Her Decay ~Tomura Shigaraki x OC AU~

Chapter 19: The Mission Pt 1

Illika

Kuroi Mizu Prison.

Nowhere near a high maximum prison by any means, but still a prison in the end. It still has tall walls topped with barbed wire and electric fences. It still has several guards' towers with guards keeping watch. It still has several levels of security, but compared to other prisons, this place is a cakewalk.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Twice, Toga, and Tomura, getting in has been relatively easy. They've used their abilities – both combat and quirks – to create a way in. This is also how they – almost – effortlessly apprehended any guards, at which I come in. My job has been quite simple.

Erase memories.

And I've done that. I've wiped every guard we've run into's memory before Twice knocks them out, leaving them unconscious. There will be evidence of a prison break, but we don't want them to know it was us.

Which is why Skeptic took down their cameras remotely before we arrived. We don't want any images of our faces out there, not that it would have made much of a difference.

But Tomura's right. The PLF is being watched too closely. If the commissioners get any closer to us, then we'll be stopped before anything can really happen. So freeing more villains to create a diversion is the best call. At least for right now. It'll give authorities a heavier load to juggle and will hopefully give us some wiggle room. At least a little.

But these villains aren't necessarily loyal to the PLF. Some of them were just petty thieves playing by their own rules. Which is fine. Tomura and the others don't seem to be interested in recruiting new members. They're just here to free the decoys.

Which is why I have also been instructed to wipe the memories of the freed villains. Tomura doesn't want to risk having any of them spill who freed them.

That's been tricky. The cells aren't close to where we've entered. It's been a bit of a hike. So, we had to readjust our positions. Tomura, Toga, and Twice have been the ones freeing the villains. Clones of Twice helped to guide them to the exit where I and another hidden clone of Twice waits. There, I do my bit.

That said, I've had to make a makeshift mask to cover my face. Tomura has expressed that if people see my face and I get tied to the PLF, then the mission could collapse. It'll all be for not. And even with their memories wiped, they have to remain conscious.

The good news is that most of them are too excited to be free that they don't even question how they got there. They just run. Only a few expressed any amount of curiosity, but even they run in the end. All any of them care about is that they're free. As far as they're concerned, that's all that matters.

Then, the last one runs, and my trio of comrades emerges. They walk cooly. Toga walks with a jovial swing of her arms and sway of her body, smiling. Twice walks similarly, though his arms move in an upright motion as he points at the sky. Typical Twice, really.

And then there's Tomura.

He walks calmly, his legs taking long strides. His hands are stuffed in his pockets, and his face is covered by the disembodied hand, though I can still see his eyes. They are gleaming a brilliant red just as they always do. Bright and intense. And I feel them on me. Sharp and cold, pricking my skin.

I shudder, and eventually, they all reach me. Twice speaks first.

"Ha! That was great! We did great! Toga did great – of course! Shigaraki did great! Illika did great! I did great! So great! Hope we don't get caught!"

"We did, didn't we?" Toga says. She looks at me. "Interesting mask, Illie. You're giving Spinner vibes."

I untie the mask and pull it off. "It's the best I could do. I didn't really take into account needing a mask, though maybe I should look into getting one."

"Most likely," Tomura says. His tone is dry and flat. "We don't want a repeat of the bank incident."

I frown. The bank. The man. I remember that scene. I remember it clearly. Seeing the fear in that man's eyes – hearing the tremble in his voice. He was terrified, and in the end, his fear was justified to a degree. And it cost him his life.

I shiver.

We couldn't afford to let him live. Even if his own knowledge could have easily left him as a suspect, we couldn't chance it, and I understand that now. Still, I remember watching that pile of ash blow away in the breeze. And knowing that pile of ash was once a person brings a twinge of sadness. But it also reminds me of the power Tomura holds.

"I'll start looking into finding a proper mask," I say.

"Great idea!" Jin cheers. "Hey, maybe Re-Destro or Compress might know where to get one for ya! Oh, me! Me! I know!"

I smile. "Thanks, Jin, but I'll manage. I'm sure I'll find something."

"You betcha! If you change your mind, I'll be here!"

I just nod, still smiling. We begin to walk. Toga and Twice fall in step, both happily chatting with the other. Honestly, I don't really know what they're talking about. I'm not paying attention.

In fact, my attention keeps falling back on Tomura. He walks a few paces to my side, just out of reach. His hands are still stuffed in his jacket as the disembodied one rests on his face. I can't see or make out any part of his expression, but I could hear bits of it in his tone.

All this time, as he's spoken, he has sounded cold and detached. There has been a distance in his voice that has kept me – for the most part – to myself. However, I keep sneaking peeks. I keep looking. I keep remembering.

Hot skin. Strong hands. Breathy sighs.

I shiver but keep walking. I can daydream all I want about what happened in the library later. For now, I just walk. I just follow my comrades. We follow our leader. We march closer to reforming the system. We move closer to achieving our dreams.

We make it out of and away from Kuroi Mizu Prison when a phone starts to ring. We all stop and turn, eyes falling on Tomura. He pulls a gloved hand out, holding the phone, and answers it.

"Speak, Re-Destro," he says.

Toga, Twice, and I all stand, waiting and watching. None of us can hear what's being said, and nor can we gauge the situation since we can't see Tomura's face. So we wait. Patiently and quietly when he hangs up the phone.

"Well, it seems Re-Destro and his little unit needs a little help, so we'll be swinging by District Nine Prison," he says.

"Another jailbreak?" Toga asks. "Who are we busting out this time? More decoys?"

"No," he replies. "Unlike Kuroi Mizu, District Nine falls more in line with a maximum prison with higher security. So, we're not looking for petty thieves."

"Then who are we looking for?" Twice questions.

I can hear the deep chuckle vibrate Tomura's chest as he speaks. "You'll see."

**Ello lovelies! Well, mission accomplished... Well, partly. Now there's going to be a new mission. Any idea how that'll go? Feel free to guess! So, my birthday was last Tuesday (02/07), and as a present, one of my coworkers made me cupcakes and crocheted me a stuffed baby gnome. It's so cute! I named her (yes, my baby gnome is a girl) Ethel. Even my mom and grandma thought she's cute. I love her, and I adore my coworker. Random, I know, but being random sure can be fun lol. Anywho, thank y'all so much for everything! Y'all are the cat's pajamas! Wuv yous!! <3**

-Noel Ross