Yuka awoke the next day with an extreme feeling of heaviness permeating throughout her entire body. It felt as if she had been turned to lead. There was also this painful feeling inside her chest, as if a metal spike was slowly being driven through her heart. She looked up at the ceiling, barely able to move herself at all. She had no idea what time it was or how long she had been sleeping. She could barely recall at first why she was suddenly staying at a hotel, but sure enough, the events of yesterday slowly made their way back into her mind. She continued to stare blankly as she recalled the events that had led her to renting out a room in one of the hotels in Musutafu.

How could things have gone so bad in such a short period of time? She contemplated the idea of simply going back to sleep to avoid how awfully she was feeling, but she figured it was only a matter of time before Shigaraki contacted them again. The way her stomach churned at the mere thought of seeing him and the others again eerily reminded her of how she had felt when she had lost her father. Perhaps this was her punishment for having abandoned the one that she loved all those years ago. After all, Kai had done nothing to deserve her betrayal and it was her betrayal that had set him on the path he was currently on, of that she was absolutely sure. She was convinced that had she not abandoned him when she did, things would have turned out quite differently.

But now, she needed to figure out what her next step was. Wallowing in self pity wasn't going to get her anywhere and the last thing she wanted was for the others to think that she was weak. She had let her emotions get the better of her last night. Now, she was determined not to let herself be controlled by them anymore. It had been a while since she had done any of her meditations. In fact, since they had gone into hiding, she had abandoned them altogether. It seemed appropriate that she would start them back up now that she needed peace of mind above all else. She climbed out of bed and kneeled down on the floor. Remembering the breathing techniques her father had taught her all those years ago, she placed her hands over her knees and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath as she did so. Through her training, she had learned a few breathing techniques that maximized the use of her quirk. She would often practice them during meditation since it gave her something to focus on while she worked on calming her mind. Having forgone these exercises for so long, it made it hard for her to concentrate. She kept being interrupted by intrusive thoughts. Flashes of events that had occurred the night before kept pushing their way inside her mind, but she pressed on, determined to quell the storm that was raging inside of her. She began to focus on the air passing through her lungs, breathing in deep, steady breaths. She tried to focus on how the air felt in her lungs, holding it in as she concentrated on the exchange of oxygen. When she felt like she couldn't hold it in anymore, she exhaled slowly, making sure to feel every last bit of air leaving her body. Then she repeated the process again and again, feeling her lungs expand as she worked them using her techniques. Slowly, she felt the fog lift from her spirit as her mind started to clear, but she needed to be mindful, as it would be easy for her to stray back into the darkness.

It was reassuring to find herself in a familiar place, even if this place was one of emptiness. It felt like she was meeting with an old friend. Now that her mind was free of the dark thoughts that had plagued her when she had awoken, it became clear to her what it is she needed to do. In order to move forward with her life, she needed to confront her past and make amends for the mistakes she had made. There was no other path that made sense to her beside this, so with that knowledge in mind, she opened her eyes. Her body felt a lot lighter than before, as if all of the heaviness she had felt earlier had suddenly vanished. She slowly rose up to her feet, and as she did, the screen from her phone suddenly lit up. She had just received a message from Shigaraki telling her to meet with him in an old abandoned building not too far from where she was. She didn't know what his obsession was with old battered buildings, but she figured it was as good a place as any to meet and talk things over with him. There was a lot she needed to discuss with him, especially if he was serious about proceeding with the Shie Hassaikai's offer to meet.

After eating a light breakfast and getting herself changed, Yuka left to go meet with their intrepid leader. She needed to know exactly what went down the night before and what had prompted Kai to meet with the League of Villains. Since she had missed part of the negotiations, there was still much that was uncertain to her. Once she reached the building, she found that Tomura had been waiting for her near the entrance with his hands stuffed into his pockets. She saw no one else with him, which surprised her since his abyssal servant was usually never too far from him.

"Good, you're here…" he said to her as she approached.

"I figured you'd want to meet sooner or later…" Yuka answered in a neutral tone.

Even though he was wearing his mask, she could see that he was still bitter about last night's events, but she held off on making any judgements until she was given the full picture.

"Before you ask whatever questions you have for me," she stated. "I want to know exactly what happened yesterday."

Shigaraki let out a long-winded sigh, ushering her into the building so that they may continue their conversation in a more private setting. He started explaining how Twice had brought Chisaki to the warehouse, thinking that he was interested in joining up with the League. He explained then that Kai had told them that he hadn't come to join up with them, but was in fact there to recruit them into his gang. Yuka had a feeling that Shigaraki was keeping a few embarrassing details from her, seeing as he was seething at the mere thought of Chisaki. Whatever it was that he had said to him had really gotten under his skin, so she didn't press the issue further.

"You were there for the rest…" he concluded.

Yuka gave him an affirmative nod. "There's something you should know about him before we proceed."

"Oh? And what would that be?" he asked in a curious tone.

She took a deep breath. "Chisaki and I were in a relationship back when I was still running with the Shie Hassaikai."

There was an awkward silence between them as Shigaraki stared at her throughhis mask. She continued to support his gaze, even though she couldn't see his eyes, and after a few long seconds, he finally exhaled, bringing his hand up to his neck to scratch it.

"Well that certainly complicates things…" he sighed.

"It gets worse…" she continued. "He may have been under the impression that I was dead for 7 years…"

She could hear him loudly exhaling through his nose.

"Well that explains his reaction to you," he pointed out.

Yuka averted her gaze for a moment, feeling herself slip as Kai's face suddenly reappeared inside her mind. The look on his face when she had suddenly appeared to shield Compress… It was one of complete and utter shock, as if he had just seen a ghost, and as far as he was concerned, he had.

"There's a lot I haven't told you about my past," Yuka continued. "And seeing as it's come back to haunt me, I figured it'd be best that you knew."

Shigaraki was quiet for a moment. He seemed annoyed at first, scratching his neck nervously as he started to pace back and forth in front of her. When he stopped, however, he turned to her calmly as he rested his hands behind his back.

"So what is it that you expect me to do with this information?" he asked her. "Did you come here thinking that you'd persuade me to take him up on his offer?"

"That's not why I came," Yuka answered him truthfully. "The only thing I want right now is for you to have the full picture. If you've got questions for me, ask them. That's probably why you asked me to come here in the first place."

He didn't seem to like that she saw straight through him. He turned away from her, walking over to one of the windows so that he could look outside. It was still relatively early in the day and the sun was shining outside. He looked over at the forest surrounding the building, then turned his attention over to Yuka once again.

"Do you know what this is?"

He took out a small metallic piece from his pocket. It was red in color and had a pointy sharp needle at the end. As Yuka got closer to inspect it, she realized she had seen it before back at the warehouse.

"Isn't that what Mr. Compress got shot with?" she said as she continued to observe the red bullet. "If you're wondering if I've seen it before, the answer is no."

"Compress was complaining that he couldn't use his quirk after he got shot with this…" Shigaraki continued. "I think he might have been hit by some sort of anti-quirk drug."

"That would make a lot of sense actually…"

She seemed to ponder something for a moment. Tomura looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say what was on her mind.

"Kai has always had a deep dislike for quirks," she explained to him. "He thinks that they're a plague on society. Maybe he's found a way to make them disappear for good…"

"He did say he had some kind of grand plan…" Tomura replied, stuffing the bullet back into his coat pocket.

There was a short silence between them. They both seemed to be thinking about what Kai had planned for him and his group. If he somehow found a way to manufacture bullets that could remove people's quirks even temporarily, that could seriously tip the scales in the villains favor.

"Listen, Tomura," Yuka started to speak. "People don't usually get to leave when they're part of the Yakuza, and now that they know I'm alive, they will certainly try to get me to go back with them."

She let out a soft sigh, crossing her arms over her chest as she lowered her gaze.

"Whether you decide to align yourself with them or not, it won't change the fact that they're going to do whatever it takes to drag me back to their side," she continued to speak. "This means that, whatever you decide, I won't be able to keep working with you guys without risking the lives of everyone in the League of Villains."

She looked up to see Shigaraki's reaction, but his expression was hard to read since his mask hid most of his face. Seeing as he wasn't reacting or saying anything, she decided to continue.

"The easiest thing for me would be to just turn myself in," she explained dejectedly. "My own actions are what led to this situation. The last thing I'd want would be to jeopardize everything your master has built over the years."

She knew this was a hard decision for her to make, but she just couldn't stay knowing that her presence would put everyone at risk. It just wouldn't be fair to them and she knew that deep down, Shigaraki knew this. As soon as she had told him that they knew she was alive, he must have known that it would only be a matter of time before the Yakuza came knocking at their door, demanding that she return with them so that she could receive punishment for her desertion. Yet despite this, Tomura couldn't bring himself to send her away. He knew how valuable she was, but more than that, he knew how much the rest of the League valued her. He knew that letting her go would severely cripple his organization and there was no way he was willing to part with another one of his comrades, not after what had happened to Magne.

Yuka could tell that Shigaraki was upset by what she had just told him. He kept scratching his neck while he nervously paced around the room. She didn't expect he would take her wanting to leave very well, but his silence was really starting to make her anxious. She could tell that he was trying to figure something out, to come up with a plan that would prevent her from leaving, but there was nothing he could do that would persuade her from staying. Not if it meant putting the rest of the League in danger.

"Please Tomura," she called out, trying to break him out of his own thoughts. "You know this needs to happen. If I stay, I'll be putting everyone at risk and I just can't in good conscience do that!"

"There might be a way…" he finally said, still pacing back and forth as he continued to ponder his idea.

"What are you talking about, Tomura?" she asked him, puzzled.

"You could serve as our liaison between the Shie Hassaikai and the League of Villains," he proposed. "You know the organization more than anyone else, so it's only natural that you'd be the one best suited for this role."

She stared at him in confusion. "So does that mean you've decided to take him up on his offer?"

"I haven't decided yet if I want to join up with him," he clarified. "There are a few conditions I'd like to impose before considering having us work together."

Yuka was shocked to hear that Shigaraki was even considering the possibility of the League of Villains aligning itself with the Hassaikai. He seemed so against the idea before, and even now, he seemed to dislike the idea of having to work under someone else's leadership.

"Tomura, you don't have to force yourself into a deal you don't want to take just for my sake," she said to him.

"I'm not doing this for you." He stopped pacing, turning towards her to face her. "I'm doing this for the good of the League. If Chisaki has something big planned, the last thing I'd want would be for him to completely overshadow what we've achieved so far. Getting to keep you is just a convenient bonus…"

His words seemed harsh at first, but Yuka could tell that he was really trying to look tough in front of her. Deep down, she knew that he cared, or at the very least that he valued her enough to not want her to go. This was just his way of showing it. However, she wasn't fully convinced that his plan would actually work since it relied heavily on the fact that she needed to be accepted by the Shie Hassaikai.

"You seriously think he'd agree to that?" she asked.

"He'll have to if he expects us to work with him," he replied. "But we'll see. I'll give the organization a call later. In the meantime, try and stay put. I don't want you running off on your own like you did with your old group…"

It seemed utterly pointless to her, but in the end, what had she to lose? If things didn't pan out the way Shigaraki wanted, she would just leave. Either way, the results would be the same. She was going to have to confront her old group and more specifically, her old boyfriend. Once they were finished with their meeting, Yuka left Shigaraki to contact the Shie Hassaikai and organize a meeting with them. In the meantime, she would return to her hotel room and wait for him to contact her once the deed was done. Either he'd come back with good news, or they would all have to say goodbye to each other. Either way, she wouldn't know the answer until Tomura had finished meeting with her ex-boyfriend and the rest of his gang.

Tomura looked down at the card he had received from Overhaul. The idea of having to work under someone else's rule went completely against what he and his master had worked towards so far, but what other choice did he have? Overhaul had clearly stated his desire to claim the underground for himself, so it would only be a matter of time before he came after the League of Villains should they refuse his offer. This pissed Tomura off to no end. How dare he just come out of the shadows and steal his spot from him? His master had worked hard for years securing his legacy, and this nobody just shows up and upstages him right when he was about to take his rightful place as ruler of the underground? Then, there was the whole issue with his subordinate… There was no way Overhaul would leave Yuka alone, not if what she had told him was true. She had not only betrayed her organization, but she had also betrayed the one that she loved and now she was saying that she wanted to go into the beast's den willingly? If he didn't step in to try and fix the situation, who knows what Overhaul would do to her once he would get his hands on her.

Make no mistake, it wasn't out of love for her that he wanted to do this. He knew that if she left, it would cripple his organization even further than it already was. He had already lost Magne, and Compress had lost an arm during his encounter with Overhaul. If Yuka left as well, it would jeopardize everything he had fought to build up to this point. Plus, there was the question of what Overhaul had planned for the future. He had smugly declared that he had some kind of grand plan in store and Tomura wanted to know what it was… and possibly benefit from it. If Overhaul did have something substantial planned, he didn't just want a piece of the proverbial pie. He wanted to rob Overhaul of everything he had built and steal it for himself. So while he was considering having his League join up with him for the time being, there was no way he was going to let Overhaul get away with what he had done back at the warehouse. Sooner or later, he would pay for his transgressions…

After making his call to the Shie Hassaikai, Tomura was given a series of instructions that led him to a network of underground tunnels. Shigaraki spent about half an hour trying to find his way through the network of tunnels. Once he had found his way, he was led into the Yakuza stronghold by one of Overhaul's men. He was then led to a reception area where sure enough, Overhaul was waiting for him with the weird doll creature sitting at his side. They were both sitting on a dark sofa across from where Tomura had entered with Chisaki's henchman. Chisaki had abandoned the jacket he had previously been wearing during their last encounter and was now wearing a black dress shirt with a white tie and a pair of black pants. He still wore his signature white gloves and his mask as he stared at Shigaraki from across the room with muted interest.

"You had me walking around in circles underground for 30 minutes. I'm not an ant," Tomura complained. "Are all Yakuza strongholds like this?"

"We don't know who might be watching us or from where," Overhaul explained calmly. "And not all of our guests have the best intentions, so we have a number of routes leading here: an underground reception room where we're reasonably sure of our privacy."

"You ever wonder how we've survived for so long?" the doll creature replied. "It's 'cause of little details like that."

Shigaraki had little appreciation for the way this little creature spoke to him. The imp had such a condescending tone to his words that it was almost enough to set him off, but he fortunately managed to keep himself calm enough so that he wouldn't lunge at the cretinous thing from across the coffee table.

"Anyway, down to business," the vertically challenged goblin continued. "Did you really mean what you said on the phone earlier? That you'll join us under the right conditions?"

"Don't start celebrating just yet," Tomura replied. He then plopped himself on the sofa across from them, putting his feet up on the glass coffee table flippantly.

"You guys want to capitalize on our reputation, we want to increase our strength. Our needs happen to coincide for the moment…"

"Put your foot down," Overhaul said in an exasperated tone. "The table will get dirty…"

"No 'please'?" Tomura challenged him with a glare. "You really ought to mind your manners. I don't appreciate disrespect…" He paused, adjusting his position, but still keeping the heel of his shoe firmly on the table in front of him.

"Now we won't be putting ourselves under you," he continued. "We'll still be calling our own shots, got it? Either it's a joint partnership or I walk out the door…"

"So those are the conditions?" Chisaki replied in a neutral tone.

Now that he thought about it, there was much about Overhaul that reminded him of Yuka. From the tone in his voice to his placid behavior, it was uncanny how similar they were in that regard.

"One more thing," Tomura added while pointing his finger at him. "That grand plan you mentioned, I want to know the details. It's a reasonable request. I need to decide if it's worth lending you our name. You see…"

He went to reach for his coat pocket, but as soon as his hand disappeared inside his jacket, he felt something hard press against the back of his head. Meanwhile, the doll-like imp from earlier had also sprung to life. A huge bulging arm had suddenly erupted from the fabric and was now holding him down by the shoulder, bending him forward.

"Hands where I can see them," Overhaul's henchman said as he pressed the barrel of his gun harder into Shigaraki's skull.

Tomura gave him an enraged look from behind his mask as he stood completely still.

"Stop acting like you're in charge here," the man in white robes continued in a calm tone.

"Yeah who the hell do you thiNK YOU ARE YOU LITtle punk!?"

The imp's voice became a lot more deep half-way through his sentence, indicating to him that there was probably a much larger man nestled into the doll somehow. Tomura figured it must have been part of his quirk.

"Who do you think you are?" Shigaraki spat in a hateful tone. "One of your disposable thugs against our Hikiishi? The scales are far from even… And let's not forget Compress' arm."

There was a sudden break in Overhaul's expression. It was subtle, but Tomura could see him flinch at the mention of last night's events, probably because he remembered who had stopped him from completely annihilating his subordinate. Seeing the pain on his face, even if it was just for a split second, made him smile, but his mask hid away the satisfaction present on his face.

"We expect concessions in return for what we lost…" Shigaraki continued, lifting his other hand up towards Kurono's arm slowly to get him to back off.

"Kurono, Mimic, stand down," Overhaul ordered his two henchmen. While the two of them backed off, he continued. "He came all this way to make his offer. The least we can do is hear the guy out." He then extended a polite hand towards his guest. "By all means, continue…"

Shigaraki readjusted his posture. "Like I said before your friends got jumpy…" He shot a disapproving look towards the both of them. "I want details. We can start with this…"

He then reached back into his pocket and pulled out the bullet he had retrieved from the crime scene at the warehouse. He had kept it on him this whole time, trying to figure out exactly what it was. He was pretty certain that it was a bullet meant to deliver some kind of drug, like he had discussed with Miasma only a few hours prior, but he needed to know for sure.

"It's part of the plan, right?" Tomura hypothesized audibly.

There was a moment of silence in the room where Overhaul looked at the bullet and didn't say a word. This made Shigaraki's grin widen as he continued to play with the small object in between his fingers.

"A strange thing happened to Compress after he was shot with this…" he continued. "He couldn't use his quirk for a while, so I'd like to know what this is and what you're planning to do with it…"

Another moment of silence. Tomura was getting kind of annoyed with Overhaul's lack of response. He narrowed his eyes at him, staring at him with sharp eyes.

"Tell me," he ordered.

After a few more seconds of silence, he finally responded. All the while, he had not taken his eyes off Shigaraki for one second.

"I'll break the natural order of things…" he declared. "They said All For One ruled by stealing other people's quirks. I've taken his method and fine-tuned it a little. I've already begun spreading my roots across this country. Little by little, piece by piece, we're laying the groundwork for what's to come."

He motioned for Kurono to get something for him. A few moments later, the white-robed henchman came back with a shogi set and placed it on the table in front of them.

"You ever played shogi?" Chisaki asked, taking one of the pieces and moving it forward.

"No," Shigaraki replied, slightly annoyed by Overhaul's sudden change of subject.

"Go, it's your move!" Mimic exclaimed annoyingly.

Shigaraki then pointed towards Kurono. "Take it away! I don't even know the rules…"

"Have an open mind," Overhaul said calmly. "View this as a learning experience. It'll help you understand the bigger picture."

Tomura turned his gaze towards Overhaul, staring at him in confusion.

"Huh?"

Overhaul looked down at the board. "Shogi's an interesting game because you can use the pieces you steal from your opponents." He then lifted one of the pieces in between his fingers, turning it around. "I want Kurogiri or Toga, and maybe Bubaigawara. I'm not at ease when they're doing your bidding…" There was a pause. "... and I'll be taking Sakurazuka back as well."

Tomura had a creeping suspicion this was what he was getting at. He anxiously scratched at his neck, pulling the collar for his coat at the same time.

"Those are some useful players," he said to him. "You want to clip our wings, but those four are cornerstones of my group. You can't steal them all…"

"In Sakurazuka's case, it's not stealing since she wasn't yours to begin with…"

Overhaul's tone had grown a lot more cold. It was clear that speaking about his old partner was really triggering a nerve in him. He placed the piece back down on the board, waiting for Shigaraki's next move. Tomura continued to scratch his neck more fervently, his fingernails leaving deep red marks on the skin there.

"I know about your past with her," he declared suddenly. "I must admit, I have my concerns regarding her safety if I do in fact decide to let her work with you guys…"

"Frankly, I don't see how any of this is your business," Overhaul interjected, his amber eyes narrowing in on him. "We have a score to settle with her and you'd do well to keep out of our internal affairs…"

Shigaraki started to laugh. "Oh please… Don't pretend like any of your archaic doctrines hold any kind of water nowadays. I'm not about to hand over one of my best assets without some kind of guarantee that she'll be safe while in your care. That goes for the others as well. If you're planning on killing any of them, then I'm afraid we won't be coming to an agreement."

Tensions were running high now and Shigaraki could feel that Overhaul was getting frustrated. His henchmen could also feel it and they were slowly growing more and more restless as the seconds ticked by. This made him nervous, as his incessant scratching could attest to. He was ready to jump at any moment if any of them decided to attack him, but he wasn't sure he would be able to take them all down before Overhaul got to him with his quirk. After what seemed like an eternity of him waiting for Overhaul to react, the young leader of the Shie Hassaikai finally slumped back into his seat, exhaling deeply and he said:

"You have my word that none of them will come to harm so long as they obey my rules…"

Kurono and Mimic seemed surprised by his response, and while it wasn't exactly what Shigaraki had hoped for, he figured this was the best he was going to get out of Overhaul.

"So, do we have a deal?" Chisaki continued.

Shigaraki continued to scratch his neck as he pondered his response for a moment.

"You can have Miasma, Twice and Toga, but Kurogiri stays with me. He's got more important work to do at the moment…"

Overhaul let out an exasperated sigh. "How are we supposed to build trust if you keep pulling back like this?" He leaned forward in his seat. "Right now, there's ill will between our two groups, still I told you everything about my plan. You have to offer something valuable in return, and your members are valuable to you, aren't they?"

Shigaraki sneered at his comment. He realized just now that he had given himself away by asking for the safety of his crew members. It annoyed him that he had gotten so careless, but he still held firm and said:

"You're already getting three of my most powerful agents, which is more than fair, especially considering one of them just so happens to be your old girlfriend…"

His smile grew wide behind his mask. He could sense that Overhaul was positively seething at his little jab. Nevertheless, he kept his cool and let out another irritated sigh.

"Fine, as long as you fulfill your part of the bargain. I expect your members to be here by tomorrow morning, then we can get to work."

As the hours ticked by, Yuka waited patiently to hear from Tomura. While she waited, she had silenced her phone since she had been receiving a slew of worried texts coming from Toga and a few others from the League of Villains. Dabi had yet to contact her, which suited her just fine. She was in no mood to talk about what had happened the night before. Instead, she busied herself with her breathing exercises and a few other workouts. She had neglected to maintain herself since they had been kicked out of their old hideout by the police and it felt nice to be able to dedicate some time to herself, especially after everything that had happened in the past few weeks.

Eventually, Tomura called for a meeting at the old abandoned building where he and Yuka had met earlier that day. He informed them that Giran was also going to be joining them in their meeting since he was bringing a few prosthetic options for Compress. Contrary to the last time they had scheduled a meeting, Yuka was the first one to arrive. As everyone started to trickle in one by one, she kept her distance from them and remained detached. She didn't look like she was in a mood to talk, so most of them gave her a wide berth. When Toga finally arrived, however, she immediately honed in on her and went to give her a hug, only to have her affection not reciprocated by Yuka. When she didn't feel her arms wrap around her as she usually did when she came in for a hug, she lifted her head to see what the problem was. She was then greeted by Yuka's cold gaze looking down on her as she patiently waited for her to release her. This really shocked her as she had recently seen Yuka open up to them, but now that Magne was gone, it was like she had closed herself off even tighter than before. She slowly backed away from her, feeling like her heart had been ripped in two as she quietly waited for their leader to arrive.

Not too long after, Dabi made his entrance into the room where everyone else had gathered. Yuka gave him a disinterested look before turning away. At that moment, Toga instantly knew that something had gone down between the two as Dabi walked away from her without even a second glance. Her catlike eyes narrowed in on him as she walked up to him, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Her hand then went straight for his face, and seeing as he had been completely caught off guard by her sudden attack, Dabi recoiled from the slap, before staring her down with fire in his eyes.

"D'you have a death wish or something?!" he yelled in her face.

"Idiot! You were supposed to comfort her! Now look at her!" Himiko said as she motioned towards Yuka's general direction.

Dabi gave a lazy look towards the dark haired girl. "Yeah, what about it?"

Himiko was just about to slap him again when…

"That's enough, Himiko."

Yuka had called for her from where she stood, her voice resonating with a commanding tone. She gave her a stern look, warning her to stand down or else she would have to make her stop. Toga huffed discontentedly and went to sit on an old desk that was lying around. The rest of the League tried to pretend like nothing had happened while Dabi and Yuka shot icy stares at each other from accross the room. A few moments later, Tomura finally arrived, looking particularly tired.

"So, did you meet with the guy?/Did you smash his head in?!" Twice eagerly asked.

"I just came back from there…" Tomura answered in a raspy voice.

"So?!"

There was a long, awkward silence before Shigaraki told them what he had agreed with Overhaul.

"You want us to work with the Hassaikai?" Twice asked incredulously.

"Yeah, why do I have to keep repeating it?" Tomura replied in an annoyed tone. "Their plan has some serious potential, so from today on, Toga and Twice will be Yakuza members. The same goes for Miasma…"

They all looked at each other in shock while Yuka remained completely unphased. She had been expecting this outcome from the start. She knew there was no way Kai would let her stay with the League of Villains knowing that she was alive.

"I don't find this joke humorous…/That's hilarious, Shigaraki!" Twice said to him.

"They wanted Kurogiri too…" Tomura ignored his comment and continued, exhaling as he walked past Twice. "But I held out. He's got his own job to do right now so there's no way I can spare him. It's too important…" He paused. "There's an underground route you can-"

He was suddenly pulled back by Twice grabbing him by the shoulder.

"What are you thinking with this crap?!" he exclaimed angrily. "Stop pretending everything's cool! Why are you letting this beatface loser give you orders?! He killed Big Sis Mag! And he took Mr. Compress' arm! Did you just forget?" His voice started to break. "And it's all my fault… I brought him to meet with you."

He slowly started pulling off his mask, revealing the guilt that was plastered all over his face. It was apparent he was shaking as he was speaking to Shigaraki.

"I may be a villain, but I'm human too," Twice continued. "We all are, man!"

Yuka couldn't help but feel for Twice, despite how hard she was trying not to react to everything that was happening right now. She briefly closed her eyes and sighed, taking a step towards him as she did.

"I get that you're feeling guilty for bringing Chisaki over to us, Twice," she spoke calmly. "But if anyone is to blame for this, it's me. I didn't want to admit it, but there was a very high chance that my past would inevitably catch up to me and I said nothing. If I had been more honest about what had happened between me and Chisaki, then maybe I could have spared Magne and Compress' arm from his wrath..."

She clenched her fists as she felt the anger and regret rise up from inside of her. She hated having to admit it, but it was her own arrogance that had put her teammates at risk. She wanted so badly just to forget the past that she completely ignored the very real danger that had been rapidly approaching, and for her sins, Magne and Compress had been the ones to pay the price, but no longer. She was now determined more than ever to shoulder the consequences of her own actions.

"I'm the one who set him on this path, so it's only fair that I take responsibility for what happened," she continued.

"Tch… What a load of crap."

She heard Dabi's voice rise up from the back of the room. After hearing her words, he suddenly rose from his seat and started walking over towards where they were all standing. Yuka shot him a scornful look as he approached, crossing her arms over her chest in contempt.

"You're just going to take responsibility for what that psycho did to us?" he asked her with a resentful tone. "I knew you were a fool, but this is just plain stupid…"

The air got a lot heavier all of a sudden as Yuka let out a sardonic laugh.

"I don't expect you of all people to understand, Dabi." She spat his name out with as much vitriol as she could muster. "Though, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that you would confuse accountability with stupidity…"

The air was so thick with tension now that you could cut it with a knife. Dabi reciprocated her bitter laughter as he continued to stare at her with aggravated anger.

"Funny how the one preaching about accountability is also the one who's been running away from her problems for the past 7 years!" he shot back at her.

She took a few steps forward towards him, her eyes flashing gray as smoke slowly started billowing out of her mask.

"And what would you know about dealing with your problems, Dabi?!" she retaliated. "At least I've got the courage to take responsibility for the actions that I've made, unlike you! You'd gladly throw us all under the bus if it meant saving your own skin, and yet you dare stand there and lecture ME about responsibility?! Don't make me laugh!"

"ENOUGH!" Shigaraki intervened. "I don't want to hear another word out of either of you!"

After a long, awkward silence where Dabi and Yuka kept staring at each other while smoke came swirling out of Yuka's mask. They finally stepped away from each other as Toga jumped off the desk she had been previously perched on.

"I've got a question for you, Tomura…" she said to him calmly. "What is it that we mean to you?"

She started to walk towards the center of the room, where Shigaraki and the others had been standing. Twice slowly began to pull his mask back over his face, growing more and more anxious while his face was uncovered.

"To me, the League is a place where I feel at home," Himiko continued, as she twirled around the room like a dancing child. "I joined you because of Mr. Stainy… to make the world a place where I can do what I want and live freely! It'd be such a bummer if I got distracted from my goal…"

She walked over to where Tomura was standing and stuck one of her knives out, pressing it to the side of his neck.

"I guess what I'm wondering is…" she started to say as she flashed him a sadistic grin. "Why should I do something I don't want to do with people I want to cut?"

Yuka tensed up when she saw the blade graze Shigaraki's neck. She was just about to jump in and pull Himiko off of him when he suddenly lowered his head and started removing his mask, exposing his face to everyone. He rarely ever took his mask off while they were all around, so this was a particularly remarkable event. He stared back up at Toga, who seemed shocked by his sudden show of vulnerability.

"It's simple…" he began to speak. "Because this is for all of us. They want to keep the League in check, so they'll try to win you three over little by little." He paused. "I want you to infiltrate them, flatter them, but never forget… They're beneath us." He then turned to Twice. "Twice, you said that they needed to pay for what they did. I'll make sure they do… This will work. I believe in you guys."

This was a truly astonishing sight to behold. Not only was Shigaraki being vulnerable with them, but he was also showing them just how much they really meant to him. Yuka was at a total loss for words right now. She knew they had gotten closer collectively as a group, which was something she feared since she had lost Magne the night before, but seeing it come from Shigaraki of all people was quite shocking. It wasn't clear what he was planning on doing now that they were in leagues with the Shie Hassaikai, but Twice and Toga seemed satisfied with his response. Yuka, on the other hand, was a lot less optimistic. She knew what the Hassaikai was capable of and moreover, she knew what Kai was capable of. She believed that Shigaraki and the others were woefully underestimating their newfound partners in crime…

After concluding with the meeting, they all started to disperse as Shigaraki had plans for those who had not been scouted out by the Shie Hassaikai. Yuka figured she would leave to go prepare herself for what lay ahead, but as she was leaving to exit the building, she was quickly caught up by none other than Dabi himself.

"Yuka, wait!"

He called out to her, but Yuka was less than inclined to respond to him. After their little spat during the meeting and the hurtful things he had said the night before, she had no desire to speak to him, but Dabi was having none of it. He quickly caught up to her speeding away, grabbing her by the wrist so that she had no choice but to stop. This pissed her off, so she retaliated by pushing him away and staring icy daggers at him with her dark eyes.

"What the fuck do you want, Dabi?!" she yelled at his face.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said last night!" he apologized. "I was just angry and I shouldn't have said the things that I said…"

"Oh, you mean the part where you were insinuating that Magne had died because of me? Don't worry about it. I've already made peace with that myself…"

She tried to pull away from him, but he was holding on to her wrist so tight that she couldn't move away.

"That's why I'm here!" he said to her fervently. "You're making a mistake by thinking that you were the one responsible for her death…"

She was getting annoyed at his insistence to continue with this conversation. The last thing she needed right now was for him to have her doubt herself when she needed to act.

"Why do you even care?" she asked. "Is it because you want me to stay? Is it because you've grown so attached to me that you can't stand the thought of being alone with yourself anymore? If I recall, Dabi, you were the one who insisted on this being nothing more than physical between us…"

"Yeah but-…" he stammered.

"But what? Did you honestly think that we had become something more?" she scoffed. "Don't be a fool. You've been nothing but a distraction for me, a way for me to forget about the fucked up shit that happened to me in the past, and look where that has landed us! Because of you, I let my guard down and now Magne's dead! So yes, now that I think about it, it wasn't my fault after all. It was yours all along, Dabi, so thank you for reminding me! Now get out of my face before I make you permanently part of this wall!"

There was absolutely no regret in Yuka's eyes when Dabi looked into them. Only pure, unadulterated rage permeated in those dark eyes of hers. After holding on to her for a few awkwards seconds, he finally released her and she stormed out of the building. She knew that her words had been harsh, hurtful even, but it was the only way she knew he would completely leave her alone. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore, not after everything that had happened. Besides, she owed him nothing, since there had never been anything between them to begin with.

She returned to her hotel room once the meeting was over and done with. She had been eager to get away from everyone since she wanted to focus her energy on preparing for what came tomorrow. She would have to face her ex once again, and this time, she would be putting herself under his control once again…