Chapter 41

Present Day – Day 44

Asami stands there, stiff yet trembling at the intent in the man's words. She doesn't know much about All For One, choosing not to waste her time looking up what she believed to be urban legends created to scare children into their homes after hours. And after the Kamino incident where the myth became real, she focused her efforts on highlighting Endeavor's actions that day, rather than the man himself and his contributions to All Might's retirement. And now here he was, in front of her—commanding her—to work with the villains and their cause.

"I thought you were in Tartarus," she says after a long pause.

"Ah I am," his voice sounds amused, "In fact, I am under the heaviest surveillance this fortress can provide."

"Then how are you speaking to me now?"

"Through a proxy, hence there being no need for visuals. I have a stockpile of mind manipulating Quirks, this one allows me to speak through others. It needs the least amount of brain activity necessary to activate, so these buffoons who monitor my brainwaves are none the wiser."

"If you have an abundance of mind manipulating Quirks, then why not just use it on Dabi to make sure he's compliant with your demands. Or use it on me?" she asks with tangling brows.

"I am no tyrant, Miss Hastsuse," he says in a tone that makes her question the sincerity of those words. "Though my rule will be a difficult one for some to back and follow, I will see it through with benevolence to those who have proven their worth. I want Dabi to obey me freely. Just as I hope you will come to obey me willingly as well." Asami swallows hard, feeling the desire to scoff at such a notion, but she refrains.

"This is where you play an integral part in this plan," he continues. "Not only does your allure over Dabi allow you to sway him to the path we need, but also your natural talent with the public's perception. You have proven yourself time and time again to be adept in influencing public opinion from unpleasant facts about heroes countless times. What you would be doing for me would be the same."

"Only you're a villain," Asami corrects him.

"Is Touya not a villain?" he strategically uses his birthname to illicit a reaction out of her. "Are Jin and Himiko and the others not villains? Yet here you are, laughing and spending time with them—against your will at first—but have you not grown to know them as something more?" his tone is calculative as he questions why she's still willingly spending her time with the villains, and Twice's words of being a family itch at the back of her head.

"The term villain is so shallow, and at surface level of course you would abhor the idea of aiding villains, but have you not seen heroes doing detestable things in your time under them? Have you not seen crimes of extortion, fraud, harassment, and so many more covered up by your peers for the sake of maintaining face? The difference is, they are heroes and no one bats an eye at their crimes. They are given a pass, while the League and those you've grown to admire are pushed to the underbelly of the city as undesirables."

"Murder and extortion are two far different crimes," Asami argues.

"But have victims on both sides nonetheless," he counters. "The difference is, you expect better from heroes. Their crimes hit harder because there is a foundation of trust with heroes, and with that, a platform in which they can take advantage of those who believed they were in good hands."

Asami grits her teeth as he continues, "Take Tomura for example: a young boy lost and beaten down by those he trusted the most. He sought out the help of heroes when he was cast away, and none came to his aid. It was far too inconvenient for them; not flashy enough of a save to get them the coveted recognition from the public that would elevate them to the top ten."

She stiffens at his mention of Shigaraki and she wonders why he did not have the white-haired man warped with her here. Despite not being very close to Shigaraki, she still holds a fondness for him, and to be in this room, alone with a man whose eyes she cannot see, and a disembodied voice commanding her makes her feel heavy with unease. The presence of Shigaraki is almost welcoming in an uncomfortable moment such as this one.

"What of Dabi driven to the brink of death by his hero father's expectations of him," his voice brings her thoughts reeling back. "Toga shunned by her parents and peers for the inner desires of her Quirk, Spinner rejected for his heteromorphic form, Compress discriminated and labeled a criminal for the nature of his Quirk, and Twice rejected by those around him when all he ever wanted was companionship," he finishes. "These are the members of the League. Not villains, not murderers, not heathens preying on those weaker than them. They are simply lost souls who were never given a chance to succeed in the toxic society the hero world has created. You've seen it firsthand. Are not each and every one of these 'villains' more caring than those you've worked alongside for years?"

Asami keeps her face neutral, figuring that he's watching her and doesn't want to give him any cue into what she's thinking. He has a point and she doesn't want to admit that he has a point. She's not close with her coworkers that she's worked alongside for two years, and she rarely interacts with the heroes and sidekicks at Endeavor's agency unless they are in a story that she needs more information about. She's never felt alienated because her work always took precedence over her relationships. She had Fuyumi and Natsuo for companionship when it was needed and even Hawks was able to pull her from work and spend time with her here and there. She was happy in the life that she formed, she had everything she needed.

But now she has Touya. Everything that ached and was missing in her life is returned to her with his resurgence. And she's able to find worth in her work with the MLA. Twice and the others have made her feel welcomed and though they are not as close as she is with the Todoroki's, she's sure with time…

What am I thinking? Aiding the villains in a war!

"This war that you have planned is going to take so many lives," Asami argues with him.

"Hero and villain lives alike," he agrees. "Though no blood will need to be shed if the heroes accept me under the new world order I plan to impose."

"The heroes aren't going to submit to your demands without a fight," she argues with him. "Regardless of whatever narrative you want me to peddle."

"I will not lie to you and say that I don't anticipate casualties, as I am a realistic person," he returns bluntly. "However, allow me to paint a picture for you if you do not aid us," he begins with an increasingly sinister tone. "Touya's flames will engulf his body within the first few hours of the battle. Toga is powerful, but the heroes will corner her and apprehend her quickly. She will be confined to a cell and never see her friends again. Compress and Spinner do not have Quirks suitable for combat and also be apprehended. Twice is one of the largest threats the heroes face. You know well enough that he will not be neutralized willingly, so the heroes will have no choice but to dispose of him," he says harshly. "The same will go for Tomura. So, are you willing to watch as those you've come to grow fondly of are killed by the heroes you seek to protect?"

Asami shakes her head, feeling a heaviness in her heart as images of Twice, Shigaraki, and Dabi and the others all bloody and dead lay at her feet. "They will kill heroes all the same," she whines back at him.

"The heroes are more willing to bend to our will for the sake of self-preservation; the League is not."

Asami plays out every scenario in her head, trying desperately to find the best course of action. She knows the League will not back down, she watched as each of them fought to the brink of death with the Meta Liberation Army, and it wasn't until their opponents conceded that they stopped their fighting. She saw the damage it did to all their bodies. Shigaraki's arms, Toga's eye, Twice's arms, Dabi's back. She could see that they would all sooner die than allow their enemies to win.

Maybe the heroes can be reasoned with? Maybe she can create a narrative that will convince the civilians of Japan to accept All For One and Shigaraki? Maybe she can aid in the transition of considering this change and working with the heroes and the government to come to a mutually beneficial agreement?

Or is this all a wild fantasy she's convincing herself of?

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She listens to the wild beating of her heart as she contemplates what her next move to be. Allow the heroes and civilization as we know it to fall for the sake of a handful of lives?

"I…" her throat tenses as she attempts to speak. "I…" her heart is racing and her stomach is twisting uncontrollably. "Can I have some time to think about this?" she asks meekly.

There is a long and painful pause that makes her heart race even more wildly. He's contemplating her request so he must…

"I find the truest answers to one's heart are the ones that we decide on in the moment," he says and her heart sinks down her chest. "I expect your answer now, Miss Hatsuse. Will you save Touya and the others? Or will you watch them perish to the hero society you helped create?"

Asami returns to the compound with shaking hands and a mind muddled with what to think. When she's returned she is face to face with Shigaraki. He looks at her through stray strands of white hair. His ruby eyes glare at her with uninterested boredom, and she wonders how he can be so unresponsive at a time like this. He has to know what they discussed and what her ultimate decision was.

She wracks her mind for something to say to him and appeal to him on a human level. She reaches her hand out to him as she begins to speak, "Shig—" however, before she can even release his name, he turns from her and leaves her in the corridor without another word.

Asami feels helpless in this moment. Is he angry with her, or disappointed? She doesn't understand why he would be as she watches him walk down the hall with stiff shoulders. He can't be angry with her because she told All For One she would do it. What else could she say? This was Touya; he was the love of her life and she couldn't allow herself to lose him again.

The conditions of her agreement were simple: she convinces Dabi to fight in an upcoming war they have planned to dismantle the hero society. That's all. He doesn't have to kill anyone. The heroes don't have to die if the Leaugue's firepower is unmatchable. No one has to die. They just have to show how powerful their arms are and the heroes will stand down. She can even help with the narrative so the public can accept this change better.

Once the villains have taken over the country, All For One will welcome the free use of Quirks to build an equal society among able bodied people to assist each other. It's a fucking pipedream that shoves the Quirkless in the back as an afterthought, but Touya will be free of his expectations and they can live without the League and the villainy. She can have the life she was supposed to have with him.

Asami slaps her hand over her mouth as she feels the bile in her stomach rise. She rushes to a nearby trashcan and begins retching up her breakfast, barely making it into the receptacle. Her shaking hands clutch onto the rim of the trashcan as she tries to stabilize herself. What the fuck is she thinking making a deal with All For One? This is a deranged fantasy that any of this will go her way, but what else is she supposed to do? She feels absolutely helpless.

Her hand shakingly lifts to her lips, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she exhales at what is unraveling before her. How did she get here? How did her life tangle into something so messy when she had a relatively normal life before? Would she give it all up to go back to that life? She was happy, or at least she thought she was. Keigo made her happy most days, but in this life Touya is alive.

She's a villain and allowing the wrong side to win. After dedicating years of her life to shift the narrative to aid the heroes, she now quickly switches sides for the promise of love? Is she willing to die for love if it comes to it? For Touya? She can't even think about the many nights she spent staying curled in bed crying, wishing she could've traded places with him that night. Now she doesn't have to. Now she can have it all, she just needs to make sure the heroes lose this battle and bring forth the destruction of all of Japan. All for a man she loves…

Asami heads to her room, starting the shower and wanting to wash the vile feeling from her skin as she tries to shove the thought of heroes losing their lives from her waking mind. She begins scrubbing her body viciously, as if trying desperately to scrub the day and its decision off of her body as it sticks to her skin. She can't brush away the nightmarish thoughts as each of them reel into her mind on a frightening repeat.

How many of them will have to die before they realize it is a lost cause and stand down to the threat of the villains? Will they ever allow them to seize power over Japan? What about the other countries around the world? Will they stand idly as they allow Japan to fall into decay? How long will Touya's body last before he's burned and there's nothing left?

Asami's legs give in and she falls to her knees in the shower. She clutches onto her chest, attempting to get air into her collapsing lungs as the weight of her choices grind her into the ground.

She needs to bury herself in her work and find some peace of mind in the monotony in her day to day. It's the only way she can get her mind to stop thinking about the horrible choice she's agreed to.

She steps out of the shower, changing into a tight baby blue pencil skirt that goes down to her shins and a plain white blouse. She doesn't have a high collared shirt available, so she conceals her hickeys with some foundation as best as she can, but the burns are seen clear through the makeup. She keeps her hair down to cover the marks and sighs when she's finished with the light makeup on her face.

Once she's finished with the day, she will find Dabi and they will discuss what happened today. She's unsure if she will tell him that Shigaraki made her speak with his Master, but she will have the discussion with him about ensuring his allegiance is with the League.

She doesn't need him to be a better man. He doesn't have to be her hero. The idea makes her want to cry.

Asami leaves her room with a heaviness in her stride. She wants to run away and she wants things to go back to when they were children. What she would give to go back and push Touya into the ground and yell at him for being an asshole for calling her fat. Everything was so simple back then, and she would give it all just to go back to that innocence they once held.

Asami's body is on autopilot and she needs a smoke to calm her nerves. She heads outside of the compound on the terrace where she sees Skeptic standing with another member of the MLA taking a drag of a cigarette. She approaches the long-haired man as he turns to her.

"Mind if I bum one off of you?" she asks him and he hands her the carton for her to pick her poison. She grabs a stick and places it on her lips. She waits for the light, and when she realizes that she's not with Dabi, she takes the lighter and ignites it herself. She exhales once the nicotine has subsided her nerves while the man watches her carefully.

"Long day? Or rather long week? Your absence has been noticed." Skeptic tells her as he watches her with bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah," she exhales "Wasn't long enough," she snidely responds.

He huffs at her, "Well we have a lot of work to do. Re-Destro and Shigaraki are planning an attack in four months."

Four months. Four months is all I have left of this fantasy that I've been living.

She leans against the pillar as she takes in another drag, nodding once as she already begins to formulate the narrative that she's going to peddle to the masses so the numbers of heroes willing to fight the villains is less than what it's expected to be now.

"Oh, by the way, you have a fan," he tells her and she glances over at him with furrowing brows. "A very prominent member of the MLA was interested in meeting the famed League's Quirkless Ambassador."

Asami scoffs at this as she rolls her eyes at the idea of meeting one of the MLA zealots that would be all too willing to give her a taste of their mind on how she's useless to the new world order the MLA plans on building with her being Quirkless.

"Tell 'em to start a fan club and I'll show up for a meet and greet," she sneers her response as she takes in a heavy drag of her cigarette.

His dark eyes glance over her shoulder and a grin touches his lips, "Why don't you tell him yourself?" he says and she sighs, hearing the footsteps of the approaching fanatic behind her.

She keeps her body positioned away from the impending interaction, wanting nothing more than to decompress with her work and not deal with anyone's attitude and opinion on her lack of a Quirk.

"Ah Hawks!" he calls out, "You said you wanted to meet our Quirkless Ambassador, well here she is!"

Asami's body freezes over and her limbs are unmoving. Her eyes widen as her lips slowly part at his words. Did she hear him correctly? There's no way.

Don't turn around. Don't turn around!

Her body betrays her and slowly she cranks her head towards the encroaching footsteps.

His stride halts when their eyes lock.

Golden on lilac.

His large grin disappears from his face as he looks onto her.

Golden on lilac.

The entire atmosphere goes quiet as if the birds and the wind halt their movements to give weight to this situation. All that can be heard are her unsteady breaths.

In. Out. In. In. Out.

"Hawks, this is the famed Quirkless Ambassador," Skeptic introduces, but his voice quickly muffles in her ears with a harsh ringing as she keeps her eyes locked on his.

Golden on lilac.

This can't be happening. He can't be here.

"Hey," his voice draws her back in and she can hear clearly once more as Hawks adopts an uneven grin on his face once more. The birds begin singing and the wind continues its soft breeze through the trees as life continues around them. "Nice to finally meet ya," he says bowing his head to her. "Heard a lot of good things!" his carefree tone makes her want to retch all over again as his lopsided smile touches his lips once more.

How can he be so untroubled? This has to be a trick.

"Seems she's starstruck," Skeptic scoffs with a humor in his tone as he watches the wide-eyed and frozen expression take over her body.

"Happens a lot," Hawks says with a wide grin as he scratches at the back of his head. "What can I say? I have a way with the ladies?" he coolly teases as her eyes stay fixated on him.

He's not here. This can't be him.

"So, Miss Ambassador," Hawks begins with a tone sweet like honey. "Why don't you show me around? I'd like to see the grounds from your point of view." She doesn't respond to him and his eyes leave hers to look at the black-haired villain. "If that's alright of course?"

Skeptic shrugs, "She's already been absent these past few days, another one won't hurt. Plus, who am I to keep a clear fan away from their idol?"

Hawks chuckles as he snakes his arm around her waist, making her tense up in his hold. "Come on," he smiles at her but his eyes burn another intention inside her. He's trying to tell her to get it together and calm down. "I know of a nice garden around here, you'll have to let me know if you've been to it," he sells while they're still within earshot of Skeptic.

"Hawks?" her voice finally has the strength to push out with a wavered breath.

"Not yet," he tells her quietly through a clenched open-mouthed smile.

Asami trembles in his grip, and he tightens his arm around her waist, giving her a reassuring squeeze as he skirts her away from the villains. She feels like she is walking through a kaleidoscope as her vision blurs, spins, and shifts around her. She feels as though she is going to collapse and retch all at the same time. She can't feel her arms or legs, she can't hear anything around her, and her entire sense of being is collapsing around her.

They walk past various groups of MLA members that greet the hero with warm smiles and swoon over his presence. Hawks expertly dodges each attempt to speak with him at length as he's had years of practice being a hero and doing the same. He has a one-track mind of getting Asami in a space where they are alone, and he doesn't allow his fans to halt that goal.

Hawks looks over his shoulders, surveying the area for any prying eyes and when he decides that the coast is clear, he skirts her into a nearby closet where he closes the door behind them and they are finally left alone.

It takes a moment for him to turn around and face her, and she realizes with the tensing of his shoulders and the tightness of his wings that he's not as unbothered by this as he so expertly sold in front of Skeptic. He's shaking and frightened by this reunion just as much as she is.

When he finally has the strength to turn to her, his eyes are quickly on hers. "Fuck… Asami…" his cool boy demeanor is fully shed as a desolate whine escapes his lips and he launches himself at her. His arms entrap her in a hug as he embraces her, pressing her face to his chest as he buries his nose in her hair, never thinking he'd miss her smell so much.

Asami stands stiff in his hold, her arms squeezed down at her sides as her fingers extend from the shock of his quick move on her.

Asami's legs give in and she feels herself falling in his grip. His arms clench her tightly to him so she doesn't crumble to the ground. He can feel her chest heaving with labored breaths and he quickly realizes that she's not crying, but having a panic attack.

He pulls her away from him, holding her at an arm's length and giving her the space that she needs so not to smother her. Her legs finally give in and she crashes to the ground, taking Hawks down with her. He kneels down next to her but she can't keep eye contact with him as he watches her. He's trying to soothe her, his voice calling out to her and instructing her to breathe, but all she can hear are her failed attempts at sucking in air and a painful ringing that shrieks a high-pitched note.

She feels like she's choking on an invisible hand that holds onto her neck with an unforgiving force. Her vision is tunneling and blackening around her as her lungs are unwilling to retain any needed air.

"Hey! Hey! Baby look at me!" the blonde coaches her as he supportively brushes her upper arms. "Breathe, Baby. Breathe, in and out."

Her trembling hands lift to her neck, crossing over her chest and grasping onto herself to protect her vulnerable area as she feels like she's being attacked by an unseeable force. "Look at me, Baby," he coos warmly and her eyes finally reach his. "That's it," he praises her as he moves his hand to brush her cheek.

"Everything is going to be alright, I'm here." He reassures her affectionately. "Just look at me and breathe," he instructs her as she begins to gain control over her breathing as he continues to stroke her cheek.

He watches her as she begins to settle down. Her shoulders drop to a relaxed state, her features loosen and she can finally reach his gaze once more. He looks into her pooling lilac eyes with admiration, seeing her apart from the double and questioning how he could have ever thought the copy was as perfect as she is.

"Asami," he breathes out her name with longing. He's waited so long to see the real her again. "I finally found you," he smiles as he leans into her. His lashes flutter shut and he pulls her face into his. He puckers his lips, preparing for a lovers embrace but when he makes contact with something hard, his brows furrow and he opens his eyes.

He looks onto her when he sees the palm of her hand pressed to his lips and blocking his advance on her. Her eyes are widened and the look of surprise flashes over her features. She must be in shock at his reappearance and doesn't know what to think as her hand shakes against his lips and her eyes scan every inch of his face.

Hawks pulls away from her hand and blinks at her with building confusion. "Asami—" he begins to inquire when she speaks over him.

"Why are you here?" her voice cracks out with dismay.

Hawks' head twitches back as he keeps himself from shaking his head at her. He doesn't know what to say to her and he questions if he even heard her correctly. His lips detach to speak but his voice is lost in his throat. What does he even say to that?

He examines her features once more as her hand drops from his face. She's absolutely horrified at his reappearance and this is not the reunion he expected from her.

"Baby?" he questions her after a long pause, "I'm here to save you," he tells her simply as if the question were foolish.

She shakes her head at his response and his brows tangle with confusion at her reaction of him. "Asami, listen," he begins shuffling closer to her as his other hand cups her cheek, now holding her in his grip. "I know it's been a long time, but I've been searching for you this entire time. I never gave up, I just had to be…"

His voice trails off as he notices how she's dressed and presented herself. She's in her work clothes with makeup and jewelry on. Skeptic introduced her as the Quirkless Ambassador; the person who was responsible for negotiating the League's rise within the MLA's ranks. He can't help but notice that she was at ease with Skeptic when she was speaking to him, smoking again even though she promised him she'd quit.

His eyes continue to survey her beyond the scared shitless look in her eyes. He's known her long enough to read her non-verbal cues and it's clear what her body is telling him. She's mortified. She's mortified and not because she's been kidnapped and held hostage, but because he's here in front of her.

Hawks thinks about what Endeavor said when he told the Number One Hero that Asami had been kidnapped. He informed him that she was burned by Dabi. His eyes immediately drop from hers and search her body for evidence of his abuse on her, and he doesn't have to go far to see it.

The blonde swallows hard when his eyes land on her neck, seeing clear marks all over her under a thick layer of makeup. He can see the rippling of burned skin under the concealer, but the most disturbing thing is the placement of the marks. They aren't handprints to indicate he's been abusing her but rather clear lip and mouth impressions littering her neck. The idea that it was consensual crosses his mind but it can't be; Asami would never let someone mark her like she was a possession of theirs.

Hawks' blood boils as he thinks about Dabi, pinning her down, forcing his burned lips on her and making a point to scorch her neck as a way of punishing the Hero. It couldn't have been consensual. She's mortified of his presence because she fears Dabi's retaliation towards him. She did it all for survival.

But as the idea penetrates Hawks' skull that this was not consensual, he realizes that's even worse. Why the hell would he want these marks to be nonconsensual? Why would he wish that kind of horror on Asami? Just to feed his ego into believing that she would never stray from him? He hates himself for even letting the thought cross his mind. He hopes that it was willing because the alternative is knowing that Asami suffered horrors because of him. But even that doesn't ease his mind.

The fact of the matter remains; Asami stands before him with marks all over her body from Dabi and she's mortified to see him.

How am I supposed to save her if she doesn't want to be saved?