chapter twenty-two;

YOUKO SMILED IN THE MIRROR as she made sure her little red bow tie was exactly in the center and was the epitome of utter perfection.

     the girl had decided to let her hair down, since apparently after a day of putting your hair in pigtails hurts your head.

     though she did put two skull hair clips—that shigaraki had bought for her—on both sides of her hair.

     "YOKO!! ARE YOU READY YET~", toga yelled.

     "YES!!!", youko shouted back. "alright johnny, today is an important day, so make sure you don't trip or anything", youko instructed, giggling as she knew johnny has never tripped before.

the little girl readjusted johnny's tie that she had lent him, to which it was a little crooked, since the nomu didn't exactly have a neck.

"well don't you look cute", compress complimented, as youko and johnny waddled out into the hallway, where everyone was waiting.

     "thank you mr. compress! johnny is excited for this meeting", youko smiled as she looked up at her father.

     "aww, my adorable little yoko!! she's growing up too fast. this is all your fault tomura!", toga whined, pinching youko's cheeks.

     shigaraki clicked his tongue as he slapped the blonde girl's hands away.

     "don't touch my daughter so carelessly. and she's growing up just fine", shigaraki growled as he picked youko up, getting ready to head out.

     "papa, your hair's getting long", youko laughed as she felt shigaraki's hair fly into her face while the door sung open, revealing the autumn breeze.

"should I cut it?"

"mm...maybe just a trim", youko smiled, taking out one of her skull clips and transferring it to shigaraki's head.

"hm".

"are you sure I can't come along with you guys?", youko pouted, using her puppy eyes technique, as she knew shigaraki even struggled with saying no to her most times.

the blue-haired male sighed.

"no, not today", shigaraki repsonded, making youko frown even more.

she didn't understand why johnny got to attend instead of her.

"but I....", youko mumbled, to the point shigaraki wasn't even able to hear anything.

"what?"

"I-I miss you papa...you've been so busy with everything...that I haven't seen you a lot", youko teared up, making shigaraki suddenly feel a feeling that he was certainly not used to.

guilt and remorse soared through the male. having to have been babied by kurogiri, he suddenly understood what the mist man was put through.

"I...when I come back, I'll bring you a book", shigaraki softly said.

"and we'll read it together?", youko asked, suddenly not as upset anymore.

"if you want..."

"can it be a fairytale? like one of those super long books so we can spend lots of time together??", youko pleaded, batting her lashes, making shigaraki let out a chuckle.

"I'll see to it. but I've really got to go now. the league's waiting", shigaraki grumbled, to which youko had just sighed.

"alright papa...I'll see you soon then. I love you!!", youko cheered as she kissed shigaraki's cheek.

shigaraki stiffened at the three words. never, not even master, has told him that he was loved.

"later youko", shigaraki barely whispered as he placed a soft kiss on top of the girl's head before letting her down.

youko waved as she watched the league walk off. she had assumed that they would be riding the stolen car, but apparently they were walking on foot.

or so that's what she thought.

_♚_

johnny the nomu wasn't just a gift to youko for the fun of it. he was a teleportation tool, perfect for the league, especially since kurogiri was currently trapped in the hero's kingdom's cellar.

     as the little nomu spat out some disgusting black gunk, the league was swiftly transported to a side of the villain castle's ground, where there resided a small laboratory that was hidden behind the nasty green vines.

     the door momentarily swung open after compress had politely knocked twice.

     garaki kyudai, better known as ujiko daruma or dr. ujiko, immediately invited the league in, slamming the door closed as everyone entered.

     the dark room seemed to only be lit by lanterns and the copious amount of containers that held various types of nomus.

"johnny! is he wearing a red tie?", dr. ujiko questioned.

"indeed. my daughter has a matching one", shigaraki briefly answered.

"hm...peculiar indeed".

spinner would've begged to differ, considering the scientist himself was quite eccentric and deranged.

"what's your reason for calling an audience with me?", shigaraki asked, getting straight to the point so that he could go home with a fairytale book sooner.

"what does your majesty have to show me?"

toga thought that it was strange for the man to summon them, yet ask what shigaraki had to offer. if anything, he should've told them what he had to give, considering shigaraki was the current villain king.

"I don't remember much about my past...and I have felt empty for the longest time until I met master...and my daughter", shigaraki said, mumbling the very last part.

"the hands that I have...they make my heart feel heavy. they make me feel rage, intense irritation. this juxtaposition of feelings makes me want to destroy anything and everything", shigaraki passionately explained.

"and with your help, I can show you heaven and hell".

dr. ujiko hummed in response. his googles hiding his many wrinkles as he stroked his large bushy mustache.

     "quite childish...though not exactly a pipe dream", the old man responded, to which compress was a bit surprised at how easily persuaded the doctor was.

     "does that mean I have to destroy everything I love?", toga asked.

     "we should get what we want as well", shigaraki answered, giving the other members relief, as the man himself had something precious to him too.

     "the plan was to always help of course. it's just that I don't believe that your majesty is ready...to reign. until I see more development, I refuse to give it my all", dr. ujiko explained, making shigaraki clench his fists as he kept his face neutral.

"and until your majesty gets gigantomachia to submit to you, I'm afraid I will be quietly awaiting for your majesty's improvement in growth".

shigaraki unclenched his fists and un-gritted his teeth as he huffed.

"fine. so be it", he bitterly answered.

"my apologies, not really, but I won't be able to help fight that giant mountain. I've got a good potential ally waiting", dabi interrupted, clearly referring to hawks.

"in that case, you can help me test out the high-end nomus", dr. ujiko suggested, to which dabi had reluctantly agreed.

"now that we have everything figured out, send me back to giran's", shigaraki commanded.

"go back? why would your majesty need to go back? now's the perfect time to challenge machia", dr. ujiko laughed, clearly pleased at the enormous villain's nickname.

"what I do is none of your concern", shigaraki growled, growing impatient.

"your majesty, it is in your best interest to sort out your priorities. if you're worried about her highness, I'm sure she'd understand your current position", dr. ujiko assured.

shigaraki only glared harder at the brilliant scientist.

"don't tell me what to do!", the blue-haired male spat.

"your majesty, you need to stop—"

"just send me back", dabi interrupted once again, not having the energy to go through with all this madness.

"just send me back to let me check on her, and I'll be back to help test the nomus", dabi repeated, since apparently no one had responded.

     "fine...but only a day's time", dr. ujiko sighed, caving in.

     shigaraki stared at dabi, who just gave a curt nod back. both males never seemed to get along, but there was one thing—one person—that they could get on the same field for:

     shigaraki youko, their little princess, their little queen.

✦ . . . . ────────☀️