The file folder landed with a slap on the wooden desk. Yuri leaned back in her chair and propped her hands on her abdomen with a sigh. Natsuko sat across the desk from her, carefully surveying the ends of her golden blonde hair in her hand. Laughter was coming from a game show on a television on the other side of the room.

"It's like they just disappeared," Yuri said. "These kids… there's no trace of them."

"Some of them were too young to even have their quirks registered."

"The only thing we know for sure they have in common is their geographical location."

"Do you think the League is behind it?"

Yuri tried her best to keep a neutral face. She would have liked to rebuke it, but she couldn't be for sure. She wanted to believe Tenko would never hurt anyone, but he was the leader of a troupe of villains out to destroy the symbol of hope. If he wanted to do that, wouldn't he do anything to further his agenda?

"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news." A woman in a dark suit appeared on the television screen, cutting off the game show. "Our newscaster is standing right outside U.A. Hero Academy where there are reports that the villainous group the League of Villains only minutes ago infiltrated the school and attempted to attack the students in an effort to draw out the hero, All Might. Let's go live."

The image cut to one of a young man standing outside the gates of the school, droves of people with cameras and boom mics flanking the iron fence, but not being allowed in.

"Currently there has been no further information regarding injuries or casualties, but we are being told that dozens of villains were moments ago inside the school, along with the villain Tomura Shigaraki. The students were set to perform in a simulation today when the villains appeared. All Might was able to appear and neutralize the villains, but there are still no reports on exactly what went on inside the building. Back to you."

"We will continue to update you on this developing story. Stay tuned."

"Do you want to head that way?" Natsuko asked her as they turned their attention away from the TV.

The pencil in Yuri's hand snapped involuntarily. "I want you to go ahead and meet up with All Might and Eraserhead. I'm going to do a run through the streets and see if I can catch anyone."

"Are you sure you don't need any back up? It may not be good to go out searching for them by yourself."

"No, I'll be fine. I'll call for back up if anything happens."

Xxxxxxxx

Yuri raced through the streets, knowing the path she was taking. She knew it wasn't wise to show up at their headquarters right after they'd been fighting, but she couldn't stop herself. She didn't know if they'd be amped up on the battle, twisted from bloodlust, or if they'd all be injured and dying. The information on the news didn't say much about what had gone down at the school, so she had no context for what she might encounter.

She was mad.

He was capable of hurting, of killing.

She was hurt; hurt that she was betrayed by him. He wasn't who she thought he was, not anymore.

The line was drawn.

She knew who he was.

Tomura Shigaraki.

She could kill him.

She saw the bar coming closer and closer in her field of vision. Her hand went to her side, to her belt. In her hero suit she always carried a gun, just in case she couldn't use her quirk. It was too destructive at times, too unpredictable when she was worried about innocent bystanders.

She didn't expect the door to be unlocked, and nearly tumbled inside.

Xxxxxxx

Tomura sat in a chair to the side of the bar as Kurogiri wrapped a bandage around the bullet wounds in his hand and arms. He hissed in pain and wanted to punch the villain. He was angry. Nothing had gone the way he'd planned. All Might had destroyed the nomu – or at least to his knowledge, the nomu was gone. Then those heroes had to show up. He ground his teeth.

Foolssss! The demon in his mind was cursing. It's all the fault of those hired villains. They're fucking idiots. They couldn't even contain children! And All Might…

"He didn't look any weaker," Tomura said through gritted teeth.

"All for One said not to worry about that," Kurogiri said as he cut the bandage and secured it closed.

"He lied!"

Kurogiri shook his head. "Don't get discouraged, Tomura Shigaraki. Everything will work out in time."

Tomura jerked as the bandage wrapped around the wound, tightly occluding the bleeding hole.

Nooo, we must have our victory! Where is our pound of flesh!? We were promised it! The creature was raging, coming off a high of the guarantee of destruction with nothing to show. He wanted to throw all the glass bottles of alcohol through the windows, into the walls, onto the floor. He wanted to hear the shattering and watch the liquid run wet down the walls, wanted to pretend it was blood. He was hoping he'd be drunk on power by now, bathing in real blood, the blood of the number one hero…

Go find someone… Need to feel a bone crack. Need to see the life go out of their eyesss. He tapped his foot anxiously as he turned his head this way and that, listening to his own bones pop.

"If you are thinking about going back out, I would advise against it." Kurogiri was too insightful at times. "Reel it back in."

A sound at the door had him on his feet, the roll of the bandage falling to the floor and his arm unravelling. He was at the door in a flash to meet the intruder. Why hadn't they locked the door?

He raised his hand but stopped short when he said Yuri stumble forward. She grabbed his arm to steady herself and touched his wounds, her fingers going into the gunshots. He gasped and jerked his arm away from her, but not before her hand came away wet with blood. He jumped back from her.

The monster in his mind was jumping up and down, a dark figure excited to see a person they could wreak. She'll do! Lay hands on her… Watch her turn to a pile of dust!

"Get back, Yuri!" he snarled at her. "Don't touch me."

"Are you hurt?" she said as she looked at her hand.

She was in her hero clothes. Had she seen the news? Was she here to apprehend him?

Let her try. Grab that pretty little neck. Wring her out. Choke the life out of her.

She made a motion to reach out to him and he stepped back again.

"Stop," he growled, looking at her through his hair. "Don't come any closer." He sounded like he was out of breath. Something in his voice must have stopped her, because she stayed where she was and dropped her hand. He turned from her and went back to his seat. He couldn't feel his wounds anymore, instead he was overwhelmed by the emotions of the devil. His whole body felt warm, and his head was spinning, though that was probably from the blood loss. A mingling of violence, rage, and lust was coursing through his veins. He felt like he'd been promised a drink that had been pulled from his thirsting lips at the last moment, before he could barely even get a drop. But now, a glass of cold ice water was being offered to him. He involuntarily licked his parched lips.

"Tomura Shigaraki, leader of the league of villains," she said, her voice cold and even. "I'm here to take you in for questioning regarding the events at U.A. High School."

He laughed dryly at her. "Kurogiri, will you hand me that bandage?" Tomura looked at his arm. A stream of blood was slowly making its way down his arm. The villain handed him the unrolled bandage from where it had fallen on the floor.

"Leave us," he said. Kurogiri looked from one of them to the other but left as told. Shigaraki began to roll the bandage back up his arm.

"We can get you first aid at the station," Yuri said from across the room. Tomura didn't answer her. She touched her gun. "Don't make me use force."

"Are you going to shoot me?" He looked up at her from under his eyebrows. She looked pale, as if she'd seen a ghost. He cracked his neck. "I can stand a few more holes. Bring it on. But I won't go easy on you either."

She moved her hand from her gun stepped back, leaning against the wall. She exhaled forcefully, as if she'd been holding in a breath. "There is another way…"

He lifted his head and looked at her. "You could turn around and walk out of that door and forget where this place is. And when things go down I won't tell anyone you knew where I was the whole time and didn't report anything."

She looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "Tenko…"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" He roared at her. She was beginning to look genuinely frightened and the creature was eating it up. Fear flavors the flesh, makes the killing that much sweeter. His foot was tapping the floor again.

"You should never have come here." Tomura was loving seeing her squirm. Tenko was frightening himself. He didn't enjoy seeing Yuri afraid of him, but it was like he was splitting at the seams. He was so comfortable playing the villain, letting Tomura run the show. But he didn't relish this.It was as though he were about to undergo a physical division, and the two parts of him would separate into two beings.

"I need information about something else," she blurted out quickly, her voice quivering.

His foot stilled. "Why should I help you?" The monster stopped its bouncing and lusting as well, waiting patiently for once. Tenko was concerned about why it was listening so intently.

"Because we're friends."

"Try again."

"You're still a good person."

He laughed at her.

"So I won't tell anyone where you stay."

"So you won't tell anyone where I stay." He said each word slowly, as if he were trying to process it.

Before she could react, he was coming at her, a blur of motion through the room. He stopped inches in front of her, one of his hands around her throat, the other braced against the wall. His middle finger hovered millimeters above her skin.

"You're trembling," he whispered. She swallowed and he felt the muscles of her neck move. "Didn't I tell you last time? It's Tomura now. I don't know you. At first, I thought maybe you were ballsy, coming into my place and demanding things from me. Now I just think you're stupid. Do you really think you can come in here and threaten me and not expect anything to happen? I'm a patient man, and I humored you, but there's only so much one man can take before he starts to break."

Stop. He heard a voice in his mind. He looked in her eyes and saw the terror.

NO! Keep going… Pleassse. She is ourssss. The devil hissed. She came here. It's her fault. Now she must pay. We must teach her what happensss.

He shook his head against the argument.

She wanted to speak to me. She said we were still friends.

She's a liar, a whore. She's used you before and she'll use you again.

I don't want her to be afraid of me.

It'sss too late for that! Maniacal laughter filled his head.

He pulled himself back from her so fast she nearly fell over. He put his hands on his knees, kneeling a bit and trying to pull all the parts of himself back together.

Maybe there's an option we can all be satisfied with. A third voice said. It was calm and analytical. Tomura. Tenko, Tomura, and the monster. There were way too many egos for one body.

He stood up straight and looked at her. "What information do you need?" He knew his voice was too cold, too flat, but he was having a hard time keeping control. "Keep in mind there is a price."

"I-I," she stammered and swallowed. She cleared her throat. "I need to know about the missing children."

"The league isn't involved in human trafficking."

"So, that's what it is then?" her hand was absentmindedly touching her neck. He watched her fingers on her skin.

"If you didn't already know that, then you're a shit detective."

"What do you know about it?"

"Not much, could find out more, depending on what I would get in return."

"I don't have any money."

"Don't want money."

"They may be able to lessen your sentence when you turn yourself in if you cooperate."

He laughed at her again. "Not going to get caught. And not turning myself in."

"Then I don't know that I have anything to negotiate with."

"Hmmm," he made a sound and walked over to her with deliberate slowness. He grabbed her hand and lifted it above her head, spinning her around slowly. She turned back to face him. "There are other ways to pay for things."

She slapped him across the face.

"I guess that's a no, then," he said with a twisted grin as he rubbed his cheek.

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Is there a chart?" she said as she crossed her arms.

"A chart?"

"Like a pay chart."

"Oh, so you're asking about different tiers?"

She scowled at him.

"Don't make that face. You don't have to agree to it."

"No, I want to hear the terms and conditions."

"Oh, ho, ho," he scoffed at her. "Little miss tight ass is interested in an exchange?"

"You're such an annoying prick. Tomura, Tenko, whatever the hell your name is."

"I'll have to decide on what I think the information is worth."

"No, I'll decide whether I think the information is good or not."

"We can agree beforehand what options are on the table."

"What if I still don't think the information was worth it?"

"You can bring it up to the committee."

"The committee?" she asked. "Who is in the committee?"

"Me. I'll decide whether your concerns are valid. If they are, we can renegotiate. If not, I still get my dick sucked."

She slapped him again.

"You're so disgusting."

"Slapping and insulting is tier one and it requires no clothes."

"I'm leaving," she said and turned to the door. He slapped her ass as she turned, and she jumped nearly a foot off the ground.

She turned and pointed a finger in his face. "What do I get for that?"

"A free pass out of here for tonight," he said and extended a hand. "So, do we have a deal?"

She seemed to be thinking a moment before she extended her hand back to him. They clasped hands, his index finger hovering outside of their grasp.

"Tomura Shigaraki," she said. "I suppose I'm supposed to say it's nice to meet you, but that would be a lie. I just want to solve this mystery."

"I scratch your back, and you scratch mine." He placed his hand on the doorknob.

"How will I know when I can come collect the information?"

"Come back in like a week or something," he said before he opened the door and pushed her outside, slamming the door behind her.

As soon as the door was closed he collapsed on the ground, a pile of latent teenage anxiety, vicious lust, and dark confidence.