Chapter Text
Chuuya found himself sitting at a sketchy bar somewhere a little bit outside Matsutafu. The ginger really needed a good smoke and drink, but he wasn't going to get caught by some random-ass teacher or hero walking around and seeing him.
The bar was somewhat normal. The counter was sticky from spilled drinks, and the stools that surrounded the bar squeaked every time you moved to get off them. The red velvet cushions were worn down over time.
The people that went here looked mildly average, with no interesting quirks that would catch your eye.
But to Chuuya, the sight of a bar that sold to underage people just felt like he was at home. The wine in his hand felt great, chilled to the touch, with the shot of whiskey waiting its turn by his hand.
Then someone came up to him. “Hey there, sweetpea. You sure you're supposed to be here? The middle school is just down the street.”
Chuuya wanted to look at this stupid man until he realized he was not in Mafia territory and he was not allowed to kill this guy. But then again, there was no rule about knocking the lights out of someone.
But that would have to wait. Chuuya knew he could get a drink out of this guy somehow.
“Psh, what are you talking about?” Chuuya's best bet was to act dumb and ‘pretty’. It worked a lot, especially when the ginger wanted something from a half-drunk idiot at the bar.
“Well, beautiful, how old are you then?”
As Chuuya got a closer look at this man, he looked more like a pig than a human, and he was not talking about any quirk here. The old man was practically salivating as he looked Chuuya over, licking his lips with his disgustingly long tongue.
“Just turned.... Uh, what was it? 18!”
Chuuya grabbed the shot of whiskey he was keeping handy, put it to his lips, and threw his head back, downing it in one gulp.
“Oh yeah? You look pretty young for your age. I would have guessed that you were at least 16.”
The old geezer licked his lips again as his eyes trailed to Chuuya's face.
Chuuya picked up the wine glass and swished around the small amount of crimson liquid left inside the glass before downing it like he did the whiskey.
Chuuya pulled out his wallet, ready to buy a new round of drinks for himself, but the old man put a sausage-fingered hand on his.
“Don't worry, beautiful. I'll pay for two rounds of drinks if I get something in return.”
Chuuya had to hide the disgust that was building in his stomach, but hey, free booze.
First, the old man got him a round of shots. The ginger downed those fast, his vision going fuzzy at the edges, but the ginger knew that he could take more. So, the next thing that was offered to him was a large fishbowl cocktail filled to the brim with straight liquor and a little syrup.
Just looking at it made Chuuya want to vomit, but looking over at the old creep that bought it for him was an even more disgusting sight.
Chuuya drank about half before he felt a bit ill, but the redhead wasn't a quitter, so he finished the rest off.
“Can I get a bottle to go, pleaseeeee?” Chuuya whined to the creep sitting next to him.
Hopefully, the old man would fold and get him the expensive bottle sitting right behind the bar in a locked cabinet.
“Well, which one do you want, doll?”
The old man tried to put his hand on Chuuya's thigh, but the ginger saw it before it happened and subtly moved away.
Chuuya pointed to the very expensive French wine in the cabinet behind the bar. The geezer followed his finger and almost choked.
“Are you sure, doll? Why not another one?”
“No, I want that one.”
Chuuya was acting like a child, but it worked, and he got his wine. Chuuya was really starting to think this old geezer was into kids.
Chuuya followed the man into an alley that was just one shop over from the bar. The old man tried to grab Chuuya, but...
SNAP, CRACK, POP.
The old guy was left bruised and unable to fight back, one of his arms hanging awkwardly and one of his legs twisted at an unnatural angle.
As the creep lay there, Chuuya waved him off as he exited the alleyway.
“Oh, and thanks for the free booze!” the ginger shouted down the alley as he took out a cigarette from his pocket.
The redhead was about to go around a corner, only to be stopped by a guy that looked like a burnt purple chicken nugget.
The burnt guy was also smoking, and it looked like he had a quirk that was related to fire since he was playing around with a small ball of it in his hand that also looked a little crispy.
“Hey, man, do you mind lighting me a cigarette?”
“Sure, why not?”
His voice sounded as if the man was a very heavy smoker, or his vocal cords could also be a bit crispy too.
Then a ball of blue fire was shot right at Chuuya's face.
Chuuya dodged it easily and used gravity to make himself lighter so that he was now above where the blast would have hit. His cigarette was now lit and in his mouth as he hung in the air, red radiating off his frame.
“Thanks, Crispy. Could've done without the large blast, though,” the ginger said as he took a large drag and then exhaled.
Guess Crispy didn't like the name all that much because he aimed another ball of fire at Chuuya's head.
Chuuya, who was still a little tipsy from his earlier drinking, pulled out his fancy bottle of wine, undid the cork using gravity manipulation, and took a small sip.
“Hey, my cigarette burnt out. Could you re-light it for me, please?”
This time, Crispy just let a small flame sit in the palm of his hand, and Chuuya lit his cigarette, taking a good, long drag from it.
“And how may I repay you, Crispy?”
Chuuya was still in a sitting position mid-air as he looked down at the dark-haired man.
“It's Dabi, not Crispy, you little punk.” He paused. “And all I want from you is half your pack of cigarettes.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Dabi, but fine.”
Chuuya took out two cigarettes and stashed them in his pocket before tossing the half-full pack over to the burnt and crispy man.
The ginger released himself from his gravity and started to walk away. Rain started to pour, and Chuuya was mostly drenched by the time he got to the bus stop.
Chuuya put out his cigarette and then took the bottle of wine, pressing it to his lips and taking a large gulp.
He had just finished his mouthful when the bus arrived, taking Chuuya back to UA.
The ginger snuck back in since it was past curfew. It wasn't that hard with the help of his ability, lifting him to his balcony with the mostly full bottle of wine in his grasp.
Chuuya unlocked the balcony door, and before he was even two steps into the threshold, he collapsed to the floor. The bottle of wine conveniently rolled under his bed and out of sight as he closed his eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.