Chapter Thirty-Two : I Know Lots Of Names
"Ha ha ha…"
"Just stay quiet and let me do all the talking," Lucy warned, her tone sharp as her hands rested in the pockets of her worn leather jacket. One hand idly toyed with a thumb drive, her mind racing as her fingers twirled it in a subconscious rhythm.
"Hah…"
"I don't like it either, but every goon we could afford is sitting in prison right now," she muttered, casting a glance at the dilapidated building in front of them. The structure loomed like a monument to bad decisions and desperate plans. "It's not every day you go from CEO to janitor, but we can't do this alone."
With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and walked up the crumbling concrete steps, the soles of her boots scraping against the rough surface. Gripping the rusted handle, she pulled the door open, stepping inside with a mix of determination and resignation.
"Ha ha ha…"
"Will you stop that?" Lucy hissed over her shoulder, her voice tight with irritation. "We're trying to make a decent impression here, not audition for a damn horror movie."
The inside of the bar was surprisingly presentable. Homely brick walls gave it a rustic charm, a large TV sat on a cart towards the back, and a long bar was fully stocked with rows of neatly arranged bottles. Lucy barely had time to take in the unexpectedly welcoming scene before she felt the cold press of steel against her neck.
Her eyes darted down to the blade, its edge dangerously close to her skin. The weapon was held by a steady hand—an arm extending to a blonde-haired woman with the most unsettling smile Lucy had ever seen. The woman's grin was wide, almost unnatural, her gaze radiating both madness and precision.
Behind her, Lucy heard the shuffle of movement, and her instincts kicked in. Raising a hand, she snapped, "Chuckles! Don't!"
Chuckles, her slender and ever-loyal companion, froze mid-step, his razor blade-covered bat gripped tightly in his hands. His white, featureless mask facing a point between Bluescreen and the woman with a knife to her throat.
As the tension hung in the air, Lucy's gaze flicked across the room. On the floor, leaning casually against the wall, was a man with a relaxed smile. His face was a patchwork of scars, making him look like he'd been partially assembled from a jigsaw puzzle. Toward the end of the bar sat another figure—a disheveled man with pale blue hair. He didn't even seem to register the newcomers, his vacant stare blocked by a pale, disembodied hand on his face like some sort of macabre mask. "Who… are you?" he asked, spite dripping from every word.
The blond girl giggled, her grip on the knife firm but playful. "She's pretty, isn't she? I was just about to see how her blood tastes!"
"Toga, enough," Shigaraki said lazily, his hand tapping idly against the armrest of his chair. "We don't kill anyone until we know what they're good for."
"I didn't say I'd kill her," Toga whined, pouting as she traced the edge of the knife along the side of Lucy's face. "Just a little taste…"
Lucy's jaw clenched, but she didn't hesitate. She stepped forward, her hands still in her jacket pockets, her eyes locked on Shigaraki. The knife was still pressed to her throat, but at least it was clear that the blonde woman, presumably called Toga, wasn't going to gut her life a fish quite yet.
The guy made of purple mist continued to wipe the bar. He was so quiet that Lucy was almost able to forget she was there.
"I have something you might want, Shigaraki," Lucy murmured. "I'm Bluescreen. I'm the one that ambushed the prisoner transport."
Shigaraki's bloodshot eyes narrowed, his fingers twitching. For a moment, the room felt as though it might explode into violence, which was made worse by the fact that there really wasn't the need for violence. Then he leaned back, a faint grin spreading across his cracked lips.
"Toga, let her go," he said with a wave of his hand.
"Aww, you're no fun," Toga pouted, but she obeyed, stepping back with a wistful sigh.
"Thank you," Lucy said, resisting the urge to rub her neck to verify that it was unharmed.
"Bluescreen?" the Jigsaw man asked.
"Yes, Bluescreen," Lucy confirmed, keeping her voice steady as she glanced toward the scarred man. His relaxed posture did little to hide the sharp, calculating edge in his blue eyes.
Behind her, Chuckles shifted his weight, his grip tightening on his bat. Lucy didn't need to look to know he was on edge, but she didn't have time to soothe his nerves. Her focus was locked on the group in front of her.
"That was a neat trick with the prisoner transport," the scarred man said, his tone light but probing. "We heard about that—took down three pros, didn't you?" His smile widened. "Oh wait. Your entire crew got caught, and all you did was hurt one U.A. student's hand, and then he went and laughed about it on TV."
"It was messy," Shigaraki interjected, his voice low and dry. "The kind of thing that draws attention. Heroes sniffing around. Cops tightening their grip. We don't need people like that screwing up our plans."
Lucy forced a smile.. She certainly didn't feel like smiling. "Everyone starts somewhere," she said, her voice measured but carrying a subtle edge.
The jigsaw-man chuckled, the sound aloof like gentle wind through the trees. "And you started in failure…" he said, his scarred lips curling into an unsettling grin.
Lucy exhaled a long, shaky breath, trying to steady herself. "You'd know, wouldn't you, Toya?" she replied, her tone sharp enough to cut through the tension hanging in the room.
The room fell silent. The faint creak of a shifting chair and the low hum of the overhead light were the only sounds after Lucy spoke. All eyes turned to Dabi, whose casual smirk faltered just enough for those paying attention to notice. His blue eyes locked on Lucy, narrowing as a dangerous edge crept into his voice.
"How do you know that name?" Dabi asked slowly, his tone as cool as ever but laced with something sharper beneath the surface. He wasn't able to maintain the smile for long.
Lucy didn't flinch, keeping her gaze steady. Her lips curled into a faint smile, her confidence slowly returning. "I know a lot of names," she said, her voice calm but deliberate. She let the words hang in the air for a moment before delivering the next blow.
"Your brother, Shoto. Your father, Enji Todoroki. Better known as Endeavor." She tilted her head slightly, watching the flicker of emotions cross Dabi's face—shock, anger, and something almost vulnerable before his mask of indifference slammed back into place. "Your secret isn't as much of a secret as you'd like it to be."
A sharp inhale came from Spinner, his reptilian eyes widening as he glanced between Dabi and Lucy. "Wait—what? His what?"
"Shut up," Dabi growled, his voice low and dangerous. His hand twitched at his side, a faint crackle of blue flame licking at his fingertips.
Toga, meanwhile, clapped her hands together, her grin stretching impossibly wide. "Ooooh, this is juicy!" she said, her voice high and gleeful. "I knew you had a secret, Dabi, but I didn't know it was this good!" She leaned forward, eyes sparkling with twisted delight.
"Bluescreen," Compress interjected smoothly, his tone measured as he adjusted his mask. "While I appreciate a dramatic reveal as much as the next person, this is a rather... delicate matter. I hope you're not underestimating the gravity of what you've just said."
Shigaraki's fingers tapped idly against the table, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lucy with a newfound intensity. "I'm going to assume you didn't come here just to stir up my crew," he said, his voice cold and flat.
Lucy met his gaze without hesitation. "I didn't," she replied evenly. "I didn't just say that to get under his patchwork skin. You need to know what I bring to the table. Intel, strategy, and results. Knowing things is part of the job."
Dabi stepped forward, his flames sparking brighter. Chuckles giggled softly, the fact that he was now standing. "You'd better be careful, lady," he said, his voice a low growl. "Names like that can get you killed."
"Exactly my point," Lucy said calmly. "I was able to figure that out in less than a day. What could you do with that kind of information on U.A.? On All Might?" She shifted her attention back to Shigaraki, ignoring the heat radiating from Dabi's proximity. "I'm here to make an offer, not to waste your time. You want chaos. I can give it to you. But I don't play games, and I don't waste opportunities.
Shigaraki's lips curled into a slow, unsettling grin, his fingers twitching as he leaned back in his chair. "You've got guts," he said softly. "And I like that. But you're on thin ice. I don't know you. That could be a fluke!" he said sharply.
"Is anyone gonna talk about the clown?" Toga mused.
Lucy paused for a moment, her eyes meeting the deep, bloodshot eyes of who she hoped would be her employer. "Tell you what," she said sharply, pulling her hand out of her pocket and tossing the thumb drive to Shigaraki. "U.A. student Ochaco Uraraka, or Uravity if you prefer. I have access to her phone. I know everything about her. Her crush on All Might's protégé. Her family's financial woes. Her favorite flavor of ice cream."
There was a pause, with Shigaraki examining the drive in the palm of his hand as if it would start speaking to him at any moment. "How did you get access to her phone? Can you do it again?"
"In a way, I'm still doing it," she said with a smirk. She closed her eyes for a moment, putting a finger on her temple. "She sent a text to Mina Ashido, another U.A. student about five minutes ago, asking her what sort of swimsuit she should wear."
The room fell into an even heavier silence as Lucy's words sank in. Shigaraki's fingers twitched as he held the thumb drive, his face twisted in a mix of intrigue and suspicion.
Dabi's flames flickered brighter, casting sharp shadows across the room as his frustration boiled just beneath the surface. "You're telling me," he growled, stepping closer to Lucy, "that you've been spying on U.A. this whole time?" His blue eyes burned as fiercely as his Quirk.
Lucy didn't flinch, her smirk sharpening into something almost smug. "Spying? That's such an ugly word," she said coolly. "Let's call it... monitoring. You don't survive in this business without knowing things."
Spinner's claws clicked nervously against the table, his wide eyes darting between Dabi and Lucy. "She's bluffing," he muttered, though there was little confidence in his tone.
"I don't think she is," Compress interjected, his voice smooth but wary. "And if she's not, this changes things." He gestured toward the thumb drive in Shigaraki's hand. "If that drive contains half of what she claims, we'd be fools not to hear her out."
"Ha!" Toga clapped her hands together, practically bouncing with excitement. "She's my favorite! Can we keep her? Please, Tomura?"
"Quiet, Toga," Shigaraki snapped, though his eyes never left Lucy. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his bloodshot gaze boring into her. "You've got my attention, Bluescreen. But I still don't know if I can trust you."
Lucy met his stare without hesitation. "I'm not asking for trust," she said simply. "I'm offering results. You want chaos? I can give it to you. Targeted, controlled chaos. U.A. won't know what hit them."
Spinner clicked his claws against the bar again, the sharp sound cutting through the room's uneasy silence. "What do you get out of all this?" he asked, his tone suspicious.
Compress nodded subtly, his mask tilting slightly as he studied Lucy. "If she wanted money, she would have asked for it by now."
"I want Asui," Lucy said plainly, her voice as steady as stone.
"Ha ha…" Chuckles chuckled dryly.
"So, he does make noise!" Toga squeaked, her voice high-pitched and brimming with amusement. She bounced on her toes, her wild grin stretching wider as she watched the exchange unfold.
"Who's that? The Frog? Why?" Dabi growled. His hands, for now, were absent of fire, but the rage burning in his eyes was just as dangerous.
Lucy shrugged, her face emotionless. "Just don't like her."
The room seemed to freeze at Lucy's blunt declaration, her words lingering in the air like the final note of an unfinished symphony. Shigaraki's bloodshot eyes narrowed, and the faint tapping of his fingers against the bar ceased.
"You don't like her?" Dabi repeated, his voice low and dripping with disbelief. "That's it? That's your whole reason?"
Lucy shrugged again, her posture casual, almost dismissive. "Sometimes, that's all it takes," she said coolly. "A grudge. A bad day. Maybe she just rubs me the wrong way. Does it matter? She's in your way, and I'm here to help you remove her."
Toga burst into laughter, doubling over as she clutched her stomach. "Oh, I love this! She's so cold and blunt! It's perfect! Can I borrow her when we're done, Tomura?"
Spinner, however, wasn't laughing. He leaned forward, his claws gripping the edge of the bar as his reptilian eyes glared at Lucy. "You're seriously expecting us to believe you're risking all this just because you've got a personal vendetta against one girl? Sounds like a load of bull to me."
"Heh heh heh…"
"Alright," Lucy breathed. "Shigaraki. Why do you hate All Might?"
The room went quiet again as everyone turned their attention back to Shigaraki. He remained still for a long moment, the thumb drive resting lightly in his palm as he considered Lucy's words.
Finally, his lips curled into a slow, unsettling grin. "You make a compelling argument," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Shigaraki's grin stretched wider as he leaned back in his chair, his hand twitching against the disembodied palm resting on his face. The silence in the room felt electric, the air charged with the unspoken weight of Lucy's boldness.
"You're a sharp one, Bluescreen," he murmured, his voice carrying an edge that sent a shiver down even Toga's spine. "You know exactly which buttons to push, don't you? Stirring the pot just enough to keep things interesting."
Lucy held his gaze, her expression unwavering. "It's not about stirring the pot," she replied evenly. "It's about getting what I want. And what I want, is to remove that emotionless froggy pest off of this world. All Might drives you as she does for me, doesn't he? He represents everything you hate, doesn't he?"
The room went deathly silent again, as though even the creak of Spinner's claws had been muted. Shigaraki tilted his head, his grin morphing into something darker, almost predatory. His bloodshot eyes bore into Lucy, searching for the truth buried beneath her calculated words.
"You think you're clever," he murmured, his voice low, the faint rasp sending chills through the air. "Drawing comparisons between my hatred for All Might and whatever grudge you've got against some nobody at U.A." His fingers twitched against the table, the rhythmic tap tap tap a steady drumbeat of tension.
Lucy didn't flinch, her smirk holding steady. "It's not a comparison," she said. "It's a parallel. Just like All Might represents a world that suppresses people like you, Asui represents a world that suffocates people like me. She's everything I despise—calm, collected, and always so damn sure of herself. A symbol of stability I can't stand to see."
Spinner sneered, leaning forward with a pointed claw. "So what? You think if you get rid of her, the rest of U.A. will just fall apart? Sounds like wishful thinking to me."
Lucy's eyes flicked to Spinner, her tone as cold as ice. "I don't care about U.A.; I want her to die. Preferably screaming and very unhappy. And that Yankee boyfriend of hers if I have time."
Toga's giggles broke through the tension, her wild grin splitting her face. "She's so dramatic! I love it! Can we keep her, Tomura? Pleeease?" She twirled her knife absently, her eyes sparkling with manic glee.
"Quiet, Toga," Shigaraki said sharply, not bothering to look at her. His focus remained locked on Lucy, his expression unreadable. Slowly, he leaned forward, his thin body trembling just a bit.
"Maybe if you ask one more time, he'll say yes," Lucy said sarcastically, her eyes rolling to the manic woman.
Toga's grin stretched impossibly wider, and her golden eyes sparkled with mischievous delight at Lucy's jab. "Ooooh, I like her even more now! So sassy!" she squealed, skipping closer to Lucy. "Can I cut her just a little, Tomura? Just a little slice? She's fun!"
Chuckles raised the bat, the wood and the gleaming razor blades dividing the two.
"Back off, Toga," Shigaraki growled, his voice low but laced with authority. His fingers twitched against the disembodied hand on his face, his bloodshot eyes never leaving Lucy. "Stay close. I might have a place for you in our plans… Your clown too."
Lucy nodded her head, suppressing a smile. It was about time. They had been talking in circles for a while. "I'll be around. I might not be the best for it, but you can take Chuckles to your ambush at the training camp."
Another stretch of silence.
"Don't look so surprised. It's my job to know things."