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The gunshot took Dabi by surprise, just a meter away from hitting him. Which one of them had brought a gun to a quirk fight? The police had weapons on them since they weren’t allowed to use their quirks while fighting, but he knew the sound of their registered weapons. This one had been a loud boom that he recognized as one of their own tailored to fit the special bullets Ujiko had been working on reproducing.
He swung his gaze around to search for the source of the gunshot, only to find one of the new guys holding a gun and aiming at…
Dabi narrowed his eyes. Nope, not that kid. Sorry, new guy, but he had specific plans for that one.
Okay, maybe not specific, but plans that didn’t involve shooting him to death or to the point where he lost his quirk entirely. The latter might’ve been deliciously fitting, but Dabi had to admit that the kid wasn’t the one he was angry at the most. Now his old man? That would’ve been fun. He would’ve snatched that gun and pumped that fucker full of lead himself.
Before the guy could pop off another shot, Dabi snatched the gun out of his hands. “Hey!”
“Watch where you’re aiming that shit!” Dabi snapped. “You almost hit me, dumbass!”
“I got one of them UA kids!” The guy sneered. “Endeavor’s son, ain’t he?”
Dabi turned to look back at the boy in question slumped against a wall and holding his lower left side where the bullet had struck him. Blood stained the blue of his hero costume and was seeping out between his fingers and onto the ground. It was a nasty wound, but not life-threatening if he got out of here. The nurse at UA could patch him up easy as pie. Of course, that would require walking, which would hurt like hell, and fighting, which he wouldn’t be capable of doing at the moment.
It would be very, very easy to take out Todoroki Shouto right now despite his incredible strength.
“He is,” Dabi said, “and he’s not your problem.”
“But-”
“I’ll take care of this.” It was his responsibility. He’d made the decision upon joining the League. He knew full well that he’d have to face this little punk sooner or later - and he would also have to face himself. When the villain stared at him with a suspicious gleam in his eyes, Dabi lifted his free hand and activated his quirk, blue flames bursting to life. “Unless you wanna keep arguing with me and find out what the firing process for the League is like.”
The villain scrammed like the little cockroach he was to join elsewhere in the fight where he might actually be wanted or needed. Dabi popped out the magazine clip to check the amount of bullets - four left, so three had been used up but only one on Todoroki - and then shoved it back into the gun. He dropped his hand to hold it at his side as he slowly meandered his way over to Endeavor’s son.
The poor, dumb kid slapped his right hand against the ground but nothing happened. He gawked at his hand in horror, suddenly frozen despite his earlier attempts to escape. “What…?”
“It’s no use,” Dabi told him. He waved the gun in the air. Todoroki’s eyes latched onto it, so wide and innocent. He was only - what? - sixteen right now? Not a fun age to get shot. Dabi wouldn’t know. That was one injury he’d never suffered from. He and Shigaraki could swap war stories. “We’ve got someone who’s been cooking up something real special.”
Todoroki paled. “The quirk bullets.”
“Indeed - but you’re in luck, kid.” Dabi dropped the gun and crouched down to Todoroki’s level so that they were eye-to-eye. “These aren’t the real deal yet - they’re the janky kind - so you’ve still got your quirk intact.” He grinned broadly, ignoring the pain from his staples pulling at his good skin. “Won’t be able to use it for a few hours, of course, which is a real inconvenience right now.”
It must have been terrifying not being able to use his quirk, especially with a villain up close and personal. How long had it been since Todoroki felt powerless? Not the kind that waned or came and went, but true, awful, horrifying powerlessness that crippled a person for days even after it ended. The kind that never fully went away, seeping into bones and muscle memory, waiting to return until it was felt again. His body shook, his breathing stuttered, his eyes stared at him but weren’t entirely here.
He was well and truly fucked.
“If you’re going to kill me, just do it already.”
“So brave,” Dabi mocked. “Or are you that ready to die?”
Todoroki grit his teeth. “Stop fucking around.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why haven’t you killed me yet?” Todoroki demanded. This kid was wild. He was really sitting here demanding to be killed on the spot. Rage and bitterness were buried so deep in him. That kind of coping mechanism never went away. It would always be a part of him. Dabi would know. “I’m right here. I can barely breathe, much less walk or try to throw a punch. I’m bleeding out. Just fucking do it-”
Dabi pressed the muzzle of the gun against Todoroki’s forehead, stopping him cold. “Or I can just shoot you a few more times in non-fatal parts of your body and ruin Endeavor’s little masterpiece.” He tilted his head curiously as Todoroki practically stopped breathing. “You ever think about how death might not be the worst outcome?”
Todoroki didn’t move or blink. It’d be so easy to kill him. All it would take was a simple squeeze of the trigger, the lightest of pressure and pop! His blood and brain matter would be splattered all over the wall. The years of hard work, training, and time Endeavor had put in to creating the perfect little hero would be completely worthless. Dabi could erase everything. He could destroy Endeavor’s whole world. He could- He could-
Dabi clicked on the safety and lifted the gun back. “Nah, that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”
Relief flickered in Todoroki’s mismatched eyes but only for a second. He wasn’t out of the water yet and he knew it. “What do you mean?”
“As entertaining as it would be to watch Endeavor struggle learning how to give a shit about his golden ticket after he becomes a colossal waste of time,” Dabi drawled, “it’s not as satisfying as it would be to see him lose his quirk.” He stood up and lifted his jacket to tuck the gun in the back of his pants. “It’s just not as fun killing a kid when they’re down.”
Todoroki spit at his feet and snarled, “Bastard.”
What an ungrateful little shit, considering Dabi let him live and keep his quirk. Ah, oh well. It wasn’t anything to get worked over. Todoroki had that hatred of villains ingrained deep in him. Kids of heroes were like that. Even if they went the complete opposite direction or wanted nothing to do with heroes, that disgust over villains never quite left them.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Dabi said. Todoroki didn’t look like he was in the listening mood, but he wasn’t in the position to leave or check out either. Dabi could always change his mind. All those years Endeavor spent creating the child with the perfect work, only for it to go down the shitter… It was such an appealing image. “If you really want to see if your old man is honestly trying to change his ways, you should pretend to be quirkless for a few days and see how he reacts. It’ll be a blast .”
A strange look crossed Todoroki’s face, the wrong kind of look for a situation like this. He was bleeding out and his life was on the line, but Dabi could still see the realization dawning on him. Dabi was right. Sure, sure, Endeavor was putting on a great display for the public as the Number One Hero - it was a lot on any man’s shoulders, especially a man who was secretly a piece of shit - and he was even being more active in his kids’ lives if the media could be believed.
It was hard to judge anyone by what they showed the public. Endeavor had made it second place and stayed there despite being a flaming trash can. He could simply be putting on another display to get what he wanted from Todoroki. Aggression, force, and anger hadn’t worked the first time. Why not try the opposite? It was worth a shot if he got what he wanted out of his son in the end, wasn’t it?
“Why are you telling me this?” Todoroki demanded. “Why are you doing this?”
“Eh, I’m in a good mood.”
“I thought your good moods usually involved burning people to ashes.”
Dabi pointed a flame-lit finger at him. “Kid, you really need to chill. You don’t need to fight everyone all the time. You don’t want to be like Endeavor, do you?” Todoroki snapped his mouth shut real quick. Yeah, yeah, that was what he figured. Todoroki hadn’t used his fire for a while for a reason. And Dabi thought he was spiteful and petty. “I’ve got work to do, but I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He turned on his heels and lifted a hand as he walked away. “I might not be so generous next time, so you better dodge.”
“Wait!” Todoroki shouted.
Nope, he had bigger fish to fry. Just because he’d spared Todoroki didn’t mean he was going to be so nice to the next hero that crossed his path. The metal of the gun burned the skin of his back even though it had cooled down, its weight resting heavily on him. Yeah, he was going to have to go extra hard now. What a shame for whoever he ran into. Such was life.