Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 51

Every single instinct I had told me to grab my knives and put a hole in the villain's chest, preferably one that would never heal, but I forced myself to stay calm. I'm on his side now. He's my leader. Shigaraki looked me up and down, and for a second I considered asking how he could even see with the hand covering his face, but I decided that I didn't have a death wish just yet. Still, I couldn't shake off that feeling that I was still a hero, that it was still my duty to take down Shigaraki and the League, that I needed to act now while I had the golden opportunity so that I would be known as the courageous pro hero Vizion that managed to single-handedly take down the entire League on her own.

I pushed that idea away - one good thing wouldn't be enough to cancel out all of the hate I got. I wouldn't suddenly turn into a well-loved hero just because I took down the League, and that wouldn't change the way Keigo saw me. Sure, I could benefit from bringing the League down now while they thought I was joining, but where would that lead me? Back to my job at the agency, where all the other heroes would glare at me as if I was worse than scum? Back to the position that left me with hundreds of prying eyes watching and criticizing my every move?

Hell, even if I used this chance to take down the League, I was sure it would backfire somehow. The public would accuse me of being a traitor, of being an untrustworthy hero and ask me what I was doing with the League in the first place, and then I'd be backed into yet another corner. It would be an even worse shitshow than it was now, and I didn't need that in my life. I didn't need to be told by thousands of people that I was a monster and a disgrace to the word 'hero'. I already knew that myself.

Besides, where would I go from there? I had my own bank account, sure, but I'd left all of my personal belongings such as my passport and credit card back at the apartment, and there was no way in hell that I'd return to that place. I couldn't face Keigo just yet, not after hearing just how absolutely terrified he was of me. I could probably sneak into the apartment while Keigo was at work to get everything I needed, but I didn't want to even set foot there. Whenever I thought of Keigo, all I could think of his voice calling me a psychotic monster, and I knew that if I made the choice to go back to the apartment right now, I'd probably end up committing a crime worse than joining the League.

I had no choices left now. I swallowed back the uncomfortable feeling that only seemed to grow and opted for a coy smile, aware of how Dabi was now standing right behind me, as if he was protecting me from the back. "Hiroko Kira," I said, putting as much fake confidence as I could muster, "though I'm sure you already know that. I hope you'll understand if I say I don't want to shake your hand."

"Fair enough," Shigaraki replied, lowering the hand that he'd started to extend. "And I'll assume you know who I am, too. Good to see Dabi finally talked some sense into you."

For a second, I considered telling Shigaraki that it was my own decision to join, completely unaffected by Dabi, in hopes that it would get the leader of the League to trust me quicker, but I felt Dabi tense up a little behind me. For his sake, I decided to stay quiet - lord knows what Shigaraki would do to him if he found out that I had to convince Dabi to let me join. The cold look in Shigaraki's eyes told me that he wouldn't hesitate for even a second to kill if it means he gets what he wants, and there was something about him that I recognized in myself, too. We both wanted to get revenge on those who wronged us.

Had it been someone else, I would've ratted them out to Shigaraki for my own benefit, but I grew somewhat fond of Dabi. I didn't know what Shigaraki would do if he found out that Dabi had tried to disobey his orders, but I decided that I definitely didn't want to find out. I'd miss his stupid nicknames and bad attempts at flirting too much if Shigaraki was as bad as I thought he was. There was also the fact that as of right now, he was probably the only person that still genuinely cared about me, and I couldn't afford to lose that.

"I guess he did," I smiled, leaning slightly backwards into Dabi just in time to feel him relax slightly. "Do I get a 'welcome' party or what?" Shigaraki stared at me for a few seconds, as if he was already regretting his decision, and I sighed. "That's called a joke. I'm sure even you've heard one before." 

"I change my mind," Shigaraki said after a brief moment, his eyes narrowing as he turned to face the other villains, waving his hand in dismissal. "We don't need her on the League."

"See, now you're getting it!" I grinned at him, aware that I was probably on thin ice. "I knew that even you knew how to make a joke!"

"Not a joke," Shigaraki shrugged. "I'd suggest you start running and be grateful that I'm even letting you go."

I felt Dabi tense up behind me, and I knew I needed to stop aggravating the villain for my own good, but it was fun to get on someone's nerves. Besides, if worst came to worst, I'd be able to use my quirk to disguise myself, and with the ruckus of the bar, I wouldn't even need to worry about making my escape silent, so why not push a few more buttons while I was at it? I raised up my hands to show I wasn't planning on making a move for the knives that were still tucked on to my belt. "Ah, but you know that's not true. There's a reason you kept an eye on me, isn't there? Are you really going to abandon it just because you can't handle someone with an actual personality?"

Some of the villains behind Shigaraki visibly tensed, and Dabi nudged me from behind, as if he was telling me to shut up already. I elbowed him in the stomach in return, silently saying that he should mind his own business. Shigaraki, however, was not amused. "Kira, Vizion, doesn't matter. There's over a dozen villains here, all ready to tear you apart at the snap of my hand, and you're making me really tempted to just get rid of you."

"But aren't I valuable to you?" I feigned an overexaggerated pout as I fought the oh-so-powerful urge to make a joke about the hand that was stuck to Shigaraki's face. "Don't I have information that you need about the agencies?"

The attacks came in the fraction of a second, and I was lucky that I'd been expecting it. They came from every direction at once, with the deafening roar of villains activating their quirks at once, but I was already gone - literally. Even as I was speaking, I'd been already focusing on wiping myself from the sight of everyone in the room, and all I had to do was activate my quirk the second the villains did. I pushed Dabi out of the way so he wouldn't get hurt, making a mental note to apologize about it later. 

The villains all crashed into an angry pile, and I quickly unsheathed one of my knives, using the hilt to immobilize some of them as I carefully weaved around their attacks, cautious so as to not get hit. I had to remind myself to not actually hurt them - we were on the same team now. Three of the attackers lay collapsed on the floor, clutching the pressure points that I'd struck, and involuntarily trapping another two on the ground. I could already feel the effect of using my quirk on so many people at once start to take its toll, and combined with the exhaustion of my body, I knew I wouldn't last long, but I had to at least try. 

While the others were distracted and Dabi desperately tried to search for me in the room - to no avail, of course - I made a beeline towards Shigaraki. Maybe if he saw that I'd had the perfect chance to kill him but didn't he'd be willing to put a little more trust in me. The ruckus of the villains gave me the perfect cover, and I dashed forward, pushing into yet another villain's pressure point to send them toppling, and within seconds, I was right behind Shigaraki, putting him in a headlock. Only now did I let go of my quirk, letting myself be seen by the entire room, and I briefly registered the relieved look on Dabi's face as he realized I was okay. I leaned forward, pressing the tip of the knife to Shigaraki's neck.

"I think I can prove to be a valuable asset, don't you?" I whispered coyly, knowing I'd won.

"Maybe you can, with some time," he replied, his tone raspy, but before I could retort, something slammed into the back of my head, and I was out like a light.