Lani POV:

Text Message From: Shouto
Goodnight
2:56am.

I stared at the message blankly, taking one last drag of my cigarette before dropping it on the pavement and crushing the bud with my shoe.

The night—or, I guess I should say, early morning breeze ruffled through my hair as I remained sitting against the wall of the alleyway. The air smelled like garbage, but the scent of lies was far more putrid than anything else—and, man, did it permeate my nostrils. After all, I told Shouto I was home, safe and ready for bed, when that couldn't be the furthest thing from the truth.

But, what other choice do I have?

I navigated away from our text conversation deflatedly, checking the time on my phone to see it read 2:59am.

It's time. I always hate this part.

Rising to my feet, I shuffled around in the pocket of my beat up, black jacket—it would be time to get a new one soon. There's a tear on the bottom left side that's only growing bigger everyday. Can't have any distinguishable traits in this job, someone might notice. Someone dangerous. Or, even worse, someone I'm close to.

And to be caught doing something like this? It would ruin everything. Everything.

I pulled out the wad of money I'd gathered tonight, comparing it to the leftover amount of Mizuchi drug pills I had left in my supply.

Not bad. Looks like I had a pretty good sell tonight. Figures. A party full of young heroes is like a honeypot when it comes to this sort of thing. Kai is the best friend of the year for letting me work at her event tonight.

Hopefully, that means the distributor of the drug will let me live another day. But, there's only one way to find out...

Making my way further down the alleyway, I found the little beat up door I'd become accustomed to, giving it a specific code rhythm of knocks before pushing it open. The old thing creaked loudly to announce my arrival, taking in that usual smell of dirt and mold I couldn't stand. As usual, no one showed themselves at first, unsure of who it could be before I put on my game face and spoke up.

To show fear in this business would be the death of me.

"Aw. No one to greet me? Not the hospitality I was hoping for after such a big sell tonight." I called out into the void, hearing the echo of my voice escape through the cracked high ceilings of the warehouse.

The silence was loud until it wasn't. The not-so-subtle shuffles and footsteps skidded in the dark, almost like I'd awoken the beast, seeing the familiar faces slowly pop out of the shadows one by one. All around me in the dark like a family of bats, my heart rate slowly began to spike, trying to keep my poker face as best I could.

I've been doing this for almost two years now, and it never gets easier-

SLICE!

Anddd this is exactly why.

The sound of a knife whizzing through the air forced me to shield my face and duck, hearing the blade stab into the wall directly behind me. I rose to my feet quickly and removed my hands, seeing that familiar set of honey, crazed eyes blinding my vision. A harsh impact to my stomach and a grunt later, there was a crushing weight on my chest and I was staring at the ceiling, feeling another cold blade pressed to my throat before looking up at the perpetrator knowingly.

"Toga. Is this really the way you're gonna greet me every time I show up here?" I asked blandly, raising my hands over head without urgency to let her know I was unarmed.

The girl grinned widely and eyed my neck like a meal, giggling like a maniac as she plunged her second knife straight down towards my face. Again.

Once again, I shielded myself and threw my head to the side, hearing the metal blade clatter with the pavement instead of my cheekbone. My teeth grit with rising stress, trying to keep calm and remain composed.

Come on. Just power through it. The league of villains is The Mizuchi's biggest distributor of this drug. Having to converse with them for weekly updates is part of the job. Not to worry, these 'inventory check-ins' never last long.

"I just get so excited to see you, Lani." Toga beamed, leaning in closer to my face with a sinister smile. "Pretty girls like you don't come around here enough."

She twirled the bloody knife between her fingers and I hummed with feigned disinterest as she caressed the tip of it down my cheek, trying not to react so she'd eventually lose interest. Toga only hunts you if she knows there's a chase. Some of my past colleagues learned that the hard way. Hence why I ended up here as their replacement. Lucky me...

But, I'm in no position to refuse. Especially not with my...situation.

"Mm. Maybe because you try to kill them every time they do." I eyed her lazily, before another voice spoke from our left.

"Oy."

Toga gave my cheek a playful slap and climbed off my frame, causing me to rub my face gingerly as I sat up and looked over at the newcomer—who looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Hah. You look like shit. What, been gaming all night again?" I chuckled at Shigaraki, lethargically rising to my feet. "I'm sure your animal crossing island still looks like shit."

The bratty man child grunted and shoved his Nintendo switch back into the pocket of his oversized jacket, crossing his arms like he had some sense of authority.

But, I know very well he's not the mastermind behind all of this. The real mastermind just lets him pretend he is.

"Cut the small talk. He's waiting. Do you have it, or not?" He demanded impatiently, tapping his foot on the pavement.

Of course, he's waiting—that real mastermind I was telling you about. All for One's never been known to be a patient man. Definitely not the guy you wanna piss off.

With a forced smirk, I reached into my jacket pocket again and pulled out three thick wads of banded cash, along with the minimal leftover inventory of Mizuchi drugs, sliding it across the floor until they hit the front of his red sneakers.

"Don't I always?" I feigned a bow, internally hoping that would be enough to satisfy him.

That's the whole point of these weekly inventory check-ins, after all. If I don't sell enough to please All For One...well...I'm sure you can guess what happens. If he doesn't kill me for it, the Mizuchi certainly will—definitely one of the cons that comes with working for such a ruthless drug corporation.

I barely began to sweat it as Shigaraki simply stared at the money, abruptly turning to his right with a snap of his fingers.

"You." He pointed to someone in the shadows. "New guy. Pick that up."

Oh? There's a new guy?

Furrowing my brows, I watched carefully as the sound of footsteps descended the dark, getting a look at the person once they were fully in the light. And while I usually have a pretty decent poker face, it was impossible to hold in my shock now.

I gawked at the baby blue haired guy I hadn't seen in almost a year, watching his velvety orange eyes find mine knowingly. The only difference is that they were a little more sinister than they used to be. I didn't think something like that was even possible, given our history.

"Eiichi?" I blurted out his name on instinct, instantly realizing my mistake when remembering the others in the room.

Shigaraki hummed like he was confirming something for himself, looking between me and Eiichi with his own conclusions, "So you two do know each other. Guess he wasn't lying about that." He said.

It was rare that anything made me speechless, but all I could do was stare at the ghost of my past, watching him run a familiar hand through his shaggy blue hair as he smiled.

"Hey, Lani." Eiichi said, keeping his eyes on me as he picked up the cash and pill bags. "It's been awhile, huh?"

Ohh, it certainly has been awhile, and yet it only feels like yesterday...

An ocean of emotions began to buzz around in my chest, his face and mannerisms bringing back too many memories I wished to forget. Not wanting to relive them, I scoffed and instantly broke my gaze from his bitterly. "Not long enough. What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, watching him bow proudly.

"Well, you're looking at the newest member of the league of villains—you know—after Dabi's been outed and all." He said, causing my eyes to widen.

"Idiot." Shigaraki spat of the former.

"The—what!?" I said with more alarm than I meant to, quickly clearing my throat and speaking a little more lax. "Uh—you can't be serious right now..."

"Well, you were our original pick, Lani. But, you kept saying nooo." Toga pouted, kicking her legs back and forth atop the wooden crate she sat on. "We had to move on and fill the space."

Yeah, right. As if I'd force myself even deeper into this mess and become a member of the league. I'd never be able to get out of this. Working for the Mizuchi is bad enough, and when they decided to partner with the league of villains a few months ago? I already had my reservations about getting too close to the trouble.

But, then again, trouble always seems to find me first. It's how I came about this whole situation in the first place.

I clapped my hands mockingly and shot Eiichi a light glare as I spoke to the room, "Well, congrats. You couldn't have picked a worse candidate—or a shittier person."

Eiichi chuckled and rolled his eyes at my usual sass he used to be so accustomed to. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he missed it. Sometimes, it's like looking in a mirror when I see how he acts. Probably one of the many reasons I hate him.

"Mm, our boss, the Mizuchi, would beg to differ, Lani. You might've been the best dealer around here for a little while, but my numbers were starting to bump under yours before I got promoted." He said, causing me to quirk a brow.

Huh? I didn't even know he joined the Mizuchi until now, and he's already getting promoted? How long has he been here...

"Promoted?" I asked, watching his lips curl with a smug grin.

"Yeah. Promoted. Not just to the league, but also as an Overseer—specifically, yours." He gloated, causing my shoulders to drop in dread.

Fuck. Eiichi's my new Overseer...?

My Inventory Overseer—that means he's basically my partner now when I do these deals. Think of a pimp for prostitutes, but it's with drugs instead—and there's no fucking. Ah, I guess that really wasn't the best example to give, huh...

Essentially, it's more of a bodyguard and negotiator if I need one. It means that every week I have to give the league of villains my inventory check-in, this asshole's gonna be here to watch me and make sure it's all going down properly.

When did drug deals become so formal? I'd rather just let them kill me than have to stomach thirty minutes with this guy.

In the presence of lethal company, I held my tongue, simply asking, "What happened to my old Overseer?"

Eiichi's lips barely quirked with a chuckle of amusement, downplaying the situation cockily. "The Handler got just a little fed up with him." He alluded.

Ugh. The Handler—The Mizuchi leader and CEO—yes, CEO because even if the company produces corrupt drugs by night, they produce regular pharmaceuticals during the day, going by a different brand name to keep things quiet. It's the perfect front, isn't it?

The Handler is someone I've never been allowed to meet. No surprise, why would a no name little drug dealer have that privilege?

I sighed tiredly and Eiichi sensed my defeat, moving in like a snake and lugging his arm around my shoulders with enough weight to hurt me. His smell was familiar, but now it tugged at the strings of resentment in my chest, turning the previously sweet memories to bitter ash.

"Ah, isn't this great? You and me together again, Lani? Now I finally know where you were always running off to whenever we were together. Who knew you kept this part of your life a secret from me during the entire time we dated?" He murmured, leaning in closer to me before I shoved him off.

There was a time I cried over this guy. That's embarrassing.

"Kinda like how you kept the secret of cheating on me with one of your snowboarding groupies, right?" I spat, easily igniting the fight we left off on ten months ago.

I tried to forget most of it, only reflecting on the back and forth yells between us that happened inside his apartment after the fiasco. But, it seems his memory was better than mine, fresh face flashing like I'd hit a sore spot for him even after all this time.

Now he became agitated, sighing heavily and rolling his eyes, "Like I told you before—I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing-"

"And like I told you before, fuck off." I grit through my teeth.

His little smug act fled slightly now, showing just a hint of the desperation he'd been holding in as he grabbed my wrist.

"Baby, come on-" He tried lowly before I shoved him in the chest and pushed him away.

"Don't call me that-"

"Damn it, Lani—how many times do I need to say I'm sorry? I tried to contact you, but you blocked me everywhere. I never even saw her again after that—because I couldn't stop thinking about you-" He said in exasperation before Shigaraki's groan of disgust cut us off.

"Couple arguments make me want to hurl." He seethed lowly, putting his jacket hood over his head like a broody teenager. "I'll let master decide if your work this week is acceptable. If it isn't, you'll know."

I hummed dryly and gave Eiichi one more shove away from me to create distance, speaking to Shigaraki as he and the league departed.

"Great. Give All for One my very best."

*

"How did you end up here?" I asked Eiichi once we were alone in the alleyway.

He stretched his arms overhead displaying a small peek of the tattoo that was on his side. A dragon, but not just any dragon. A water dragon, the one based off the legend of the Mizuchi. Everyone who joins the drug corporation is required to get one.

I know, because I have one, too. In the same exact place.

"Olympic dreams don't last forever, babe. Snowboarding is fun and all, but gotta pay the bills somehow." He shrugged, causing my brows to raise in suspicion.

I can't deny my shock in seeing Eiichi in this line of work. He was an amazing snowboarder, on the same Olympic team as my brother Raiga two years ago.

It's how we met. He was charming and I was stupid. But, it wasn't just that...

Dating someone as successful as Eiichi finally made my parents look at me. Even if just for a little while.

Two years ago, Eiichi was one of the older athletes on the Olympic team at twenty-three years old. But, he was still always someone to watch out for on the slopes.

"Cut the bullshit. You won two silvers and a gold in the last Olympics. I know you have money from your sponsorships." I eyed him, kicking a pebble down the alleyway as we walked. "So why did you choose this? This is a job for desperate people, not people like you."

"People like you." He mocked almost humorously, trying to mask the pain that crept onto his face. "God, you're so out of touch. You have no idea what I've been through the last ten months. No idea-"

"Listen." I cut him off in exasperation, genuinely trying to warn him of the dangers. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into with this. Trust me, alright, I know."

Because even if I hate him—and I probably seem like a heartless bitch right now after this long, informative night of my double identity, I'd never want someone to willingly get involved in something like this.

I wish I'd had a choice...

But, all Eiichi did was snort and wave away my concerns, keeping a sly smile on his face, "No use being all vague, babe. I know, too. Everything."

I looked at him in confusion for his obvious hints to something I wasn't understanding, "What?"

He stopped walking now, looking at me with a devious excitement to reveal the truth, "You're only here in the first place cause of your brother Raiga, Lani. I know that you took his spot as a dealer after he got sick."

Oh shit...

Shocked seized my veins before it was quickly replaced by fury, acting on instinct and grabbing ahold of his collar. He barely flinched as I slammed him against the wall, keeping those lazy fire colored eyes on my angry ones laxly.

No one was supposed to know that.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." I spat, feeling nervous adrenaline spiking in my veins.

And Eiichi's sly face only pissed me off more, because he knew he had me on edge, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "Relax, baby. I'm not gonna tell anyone about your little secret. Who could I possibly tell?" He asked sarcastically, biting his bottom lip mischievously.

"That doesn't answer my question..." I uttered stressfully, furrowing my brows as I ran through the possibilities myself.

When I took this job, I was given special instructions to tell absolutely no one about Raiga and what happened to him. Doing so would get both of us killed. And for the last two years, I've held up my end of the bargain and haven't blabbed a single word.

So how does he know? Eiichi? My ex who I haven't spoken to in months?

Realizing I was frozen in distraction, Eiichi snorted and lightly pushed me off him, leaning back against the dirty brick wall. "If you don't know who told me, it probably means you're not supposed to know yourself. I didn't get promoted by yapping my mouth to my ex-girlfriend, so..." He shrugged, implying he would keep his lips sealed.

I scoffed, finding the whole situation ironic, given the reason we broke up, "Oh, now's the time you get loyal."

"Mm, I dunno, you could always give me a little form of payment for some information. You always did know how to use that pretty mouth so good, especially before one of my competitions. You remember, don't you? Probably how I won that gold medal." He winked, causing my nose to scrunch in disgust.

"So long as you're okay with me biting your dick off and eating it for breakfast, then sure. Drop your pants, 'babe.'" I mocked rudely.

"Mm." He sneered almost playfully, yet hints of anger sparked in his eyes for having his buttons pushed. "Just as cute as I remember. I did miss you."

Ugh. I don't have time for this.

Not wanting to spend any more time with him than I had to, I gave his shoulder another shove before walking off, heading towards the entrance of the alleyway before his next words stopped me.

"I mean, hey, you could always ask Raiga about what he knows."

My footsteps came to a halt at his words, slowly turning around to face him in question. His eyes lit up as he knew he had me interested, trailing a few steps after me as he spilled a very small, yet pointed detail of valuable information.

"Apparently...from what I've heard from the other Mizuchi dealers, your brother was veryyy...well acquainted with one of the higher ups around there, to say the least. Might be worth asking him about."

My gaze went blank as I tried to hide my initial reaction, hoping my face was concealed by the shadows as I uttered a parting "Fuck you."

I could feel his eyes watching me as I turned to leave again, "I'd love to. But, after receiving such a mean welcome from you tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if your pussy grew sharp teeth and tried to castrate me at any given moment." He chuckled.

"How did you know?" I retorted, feeling his laugh of amusement grate harshly against my eardrums.

"Jesus. You are one cold bitch. Fuck, if I didn't miss it though."

Knowing he was just trying to keep me around longer now, I simply flipped him off and continued going, barely catching his last cryptic words as I turned the corner.

"I'll be seeing you around, Lani. I look forward to it."

*

I certainly wasn't looking forward to it. But, then again, there wasn't much left to actually look forward to in my life anymore.

Yeah, I'm wallowing. And, after the night I've had? I think I deserve to.

It was nearing 4am by the time I was walking down the street towards my house. The subway was closed at this hour, and I could have called a ride, but I wasn't feeling it tonight. Getting hit by a car or struck by lightning didn't sound too bad right about now.

Keeping my jacket hood over my head and my hands shoved in my pockets, I kept my eyes to the ground as I continued down the lonely path, reflecting on everything that led me to this moment.

How did I get in so over my head? I never wanted this. Any of this.

But, I love my brother Raiga, and he loves trouble—or he used to, anyways. Even being a full time student and world renowned athlete, he somehow had the time and energy to find it one day, and ever since then, neither of our lives have been the same.

I wasn't the only one who had a strained bond with my parents growing up. Like I said before, Raiga had his own relationship with mom and dad, and yeah, I wasn't apart of, but certainly, it was one almost just as rocky and depressing.

God, being in that house growing up, even thinking about it now causes a heavy weight of darkness to just loom over me. No one was ever happy. The title 'family' felt like a fraud every time we played pretend for the world around us. I used to think being ignored was worse than anything. Then, I saw how they treated Raiga.

After the failure my existence brought them, they made sure not to repeat the same mistakes with Raiga. Once they found out he was actually good at something, the hunger for success and fame flashed in their eyes like show lights, perfectly intent on milking his skills for every single thing they were worth.

The pressure of high expectations is almost just as bad as neglect, I've come to learn. I guess it's just a different form of neglect all in itself when you think about it. From the age of five, Raiga was the superstar of the Hidaka family. The superstar to my parents'—he still is. The apple of their eye, and under their microscope every time he took a single blink. He was caged in competition and pressure, never allowed to quit or say no, and eventually, he needed to find a way to breathe. I can't blame him for that.

Raiga was an adrenaline junkie—I guess flipping twenty feet in the air off the snowboarding slopes, you have to be. But, sometimes he chased the thrill a little too much. It made him addicted to danger, and crave to be out of control—because everything was controlled for him all his life. He's been sky diving, and bungee jumping, and loved to hang off the side of tall buildings like a crazy person. He's done all the things that make the average person's heart quiver, and he did it without a single blink of hesitation—and possibly...without a single beat of his soul because he felt so dead inside.

To say he was rebellious would be a massive understatement. To the eyes of the public, the Hidaka family was a well rounded, tightly knit familial unit, all supporting their superstar Raiga with nothing but smiles. But, behind closed doors—my own especially—the sound of Raiga's furious screams echoed throughout the house as him and my parents hurled insults at each other, usually always ending with my brother punching a hole in the wall or running off to cause trouble before they could catch him.

"Raiga Hidaka, you get back in this house before the neighbors see!!" I can still hear my mom screaming, watching one of the countless exchanges through my bedroom window.

I always hid. From everyone. They never wanted to see me, so I stayed out of the way.

"Fuck you!!" My brother screamed, grabbing one of the big rocks in the front yard and throwing it through the window of the family car. "And fuck this family! As if you can even call it that! Ugh, I hate it here!!"

Me, too, Raiga. Me, too.

He just wanted a day off. He just wanted to take a break and be a kid.

Desperate to pull my parents' suffocating hooks out of him in any way he could, Raiga always did the exact opposite of what they said. As he got older, the stuff he got into slowly became more dangerous, until one day, it caught up with him completely.

He only told me about the drug selling when I caught him in the act—rather, the aftermath of it all when he was on death's door.

It all happened during my last year at university, I wouldn't say our relationship was estranged, but we definitely didn't need each other. We texted 'happy birthday' on the special day, and occasionally sent each other funny KickToks, but it never went beyond that. Our presence was just a reminder to each other about the shitty home life we had to live, it was a mutual decision to indirectly go our separate ways.

So, receiving a phone call from him at three in the morning was incredibly rare, and I instantly knew something was wrong before I even answered the phone.

And when I did answer the phone, his broken, pained sobs on the other line were something that scarred me to this day. I still hear them when I go to sleep, or when I see his face.

"I-I'm dying, Lani!! Oh god, someone help me!!! I don't wanna die! Please. Lani, please. I didn't mean it! Please!" He screamed into the phone that night, causing me to jump out of bed in nothing but my underwear.

He was my brother, and even if we weren't too close, I'd give my life for him. I'd give my life for my parents, too, even if I know they wouldn't do the same. Because I don't love very often. But, when I do, I put everything into it. Into those people. I'll give them everything. Everything.

Running out of my dorm, I pinged Raiga's location from his iPhone and ran three miles to get to him—thankfully, clothed. I already called the ambulance, and the nearest Lyft wouldn't have arrived for over an hour so I took matters into my own hands.

I was surprised when I arrived on the scene first, finding him on the street, covered in a puddle of his own blood, shaking and suffocating.

He'd been out there dying for forty-five minutes before I reached him. Even after calling the police and the hero crisis line, no one showed up. The night shift heroes patrolling the area never showed either. It was weird...

But, it angered me to absolutely no end.

So, excuse me, if I despise those fucking heroes. Never there when you need them, but always there to shake their ass in front of a camera for any dipshit who watches.

The wound came from my brother's side, but it wasn't just any type of wound. Black tendrils were slowly popping out from it, sinking into his veins and turning his blood black from the inside out. It was too unique to be caused by any weapon. That's when I realized Raiga had been hit with someone's quirk, and their poison had seeped into his bloodstream.

And because he was injured for so long and no one was able to rid the poison from his body quickly, it somehow had the time to root itself inside his nervous system and make him incredibly sick. When I removed his jacket from his body to use as a tourniquet, a bunch of little pill bags fell out of the pocket, all containing the stamp of a dragon on the top of the plastic.

Once he got to the hospital, I thought he was a goner for sure. Pharmaceutical drugs didn't work on him, and neither did emergency surgeries—absolutely nothing. Whatever quirk was in his body was completely immune to all methods of healing—and Raiga didn't dare tell anyone how he got the injury.

There was a brief moment when he was stable in the hospital, or as stable as he could be, and he told me about what he'd been doing behind everyone's back—leaving out many details to this day. I still don't know the full truth. He only told me because his life was still in danger.

"I was...kind of in the middle of a drug deal when it happened. If I don't sell the rest of my pill supply, the Mizuchi's gonna kill me." He uttered out shakily, panting and throwing up in his hospital bed.

He didn't ask me to sell the remaining stash of his drugs, and knowing Raiga, he never planned to. But, I wasn't going to let my brother die. Originally, I tried to do things legally and go to the heroes again, but...quickly learned that option was still useless. If it wasn't about catching the criminal who was selling drugs, they didn't care. Luckily, I told them it was hypothetical situation and didn't give any names.

So, I decided I'd just be the fucking hero myself. Not to everyone, but just to the people I care about. I'll do their job for them.

I held onto the pills that night and snooped through Raiga's phone when he was sleeping. What dipshit doesn't put a passcode on their phone nowadays? What, is that part of his rebellious thing? Pretty stupid if you ask me. But, it saved his life that night. Because I found the messages between him and his Overseer, telling him where to meet, who to meet, and at what times. Then, I went by myself and sold all his drugs, hoping that would be the end of it.

But, I should have known, with a place like that...there is no 'end.'

Raiga didn't tell me a lot about his involvement with the Mizuchi. He didn't tell me how he got recruited, and he barely even explained to me how he sustained his life altering injury in the first place. I always assumed it was just because the situation was too traumatic for him to relive.

"U-Uh—some...random guy hit me. He just...wasn't happy with the sell. That's all." Was always his original, curt answer, and at the time, I didn't think anything of it.

But, then, the Mizuchi contacted me personally after the night I sold the rest of his stash, and I should have known they would. They explained that if I wanted to keep Raiga alive and slow down the progression of his disease, I'd do whatever they asked of me from that point forward.

'Some random guy,' huh, Raiga? How would the Mizuchi know how to slow down the disease of some 'random guy's' quirk, right?

The answer was a magic pill, apparently. A magic pill only they could provide me, suggesting I give it to Raiga and report back with the results. He was on the fast road to death, and having no choice—and his permission, I gave him the pill out of desperation...

And it did, indeed, slow the progression of his death. His seizures stopped and his fevers broke, the hallucinations subsided and his body stopped rejecting every bit of nourishment that tried to go into it. And finally, he felt a little bit of relief.

His suffering had lessened a lot. And that pill was the only thing the disease was not immune to.

So long as I did what the Mizuchi said, they would continue providing Raiga with the magic pills.

Still trying to keep myself out of something so dangerous, I took the magic pill to an underground lab and had it tested, hoping whatever chemical make up it contained could be replicated...

But, the components were inconclusive. 100% unobtainable in any other way. Actually...

"The ingredients in this drug belong to an unregistered quirk user. There's no way to replicate someone's quirk, especially when we don't know who they are." The dark web pharmacist said, handing me back the magic pill.

In other words, Raiga's fate was tied to the Mizuchi. Therefore, mine was, too. So, while Raiga only did this gig for a few months, I've been trapped doing it for two years, receiving the little magic pill from the Mizuchi every week and giving it to him. It's the only reason he's still alive right now.

But, even if it slows the progression of Raiga's disease, it never stops it completely. He's still dying, and the older he gets, the less the pill works.

Still, it won't stop me from trying.

Ding!

Text Message From: Private
AFO approved of the sell tonite. Looks like we live to see another day. Until next week, babe.
4:13am.

I sneered at the message and grumbled under my breath at the obvious messenger, closing my eyes tiredly. "Fucking Eiichi..."

Ugh. I never intended to be good at selling drugs. It sucks...seems it's one of the only things I'm good at.

About to close my phone, the notification in the corner caught my eye—the notification I must have missed earlier, due to the stressful situation I was in...

Instagram: Shouto Todoroki liked your photo and 3,457 others!

"Oh god..." I sighed heavily at the reminder, clearing the notification from my phone.

Just one more thing to feel sorry about. These past few weeks that Shouto's been in my life have been absolute hell for my moral conscience...

'Never get close with a hero.'

It's a motto I always lived by, even before I got caught up in the Mizuchi, and I never intended to break it. I only joined the hero commission because it's prestigious, and I can quit and join any other publishing firm of my choosing once it's on my résumé.

But, now I'm starting to think it was all one big mistake. All because of one single person.

I'm too close. I realized that tonight...

"It's something for work actually." Shouto said, holding up the pill bag I gave to Convector an hour prior. "Something I've been trying to find."

To say I was internally shitting myself at that moment would be an understatement. I don't know how I managed to keep a poker face. Honestly, if it was anyone else but Shouto in that room with me, they probably would have caught me slipping from the shock.

I'm usually so careful, and yet, I didn't even see that possibility coming. I'm on the radar now, the hero radar—Shouto's radar. Not only is my trail slowly being caught up to, but the person behind it is him.

God...

Never in my two years of doing this have I been so terrified to be caught by someone.

I can't even have the audacity to feel betrayed by Shouto for unknowingly being the one to hunt me down. He's just doing his job, trying to keep the world safe from horrible people like me. But, it did give me a bitter reality check.

Shouto needs to stay away from me.

I can feel our work relationship slowly blurring into something else, and it's not good for either of us. I see how easily influenced he is by the people he trusts, and I'm the furthest thing from trustworthy.

I'll ruin him—and he'll ruin me, too, if he ever finds out what I'm doing. If I go to prison, Raiga no longer gets the pill. He'll die.

I'm no stranger to lying. But, lying to Shouto tonight hurt more than I ever thought it would. Because it was him, and he believed me so easily. I...I feel like I'm taking advantage of him and his clear trust for me. It's horrible. But...

I can't stop. I need those magic pills.

"I'm sorry, Shouto." I murmured somberly, shoving my phone back into my pocket and continuing to walk into the darkness. "I'm so sorry."

I can't tell him. No way. Shouto's too black and white with his thinking, and I'd risk letting my brother die if things went wrong. Shouto would never understand why I'm doing this. And I don't have the heart to come clean about what I've been doing and find out for sure.

Because the thought of him saying he hates me? I dunno. The thought of it just really...really....hurts. Because Shouto is always honest. When he says something, he truly...means it.

And I never want to hear the truth of what he'd actually think of me...

The real me.

*********

Here's a pic of Lani's ex Eiichi. He's going to be important to the plot!

As always, you guys can read ahead on Patreon if you want. Otherwise seee you next time <3