Her Decay ~Tomura Shigaraki x OC AU~

Chapter 3: The Light that Cuts

Illika

Nothing.

There was nothing. Just a vast, vast open space of nothingness that stretched endlessly. Yet, it felt so suffocating and cramped, almost as if everything – but nothing – was collapsing in on itself, crushing me.

Everything and nothing. It all blends together. As one ends, it bleeds into the other. And I drifted in that void – in that sea of nothing.

Then, I wasn't.

Light – bright and sharp – cuts through the darkness, causing me to wince as a sudden burst of warmth washes over me before I meet the cold and hard ground.

I stumble, landing promptly on my hands and knees. My palms sting as my knees throb, though I ignore the discomfort and instead look up, squinting at the light. At first, my vision is blurry, but it is temporary and quickly clears with a few blinks. And I realize that I have no clue as to where I am.

"Apologies," a man's voice says. I turn to see the same masked man from earlier taking his hat off. He bows in some formal manner. "That was rude of me and not very gentlemanly, but I saw that blade of yours and preferred not ending up in a scuffle."

Blade? That's right. The knife I took from that other guy. Where is it now? I didn't hear it fall to the ground just now. So, where is it?

Before I even have a chance to ask, the man holds it up. "Apologies once more, but I took the liberty of confiscating this. As I've already mentioned, I'm really not looking for a scuffle."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Who the fuck are you?"

"My. Language, ma'am. That's quite a filthy mouth." He tucks the knife into his jacket. "However, I suppose you're right. It's rude of me not to introduce myself. My colleagues call me Mr. Compress. You may call me the same."

Mr. Compress. Is he some kind of hero? Given his appearance and name, I'd say he's something.

"What are you doing? Arresting me?" I ask, slowly standing.

My legs feel like Jell-O and my knees are practically ready to buckle. Between the jetlag and my earlier quarrel with that petty thief and whatever that void I was in; my body is ready to shut down. I feel weak and not at the top of my game. Still, I can at least talk.

"Because I didn't do anything wrong," I say. "That man tried to rob me. I was simply defending myself."

Mr. Compress laughs, "I never said you did, madame."

"Then why am I here?" I glance around. "Where am I, anyway?"

My eyes scatter around the room we're in. The space is ridiculously large with a high ceiling and bare walls. Brilliant golden light pours in through enormous windows and then scatters along the floor, stretching. But despite the room's massive size, there is no furniture. Nothing aside from a single throne-like chair placed towards the center of the room.

"You are at our base. Location-wise...well, I can't give you that information," he replies, setting his hat back on his head. "As to why you're here, well that's simple." He takes a step closer. "That criminal – this is his knife, isn't it?"

I hesitate, but nod, "Yes."

"I thought so. And he was robbing you, correct?"

"More or less." What is he getting at?

"Mmm. More or less." He pauses for a moment. "I observed you. Not to be curt, but he was rather large compared to you."

"He was tall," I say plainly, "but I don't really see why that matters. If you know what you're doing, then you can take anyone down. I'm more intrigued as to why you were only observing if you saw a woman getting robbed."