Darkest Before Dawn - 141

Chapter 141

At that moment, Kazuki felt like he could fully relate to Shigaraki, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Mostly though, he was trying to get over the shock and confusion he felt, which was almost perfectly mirrored by the villain in front of him.

Why was Stain there? He wasn’t working with the League, obviously. Kazuki was sure of that. Nothing he’d picked up from Shigaraki pointed in that direction. Had the guy come to join the League of Villains? Because that could have some catastrophic implications for Kazuki’s immediate future and life. He didn’t even want to think about what he might have to do just to survive if that was the case.

Funnily enough, Shigaraki was having a moment of internal panic that reassured Kazuki plenty. Because at least they were on the same boat… So that meant they were just as likely to be screwed over as the other person was. He was not looking forward to seeing on which side the coin landed, but it was better than thinking he was the only one with a chance of getting their day ruined… More than it already was, that is.

“So, not going to let your friend in?” he asked, turning towards Shigaraki and raising an eyebrow. Because he might be terrified inside, but he had a role to play and he needed to stick with it. That’s what he’d been taught, after all.

“Don’t hesitate. Pick a story and stick to it unless you really can’t, that’s when you have to admit you were wrong or made a mistake.”

No chances of taking words back for him though, so he needed to keep the ball rolling however he could. Besides, nobody knew he was lying, other than Nezu and the rest of the people on the heroes’ side. If worse came to worse, he could just continue acting, even if things could very easily spiral out of control.

The heroes were already coming his way that very moment.

What was the worst that could happen in that short a time?

“Of course I will,” Shigaraki hissed, narrowing his eyes at Kazuki and all. He took heart in that the man wanted to do anything but what he was saying. He expected things to go badly, and that more than anything gave Kazuki hope. “I just didn’t expect it,” Shigaraki said, probably one of the few truths he’d said in his presence. “As I’ve been saying, he prefers to work alone,” he continued, but Kazuki could feel how nobody was buying what he was saying, not even those that didn’t care. “I didn’t expect him to come without notice.”

“... So, you’re going to just make him wait?” Kazuki asked, fighting to keep a smile from forming on his face. ‘Oh yes, I can definitely use this,’ he decided after the initial confusion and fear wore away. Shigaraki was clearly not on Stain’s side. If nothing else, Kazuki was sure he could buy time and that’d be enough.

To borrow Shigaraki’s schtick a little, the villain was the one playing on hard mode. Kazuki? Kazuki was playing in normal and he knew how to play. So, there was a very clear difference in the difficulty… even if stakes-wise was the opposite. Which was funny, because he was the kidnapped hero in villain territory, wounded and still dealing with bloodloss. On the other hand, Shigaraki was the second-in-command of the League, he was in charge and everyone listened to him… yet he was the one on the backfoot anyway.

Kazuki felt absolutely no sympathy for the plight Shigaraki was in, however. The man had decided that fucking around was a good idea and Kazuki was entirely too willing to see him find out. ‘Too bad, so sad. Get good, noob. Skill issue,’ he thought to himself, almost wanting to say that out loud to see how Shigaraki would react. Alas, he’d have to content himself with imagining it while watching the man stand up and start moving towards Giran.

Kazuki couldn't have that, however. Because he knew what he would do in that situation. He’d send Stain away and then come back saying it was something quick and that the Hero Killer hadn’t felt like dealing with the rest of the League. Really making use of that “lone wolf” image that Shigaraki wanted to sell for Stain.

So, he had to act.

“Invite him in. Lots of people want to talk with the one calling out the heroes,” Kazuki commented, making Shigaraki freeze where he stood and his hatred spiked. “We’ve all been waiting and now he’s right here. Besides, Giran said he wanted to meet the League, not just you,” he pointed out, just in case anyone had forgotten.

Because he sure hadn’t.

“That’s what I was going to do,” Shigaraki lied through his teeth, turning to glare at Kazuki. In return, he just gave a slight smile that said all that he couldn’t say without really pushing one too many buttons, most likely. “Bring him here, Giran,” he added, waving at the… who even was Giran to the League?

‘Doesn’t look like an actual villain, maybe a source? An intermediary? Some outside agent?’ he wondered idly. Ultimately, it didn’t really matter. ‘What matters is that nobody’s buying your shit, Shigaraki,’ Kazuki thought, leaning back and contemplating what to do from there.

He knew about half – being generous – the League didn’t care for Stain, so while the surprise visit might work in his favor, it might not go as well as he hoped it would. The half that did care about Stain might not care enough to do something about it. He was banking on it because Shigaraki seemed really concerned with that matter, but it wouldn’t be the first time the villain leader was wrong about something and Kazuki knew it.

‘Never thought I’d wish for people to be more gung-ho about Stain’s bullshit,’ Kazuki thought, yet there he was. The more the villains around him believed in Stain’s words, the safer he’d be, he was sure. It was only a matter of… playing well, even if he had to agree with the man that he was sure had Hina on his sights.

Speaking of…

‘Stain here,’ he wrote with his Nevermore, taking advantage of the moment that he had to himself while Giran came back. Focusing back to the creature was… not getting any easier, admittedly. He’d have to work on it. ‘Provided I get the chance,’ a part of his mind pointed out, but he ignored it.

“I know. He’s working with us,” Hina said and he blinked. He didn’t even have to command the Nevermore for it to let out a confused squawk. That was how much he didn’t understand how those words worked together in the current context. What the fuck did Hina mean that he was working with them? “He’s got no lost love for the League… and apparently he’s a fan of yours.”

What

The

Fuck?

He was starting to wonder if the stretched thin connection with the Nevermore was messing with the words or something. Maybe even his mind. Who knew? Because there was no way Hina was speaking what he was hearing. Surely something had gone wrong, right? Had he syntonized the wrong channel or something?

Was he hearing in on some other Grimm conversation? Maybe from another dimension?

“Yeah, I feel the same way,” Hina commented, because apparently the world was making less and less sense by the second. “We can both make sense of this when you’re back, alright? He wants to help you, so we’ll let him.” That much, he could accept and work with, he supposed, but still though...

Wild.

“Remember your character, Kazuki,” his mentor told him, repeating her own words of advice from quite a while back, when he was preparing for his role in the movie.

Rmmbr n trst

He wrote that as fast as he could, because he didn’t think he had much more time in his hands. Couldn’t take Giran that long to bring Stain in, right? He probably hadn’t been waiting outside the bar, but still… Or maybe it was one of those cases where time decided that Kazuki needed to experience shitty moments of his life in slow motion of sorts. Wouldn’t even surprise him.

“That’s right. Remember your character and trust the crew,” Hina told him and he took a deep breath in. “Focus back, Kazuki. I’ll be waiting for you here.”

He was about to do just that. Hell, he’d been halfway through cutting the connection he had with the Nevermore and leaving it to its own devices, barely keeping enough of a hold to stop it from going savage on its surroundings. However, he paused for a long moment, staring at the door where Giran would come back any second. Out of the corner of his eyes, Kazuki could see almost all the villains gathered in the bar… and Distressed, he supposed. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to count his friend in the former group, but he also wasn’t sure if he didn’t.

All the same, as he considered the situation… it put some things into perspective, he supposed.

Hina

“Yes?” he heard and there was curiosity in her tone but also… more. He wished he weren’t so far out of his usual range, because he couldn’t pick up her emotions, even though his Nevermore was right there. Maybe he could train a way to increase his range the same way… but that was something for the future.

A future that he was going to find out if he had in the coming hour, if that.

Thank you

“Don’t mention-” she started, but his Grimm wasn’t done quite yet. The key being pressed by the beak stopped Hina from continuing. Kazuki wished he could see her expression, but that wasn’t in the cards at the moment and he didn’t have time to try and type and watch her with the Nevermore. He only had so much of that and he needed to use it wisely.

Yet there he was, doing something stupid all the same.

He cursed every second it took to write what he wanted, but he needed to do it well. It needed to be said well. So, despite how clumsily he used the keyboard – it was way different from the phone one, he’d found, and that was without having to use a beak instead of his fingers –, he kept going. It was a frustrating few seconds, going on a minute. But he managed, and all that before Giran and Stain came back, which he counted himself lucky for.

Its been nice to have a good mother figure

There was silence after he finished, and a part of him was scared. The same part that had always pushed such words down, hidden them deep inside. The same one that told him that he was a burden, and that Hina had only known him for so little time. It told him that he was a student, an apprentice at most. It told him that he was latching onto the first older woman that was nice to him, the same way he had with Nemuri.

He had a few issues left behind by his parents, he knew very well.

Another part of him was, however… relieved. He was happy that it was out there. That he hadn’t died without saying that. Because if there was a chance that Hina wouldn’t find it weird, or creepy, or be put off by that, then he needed to tell her. She needed to know how much she meant to him, how much what she’d done meant to him.

What did it matter anyway, right? Despite the heroes’ best efforts, he could still just… die, before, or during, or even after the raid they were staging. It could all so easily-

“Kazuki,” Hina said, making all his thoughts halt and his brain all but turned off. “You have no idea how-”

The door opened then, snapping Kazuki back to the bar and forcing him to all but sever the connection with the Nevermore. It was so abrupt that he almost made the creature vanish altogether, which wouldn’t have been great. Although, to be honest, he wouldn’t have minded if that happened.

As it was, a part of him was frustrated, but another was greatly relieved, that he hadn’t been able to listen to what Hina had to say. There was, after all, a real chance that he wouldn’t hear what he wanted. There was a real chance that he’d hear something that would be… not great. So, he was fine putting that off. He’d said what he had to say and that’d been that.

Hina’s side… Well, he could hope, and maybe hoping was all he could do, but at least it was positive. At least he didn’t have to know that there was nothing to hope for. He didn’t have to know that the voice at the back of his head had been right.

So… it was all fine.

Instead of dwelling on that, he watched the Hero Killer step inside the bar behind Giran. The man looked… like a mess. Then again, Stain had never been a tidy-looking guy, Kazuki was aware. More than once had Hina criticized the guy’s style, probably as a way to let out some tension and anger, but she wasn’t wrong. At first sight, he wasn’t an imposing guy, or even someone that made you think they were important.

That is, until you looked at him for more than a second. Because there was something in the way he moved, the way he walked. More importantly though, there was something in his eyes. Kazuki could tell he wasn’t the only one that was in a little awe, because the shifting of emotions was clear all around the bar. Fear, nerves, dread, Stain brought them with every step, every glance, much more effectively than if he’d been waving around one of his blades.

“We meet again, Shigaraki,” the man said, coming to stand a few steps away from the grey-haired man. “Tell me, child, do you still hold onto that… conviction that you mentioned?” the man asked, a nasty grin spreading on his lips. “Because I thought you’d do something, even if our goals didn’t align,” Stain explained and the already fairly tense atmosphere around the room grew even more so.

There it was.

Shigaraki’s lies were right there, out in the open, for everyone to see.

“And instead, what you’ve done…?” Stain continued, glancing towards Kazuki as he trailed off. He couldn’t help but stiffen a little under that gaze, like a knife had been pointed at his throat. He hid it as best he could by faking straightening his back instead. “Disappointing,” the man finished with, and he was pretty sure Shigaraki almost flinched, what with how his emotions spiked.

He might have no lost love for Stain, but the man clearly had pride and the Hero Killer had just stabbed it right where it hurt.

“Did you come here, to my base, to mock me, Stain?” Shigaraki replied, stiff, frustrated, wary. Kind of the same way Kazuki himself was feeling, which was already way too many moments of relating to the psychopath, as far as he was concerned. All the same, he imagined he could be excused for that, considering he knew things had just become incredibly messy.

‘So, this is what it feels like to witness a stand-off, huh?’ Kazuki thought, taking in a deep breath that pulled painfully at both of his injuries. He kind of needed the extra oxygen, or so it felt, in order to deal with the situation. ‘So, assuming Stain and Spinner are on my side…’ he mused, looking around the bar.

The former was bound to be strong, what with how many heroes he’d killed. It wasn’t like he stuck to “weak” ones either. So, Kazuki was warily putting the man at the top of the room’s strength ranking. Spinner, on the other hand… he didn’t know how strong he was, but he hadn’t seen anyone make fun of him, so he had to be decently strong…

Which was wild to think about when he remembered that the guy had been mostly a shut-in gamer, as far as he’d been aware.

And then there was Kazuki, who was no slouch if he did say so himself. He was injured though and recovering from a case of blood loss that he didn’t know the severity of. He also wouldn’t have time to create Grimm before shit hit the fan, so-

“I’m not here to mock you,” Stain said, his lips pulling into a smile that was more unnerving than anything. Like watching a dog smile, it was just uncanny, unnatural. “I’m here to help you.”

‘Fuck,’ Kazuki thought, unable to stop his eyes from widening the smallest bit. ‘Wait, no. It… it’s an act,’ he reassured himself, noticing the twist of wrong in Stain. He was lying, he was acting. ‘God, who told you to be that good an actor?’ Hell, Kazuki almost couldn’t pick up on the lie. How had the man managed to act with his feelings? It took him a second to find a tentative answer to his own question though. ‘Half-truth? Not here to mock him… here to help… me?’ That could be it, but it could just as well be wishful thinking.

Reading negative emotions was neat, but it was far from the mind reading that his friends liked to think it was. He was mostly trusting Hina’s words on the Hero Killer to come up with that theory, really. If not for that, he’d have fully believed Stain. Which meant that, one way or another, the League believed him too.

“Changed your mind about our association?” Shigaraki asked in an impressive display of adaptability. Words-wise, that is, because he couldn’t quite keep his disbelief and disdain from showing in his voice. It was disguised enough that Kazuki had to wonder if everyone else picked up on it, however.

“In a manner of speaking,” Stain commented, relaxing his posture the smallest bit and glancing around. Interestingly, he saw Dabi straightening his back out of the corner of his eye. So did Spinner. Toga, however, looked like a little kid that had realized they were in the same room as All Might, all excitement and curiosity as she all but vibrated in place. “Although, I have to say… I thought your recruitment attempts more… subtle,” Stain continued, his eyes fixing on Kazuki as he shifted his posture to face him. “Decided that didn’t work?”

“The heroes were keeping him trapped,” Shigaraki answered immediately. ‘Damn, that was smooth,’ Kazuki was forced to acknowledge. “We just had to get him away from them long enough to have a proper conversation. Although, he’s proven… difficult.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t preach what you don’t believe,” Kazuki said, joining the conversation with confidence that he didn’t feel. Alas, it wasn’t like he had a lot of options. If he let them talk undisturbed, Shigaraki would lie through his teeth the whole way through and he couldn’t let that happen. Even if Stain was on his side, they weren’t acting to each other only. They were acting for the audience around them too.

“Remember your character and trust the crew.”

“So you keep saying, but we only have your word for it, don’t we?” Shigaraki growled. Kazuki was almost annoyed by how well he was managing not to screw up. He had all the cards stacked against him, and he still managed to not lose… yet. Kazuki would change that, if he had anything to say in the matter. And he did.

“I mean, you keep saying I have every reason to be on your side, so unless you’re lying about that too…” Kazuki pointed out, leaning back even though it made the wound on his side flare up and waving his hand for everyone to fill in the last bit. “Then one has to wonder why I’m not joining up with you, right?”

“So,” Stain cut in this time, and it was kind of impressive how the entire room turned to give him its full attention. It was like watching the All Might of villains, in a way. You couldn’t ignore him, even if you didn’t like him. “I take it your conviction hasn’t changed one bit, huh?” he asked, almost absently, like he already knew the answer as he turned to look at Shigaraki. In fairness, he likely did.

“It wouldn’t be a conviction if I changed it that easily, would it?” Shigaraki said, a growl hidden in his words and a glare in his eyes. He wasn’t enjoying the conversation so far and it had barely started. That, if nothing else, helped Kazuki relax a bit. It would all, at the least, buy him time for the inevitable hero efforts to rescue him. Maybe that’s what Stain was there to do?

“You’re not wrong about that,” Stain answered with a chuckle that sent a shiver down Kazuki’s spine. Was his Quirk to be scary as fuck? Because there was just something about the man. Or maybe it was just the fact that, while he was in a bar full of villains, Stain was the only one he knew had killed a bunch of people. And it wasn’t like he’d shanked a bunch of civilians, no. He’d killed heroes, honest to goodness heroes. “Unworthy” in his words, but still trained heroes, and considering Hina – who wasn’t anywhere close to being a Combat hero – was no slouch in the combat department and could kick all sorts of ass…

Yeah, there was no forgetting how strong and scary Stain was.

“Killing All Might, destroying society,” Stain said and Kazuki felt the entirely new shift in the room. Because apparently, nobody had known that. No surprises there, considering the lies Shigaraki kept spouting. Kazuki could very easily believe that, however. “Those are still your goals, I take it?”

“... You know they are,” Shigaraki answered, throwing out the window any chance at pretending otherwise. Not like he could keep lying through his teeth, not with Kazuki and Stain both there and more than willing to call out his bullshit. “I’m going to tear it all apart, turn them all to dust.”

‘Is that supposed to be a Quirk pun? Just when I thought you couldn’t get worse, Shigaraki,’ Kazuki thought to himself. All the while, he wondered if he should interfere this time or if he should leave it to Stain. He had a few things he could say to that, but it was so crazy that he was a little taken aback. That sounded so… so stupid.

What kind of crazy bastard wanted to just… destroy society? What kind of cartoon villain goal was that? Most villains wanted something, be it money, or power, or even just status. Shigaraki seemed to want to be evil for the sake of being evil, for the sake of spreading pain and death.

In a chilling moment, Kazuki realized just how absolutely insane the man was. He’d been trapped with that psycho for the better part of a day or maybe two? He’d been taunting that crazy bastard, poking that monster in the eye. It was a wonder he hadn’t been turned to dust himself, really.

“Before, I thought your conviction… childish, but respectable all the same. Wanting to change the Status Quo deserved that much, considering how rotten the world has gotten,” Stain said and this time there was a shift in how he spoke. There was more… gravitas to it. Like the change from casual talk to something more similar to a speech. “That’s a pessimistic view that I no longer believe to be the case.”

“So what? You suddenly have faith in humanity?” Shigaraki asked mockingly.

“Yes,” Stain answered, seemingly taking the villain leader aback. And everyone else for that matter, Kazuki included. That was not what any of them had expected to come out of the Hero Killer’s mouth. “Because there’s a lot more worthy heroes out there than All Might. He might be the best of them, stand out among the rest, but he’s not the only one. There are still bad seeds, weeds that need to be pulled out, but there’s hope in this society… And I’ll be the one to take out those blights that keep us all from living in a world worth something.”

At that moment, Stain seemed to stand taller without even shifting how he stood and his grin came back. This time, it was something less uncanny and more savage, more bloodthirsty. For a full second, nobody seemed to so much as breathe, let alone move, their attention transfixed on the Hero Killer.

“And I won’t let you destroy it all, Shigaraki,” Stain said, a blade in his hand before anyone could react.

Just as fast, barely allowing some of them to stiffen, he was already slashing towards Shigaraki’s neck.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Simultaneously, I feel like this chapter took too long for what it is, but I’m also happy with it? I’m confusion. Admittedly, I feel like maybe it’s because a lot happens in a short amount of time, sort of, and that’s not usually how my writing goes. That’s my best guess, at least.

All the same, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Also, I hope 2026 treats you better than 2025 did!

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Do you have any lights on around you can see? I have my room’s ceiling fan light on.

See you.