"Ah, I'm probably boring you with this praise of mine. On a different subject, how is (l/n) doing?"

(l/n)?!...

To say that I was confused was an understatement. The mention of my surname awoke my senses , and almost brought me to my feet in a moment of shock. Stay calm. Just listen to what she's gonna say. It's going to be okay. Panic slowly crept up my chest, a suffocating pressure that made breathing a tiring chore. Do they know it's me ? Calm down. In a worse case scenario, I could make a quick escapade using paramnesia . I was going to be fine.

The elderly woman was completely calm. There was no signal of discomfort nor defense in her placid expression . Instead, a serene smile made its way to her lips. Her shrunken gaze seemed apologetic, almost of pity. What the hell is she going on about ?

Hanako visibly stiffened at the mention of my surname. Did this bitch rat me out ? . . Of course. A storm of thoughts bombarded my mind. How is she such a good nurse ? The old hag was praising her a few minutes ago . What if she's double crossing us ? The endless arrange of answers made my head spin, but in the end I could only focus on the ones that pointed the blame on Hanako. Yes, I was extremely biased , but fuck me gently with a chainsaw if it didn't make sense.

My mind narrowed down to all the possibilities pointing at her. All my pent up anger only fueled my suspicions , sending me into an overthinking frenzy. She's double crossing us . The thought was tempting, and very possible. The way she treated Kaminari was too perfect . It was too good to be true. She seemed like a natural. But what if she's just good at acting ? I pushed the thought aside, telling myself I was thinking too much.

"(l/n) has been getting hurt herself hurt a lot lately. When was the last time she stopped by?"

Hanako cleared her throat , shuffling towards a desk as she sorted out a few miscellaneous objects scattered throughout. Her hands subtly trembled as she mindlessly organized , though in her mind it was probably better than hesitating in front of her boss. "It was yesterday, if I'm not mistaken. She fell down the stairs in an attempt to carry too many boxes at once." Hanako rolled her eyes before turning towards the old hag.

Fell down the stairs ?... Recovery Girl sighed , puckering her lips into a pout. "That poor girl , always trying to help everyone. She has a talent to get injured .. " Hanako nodded, looking rather uninterested in the topic at hand. She took a glance at me before looking at the wall clock nearby. "It's getting late miss, and I have to take care of this doll" She spoke , walking towards the elderly nurse.

The white haired villain placed a hand on Recovery Girl's shoulder , a tender smile placed on her lips. "I can take care of it. Plus, I heard that class 1-a will need medical assistance. They're training as we speak" Her words seemed to do the trick, as the woman's brow furrowed. She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. "Those kids always seem to get themselves in some sort of twist. Specially that freckled boy. I'll go over and check it out." She waved Hanako farewell, waddling out the door as she supported herself with a short cane.

As the door shut closed, Hanako heaved out a long sigh, before looking up at me. Her placid smile faded away in the blink of an eye as she locked the door behind her with a thud. Well shit . It all happened too slow, yet it felt like an instant. It was almost movie worthy. Hanako approached the bed I was in. I was suddenly hyperaware of how cold the room was. A shivering sensation crawled up my spine as I balled my fists on the crinkled paper of the bed. Am I able to use my quirk while like this? Shit .

I was now face to face with her. My crimson gaze revised her from top to bottom, and she did the same. It was a silent stare down, and deep down I knew we were both aware of who I was.

"Well look what we have here.. a little, nosy rat." I let out a scoff , rolling my eyes.

"Well look what we have here, a little traitor" I spat back at her. If looks could kill, she'd be six feet under at this point. Hanako didn't seem too happy with my response, as she stuffed her hand in her pocket only to pull out a very sharp looking syringe . Well fuck. Is she even allowed to have that thing in her pocket ? I sighed, looking rather unimpressed by the threatening object in front of me.

Hanako leaned forwards , sky hues piercing holes right through me. Guess I'm not the only one with deadly looks.

"Look— I'm sure we're both aware I have the upper hand right now. I recommend you don't start anything with that nifty little quirk of yours. Well, not like you could anyways" I held in whatever creative insults concocted in my head. I hated it , but she was right.

"Alright then: answer me this then. Who the fuck was that old hag talking about, hm ? Why should I stay silent ? I can just go back to facepalm and tell him all about your sneaky little double crossing shenanigans" For a split second, I saw insecurity in her expression, though it faded out in an instant. With her free hand, Hanako rubbed her temple. Why me, of all people ?  Why didn't they send yandere knockoff or Nathan ?

Anger ignited every inch of my being. Neither one of us could be around each other without it going to hell. And right now, we were both pressing each other's time bomb,  a certified disaster coming in an avalanche.

"Traitor ? I'm a lot of things , but a traitor isn't one of them. Haven't you thought that your surname is common as fuck ?" I leaned forward , not minding the medical tool being pointed right at my neck.

"Common as fuck ? Sure, let's go with that. But isn't it a little too coincidental that you get asked about it ? You hate me, and I hate you. Isn't it a little too convenient ?" Despite my theory being far fetched, I refused to let go. Sure, it didn't make that much sense, but what else was I going to grasp on? It was too much of a coincidence that they were talking about a girl with my surname.

"You're so fucking self-centered . (y/n) this, (y/n) that ! Not even Nathan shuts the fuck up about you. What makes you think Recovery Girl was talking about you ? Did you fall down a flight of stars yesterday? I don't think so" The syringe needle came dangerously close to my neck. Too close for comfort really. I gulped, backing up against the wall. It didn't make much of a difference in distance , but I was worried about whatever chemical was contained in there.

"Then tell me this . Why did you seem like such a natural nurse ? The old hag seemed awfully smitten with your work. Are you fond of those kids or something ? Oh! I know. You're trying to turn a new leaf . Is that it? It would make sense. After being such a bitch in the past, I can definitely see why it would haunt you to this day. You've been missing reports, and you don't file in as much as before. We are lacking information thanks to you. Hand freak assumes you were in a pinch as you had informed us, but you seem to be doing just peachy."

Hanako took a deep breath. At this point, I was throwing whatever straws I was grasping out there. It didn't make sense to me. I didn't fall anywhere , and it didn't make sense to think the surname was referring to me. But what about her attitude ? She was far too natural to be acting. I know acting when I see it.

"You're letting your grudge control you"

Her sentence caught me dead in my tracks. I looked up at her, to meet gaze with a frustrated Hanako. Her brows furrowed as she shook her head . "I dislike you, and you dislike me. I would have already lodged this syringe into your neck if we weren't allies. But why the hell would I rat you out? What good will that do for me?" She spat, a low groan emitting from her throat.

Her words pushed me aback. I remained silent, weaving together my scattered and spiteful thoughts. Am I being too paranoid ?..

"Look.. I'll do you a little favor.." she hissed. Hanako leaned forward, placing the syringe far from my reach as she wrapped her free hand around my throat. I didn't struggle , knowing it would only draw attention, and she had the upper hand. She could call staff any moment, and say I'm crazy or something. I coughed under her grasp, narrowing my crimson gaze into the most menacing glare I could manage. Well, menacing for being in a chokehold.

"Stay. Out. Of . My . Way. Go play with your little lover boy or something" She whispered, lips tipping into a sickeningly sweet smile. Her grasp on my neck tightened, reminding me of the night where our roles were reversed. Is this how she felt that day?.. no, I was much worse.

"I'm in a pinch due to the increase of security around here. It's harder to bring you party of idiots the information you oh so desperately need. Tell Shigaraki that."

My breaths were labored , and controlling the shaking emotions wracking my body was harder than expected. I remained stiff in her grasp, holding in the suffocating wish to rip her to shreds. It was almost impossible , seeing how she had more to say.

"Also, I'm not stupid. I can tell Nath's work miles away" She added, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. Her eyes glinted with a fogged emotion. I couldn't tell what, but it seemed like a reflection of something along the lines of anger and pain. "Next time, mind your own fucking business before you waltz into my turf to come around and call me a traitor"

You're lucky we're not in a fighting field.

"So do us both a favor, and mind your actions"

She finally let go of my neck, a strangled breath coming from me. I was beyond pissed, but I had to keep it together. I couldn't make a scene, not here.

"Is that understood?"

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So guess who's somewhat back from hiatus . Keyword somewhat— I'm back to working in this book ! I'm very sorry about barely updating this summer. But shit kinda went down and I was an emotional wreck these two months, and with school coming back up, I gotta take care of my self. Though ! I'm going to try my best and update at least once every two weeks, and hopefully go back to my weekly updates if I do better !

Also, on an important note:
Last chapter I had mentioned something about an event to celebrate 15k reads , which now has gone all the way up to 28k reads (thank you all so much for that ! ) and most of you wanted a contest.

Would you all be interested in something art related ? Like an art contest . If so, I'll probably post the details in a completely separate chapter .

But so far, my idea is that I'll ask you all to draw a specific character and I'll pick three winners. Of course, I will give our prizes such as oneshots and art . But that's only a concept for now.

Would you all be interested in that?

Anyways , thank you all so much for keeping up with this story ! I hope you have a wonderful week/month.

-takutea