chapter 25

1 WEEK LATER
The night before the License Exam

Shimamura sat on the green couch with her legs tucked up into her chest. She had one arm wrapped around her knees while the other was resting on Uchiha's shoulder who sat next to her. Uchiha leaned into her friend, giggling as she told her some story.

Class 1-A decided to huddle together in the common room of their new-ish dorms to calm their nerves for the following day. Everyone was dressed down in pajamas and sweatshirts, covered in blankets and pillows galore. Some took the couches and chairs while others took to the ground, leaning back on the couch frames.

The students had trained their hearts out for the upcoming test... the exam to test their abilities, to see if they truly are hero material. They've come this far. There's no point in stopping now.

Stretched across the floor was a giant Minapoly board—not Monopoly, but Mina-poly because instead of playing, Mina Ashido likes to manage the board as Mr. Monopoly. They've just decided to crown Ashido as the queen of the board at this point.

Also she puts people in check if they tried to cheat.

"SERO!" Ashido shouted from the chair, bolting upright to point at her classmate.

Sero put his hands up in surrender, acting startled. "What?! I didn't do anything!"

"I see you trying to snatch more money with your tape! Give it back and pay interest for trying!" Mina put her hand out expectantly.

Sero sighed and untaped the $100 papers from his elbows. He gave them back to her and picked up one of his own hundred dollar pages. But she wiggled her fingers, asking for more. His eyes widened as he gave her another. But she wasn't done.

He slouched and handed her all the money he had in his personal bank. Kaminari and Kirishima slapped a hand to their mouths, cackling out of control. Mina smiled coyly and stacked her money neatly in the banker's briefcase.

"Cheaters never prosper under my rule, Sero! You still haven't learned!"

Shimamura and Uchiha giggled from their seats. Uchiha nudged Shima with her elbow and pointed at Sato who was falling asleep on the ground after coming off of a sugar high from earlier in the day. They laughed at the snoring giant.

"Shima! Your turn!" Miyata waved from the opposite side of the board.

The always-grinning Tako Miyata had her purple tendrils unbraided and curled around her like a blanket. She was also sitting on them so she was propped up as if she was on a pillow. Those tendrils were so convenient for everything. Everyone expected her to ace the license exam no problem.

Shimamura stood up off the couch and left Uchiha. Uchiha, in response, stretched out so she was lying where Shimamura was sitting. Shimamura walked around the perimeter of the board and rolled the dice—which were much bigger than average.

Midoriya watched her movements from the opposite couch by the windows. Iida was saying something to him but he couldn't hear. His thoughts were too dialed in on Shimamura.

It's been almost a month since he found Shimamura's pill bottle... but he couldn't wrap his head around it. He hadn't a clue where to start his investigation. But he knew he had to. He owed it to himself and to the class to find the truth.

What secrets is Shimamura keeping?

She moved her piece—the silver rocking horse—collected her money, and headed towards the kitchen. But she stopped and spun around, facing her classmates.

"Anyone want anything?" She offered.

Sweet as ever.

Kirishima raised his hand. "A soda would be great!"

"A bagel." Tokoyami paused. "Two bagels."

"Popcorn please, T!" Uchiha raised her hand from her lying position.

"CAKE!"

"We're out of cake, Ashido."

"Aww..."

Shimamura took in all of their requests, trying hard to remember them without writing them down. However, she noticed the one person who didn't even respond to her was Bakugou, sitting with his legs crossed on one of the green chairs.

He looked up at her, feeling her eyes trained on him.

"Do you want anything, Bakugou?" She asked politely.

The pair hadn't spoken to each other since the incident with Shinsou in Gym Gamma. To be fair, she hadn't spoken with Shinsou either. Arima decided it would be best if Shimamura focused on her own quirk training before the license exam—which also gave her an excuse to avoid both Shinsou and Bakugou.

Although, it was more difficult to keep her distance from Bakugou than she thought. But she made due. One way was by clinging to Kirishima who always knew when to tell her when Bakugou was coming around, then she'd leave. Her and Kirishima remained best friends even after the Summer Camp debacle. It was nice getting to spend time with him again.

But after the incident with Shinsou... Shimamura was ready to forgive Bakugou.

He glared at her. "Why the hell would you even ask me that? Like a damn servant? No, I don't want anything from you," he spat.

The room turned dead quiet. Uchiha balled up a piece of paper she got from somewhere and threw it at Bakugou, frowning.

"Don't be such a dick," she shot back.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. He batted away the paper easily and everyone seemed to go back to their chatter. Shimamura frowned, spinning on her heel and storming into the kitchen.

For a second she thought she could be friends with him. Actual friends. Apparently she was wrong.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Hours had passed. But for Shimamura it felt like mere minutes. It was only nearing 10 pm, but she was exhausted. Her eyes were dropping and a familiar ringing in her head just wouldn't go away. Like someone was banging on a door right next to her head. She rubbed her forehead, staying away from her temple covers, but it wouldn't cease.

She felt numb.

"Shimamura. Are you alright?"

Todoroki placed a cautious hand on Shimamura's shoulder. Todoroki had, at some point, sat himself down between Uchiha and Shimamura. Uchiha was passed out with her head in his lap, but he didn't seem to mind. The two were best friends, afterall.

Shimamura nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a headache."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm... I think I'm going to head up though."

Todoroki nodded once. Shimamura stood up and started to head to the stairs without a goodbye, but she quickly was reminded to do so.

"Tikki? Where are you going?" Tsu asked, always curious.

Shimamura turned towards her classmates, faking a tired smile. "I'm headed off to sleep. It's been a long day. You guys can fight it out for my properties."

Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero all immediately lunged for her personal bank and property cards as the words left her mouth. It was a normal occurrence for Shimamura to tap out of the game before they actually finished. But that was all Shimamura needed so that she could retire. Her head was killing her.

Bakugou eyed her as she walked up the stairs, but she never noticed. He grunted and turned back to the nonsensical game he wasn't even a part of.

He knew he messed up. It was just a question of whether or not he'd fix it.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The white haired girl sat at her desk, holding a pair of tweezers to her black temple covers on the table. Her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes narrowed. Concentrating.

The damn plastic covers had been bothering her all week. She couldn't tell if they needed to be tightened or what. But she definitely had to do something about them.

It was dangerous for her to ever take them off... she put the entire dorm facility at risk. But she was confident in her ability to fix these on her own. Hatsume didn't have to come to her every need all the time when it came to the covers. After all, people forget that Shimamura started out in the Support Course for a reason.

She was good with tech. Actually, the main project she was working on in the Support Course were miniature med kits that heroes could carry around with them. She didn't stay long enough to finish them, but she assumed that Hatsume would finish her project in a jiffy.

Shimamura hummed slightly as she stitched a new seam in the covers. The headache still pounded away in the back of her brain, but she tried to not let it phase her. She needed to stay concentrated...

But her thoughts roamed.

"You're being careless, Tikki. Don't let these students deter you from your goals."

Of course not. I know what I'm doing.

"Do you? I have brought you this far. I have to trust that you can pave the rest of the way on your own. Should I give you that trust?"

I can do this.

"Can you? I'm starting to question it."

You always question me.

Shimamura rolled her eyes, remembering the conversation she had with her aunt not too long ago. Arima wanted the best for her niece. That's all she's ever wanted. But sometimes she pushed too hard. Sometimes she didn't know when to stop pushing.

The blue eyed girl rubbed her nose, sniffling.

Smoke.

She scrunched her nose up. Waving her hand through the air in front of her, trying to clear her senses of whatever smell she just wafted.

Why does it smell like smoke?

The smell wouldn't disperse. Did she set a candle and forget about it? Did the dorm catch on fire? No, there's no heat. No light.

She looked around. Seeing a dark cloud swirling around the floor. Not a cloud. Smoke. The dark, black smoke swirled and swirled and rose. Rising against the walls and the bean bags and her bed stand. All the furniture in her room, covered with the grim rolling fog.

She stood up, pushing her chair to the ground in the process. It landed with a thud but disappeared in the smoke like everything else.

Shimamura tried to take a deep breath, but just enabled more of the mist to enter her lungs. She coughed. Her hands flew to her mouth and nose, covering herself.

What the hell?!

The smoke grew and congregated into the center of her room. It swirled up into a vertical line, molding itself into a silhouette of a person. A woman.

Bright, blinding, golden lights appeared at the head of the silhouetted smoke. Two small circles with a black dot indented in the two. Eyes.

"What ar—?!"

Shhhhh...

A female voice hushed her. The smoke rose again then darkness fell over Shimamura.

Complete and utter darkness.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"She looks a lot weaker than you said she'd be."

"Trust me. She's more powerful than she looks."

"She's cute! — What an ugly hair color! White??? What is she?! My grandmother?!"

"She's so pale! But she smells so good... can I cut her yet?"

"Calm yourself, Toga. Now is not the time."

Shimamura could hear voices before she even awoke from her unconscious state. Her head lulled to the side. It's just a dream. What a dull dream.

"Oi, she's moving..."

"Finally..."

That voice. The female voice she heard in her room. When the smoke appeared. But she's waking up... it wasn't a dream?

Shimamura's eyes shot open with sudden realization. She kicked forward as a fighting reflex, but couldn't. Her legs were stuck, tied down to something beneath her. Tied to chair legs. Her hands bound behind her.

The younger female voice giggled with such glee. "She's feisty!"

"I told you she would be."

That voice again.

Soft yet demanding. Illustrious yet raspy. Powerful but also calming.

Shimamura flexed her fingers, but found herself unable to yet again. Her hands were covered by cold metal. Some sort of box around her hands to keep her from using her quirk if she somehow got untied. A bit excessive, no?

She wriggled in her rope bindings, growling. But she hadn't said a word to them yet.

"I'm sorry! Are those too tight?! — Ha Ha! Yeah that's right! You'll never get out!"

Someone from the shadows approached her. He had a black and white halved mask and a matching body suit. His entire face was covered. But she knew exactly who he was.

"The League of Villains..." Shimamura breathed, barely able to form words.

Her throat was dry and hoarse. The smoke really did a number on her.

"Smarter than she looks too," another male voice cooed.

A raspy laugh echoed from the darkness. But it was a man's laugh. "Well done, Miyazaki."

"I aim to please."

That voice again—Miyazaki, Shimamura assumed. But that name wasn't familiar to her. Shimamura knew of Shigaraki, Toga, Dabi, and Twice and others... but Miyazaki? As far as Shimamura knew, there were only two females in the League. And Miyazaki wasn't one of them.

"Do your worst."

Footsteps, and the man that had spoken left the room in the shadows. But the others stayed. The feminine voice creeped up on Shimamura again... this time from behind her.

"You probably have a lot on your mind, sweetheart."

A chill crawled up Shimamura's spine like a spider. The woman must have been inches away from her, breathing down her neck. She could feel it.

A sharp fingernail traced Shimamura's shoulder. She realized she was still in her pajamas.

"I don't blame you... But it seems you do know who they are. At least that minimizes the questions."

The fingernail left and Shimamura's tensed body seemed to relax. The voice moved in front of Shimamura again, but no footprints were heard.

"Who the hell are you?!" Shimamura spat.

Dabi and Toga laughed somewhere in the darkness with the female. She could almost hear the female's mouth creak up into a devilish smile.

"Getting right to the point. I knew I'd like you."

A figure stepped out into the light, removing herself from the shadows. She was dressed in a red sleeved leotard and a black skirt extending off of only one side. The other side showed off her bare leg and thigh high red boots. A dagger holster strapped to her thigh.

Upon her face there was a red mask, spiked on the sides and leaving a gap for her golden eyes to be very clearly seen. Then her hair... her hair was a mass of black and white, tangled into a long ponytail like a giant strand of DNA. The mask hid most of her face, but Shimamura could see the smirk hidden beneath it.

"My name is Miyazaki."

She brought a cigarette up to her lips, dipping it underneath her red mask, taking a long puff. Then she brought it away and blew into Shimamura's face, striking a hidden grin again afterwards. Shimamura coughed, breathing in more smoke. The League members cackled from behind Miyazaki.

"But most people call me The Wraith."