to remember all of the items he had collected, counting them off on his fingers and frowning a little. He only had a few uncommon items, one rare item, but a pretty decent amount of ore. A thought seemed to pop into his head as he straightened in his seat. "Hey, are you sticking around here tonight? If you're heading back to Giran's, I can walk with you. It's safer-"
"Yami isn't going anywhere." The answer came from the villain seated on Kugutsu's left. Shigaraki reached up to pick at a bit of loose skin on his lower lip, scowling and licking at his lips when he had pried it away. The fact that his lip was bleeding a little seemed to go completely unnoticed. "Why would you think it's safer for her to walk with someone anyway? You'd draw attention to yourselves."
The other man's eyes widened and he nodded. "You're right, Shigaraki. Sorry; that was a dumb idea. Yami, if you're staying, maybe I should stay, too. I live pretty far."
Behind the bar, Kurogiri's glowing yellow eyes narrowed. Clearly, he was irritated with the idea of so many people staying in the bar for who knew how long. He was probably imagining all of the liquor bottles smashed, the glasses broken into tiny shards, the bar seats busted and the floor scratched. Imagining all of the horrible property damage that could, and most likely would, occur the second he left the bar.
"Perhaps we should limit the number of those that stay behind," the shadowy gentleman behind the bar pointed out.
"No one else should leave tonight. If a hero sees one of these commons, it's game over." Shigaraki turned his head to glare over his shoulder at the others. "I don't trust them."
As he said this, his knee touched Kugutsu's and made her heart skip a beat. She bowed her head, trying to hide the color rising to her face. "Y-yeah. He's right. Kurogiri, no one else should leave tonight. Toga and I look kind of plain so no one even noticed us. I don't know if anyone else could pull it off."
"Sorry," Spinner muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
Her upper lip twitched into a brief scowl and she ruffled her scruffy dark hair. "Don't apologize for something you can't help. Nothing pisses me off more than when people do that." This was true. Plenty of times, criminals or villain wannabes would beg and blubber apologies when Giran sent her after them. Half the time, they were dying because their boss refused to pay Giran; it was out of their control. Not that it stopped her from slaughtering them and dancing in their bloody remains like the maniac she was.
With the realization that no one was leaving, Kugutsu had to face a very unsettling thought. Turning as Shigaraki had in order to look at the collection of villains, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. She was sure that this was the strangest slumber party anyone had ever had the pleasure of being a part of and she had the honor of being there.
Shift P.O.V
There were various approaches he could take when it came to convincing the kid to join the League of Villains. Shigaraki had studied him during the UA sports festival and the teenager obviously had a temper and some sort of obsession with winning. Scratching his neck, Shigaraki thought about how immature that obsession was. Even if he could use that to his advantage.
On his right, his fan girl was hanging out with her fan boy. After it was settled that no one was allowed to leave the hideout, Spinner started asking about her game and the other games she had in her bag. They talked about different genres, different games they both loved, and that new RPG that would be released soon. They both looked so content that it made his stomach turn.
"S-so is that your real villain costume? The double was wearing something else." Spinner looked down at her clothes, failing at subtlety like the awkward shut in that he was.
Shigaraki's eyes narrowed, watching the two interact from the corner of his eye. Kugutsu was still slouching next to him, but had leaned over a little for Spinner to see her screen while she played. Their knees were no longer touching and it irritated him. It was almost as irritating as the sight of that black choker necklace that Spinner was wearing. A black choker necklace identical to Kugutsu's. He was wearing it like some kind of creepy friendship necklace.
"I like this costume better," she replied without looking up from the screen. "It doesn't cover as much skin so I have more options for touching shadows. And…" Kugutsu's ear twitched as she briefly glanced toward Shigaraki. Her freckles quickly disappeared against her blush as she looked away again. "Someone important said they liked this look so…"
He bit his lip, feeling his heart beat faster and harder. It kind of hurt, but at the same time he felt a rush of confidence. A boost to his ego, with such a simple sentence. Hearing her call him "someone important" made him feel immensely important. Almost, dare he believe, happy.
There were way more important things that he should be thinking about. Such as how he would persuade their captive to join them, how they would evade being caught by heroes, how he could possibly go to his room for the night without looking like he was just a weakling that needed to go to bed early. In all honesty, he just wanted to get away from everyone so he could think clearly. Everyone was talking and it was wearing on him.
"It looks pretty cool," Spinner remarked. "It's better than the costume your double was wearing."
He tensed and turned his head toward the green-skinned villain, chewing on his lower lip roughly. When he heard the girl next to him mutter a "thank you", he found himself even more irritated. "What do you know about costumes? You look like you're cosplaying as Stain. And why are you wearing the thing on your neck?"
Spinner subconsciously lifted a hand, tugging slightly at his choker. "I admire Stain so I modeled my costume after his," he protested.
"Why are you wearing that thing on your neck?" Shigaraki repeated, pointing and glowering past Kugutsu at the other man.
"I admire Yami's strength so-!"
"You look like a creepy fan. What're you going to do next? Are you going to start dressing more like her now?" The blue-haired villain leaned toward the two and tapped a fingertip against the bar counter. "Stalker."
"I'm not-!" The other villain was obviously flustered by this accusation and looked from Shigaraki to Kugutsu. "I'm not stalking Yami! I wouldn't-!"
"You're dressing like her. Isn't that creepy?" He leaned closer, his free hand scratching his neck. He wanted this to end. There were other things he should be thinking about. The sooner he got this out of his system, the better.
Shift P.O.V
Is he jealous of Spinner? Is he really jealous? Kugutsu felt a tug at the back of her sleeve and looked to find Shigaraki gripping the mesh material between his thumb and index finger. "It's kind of weird," she conceded.
Though it was kind of flattering, in a creepy, yandere sort of way. The "let's be friends forever, look at me because I'm dressed just like you, let me watch you sleep" sort of way. Basically, the exact way she probably made Shigaraki feel.
"I'm wearing it because I admire you! You're cool!" Spinner argued. "Yami, listen! I'm not a stalker, I just like-!"
"If you continue at that volume, you will wake our guest," Kurogiri finally stepped in. He seemed to be turning his head to look at the teenage sitting slumped forward in the chair, his head bowed and hiding his face from their view.
"Sorry," he mumbled, slouching in his seat.
"Shigaraki Tomura, since you have forbid the rest of the members from leaving tonight, what do you propose for sleeping arrangements?" It was pretty clear that Kurogiri was getting uneasy about the idea of everyone sleeping in the hideout that night. Between the tense way he asked this and the way he kept glancing anxiously toward his glassware, it was obvious that he was not okay with the decision to keep everyone there.
Kugutsu, on the other hand, was feeling ecstatic. She was specifically excited about the possibility of getting to see her crush's sleeping face. Unfortunately, her luck was never that good. She was Kugutsu Kurayami; things rarely went the way she wanted them to. The most realistic scenario was that she would sneak into his room, find him glaring at her from the computer, and then she would be tossed out.
Shigaraki probably already had it all planned out. At least, that was what Kugutsu assumed. As if he knew what she was thinking and just wanted to prove her wrong, he grumbled and got up from his seat. "I don't care. Do what you want."
She watched him stalk toward the door and found herself chewing at her thumbnail anxiously. That's it? I thought he would have a plan. So where do I sleep? The girl ruffled her hair with her free hand and slouched, releasing a sigh. She was tired, but she was not about to admit it and make herself look like the sleepy little baby hero across the room.
The second that Shigaraki was gone, Dabi announced that he was going out. Kurogiri protested, but it went completely ignored as the charred ragdoll man slipped out into the night. Everyone else seemed alright with staying. However, Kugutsu was now tempted to track Dabi. With her quirk, she could easily make herself disappear into the shadows and follow him without him noticing.
Really, she wanted to pry the staples out of his face one by one with the tip of a knife. Shigaraki said for everyone to stay here. Who does he think he is? That half-toasted marshmallow. Trash panda freak.
Spinner, still sitting next to her, followed her gaze. "You want to follow him, don't you?"
"I want to know what's so important that he's going against his leader's orders," she stated, trying to keep her anger under control. She hovered a hand over the surface of the counter, sliding her other hand underneath. A blade formed from the shadow cast by her hand and it slowly solidified until she could grip it. Her pulse quickened, excited by the idea of tracking Dabi like prey.
She was still disappointed about not being able to watch Shigaraki sleep so this was a nice consolation prize. Turning her hand to look at the knife, she nodded to herself. "We'll be quick. And we'll be right back."
"Kugutsu, I would advise against-" Kurogiri began.
"Let me do this for Shigaraki. I'll bring Dabi back."