Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 79

Mariko counted the seconds until it stopped: two minutes. "That's around 200 feet below ground," she estimated.

A pair of doors slid open and Mariko knew they were now inside the compound. She was dragged another 150 paces before they stopped again.

"Enter when the light turns green."

Not being able to see, Mariko didn't know what light he was talking about nor did she know when it turned green. She just followed along when she felt the harsh tug on her arm once more. Suddenly, Dabi shoved her to the ground hard. Having relied on him the past 10 or so minutes as a guide and balance, she immediately lost her footing and went skidding across the floor.

"Now that was quite the entrance," a feminine voice purred.

Mariko's body went cold at the sound. She thought she'd been prepared to find her alive again, but just hearing her voice was haunting, it was like the sound of death itself.

"I take it you are Madame Shimizu," Kurogiri guessed.

The group of villains turned to the doors, their eyes locking on a tall woman with hair as black as night and electric blue eyes. They practically glowed with madness and hatred. She wore a black kimono, her hair tied up in an elegant yet simple updo. She was startlingly beautiful, which made her sinister expression all the more chilling.

"That is correct. You're Shigaraki's underlings aren't you? How unfortunate... I'd been hoping to meet him. I even wore this fancy outfit to greet him as my guest of honor," she sighed disappointedly.

"I apologize," he started, "the young master had a pressing matter to attend to."

"There'll be more opportunities I'm sure. I'm just sad I couldn't thank him in person for the gift," she said.

Mariko felt her eyes on her and she shivered involuntarily. She didn't even have to see to feel the malice emanating from her.

"Oh my... don't tell me you're surprised Mari," she said the name like it was a curse. "As if an explosion that small could stop me. It's good to see you though. You look well. How are the others, Araya, Hayato, and Fujio?" she asked, her tone clearly condescending.

She didn't answer.

"ANSWER ME!"

A sharp pain erupted in the brunette's abdomen as Shimizu kicked her right below her ribs.

"Aren't you at least going to say hello?" she asked sweetly.

Again, there was no response.

"You bitch," she spat. Mineko grabbed her arm, and as if it were a twig, she snapped it.

Mariko almost screamed out loud; the pain completely unexpected and intense. She couldn't make a sound though. She couldn't give Mineko Shimizu any satisfaction whatsoever because that would shorten the amount of time they had for the mission. She silently implored her teammates to hurry up in gaining access to the compound.

The members of the L.o.V stared at the scene in shock. They didn't know what was more impressive: the fact that Shimizu had snapped Mariko's arm like it was nothing or the fact that the latter hadn't reacted in the slightest.

Oddly enough, Dabi felt a surge of anger, seeing the brunette's mangled arm fall limply at her side. Maybe it was because she had looked out for him at one point despite him not being aware of it. Maybe it was because she hadn't treated him like a mere criminal or ratted his identity out to her team either, but it didn't sit right with him that she was getting beat up while he was just standing around like an idiot.

"I don't like the sounds of bone cracking," Toga announced. She liked blood, she loved blood; but bones were another matter altogether. They were ugly and disgusting. "This makes me sick," she told her.

"Why're you going all ape-shit on her?" Dabi asked, nodding towards Mariko.

Mineko stared at them annoyed that she was being interrupted. "I am an educated scientist; my mental capacity exceeds all of the human populations including yours. I do not go apeshit on people," she corrected. "I have temporarily given her osteoporosis. It hardly takes any strength whatsoever to break someone's bone when they're in that condition. Her bones have been rendered as strong as a sheet of paper." She gestured to the brunette, "She's the reason I was removed from Division 1. She's the reason my military career ended, and my life was reduced to black market deals and making greatness in the shadows." Her words had set her off and she began to mutter incoherently to herself. Angry grunts and curse words spilled out of her mouth as she was temporarily lost in her own thoughts. Then, the anger left her features. She seemed almost excited as she turned her attention back to the trio. "Right!" she exclaimed.

She called out to a pair of guards that seemed to melt in from the walls. "Escort this group of people to the guest rooms. I'll deal with them in the morning. Do not disturb me for the rest of the night. I'm going to take my time playing with her," she said walking to Mariko and petting her on the head.

The brunette let out a breath. "Please hurry," she silently begged.