Chapter Text
As soon as Aizawa left, Shouko locked herself inside her room. She didn't move. Tears escaped her eyes steadily. The dark of the room did so little to comfort her. Rays of moonlight seeped through her window, landing perfectly on the picture on her desk. There was something bubbling in her. The words were getting louder and louder. 'This is why you never get better.', me? I'm not improving? I thought I was doing well... I'm even in the top 3 in our class. 'How do you expect to become a hero like that?' should she just not become a hero? Should Shouko just give up?
If she can't become better, then should she just become the worst?
Shouko glared at her own reflection. The same black hair as her brother, and the same dark eyes. She lightly touched your face, Aizawa Shouko. Little Aizawa as Hizashi would call her. Shou-Nii never stayed at home, maybe because of his hero work, maybe partly because he didn't want to face her. Shouko sighed, willing her eyes to flash a blood-red; Should she leave? Get off his back, so that he doesn't have to worry about anything. What can she do for him to be proud?
Yes, why should she try and be a hero like her brother? Maybe if she became the worst... maybe he'll come around and be proud to see what she’s become. Shouko approached her desk, delicately tracing the picture frame that holds the picture Shouko herself begged her brother to take with her. Gripping it tightly, she mustered all the strength she can and threw it across the room.
Shouko made her way out of the room, she took her black scarf and wallet and ripped an eye out of the cat plushie that lay on her bed. She didn't take anything else, she didn't need it. Shouko stood by the door, her eyes wandering one last time, knowing she wouldn't be able to see the place for a very long time, hopefully never. She opened the door and shut it behind her. Shouko disappeared into the night, never looking back.
Muka woke up with a jolt, her eyes wandering around the place. She panicked for a moment, her left hand quickly making its way to her left ear, she sighed in relief as she felt the familiar earring that she made. Toga sat beside her, the girl grinned as soon as she saw Muka open her eyes. She squealed as she attacked the older with a hug.
"You're awake!"
"T-toga! Too tight!" Muka tried to push her off, but her grip is just too tight for Muka. Giving up the dark-haired villain hugged her back. "Yep, missed you too." She sighed as she pats the younger’s back. The petite blonde let go of her and pulled her up, Muka was dragged through an abandoned corridor that may or may not look like a warehouse.
The others were gathered in one room, "What? Are we finally having some kind of a group therapy session? Good job, Boss!" Muka arched an eyebrow, her statement earned a snort from Twice and a glare from Shigaraki. "You really need to address your evident daddy issu-- Oh Dabi don't look at me like that." Dabi gave her a look as if he was warning her. She finally stood by a window, staring out, trying to figure out where they were. Big Sis Mag gave Muka a smile which she returned. Toga skipped over to her and leaned on Muka, snuggling into her. "So what's the plan now? Boss?" She pointedly asked.
"We suffered a huge loss with the capture of Sensei." Shigaraki scratched at his neck, "We don't have any support," He muttered to himself. "We need to find financial support and a new hideout." The pale-haired leader glanced at his comrades, "Kurogiri, you look for Sensei's weapon," With a nod, Kurogiri portaled away. "Dabi and Spinner, both of you scout for a new place." The patchwork villain just grunted in response, Spinner agreed silently, the two of them leaving the warehouse without a word. "Twice, Mr. Compress, Big Sis Magne, and Toga, the four of you, gather some funds for our next missions."
"Tomura-Kun! Can we bring Muka!" Toga tugged on Muka's arm, "Please?" She gave puppy eyes to the man-child leader.
"No."
"But Tomura~" Toga whined elongating the last syllable of Shigaraki's first name. Shigaraki didn't take this lightly and glared at the poor ball of sunshine as he scratched at his already scarred neck. "No, I'll dust all your knives if you don't shut up now!"
"BOO~! You just want her here alone with you! You can have her!" Muka giggled at Twice's outburst. "Toga, Twice just go, besides I'll go on a mission with you next time. Okay?" She patted Toga's head, "Besides, Mr. Compress and Big Sis Mag will go with you." She added.
"Come on, Toga, Twice. We'll make sure we'll have some fun." Big Sis Mag called out to the two. Ushering them out, Mr. Compress followed them waving his top hat as he did.
With that only Muka and the white blue-haired villain remained. The silence hung in the whole expanse of the warehouse, neither of the two made the move to talk, only staring at each other from across the room. As if they were challenging each other, daring for the other one to move.
The air is thick, the tension, threatening to snap. Deciding it was enough, impatience coursing through her veins as she rushed forward hands outstretched. As soon as her face was mere inches from Shigaraki's, her fists curled onto his wrists, gripping them tightly, stopping him from further wounding his neck.
Shigaraki could feel her breath on his skin, his breath hitched. Muka's smooth skin hovers from his, "Sensei really made you fast." His gaze never leaving the woman in front of him, his left hand making its way to Muka's neck, squeezing it gently then it moved to her bruised face, caressing it. "Remind me to dust that old bastard, will you?"
"You frustrate me incredibly." Muka gently pushed the other, "Don't scratch your neck so much, you'll get hurt." She muttered as she loosened her hold on Shigaraki's wrists. "Are you all right?" Shigaraki grunted in response as Muka took a step from him.
"Giran gave me this," Shigaraki handed her a brown envelope. "He said it's about the thing that you made him do." The pale-haired villain eyed the woman in front of him, he watched as her face became unreadable. Waiting for some kind of response from his subordinate, he sat there quietly.
Muka opened the envelope wordlessly, not bothering to cover it up. She didn't care enough as she read through the files. She trusted him not to ask questions. Her eyes narrowed at the last sentence, Eraserhead seems to have taken a student under his wing. Under it a photo was attached, it was of a Yuuei student, the purple gravity-defying hair and tired lavender eyes. The kid wasn't in the hero course, she saw him in the sports festival; the general-ed kid who went against Midoriya.
Without a word she left, disappearing into the dark alleys. It was late into the night, the cold breeze nipped at her already cold skin. The envelope in her hands was crumpled, and she shook violently as she walked. Chest heaving as if she will run out of air, tears pricked her eyes, blurring her vision.
She arrived at a bus stop, she sat on the bench defeatedly. Muka stared at the pavement, it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She wasn't good enough to be seen, but that boy was? Shinsou Hitoshi has the potential to be a hero, but not Aizawa Shouko? A bus stopped, she pocketed the envelope in her pocket, jamming it in, and she made her way into the bus. Carefully tucking her face in her scarf as she paid for the ride. She sat by a window, staring outside as the vehicle moved. It didn't take long; Muka was already standing in front of the old apartment complex, that she once called home.
Why not me?
"Give me a break." The plague masked villain muttered, "This place is so dusty, I feel like I'll get sick." Overhaul complained as he followed the villain Twice.
Twice exclaimed, "Don't worry! The guys inside are already sick!" He opened the big sliding doors of a warehouse where the League has been taking refuge in. The two went inside, closing the doors with a thud.
The rest of the league stared at the stranger with Twice, "You've brought a crazy big fish, huh, Twice?" Shigaraki voiced out.
"Big fish?" Overhaul rephrased, "That's ironic... League of Villains."
"What?" Magne was confused, she didn't know who the bird-beaked man was, but she can feel that he was bad news. "Is that guy someone famous?
"Master showed me a picture of him before." Shigaraki enunciated, cursing himself, Muka wasn't with them, she was missing for almost a week now, it has been going on in the past month, and she always left with no way of contacting her. Muka has been showing up at random times to deliver some supplies and money to the League, but most of the time she disappears, they didn't have a clue what she was doing, well Dabi does. He wanted her to be with them in case something happens, it would be easier with her. "He's what you'd call 'yakuza'."
"The young head of the Shie Hassaikai."
She made her way into the apartment easily, her eyes looking around, scoffing as the place didn't change at all. Her fingers grazed the old gray painted walls as she went further inside. It seems like the home was abandoned, a ghost house, with no signs of life. She made her way to her old room, opening the door she sighs deeply before she went inside.
Shouko sat on her old bed, the same covers were on it, dust caking in the mattress and pillows. She lightly coughs, the cat plushie caught her eyes, and she took it in her hands. Petting the old stuffed toy, one of its eyes was missing, she smiles softly as her fingers touched the toy. She contemplated whether to bring it with her or not, caving to the sentimental value it held she stuffs it in her hoodie. She stands up, and opens her closet, she sees a knitted scarlet scarf; she grins as she also took it into her pocket.
Her eyes flit to the broken picture frame on her old desk, she chuckles bitterly as she went to take it in her hands. She takes the picture from the frame before ripping it into pieces. The dark-haired woman takes one last look at her room before she leaves the room.
The younger Aizawa made her way to the kitchen, she turns the gas on. Chuckling to herself, this was a crucial step for her plan after all. She grinned when she hears the hissing sound of the leaking gas, she walks into the living room, thrashing it, letting out her pent-up anger. Satisfied, she makes her way to the front door, lighting up a match and tossing it backward. She ran, fast enough to avoid being caught in the explosion.
Dark eyes watched the flames go up from a reasonable distance, she sighs, it was done. She stealthily leaves making her way back to the hide-out.
Muka grunted, her muscles ached as a heavyweight pinned her to the ground, the rough floor dug into her back. She didn't fight back, she didn't plan to. Instead, she grinned at the masked hulk-like man on top of her. Muka could've used her quirk to not get hurt, but she needed this. After all, not being with the League when it happened nagged on her conscience on the daily basis.
It didn't matter, because Big Sis Mag was killed by that clean freak. She wasn't that sad, she was more angry than sorry. Even when she came face to face with the villain who calls quirks a disease, all she wanted to do was rip his head off his body. When Overhaul showed interest in her quirk, all she can do was follow Shigaraki. As her crimson-eyed leader pulled her aside and whispered to her, 'We'll get revenge for Magne and Mr. Compress' arm. Learn to wait.' So she followed every whim of the bastard, from experimenting on her blood and even babysitting the poor little girl in his captive.
Having enough of the monologue from Rappa, using her quirk, her dark eyes flashed red, effectively cutting off Rappa's quirk. Although she nullified his quirk, she still struggled to get him off, with a deep breath she threw a punch directly at the center of Rappa's mask. The force threw him off, causing him to slump on the hard floor.
Ending their sparring session, Rappa always asked Muka to fight him she usually said no, but today she humored him. Having already pent up from the past few weeks that she's been a lackey and an experiment of Shie Hassaikai, it pissed her off. She didn't even have enough time to talk with Twice and Toga or to get out of the Yakuza base.
Standing up, she dusted herself, her already worn-out shirt was torn on the side. She sighed, she needed more safety pins to patch it up. She grabbed her black scarf that was haphazardly discarded from their fight earlier and left Rappa, who was still laying on the ground, out cold. Muka made her way to her temporary room, she tossed the scarf on the bed. She looked for safety pins in the drawers, thankfully she found some, it was more than enough to patch the hole on her shirt.
Muka took off her shirt leaving her in a sports bra, she sat on the bed. as she started to patch the old shirt in her hands. The shirt had more holes and rips than she could count, it accumulated through the years. It has safety pins and poorly made stitches on different parts of the cloth. The shirt had been through so much, she didn't bother stealing a new one, even when Overhaul offered her clothes she didn't take it, she loved how much her way of dressing up irked the neat freak.
A knock on the door snapped her out of her concentration. It was Kurono, he informed her that she was needed in Eri's room, to take the girl to the lab. The masked man, stared, before coughing violently, it made Muka snort seeing how she flustered the rather calm and collected right-hand man of the Shie Hassaikai. She informed him that she'll be there, the other nodded and hurriedly shut the door as he left. Quickly throwing on her shirt she made her way to Eri's room not even bothering to take her scarf.
As soon as she entered the room she was met by a trembling little girl, who was hugging a tattered cat plushie. It made her heart clench, the way the kid's doe eyes looked at her, so full of pain. It was like looking through a mirror. Muka approached the girl slowly, not wanting to startle her even more. She gently scooped up the trembling girl hugging her close as she sat on the bed. Muka wanted to just take the girl and run. She wanted to do it so badly. She can't, yet, she had to avenge Big Sis Mag first and get her revenge. She hushed Eri, humming a lullaby under her breath. A few minutes later, Eri stopped, her arms wrapped in bandages hooked on the older's neck, not planning to let go any sooner.
"Eri." Muka softly called the girl, "We have to go." That made the arms around her neck tighten. Sighing, she forced herself to stand up. Muka opened the door, she left the door with Eri in her arms, the little girl was still holding onto the cat stuffed toy. She's had enough, she didn't want the kid to get hurt. Instead of going in the direction of Overhaul's lab, she went in the direction of the exit. Muka knew that she'll get in trouble, it was a big risk. She knew Overhaul can't use his quirk on her, but she worried for the little girl. She decided to take this risk, hoping she'll be able to find help on her own.
She made the move to put Eri down, "Eri, you have to let go." Reluctantly the girl did. She was confused, she was supposed to be in the lab. Instead, she stood on the pavement, "Eri, I want you to run. Find help." Muka whispered to the girl. "Okay?"
"B-but... What about you?" The girl was still trembling, Muka smiled trying to reassure Eri. "I'll be fine. Promise, I'm strong after all." Muka wrapped her arms around the girl, squeezing her, it felt warm. The warmth left as soon as it went. "Now, go. Run!"
"I-I'm nervous." The hero-in-training Deku quietly expressed, only loud enough for his Senpai to hear. "You must've at least gone on patrol at your internship, right?" Mirio paused, "Oh, was the League of Villains attacks too traumatic?"
"No, but for various reasons, I wasn't able to experience the basics..." Deku explained as he looked away. It was the first time the two were patrolling.
"Really? That's strange, right?" The bubbly older male wonders, "But don't worry!" His smile is never wavering. "Sir and Bubble Girl are the ones actually watching the target today. We're just on patrol!" He gave a grin and a thumbs up at the freckled boy. "I'll teach you a bunch of stuff. Stick with me!" Mirio cheered as he posed, moving both of his arms in rapid succession. The younger was deep in his thoughts.
"Now that I think about it, we haven't told each other our hero names, huh?"
"Th-that's true... I'm Deku." The green-haired teen, watched as the older butchered his hero name and asked if he was okay being stuck with a name like that. Deku said yes confidently.
"I'm Lemillion." The blonde hero-in-training pointed to himself, "I don't have to save everyone, but one million... Not all, but a million--" Mirio carried on explaining how he wanted to save a lot of people, hence, why he chose Lemillion as his hero name. The two were deep in their conversation, a force hit Deku, he saw a bandaged-up girl.
The horned girl slumped on the ground as she reached for her fallen plushie, "Sorry, that must've hurt." Deku crouched, reaching a hand for the girl to take. Instead, he was met with a look filled with horror. He withdrew, "Can you stand? Are you okay?" Deku reached forward and picked up the girl, the child was shaking, trembling in his hands.
"Now you know..." A plague-masked man walked out of the alley where the girl came out. "You can't go around causing trouble for heroes."
Deku sensed the distress from the kid. He could feel it, this man was dangerous. Mirio could tell it too, they had to be careful.
"I'm sorry for my daughter, hero." Overhaul smoothly said, "She likes to play around a lot and keeps getting hurt." He sounded friendly, but the two hero-in-training knew it was more than that. "I don't know what to do with her."
They recognized the man in front of them, he was Chisaki Kai... Overhaul, the young leader of the yakuza called Shie Hassaikai. Mirio discreetly put up Deku's mask and hood sounding lighthearted as he smiled, careful not to escalate the situation. "We're sorry, too, for bumping into her." Deku got his senior's signal to not be suspicious. He tried to mask the shock that he felt as he averted his eyes. He held the trembling girl in his arms, trying to comfort her.
"With that lovely mask, you must be from the Hassaikai, right?" Mirio tried to divert the yakuza's attention, "You guys are famous around here." He tried to sound nonchalant.
"Yes, don't worry about the mask." Something about Overhaul's velvet voice raised alarms in Deku's mind. "I'm sensitive to filth."
As Mirio and Overhaul were talking, Deku stared at the kid in front of him, she didn't seem to stop trembling. "Now, stand up, partner," Mirio called out to Deku. "Let's head to the future we haven't seen yet!" Mirio was smiling, although the anxiousness clawed in underneath his skin.
"What agency are you from?"
"We're students!" The blonde senior quickly answered. His smile never ceased. "We're still so new so we can't be in any agency yet!" He explained, "We were just getting some experience, for our internships." He was itching to leave with Deku, any longer they could be in trouble, "We should get going we have to finish patrolling by lunch! Let's go!" He turned to the younger as he started to walk away.
"Right!" Deku moved to leave, but the little girl's hold on him tightened, pleading with him not to leave. "D-Don't go--" The dread was clearly etched on the child's face. "Help, th-they-they're gonna hurt Mu-Mu-- too" Deku wanted to stay and protect the girl in his arms because that's what a hero is supposed to do. He was born, he couldn't just leave a kid who clearly needed help. "U-um..." Deku's arms were raised, "Your daughter... seems scared." He tried not to stutter.
Overhaul's golden eyes narrowed at Deku, "It's because she did something wrong, she just got a scolding."
Mirio was worried, he was, and the situation isn't looking well. Deku was causing more suspicion, it was very risky. "Let's go!" He called out again to Midoriya, he prayed that he would just leave with him, it was too dangerous.
"Wait, but..." Deku was careful with his movements, he can't seem to pry off the little girl from him. "Her bandages seem too much for just playing." The girl leaned into him more, he could feel the tears wetting the front of his hero suit already.
"She falls a lot." Overhaul's patience seems to be wearing thin already.
"For such a kid like this to be shaken and not even making a sound..." Deku trailed off, "I don't think that's normal." He held the girl closer, putting a hand on the back of her head as he glared at Overhaul.
That struck a nerve, "Don't push your idea of 'normal' to other people's families." He looked down at the green-haired boy holding the ruby-eyed girl.
The situation is already escalating to something Mirio prayed not to. "Everyone is different after all, right?" He tried to disperse the tension, Mirio wanted to leave already, this doesn't look well.
Deku continued to stare at the man with such intensity, that he knew what he needed to do. He had to save the kid in his embrace, silence hung as the stare-down continued. He gritted his teeth before speaking, "What are you doing to this girl?" His voice was thick with conviction.
Overhaul sighed his hands finding it s way to his waist, "Heroes are too sensitive to subtle signs in people, huh?" He shrugged, "Very well, although it's embarrassing to say..." He turned, "People are watching, why don't you follow me?" There was a certain edge to the yakuza's voice.