He hated being told what to do.

And he hated being embarrassed, especially by a two-bit murderer calling himself the hero killer.

"You know what? I'm completely over you. Leave. Drop dead. I don't care which."

Refusing to cradle his bleeding shoulder, infuriated beyond recognition and wanting nothing more than to latch his fingers around Stain's throat until nothing remained except a pile of dust on the floor for Kurogiri to sweep into the trash, Shigaraki turned around, "You're still here? I thought I was the kind of person you hated most."

"I was testing your motives," standing in front of the only entrance into or out of the darkened bar, Stain carefully kept his remaining weapon close to his chest, "People always show their true colors when on the verge of death," he momentarily paused, "It's abnormal but there is desire. A warped sprout of conviction inside of you. How will it bloom in the end, I wonder? Maybe I'll let you grow. If you don't turn out well, I'll take care of you later."

That was bullshit.

"You honestly believe you could get rid of me? You?" his shoulders trembled alongside a haggard chuckle bordering upon a snarl.

In the periphery of his vision, Kurogiri suddenly collapsed forward, elbow crashing onto the bar and breath ragged, "I'm free!"

"Kurogiri," caring nothing about his protector's newfound freedom, he scoffed, "Someone as crazy as this will be nothing but a problem for the league of villains," blood gushed from the wound in his shoulder as he brushed aside Stain's continued presence in his hideout, "Get him out of here."

"Please reconsider," ignoring his injuries, which bled quite a bit less than his charge's, the teleporter carefully maintained eye contact with the increasingly wary hero killer, "This man will be a great asset if he joins our organization. It might not seem like much, but merely having this conversation counts as a success. I implore you allow Stain to prove himself."

"I don't care," he really didn't care. Perhaps Kurogiri could have changed his mind given enough time. But getting stabbed really put a damper on becoming friends with the legendary hero killer, "Besides, we already have enough crazy. The last thing we need is for her to have a new best friend."

"My business here is done. Now, you'll return me to Hosu," a ragged tongue licked the contours of Stain's mouth, "There are still several false heroes I must attend to there."

Shigaraki couldn't believe it.

"Oh, that reminds me."

In all the commotion, he'd forgotten something genuinely important, "You sure do talk tough, but you should consider yourself lucky you weren't actually aiming to kill me."

Something about his tone caused Stain to grimace, "Why is that?"

"I hate her. I truly despise her existence. Given the option between killing her and All Might, I'd choose her," Shigaraki's worn fingernails brushed against his neck, scratching at crusty skin, "But she's strong. And fast. And merciless," he laughed. He didn't know why he found it funny, but nevertheless, his mouth stretched into a malevolent smirk impossible to deny as anything but sociopathic amusement when the hero killer tensed, "What's wrong? Did you not notice there was another person here the entire time?"

A floorboard creaked behind Stain.

Reacting instinctively, the hero killed ducked underneath the potentially approaching weapon while slashing backwards, dragging his jagged knife across his ambusher's throat.

Only to miss by a country mile.

"Gosh!"

Despite the hero killer's impressive reflexes and years of experience in close quarters hand to hand combat, Nui casually leaned around the approaching attack, sapphire eyes tracking the blade sweeping inches from her nose, "I didn't think you actually cared about little old me," avoiding the subsequent kick to the stomach, knife to the shoulder and Stain's attempt to shatter her jaw, she effortlessly landed on the counter in front of Kurogiri, one leg crossed over the other and chin propped atop her hand, "Now then, should I kill him or what?"

"No."

His fingers dug a little harder into his neck, "I think he gets the point," crimson stained his shirt, matching the dark red splotch growing over his shoulder, "Kurogiri, let him go. I don't care where. Just anywhere but here."

"…as you wish."

Like a good subordinate, Kurogiri did exactly as he was told.

A dark mist obscured his vision.

An impossibly black fog swept across the bar.

He knew the exact moment Kurogiri disappeared with Stain, leaving him alone in their hideout with the one person he despised more than All Might. But he couldn't kill her no matter how much he wanted. And she took every opportunity to mock that fact. It was annoying. Even if she was technically working for him, she didn't act like it. She did her own thing and nothing he said or threatened her with could change her mind.

"So…" crusty skin sagged underneath Father's outstretched fingers, "…how long were you planning on watching?"

"Worried I'd let that half-baked vigilante kill you?"

Her tone was playful if anything. And her smile. That friendly smile hiding a body count far higher than his own, "If he'd tried anything more than a love tap, you'd be cleaning up the mess on the floor. But who knows how ~badly~ you'd be hurt by the time I stepped in."

His eyebrow twitched.

"You really enjoy pushing my buttons," a finger tapped against the counter, "If it weren't for master, I'd have decayed you into dust long ago."

"Gosh, don't be absurd," and there it was. The mockery. That saccharine pleasantness he despised more than anything in the world, "Unless I ~literally~ let you touch me, you couldn't so much as lay a finger on me," as if to drive her point home, she slid across the counter, breathing on his neck. Even without looking over his shoulder, he could see her smile. A grin that always, without fail, pissed him off, "Anyway, you'll have to watch yourself for the next few days," her voice shifted mid-sentence, ending somewhere near the door, "Someone important dropped by Corusco and it would be impolite to ~not~ show her a good time!"

"Someone important, huh?"

She didn't care about anyone other than herself, master and that strange woman.

He was merely someone she listened to as long as his orders didn't contradict whatever master told her.

"I can't understand why you're so fascinated with Ryuko Matoi," wrinkled eyes stared at the empty space behind the counter, wishing Kurogiri was back, if only to have his annoying babysitter make him something to drink, "She's not particularly strong. Or intelligent. And her Quirk isn't useful," there was silence. A deafening silence, "Wait…you're not still upset she embarrassed you back at UA, are you?"

"You know better than to pry into my personal business…"

A pair of scissors pressed against the small of his back for all of two seconds before she sat down next to him, "I'm not upset. Well, not as much as I used to be," that was a bold-faced lie. If he knew anything about her, it's that she really held grudges. Against everyone. Including him. Especially him, "But that's neither here nor there. My feelings don't really matter in the grand scheme," there was something in her tone. He didn't know what. And didn't care, "As much as I hate to admit it, Ryuko got lucky. And underestimating her Quirk wasn't helpful," yet she was smiling, every word prefaced with an expression impossible to differentiate from genuine happiness, "I'm not going to make that mistake again."

She disappeared before his fingers snapped around her wrist.

"Nice try!" mocking his latest attempt, Nui strutted through the door, manicured fingers curled around the frame, "Try not to kick the bucket while I'm gone, alright? Ta-ta!"

Once she was gone – truly gone – he gripped the empty glass on the counter, cracks forming on its clear surface as it slowly decayed into dust.

"I really hate her."