NeonHorizon: What kind of stuff do you want to see more of?
Throughout her errand to get food for everyone, Kugutsu was thinking about Shigaraki. She remembered that wonderful moment they had shared in his room and her dark, twisted heart began to pound. The last time she had felt this happy was when she maimed that yakuza leader who had tried to recruit her.
Her good mood did not go unnoticed by Toga. The younger girl caught Kugutsu's grin. She saw the way Kugutsu would randomly flush a bright pink shade that made her freckles almost seem to fade. It made Toga grin. "Tomura promised you something good, didn't he?"
Under normal circumstances, she might have become defensive or insulted Toga, but Kugutsu's happiness was too great to be dampened. This was like the kind of high she got when she was covered in blood, twirling in a silent bar strewn with body parts. The kind of high she got when she finally beat a game on the highest difficulty setting.
"What is it?"
The other villain's grin spread and she shook her head. "Not going to say."
"What? Why not?! Come on! Tell me! I wanna know what he's giving you!"
"It's just between me and him." She quickened her pace, eager to get back to the bar and be close to Shigaraki again. "It's something pretty good, though."
Toga trotted to catch up to her, rolling her eyes when she reached Kugutsu. "Fine! I'll find out what it is on my own!"
You'd better not. The cat-earred villain lowered her head, her shaggy black hair falling forward over her eyes to hide her glare. The grin dropped to a snarl, her grip on the bags tightening. If you interrupt us, I'll tear open your chest and rip your organs out while you're still alive. I'll be really careful and make sure you stay conscious until only your heart is left and you'll get to watch me pluck it out! You'll get to fade little by little and finally drop into nothingness!
"What's got you so pissed off? Did you get chased by a dog or something?" Dabi was the first to approach the two when they entered the bar. He smirked down at Kugutsu's snarl and moved to set a hand on top of her head, but she quickly took a step back to put distance between them.
"Back up before I pull out your staples with a rusty spoon." She set her bags on the counter and looked around. Her heart felt like it was sinking into her stomach, her pointed feline ears flattening in despair. Where's Shigaraki?
"What's up? You look like someone stepped on your tail. Oh, my bad. You don't have one, do you?"
Kugutsu bristled and glared at Dabi from the corner of her eye, but she said nothing. Instead, she started going through the bags and grabbed her share. It's fine. He's probably just in his room. I'll just take his food to him.
Before she could even leave the counter, Kurogiri cleared his throat to catch her attention. "Shigaraki Tomura needed to step out for a moment. Just leave his food in the bag."
Her ears flattened again. "Oh. Sure." She went to a corner and settled on the floor to eat her food, just wanting to be alone now. The disappointment was almost crushing. The entire time she was out running her errand, she had been thinking about him and what sort of reward he might have in store for her when she returned. She felt like a kid with a helium balloon that some jerk had just stuck a pin into.
It's fine, she told herself. I was just too excited. I shouldn't have let myself get that excited; it was unprofessional. I'm acting unprofessional right now, too. I'm sitting here in the corner sulking instead of taking responsibility and making sure the new guy gets his food.
A look over at Bakugou showed that Twice had found some tongs and was now attempting to feed the kid while keeping a distance. In his defense, the kid still looked kind of like a rabid bunny so he was probably afraid of getting bitten. Compress was standing nearby, watching as if he was supervising, but he was most likely watching for the sake of entertainment.
"Hey, Yami. Can I sit with you?"
She turned her head and found Spinner standing a little ways away from her, holding one of the food bags. "Sure."
He sat on the floor beside her and, instead of starting on his food, pulled his phone from his pocket. "I got this mobile game earlier. Want to see it?"
Kugutsu leaned over as she ate, intrigued by the idea of a game she may not have played yet. It looked fun. It was a RPG style game that relied on side quests to get the best items. She watched him play it, trying to keep herself from smiling as she watched his character slash opponents in half with a large sword.
Her eyes widened as blood splattered the grass beneath the character and even dotted the screen as an added effect. A giddy, evil giggle started to bubble up and she covered her mouth. That's so cool! That blood actually looks real! And the organs on the ground! They've got the same level of shine that real organs get when they're out of the body! This game is awesome!
"I heard there's a flamethrower weapon available in the higher levels. I was looking through the blog the developers made and there's some fan info on other websites. Want me to send you the links?"
"Yes! This is awesome! Shigaraki's going to love it!"
At her side, Spinner had been grinning. He had been having a good time, hanging out with his friend. Calling her his idol would have been kind of weird since his idol was already Stain. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged as disappointment took form on his face. "Yeah, I guess."
Kugutsu downloaded the game on her phone and was creating her character when she felt that she was being watched. She lifted her cat-yellow eyes and narrowed them on Dabi, who was standing over the two. "You need something?"
"What're you doing?"
"We're playing a mobile game." Spinner offered the explanation, wary of how the female villain beside him was bristling like a cat who caught the scent of a dog on the other side of a door. "Right, Yami?"
"No casuals," she stated, venom in her tone. She smirked as she finished the character creation. I can't wait for Shigaraki to see this game. How did I not hear about this? It's only been out for a few weeks, but I'm usually on top of this kind of thing. I love indie games!
To Kugutsu's irritation, Dabi sat on Spinner's other side and leaned over the reptilian villain to look at her phone. "Seriously? You made your character look like you? Boring."
"I'm not a crispy edge lord that has to pretty myself up in a game to feel better about my shitty appearance in real life. Sorry I can't relate to you."
He stayed silent for a moment, watching her accept an invite from Spinner to join his party. "So what's it like in the friend zone?" he finally taunted.
Spinner's head turned abruptly, eyes narrowed. "It's not-!"
"I'd be more interested in what it's like to be a half-burned trash panda sitting off to the side watching other people enjoy life. What's that like? You're like that abandoned shitty toy someone got their distant relative's kid from a bargain bin. No one wants to play with you so you're just off by yourself pretending to like it that way, but it's eating away at you."
Both of the guys looked at Kugutsu, surprised that she could say something so incredibly scathing while maintaining a blank expression. She was practicing the movements for her character so her eyes were glued to the screen rather than glancing over at the other two villains. As cool as this game is, the jumping animation looks weird. The avatar looks like they're jumping through a hoop or something.
Shift P.O.V
Shigaraki had a decision to make. An important decision. Something he needed to consider really carefully before making a rash choice that could potentially end with his rabid fan girl becoming even more hopelessly devoted to him or possibly abandoning him. Honestly, there was no telling how she might react if he nudged their relationship; she was insane.
Their relationship itself seemed to have really picked up since the night she sent a double with the Vanguard Action Squad to attack the summer camp. Her devotion had become a lot more apparent and his affection for her had started to grow at a rapid rate. After sleeping next to each other, it seemed to have dispelled any doubts about them being in a relationship now.
He wanted to make Kugutsu his. The thought of her purring for anyone else or touching another man's knee made his blood start to boil. However, it was something he had never actually done before. Prior to Giran introducing him to Kugutsu, and then the League members joining, he had lived in moderate isolation.
If he did take Kugutsu, it would be his first time. He had no experience with this. He wanted to go into this feeling prepared, if he did intend to go further. He wanted to be better informed. Like reading through tips in a blog before tackling a hard level in a game. Researching the opponent, researching different ways to approach the level, learning weaknesses and knowing what equipment was best suited for the attempt.
When he looked at it that way, it was a little easier to consider his options. Posing the question of if he wanted to "attempt the level", he decided that he did want to. Of course he wanted to. If what they had done so far could supply him with so much confidence and make him feel good, he was sure that pushing further would be ten times better.
Shigaraki looked at his phone screen. At the red dot that represented Kugutsu Kurayamai on a map of Kamino ward. He watched her approach the bar and he felt satisfaction when the dot stopped moving. She was back in the bar.
He was a block away, in an alley, trying to decide on his next move. Shaking his head, he pushed away thoughts of his fan girl and tried to focus on something else. If he thought about something else, it might help him with the Kugutsu reward issue.
She had won over Bakugou and convinced the boy to join them. However, he knew that people would still be looking for the kid. Heroes, police, All Might. The boy was someone that they were desperately trying to locate because, in their eyes, he was a captive in need of rescue.
Thanks to Kugutsu, Shigaraki had been given a new game piece. A new character option. Now the question was how to use this new game piece. He would have to test Bakugou's loyalty first, but then he could find ways to apply the kid's abilities to benefit the League of Villains.
He started walking back to the bar, taking his time. The best way to test the boy's quirk would be to have Kugutsu use shadow shields to keep the explosions from doing too much damage. That would mean having her get close to him again.
Shigaraki scratched at his neck, scowling at the thought. His fan girl; talking to the boy and having to get close to him. She seemed to have the most experience out of everyone in the League, though. He knew she had wanted to be a villain since she was a kid and she had been actively trying to become one. She had experience as a villain recruiter, hostage keeper, assassin, money collector. Whether she knew it or not, Kugutsu was actually a skilled villain.
He liked that ambition. He liked her loyal nature. He liked that she tried to keep her emotions bottled up, but was happy to share her feelings with him alone. Shigaraki's devoted fan girl. The only one who could give him such a powerful boost of confidence from a simple look. The only one who actually craved his touch and blushed over his smile.
It was still weird to think about how much she loved him. No one had ever loved him that much. He paused outside of the bar and checked his phone again. She still showed as being in the bar. He chewed on his lip, realizing that he had never reached a conclusion.
How do you reward a psycho fan girl like her? She'd be happy with anything, wouldn't she? She would probably cry if I just touched her ears again, he thought with a wicked grin. But I want more than that.
He slipped into the bar through the door in the alley and hesitated in the dark passage behind the actual bar. Something unpleasant crossed his mind as he stepped inside and now it was like a barrier keeping him from going forward. Giran had mentioned it before; Kugutsu had been into other guys before Shigaraki. She probably had experience that he lacked. She probably slept with those guys.
Shigaraki's nails dug deeper into his neck as he scratched. The thought of her with someone else made his stomach turn. Even if it was in the past, even if it happened before she had ever even heard of him, the idea of Kugutsu fawning over another man filled him with loathing.
She's mine. My one and only fan girl. I…hate…thinking about someone else touching her. His anger escalated until he tasted bile. His vision blurred slightly as he felt his pulse pound with fury. Without another moment's hesitation, he entered the bar and scanned the room.
The first thing that caught his eye was Twice attempting to feed their new member using a pair of tongs. Shigaraki tilted his head slightly, puzzled and slightly amused by the sight. He looked over the rest of the room and everyone else seemed to be relaxing. Including his fan girl, who was sitting with Spinner and Dabi.