🖤💙𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕💙🖤

Traitors

POV TOMURA

"Oh, fuck." The words slip out before I can catch them. Eraserhead stands before me, a sleepy scowl on his face, and I can't stop the panic that rises in my body. "Eraser–" I'm expecting him to try and arrest me, since he's a hero and I'm a villain and all, but the look on his face says he's really fed up with this whole situation– and the gash on his throat is telling me he really needs to get out of here. Before I can talk again, Aizawa weaves around me, limping a bit as he goes. There's another cut on his calf, a deep one. I swallow the lump in my throat.

"You've got a lizard problem," he grumbles. "Take care of it or I'll call some heroes down here to do it for you."

As he's walking away, something in me urges me to grab him, keep him here. But I have to remember how deadly my touch is.

"Do it!" All For One screams in my mind. "He'll just end up killing you later, dumbass! Get rid of him now!"

Part of me thinks All For One's voice is just a figment of my imagination, only because I've been able to push him away with ease. Still, figment or not, I compromise with him. Just in case.

"Got it," I say instead. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Eraserhead."

Aizawa spins around, giving me a confused look. "Didn't take you for the type to apologize," he teases, though his voice is monotonous and it took me a second to identify his humor. I stammer a bit, but Aizawa sweeps it under the rug. "My name isn't Eraserhead, by the way. It's Shouta Aizawa. You should know that, shouldn't you? With that crush of yours and all."

"Well, I mean–" I can barely form a sentence, so instead I frown, scratching at my neck. "We're not really on a first name basis, Eraserhead."

"Shouta," Eraser corrects, now glaring at me. "I hate my hero name. And after learning you're a big wuss, you don't need to keep up the big scary 'leader of the league' facade."

"I could kill you! Reduce you to ashes!"

"You play Animal Crossing in your freetime," Shouta chuckles. He spins back around, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I need to go see Recovery Girl. I'll keep this under wraps if you can behave, alright?"

"Behave? Who do you think you are–" I begin, scratching furiously at my dry skin.

"Be a good boy and stop scratching, would you?" Shouta interrupts lazily, his voice raspy. "I'll see you around."

After a few moments of trying to regain my consciousness, I make my way into the room where I assumed Spinner would be. Instead, I find a pile of rope, a broken chair, and a broken window.

"You would've caught him if you didn't waste your breath with that hero," All For One growls.

"Shut up," I grumble back. "I'll find him."

"Not if he finds you first. Don't underestimate him, Tomura. I accepted him into the league for a reason. He's crafty. Strong. Look what he did to your precious Eraserhead."

"You really do get annoying," I whisper, bending down to examine the rope. It's weak; no wonder why Eraser could break out of it so easily. I disintegrate the rope, and then the big pieces of the chair before heading back to the base. I'm exhausted.

#

"You went out late, Tomura," Mr. Compress says as I mope through the front door. He's sitting at the bar, reading some book with a dark red cover, legs crossed and mask off. It's not often I see his actual face, though I suppose it's because Compress likes to keep his identity hidden, like most of us do. "What've you been up to, sir?"

"Had stuff to deal with," I say a little too quickly. Compress catches the blush on my face– and the new scratch marks on my neck.

"Did the 'stuff' happen to be a certain high school teacher?" Compress teases. I roll my eyes and stomp past him, only for him to thwart my path with a smiling face. "Have a seat, will you, Tomura? It's not often you and I get to talk. After all, it's been quite a long time since you've relaxed."

I nod, too tired to refuse. Not sleeping tired, because my thoughts would certainly keep me up for hours if I tried, but more drained. Compress is the type of man to take the lead in a conversation, pulling me along as if I'm a child in a wagon. He's quite the showman, I guess. I watch him maneuver around the bar counter, taking Kurogiri's spot as he mixes us some drinks.

"Twice received an unsigned letter in the mail at his old apartment," Compress says over the sound of shaking ice. He plops the metal mixing cups down and twirls a bottle of bourbon around his fingers, setting that down too. Lemon juice, cherries, and a little bit of honey. "The letter seemed to be in Hawks' handwriting, though it's obvious Dabi told him what to write." Compress smiles at that, but I just nod again.

Sometimes I forget Dabi is on the run. It hasn't been that long, has it? Maybe two months? Three? My head hurts thinking about it. Not only have we lost a major asset, but now... I don't have anyone to brush my fucking hair...

"You and him are still friends, you know," Compress reminds me. "Just because he fell in love with a hero doesn't mean he's gone forever. He still cares about each and every one of us, especially you, since you were his first real friend. He'll be back before you know it."

I roll my eyes again, smiling at the old memory of Dabi when he first joined the league of villains. The narcissistic brat he was. Him and I were much too similar for my liking, but we eventually got along. He was the first to support me– my beliefs, not All For One's. But that damn idiot ran away with that damn bird and... and now...

"Corny, I know," Compress chuckles. "But the stage welcomes the dramatics! Tears and all." He slides me my drink then holds his up for a toast. "So when you get that hero to fall in love with you, just know, you won't be leaving any of us. We'll be here, villains through and through, ready to fight for you and with you. Cheers?"

"Compress, I'm not some lovesick teenager like Himiko," I scoff. "Or Dabi, for that matter. I'm not in love with that damn hero." I keep my drink on the table, but Compress is persistent. He raises an eyebrow at me, and I hide my flustered face by clinking my glass with his and taking a large gulp. "Fine," I grumble. "Maybe I like him or whatever. But we all know that wouldn't work out. Unlike Hawks, Eraser isn't a traitor. And unlike Dabi, neither am I."

Compress frowns, putting his drink aside and resting his palms on the table. "Tomura–" he begins, but I really don't want to hear it. Emotions that I've been suppressing are flooding to the surface, and I don't want that. I can't take it right now. I just– I need–

"Breathe, Tomura," All For One says to me. "See what emotions do to you? Cut that hero out of your head or the consequences will be dire."

"Tomura, are you okay–"

"I'm just tired," I blurt out, quickly rising to my feet. "I'm going to bed. Night." But I hurry off before Compress can stop me.