"Remind me why this chick is here again?"

"Because she's cute!"

"I don't recall her being on the kill list, or anything like that."

"It couldn't be helped. She threw herself into the portal last-minute trying to save the other kid, so we had no choice but to bring her along."

"Ah... looks like they're finally waking up."

You drew in air through your teeth, wincing at the throbbing pain coming from the base of your skull. The image before your eyes was blurred and distorted—this was a grogginess unlike anything you'd ever felt before. Had you been drugged, or what?

Oh, yeah.

The last thing you remembered was sinking into that dark, wispy portal while holding onto Katsuki's body for dear life. Fearfully, you shot two [e/c] irises to the side. He was there, wrists bound together with heavy cuffs and chained to a chair.

"Katsuki-kun..."

You didn't even spare a glance to the rest of your surroundings, though you knew well enough that you'd been captured by the villains alongside him. Your voice escaped in a husky whisper, and Katsuki hurriedly averted his gaze, gritting his teeth in the process.

"You're a fucking idiot," he rasped. "I hope you know that."

Of course. Getting yourself captured as well was by all means, idiotic. But quite frankly, you didn't care. The searing pain coming from your hip was telling you that you'd made the right decision—if you hadn't come along, there was no telling what would've happened to Katsuki. It didn't matter if you were in danger now. The universe was trying to tell you that things were going awry, and you had to intervene.

"About time," a scratchy voice spoke up. Shigaraki Tomura—the leader of this shitty League of Villains. You'd already had one-too-many encounters with him, back at USJ.

Now that you were allowing yourself to get a good look at your surroundings, it was astonishingly non-descript. A plain, dusty room, which vaguely resembled a low-class bar on account of the high stools and alcoholic bottles stacked on shelves. So this was their little "hideout", huh?

Shigaraki drummed his knuckles across the bar-top. "Capturing Bakugou was planned for, but what exactly are we supposed to do with you, [Name]-chan...?"

You stared back at him dully. The other figures were scattered about the room. You recognized Toga, of course—she was actually waving at you with a manic grin sprawled across her lips, and you definitely remembered the masked asshole who'd captured Katsuki in the first place... the tall, raven-haired male with stitches and piercings galore was here, too. Plus the warp-gate, some guy in a black bodysuit, a freaking lizard, and another robust individual wearing sunglasses.

"So this is the gang, huh?" You blinked slowly, not bothering to hide how unimpressed you were. "Somehow, I expected there to be more of you... I guess your little "League" still has a ways to go."

Katsuki hissed from beside you, no doubt urging you to keep your mouth shut. It wasn't really like you to be so brash and stubborn. You thought you'd feel more afraid coming into all this, but oddly enough, there was none of that. At least, no concern for your own life—the focus was all on protecting Katsuki's.

"I didn't peg you for the type with an attitude," Shigaraki scoffed. "Well, whatever. You're another U.A student, so that must have its merits. I'm sure we'll figure something out for you. What was this girl's Quirk again?"

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" Toga piped up, excitedly raising her hand. "That's my bestie, [Name]!"

"I'm not—"

"—and she can manipulate light, and energy stuff! I think!"

Dabi rolled his eyes. "What kind of half-assed answer is that, you lunatic? We need specifics."

"It's true! Even though it was dark out when we attacked, she was still able to attack with all the light she'd stored as energy within her body! We thought she'd be useless at night-time, but she totally wasn't! Oh—she even sapped some of my energy out at some point! Isn't that neat?!"

"Huh." Shigaraki leaned forward in his seat, beady red eyes scanning you down. "That's interesting. I guess what we saw her use during the Sports Festival didn't cover all her abilities. If she can absord other peoples' energy... it could prove to be quite useful. And soon we'll have Bakugou's offensive abilities, too..."

You were tempted to scoff.

What even makes you think he's gonna join? These guys have Katsuki-kun pegged all wrong, god...

The blonde was a lot more silent than you'd expected, but it must've been calculated. One slip of the tongue and he could risk revealing sensitive information. In a situation like this, remaining quiet was the safer approach.

"...whatever you're trying to do here, [Name] has nothing to do with it."

Your eyes widened. Katsuki had spoken up now. You glanced over to see him staring back at Shigaraki with a solemn expression.

"You're trying to recruit me, aren't you? In that case, you'd be better off letting her go. It would increase the chances of me agreeing. Whatever decision I make, I don't want any of my shithead classmates getting involved. Don't over-complicate this."

He's...

Shigaraki scratched his neck. "So what are you saying? Us letting her go... is that your condition for joining our side?"

"I ain't promising shit, but if you've got any sense about you, then you'd want to prove me to that you assholes are able to reach some sort of agreement. Prove to me that you guys aren't some brain-dead group of thugs, and joining you is actually worth it."

He was lying, lying through his fucking teeth just so that he could get you out. Hell no. You came here to be with him because you wanted to, no—you needed to. Your soulmate bond could disappear any moment now. The whole point of you coming with him was so that you'd find a way to save him; reverse his supposed fate. What would be the point of you walking free after all this?

You were either leaving when you were sure he was safe, or you weren't leaving at all.

"If you think that Katsuki-kun is gonna go along with a bunch of low-lives like you, then you're sorely mistaken."

Katsuki stiffened. "[Name], the fuck are you—?"

"He's never going to bend to your will," you continued. "Even if he's strong, and you want to have his abilities on your side, it's not going to be that simple. You all see him as some sort of 'villain', but the fact of the matter is that he's just not. He'd sooner die than cast away his pride and join a gang like yours. That's why this was all a miscalculation from the very beginning."

"[Name]," Katsuki warned, "I'm serious. If you don't—"

"You won't encounter any problems like that if I were to join, that much I can promise. I'm not violent or unpredictable, nor do I hold that strongly to my values. Plus... I already know that I'm dying, so I'm not afraid of you."

Shigaraki's eyes narrowed. "You know that you're dying...? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Lift the corner of my shirt," you said, ignoring Katsuki's growls from beside you. Dabi frowned but took a step forward, revealing your fading soulmate bond. You actually winced a bit upon seeing it, since it had faded even more.

"So..." Dabi scratched his head, ghost-blue eyes weary. "A tattoo? Why am I looking at a tattoo right now? Don't get me wrong—it's hot as hell, and I wasn't expecting you to even have one, but—"

"It's my life-line," you cut across, making the villains stare back at you in confusion. "It's a type of Soulmate Syndrome. When you meet your soulmate and they reject you instead of choosing to be with you, your life begins to erode away. It's almost like a curse. The universe has a funny way of messing with people. Mine starting fading a while ago, so I've already come to terms with the fact that I don't have all that much longer to live. That's why I wouldn't be opposed to joining your side, and I believe I have a lot more to offer than him. My Quirk has healing properties; you don't have a healer yet, do you?"

Lies, lies, all lies.

"If I join instead of Katsuki-kun, not only will there be no resistance, but you'll actually get more information out of me as well. Katsuki would never double-cross anyone. Maybe I don't have a full life ahead of me, but I would willingly cooperate with you using all the time I have left. So long as you let him go."

"[Name]!" Katsuki roared. "I'm telling you to shut your goddamn mouth...!"

Dabi scoffed, letting the edge of your shirt fall. "She's bluffing, Shigaraki. It's just a ploy."

"A ploy for what?" the leader snapped." She's offering herself up to us."

"She just wants Bakugou to walk, and then she's going to buy herself some time. Otherwise there's no reason for her to willingly take his place."

Katsuki flailed in place, struggling to break free of his bindings for the first time. You sat in your chair in silence, eyes bearing no trace of fear. Toga let her chin fall onto the back of her hand, brows twisting together as she studied you.

"[Name]'s so cool," she marveled. "I can tell, you know? That's the aura of a maiden in love. She's doing this for love...! Isn't that amazing?!"

"It's true," you spoke, holding Shigaraki's gaze in your own. "Katsuki-kun's my soulmate. He may have rejected me, and may not hold the same feelings that I do, but I still care for him. If you're wondering why I'm willing to take his place, that's why. I'm willing to help you out in any way possible, the sole condition being that he gets to leave."

"Wooow!" Toga squealed. "Oh my god, that's so awesome! She's going to sacrifice herself for him!"

"His soulmate bond is on the same hip as mine, exact same spot. You can confirm it with your own two eyes if you don't believe me."

Dabi looked back at Shigaraki for affirmation, then went on to lift up Katsuki's shirt with a shrug of his shoulders. The blonde was still flailing in place, teeth gritted and jaw tense. His shirt lifted to expose his own soulmate bond—the letters still hadn't faded at all.

"See?" you smiled. "His is completely intact, unlike mine. I was the one who was rejected, so I got Soulmate Syndrome. I'm the one who's going to die soon, of natural causes."

"I've actually heard of Soulmate Syndrome before!" Toga exclaimed. "She's telling the truth!"

She couldn't have possibly heard of it, because you'd just made it up. But maybe it was because of all the nonsense you'd been spewing... you were actually starting to believe your own lies. It made sense, too, now that you thought of it. This whole time, you'd been basing your theories off what you'd read, and heard by word-of-mouth, but every situation was unique. Up until now, it had been assumed that when your bond faded away, it meant that your soulmate's life was in danger, but maybe it was entirely the opposite.

Perhaps it was your flame that was being extinguished.

"What the hell is all this...?" Shigaraki muttered, scratching at the base of his neck feverishly. "When I ran the plan by Sensei, he said that Bakugou was an important piece... but maybe we should take the girl instead? It's true that he's unruly, and if she willingly comes with us... ahh! I don't know what the hell to do anymore! I need to speak to Sensei!!"

"Shigaraki Tomura," Kurogiri urged, "please, calm down. I suggest we stick to the original plan. Regardless of whether or not the girl is telling the truth, Bakugou is the one we wanted to recruit."

"You can fuck right off!" Katsuki roared. "I'm not coming with you, and neither is [Name]!"

"Look, see? They both have entirely differently stories. Just earlier, even he was trying to convince us to let the other go. I have to agree with Dabi, it's only a ploy. They're perhaps trying to buy time until the pros come looking for them."

"Hold on, you idiots. There's an easier way of checking this out."

Admist the ever-growing confusion in the room, Dabi spoke out coolly. He towered over your frame, pale blue eyes affixed to your own. You kept your expression as blank and non-descript as possible, even when he leaned over and cupped a hand behind your neck.

He paused for a moment. The next, his lips had met your own, and the feeling of his cool stitches pressing into your skin made you shudder. Beside you, Katsuki let out a broken, choked-out gasp.

"What are you...?"

He was kissing you. This menacing, cold-eyed villain was kissing you. His fingers, which had no doubt murdered others before, were threading their way through strands of [h/c] hair. That thought alone should've horrified you enough, but it was something else that made your chest tighten to the point of bursting.

Someone other than Katsuki was kissing you. While he was being forced to watch.

No.

God, you hated this. You hated everything about it—from his ashen cigarette smell to the black tufts of hair brushing by your temples. It was disgusting, this was disgusting, and Katsuki was right there—

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL...!"

Dabi broke away from the kiss quickly enough, but the damage had already been done. Katsuki was a screaming, frenzied mess beside you, his cheeks flushed a deep red and eyes wet with tears. Tears. He was crying because of you again. You didn't want this. You'd just wanted to save him, the way he'd saved you time and time again. Why weren't the two of you allowed to be happy for a change...?

"Sorry," Dabi murmured, looking the slightest bit guilty about what he'd done. "I like to think that I have my own set of morals, so that really wasn't necessary... but it's confirmed my suspicions, based on how that guy's reacting. Shigaraki," he turned, "it should be clear that these two are romantically involved. Whatever she said should be disregarded, truth or not. Bakugou's the one we need. She's just trying to scheme her way out of this mess."

"Ah... so that's how it is." The leader ran a hand through his disheveled locks, cackling inwardly. "They just care for each other, how cute. In that case, our approach is going to be much simpler. [Name] was probably right in saying that Bakugou's too proud to consider joining us, but you see... if we threaten to kill this kid's little girlfriend, he won't exactly have a choice, now will he...?"

He stood up abruptly, taking slow steps towards your side. Five fingers were kept outstretched as they reached to your frame.

Death, again. Nowadays, it seemed to be the only thing on your mind, whether it be Katsuki's—and now—your own. Maybe one of you really was going to die soon, but you didn't need a constant reminder tattooed on your fucking hip. Soulmate this, soulmate that... you'd been trying to cast it all aside and just live in the moment; be happy with one another. Why were you always looking to the future, trying to predict what would happen next? Why did everything have to be so hard? Why couldn't things just—

Ah. I'm doing it again. Waiting for all the solutions to just magically appear.

It wouldn't happen, would it? No... of course not. This was life, and life was messy, remarkably convoluted, and most of all—unpredictable. Fading soulmate bond or not. So, fuck it. Fuck it all.

"Don't touch me, you crusty-lipped freak."

Before his pale fingers could reach your frame, a wave of light surged through the room. Shigaraki squeezed his eyes shut, as did the rest of his allies, momentarily blinded. Your [e/c] irises had begun to glow, along with the rest of your body. A bright, flickering sphere encased both you and Katsuki.

"The hell is this?" Shigaraki muttered. "This bitch—she can still use her Quirk even though her hands are bound down? Since when? Why did no one tell me this important piece of information?!"

The villain growled and lunged forward, but soon found that his body was being pushed backwards. He hissed sharply, looking down at the tips of his fingers, which were pink and blistering hot.

"This shitty thing... it's pulsing," he grimaced. "And warm—no, hot. It fucking burns. And it's making my eyes sting..."

"Some sort of barrier that she generated by gathering up the energy inside her body?"

"No one told me that she could still use her damn Quirk—!"

"Relax, Shigaraki. They're both trapped in here. Where are they gonna go?"

He was right in saying that. There was nothing you could do, other than channel all your strength to keep you and Katsuki safe, for as long as possible. All of the light in the room was purely artificial, so there was no way for you to replenish the energy flooding out and around you. You'd never even attempted to create such a strong barrier before. You knew full well the toll it would take on your body, and the risks that came with it.

"[Name]," Katsuki rasped fearfully. "Don't... cut that shit out. It's just gonna wear you out, and—s-shit. Your nose is bleeding... I'm serious, just stop already...!"

You felt a bit of blood trickle down and fall onto your upper lip. A soft wheeze escaped your chest as you licked it away with your tongue and swallowed its coppery taste. The barrier pulsed around you, keeping the villains back even as they tried to claw and pound at its surface. How much longer did you have, though? Your head already felt so heavy, and your ears felt... wet?

"Stop it, [Name]!" Katsuki rocked in his chair and screamed back at you. "Your fucking ears now—you're bleeding all over the place! Stop using your Quirk before you hurt yourself any more!!"

Before I hurt myself...?

It's true, it did hurt, but that hardly mattered right now. This was it. You weren't a brave person, nor had you even been so driven about the hero thing in the first place. You just wanted to help people, however you could. If you looked back to a few months ago, the thought of putting yourself directly in harm's way for someone else would've made you shrink back in fear. You might've tried, but if it got too dangerous, you were almost sure you would've pulled out. If your own life was on the line, you would've.

But right now, you weren't scared. You were prepared to die, if it was for Katsuki's sake, but why weren't you afraid? Dying was something that many feared—especially if it would be in cold murder at the hands of a group of villains. All of the factors were there, yet you still weren't scared. Not even as the stream of blood thickened and you felt your vision blur.

Being around Katsuki had changed you, you realized. You understood it now, the will to not give up, even when the situation looked hopeless and bleak at best. Maybe it was naive, but made your chest swell all the same. It instilled you with hope. Katsuki gave you hope.

"This little brat..." Shigaraki seethed. "How much longer is she gonna keep this up? The whole damn room's heating up—"

"Excuse me! Pizza delivery here!"