Chapter Text
”We’ve been sitting here for, like, a week.”
Shigaraki holds up a hand to quiet him and Dabi sighs. The circle you were all readily stood in before has been split and you can practically feel everyone’s adrenaline for the impending mission slowly running out. The only ones still alert are Kurogiri, who has been holding a portal open in order to listen in on the U.A training camp, and Shigaraki who is tensely doing the listening. The rest of you have since long opted to take a seat somewhere instead and the room has been left quiet, save from occasional impatient sighs.
By the time there is a change it’s almost gotten dark out. Whatever is happening at the camp, Shigaraki seemingly deems it fit for a dramatic entrance, since he finally gestures for you all to gather again.
“Let’s go.”
“So soon?” Dabi rolls his eyes and walks together with the rest of you toward the swirling gate.
You quietly follow them into the darkness and to your first mission with the group. It’s a definite step-up from what you’re used to - both directly challenging such skilled people and targeting students your own age. Right before the dark engulfs you, you draw a deep breath with the intention to center yourself. You doubt it’s needed though. When barely even a second later you’re met with cold wind and the smell of dirt, your heart still beats steady. The strong presence of other people in the forest immediately reaches you and although you know they definitely pose a threat, the rush of forest air and dying daylight excites you. Quickly, all of you split up and move quietly across the forest floor.
You don’t get to see much of the school class that has been so widely talked about lately, nor do you see many other people from U.A. Dabi is quick to light the forest on fire and the smoke instantly fills the area. It finds its way between the trees and almost down into your lungs, before his flames climb higher and the smoke instead rises above the treetops. The cold blue light they cast seems eerier here than it did back at the hideout that time Dabi showed you how easily he can melt glass.
You stay in the background away from the conflicts - without most of the other’s offensive abilities, you have no place at the fore front. Your task is tracking, anyway, which doesn’t require you to get close to anyone. Especially since being in such a remote area makes it easier for you to pick up the energy of your targets than it would have been someplace in the city. The ground shakes occasionally and a few high pitched screams can be heard in the distance, but all in all, most of the attack passes by almost unnoticed by you.
“Found anything yet?” The blue light sparkles in Toga’s eager eyes as she runs up beside you a few minutes later. Between the trees she emerged from you spot two unconscious bodies.
“The girl you’re looking for went that way,” you nod to your right. “I haven’t found traces of the other target yet, but she should have been here only a few minutes ago.”
“Thank you!” She gives you a big smile and skips away.
The first time you properly get a look at any of the students is when one of them stumbles out of the trees right in front you, looking like he is about a minute away from collapsing and dying on the spot. His skin is scraped and raw, his arms are hanging limp by his side and a trail of dark blood trickles down his forehead. His hair is matted to his forehead, he’s missing his shirt and the exposed skin looks like it’s been dragged on asphalt. Despite his unsteady steps and shaking hands, his eyes are focused, and he stops abruptly when he sees you. Your eyes meet. It’s obvious to you that he can’t fight you in his current state, so you for a few seconds neither of you move. A few distant explosions lightly shake the ground and you feel the small vibrations travelling from the ground up into your chest. Looking at the boy in front of you, you’re almost surprised they don’t knock him over. He slightly resembles a hunted animal with his shaky breaths and the way his alert eyes are analysing your every feature. You decide you don’t care about him - whoever he is, he’s not your target. His eyes widen a bit when you suddenly move and his body tenses in preparation for defence. Then you turn to leave.
The second time you get a proper look at the students is when they come crashing down literally right where you and the rest are waiting for Compress. They fall into the clearing you’ve found and you recognise the kid with the green hair and broken arms. You stay back, Dabi shoots fire through the clearing and you see it scorch some students’ skin. The energy in the clearing heats up, warmed by blood rushing and adrenaline spiking. A dull pounding resonates between the trees, a combined heartbeat that speeds up as everyone activates their quirks. Of course, you are the only one who feels all this, but you’re sure the students’ desperation can be felt in the air even without your quirk.
Despite how gifted they are, they’re at a clear disadvantage from the start because you know most of their opponents lack plenty of the morals that restrict the kids’ actions. Despite how hard they fight, it’s not enough.
Kurogiri opens a new gate. You wait long enough with stepping in to see three of the students throw themselves after the marbles holding their friends. Then you leave Dabi to do his exit and step through the gate back into the bar. The green haired boy’s screams still echo when you open your eyes to the dark room. It’s surprisingly cold.
* * *
Bakugou has been with you for a few days now and it’s been...different. You’re not used to being around people your own age anymore, except Toga and Mustard, and it’s especially weird when the person in question is chained up outside your bedroom.
Since you joined the League of Villains you really haven’t spent a lot of time at the base. They’ve been wanting you to work on your quirk a lot more than you’ve ever done before, which usually keeps you away during the day. It was only a few years ago that Lena started involving you in her work and the type of undercover jobs you would do never required you to do more than go on intuition. It was all undercover type of jobs for criminal groups you never got much information about - they wanted you for isolated tasks your quirks were already fit for. This group, on the other hand, aren’t trying to stay hidden. They’re trying to climb up, they have a goal in sight. Or a ”real chance of getting somewhere” as Lena puts it. Joining a group who is actively challenging heroes has put you against them and for the first time there are people who’s strength you have to match. You’ve been told that you’ll stop being useful if you don’t keep up, so work hard. And you have been. For yourself and most of all for Lena, because she seems to really believe in this. She’s always seemed so tired of doing the same jobs over and over again without getting anywhere, stuck in the same in-between. Worn down and pale and tired. Her mood nowadays is a welcome change, and so is your new daily routine.
The best thing about constantly training is that you don’t have to be at the hideout. It’s just awkward having Bakugou there all the time glaring at you. Especially since he barely talks unless someone talks to him first, which means that most of the time he sits there in silence. The League’s first attempt to initiate conversation didn’t exactly go over well, which might’ve been because of Compress’ tone deaf comparison where he said that Bakugou actually isn’t more imprisoned by the League than everyone is by “society”.
As much as you’ve managed to avoid the base these past few days, you are there right now and Twice is insisting that you deal with Bakugou for the day. Shigaraki has been busy since the attack, which automatically means that Kurogiri has been busy as well. Dabi has been out a lot, doing whatever he does when he leaves - you don’t know because he rarely takes the time to tell anyone. Thus, the task of keeping an eye on Bakugou has fallen onto the rest of you in the meantime. Additionally, you’re supposed to make a ”good impression” while Shigaraki figures out how to really convince him. This is something that most of the squad has gotten pretty tired of in the, like, two days you’ve been doing it because Bakugou really has no interest in letting you.
Twice grabs you by the arm and drags you out into the room where he is kept. “You’ll have to give him food, I’ve got other things to do.”
“No you don’t? Your role is to stay here and keep a low profile.”
“No, it’s to keep a low profile period. I can do that outside too,” he hands you the food, “we’re also meant to talk to him and that hasn’t exactly gone well for me.”
“Yeah, because he hates us,” you glance over at Bakugou, who’s face seems to be permanently locked in a glare. “Why would I do better?”
“Maybe because you two are like the same age,” Twice shrugs, “maybe you two will get along better.”
Without giving you time to protest he escapes out into the sunlight. The door slams shut and leaves you in the dusty room. You sigh. Bakugou glares at you when you approach him with the bowl.
“We won’t.” he says.
“I figured.”
He makes no attempt to eat and instead simply keeps sitting there. You squirm a bit and wonder if you on top of having to give him food also have to stay with him after. His chains let him reach far enough to eat, he’d probably be fine if you didn’t.
“How the fuck did you even end up here if you’re apparently my age?” he finally mutters after an uncomfortable silence. “Shouldn’t you be in school or something?”
You don’t think it’s a good idea to give him any personal information, at all, because you have no doubt there will be a rescue attempt soon. The news have made it abundantly clear to the League how massive this search is.
”It’s not that weird, I just dropped out after junior high. Toga and Mustard are our age too. Or I think he is, at least.”
“Okay, so?” he rolls his eyes, “that’s not what I asked. How have you already developed such an intense hate against heroes if you basically just left middle school?”
“I don’t know about Mustard, I really don’t know him.” You shrug, “And Toga’s just crazy, not hateful.”
He glares at you and raises a frustrated eyebrow.
“And you?”
“I’m not gonna tell you my entire life story.” And there wouldn’t be much to say, anyway. There’s no hate, you were just raised this way. Practically born into it.
“And I didn’t ask you to have a fucking heart to heart. How you can be okay with killing people? And students the same age as you, don’t you feel shitty?”
“I mean, we haven’t killed anyone yet.” You avoid his question again, not at all interested in talking to him.
His fingers twitch and suddenly you’re very happy that his handcuffs are quirk suppressing, because if they weren’t you would definitely have been blown to pieces by now. You sense that you are currently making to exact opposite of a good impression on him and decide that maybe it’s best to just leave the conversation here before you piss him off even more. Shigaraki said that you would have a meeting tonight regarding the situation anyway, so until then it’s probably easiest to leave him alone. He screams at you when you leave. If his quirk worked you imagine he’d have easily blown through the chains with all the thrashing.
It’s not just the presence of Bakugou that’s new, something else has changed too. Three members of the Vanguard Action Squad got arrested right after the attack and, surprisingly enough, there absence can be felt when everyone gathers at the base. Maybe it’s because you’re such a small group that they literally made up a third of it, but it still surprises you. From what you’ve seen so far, no one here has formed any particularly strong bonds with each other. Toga expressed her joy at making friends when you joined, but it’s obvious to everyone that her idea of affectionate relationships is skewed at best. Shigaraki and Kurogiri have some sort of bond, but the rest of you aren’t let in on it. The League was founded on nothing more than a feeling of rejection and a common incentive to strike back. You didn’t expect the base to feel emptier after the others’ arrest because you doubt that they are missed.
Either way it’s all fine by you, you choose to stick to Lena like you always have. Whether the League of Villains grow into some kind of found family or remain as a backdrop in your life doesn’t matter. Your life, as always, consists of yourself, Lena, and all the glimpses of other people’s lives you experience through your quirk.
As you leave, you decide to keep practicing attacks before heading to tonight’s meeting.
* * *
“Bakugou doesn’t seem to have warmed up much to us.”
“No shit.”
Everyone is back at the bar again. Bakugou has been moved, painstakingly so, to one of the rooms next door because you don’t have any other room big enough for all of you to fit in and you can’t have him here while you discuss what to do with him. Kurogiri is stood behind the bar polishing some glasses, which definitely looks cool but is completely unnecessary since they are literally never used. At least not from what you have seen. Toga has told you that they’re probably just for the aesthetic or something - Shigaraki sits there a lot to brood or whatever, but no one ever drinks. As you hear him ask everyone for their opinion, you wonder if maybe you just don’t get invited to drink since you’re a minor. Would the League of Villains care about stuff like that when they have no problem attacking high school students?
“Is anyone here good at rhetoric? That could talk to him?”
“What?”
“You know, ethos pathos logos and all that. It’s used to convince.”
“It’s used to persuade.”
“That’s literally the same thing.”
“We could always just force him to join.”
“No, if we want him to stay for the long run we gotta convince him properly.”
“We can threaten the other students too! If we kidnap the ones that tried to help him, like Izuku and Ura-”
“You do that then, Toga, because it sounds like a hell of a lot of work to go through for some high schoolers.”
“Can’t we just erase his memories of this past year? From what I’ve seen, his time at U.A has had a pretty positive influence on him. He even seems to have friends or at least acquaintances in his class. If we removed all that I think there would be much less to keep him from joining.” Compress suggests.
“No, if we did that then we would also be erasing his other developments, like with his quirk and what the school has taught him about fighting.” Kurogiri counters. “Besides, it would be good if he remembers us. We don’t want him to forget, we just wanna change his mind.”
“It also doesn’t work like that.” Lena interjects. “I can remove memories, but removing an entire year like that is tricky, especially when it’s so recent. People notice huge memory gaps like that pretty quickly and if they get too aware that something is wrong it won’t last.”
“But you got the people who saw Shigaraki outside the gates to forget about it? And the time we stole the handcuffs?”
She nods, “Because those memories were small and insignificant. They’re easy. But as I said, Bakugou would be different. To make bigger changes I don’t just remove memories, I have to heavily alter them or create new ones to replace them.”
“What, so that they won’t have memory gaps?”
”Yeah. Mine won’t be as detailed as their real memories, but that’s fine. As long as people have memories they don’t think to question the little details in them. Like with dreams - the details might be off but all together it makes sense, and even if it doesn’t you don’t realise until you wake up. What I do is mostly an illusion, but it works because memories aren’t nearly as coherent as we think.”
“Alright, so you create them, it’s hard when it’s so recent or whatever. Couldn’t you just alter his memories of U.A, then? Like, instead of replacing them, you make All Might seem really weak or something?” Spinner asks.
“There’s no point in that. He’s gotta have memories of All Might since he was born. And the guy’s everywhere, anyway,” Dabi reasons. “We can convince him without all that. That’s why we brought him here, right? Cause he’s the easiest.”
“We should hurry, then.” Kurogiri grabs another glass to polish. “With everyone seemingly recruited for the rescue party we don’t have much time before they find us.”
Spinner scoffs. “Don’t give them too much credit. This is the second time you’ve attacked them and they still haven’t found us yet.”
Dabi tiredly looks at him. Or, he looks at him like he always looks at people. “Don’t get cocky. You never underestimate the enemy, we’ve been over this.”
Shigaraki, who’s been sitting quietly for awhile, interrupts as Spinner opens his mouth. “If he can’t be convinced by us then we’ll have to let him talk to the source. Regarding the investigation they’re doing it’s inevitable that they’ll find us, so the only thing we can do is be prepared when they get here. We’ve managed so far.”
He turns to you. “Tomorrow you’ll go out and gather as much information as you can about what the school, teachers, and police have done lately. We’ve tried, but they’ve been very careful with the information they let out. All we know is from the news reports and press conferences. You can probably get more.”
You nod. He gives everyone else their tasks and you’re glad that it doesn’t fall on you to stay with Bakugou. Toga seems to feel the same way, even if she gets told that she can’t go out in public as casually as you can. She smiles eagerly at you, probably in hopes of soon meeting the green-haired boy from 1-A again. She confessed to you right after the attack how much she already liked him, and that she’d also found some more potential friends your age that she could introduce you to next time. Then she laughed, wouldn’t that be fun?