nexus_crossings | Hope this setup is okay!

Tielle overheard the frustrated yells, seated at a nearby table by the main plaza under her parasol as she sipped at her custom made cherry martini.

"Whoever it is you're after, if you're here, they probably aren't."

She took another sip of her drink, rubbing her brow, her head starting to hurt from all the yelling.

"And I thought I'd finally get a moment to enjoy a drink in peace."

Letting out a sigh, she let her head roll back, closing her eyes.

"Come, sit. I'll bring you up to speed on this place, just please stop yelling and causing a scene..."

Katsuki turns at the voice, squinting at the stranger. He'd blow her off just like he did the rest offering to explain this place, but something she said has caught his attention.

He stomps closer, but doesn't sit.

"What do you mean they probably aren't here?"

At least his volume has come down to more reasonable levels?

She took another sip of her drink, motioning for him to take a seat.

"This place has a way of drawing people in, usually without them even realizing it until it's too late. One minute you're running through the streets, or exploring the local woodlands, or experimenting with teleportation magic, and the next thing you know, here you are."

She pauses taking another sip.

"God I wish it wasn't so hot out today... anyway, I suppose it's already been crammed down your throat with pamphlets and the like, but welcome to The Nexus."

Taking another sip, the stopped for a moment.

"...Though... this person you're looking for might be here, or at least a version of him anyway..."

"So this is some kind of... other world?"

It's... not that far-fetched, really. For all he knows the villain he was chasing could have an accomplice who had a quirk that could send people to other worlds.

But unless there's a time limit or someone here has a quirk that can send him back... he'd never admit that he's worried.

"So people show up in this place a lot... how often do they leave once they get here?"

He could be stuck here. With no way of getting back.

"Well, I guess that's one way of putting it. Think of it this way. Imagine a thunderstorm. Each cloud represents a different place, world, universe, or even a different timeline. The ground you're standing on is the nexus. Every so often, seemingly at random, a bolt of energy transfers from the clouds to the ground. That bolt of energy would be you, in this case."

She gives him a grin, looking him over. She's been around for a long time... a long... long time... she has a certain knack for reading people, sensing the dread welling up in him knowing he might be trapped. She felt the same way when she first arrived.

"As for getting back... that's a little bit more complicated. Traversing the planes, or even timelines isn't exactly the easiest of things. Some here have figured it out, and I was lucky enough to run into one while here who set up a way back to my world, though unfortunately my memory is a bit hazy as to who it was."

She took another sip of her drink, flashing him a smile.

"Don't worry though, this place is quite peaceful. There's even an anti-violence field so you're in no danger of being harmed, or harming others... well... when the damn thing doesn't go on the fritz..."

She thinks back to when the Nexus was in shambles the last time the anti-violence field failed, letting out a pensive sigh.

"Though the lot of us are certainly a force to be reckoned with in the rare event that does happen... and I'm always glad to get the chance to let loose a little."

So he's stuck until further notice. But it sounds like there are people who can get him back if he puts in the work to find them.

No telling how long it'll take. Will time pass back home while he's here? Damn. He can't have that. He's got classes and his internship to think about. How is he supposed to become a hero if he's missing so much??

Not to mention he left Deku and Todoroki with that villain... if it was the work of a quirk they might turn up here too.

Something else catches his attention. Anti-violence field? He frowns and turns away a little, holding his hand out palm up, careful not to aim at anything. He lets off a few pops, relieved as his explosions crackle forth. Carefully controlled and small enough that they look more like tiny fireworks than the dangerous power they are.

Good. His quirk still works. He just probably can't use it on others... unless the field falls. But others can't use theirs on him either.

Once that's tested he looks back at Tielle.

"I can handle myself just fine. Don't underestimate me."

She definitely didn't say anything to suggest she was...

"Okay. Tell me more. There villains around here?"

She smirks a bit.

"You could say that... back in their home worlds at least. They're mostly forced to play nice though. Some are actually pretty amicable once their destructive tendencies are kept in check..."

She takes another sip of her martini, finishing it off, though the red residue is fairly thick for a normal martini.

"...Some might even consider me a villain just by my very nature, though such things are more subjective than most of us care to admit..."

She licks the sweet sugar off the rim of the martini glass, leaning back a bit.

"After all, most villains are the heroes of their own stories..."

Katsuki gives her a suspicious look. She hasn't done anything to make him wary of her but the way she's talking now gives him pause.

But she hasn't done anything yet.

You can't just go beating up on random people for saying nice things about villains. Not very heroic. And no matter how he looks or acts, Katsuki is a hero at heart.

...but he's also done some very not-heroic things in his life and has been forced to face his own actions. How they impacted others.

Hurt others.

Sometimes the heroes are the villains of someone else's story... not that he's about to get into that with her right now.

"The hell is that supposed to mean? You wanna be a villain just because that's how people see you? That's shitty logic."

She shrugs, shaking her head.

"No no no, I don't consider myself either of the two. Both are merely a matter of perspective. I've had many would-be heroes make attempts at my life, thinking it some grandiose cause for the greater good. Simply because I exist, and to those narrow minded fools I was simply evil by nature..."

She gave him a slight grin, revealing a pair of fangs.

"...Though the occasional misguided adventurer looking to make a name for himself is fairly low on my list of concerns these days... especially with something that truly is evil having been released thanks to their concepts of 'heroism' and rewriting history to suit their own wounded pride..."

Katsuki squints at her teeth a moment before his gaze briefly flickers to the empty glass. Although for him the pieces of the puzzle being laid out do not add up to vampire.

It lines up to blood related quirk.

"If they're attempting murder, they got no right calling themselves heroes."

For all his tendencies to scream 'die' at his opponents, Katsuki's still got a heroic heart. He's got a lot of work to do atoning for some nasty things he's done. But he isn't a bad person.

Plenty of people thought him the kind who would switch sides in an instant. Including the people who called themselves villains. So although he won't admit it, he understands being labled 'villain' or 'bad'. He just doesn't understand letting those labels shape you.

"If that's what the 'heroes' of this world get up to, than they're my enemies same as any villain. I'll blow 'em all sky high."

He finally sits down, dropping into the chair across from Tielle's. He shoves his mask up, into his hairline. He's deemed her not a threat.

"You said it's peaceful here, but when that shield falls, all hell must break loose. Tell me about the major threats."

If he's going to be here a while, he's got to know what to look out for.

"Thankfully most people here are fairly reasonable... or at least amicable, hero villain or otherwise. As for the troublemakers, they usually come from the outside. There was some mass invasion once, nearly destroyed most of the Nexus. As much as I would have loved to get my hands dirty, I was away for a bit while it happened, though I did come back right in the middle of the chaos left behind. I helped out where I could, mostly in the clinic treating the wounded. Making some connections to get an ample supply of blood from them certainly didn't hurt either..."

She leaned forward, giving him a cheery smile.

"When the field falls, the denizens of the Nexus are usually the last people you need to be worried about. We usually don't turn on our own people, with or without the field."

She lets out a sigh.

"Makes me wish my own home had that kind of comradery. Wishful thinking I suppose..."

'Outside threats' is pretty vague. He has no context for what this mass outside invasion involved. He meets her smile with a scowl.

He'll have to ask around.

"Next question. Housing. With people getting dropped here all the time, there's gotta be a place for 'em to stay."

He did not accept the pamphlets. He'd been too busy yelling.

"And what's the catch? What do they have us do to pay for it?"

"Truth be told, I'm not really sure. I ended up taking up residence in the abandoned suite I found myself in when I got here. You might be better off asking around in that regard."

She gave a slight shrug, glancing towards the information pamphlets scattered about the square.

"I mostly ignored those little things when I first came here too. It can be quite a lot to take in all at once."

She leaned back in her chair a bit, certainly finding his defensiveness intriguing, as well as the whole hero vs. villain paradigm he holds to so strictly, but that was a conversation for another time. Instead she thought more about the topic of making a living.

"If you're looking to make some coin though, there are plenty of shops and businesses in the downtown marketplace that might be looking for extra help, or odd jobs in the Underbelly if you don't mind some less savory and somewhat questionable lines of work. If you consider yourself a fighter, taking bets in the arena in the Viper's Pit might be more your speed though. It's the only place the anti-violence field doesn't protect, though the combatants usually set some ground rules before getting into it. I've gone there a few times myself to blow off some steam."

He glances at the pamphlets, still frowning. Tielle will find in time that Katsuki is almost always scowling, frowning or making some awful angry face.

Not that his smiles are any more pleasant.

Resting bitch face is Katsuki at his most presentable.

"I'm guessing this Viper's Pit isn't on the up and up."

He'd typically be down for a place where he can fight. But that doesn't sound like a place where a hero in training should be...

"What a pain in the ass... I got more important shit to do than work some lame ass 9 to 5 and pay bills. What do people do for fun around here?"

She shrugs, looking him over. Just a little ball of sunshine, this one.

"Depends on what you consider fun. Personally, as long as I'm in good company I can find ways to entertain myself. There's almost always something new to discover here anyway, even I don't know all it's secrets. The night life can be rather entertaining though, especially in the Underbelly. I'm usually a bit more free to roam the streets at night anyway, not tethered to this blasted thing."

She looks up at the parasol she's twirling idly overhead, letting out a sigh.

"Though, I take it we probably have very different definitions of the word 'fun'. What did you have in mind?"

"Any gyms? Hiking trails? Nearby mountains?"

He's the active sort. Training. Hiking. Mountain climbing.

"Maybe some places that no one will mind getting a little... wrecked?"

He wants a place to keep training his quirk too. But it's destructive. He can't just be firing off explosions willy-nilly.

She gives him a smirk, fully catching on to what he's getting at.

"There are some places outside the Nexus, as well as a small dojo but that's more for traditional training and meditation from what I hear. The Viper Pit is probably the best place to get some real practice in. Don't worry, most of us are a lot more durable than you'd think. In a place where angels, sentient robots, vampires, and literal gods can coexist, wrecking someone else is probably the least of your worries. Hell, I wouldn't mind being your sparring partner for a bit if it makes you more comfortable. I'll even go easy on you."

She couldn't help herself from egging him on a little. She was bored, and in a bit of a playful mood. At best it might actually get him to smile once he let loose. At worst at least she'd have fun getting under his skin a bit.

"Don't look down on me! Don't need anyone pulling their punches! It's worthless if both parties don't give it their all!"

It definitely doesn't sound like she's making any progress with him, but she's on the right track. He loves a challenge.

And he won't hold back just because she's a woman. He'll fight her with the same ferocity he would a man.

He still isn't sure about this Vipers Pit place. It sounds hella shady. But if he can let loose with his quirk without worry...

She gave a soft chuckle, glad to find she's struck a bit of a nerve.

"Despite the name, it's actually not that bad of a place. Aside from the whole fighting arena part, its just your average dive bar really. They make some damn good drinks too, mind you."

She looked him over, this time more purposefully, sizing him up for when they eventually cross paths in the ring.

"I look forward to seeing what you can do. It's been a while since I've had a bit of fun."

A bar.

"They even gonna let me in then? I'm not old enough to drink."

That could throw a wrench in those plans fast.

She couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"If I can look this good at age 248, I doubt they'll keep you out just because you look a little young. Just don't go advertising it and you'll be in the clear."

"They don't card people at the door?"

Yeah. Katsuki is still firmly in the 'this place sounds hella shady' camp.

"Follow up before you suggest it, but if they do there's no way in hell I'm getting a fake ID."

She ponders for a moment.

"Come to think of it, I think there's more to it than just the bar and the arena. It's just that's where I spend most of my time. It's over in the Downtown district. I'm probably making it sound worse than it is really. Most of the sparring with house rules is point sparring and only with the weapons they provide, but they do offer some custom bouts for those like myself who find the basic rules a bit too... tame..."

She shrugs a bit.

"Oh, and I think there's some kind of nightclub downstairs too. I was down there maybe once, and I wasn't in the best of places mentally so it's... kind of a blur."

None of that tells him if they're going to card him to get in. He can't believe he's even entertaining the idea of going. But he'll go crazy of he can't get some training in...

"What about quirks? Those off the table?"

"If you're looking for a standard fight sure, though as I said, they're pretty flexible with the rules as long as everyone's on the same page."

She grinned, thinking back to a few of the fights she's had in the past.

"Definitely some good times for sure..."

Hope this setup is okay!

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