I…look wretched. Neneko braced both hands on the edge of the bathroom sink and leaned toward the mirror more. The left half of her face was caked in dried blood and the wound above her eyebrow was throbbing. Her hair was in tangles, her clothes were blood-stained and torn. Her throat still burning from overusing her quirk.
She knew her ribs were most definitely bruised. In addition to the plethora of bruises she had acquired during her fight with Rappa, Neneko had also sprained her right ankle and damaged her right wrist in some way because it made cracking sounds when she rotated it. What should I do now?
Outside of the bathroom, Jin was still asleep. The two had passed out shortly after they arrived in his motel room. Thinking about how she had woken up in his arms made her heart flutter and she hid her smile behind her hand. Despite the horrors she had endured the previous day, it had been the best sleep she had experienced in a while.
Clothing…I need clean clothing and I need to clean my wound. Once I wipe away the blood, I should be able to tell if I require stitches. Neneko limped back to the other room and caught her gaze settling on Jin.
He was sleeping on his back, the blankets settled at stomach level. His resting expression was peaceful, sweet. It made warmth rise to her face and she bowed her head to break line of sight. It was still hard to believe that she was now able to be with the man she loved. Sleeping together, living together. At least for a little while, until other accommodations could be made.
Neneko hobbled to the side of the bed and sat as carefully as she could. A hand reached out, fingers gently running through his hair. She wished that she could relax and sleep again, be held by him again, but she was a mess. Her own upbringing was making her feel absolutely disgusted with her own appearance now.
The problem was that she had no clean clothes of her own. When Neneko packed a bag, she had packed items of great importance. Several USB sticks containing valuable information about the Shie Hassaikai as well as many of her other clients. Her laptop, the laptop charger, an address book, a notebook full of little details about each of her clients, her phone and charger, toothbrush, and her wallet. No family photos. No clothing. Only these valuables.
She looked down at her clothes and felt her disgust growing. Dried blood had crusted on the front of her shirt and skirt. Not her own blood, but Rappa's. As she got up to try to find something she could possibly borrow from Jin, she felt a warm and gentle hand close around her wrist. "Jin…?"
He was still a little groggy from sleep, but blinked up at her before a sheepish sort of smile tugged at his lips. "Uh…morning."
Neneko was unable to keep herself from smiling back. "Good morning."
As he woke up more and more, his eyes widened and he looked away. Jin released her wrist and pushed himself to sit up, running his fingertips over his scar anxiously. "Your clothes…uh…" He looked at the floor and then he nodded to himself. "Neneko, just…sit down, okay? I'll take care of this."
"No, you don't need to trouble yourself. Jin, you have done plenty already."
"No! I…I want to do this for you. Please."
"Ah…alright. Thank you." She sat, as he had requested, and watched him begin sorting through the small assortment of clean clothes that he owned. As he did this, she made a mental note that she would need to procure some new clothes for herself as well a gift to thank him. Though she knew it would never be enough to repay all that he had done for her.
Shift P.O.V
He hated to smoke so close to her, but he needed to keep himself calm. Most of the previous day's unpleasantness was being overshadowed by the pure euphoria of waking up beside his soulmate. Jin had been woken by the feeling of her delicate fingers trailing through his hair and it was better than he ever could have dreamed.
Now he was kneeling in front of the bed with her sitting on the edge. Jin was really carefully cleaning the blood from the left side of her face while trying to keep his cigarette held out to the side. Once the blood was gone, he could see that the wound above her eyebrow was pretty deep, but had scabbed over at least.
She'll have another scar. It's my fault that this happened; I wasn't fast enough! She's gonna look so cool with this scar! He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he tried to fight down that splitting feeling that was attempting to push to the surface.
Gentle fingertips caressed his cheek, making his heart pound. Neneko's skin was warm and soft, bringing him immense comfort just from this simple gesture. He subconsciously leaned into her touch and focused solely on this. That painful splitting sensation gradually faded and was replaced with bliss.
"Jin…are you alright?" Her voice was soft, but there was a slight hoarseness. It sounded like it hurt for her to speak.
"I'm fine." He opened his eyes and found himself looking up into the sparkling violet of Neneko's concerned gaze. Don't make her worry! Tell her you're great! No...this is fine. Jin leaned back and brought his cigarette to his lips, head turning to the side to avoid looking at her.
She was wearing one of his shirts. A simple black tank top that was too loose on her. One strap was falling half-way off her shoulder and the neckline was too low. None of his pants would fit her so she was still wearing her blood-stained, ripped skirt from the night before. It was the sight of her wearing his shirt that was making his pulse race now.
"Uh…here…" He slipped off the blue button-up shirt he was wearing and offered it to her. There was a quiet rustle as she put it on. He felt himself becoming self-conscious now that his top layer of protection was gone. All of his bruises and scrapes were much more visible at this point.
Jin worked on wrapping her sprained ankle as she combed her fingers through her hair in an effort to remove the tangles. Giran called, as he had expected, and asked for them to meet him somewhere. A heavy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach after the call.
He had wanted to keep Neneko to himself for as long as he could. Giran wants her to join the League. I know that. I don't want her to get hurt, though. Could she just work with Giran? He'd keep her safe, wouldn't he? Are you kidding?! She's got an awesome quirk! She's gotta use that for the League!
Shift P.O.V
"So what're your plans, Kuroiwa? You don't have anywhere to go, do you?"
Her eyes narrowed and lifted from her meal to look in Giran's direction across the table. The restaurant they were in was the definition of shady. Low lights, unscrupulous patrons, smoke in the air, greasy food. It made her feel like a criminal, but she was technically on the run.
"I am aware of what you intend to ask," she began. "You would like for me to join. Am I correct?"
He pushed up his glasses with one finger and smirked. "You really like to get straight to the point, don't you? Smart girl. Okay, so, before you give me your answer…let me tell you why you should join."
At her side, Neneko could see Jin slouching in his seat and pretending to focus on his food. However, she saw his eyes dart in her direction to steal a glance. "I suppose…since you did help me escape…I can hear your explanation."
"Great! Alright, I know you already know that we can provide protection, but let me tell you some of the other benefits of joining."
I feel as though he is attempting to sell me something. As she listened to him talk, she could easily imagine Giran as a salesman. He used words she knew were popular with motivational speakers, which impressed her ever so slightly.
Despite his shadiness, Giran did make some convincing points. He talked about the security of joining the group and explained that the group mostly consisted of people that just wanted a place where they would be accepted as they were. "So…wouldn't you rather join and not have to hide who you are?"
She glanced toward Jin, feeling her stomach twist anxiously. She had never told him that she was the "quirk-less" villain Mystic. A warning look was directed at Giran just as his smirk grew into a grin. No. Please, no.
"Mystic isn't who you really are, is she?" He chuckled as Jin choked on his drink and the translator flushed red. "Now. How would you feel about putting that quirk of yours to good use?"
Attempting to keep some level of dignity, she lowered her gaze to her cup of tea and tried to get her embarrassment under control. "Giran-san, I use my quirk as sparingly as possible. It causes great strain to my vocal cords."
"She's not…ngh! Don't make her do something she doesn't want to do!" Jin's eyes widened as he held his head. "Giran, you said you wouldn't-!"
"I didn't say I wouldn't ask her. I said I wouldn't flat-out tell Shigaraki about her." Giran lit a cigarette and leaned back in his seat. "Okay, how about this? You don't have to use your quirk if you don't want to. You'll still have to let them know what it is, though. That's just the polite thing to do, right?"
She saw Jin preparing to argue with him again, but she stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "If I do agree to join…I have rules. I refuse to kill and I refuse to use my quirk unless the situation is absolutely dire."
"Fair enough. Just make sure you're contributing somehow."
"Wait…no! Neneko, you can't join! I won't let you…" Jin closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth as he began to sweat. "I don't want you to get hurt! We'll have so much fun together! We really are soulmates!"
"Jin…" Neneko drew closer to him and lightly wrapped her arms around him. "I assure you, it will be alright. If I join…we will always be together. This way, I will be able to protect you…" she whispered.
Giran watched this display of affection, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wow. You two really are a couple, huh? Crazy." He blew some smoke off to the side and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Okay. You're gonna go by the villain name "Sorrow". Like your birth name, right? Or something like that. I'll let Shigaraki know we've got a new member coming to the next meeting."
He looked up from typing something and saw Neneko gently kiss Jin's cheek. The villain's trembling ceased and he looked to her, a faint smile attempting to form on his face. Giran half-grinned. "You know, you two are actually pretty perfect together. You've both got your little "issues". So you have clothes, right? What're you gonna do with your hair?"
Neneko subconsciously reached to a strand of obsidian hair hanging beside her face. "I only packed what I deemed to be of great importance. Clothes were overlooked. What do you mean about my hair?"
"Well, for one, you're gonna need new clothes. And you'll have to do something with your hair. Cut it. Dye it."
"Absolutely not." She had never dyed her hair. When she was growing up, her father forbid her from coloring it or having it cut shorter than collarbone length. It was deemed as going against tradition. She, like her mother, both had long straight black hair and her father saw it as the definition of traditional beauty. As much as she despised her father, this was deeply ingrained since childhood and held true now.
"Okay…? Well at least wear a hat or something. Maybe you could style it? I always see you with your hair down so that should be enough of a change. As far as clothes go, I can get some and bring them by the motel. I'll just need your sizes."
"I wear skirts and shirts with long sleeves," Neneko stated. "I can give you money for the clothes, but those are-"
He interrupted her with a laugh. "You're going to wear whatever I pick out. Seriously, you can't look the exact same way you always do. You're hiding from some pretty bad guys, Kuroiwa."
Before parting ways with Giran, Neneko asked him about her cat and gave him the feline's feeding instructions. He nodded as if he was listening and understood, but she could tell by his disinterested expression that he was eager to tell Shigaraki about her quirk. It frustrated her. Almost everything about her situation frustrated her. Everything except for Jin.
He was walking close with her down the alley, allowing her to lean against him as a makeshift crutch as she limped along. The man still seemed upset about her joining the League of Villains, but chose not to argue with her more. As he stole a glance at her, he frowned and bowed his head. "Neneko, I…don't want you to get hurt," he spoke, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"I have no desire to see you harmed," she agreed. "Jin…I have made this decision for a variety of reasons. The main reason why I chose to join is that I want to be with you. If doing this will let me spend more time at your side…as myself…I will set aside my dislike for the League and I will provide assistance."
The corner of his lips twitched upward. "Can I carry you?"
She paused in her steps and smiled in relief. "I…would greatly appreciate it if you would. Thank you, Jin." As he lifted her, her arms slid around his neck. She leaned up, her lips pressing against his in a warm kiss. Hoping to distract herself from her growing anxiety.