𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬? (𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

57

Trust, it was a pointless notion.

As you stood there, watching the boy you'd believed to be your friend, the boy who'd spoken over and over again about how he wanted to prove to the world that his quirk did not make him evil, you could only think about how your words continued to be proven right. Everyone was a liar, it didn't matter if you trusted them or not.

Kaminari was staring in shock, a mixture of hurt and confusion spread over his features. "You're kidding, right? I know you might not have the greatest comedic timing, but even you should know that saying crap like that right now is not going to lighten the mood."

Shinsous expression turned somewhat embarrassed as he took a step closer to Kaminari. "Right, I guess the joke was in poor taste." He reached out his hand, a small object being held inside. "Here, can you hold this for a second?"

The glint in his eyes gave away the fact that he was lying, and you realized what the object was just a moment too late.

Just as Kaminari began to respond, you saw the effects of Shinsous quirk taking over his mind, and when he took the knife into his hand he immediately raised it up to his throat.

You reached for your quirk, readying to take him out as quickly as possible, but Shinsou took notice. "Make even a slight movement, or attempt to use your quirk, and he slits his own throat."

The heat you'd summoned died out instantly and you gave him a venomous look. "He's your friend, let him go."

"I don't plan on hurting him, but we all know that I can't beat you in a fight. I need the leverage."

His demeanor had changed so quickly, almost as though he'd flipped a switch. What had been a soft and caring tone was now a flat, dismissive one.

This betrayal cut deep, even deeper than when you'd learned of Hawks' lies. This was someone that you'd sought comfort in, someone who could understand the hardships of being villainized by society for things out of your control.

"So, this whole time it's been you?" You asked.

"Yes."

"Nezu, why would he confess? Have you both been working together?"

Shinsou scoffed. "That rodent? No, he cares too much for the school to betray anyone here. He only confessed because I made him do so."

"That's not how your quirk works, you were nowhere near the island when he did it! You can't have kept your control over him for so long!"

He shook his head. "God, you are so stupid sometimes. You really think that after everything I've lied about, that I would tell the complete truth about how my quirk works?"

Your eyes darted to Kaminari, whose hand had begun to shake. "What else have you done?"

The longer you kept Shinsou talking, the more time you'd have to figure out a way to break his hold.

"Well, it took a minute for me to do any significant damage, after the attack on the USJ I realized that spy work was more difficult than it seemed. But once I mastered the ability of hypnotic suggestion, things began to fall into place relatively quickly. You see, this ability allows for me to leave... triggers within the minds of those that I brainwash. These triggers can take effect even when they are not under my control. To give some examples, if I were to tell a certain teacher the night before a training match to shoot on instinct the moment you ran into his field of vision, he may not remember the conversation, but the instinct will still be there."

Snipe, the teacher who'd shot you in the midst of the training exercise. His only defense was that he'd shot on some unknown instinct.

"You had him shoot me, just to push me out of the way?"