This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 24

Unknown could no longer tell how much time had passed. The days blurred together in a dull monotony of routine that quickly became rather indistinct. She had been spending a truly atrocious amount of time among Shie Hassaikai, and along with Toga and Twice, had the constant, unenviable task of acting as their lackeys. The leaders were certainly making full use of the three, sending them out on jobs every other day, assigning them increasingly petty dirty work, even pushing menial tasks onto them. In reality, it was nothing but dull, meaningless busywork in order to keep them around so Overhaul could learn more about the League's plans. This was mostly carried out through Chrono, whose all-too-frequent questions about the League didn't escape them. At first, it wasn't obvious, as he did a rather good job at concealing his true intentions, but they caught on soon enough. Now, it was difficult to ignore.

"Have you spoken to Shigaraki lately?"

"What have you heard regarding All for One?"

"I heard the League of Villains found some new members."

Among the three, Unknown knew the least about the League, simply due to how little time she had spent with them, though that didn't stop the yakuza from questioning her to hell and back. It was a tiring routine that drove her to stay away from Chrono and Overhaul as much as she could, even more so than usual.

The sun was just beginning to set now, a slight hint of orange encroaching on the horizon of the blue sky. Today had once again been uneventful; she had only seen a few of the Eight Bullets during her meandering around the base, and she was lucky enough to slip her way out of having to speak with any of them. At least it had been quiet, mostly.

By the time she reached home, the sky was painted with vibrant pinks, reds, and yellows; the evening air grew colder with each waning inch of the receding sun. Her shoulders creaked from long hours of remaining idle, and she could feel a dull ache forming along her back. The wind bit at the skin of her cheek, leaving a tingling redness over her ever-stoic expression. She quietly pushed open the unlocked front door and stepped inside.

The light in the living room around the corner was on, as were the ones over the stairs. She could hear a commotion from the other room; a man shouting, glass shattering, a fist meeting a table. She quickly shut her ears, blocking out the unnerving racket as she made her way up the carpeted steps, heading straight for her room.

One of the doors in front of her opened, stopping her mid-step. Horus stepped out from the shadowy doorway, and if the clamor hadn't made it clear what was happening, his expression would have.

"He wants us all downstairs," the boy muttered softly, his tone lacking the usual malice it held towards her. Instead, his eyes were distant with apprehension, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

Unknown only grimaced as she followed him back downstairs, Traceback silently emerging from her room and trailing behind them as well.

Dread pooled in the pit of their stomachs as they neared the living room, the shouts getting louder and louder with every nervous step.

A sharp crack of skin-on-skin filled the air as they finally came into view.

The Manager stood, one tense arm half-raised, a raging sneer on his face, brows drawn and eyes narrowed with unbridled fury. Amnestica stood in front of him, her shoulders low, eyes downcast silently as a bright red mark glowed on her cheek.

"Do you even know how close you were to getting me captured, you stupid girl?! What good are you if you can't even use your quirk correctly?! I told you to make sure you erased the right memory, and yet that man was still able to alert the damn heroes! Can't you do anything right? All the time I spend training you is worth nothing, huh? You're as useless as the day I picked you off the damn street, worthless brat! All you ever do is waste my time, mouthing off whenever you like, disrespecting everything I do for you useless, ungrateful children!" the Manager spat, his poisonous glare abruptly snapping to the three standing in the doorway.