4 Years Ago

"Take the shot." A voice hissed in her ear.

Takusugi Haruno suppressed a shudder and steadied her breath. The man she watched from her scope couldn't have been older than twenty-five and had a long bird-like beak and narrow grey eyes. The man took a long inhale of the cigarette that hung from his mouth. He did not know that his life was about to end.

Did it deserve to end?

The man had been seen at events regarding anti-establishment ideals and a push for change. Haruno's handler assured her it was a violent change. Bad change. Change that simply could not happen.

The man had been part of a group that had burned down a preschool that had set strict limitations on the kind of children that would be allowed to attend. The school had declared the need to create a 'safer' environment. Safer meaning not allowing those with 'scary' quirks or mutations. The school didn't want the kids to worry about those with these kinds of quirks. Because kids shouldn't have to worry.

Kids shouldn't fear others.

But wouldn't separating the children create more fear? More animosity? More divide? Her handlers didn't like it when she asked questions like this. They would speak about a world that she did not understand. A world that needed to move forward. A world that did not need the man that was in the middle of her crosshairs.

Two teachers had died in that fire he had started. Teachers that had stayed late working through lesson plans and secretly preparing work for kids that were not admitted to the school because of their quirks. Two people that had no right to die and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man might not be all bad, but he was certainly not good. But what right did she have to make this choice? She could trust her handlers, right? The sweet words they would whisper in her ear were the truth, right? She was doing what had to be done, right? She wasn't a bad person, right? She-

"Nagant! Take the fucking shot n-"

A crack cuts through the heavy morning air. If anyone were around at the moment, they might have instinctively dived for cover. They might not have known exactly what the noise was but on a deeper level, their bodies would tell them all they needed through the perspiration forming on the back of their neck and a rapidly rising pulse. It was a dangerous noise. A noise that could have been a substitute for the clacking of hooves for the horse that the grim reaper would ride into town on.

It was a noise that had an intimate connection with death.

She supposed she might have had an intimate connection with death at this point.

Takasugi glanced back toward the man. He was sliding slowly down the wall that held up his back. The dark coloring that was now visible on the wall behind him told her all she needed to know. The cigarette that had been between the man's beak was now laying on the pavement. It was still lit.

Haruno felt her insides twist when she watched crimson begin to pool underneath the man. She used to love the color. The color of a perfect sunset or perfect sunrise. Warm colors to bask in as she watched the sun climb across the horizon. When was the last time she had seen such a sight?

The morbid liquid continues to crawl on the pavement, and she watches as it extinguishes the light from the cigarette that had fallen about a meter away. Nagant wonders briefly if the same person is responsible for cleaning up all the bodies of the people that she kills or if it is someone new every time.

What would they think of her? Would they think she was a bad person? Would they agree with the choices that she's made? Nagant bites her lip hard and tastes copper. Why does she have these thoughts if they tell her to stop having them? Why can't she keep herself from asking these questions? Why can't she be like Keigo, who looks to the handlers with bright eyes and shiny smiles? Is he the fool, or is she?

It's hard to tell what is real when you live inside their world.

"Target down, Nagant. You did good today, kid."

Haruno's eye twitches slightly at the word.

Good.

The copper taste in her mouth and slightly trembling fingers tell her otherwise.

Present Day

"The plan is fine if the intel we got from your contact is legit."

Haruno resists the urge to roll her eyes from across the bar and takes a slow sip of the amber liquid in her glass. The drink gives her warmth on another cold night in January. Inside the bar, two lights hang loosely from the ceiling feeding into the already dank atmosphere. It was like the group living here was purposefully trying to keep people away through the careful placement of stained flooring and a slightly cracked mirror that reflected toward the occasional patron.

She snorted inwardly. That was probably exactly what was happening here.

Placing the weathered glass down she gazes at the teen sitting two chairs down. She watches his brow slightly furrow as he looks at the blueprint they were able to pull from a shady contractor who knew of the Shui Fong, which was the triad that they were going after. Sharp crimson eyes slowly wander across the paper as if he is watching himself make his way through the place. She notices the ragged skin that clung near his eyes and resists the urge to raise a hand to the area. She can tell it bothers him but there is little anyone can do about it.

He mentioned to her earlier that his skin gets worse in the winter.

"Southern entrance makes sense for the getaway," he mutters.

Haruno frowns slightly, "Why not just have Kurogiri pick us up at the compound?"

Tomura finally lifts his eyes from the sketch and slowly raises his gaze to her own eyes. She tries to not stare at the crimson coloring. It's hard to focus when she looks at them for too long. She isn't quite sure why. Too many crimson-stained memories she muses.

"We won't know for sure where we'll be and there might be some stragglers around after we're done. I'd rather have an agreed-upon point that we'll make our way too rather than just running around and looking for each other while either local heroes or triads try to trap us in."

Takusugi nods slowly and looks at the map that sits beside the blueprint. She slowly slides her finger to a building about two blocks south.

"How about this? It's a parking garage that shouldn't be crowded given the fact that we'll be there after midnight."

Tomura looks at the building and drags his finger along the alleys, tracing his own path to the building. He holds his finger for a moment and then nods slowly.

"That should work, I guess." He then looks back to her with a smirk, "Will you be able to make it there? You haven't exactly showcased your speed while here."

Haruno grits her teeth and looks back to her empty glass. Shigaraki and her had completed some sparring sessions with Kurogiri and her inability to hit the boy in hand-to-hand had been a point of frustration. The agility that he could display in tight spaces was something that not even her trainers at the commission could match. It also seemed to be something that he wouldn't let her forget.

The woman paused for a moment, desperately trying to think of a witty comeback but was drawing an unfortunate blank and randomly went with, "I'll be fine, kiddo."

She took a small victory in the slight twitch of the boy's eye. It seemed that he didn't like being talked down to by her when they were less than two years apart. It was one of the few retorts she could fall back on.

After mumbling about definitely not being a 'kiddo' Shigaraki slowly craned his neck to the other side of the bar.

"Twice!"

The man, who was wearing a black bodysuit and matching black mask looks up from the apparent Gameboy he was playing on.

"What is it, boss?"

Shigaraki stares at him incredulously waiting for him to take the hint. Takusugi does her best to suppress the bubbling laughter she feels when watching the two interact. She can hardly believe that the man who was now working for Shigaraki, was once one of the most feared criminals in Japan. When looking back, she thinks she might have even had a kill order for him at some point.

After another tense ten seconds, the two can see Twice's eyes widen from under the mask, and he scrambles over to his leader with a hand raised in some sort of salute.

The man under the mask takes a breath, "What can I do for you Shiggy?"

Tomura pinches the bridge of his nose before looking up at his follower, "Are you all set with your portion of the plan?"

Twice seems to pause for a moment like a deer in headlights before nodding rapidly, "Make a clone of your lady friend and then follow her around to make sure she isn't destroyed!"

Shigaraki and Nagant both wince at the term 'lady friend'.

"And what happens if you get into a situation, Twice?" Shigaraki asks the man slowly.

"I'll make a clone of you, and he'll tell me what to do!"

Tomura stares blankly ahead after hearing the response. He supposes it will have to do.

"Yeah, fine Twice that works." Shigaraki then gestures to Nagant who is still standing behind him while leaning on the bar.

"How about you make a copy of her now before we leave to make sure it's viable."

Twice nods and then moves past the boss and stops a step or two away from Nagant. He tilts his head slightly while staring at her and Haruno does her best to fight off the rising sense of discomfort she has in her gut. Shigaraki begins to drum his fingers on the bar after about 15 seconds of silence.

"Let's get on it with Twice."

Twice seems to ignore Tomura and then steadily manifests a gray goo. Slowly, both Nagant and Shigaraki watch the man build an exact copy of Takusugi from the substance, who suddenly blinks into existence and looks around the bar room.

Haruno tries to not stare at her copy as Shigaraki gives a slow nod of approval.

"Good job, Twice." He then poked the copy once and looked back at the masked man.

"And you'll be able to make more if we ever need more spares in the future?"

"Hey!" Clone Nagant seems to take offense to his comment.

Tomura looks over to the clone and shrugs while Twice nods emphatically, "Once I do it, I shouldn't have any trouble making others!" There's silence before the man blurts out, "I'm a master cloner!"

Shigaraki and the two Nagants stare at him and wait to see if he has anything else to say.

After a moment of silence, Tomura slaps the clone on the back, "Well good luck to you." He then looks to Twice and gives a nod, "Get going. I'll call you when we're back."

Twice nods rapidly at the comment, "Good luck you two!" He then quickly blurts, "Don't mess this up!"

Shigaraki and Haruno nod as Twice drags the clone Nagant out of the bar, who seems to not have wrapped her head around her meaningless existence.

The bar is silent again as the two look to the door that the others just exited from.

Haruno looks back at Tomura, "Isn't his costume pretty suspicious?"

Tomura smirks, "Nah, we walked around with him wearing it a few days ago and everyone thought he was a cosplayer."

Takusugi snorts as a second door opens in the bar with the caretaker strolling in.

Kurugiri looks at the two and then to the clock that hangs slightly tilted next to the television above the drinks.

"Is it time?"

Tomura cracks his knuckles and reaches for the red coat he had lying on the chair beside him. Nagant grabs her own heavy black jacket and slowly pulls it over her shoulders.

The caretaker's purple smoke begins to expand and the two can hear the thundering rains of Hong Kong on the other side.

~Revelations~

A homeless man shrieks as two dark figures emerge from the shadows in the alley that he was seeking shelter in. It takes only moments for both Shigaraki and Nagant to be soaked to the bone as they slowly trudge to the avenue that the ally spits out on. Not a soul can be found outside with the time being past midnight and the weather forcing most drivers to call it quits for the day. The two couldn't have found a more perfect time for the mission.

Tomura digs his hands into his pockets as he takes a left and slowly walks down the sidewalk. The area is crowded with three-story buildings and limited lighting. He almost wishes he brought a flashlight.

Takasugi watches the teen curiously as he strolls ahead of her with an undeniably loose gait. If it wasn't one in the morning in Hong Kong, most strangers would have assumed he was walking to an internet café. Not on his way to tear down the local triad.

"Have you been to Hong Kong before?"

Tomura seems to stutter in his step and slows down, which allows for Haruno to walk beside him.

The boy glances at her for a moment before looking ahead, "Once with Sensei. He was checking up on business and eliminating some loose ends."

Takusugi nods. She had heard of this 'sensei' but was unable to get a good feeling for Tomura's thought of the teacher. The pained flash she would sometimes see on his face was enough for her to know that he didn't love talking about the figure.

But Haruno was about to take the first step toward her own freedom and needed her mind elsewhere besides the cage of self-doubt and hesitation that had been building since she had hatched the plan a few weeks ago.

"Did you live with your sensei?"

Shigaraki looks back at the girl and she frowns at how quickly he can discern what she's trying to do.

How can he read me so easily?

"For a while…" Tomura trails off for a moment with a doleful look, "He saved me when I was at my worst and made me into what I am now."

He then looks over to her, "He was better than your shitty teachers if that's what you were wondering."

Haruno looks down at the worn-out pair of combat boots on her feet. She can feel the squelching of her saturated socks that cling to her ankles.

"Not too hard to beat them," she says with a sigh, "They just made everything seem so simple at first, you know?"

Tomura grimaces as they continue down the empty street. The rain screams down overhead.

"People in control like to stay in control, pulling the strings and forcing others to do their work. They probably like to call you a 'key piece' but, you're just a cog in their system. And your 'teachers' will do anything to keep you as you are."

Haruno considers his words as they cross the desolate street. She couldn't deny the point he made and the situation that she was in. She almost envied his way of talking. The way he could articulate any feeling or scenario in the simplest way possible. That there was nothing that he couldn't understand.

The more she was around him the more she wanted to stay around him. The young man had an undeniable aura that was tied to his rising reputation in the underworld of Japan. It seemed that most that had interacted with Shigaraki had sensed this. Some were pushed away because of this feeling. They were worried about who he would become, what he would do in the future, what would happen to those that are close to him.

There were others though who wanted to get closer. People like Twice, Kurogiri, the broker Giran. And herself. She had been serious when she said she would hear out a proposal from him regarding joining him and his plans. After getting to know him better, the feeling was even stronger than before. All her anger, all her rage at the country and the people who had mistreated her over the years, she was confident he could carry those feelings. That he could take everything that was dragging her down and continue to move forward. Continue his path.

It was silent again as they continued to walk. The compound lingered at the end of the road like a disregarded relic, often bypassed by a public that has forgotten the power that resides in it. In terms of power, the Shui Fong were not at the top at the totem pole of triads in the city, but they certainly were not a group that people would want to cross. They typically dealt mostly in narcotics and some enhanced quirk boosters for capital but had been known to take more 'messy' jobs if the pay was good enough. A smaller gang had made the mistake of trying to steal one of their drug routes a few weeks back and Tomura had found an article detailing how the groups' limbs had been found in various storm drains in the area.

Nagant had been assured by a Chinese contact that the heavy hitters of the group had all headed for Shanghai for a wedding of one of the top men, so the group that had remained behind had been mostly up and comers, who were looking for jobs to prove themselves. There were no official documents or paper trail to be found with the information regarding how this high-value witness had ended in the care of the group, but Takusugi had insisted that the commission had played some sort of role in the matter. Tomura doubted her claims, having a tough time believing the HPSC would stoop to a level where they would work with a group like the Shui Fong, but decided against arguing his point with the woman.

For the short time he had known Nagant, he was able to recognize that she was one of the few people that could surpass him in terms of stubbornness when it came to arguments. At least this is what Kurogiri had told him after watching him and Haruno argue over where to get takeout from for over two hours a few days ago (they ended up just having the caretaker cook for them).

He could admit that she certainly wasn't at 'level one' when it came to fighting either. While he liked to poke fun at the fact that he had little trouble with her when it came to hand-to-hand, she could kill him 100 times over if they fought at over 10 feet apart. While they hadn't practiced with her quirk, he knew that she was more of a killer than he was at this point. That she had probably seen more than he had. That she had been forced to do more than he had.

For some reason, this idea left a sick feeling in his gut. Like he didn't want her to do more than him, he didn't want her to see more blood and carnage than him. Why was that? Why did he feel strangely protective over someone he didn't know and that had little trouble taking care of herself?

Tomura had been wrestling with these questions since he cracked the rough outer shell that was Takusugi Haruno. He still did not know exactly what he would find underneath, but to be fair, he doubted she knew what was there either. It wasn't like the girl had people that she could be herself around. People that she could drop her guard against. Shigaraki frowned at the thought. What was the point of existence if you couldn't be your true self? What fulfillment could you gain from a life of lies and masks? What was the point of living in a world that would fit you into a mold regardless of who you truly were? Why live in this kind of world at all?

Why not just destroy this kind of world?

The two suddenly found themselves under one of the few lamp post lights in the area and were staring at an electrical box that was connected to the said pole. Regularly, the box couldn't do much outside of controlling some minor electrical flows in the area. However, with a 'surge re-router', the box could become something else entirely. In Tomura's back pocket, he pulled out a clunky black object that had two sets of clips on either side. With Haruno watching with a sharp eye, the teen slowly fastened both sets of clips to two separate pairs of wires in the box and then hit a small black button in the middle of the object. A two-minute timer suddenly appeared and began to steadily count down as Shigaraki closed the box and turned to his partner.

"This should give us an hour. Let's get as close as we can before we get lights out."

Haruno nodded slowly and the two turned to the brutalist-looking structure that sat on the other side of the street. It was time for the games to truly begin.

~Revelations~

The Shui Fong compound was quiet. There had been no recent issues regarding neighboring triads so there had been no need for patrols to be available and watchful eyes sitting in front of screens that showcased the cameras in the area. Was this a lazy and nearsighted choice at the time? Possibly.

Did the group regret these decisions for months to come afterward? Probably.

Two minutes sped down to zero and the 'surge rerouter' sent off a charge similar to a small EMP that followed the electrical lines with crackling energy. Fans and lights that were humming within a mile radius were suddenly silenced. Some of the men in the house weren't awakened by the disruption. The allure of slumber held on to them tight enough that they merely rolled over onto their side and ignored the silence.

Two younger men were awoken though. Both were frustrated by the inability to turn on lights and they slowly pulled on heavy coats and rubber boots to deal with the weather that awaited them on the outside. Lightning lit up the sky as the two Shui Fong trudged to the generator that was located on the far side of the property attached to the outer wall of the compound. The property itself was not as big as some might have guessed on the outside. With one main house where all the members lived in, and one guest house, where family or other outside members could stay in when visiting. The guest house mirrored the main in aesthetic but was dwarfed when compared side by side, with the resemblance almost being that of a little brother.

Sheets of rain continued to fall as one of the men opened the palm of his hand revealing a bright light that flooded the area. The light quirk didn't seem to come in handy much for combat but was regularly used in almost every other situation. A control pad for the generator greeted the two as the man without the light quirk moved closer to check if there was something wrong with the machine.

They failed to notice the shadows behind them that moved closer as well.

In an instant, a pale hand snatched the throat of the man with the light quirk. He tried to yelp in surprise but was horrified to find there was nothing to yell with as a second hand wrapped itself around his face. He was only able to let out a gurgled cry as his throat began to crumble in the hands' grasp and he faced a moment of unimaginable pain before his eyes eroded and everything suddenly went black.

The man working the generator turned as soon as he heard the cry, suddenly letting out a wet cough as he felt a jagged knife plunge into his neck. The pressure in the area made him stumble into a strong body that quickly placed two hands on the man's head and snapped his neck in an instant.

Tomura looked down at the man that was more dust than flesh at this point and the second that was crumpled in an awkward pile in the mud. He took a few steps to the member that Nagant had killed and placed two hands on the man's body. In a matter of moments that body seemed to be washed away in a combination of dust and rainwater and left the two uninvited visitors in a deserted section of the property.

Haruno looked at where the man had fallen and then went back to Shigaraki, "Did you not think that I killed him?"

Tomura shrugged, "I don't like leaving evidence when we have stealth on our side. I doubt the rest will fall that easily so let's just get this over with."

The two slowly followed the steps that the two men had made earlier and found a slightly gaping door that gave entrance to the main house. Both decided to value stealth more than power, as they took off their boots and socks, leading to the almost silent movement of bare feet across the cold tile flooring. The two started in some sort of storage room that was covered in shelving used for footwear and other outdoor clothing. Tomura was tempted to take another black jacket that he saw hanging on one of the pegs, but Takasugi slapped his hand away at the last moment with a slight shake of the head and a frown.

"I'll take you shopping after this is done alright?"

Tomura frowned, "Are you saying I need new clothing?"

Haruno turned back to the teen seeing that he was wearing the same baggy long-sleeved black shirt that he always wore, "Yes, yes I am."

"Tch."

The two slowly pulled open the door on the entrance area revealing an open room that could have been used for meetings or large parties. Their bare feet slowly padded against the wooden floor with the room mostly flooded in darkness outside of the occasional flash of lightning. Pictures of men sitting around the same table were found on all the walls, indicating it was some sort of annual photo of the top guard of the group. Haruno made note that there were no women ever seen in the photos.

Through the meeting room, they were greeted with a staircase that led up to a second floor and a door that led further into the main floor. The two slowly looked at each other and then back toward their choices.

"I'll take the main floor." Tomura whispered, "Your guy is probably on the higher floor in some room out of the way." The cerulean-haired boy gestured to the tiny earpiece in his ear, "Call if you need me, once I clear this level I can join you up there."

Haruno looked at him and nodded slowly. It made sense for there to be more men on the lower floor since it was bigger and Tomura was more suited for in-tight combat than she was. She gave one last look at the boy before slowly beginning to climb the stairs of the main house.

Shigaraki watched her ascend before pushing through the door and finding himself in another long hallway. Framed documents hung which Tomura had to guess where the regulations of the Shui Fong. He glanced at one and quickly realized he would be unable to read any of it since his foreign language classes with Kurogiri had been more english-focused.

The hallway had two doors on either side about halfway down and one final door at the end. Tomura knew that he would encounter members sooner than later and raised both hands in front of him. Ready to lunge at anyone he might bump into, with an instant death the most probable outcome.

The teen noticed the door on the right side already ajar and decided that he might as well investigate it first. His bare feet slowly bring him to the wooden door, and he hesitantly pushes the entrance open. No light is present but a flash of lightning in the distance reveals one triad member sitting up on his bed trying to read his phone with another on the bunk positioned on the other wall. Both members slowly turn to Shigaraki as he stands in the doorway.

"Shit."

Tomura lunges at the man on the bed and wraps his right hand around the man's throat while the one in bed frantically climbs out and buries his arm under the mattress. Shigaraki turns after a moment and is forced to let go of the first man as the second pulls a knife from the bed and swings it hard for his head, leading the teen to duck and jump back to the entrance of the room. The member wielding the knife begins to scream a phrase on the top of his lungs which Tomura is guessing probably isn't going to be translated to, "Welcome, guests!"

The first victim makes a low gurgling sound with most of his throat decayed, with the quirk still spreading, causing a look of shock and horror from the member wielding the knife. The second member seems to snap back to Tomura, leaning forward and with an acceleration that Shigaraki can't even react to, grabs the teen's shoulders, and throws him through the door on the opposite side of the hallway that he was walking through earlier.

Shigaraki crashes through the thin door and scrambles to his feet to see the room he's in now practically identical to the one he checked first. This, unfortunately, meant that there were two new members of the Shui Fong waiting and neither seemed to be in the sleeping mood this time. Tomura looked at the member that threw him, noticing that he had wheels on his feet, which explained the rapid acceleration and quickly took stock of the situation.

He was surrounded by three members of the Shui Fong, in a room that was about half of the size of the bar in Yokohama. He knew that the one with a knife had a wheel mutation and the two in the room he had just been thrown in had no obvious mutations, which gave him little to go on quirk-wise. All three men begin to slowly converge and Tomura decides to trust the loose memory he had of the building blueprint and suddenly slaps the floor they were on with both hands.

In a matter of moments, the wood paneling began to crack and rot, with a loud creaking noise seeming to get nearer and nearer before all four men fell through the floor into the room that lay underneath. Tomura cursed as he felt his ankle give, landing on the side of his foot instead of his heel, and he awkwardly collapsed on the floor. Shigaraki quickly notices that the flooring was hard tile this time and with the little light that shined from the room they had just been in, he had dropped everyone into a kitchen.

Tomura grabbed hold of the table that sat in the center of the room and pulled himself up to his knees. It didn't look like any of the Shui Fong were doing much better since all were still on the ground with one from the room he had been in, lying the closest, groaning slightly as he tried to get his bearings.

With a snarl, Shigaraki threw himself at the member and wrapped both hands around the man's head before he could even let out a cry of surprise. He felt the skin on the man's cheeks begin to slowly crack and the triad member's skull became dust soon after. The rest of the body seemed to decay at a much slower rate which left Tomura sitting in a growing puddle of warm blood with two stained hands by his side.

The teen heard the two other members begin to yell at each other as he slipped on the now crimson-colored flooring and dove out of the way of the wheelman who sped forward with a serrated knife in his hand. The gangster clearly hadn't anticipated that Tomura would be able to evade, judging by the fact that he crashed into the stove where the teen once was with a surprised yelp.

Tomura looked back at the man and then pulled himself back to his knees and grabbed a meat tenderizer that was lying on the stainless-steel table next to him. Without a second thought, he threw the tenderizer at the wheeled man and watched as it crumple the side of his face with a dull crack, leading to a shriek from the triad member. The gangster then dropped to his knees, now covering his broken face, which gave Shigaraki a moment to jump at the figure with two crimson palms extended forward.

The teen saw the man's eyes widen as he saw the hands that were rapidly approaching and was somehow able to avoid the attack by suddenly reversing the wheels backward. Tomura, now in the precarious position of falling forward with no man to grab, reached for where the man once was and grabbed a heavy refrigerator door beside him.

The door began to crack under the strength of decay, Shigaraki then shoved the heavy metal object at the gangster with the cracked head who was still on his knees, trying to stop the blood from flowing from his skull. A second scream pierced the room as the heavy door fell on the man, driving him into the tile floor.

Shigaraki took a slow breath and looked for the second man, finding him slowly approaching from the other side of the room, seemingly only now recovering from the initial fall into the kitchen. Slowly, Tomura steadied himself by the stainless table in the center of the room, eying the figure while trying to discern any hints as to what his quirk might be.

He didn't end up needing much time, as in a moment the teen was hit with a blindingly painful stinging sensation above his eyes that dropped him back to his knees with his hands cupping his face. Unable to see the man that was inevitably coming to kill him, Shigaraki grit his teeth and slapped the flooring again, knowing that he would soon be dead if he stayed there unguarded.

After a moment, the tiling began to crack and groan under the weight of everything in the area and the two fell again into a dank cellar underneath. Tomura landed with a sharp yelp as he felt a bottle of some sort shatter underneath him and gauge his stomach. The teen fought back the stinging in his eyes through gritted teeth as he slowly pushed himself off his side and into a seated position. Looking around, he realized they had fallen into a wine cellar, which he had not known about when activating decay only seconds earlier. He supposed he was thankful there was another level to even drop down to.

Raising his hands to his face again, the boy was finally able to identify the stinging sensation from before, by feeling small razor-like needles that had been shot into his face. With a slew of curses, Shigaraki began to yank the tiny needles from being lodged in forehead and brow.

He blinked the slowly spilling blood from the wounds out of his eyes and inspected the spears carefully before letting out a bark of laughter.

"Eyelashes?! His quirk fucking shot his eyes lashes at me?!"

Tomura couldn't contain the chuckle that fell from his lips at the absurdity of the situation. However, any heavier laughter was cut shut from the sharp pain he felt from the rough landing he just had. A cracked wine bottle lay underneath him with one-piece covered in what he assumed was his blood. It didn't take long to find a medium-sized gash a few inches above his waistline.

Tomura winced as he placed a hand to the wound, feeling that it was still slowly bleeding.

"Kurogiri isn't going to be thrilled about this."

The teen slowly looked around the room and couldn't help but wince at the Shui Fong member that had fallen with him from the kitchen. The man had been completely gauged on a piece of metal polling that was used as support from the shelving and had slid about halfway down, now being stuck. Tomura had to assume the man was dead since he made no noise and slowly crawled his way to him. When he reached the gang member, he placed his left hand on the man's face and watched as he slowly began to crack and fade to tiny particles of dust. He figured that dust had to be a better alternative to the positioning that he had been in previously.

Shigaraki then took another breath and dropped his arms, resting them on his folded-up legs. He knew that the damage to his face from the lashes looked worse than it was and the cut in his stomach wasn't deep enough to kill him. Probably. All in all, he was probably lucky that he got off as lightly as he did, considering he had to fight four different members of the Shui Fong.

Did he feel stronger? Like he had leveled up with the XP gained?

Stumbling after finally rising to his feet he decides certainly doesn't feel like a winner. Once standing, Tomura then looked around the dark quiet cellar with a frown.

"How the hell do I get out of here?"

Two Years Ago

"I can't do this anymore."

Arakawa Shingo chuckled quietly from the large leather chair he sat in. It wasn't very often that someone challenged his directions. His plans for the future. The teen that stood in front of him was oozing more desperation than confidence and he honestly did feel for her. She would never see a happy life of familial laughter and joyous cheer. No, it would be defined by the blood that would stain her hands and the empty gaze she would give to the world that she had once seen through such rose-colored glasses. While she might not have been his favorite, she may have been his most important piece at this point. A piece that simply could not have second thoughts about his goals. And the goals for the country of Japan.

He looked at her with an honest smile, "Takasugi, you do understand what you're doing for Japan, right?"

The girl seemed to be focused on a particular fingernail of her right hand but nodded without eye contact.

Arakawa sighed softly, "Your skills are what's going to shape the future. A future where we will be so strong, so secure that no one will ever have to worry about the terrors of the past decades. You will help us build a perfect country, a utopia!"

He noticed that the girl's mouth twitched downward at the words, "Is what I'm doing making a utopia? You keep saying that but I just.." She trailed off to look back to her fingernail and tried scratching underneath it with the thumb on the opposite hand.

Shingo looked at the girl curiously, "Is there something wrong with your hand, Nagant?"

The scratching continued and she seemed to be growing an increasingly frantic expression, "I… There's blood under my fingernail, and I can't get it out."

"And why is that causing so much distress?"

Nagant's brow twitched, "I-It's not m-my fucking blood."

"Ahh", Shingo slowly climbed out of his chair and walked to the slightly shaking girl. He towered over her, being over six and a half feet tall, and placed one hand over hers.

Arakawa spoke gently, "How about we get someone to take care of this for you, hmm, Takasugi? After all, you're important to the HPSC. You're important to us."

Nagant still was staring down at her hand.

"Please."

It was a faint voice. A voice that shouldn't have been coming from someone with such a violent reputation in the criminal underworld. A reputation that Shingo needed her to have. A reputation that would help him and the HPSC clean up the underbelly of Japan once and for all.

Nagant spoke again in the same hushed tone, "Please don't make me do this anymore."

Arakawa still had his hand over hers, "We have no choice, Nagant. We need to keep you at the HPSC for your protection, did you know that?"

Nagant's eyes finally left her hand and she looked back at the man, "Huh? What do you mean I have to stay here?"

"There is a man that goes by the name of Mukai, and he was a part of the group that you had taken out a month ago." When he saw the puzzled look in her eye he added, "The one in Nagasaki."

He saw recognition suddenly bloom and he chose to continue, "He saw what you did that day, Nagant. He went to the police and begged for them to take you in for 'murdering' his friends." Arakawa made sure she saw the air quotes he made when bringing up the murder.

Haruno's eyes slowly narrowed as he continued, "Well, the police came to us and we told them you were operating under our authority." The tall man then slightly bent over to stare at the girl in the eye, "We protected you Takasugi, if we weren't there you probably would already be in Tartarus or maybe Ibusuki. You understand what would happen if you left, yes? If you left the HPSC we wouldn't be able to protect you from the police. We wouldn't be able to protect you when Mukai would testify against you."

Nagant grit her teeth and scrunched both her hands, "This, this is all your fucking fault! I-I never wanted any of this! I was just following your order! And I'm getting the blame!?"

Shingo slowly removed his hands from the smaller girls and walked back to his desk. He wanted to give her a moment to release the anger she was feeling. He guessed that she probably had a right to feel this way. But she didn't truly understand the bigger picture. The picture that was being painted in front of her very eyes with her sometimes even holding the brush.

"The group that you had taken out had been having discussions with a more radically charged group located in the Ryukyu Islands. I know they might not have seemed like much at the time, but they were following a pattern that has been seen far more times than I could count over the years." Arakawa took a moment and rested both hands under his face with his finger crossed, "Eliminating terrorists before they act is how we can protect the public from any large-scale attacks. Look at the United States or any country in the European Union. They are all defined by the radical pro or anti quirk groups that look to put fear in the hearts of the country. But that doesn't happen here, because of you and the other agents that we have, protecting the public by doing these jobs. Do you understand, Takasugi? You need to serve the role for the betterment of the country, for the betterment of its people. That is why we need you, and with Mukai out there, it seems like you need us as well."

Haruno stared blankly at the president of the HPSC. She felt the muscles in her tricep twitch as her quirk begged her to be released, to harm the man that was sitting in front of her sitting in the large chair that had more of a resemblance to a throne. They both knew he was winning this confrontation. He won almost all confrontations between them. As much as she wanted to kill him right here and now, she knew that it probably wouldn't solve much. It would be just the anger of a teenage girl, trapped in a life she mistakenly thought she wanted. With people who she thought cared about her.

There was no escape for her now.

But there might be a chance someday. She hoped that there would be someone that could extend a hand and free her at last.

So, she resolved at that moment, until that chance, she would do what she was told. She would be the soldier that the HPSC wanted her to be. And while she did that, she would hunt for Mukai, and hunt for that chance that she knew would find someday.

She would hunt for a life that was hers to live.

Present Day

"Are you…." A weary voice rasped behind her, "…done here?"

Haruno was still looking down at what was left of the skull of the man known as Mukai. She had found him on the third level of the home, a sniveling wreck begging for mercy, begging for her to throw away this chance that she had.

She instead threw him out of the window.

The man landed with a sickening snap, no doubt bones giving way from a three-story drop. A wretched sob filled the air as she dropped down to the ground gracefully, landing softly on the soaked earth.

A dull whine was all the man could make as he felt the barrel of her rifle press against his forehead. Maybe he should have expected this, expected that this grim reaper-like figure would find him after all this time. Did he regret trying to get justice for his friends? Is this what he gets for trying to take a stand against the HPSC and their hypocrisy?

It seemed like the girl that was standing above him did not care much for his justice. One look in her eye told him that death was already there for him, wrapping its cloaked and bony hands around his neck, he could even feel a chill go down his spine. Was there any point in trying to reason with her? He didn't think so. He knew that at any moment he wo-

A sharp crack echoed in the air and the head of Mukai exploded. Nagant reaches up with her left arm and wipes the gore from her face and slowly lowers her right arm after retracting her quick.

When she hears the voice from behind her, she stills at the sight of her partner. A tattered red jacket hangs loosely from his shoulders, cerulean hair sticks to his crimson-covered face. One tired eye gazes at her from a gap in the mess and she fumbles to come up with a reply.

"Are you… alright?"

Tomura chuckles and presses his right hand to his stomach which she can now see is also bleeding.

"I'm just peachy."

Nagant then turns to look at the compound behind him. Or what's left of it. It looks like half of the building had fallen in on itself, looking as if the earth had greedily gobbled it up.

"What the hell happened?"

Shigaraki slowly glances back to the house and then back to her who didn't even have a scratch, "The difficulty for this level was skewed."

He then looks down to what remained of Mukai, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

She looks down at the body. While the head is gone, most of the rest remains, albeit crumpled and distorted from a three-story fall. She felt her lips pull upward at the feeling growing in her chest. It wasn't really from killing the man but removing one of the chains that had been wrapped around her neck. A chain that kept her in the life that she so desperately wanted to escape from.

She felt lighter. She felt freer. She then looked back to the boy who had made the journey with her and helped her on this personal job. This personal necessity. The person who extended a hand when she finally had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Crimson eyes gaze curiously at her as she looks up to the dark sky and feels more water on her face. But this time it isn't from the rain.

"Yeah, Tomura. I think I found what I was looking for."

Key Players Log:

Shigaraki Tomura. Age 18.

Takasugi Haruno. Age 20.

Chapter Notes:

- Heavy focus on Nagant as I tried to build up some of her past, we might see some more later as she continues to try to break out of the HPSC

- Introduction of Arakawa Shingo, who is the current president of the HPSC. We'll see more of him as the story progresses and we get more into the weeds with the HPSC

- Next chapter we'll see some new faces introduced for the first time and head back to Aldera for more Izuku and Katsuki

Thanks again for reading!