The Price of Pain

Chapter 13: Blood and Lust

TRIGGER WARNING:

This chapter will contain vague mentions to previous underage sex in relation to Shinobi honey pot missions. There will be graphic gore, and the vague threat of sexual assault, and the feeling of anxiety associated with it. Read with caution.

Aki walked into Alley Cat's office. Detnerat's headquarters were pristine. She found it a little odd that Moriko would invite her into her civilian workplace to discuss illegal activities. This led her to one of two conclusions; either her colleagues were in on her Villainous activities, or the company itself was just one big front. Of course, she could speculate all she wanted but it would be best to ask from the source itself. She saw no reason for Moriko to lie.

The worker escorting her was a nervous wreck of an intern. Unpaid, slave labour in her opinion. Even Genin doing D-ranks was paid. The young man rushed to open the door for her and Moriko was in her nice little office space sipping tea. She gestured for Aki to come in, and the girl didn't say anything until the intern was well away. She took a seat and accepted the cup of tea.

"Why did you ask for a private meeting? You already let us know the money would be wired to us in the next 3 days," Aki asked.

"Never one for pleasantries are you, little cub?" she asked, smiling widely.

"You seem in a good mood."

"Why wouldn't I be? We managed to beat two rather high-ranking heroes and steal our price right under their noses."

Aki decided to venture a guess. "And your boss is no doubt happy with your performance."

Moriko seemed taken aback for the first time. The woman let out an impressed snort. "Keen eye Kuroishi. Yes, my boss was the one who wanted Destro's uniform."

"I thought you were solo like me," Aki pointed out.

Moriko huffed. "I also said that you can't be alone in this business for long. I hold to no cause Kuroishi, but allies are invaluable resources. Wouldn't you say Kizuki-san?"

Aki turned around to see a woman with long pale lilac hair, and blue skin. Her black eyes framed rings of toxic green, the kind that was sharp and assessing. She wore a pleasant, practiced smile as she walked in, delicate fingers on her cheeks.

"My, my Akahane-san. I do say your desire to be independent is why you haven't risen the ranks. You should read the manifesto more often," Kizuki said, before turning to Aki. "And you're Steel Heart—"

"Kuroishi Akiho," she corrected with a frown.

"My apologies Kuroishi-chan. Let me introduce myself. Kizuki Chitose, I'm the executive director of Showaysha Publishing. You can call me Curious."

Aki took the woman's hand in a formal shake. She was courteous and professional if nothing. A far cry from the people Aki was used to dealing with, and a pleasant change in pace. Of course she should have realised people in this world were a little unhinged even past first impressions. She had not expected the slew of questions Curious asked her not a moment later.

"You've piqued my interest Kuroishi. Raised in 5 foster homes for a period of 8 years, the kind that dealt with strict quirk regulations. The kind that locks their children away behind steel doors and handcuffs… yet you're skilled with multiple styles of weaponry, the kind of skill I'm told to believe can't come from anything but experience."

Aki felt her heart stutter. She turned her eyes directly to Kizuki's in challenge. If the woman knew all that then she'd know Aki's quirk. Any sane person would have dropped their gaze, but instead, the woman met hers with mirth. Aki was once again reminded that most of the people she met in this world were a little insane.

"And your quirk," she continued with a growing smile, "has been recorded down as an insta-kill effect, but there have been reports of you activating it without the target dying. Stain simply fell down paralysed in fear for a moment, and Hawks… well he had a bit of an energy crash. Did you know children have an innate idea of what their quirks are after they get it?"

"You talk a lot," Aki said, narrowing her eyes.

Kizuki continued anyway. "So why would a 5-year-old think to hide her abilities from her quirk counselors? Children aren't known for their forward thinking."

Moriko cleared her throat and sent the woman a raised brow. Kizuki didn't even have the sensibility to look guilty for going off on a very personal and targeted tangent.

"You came here to recruit her, not scare her," Moriko reminded.

Aki took offence to be called scared. Alarmed and contemplating murder sure… but never scared.

"I work alone," Aki reminded both women.

Kizuki clapped her hands and giggled. "Oh, I know! Please ignore my curiosity. I just thought maybe you'd be interested in our cause."

Why did she get the feeling she was being recruited into a cult? Aki sighed and nodded despite her reservations. It couldn't hurt to hear the woman out. She didn't look like she wanted to use the information she just pointed out about her against her. If she did Aki would just kill her and be done with it. Aki took a red and black book titled "The Meta Liberation War" from her hands. It looked like an old autobiography of some sort, maybe a political ideology. She had seen the cover around before, but she'd never really been bothered or had the time or resources to put into reading it.

"You of all people should understand how stifling it is to be forced to hide away your quirk your entire life," Kizuki told her.

"It was inconvenient," Aki agreed.

Kizuki smiled widely at that. "Isn't it? We're given gifts by nature herself, and our society deems it unlawful for us to use these abilities. Why do you need to be a hero to use your quirk? Wouldn't the world be a much freer and just place if people could use their talents to further humanity?"

The sales pitch was selling well. Aki saw no reason for the Japanese government not to relax quirk usage laws and public vigilantism laws as well. People needed a hero license to use their quirks in even a medical setting. They needed it if they wanted to defend themselves on the streets or to even use it for recreational purposes. Of course, this didn't apply to most mutation quirks, but most emitter quirks were outright illegal to use in public. Aki, herself had been blacklisted altogether for her quirk usage. If she was caught doing it, it would be a crime, and quirks like hers were banned from entry into hero schools, as there was no non-lethal way to use it. She hadn't known the repercussions of hiding the entirety of her quirk when she was five, and the effects of it trickled down to now. She didn't regret it. Telling everyone exactly what she could do with her ability would put her at a disadvantage, and she didn't trust the government enough with this knowledge. She wasn't dumb enough to think just because this world was peaceful, that there wouldn't be some higher-up who'd want to abuse a versatile power like hers for themselves.

"So your organisation… it wants to what—liberate quirk usage?" she asked.

"Bingo," Kizuki said, folding her arms. "We want a world where people can openly be who they are, where they don't have to hide away such an intrinsic part of themselves to the confines of their homes."

The logistics of that seemed monumental. There were a lot of dangerous quirks, and even a lot of benign ones that could cause havoc if everyone were to simply begin using it left and right. Just flight quirks alone would cause a whole slew of problems which would require additional air traffic laws. She wondered if these people had thought about this in the first place. They probably had if they intended to change the world. She saw no reason to stop them. Change was inevitable, and the current status quo was shit. But for all her desperation the day before to place herself somewhere in this world, to find a footing on who she was now, she couldn't resonate with them.

"So what do you say Kuroishi-chan? Would you like to join us?" Kizuki asked.

"I'd rather work solo," she declined.

"You're so to the point like I've been told," the woman laughed it off.

Aki nodded. There was no point beating around the bush.

"Would you consider it?" Kizuki asked.

"I'm sympathetic to your cause Kizuki-san, however, I work alone on principal. I don't like being beholden to others. If you want to hire my services for contracts, I can work with that. I can also keep our dealings a secret and should you need information from me, I'll sell it to you first. A partnership would be preferred."

"Well, that suits me just fine. We contract many people who later join us as they please," Kizuki said, before handing Aki her card.

"I appreciate the lack of strong-arming," Aki said with a nod.

"Please forgive my earlier nitpicking. You're such a mystery. I just want to unravel you," she said, licking her lips.

Aki raised a brow. There it was again. This lady really knew how to go from professional to absolutely insane, possibly horny? She thought the Iwa T&I department would have loved her enthusiasm for unraveling mysteries. But she didn't think she'd be able to find anything substantial on Aki. No one would jump to the conclusion that she had lived as a Shinobi in another world before dying and reincarnating here. That wasn't something any logical mind could deduct with any certainty.

"You won't be able to find anything substantial on me, although you are free to try. And if you are able to find anything on my mother, I will not only congratulate you, but throw you a party," Aki huffed.

"Oh! I must get started then! Alright, Kuroishi-chan, I am a busy woman with a lot of work to do, but I'll write up a contract we can work with, and you tell me what you think about it soon. Toodles."

Aki waved away the enthusiastic woman and turned back to Moriko with a raised brow. Said silver-haired woman just letting out an amused huff.

"We've been close friends for a long time, but Kizuki Chitose never ceases to baffle me," Moriko said, before turning to Aki. "You can trust her to keep her word, although I'd advise you to read over the contract's fine print and take special care in the wording. I can get you in contact with a lawyer of mine to make sure he reads it over to you. Long-term contracts can hook you in ways you wouldn't know."

The advice was solid as usual, but it left Aki wondering why Akahane Moriko always seemed to put extra effort into training her or providing her with resources. In truth, it was making her more vary of the woman.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked.

"Sorry?" Moriko asked, looking genuinely caught off guard.

Aki pressed with a growing frown. "Why are you helping me? I'm not paying you for your tutelage anymore. But you decided to 'invest' in me learning from a proper hacker, and now you're just offering me the services of a lawyer and giving me free advice on contracts."

Moriko leveled Aki a disappointed look, the kind that made her pause in her rant. She'd only received a look like that from her late sensei when she did or said something stupid. It made her chest constrict painfully, in a way that left her disoriented.

"There's a give and take to most transactions kid, but don't most decent humans would provide advice to children, or newcomers to any field. Life is not always a transaction, sometimes you help someone for the principle of it," Moriko said.

"I don't believe it," Aki said, breathing in deeply.

"And that's why you're alone," she said.

Aki drew back and pursed her lips. Moriko was older, maybe not chronologically to Aki, but older in the sense that she'd gotten to grow up and experience more of life. Aki knew she didn't have that. The 16 years she spent in her first life were frantic, in a desperate struggle for survival. This life was spent in solitude and similar misery. In her experience, very few people helped solely to help. Most of the time there was some kind of ulterior motive, especially people in this line of work. Aki wasn't sure if she'd mischaracterized Moriko, and she was too uncertain to voice that. Instead, she gave the woman a curt nod.

"I'll keep that in mind… and I hope you consider me for future jobs," she said.

The disappointment in the woman's face gave way to something a little softer as she nodded. Aki took that as a win. Maybe Moriko was right. It was one thing to work alone, but maybe she still needed allies. It was food for thought. For now, she had an apartment to hunt.

Dabi was more than a little confused when Aki threw his coat on him and told him to get changed. He groaned as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. His skin felt like it was peeling off most mornings… sometimes it was. He double-checked his body to make sure he wasn't falling apart at the seams before he got up, grumbling as he walked out of their shitty crowded single-bedroom apartment. Aki hadn't woken up the shitty abomination who was still sleeping soundly on his air mattress on the floor. For whatever reason that made Dabi mad, so he flipped the other man's bed over vindictively before chuckling.

"What was that for?" Six asked, glaring at him still half asleep.

Dabi just shrugged. Annoying Six was becoming a hobby. He got changed, yawning as he came out into the living room to see Aki having laid out as substantial a breakfast as their broke asses could afford. He liked that about her. She kept their space tidy and cooked pretty well for a kid. It would have been almost considered mothering if she didn't have such an aloof disposition. Still, he figured some part of her must like them just a little if she did things like cooking and cleaning for them without any prompt.

He took the cup of steaming hot coffee she made him and hummed happily as it burnt his tongue. She really did make the best drinks. The caffeine was enough to wake up his senses, but not enough for it to be worth waking up so early on a weekend after a night shift. He barely slept 3 hours.

"It's a Saturday. Any reason I shouldn't still be in bed?" Dabi asked.

"We're going to look for a new apartment," she said, pouring herself a cup of orange juice.

Dabi needed a moment to confirm if he heard that right. Last he remembered he took care of paying for the rent, and while they had been a week late, they'd only accumulated two warnings so far. They needed at least four to be kicked out.

"We're broke," he reminded her.

"Not anymore. I completed a rather high-risk, high-paying job. We still have to be somewhat frugal, but I think if we continue to live together in one room, we might just murder each other," she said, spreading some toast for herself.

Dabi was inclined to agree. Aki had usually been a peacekeeper between himself and Six, until recently. Now it seemed she was more than happy to ignore the other man, which would have brought him endless joy if it weren't for the obvious fact that something had happened between them he was unaware of. Six was an annoying little shit in the form of a pretty boy, and Dabi would rather staple his toes to his tongue than ask him what happened. Aki wasn't much better. She was as emotionally stunted as a human could be.

Then it occurred to him that he really shouldn't give a shit what happened to them. All that mattered was setting himself up to destroy Endeavour. Beyond that, he didn't consider much of a life for himself. It was all a means to an end to achieve his true goal. Yet… here he was associating himself with people who wouldn't even further that cause.

Though a better apartment with his own room wouldn't hurt in the meantime.

"We're Villains. What we can afford is either the cheap dangerous shit you see here or the high-end security homes that you pay so people don't ask questions. I think we should just upgrade an apartment here," he said.

Aki clicked her tongue displeased. "Not quite true… I may have networked."

"You're networking?" Dabi scoffed.

"Have you heard of the Meta Liberation Army?" Aki asked.

Dabi hadn't expected that. He'd read their manifesto before… or more like skimmed it. Reading for long periods of time was boring. The idea that individuals should be free to use their quirks in their everyday lives was a novel enough idea to have him pick up a book.

"I have, but what's it got to do with an apartment?"

"My quirk was blacklisted when I was young. Not only am I not allowed to use it in the privacy of my own home, but ever. Even if I were to get a hero licence it would be illegal. I suppose my situation struck a chord in their hearts regarding their overall beliefs."

"You've finally joined a group?" Dabi asked.

"No. But an associate of mine imparted some wisdom. I can't go at it alone forever. I may not want to join anyone, but I can have allies. This is me trying my hand at that," she sighed.

Dabi was about to make a comment on his thoughts when Six wrapped himself over Aki. She tensed, mouth twisting into a scowl as she removed him from her side. Dabi narrowed his eyes at the interaction.

"Instead of allies you should try for some underlings, boss," Six said, as he reached over her to grab a toast.

"I am not a leader."

"You could be," he hummed.

Dabi sighed. "The apartment. Let's get back on track."

Aki nodded. "There's an apartment block bought out by the MLA to house contractors, business associates, and such. We get security, and in return, we don't get in the way of their operations, and I prioritise their contracts."

That was a roundabout way of easing people into the fold. It was kind of ingenious in the way it expanded the cause without overreaching. A little trickle of something was enough to get through the cracks and completely change someone. Dabi wondered if Aki's aimless wandering through the world would change if she'd find a purpose beyond simply completing random, inconsequential jobs. Maybe the MLA could offer her that purpose.

That had always been the difference between the two of them. He'd always had a goal in mind, one he was working towards, waiting for the perfect opportunity to arise. He had been waiting for the right people to appear, the kind that would destroy his father and his legacy so thoroughly there would be nothing but cinders and ashes. Aki had that same rage inside of her, but never aimed at anything. Her rage was aimless, unbound, and purposeless. His rage was simmering, tethering, and targeted.

"Alright, we can change apartments," he said.

Aki nodded mutely. Six smiled.

Until the time I leave you.

Because Dabi never intended to stay. Endeavour would burn. That was his purpose in life.

Aki was getting used to their new apartment. It was rather spacious, with a nice view of Musutafu city, and to top it off she had a room to herself. Of course, she needed to populate it with something. A bed that wasn't falling apart at the seams was the most important buy, but she figured a normal person should have at least one artwork up on their wall to not seem like a sociopath. She wondered where she'd find a painting of a giant orange…

"Yo boss, is the wall that interesting?" Six asked, popping up behind her.

Aki fought back the urge to shove a kunai down his throat for coming up behind her unnoticed like that. She had been a spy for many years though, and it would have been disastrous if she acted on those impulses. Six was lucky she'd unlearned them.

"I was going to buy some art. Though I don't know where to look," she said.

"Hmm didn't take you as the type to buy such frivolous things," he said.

"I just need one," she said, before grabbing a coat.

Six followed her to the door and Aki finally decided to question him. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm coming along. I know some art places," he said.

Aki narrowed her eyes in disbelief. She didn't quite believe six of all people would know art places. The man barely remembered his own name on good days. His presence had also become largely uncomfortable. She remembered the kiss on her cheek. She had never really gotten to address it, and the longer she put it off, the weirder it felt to bring it up again. He'd barely been physical with her since, outside of head pats and the occasional touching grazes when he sat by her on the couch.

"You said you knew some places?" Aki asked.

Six smiled a little belatedly as he did. "Yes, you don't believe me?"

Her expression must have conveyed her answer because Six chuckled and went on a long rant about art history. The information was largely useless in their line of business unless Six decided he wanted to be an art curator. Aki didn't think he'd do something so out of pocket like that, though he did kiss her… and yet again her mind went back to that unfortunate event.

"And that's why the Modernism movement isn't quite so modern anymore. It's referred to as Post-era Modernism, a quirk of it being a lack of quirks of course. And these days most depictions of heroes can be seen to be almost reverential, or religious in nature—"

"Six," Aki interrupted.

The man paused to look down at her, and Aki realised that they were now in an art store, and she'd let the time get away from her, drowning in her own thoughts. She felt a bout of irritation at her own irrationality. She'd never been so flustered over something so schoolyard before, let alone with a man twice her physical age. She needed to make sure it wasn't something inappropriate. She was well aware of Japanese age of consent laws. It of course wasn't a thing back in Iwa. A child who was young enough to kill was young enough to do something like sex. It was still frowned upon until they were physically mature enough to handle it, but the nature of the consenting age had always been ambiguous. She had her first sexual experience young at 15 with an instructor, then her second was purely for a mission, with a man she later killed in the Land of Fire. It hadn't been anything glamourous, she moaned and twitched the way she had been taught, and the burn of penetration was not pleasant, but bearable compared to being stabbed.

Altogether she had never felt so thoroughly inhuman as she had after that night.

The uncomfortable nausea from the memory was always unpleasant. It felt similar to the anxiety that came with the memory of something as small as a kiss on the cheek. More than that, Aki saw the way Six looked at her—like he was possessive, even obsessed. He called her boss, differed to her, sought physical affection from her. It had been easier to give when he was a flesh-sack when he wasn't in the form of a 30-year-old human. And now in this art store, doing something as mundane as shopping with him, it made her feel like maybe there was something more she was missing. She knew this could be considered a date.

"I don't like you," she said.

Six raised a brow at her bluntness and tilted his head in confusion at the sudden shift in subject from art. Aki felt like maybe she should clarify.

"I mean in the romantic or physical sense," she continued.

"That was certainly a topic-changer," Six said, blinking slowly. "Though I know that already."

Aki cleared her throat and nodded in relief. "Okay good."

"But I like you," he said.

"You can't, it's not allowed."

"Why not?" Six asked, genuine confusion lacing his voice.

What sort of question was that? Aki could list a large number of reasons why he shouldn't like her. Mainly she was incredibly unlikeable. People said she had the personality of a dish rag at times. Beyond that, she never dressed in any particular way that would make her come off as sexually desirable, although logically she did have a pretty enough face and body to compensate for her choice of clothing. It was also considered taboo in this world, and she wasn't about to have a bunch of people concerned over nothing. At the end of the day she wasn't going to have sex, nor did she ever think she would unless her life depended on it. Iwa wasn't here to give her any more honey pot missions, and that was one thing she was glad of.

"I don't hold any such feelings Six. In fact, I very much doubt I would towards anybody. I think you and me are alike in that way."

"I doubt it," he said, showing a glimmer of disappointment. "I very much do love things. There's a song I really love, but I can't remember the name of it for the life of me. Though I never said I loved you, just that I like you."

"O-Oh?" Aki said, feeling flustered again.

Had she gone and assumed he had sexual feelings for her when he didn't? She was mortified to put it lightly. Noticing that someone had come to look at an artwork next to them, Aki pulled Six to somewhere more private.

"I don't want any misunderstandings here. You don't love me?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"You kissed me… do you want to do more?"

"I'd like to kiss you more."

"No I mean… sex in any other form," Aki reiterated.

Six actually smiled at that. "Yes, I'd like to have sex with you. We could be partners in that sense."

Aki felt disgusted. "I wouldn't like that at all."

"Pity, though maybe you'll change your mind one day."

"I doubt it Six. The thought of having sex with you just made me vomit in my own mouth just now. What makes you think that will change?" she asked coldly.

Six held his heart in mock pain. "Ouch, that one actually hurt boss."

"I'm not your boss," she said again, gritting her teeth.

Six tilted his head and leaned down, his face inching closer to hers. Aki felt her heart beat faster as she took a step back. He didn't move to kiss her or to crowd her into the wall behind her, but he simply smiled a rather cruel smile. Was he teasing her? Aki felt her quirk twitch to life, but Six was undeterred. Eyes as dark as hers reflected back barely wavering.

"I think, you're scared," Six said.

"I'm not scared," she denied, though the beating of her heart said otherwise.

"You're so scared of taking power," he said.

That wasn't what she thought he would say. She thought he was going to kiss her again, make her freeze like a pathetic prey animal under the hold of a predator. Aki shuddered at the thought, recognising emotionally, although not logically that she was in fact terrified of such a scenario. But power itself? She had never been afraid of taking it, of striving for more. She had no idea why Six would suggest something like that.

"You're afraid of taking the lead boss. You work alone when you could do… be so much more. You're ruthless, cold, pragmatic. Exceptional qualities in a leader. I haven't met anyone quite like you outside of one man. I remember he created me."

Aki shivered as Six's face brushed against hers, and his breath hit her ears. He was speaking but it wasn't quite registering.

"The only difference between you and him was he got rid of that fear."

Her nerves were lit like she was back in a warzone. Aki pulled out her knife in breakneck speed and stabbed for Six's neck, a killing blow. She expected to see blood pool out of the man's artery, watch as his eyes lost their life. Instead, he was behind her, and her knife was disarmed. She watched in horror as the knife clattered on the tiled floor.

She had just tried to kill Six… why had she just tried to kill Six? She couldn't do something like that to him. For all his freakishness, she had vouched for him, taken care of him, and done something good for once. She had gone out on a limb for the Fleshsack and had gotten herself attached. Involuntarily stabbing someone, such a loss of control, was unacceptable. Aki only ever killed someone unintentionally once, the day her quirk had awakened, and to this day it had been the only kill she regretted—the only kill that still haunted her memories. To do that to Six…

"Is everything okay there?"

The moment of tension was cut only briefly by the sudden interruption of a third party. The woman came in holding a painting of a still-life basket of oranges, the one Aki recalled Six had gotten her to fetch for him.

"I have the painting—" she said, before looking down to see the knife on the floor, and Six holding Aki's trembling hands.

"Now, now, don't do anything rash," Six warned, with a disarming smile.

The cashier hesitated, and Aki shook her head at the woman in a silent plea to leave this be. The woman was jumping to conclusions. If she screamed it could mean heroes or police dropping into survey the scene. Aki held out her hand to calm the woman down, but it was too late. In a split second, the cashier turned to scream for help, but just like before it never came. Six grabbed her by her mouth, muffling her as he pulled her to the corner of the shop, hoisting her up like she weighed nothing.

"All you had to do was not interrupt us," Six said, face twisted in fury, morphing almost into something grotesque in appearance.

Aki barely had time to register what happened next, as Six's hands morphed into something almost clay-like, ballooning the woman's mouth. Her eyes turned red and bulging not a second later and almost like the pressure was too much for her skull to handle, she burst like a balloon from the inside. Her blood and viscera sprayed across the wall, and Aki watched as the painting of the oranges she was holding was splattered with red.

The ruined painting fell to the floor, along with the cashier's body. Six's face twisted from a furious snarl, into a satisfied grin, tongue licking the viscera around his teeth and lips almost relishing in its taste.

A/N

Well that escalated quickly… Six really went from a weird, somewhat non-threatening eldritch abomination to a threat really quickly. Also yes, I am acknowledging his attempt at a sexual relationship with Aki is fucked up and not okay (girl is 14! He needs to stay his ass away). I hope this is very clear. It's not a romance or a ship, or even end goal. It's like a really messed up dynamic that the story and its characters will acknowledge is not okay. I don't intend for them to get together to clear things up. That's a kind of messed up even I'm unwilling to write. As always a reminder, it's a one sided relationship.

This is still a very triggering chapter, so I hope all of you readers take care of yourself. I'll be putting up more trigger warnings later if I end up writing anything like this again. Though after this there isn't much graphic scenes between Six and Aki like this for a long time.

Also I think a few people have mistaken Six and Knuckleduster to be OCs I have created for this story. They are actually from the MHA spin off series My Hero Vigilantes (which I highly recommend as it's a good read). Hope that clears that up. Six is the primary antagonist in the series, and pretty much was given powers by Mr AFO. It's not canonically confirmed but it is very much implied he was one of the first nomus to be created and is similar to Kurogiri in that he maintains his humanity. He's pretty OP and mentally not all there so he's fun to have around to maintain tension.

ALSOOOOOOO Since I don't get many comments here, I've decided to reply to them here under my author's notes from now on instead of private messaging everyone. So let's get started from now on.

Comments

doa570047- Aki's PTSD breakdown is pretty spot on. She didn't realise because she's never had the tools or help to realise it was wrong, because even in this world she didn't have any long term mental help.

SaucyHandles- It's definitely not a redemption story. I don't think Aki is as much redeemed, as she is someone who does what she thinks is best in any given situation. She kind of swings between lawful neutral- neutral evil. So no need to worry about her becoming a pro-hero or even a hero student. While she might help them sometimes, she has her own values and morality that would not sit well with them. Though she'd never go full Villain either. I think she'd stick in a very grey area by the end, though I do have some plans for her to do some pretty evil shit.

sallymadrigal605- They will definitely make another appearance much later. 😊