Midori the Queen

A Line in the Sand

"I won't make it easy for you."

Play the villain until either captured or killed; that was the role Izumi Midoriya, AKA Karma had decided to portray. She'd spent months agonizing between her role as a hero and a villain, but now that ship had passed. She allowed herself to soak in the regret and guilt for the lies she told. She allowed herself the grief of losing her friends, classmates and dreams... but now it was time to accept her duties as Queen of Villains and act upon them.

Her first official duty was to ensure the financial support of herself and her followers. Without the trust fund sensei had provided her they would need to find some other way of gaining currency. The money she'd invested into the donation fund was enough for them to live on for a time, but expenses such as equipment, service fees, and information were expensive. If she was gonna lead this group of misfits, they would need to figure out how to raise their bank.

"Look at those wheels turn..." Dabi teased sitting across from her as she eyed the chess board. He watched her meticulously move pieces, all the while that sweet face remained passive and stern. "Whatcha thinking about so hard, highness?"

"Hmmm?" She finally gave him a brief glance, and switched her current move from the rook to the black knight. He found it both odd and endearing that she'd given him that particular namesake. It made him feel important and trusted. "Anything and everything all at once."

"Sounds tiring..." He leaned forward on the table and move his white piece to counter her move. "I wouldn't have the energy for something like that."

"Well it's not your job to think now is it?" She shifted her knight to capture his white rook and gingerly set it aside along with the rest she'd collected. She then eyed the black knight for a long moment as a stray thought entered her mind. "How long have you been a villain Dabi?"

"Not long." He admitted with ease. Unlike the other members of the league he was completely comfortable opening up to her. "I wandered around on my own for awhile did some mercenary work in America, and a bit throughout Europe. It was fine for awhile, but I wasn't really doing anything productive or worthwhile. In order to make my mark I know I'd have to make some kind of allies. Hence why I'm here serving you." He moved his knight across from her queen and made her lips twitch.

"Serving me, huh? Who really holds the reins of this group? I'm not sure it's me anymore." She retreated her queen to station in front of the king.

"Don't let what Shigaraki did and say affect you." His eyes went cool. "It's always been you pulling on his strings. His actions, no matter how surprising, are the results of your ideals."

"That might be how it started, but it wasn't my idea to expose All Might's secret like that. It wasn't my idea to fake my own death." She pointed out scowling.

"No, that was him, but you went with it. It was your decision to pull off the mask and reveal your identity to the world. We figured fake your death, cut your ties to the hero world, and the job was done... but you went a step further." He shifted the next piece and smirked when she had to evade to avoid capture. "You shifted his plan into your own. You chose to lay all the cards out and reveal yourself to the world. Now you're the most famous villain of all, the one who outwit the fools at U.A."

"You've a point there..." she smiled. "That reveal was more instinctive than a thought out plan. I have a bad habit of going into rambles and mutters when I'm excited, but I somehow managed to avoid that and came across as cunning and manipulative."

"You did, and no one saw it coming." He moved in for the kill putting her king in check, but failed to see the trap she had laid.

"I like a good surprise, don't you?" She shifted her queen again. Dabi blinked in surprise when he noticed she'd managed to cage his pieces including the king. "Checkmate."