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—-
It had been only a couple weeks since Kurogiri’s capture, and while some had started to learn how to cope with his loss, others had not.
One of those people being none other than Sako Atsuhiro, Kurogiri’s romantic partner. Apart from the man’s son, Compress had been one of the ones to take the news the hardest. Yet, He’d done his best to keep himself afloat amongst the madness.
Compress remembered when he’d first heard the news. “Kurogiri’s …gone.” It felt as though his very soul had left his body, a white-hot flash of pain searing through his chest as their leader delivered the news. There had been protests among the others. Arguing and pleading with Tomura to come up with something, anything to bring him home.
Dear God, not him. Not his.
Compress would never forget how powerless and desolated their young leader looked. Standing before him then, he looked nothing short of a devastated boy, looking lost and much smaller without his misty beam of support by his side.
His eyes were downcast and unfocused as he explained that for the time being, there was nothing they could do. Kurogiri had been captured and taken to Tartarus. Due to their current amenities and resources, a rescue was not possible at this time. They’d have to wait it out and see what happens. There was nothing else they could do.
Tomura turned away from the others at that, excusing himself as he made to exit. Though he didn’t say it, the gloomy eyes around the room understood. Eyes that followed Tomura’s retreating form until he was around the corner and out of sight. No matter what they were feeling in that moment, none of them questioned how much worse tomura must feel.
They didn’t acknowledge it much, but everyone knew that their leader and Kurogiri had something special. They didn’t know the specifics of how they’d come to be, but they knew that Kurogiri had been with Tomura since he’d been very young. That Kurogiri had been the one there taking care of him. In all but blood, Kurogiri was his father. And now he was gone, Their fragile sense of carefully decorated home, broken just like that.
And if after the others had departed Compress went and located the grief-stricken boy, finding him broken and alone. If he briefly held the young man, sitting with him while they both cried silent tears of loss, well that wasn’t anyone else’s business but their own.
—
Although, by morning, it was almost as though Sako was another man. For the first few days, no one said a thing, they all knew that he wasn’t taking the loss well. Not that any of them were feeling much other than depressed after what had happened, but they’d mostly been able to depend on each other to get through it. But Compress? He’d become angry and distant, preferring to keep to himself and shutting down when others got too close.
They thought he just needed time, a minute to process what had happened and get accustomed to their new circumstances. But he soon only got worse. What started as some aggressively anti-social behavior and a short temper, quickly advanced to heated arguments, slamming doors, and Compress disappearing for days at a time.
—
He couldn’t handle it. In the wake of Kurogiri being gone, Compress just didn’t know what to do with himself. He’d lost people before, and it’s not even that Kurogiri was dead, he just wasn’t with them right now. He was somewhere else…far away from where he should have been. He should be here, he should be with me. The loss of Kurogiri was so much more excruciating than any loss he’d felt before. With Kurogiri gone, it was like a piece of himself was missing. It hurt. He couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. Hell, he could hardly drink without thinking of his purple rain. Couldn’t look at the reflective amber liquid in his glass without thinking of his misty bartender and his preference for scotch or whiskey.
Despite the difficulties it brought, alcohol was the only thing that seemed to numb his senses enough to get him through the day. The alcohol in question was stored safely away in the pocket of his mustard yellow, double-breasted overcoat for easy access.
—
During his prolonged absence, Compress found himself frequenting bars on the outskirts of town. The man needing to blow off some steam while also avoiding any heroes who might be about.
“And stay out!!”
Although it seemed that even the sketchy bars of back alley Japan weren’t putting up with him tonight.
Compress was roughly pushed outside, right through the door he’d entered through several hours before. The door in question was then unceremoniously slammed closed behind him, denying his future re-entry. He found himself standing in an alleyway on unsteady feet, the area dimly lit as his head spun. He’d gotten into yet another bar fight, leaving him with a sore jaw and a damaged pride.
The man shook his head a few times, a scowl on his face as he tried to break through the haze enough to walk. Aside from helping take the edge off, he found the extra alcohol having some other… adverse effects, as one might put it, on his already crumbling psyche. Adverse effects that he at the moment, had no power left inside himself to control. The alcohol brought on bouts of confusion and irritation to his already desolate state. He hadn’t always been such an irritable drinker, Kurogiri had even found his ability to hold his liquor quite attractive. He’d appreciated a man who didn’t make a fool of himself every time they frequented his counter.
Kurogiri.
Compress stumbled his way back down the alleyway, using the wall for support, his mind once again drifting back to his lost love. He remembered when he’d first started frequenting the bar back in Kamino ward, shortly after being newly admitted into “The League of Villains.” He’d thought the name a little silly at first, though it had eventually grown on him.
—
Compress had been infatuated the minute he’d laid eyes on the man. Could you blame him? The bartender was enigmatic, well-dressed, and oh so very tall. Compress couldn’t help himself as he began coming up with a plan to get on the man’s radar.
He reminded Sako of a galaxy. He looked like the stars.
Kurogiri seemed somewhat startled when Compress tried to strike up a conversation, though Sako could only assume as he hid it well behind an impassive, shadowy mask. Not completely unlike his own. Oh, how he’d wanted nothing more than to uncover the mystery that was the man before him. With some gentle coaxing, Compress was able to successfully enter a discussion with the villainous bartender.
In doing so, Compress found that the man’s mind was just as intriguing as the rest of him, if not more so. They spoke of many things, including art and music of the like. Apparently, Kurogiri had an appreciation for classical media, which was met with little surprise but much delight from Sako as he delved into topics such as Mozart and Beethoven.
At some point during the night, a drink found its way into Compress’s hands, a deep amber liquid filling his crystal glass from an expensive-looking bottle. Compress lifted the white mask from his face, a gloved finger gently brushing its edge before it was suddenly poofed into a turquoise marble. He passed the marble around his fingers a few times before throwing it up and catching it in his palm. Upon re-opening his hand, the marble had vanished. He waved his digits as if to say, “Tada!”. Kurogiri shook his head some, but the deep chuckle coming from within his chest told Sako he’d been at least somewhat charming.
Compress glanced up at the bartender, eyes squinted with mirth, before carefully bringing the glass up to his lips. Every action Compress took was calculated, and every move was carefully made. He was a performer after all, and he knew that Kurogiri was about to become his favorite audience member. He wasn’t about to disappoint.
—
Hunching over, Compress braced a hand against the concrete wall beside him as he threw up behind a trash bin.
God, he missed him. He missed him so fucking much.
Some part of him knew it was wrong. That all of this was wrong. That this wasn’t where he should be, or who he should be with. There were people out there he should be taking care of, but here he was. He knew it was wrong, how he was treating the people around him. especially those whom he eventually returned to after these new benders of his. His drunken haze made these feelings a little easier to brush aside, telling himself that if they didn’t like it, they could leave him too.
He didn’t approach the thought sober, not that he often was these days. Deep down knowing that if he did, maybe he’d feel differently. That maybe he’d find he didn’t want that at all. That he’d be disappointed in himself.
Would Kurogiri be disappointed in him?
He pulled the amber bottle from his pocket, unscrewed its cap, and didn’t question it further.
—
By the end of the month, his behaviors had hit an all-time high. He’d seemingly go out of his way to start fights, mainly with Dabi as he’d seemed to be the most reactive and ready to fight back, but no one was really “safe”. They were worried about him, of course they were. But they didn’t know what to do. To avoid setting him off many of the league members had just taken to avoiding him, not being able to do much more than that.
Tomura himself was at a loss, he couldn’t keep Compress in check while also trying to keep the league afloat. Magne could tell how much it bothered him. Every time Tomura’s gaze landed on Sako, he just looked lost. Lost and frankly upset that he seemed to be losing another important man so soon after the other. Tomura was their leader, yes, but after Kurogiri and Compress had started “talking”, their relationship had changed. Evolving into something more familial. Really, everyone’s had. They felt more like a fucked up little family rather than just a group of people with a common goal.
It was taking a toll on all of them, especially the youngest of them who over the last few months, had grown to trust and lean on the man. The man who was now so violently pushing them away.
The man who had been so caring of them all before. The man who showed Toga card tricks and comforted Jin during his episodes. The man who would congratulate Spinner's accomplishments and help Dabi treat new burns. Hell, he’d even entertained Tomura’s video game talks. Even though he had no idea what the young man was saying, it made Sako smile seeing his partner's son talk about something he enjoyed. The man who had treated them all as if they were his own, had gone cold in the wake of this devastating loss.
Magne had an idea of what Sako was trying to accomplish. He was trying to push everyone away, scared of losing someone else he cared for. Despite his antics, she still held a deep concern for Sako. Altruism was a part of her nature. She’d grown to care deeply for him over the time she’d gotten to know him, much as she had with the rest of the league. She’d grown to care very deeply for her new little family. Despite his behavior and how frustrated those around him were growing, he was still cared for by those around him. And that’s what made his actions hurt all the more.
—
It all came to its boiling point when Toga decided she’d had enough.
It had started with another fight between Mister and Dabi. Both of them in each other's faces, screaming insult after insult at one another. Pushing at each other and pointing fingers to chests when one of the others got a little too close. The fight was getting heated, dangerously close to going too far.
Toga sat on a couch situated at the far side of the room, watching them go at it with her arms wrapped around her middle. She was glad she wasn’t having to listen to this alone, Tomura, Spinner, and even Twice sitting in for this one. Though nowadays Twice usually left the room when things started getting loud, hoping to miss the worst of Mister’s temper. The constant back and forth was sometimes overwhelming for him, especially alongside the voices in his head. Though Toga had a feeling he’d stayed for her sake, knowing she felt safer with the others around.
Tomura and Spinner were hanging out, Tomura sitting in a chair with his gaming console out while Spinner leaned over his shoulder and watched. It was nice seeing them together as Toga knew they both enjoyed each other's company. Though once the yelling started Toga could tell that the boys were too uneasy to really enjoy their time together.
She wished Big Sis were there. She’d stepped out some time ago, the older woman stating how she’d needed to situate a few things but that she’d be back before long. Toga liked Big Sis. She was kind and the woman would always help her with her hair, sometimes without being asked and she would offer up her services to the girl. Toga liked that, it made her feel like someone was looking out for her. Mister also didn’t push her as much as the others, she was too confident in herself to allow that. As a trans woman, she had a knack for dealing with angry, insecure men. And any lip at her had been cut off easily enough with a sharp look in the offending man’s direction. A silent warning.
When had Toga started to dread his presence? She wasn’t sure, but she hated it. Where did that warm, funny, eccentric man go that she’d grown to hold in such high regard? Where he would once make her clap with delight, spending hours practicing his little card tricks with her, he now left her feeling dejected and discarded.
-
“Get the hell off of me!” Compress suddenly barked, cutting through the clutter of their previous fighting, causing Toga's head to snap up towards the noise. Uh oh…
“Shut the fuck up, old man!!” Dabi had his fist tightly clenched around the jade brooch of Sako’s bolo necktie, keeping the affronting man at a bit of a distance as he reached out to dig through one of his coat pockets.
Sako seethed then, one hand grasping at hand by his throat while the other tried to stop Dabi from searching his pockets. But it was too late, Dabi had already found what he was looking for. “That’s what I fucking thought,” the younger man spat, holding up a miniature glass bottle, a little less than half full of a familiar amber liquid.
Compress growled. “Give. It. Back.” The feeling of animosity started to bubble up in the forefront of his mind watching Dabi wave his vise around, his vision a little unfocused from the drinks he’d already taken.
“Didn’t take you for an angry drunk, Mister.” Dabi sneered. He’d had a feeling about Mister the last week or so now. Obviously, he’d been frequenting bars around dinghy parts of town, smelling of booze regardless, but of course, getting shit face in town wasn’t enough. Apparently, the man couldn’t even put the bottle down. He just had to bring it “home”.
Speaking of “home”.
“We’ll, you’d know a lot about angry drunks, wouldn’t you daddy’s boy-“
SMASH!!
“FUCKER!-“
The strong smell of alcohol permeated the room as the bottle smashed against the floor, shattered glass and its contents scattered around the area of impact. Dabi’s face curled up into a snarl as the hand that moments ago held the offending bottle, now quickly drew back in a tight fist as he got ready to break the sorry bastard's nose. His other hand was still firmly grasped onto the older man’s necktie in an effort to jerk him closer.
Toga had had enough.
“For the love of God, STOP! ” The teenager screamed at the pair as she shot up from her seated place, advancing on the two. She got right in the middle of them, first to push Dabi back, forcing him to let go of Compress and put himself out of swinging range. She turned to Mister next, a look of desperate conviction in her eyes. “You need to STOP. You need to stop this!! This is too much!!” The girl cried, standing tall before the man who hadn’t said a kind word to her in weeks. She was done. She was stopping this.
The others in the room fell silent, Dabi taking a few steps back and breathing heavily, watching through narrowed resentful eyes to see what would happen. Ready to intervene again if he saw fit, The bastard…
The two stood there, Toga looking up while compress looked down, in a momentary beat of silence. The calm before the storm.
“I don’t have to take this.” His voice was hard when he finally spoke, his eyes equally stony and cold as he stared her down, trying to intimidate Toga into backing down. Into leaving him alone. “Good day.”
But the girl wasn’t going to be shrugged off so easily.
“No!”
“…No?”
“No! You aren’t walking out on us again!! You can’t just leave! You don’t get to sit here for weeks being MEAN and HORRIBLE, pretending that you’re you’re the only one that has any right to be upset!” The teenager stomped her foot for emphasis, “You’re going to talk to me whether you want to or not! You’re going to talk if it kills you!!! Because I can’t take this you anymore!!” The girl pointed an accusatory finger at his chest.
There was a moment of silence. An extended period in which Toga stood before Compress, face slightly red as she panted from all her yelling. A moment where everyone else in the room held their breath, wanting to intervene but also wanting to see what the man had to say.
Toga glared up at the much taller man, and he glared down at her just the same, their eyes locked onto each other in a sort of challenge that neither wanted to back down from.
That was until Atsuhiro did just as he had done so many times already in these last few weeks. In one swift movement, the magician was turning on his heel and making his way to the exit without another word.
Toga let out a frustrated yell. “Why won’t you just talk to us?!” She screamed after him, stalking after the older man. “What did we do to you?!? Why are we not worth your time anymore?! Why am I not worth your time anymore!? It’s not fair!!”
Before Sako could make it to the exit, the much smaller girl reached forward and took a tight hold of the retreating man’s vest, tugging on him, almost shaking him as she tried her hardest to stop him from leaving. From walking out on them again.
The small teen stepped closer, forcing herself between Sako and the door. With arms outstretched, she stood in Sako’s way, staring up at the older man with frustrated yet pleading eyes. Begging him not to go.
“Don’t you see we’re hurting too? We all miss him, Mister! We all do! But God! You’ve been so horrible since Kurogiri’s been gone! Horrible!! You disappear for days at a time and you come back so mean!! I can’t stand it! I miss yo-“
And that’s when everything really went to shit.
Sako couldn’t help it as all his anger came pouring out. All his pent-up rage and sadness bubbled up to the surface until he felt like he was going to explode from the pressure. He couldn’t handle it, it was too much, and they needed to get out of his way. So in the next moment, Sako dropped his cane and lashed out. His hand drew back in a flash and his eyes narrowed as he intended to strike the girl standing between him and the room's only exit.
-
Toga’s eyes widened as she watched Mister quickly draw his hand back and she flinched away as she prepared for him to strike, closing her eyes tight and cowering away as he rounded on her.
But it never happened, the hit never came. Something had kept him from hurting her. And when Toga slowly opened her eyes, she saw that something was none other than Magne, holding Mister’s wrist well above his head and far away from Toga.
“We won’t be having any of that now.“ Magne’s voice was low and dangerous as she growled at Atsuhiro, glaring daggers at the man for the audacity of what he just tried to do.
Sako was silent, staring wide-eyed up at the redhead as she spoke, voice low and full of warning. At that moment, Sako didn’t feel like he could speak, but luckily, he didn’t need to. Before he even had time to protest, Magne was dragging him out of the room by his captured wrist and down the hall.
—-
“Magne, now listen-“
“I think I’m quite past the point of listening to your shit, Atsuhiro,” Mange growled, not in any mood to hear anything else from the man, continuing to drag him towards another section of the building.
“I-“ Sako was slightly taken aback, having never heard the woman’s voice sound so searing. Sako quickly came back to himself, glaring at the back of Magne’s head as she dragged him further and further into the abandoned building they currently called a base. He began to tug at his captured wrist, digging his white-heeled boots into the ground as he attempted to stop his movements, cursing as it did next to nothing and he almost tripped over his own feet. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go where Mag was taking him. He wanted to be alone. He wanted a drink.
Compress gave his wrist a sharp tug, twisting and using his body weight to try and leverage his hand away from her. “Unhand me!!” He’d demanded, trying not to put too much thought into how he must look in his predicament, bitching and withering in Magne’s hold. However, his efforts ended up not working so well in his favor.
Using his own momentum, Mag followed, slamming Atsuhiro against the wall behind him. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to knock the wind out of him. Mag then pinned his captured hand against the wall above his head, her other hand going to grip him firmly by the jaw, forcing him to make eye contact
“Here’s what you’re going to do.” Her voice cut like knives, a not-so-hidden threat lacing itself through her every word. “You, are going to shut the fuck up. And you are going to walk.” Magne gripped his jaw a little firmer. “Understood?”
Sako narrowed his eyes, but otherwise gave her a single nod in reply, deciding to not test the woman further. Not at least until they got to wherever they were going. With his good arm sufficiently restrained, he didn’t stand a chance at overpowering Magne, much less using his quirk.
There was another uncomfortable beat of silence as she made eye contact with the man, as though searching for something in his eyes before releasing his jaw. She kept a hold of his wrist, moving it behind his back and making him walk in front of her instead of dragging him behind.
The rest of their walk was spent in uncomfortable silence.
—
It didn’t take long to arrive at their destination, given that their destination was just another room on the opposite side of the same building. Upon Magne opening the door, Sako immediately took note of his surroundings. The room was smaller than the one the league had decided to set up camp in, though thanks to a few smaller windows towards the top of the wall, the room was decently lit. In the middle of the room, there seemed to stand a sort of finished wood dinner table, a little dusty but free of cracks or splinters. Though it looked as though someone had partially wiped it down. Strange. Beside the table sat a single armless dining chair.
Against the back wall, there was an average-looking couch, a little beat up but not the worst piece of furniture they’d found in the building. He noticed a folded-up blanket off to the side and thought to himself that it looked a little out of place. It had been put there recently, missing the dust that covered most other things in the room. Had this been where Magne had left to? To set up this room? He’d overheard Magne tell Toga that she’d needed to “situate” a few things before she stepped out and shortly thereafter after the fight with Dabi ensued. Had she been planning this?
“Now just hold on-!! Mmft!!” Compress grunted slightly as his feet were swept out from under him and his chest suddenly made contact with the table. He quickly pushed himself up on his arms, but without the stabilization of his legs, he was easily shoved back down into place.
Compress let out a string of curses. He wasn’t an idiot. He was brought alone to a secluded room and promptly bent over the nearest surface after behaving like a fool.
He’d had a knowing itch in the back of his mind from the moment Magne grabbed his wrist and he’d seen that look in her eye. It took him back to a time when he was much younger and made his living in the circus industry. A time he’d rather not think about. The feeling only intensified as he was taken by the wrist and taken away. The situation felt familiar, but not in any way pleasant. He tried to ignore the feeling, thinking it was absolutely ridiculous, but it turns out his denial wouldn’t change the outcome of his situation.
He knew damn well what had gotten into the woman’s head and he was NOT having any of it. He demanded to be let up and proclaimed that he was in fact “a grown ass man!”, although Magne was starting to seriously question that. His boots kicked against the floor and his one free hand searched for any sort of purchase to free himself but found none. Yelling all the way that Magne had no right to manhandle him this way.
“Well.” the woman started, letting the tantruming man wear himself out. She vaguely wondered when the last time he’d slept was “You’re an adult, aren’t you?” She huffed a bit, unimpressed with the man’s theatrics. Though, she supposed that he wouldn’t be Mr.Compress without them. Still, that didn’t make his behavior any less irritating. “Act like it.”
“Why you…” Compress hissed in indignation, seeing his behavior at the moment to be extremely justified given the current circumstances. “Yes! My point exactly!” The magician yelled after drawing back the breath that had been knocked from his lungs. He looked over his shoulder to glare at his captor. “I’m 32 dammit!! You don’t very well sp-“ he paused a moment, not able to get the word past his lips like it burned him. And in a way, it did. His chest burned fiercely with embarrassment as he tried to stop the heat from creeping up his neck. “You can’t beat me! This is childish!!!”
“Oh, trust me Atsuhiro.” Magne lowered her sunglasses a bit, staring right back at the indignant man before her. “I’d never do what I’m about to do to you to any child, certainly not to anyone else currently in this building.” Her face was hard as her bright green eyes bore into his chocolate ones. Big Sis Mag was going to leave him wishing he’d been punished like the child he’d behaved as.
Now that worried him a bit. The indirect threat and the look of hard resolve that crossed his comrade's features had Compress subtly worrying the inside of his lip. She was really serious about this, and by the way Magne was speaking, it sounded as though she planned to make this a particularly unpleasant encounter for the ex-circus performer. Compress shook his head to rid himself of thoughts of where he’d been the last time he’d found himself in the position. Though long ago, the memories still gave him anxiety.
Jerking his head back forward, no longer able to keep the intense gaze, Sako once again began to push at the wooden surface beneath him, glaring hard at the finished counter that resided a mere few centimeters from his nose. “Release me at once…” Sako demanded, his voice shifting to a low, angry growl. He pushed hard against the table, but he wasn’t able to move. Not with Magne’s heavy hand fixed between his shoulder blades. “So help me God if you don’t-“
“If I don’t what, Atsuhiro?” She quickly cut him off. “Let you go? What are you going to do? Huh? What the hell are you going to do?” She was seething, almost blown away by the audacity he had to threaten her at that moment. “You going to try and hit me too? I mean at least I’m not a 16-year-old girl, one that hardly even weighs a hundred pounds. So at least I could take getting popped in the face by the likes of you.” Her voice lowered dangerously. “I’d be able to do something about it.”
A chill went down the magician's spine.
“But Toga? She would’ve been on the ground, and you know that. You KNOW that!” Magne was a very level-headed woman. She was resilient and insightful, kind and caring. The definition of Altruism. She was a woman able to hold her head above the water and keep a clear mind in the most dire of situations. Whatever it took to be there for those she cared for and be there for them in their times of pain. Because that’s what this was, and Magne knew that. She knew that Compress was hurting. She understood, She was hurting too. They all were. Kurogiri had grown to what the woman considered to be a good friend. He was a kind man who respected her as a person, and she often enjoyed staying up late into the night conversing with the man about this that, or the other. His presence in their lives didn’t go unnoticed, and for that, he was deeply missed.
But, Sako hadn’t just gone after her. He’d gone after the others. He’d gone after Toga. Despite how capable the girl was, she was still the youngest, smallest, and most vulnerable out of all the league members. And if she wasn’t there, he would have struck her. And for that, Magne was livid.
At her words, the burn in his chest doubled, shame starting to consume him as Magne brought up the girl he’d started to grow so fond of. Toga.. oh Toga. He could still see her wide-eyed expression, her small form cowering away from him as she watched his arm draw to strike her. He could still feel the shake in her voice when she uttered his name, disbelief in her eyes as she fixated on where Magne held his wrist up above his head. Away from her. He could still hear the sound of her starting to cry. The same girl he’d shown his magic tricks and given mini-performances to lift her spirits. He never wanted her to be afraid of him, to have to cower away from his hand. But, here they were.
Soon after being forced out of the room, he heard the thud of Toga's knees against the ground. He could picture her as she sunk to the hard floor, and then the others muffled voices in the room as he heard them rush to her side. All while he was shoved along down the hallway.
Leading him to his current predicament of being bent 90° over a solid wooded table, with a solid hand between the blades of his back.
Not even the great illusionist Mr. Compress, Sako Atsuhiro. The Great Great Grandson of the “Peerless Thief” Oji Harima himself, could think of a way to get out of this one.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Tearing him from his thoughts, Magne spoke up again. Having realized that Sako wasn’t going to talk unprompted. “Anything at all?
There was a beat of silence. An extended period in which Magne just stood there, keeping an even pressure on the eccentric man’s back as she awaited an answer. Waiting for just even a sign of remorse. Anything that could tell her that Compress felt any sort of guilt or regret for his actions. After about a minute of silence and still no explanation from the bent man before her, Magne opened her mouth to speak again. But she was cut off before she could get another word in.
“You’re going to wrinkle my overcoat.” Atsuhiro gruffed defiantly, making no move to meet the woman’s eyes again. “I’ll have you know it’s tailored.”
Oh.
Oh.
So that’s how it was going to be, was it?
Sako let out a silent sigh of relief as he felt the hand on his back move up to his shoulder to pull him upright. Finally, the woman was coming to her senses and seeing just how juvenile and absurd this all was.
Once standing again, Compress went to open his mouth, probably to tell the woman off for what she’d threatened to do to him. Really, he knew she wouldn’t follow through. Magne didn’t have it in her.
“Now, if you’re done with this little power trip of yours, I’ll be on my w-” The illusionist didn’t have time to finish his sentence before he was manhandled again, shocked into silence as his overcoat was ripped from his shoulders and thrown over the back of the wooden chair he’d seen upon entering. It happened so fast that he could do nothing as the hand on his shoulder once again found its way to the center of his back and pushed hard.
A solid thud was heard as Atsuhiro’s chest re-collated with the table before him, “… What the FUCK!” The magician all but screamed after drawing back in the breath that had been knocked from his lungs.
-
“That should solve that problem then, won’t it?”
Reaching out, Magne took a firm hold of Atsuhiro’s balaclava before snatching that from his person as well, throwing it to join his overcoat. “You won’t be needing that right now either.” Reaching around his front, Mag unbuckled his belt and undid his button zipper combo.
Sako stared wide-eyed at the table as his balaclava was ripped from his face, the entertainer feeling bare without it. But not nearly as bare as he’d soon feel. Panic replaced his shock as he felt Magne mess with his slacks, unhinging the front before he could even think to stop her. “W-Wait!! Dammit, wait a minute! Hold on!” Atsuhiro’s voice skipped as his heartbeat sped up, horror setting in as he realized that this was going to happen. “Can’t we just talk about this?” He threw his hand back to try and stop her actions, but this just offered the woman the opportunity to recapture his wrist before she finished her transgressions with his pants zipper.
Magne knew the man was known for his theatrics, but this was ridiculous. She knew she’d let this go on for far longer than she should have, and It was obvious to her that this treatment was long overdue.
“There's nothing else to talk about. You had your chance to have this conversation standing. That’s passed now.” With one last tug, Atsuhiro’s loosened dress pants were pulled down to his mid-thigh, exposing his dark grey boxer briefs. “Kick your boots off.”
“What? No way in- MMFH!!” Compress slammed his forehead against the table as a searing smack landed hard against his exposed lower thigh.
“I wasn’t asking. Kick.” SMACK!! “Them.”SMACK!! “Off.” SMACK!! Magne alternated another 3 brutal smacks across his lower thighs, demanding compliance.
“OKAY!! OK, I’m doing it!! Jesus…” Compress grumbled to himself as he reluctantly kicked off his white boots, not wanting to help aid his torment but also not wanting to worsen his situation.
Once his boots were off, Magne kicked them out of her way before tugging Compress’s dress pants over and off his feet, leaving him in just boxers covering his lower half.
Humiliation started to cut him deep then as his cheeks burned pink, feeling exposed and vulnerable. There was no getting out of this. He was to be spanked and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Well, there was something he could have done to prevent this. He could have talked before it got to this point. But as Magne said, that had passed now.
“This isn’t fair…” Compress tried one last time, his remaining free arm coming around so he could shove his face in the crevice there. A sense of dread spread through his body as he felt the woman fold his shirt tail out of the way.
“No,” Magne corrected, “What isn’t fair is how you’ve been acting.” Out of nowhere, the first SMACK! of many landed against his thinly covered backside. The fabric of his boxers did little to protect him against Magne’s hand. His knee jerked forward slightly as he pressed his face further into his arm. This could NOT be happening!!
Another blow, matching to the other side, before Magne set into a slow rhythm. “What isn’t fair,” SMACK! “Atsuhiro is how you’ve been
treating“ SMACK! “everyone around you the last month!” SMACK! “And don’t you DARE say you don’t know what I’m talking about!” SMACK! Magne quickly cut off, feeling his protests already. “This. Abhorrent. Behavior. Ends. Now.”
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Compress couldn’t stop himself as a low involuntary grown left his throat at the onslaught, his face burning with humiliation. He tried to keep some of his dignity by remaining still, hoping to wait her out before he humiliated himself further. Though no one ever called him a stoic man. Magne wasn’t letting him off easy either, letting her displeasure with him show through each sharp punitive blow. Though still, he’d seen the woman in battle. He knew that even now she was restraining herself from the actual damage she could unleash upon him. Despite her anger with him, she still held back from actually hurting him. Why did that make it hurt all the more?
SMACK! POP! SMACK! SMACK! POP!
“OW! OKAY! Ok, I get it!” Despite her restraint, the spanking still hurt plenty. “Stop!”
POP! SMACK! SMACK! POP! SMACK!
No reaction. Magne paid the man no mind as she applied the first round of heat to his rear,
rhythmically moving left from right as she worked her way from the crest of his ass to the center of his thighs. Her hands were much larger compared to him, easily able to cover the entire targeted area in just a couple of swats. It wasn’t until Atsuhiro’s hips started to twist and his cries came out in a consistent “Ow! Ah! OW!!” Did Magne pause and rest her hand on his freshly warmed bottom.
Atsuhiro lay there momentarily catching his breath. Jesus fucking Christ. And that was just with her hand over his undergarments? His entire lower half burned and danced with nerves. They’d hardly just started and he was already sore.
“I don’t think you do get it, Mister,” Magne spoke up finally. “If you did I think you’d have something a lot more productive to say on your part. I think your bitch whining proves how much you aren’t getting it.” With that Magne slipped her thump into Atsuhiro’s waistband, feeling it was time to get down to business. Mister thrashed a bit at that, throwing back his last remaining limb to try and keep the article of clothing in place. However, that only succeeded in getting that arm trapped behind his back with the other one. Once he was sufficiently restrained again Magne returned to his waistband, bringing his form-fitting boxers down over his slim hips until they rested at his knees.
Mortified was the only word that came to mind. Sako Atsuhiro was mortified by his current predicament as his face went beet red as a result. “ Kenji, please…” his voice came out as hardly a whisper, his body twitching under his jailer's hand from how tense he was. He knew it was just the two of them there, but he still felt so exposed and vulnerable being at the mercy of another.
“I want you to think about this next time, Atsuhiro.” Magne started impassively, taking a glance at the blush against Mister's exposed bottom before pulling her hand back. “I want you to think about this the next time you go on about starting shit just for the sake of starting shit.” She quickly brought her hand back down, landing it hard against his bare skin with a mean-sounding CRACK!! “Those kids are NOT your punching bags! And they will not be treated as such.” She knew that realistically most of the league members weren’t exactly children, but at her age, they might as well of been. She cared for them like they were. Her hand came down quickly now, hard and fast against the sensitive parts of Sako’s sit spots.
A sharp cry forced itself from Sako’s mouth, his boots scraping across the floor as his feet looked for purchase. The feeling of Magne’s palm was much more intense without the thin layer of protection he’d had before. As Magne’s hand drew back, a white handprint was momentarily left in its wake, before fading into a rosy red that quickly colored Sako’s skin.
“The next time you think you can talk to the people who care about you however you please, without consequence, I want you to think about this. I want you to think about this and how God awful you feel. They trusted you Sako, and you hurt them. You hurt them.” Magne emphasized as she brought her hand down on that sensitive spot where his ass met his thigh, each action followed by a thunderous CRACK and another shout of agony. She continued to bring her hand down again, and again, and again on the same area, intent on getting her point across.
CRACK!! SMACK!! CRACK!! CRACK!! CRACK!!
“You are allowed to hurt. What you are not allowed to do, is hurt the others.”
Compress tried to keep his voice down, but each CRACK of skin against skin had him crying out his pain into the table. His forehead was pressed harshly against the wooden countertop and his eyes clamped shut as his composure started to slip little by little. Through his discomfort, he grimaced a bit at Magne’s words. Of course, he knew hurting the others was unacceptable, and he’d never intentionally do anything to harm them. They were his team, his family. They were all that they had… and yet he’d still….
“I know you’re upset, Compress.” Magne's voice was low from where she stood above the magician, her voice offering no sympathy. Not right now. There would be time for that later. “But, I don’t care. Not right now.” She continued mercilessly, pulling her hand back before again bringing her palm down across the fuller part of Sako's backside. Without his undergarments, the sound of skin against skin was so much crisper. SLAP!! SLAP!! CRACK!! SMACK!! SMACK!! Without protection, his backside too took on color much more quickly, leaving him a rosy kicking mess by the time she’d finally let up.
Tears had finally started cascading down his cheeks by the time she’d stopped again and he’d started to feel quite sorry for himself. His breath hitched in his throat every so often as he tried to stop the waterworks, biting the inside of his lip to stay quiet. How undignified. Here he was, crying over a child’s punishment. He’d hardly even shed a tear while losing his arm for God's sake!
Though he’d supposed that he’d mostly blacked out after that incident. However, there was no escaping to the corners of his mind for this endeavor. The repetitive and building pain kept him in the moment and kept bringing him back every time his mind tried to wonder. It wasn’t just the pain that kept him present as his guilt also made Magne hard to ignore. He couldn’t stop thinking of Toga and how he’d wronged her. He’d been upset, but that wasn’t her fault. She had every right to be angry with him, as did the rest of them. He could only assume how his actions had affected the youngest members of their crew after such an uproot in their day-to-day lives. As Mag had said, they trusted him, and in return, he’d hurt them. He abandoned them and became just another problem when they needed him the most.
Reaching for the pants that Magne had stripped from Atsuhiro and thrown aside, she took hold of his belt and pulled it from the loops. She folded it over in her hand, holding and metal in her palm and effectively creating a strap.
-
Atsuhiro froze at the sound of leather sliding against fabric and the clinking of his belt buckle. He hadn’t been spanked, much less whipped since… Well, it had been a very, VERY long time. Not since he’d still been a young, down on his luck, circus performer. When he’d left that place, he swore to himself that the taste of leather would be something he’d never have to feel again.
The dread he felt was similar. That burning feeling in the pit of his stomach and a ringing in his ears he knew all too well. He remembered being 17 and on his own, finding work with a traveling circus. The man who owned his contract was cruel, but he needed the money so he’d signed the papers anyway. The ringleader was a man with no tolerance for failure, and Sako was a learning young boy prone to making mistakes. His mistakes, no matter how trivial the crime, were usually met with a trip to the Ring leader's office.
Those trips to the Ringleader's office weren’t unlike this one, being taken away to a small secluded room away from others so he could be beaten without interruption. He felt the same anxiety pooling in his stomach now as he did when he was bent over in the ringmaster’s office,
However, this time was definitely different in ways. This time he’d actually done wrong. He wasn’t just being beaten for a failed performance trick, or waiting to be made sorry for a fuck up that had oftentimes been out of his control. He was being punished for doing wrong by his comrades. He was being punished for hurting his family.
-
“You’re getting 10 with the belt.”
He sobbed again as the number was announced. He told himself that he should be grateful for only getting 10, but at the thought of the belt, he couldn’t find it in himself to be relieved. He was sorry. He reallywas sorry.
“Kenji! No no no that’s too many please Kenji I’m-
A few more sobs forced themselves from him before to his surprise the hand holding his wrists to his back moved so it was holding his hands.
Comfort. He hadn’t gotten that before.
Sako immediately gripped the hand back fiercely, letting out a shaky sigh as her thumb drew circles around the back of his hand.
“10. You’ll be alright.”
Sako nodded, knowing he wasn’t getting out of it and wanting nothing more than to just be done.
-
“hAHH!!” Sako was caught off guard as the strip of leather slammed down for the first time. The belt instantly left a darker red patch across his already rosy red bottom.
Number 2 had him thrashing, his hands jerking in their place trapped behind his back but unable to escape.
Number 3 had him pushing up on the tips of his toes, “I-I’M SORRY!” After “P-Please I’m- I’m sorrryyyy!!” Spilling from his lips.
Number 4 and another guttural sob ripped through him as the sensations became overwhelming.
Breathing became hard at 5, his pleading for mercy hardly sounding like words anymore
Compress screamed at 6, his throat constricting in a choked sob as the leather of his own belt made contact with his irritated skin.
He went lax at 7, sobbing with abandon, his cries coming out as the occasional long, wounded whine.
8, 9, and 10 fell right after the other, blending into one hot strip. If they were gentler he couldn’t tell, with his mind in a frenzy he was too strung up to feel relieved. For the time being, nothing else existed except for the fuzz in his mind and the intense burn coming from behind him.
Compress lay there sobbing, thighs trembling with exhaustion as he heaved into the open air, tears and saliva dripping onto the table. The man was a mess. There was no longer room in his mind for feelings like shame or embarrassment, leaving him remorseful and apologetic as an apology after agonized apology fell from his lips. Sako was sorry. He was so sorry. It would never happen again, never. Not in a million years. He’d be better, he promised.
Everything about his lower half had been turned a bright painful red, his belt leaving him with strap marks that occasionally wrapped up the side of his hip. It had been a hard whipping and she was sure he’d be feeling it for a few days at least, but there was no broken skin and she was confident enough that the sorry man wouldn’t bruise.
—
“Shhhh, you’re alright. You’re just fine sugar.” Kenji’s voice had taken back on that sweet tone of hers, and that hand that had once pinned him to the table was now rubbing comforting circles into his back as he tried to compose himself. The treatment made him sob all the harder. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve this woman’s kindness. Toga had been right, he’d behaved himself horribly. He’d been horrible. He felt sick with himself.
His chest hitched with every harsh breath he took, his tears freely falling and wetting the table supporting him as he sobbed out his anguish. Though despite how badly he was hurting, his skin feeling like it had been belted clean off of him, he couldn’t help but feel that was the least of his concerns as his mind raced and crumbled simultaneously.
What had he done?
“Nothing that can’t be fixed, doll.”
Kenji,,,
She’d since let his wrist free, no longer worried about the man draped across the table attempting to run away from her. She’d quietly begun working her steady hands over his back and through his messy mop of hair. It was… nice. He hadn’t realized he’d vocalized his thoughts out loud, but didn’t try and stop himself now, the fight sufficiently snapped out of him.
“You don’t know that.” His voice shook as pulled his arms in front of himself, burrowing his face in the crevice it made. “I’ve been terrible Kenji... I’ve been terrible… they trusted me and I hurt them. How do I-, I mean what should I-…” The man let out another choked sob.
“ What am I meant to do now?”
Sako broke down again, his defenses utterly spent as he tried his best to breathe through it, but he couldn’t. His breath came out in short puffs as his back tensed and his legs shifted slightly in distress. He’d done it now, he’d ruined it. First, he lost Kurogiri, and now he was going to lose them too
Isn’t that what you wanted?
No, he decides. He doesn’t want that at all.
—
Magne listened as Mister broke back down into a fit of heaving sobs, the reality of his actions catching up with him. Oh Sako, if you only knew what you meant to them.
Worried he might make himself sick, Magne went to stand him upright, bringing her hand around to his shoulder to pull him upwards as well as making sure his feet didn’t slip out from under him. As he stood on unsteady feet, Mag helped return his boxers to their rightful place.
Despite the pity she now allowed herself to feel for the inconsolable man, Magne was glad to see Compress coming back to his senses. He understood that how he’d acted was wrong, things could only go up from here. But only if she could get the man to see it her way.
Just by looking at him, you could tell the man was exhausted. His eyes were wet and bloodshot, dark bags developing under his downcast eyes as he shook and stood on unsteady feet. Once he was standing, Magne gently turned the man to face her, though he didn’t meet her eyes.
“Sako,”
At his name, Sako’s eyes twitched up. Tears still ran down his face though he didn’t move to wipe them away, his chest still hitching with each breath as he tried to quiet himself down. His chocolate-colored eyes struggled to meet her emerald ones as sobs wracked him.
Magne’s arms opened to him. An invitation. That was all Sako needed before he allowed himself to be brought into the woman’s arms. As his body was pressed up against hers Compress wrapped his arms around the woman’s neck. Another sob. Putting his face in the crevice between his arm and Mag’s neck he allowed her to soothe his woes like he was some child. Though at the moment he probably didn’t look much different from one, feeling one of her hands rubbing up and down his back while her other found its way back into his curly hair. He was now feeling rather grateful that Magne had removed his balaclava before starting, despite his earlier protests.
They just stood there for a few minutes, Compress holding on to Magne’s middle while she hummed soft encouraging words in his direction.
Compress focused on the hand in his hair, the way her nails scratched at his scalp before running down over his shoulders. Slowly his breathing calmed as he managed to collect himself, the frenzy of emotions within him settling just under the surface of his skin with a soft buzz surrounding him.
As his breathing returned to normal and Magne became confident that he wasn’t going to become sick, she decided it was time to get things moving along so that they could be done with this. She looked down at the man as his weight started to sag against her, seeing his eyelids start to sag and threaten to close. She knew he was tired, and after they were done she’d make she he got all the sleep he needed.
“Come on Sugar, we’re almost done,” Magne hummed gently, pulling back a bit so she could sit down in the forgotten wooden dining chair. she slowly led Sako over her knees this time, guiding him into place by his upper arm. She left his boxers in place though, not seeing this taking long.
“Huh? I-I thought we were-“ Sako’s eyes widened as he was led into position, but he didn’t fight it. He wasn’t sure he had the energy to fight if he’d wanted to anyway.
“That was for being an asshole. This is so you stop destroying yourself. You’ve been punished, but now you need help. You’ve got to stop blaming yourself for what happened. It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could do.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that he wouldn’t want this. What do you think he’d think if he saw you carrying on like this?”
“… he’d be disappointed.”
“He’d be disappointed. What else?”
“Mag… I don’t k- AHH!!” Sako’s hand shot out to grab whatever was nearby, wrapping around Magne’s ankle and holding on for dear life as pain severed through him again. The smack wasn’t particularly hard but it had caught him off guard. He was sore. Sore and tired. But he knew he wasn’t going anywhere until the woman was done with him.
The smacks were much lighter now, less smacks as much as they were firm taps across his ass. When Mag drew her hand back, she was more or less letting it fall back down with gravity rather than putting any real weight behind it. They still had him crying softly into Kenji’s thigh though, as the friction re-awoke the burn that was already there. He’d been worn out in every sense of the word and was ready to be done.
Tears reappeared in Compress's eyes as he lowered his head, knowing he had no choice but to answer and hiding his face from no one in particular. “…Sad.” He finally answered through a thick voice, his breath hitching in his throat. “He’d be sad… he wouldn’t want me to be like this.”
“Then why? If you know that doing all this would do nothing but make him unhappy, why do it? Why push away everyone you care about, as well as everyone he cares about?”
That was the big question, wasn’t it? Why had he done all this? Why had he gotten so angry instead of just relying on the people who were so readily available to him? Why did he run off and poison his liver instead of staying with the people who needed him? The people he needed? Why did he push and prod and fight until he found himself in a position that only a child would find themselves in?
“I just miss him so much Kenji, I miss him so much.” The fight left him then as he hung limply over the woman’s knees, the tears he’d fought so hard to keep back falling like rivers from his eyes as he sobbed. “I-it’s like I can’t breathe anymore!” His whole body shook with his harsh crying, a whole month's worth of pent-up and repressed emotion spilling out of him now that the floodgates had opened. “I can’t eat, I haven’t slept in days… I-it’s just not the same!! I’ve never- I’ve never had someone like him Kenji… he was everything, and now? Now he’s GONE! He’s gone and there was nothing I could do! I-I should have been there! I should have gone with him! Even if we both got captured, then- then at least he wouldn’t be alone!”
Kenji listened, pausing the rise and fall of her palm for the final time and letting the man speak for the longest period he had since this whole ordeal started.
“It didn’t matter where we were, the bar or a broken down abandoned building. With him, I was home.” Compress sniffed, reaching to rub at his wet, swollen eyes. “He’d probably hate me if he knew how I treated everyone while he was away. He’d hate me for how I treated his boy.”
“I think Kurogiri’s forgiven a lot worse than some binge drinking and a misplaced temper.” Lightly countered.
“This isn’t like when the boys fight and accidentally hurt each other, Mag. Or even remotely on the same level as one of them getting mad and storming off to God knows where… I’m supposed to know better… what makes you think he’d forgive me?”
Compress jumps as Mag pats his backside, even the gentle touches feeling like sandpaper against his sensitive skin. “You made a mistake, and you’ve been punished for it. Punishment is so you can learn from your mistakes, but also so you can move on from them. I think you’ve paid your dues plenty, Sako. It’s time to move on from them.” The hand rubbing his back paused. “Unless you don’t think I’ve been thorough enough-“
“NO! No..” Sako cleared his throat a little, taking a deep breath. “I understand, you’ve made your point perfectly clear I promise, no encouragement necessary…”
“I’m glad to hear it,” the rubbing continued.
“Besides, you should give Kurogiri a little more credit than that. I don’t think he’d be happy with what happened, but it would take more than that to scare someone like him off.”
“Kurogiri puts up with a lot of bullshit from the people he cares about, and you sir had him wrapped around your finger.”
Compress didn’t even try to deny it, his lips quirking a bit at the edges as he knew it was true.
“I really am sorry.”
“I know you are. And you’ll have plenty of time to make your apologies to the others later.”
Compress hummed a bit, his eyelids growing heavy as the adrenaline started to run out of him, being replaced with exhaustion.
“Here, up you get Mister. There you are…” Magne’s movements were gentle as she helped Sako to stand, supporting his body with her own as his knees buckled when he stood. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Magne started to steer him toward the couch against the back wall.
The purpose of the couch and blanket now made much more sense and he silently blessed the woman for her foresight. He was beat, figuratively and literally, the only thing he wanted now was sleep
Mag sat down first, unfolding the blanket and opening her arms up towards Sako. “I was hard on you, let me take care of you a bit.” Compress couldn’t argue with that, craving comfort as he made himself comfortable on her chest before Kenji threw the blanket over him. He had a feeling she needed this as much as he did. Her hands continued to rub up and down his back, and he felt his eyes start to slip closed as a result.
He’d have a lot of work to do in the morning. A lot of wrongs to right and apologies to make. But that was for tomorrow. For now, he allowed himself to feel safe in Magne’s arms, getting the best night's sleep he’d had in weeks.
—
When he awoke the next morning, Kenji noted that Sako seemed to be in lighter spirits. Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he could finally breathe again. His eyes, while still a little bloodshot, didn’t look nearly as tired as they did the night before. When he awoke, he’d sat up from his place cuddled into her chest. Propping himself up on his elbows he made eye contact with the woman before sending her a smile and wishing her a good morning.
He’d sat up completely then, kneeling on the couch next to her and paying no mind to the fact that he was in nothing but his socks, boxers, and button-up shirt. Apparently, modesty wasn’t a thing if he wasn’t actively being punished. Compress pouted, though there was no real heat behind his words as he complained about “Never sitting again!” He put a hand on his hip and turned to inspect the damage, propping his other hand against the back of the couch for stabilization.
“You deserved it.”
“Yeah, I know.” He smiled
Magne eyed him as he inspected himself, watching him rub at and feel the heat of his thighs for a moment before without really thinking about it, she was reaching out to him.
“Kenji?” Sako questioned but allowed the woman to take his hand and pull him into an embrace.
“Don’t make me do that again.” The woman sighed deeply, just holding the man for a minute and reveling in the fact that he seemed to be back to his normal self. Aside of course from the pink sticking out from under his boxer briefs and the fact that he wouldn’t be sitting normally any time soon.
Compress hugged the woman back. “I won’t, I promise. I really am sorry about the mess I’ve caused… quite unbefitting…” there was a tint to his cheeks when they pulled apart, though his chocolate brown eyes still held a warmth that Kenji hadn’t seen in far too long. “I’ll make it up to them, I swear on it. You as well my dear, I owe you for pulling me out of that disaster…”
“Hey, don’t mention it, ok? I know you will. And I get it. Just… Remember he’s not gone, ok? We’re gonna bring him home.”
Compress tilted his head back a bit, willing the tears to stay inside his head, just this once. After a moment he wiped his eyes and met Magne’s gaze once more.
“Of course we will.”