The Price of Pain

Chapter 16: Connection

It seemed the only one unhappy with her new job was Six. Dabi would probably react exactly the same if she said she'd become a janitor. As it turned out they'd lost their job at the 'Smashery' because it was taken down again. She was pretty sure at this stage Six and Dabi would be better of just working at a bar and calling it a day.

"So Taisho is hiring at least one person," she pointed out.

Dabi let out a frustrated groan, rubbing his temple as Six simply laughed. She felt for the man. It would suck to never be able to keep a job for long because Heroes kept interfering. She wasn't even sure what they had against the fight club. People liked violence, and it wasn't like the people in the ring were opposed to being killed. They'd signed up for it.

"I think if I ever became a Hero, the very next day Hero society would crumble and I'd be out of a job again," Dabi lamented.

That would have been hilarious, but Aki didn't voice that. Six turned his attention to her, looking decidedly less happy.

"Though you'd be a great hero, boss," he said.

Aki and Dabi simply looked at him like he'd grown two heads. Six held out his hands in a 'hear me out' motion.

"You'd be great at shutting down illegal operations. Maybe you'd even run your own Agency focused on underground heroics," he mused.

"That is never happening," she said.

"Of course it isn't, because you insist on playing minion to a third rate merc-group, when you could be leading one instead."

"Why are you so caught up on what the brat does with her career? You really want her to be your boss or something?" Dabi asked, side-eyeing the man.

Six let out a dramatic sigh. "Of course, Aki would be the best boss."

The way he looked at her when he'd said that sent shivers down her spine. She had the urge to duck her head and rush out of the room. Such a blatant show of fear was something Six would hone into like a bee to honey. Aki was not in the mood to be pushed to a near nervous breakdown again. So she schooled her face like she'd been taught and straightened out her vest. She had work to go to unlike her useless roommates who she constantly wondered why she kept around. Six, especially.

"I have my shift to go to."

"They really think they're going to be attacked. It's been a week already," Dabi said.

Aki nodded. "It's when you drop your guard that a smart enemy strikes. Vigilance."

"You always manage to sound like an old man somehow," Dabi snorted.

Well… he wasn't entirely wrong. Aki found herself quoting her late sensei 90% of the time…

Aki threw on a scarf and made her way to work. It was comforting in a way, knowing she'd be going to a job with a team, being told what to do. Of course the part of her that had been burned, screamed profanities for her foolish mistake. Aki threw that away. She'd tried being independent, doing things alone, and suddenly she'd lost her mind. Suddenly she hesitated to kill during a mission. Suddenly there was an expectation of making her mistakes entirely her own.

The people of this world counted in the billions. It was difficult to imagine such a number. They venerated individualism, showing their uniqueness not only through their quirks but the way they dressed and behaved so differently from each other. Yet at the end of the day when she walked outside, they all followed the same tired pattern. School, work, family… there were expectations on their lives, a rigid 9-5 structure. They held none of the solidarity of a Shinobi Nation, and yet chaotically worked in a collective beehive, pretending to be their own person.

She'd fallen into the very same trap, thinking herself different… above such things.

Maybe she'd die decapitated again. Maybe that was just the way things were meant to end. Six's voice whispered in her head of an alternative… something that was unfamiliar and scary. To be the one in control, not just of herself but of others as well. She shook her head; she couldn't do that.

So instead she went and bought six cups of coffee and a bunch of donuts. That seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Adults like coffee and sweet treats, and she was the Genin in her team of Chunin and Jounin again. Making herself liked by sweet talking people was never her strong suite. It was difficult to put up a character with people you were working with in high-stress jobs. But food always did the trick. She recalled bribing her Genin team into teamwork by promising sweet treats after. Jounin preferred more tangible favours, the kind that didn't involve money so they couldn't be accused of corruption and bribery. That was something she'd need some more time to work on since she barely knew the crew and their needs. For now donuts would do.

When she entered their base, the men looked mildly surprised by her initiative. She handed out their requests from the day before, having remembered how each of them liked their coffee. Though the donuts were a free for all.

"Well damn kid, can't even have fun hazing you if you do it yourself," one of the men said.

"I'd prefer if we skipped that part and got along on good terms. Team cohesion and conflict management is important during joint missions," she said.

A large tiger like man barked a laugh before messing up her hair. Aki had to hold back a visible grimace, instead straightening her hair back out and sighing.

"Look at the little tyke, so serious. Well if you're so eager for some team cohesion, why don't you go clean up the stalls and set out the inventory. Make yourself useful," the tiger said.

Aki took in a deep breath as they went right back to giving her all their menial work. This was… unfortunately expected. Respect was earnt not freely given, but at least they'd seemed to think she was useful enough to show signs of endearment like hair ruffling. That meant she wasn't actively disliked, despite not being respected. That was a start for now. It irked her to be back to square one, back to Genin status. She didn't have to deal with this when she was working alone. She could demand respect, or if it wasn't given simply finish her job and move onto the next…

It hadn't gotten her anywhere good. She needed this, this direction. The menial tasks of cleaning their equipment and taking inventory kept her mind and body busy. It was too easy following orders. She continued until she saw a wasp land on her arm. The door opened and Yamato walked in, barely looking her way although he seemed to know exactly what she was doing and where she was. The bugs, she reminded herself. He saw quite a bit. His quirk was genuinely one of the most useful ones she'd seen in a long time. There was a reason the Aburame and Kamizuru Clans were considered some of the deadliest in the Nations. Insects were small, difficult to spot, and easy to get into places many wouldn't consider infiltrating as a large humanoid. They were also perfect for carrying different kinds of toxins, poisons and venom to targets.

"The more you listen to them, the more they'll just use you," he said.

"I know. I am fine with that for now," she said.

He didn't look at her still, but he did nod and then gestured for her to follow. "Come with me. There's more useful things you could be doing."

She followed behind him into Kanro's territory. The Yakuza boss ran several whorehouses from the looks of things, and probably some more traditional forms of drugs like cocaine and heroin. Such things had not really existed in the Elemental Nations, outside of opium, but even that was barely touched outside of medicinal reasons. There was a general cultural aversion to substance abuse within the Shinobi Nations at least. Here, there was no such thing away from polite society. The place stunk of drugs, sex, gambling, and women—all the Shinobi vices.

"Your quirk has a lot of potential. Potential that you're wasting," he said.

"How so?" Aki asked, curious about the segue.

She noticed his fingers twitching back and forth, almost like he had chakra strings attached to each insect in the room he was individually puppeteering. She wondered just how far his command could stretch and how far he could push his conscious into the critters around him. As far as she was aware, he kept the specifics of his ability to himself, though there were reports of him controlling entire swarms. Maybe that was why he thought her rudimentary control of her quirk was weak.

"Quirks are like a muscle, but even more than that they are linked to our state of mind. There is an aspect of quirk theory that posits our mutations effect our personality as well. I believe this to be true, especially when it comes to how our bodies can function differently depending on our quirks ability. For example, Endeavour who can emit heat, can also withstand it. His skin is known to be fire retardant and difficult to pierce with a knife. One quirk, that stretches multiple different mutations. In actuality people don't just have one power, they can have many. Though they're called vestigial quirks and often forgotten or ignored in favour of the larger mutation. And one part of it is how quirks effect the way we think."

That made a lot of sense. She understood where he was coming from. "For you it isn't about controlling the insects, but rather how many you can control at once right? You worked less on individual control and more on increasing your range."

"More than that," he said as he took out a piece of paper.

Aki leant forward and watched him draw with both hands at the same time. It was impressive. She hadn't really struck him as an artist, but his strokes were precise, and he was mirroring his image on both sides at the same time.

"That wasn't from my quirk," he said, surprising her.

"You practised that on your own?" she asked.

"Yes, but even to an end that was not enough. But it is a beginning," he answered.

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see," he replied cryptically.

That was a frustrating end to what was an initially eye-opening conversation. She wondered what aspect of her own abilities she could expand upon. She had a limited base of humans she could experiment on. So far what little of her quirk she used was trials on unfortunate wildlife, mostly stray cats, mice, and birds. Her human pool had been limited to people she'd fought in the ring and pacifying some of her classmates, but those had been either sudden bouts of quirk usage, or incredibly small doses of it. By far the most progress she'd made was on herself, using her own quirk to help her learn quicker, stay focused.

"I want you to meet someone," he said.

Yamato nodded to the Yakuza members by a darkly lit corridor. They'd gone deeper into the facility, and the music had dulled here, and so had any vestiges of colour or décor. There was suspicious blood splatters on the wall as well. Two of the members here had eyes of steel, the kind she found familiar in cold blooded Shinobi like herself. They opened the door for Yamato and Aki followed one step behind into a dimly lit room with a singular man sitting tied to a chair in the middle. His cheeks were hollowed out, eyes foggy, and overall he looked horrible. No doubt he was sitting in his own faeces and urine, stripped of all his dignity like he was his clothes. At least they allowed him his briefs, as soiled as they were.

"What did this poor shit do?" she asked.

"Tried to rape one of Kanro's girls after going on a bender. Not to mention he was undercutting the drugs they were selling," Yamato said.

All things considered those were minor infractions for such a steep punishment by Yakuza standards. Usually things like that in gangs or bandit groups was dealt with by execution and not torture. Torture meant spending time and resources for very little gain. It was a situational practice. More often than not torture didn't really force out the truth as much as it did desperate begging.

"This is unnecessary. Kanro's men lack discipline" she noted.

"Well it wasn't his men who did this, rather the lady he tried to rape. Regardless, Kanro allows his women their fair share of fun as well. I don't see why I can't put him to better use."

It clicked rather fast and Aki bit down the briefest bit of disgust at the situation. She almost caught herself asking 'what would Ochaco think of this' before the thought perished just as quickly. Ochaco wasn't here. She, like every other soft thing in this world, belonged somewhere else. Aki had done much worse for much less.

"Well it would be useful practicing, but he's clearly drugged out of his mind," she said, and judging by the sounds of his mindless groaning and moaning it was a bad trip.

"Think bigger Kuroishi. I know you can do more than cause simple haemorrhages. Your ability, it extends to brain chemistry, doesn't it?"

"You figured all that out, how?" Aki asked frowning.

"The effects your victims have experienced so far are too varied for your quirk to be what you've registered. I do research on all my recruits. I did the same thing—hiding the extent of my abilities. It shows you're committed to this lifestyle. You like it don't you, when people fear you?"

"Fear commands some form of respect. It deters threats," she said.

"It also invites more… but that's beside the point. You have an opportunity here. Use him to figure out the extent of your abilities. He's been hooked on cocaine for about 6 months now. He's completely reliant on it, the backlog of dopamine it provides. He's as broken down as a man can be, but you can build him back up."

"And his quirk?" Aki asked.

"A rather useful one. This one can shrink," he said.

That was useful. Yamato patted her shoulder, going to take his leave, and she wondered what exactly he thought about this whole arrangement would help his team.

"What if the Shie Hassaikai attack?" she asked.

"I've tagged you with a bug. It will alert you. For now your best utilised here rather than up there helping my men slack off."

Well she couldn't exactly refute that. She watched as he left her with the man in his torment. She was going to extend it. Replace one drug for another. Replace it with her. Aki ran her fingers through his scalp, and the man shivered to the touch, eyes still hazy. Then she gripped his greasy strands, forcing his lolling head to face her as she caught his eyes.

There was always this invisible thread that connected her to others when she looked them in the eye, the kind of thread that only she could see. She had never had the opportunity to simply dwell on it, especially in connection to a human outside of herself. Now that she had the opportunity, she realised she could feel his emotions too, in a detached sort of way. She understood that he was disoriented, confused, scared… definitely in pain. But beyond that there was longing, a desire for more, a feeling of itch. She wasn't one for touching, let alone touching someone who hadn't showered in weeks and was covered in who knows what, but she felt it necessary. She cupped his face and forced just the smallest amount of dopamine into him, pushing it rather than pulling. His moaning stopped, and his muscles relaxed, and his breathing seemed more even. Then she stopped and he physically jerked forward into her touch, chasing the high.

She wondered if this is what Six felt when she controlled him. Did he crave her quirk like this man did? It couldn't have been the same thing since Six seemed to look satisfied when she hurt him, when she caved in to her anger and dominated. There were men like that, she reasoned, ones who enjoyed women slapping them and degrading them. Though she had never encountered them before herself. That wasn't exactly how she would describe Six though. He wanted something beyond the pain. He wanted her to be ruthless.

It made no sense.

Why would anyone crave for someone else to have power over them? It made them vulnerable, easy to exploit, easier to kill. This man under her thumb was exactly like that. So easy to kill… but maybe a little more difficult to master. What was it about her vestigial quirk that she was neglecting? What was it that Yamato wanted her to expand upon and master?

"Can I make you addicted to me?" she asked the man.

Did she even want him to be addicted to her? Need her like he needed drugs? The idea initially seemed unappealing, but the more she thought about it the more it seemed to have some merit. To be craved for was some kind of power, a form of respect maybe. Beyond respect, it gave her a leg up on the person she was manipulating, keeping them under her, obedient, unable to betray or leave her.

"Do you want to feel good again?" she asked.

He groaned and nodded, eyes briefly focusing on reality at the promise of his own immediate pleasure. She gripped his hair again and made him look at her.

"Good, let's see all the different ways I can make you happy."

Shie Hassaikai had not attacked or made a move that entire day. Her team had similarly kept her out of any major plays of scouting or information gathering on their end. She resented that a little but couldn't complain when she finally had the opportunity to practice her quirk on someone. She would need more time… to get that man to bend entirely to her will, and it felt like a volatile process to say the least, but it was a start.

Her walk back home had left her stuck in her thoughts, but she kept an eye on the wasp tagging her, and noted down she was about 2 blocks away before it fettered back to Yamato. His range was concerningly large but had its limits. Still, his control was leagues above an Aburame. His eyes did not move the way a seeing person did, but he walked around like he knew where he was going, and where people were at any given time. He could not only control the insects, but sense through them. Frankly that was the kind of quirk she envied.

Maybe it would have given her a leg up on the individual following her. A prickle of fear was followed by the nervous anticipation of battle. She was caught unsure if she wished it to be her mother or not. There were two ways to play this. She either lost her tail or she confronted them. She was getting tired of running, and so she moved to a more secluded street, making her way from cafes and shops to the industrial side of town.

"You're not doing a decent job hiding if that's what you're wondering," she said.

"Who said I was hiding? I just wanted our meeting to be somewhere a little more private."

The man who turned the corner had her surprised. "Knuckleduster? Didn't think I'd see you again old man."

"After I promised you a proper match? I'm hurt kid."

Aki sighed. "What is it that you want? To bring me to 'justice' or some shit? You want me to stop because you think I'm some misguided little girl who can do better?"

"You can do better kid. But nah, I'm just here to fight."

"Just… to fight?" Aki asked, disbelief colouring her voice.

"A friendly spar if you will," he said.

That was unexpected. She tried to read him for any lies, but his wide toothed smile made for a pretty convincing expression. His battle lust wasn't missed either. Aki hadn't met many people in this world who lived for the sheer thrill of fighting. She'd met many Shinobi like that, and they tended to be some of the happiest people she knew. They enjoyed the brutality of battle, the thrill of near-death experiences, and the rush of adrenaline when they were on a knives edge. She'd never been so hardcore, though she did enjoy a friendly spar to challenge her. So little of that had been afforded to her since her Genin team died, and some part of her wanted this badly, even if she knew Knuckleduster hit a little harder than what most would consider 'friendly'.

"Sure thing old man," she said, letting out a rare smile.

They both took off their jackets, but he kept the top half of his face still covered by that black bandanna. The last time they fought he was bare faced, and she could see his eyes. She didn't think he intended for her to have that leg up on him again, after all he was quirkless from what little she gathered.

"No quirk, no fatal blows. Either you tap out or you forfeit," he said.

Aki was about to nod and do a traditional bow when he charged her out of the blue. The sudden attack had her dodging from pure instincts. A part of her was indignant that he didn't start with a seal of respect before he threw his punch. It was a moment later that she remembered this was not the elemental nations and this was not a spart with a fellow Iwa Shinobi.

He fought like a charger, the kind that once relied on speed, but with age could only hold to it in short bursts. So he charged, going for grapples, feints and punches. No kicks. Aki replied with a graceful dance around, her style focusing more on footwork and precision than grappling. Despite this, she had no chakra and very little practice in Taijutsu with a worthy opponent in this body. So when Knuckleduster punched her face, she reared back, spitting out blood and finding her desire to win strengthen.

"Lucky blow," she said, getting into a Tiger stance.

"Luck is a skill, though this ain't luck, it's pure finesse," he retorted.

Aki jumped for her own attack, winding around him, forcing him to twist when he clearly couldn't. His left leg was busted, and it was clear it was his weak spot. Shinobi were trained to exploit those. So as he tried to turn, very little followed from it before she could land a few quick blows to his ribcage, compounding the damage to make up for her lack of any real power. It was enough to wind him at least as he staggered back.

"Pure finesse," she shot back.

"Heh, not bad kid."

Then they continued this fight for who knows how long. Aki had never been able to let loose so well in so long. Knuckleduster didn't hold back despite her age or gender. He punched her just as hard as he would punch any other person, which meant it hurt a lot, especially taking into consideration her weight and height. But she punched twice as much and in places that hurt. Though it was becoming apparent that she wouldn't be winning, at least not without knocking herself out at the end of this, and she had work tomorrow.

"I forfeit," she said, gasping as she held her knees and snorted out some blood from her nose.

"Heh, giving up already?"

"Dammit old man, I have work tomorrow. Some of us can't afford to be beaten to shit," she said, slumping down on the concrete floor of the abandoned parking lot they were in.

She was surprised when Knuckleduster sat next to her, pulling out a bottle of water from his coat. She took it, breaking the seal and chugged it down quickly. It didn't taste so good mixed with her own blood, but it felt great going down her parched throat. She had so many questions for the man, but for now it felt… nice just to sit next to him and ignore the questions. So she waited for a few minutes before deciding to break the peace.

"It's difficult to believe you just stalked me to pick a fight," she said.

"Well believe it kid. Though the fight was really only a bonus. I was here to give you a warning," he said.

Aki scoffed. "So you were trying to get me out of the 'villain business'."

"That's a start, but that's not as pressing at the man you're associated with kid."

"Rokuro Nomura, huh. You have a history with him?" Aki asked, her curiosity peaked.

Knuckleduster scoffed this time. He took off his bandanna revealing a gnarly scar running across his face, one side burnt and crinkled like paper in water, leaving an eye a murky blue.

"He did most of this to me. Not that it's the reason I'm warning you. That punk is obsessive. He wanted to become O'Clock, the hero I used to be."

"Used to be… aren't you quirkless?" she asked, sure she would remember the worlds first quirkless hero.

"Wasn't always like this. There are people in this world far beyond our abilities. No amount of training can do something against those kinds of monsters."

"I don't believe that. Anyone can be taken down given planning and time," Aki said, certain that even All Might was not invincible.

The vigilante didn't give a response for that, his normal feral smile souring a little. Aki considered what Knuckleduster was implying though, with his identity reveal. It felt like he was putting some kind of implicit trust on her by giving away his face and hero name. She could easily find out his name and address now, and if not, she could simply ask Six what their history was. While the man hadn't gotten his memories back exactly, he did do research into his own past to know the important parts.

"Six is still finding himself. He's unusual, and dangerous—I won't deny that, but he's never made any indication for a desire to harm me," she settled on saying.

"Did I hurt you kid?" he asked.

Aki squinted. "I'm going to have bruises for weeks."

"But you don't mind that sorta pain, do you? His hurt will be different, deeper, more personal."

Her first instinct was to get defensive. Then it sunk in that he was right in a way. Six had wormed his way into her heart despite the threat he posed. Had it been because of his disarming form previously? Maybe it was the obligation she felt having been the one to take responsibility for him. Either way there was no question that he mattered to her. But he was also everything Ochaco wasn't. He wasn't soft. He brought out the harsher side of her. He wasn't vulnerable. He promised he'd never leave her.

So it left her wondering if at least one person in her life could be there for her until the end.

"I'm not leaving him Knuckleduster. I can handle it."

But that begged the question... what, or rather who, had taken away Knuckleduster's quirk? She wanted to know but somehow figured that would be a rather personal question to ask someone she barely knew. And she would have asked anyone else, but she felt almost hesitant to chase the Vigilante away.

"Guess you're going to get burned too kid. That man doesn't really love anyone, not even himself."

Aki glanced suspiciously his way. "That's it? No grand gesture to convince me to stay away. You're just going to accept that I'm going back."

"Nah kid, people don't change their minds in one day or if someone beats the shit out of em'. I'd know. I tried beating the shit out of a lot of idiots, but the brain damage just made em act stupider. No, I'm doing something more productive. I'm going to fight you again soon."

"And what do you suppose that will accomplish?" Aki asked incredulously.

"You'll see."

"Fucking cryptic bastards everywhere today. Though I did enjoy our spar. Not many people to let loose against though I'm weak as shit in this scrawny body now."

Without her quirk or her numerous weapons Aki was useless. She missed chakra so very much. It had been her lifeblood in every desperate moment of battle. If nothing else remained, there had always been that deep well of power within her. No where near the larger pools of Clan Shinobi, but large for a second-generation Shinobi bloodline, and enough to help her fight grown men as a twelve-year-old. Here she was, 14 nearly 15 and she could barely win against a geezer with a leg injury. She had to resort to weapons and her quirk to defeat someone like Stain and Hawks, which if she still retained her chakra could have taken them on with Taijutsu alone.

There was nothing to it. She needed a steady well of training, the kind she was unable to get in her earlier circumstances. There had been no proper sparring partner, and no training dummy for her quirk either. Here she was being offered both in one day. She couldn't afford to say no.

"Fair warning kid, I catch you selling drugs for that gang you're working for, and I'll keep beating you to shit even if you have work the next day," he said.

"I'm protection detail old man. Maybe I won't beat you to shit if you stay out of my way."

The two fighters went silent for a moment before they let out a soft amused snort which devolved into genuine laughter. Knuckleduster punched her bruised shoulder, and she kicked his bad leg and she felt like she could get used to his violent comradery.

A/N

I've been wanting to bring Kunckleduster back for so long. He's hands down my favourite MHA character. Absolute badass. Loses his quirk and then goes right back into fighting crime quirkless. Deku could have been a quirkless badass… alas we got what we got. He also gives off Daredevil vibes and DD is my favourite Marvel Hero so there's that too.

Anyway, I'm off overseas on a trip to India for the next month or so, so I won't be updating in a while. Here's a chapter before I go so you guys aren't left waiting with nothing.

Comments:

doa570047- As always thanks for leaving a review. You keep me going on this fic in all honesty. I love seeing your thoughtful comments. Aki is definitely afraid of love, but in general she's afraid of weakness since she associates that with a swift death. Six is definitely a liability in a lot of ways and I have some things planned out for him that I can't wait to get into. Sometimes he can be kinda useful too. But the fight with him and Aki will most definitely be something very planned on one end and impromptu on the other. Let's just put it that way.