Shigaraki was pacing the bar, Kurogiri off doing his usual business and his new members still sent away.
New members.
Those two disgusted him. Utterly and completely.
But both Kurogiri and Him had agreed and insisted- they were needed for the cause.
When Shigaraki informed Him of his little deal with Mai, he thought He would explode.
He was calm as always. Rational. Told Shigaraki that he believed in his leadership and had such faith in her.
But it was imperative. Ties to Saito Mai would not be extinguished.
But Shigaraki was not sure he had faith in Mai.
It had been hard to look at her in that barroom when he first saw her. Her hair was pulled up in a tiny black ribbon and for a solid five minutes he imagined himself pulling upon it and releasing her hair.
And her punch hurt. He had to swallow the blood that had nearly shot out his mouth.
She meant to hurt him this time.
Shigaraki paused his pacing, red eyes roaming to his hands.
He wanted to touch her.
***
Mai was woke up by a loud bang on her door, booming and important.
"Wake up, wake up right now!" It was Kiho, holding a large envelope above her.
But for a moment Mai didn't see Kiho, she saw the bloodied mess of a person she didn't know. Someone she had done that to.
Her hand moved before her mind, reaching around the persons bloodied wrist. It felt more like meat than skin.
"Mai."
She blinked again, and it was Kiho. Eyes wide and terrified.
"Your skin. It's gold."
Mai jerked her hand away, moving it under the covers.
She was dizzy- her mind a moving mess, guilt.
"What do you want Kiho?" She breathed, her sore throat the evidence that at some point she'd been screaming.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a special off campus study opportunity?" Kiho whined.
Mai groaned, "What are you talking about?"
Kiho let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm talking about this." Mai's eyes moved to the large envelope in her hand.
"I don't know what that is okay Kiho, can we talk about it after I shower?"
Kiho frowned "No. why didn't you tell me you were even offered, much less you accepted?! You didn't even tell mom or dad."
She smirked slightly, "They are pretty upset you know. They lost me for a week and now off you go."
Mai blinked.
Kiho laughed.
"Did you forget or something?" She asked, shoving the envelope in her face.
Mai took the envelope, opening it carefully to see a stack of paperwork. Her eyes skimmed over the cover letter quickly.
Saito Maiya's two week off campus study ......here is a copy of her filled out paperwork and agenda..... address of where she will be staying.....number to reach her..... leaves at 10 am on ....
She quickly realized what was happening. The has created a false pretense for her to be missing for two weeks.
Mai hadn't realized she would be staying there for two weeks.
Her skin began to crawl.
She flipped through the paperwork, every piece of information correctly filled out. They even falsified her signature, and because she was eighteen they needed none from her parents.
Mai let out a groan of anger, flinging to envelope across the bed and flopped back down.
"You better get up," Kiho warned. "You leave in two hours." Kiho's eyes roamed around the messy room. "And it looks like you haven't packed."
Mai frowned, reluctantly pulling herself up.
She couldn't be angry, no matter how much she wanted to be. She was a stupid fool for not asking how this would go, what it meant.
Mai was too quick, too impulsive at the chance of cutting ties with The League.
Stupid.
It's all your fault. It's all your fault.
Mai shot up, "I need to shower." She didn't wait for Kiho's response.
**
Mai stood in the kitchen doorway, her family sitting along the table- a look of irritation and confusion on their faces.
"I just don't know why you wouldn't tell us, Mai." Her father said, bringing a stressed hand to his temple. "Now that you are eighteen, technically you can do these things in your own but we are still your parents."
Mai's heart nearly broke in half. No, it nearly shattered. She wonder if the shards would lodge themselves in her lungs.
She folded her hands together, her head hanging low. "Honestly, I forgot is all. I did it as an impulse with a friend and then forgot all about it. And then Kiho was gone and I—" Mai took in a heavy breath. "I'm sorry." Her voice cracked.
Her mother rose, reaching for her with out stretched arms. "It's alright dear." She insisted as she pulled Mai's head into the crook of her neck. "We are gunna miss you is all."
Mai forced herself to pull away, "I'm sorry. It'll only be two weeks."
Kiho frowned "Well what am I supposed to do with Mai gone?"
Their fathers eyes darted to Kiho, "You should study for your midterms young lady."
Kiho paled. "Yes, sir."
Her mother and father helped her carry her bags to a town car waiting for her out front, both crying as they shut the trunk.
Kiho only looked mildly irritated as Mai pulled her in for a hug. "I'm gunna miss your screaming at night, it's become almost a lullaby for me."
Mai cringed, "Oh god Kiho. You're sick."
Kiho laughed loudly, hugging her tighter.
"Be safe okay." Kiho's voice turned rough. "If anything happens to you I'll have to kill you."
Mai scuffed her hair, scrunching her nose "Silly girl."
Kiho finally let go, retreating to join their parents at the curb. Mai gave them a wave, a wash of sadness falling over her.
She turned quickly, placing her hand on the door.
What the fuck am I doing?
Mai opened the door quickly and slipped into the car. She couldn't look at her family as she pulled away.
Mai was in a town car. On her way to permanently stay with the league for two weeks. She couldn't refuse. Couldn't back out. She was here. In a fucking car. Her family thought she was doing off campus studying.
"You know," the driver said "Your family is truly naive for believing that paperwork."
Mai froze. "Shigaraki?!" She hissed.
He laughed, pulling over madly to a luckily vacant curb. Mai was sure he'd stop even if it was full.
He ripped off his hat and glasses, turning toward her with a sick smile.
His hand was gone, revealing to her his face for the first time since....
She looked away quickly, crossing her legs as her cheeks reddened.
Shigaraki laugh was borderline sultry. "So, two weeks. Just you me—-"
"And the rest of the vicious league, I'm aware." She snapped, face still burning crimson.
Shigaraki was quiet for a moment, she heard a sort of shuffling. "So Saito, what do you wanna do?"
Mai's eyes flashed to him, unable to hide the shock. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the schedule is all clear today." He said, stretching his arms.
"So if you could do anything, absolutely anything with you day," his eyes flashed to her in the mirror, "what would it be?"
Mai's eyebrows knitted together. "What did you do about school? I can't just go missing from them for two weeks Shigaraki. At the very least they will contact my parents."
Shigaraki sighed, his voice holding the beginnings of irritation. "Don't worry about school, we took care of that as well."
He turned to her again, "Now answer my question."
"And what if my answer was to kill you?" Mai chastised.
Shigaraki paused for a moment, and then a soft laugh looked out of him.
A real laugh, real amusement- not driven by madness.
She found it charming.
What the fuck was she doing?
"I suppose you'd have to try, Saito Maiya. Although I don't peg you as the killing type, no matter how wild your right hook is."
Mai's eyes roamed to meet his. "You mean it, anything I want."
He smiled, "Anything."
Mai looked down at her hands, closing them tightly.
What the fuck am I doing?
"Fly. I want to fly." She mumbled.
She didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling smugly. "Then that is what we will do."
Mai sighed, opening her hands. Her eyes widened when she saw the tiniest drop of gold. She had not even meant to.
She closed them again, closing her eyes as Shigaraki began to drive.
What the fuck am I doing?