Chapter Text
“Madam, I want to ask you something.”
Scheduling an appointment with a busy principal, whose icy blue eyes could cut through any heart and has enough wealth to build cities, was a risk. Deciding to ask the secretary herself with a chance of being reprimanded was a risk. He’s been walking this thin like of favoritism for too long to let it all drop in an instant. Always be on their time, not yours; when they want something, do it, no matter what.
That didn’t mean to not use the favorite student privilege to your advantage, though. He decided to walk right into Madam’s office.
Obviously, she kept a straight face. Shock would show weakness. “Have a seat.”
Sitting in the soft, black chair across from her oak desk, Takami folded his hands in his lap. Madam and her assistant stared him dead in the eyes. Waiting.
“I’m confused,” he starts out softly, hoping feigning confusion would soften her answer. “You said you wanted a reason to suspend the delinquents, right?”
“Yes.”
He pretended to think how to respond. Peasants don’t have thoughts of their own. “But do we know who the delinquents are?“
The assistant’s harsh voice sounded through his ears. “Are you questioning Madam?”
She held up a hand. “No let him speak.” She looked back at him. “Continue.”
Playing with the collar of his uniform, he realized that he was speaking up. For once. To an authority. This could either get really bad or really worse; whether for them or him or all combined, he didn’t know. But he had to remember: the meek persona was a fake persona. Not the actual, blunt, two-faced Takami Keigo.
“It’s just that we may not know the real identity of some of the students,” he continued, trying to sound more confident. “They could be valuable. Like, more valuable than me. You’ve said that I’m valuable once, right?”
“I’ve said you’re a good student with good grades.”
“Yes! Exactly that!” Relief flooded through him. This seemed to be going well. “If we find out who they are, we could have potential scholars! And then the school could be known for reforming delinquents! We could turn them from dogs into stars!”
Both the assistant and Madam stared at Takami. For a second, he could’ve sworn Madam’s eyes slightly widened. He felt more relief flood through his chest. Sounding like a salesmen was a trick he mastered. Surely it could work on the toughest of the teachers.
She tapped her finger against the desk. “Saying you can turn them from dogs into stars is…an interesting statement from a person of your caliber.”
His eyes widened.
“As much as we could market our school into a reforming one, we’d make ourselves to accept anyone of any kind. We have already made exceptions when it came to you, considering your status. Letting delinquents stay here after their crimes would state that we disregard such things.” Madam gave a pointed look. “Is that you want, Takami?”
“Absolutely not!” he responded back. “It’s just that—“
“That you wish to see the school’s prestigious reputation fall into ruin?” she interrupted. She sounded harsh. “Takami Keigo — I thought you valued the values the school was built upon. Unfortunately, it seems like I made a mistake on my end. Do you wish to no longer attend here? Do you want the scholarship to go to another respected student above your caliber?”
Hook, line, and sinker.
If he continued, he’d lose it all. If he stayed silent, he’d end up having to do his job still. Keeping quiet felt wrong. But so did loosing his reputation. “I’m sorry, Madam.”
She looked at him a little moment longer. “Good.” She leaned back into her chair. “I apologize. Now, how are things going so far?”
—
Bad.
Of course, he couldn’t say that. He’d be undermining the prestigious UA Academy. He’d be making them look bad just by allowing them to continue being here. And they’d blame the poor student for having a lack of decorum. They’d ruin his reputation even more.
It’s a wonder they haven’t reached his friends yet. The friends that he’s with on a yacht now. Drinking. Partying. Like he’s rich and has all the money in the world.
He can feel the despair creating a festering hole inside him the more he chugged down a bottle. It didn’t help that Yuu, someone who saw him as so amazing, was clinging to him like glue. Nishiya was shouting on top of tables, pretending that they were surfboards. Tatsuma was sitting on a couch, avoiding all the guys trying to talk to her.
He wanted to go help her, but Yuu had him trapped. Which he didn’t mind. She was his girlfriend. But there wasn’t even any takoyaki to keep his mind off this. Not like that would help. None of the drinks helped. None of the attention from the others helped.
And not even this party helped with the anxiety of his future.
—
Dabi eyed him up and down. “You look like a hot mess.”
Looks like day before never happened. Here he was, clad in all black clothes and silver earrings. “Yeah. Just another day! Am I right?”
Taking a long drag of a cigarette, Dabi watched the wisp of smoke fly into the cloudy sky. His half-lidded eyes never lost her contact with the smoke. He looked at it as a friend, a comrade. He looked at it like it meant something. “Did I not tell you to drop that stupid personality?”
Takami balled his fist, the persona off. “Who said I had to listen to a delinquent?”
Shimura and the others all turned the heads around. As Shigaraki was about to sock him in the face, Dabi helped up a hand. “There’s no point, Shimura.”
The right hand man’s nostrils flared. “Wha—!”
“He’s showing his true self.”
Takami like how he he said that. It made him smile. Just a little. Then, it faded when he remembered what he was here for. “Where did you go yesterday?”
“Home.”
“Home?”
Dabi pointed a thumb at Twice while attempting to unwrap a lollipop with the other hand. “When things get tough, I go to his place. That’s all you need to know.”
Seems like having a not-so loving father was the only thing Dabi and him had in common. He fits right in. Maybe that’s why the gracious Madam chose him. “What are you going to do about your dad?”
He took another long dragged. He looked Takami dead in the eye. “Nothing I can do. Just don’t ask me about my brother and we’re good.”
Wasn’t planning on it. “Are we doing anything today?”
”Definitely not our work!” Twice responded. “There’s this place our gang had been trying to rob and we gonna go there!”
Shigaraki scratched at his neck. “Should we be telling the goody-two shoes this?”
Robbery. “Shimura, buddy—!”
”Call me buddy one more time and you’ll never speak again.”
“I’m not going to snitch on you,” Takami said with the straightest face he could pull. “I have no reason to. I’m one of you now, aren’t I?”
The group looked at each other. Then, they all looked at Dabi — the great Touya Todoroki. The crème de la crème of this group. His intelligence was far superior to Takami’s. So why was Dabi wasting it? Wasting it with them?
Realizing that Dabi wasn’t going to answer first, Twice said, “Well, you know a part of Dabi’s life now that even we don’t get a glimpse of. How dare you! I was friends with him before you!”
”Twice!” Toga snapped.
”Sorry!” Twice shook his head. “Dabi does consider you part of the friend group! And I do too! I’ll just need to come up with a nickname for you and we’ll go from there!”
The question slipped out before he could stop. ”Is that why Dabi doesn’t go by his real name? Touya?”
They froze.
“I knew it was about time before you said something,” Dabi seethed, dropping the cigarette and stomping it out. “Listen. I am Touya Todoroki, the prestige of the Todoroki family and the eldest son. I won all the awards and all the prizes you could think of. Are you happy, Chess Prodigy? Are you happy to know who I am now?”
Well, that confirmed a lot of things. That also confirmed why people said Dabi was the top student years ago and not Touya. It brought back things he didn’t want to remember. “I’m assuming it’s best not to ask anymore, then.”
”You catch on quick. I doubt you’ll stop, though.” Dabi looked at Shimura. “Tell him the news.”
Shimura looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it. “His dad holds power here.”
Takami’s eyes widened. “Huh?”
”I don’t think you’ve seen much or heard much, noob, that old man holds power here. He’s just a little bit more absent for quite some time due to running his company,” Shimura explained. “It’s also why the principal can’t do anything about our leader here.”
”That makes no sense,” Takami quipped. “If his dad practically runs things her, then why doesn’t he know about how Touya goes by Dabi?”
“The principal can’t set up a meeting with him due to how busy his dad is. And if she tries to tell him that his son is a delinquent without any proof…” Shimura slid his thumb across his throat. “You know what I mean?”
So the principal needed a spy for this reason. She just thought he had a bone to pick with them.
As if sensing his next question, Dabi, with an ear-reaching grin, said, “I’m second place in school because I force low-lives to do my homework.”
Alrighty then.
Mr. Todoroki’s voice reverberated in his mind, remaining him of all the fortunes he could get if he turned Dabi back into a star. It would cost Takami first place. But with all that money, who would need to worry about risking their life in the name of a scholarship?
Actually, wait. What if he could get his money and that scholarship at the same time? Couldn’t he just kick the dog out at the end? Couldn’t he kill two birds with one stone?
That anxiety for his future finally seemed to die down. Just a little bit.