Trigger Warning: This particular chapter and one specific scene have heavy mentions of depression and suicidal thoughts, so read with caution and seek help if you suffer from something similar. You are important to those around you. :)

I'll probably just say this whole story is a trigger warning of some kind, but I'll get to that eventually!

Enjoy this chapter!

Word Count: 16,385 (remember the total chapter is like 34k and not finished ^_^)


Shohei's grey eyes lifted to regard the masked figure and his slim build let him know exactly who was looking at, the other merely inclined his head and the two of them went back to watching the current match . He figured he'd caught the attention of a few people, but he had purposely placed Kaiya in the position to be noticed the most, it was working far better than he'd anticipated.

He never expected Shigaraki to attach himself to the girl as he had, but then again there was something about her. It wasn't just her intelligence level, he had gotten very lucky with her being as usable as she was. Had her intelligence level been average, he wouldn't have been able to use her as he had hoped.

She was always exceeding his expectations, pushing herself past them. She was sharp, she thought outside the box, she took multiple pieces of information and processed them, memorized them quickly, it wasn't always something he could teach no matter how hard he'd tried with some of the others, you either had it or you didn't.

Her loyalty was important as well, she wanted to please him. Once he realized just what a diamond in the rough she was, he plucked her from the others and molded her to stand above them, to lead them.

Shohei had watched all of them during their years growing up and he couldn't be more pleased with their progression of their abilities, and the loyalty he'd gotten from them. He purposely pressed the importance of Shigaraki as an experiment of those he saw who weren't handling their confinement well. Everyone needed a goal, something to strive for, an end game.

He turned Shigaraki into their god, their messiah of sorts and their loyalty to him was absolute it would not break. Some held onto their intelligence, questioned and resisted and those were who he targeted for different reasons, he was curious how far he could push someone and he couldn't be more pleased with his successes. These children were exactly what he'd been hoping for.

Shohei used Itami for her quirk and overlooked many of her faults all because of her loyalty to him. Loyalty meant everything, but he had to be careful. He was also well aware of her jealousy. It was becoming more obvious within the last months, but he also was forced to listen to her rant and rave over her toys when they died. Succumbing to their injuries, but it was so much more than that.

He would only cup her on the cheek and promise her others. His relationship with her was a small price to pay for her skills.

He didn't love her, but could a man like him love anyone really? He took far too much pleasure from his own deceptions, his skills in manipulation.

He'd loved someone once, loved his family, but love was never strong enough to save anyone.

With a small frown, a pretty blonde filtered through his mind, her smile wide, her hand pressed into the locks of who stood next to her as her round belly was heavy with an unborn child stood out and next to her stood a little girl no older than six years old, with his hair and eye color. Next to her his arms encircling the woman's legs was a little boy with blonde hair and his green eyes. He was no older than three. The child she was carrying would be a surprise, Aiyame thought it would be a great little game for Midori and Kaijuri.

Daddy!

Daddy!

Daddy!

The voices intermingled between his children, changing for a moment in front of his very eyes, his little girl ran toward him, her hand outstretched reaching for him. He shoved the memory away, and ensured his quirk was locked tight under his control. He only re-lived those moments when he was alone and in the privacy of his own company. His family was not something he would share with anyone.

He had come too far to believe his mission was complete; it was far from finished.

"I've been curious about you and your pet project. It seems quite extensive and I was curious how you managed to keep it hidden for so long. Ten years is a fascinating accomplishment."

The words from the other helped to ground him in the present rather than the past.

"It is quite the accomplishment, but it wasn't without the proper resources and the right team. All for One was kind enough to lend us whatever we needed. The operation itself wasn't complicated; most of it had to do with the American populace believing because of their laws that they were safe. This was just another one of his plans working as it should. The discourse it caused when the children of their Pro Heroes were taken, was quite the damper to their spirits."

Shohei pressed up his glasses with the heel of his hand as he gave a small smile in the other's direction.

"It started quite the movement in the States, pushing for civilians the right to defend themselves, and brought about a different way Heroes were looked at. They were stripped of their glamour and fame and forced them to put their true skills to the test."

Compress tilted his head a moment before he removed his mask and let it sit to the side of his face, revealing a man in his early thirties as he listened to the older man speak. "Societies must crumble in some ways before things can go in any direction," he casually agreed as he tucked his hands in his pockets of his black slacks and watched the next fight as it played out with a level of interest.

"While All for One provided a certain level of resources, it still doesn't explain how you managed to keep something of this magnitude from prying eyes," he commented as there was a break in the current fight. He shot the older man a look and as the two of them sized each other up. It was perspicuous that Atsuhiro wasn't just asking out of curiosity; there were other powers at play. It was also inferred by his tone, that he really didn't like to have to repeat himself.

Shohei gave a casual shrug, the last thing he cared about was what this little pion thought of him, but he would indulge him a little. He had to play nice as much as possible at least for now. Let them believe he was only here to help them, that his loyalties were only to the League, that his motives fell in line with his own.

"My associates and I have unique abilities that allow us to hide in plain sight. So long as no one believes things should be any different, they will be exactly as they perceive. Do you know the abandoned hospital in the Old District?"

The silver haired man asked, watching with amusement as the other man gaped at him for a moment, before he smiled in an attempt to cover his shock. It was too late, but none of that truly mattered anyway. He had already won this man's respect with a few well placed words. It was also obvious that Atsuhiro Sako knew of the location he'd mentioned, and had probably passed by it a lot given the area they frequented and the shadows they worked in.

They live in an abandoned hospital. Itami's area is located in the underground morgue which is accessed from one point in the hospital's lowest floors and accessible from the elevators. The hospital has a kitchen area, several used and unused hospital rooms. The Orphans stay in one wing of the hospital that has large rooms for multiple patients sharing a room. The handlers stay in another wing or floor of the hospital. There are stairs to the various levels and working elevators for when the stairs can't be used.

To keep something as large as this under wraps for a decade was definitely something to be commended. Had it been anyone else there was little chance for such a thing to be as successful as he'd ensured it became.

The other held out a hand toward him. "It will be a pleasure working with you Mr. Cross, " he told him with a slight bow. Atsuhiro knew the dangers of a man like this, someone with his quirk control was far more dangerous than most would understand. He was pleased to know he was on their side.

Shohei let his fingers curl with the man's own, and after a moment the two began to watch the match before them dwindled down.

"In the name of good sportsmanship, who do you believe will win?" Compress asked, watching as the sword wielding boy leapt out of the way of flying kick and rotated his hand in a circle before one of his swords went shooting off as though spun like a throwing star in his opponents direction, forcing them to retreat and put more distance between them as they ran the length of the barrier that was still standing from before. Still, it had shrunk in size and the girl holding the barrier was beginning to look worn. This was the fourth straight fight where the barrier had stayed the whole time.

Shohei was quiet for a moment as he considered the two who were and what they could do. Both had traded physical blows and were already testing themselves, the older woman with light brown hair infused with maroon strands at the ends of her high ponytail. Her cheeks were narrow, but her amber eyes were bright and a light with an inner fire as she darted to the left on swift nimble feet easily avoiding Jirou's sword as it dug into the ground where she had been only moments before. The distance she could cover and her speed certainly gave her advantage.

Svelte Nicholson was an exchange student from America who fell in with the wrong or right crowd being Toga and it was how she fell in the League when she and Dabi joined. She loved the freedom it gave her, to embrace her quirk without the fear of societal judgement. She's joined their cause and fights for the same ideals as Stain and Shigaraki, an easy blend of the two.

Her loyalty to Himiko Toga leaves many questioning their dynamic as it is very clear they are involved with each other but it seems as though their relationship is an open one, with men being on the table both together and separately.

Shohei watched her eyes brighten into an almost manic light and was well aware of the high she was riding. He'd memorized everything he had on them, and while he would have chosen someone else, he couldn't deny Kaiya's effectiveness in her choices and who she had paired up so far. She was consistently surpassing his expectations.

"If Jirou can't find her weakness, he'll lose. While it isn't ideal, these fights are to showcase their resolve and their abilities. It is expected that some of them will fail. Failure can build camaraderie, and these tests are set to build a bond and a level of trust, so you know who fights with you on the battlefield. These kids are weapons, but they are far from expendable."

Compress watched as Jirou rushed her going for hand-to-hand combat as the two traded blows and kept an almost even pace with each other. He could see that aside from the contempt that Sveta had when the fight had happened, the fight had allowed for something else to happen; a level of respect had been met. It was a step in the right direction, which only proved again another theory that Cross had mentioned.

"Not bad, kid!" She called as her knee met his own. As his swords sliced right where she had been, as she had shoved against his chest to avoid the swords, putting a quick, short but effective level of distance between them. Jirou's control and focus had to be on point, the slightest miscalculation would have resulted in him being impaled by his own weapons.

"Time!" Kurogiri called out and both occupants inside the ring stopped before any of their blows could land. Both were panting for breath, but neither held the animosity they had before the fight had started.

"Alright Jirou! I always knew you wouldn't lose any fingers in this match!" Ayaka called from the sidelines as she flashed him a shit eating grin and didn't bother to lower her hands from where she'd cupped them over her mouth to ensure she was heard by just about every soul in the room.

Jirou's dark cheeks flushed a lighter color in embarrassment as her words caused Sveta to give a laugh as well, the sound so low and feminine he thought it was nice to hear, even if it was at his expense.

He did raise her two middle fingers before he bowed to the older woman and immediately advanced toward Ayaka, who's dark eyes had widened and her hands dropped from her mouth and she looked for a place to flee but he was already upon her as he dragged his friend into a headlock. "Shut up!" He hissed lowly.

The scene lowered the tension as many around gave a few chuckles at the scene.

The orange barrier flickered twice before falling completely and the young girl who had held the barrier in place between Miho and Dabi's fight, as well as Byakuya and Flickr's and then Ayaka's fight with Kurogiri. Then the five second match that was Eizan completely decimated his Nomu opponent, he hadn't drawn out the fight as many had expected and instead ended it as quickly and as gruesomely as possible. To any one else he may have just been blowing smoke, but it had been a warning in his anger directed at Dabi and Miho's innocent kiss from earlier. Then there was the most recent fight between Jirou and Sveta. She was panting, on her hands and knees, her small frame shaking as she tried to stand.

Both men paused, surprised to see that it wasn't one of the Orphans who had approached her but rather a black-haired man with golden eyes. They knew who he was. His name was Masaru Amano and when he kneeled down with a bottle of water in his hand, Shohei schooled his features, this was just the sort of development he'd been hoping to see. It was slow going, but he was pleased with how things had gone and he was sure they would only continue to increase.

"Well isn't that interesting, " Atsuhiro said to Shohei, but it was clear there was a level of interest in these new developments. He too was curious to see what would continue to happen, the way these kids might be able to shift the dynamic of the League, they were all bound by their ideals, but it may not hurt for them to build stronger bonds.

"Interesting indeed, " Cross agreed as he watched Kaiya step forward the moment the shield had begun to flicker. She had begun to speak quietly with Shigaraki, her shoulder pressed against his own, her posture relaxed and it was clear that despite what he could do, she didn't fear him. He was most pleased with her continued developments.

Shigaraki dropped his head and took a keener interest in what was happening below them. Kaiya held the folder out to him and began pointing out a few pairings who had yet to fight. He had no doubt she was moving the fights around to better allow Hayai-Chan the opportunity to rest and regain her strength.

She waited, her posture relaxed, her gaze on him as she let him mull over her suggestion before he gave a slight nod of his head.

Kaiya took control and drew the room to her and explained the change in plans before calling the next match.

"Haru and Kageru please step forward."

As the next match was slow to take off, both men began to discuss other mundane topics…but it was clear the children weren't the only ones bonding.


"Was it just me or did Eizan seem particularly sour about something?" Byakuya asked when the match had ended so fast that if you had turned away for just five seconds you would have probably missed the whole damn thing. Anyone who knew Eizan, knew that he loved to drag out his fights and make them last to get his fix, he enjoyed playing with his prey, so the fact that he didn't wasn't lost to those who had grown up around the both of them. You tended to make notes of those who might kill you in your sleep, if you crossed them or not. The navy haired male frowned and rocked back on his heels as he pondered what he'd seen so far.

Haru the pale girl was thin and her shoulder length black hair was parted down the middle and her dark green eyes were rapt and her attention was solely on Eizan as the other stalked from the ring, heading toward the barrier as it parted to allow him entry before he'd had to wait for it.

The young girl was quiet beside them, she wasn't much of a talker and that was just as well neither Byakuya or Urufu pressed her to hold conversations. They had become quite adept at reading the others' body languages and half the time if there was anything she might want to say they had all developed a sort of freaky unrelated mental connection so they were all on the same page half the time. Besides Urufu and the navy haired boy talked enough that she didn't need to fill in any of the silences that settled over them, which were few and far between.

She knew that one of the only reasons they were so close was because of well at first it had been their shared trauma and injuries given to them by Itami Sensei, she hadn't killed them, no they hadn't succumbed to their injuries like the others she'd played with, somehow they had lived and survived. Something to feel good about, but she didn't feel good about it. She secretly longed for the sweet release of death. At least there hopefully she wouldn't be forced into a near constant life of pain. It would just be over and gone...nothing, but a sweet release from this body into what she could hope would be a happier life somewhere, anywhere else.

Blackout was far from suicidal, but her depression was nearly a constant in her life. She wasn't going to slit her own wrists anytime soon, but if death did take her into its embrace, she wasn't sure she would fight it. What did she really have to live for?

Her fingers curled into a fist at her side and she swallowed feeling the way her throat burned at the motion, she hated that feeling, the crawling form of agony that never went away. One of the reasons was that Akashi had been forbidden from alleviating or healing the damage to her throat completely. She didn't remember exactly what happened to her, she'd been knocked unconscious and woken up in Itami Sensei's basement playroom. She'd known about it, they all did, but to be there in person, to be chained to the wall and kept down there was something else entirely.

As the room began to get smaller and smaller and the first wave a panic attack began to work it's way through her body, the first tremor shaking her form as she curled her arms along her upper arms and began to rock for a moment on her heels, a self soothing motion, like rocking babies would learn when their mothers or those who were supposed to take care of them didn't. It was part of the reason she didn't function very well, her early life, even when she'd been born her parents hadn't wanted her. They had abandoned her at an Orphanage and no one had given her the love and support all babies need to develop better. She was missing that brain mapping so many of the other kids, even the Orphans had. It was just another mark against her, another reason she shouldn't be here, and didn't deserve to be alive.

Urufu's fluffy furred head was sudden in her frame of vision washing out everything else around her, she couldn't even see the orange barrier that was from Hayai's making. He pressed his cold nose against her cheek and huffed out a breath along her lips, the reason for this was far from anything but platonic, anyone was well aware Urufu was into boys, but definitely not Byakuya, that dude was bisexual, but they were just friends. His furred fingers stroked along her arm, the warmth of his touch was searing heat against her clammy cold skin. He casually let his fingers curl along her wrists, his grip loose, but it was enough that he could feel her racing pulse, but then again he could see it against her neck.

It took awhile, but eventually she uncurled her fingers from her arms and slowly ran her fingers through his long white hair as it hung over his right eye, leaving only the slighted purple orb in view along his silver furred face. He was very much a wolf in human form, his quirk at it's finest. He dipped his head allowing her to pet along his black pointed ears and he pressed his chin against her shoulder now with a sigh the weight enough to ground her. He never curled his arms around her, that was a no. This was just something that helped to center her to take away some of the panic, to allow her to come back to herself.

A twisted form of animal therapy, but they had to improvise and who were any of them to judge if it worked, and Urufu didn't mind the pampering even in his towering height of 6 feet tall.

No one commented on what happened as Haru settled more fully into herself and she withdrew her hands to let them hang at her sides.

Byakuya leaned his shoulder against her own once she was settled, they were certainly an oddball pair of friends but it worked for them. Urufu was someone who liked to be needed and it had just so happened that the two had a set of common interests and Byakuya had a trauma bond a mile long with Haru and the two were close even if sometimes they triggered their own issues in each others presence, better, safer to do it with others who weren't going to judge, and who were going to watch your back as you worked your shit out.

This little episode of Haru's had taken the entirety of Jirou's fight against one of the League's female members.

While Byakuya was watching the others around them out of habit, he didn't miss the way Kaiya was getting all chummy with their new Lord and Master. He gave a noncommittal noise of irritation and as a unit the other two were quick to pinpoint the reason for his own sour mood as he had put it in reference with Eizan, but his was a little different.

"A little crazy isn't it?" Urufu asked as he casually sank to ground where he crossed his legs and placed himself at Haru's feet, while some might consider that odd it was far from it. Urufu was very protective of the Orphans, but of those he considered his friends most of all. The boy was no push over, in fact many could argue with his mutant type quirk that he was the strongest among them in terms of brute force alone.

Haru watched in silence as the two of them commented about what was going on between Kaiya and Shigaraki from her place against the wall. She tapped her fingers absently against her leg one and two and then repeated the motion as the two of them conversed back and forth.

As Kaiya's voice rang out, she listened out of habit, but when she called a name, it was though white noise had filled her ears and she stiffened, her fingers jerking into Urufu's fur and he only tipped his head back not at all perturbed by the shaking of her hand or how hard she may have pulled at the strands. "It's ok," he muttered softly as he watched her face from his upside down position.

The short black haired girl was all too aware of what it would mean when her name was called. She knew that the name Kaiya had called was her own, she could tell by the tension that filled the air between her friends. She squeezed her dark green eyes shut and tried to steady her rapid breathing. She had to get it together, she couldn't panic here. She had to try. She had to win. She knew what happened to the losers. When they fell too far in the eyes of their handlers their punishments were absolute.

Haru did what she did best and she stalled for literally as long as she could even when she knew, she could feel Kaiya's eyes on her from where she lingered above them. Always above them, she was the golden child, the one who could do no wrong in the eyes of their gods. The rest of them, the rest of them could fall, could fail and none of it would matter, so long as she was at the top in the eyes of those who held their chains.

She knew it wasn't Kaiya's fault, but that was her rational part of her brain talking, not the envy, jealousy and greed that slithered deep inside her black broken heart. She was afraid and it was because of the expectations placed on them. Someone always failed, someone always lost, not everyone could be a winner...they would never be free and she had long since come to that conclusion every single day that she opened her eyes every morning and still drew breath.

Finally she couldn't stall any longer and was forced to step forward, to go into the ring, to the silent support of her friends who could do little more than watch her walk away. No one could stand against their tormentors, the ones who broke them a little more every single day.

Her dark green eyes looked at her opponent and for a moment her step faltered as she could do little more than stare at him, taking in everything about him. His gray skin, the large bat ears that sat on the top and the side of his head which were dark blue in color, but a shade lighter than navy. She let her gaze slither down his arms taking in the sharp claws that matched his hair color and his ears, if that wasn't worse enough the leathery gray bat wings that were outlined in blue fur along his arms that connected from his armpits to just before the bend of his elbow gave her a whole new reason to be nervous. She also noticed the short blue furred tail that hung between his legs and his arms were crossed, a clear sign he wasn't happy that she'd kept him waiting and he was even less amused with her staring.

She jerked her gaze back up to see his white eyes with a black slitted pupil that sort of reminded her of Urufu, but it wasn't the case, as his eyes were protected by shaded dark blue googles too. Can he really fly in here? She couldn't help but speculate as she glanced for a moment to the ceiling above them and how much room was above them. The open floor plan of the warehouse could make something like this possible and if he was the only one flying it wouldn't be nearly as cramped as it had been when the larger, more bulky forms of Galahad and Saisho had fought.

Her heart wouldn't stop hammering in her chest as she kept her lips pressed into a thin line despite the fact that her hands were trembling as she curled them tightly into fists. It wasn't a contest to see who was out classed here. Who was going to lose this fight before it had even started. She a brief moment she glanced at Kaiya and saw her worried eyes even from this distance, she could read her posture, she wasn't happy with this match up, but by the subtle way she tightened her hand on the railing, rolling her fingers tighter along the railing, it allowed her to know that she hadn't had a choice.

It shouldn't have made her feel better, but it helped a little to know she hadn't purposely sent her here to fight on such an uneven playing field. The match was over before it had even started, but she couldn't back out, she couldn't call it quits like Dabi had. No she had to fight, had to prove she deserved to be here...if she failed she would probably die. I can remove that one. I'll die...painfully. There is no probably about it.

Still she readied herself anyway, she readied herself knowing the risks, they had no real choice and everyone knew that. She fell into the mostly defensive stance, her quirk here wouldn't be helpful at all, not against a guy like this who could find them in seconds, even in the pitch-black.

Do the best you can...it's all you can do.

She thought helplessly as the rules were explained for them by Kurogiri and once again he reiterated the time frame, the fact this wasn't a death match and that leaving the premises was not allowed. With those hanging between them, he dropped his arm between them and the two of them were off going right for each other as they matched the distance paced between each other.

Haru had meant to defend, but knew that it wouldn't be a good idea, so she'd changed her mind and her strategy in a matter of a moment or two. Everyone underestimated her, but she'd show them all what she could really do.

As Kageru swiped at her with his claws, she arched her back and felt her heart rate pounding in her chest as she managed to dodge him, she took the moment of his surprise at her quick reflexes it was probably one of the only things she was good at really, thanks to her hit and run tactics she would normally use. She was not a front end fighter, she was not an in your face brawler, she was different. She strived in being subtle and using her quirk as she needed too, but when it was off the table she was forced to change her initiative. She was thankful for a one-sided conversation their new instructor had had with her one day after their training session, it had been unexpected and when he'd asked her to stay after she'd expected a punishment and instead she'd been given some advice.

Don't rely on your quirk all the time, you may not be able to use it...think of out of the box ways you might be able to surprise your opponent. You can give them a run for your money if you shock them enough.

The knife she kept on her at all times fell into her hand with practiced and well oiled ease, there was no sound that would give her away as she jabbed it upward piercing the males side and up along his ribs, the wound was meant to kill, it was how they were trained, but he'd jerked away and the knife skidded across his ribs rather then sliding through their gaps which was just as well. He didn't feel like dying today.

"Almost had me there," he taunted easily, his fangs poking from his mouth as he gave a low hiss of sound, but for the most part he hadn't made a move to counter attack her yet. Instead he gave a flap of his wings and began to rise into the air. As his clawed feet began to now hang just above head level for her. It was all to clear her one and only chance at a win was gone.

Her only saving grace at the moment was the fact that while they didn't want them dead, they didn't want them seriously hurt either.

The fight took a turn for the worst once he'd risen into the air, there was little way Haru would have been able to come out on top. She did what she could and evaded or rolled out of the way showcasing her own reflexes, instincts and general survival knowledge, but it was just a fight that she was meant to lose, the moment the claws on his foot dragged into her arm and she felt herself taken off her feet into the air, she began to struggle and the only reason she was dropped at all to plummet to the ground was because she'd improvised and managed to keep a hold of her weapon as she'd stabbed it against the tendons above his foot on his leg.

She didn't try to stop her fall, she didn't twist away or even fail in a panic. Instead she almost welcomed the fact that if she hit the ground at this height and angle she would probably not survive the fall. Closed her eyes to the sounds of a few peoples frantic cries, but she hadn't expected Sonar to save her from death's grasp today, but he did.

He swooped down and curled his clawed fingers along her upper arms as he flapped his wings and took her higher for a moment, her body pressed close against his own. "I've never met someone so unafraid of death," he muttered his voice close to her ear and his accent was german showing that despite his name, his lineage was somewhere she couldn't even begin to imagine. As dark green eyes met white suspended above the arena floor and their respective opposing sides, Haru felt her heart flutter for a strange moment in her chest, she wasn't filled with a want for death as they were held suspended in the air, this feeling was something else, something strange and warm. "One day you will see the sky, feel the warmth of the sun on your face and realize what it means to be alive. I'd be honored to show you," he murmured as he slowly let them coast back to the ground. The soft smile that touched her lips was his answer enough and when her feet touched the ground he winked at her, before he ripped the knife from his leg and held it back out to her blood and all.

Haru found her fingers curling around the knife even as she tried to wrap her mind around what exactly had just happened in the span of a ten minute fight. She was quiet as she normally would be as Akashi met her at the edge of the ring to heal her deeper wound along her upper arms and shoulder, before he gave her strange look as her face felt hot and she hadn't let go of her heavy grip on her knife even as he walked away and she was surrounded once again by her friends when she made it back over to them.

"Why are your cheeks red, do you have a fever?" Byakuya asked with a frown as he studied her intently, so very confused why she would even have a fever after Akashi healed her.

Urufu coughed into his clawed hand as he covered a laugh. He'd heard every word only because he'd filtered out all the other sounds around him when the fight had started. He wasn't about to tell her secret if she wanted to keep it to herself.


Kugutsu couldn't help double and triple checking his work while Saisho slept. It's not that he doubted his healing abilities but he hadn't exactly been… present during it, so it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't need another strike against him, he had too many already. As his wisteria purple eyes landed on the glowing wires he could see that less severe injuries were already healed as the wires had already unraveled themselves and dissolved, leaving scarless skin in its place. The severe injuries were close to being fully healed, the glowing wires were already startling to slowly unravel on their own at the ends of the wounds, specifically the ones on his hand and wrist where he had been pierced by Daichi's horns.

HIs healing wasn't as fast as Akashi's, nor did he have Chiaki's blood manipulation to make someone stop bleeding out, but his wires did stench the blood flow and his healing was thorough, and he could regrow limbs regardless if they were his own or someone else's. Sure, his healing was quicker than it had been when he'd accepted to go with the Handlers all those years ago and leave one Hell for another because his 9-year-old self had thought that they were saving him from his father's abuse and his mother's neglect. Now he could heal injuries far faster than what he could before but reattaching severed limbs, healing severe injuries and regrowing limbs didn't happen in an instant, he doubted there was any healer with a quirk that could heal wounds instantaneously regardless severity. Kugutsu's healing wires took hours to a few days to heal life-threatening injuries, reattach limbs and regrow limbs on another person, it all depended on one's severity.

Kugutsu could use his quirk on himself and the time had been cut in half but that was because of the training he was put under from day one to increase his quirk's healing speed and to see how his quirk worked if he happened to lose a finger. When it was proven that he could regrow a limb and have it be as good as new, his healing speed was enhanced as broken bones only took a few hours to heal and the wire he created was even stronger than the ones he could currently produce. After that… well they'd wanted his wires to be as strong as they could be and so that became a regular routine on top of his training. It was tested to see if it could work with his whole hand being at first reattached and then regrown. It had made his quirk stronger but it wasn't something that was done as often as breaking his fingers or cutting off a finger or two, simply because they didn't want to risk damaging his quirk permanently or risk him losing it, his quirk was very useful to them after all.

The blonde hadn't even noticed that he'd been leaning over to get a look at the decaying wound on the man's cheek, the wires glowed an even brighter purple as one by one the strings of wire frayed before they unwound from the wound revealing pristine skin in its place. As the wires unraveled the wires dissolved into harmless purple light as the effects of the healing were complete. Kugutsu hadn't been expecting the man's amber eyes to snap open, causing the young boy to jerk back with a startled gasp and take a few steps backwards in his rush to retreat from the man that had nearly killed Daichi. He had no idea how the demon quirk user would react anyway and he wanted out of the man's range if he lashed out at whoever was around.

Saisho frowned at the blurry scene that came slowly into focus as he blinked and slowly raised his hand to push himself up. He was strangely quiet as he got a better look at the older blonde and the easy smile on his lips and then his gaze shifted to the younger blonde boy, who seemed frightened and his grin widened, even as he felt no pain from the injuries he had sustained in his last fight.

"There a reason I'm stuck with you two?" he asked, his voice low at the beginning but after he'd swallowed a few times it got more profound, more normal sounding and he didn't sound like he'd choked on a frog.

"You were hurt after your -" the young boy started only to be shut down with merely a heavy hand on his shoulder as Felix stepped forward, that same easy grin on his features.

"Actually Koibito-san, why don't you start by going over the last thing you remember and then we'll fill in the blanks," he suggested, although it was clear it was far from optional.

Saisho sneered his lips pulling back over his teeth as he carefully sat up and found his hand running over the back of his head. "I fought that winged kid and won, but the boss man wasn't pleased when I got back, " he said with a shrug as if it wasn't that big of a deal. "Not much after that, " he begrudgingly admitted as his eyes narrowed on the boy.

"You're one of the healers aren't ya? So what happened?" he asked him, and when Mr. Smiles tried to answer, he shut him up. "I wasn't talking to you sweet cheeks."

Felix only smiled a little wider and removed his hand from Kugutsu's shoulder, giving him the floor.

Kugutsu swallowed before nodding his head, not yet trusting his voice to be as steady as he wanted it to be. He hesitated a moment more, his hands sliding behind his back as his right hand encircled the wrist of his other hand and squeezed it. "Daichi came back and smashed you into the ground. That's why you've been out cold until now." he answered, voice steady even as his eyes dropped to his shoes before snapping back to Saisho as he remembered that this man was very dangerous. He was a loose cannon, and he had to be careful not to say the man had lost. He was going to let someone else be that messenger.

The demon guise user wasn't a complete idiot despite what people liked to say about him. He grit his teeth as he could read between the lines; he didn't like to lose, but he couldn't deny a few critical truths about that fight as he remembered when the boy had risked his own life to save him, something that at the time he hadn't appreciated.

"He's got guts, I'll give 'em that."

The words seemed to shock those in the room as the other rose to his full height and ran his fingers through his red mohawk as he ambled toward the door. "I owe you one, kid. You need anything you just ask," He told him as he gazed at Kugutsu over his shoulder as he'd paused at the doorway before he left the room.

"Might as well see how the rest of you brats do, " he said to himself, but it was more for their benefit as he was well aware he'd had baby sitters, people not sure what he'd do over his loss. He may not lose gracefully, but he could enjoy a good fight and that fight had been the most exhilarating he'd had in a while.

The young blonde blinked in confusion. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting at all. He certainly wasn't expecting to be owed a debt by this guy. He nodded in agreement to the debt but he was doubtful he'd ever need to use it… at least he hoped he wouldn't have to ask the demon guise user for anything. "I'm sure you won't be disappointed." He added to the empty space of the doorway before his gaze shifted to Felix before he smiled wanly at the man, grateful that he'd been able to hide for as long he had. "I should get back out there… I can't let them do everything…" them being the blood siblings.

As he left the room and headed into the hallway he couldn't help it when dread settled in his stomach. He has a feeling he wouldn't be doing much to help with the injured.


Kanna came to consciousness with a flutter of his right green eye, his other was covered by an eyepatch and as dark as always unless he used his quirk. Which he hadn't, he wouldn't not unless he had too, he was told to use it. He jerked back as he came face to face with the looming form who was peering down at him. He tried to wrack his brain for what had happened and his brain was quick to supply him with the answer. He'd begun to make a scene and Kazushi had put him to sleep. He closed his eye for a moment and sighed softly at the sound leaving his mouth as he opened them again to see that Galahad had carefully sat back a little so he was no longer peering over him so intently as he had been.

"How do you feel?" Daichi's voice was low and soft and for a moment he was surprised that everything was so silent around them, but as he looked over he could see the reason for that was because of the small blood dome that Chiaki had made to encompass them. She caught his gaze and flashed him a grin exposing all her teeth for him to see. It was no secret she made many nervous, it wasn't just because of her ability, but she loved to be in everyone's business and was easily sliding between groups; she didn't limit herself to anyone. She considered herself a friend to many and an acquaintance to an army, there were few who didn't know her. If you ever wanted to know something, you asked her, she knew more around this place than others expected her too.

She never admitted how she knew what was happening in Itami's playroom in the basement, but she had known about it. She kept her lips sealed on who and how she got her information, but she gave away pieces of it for a price, usually pretty trinkets. Chiaki also made people nervous because she loved to pick at Eizan and Miho without fear and she was one of the few who could linger in their circle as though they were friends, even it was no secret that Miho and Eizan didn't trust anyone else but the other, it didn't matter to the bloodbender and there was little reason that it even should.

Daichi brushed back a strand of his long mane of red hair as he watched Kanna slowly sit up and lean his back against the wall before he ran his fingers through his wavy grayish green hair, watching the short bangs brush along eye level as he pushed them the left side since he couldn't see out of that side most of the time anyway. The Gargoyle watched him breath a moment and let his gaze roam over his freckled face searching for anything amiss. He did all of this at Kaiya's behest. Now wasn't really any different, he'd have checked on him as well.

Kanna gave a nod of his head before he graced him with a signature short answer. "Ok," he told him and as that word left his lips the done of liquid blood gave a pop of noise as Chiaki burst it at the top and gave a cackle of laughter as man around them jumped at the sound as she stood to her feet and reabsorbed the blood back into her body as she stood up. "Glad you're good Kanna-chi! I'm off to go bug Eizan after his little lovers spat with Miho! Tootles!" she called before she slipped away into the crowd.

Galahad or Daichi as the other orphans knew him frowned after her retreating form, but he didn't try to stop her, he knew better. Besides, she was far too valuable to them to end up dead. I hope He couldn't help but think as he ran a clawed hand down his face before he let his attention drift to Kaiya and he frowned as he saw that she wasn't up with Shigaraki.

Kanna was observant and didn't talk as much as the others, he had little reason too and preferred to let the others do most of the talking. The only reason he'd noticed Kaiya leave was because he'd happened to be doing his own headcounts and seen her leave. He reached up to the taller boy and tapped him on his upper arm and pointed toward the center ring. It would seem that now it was going to be Kaiya's turn to fight.

He frowned clearly wondering how much he'd missed it seemed like he'd been out for a while and he wasn't sure how he felt about that actually. He also couldn't find Hayai in the crowd when he'd looked, he was worried the two were close, but then again he was close to a few others too. Yuki and Reku and even Emiko but she was considerably closer to Kaiya and Daichi and Akashi actually despite how he kept himself at a distance, he seemed to open up a little more around Emi-chan in ways that he wasn't with his sister. He wasn't one to pry, not really, but he always got the feeling he was hiding something, it was just how he held himself.

The low growl Daichi made had the other quickly retracting his touch, but the other shook his head and uttered a soft apology, it wasn't him, he was angry with.

For a moment they watched her opponent come into the ring. To see Compress was a surprise and he arched a brow in silent question but didn't need to voice his question as a few others beat him to it.

"How fast do you think Kaiya's going to end this fruit cake?" the question came from Emiko and the young girl brushed back strands of purple hair to tuck them behind her ear exposing a few piercings that decorated her ear, it was clear they had been done at home and many already knew Juunko had a hand in it and probably Chiaki too.

The bets were soon flying between those who were close enough to start calling them out, it was always interesting to see who happened to be right.

Kanna didn't join in, but he let their energy and excitement bleed into him a little as he was doing another search of the room out of habit, that he caught the flash of short chin length white hair and short stature of Yuki as she made her way over to him and he wasn't surprised to see that Naito was with her as he caught sight of the boy's pale white skin, long horns on his forehead with the red tips, but one of his right horn had been hacked off in the middle during a punishment of Itami-Sensei, one of her many reminders to them all to stay in line. The freckled boy had always thought Naito's gaze was always pretty to look at with his black sclera that would surround purple pupils, he was careful to keep his claws from piercing Yuki's skin as she held his hand one of the few that could get him to come join them without having him put up much fuss.

Naito was quick to toss in his opinion, but his voice was calm and collected, if not a little more quiet compared to the others. "She'll have him by the balls before the bell's finished tolling," he predicted, his lips turning upward to carefully expose his fangs underneath.

It was soon a strange discussion between Daichi, Emiko and Nao as Yuki and Kanna shared a smile that seemed to say it all. Here we go again.

Yuki hid her lips behind her hand, nearly unable to hide her laughter.

Nao was protective of them, in ways that were very similar to how a few of the others protected them, but with Yuki he believed it had to do with the fact that many could argue that because of how she is, how tiny, seemly fragile and warm that it was because of her warmth that is what drew people to want to be her. Kanna knew that it was one of the reasons he'd tried to befriend her, she was positive and was always kind and in their world you tended to hold on to those people with both hands.

Yuki was the one who casually began to fill him in on what he'd missed as the Nao, Emiko and Daichi began to discuss the fights that he had no recollection of. He shivered, unable to help himself as he knew how upsetting it was to be out without any control of his body. After he'd been told about the fights he'd missed, he worried for everyone who hadn't finished their fight; his fight hadn't happened yet either; it was only a matter of time before he'd have to face whoever he was paired against.

Kanna listened to not only Yuki but also Naito and Emiko as the two were soon bickering back and forth between each other as much as he might try to deny it. Nao needed this outlet just as much as the others did. There was a comfort level between them that they didn't have with others. Still, as he watched Kaiya, her features an unreadable mask; he worried for her. She was playing with fire the most out of all of them. He thankfully could keep his head down and out of trouble, but their handlers purposefully sought her out, leaving her with a heavy weight, burdens he'd probably never fully understand, because she handled them on her own.

Still, she quickly talked with Compress, who had begun to ask her questions the moment she had entered the ring, as they waited for their match to begin, she answered him not all worried about what he was asking. He saw her say something else, but it was too low to hear, but the man across from her gave her a tilt of his head, clearly confused by whatever she'd said just as Kurogiri dropped his hand and shouted for them to "Begin!"

"How is it over already!" Emiko whined, her fingers looped around Daichi's shoulders as she raised herself from his shoulders with her hands pressed firmly for balance to get a better look around, thanks to his tall frame. "I swear I didn't blink!" she groaned as she could spot the fact that Compress was down for the count and Kaiya was casually walking away, and it was clear that no one, no one knew how it had happened! Atsuhiro Sako's mask was cracked and it was the only indicator she'd hit him at all and he was down for the count.

The outrage from a few of the League members wasn't surprising, given well the fight was over before it had even begun.

Kanna covered his mouth with his hand to hide the frown that slid along his lips, while Galahad had a look of smug pride on his lips, as he gave a boisterous laugh that had some of the League members glancing in their direction. It left him wondering if Daichi had taught her whatever she had done to crack his mask and leave him down with what many assumed was a one-hit KO.

As Kaiya turned from the fight, he caught the emotion that slid over her features before she could hide it behind the mask she wore amongst even them. He frowned as he glanced at who she was looking at and he watched her head toward the stairs. She climbed the stairs at the same pace as before, but even he could see the urgency with which she wanted to move. He was far too observant really. She surprised him by catching his eye and she forced a small smile for him.

She'd not even settled on the top step before Shigaraki was calling the next fight. He's not very happy. Kanna could see the anger in his posture.

"Katsu and Spinner."

Naito whistled at the matchup but didn't say much in regards to it as he kept his features impassive but he let his attention linger on Katsu Kurosawa as the black haired boy glanced up from where he was lingering in a group with Juunko Nikarashi and Osore Tsukuru.

He only rolled his eyes from where he stood as he watched Katsu strut into the ring with that same confident swagger as always. Even as he ignored Magna as she moved Compress's downed body over to the couch where Akashi waited for them.

It wasn't long before Emiko and Daichi we're speculating what would happen in the next match up and of course they dragged Nao into it too.


Katsu leaned back on his booted heels as he waited, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his black cargo pants, his fingers rolling around some special gemstones he kept in his pocket on his person at all times. It wasn't only for the fact that he liked the feel of the smooth stones, but it was for his quirk too, but he'd discovered his hobbies that went with his quirk and it was a little too easy to convince Felix their good ol' Copycat that it would be a good idea if he had something special.

Spinner sneered at the boy, his reptilian eyes narrowed as he regarded the boy, his dark eyes meeting the other boy's silver eyes and cocky grin. The other man felt his lips curl back as he regarded him, his massive sword easily piercing the ground as he let the blades pierce the floor as a bit of distance separated them. The casual manner as the boy's stance hadn't changed even as the fight began to get underway wasn't lost to him as he watched the boys movements before he leapt back out of the way as fist drove through the floor and was pulled back put to reveal his hand up to his elbow encased in a shiny black substance and as he stood so casually upward Spinner was made aware over the fact that this fight wasn't going to as easy as he had assumed.

He dug his clawed feet into the ground and swung his massive sword at the boy as Katsu blocked his arm was shiny and black, his hand curled in a fist, unbeknownst to most of what lay hidden inside.

"You'll have to try harder than that lizard man!" Katsu taunted his grin widening over the others swords even as he was pushed back a little.

"Fucking brat! You haven't seen anything yet!" Spinner retorted, his teeth clenched and exposed for him to see, it was clear there was little love lost between them.

The young man knew he needed to take down the overgrown lizard; he already had a few plans coming to mind. He was scaly, and he had a large weapon, showing he was looking to compensate for something as he let his other hand come out of his other pocket, deciding to be a little more adventurous and leaving the other stone in his pocket. He pressed his palm against the metal blade that he could reach and his smirk widened as his opponent's eyes got wide as his hand changed, the human skin morphing into the same properties of his sword up to his elbow and then the extent of his arm.

He darted back a step before he used his hands to propel himself into a backflip to get some distance so his sword swung harmlessly past, in his original swing. As this was happening he rushed forward his left hand which was coated in metal of his sword from earlier. He had a time limit of five minutes he could hold two different materials, so long as he had enough.

He swung for Spinner's head as he was still completing his earlier swing. The other kicked up his leg and forced his body into a spinning flip that left him out of range.

"Quit dodging, I want to see what road kill looks like in human form!" Katsu taunted as he pushed forward on his feet intending to finally get a good solid hit in. He was quick and he'd finally seen the opening he was looking for and he was going to take it.

His left fist raised and at the last second he let his fingers grab his wrist and squeeze and then his other hand joined the first and he sent him in a spin from his original attempt to get away from him and let him hurdle through the air right into the a group of the League who were standing at the edge of the ring.

A young biracial African-Asian woman flickered out of the way her body a wash of smoke so she wasn't affected as Spinner came barreling right into them. When she came back into focus she was gripping her knees, bent at the waist and laughing at the rest of the boys who had been taken out. Her name was Kristen Mordren.

Someone had been smashed in the nose, by the hilt of Spinner's sword, and a few others were more annoyed than hurt. His sword was held from hurting anyone else by a puff of air that was expertly controlled by Nakai Ryota, who merely narrowed his eyes and he looked far more elvin in appearance as he continued to exhale out a long breath, but once Spinner began to pick himself back up, he let the sword clatter to the ground and didn't bother to pick it up for him. He wasn't happy about almost being sliced in half.

"Spinner what the fuck!" another growled, it was the same young man with the bloody nose and he held his fingers to his nose, his name was Sagi Ebina. "Quit fucking around and knock this kid on his ass, if you can't do it. Pass it off to one of us!" he demanded as he pressed his hand against the other's back and shoved him back into the ring.

Katsu had taken that moment of leeway to catch his breath, but to also study the League members, he was curious how they would react, but so far he was finding they were very similar to how they were with each other, they had their groups they seemed to hang out with and those they were close too, but they were literally just like them.

He wasn't exactly disappointed per se; it was more like he's expectations had been high considering who they were in name only. "I was expecting better from the League of Villains," came Katsu's scorn as he regarded Spinner as he moved back into the ring.

The comment caused the tension in the room to rise though and it was mostly from a few of the League members who seemed to want to strangle the life out of him. He only flashed them a haughty look and stood with confidence, well aware he could take on any of them and be just fine.

Katsu glanced toward Kaiya and found that despite the grip she held on the railing, she was quiet, letting him draw their ire, she didn't attempt to get in his way and while he wondered why she didn't, he wasn't about to complain about it or look too much into it. They weren't close, she was just another handler in his eyes, trying to hold on to too much power with no real sense of direction.

He raised his arms to block the sword that swung for his head. "I thought this wasn't a death match!" he called as the sword screeched and sparked across his arms, but the material he used to enhance his body held. The other only grinned down at him as he twisted and his tail slammed into his unprotected stomach and left him coughing as he got he wind knocked out of him and the other spun in his moment of weakness to slam his clawed foot into the side of his head and send him skidding across the floor.

With a growl Katsu ground his teeth together and he swiftly shoved himself to his feet and did a weird leaping roll out of the way of the sword that landed with a heavy impact that broke the floor where he'd been laying before. "How dare you make a fool out of me!" Spinner raged.

The black haired youth was quick to scramble to his feet and raise his arm to block the next swing that would have separated his neck from his shoulders had he not been expecting it. He let his fingers grip the edge of the sword pleased when the material held and didn't give way to the flesh underneath. One eye was covered in blood, but he knew it was from the scratch he'd received from the other's claws when he'd kicked him. He squeezed that eye shut and wished he could transform his knee like he wanted, but he couldn't not with his hands currently busy. Instead he jerked the sword outward by his arms and the metal began to bend and give before a few of the swords he wielded broke off all together and he let them fall to the floor, before he darted low and picked up a broken piece and speared Spinner in the side when he'd not expected it with his own sword.

The other gave a grunt as blood seeped through his clothes and along his green skin. "You little shit!" he growled as he kicked away from him attempting to put some more distance between them. His movement wasn't hampered by the sword sticking out of his side. Katsu gave chase after him, but it was no secret the battle was taking a turn to get far too serious.

"We're done! This match is over!"

Kurogiri called out when it became clear that neither master was paying attention to the fight at all; what he'd seen made him nervous for a variety of different reasons. He did need someone worming their way in where he already stood, either way… Their lack of attention forced him to step in.

He opened a separate portal for each of them and ported them to opposite ends and he now stood in the middle of the ring, his yellow eyes narrowed in anger mostly at the Orphan boy as he tried to step forward again. "Enough boy!" he ordered.

While Jirou and Sveta from earlier had reached some sort of understanding with their fight. His fight was far from that and left anger in its wake.

Katsu was upset the fight had ended early and felt that while it wasn't a flat out fail like what had happened with Haru, it still wasn't enough, that he should have thought or something better that would have allowed him to come out on top. He clenched the stone in his hand tighter as his powers faded and the material fell away revealing the healthy, safe human skin underneath.

Damn it! I almost had him!

He turned on his heel, jaw clenched and walked away from the ring. He let his anger seize him and instead he stalked from the room embarrassed over his loss when Kaiya had won her match right as it had started. Comparing the two of them wasn't a contest, but he couldn't help the jealousy that slithered inside and the disappointment in himself for not defeating Spinner or really even securing a better standing. He worked so hard every day, not just in his material arts, but with his quirk; he knew he should have been able to win the match. He didn't see the issue with how far he'd been willing to push the match, all that had mattered to him was winning, it was still all that mattered.

"Keniji and Osore," Shigaraki called from where he stood once more, beginning the next fight without pause, his attention clearly not where it needed to be. As Spinner walked out of the ring, it was to find Akashi waiting for him, his red eyes regarding the sword still embedded in his side with a carefully impassive look.

The young boy with the black military style haircut dipped out of the room even as the next match that was called was one of his friends. He just needed a little time before he exploded at someone. He wasn't like some of the others who could buckle down and hide their emotions, no his were always on his sleeve.

Wisely no one followed him, most were well aware it was best to let him cool off and then go from there. Well almost no one, a young girl with long white hair and red eyes was racing across the area room intent on catching up with him.

Kanna frowned as he looked toward where Osore was hanging out with Juunko. Katsu hadn't yet made it back from the ring, in fact he could see the other leaving the room all together. He could only watch as Osore smirked as his name was called, he wasn't at all worried about who he would face, but Kanna was worried about the others, the last fight had driven up the animosity toward each other.

He couldn't help but feel like Nightmare wasn't taking this as seriously as he should. Kenji Hikiishi was not someone to be underestimated.

Yuki's cold fingers found their ways to his own and together they could do little more than wait and see how things would go as Osore clapped his hand on the back of Juunko, as the young girl only shoot him an annoyed look as she stuck her tongue out after him as the other moved into the ring.

Maybe it won't be as bad as the last one...


Shigaraki was surprisingly quiet, almost too quiet if she was honest with herself. Actually he was too quiet, there was no almost about it! Kaiya frowned as she stood next to him as she could feel his silent rage, the way his body trembled and she was careful to lean away from him. The first time she'd done something. Every other time hadn't been a big deal as he'd not been angry at her, it had been someone else. Now, though...now he was furious with her.

She could see it in the way he held the railing in front of him. She had tried to keep a straight face, but this reaction wasn't an unusual one for her, her abilities always left a sort of either amazement and awe, or a jealousy and envy too deep to get through. He kept his attention on their current fight as it began to get underway, but they hadn't talked, he'd been giving her the silent treatment since Katsu and Spinner's fight. There was no denying the distance between them that hadn't been there even when this whole thing had started.

She didn't question him though, he'd been like this since the abrupt and confusing end to her fight from the standpoint of all the spectators, no one on the Villains side had the slightest idea how she'd won. It wasn't the fact that she had won, well I mean it was that, but it was a little more complicated. She wasn't sure how to explain what she could do to him, he very clearly wanted to know and yet how did she explain it? Her abilities were mostly circumstantial, so she had to be ready for anything. Also If she didn't see it she couldn't stop it.

"What exactly was that?"

Kaiya was cautious to keep from flinching at the harsh tone, he was abnormally still in his anger and she'd been careful to not stare, but she'd looked at him out of the corner of her eyes as he scratched at the area on his neck leaving marks. She was used to that and worse. Still perhaps she should have warned him, but then again this might have been a heavy blow to his pride. She worried her lower lip for a moment as she remembered that she'd purposely refused to face him, it wouldn't have been a fair fight and having him lose to her would have gone over so amazingly she was sure her death would be swift once he caught her, if he didn't take out the others in his temper.

"I didn't think our fight would be fair earlier, so I purposely changed it. It wasn't a lie, Kugutsu was a far better candidate to show off first. My quirk is strong, but it's a little broken, and it has its limits. I know you're mad, but I'm not here to step on your toes Tomura. I'm on your side," she kept her tone low in volume, but pitched in such a way that while someone might hear her voice, making out what she was saying wasn't very likely. The last thing she needed was for this whole thing to crumble when everything was right within her reach, within their reach. Her chance for their freedom was right in front of her.

"I can freeze time, but only what I can see and it's over when I blink, if I'm not prepared or caught off guard it's possible to take me out," she curled her fingers on the railing and shrugged. "It's not all that impressive honestly, but it's kept us out of trouble occasionally."

She was careful to keep her temper in check, but she had far more pressing things to worry about than his ego. Men! She thought with a curl of her lip, as her fingers tightened on the railing in front of her as she waited him out, let him mull over everything she had told him so far.

"So you're like him then?" he asked her after a moment and she blinked as she carefully twisted her gaze to look at him. She had to go over in her head what she knew so far about their most recent conquests, one of them was the Unforeseen Simulation Joint or the USJ Attack which is what it was dubbed by not only UA High but also the local news who had been running with the story for about a week now. It wasn't very often that a Hero school was put through the wringer like UA was being, they were just a wash of negative publicity lately.

Kaiya had some speculations as to just who he was referencing, but the last thing she wanted to be in his current mood was wrong. She didn't want to test her own abilities against him, she didn't want to fight him, she didn't want to argue with him. She would not be the reason everything fell apart. She had to salvage this somehow and first she had to deescalate the situation as effectively and quickly as possible.

"Pardon?" she asked politely as she made sure to meet his gaze, signs of respect may not have worked everywhere, but it was still a valuable tool, one that was still effective among most. Kaiya fell back on a lesson she'd received from Shohei on a day when she'd been called to his office a few weeks ago.

"If you must deal with a tricky, moody client...it is best to foreign politeness, people want to feel superior, even when they aren't. The politeness hides the fact you have recognized their inadequacies. You may find this to be valuable in the coming weeks."

"That underground Hero, the one who can Eraser quirks...Eraser Head," he said after a moment as his red eyes met her own and she could see the spiral already descending. Kaiya gave a shrug of her shoulders, the name meant little to her really, she'd had very little run-ins with pro heroes for well a few obvious reasons. "I'm not super familiar with most of the pro's in Japan, unless they happen to top the charts in some way. So I guess it's possible to be similar to him," she kept her tone casual as she decided that she may need to take a calculated risk here as neither of them were focusing at all on the fight that raged below them between Osore and Magna.

"Does it really matter Tomura?" She asked with a sigh, her tone softer than she had intended for it to be, why did it feel like everything was slipping through her fingers in these last few moments. Her abilities shouldn't be seen as a blow to him, instead he should see it as an asset. "I belong to you, we all do," she said casually as though she wasn't used to being her own person, with her own wants and needs, everyone came before herself. She wasn't even sure now that she thought about it, what her favorite color was, it had never mattered before and it still didn't.

Shigaraki was quiet for a moment as he regarded her a moment before he ran his hand down his face. "It doesn't," he said slowly as though the words pained him to admit, that he was wrong, but Kaiya only remained quiet, giving nothing away to his apology, to how he conceded to her point, there was no gloating, it was just a silent understanding and when she did none of whatever he'd been expecting her to do, the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. "You'll be a part of my team, and most of you will not be expendable, so long as your loyalty is to me and you're useful," he said it in such a way it was a backhanded compliment, mixed with a threat, but Kaiya was quick on the uptake and read between the lines.

He hadn't said all of them, he'd been picking and choosing who would be effective and who he would keep. Like they were a toy to be thrown away. She frowned her fingers curling at her sides as she tried to quell the fear that seized her. Something in her posture gave her away and he was abnormally still as he regarded her, studying her. He hadn't seen this side of her before and he was oh so curious what she would do. He'd seen how protective she was, it was a crude test, but he wanted to see her loyalty put to the test and twist it, convert it, give her a reason to feel that same level of protective need for them, but for him too. He could always use another guard dog, she would be as valuable as Kurogiri.

"Her performance was horribly lacking, she was little more than a punching bag for the last fight. I was expecting to be wowed and amazed...but she brings nothing to the table that I need."

Kaiya clenched her jaw trying to hold her tongue, but if Haru wasn't valued, she would be marked expendable. The other children who were labeled as such flashed through her mind and her eyes squeezed shut as she turned away from him, her fingers gripping the railing as she let her gaze zero in on Haru as she sat with Byakuya and Urufu as the three were sitting together watching the fight between Katsu and Spinner as it continued, so far it was little more than a dodging game that had been going on for quite some time, neither were getting serious yet for various reasons.

"I warned you these tests were not just merely a test of power, but a game...a fight for your life. She failed to pass the test."

The fear twisted and morphed as it built to the point her body was almost vibrating with all that pent up emotion. The angrier she got, the more emotion that swirled and clashed as her eyes narrowed at him. "You can't do that!" She hissed, her voice low and furious as she twisted toward him. He didn't miss the way her hands shook and her eyes were bright, it reminded him of the fight with the demon boy from earlier. So protective...self sacrificing.

"But I can," he countered, his tone lowering in his mock irritation, as his red eyes narrowed when he crossed his arms over his chest.

"The match wasn't fair, she can still prove herself!"

"Life isn't fair and I don't have time to babysit."

"I can fix this!" The words left her mouth in a rush of urgency and she found her fingers clutching at his hand, her grip surprisingly desperate and there was an almost manic look in her eyes that gave him pause. Fix? He wondered but was quiet for a moment not sure what to say. "Give her one more chance, let me show you what she can do. Her quirk isn't exactly combat based, it's support and stealth based - but it's useful!"

Shigaraki was staring not at the young competent girl who had proven herself intellectually to stand with him and stand beside him, but he was staring suddenly at someone younger, someone else. "She doesn't have to die!" her voice cracked over the word and her head had dropped and her eyes hit the floor, the posture so suddenly submissive on a level he'd not seen before. "She's salvageable, I promise, trust me...I just need one more chance, if she doesn't pass I'll accept whatever punishment you wish to give for my failure."

He could feel the way her fingers shook and he was left in stunned silence, he racked his brain for something he could say, this gave him a level of anxiety he hadn't felt in a while. He felt himself sigh as his fingers curled briefly over her own, the touch light and it was gentle enough that even as she flinched he didn't take it personally as she kept her head down. "Only one," he muttered, conceding to what she wanted.

Tomura leaned his back against the railing, his uninterest in the current fight all too clear as he kept his attention on Kaiya watching as she worked through whatever was going on in that head of hers. "How many have died?" he asked softly, watching the way her gaze jerked to clash with his own, surprised he'd guessed or maybe it was that he had cared to ask. His index finger brushed along her chin and curled, refusing to allow her to drop her gaze, he could see the war that raged in her eyes. "Sixteen," she answered as she swallowed and worked to keep her voice steady, locking away that emotion she'd let slip through earlier. "How did they die?" He let the question hang between them, giving her a choice, not forcing the issue, letting her make the decision to answer it.

"The Warden likes her toys...methods of torture are common place. Reminders to stay in line. She would have Akashi keep them alive in horribly disfigured ways...then force them to crawl from the Morgue to our wing -" she trailed off her gaze far away and lost for a moment. "- They were in so much pain...no one should live like that," she whispered, her fingers curling along her thigh. A single tear trailed down her cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb as his other hand pressed against the top of her head drawing her closer to him. "What did you do?" he already knew, he was surprised by the way her story seemed to bother him, sure he saw killing people to be no big thing, but even he had morals, mostly. "What I had too, I couldn't leave them like that."

"Nobody knows?"

"No, speculation...but nothing concrete."

"That's quite the burden to carry," he muttered watching as she shrugged and didn't say anything for a moment. "We do the best we can," she told him but it sounded like it was something she said all the time, a small level of reassurance to those still left to pick up the pieces every day.

Shigaraki gave a low hum of noise but didn't say anything else for a moment as he let his fingers trail through her hair a moment, the movement surprising them both as Kaiya was quick to step back away from him and he let her retreat to have her space. He was glad she moved because he wasn't sure what that had been. "Who was her original opponent?" he asked her as he glanced toward where his members were all in various stages of watching the fight, they were ignoring.

"Himiko Toga, but you have her paired to fight Kanna soon, so I'll figure something out."

Kaiya was quick to reassure him as she shifted away from him but didn't move away as he had been expecting instead she settled against the railing as they had always been doing since these fights had started.

"There is no need," he told her after a moment of internal debate as he let his gaze drift to the girl they discussed, he took a moment to study here. "She will go against me before we finish here," he told her seriously as he didn't miss the way that Kaiya had looked at him, but he ignored her as he studied the girl in the middle of the navy haired boy and the other with the wolf humanoid mutation. "I-If that's what you want," she said softly, she let her shoulder rest against his own after he'd bumped his shoulder against her own gently and settled his weight a bit as he kept the railing at his back and looked over his shoulder at the world around him, he was getting restless, ready for everything to draw to a close in some ways.

"I haven't seen her talk," he said after a moment and his gaze drifted back to her when he'd felt her tense at his question. "She can talk, but it's painful." Kaiya's fingers tightened and she was surprised when his pinky brushed along her hand. "Itami loves her experiments, it's been too long now for Akashi to be able to heal her, besides we must obey our masters until such a time it changes," she muttered as her attention remained on the fight below them.

"I'll keep that in mind," he promised as ran his hand down his face before he shifted his stance against the railing, deciding that he needed to give this fight his attention. At Kurogiri's look, he narrowed his eyes and the warpgate merely looked away from him. It was clear he'd missed something during the conversation with Kaiya, something the other wasn't too happy about. Frowning he glanced out of the corner of his eye to her, whatever had happened she had missed it too, that certainly made things more complicated.

Shigaraki let his gaze roam the sea of bodies and after a moment it was easy to see just what had been the issue as he spotted Spinner getting healed by the blood healer...it was certainly interesting to see the sword pulled from his side and way the boy began to heal the wound, but he didn't miss that the other girl wasn't there, so instead blood gushed from the wound faster than the boy could heal, but he was quick and efficient, calm under the pressure of what could be a life threatening injury. He pressed his shoulder a little firmly against Kaiya's shoulder watching her slide him a glance before she moved her gaze to what held his attention. She frowned and turned away from him, searching the room for who had been his opponent and didn't see Jewelry.

"What the fuck, how did we miss that?" she muttered with a tick up of her lips as though she wanted to laugh but held it back, she felt him shrug and leaned his head forward on his arms as Magne entered the ring looking as though she was out for blood. He couldn't help but wonder what else they had missed.

"Damn," he said in exasperation, it was that which caused Kaiya to break her silence and the sound of her laughter shouldn't have made him smile behind his arm, but it did.


"Who told you to follow me?" Katsu snapped his hand balling into a fist as his powers faded leaving healthy skin in his wake, and he was quick to pocket the stone in his pocket as he held up the end of his shirt exposing his toned chest and stomach, as he pressed it along the deep scratch over his eye. He hadn't seen the damage yet, but it had to be decent, but it could be a poor assumption on his part as head wounds bleed a lot.

"No one," the girl answered with a scowl as she sucked her lip into her mouth for a moment and chewed on her lip as she watched the blood on his face, he hadn't gotten all of it, a droplet was running down his cheek and her first reaction was to lick it. She'd found out that such a thing wasn't exactly what others would consider appropriate. So she had to watch herself.

Chiaki tapped the side of her cheek and when he didn't get the message, she stepped forward on silent barefeet and let her finger catch the droplet on her finger as she put it in her mouth after that with a pop, her red eyes glowing as she stood in his personal space. She saw him flinch back and when he'd given her ground and her smirk widened along her finger in her mouth and he gave a low growl as he swatted at her, attempting to get her get the fuck away from him.

She merely danced out his way before she was right back in his personal space, her red eyes intent on the wound on his head. "I won't heal you, I know how you like your battle scars, but let me see how deep it is." Katsu might have taken her more seriously if she hadn't stuck her tongue out to lick the edge of her lip. Her fingers curled along his bare upper arms to stop his movements, as she reached for the hem of his shirt intending to pull it away from the wound. "You've lost a decent amount of blood and while I could fix that for you, you're a masochist so I'll leave you to your dizzy spell," she told him in a higher pitched voice almost as if she were about to sing to him.

"Let go! You blood sucking freak!" Katsu hissed, but he didn't make any movement to shove her away from him exactly. He might dislike her, but his father's teaching of never hitting a girl outside of the ring held fast and he couldn't bring himself to cross that line.

He pulled at the hem of his shirt with his other hand and hers only tightened as well.

"Quit being a baby and take it off. Don't be shy, Katsu-chi!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! I said no!"

The sound of ripping fabric silenced both parties.

Chiaki stared at the fabric she now held in her hand, and her grin only widened as she let it fall to the ground and used his shoulders to get into his personal space as she inspected the wound over his eye, he reacted without thinking his fingers curled along her sides to steady her sudden advance toward him. "You don't seem to be saying no now Ka-chan," she teased her voice barely a whisper as her finger brushed over the wound decorating a few centimeters above his eyebrow. The bleeding stopped and she stared into his silver eyes, she lowered her mouth closer to his and for a moment he let it happen, his heart hammering in his chest as his brain tried to figure out exactly what was happening. As her tongue ran up the side of his face he was suddenly jerked back to reality with a flail of his arms he dropped her, his hands releasing and pulling out away from him.

Chiaki wasn't at all phased by this as she stood on her tiptoes still in his personal space as she flashed him a wide grin. "Delicious," she purred before she patted him on the chest and turned away from him. She paused at the door, her fingers lingering against the open door frame. "Were you expecting a kiss Ka-chan?" she wondered as she pressed a finger to her lips in thought and her grin widened as it was clear she was teasing, but his reddened cheeks gave him away even as he stammered out a "Hell no!" Her laughter followed after her disappearance from the room.

What the hell was that Victory?

You hate her, remember?!

She gets on your last damn nerve! There is no way!

I know...

His hand curled into a fist at his side as he squeezed his eyes shut.

I hate her.

But even he knew that wasn't entirely true.


A/N: DON"T HATE ME! Omg i've had this written for a while (a few days) and I started it whenever it says I started on my profile, but I've been struggling to get these last 3 scenes done but It's at like 34k and it's not finished with one more scene possible to be written...but again don't be mad! I totally knew I was going to have to split up this chapter but I didn't realize I could have posted the first half right now! Literally right now at 4am!

I also got a Tumblr if you wanna follow me on it you can! My username is ajaviary. I'd love you forever! I'm still figuring it out of course because It's been a hot minute since I've been on anything social media related aside from Discord.

Anyway! Here you go! I hope you enjoy this part!

The next part will be up soon I promise I just need a little longer to finish it!