A light smoke filled the air, the neutral area starting to reek of a strong, foul odor. There stood a man, puffing out clouds of grey air from his mouth, craning his neck up to the stone ceiling that was structured above him. He didn't want to be here, but it was all for the pay, so of course he wasn't going to turn down the patrol he was given. It wasn't even part of his job to be out here, the only thing he agreed to do was recruit members, all for a set pay.

But he supposed this was how it went. You get in the business and now you're stuck here, doing another man's job. At least he got paid more for this. You know what they say, you read em and weep.

How long ago had she left, he had wondered, leaning back on his wooden chair, standing guard for the prisoner that sat quiet and lonely behind bars in this cold and dark dungeon. Maybe an hour, maybe five, but all he knew was that everyone was taking longer than they should have, which would probably piss off their boss.

A sudden creak came from the door, the man not even caring to check who it was. The one thing he did was twirl a stick in his fingers, pretending to be interested in the small piece of wood. "You're late."

"I'm the late one now? You can blame that bastard, not me." White hair. A male with white hair, him towering at about five foot nine, tossed a satin pouch at the man. It clinked with an explicit sound of metal, as it was perfectly caught in his hand as if he were used to this.

He opened the bag, sniffing the overused metal of the coins on the inside. He counted each individual schilling to make sure each one of them were there, just as promised.

He began to cross his leg over the other, flicking the stick that was laced in between his fingers to the floor. "As long as I get extra pay for the job. Man, where'd your other recruit go? You know, Bubaigawara. Didn't you say he was patrolling this run down place?"

"He was given a different job today, just like Toga." The male's shoes squeaked against the floor only once when he walked, before sitting down on a chair across from the man with light purple hair. He propped his feet onto the top of the table, giving no regard for either space or the weak legs of the wooden table.

"Ah, I see." The man was brought to his feet, his specs starting to fog up as the air grew cold. "I guess I can leave you to it. The prisoner hasn't made a noise in hours, I'm sure you guys must be enjoying someone so quiet."

"You do realize that all this guy is here for is to rot away and decay?" The male's crimson eyes followed the man as he walked toward the heavy door. "That's all that he wants for him, that is, for him to suffer like the piece of trash he is."

No response came from the cell they were referring to, only a light sound of cloth rustling around in place.

"It's just something that pisses me off. He tells me to watch him when he's not around, but he won't even tell me why." The white haired male folded his arms across his chest, looking back at his red shoes.

The man let out a chuckle, "If he didn't tell the rest of 'em, I doubt he'll ever get around to telling you. The man's got his own intentions, I can see that fire in his eyes." He then groaned, deciding that he had already spent too much time talking it away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got a job to do." With that, he was gone within seconds.

He didn't hear the door close, but it wasn't like that mattered to him. After all, nobody was going to come looking for them here. This location was closed off, isolated in the middle of the Valley of Haze, just where the borders of the Land of Fire and Earth intersected.

No one dared come near this area. Sharp rocks filled the bottom of the large fall, and even if you somehow managed to survive, the haze that surrounded the terrain made it so it was almost impossible to see and maneuver throughout the maze, causing many people to get lost to the point of no return. So there it stood, the perfect place for their hideout.

The white haired male slowly stood from his seat, leaning against the cell bars. "Do you know why you're here?"

The shadow that sat in the cell was cold and hungry, though he was fed day by day, he was still slowly shriveling up as the conditions here were just not suited for living. He didn't dare look at the other male, only lying down to face the wall. However, he managed out a reply, knowing that he would be punished for not speaking out when asked. "No..." His voice was deep and hoarse from lack of water, but he never mentioned it, because he kept living on sheer will alone.

"That makes two of us." His right hand's thumb trailed into his mouth, biting it as he looked toward the opposite wall. "You must have really pissed him off if you're the one behind bars, though."

He grunted, scooting closer to the wall. He himself didn't know in what way he had wronged him, but it was true. Why else would be locked up against his will? Somewhere isolated where no one dared to enter, left to die in a prison cell with limited food and water. At least he got to talk and hear other people, or else he would have been slowly driven to insanity.

"You know, this place is honestly dogshit. I blame that one on you. Us so called 'lowlifes' haven't been on your radar for quite some time. Must be utterly humiliating to be here now, right? Right at the bottom, the place you most despised."

Silence.

"Hey, weren't you ordered to speak when spoken to? Don't ignore me." He traced his fingers across the iron bars, being careful not to make his whole hand touch them.

Nothing.

"Answer!"

Zip. Nada. Zilch.

"You ba—"

"Man, I come back and you're already yelling at the guy. Give him a break, he doesn't deserve to be talked to that, amiright?" Keys clinked, as a man dressed in all black entered the room. He was twirling the keys around his finger, tossing a girl with brown hair to the ground. She was knocked out cold, but, to her luck, still alive.

The white haired male jerked his head, realizing who it had been. He reacted with a snarl, "What are you doing here, you ill mannered brat?"

He tossed yet another thing to the ground, yawning and turning to a vacant cell. He unlocked the golden lock, before dragging the girl and tossing her in. "Ill mannered? Now, that isn't the way to talk to the one who will lead us to peace." He locked her up before going to sit on a chair.

He grumbled, taking a seat as well, looking at the newly used cell. "Who's the girl?"

"Ochako Uraraka," he stated bluntly, running a hand through his spiked black hair. "A witch from the Land of Lightning, that same kingdom that incompetent green haired knight's from." His turquoise eyes shimmered, even if it was quite dark, only but a faint candlelight flickering in the sidelines.

"But why did you get her? Aren't you supposed to be at the castle?" His finger was pointed at the other male, not understanding what the hell he was doing.

He waved his hand up and down quickly, as if to say it weren't even a problem, "It's being taken care of, don't worry about it. I just wanted to check up on the old man, that's all." A smirk spread across his face, looking towards the darkened cell as his head cocked to the side.

The white haired male rolled his eyes, "Just get it over with. I don't want to deal with you."

"Shigaraki, I'm not that unbearable. Admit it, you care about me, stop being so thick in the head."

The male who went by the name Tomura Shigaraki narrowed his gaze, raising up his middle finger, "Piss off, asshole."

The black haired male only followed with a chuckle, raising his middle finger back at him as if this were standard procedure.

Standing up, he pressed his foot against the bars, his beautiful teal eyes piercing a hole right through the shadow that sat in the corner of the cell. He whistled, calling out to him tauntingly. "You still alive, old man?"

"Of course I am. I need to stay alive..." His voice was low, but loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Need to? For what? The only thing you need to do is suffer." He crouched down, the expression on his face unchanging. "It's what you deserve after all, and you know it."

The fact that he didn't get a response only made his smirk grow. He liked getting in his head, manipulating his thoughts to tear him apart. "Isn't this strange? You always referred to us as the so-called 'lowlifes'. And now look at you, crippled and broken, even lower than us. You've hit rock bottom, the one thing you always feared. How fun is that?"

Minutes passed before the silence was broken. The man in the cellar spoke this time, scratching at the stone walls that surrounded him. "Someone will come for me if I haven't already escaped on my own."

"Who? Nobody cares about you. Not a single person has come after you. Besides, this place is way too dangerous, any sane human being would avoid coming here at all costs."

"Then why make a hideout here?"

The black haired male shrugged his shoulders, "The simple explanation: I'm not sane." An amused sigh escaped his mouth, rolling his head in circles, causing it to crack in a satisfying way. "Which is fine, because at least I have more decency than you."

"What do you even want with me? Who are you?" His words didn't even sound like he was biting back, he just sounded soft like he knew he wasn't going to get an answer.

"Who am I?" He placed a hand on his chest, looking almost offended at the question. "You want to know who I am? How cute."

He turned to Tomura again, ignoring the question completely. "Oi, fuckhands." The white haired male perked his head up, knowing this was just another annoying nickname he had been given, "I'm heading back, make sure the old man doesn't try anything. Oh and by the way, when they arrive, you know what to do."

"I'm well aware. Don't worry, I won't mess up your 'plan'." He made quotation marks in the air when he said the word plan, thinking that it wouldn't work in the bigger picture. "Hey, did you ever get that weird ally you were talking about?"

"Eh?" His nose scrunched up, trying to understand what that was supposed to mean. Once processed he gave a toothy grin, "Of course. But I won't use him quite yet. Give it some time, you'll see him put him into play when it's time. But for now, I'm off. When the girl wakes up, make sure she eats."

The male pulled his body up from the ground, kicking on the bars one last time. This caused an echo to sound against each wall, shaking the structure only slightly. "And as for you, stay put. Your time as my pawn will come. Enjoy the next three years." He chuckled, before turning around with his cloak making a 'whoosh' sound behind him. He picked up his accessory off the floor, leaving the complex like it was no problem.

Tomura scratched at the side of his face, watching as he headed back to the castle he was supposed to be at. He sighed in an annoyed manner, muttering under his breath, "Pawn my ass."

The man coughed, finally speaking out again. "Three years. You plan on keeping me here for three more years?"

"Essentially. Don't expect me to pity you, though. You can fucking die in a hole for all I care, just like the rest of pathetic humankind." He grabbed a worn out scroll from the table, reading it in a more uninterested manner than anything.

"I see..."

Tomura glanced at the dark cell, finally glad that the silence returned. That peace wasn't going to stay for long, however, and he knew that. Eventually, the prince and his knights will come running to save their friend, just as they had planned out many times for the past three years. It took them this long to get this far, so waiting longer wouldn't be a problem.

Patience. Patience was something Tomura lacked, but he knew that if he didn't follow this thoroughly, then things wouldn't turn out the way they should. Just three more years. That's all they needed, and all it took for the final phases of their plan to be initiated.

Just wait. They'll come running just as scripted.

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