Chapter Five

Split Consciousness

Mornings held secrets. The secrets that poured out through punches and kicks and pushing the body to its absolute limit. The secrets that weren't admitted aloud to anyone but were there anyway. The secrets that were ruminated over for a time and then locked back inside to save for another day.

The fears and promises and anger and pains and hopes and regrets and dreams and tears and lies that tore at the heart and were told to oneself to get through each day. They were the secrets that didn't see the light of day; that no one else knew of.

A punching bag held more secrets than a therapist did. The sun never heard even a whisper of the secrets, because by the time the sun rose, therapy was finished until the next morning.

Every morning she started with the same routine. Awake by five, no matter what time she went to bed. Donning her exercise clothes and grabbing her phone and air pods. Downstairs to the gym by five-fifteen. Stretching in the silence of the morning. Then placing the air pods in each ear and finding the song that always made her remember the night - a lifetime ago - when she said, "Leave my disaster music alone," and his rumbling laugh that came in reply.

Mornings hadn't always been spent alone, but for nearly two years she trained in silence save for the music that reminded her of days when she wasn't alone and that she wouldn't always be alone. But with the memories and secrets she held, Isane was never truly alone.

The gym was in the lowest level of the house. The house had been built into the hill itself, and the lowest level was much like the rest of the house: glass walls encompassing half of the space to let in as much natural light as possible, and it was divided into two main rooms. In the first, gym equipment sat about, including the punching bags. In the other room, a training mat covered the empty space; a place to spar and work on their quirks. Neither room was huge, but it was dedicated space, and that was what counted.

The house had an abundance of patio space. A patio jutted out from the gym and had a staircase that led up to the patio above it which connected to the living room and kitchen. A privacy wall separated the rest of the world from the patios, protecting their identities, but it wasn't a completely solid wall. It had slats to see through, giving the illusion that the outside world was just beyond the glass windows.

Yuki had outdone herself, and most of the League had been thrilled. The tour through the house had been the day before, a single day after the house had been deemed completely finished. Toga and Magne had tore through the house, Twice leading them through, as the rest of the League explored leisurely. It had nods to the traditional Japanese style, but overall, it was very Western.

Yuki had pulled Isane aside as the others roamed through the house and chose their rooms and bathrooms. It didn't matter so much who bunked where, as long as bathroom mates agreed on the arrangements.

"You okay?" Yuki had asked, pulling Isane into the office. "You've seemed a little off."

Isane could have laughed. Yuki had noticed? It must be bad, then. Isane debated how to explain what she was feeling to Yuki. She wanted to say, "You mean besides the fact that this was moving way too fast? Besides the fact that they were all about to be living in the same four walls and she didn't know any of them besides Yuki? And besides the fact that the one person she did know was about to leave her behind and alone with complete strangers?" But would it make any difference if Isane shared these worries with Yuki? Probably not. It hadn't mattered when she'd shared her original concerns about contacting the League a second time through Dabi, or when she'd shared her distaste for paying off the League's debt to Giran, or when she'd made her last-ditch plead to Yuki that they didn't need to join the League.

"I'm fine," Isane said instead with a shrug, burying her worries. Besides, it wasn't like she'd never encountered living with complete strangers before. But back then, it had been a different situation. "Just tired, I guess."

If Yuki questioned her, she didn't show it. "Well, get some sleep tonight and try to engage better tomorrow? Please? For me? I know meeting new people is hard but try to open up more. The others are."

Not everyone was her, Isane wanted to say. Not everyone could just share parts of themselves so freely. Most of the League actually hadn't opened up yet. The only ones who had really made an effort were Magne and Toga, who roped Isane in on their conversations any chance they got.

"Also," Isane began as Yuki had turned away. She had been meaning to grab Yuki for an aside anyway, and now was a perfect time. Especially since once the rooms were decided and the tour was over Yuki and Dabi would be heading out to recruit for the next several days. "Twice told me you told him everything?"

Yuki looked like a child who'd gotten caught stealing a cookie. "Well not everything-"

"Most everything." It wasn't like Isane was mad. Yuki could do whatever she wanted. But Yuki had done nothing but lament since the shit with Death Quake went down that she would never tell another person about her identity or the finer details of her history until she knew their intentions. Really, Isane was more exasperated than anything. Yuki always did this. She'd stumble into messes that could easily be avoided then expect Isane to stick around and help her clean it up. And Isane would. Whether that made her loyal or stupid she wasn't sure, but she leaned toward the stupid argument.

"Look, I just hate keeping secrets-"

"-Says the girl who banks on her entire life staying a secret-"

"-And he's just really easy to talk to!" Yuki explained. "Besides, I've seen you talking to Magne. That's good!"

"But I haven't bared my soul. Yuki, that's not smart when you don't know people." She'd explained it a dozen times since meeting up with her eighteen months ago, but Yuki had yet to understand any of what she said. "Alliances can shift for very little reason. If knowledge benefits someone more than keeping your secret, guess what? Your secret becomes a tool to get them a leg up." It was why Isane still hadn't told Yuki everything. Yuki never thought about the long-term repercussions of anything, and once she set her mind to something, very little could sway her. Yuki was trustworthy to a point.

The subtle change in Yuki was almost hidden, but her voice evened out, the flippant air disappearing. "I don't want to play the 'earn your trust' game forever, Isane. I didn't twist your arm to join. You joined on your own. Why did you join if you're going to just clam up?"

Because she needed to distract herself for another year. "Because we're a team," she said instead.

"Okay," that seemed to appease her. "Well now they're our team." Yuki had a point, but that didn't mean Isane liked it. She'd joined the League of her own volition, after all. She might as well try, but it wasn't the most appealing idea. Making friends and opening up had never been the easiest task.

Still, she nodded, defeated.

A knock came to the office door and a moment later Magne had slid it open and stuck her head in, Toga with her. "You two have been in here for a while," Toga remarked, a tight smile on her lips.

"Yeah, and we've figured out the bedrooms and bathrooms and want to run it by you two," Magne continued.

It had been the end of the conversation, and Yuki had left with Dabi soon after, leaving Isane with the others, which was awkward to say the least.

By the time the sun was just peeking up over the horizon, Isane's workout was done and she headed back up the stairs to the upper floor. The door that led to the staircase down to the gym was near the front of the house, across from the office and next to the laundry room and coat closet. She hadn't seen another soul yet that morning, but gentle noises of another person awake came from the kitchen. As much as she really didn't want to see any of her new comrades, Isane sucked in a breath and headed down the hall toward the kitchen, remembering her promise to Yuki that she would try to open up.

The hallway naturally opened to the two large rooms: living room on the left, kitchen on the right. A long table that sat eight easily was perpendicular to a bar space, which sat another four chairs. The bar-space doubled as an island with the sink and dishwasher, and across from that was the stove, oven, and cabinets. All in all, it was a huge kitchen space, and a separate pantry was beyond a closed door.

The warp-man had made coffee. Kurogiri.

"Good morning, Nakamoto Isane," he said smoothly. He had a habit of addressing people by their full names. Or at least he did so with Shigaraki, Toga, and her. The others he called by their aliases.

It would be rude not to reply. She greeted him as he moved around the kitchen, putting the coffee grounds and filters back into the pantry. "You made coffee?" She asked, not really knowing what else to say. "Thank you."

"Help yourself," he replied. She moved into the space as he moved out of it.

"You want me to get you a cup?" she asked. He'd made it but didn't have a cup anywhere in sight.

It was incredibly hard to deduce expressions and body language from him. "No, I'm heading out."

"Where are you heading?" She usually wouldn't ask but could just hear Yuki crow at her later if she didn't attempt.

"I have a task to complete. Shigaraki Tomura knows," he said. It was a simple phrase, but it spoke volumes: you don't need to concern yourself.

There; she'd tried to be open, and she'd stumbled into something that was none of her business. At least it gave her an easy out. "Well, wherever you're heading, safe travels."

He bowed, ever so slightly. "Thank you. If all goes well I'll be back by the end of the month." He exited silently, leaving Isane alone in the kitchen to finish pouring her cup. Once she heard the front door quietly open and close, she turned back to face the open kitchen once more, leaning up against the counter.

Grasping the mug, she took in the space, alone once more. The sun was casting an orange glow across the rooms and lengthening shadows in the early morning brilliance. Once, she'd been the one to make coffee for everyone each morning.

It didn't escape her that she was the closest she'd ever been to her old family since leaving. An hour away, two tops with traffic, and definitely less as the crow flies. The knowledge was like a magnet, pulling her attention back toward them with every little thing.

She'd been meaning to write another letter to him since she and Yuki had arrived in town weeks ago, but beyond the journal she kept with daily letters to him, she had yet to have enough time to herself to not only write him the letter she longed to, but send it off. She'd designed her falcon tattoo specifically to deliver the letters but didn't feel comfortable sending them off with Yuki or anyone else around. She wasn't sure how she would go about explaining, "Yeah I'm writing secret letters to the man I love because we're not allowed to actually communicate with each other," without having to go into more details about the reasons why. It was private, anyway; no one else needed to know. But scrounging together a few private moments had been difficult as of late, whether it was Yuki or Magne and Toga.

With a private bedroom with a door that closed, though, she would have privacy.

A thunk sounded from above her head somewhere, jolting her from her thoughts. Someone else was up. She should probably shower before getting started on her day, and before she had a chance to run into anyone else.

Taking her coffee with her, Isane headed back up the stairs. Even though they could have chosen rooms on any floor, she, Yuki, Toga, and Magne had all chosen their rooms on the same floor. Magne and Yuki's bedroom doors attached to the same bathroom, and Isane and Toga's bedroom doors attached to another bathroom, that way they didn't have to actually leave their bedrooms to access their respective bathrooms. No one seemed to have any issues with the arrangement, least of all her. It didn't matter one way or another. A bathroom was a bathroom.

The girls had claimed their rooms on third floor, which was two floors above the kitchen. Isane didn't check the second floor bedrooms on her way up to her floor. One of the guys was up; it didn't matter who. Her floor was exactly the way she had left it. The space beneath Magne and Toga's bedrooms was dark, and no sound came from either of their rooms. Yuki's bedroom would be empty for the foreseeable future.

Isane was quick to grab her clothes from her bedroom and enter the bathroom. They'd unpacked the day before, so the products she used were already in the bathroom she shared with Toga.

It was an elegant space. A toilet sat behind one door for total privacy, while a double sink and large mirror occupied the wall across from her door. Toga's door was on the other side of the sinks, nestled between the sinks and the frosted-glass wall that led to the shower and bath.

Not one to waste time in the shower, Isane finished quickly and by the time she shut the water off, she could hear Toga thumping around in her room. Isane didn't bother trying to fully dress. She would just sweat straight through her clothes in the now-humid bathroom, but she did pull on the basics and a pair of shorts. It was enough clothing to be decent in case Toga entered the bathroom. And enter she did. As soon as Isane opened the door to the shower, Toga was coming through her bedroom door.

Toga obviously wasn't expecting to see Isane as soon as she stepped into the bathroom. She stopped in her tracks, her mouth falling open as she took Isane in. Isane wasn't oblivious to what Toga was seeing. It was often startling for others to see tattoos when they weren't used to seeing them. And ninety-nine percent of the Japanese population didn't have them, would never get them, and would never see a person who had them.

Isane was comfortable in her body. Always had been, too. So, standing in the presence of others in just a sports bra and shorts wasn't necessarily a big deal, but there was still something incredibly vulnerable about standing in very little clothing in front of an essential stranger. Immediately she was kicking herself for not going ahead and putting on a shirt, humidity be damned. But the damage had been done and putting on a shirt now wouldn't avoid the questions that were already forming in Toga's mind. It was probably better to get the girl used to the sight of her skin early, anyway.

Her body was a monument to the effort and hard work she had put herself through to train her quirk, and train her body and mind, so that she was a force to be reckoned with. Honed into a weapon itself, even if her quirk was rendered useless, she had trained herself so she could still fight.

"Good morning," Isane said directly, crossing the space to place her clothes in front of her bedroom door - she'd take them with her when she was done in the bathroom - and then crossed to the sink they had decided hers.

"Morning," Toga replied, her attention still focused on Isane's body. Isane began brushing through her hair as she watched Toga in the mirror. She didn't have to watch her, but it was mildly entertaining. Toga didn't hide the curiosity and awe from her expression at all.

Tattoos covered a good chunk of Isane's torso and thighs, and all were drawn to scale. Her back was covered by the most memorable of the pieces: a large fire-breathing dragon, while her sides and rib cages were inked with weapons and the animals she used to gather intelligence. Tattoos of a chimera and two Chinese guardian lions adorned her thighs.

"That one seems out of place," Toga said, gesturing at the crest that adorned the skin above Isane's left breast, just over her heart. It was the only one that was on the front of her torso. The edges of it could sometimes be seen when the collar of her shirt opened just so. She knew immediately which one it was; it had been her first, after all, back when Isane decided to get it to test the theory she had about her quirk, and knowing that even if it didn't work she still wanted the crest on her skin as a badge of honor to her family. The family that wasn't all blood-related, but they would give their blood for each other without hesitation.

"It's my family's crest," Isane answered simply, not wanting to expand on it, but also knowing that if Toga asked, she would in the knowledge that she needed to open up at least a little. It was an old symbol in Japan. One that had once lit fear into the hearts of anyone who knew it. Now, it was a symbol left over from a dying age, but one that was no less important. The symbol of the Shie Hassaikai.

Even as she thought of her family, her heart swelled with pride - they had been through so much while she had been with them - and panged with loss. She'd been raised in the shadow of the Hassaikai. Her grandfather was Hassaikai, and her uncles, and she was ten before she was slapped with the hard reality that she had been born the wrong gender to join as she had always dreamed. The yakuza was for men, plain and simple.

But they were still her family, and she had eventually earned a place with them under Overhaul, even if she wasn't actually a member. So, leaving had been the toughest decision of her life, and leaving meant that she had all but lost her family. It had seemed like the right decision at the time, and it still was when she remembered why she had, but it didn't mean that regret hadn't tinted every day since. Going back, though, wasn't an option. At least not while Overhaul was at the head, and without Overhaul she didn't belong.

Thankfully, Toga didn't press for more information about the crest. It was entertaining to watch her mind catch up to what she was seeing, as her golden irises widened slightly as she likely remembered what Isane had said that night that they joined the League.

"You can use all of these?" the words barely louder than a whisper.

"Not all at once, but yeah," Isane replied, having finished with brushing her hair out and moved to brush her teeth.

"The dragon, too?"

Somehow, the dragon was always the most impossible one for people to grasp until they saw her use it. Isane nodded once, toothbrush already in her mouth. She didn't want to try to reply as she brushed, and Toga seemed to get that.

She was finally alone again. Toga had gone downstairs to make breakfast after a few more minutes asking about her tattoos and how Isane used them. Both girls had left the bathroom at the same time, Isane letting Toga know she had a few things she had to take care of so she wouldn't be interrupted in an hour or two when she or Magne wondered where she was.

The bedrooms were simple. Large bed, two side tables, a dresser, and a simple desk. A large window covered one wall and looked out into the foliage. It was private, peaceful, and hers.

The world was quiet again, and Isane pulled the small tattered notebook out from where she'd hidden it in her bedside table and sat at her desk with it in front of her.

It was one of those that had an elastic band holding the pages together, and even though the elastic was stretched, it still kept the letters inside the front cover from falling everywhere. Gently, she pulled the elastic off and opened the cover to see the letters. Her name was scratched across the top of them in his haphazard handwriting.

She brushed her fingers over the top letter. Rikiya. Katsukame Rikiya. It wasn't often that she allowed herself to think of him. Maybe once a day as she wrote in the journal that held small letters to him that she would never get a chance to send. If she thought of him and the time they'd had together for too long, she was certain she'd drown in the emotions of missing him, so she tried to stay busy. Tried to pass each day as quickly as possible.

Being so close to the Hassaikai compound, however, had brought her thoughts back to him again and again since she and Yuki had returned to the city. Even as close as they were, though, they still couldn't see each other.

The distance wouldn't be forever. He had one more year of paying off his debt to the Hassaikai, and then the distance would end. They'd already survived eighteen months of distance. Another year would hopefully pass quickly.

In those eighteen months, she hadn't heard his voice once, except on the singular voice mail that she'd saved on her phone. She could look at the photos that were on her phone, but she hadn't touched him in that time. Communication wasn't allowed. Overhaul had said it was so that the Hassaikai's movements wouldn't be leaked, but Isane would bet money that it was more of a way to control Rikiya.

They'd figured out how to get letters to each other early on, and Isane had developed the peregrine falcon tattoo she wore explicitly for that purpose. The letters were left in a secret place on the compound and Overhaul was none the wiser, so they could still share something with each other.

During the nights when she woke up with tears from nightmares, Isane would pull his letters out and re-read them, even though she knew the words on the pages by heart. When she'd had nightmares before, he'd always been there reassuring her she was safe, and his letters held the quiet reassurance that he was still with her in spirit.

He'd always been relatively quiet until around friends, and in written form he was still a man of few words, but each letter that he'd written her was intentional.

There weren't many letters. They were only able to get them to each other when they were sure no one would notice, so there would be weeks and sometimes months without a word from either of them, and Isane could only send the falcon to check for letters when no one else was around. They each held eight in their hands that the other had written.

A few times she'd caught glimpses of him through the falcon's eyes and would linger long enough to see him heave a heavy sigh as he'd watched it. Once, he had been able to slip away and approach the falcon. Isane could see and hear through the ink animal, as she could with all the creatures she controlled, and he had approached it, reaching out his hand and stroked the bird gently. She couldn't feel through the ink animal, but she could feel the affection in his words as he had said, "I miss you more than I can bear." Her entire concentration had been on him in that moment, so she hadn't even noticed she was crying until Yuki had asked her what was wrong.

The distance was a chasm between them. One that could open up at any moment and swallow either of them whole, but Isane tried to remain strong, reminding herself that it wouldn't be forever. And when she did feel like she was going to break apart into a million tiny pieces and she couldn't draw her next breath, Isane would remember better times. She would remember his laughter and support and affection and touch and confidence and strength and pranks he would play on her and all the little things that made Rikiya Rikiya: all the things she loved about him. She would go over each and every memory she had of him, examining every detail, and living in her memories until the pain was nothing but a tender ache and she could draw breath again.

Flipping to a blank page, Isane crafted the letter to him. Just like all the others, words fell out of her as if he was in front of her and she was telling him rather than writing to him. She told him about the League, and about how Yuki was so eager to join, and how she had joined as well, but it was only to distract herself for another year. She told him about her reservations to open up, even though Yuki wanted her to, among other things. For the most part, the letters they wrote each other were clean, but toward the end they usually included exactly how they wanted to be with each other once the distance with nothing but a memory.

Isane closed the letter with her usual reminder: Don't forget to eat, which he always forgot to do when he was stressed. She signed it and ripped the two pages out of the notebook. She trimmed the rough edges as best as she could and folded the pages together so that her words were sealed inside. On the outside she wrote his name on the off chance that someone else found it and didn't immediately take it to Overhaul but instead delivered it to Rikiya.

Rappa was the only other person at the compound who knew of their secret correspondence and would sometimes act as messenger if he ran across one of her letters, as Rikiya had explained once in one of his. Irinaka probably also had an inkling of what was going on, but as far as she knew he had no proof. He did, however, know both of them.

He was another she missed terribly; he was her uncle Kenji's best friend, and had been one of her father's closest friends, too, so Irinaka became as close as an uncle as she grew up. Since she was a child, he had always been Ojichan, even if he pretended to get angry anytime she called him that.

But she'd never tried to contact Irinaka, lest possibly bringing Overhaul's attention to the communication with Rikiya, and she never wrote Rappa any direct letters, either. She'd started to when she first left the Hassaikai, but Rappa had stuck a note in with one of Rikiya's letters that he would rather her use her only chance to communicate with Rikiya. He'd always understood how important Rikiya had been to Isane and vice versa. The three of them had been near inseparable, especially because the they were the only ones who were not actual members of the Hassaikai, but Rappa could wait to say hello again. Time and distance weren't obstacles in their friendship.

Standing, she crossed to her dresser to get a shirt, then took the letter and made her way to the roof. The house was five levels, not including the gym basement, and the main staircase led all the way up. Even past the fifth floor, it ascended to a terrace of sorts on the roof. She didn't pass anyone on the way up and was about to call on the falcon tattoo as she opened the door to the roof, but a greeting stopped her.

"Ah, hello! I didn't think I'd see anyone else up here." Fuck. It was Compress. Isane slipped the letter into her pocket before she stepped onto the roof terrace. There were more privacy walls surrounding the space, with seats scattered around.

"Hey, Sako," Isane greeted him. "Have you seen a little spiral notebook up here?" she asked, jumping on the first excuse she could think of. Anything to avoid being looped into a conversation she didn't want to hold.

"I have not," Compress placed a finger in between the pages of the book he had been reading as a temporary hold. "You've lost it, I presume?"

"Yeah." That was a lie. "Just re-tracing my steps."

"Well, you're welcome to look, but I have not seen anything that fits that description."

Isane thanked him and glanced around the terrace and under chairs, but when she didn't find the not-actually-lost notebook, she thanked him again and left.

She probably could have sent the letter with the falcon, but he would probably jump to wrong conclusions, and she would probably need to explain that she wasn't communicating with a possible enemy. With how new she was and how distant she'd been so far, Compress likely wouldn't trust her word, anyway. There was no need to dig herself into a hole if she could avoid it.

Down to the gym, then.

Isane descended the stairs. As she got closer to the entry way, she could hear the tv going from the living room and Magne and Toga talking. Without being seen, she crossed from the staircase to the gym door and descended back to the basement level. As soon as she stepped off the bottom stair, though, she could see Spinner working out. And with all the glass that was everywhere, he would easily be able to see her form the falcon on the patio.

Jesus Christ.

He saw her enter the gym and nodded to her. She raised a hand in greeting, pretended to look for the not-lost notebook, and then raised a hand again as she climbed back up the stairs.

Magne and Toga were in the living room, which meant that she couldn't go out to the patio outside the living room, since it was all fucking glass. She could go out the front door, but then that would raise questions, and she really just wanted to avoid any and all questions about her intentions.

"Nakamoto, is that you?" Magne's voice carried down the hallway. "Come join us!" Her letter to Rikiya felt like a comforting weight in her shorts pocket as she followed Magne's voice to the living room.

"Yeah, it's me," Isane replied, stepping into the space and close to the couch that filled the room. Magne and Toga were sprawled out on the couch while something played on the tv. It was mounted on the wall that met the hallway. The space had its back wall covered in glass, while the wall to the far left had a fireplace. The L-shaped couch faced the fireplace, and an armchair. A coffee table sat between the couch and the armchair.

"You've been in your room all day," Toga said as Isane checked her phone's face.

Had it really been all day? "It's only eleven."

"Yeah, and I saw you around seven," she said. "Join us!"

Huh. It had really been four hours? It hadn't felt like it. But now that she was downstairs, she was positive that Magne and Toga wouldn't let her leave anytime soon. For now, sending the letter would have to wait.

"Sure, let me grab something to drink," Isane said, turning and crossing the space to the kitchen. At least she wouldn't be expected to have a conversation if they were watching tv. "What are you watching?" she called over her shoulder as she opened the refrigerator.

"Have you ever heard of a show called Terrace House?"

Over the course of the afternoon, Isane, Magne, and Toga watched through half of a season of Terrace House. Isane had heard of the show but had never actually seen it. It was good and captured her attention. They'd pause it every so often for bathroom breaks, and there was some chatter here and there, but for the most part, the three of them just enjoyed each other's company quietly.

Around mid-afternoon, Compress and Shigaraki came downstairs. They had an errand to run before the meet-up with the possible new member that night. It was the guy Twice had found. Shigaraki had his usual disembodied hand over his face and he stood behind the couch silently watching what was on the tv for a few minutes as he waited on Compress.

Whether he liked it or not was a mystery. He didn't comment on anything, and once Sako joined him in the living room, they took off without a word.

Spinner finished in the gym at some point and joined them after showering. He would ask questions about the people on the show every so often, but otherwise watched in silence.

Twice came down at some point and joined them, too, for a few hours before heading out around six. He was meeting with the new recruit and leading them into the area the League had set up to meet the guy. At the same time that Twice left, the tv was shut off so that everyone could get ready to leave.

Isane didn't need to do much. Just change clothes and actually style her hair with the kanzashi. Rikiya had bought them for her after she'd lost her original pair years ago.

She was the first one ready, and after making sure that the other two on her floor still had their doors closed, she quickly made her way up to the roof terrace.

Isane knew not to dawdle. Quickly, the called on the falcon tattoo, the ink flowing from her skin to form the ink animal in front of her. As soon as it was fully formed, she pushed her consciousness into its body as she'd taught herself to do back when she was a child. She'd gotten the idea from Irinaka, originally.

Once the falcon opened its eyes - her eyes - she could see and hear through the bird. Her attention and consciousness would be split between what was actually happening in front of her body, and around the ink bird, but the technique was practically second nature. She'd been training with the multitasking technique for almost two decades, after all.

She pulled the letter from her pocket and held it out for the ink bird to grasp in its beak, as she'd done with every letter she'd sent to him since the first. Then, without preamble, she sent it off.

Isane was vaguely aware of what the ink bird was experiencing, but for the most part she could ignore it and turn that part of her brain on autopilot. The smaller animals were easier to use, and as the creatures grew in size and what she utilized them for, she could only use one or two at a time.

Once the falcon was out of sight, she turned and headed back down the stairs to join the others.

Yuki had had the idea to purchase a second car, which was a blessing so they didn't have to walk through the neighborhood to get where they were going.

By the time Magne, Spinner, Isane, and Toga made it to the factory at the edge of town, the sky was painted red and purple as the sun was close to slipping below the horizon. They still probably had an hour before Twice and his recruit showed up, but it was fine. It was always a better idea to be early, after all.

The falcon had made it to the Hassaikai compound in less than thirty minutes, just as Isane had guessed. As it landed in the little area that she and Rikiya had chosen for their letters, tucked away from the elements, Isane had to focus on what Spinner was saying in front of her because what she saw through the ink falcon stole her entire attention for a moment. Rikiya had left her two letters. Two.

The falcon left her letter and grasped Rikiya's two in its beak. Usually, once she delivered a letter, if he hadn't left her any, she would dismiss the falcon wherever it was. The ink would automatically appear back on her skin, even if miles were between herself and one of her ink creatures. But with the letters to bring back, the falcon flew back to the League's new base. As Isane was answering a question Spinner had asked about where she was originally from, the falcon landed on the roof terrace and stuffed the letters between two seat cushions so that the pages wouldn't fly away if there was a breeze. She'd collect them once she returned to the house that night.

Once she was sure the letters were safe, she dismissed the falcon.

It took another hour to reach the factory on the edge of town. It was a different location than the one she and Yuki had met the League at over a week ago, but it was still abandoned.

Shigaraki and Compress were already in the warehouse portion of the factory, talking in low tones about something. None of the lights were on, and with the sun setting, the warehouse was dark and already held a chill.

As soon as the four League members entered, Shigaraki stopped talking. "Ah, you found it!" Compress greeted them with a brief wave.

"It was pretty easy," Toga replied. "Magne didn't even get lost."

"Spinner tried to point me in the wrong direction a few times, though," she said, tease in her voice as Spinner reacted.

"That's what the GPS said!"

Magne and Toga were curious about where Compress and Shigaraki had been all day, and grilled them for information, most of which Shigaraki pointedly ignored. The two were close, that much was obvious. Isane watched them, keeping silent. They all wore their usual attire. Compress wore his usual mask, and Magne had brought her large magnet just in case.

The guy that was meeting them night might have been a recruit, but that didn't mean that shit might not go down. They had to be prepared for anything.

The hour passed quickly, and they could begin to hear Twice approach from the other side of the warehouse wall. His voice carried even though he wasn't being excessively loud, whereas his companion's did not.

The doors clanged open, metal scraping against metal; it was loud enough that it sounded like they were calling upon the heavens themselves. The two people stepped through before the doors shut with a slam behind them.

They approached through the darkness. Footsteps echoed in the cavernous room, slow and steady and overlapping with each other. Twice materialized through the darkness first, and a second later, so did his companion.

The recognition was immediate. The recruit wasn't just a recruit. It was Overhaul. "Well now, you brought us a pretty big catch, huh Twice?" Shigaraki mused aloud as the floor dropped out from under her.

The silence between seconds held secrets, too. Each second was measured out precisely like a pendulum chipping away at Time. The silence that seemed to stretch infinitely held entire worlds. Breath caught; moments that had turned to memories long ago were left suspended in the air between them like the toys on an infant's mobile.

The seconds held the magnitude of decisions' repercussions that were long past:

Sitting across from Overhaul with the knowledge of what she had found, as little as it was. Waiting for the confirmation that he never gave by his words.

And before, when she had known him simply as Chisaki he had come to her grandfather's dojo. Dressed impeccably as always, it had been years, at that time, since she'd seen him. He'd matured in the time that she hadn't seen him and finally stood taller than her. Arms crossed in front of his chest, they'd had a conversation and he'd offered her a chance at her dream.

And even before that, when he was the new kid in class and defending the honor of the Shie Hassaikai and picking fights with kids much bigger than he was.

It was probably a disillusion to think that they would never run into each other again. They were part of the same underworld, after all.

But so much had happened since she'd confronted him with her theories of what he was doing. And he was the reason there had been near complete silence between her and Rikiya.

"You think so? Strange, coming from you," Overhaul replied to Shigaraki casually. His speech was not rushed, but intentional. Golden gaze moving over each and every member, he appraised them. "The League of Villains."

For the first time since she held her katana poised at his exposed throat, Isane met eyes with him.

Overhaul had always been hard to read, and the plague mask he wore made it even harder, but the recognition in his gaze was unmistakable as he locked eyes with her.

NOTES:

If anyone is wondering about the song she references when she says, "Leave my disaster music alone," it's Battle Royale ft Panther, VIP Mix, by Apashe and Panther. The first time I heard it I couldn't understand what I was listening to. It's good, but different.

I do not own, in any way, the characters, places, or ideas of the My Hero Academia universe created by Kohei Horikoshi. I only own my own characters and plot. No money is made off of this story.