NeonHorizon: I just realized...I think I got my variations of Shigaraki a little mixed up and we ended up with "Gray Area" Shigaraki last chapter. Oh well. Next chapter will have Kugutsu back to "bubbly fan girl" mode. No worries.
It was suffocating to stay in the bar. Too many in people in too small of a space. Shigaraki was used to it just being him and Kurogiri with the occasional visitor. Keeping to the back alleys, he was safe enough. After all, he had been able to walk around freely after the USJ incident.
It almost felt like no one was afraid of him and that thought made him start chewing at his lip. The chapped skin was already bleeding a little, but it was the least of his problems. He had a bar full of villains. He had a "potential new member" that was, in all honesty, looking more like a hostage at this point. He had his fan girl, who he had left sleeping on the floor of his room.
When that image popped into his head, the outrage at being invisible started to melt away. I'm not invisible, he thought with a sinister smile. She sees me. Even when I don't want her to. She was made for me.
Kugutsu was probably still sleeping. Curled up on the floor like a cat, one of his hooded sweatshirts draped over her. Doubtlessly dreaming of either him or All Might's gory demise. Hopefully a mix of the two.
Realizing that he had started to wonder what she really dreamed of, he scowled and lowered his eyes to the ground. It was annoying to find himself thinking about her so much, but after the previous night, he was forced to come to a realization. She was more than just a fan girl.
She slept with me. That means she's…His eyes narrowed, a hand lifting to tug the hood of his sweatshirt forward more. What is she? The fact that one night could alter his perception of her was irritating.
To a normal person, sleeping next to another person might be a little sweet. It might seem cute. However, this villain saw things differently. Weirdly. For instance, his idea of first base was touching another person's handheld game console and second base was having his knee touch theirs. From his point of view, just sleeping next to Kugutsu was on par with something much more meaningful.
Plugging in her console to recharge. Leaving a hooded sweatshirt with her. These were little things he did before he left the room. Although he was still a little perplexed as to why he did it. Maybe, on some level, he was attempting to be romantic and that was the best he could do with his minimal experience with relationships. If that was the case, it was completely on a subconscious level.
Shigaraki grumbled and rubbed at his left eye with the back of his hand, careful of where his fingers were. He wanted to go back and sleep more, but he hated the idea of feeling suffocated. Not to mention that he still needed to figure out what he would do and say to try to convince that hero brat to join them.
He eventually found himself glaring at a coffee shop, fidgeting with "Father" in his hooded sweatshirt pocket. For the briefest instant, he considered trying to get one of those sickeningly sweet coffees that Kugutsu enjoyed. The idea was pushed away before it could fully form. Standing in line for something as stupid as a coffee, which would be gone in a few minutes, just sounded annoying.
Shigaraki backed into the alley again, picking at the chapped skin on his lips as he considered other, more important things. For instance, their "potential new member". The bar full of villains he had left in order to wander around the city alone like a vagabond. The deep, horrifying bruise on Kugutsu's neck.
Thinking about her injury inevitably reminded him of the smug way Dabi had entered the bar after she had. Wearing a smirk that said he knew what he had done and had absolutely no regrets. The kind of smirk someone wears when they buy the last pumpkin muffin during pumpkin season and everyone in the line behind them knows it and feels simultaneous heartbreak.
The issue of Dabi and Kugutsu definitely needed to be taken care of. Shigaraki knew that if they continued to clash, it would just cause more chaos in the group and make future missions more difficult. Also, they were both admittedly powerful. Dabi's flames were hot enough to reduce a person to ashes quickly and Kugutsu was deadly if she touched a shadow.
Having two heavy hitters against each other…it's not going to work. If I want to use them to their full potential, they need to cooperate. Kugutsu will do whatever I say, but that singed freak…He realized that he had been pacing and froze, scowling to himself. Licking his lips, he tasted blood and realized that he had also torn open his chapped skin.
Then came the more important realization; he had just thought of his fan girl as "Kugutsu". Shigaraki could not remember ever thinking of her that way. It had always been "fan girl" or "fan". To think that he was now using her name in his own thoughts, made him that much more certain that she was his. Only his.
If that charred creep tries anything again, I'll decay his face. I won't let anyone or anything take away my girl. Now…how do I get back? The most important realization set in as he looked out at the unfamiliar neighborhood.
Shift P.O.V
Scrolling through Bakugou's social media profile on her phone, Kugutsu allowed herself a small frown. She wanted to convince the hero brat to join the League of Villains, to surprise Shigaraki when he returned. Unfortunately, her first plan failed before she could even try it.
Toga apparently had a type, which surprised Kugutsu. She expected Toga to just go along with her plan and flirt with the kid to try to win him over. When the blonde girl refused, it made things that much more difficult. Although, now that Kugutsu was studying his social media posts, she had to wonder if that would have worked even if Toga was on board with the plan.
No pictures of girls. He doesn't post his own pictures, either. Every picture of him is from someone named "Kirishima" who just tagged him in the pictures. Kugutsu chewed at her thumbnail, head tilted. This was proving to be more difficult than arranging her things in her bag to accommodate all of her Shigaraki fan merchandise. He's got friends, but none of them seem that close besides this "Kirishima". Let's see his profile…
A quiet thud made her eyes lift from the screen. A small carton of strawberry milk was sitting on the counter in front of her, a hand still holding it. A two-toned hand with staples along where the burned flesh met normal flesh.
Kugutsu's pulse began to race at the sight of the hand; instantly having flashbacks of him gripping her throat, his other hand holding a bright blue flame beside her face. Fear tried to bubble up, but she was a professional when she was away from Shigaraki and able to stop herself from obsessing over him. So, being a professional, she forced the fear down.
A moment of silence passed as she continued to scroll through Bakugou's posts and the villain now sitting beside her nudged the carton of milk closer. She glanced over, her eyes narrowed, and she finally set the phone down. "Do you need something?" she demanded.
Dabi smirked and tapped a fingertip against the milk carton. "Got you something." His eyes were only briefly on hers before lowering to her neck.
She had been slouching and Shigaraki's hooded sweatshirt did a pretty good job of hiding her bruise. Her hair had been hiding her burned cheek when she had her head down. Now that her head was raised, both were fully visible.
His smirk grew as he released the container in favor of holding the cup in front of him. "What happened to your neck? You like getting choked or something?"
Kugutsu bristled and simply continued to glare up at him. She wanted to lunge and tear out his throat, but she remembered what he did to her the previous night. How he had almost killed her. How he had left a burn on her left cheek. It was just bad enough to be a little worse than a sunburn, but still hurt quite a bit.
"You went with him last night, right? Didn't think you were into hardcore stuff," he continued to taunt.
Realized that he was insinuating that Shigaraki had choked her during something unmentionable, her feline ears flattened in annoyance. "What's your problem, burnable trash? You get a kick out of-?!"
"You want this or not?" he asked, nodding toward the milk.
Kugutsu forced herself to keep a neutral face and dragged the carton of strawberry milk closer. It was still cold and it had not been opened yet so she knew that there was no chance of tampering from him. Still, she checked for punctures in the thick paper of the carton just in case.
It was as she took her first sip that she noticed his beverage. A cold, blended coffee topped with whipped cream, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, and tiny chocolate stars. Dabi made direct eye contact with her and took a long sip. An unreasonably long sip that actually forced him to choke a little when he tried to swallow it all.
What's his problem? He almost killed me last night and now he's teasing me?! What the hell? Okay, calm down! Be professional! I'm a villain now! I need to control my feelings! Damn it! Kugutsu slouched forward, trying to scroll through her phone and focus again on the previous task.
"That's a…pretty nasty burn," he commented, leaning closer.
She tried to ignore him and finally released an irritated hiss when his left hand rested on top of her head. "Don't touch!"
"Let me see it. Looks pretty bad." Dabi let go of his coffee cup and reached over, a fingernail scraping over her bruised neck. She jolted away from him and almost fell out of her seat. "What?" he taunted, smirking again. "Seriously, that's pretty bad. You should tell the leader not to be so rough next time."
"Wh-what the fuck is your problem?! Are you fucking serious?" she finally snapped. She slammed both hands down on the countertop, absolutely seething. Her face was bright red, heart hammering with rage.
"What're you freaking out about?"
"What am I-? Seriously?! Seriously? What the-?" Before she could continue, a hand planted on her shoulder from behind. She turned to snap at the interloper, but paused when she found Spinner.
"Hey, Yami. Maybe you should finish that milk. You didn't eat yet, right?" He glanced from her to Dabi in a way that insinuated he wanted her to be quiet to avoid another near-death battle. He sat on her other side and stayed there, waiting until Dabi wandered off before he leaned over.
"I don't think he remembers what happened," Spinner bluntly told her. He was watching Dabi, who was still carrying that disgustingly sweet-looking coffee and now talking to Compress.
"How do you forget almost killing someone?" she muttered. Kugutsu finished her milk and was tempted to throw the empty carton at Dabi's head, but refrained. Psycho. Edgy piece of trash. Ooooh! Don't cut yourself on that edge, you crispy creep! She had to bite her lip to not laugh at that last thought.
Across the bar, Kurogiri cleared his throat to remind them both that he was still there. He had been there this entire time. Standing there, quietly observing everything as he mentally prepared himself for the moment when a fight would break out and he would have to inevitably break it up. "I believe that he forgot that portion of the evening," he contributed.
"But how?"
He shrugged and continued wiping a glass. "It seems as if he remembered every part except for your fight. He was confused when he woke and asked why his arm was bandaged."
Kugutsu stared blankly at him for a moment and tilted her head. "Kurogiri-san…did you sleep last night?"
"I did not." There was no hint of him appearing sleepy, but his face was basically just a pair of glowing eyes in a writhing mass of darkness so it was difficult to tell. He did give a small nod that seemed a bit sluggish. Kurogiri seemed to stare back at her for a moment before setting both shadowy hands onto the counter. "Kugutsu Kurayami. Please come stand behind the bar."
Immediately knowing that he wanted her to stand guard for him and make sure nothing got broken, she got up from her seat. Only when she had verbally agreed to watch the bar for him did he finally take his leave into the back of the bar. Now it was really out of the question for her to fight.
Bowing her head and staring down at the countertop, Kugutsu made a silent promise that she would be a professional. It should be easy. Not long ago, she was just a broker's assistant. Collecting debts for Giran, killing those that were unable to pay or those that had stolen from Giran. Conducting herself in the calm, cool manner of a professional.
Of course, all remnants of professionalism started to fade when Shigaraki returned. He looked irritated. Reluctant to be there. The villain's gaze slid over the others in the bar, one by one. Finally resting on Bakugou. Their "new potential member" was awake and glaring at everyone with ferocity.
"You look hungry," he taunted. "If you join us, you can have whatever you want. You like winning, don't you? Don't you want to feel powerful? Don't you want to feel better than everyone else?"
Hearing Shigaraki say these things, speaking like a true villain, made her heart skip a beat. Heat rose to her cheeks and she had to fight a smile from forming. He's…so cool! I can't handle it! I want to stand next to him!
After receiving only a glare in response from Bakugou, Shigaraki came to sit at the bar and narrowed his eyes on Kugutsu. As if he was surprised to see her wear his sweatshirt, but was not overly disappointed. "What're you wearing?"