About two days after meeting Yin, Mirko got a hold of Hawks finally. It had been over a month since they'd been in touch. She wasn't sure if he was going bad or good.

But he seemed okay via phone.

"New info. We need to talk in person," Mirko said.

"Finally...though I hoped it was kind of over. I guess that was too much, huh?" Hawks said.

"For us, yes."

"Well, I know this spot--people know better than to spy there. You've probably been there before. You're coming alone?"

"Unless someone else tags along for no reason. They all know--mostly." Mirko pursed her lips, thinking of Medea.

"They don't seem to let you out alone," Hawks said dryly.

"I work every day, you idiot."

"Eh, whatever. If you do bring a friend, make sure to use the back entrance. Come up to the top floor."

Mirko rolled her eyes.

"So, yeah, I'm going to fill him in," she told a few members of the League, Shigaraki included but no Medea or Twice.

"Great, because we all know that birdbrain will be useful," Compress said.

"He was useful enough fighting Originals. He is big advantage against a large group," Silk said. "You never know." She sipped her coffee.

"Since the DJs are still not back, we have to let someone else in on this. Remember what they said." Mirko reiterated the new verdict of the group. "We all have to interconnect."

"I think she meant the Heroes," Spinner said.

"Where it concerned Lethe, it's all of our problems, isn't it? He could go for them first," Mirko countered.

"Well, go on, no one's stopping you," Spinner said.

"I'm coming," Shigaraki announced.

Everyone looked at him.

"Why?" Mirko asked. She didn't say no, though.

"Lethe is League business, in a way. And it was my lead, so if anyone's going to explain it, it's me," Shigaraki insisted.

"Well...fine." Mirko tugged her hair. "But you can't wear all that black and edgy stuff, then. It's too obvious."

"He doesn't own a non black piece of clothing except for the cape," Compress said.

"I'm just saying it'll catch people's attention," Mirko said, "and this place is not exactly nondescript. Figure it out. I'm leaving in 20 minutes, tops." She walked out of the room to grab her purse.

"Make-over time?" Compress said excitedly.

Of course, an actual make-over was out of the question, but with some hunting around and help from Silk, they did at least continue to put together a not totally black ensemble. There was still black in it, but they mixed in some darker blue and grey and stuff.

"Wear hat," Silk instructed. "Is less noticeable."

"I think this is enough." Shigaraki didn't like trying new things.

"Come now, if you're going to walk right by Pro Heroes, you have to at least try," Compress said.

"Look at Mirko--she wears black more when she's out with us off the job," Medea, who'd joined them only for this, remarked. "And I have to tone down the purple. It's just part of the whole stealthy thing."

Shigaraki sighed.

"Leaving with or without you!" Mirko called from the front.

"She sounds like my mom," Medea said, then bit her lip. "I miss her..."

Silk patted her shoulder.

"My mom did just leave without me," Spinner said. "All the time."

"Nobody asked," Compress said.

"That was unkind," Silk scolded him.

"I just thought he shouldn't step on Medea's moment," Compress said.

"Uh...sorry," Spinner said.

"It's cool." Medea gave him a thumbs up. "It's not like my damage is more important than yours. Compress is just obsessed with people upstaging him, thinks we're all the same. I don't need to be the center of attention. Sorry about your mom."

"Oh...uh, sorry about yours." Spinner felt awkward.

Shigaraki didn't care to listen to this anymore. He left the room.

Mirko was tapping her foot.

She looked him up and down. "Well, it's a start... Not too bad, actually. At least the stupid hoodie is gone."

"It's not stupid."

"Whatever, Hot Topic." Mirko rolled her eyes. 

"Ah, do you think he's hot?" Toga said from somewhere else.

Mirko turned red. "Not funny. That joke is so overused."

"I thought it was funny," Twice said. "It was horrible."

[Votes in the comments...just kidding. It wasn't that funny.]

"I don't shop there." Shigaraki only knew it was a store. He didn't get the joke.

"I'm not walking all the way there." Mirko ignored it. "So I have called in a car rental. But it'll be down the hill. Not letting myself get caught in this dump. So hurry up, it's going to be close as it is."

"Oh, she's driving." Medea had followed them out. "Wow, this is life or death."

"Shut up." Mirko was out the door already.

* * *

The car ride was kind of awkward. Mirko put on music to cover the silence.

Kind of reminded them of the Canada thing...

What was there really to talk about? But silence was awkward.

"So, uh, Dabi is the one who gets motion sick, right...?" she tried.

"Yep." Flatly.

"I hear he'll be off house arrest soon." Awkwardly.

"Wonder what he'll do with his freedom." Shigaraki sounded a little salty about it.

"He'll be stuck doing community service," Mirko said. "Sometimes they give people like that sentences to work under Heroes. For supervision."

"That would be worse punishment than the house arrest." Shigaraki grimaced.

"Yeah, well, he does that for the next 18 months, he'll be off probation altogether," Mirko said. "He's one lucky b-----d, that's for sure. Pays to have a dad who's the Number 1 Hero. It's a small price to pay for freedom."

Silence again.

"Since we're going to be in the area, I thought I might swing by Ren's college," Mirko said, after a long pause. "He'll want to know about all this too... If anyone can find out what happened, him and Intelli can."

"Another person." Shigaraki sounded displeased with that idea.

"It's not like just the League can be on this one," Mirko said. "Kayla might know something too. I don't know what else to try." The strain in her tone became noticeable. She gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly.

"As always, they are one step ahead. Can't just leave us alone...or that kid. Freaking b-----ds."

Shigaraki shared that sentiment, if nothing else.

They were in the city by now. Luckily, Hawks' venue was not too far from the house, by freeway.

Mirko was putting her focus into driving... It had been a while since she'd driven in the city. It was totally different from the country road of before. Too many cars moving, too much traffic. At least it wasn't Tokyo though--that was a nightmare.

This was why Heroes had paid drivers. Who needed the stress? But risking someone recognizing Shigaraki there would have been bad.

Shigaraki wasn't liking the traffic either. It made him jumpy to see so many cars... He'd almost been hit by cars a couple of times while on his own, and he wasn't really scared of them, just hyper aware for them coming at him.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a group of Villains came charging over the cars and blasting up the street in the process.

Mirko and some other drivers had to slam on the breaks, and try not to ram into each other.

But Heroes came racing after the Villains and disrupting traffic even more, though they tried to as little as possible.

Shigaraki almost hit the dashboard but stopped himself.

Mirko was stiff as a board now, ears straight back.

"D--- Villains," she muttered, looking after them. "If I had the time, I'd hop out and take them down personally... It'd be faster to just run from here. This will take at least 10 minutes to clear up."

"I hate the city..." Shigaraki muttered.

"Ditto. You okay?"

"Yeah..." with an odd look. "You?"

"Oh, fine." Mirko was not exactly fine. "No problem. But I guess Hawks is going to have to wait a bit longer... Err..." She sat back. "Jumping is faster..."

"Or warping."

"Oh no, I hate that," Mirko said. "I'd rather wait. That I definitely an emergency-only move."

"It's too obvious out here anyway," Shigaraki admitted reluctantly. But he didn't like waiting either.

Mirko pulled out her phone to call Hawks, who said he was watching from a rooftop and saw the whole thing, and did they want help?

"I don't want to win steal from those other Pros, but if it would be easier..."

"Eh, no, it's not like it's dangerous, just annoying." Mirko leaned on the side of the door. "I gotta admit, it's been ages since I saw that from a civilian's perspective... Hits different."

"Why? Is it scarier?" Hawks asked.

"It's more shocking. You can't see it coming," Mirko mused. "Inner city fights are just so...ugh. Scare the crap out of people for no reason."

"Well, it's nice you're thinking of other people for once," Hawks said.

Mirko frowned. "Shut up, Hawks. You know what? We'll see you when we see you."

"Wait, we? Who did you bring--?" Hawks was cut off by her hanging up on him.

"What did he say?" Shigaraki was bored.

"Nothing," Mirko said.

Frowned.

"Just some jab about how I don't think of other people." Mirko glared at the road. "Like I need that from him, of all people."

"It is hypocritical."

"I know, right? Stupid idiot." Mirko kicked the floor impatiently. "I guess it's always easier to call out someone else... I never knew that every single person who knows me had the same opinion of me till now. It's not the nicest feeling. Makes it seem like I'm predictable."

"You are."

She shot him a dirty look.

"Being predictable is not necessarily a bad thing," Shigaraki mused. "Depends on the reason. It could be worse--if everyone had  a different reason to hate you, isn't that a worse sign?"

Mirko laughed lightly. "Geez, that's optimistic...I guess." She put her hands behind her head. "Still, if this is how they act when I do consider them, it's not that shocking that I prefer not to. Bunch of dumba---s."

"That's the worst of people--they always have double standard."

"True. The ones who talk a big game are always the whiny b-----s if you actually beat them." Mirko reflected on her fighting career. "Doing what you say is probably the rarest quality in anyone, Hero, Villains, or otherwise. Works out for me...not so much for the posers out there."

"You're making a distinction, then, that you always do what you say you will."

"Oh, sure," Mirko said. "Always." She frowned again. "Usually. Why? Have I ever failed to do what I said?"

"Nothing comes to mind," Shigaraki admitted.

"There you go." Mirko was secretly relieved that he couldn't name anything. How embarrassing would that have been?

"It's not the easiest thing to do if people don't cooperate." Shigaraki was probably thinking of the League's failure.

"Well, that's the reason I don't rely on other people," Mirko said. "Someone is bound to wimp out at a critical moment. You can't count on it."

"Not everything is possible to do alone." Shigaraki had no issues admitting that. He had never thought he could do anything alone.

"Yeah, but more is possible than people think." Mirko was willing to concede only so much. "Even Likstar and West don't wait for other to get off their butts and do things. They take initiative. If they can do something themselves, they usually do it, and they're always talking about trusting others. And they always do what they say. Personal responsibility is just the only way to guarantee anything."

Shigaraki didn't really have an argument for that. He didn't need one.

"It's a shame more Heroes don't think that way," he said instead. "Maybe they'd actually help people instead of ignoring them."

"Okay, for real, though, why do you always say that? Heroes are about the only people who actually do help people when they don't have to," Mirko said.

"Maybe, some of them, sometimes." Shigaraki closed his eyes, remembering something. "But people also just wait for Heroes to do things and don't do them themselves."

"People did the same thing with the police before quirks," Mirko noted. "But, fine, I think I've said before, that is true... If everyone did what they could, the world would be a better place. I don't think too many people would argue that...but getting people to take action is like herding cats. A waste of time and effort. Either people will, or they won't."

"That is extremely pessimistic. What about inspiring people? Like Stain."

"You call that inspiration?" Mirko said. "Blind violence? Or right, look who I'm talking to." She finally was able to move the car forward slightly. "Maybe Stain helped a little by making people think...but in the end, it's the people who took responsibility and moved ahead on their own who really changed anything. Stain was just taking away Heroes' choice to shape up by killing them. People can change." She frowned to herself again.

"You're so sure about that." Shigaraki wasn't convinced.

"Well, I did." Mirko didn't notice how oddly humble the remark was for her. "Went from being a delinquent to a Hero, not that that many people know that, but still. Someone can change their mind. Not if they're dead though."

Shigaraki remembered how Ren had told him she'd ended up changing her mind.

"Didn't you give that up for your family?"

"What?" Mirko flinched. Oh...Ren...you SOB," she muttered. "I forgot he snitched about all that... It was complicated. I mean, sure, Mama was ready to kill me after that. It would have been a huge hassle to move. And of course, my siblings would have hated me forever. But it was getting old anyway, and people like Rappa, who made it death matches, were getting more popular. Maybe it was time to stop pushing my luck. A lot of the fighters were way older than I was back then, better control of their quirks. Maybe it was just the right time to switch careers. I never looked back, that's for sure." She grinned finally. "Those Heroes kids didn't know what hit them though. Street rules didn't fit too well into Hero school. But cage fighting is no holds barred. And you can't hesitate when you fight crime... I killed it in Hero school because I already thought that way. They all had to learn. Things have a way of working out."

"Don't you ever find it odd that, for someone who claims to be independent, your whole reason for becoming a Hero revolves around your family?" Shigaraki said.

Mirko shot him a warning look. "I could have quit if I didn't like it. I just needed Papi off my back. But I ended up liking it. Don't push it. And what is with the personal remarks all of the sudden?"

"You started it."

"I don't think I did."

"Yes, you did."

That argument lasted way longer than it should have for two normal adults, but they were hardly mature enough to realize it.

But the time it was over, they were pretty much there. So it was forgotten.

Sneaking in the back, they found Hawks pretty quickly. He had seen them pull up.

"Wow...somehow, I had a feeling it was going to be you," he said to Shigaraki.

"Buzz off." Shigaraki wasn't in the mood for Hawks' crap.

"Well, let's sit down. I am dying to hear about this lead." Hawks gestured towards the totally empty dining room.

* * *

"It...swallowed him up?" Hawks had stopped eating at the point in the story where they got to Yin's disappearance.

"Yeah." Mirko was not smiling now. "Or he melted into it. It was unclear."

"But...like, is he dead?" Hawks said.

"We don't know." Shigaraki was tired of Hawks' questions already. "How would we know that? It could have been a warping power."

"Yeah, but Kurogiri was the only one like that, and it couldn't have been him," Mirko said. "Unless more people have that warp gate quirk."

"I would think if they did, Ujiko would have known about it," Shigaraki remarked.

"Well, he doesn't tell you everything," Mirko muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Duh, he didn't tell you Kurogiri was a nomu to begin with," Mirko said.

Shigaraki took that with more meekness than Hawks thought he would. "That is true..."

"So he's sus." Mirko turned back to Hawks. "But this doesn't seem like his work. He's not much for direct combat. And it wasn't like anything I've seen before. So I don't know."

"If that kid is alive, he'll have told them about you, if they made him," Hawks said, "so if they didn't know it was you after the lead, they do now. But seems like they'd have seen you anyway."

"He must have been followed there, so they likely saw us from the start," Mirko grumbled, "but didn't attack us, and we were right there. So they didn't want us. They wanted their snitch."

"That is weird. Aren't they worried about you?" Hawks said.

None of them had any ideas about that.

"Well, the DJS would be helpful here." Hawks leaned back, hands behind his head. "Probably pull some other worldly pattern speech out of the air, but analyzing Villains is not my strong point. Unless the two of you have an idea, since you're around Villains all the time."

"The LOV does not operate in this manner," Shigaraki said.

"No? Kidnapping a kid sounds like you," Hawks said.

Mirko glared at him. "Not the same situation, is it?"

"It's similar enough. Why are you getting offended?" Hawks said.

"Who was offended? I just think you should stop bringing it up. It's not helping." Mirko tapped the table.

Hawks frowned. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? That's all I got. I don't know about the ninja any more than you do. Hantai was killed...but I do have a tidbit you might want to know, come to think of it. I heard it from Endeavor. They tell him stuff, since he's the No. 1."

"And?" Mirko said.

"They did a DNA test on the blood on the sword they found with Stain when he was discovered," Hawks said in a low voice. "And...actually, it's connected, because they said it was a female's blood, so it wasn't Stain's. He must have thrown the sword or something."

"Sounds like him," Shigaraki said.

"That would confirm exactly what Yin told us," Mirko said.

"It would," Hawks said, "but the blood didn't match any Villain on record. That implies it was someone without a criminal history, but someone being too young to be on the radar yet would also add to that theory. Therefore, it being a teenaged girl is starting to look more plausible. But we have no clue what she looks like or what her quirk is just from that, so all it does is confirm."

If they had known about Moto or her quirk, they might possibly have had an inkling about it, but the DJs had wanted to wait till they had more time in person to explain about her and weren't sure the League would be much help tracking her down anyway, so they had put it off. 

Since they had no clue, there wasn't much they could do.

"I'll keep a watch out," Hawks finally said. "Sooner or later, everyone makes a mistake. And we have to be ready to catch it when they do."

"Sure." Mirko was not her usual peppy self. She had her ears down. "Well, I guess that's that, then."

"You can't take it too personally," Hawks tried. "It's not like we ever had much of an advantage here."

Shigaraki looked somber too. "I still want them to pay for Kurogiri."

Hawks flexed one wing. "Sure. I keep forgetting that you actually care about that. But still, if you really want them to suffer for that, you can't give them what they want by walking into another trap. I mean, what were you thinking going alone? Good thing the others were smarter than that."

"Like you're one to talk," Mirko muttered.

"Maybe I learned a thing or two from trying to do something alone," Hawks said. "And, if you're going to involve me in this, I wish you'd stop going off and doing whatever you want, like you did in the base. I didn't realize both of you were like that. It's not reassuring to think either of you could be captured and no one would know for hours."

He was right, but they were the last people who wanted to hear it from him.

And bringing up the base was a mistake, as both of them were sore about it.

"I don't need your advice." Shigaraki was terse.

"Can't ever let things go, can you?" Mirko was even more dark. She got up. "I'm going to the restroom."

* * *

Hawks sighed. "Sometimes being friends with her is so...difficult."

"You make it difficult." Shigaraki surprised him by replying to that at all.

"Excuse me?" Hawks was irked.

"You're not much of a team player either," Shigaraki noted. This he could at least analyze for himself. "All you Pros take risks. What makes this any different?"

"Well, I guess you'd say that since it was your fault," Hawks said, frowning. "And maybe this is a good time to say, I see what you're doing with Rumi, and it's despicable."

"What the h--- are you talking about?" Shigaraki honestly had no clue...but why did he feel kind of apprehensive about it?

"I know you all have been using her for protection," Hawks frowned, "and to get intel on Pros. Somehow she's too dense to see it, but I know what you used me for. But the difference between the two of us is, I knew what was happening and made my peace with it. Rumi will be devastated. I knew you were evil, but being totally heartless is just a quality I hate in anyone."

"If you think she'd give any intel on Pros, you don't know her as well as you think you do." Shigaraki was amazed at his stupidity.

"On purpose, sure, but you follow her to places like this, come on. What, do you think I'm stupid?" Hawks said.

"Yes."

Hawks twitched his wings. "I could stop you, you know, but I figure we all have a lot to lose if we upset this alliance now. But I'm watching, just remember that."

Shigaraki was mad now.

"Mirko does not need your help," he said testily.

Mirko was coming back in after splashing water on her face in the bathroom, but she stopped out of their line of sight and cocked her ears.

"You're gonna try that, really?" Hawks said. "So I'm expected to believe this alliance is for real. That as soon as you don't need her anymore, you all aren't going to leave her a bloody mess again? I remember what happened then, even if you don't."

Mirko had forgotten that actually... Weird. ["A Crushing Defeat" in book 1.]

Shigaraki had forgotten it also. "That wasn't my orders," he said sulkily.

"Did you stop it?"

Shigaraki had in fact stopped it, but he was becoming too sullen now to defend himself, the last person he ever cared to defend. "And Mirko is capable of making her own decisions. This agreement was mutually beneficial. And it worked out, despite what most of us expected, so I have no regrets."

"You sound like her," Hawks noted, "but that's not convincing me. I know you backstab your allies a lot. The Gang, the Metas, and Likstar and West. Rumi will have her time. I just want you to realize if you kill her, I will not let that slide. I know stuff about you too. Even if you could eliminate me, I have connections. You don't want me to be against you after all this time."

In the end, Mirko thought, Hawks was just as willing to hurt people as before, just for a different reason. This was making her sick.

Though...it was odd she was thinking of the LOV as being regular people.

But then...they were, weren't they? And didn't Hawks know that? They might be Villains, but they'd have feelings about all this, and he was willing to throw them all to the wolves over Shigaraki alone?

That kind of pissed her off. What about Medea?

"It's true," Shigaraki was reflecting. "At first, we did think we'd do that."

Mirko frowned. What?...but no, she'd known that... It just hurt more than she thought to be reminded of it.

"But over time it became clear that wasn't the wisest decision. So it was abandoned. Some of us learn from the situation." That remark was cutting. "Seems to me the person who most put other Heroes in danger was you. In fact, when that Hero Party or whatever it was went south, wasn't that more of your fault?"

Hawks looked like he'd been gut punched. "I--"

"As I recall, Mirko was there, and one of our people was along and tried to protect her...not that it worked out." He still remembered that argument. "But the intention was there at least."

"I warned them, and you're changing the subject."

"Am I really? Because it looks to me like you're the one who'll use your Pro friends whenever it suits you. We may be Villains, but we don't use each other as bait. So who's the real threat to her safety?"

"Are you...?" Hawks was confused. "This sounds kind of like you actually care about that..."

"I don't like your hypocrisy," Shigaraki said. "It's just like in the car. You expect people to be better to you than you are to them."

"I---but..." Hawks wasn't sure how to handle Shigaraki being a moral commentator. 

Shigaraki was actually riding this high. No wonder Shine liked doing this so much--it was kind of a kick to throw someone's own logic back in their face. Too bad the League wasn't here to enjoy it with him...

[Awww.]

Mirko decided she should probably go back in before they wondered where she was.

Hawks looked up, not happy. "Oh, there you are."

Mirko sat, eyeing him warily. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing," Hawks lied, faking a nonchalant look pretty convincingly, "but I think we need a better plan."

"Yeah, maybe one that doesn't involve you," Mirko said testily.

"Look, Rumi, I'm sorry, okay?" Hawks held up his hands. "I'm just worried you'll get hurt one of these days--again."

"I don't need you to worry about me," Mirko said tightly. "I can make my own choices."

Shigaraki looked up like he might suspect she'd overheard all that.

Hawks frowned too. "But are they smart ones?"

"Do you want to help, or do you just want me to do what you want?" Mirko shot back.

Pause.

"Fine. We'll leave that aside," Hawks said. "I'll still help if I can. But I'd include more of the Heroes in that. Joke, Eraser, some of the kids maybe. If this culprit is a teenager, they might be able to find her more easily."

"Thanks for the Pro tip." Mirko was sarcastic. "Come on, Shigaraki." She got up. "We're done here."

"Excuse me?" Hawks said. "Isn't there more we could talk about?"

Shigaraki got up also.

"I don't think so," Mirko said. "You haven't really learned anything, have you, Keigo?"

Hawks winced. "You didn't overhear something, did you?"

"Wouldn't matter if I did or not. What you said before I left was enough," Mirko said. "Maybe I'm reckless, I admit it, but I'm not taking every chance I can to make problems between people either. Figure out who's side you're on, Hawks." She flipped him off. "Later."

Shigaraki smirked slightly. "Yeah, whatever."

Hawks frowned.

"Wait a minute." He flew after them. "Rumi, can I have a second?"

Mirko paused. "For what?"

"It's important. But alone."

Mirko actually looked at Shigaraki as if she was asking permission.

Shigaraki shrugged like "up to you."

"Okay, fine, a minute," she said.

Hawks shook his head.

But pulling her aside, he said, "What are you doing?"

"Hawks--"

"I don't mean with the League, I mean with... I thought I noticed something before, but...you and that boss Villain, you seem...close."

"What?" Mirko colored suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

"Just what I said," Hawks said. "I really hoped I was imagining it last time, but...it's even worse now. You're in sync. You're defensive... Please tell me this hasn't turned into what I think it has."

"You are out of your mind." Mirko still looked embarrassed. "As if that would ever happen. And you know how I feel about that sort of thing."

"Don't I ever. But if that is your main objection over the fact that that's literally the head of the LOV that we're talking about, you know, someone who's evil and psychotic, then I'm already despairing."

"Hey, you don't know everything about him," Mirko said without thinking. "There's a lot you don't know, actually, moron. It's not as simple as you think."

Hawks stared at her.

His look was knowing but pitying. That kind of look that means someone thinks they know better, and that you're delusional, but they are trying to be discreet about it and failing.

Mirko hated that look above all others. Her dad used to do it.

"Buzz off!" she said, not even realizing it was the same thing Shigaraki had said earlier on.

"This is bad." Hawks wasn't listening.

"Shut up!"

"If this is for real, Rumi, do you have any idea how severely bad it is?"

"You're delusional, and I'm not standing around here to listen to this," Mirko said. She stormed away.

Hawks shook his head. "That was so frighteningly unconvincing..." He looked at the ceiling. 

"S---."