"Hanako"
The single mention of her name hung silent in the air for what seemed an eternity. Her sky eyes stared down at me emptily for a few moments. It seemed she was as much in a shock as I was.
"It's Ako for you" she snapped in a mutter. The blond male placed a hand on her shoulder, his honey gaze melt off whatever stiffness her posture held.
The sky haired man rasped out a dry chuckle. He leaned back in the counter and crossed his arms. "Do you two brats know each other?" He sounded uninterested, but his gestures irradiated hidden intentions. I opened my mouth to form an answer but no words came. They felt caught in my vocal strings as I gulped them down. The fact I was standing in front of one of my long buried demons was a harsh pill to swallow. I was an ill patient that could only be healed with said medication.
"It's none of your business" Dabi rasped. He leaned back against the wall expressing no uneasiness whatsoever. I well knew it was fake, his aqua hues altered between the snow haired female and I in subtle anxiety. He knew how much I hated her. He knew how much of my past her mere presence dug out. My inner demons crawled and strived on the ground she walked on, and right now that ground was here.
"You-" Shigaraki growled before Kurogiri took over the situation, his soft voice cutting into his words. "Whatever past Miss (l/n) and Miss Takaoka have between each other will be settled later. For now I will request you two to show your new comrades around our facilities and where they will be earning their stay. I trust you are mature enough to withhold whatever issues you have with Miss (l/n)" he turned to the skeptical pair. Hanako bit down on her lip roughly, obviously holding back an argument from the well spoken bartender.
The caramel skinned blond quickly piped in, a kind smile ever so present on his lips. "Of course. We'll take care of it! Don't worry Kurogiri" he turned to us with the same smile. "Follow us" Dabi nonchalantly walked behind a skipping Toga, who was more than eager to 'meet new friends'. I couldn't bring my feet to move forwards as they were already walking away and I stayed glued to the wooden floor.
Her sky eyes remained glued on me, narrowing when I didn't move an inch. "It will be quite alright Miss (l/n). They will not hurt you" I cringed at his words. I wasn't worried about them hurting me, not one bit. I was afraid of what would happen if I got closer. The sickening feeling clawing up my throat at the past memories that held an iron grip on me and refused to let go. "C'mon (y/n)-chan! I'll take care of you!" The crazed female giggled as she rushed to me. She took a hold of my wrist and began dragging me away with the rest of the group. I didn't protest, yet my menacing stare was enough to tell anyone not to push my buttons. The only one who seemed oblivious at this fact was the bubbly female.
[...]
"And this is your room Toga" he quietly mentioned before opening the door. Toga ran into the room before twirling childishly. Her amber hues admired every inch of the dull room. "I love it!" She cheered, flopping down on the small bed. There was nothing really special about it: grey walls, minimalistic furniture and dust surrounded her. I couldn't see what she was so excited about. "I'll make sure to take good care of it! I'll make it nice and pretty for (y/n)-chan and I to have girl nights" she grinned, her smile eerily disturbing in my eyes. The girl practically slammed the door on our faces, hyperactive giggles being heard from the other side.
I glanced at the male beside me. Dabi was glaring daggers into him, it didn't really help my uneasiness though. Every sense of mine was alert and on edge when he was around. His kind smile and words differed severely from the confident persona I had seen in the casino. Was it some act? I couldn't begin to understand him. "Well then" he murmured. "Anyways, next room is Dabi's. I'll lead you there" he added and ushered us to follow him along with the silent snow haired female.
I could still remember the ghost outline of his lips as he pinned me against the wall. His pleading gaze before pushing me aside to escape the inferno. I didn't understand how it was him though. The boy from the casino was pale and had ash hair.. yet those eyes were unmistakable. That piercing gaze that was embedded in my mind for weeks on end.
I glanced up to see we already had crossed a hall and stood in front of a bleak door. The male opened the door with a comforting smile. "This is Dabi's room" Dabi walked past the doorframe, shooting the male a menacing glare before fully entering so he could examine the room better. "This'll do" he spat and placed the only bag we brought next to the bed. He walked back out, placing himself next to me.
I heaved a sigh of relief as I saw he flashed me a soft smile. He knew I was struggling not to loose my composure in front of them. The caring gesture was soon to be interrupted though.
"Hey" We all turned to see none other than the annoying leader. His small hands scratched and ran up and down on his neck. Dry flakes of skin peeled and flaked away with each new scratch. "Dabi.. or whatever you call yourself. You owe me a talk" he stood at the end of the hall expectantly. Dabi remained next to me for a few moments, short breaths came from his scarred lips before his posture slumped. He mouthed a quick 'be safe' to me before he turned and 'accidentally' shoved the blond boy aside, following Shigaraki to wherever he was going.
Great. I blankly stared at the two figures before me. Hanako sucked in a breath before turning on her heels "I'm outta here, you can take care of this Nathan" she clicked her tongue and quickly disappeared from our sights. Nathan.. I had heard that name somewhere.
"It seems he isn't very fond of me" his lips then tugged into an awkward smile. Round glasses pushed up further close to his nose, partially hiding those golden eyes I had learned to resent. I remained about two or three steps behind him when he began leading me to my own room. Awkward silence consumed the hall for what seemed an eternity, I still favored it over holding a conversation with him.
"You're probably wondering about that day at the casino" his soft voice suddenly slaughtered the silence I had so much appreciated, but with information that grabbed my full attention. I still walked a few steps behind him, not confident in whatever he might do. "I'm listening" I spat, awaiting whatever explanation he had for it. We continued walking the moment he began.
"It was a mission for me as well. I was working on an undercover job and well.." his cheeks bloomed a soft pink. Nathan rubbed the back of his neck, an uncomfortable laugh daintily tumbling from his lips. "It's my quirk.. Mirage" he managed to stumble out in between embarrassed huffs. I quirked a brow. This time I stepped closer, now walking side to side with him. "Mirage?" He nodded. "Mirage.. I have the ability to take any genetical information and replicate it on myself or others. It stores the information and-" he trailed off, cheeks blooming into a darker shade if that was even possible.
"I might as well show you..the explanation is rather technical" he mumbled, more to himself than me. A soft glow irradiated from his forehead, that was mostly covered by his golden locks, and he swiped a hand slowly over his face. What the fuck?!- I nearly jumped backwards as I was greeted with a completely different face. Angular features framed by ash locks and a ghostly complexion. Him.. I stared at his transformation dumbfounded, no words to respond came from me. That's a pretty fucking interesting quirk. It reminded me of something that I couldn't put my finger on.
Nathan made exaggerated hand gestures and swiped a hand in front of my face "Hello? Earth to (y/n)" I swatted his hand away, a scowl prominent on my lips. "That's a fucking trippy quirk" He nodded and shrugged. "You get used to it with time" his gaze softened again, and he raised a finger to his forehead, specifically a lilac gem embedded into it. "All the genetical information is stored up here. Though I find it kind of annoying" he admitted. "I can only gain the genetical information by ingesting my target's DNA" he cleared his throat. "I can only do that by well.."
"Kissing?" I deadpanned. His lips tugged into a bashful smile as his hands fidgeted with the cuffs of his shirt. "Not exactly.. I can ingest any type of DNA. Hair, nails, blood.." he sighed and leaned back against the nearest wall. I stepped closer, this time my tone flared with anger. "Then why the hell did you–"
"I panicked" his gaze dropped to the floor, a weak sigh escaping past his lips. "I don't have a very good history with blood and I panicked at the thought of hurting you and you were just captivating and I–" he stopped to take a final breath. "I simply panicked" he finished, his tone slowly calming. "Forgive me for that" his words sounded genuine. But could I trust them?
I shrugged. "Whatever.. but if you attempt anything like that again don't think I will hesitate to–" his golden gaze pierced through me the moment he opened his mouth, dangerous words parting from his lips and straight to my chest. "Traumatize me?" His lips tugged downwards into a child like pout. He shook his head, his hand pushing his drooping glasses back into position.
"I am aware of how strong you are (y/n). I don't wish to quarrel with you about anything. In fact, you're quite interesting if you ask me! Ako has told me much about your fascinating quirk" his expression lit up in gleaming joy. His steps turned and began to circle around me, curious questions being thrown one after the other. "So, we might as well try to start on the right foot"
Oh god did I regret not walking away at that moment.
"What's your favorite drink?"
"Your favorite color?"
"Do you have any preference in food?"
"What did you previously do before coming?"
He asked in an enthusiastic tone. Each question was asked more eagerly, his gestures almost resembled the peppy psychotic blond from earlier.
I raised my hands in defeat at his question ambush. "Slow fucking down dude those are a bunch of questions" I huffed. There were still unanswered ones roaming my mind. If he wanted to know about me, I wanted to know about him too. "But if you want me to answer those you might as well answer me this"
I stared up at him. There was no hint of humor in my expression, as my empty (e/c) hues bored into his joyful expression and my hands rested motionlessly at my sides. "Why me? Why did you use your quirk on me?" There's nothing special about me. Why did he need my genetical information?
"Well.." The joy drained right from his face as he came completely to a halt. He turned to me, leaning closer until we were mere inches apart. He towered over me and with a fingertip lightly lifted my chin. "Let's just say that in the field I work in I need as many identities as I can gather.. transformation is key. And you have a very unique structure" he gave me a weak smile, yet there was no humor in his words.
"What is this 'field'?" I pushed, lifting my fingers into doing air quotes to emphasize my words. His hands fidgeted with the hem of his shirt now, he lightly shook his head. "You'll know soon enough" Nathan simply shrugged and turned to face the nearest door. "Anyways, this is your room (y/n)!" I scowled at his sudden change of topic but I was too exhausted to retaliate. All my little to nonexistent energy had been drained with the shocking events , so I just rolled along with it.
I walked into the open room and took in my surroundings. Just like Toga's room, the walls were bleak grey and the furniture was minimalistic and basic. I didn't care though, it was the essential and what I needed at the moment. At least it's nicer than some places I've stayed in.
"Oh and one more thing (y/n)"
His kind smile was never fading, yet his words carried an underlying malice that sent curling shivers down my spine.
"It takes more than a bit of fear to traumatize me, so you don't have to worry about hurting me. I'm a tough cookie"
And with that he simply shut the door, waving at me before he did so. I stood in silence staring blankly at the wall trying to process it all. Hanako was here. I just joined a serious villain organization. "Huh.." There was only one thought running through my head at that moment. I need to sleep holy shit . My limbs weighed double to me and my knees threatened to crumble under me.
I dragged myself to the bed, not even bothering to kick off my military boots. As usual I tossed and turned in the unfamiliar sheets and time seemed to slow along with my heavy movements. Eventually I was embraced by the unsettling darkness that was sleep.
That didn't last long.
As an insomniac, the slightest details can shatter the thin line we waver in at night between conscious and unconsciousness. In this case, the unsettling sound of ruffling sheets ticked my clock. It was low, almost nonexistent, yet for me it was no different from nails clawing down a chalkboard or a piercing ringing in my ears.
A deafening sound choked in my vocal chords as my hazy vision focused and adjusted as a camera lens would before capturing an important moment. Icy frost eyes greeted me in the darkness of the night. My hand instinctively found a throat, and my nails dug in at the tender skin.
She didn't even have a moment to react, hence she had completely frozen at the failure of her stealth attack.
"Give me one fucking reason not to end you right now. I'm not the same little girl you knew years ago" I growled.
The urge of crushing her wind pipes only enlarged as she winced under me. Her free hand clawed at my own, scratching and squeezing mine in a pathetic attempt. Her metal riddled knuckles weakly morphed under her fist only to revert back to rings agains. She was rendered helpless, and she hated it.
[...]
[1st person POV]
Touya Todoroki
"What do you want?" I glanced at the malnourished leader besides me. He ignored my words and continued walking. I had no idea where he was leading me but I had no choice but to follow.
Soon enough he stopped midway a more secluded hallway. He turned to me, amusement in his tone. "Congratulations on convincing the walking torture device to join" A breathless laugh came from him, sounding like an asthma attack more than anything.
"She chose to come here on her own. Whatever you have planned for her, don't drag me into. I'm not going to humor your pathetic ass" He stiffened when I spoke and clenched a fist, a guttural growl warned me to shut up.
"Oh no, I don't need your influence over her anyways. I have that little freak right where I need her" I curled back my fist. A burning desire to char him alive tempted the flames inside me.
"If all you're going to do is fucking taunt me with empty words, I don't give a fuck about it. She is stronger than she looks. Stooping down to the like of following someone like you is something she would never do" I spat. He was our leader but (y/n) would never let herself be kicked like a curb dog. I knew that for a fact.
I listened to his disturbing giggles as I faced away from him and stalked off. If he thought we'd be afraid of something as weak as that.
He had a fucking storm coming.
_______________
IM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER WAS SO OC BASED. I really wanted to avoid boring you all to much with OC's but I wanted to get some points across! Hopefully this was an alright chapter and you enjoyed it.
And I also hope you guys love my babies as much as I love them because as much as Hanako is a fucking bitch I've put a lot of detail into her and Nathan so they're good to the story-
Anyways, thank you all for voting and commenting! Also for nominating this story in the BNHA awards.
Have an amazing week!
-takutea