I hate this. What if something happens to her again? She can take care of herself. There's nothing for me to worry about! Jin closed his eyes and lifted a hand to rub at his scar. Giran's with her so she should be okay, right? He wouldn't let anything happen to her. You can't trust that guy alone with her.

The internal conflict was causing him physical pain and he gritted his teeth. Jin tried to shake it off, but horrible thoughts kept pushing their way into his head. Imagining her being hurt or being taken by the guy that had tried to take her before.

It had been five days since the incident. Five days together with Neneko. He never let her out of his sight for long because every time he did, he felt a massive spike of anxiety. Dread filled his thoughts and his pulse raced until she was back with him. He knew she was strong and he was very aware of her intelligence, but he still worried about her.

For the past few nights, she suffered from nightmares. Jin was unaware of what she was dreaming about, but he still did his best to comfort her. He would wake up to the sounds of her crying in her sleep or struggling beside him as if trying to shake off an attacker.

The best he could do was hold her and quietly tell her that she was safe. That he would protect her. After a few minutes of this, she would normally calm down and begin sleeping peacefully again, but it bothered him to see her suffer that way. Whatever haunted her dreams seemed to wear on her even once she was awake.

Giran said he had a job for her so she's probably okay…No way! This is suspicious! No! Giran…wouldn't put her in danger! Jin shook his head and opened his eyes. For his own peace of mind, he pulled his phone from his pocket and called the broker.

"Hey, Bubaigawara. Calling to check on Kuroiwa?" The smile could be heard in Giran's voice when he answered the call.

"H-how did you know? No, it's not like that! I mean…she's…okay, right?" Jin tried to keep his voice down a little, remembering he was in a supermarket getting groceries. He had left the motel room about two hours after Giran came to get Neneko because he needed to try to distract himself. A simple distraction had turned into him deciding to get something to surprise her when she returned.

"She's fine! What? You think I'd have her use her quirk or something?"

"Don't-!" He put a hand over his mouth, realizing he had started to shout. The thought of her having to use her quirk, which caused her so much sadness, was too much for him to handle.

"I won't! I just needed her help with some translations. You know, the time apart is probably good for you two. You've been together nonstop for almost a week now, right? I'd get sick of someone if I had to spend that much time with them."

Jin frowned and shook his head, moving down the aisle in the store. "I…don't think I could get sick of her," he murmured. His free hand rubbed at the back of his neck. He disliked being separated so it was hard for him to imagine being sick of spending time with her.

"I guess I get that. She's pretty easy on the eyes and she's got some interesting stories." Giran paused and then called for someone to enter.

His frown deepened. "Is someone else there?"

"Yeah. I have a few other League members dropping by today. I'll make sure Kuroiwa gets home safe, okay? You just enjoy your day off!"

With the call ending, Jin was left alone again. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of things to cheer himself up. This is what brought him to the aisle that had tea. He managed to locate a box of lavender chamomile tea and put that in the shopping basket, allowing himself a small smile.

Since they spent so much time together, he had started to have those daydreams again. Imagining taking their relationship further. Imagining having kids with Neneko and raising them together. When he thought about that, he tried to not think about what sort of quirks their kids would have.

Before he could even consider bringing that sort of thing up, he was determined to make her see him as a good life partner. He wanted to show her he was responsible and mature. He wanted to be able to protect Neneko and make her see him as potential marriage material.

Getting her favorite tea was a good start. Jin knew some of her favorite foods so he made sure to pick those up, too. What he knew she would really love was some mochi. He spent almost ten minutes trying to determine what flavor to get for her and finally settled on green tea.

When Jin left the store, he was in a pretty good mood. He was confident that she would be pleasantly surprised with what he got for her. Imagining her sweet, sheepish smile made him half-smile to himself.

The walk back to the motel room gave him a lot of time to think and he started to feel a little better about separated. Less anxious anyway. He remembered what she did to that strong-looking yakuza member so he knew she could take care of herself. Besides, she was working on translations and she really enjoyed doing that sort of work.

She's not in danger. She'll be fine, he told himself as he reached their floor. He found his room key in his pocket and lifted his gaze. His heart dropped into his stomach upon seeing a man in a black suit kneeling on the floor in front of their door, trying to pick the lock.

Jin rushed forward before he could stop to consider his next move. He grabbed the man by the back of the neck and lifted him before slamming him into the wall, dropping half of his grocery bags in the process. "Who sent you? You think this is funny?! This is hilarious! Why are you here?!"

Shift P.O.V

"He's pretty worried about you." Giran tucked his phone away and lit a cigarette as another villain let themselves into the little office. "You know he's head over heels for you, right, Sorrow?"

Neneko lifted her gaze from the notepad and frowned. She absently chewed at her thumbnail as she regarded the broker. He was giving her a smirk that made her stomach turn. "Are you aware…that your interest in his affairs borders on being…what some might describe as "obsessive"?"

"Sorrow-san, it's a pleasure to see you again." The voice of the newcomer was slightly muffled and drew attention to the door. Leaning against it, facing the two professionals, was the second masked member of the League of Villains.

"Compress-san. Hello. Yes, it is a pleasure to see you again as well." She bowed slightly in greeting, but it was difficult to manage while still seated on the couch. This man displays more respect and good etiquette in one sentence than Giran has showed me for the duration of my knowing him.

The two men talked for a while as she continued translating the document Giran had given her. She was getting through it rather quickly; it was German and that was the second foreign language she had learned. Neneko heard snippets of their conversation, but it was nothing of great interest. Compress seemed to be there to ask about getting some masks that were more durable.

What would possess a man to need a more durable mask? For that matter, why wear a mask like his? It seems ill-suited for a fight. Something like that would break so easily…or at the very least it would crack.

Footsteps approached the side of the couch and a hand planted on the arm closest to Neneko. His free hand lifted to remove his mask. "Sorrow-san, can I ask what you're working on?"

She looked up from her pages and found that his face was only partially obscured now. Beneath his costume's black and white mask, he was wearing a black mask that left his mouth and eyes uncovered. Brown eyes? As for the rest of his face…he seems rather ordinary.

Neneko shuffled her pages, glad that she had just finished the translations. "Giran-san requested my assistance in translating some documents from German to Japanese. It would seem that a villain in Europe is attempting to contact Shigaraki-san's master." She allowed a gloved hand to take the pages from her and flip through them. He seems well-mannered enough to be trusted with those, she decided.

The woman stood and resisted the urge to stretch. She had been working diligently for a while now; not moving from where she sat and remaining a bit hunched so she could see better in the dim light of the office. Now that she had finished, she was eager to get back to Jin.

"Your handwriting is exceptional, my dear."

Could he be mocking the way that I speak? Accepting the pages from him, she saw the genuine smile he wore and frowned. "Thank you."

"I'll take those." Giran approached the couch and took the documents from Neneko, smirking as he looked them over. "Thanks, Sorrow. We'll talk about payment tomorrow over the phone. I've got to get these to the big boss." Turning his smirk toward the male villain, he nodded toward the door. "Compress, you mind walking her back to her place?"

He tipped his hat forward a little, frowning now. "I'm a busy man."

"And she's a valuable asset. Look, just walk her back to her building at least. Twice will throw a fit if I let her walk home alone."

"I am capable of walking alone," Neneko protested. If need be, I can call Jin and ask for him to meet me part of the way. She picked up her bag and started for the door, pausing only to give her cat a few loving pets. The cat was staying with Giran until she and Jin could find more suitable accommodations.

"Just a moment!" The villain swiftly crossed the room, putting on his top mask as he did. He opened the door for her with a dramatic flourish and half-bowed. "Let me escort you. It wouldn't be right to make a lady walk alone."

You changed your mind a bit too quickly. I suspect that Giran may be offering you some sort of compensation for this. She looked toward Giran, expecting to see him smirking again, but he was now tucking the documents into a folder as he made a call to someone.

"…I suppose…" Neneko pulled up the hood on her costume before they made their way out into an alley. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and held the strap with both hands as she walked. Her one on one interaction with the other villains was limited. As Mystic, she had been close with Dabi and friendly with Compress, but as herself she was far less confident.

We will draw attention as soon as we leave the alley, she realized. What does he intend to do? If I walked alone, I could blend in much easier. His costume is…rather flamboyant. It will immediately draw the eye of anyone we pass.

"I'd rather stick to the shadows, if you don't mind."

She was surprised when he spoke, but nodded. "Yes. I agree with this. The less people that see us, the better."

As they walked, the man made polite small talk for a while. Talking about the weather, favorite restaurants, and some gossip he had heard about the other villains. To make things horrifying, one hint of gossip was that Dabi had been turned down by Mystic and killed her. Compress was sure this had really happened since no one had seen her in a while and, in his opinion, Dabi had been acting secretive.

I suppose one could say that Mystic is dead. Though not quite the way they think. Neneko was relaxing a little and released the strap of her bag so she could chew at her thumbnail for a moment. How should the topic of Mystic be settled?

"How did you get into translations, my dear?"

He speaks as if he may be much older than me. Exactly what sort of man is he? She frowned and glanced his way. "As a child…my father was quite strict and firmly believed that one must live a traditional Japanese life in order to achieve true success and happiness. From a young age, I was told that foreigners were extremely dangerous and anything foreign was considered toxic."

Neneko stopped chewing on her nail and began absently running her fingers along her braided obsidian hair. "As an act of rebellion, as a teenager, I began to secretly indulge in foreign films and...endeavored to learn as many languages as I could. That may seem humorous, however…it was important to me."

Despite having acted like he did not care to walk with her, Compress stayed with Neneko until they reached her floor in the motel. When they saw the blood on the floor near the door to her room, he stepped in front of Neneko and put out an arm to keep her from getting around him. "Sorrow-san, is that your door?"

She stared at the door, at the blood smeared around the doorknob and on the wall to the side of it. Her heart dropped into her stomach, her blood running cold at the thought of it being Jin's blood. The young woman forced her way past Compress and sprinted down the hallway.

Neneko could hear Compress right behind her, felt fingertips brush the back of her shoulder as he attempted to grab her to stop her. Before she could consider her actions, she forced the door open and she felt her knees buckle. Falling to her knees on the floor, she was unsure if she should laugh or cry.

Jin was sitting on the bed, tending to some wounds, but it became apparent rather quickly that the pool of blood in the hall was from someone else. When he heard her fall to her knees, he looked up and his gray-blue eyes widened. "Neneko?! What happened? Are you alright? Great! Who's butt do I have to kick now?!"