Strings (BNHA x OC) [Rewrite]

53 || An Abrupt Plan

Mr. Compress finally caught up to Puppet at her room.

She was rushing around the small space, rummaging through drawers and picking up previously discarded throwing knives.

"Shigaraki wants to get into UA right? To kill All Might?" she abruptly asked. She didn't even turn to look at him.

"What?" he questioned. Why is she thinking about this now?

"Right?"

"Yes, but you know why we haven't done anything yet. It's far too great of a risk."

"I don't care. If we attack UA and kill All Might, we'll accomplish what we originally got together for. Top heroes will show up, sure, but we can take them—"

Mr. Compress walked into her path and stopped her. He grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her to gain her attention. A few of the knives she was holding fell from her hand and clattered to the floor.

"Stop," he said firmly, "slow down."

She looked at him. Her gaze was dark, and for the first time in a long while to him, chilling.

"Think this through," he urged. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes." Her answer was absolute.

The magician frowned. She seemed way too intent for him to be able to stop her. All he could do was help her with any sort of plan she would come up with.

He shook his head and sighed heavily, not believing that he was going to go along with her. "Tell me your plan."

She pulled out of his grip and continued flitting around the room. "I'm pretty sure that Dabi already has plans to take on Endeavor. He's the one who killed Hawks, I want him erased. We draw him out, attack UA so he'll show himself. I don't care if you or anyone else in the League backs me up, I'm attacking UA regardless."

"What about that lad Eraser Head?" Mr. Compress asked. "He's a teacher at UA. What's to say you won't get caught by him?"

Puppet pushed herself up to stand and walked her way over to the nightstand. "I may not come up with elaborate schemes like yours, but I have a plan to deal with him." She righted the nightstand so that it was proper and opened the top drawer. Pulling out a small rectangular paper, she held it up between her forefinger and thumb so that the magician could see it.

It was a picture of a teenage boy with a head of unruly purple-indigo hair. His eyes were a lavender color and looked tired, light grey bags beneath his eyes.

"Who is he?" Mr. Compress asked.

"Hitoshi Shinso," Puppet answered. "He's a first year student at UA that Eraser Head favors. The kid's not a hero course student, but he is being trained by Eraser Head."

So she plans to grab the kid and use him as leverage, the magician concluded. The success of that plan relies on one key factor.

"What's his quirk?" he asked.

"Brainwashing," she replied. "If someone responds to him after he says something, he can control them."

Quite the quirk, Mr. Compress marveled. "You have a way to get past it?"

"His quirk doesn't enhance his physical abilities, and if I don't respond to him he can't brainwash me. I assume since Eraser trained him that the two have the same, if not a similar fight style; he'll be predictable," Puppet told. "There's also a way to get out of his control. If I'm knocked hard enough by something, that can break his connection."

"Have extra precautions in place," Mr. Compress advised. "Ensure he can't keep you ensnared."

His gaze drifted to the floor, noticing the throwing knives Puppet had dropped earlier still lying there. He knelt down and picked them up before standing again.

"I plan to," Puppet responded.

He strode over to her and held out the throwing knives. "Sounds like a viable strategy to me."

"I'm glad you agree." She took the knives and slid them up her sleeves, each one with a click. "Can you tell the others? I'm still getting some things worked out."

"I'll handle it. Not sure they'd want to hear it from you now anyway," he said. "I'll make sure to word it properly."

"Thank you, Atsuhiro."

"My pleasure." He tipped his hat, happy when he saw the faintest hint of a smile pull at the corners of her lips.

"Well I'm off," he stated, starting towards the door.

——

"She wants to attack UA." Mr. Compress stopped at the bottom of the stairs as he spoke out to the living room populated with his villainous comrades.

"What? No." Shigaraki immediately shot down the idea. "There's a reason we haven't done that. We don't have the power."

"Let me rephrase..." The magician cleared his throat. "She's hell-bent on attacking that school. I'm not about to let her go on a suicide mission alone."

"Well then talk her out of it," Toga suggested.

Mr. Compress moved from his spot at the base of the staircase and walked over to the small table in the room. He sat down in one of the chairs, joining Twice who was already sitting there.

He took his hat off and placed it in front of him. "Rarely have I seen Puppet so dead-set on something. She won't be talked out of this."

"So you're on her side with this?" Shigaraki asked.

"Now, I never said that," he articulated. "But as I did say, I won't let her go alone."

"Then I'll talk her out of it." Dabi stood up from the couch. "If she won't listen to your outstanding reasoning, then I'll convince her a different way."

Mr. Compress scowled at Dabi's snarky comment, but said nothing.

"Don't burn the building down," Kurogiri instructed blandly.

"Yeah, yeah." Dabi brushed off the warp villain as he walked towards the stairs.

"Good luck!" Toga called after him cheerfully, jumping onto what had been the vacant couch and taking up the entire piece of furniture by laying across it.

Mr. Compress could only sigh as he watched Dabi ascend up the stairs, knowing whatever the flame villain did, it would go poorly.