Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dabi

If there was one thing that Dabi couldn’t stand or see or sit back and let happen- it was someone hurting a kid who couldn’t fight back.

For some reason, no matter what, no matter how long passed or how well he’d believed that part of him was finally dead and burned and gone … It always came back.

Like he did.

Also like how he always stepped in when it happened.

So- even despite having kidnapped the U.A. brat himself- under orders, sure, to prove his worth and reliability to the League he was trying to join and find his place with and meet his goals using- he couldn’t stop and just… 

He couldn’t stand- or sit- back and let Shigaraki torture and kill a kid . Even a blonde with a nasty-ass temper and a mouth on him like a viper. A bit like himself, in a way.

When they’d brought him back, it was okay at first- for the rest of that first night and the most of the morning. They’d left the TV on to show him the news.

He’d not been offered any food when Dabi stumbled into the room- sleep deprivation making him question his choices on abandoning a bed in lieu for the coldness of the floor.

So Dabi did. He got a mouth full of spit and curses that could hang someone on words alone. He ran a hand through his hair, trying not to remember the cold hands that once did that to calm him down. It made sense not to risk such a memory in this kind of place.

It also made sense not to take food from a villain if you were a hero-wannabe.

So, he could understand and temper the boiling under his skin at the offense. Even the insults aimed at whatever the kid assumed of his parents- namely his mom, somehow.

That- that almost offended him more than he liked. Until he remembered other things that made the insulting at least somewhat tolerable.

The rest of the day, the insults faded in and out, on and off. The kid just wouldn’t quit. Dabi could easily tell that when Shigaraki left the bar, it was because of this.

Originally, the plan had been to let the brat watch how the world reacted to heroes failing so badly- to watch the society they built tear them a new one- about damn time, honestly.

Originally.

But when Shigaraki’s impatience and intolerance led to them congregating in the bar lobby that night, Dabi suspected if they did wait as they’d planned, he’d lose his calm and cool and decay the kid he’d worked so hard to get his hands on… 

Hands… that were dancing on the kid’s upper right arm at the shoulder right now in threat when Katsuki Bakugou made it very clear he’d never become a villain. 

No shocker to Dabi- he’d never thought the kid capable of it, and to him, the other League members' certainty on it was just grounds for their sheer stupidity. They were all fucking dumbasses.

Shigaraki already took those hands to the kid’s wrist and forearm and his opposite thigh. Each were only a few seconds with minimal decaying, though… Because for who-fucking-knew what reason, he thought threatening and mildly rotting the kid bits at a time while Toga took a needle from her costume to his other wrist- bordering on falsely being careful not to drain too much blood… All while she lightly carved him up like she was using one of those plastic shitty tools and carving up a pumpkin. Light enough to not be life-endangering and likely not going to scar, but enough to bleed.

The unclothed skin at his one wrist was red and irritated, bits of brown and specks of grey and black at the worst. The kid- somehow- barely reacted at all to that, and went right to spouting his mouth again before Shigaraki grew annoyed, muttering gamer slang before putting one hand on the shoulder where it was, fingers dancing precisely to indicate his intent while his other hand had wandered to the other places, continuing to threaten and pressure.

There would be a point, Dabi had a feeling- a point where even as dead-inside as he’d been for a while- he’d step in. Whether he wanted to or not. Whether it was a good idea or not. 

Whether or not it got him hurt, he knew from experience.

And when Katsuki spat a mouthful of snot on Shigaraki’s face- Dabi suddenly oddly thankful his was just regular spit- that hand snapped up to the back of the kid’s neck, pushing him to bend forward in half in the chair. His other hand was on the kid too now.

Not even three seconds, and that mouth… wasn’t cursing or mouthing off any more explosive threats or insults. 

No- now it was screaming.

And Dabi moved before he could even rationally process what the fuck he was doing. He grabbed Shigaraki’s wrist, both in his hands in attempt to at least make sure he wasn’t dusted next.

“Enough- you wanted him to join? Well, this ain’t helpin the League any. Really think he’d join the group who tortured him? All it does is help the same Pros who he already sides with.”

“So why not just kill him? And let go of me or-”

“I am at least confident I can charbroil your hands before you could get out of my grip. Besides… Once a death happens, the Pros won’t really want to risk a rescue. No point in saving a body to them when they don’t know any better about the Nomu, right? Besides, ain’t ya tryin to lure ‘em here anyway?” He spoke more in that single instance than he had the entire time he was there.

“Let me guess- you know from experience? I mean- you look like a zombie. Let go- if you want to argue and restrain me over a stupid fucking kid, then so be it. He’s your responsibility now.”

“Wait- what?” Dabi asked, a bit… astounded- and frustrated.

“You heard me. Now let go before you get any more on my bad side, ashtray. Geesh- and I thought I was beginning to like you.”

Shigaraki wrung his wrists at the discomfort when Dabi did.

“Remember- we need him to lure All Might and the pros here, so if he dies, it’s on you now, matchstick. Since you wanted to be all high and mighty, you can take the responsibility you’re due. But you ever man-handle me again, and I’ll rot off what good skin you’ve got left.” He stormed off, scratching at his neck and muttering again.

“You’re no fun, Dabi… He was just starting to scream- look! You made me mess up…” She showed off her ‘mess-up’ with something more like pride than anything.

Dabi wanted to shout and dig his fingers into his own fucked-up skin.

First Decay- now- well, that… Fuck- if this kid dies, may as well kiss my life goodbye… Whatever’s left of it.

Everyone trickled away, Kurogiri shuffling over offering a first aid kit.

“Key.” He held out his hand to the mist. 

“Are you certain that is wise?”

“Kid ain’t moving any time soon.” He gave Dabi the key to the cuffs. He let them drop from his hands to the floor after taking them carefully off the kid.

“I shall open a portal to-”

“Fuck that… I’m taking him-” Dabi saw the kid’s tensed body relax, noting he was unconscious. “Elsewhere… This shit ain’t gonna help him at all…”

Dabi looked at the blood pooling on the floor. He needed to stop chit-chatting and take care of that.

“Very well- but what about…” He didn’t need to finish the rest.

“What else.” He held up a blue-flamed hand. “But you might want to leave… Burning flesh isn’t a… likable smell. Burns your fucking lungs and nose hairs and… Anyway- out?” Dabi was already kneeling down by the kid, his right holding the arm in place, left refocusing the enflamed hand to just two fingers. This was going to hurt- no doubt… But desperate times.

He tried to ignore how Kurogiri didn’t seem to stick around or pick at his phrasing it as a question.

Dabi carefully lowered his fingers down, bracing for the kid snapping awake and fighting against his arm being burned.

But Dabi knew how to brace from that- if anything.

And he was glad when it left the kid startling awake and loud right into his slightly worse-off ear and struggling like a bull being branded.

With the pain- or he assumed as much- knocking the blonde back out before long. He’d been careful not to damage anything and did his best to only do what would cauterise the bleeding. Anymore may not be reversible.

He’d heard that lecture more times than he could count, and he also had a feeling he was about to hear it again.

From there, he took a look inside the meagerly equipped first aid kit. Dabi snatched the bandage rolls and surgical gauze rolls, removing the remnants of the shredded black tank after burning through what was left of it. 

Squeezing generous amounts of every half-empty tube of antibiotic in there onto the strips, Dabi wrapped the kid as liberally as he could. It was better than being exposed to the air or other contaminants- or drying out any more. 

After looking around for anything else he could use, Dabi growled and stripped the new leather jacket he had on, until he spied an old shitty blazer he’d forgotten he’d left out there. With his own on and the blazer over the kid, Dabi went about getting the dead-weight of Katsuki Bakugou on his back. With how difficult, heavy and painful that single exercise was, Dabi dreaded the arduous trek ahead.

Only one person he trusted enough for this, and he wasn’t about to let the League know anything about his life, past, or anything in that reguard. Dabi was enough. Useful and efficient and powerful was enough.

Unless he’d just fucked everything up.

But… Harming kids wasn’t something he’d ever been able to stand- or been able to burn out of himself.

He’d thought he’d finally gotten rid of this worthless moral.

---

On the way, Dabi back-tracked dozens of times, circled around and checked his sixes to make absolutely sure he wasn’t followed. He wasn’t this careful normally, but… He had a reason. That reason branched into many more, but… they all had the same source.

He’d also been procrastinating in a way- he had yet to think of how he should- well- explain?

Afterall… He’d disappeared without a trace… He’d be lucky with anyone else to not get turned in or killed or attacked, but he feels sick at knowing with certainty that this person would do anything for him without a doubt… And he felt bad that he took advantage of that more than once.

He had to hope he’d not yet gone too far with his abuse of that ‘advantage’.

It was the very end of July, so even at night, it was hot. Even without the added heat of recently boundary-pushing Quirk use. Even without the dead-weight on his back.

Add in the extra measures he’d done as a precaution and in extreme excess at a very high risk, considering- well- everything… Not to mention the half-dead U.A. abductee on his back or his face being plastered on every TV screen…

All that added up, it made sense that as he was walking up the too-familiar steps, to a painfully nostalgic porch, that he felt spent and exhausted on a couple thousand levels. And, with the still-present marks of somewhere closer to home than he’d ever been anywhere else still plainly visible even from where he stood outside the front door.

Because this may very well be the only place he could just walk in the front door, the only place he’d never had to break into.

Dabi shuffled the body on his back, hearing a groan of pain from the movement as he opened and closed the mailbox in the door in a pattern three years of never touching back on couldn’t erase from his system.

He waited in trepidation, hope dangling fragiley the longer he stood there.

Dabi gulped and reached out to knock, but stopped when the door opened.

And Dabi froze, any words he may have had planned drying up in his throat, freezing in his lungs like ice and weighing as much.

Dabi forced himself to speak first.

“I… I need your help… Nao.”

Chapter Text

Naoki

Naoki had been resting on the couch with his music playing on loop keeping the mess in his head from coming back- he hoped- as he tried to return to sleep. Something he’d been short of for too long. 

He had all of his normal bedding pulled into the loveseat with him, but even with all of that- heated blanket and pad at his core- it was still wrong. Hadn’t been right in a while.

Right as he was finally close to dozing off, he heard a sound- a pattern of sounds- that he could have thought was his mind being cruel. Three years without hearing it had left him assuming the only other one who knew it was dead.

But he’d heard it. And he was debating- well- a lot of things.

In the end, Naoki hauled himself up to his feet, already feeling a shiver wrack through him as he made it to the door and opened it.

What he saw almost scared him- and it did break his heart.

But it wasn’t the person- people, he noted- who scared him. It was the fear of what drove Taichi to the point Naoki was looking at.

The same thing broke his heart.

“I… I need your help, Nao.” The way he spoke shifted Naoki’s focus away from Taichi and to the form sprawled heavily- and painfully for both of the males on his porch, Naoki imagined- against Taichi’s back.

Naoki knew denying Taichi had never been something he was capable of, so his silence would have to display his… feelings. He nodded his head inside his home.

“Main bedroom. The sheets are fresh.” Naoki walked behind them, turning on each overhead light as he trailed, shutting and locking his door- something he only did when everyone was home. Moving the sliding door closed behind him and Taichi- and the child , not just person- he gave instructions.

“On his front, but so the injuries are accessible. What am I dealing with, Taichi?” Naoki asked, seeing the six-three male bristle at the name.

“Fucker with a Quirk called Decay, and a psycho chick with a blood and knife fetish.” 

“And you too, from the looks of it.” Naoki said, inspecting the burn on the blonde’s wrist.

“I was careful not to push too far that you wouldn’t be able to fix it.” Naoki nodded and stepped aside as Taichi dragged the more mobile TV tray next to the dangling leg before propping it up on the surface. 

Naoki lowered the bed to lessen the strain on the leg as he inspected the other injuries. Taichi came back around the other side of the bed and got the boy’s arm adjusted so it wasn’t on the sheets.

“What else? First-aid kit- take it you remember where it’s at?” Naoki instructed.

“Yeah.” He stepped through the door into the bathroom, coming back out with a black box he had to grip with both hands. “Decay guy was torturing him and going to kill him. Psycho ‘messed up’ and slit his fucking wrist. He was bleeding all over the place and wouldn’t have made it here if I didn’t stop the bleeding… And well, he was unconscious when I started cauterising, and passed back out shortly after I was done.”

Naoki heaved a sigh, pulling out a set of scissors. “Hands and gloves. I can’t get him sick, but the last thing we need is you two cross-contaminating each other.” Taichi obeyed while he poured disinfectant on the scissors for safe-measure. He cut the well-wrapped and generously covering bandages off of the kid’s back. Taichi must not have had enough supplies on hand wherever this happened, given only the worst damage on the kid’s back and neck was wrapped.

From what Naoki could tell, the decay hadn’t stopped since it happened, just slowed down exponentially. He’d need to know how fast and far it had spread before he could rationally treat it.

He only knew one person with a ‘Decay’ Quirk… Which didn’t make this any better.

Once he had the bandages and the rest of his clothes removed, the child stirred- assumedly from the new chill his body was exposed to. And it being just under eighty in there meant he was likely feverish. The heat also wasn’t good for Taichi, so it needed to go down a lot.

Taichi came back, and Naoki sent him on something new again, given Taichi didn’t have gloves on yet. “Thermostat- down to 63, and grab my speaker and phone from the couch.”

“Uh- yeah…” Taichi came back once that was done.

With a moment of silence passing as Naoki gave a closer look over the injuries to assess what to do, and when and how, he asked a question. “Why here, Taichi? Why not a hospital?”

The taller, older male sighed a bit, reaching to run a hand through his hair before stopping when the crinkle of the newly adourned gloves reminded him not to.

“You know how I feel about hospitals and Pros and police… He’d be in better hands if they are yours… You’re the only one I trust to keep him alive and to be able to fix him. And given the moles, this is safer for him… And me.” Naoki forced himself to set the last part of what Taichi said away.

“From what I can tell of the decay, the user has precision control over how much and how fast his Quirk eats away at the target… But with how the decay has kept going since the Quirk was no longer in direct effect, I almost doubt the user knows how to fully stop the decay once it’s started.” Naoki wanted to avoid anything personal for now- until this kid was in the clear.

“How can you tell?” Taichi leaned in to watch Naoki. “I thought once contact was gone, it’d have stopped…”

“Necrosis spreads. Look at the feathery edges, how it’s just a bit lighter. This only started darkening while he’s been here…” Naoki pointed to the outer reaches of the decay.

“Shit- I didn’t know it would have done that… Quirk and all is, well, different from natural, so…”

“You couldn’t have stopped it. No use in focusing on it. Mask, please.”

Taichi put one over his face. “Can you fix him?”

“I can’t heal dead tissue, so any fully dead parts need cut out before I beg-”

“Can you reverse it?” Taichi asked, a sense of urgency in his voice.

Naoki paused and looked at him, something painful in his chest and exhaustion in his eyes as he met burning bright blue.

“If that is what you need, yes.”

Naoki wasn’t sure what he should be feeling. Taichi knew what reversal did, but he’d asked for it, so… He thought it was worth it. And as per usual, Naoki couldn’t deny.

“So- were you asleep? Sorry if I woke you up.”

Naoki debated the merit of honesty at this point, given the urgency of the child’s care. “No- I’d just lied down a few minutes before you came ho- here.”

He didn’t mean to almost say ‘home’. 

“Ah. Kouya out I take it?”

Naoki felt sharp pin pricks in his skin and insides at that. With slightly clenched teeth and a forced calm, he answered, “He’s gone… again.” He added the last word out of haste, unintentional at first. This wasn’t the time.

“Well, I’ll be sure to stick around long enough to let him rip me a new one. I’m sure he’ll want to…” Taichi avoided Naoki’s glance, downcast eyes studying his own wrists.

“What happened?” Naoki asked. “I’m not a fan of walking into this blindly. I need to know what I’m dealing with. So, spill. This kid’s Quirk and personality too while you’re at it. This isn’t going to be an in-and-out. He’ll need to be here a few days at most, and while I can ebb the pain, keeping him out is a different case entirely. Pain and exhaustion are what has him down for now.”

“He’s got a temper and he’s a mouthy little shit. Kind of an asshole. But I… May have found a bit of respect for him.” Taichi paused. “His Quirk is explosion based… something like nitroglycerin sweat he ignites I think.” 

“So a bit like you in the attitude, an explosive temper and mouth to match his Quirk… And susceptible to a fire Quirk like yours too… Kid never stood a chance if it was you, a decayer and a blood-kink with a knife fetish…” Naoki shook his head. “What else?” He pressed.

“Well… He was in Quirk suppressor cuffs and strapped down… but they were just torturing him and I-I…”

“Still can’t stomach that… Makes sense why you stepped in now then. See this?” Naoki pointed at a spot on the kid’s ruined neck and shoulder span. Taichi nodded. “Those cuffs average fifteen to twenty pounds. Given how heavy they were on his arms, they ended up causing excess damage outside just the decay with the weight. Muscles weakened by the rot of parts of them and others they rely on… They just snapped and tore and ripped. Unnaturally.

That’s more difficult to heal naturally than this kid’s workout routine over his whole life, all combined into one day. Healing it will take more than one session even if I worked straight through tonight and tomorrow… This should take a few days. It’ll have to be in segments to make sure the muscles don’t suffer damage later.”

“Good thing I took them off, I guess?” Taichi phrased it like a question.

“Yes. Leaving them on would have meant further damage. These here- they’re ligature marks, so I assume whoever tied him up, strapped him or cuffed him- whatever- wasn’t very cautious about not cutting off circulation. They were too tight. He’s already bruising, but that may have been exacerbated by struggling or any number of Quirk-related variables.”

Taichi nodded, not giving any answer aside from that. 

“You said he’d lost a lot of blood from this-” He gestured to the cauterised wound. “But there’s several needle marks and more shallow lacerations… Did you happen to bring some of that blood?”

“No. I was in a bit of a rush. It didn’t cross my mind. Sorry, Nao.”

“It’s fine… I was just hoping to avoid any more blood loss on his part. You know I need blood, so it would have been wise…”

“More or not, you can fix it either way… So I guess it works still, right?” Taichi asked. 

Naoki let out a slower breath, refusing to say what he thought. “Scalpel. Disinfect it to be safe.”

Naoki waited until the fumes wafted from the disinfectant to hold his hand out, cold metal pressing into his hand. It was already dry, thankfully.

“So- uh-” Taichi began, obviously going to ask something in the ‘personal’ category. Naoki shut it down quick.

“Hold his hand out for me. A fingertip is beyond plenty. Minimal chance of scarring and good for continuous access.” Once Taichi had it in his grasp a bit better than a limply hanging hand, Naoki slipped the thin blade into skin on the boy’s index finger, swiping his thumb across it haphazardly to both get his own on it and gather the blonde’s blood from it before scraping the flat, dull edge over the small incision several more times to get enough blood.

With his own in the wound by then, he let it heal closed. “Gloves and mask off. Go get a water bottle from the fridge. Drink it- I can feel you baking from here, Taichi.”

“Dabi.”

Naoki looked up from the boy to his ‘friend’. “Dabi, then… Orders didn’t change. Water bottle- now.”

“Okay, but I’m staying in here. If he wakes up-”

“We both know he couldn’t hurt me even if he wanted to- you either. Go.”

Taichi- or Dabi - left the room. Naoki inhaled deeply, bringing the scalpel to his left arm, almost going to press into it before seeing red eyes flicker open, up to his own. Given what he could tell, the kid had been awake since he’d cut the bandages and clothes off.

“Who’re-” 

Naoki cut him off. “Just so you know, if you cough, you’re bound to tear your ribs out from the scarce muscle left covering them.” That shut the kid up. For a few short seconds.

“What are you doing?”

“Healing you. Unless you want to leave the necrotic tissue to keep rotting away at what’s left of your back, thigh and arm?” It was more rhetorical- no one rational in the head would want that. 

“Not really. You a villain?”

“No. I’m a healer. That’s all.” Naoki looked down to those ruby eyes. They were like his right in colour. “What’s your name? I figure idle chat might at least distract you if you’re not going to sleep.”

“You first.”

“Naoki. Naoki K-Kagetsuki.”

“Why you helpin’ burn-freak?”

“Twenty-twenty, kid. I’ll answer one, you do the same.”

“I’m not a kid- I’m a Hero in training. Best in my class.”

“Well, that future may depend on your injuries not crippling your dreams. So, I’m going to start before the decay has any more time to spread.” Naoki slid the scalpel fully into the skin at the mid-point between his wrist and his elbow, letting it slip through his flesh as he pulled it easily down to the base of his hand.

The blonde’s eyes were wide with something between fear, concern and confusion.

“The hell- you’re gonna die-”

“Not even possible. Blood-based healing. The more I get in you, the better and faster I can heal you. So- your name, kid? Or I’ll just keep using kid.”

“Bakugou.” He tried to stop there, but Naoki gave him a continuing look. “Okay- fine. Katsuki Bakugou.”

“Good. Well, Katsuki, I’m telling you here and now that this is going to be a good few days before I finish healing you back to complete par. If I don’t finish completely, the likelihood of a recurring injury to any damaged area is almost ninety-three percent. And if that happens, it will be irreversible then. Be it myself or another’s healing trying. Look down at the mirror by your face.”

He could see it when Katsuki did. It drove the urgency and delicacy of his situation in faster than explaining did.

“Anyone else treating this would have to cut out every single hint of dead or compromised tissue. I can reverse the damaged and dead to the point I can heal them all, but it will take time. Muscles aren’t so simple anyone can just snip away at them or fix here or there without compromising or risking damage later. 

So, basically, I highly suggest not struggling, fighting or trying to run the instant you think you can.” He knew a good portion of that was exaggeration, but in his experience, it made things flow much smoother if he could finish a healing instead of them running off- or, he imagined, in this boy’s case, believing Recovery Girl was better. Given how her Quirk worked, Naoki was an overall better option, since he didn’t use people’s energy and stamina. He used his own blood en masse, and theirs in minimal proportions. 

“Threatening me, huh… Well- with something like that, I don’t want to risk it, honestly… Thanks for explaining first…” Naoki wondered if the kid actually believed him, or was just settling… 

“Yeah- I find knowing why something’s a good idea or not beforehand makes quite a difference… And especially when it’s something as invaluable as a dream or hope of your future. Well, with most people…”

Katsuki snorted in a mock of agreement, but regretted it when Naoki saw the pain lance through him.

“By the way… I’m keeping pain down, but you stress anything outside of my control, and your SOL… And if you want to see what I’m doing, just look at the mirror.” Naoki added the last part. “More often than not, it is a bit double-edged… But seeing what’s happening is better than the mystery picking you apart. Just a matter of whether or not the blood, gore and viscera bothers the individual.”

Katsuki smirked bitterly. “Yeah… I guess it is kinda two-faced. So- crispy hobo- how do you know him?”

He’s still trying to play Hero, interrogation and info-gathering even like this… Heroes really don’t quit when they should…

“Nao- I… Oh… He awake?”

“Yes. Go take a shower. You need one and don’t even try to argue. I’ll be fine. Even if he tried, he couldn’t land a hit. He’d just break and need more healing.” When Dabi stared at him like he already figured out what Naoki was doing, Naoki reiterated the suggestion . “Go, please. We can talk later. This is far more pressing than- than anything else.”

He watched blue eyes smolder a little less brightly, but Dabi walked through the room back to the bathroom. “Clothes?” He asked.

“Right side- like always… Unless you forgot.”

Dabi remained silent, but pulled the right side of the cabinet and top drawer open, grabbing what he needed before continuing to the bathroom. He left the door open.

“Wow… That bad, huh?” Katsuki asked.

Naoki just looked at him and shrugged. “Not sure yet. You feel anything?”

“Nah-uh. Just kinda numb.”

“Good. That changes, let me know.”

“Your arm’s not bleeding anymore…” Katsuki inquired.

“Not necessary anymore. There’s enough blood in you. If there’s one benefit to this Quirk for your sake- or anyone who’s been here before you- so long as you’ve got even a drop of my blood in you, infection is impossible. No need to worry about you dying from that here. Or blood loss.”

“Uh-huh… So… You guys break up recently or something? You act like it.”

Naoki looked into the ruby eyes staring at the mirror. 

“Seems like a shitty boyfriend for a girl with a healing Quirk. Why would you date him?” Katsuki kept pressing.

“Bold of you to assume I’m female.”

Katsuki almost choked, but his eyes locked onto Naoki’s- looking for a lie in them, Naoki was sure.

“Shit- you aren’t lying, are you… How the hell’re you a guy…? Man… Sorry, I guess… Just- you’re not exactly obvious one way or another…”

“It’s not the first time. At least you didn’t have to find out while trying to flirt and getting your balls almost ripped off. Taichi used to get really offended when I’d get hit on.” Naoki had to refrain from enunciating the ‘used to’ part- he wasn’t exactly sure Taichi would anymore.

“I can see why… Still… Why date him? He’s a fucking villain, you know that, right?” He’d obviously put who ‘Taichi’ was together- that Taichi and Dabi were one in the same… well, kind of.

And, Naoki avoided answering. He wasn’t sure how to.

Katsuki caught that, understanding it was complicated in a way that led to the silence- not withholding an answer, just not sure what the answer was.

Because for the last three years, Naoki wasn’t sure of the answer anymore.

“That red scarf- you a Stain fan?” Katsuki tried next.

Naoki scoffed a chuckle, “No. I just like red. A lot. My right eye’s the same colour as deoxygenated blood, my Quirk uses blood as a conduit for healing. My nails stay deep red because of my Quirk, and it’s always been my favorite colour.” Naoki’s voice quieted as he spoke the next part, not intentionally, just- sadly.

“My first boyfriend had red hair… Crimson, actually. He hated red, but somehow, he still admired it when it just involved me…”

Katsuki caught that, Naoki somehow both regretful about it, and thankful.

“So it’s just special… That’s… Kind of a relief… Burn-freak’s a big ol’ Stain fanboy, so I was worried you were too…”

That had Naoki spitting out a sharp, bitter laugh. “I value life- all of it. From the smallest insects to the largest species of whale, from a stray cat to a half-drowned snake. From an everyday civilian to an injured Hero to a villain near dead dumped on my porch like a fucking present.

From a U.A. kid attacked and severely injured by villains to an abused teen beaten and burned and left for dead in a fucking dumpster by his father… Life is life, and reguardless of anyone’s opinion of rules or laws, if I can help save one life from the brink of death, if I can heal injuries that should leave a life snuffed out or help someone who never got that help from the world around them- even their own parents - then so help me, I fucking will. 

Anyone who wants to stop me can try, but unless they can actually succeed in killing me, I won’t stop. No one should have the right to decide who lives or dies or who deserves to be healed or helped or not.”

He took a calming breath, realising he’d crossed into dangerous territory. He should switch gears on the answer.

“How could killing people bring about a change? All it did was make people sad, mad and make him hated. All he did was restart the same cycle- he wasn’t changing it. No matter what, there’s always a different option than killing. Change won’t happen by repeating the same wrongs done by those you want to change. Nonsensical bullshit about ‘false heroes’ without any comprehensive grounds outside his own impossible standards to judge by… Killing people or maiming and disabling them when a number of them were legitimately good heroes without taking on the truly corrupt or bad people… Just attacking at random with some kind of target for this or that act that somehow didn’t fit his ideals… Who did that help? 

All it did was drive in a bit of distaste on Heroes for letting it go for so long and make people despise villains and the man or any conceived affiliates even more. He had nothing to prove many of his victim’s guilt or wrongs, just garbage run through a blender and spewed out on repeat. He just did it to make a scene. There was… No need to kill.

If he’d gone after the legitimate corrupt Heroes or police officers or those in the Hero system who were at true fault, then maybe I could understand… But I still wouldn’t condone killing anyone. Violence won’t cause change.”

“Vigilante. That what you are, then? ‘Cause you ain’t a Hero I recognise.” Katsuki asked, eyes still locked on Naoki’s. 

Naoki sat back into the chair he’d just wheeled from his desk.

“I dropped out of a low-rank school right after getting my provisional license… Went off grid to try and actually help how I could. Even I know better than to think I can change this fucked-up society. But I’ll do my best while sticking to my morals.”

“Why not be a Hero? Healing Quirks aren’t exactly common… You’d be able to help-”

“Because I wouldn’t be able to help those the Heroes and their biased, prejudiced laws deem unworthy of help. Because I absolutely despise the way Heroes function and work. 

There are too many corrupt Heroes and cops… Just like there are villains and vigilantes who have decent morals and good intentions and a reasonable sense of justice.

It’s less warped than you may think in most cases. A lot less horrible than a Hero or police officer who abuses their authority, power and position. They’re expected to be good people. People trust them… Villains and vigilantes aren’t under that same guise of trust and heroism pulled over the face of a monster. No one expects less from a villain…

I assume you are the teen from U.A. who was taken by the villains who attacked it the other night. How do you think they found that camp? A pretty simple way of putting it is that either a classmate, a Pro or a police officer in the know sold you kids out.”

That seemed to make Katsuki fall silent in thought for a while.

Chapter Text

Katsuki

Katsuki listened to the song playing on loop from the black speaker in the corner of the nightstand his would-be healer was working from before. 

He gave himself a chance to let the lyrics play once through his head. 

It was something he could maybe learn about this guy from. 

Overall, he got the feeling it was about losing someone cherished and loved and the pain of it. About mourning and grieving and moving on, but keeping that person in your heart and minds and holding on to those memories with them. 

Keeping them close even when they were- well- gone.

It was bittersweet in a lot of ways. Knowing they were gone, accepting it, but still not letting go of how much they meant and what they taught the ones left behind. 

It made him think hard about his own cherished ones. As horrible as he knew he’d been, surely… Someone would think this same thing if he’d have died- if he were to die still. 

The last things he’d said to his parents had been normal. Yelling and threats that weren’t said without love- as awkward as it was in his family’s case.

How his being abducted by the League would affect his friends and teachers. How it must have made All Might feel. How he’d been taken to either join them or lure the Pros there to be picked off like bugs by those Nomu things. 

Or whoever ‘Sensei’ was. Whoever backed the League and supported them enough to have such a title must be some wacked-out piece of human garbage. And dangerous.

And… How even with everything he’d done, that damn Deku still never stopped trying to remain his friend. How he’d told the stupid idiot to stay back to protect him. They wanted him alive, but Deku was a different story, and he knew Deku would have done something disasterously stupid and dangerously reckless otherwise.

What if he never got to see them again?

What if All Might got hurt or blamed himself?

What would have happened if the death-hands did kill him? Would the Pros really have given up and left his corpse- whatever was left- to those bastards?

What would have happened if burn-freak hadn’t stopped it?

Or better yet…

Why did he stop it?

He knew that was all dangerous to think of, and for the time being, at least, he was safe… As safe as he could hope to be, really- if how he read the healer was anything to go off of. But he was still… fairly unsure of the guy. 

He couldn’t even tell how old for sure the healer was. Older than him, probably, but… He had one of those faces that could look in his late teens but be late twenties. Who knew what kind of effects his Quirk had on his age.

But he did know of one surefire way to give him a more solid grasp on the one healing him. On ‘Naoki Kagetsuki’. If that was even his real name… Somehow, Katsuki was torn on that- so his skill in reading people wasn’t perfect, they hadn’t gotten to that class.

“So what about All Might- what do you think of him?” Katsuki wasn’t meeting ‘Naoki’s’ eyes now. Instead, continuing to focus on watching the black, grey and dusty brown chunks in his back progressively redden and plump back up.

Everything the guy had answered was a completely and drastically different view and way of thinking than he’d ever heard, and… He needed something more close to home and definite to get a grip on the healer who was intent on saving his life- and future and everything he’d worked so hard to have- for some reason.

And, Katsuki had to remember, was somehow connected to the villain who for some reason stopped Katsuki from being turned to a nasty mixture of dust and blood on the League’s bar floor.

He’d asked, and while he wasn’t answered, he got the feeling there was something between the two that needed discussed before Naoki could answer Katsuki’s question. 

“Heh… You sure seem to pick the questions with long-winded, complicated answers… I’m beginning to think you just like my voice.” Naoki stood from the swivel chair he’d been relaxed into for a while, stepping closer to Katsuki.

Katsuki had to repress a flinch when a corpse-cold hand pressed to his forehead. “Fuck- the hell’re you so damn cold!”

“No fever. That’s good.” Naoki did ignore that one, Katsuki noted bitterly.

He watched in the mirror as those hands fiddled with the newly-living muscles on Katsuki’s back.

He felt that. 

“You feel that?” The cold-handed healer asked. 

“Yeah- why?” Katsuki returned with a quick agreement.

“Good. Means it’s responsive. And you’ve got capillary response now… but feeling it without pain is really good.” He watched Naoki sigh and slump, his form and posture had been impeccable prior to that, so it made Katsuki curious.

“I’m going to take a break. You want to try sitting up at least enough to eat? Painkillers would be a good idea too… And so would something rehydrating.”

“Wait- a break ? W-Why?” Katsuki asked. He wasn’t liking the sound of that.

“Because using Reversal is taxing- more so than normal blood healing. I resupplied your body with the blood it had lost and reversed all of the dead flesh, I cleared any conceivable chance of infection and boosted your immune system, regulated your core temperature and healed all of the smaller lacerations. I negated the furthering of the necrosis, so you won’t be rotting slowly anymore. All while preventing any pain within a ridiculously high margin…

That’s a fuck-ton for one session… I did say it’d take a few days if nothing bad happened or upset the healing.”

“You think I can sit up, though?” Katsuki… reasoned that was a lot, even if his back was still open- as was his leg and opposing arm.

“Yes. Just don’t lean against the sheets or you’ll fuck the wound up. You need to be upright long enough to eat, drink and take some painkillers. Then back down you go… I’ll figure something out to help your leg and arm rest more comfortably later.”

“Okay- if you say so… How long is he going to shower? It’s been a while.” Katsuki glanced disbelievingly at the bathroom.

“He’s been done since five minutes in… The bathroom’s between the second bedroom and this one, so he probably slunk off to sleep over there. Good thing for now, too… So, grape, strawberry or orange? And I hope you don’t mind a BRATTY diet for now, at least…” 

“A what ?” Katsuki snapped out at the word said like he’d been insulted- and honestly, it sounded like one.

He watched Naoki sigh before stepping back from helping Katsuki sit up.

“Bread, rice, applesauce, toast, tea and yogurt… Though I replace a few of those… Blood instead of bread, and pedialyte to sub for the tea.”

“Oh- I thought… Never mind. I don’t really mind those. I’m just fucking hungry… And… grape, I guess. Wait- no. Orange… Don't need reminders of that perve.”

“Uh-huh. No clue what that means, but whatever. I’ll have more grape for later.”

Katsuki watched Naoki slide the pocket door open and step through. Dawn was slipping in through the window in the room, just barely. 

It had been a long night, but with how bad it could have been… Katsuki felt more… at ease than he had since the League captured him- even if one of the fuckers was still in the place he was now. Something still… felt off with ‘Dabi’. Maybe he’d misunderstood or misread or jumped to conclusions. The guy was still a villain and all, but… That just brought him back to Dabi stepping in when he’d almost been rotted to nothing by the villain’s own boss.

Katsuki could see well, since the room was lit with brighter lights than he thought.

There was the bed he was on, a few feet from one wall and close to the same from the other wall. Though the room was a rectangle, the margin of difference between the shorter wasn’t that much,so about 13 feet across, maybe 17 long. A master bedroom, Katsuki assumed.

The room had a nightstand, TV stand, dresser, desk and laptop on it. He could maybe use that if he needed. The chair and bed. The door to what Katsuki assumed was the living room or something, and the one that led to the bathroom. The cubby the desk was in had a partition wall splitting the space in half, a closet in the other half, both doors pulled shut. And at the small space to give a lip-wall of sorts for the inside of the closet, there was a file cabinet.

On the nightstand, there was a phone and the speaker playing that one song on repeat like it was a lifeline.

He debated reaching the small space from the adjusted-back of the bed he was helped closer to and trying to call from it.

That won out. He snatched it. Even if he couldn’t call, like it was shut off, he could at least affirm the date and time. Get an idea how long he’d been there and how far the crispy hobo had walked to get him there… And from there, maybe an idea of where that fucking bar was.

There was service, but it was locked, a little insignia in the menu bar that Katsuki knew meant there were three different locks in place at once. Likely a number, design and a password. Deku’s was aggravatingly simple.

All Might’s birthday, the design was some weird-ass design Katsuki only knew because he'd memorised it, and annoyingly- well, before now, Katsuki thought bitterly- ‘Kacchan’ was the password.

But there was an emergency call function. 

Katsuki thought about it for a minute, recalling what Naoki had said. 

With a resigned gulp, he checked the date and time, then went to put the phone back.

Until he fully realised there was a wallscreen.

Naoki with an older guy- maybe thirty- with white roots to black tips, pallid and sickly skin and dead, cold, ice-blue eyes. Another person was in the photo too… But it looked like he’d been grabbed by the collar trying to avoid the camera, so all Katsuki could make out was the back and side of his head. Crimson hair.

He remembered what Naoki had said. 

The Naoki in the photo was younger, less worn and tired-looking as the one he’d met that day. And his eyes were… different. Unlike the burning blue and blood-red he’d seen so far, the blue was more like melted silver in the photo.

Katsuki barely got the phone back on the nightstand before the door fully opened.

“Here you go. What’s your pain-pill threshold? Like… What do you usually take for a major pain?” Naoki asked, handing Katsuki a tray and still holding onto a bottle, waiting for Katsuki’s answer.

“I had to take pretty high-grade stuff in middle school when I was trying to learn my Quirk. High-grade, but low dose. Didn’t want me to get used to it, so I only took it when I had to.”

Naoki nodded. He rolled the cap off the pill bottle, shaking one out and snapping it in two with his fingers. “This should be okay. Any more and I’d worry about OD. I can negate that, sure, but why add to the list if I can help it.” 

Katsuki looked down at the half-pill placed on the tray with uncertainty.

“Rationalise, Katsuki. Why would I harm someone I just healed and sacrificed a cost to reverse dead flesh?”

“Point…” Katsuki grumbled.

While he started picking at the food, taking it slow since he'd not eaten since the beef stew at camp, Naoki sat back down in the chair, slumping into it again.

“I’m sorry for cutting off your question earlier- about All Might. I can’t predict when things need checked over or reach a feasible point of taking a break until they happen.”

Katsuki glanced at him, “So? What’s your view on him? On All Might?”

“I think he’s only one man. Placing the entirety of public support and hero society on one man’s shoulders is a bit like Atlas holding up the horizon. Unfair. Stupid. Reckless and utterly foolish. He’s not immortal or a demi-god or perfect- he’s just as human as the rest of us. 

Yet, by taking the mantle, by having it all rest on his shoulders- and his alone- when he meets the same fate all humans do eventually, the horizon collapses. Everything falls apart because the entire world relied on him and him alone.

He’s also only human. He makes mistakes and does some really selflessly reckless things that only work because he is who he is. But he can die. He can be killed or hurt. He still bleeds the same colour and breaks down…

I respect his fortitude to take Atlas’s place in this society, but it comes with a lot of problems the Hero society is facing now- they would have eventually, so I guess it’s better it’s now when he’s still got a chance to live through it, even if he retires… Because imagine how different and bad it would be if he died naturally one night. A heart attack or stroke. Food poisoning from eating his own spoiled cooking or a virus or an untreated cut that went septic?

It’s double-edged.

He’s done so much good, but… at what cost to himself and the world he wanted to help?

He’s only one person, so he can’t save everyone. Which to me, makes people hating him for not saving them pointless… But it’s not a fault undue to him and this society… 

I admire him too… He may uphold the system, but he doesn’t play by all of its rules. 

I don't feel like he was in it for popularity or fame or fortune. He genuinely wants to help people. And that’s why he’s number one. 

But in a system where the few protect the many, yet ban others helping when or where those ‘few’ don’t or can’t, people slip through the cracks. People in need are ignored and shoved aside because ‘a hero will help… eventually’. People without licenses who step up to legitimately help are shunned and treated like criminals and villains. They’re arrested or killed all the same… And in a society that focuses on popularity and public opinion and flashy Quirks and getting attention , no one helps people if there’s no fame, fortune or glory in it for them. No one sees the homeless and offers a helping hand because there’s nothing glorifying or valiant with helping society’s refuse. 

Quirks being treated as worthy and useful and determining a person’s value… Leads to people who are good turning to the shadows because the world around them rejects their existence just for having a potentially dangerous Quirk. People who have Quirks that don’t fit into the mold of what’s seen as acceptable, people who are lacking Quirks or maybe just lacking in textbook smarts needed to get into a school to use their Quirks to help. 

Being Quirkless is treated like a birth defect or disease. They are treated horribly and no one will stop it because society needs a shithole to shove the brunt of negativity into. So, they are treated like shit, just like someone with a Quirk outside the mold being considered a villain just for being alive.

All Might is a genuinely good person- but he’s only one man. One man can’t fix a society so flawed even if he spent his entire life trying. Where would he even begin?” Naoki chuckled a bit at the end, shrugging.

“Like I said- long-winded. Good and bad, double-edged. You going to keep asking those ones, I guess?” Naoki asked.

“Maybe… I’m trying to get a grasp on you… So…” Katsuki shrugged back. Once again, the answer was long, complex. Complicated.

Confusing.

And new- different.

This was giving him a lot to think on… Especially in his own life up to this point, and… forward. He was kinda glad he’d not called the emergency number.

“You sounded like some of that was… I don’t know… From experience or something…” Katsuki looked down at the lessened decay in his thigh, the same in his arm and cauterised burn in his other arm. He remembered that… He could still smell his flesh burning and feel it and hear his own pathetic screams from the night before.

“A lot was from personal experience, but a good deal is also from the people who have been here before. You heal people long enough, you know the ins and outs of nearly everything. Trick is in knowing but not swaying in your own beliefs, just doing the best you can. Like knowing there’s an abyss, but using a reflective object to stare into it so it can’t stare back into you as easily. Good way to avoid Medusa too. 

My brother’s a big fan of knowledge being the best and greatest weapon. Even above Quirks and violence, Heroes and Villains and civilians and Vigilantes and yakuza. Knowledge surpasses everything. And he was really good in that field…”

“That’s… an interesting way of looking at it I guess… So… What now?” Katsuki couldn’t ask a question without getting the same feeling over and over. Like Naoki had a bit too much wisdom for how young he looked. He analysed everything but didn’t let it turn him away from his own morals, just… took them into consideration and adapted to the needs of those he could help. 

A worldly way of thinking Katsuki had never known anyone to have that he could think of.

Neither ‘right’ nor ‘wrong’, completely good or bad . Never reaching black or white, just a constant grey. Katsuki wasn’t sure if it was because of his situation, but he couldn’t tell if what Naoki was doing was illegal- right or wrong… If anything, his entire being was focused on saving lives- no matter whose.

And Katsuki couldn’t tell if that was exactly a bad thing.

“Are you finished? The less time you’re upright, the less chance of you accidentally leaning back, so…”

“Yeah. Thanks for the food and shit.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.” Katsuki watched Naoki go into the bathroom, a bit cautious about that room since Dabi had gone in there.

When he came back out, Katsuki noticed he had a few things. He jutted them out for Katsuki. “Brush and swig, then you’re taking a nap.”

“Haah?” Katsuki was taken aback at the unopened toothbrush, sealed toothpaste and still seal-wrapped mini bottle of mouthwash. 

“I’m not fond of intentionally adding more work for your dentist while you’re here. So hurry up. Your body’s gonna be completely stabalised for the next ten minutes via Quirk, so make it worthwhile. Use the toilet too- just wash your hands.”

The tone his healer spoke in left Katsuki deterred from arguing. But brushing his teeth? It was a bit out there. Bathroom made sense, though he wasn’t tickled about crispy-hobo being that close or either of them seeing him…

Until he realised he wasn’t even in clothes anymore. Hadn’t been for a while- it’s what had woken him up.

“Can I have something to wear?” He tried, finding that Naoki hadn’t lied- he could move like there was nothing wrong. Theoretically, if he timed it right, with ten minutes, he could get somewhere he was sure.

Maybe far enough to get out.

But like with the emergency call, this place was kind of his best bet as far as staying alive and still having a future as a Hero. Who knew if the Villains would hunt him down while he was weak.

“We’re all guys. If it’d make you feel less self-conscious, I’d do it just to get some fucking shut-eye at this point… I’m going to give you a blanket to sleep with already, if that makes anything better.”

“Okay- fine… But you’re gay, so-”

“Given the blood flow, I was so kind as to stop from giving you a hard-on you’d have to deal with, and the hickey on your sternum, as well as other things I am sure I don’t need to detail… So are you- unless you’re the bottom to a girl who likes pegging you.” Naoki quipped back, tongue sharp like the scalpel on the nightstand.

That had heat in Katsuki’s cheeks and embarrassed shame coiling in him. “Fuck off.”

“Not until I clear the smoke with Taich- Dabi, I mean- first, then maybe eventually…”

Katsuki choked that time. He went to shut the bathroom door, and was a bit surprised when Naoki let him.

When he finished his business, he went back out of the bathroom, finding Naoki fixing the corner of the sheets, a blanket now on the corner of the bed and the medical kit repacked up.

“Time to bandage up. Then we can both get some sleep.”

Katsuki grumbled a bit at the orders- from a villain or anyone else in the last day and a half, he’d have just blasted them to hell, but this was more like Recovery Girl giving her commands than anyone else he’d had the displeasure of meeting recently.

Once the bandages were up to Naoki’s standards, he had Katsuki return to how he’d been earlier, but a bit more comfortably so as not to add any unnecessary pain later on.

“Alright… Give or take an hour after I fall asleep, that pain’s going to come back like a boomerang, and it’s going to suck. So, here.” Naoki fit a plastic device with a red button-looking thing into Katsuki’s hand. His thumb was on the button, the other end wedged into the meaty part of his palm opposite that. 

“I’m going to give you a mild paralytic to keep you from moving in your sleep and risking fucking anything up, but this-” He gestured at the plastic thing. “Will knock you out like a fucking Delaware Smash to the face. And it has a mild anesthetic in it to help curb the pain a bit more. You’ll be able to move your hand fine with the paralytic, but not much else. The nerves won’t connect to anywhere else. I make all of these myself because then they’re more personal to the individual needs my patients may have.”

“What about Dabi- how do I know he won’t do anything?”

“Because if he leaves that bedroom, I’m going to throttle him. That aside, I can lock the bathroom access from inside the bathroom and lock this room so he can’t get in here either way without setting the fire alarms off.”

“Fire alarms?” Katsuki questioned. Those could provide him an out if he needed it.

“Don’t get any funny ideas. They’ll call Kirin before the cops or fire department. This house is mostly fire- and lightning- proofed. Dabi knows this. Or he should still remember it…”

“Man you two really do need to chat, huh?” Katsuki almost laughed, but the feeling of a needle in his cauterised arm definitely stopped that. “Ow! Man, I am not a fan of needles after that psycho’s shit…”

“I did say I’d be giving you a paralytic- how else were you expecting it? Mouth-fed? No, dumbass, IV drip. You need the fluids too…”

“Oh… Thanks, I guess…” Katsuki felt it getting hard to move enough to talk as he felt the blanket drape over him and saw the room go dark, hearing the door slide shut and click behind Naoki as the music faded behind the door and with the distance.

Shit works fast, huh… Guess I can get some shut-eye before the pain kicks me like a horse… Damn… That song… Hope I see everyone again…

Chapter Text

Dabi

Dabi got the picture pretty quick. He may act slow and daft- but he’d always been quick on the uptake and decent on the upkeep- better than most. He was good at reading people and always had strong intuition. 

He knew he’d always taken advantage of Naoki’s inability to turn him away or deny him.

But he also knew the last time he’d left, he’d probably crossed a line.

Naoki hadn’t let him get in a single word or try to let him talk or explain or anything. Not even idle chit-chat or anything but the explosive blonde he’d come back here to keep alive.

And even when he spoke to Dabi, it was mostly curt, short answers or orders. Then drinking a water bottle and immediately sending him to the shower from there.

So once he’d finished, he’d sat in the bathroom and listened to them talk for a while until his Quirk dried him off. Then he’d just let it be and took the chance to sleep in the room he was surprised at being empty of Kouya.

Naoki said he was gone again, so either he’s out for a while on a haul or coming back tomorrow- like the morning after this coming one. It’s either two days or two weeks at a time. Especially after I ended up here… 

It didn’t take long for his exhaustion to put him to sleep as soon as he was under the single thin blanket on the bed. 

It took a lot longer for Dabi to drag himself out of sleep with the light overhead turned on and closing door in the direction of the bathroom, hearing the lock click. He let his eyes open to survey the room.

And take in his ‘old flame’- as it were- with his black hair down, still dripping from a just-finished shower, the normal glitter amongst the night black enunciated by water drops. 

That porcelain-skinned back was bare, Dabi remembering the number of times he'd pushed that back into a wall or bed in intimate moments that quickly and easily and readily turned into more. Remembering each time he’s left trails of scratches in it that mirrored his own back after they were done. 

He remembered the one time he watched that back hit a wall in something between them that wasn’t good.

The dozens of times that back slammed into walls when someone else did the same under very similar circumstances to the one time he’d done it. 

And the multitude of times not between them or someone intending harm where he’d seen it hit a wall and slide down, combined with tears or fear or worry. With red-nailed hands covered in blood or black ooze or defeat and desperation and failure.

He’d heard that back break once. It nearly broke Dabi’s mind watching it then, now, it was no better a feeling or sound racing through his mind.

Naoki had a towel around his waist up to that point, Dabi closing his eyes as he saw the familiar flexing of lythe muscles turning around, reopening them once Naoki turned back. He dropped the towel then, Dabi keeping his eyes fixed on the one scar he could see at Naoki’s left shoulder from taking a bullet for him.

He regretted that day frequently.

Even though it wasn’t the only scar Naoki had, it was the only one that had been for his sake- and it would have killed him- it should have killed Naoki. But the teen healer was adept at surviving things no one should.

Before long, Naoki pulled one of Kouya’s dresser drawers open, closing it and tugging a black shirt over his head.

It was Kouya’s, so it was a bit baggy, not too bad, though. Dabi knew well enough Kouya fluctuated in weight a lot. But this one was also just long enough on Naoki to stop just below his ass cheeks.

Naoki pulled the towel around his shoulders before leaning forward and drying his hair more.

With a few minutes of that, Dabi closed his eyes again until he heard the bedroom door shut behind Naoki.

He… Couldn’t help but feeling like there was a reason Naoki had the same song on loop this entire time- and before he’d come in, since he could hear it from the porch when he’d knocked.

Something’s off… And more than the obvious…

Why the hell did I leave him and give this up? Give us up…? It made so much sense back then, but… Necessary and unavoidable… Now it seems pretty… I don’t know… Stupid. Even with… well, that … I shouldn’t have accepted it or done it- even entertained it… I should have gotten Kouya's help. He could have gotten things cleared and fixed my fuck-up. At least find a different way than this… Maybe… Maybe he still can…? 

Fuck… 

What the hell am I going to do? I can’t just keep abandoning Naoki and show back up like this. It’s not fair to him. This wasn’t supposed to go on for so long. It wasn’t supposed to hurt him. It was supposed to keep him safe and… 

But… What about my mission ? What about the League? I need to figure out what to do with them before I make a decision- what I’m supposed to do… Shigaraki’s expecting me to come back with Bakugou eventually… But I don’t know if I can… If I want to ally with people like that- even like this . Even if it’s not real, I… I have lines and morals and seeing them torture a defenseless kid- no matter how much of a threat he was otherwise- is just… It’s wrong. I can’t stand it. I don’t think I can keep this up… 

Of everything that handy-fucker wants to focus on, why does it have to revolve around kids . 

Just to get at All Might and hurt him? Threaten or attack or hell- kill them… when they have a chance to fight back- that… I can kind of rationalise and maybe stand… But torture- that’s… Not something I can abide by- even if I’m supposed to for this ‘mission’. It being kids in the first place dances the line of my views and rules- I made that clear, I thought… But, fuck, at least give the kids the chance to decide for themselves if they’re going to die or fight back- even if it kills them anyway, it’d be less wrong … I didn’t sign up for this.

As it is, torturing and murdering and harming kids like they’re doing- I can’t take it… Letting it happen, watching them do that… Like this, The League of Villains is just as bad as the Heroes I hate for doing the same thing. I wanted to burn the corruption out of the system- not add to everything rotten in it.

I could at least stomach joining because I had to- I thought I had no choice… And in this mission… I thought if Stain was with them, then they had to fit his morals. He was at least semi-righteous and definitely thorough in his convictions and ideals and follow-through… That’s what I believed- it’s what I needed to believe and trust in with the League… It got me into the League…

But if he joined or allied himself with scum like that, then what… What the hell was all of this for? Was everything about him made up and falsified to fit some convoluted concept so he could try and justify what he was doing? If someone like Stain as I understood him was allied with a group like the League, then maybe… 

Dabi thought to the part of the conversation he’d walked away from once he heard Naoki’s answer. And not for the first time. In his defense, though in the past he agreed with Stain’s beliefs- not necessarily his manner of action.

Then maybe Naoki is right? Or at least more than I thought. 

Which just means I’ve gotten into a shit-fest war I can’t easily escape. ‘Use Stain to get in’ my ass… Now I’ve got no way back out.

Maybe instead of trusting that broker Giran, and following the instructions I was given, I should have asked Kouya for help and information… That would have been the smart thing- and then I could trust it was accurate and unbiased. I could trust Kouya to have my back if I needed. Unlike whoever’s fucked me over up to now. 

Now, it’s too late, and I’m in too fucking deep- which was… sort of the point. However, normally, deep-cover has a way out that doesn’t involve dying to get out…

I could have maybe kept going and gotten out safely… But they just had to set this up with kids being hurt. I thought they wanted…

Anyway… Dabi shut that off. He needed to keep that kind and level of thinking to a minimum, given the reasons for his being in the League and doing what he had to- and for- Naoki and Kouya and Kirin.

But after the last time I saw them- Naoki and Kouya both- I didn’t feel like it was safe to call them… Let alone stop by or message or email or anything. I guess I could have tried to anonymously reach out to Kouya as ‘Shadow’… Or maybe called in a favour with Kirin, but… He’s always been a bit too eccentric for my tastes. That, and they’d both gut me. Verbally and otherwise… They would both be all for telling me how fucking stupid I was for getting into this mess, getting caught, and what I was doing- what I’m doing now, too- agreeing to it for their sakes or otherwise. 

Besides… Even if they knew, they wouldn’t be able to help. Not with the way things are- how I ended up in this mess… I’m not sure I’d even have been allowed to contact them, all things considered. I’d probably have gotten them into trouble or they’d have threatened my family again- Naoki, Kouya and Tao. I couldn’t risk it…

Even before I looked like this… I’d only had a week to have maybe tried… Now, here I am with one boot in a bunch of rotten garbage and the other in a grave of ash and embers.

Fuck… 

Dabi snapped his eyes closed at the door opening and Naoki returning. He’d not shut the light off, but he did now.

Kouya’s room was equipped to be completely dark no matter what.

He heard as Naoki slumped against and slid down the wall across from the bed. Dabi was on his back and unable to see anything. He’d kept his head propped up on pillows while sleeping. It was better than trying to use his arms and risking tearing staples, he’d learned by now. The hard way.

“You’re an asshole.” Naoki spoke first.

Of course he knew I was awake… Forgot about his Quirk doing that.

“You’re not the first to say that.” Dabi wasn’t trying to sugar coat or play nice for the moment. They both needed a bit of rough hostility- especially since Dabi knew he couldn’t explain. Can’t risk it- can’t risk them coming after my family still since I haven’t finished yet.

“And a fucking horrible person.”

“Noted.”

Dabi was waiting for the insults to be let out before he could speak rationally to Naoki. Arguments went like this in their past, and in this family. Get feelings out, then talk and find a ground on which to make up. Kouya generally preferred an insult war. Kirin- Tao- he preferred the verbal gutting to and from both parties. 

Dabi and Naoki between themselves had a… different method. But he wasn’t sure it was a good idea given the mess he was still stuck in.

Just reply and answer. Back and forth. Keep coaxing it out of him and let him vent. He deserves at least that much. He knows my lines, and I know his, so this will be fine. No one’ll get hurt.

“You’re lucky I didn’t ignore your ass when you showed up.”

“Thanks.” 

“I wanted to…”

“You and I both know you couldn’t do that.” 

“And you can’t stop getting in over your head.” 

True there. He and everyone I know are aware… But…

“Not everyone can- most can’t. You can’t.”

“What made you sure I’d even help the kid? That I’d even let you in or open the door?”

Dabi scoffed, taking in a breath. “Because we both know you can’t refuse me or deny me.” He gave a moment's pause. “And I know you wouldn’t turn your back on a kid at death’s door.”

“Maybe I should have. Might have learned a thing or two.” Naoki sounded bitter. Dabi supposed he had a reason to be. But letting him get it out now was more feasible.

“What are you doing here?” Naoki asked.

“Sleeping. You going to get some shut-eye?”

Naoki scoffed. “Well, a mess you made is in my bed, and you’re in Kouya’s. No offense but I’d rather not share a bed with you. In fact, I’d like it better if you just got out of his bed.” 

Seriously? I know Kouya wouldn’t mind, so why’s he so defensive about me using Kouya’s bed? Or is he just taking it out still? Or… 

“Why? Don’t want it to smell like burned skin and smoke or me to bleed on his black sheets? Or is it because I’m like this now? Not pretty enough for you anymore?” Dabi knew that was a bit low- even coming from him… And especially aimed at the person it was. But it made no sense why Naoki was so possessive over a bed.

“Fuck you.” Naoki bit out.

Getting somewhere now. Threw me a ball I can hit.

“Not with that attitude- unless you ask nicely, then maybe I’d consider it.”

“I hate you.” 

“Sure you do. That’s why you still let me in.” 

He heard shuffling from where Naoki was. “I let you in my house- not back in my heart so you can leave it in pieces and ashes again. I’m done- I was done the minute you were gone. I-I fucking hate you, Taichi. You hurt me, you broke my fucking heart over and over and then you just left without anything. I thought you were dead, and if you were, you’d deserve it!” Dabi had his eyes open, staring dangerously at the place he could hear Naoki from. Don’t say it- don’t you fucking dare cross my lines. You know better. You have no clue what I’ve had to do and why, so just please-

“You’re an abusive, manipulative piece of shit who uses people for all their worth and throws them away like trash once you’re done with them! For all you say you hate Heroes and your father, you sure as hell act like him, Touya! Because you did to us exactly what he did to you- but you didn’t even bother to burn your trash like he did!”

Dabi was on his feet faster than he’d moved in years. He had Naoki pinned to the wall behind him, having shoved him into it hard enough even the short distance didn’t dull the sound. One hand had Naoki’s hands pulled high as Dabi could hold them without lifting Naoki, the other at his throat, just enough pressure to be threatening and hold him back and in place.

That’s a fucking line and he damn well fucking knows it! He has no fucking right when he doesn’t understand shit! When I can’t explain anything!

“Watch it-” He didn’t get the chance to say more, Naoki biting back just as fast.

“Or what? You going to kill me? Think you’d be able to? Even if you somehow could- can you stomach it? ‘Cause outside that, nothing you could do could be worse than what you’ve already done to me!”

Dabi had to clench his jaw tight, his nostrils flaring and Quirk sparking under his skin, and his eyes glowing, glaring dangerously into Naoki’s even if he couldn’t see them for sure. He- he doesn’t know anything! 

“Careful what you ask. I just might.” Dabi couldn’t stop himself from saying it. He was angry. Naoki couldn’t have it more wrong and he knew these were lines, yet he was already hitting them- slamming through one after another. Naoki had never done this before, so… It was a challenge- daring the person hemmed in between Dabi and the wall to keep testing and pushing his patience and tolerance. 

“Oh really!? Then do it, Touya!?! Go ahead! You going to beat me? Burn me? Throw your Quirk around in a show of power and intimidate me into submission? Use me to take out your anger like he does? Or make an example of me? Break me until I’m reduced to broken bones and bloodied ash like he did to you? Beat me and burn me and ‘train’ me into an obedient little tool like he does to your brother? Destroy my heart and fuck up my head until I fucking crack and lock me up like he did to your mom once he was satisfied he broke her completely?!

Well, Touya!? Well!? You going to become a monster just like him!? Answer me Touya!! Taichi!! Dabi!!” Naoki was all-but screaming at him. All parts of him- all parts of his past and present. And Dabi wasn’t given much chance to answer, Naoki knowing it only pissed him off more and sent him faster to the edge. “But maybe, you’re worse! At least he never came back for his trash! He just burned it and was done with it! But you couldn’t even do that just in case you needed it again!” Naoki’s voice was raw, Dabi could practically feel it burning with a fluctuation of emotions.

But there wasn’t any hate or anger or rage in Naoki, unlike Dabi. Dabi was seething with it. And Naoki did it intentionally. 

There was only pain and anguish and fear and questioning and betrayal trying to protect the once-whole and pure heart Dabi had shattered himself and a mind Dabi obviously fractured more than he thought he could. 

I… I didn’t take him seriously, so… He felt like he had to get me riled up to actually listen to him. I’d interpret it as anger when he crossed lines, and it would do the same- make me angry… But I started listening then… And now, I can tell it was never anger in him…

Fuck… I’m doing the exact same fucking thing as him in a lot of ways- even if it’s not intentional or the same, it still seems and feels and comes across that way to Naoki… I’ve left him in the dark, and left him to see things that way- which isn’t his fault. It’s mine… He has a right to be heard and listened to and taken seriously, but I brushed him off at first, so he got rougher and got my attention…

I acted like him , and I… I couldn’t even see it was all he could see by my behaviour and actions… I couldn’t see what he was feeling and watching and what he was left with clearly until he screamed it at me through choked-back tears and the broken, bloody edges of what’s left of him after what I’ve done… 

This- what I’ve done- it was supposed to make sure he was safe- he wasn’t hurt or in danger and left alone… But… Fuck- it’s gone so fucking wrong !

What the hell have I done…?

“I hate you for what you did to us… But I hate him for making you resort to this.” Dabi felt that long-forgotten ache in his chest from how Naoki was speaking- quietly now- the pain in the one he’d just wanted to be okay and safe. Safe from more than Heroes and Villains- safe from him too, really. 

I don’t even know if I deserve to say sorry… Because I-I don’t deserve forgiveness any more than that bastard does… Even if… But… Naoki- he deserves an apology. A real one. He doesn’t know- and doesn’t need to… It would only hurt him more- which is the exact opposite of what everything I’ve done was supposed to do.

Dabi stepped back, letting go of Naoki’s wrists and throat. Naoki knew he had Dabi’s attention now- for real. He should have had it from the start. I’m sorry.

“You broke my fucking heart and fucked with my head. You weren’t there when we needed you- when Kouya did. When I did… Now you just show the fuck back up after three fucking years like you’re fine with straight-up fucking a wound you made… And I can’t even tell if you’re just here to fuck with that hole you left in me and leave again… I hate you. 

You could have called or dropped by. Said hey or let us know you were fucking alive… Hell, reading the messages or listening to the voicemails or something would have been enough for fuck’s sake… But no- just delete us from your life and burn it all like it was nothing… That’s what you did.” 

Dabi wasn’t sure what to make of all that- but it hurt more than he liked. More than it should for how numb he’d gotten inside and out. He understood he’d fucked up, he’d hurt them and left them- and Naoki more given their relationship… 

He was trying to figure out where to even start apologising- what the hell to say- when an alarm on Naoki’s phone went off, then Naoki slid the door open and left.

“Nao- wait!” Dabi grabbed his pants and slid them back on, struggling with the belt for too long.

Out in the light of the living room, Dabi saw Naoki already tugging a jacket on over a black button-up that was over the t-shirt, already in black jeans as well.

All Kouya’s clothes, Dabi noticed.

Naoki was shaking so much he couldn’t get his hair pulled back right. Dabi took that chance he was presented. He was miffed when Naoki didn't fight him over it.

But he said nothing. He wasn’t sure he could trust himself to speak anything that wouldn’t come out and fuck things up even more.

When he finished clipping the hair up to the back of Naoki’s head, Naoki spoke first. “Thanks.”

Dabi bit into the rubbery skin at his lip, his left hand reaching up and scratching at the back of his neck. 

Here goes nothing.

“Naoki…” Dabi began. Sure enough, Naoki turned to face him- giving him the attention Dabi had deprived him of earlier- and seeing the pale pink colour he least liked seeing under any circumstance, but hated himself for being the cause of… Again.

“I… I don’t know how to say it other than bluntly… Anything else just… won’t come out right… But…” He inhaled deeply, tearing his gaze away to collect his words before forcing himself to meet the eyes of someone he’d devastated.

“I am sorry. I don’t want you to forgive me because you were right. Just like him, I don’t deserve that… But before I fuck everything up to the point he has, I want to at least try and make it up to you guys. With Tao. With both you and Kouya.” He… Dabi knew he had to keep things simple. 

Naoki huffed a breath, eyes steeling for what he was about to say. 

“Not sure Kouya could forgive you. But you can always try, I guess… You should grab one of his coats. They should cover you enough since your dumbass is wanted… And if you’re serious, you’ll do it.”

Dabi was a bit confused about what Naoki meant, but he obeyed, grabbing Kouya’s favorite long leather coat. It was built with coolant pockets inside it, so Dabi was surprised Kouya wasn’t wearing it, given it was summer. It felt like a godsend on his burns, though.

Naoki came back into the living room. “He’s still out cold. Thankfully, that didn’t wake him up…”

“Or it did and he took the easy way out and tapped the drugs.” Dabi retorted, successfully getting a small smile and little laugh from Naoki.

“God- that’d be something. You ready?” Naoki held out a hand. 

“As I can be…” Dabi took the offered hand, relishing in the cold added to the coolant jacket.

Somehow, he’d been angry enough before he couldn’t even seem to calm down from it like he should be able to. I can’t believe I put my hands on him like that again… That makes two times, but… That’s two too many. Never again. 

The jump was almost enough to leave Dabi’s head spinning. 

Really should have eaten earlier… Fuck me…

“Stay out of sight, burn-trauma.” Dabi looked at Naoki with a look that he hoped still read ‘seriously’. Without much ability to emote anymore, all he could do was hope Naoki got the picture.

Dabi obeyed, patiently in the shadows of an alleyway, keeping as low a profile as he could and avoiding any passerby or glancing eyes. He tried to process more on what the fuck he was supposed to do. He had few doubts the League would just let him leave whether or not he let them have the kid back. Even less likely was them not killing him outright whether or not he stayed or left them.

Which would completely destroy everything he’d worked to attain and do up to this point. He was needed in the League, and he needed to be there for anything to be accomplished. He was just… unsure now how well he could pull the train back on track- or how far he would have to push and pass tests to prove himself to them again. That had been going well up until they’d started torturing the kid.

With the splatter or rain starting to hit the concrete, and steaming when they hit him, Dabi cursed aloud. Why rain of all things? And why now? I don’t mind, but Naoki’s health and all… 

He’d not missed how worn and tired Naoki looked. Bags under his eyes, skin a bit too pale and thinner than Dabi had ever seen him- Naoki had always been healthy-weight, but he was every bit skin and bones as Dabi was now. 

He heard the door chime where Naoki had gone in. “Thank you again, Mr. Tsukikage.”

That had Dabi quirking his eyebrows- they did emote okay , he knew.

Naoki came back around the corner. “C’mon. I’ll fix them once we’re there.” Naoki grabbed Dabi’s arm as he passed him, leaving Dabi definitely lurching when they landed. Almost enough to slip on the wet mud he landed on.

There go my nice, new and impressively clean boots. Dabi thought with chagrin.

Until he finally noticed where they were. 

“Oh…” Dabi gulped, trailing after Naoki who was still on the concrete pathway when they landed.

He caught up, seeing Naoki using his Quirk on the bouquet of roses. Thirteen of them, he noticed.

Wait- that’s not… Dabi recognised the Quirk Naoki was using. And it wasn’t his- not even one he’d had last Dabi knew. 

It was Kouya’s. Shadow Manipulation. 

Dabi stopped walking for a moment, the reality settling in. He managed to catch back up in less than two full strides. Dabi had twenty-two centimeters on Naoki, and was a lot more leg, proportionately. 

The formerly red roses were pitch black now, and crystals of frost coated them, coming over the petal edges like salt on a margarita glass. 

Ice Dabi had a feeling wouldn’t melt in even his hottest flames. Ricochet could destroy heat interaction to that degree easily, and Dabi already knew Naoki could do it. It was an easy skill, given Naoki’s own issues with much the same concept. 

Naoki stopped at a grave, Dabi closing his eyes at the confirmation of his questions.

And feeling like something was stabbing at the insides of his chest. It was nothing short of regret and shame and guilt leaving his chest as cold as that ice, spreading the more he put together in his head. 

You weren’t there when we needed you- when Kouya did. When I did…

Dabi swallowed the pit in his throat when Naoki lowered to place the roses in the left holder. He found himself joining Naoki there. 

God… How- How didn't I know? Why wouldn’t they tell me that? What- what the hell’s wrong with this whole fucking thing? The people who all-but left me for dead in the mess they threw me into? Not even telling me my brother was… No… I would have, I’m sure… If I’d… If they’d let me keep my own number instead of locking it and confiscating it back then… 

How could I have completely abandoned them like that? Not pressed or asked for some fucking leeway when I knew Kouya was short for lasting as long as he did? Naoki didn’t even know about the Shukusatsu- we all three swore none of us would tell him… And I-I promised Kouya I’d fucking be there for Naoki when it happened… 

Then I got forced into this fucking… Dabi cursed himself for agreeing to the mess. It wasn’t even one of his own, sure, but… He’d been the one to make the decision and give the answer he had… It was an ultimatum, and he was kept on a tight leash for a long time… But the whole point was for their sake- and it was supposed to keep Naoki and Kouya and Tao… 

So on top of what I fucked up in his head and broke in his heart, I left him alone to go through this… 

On top of what I did… Kouya’s death would have made everything so much worse. Even if they’d known why I did it… Fuck… Even if I knew, I doubt they would have let me… Even once, even a little… 

But I was the only one who could help Naoki get through it- with Tao’s lifestyle, it’d be nearly impossible. I was the only one Kouya would have asked because I was the only person in the world Naoki ever opened his heart to outside his brother… My brother too by then… 

And I fucking abandoned him and broke his heart and messed up his head. And fucked up again when I wasn’t here- when I broke another promise I’d made for his sake…

The last time I’d come back from a stupid job before I stopped doing it solo, I swore I’d never pull that shit or leave him again… After he picked me up from a fucking trash pile in an alley, unconscious and beat to shit and covered in new burns from being a fucking dumbass for trying something I knew I couldn’t do without my Qurk and backup… I swore it to Kouya.

I swore it to Tao. He said if I fucked that one up, he’d electro-shock my ass into the dirt where I belonged.

He’s going to kill me… I know he won’t like… actually- no wait… I am technically a wanted villain at the moment… Deep-cover or not, he wouldn't know… No one but my fucking handler does… So, legally, he’d just haul my ass off to jail- which may as well be a death sentence. No one but said anonymous handler knows why I was in the League… And if I was stupid enough to get caught, odds of being backed for failing expectations- something constant in my life at this point- are slim-to-none. Given everything so far, anyway… Which is three years to nothing from my handler.

Dabi watched as Naoki spread the ice from the flowers out to coat the entire gravestone. It kept going from that midpoint outward until it reached the furthest point, which left the ground and surroundings frosted as well. He noticed it had missed their shoes.

Without warning, Dabi felt an impact to the back of his neck, shoving him forward onto the grave in front of him and holding him there, head smashed into the cold.

“You fucking piece of shit. I really ought to follow through, you know! That’s what your precious Stain would have done. Hope you know how badly you’ve fucked up this time, Taichi. Or should I say ‘Dabi’- the Leader of the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains. I’m so pissed at you for this little stunt, I’d love to fry your stapled hide with a pain even your dead-ass nerves would definitely fucking feel.” Tao always knew how to make an impact. That obviously hadn’t changed if Dabi’s face was any judge. Though he had to be livid if he was cussing.

Dabi inhaled sharply, deciding that keeping his mouth shut would at least keep any more staples from ripping out or bleeding later.

“Yeah- stay quiet. I’ll deal with you later.” Dabi felt the combat boot lift from his head. He rose from the cold stone slowly to avoid incurring another kick. 

“Hey, Ki. Sorry I’m late. With all the trouble this POS caused, it was tough even getting here at all, not even mentioning getting enough time off- even for a low-rank like me…” Dabi didn’t have to meet Kirin’s eyes to know he was being glared at by mismatched electric blue and fluorescent green eyes.

Dabi was surprised when his deep breath was met with a cold hand on his shoulder from the side Naoki was on. That was enough to freeze and shatter the fire prickling under his skin.

“It’s fine, Tao. I was going to have to call you later anyway. But that… Will have to wait until then anyway… And… I know your emotions well enough- but you hurt him anymore, I’m going to send you flying faster than plasma. I’m already going to have more than enough healing to do on him, so don’t add to my work… And trust me, I’m not going to go easy on the pain relief when I get there.” Dabi felt a shiver up his spine at the words Naoki spoke. 

That’s… Not what I was expecting, but somehow not surprising coming from Naoki either… Of course he’d want to try and heal this burnt-out husk… Why did I think he wouldn’t?

Fuck- that’s going to suck… Probably more than it did when it happened…

“Good. Little edgelord fucking punk’ll deserve it…” Tao sat down on his rump in the rain puddle pooling on the walkway. Sighing, he pulled his knees closer, letting them slacken into his arms around them. “Sorry for fucking up your face, Taichi…”

Dabi swallowed hard, looking at the last of his life before he’d apparently made the wrong choice and massively fucked up. Somehow, even though it was the right choice in the long-run and the best and safest at the time, it was still wrong- there hadn’t been a truly right. The last two left and the one he’d never gotten to say goodbye or see one last time or even get the chance to thank properly. Now the only one he’d never be able to apologise to.

“W-What… When?” He managed out, half-choked, looking at the date and finding the tombstone blurred by tears- something he’d thought he lost the ability to produce… Or feel enough to see again even if he could make them. He’d been sickeningly, worryingly numb for years now.

I don’t deserve to ask what happened or anything… But I want to know…

Naoki pulled his phone and the speaker out of the coat Dabi now understood why Naoki was wearing. The same song as was playing at the house came spilling out of the device, and Dabi realised a lifeline is exactly what that song had been for Naoki. The lifeline I should have been holding the other side of and bringing back to shore… 

Listening closer for once, he let the lyrics hit him like they should. 

His english wasn’t too terrible- if he’d had the chance to live his life how he’d wanted when he was younger instead of being a tool for his father, he’d have liked to think he’d be a decent singer- or at least able to do the guitar. Wonder if the one I had was ever tossed or disposed of like I was? Or if it’s still there in that small little safehaven I had for me and my siblings, waiting…

“The summer after you took off- two years today, hence why we’re here.” Tao began, the timing hitting Dabi in the gut like one of Kouya’s punches would. He knew what happened two years ago exactly… He was still stuck with the consequences and damage. 

“He wouldn’t stop working to try and find you… Blight kept getting worse, but he hid it from Naoki in hopes he could find you before he hit Four… Stormed out in a rush one night, said he actually found you… I told him to wait for me to get him and we’d drag your ass back to at least try and figure out what was up before we jumped down your throat… Maybe try to get something worked out for Ki’s sake… He wouldn’t. He-He was convinced if he didn’t get there quickly, you’d be gone again before we got a chance and he’d lose your location… Never said why either- why he was so convinced of that…”

Tao had to pause at the break in his voice getting worse, harder to choke back.

After a few seconds, he continued, voice still sounding fragilly held-together.

“I didn’t know he’d hit Four a week before then… Didn’t know it was that urgent for him. He’d kept telling me he was stable… It was the middle of the night, but I was out on a call that took almost the whole night up to then, and had just hit a break. Took off toward where his phone was at… And when I found Kouya… He’d reached his limit… I made him give up, thinking it was just a relapse… Made sure Naoki was up and ready by the time we got back home…” Another deep breath, and Tao finished.

“He was gone by morning. Begged Naoki to take his Quirk… Ki did… And asked me to keep up his work so maybe if we finished, you’d come home… He thought that was why you left, you know. Because he wasn’t working fast enough on what you guys were doing and working toward.

We’ve both taken up his task now. Ki does the in-person, and I manage the info, network and background tasks. He was so efficient, you know- it’s still hard for us to work near as fast as he did.”

Dabi felt the ice-guilt in his chest spreading again. 

“I… really fucked up… I… I don’t know if an apology can even start to fix it… Don’t know if I even can now… But… I at least want to try… Even if I fail at that too, I can at least say I tried…” Dabi was able to say after a few moments of silence except the song filling it comfortably. He wasn’t sure as low-rank as he was, if Tao would know … But it was better to keep them both out of it until he figured out the rest of the issues popping up with his mission and with the League.

“You’d be surprised how much three little words can make a difference, Taichi. Especially when they’re sincere. Everyone fucks up, but what makes a difference is learning from it. Even if you repeat it, you learn the lesson eventually. Sometimes, that time just drives it in better than the other times, and usually it’s not in a nice or good or fun way…” Tao stood up. 

“Sorry, to cut it shorter than usual, but I gotta go back to helping clean up your little group’s shit-storm… Any anonymous intel I can note? Privately, of course.” Tao asked, looking down at Naoki, then back up at Dabi as they all stood.

“Kid’s fine. Give me a few days, and he’ll be back to pre-idiot squad level perfection.” Dabi looked down at Naoki as he’d spoken.

Of course he’s been thinking about this… I-I can’t say I blame him. I don’t want to take Bakugou back there or go back, but… I may not have a choice if I want to both live and keep them safe… I’m in deeper than I wanted, sure, but… That was supposed to be part of the point.

“And… The suspected leader of the attack was coerced under threat of his family being killed, as they needed a long-range fighter, and he fit their needs. Once at the League’s base, he was put under a kind of control Quirk. He could hear and see everything, but his words, actions and behaviours weren’t his own, nor could he stop them. 

He managed to snap out of the Quirk’s power at a point relating specifically to a trigger of his own PTSD and get the abducted student to said healer to recover and be treated until he could figure out who was in control of him. He determined it to be the League’s ‘Sensei’ after deducing no one else in the League was capable of such a Quirk, having known them all whilst under control as the Squad Leader.” 

Tao smirked, while Dabi was still processing what Naoki had said. “He also suspects he was determined ‘qualified’ for their needs by the same person, who had likely taken his appearance and Quirk disabilities into account to better paint him as a villain when he’s not committed any crimes before that and long-since stopped using his Quirk after what left him traumatically burned.” Naoki finished. 

Fuck- either I fess up now, or I’ll have a double-lie going… 

“Dually noted. Thank you for the valuable information. I take it the Fire-User known as Dabi remained in hiding at the healer’s place both to avoid the League and ensure they weren’t able to find and further harm the student or healer?” Tao asked, electric irises looking at Dabi’s own burning eyes.

“Wait… T-Tao, Naoki…” Dabi swallowed, meeting Tao’s narrowed eyes and Naoki’s confused, concerned ones. “Don’t… Don’t lie to try and cover my fucking dumb ass… I’m in deep… And if I want to learn my lesson, I need to figure out how to save myself…” Dabi backed out of spilling last second… He still couldn’t trust the anonymous handler or the other person who forced him into this not to turn back on their side if he spilled and come after his family anyway- he’d not finished his side, so they still could. Easily. And for many reasons, he believed they really would.

“Don’t care- if you get stuck, I still want to be able to get you out. Pissed or not, you’re both still my kids now. I’ll be dead before I ever abandon either of you, no matter how bad you two get or how much you fuck up. I’m going to have your backs, damnit. So answer my fucking question, Taichi.” Tao was a different kind of angry. The sparks he had rolling off of him now were red, so it was a bit like Naoki’s bright blue eye- the one that matched Dabi’s own eyes. Tao’s Quirk fed off his emotions, colour-based all the same. Though, he was usually a bit better at keeping them from jumping across his body like a live wire.

Dabi nodded, answering after a gulp at the save he knew full well he’d have to rely on. Unlike whoever threw him to the League and left him to die, Dabi knew Tao would stick to his word and have Dabi’s back even if it killed him. Tao was like Kouya in that. Protective and honest to a dangerous fault- though he lacked Kouya’s ticking time limit.

“Yes. I knew the likelihood of them coming after the student and trying to find him was high. A healer might struggle with offense or defense, and the student was seriously injured, I was at least capable of combat if necessary.”

“Very well. I’ll keep an eye out for the call, Ki. Goodbye, both of you. Be careful- god, Taichi, please be careful… Contact me if you need me or need out. I’m not abandoning you to those hyenas. You and Ki- you were Kouya’s pups, so you’re mine to look after now, and that’s final.” Tao left after that. 

After a few moments more, Dabi felt Naoki’s hand in his own and with another stomach-flipping lurch, they were back in the living room at home. Naoki wasn’t touching on what’d just happened, and Dabi was grateful. 

“I’m going to check on him again then try to get some sleep. I… wouldn’t mind if I could borrow your heat… Just- no funny business. And until I say so, stay out of that room.” Naoki hung up the coat he’d worn out. “Taichi… Dabi… Touya- thank you… And… I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t thank me. I have done nothing to earn it…” Dabi admitted, hand at his neck again after he’d slung Kouya’s cooled coat over the hanging spot it normally sat at. “And… god- don’t apologise, Nao… Also, Dabi… Please… Touya’s dangerous, and Taichi… was someone who lost all he could remember, unable to even identify himself… Dabi’s legit official, technically.”

Naoki gave him a soft smile with a nod. “Of course. Sorry, Dabi.”

He watched Naoki step into the bedroom he’d once shared with Naoki- and for a long time, really. Dabi went into Kouya’s old room, feeling a bit nostalgic and a bit more of the guilt bundling inside his chest like a thorn vine of ice.

“I’m sorry, Kouya…”

Chapter Text

Shouto

Shouto sat in the hospital exam room. He’d already been checked and deemed clear enough to move on to other more serious cases or other students. But, like they all did, he had to stay put.

Which might be a good thing, considering his head was swimming loops and circles around what had happened now that the police had his statement. 

Or… Part of it. Most of it, really. 

The other parts were because he… well, he had conflictions about the other bit.

He wanted to talk to someone he could trust to get it, but Midoriya was obviously not available- given how badly he’d busted his arms, Shouto was surprised he’d been moving at all.

And with that, seeing his closest acquaintance- friend, even- blaming himself for Bakugou being taken was something weighing heavily on his shoulders. 

He was the one who failed to attain Bakugou. 

He could see those reflexes a thousand times- all in different circumstances Shouto knew had happened- even if no one in his family would talk about it.

About the fourth Todoroki child- the oldest. 

The one with crimson hair and burning, glowing blue eyes… 

The one with fire that could only burn blue.

Well, isn’t that a tragedy- poor little Shouto- sorry, but not everyone gets it fair. I’d rather it be me than my little brother, so just let it be, alright?

The one who took all of their father’s anger and ‘training’ until he couldn’t anymore- but by then, the man who was supposed to be their father had worked out all of his anger. So when he turned to Shouto next, he got it easy. The moment Enji was done with him, Shouto tried to help his brother. That particular time had been Shouto trying to help with burns using his mom’s side. Trying to tell his brother he could take Enji’s worst- Touya didn’t have to anymore. It wasn’t fair he always made himself take the worst so Shouto didn’t have to. It was the last real talk they’d gotten to have.

The one that ‘went missing’ that same weekend and later was announced dead by some shitty excuse as ‘default’ or something- dead in absentia, Shouto remembered… Maybe. Whatever it was, it was bullshit, and Shouto knew- he knew he couldn’t be the only one who thought that… but one mention of their oldest brother made Enji get rough again. It made Natsuo leave the room- and house, usually. And it made Fuyumi flinch and cry even now.

Shouto couldn’t bring himself to even try talking about the boy before him in Enji’s eyes to his mother. Not with how well she seemed, finally.

Well, it makes me angry. Angry that they just accepted it and ignore it and never talk about it- that my bastard of an old man had to have done something. I know what I saw that night. How can I ever unknow something like that? If I’d… 

Shouto’s thoughts were cut short with a knock on the door to the exam room he was in.

“Aizawa-Sensei?” He went to stand at his teacher’s presence, a wave keeping him seated.

“I’m just trying to check in on those of you I can. The conscious ones, anyway. See if I can offer or get you anything.” Aizawa looked like he’d stepped out of bed into the wrong century and had been awake since- until he was back in the time he belonged…

So like he was half-dead and running on fumes, caffeine and concern alone.

Shouto weighed and assessed the safety he had- the trust he could place in his Sensei. 

And he settled on both being well-worth it.

“Um, actually, Aizawa-Sensei… It’s about the villain using the blue flames?” Shouto tested.

Aizawa bristled and sighed.

He had fought the villain’s clones, Shouto heard. He gestured for Shouto to continue. 

“Well… He uses the same fighting style as… As my father beat into me.”

That- that brought Aizawa upright, slouch and tiredness gone as Shouto could see him reassessing and reevaluating the Villain he’d faced.

“You’re right- but it was different too- polished differently, though the basics and foundation are uncannily similar. You- You have somewhere you’re going with this. Here- let me make a few notes if I can.” Aizawa was taking this more seriously than Shouto thought… Maybe this was a good thing. Saying this when he knew no one else would- especially in his family.

“Yeah. No problem… Just- don’t let my father see or find them… If I’m right…” Shouto left that trail to its own demise. They both knew what Endeavor might do- or at least had an idea of it.

“Okay- what else? I’ll tell you if I need you to pause or repeat, okay?” Aizawa had a little pocket notebook and pen at the ready.

Shouto took a deep breath and swallowed.

Here goes nothing… Or, hopefully, everything.

---

Aizawa

Aizawa was rereading the notes he’d gotten from his talk with Todoroki. 

No… I doubt he actually enjoys being called the same name if his dad’s as bad as I already thought- let alone adding this to it… There goes me sleeping tonight.

At the thought of sleep , though his mind went right into hearing screams from his students- his kids at this point- and colleagues. 

But then, instead of blue flames he’d expected flashing into his vision, there was just a faceless boy with turquoise-blue eyes and red hair… And the flames weren’t blue anymore. Red-orange- those were the attacking ones now-

He shook his head, clearing the imagery he shouldn’t let cloud his head until he confirmed what he’d been told.

“Ah- Eraser Head-” Aizawa could have screamed in frustration if it weren’t the exact person he thought he should be wary of at this point, considering the notes in his hand. Acting suspiciously would only draw the flame Hero’s attention. “Which room is my Shouto in?”

He really does treat his son like a tool or a possession… This is increasingly unsettling now… But- do I…?

“My apologies, but family members aren’t cleared yet, and that includes you- number two or not. You shouldn’t even be here, so I’ll advise you to leave.” Aizawa wasn’t bluffing. They were keeping the students here until they were more certain of the situation- and any injured weren’t leaving period for now. Until they had their missing back, no student was leaving. 

Parents weren’t supposed to be here, because no one was supposed to know where the students were being hospitalised. Obviously Endeavor thought he was above that rule… And Aizawa wasn’t about to let him continue to believe that.

Or let him go right to his student after the talk they’d just had.

Suddenly, I have a feeling that may be the same reason he’s here- to keep Shouto quiet about it. He likely heard about the villain from the Hero Reports sent out… Which I’m not about to let happen, and I’m glad I took Shouto’s concerns seriously from the start in case he’s pressured against talking later on.

Aizawa watched Endeavor snarl, lip curling accusatorily at him with a hard, cold and angry glare. He wished the man would try something. Just so Aizawa can have the pleasure of erasing his Quirk and escourting him out personally. 

But the flame hero growled out in fury, turned and stomped away, the flames on his face snapping a bit more erratically.

If what he held in his hands held any merit, maybe Aizawa could see how an eldest son might become someone like ‘Dabi’.

Aizawa had to be at the police station to call the Bakugou family in an hour. 

He wasn’t sure he could function well enough to do it on his own any day- let alone now. How were teachers supposed to tell parents that their son- his student- had been kidnapped during a mandatory school summer training camp?

He’d never had to or been in this position before, so he… he was out of his depth, and he damn well knew it.

He contemplated calling All Might.

He did.

---

All Might

“Aizawa? What can I do for you?” Toshinori had already heard the news, and was just leaving Tsukauchi’s office after talking it over before he’d head to his agency and get to work helping his students. Given the nature of the attack, few were to know where the students were hospitalised, and while he knew , he also knew better than to go- small or not- for the time being.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to talk to Bakugou’s parents. I’m mostly an underground Pro, so the media and social things aren’t left to me. I’m exhausted and at a loss. I didn’t know who else could seamlessly and ceaselessly handle this kind of thing better than you, so… Here I am… I’m sorry for having to ask this of you.”

Even Toshinori could tell Aizawa was far more exhausted than normal- perhaps more than he’d ever been- and he was also aware the very concept of his coworker, comrade and ally asking him for help like this was a very large step for their relationship in their profession.

He and Aizawa rarely saw eye to eye, but he wouldn’t refuse or deny his friend advice when he was asked.

“In all honesty, the best thing right now is facts. What we know, what we don’t can be assumed from that. Try not to sugarcoat or make it sound better than it is. Reassurances and promises are tricky territory, but please… Reassure them that as long as I have breath in me, I will do everything in my power to save my student- and you will give his safe return your all as well. That’s what I can offer.” He’d inflated partway through that, and he felt some small relief when Aizawa chuckled a bit.

“Somehow, that made even me feel just a bit better… Thank you, All Might. I will see you when I do, I guess.” The line clicked off.

The next day, they had something . Not much, not enough, but Toshinori knew better than to complain about that. It was far better than nothing. It was enough to assemble the cavalry. Both he and Tsukauchi knew they’d need it. 

“So, where are we, Tsukauchi? What have we been able to collect up to now?” His friend nodded. He was going over it with Toshinori before U.A.’s staff would assemble in Might Tower later that evening. Even Best Jeanist was insistent on joining despite a case he’d been on in Osaka. 

“Right. Well, we’ve identified a number of the remaining seven. We already knew of Kurogiri from the USJ, and that leaves little room Tomura Shigaraki isn’t involved- and the same goes for him .

Muscular, Moonfish and a teen calling himself Mustard- the one with the poisonous gas- were all apprehended, and while Mustard and Muscular can talk, they have been quite stubbourn. Moonfish isn’t in a right enough mind to communicate, as noted in his arrest records from when he was imprisoned. 

But with the statements from the students who are conscious, the Pussy Cats, and both Vlad and Eraser Head, we’ve gotten this far.” He pointed at the files in front of All Might. They would be pinned up on display during the meeting later, but were still contained in folders for the moment.

The staff of nearly every police station in the country and just about every Pro Hero Agency were working together, pooling data and information.

Somehow, things were sorted and managed near-perfectly between everyone, thanks to a single person. A low-ranked Pro Best Jeanist and Recovery Girl were both acquainted with. He had a powerful electricity-based Quirk that made his skill in this kind of thing some scary level of invaluable. He was as fast as Hawks in this reguard. And Tsukauchi mentioned he had a feeling this Hero’s constant rank of number 666 was about to jump a good few hundred closer to the top.

“Toga Himiko. A suspect in serial murders where the victims all bled out. Not a suspect anymore, now, though.” He tapped the photo of a teenage girl with blonde hair and yellow-gold eyes, slitted like a cat’s, and smiling with pointed canines.

“Kenji Hikiishi. A well known criminal up to this event, though never been apprehended. Apparently going by Magne at the League.” All Might recognised the off-red hair and other features. He’d seen this case file before.

“Shuichi Iguchi. Stain devotee with no priors outside pirated movies and music, a few accusations of theft from second-hand stores- mostly games, and mostly unproven. According to investigations, this is his first major act of villainy.” A young man with an appearance resembling a Lizard.

“The last three are unconfirmed, unfortunately. Two we can’t find any leads on. The clone maker might be the easiest we can find out, but the one who turned Bakugou and Tokoyami into marbles and the one with the fire Quirk… Nothing yet. Though we may have more on the League’s base… We’ll have to play by ear until the meeting…”

“Keep up the good work. See what more we can find before this evening. I… I am going to try making a phone call- I may be able to call in a favour with an old acquaintance. Alert me two hours before the meeting so I can be sure I’m ready. I may be able to bring a bit more to the table with any luck. Oh- and according to a Class 1-B student, Miss Yaoyarozu managed to make a tracker, and it was placed on the Nomu who was there with the League. Once she’s awake again, we’ll have a bit more there as well.”

All Might bowed out and made for his own office. Once settled down, he called in his favour. He was sure Recovery Girl would do the same, but he reminded her anyway- not as though she’d ever needed it. That was usually him. Still- it couldn’t hurt. 

It was closing on noon now, the meeting would be around eight pm. He was sure that would be plenty of time.

If he was lucky, the sun wouldn’t be bothering this acquaintance at this point.

“The number you have dialed is either switched off or out of range. Please hang up and try your call again later.”

Toshinori looked at his phone as the message played, confused. 

Odd. Even when he’s out of the country, he’s answered before. Maybe I should try again…

He redialed the number, apprehension coursing as it started ringing.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

“Ah- young Kouya, I-”

“Hello? Still can’t hear you…”

Toshinori tried again, flustered, “Hello? Kouya?”

“Aandd- Enough of that. No answer means I’m either dead or dying, so yeah, leave a message after the- Beep.”

Toshinori was frustrated now, leaving his message. “That’s harsh, young Kouya, even from you. Then again, yo-”

“Also- in case this is TY- since you wanted to do everything alone, do it. Take your pride and kindly give your wounds a nice fucking with it.”

The line went dead- no actual place for a message to be left. And Toshinori was wide-eyed. He was both a bit hurt, a bit confused, and a bit angry. That last part was a jab at him, plain and simple. But… That hadn’t been what Kouya was like when he’d last known him… Though, it was his voice. 

And… up until my last fight with All For One, Kouya had never not answered within the first two rings… Last I’d known him- obviously before this message- he’d laugh at me for this whole mess… Poke fun at me for trying to do everything alone… Then turn around and change his attitude- try to comfort with blunt facts and reality-checks. 

He’d offer advice I never could grasp someone of his age comprehending or learning or knowing so young, and advice I would never follow either. It wasn’t bad advice, just… I thought I knew better and could do better.

Like reaching out to him before the last time I’d faced All For One so Kouya could support and assist, and make sure he was dead and gone for good. I refused and look where it’s gotten me. And… It clearly deeply upset Kouya as well… More than I thought it would… Is it any wonder he didn’t answer…? 

I’ve only ever called him when I needed something only he could do. I’d been trying to be courteous of his Shukusatsu, but maybe this long was… well, too long… I wonder if he still lives in the same place. I may have to drop by when this is all cleared up… 

Toshinori wasn’t angry anymore. He knew he’d been in the wrong- though it had taken this long to accept or realise- partially because he hadn’t known until recently All For One was still alive… 

If I’d only accepted his support back then, then maybe…

His phone jingled, and he recognised the familiar tones of Recovery Girl as he read her message.

[He’ll need picked up, but he can be there. I’ve put in a request for extraction so he has a safe way there and back.]

Toshinori grinned, half grateful for whoever Recovery Girl’s acquaintance was, and half worried. 

But she trusted him, whoever he was, so, Toshinori doubted anyone could have her trust and be a risk or danger. 

The last thing they needed was a breach or addition to this calamity.

He also wondered if Kouya was intentionally dodging him…

Wouldn’t be the first time- and I have done it to him as well. Six years ago… Though, contact between us has been limited for ten years, I know I am to blame for it… But… there’s no use regretting the past at this point- it’s time to face what’s before me, here and now.

Chapter Text

Hawks

“Well, this is a new area… which is surprising coming from me… 3913. 3913… Oh- there we are. Let’s see, black hair, pale complexion. Red and colour-change eyes… Huh- that’s a new one too… Interesting. Yep- that’s him.”

Hawks let his wings fold in, enjoying the steep dive before pulling up at the last second to land perfectly. “Naoki Kagetsuki?” He asked.

“Yessir. Recovery Girl sent you?” The voice was lighter than even he expected. 

Really can’t tell one way or another what gender’s there… Only reason I knew beforehand was the info sent. Interesting. 

“That she did! You ready, then I take it?” He got a nod. “Okay- how’s your stomach hold on… like a scale of car to roller coasters?”

The kid laughed- and yes, likely younger than him, so kid still qualified. He’d been ready to head to the hospital so he could check on his own kid of sorts, the commission finally caving after he’d spent the morning arguing it over with his cage-keeper. This happened to be on the way, and was a job he was fit for. Better than most anyone, really.

“Anti-gravity freefalls are a fun past-time… Taller the building, the better the drop.”

Okay then. Moving on .

“Alright, any preference on position, then?”

“Whatever is less likely to cause you issues. If you drop me, I can manage just fine .”

What the heck is with this kid? I thought Recovery Girl said he’s a healer of sorts… But he’s pulling miracle-worker cards here with me… 

“Princess it is then. It’s the less-stressful hold.” Hawks was again taken aback at the awkward, embarrassed flushed cheeks after he’d scooped the kid up- and at how light the male in his arms was. 

Geesh- why is he so cold? Feels a bit like I’m holding a living corpse between how cold he is and how light he feels. Well, no sense fussing over it. I want to see my fellow-bird sooner than later. 

But… Maybe I can try a line with him? Seems like he might bite.

Hawks took off, not having to worry about the kid puking or getting sick. Even with his normal and necessary aerial acrobatics, the kid did fine. No complaint or lurching or fear. Nothing but smooth flying.

The flight was quick. With the landing, Hawks set his charge down, ready to catch in case of wobbly legs. All he got was Naoki adjusting his clothes and hair-tie a bit before the hype typical for the number three’s status had him surrounded.

Somehow, they seemed to miss him transporting the kid- who was also no longer in sight. 

So much for a talk or something… Not even a chance for a baitline… He had me curious and hoping.

Then the sounds around him went from excited to confused, like no one could see him anymore. Given what he heard, it fit… and now he could see the kid standing a few feet from him in the closest open space.

A head nod from the kid, and Hawks used the chance to get inside before he was swamped. Whatever happened, it had obviously been the work of this kid. That, and he was eager to chat with what was piquing his interest- or who, rather. Naoki Kagetsuki.

Once indoors, they could apparently be seen again, Hawks finding Naoki checking in with the secretary.

“Naoki Kirahara.”

“Oh- Recovery Girl told us you’d be arriving soon. Wow- you’re cuter than I expected. Here- this way, she’ll be here shortly. She said to let you settle in a bit while you’re waiting.”

“Of course- oh- he’s with me, may he come as well? Shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Hawks was again taken for a loop when the secretary looked to see him, Naoki gesturing at him.

“Oh! No! Of course! Go right ahead, um- Hawks, sir!” She bowed to him, tone completely different from the flirty one she’d aimed at Naoki. This was more adoration and idolisation… And hints of embarrassment, so she’s thinking we’re together, huh? 

“Thank you, kindly. But-” Naoki had a finger at his lips. “He’s just my escourt- I can’t drive, he’s responsible for getting me here and home later. I already have a partner- our relationship’s going on eight years now.”

Well then. He’s not subtle about that, is he. Interesting… This kid’s a whole kind of new for me… He’s… So free. But why’s he having me come with him?

Hawks went with Naoki, coming up beside him in the hallway. “So- I thought you said you were Naoki Kagetsuki- what’s with Kirahara?”

He had his hands behind his head while walking down the hallway. Naoki had a smaller, shorter stride, so catching and keeping up was pretty easy. He didn’t seemed bothered by Hawks’s wings brushing against him here and there either. There was little point in wasting the energy to control them, so they were just hanging out like normal wings might.

“Kagetsuki is my half-brother’s name. He died two years ago, but it’s what was likely assumed I went by… Kirahara was my mom’s last name- it’s also my last name, legally. Recovery Girl likely didn’t know I go by my mother’s name, not my brother’s. No point in fussing over something so small.” Hawks supposed that made sense- an older half-brother’s last name.

“You lost your brother? May I ask what happened?” Hawks wasn’t sure how much he could learn, but he was still enjoying the conversation with someone who’d thrown him for as many loops as Naoki had in so short a time.

“He had a terminal illness. Death wasn’t something he could avoid, though he’s an asshole for never telling me… I was sixteen, and he was about all I had. I dropped out of highschool after he died. I’ve only had myself to rely on since, so Chiyo has me help whenever she can since she knows about my situation. 

Which generally means donating blood every few weeks, and en masse during disasters and things like them. I’m planning to go back to school and finish once I’m… Able to… Life’s been rough these few years, so I’m afraid it may be a bit.” Hawks was getting more questions with each Naoki answered. This was new, but also a side-effect of the training he’d gone through for his… work.

“Oh- I’m sorry for your loss. That’s pretty harsh on a teen. So why are you here? You mentioned your Quirk and blood donating?” Hawks saw Naoki smile fondly.

“Thank you for your concern. And yes, I assume it’s because of what happened a few nights ago… Maybe a pre-emptive too for all I know. My blood-” He gripped his hand before him, looking down at it as he released and refisted a few times. 

“It heals everything blood can interact with in the body. It’s a cure-all for others, and since it’s a mutation Quirk, my blood type is called ‘C’. Cure. No matter the blood-type of the recipient, it heals all the same, no risk of blood poisoning, infection or blood-loss induced shock. So, the hospital pays me for giving blood. Recovery Girl- she set it up… She caught me using it when I was younger and took a liking to me, I guess…” 

Hawks narrowed his eyes at that- Quirk use as a civilian broached vigilante territory, yet instead of reprimanding or turning him in, she helped him… Why not help him become a hero?

Maybe I can press for that later… I am curious about a lot with him, though… He’s interesting. But I think a topic change may do for now. He’s getting ready to donate, so I imagine stressing him out wouldn’t be good for his health in that reguard. We all know those kids and Pros need the help. I’d be to blame if his donating was ruined or impossible…

“So… You’re eighteen now? And been seeing the same partner since you were ten? That’s also pretty young.” Hawks changed the subject, obvious it wouldn’t be smooth- but maybe that was okay. Maybe he could confirm his suspicions this way.

“Yeah- eighteen, and ten- almost eleven- when we started dating- though he couldn’t do a whole lot for a while… He wasn’t in good health when we met. How about you? I’m not well-versed in many Heroes, but your wings are both red, and a trademark of your identity as a Pro, so I would know about you from that.”

So, he’s fishing too, or… Just legitimately curious. Guess I’ll bite back.

“Twenty two. And single. I move a bit too fast to date anyone. No one can keep up. But it also makes publicity easier to manage. Though that little stunt outside and with the secretary might be enough to sate the masses for a few hours… Help them ease off a bit of the stress from this mess.” Hawks answered. He kind of hoped it would get out. Might be fun to entertain for a bit if anything. 

Naoki gave a half-shrug, smirk playful-seeming as he nodded a bit.

“So… Red- you seem to like it, considering your attire consists of only red and black. That why you know about me? I think that’s what I read in your earlier words.” Hawks stepped into a small lobby with Naoki beside him, the secretary letting them in before leaving.

“Yeah. My Quirk plays a big part in it, see-” He showed Hawks fingernails that were such a deep, thoroughly soaked and rich red he could have mistaken it for polish or shellac or something similar if not for the details his eyes could pick up effortlessly.

“That’s from your Quirk? Same with your eye, then? The description I was sent said colour changing…”

Naoki laughed a bit, smiling. Cute. I’m a bit jealous of whoever got to spend eight years seeing that face.

“My red eye, maybe… And nails, yes… Same with this- it’s not make-up” He swiped roughly across his lips, Hawks making out capillary responses that supported what Naoki was saying. “They’re just a bit tinted all the time… I’m full of these odd little abnormalities. But like the oddity with my hair, my left eye is a genetic trait of my mother’s family. My brother was a bit more of his father than I… Than I am of mine… I’m nothing like that man…” Hawks knew that was hatred if he’d ever heard it, but Naoki was quick to come back to his normal tone and cheeriness.

“But anyway, basically, my brother- he missed out on our mom’s fun traits…” He switched focus back to his eye, “It changes colour based on my emotions. My left eye.”

Oh… Now that he mentions it- when I met him, it was pastel green… Now it’s bright enough blue, it could easily be glowing. I wonder what they mean… If he knows? Can’t imagine he’s spent gobs of time looking in reflective surfaces just to match emotions to colours. He’s pretty, but doesn’t strike me as vain. Which is a bit surprising in this day and age.

“Huh- that’s interesting. Afraid I don’t have anything that unique. So, that love of red- that’s the scarf too?” Naoki seemed a bit amused.

“Yes… And no. I despise the likes of someone like Stain- and the man himself. I’m a healer, he was a killer and mutilator. I couldn’t agree with him or like him if I tried.” Given the genuine look of disgust Naoki wore, the tone he had, Hawks sincerely doubted that it was a lie.

Good. Makes my job easier if I don't have to worry about transporting- or falling for- a Stain-devotee. 

Heh- falling for or transporting… Either one, I’d be fine with… both too. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing him again.

“Bet you get asked that a lot recently, huh?” Hawks was making idle small talk now, biding his time until he could bow out and go see his intern. He’d rather save anymore new or interesting things for later.

“Yes- and it was my ‘trend’ before his. My brother gave me this scarf when I was five and in this same hospital, actually… Room one-seventeen.”

Interesting… Might have to investigate that if I get bored… Just for fun and practice…

“So, why have me tag along with you back here?” Hawks asked. He’d been content to take up a chair backwards to let his wings breathe- as opposed to pinned against a backrest. Naoki was in one of the more comfortable single-person chairs, relaxing already.

“Well, I imagine Recovery Girl intends to have me give my normal, but given the circumstances, a bit extra wouldn’t- and couldn’t- hurt… That said, I’ll be better off recovering from this at home- she and I both know this from experience- so… I assumed she intended for you to stick close so I could get a lift home when she’s done… 

But all of that aside, I thought you might have a bit of trouble getting through otherwise. I doubt Recovery Girl knew that you’re also here to see someone, so I’ll let you head there. We’ll probably meet again- maybe today even.”

Sharp. I’d bet he’s got a thinking head on him, which is entertaining. Either he did it to help me, or to try and earn a few points maybe… Or both. Heck- maybe he just wanted someone to talk to and I’m just shaking an empty bottle. 

But either way… He knew I was on my way here, I said so. Just assumed I was seeing someone. Which isn’t wrong. But he did put it together and seems sure about it being visiting as opposed to working… And he should be able to get in touch for getting home… He got an extraction managed in the first place, so he can just have Recovery Girl do it again if I’m out already… 

“Yeah- thanks for being the wingman with the crowds and secretary. I owe you one. See you around.” There was no reaction to his IOU, so he let go of it being for that reason… However, Hawks did catch that smile again at his pun.

Score .

---

Tokoyami

[Hey, my fine feathered intern. Heard you were cleared. You good for visits from your internship boss?]

Tokoyami looked at the message, shaking his head at the tone and cheerful nature he’d known from his mentor.

{Yes, unfortunately. I feel as though I’m not deserving of such, though.}

Tokoyami felt like the last thing he deserved for losing control of Dark Shadow was being visited by his mentor- especially when his classmates were still varying levels of injured or unconscious. 

Especially when Bakugou is still missing… And I am partly to blame. I was supposed to be the rear guard, yet my failure enabled Bakugou’s capture.

[Which room, blackbird?]

{143}

There was a knock at the door, light streaming in as a familiar face came in. 

“How’s my favourite intern?” Hawks was bright as usual.

“May I remind you that I’m your only intern?” Tokoyami returned. Hawks was at the window, tugging the curtains open just the smallest bit, but opening the window as well. It didn’t make the room too much brighter since the hallway door was closed again.

“That aside- I brought you something. Thought you could use it.” Hawks slipped his hand into a sealed pocket, pulling out a familiar music player and the headphones it was connected to.

“I stopped by the police station and got the okay to get these to you. I had to check in with them for information from my agency anyway. Saw they had everyone’s things from camp, and they’d already gotten to yours, so, figured ‘hey why not. I know my intern’s a bit less darkness- incarnate with his music.”

“It speaks volumes my soul cannot fathom.” Tokoyami smiled, accepting the device. “Thank you, Hawks-sensei. I’m surprised you were allowed to come here. I heard Aizawa-sensei had to make Endeavor leave.” Hawks was a bit stunned at that, Tokoyami noticed.

“Well, do… Do you know anything yet?” Tokoyami looked down at his hands. He should have been able to cover the rear like he’d agreed to.

“I’m afraid I can’t say, you know how it is… But, hey- I read the reports. And I want to say, control lost or not- you saved your classmates. You took down an A-Rank villain who has a killcount a half-mile long. There aren’t many who can do that even with things under control. You’re still a Hero trainee- and you’re human, and a teenager. You still have two and two-thirds years left at U.A. You are still learning and improving. You don't have as much experience as a veteran or full-fledged Hero. You used the cards you had and managed to make it work.”

“But I wasn’t able to reign him in. I couldn’t stop him on my own or control him at all. I may have saved my friends, but they still had to put him down because I couldn’t .”

“Heroes work together to cover one another’s weaknesses. It’s good that students already think that way naturally. You saved their backs, and they had yours. I wasn't there, so I can’t know for sure what you could have or should have done instead… But the fact no one’s dead from this is a miracle.”

“Bakugou may be dead. And… And my weakness and failure led to his capture. It should have been me they caught…”

Tokoyami could almost feel Hawks’s emotions drop and worry over him.

“Remind me when you intern with me again to focus on your mental health more.”

“Wait- what? A-Again?” Tokoyami was taken aback. He didn’t think there would be an ‘again’ or that he deserved one after this.

“Yeah- of course. You’re stuck with me now. We bird-kin need to stick together if anything.” Hawks grinned at him, noticing Tokoyami’s spirits had a boost of positivity.

And they- they do… I do. He’s still giving me a chance.

Even Dark Shadow was happier at that. 

“So… Why mental health, Hawks-sensei?” Tokoyami was curious how that could have any merit to it, though… perhaps it was a Hero secret or something?

“Really?” Hawks grinned, shaking his head in disbelief. “Mental health should be a focus with every Hero- training, sidekick, Pro or age-old veteran. We see things that can mess with us, and taking care of ourselves makes us more able to keep taking care of and helping others. We’re Heroes- but we’re human too. So, if you already have a bit that needs worked on, best to start early.” Hawks had a hand in his bag, digging for something. “Aha- I knew I still had it.” 

Tokoyami chuckled at the chicken jerky bag Hawks had. “Is that why you can justify your cannibalism?” He teased back to his mentor after Hawks had a strip in his mouth.

Hawks shrugged, his feathers brushing the wall in the movement. He pulled the rolling stool around to take a seat. “Far as I see it, hawks are raptors. Birds of prey. So what’s to stop a hawk from picking off a stray chicken or two?”

“Or ten.” Tokoyami shot back, both laughing at that. 

“Touche, Toucan. Here- you want some? It’s a fresh bag. Opened it on my way here until I had an extraction call that was coming here.” Tokoyami took a small piece from the proffered bag. 

“Sure. Extraction, huh?” Tokoyami asked.

“Mm-hm. He was interesting. Lived in an area even I hadn’t been to before.” Hawks answered fully after finishing his bite.

“Oh? That says something coming from you. So what was he like? You said interesting, so I assume it was more than where he lived.” Tokoyami could hardly imagine someone piquing Hawks’s interest this thoroughly, so he was intrigued by default. 

His mentor seemed a bird of a feather, known by many, knowing many, but only really close with a small few. So, he was sure his mentor wouldn’t mind talking about this new… interest.

Chapter Text

Recovery Girl

Stepping into the lobby she’d requested he be led to, and finding Naoki seated, leaned back, eyes closed and obviously resting proved her suspicions. On top of losing weight- again- he was also likely not getting near enough sleep… again.

“Naoki.” A single word, and he was sitting upright. “Are you ready, dear? I’ve gotten a room set up for you. It takes a little while to get a room warm enough and supplied as necessary.”

“Yes, Chiyo-san. And I’m sorry for the trouble it takes every time.” He stood up, trailing after her. 

This boy… I know he’s been avoiding my calls, so I’ve let him be. I’m sure Kirin is managing as best he can, and perhaps I am over-worrying, but he keeps going like this, and Naoki may very well get sick himself. Not sick like others- but his own variant, I’m sure. I think it’s wise to take the bare minimum… Well, that and make him eat a good meal or two while he’s here… Let Kirin know to check in more often as well… 

They were nearing an intersection of hallways when Aizawa turned the direction they were headed, catching sight of them. I’ll have to make this quick, though I worry Eraser Head may be far more prickly than ever… 

“Oh- Recovery Girl. I was- Who’s this?” He seemed to increase his wariness at Naoki’s presence. Understandable, given the situation.

“This is Naoki. He’s a bit of a last resort, emergency contact of mine. I’ve requested he come and provide some assistance. He has a high-calibre healing Quirk- a mutant Quirk that affects his blood, turning it into a bit of a cure-all. But it’s tricky and dangerous for him if he’s not careful, so he usually donates regularly- once or twice a month unless there’s increased need. This falls into emergency, and aligned with his routine donation time frame, so I’ve made arrangements with the hospital, security, Pros, Police and All Might for him to donate as much as he can today. Naoki-” She let him step by to greet the wary teacher.

“Naoki Kirahara. Chiyo-san is a family friend of sorts, and she’s looked after me since my brother passed away. With my healing Quirk, she has me working with her when, where and how it can help. Since the drawbacks are too risky for being a hero, I can at least do this.” Naoki rose from his bow. 

Recovery Girl knew how he was careful with his Quirk, and she also knew of his ‘work’- and helped him on that end when she could- and how she could. So, Naoki being cautious and omitting the excess details was permittable.

“So, that explains that. The medical staff did mention there’d be a blood-donation healer or something coming in at Recovery Girl’s request. I’m sure you understand the nature of this-” He simply gestured his hands around, “Mess. Be sure to keep protocol in mind and follow it. What happens in here stays- and no outside sources are allowed to know. I’m aware Hawks brought you in. I showed him to Tokoyami’s room just a while ago. He’s… a welcome distraction for the students, and I can trust he won’t make trouble, so make sure you do the same. It’s not just your reputation on the line here, though I doubt I need to tell you as much.” Recovery Girl caught him glance her way.

“That said, I’d like to see how this works, and have you explain if you don’t mind. I want to be sure to keep updated and knowledgeable about who’s here, involved and what’s going on.”

Oh my… This may get tricky. I’ll leave this up to Naoki… He’s got a head for improvising.

“Yes, I understand. Anyone would do the same. And I’m well aware of rules, regulations, protocol and all- but I’ve also got basic human decency. These are children who’ve endured something horrible. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. And that includes worsening it. I just hope I can help in the ways I am able.” 

Naoki looked down, a small sad smile at his next words. “I’ve had my fair share of horrors, and I try to treat others’s the same as my brother treated me. He always said knowledge- above everything- is the best, strongest and most effective weapon, so wanting to know as you do is completely rational to me.”

They stepped up to the door of room 169, and entered. “My apologies, Eraser Head- for Naoki’s sake, as much heat as possible is necessary, though I know he’ll be far warmer than us once he’s settled. Naoki, why don’t you start on that and explain what you can about your Quirk to Eraser Head while I ready the instruments.”

“Gladly. Oh- and I can do eight today. I’ve been stocking up since the news of the attack yesterday, so I’m up to thirteen. So long as I can rest during and eat once I’m done, I’ll make it home fine. There, I can eat again, shower and sleep it off.”

Recovery Girl couldn’t suppress her sigh. Recklessly selfless when it comes to injured children… He has that in common with a number of people, yes, though most aren’t sparing over half their bodily supply of blood… Perhaps I can weasel something nice in for him to eat…

“Eight what exactly?” Eraser Head was leaned against the door, arms crossed and eyes focused and narrowed at Naoki- who was getting comfortable on the gurney, fixing and adjusting the blankets as needed. 

“Pints of blood. Normal humans keep between nine and twelve… My body-type is between nine and ten naturally. Because of my blood being mutated by my Quirk, I need it to perform what others’s bodies do naturally and on their own- blood production being one of those things. 

So, if I have enough time in advance, I can temporarily increase how much my body has of excess. If I follow the ‘activations’, then I can’t die of blood loss. Even remotely and unattached, my blood acts as a cure-all, fixing, repairing, stabilising, healing, curing and restoring everything I can in person. A single unit can be split four ways and still do that. Sometimes more with minour injuries or healings needed. 

Because of the nature of my blood, it’s sterile- the difference between that ‘99.9%’ in sanitizers and my blood being ‘100%’. Which means shelf life is thus far unmet, and no possibility of contaminants or blood-borne diseases… Also, so long as even a drop is in someone, they won’t be at risk of infections or blood-loss induced death or shock. 

My brother always said my blood type was like a ‘C’ in a world of A, B, O, and AB’s. The ‘C’ is for ‘Cure’. Anywhere in the body that interacts with blood in any way is affected- so, cured, healed, et cetera.” Naoki began. He was keeping it spread out to try and allow for questions, Recovery Girl knew. 

“So… If you have a Quirk like this, what kept you from being a Hero? How old are you?” Eraser Head asked.

Hmmm… He’s asking the right questions, but how will Naoki answer? I know he has an active provisional license- though it may or may not be traceable, thanks to his brother’s influence…

“I’m eighteen. And being a Hero wasn’t a wise idea because of the risks Chiyo-san mentioned. ‘Triggers’ as my brother said. Unless I am the one to injure myself first, my blood will not clot, and theoretically, something like a laceration from a strike or glass slicing me from debris could kill me. I’d bleed to death. 

And… I’m the only person in the world with my blood type. So if I lose too much, it would kill me. I can heal everyone. I can heal myself under a proper activation… But I don’t know what could help, heal or save me if it was a Trigger… Based on the Sports Festivals I’ve seen on TV, I’d rather stay alive and help in this way. I can do a lot more like this.”

“Okay- have you activated, Naoki?” She received a nod. “Very well, you’re comfortable?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Naoki affirmed as she came closer, prepping his left arm for a line. 

“Okay- explain the heat thing. And whatever else you’ve got you can explain or detail, I guess.” Eraser Head yawned. That poor man- not a wink of sleep during all of this… She gave Naoki a look as he started and she slipped the needle in, knowing he’d not feel it or care either way if he saw it. 

“Well, think of it this way… Heat- being warm increases blood flow. So, while I can still heal others when I’m cold, it’s only in direct control as opposed to how I do this… Healing myself comes far better when I’m warm, and my body’s kinda shot for keeping itself warm how people’s normally does… My brother said it was messed up from the start… Even scared the doctors and nurses when he brought me home. 

So, I’ve always had to be careful about keeping warm, and donating like this- or like normal- is safer if I’m warm as I can be. I recover better. My body temperature’s only stabalised at ninety-four consistently after I turned thirteen, though I hit a rough patch where it went haywire when I was fifteen, and again when I was sixteen. It’s back to stable again, now, thankfully. 

I suppose the last thing before I want to try and rest for this is that theoretically, I could possibly donate organs and regrow them, but I’m not sure since I’d rather not find out the hard way that I can’t… Hey, Chiyo-san? How long will I have to nap? And this guy looks like he could use one as well- though… I doubt he would take one if he was offered…” 

Recovery Girl understood exactly what Naoki was asking. And… given how things had been going, she would happily indulge.

“If we’re going for eight, then give or take four hours. One more to make sure you eat and have some recovery done before I let you go home where you’re more comfortable and better able to recover. 

That said, Eraser Head, I need to go tend some other patients. Would you do me a favour and stay in here? He’s not going anywhere, but I think having someone to sit in and keep an eye on the monitors would be best. You don’t need to do anything unless he crashes, so take my advice and get at least a little rest. I normally stay when he’s here just for that and making sure he has someone. His brother used to, however, he’s not here anymore. Given the similarities you share with both of them, it may be better than little old me sitting here pestering him.”

She knew the look Eraser Head was giving her. A mixture of ‘are you serious?’ and ‘bold of you to assume I’d turn down a chance to rest in this mess while still working.’

So, she knew she had him there. 

With that, she was able to step out and make her rounds.

---

All Might

Toshinori stepped inside his home, heading to his table, eager to finally get a chance to relax and eat a good mid-afternoon meal after an already exhausting day. And he still had more to go… 

Toshinori’s phone rang, and he was quick to answer, recognising Tsukauchi’s ringtone. “Yes?”

“We may have something on the grounds of locale. Can you come early?”

“Yes. Of course. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up, shooting a message to Gran Torino and Aizawa. He had some discussion with them both reguarding this… event.

A ping came right as he was stepping outside.

Asked to drive you. In front, to your right.

It was from Aizawa, and he was waiting for Toshinori. 

Well, this is new… I’ll be sure not to over-do it and ruin the experience.

Toshinori got into the car.

“Here- Hold it, but don’t break it. Whoever that kid is, he’s incredible… An hour drip with his ‘C’, and Yaoyarozu’s awake. She gave us this to track the Nomu, and we got her statement. She’s being advised to continue resting, though. No sense releasing her just yet…” Aizawa still hadn’t slept much, Toshinori could tell, though he had gotten a little shut-eye, if his behaviour and body language was anything to go by.

“That’s good. And… If it is who I believe, then, yes, he really is. I’m sure his brother is proud.”

“I gave him a thorough interrogation and had him explain his Quirk. I don’t think I’ll worry about a background check at the moment… I don’t want to think this way, but after what’s happened, I can’t afford to be lax. 

So, who is his brother? He mentioned a brother frequently, but he was nothing, if vague. And I left before he was awake again.”

“An old acquaintance who stumbled into something bigger than he could ever imagine- and then kept running into the midst of it once he found out his little brother was buried in that disaster… I actually intend to talk this over with you in further detail- myself and Tsukauchi both, actually. I’d ask it wait until we get to Might Tower, though. It’s a rather sensitive topic. 

And as far as a background check… I doubt you’d find anything on him or his brother no matter how hard you tried… Kouya was just that way. Some things, he made impossible to find unless he wanted them found. I-I’m aware that seems suspicious, but I will explain that as well. 

It is too bad I’ve been unable to reach him- I could use his expertise… We all could, given what’s going on.” Toshinori ceased his ramblings, grateful he wasn’t pressured just yet, though aware he would be soon enough. As it was, Aizawa didn’t reply, just drove on.

---

Hawks

Hawks was stepping out of the lobby area he’d spent a few hours playing board and card games with some traumatised teens who’d just been through hell when he was called from down the corridor.

“Hey- I was looking for you… Any chance you can give me a lift home? Recovery Girl said you were still around, thankfully… I don’t have any way to pull the extraction whatnot she did to get me here, and I-uh… I shouldn’t be walking too much until I sleep…” Naoki looked like he shouldn’t be upright at all.

“Geeze… Bleed you dry, huh? How much did you give? What would you have done if I’d left?” Hawks asked. Naoki’s normally pale complexion had a different paleness- pallid, really- that screamed blood-loss if Hawks had ever seen it. 

Normally, when someone’s this anemic, we take them to a hospital- not home to sleep it off… Normally, said person wouldn’t even be standing- let alone conscious… Shock comes to mind too… But somehow… He took in a slow, deep breath.

“Probably try to hitch a cab- hope I didn’t pass out on the way or anything worse… Eight pints- sixteen units. And trust me, though, this isn’t even close to ‘dry’. I’ve had worse…” Hawks had trouble trusting someone who looked like he could twitch his wings and knock them over.

“Okay, come here before you take a bite of the floor. Normally, sleeping it off isn’t enough to remedy this much blood-loss… You sure you shouldn’t just stay here?” 

Eight pints- Normally, one is considered tops… And he said he does this regularly? Though, perhaps not this much at once… Still… He looks like he’s half-dead, and… Given his body-type, odds are, he’s only got maybe nine pints in him… How is he still standing? Or alive?

“No- but most people don’t carry around an extra four and a half pints inside them specifically for donating to help during emergencies like this. 

And… Uh-uh. Not a chance. I’m really not fond of being admitted to these places… Call it whatever, but my brother’s illness was both terminal and incurable, but also untreatable… Five years sitting in waiting rooms not knowing he was legit dying while doctors tried everything they could think of ruined these places for me… All I need is a hot shower, warm bed, and a long rest… Probably some more tuna sushi when I wake up to set everything back in order.” 

So, he’s still got bite left in him. That’s good… And seems he can control how much he has, though I imagine there’s some time needed to build up like that. He probably doesn’t do it to this extreme too often.

“Tuna sushi?” Hawks was actually enjoying the chatter and the looks he got basically hauling Naoki to the exit. 

Probably doesn’t even notice he’s barely standing on his own anymore. And this is probably going to irk some of my handlers, so it might be a bit fun to drag it out a bit. Whatever freedom I can have without outright disobeying is what I take. They never forbade a relationship, so this might be less trouble than they think- though whether or not the nature of two males gets them riled may determine a lot.

“Yeah… Tuna has mercury… Minour poison, but sets Blood Tempter off, and in these cases, can act like a reset of sorts… Just Nigiri tastes best to me, fresh over canned any day.”

A bit bird-like in a way… Tuna’s not bad.

“I see. Well, maybe once the mess clears up, I can drop some by. No strings or anything, just if it helps you recover and whatnot, consider it repayment for helping as much as you do- even not as a Hero, you still manage to save lives just as much and thoroughly. And I get it- I know you’re seeing someone, and I’m not into ruining anything like that. Just a legit thank you is all.”

Hawks caught Naoki studying his face. He wasn’t sure which of them was more attractive, all things considered. They both fell under different types of it though. Still, it was an interesting concept.

“Okay. But nothing more unless you get called to pick me up… And no coming inside… There are things in my house I can’t have anyone messing up because Kouya wouldn’t be putting them back, and I need his things where they were when he died… Call me whatever you want, but he’s all the family I had…”

Kouya, huh? So, Kouya Kagetsuki was his brother. He’d been vague about it before. I guess that gives me a bit more to go on if I need to, though. 

I’m going to try offering something- but it’s personal… And why not make it two in one day… My intern, and a healer- not a bad combo… Friends, maybe, eventually… Maybe…

“Alright, up we go, and home you get.” Hawks definitely felt a difference hoisting his charge up this time. 

Not heavier, just… a lot more lax. He’s definitely spent. Can’t hardly even support himself at all right now… I’m going to fly slower and more carefully to be safe… Don’t think he’ll get sick, but he could use the chance to catch his breath. Might be just enough too…

In the air again, Hawks found it a bit surprising that he could feel Naoki’s pulse now as opposed to earlier. Wonder why. Huh? Oh… He’s either resting or out… Given everything, I wonder how much blood he gave compared to ‘normal’? 

With over double the time it took the first time, Hawks landed. He wasn’t sure just setting Naoki down was a good idea, even though Naoki was awake now.

When he got Naoki to his feet, they were unstable, but only as long as it took for Naoki to breathe in and out a few times. Hawks let him go slowly and carefully. 

“You going to be alright getting around on your own?” Naoki nodded, swallowing before responding.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Thank you for going a bit slower. Gave me time to get things back to functional par. Believe it or not, I wasn’t lying before. A good push with my Quirk, and I’m almost back to bare minimum for normal humans. 

Usually just give five, not eight outside emergencies like this… I can do five again in a week, but Chiyo-san makes me space them out more… Don’t know why, to be honest. I’m always fine… Just leaves me a bit woozy for a half-hour or so. Eight’s more like an hour… But don’t worry. A hot shower and sleep and I’ll be back to normal by morning.”

That’s a bit uncanny, but his colour is better than before. Pushing his Quirk might have been what made his heart pound… I can buy it.

Cute… He’s pretty out of it still, given he said not to worry like that. Man am I a bit envious of his cuddle partner tonight… Platonically, though… Well, if it was possible- or me- I’d have no complaints.

Though, in all likelihood, his boyfriend’s probably used to this, so he’s in good hands. But I’ll still check in with him tomorrow- physically if this fails. 

“Okay. I’ll trust you, but I wanna offer a fail-safe… And so you don’t have to rely on others to get picked up in the future for blood donations- or otherwise if you need… If you’ll accept?” Hawks let his hand go through his hair and rest at the base of his head, trying a smile. 

I legit just want to be there if he needs it… He’s interesting, yeah, but he’s also pretty well alone and still obviously trying to heal… Barely one day knowing him, and he’s already in my top five favorite people. I’m already fond of him, so friends works fine. Maybe friends with his boyfriend too someday? Who knows… 

Naoki hummed a small laugh, smiling down with a head shake. “Sure. Friends is fine. But anything else is a no.”

Score .

“Okay, well, just so you know, this is only the second time I’ve given anyone my number- the first was also today too. So, don’t go spreading it or anything.”

“Yeah, sure. Not like there’s anyone I’d just hand it over to.”

“I meant like other friends or social media.”

“Do I look like I am that social?” Naoki’s eyes and tone made Hawks believe that no, he was not by any means anywhere close to that social- if at all. Still, it was worth prodding at for now.

“Oh come on- you don’t have even one social media account? Don’t lie.”

“No- I don’t. I don’t see a point. I’m an introvert who’s anti-social, anti-stupid and anti-rumour and bullshit.” Naoki had his arms crossed now, smiling amusedly.

“Fine, fine. I give. Okay- your phone?”

Naoki pulled it out and after a half minute of messing with it, handed it to Hawks.

Ok. Don’t snoop. Don’t dig. Just put it in and be done.

Hawks handed it back, Naoki smiling at the little friendly gesture as he tapped on the phone screen. “Wow, ‘Redbird’, huh…? What are you going to save me as?” Hawks felt his phone buzz, seeing a message from an unknown number. 

[Naoki Kirahara.]

Okay, so this is him. 

“Hmm… Maybe Raven or… Ooh- Crow. Raven’s a name, so it might get mixed up. That work?”

“Yeah. That works. I’m going to get inside before I start getting tired again. Thank you again, Hawks.”

“Yep- any time, just shoot me a text.” Hawks stood there until Naoki’s front door closed, hoping to catch something, only seeing Naoki lift and close the metal mailbox top once, seemingly checking out of habit. He couldn’t see inside, but he could listen.

He could- but he didn’t. This wasn’t ‘work’. It was supposed to be a personal thing- a friend.

Something he really had few of.

Chapter Text

Katsuki

Katsuki had been swaying on the border of sleep when he was yanked out of it with yelling, a thud against the wall between this room and the spare. He could still hear the last bits of the argument as the drugs in his grip pushed him back to sleep. He knew he needed it, and was not going to miss sleep over those two screaming at one another. 

What an ass… Piece of shit did all that to someone who cared so much about him. Someone so devoted and loving… He’d deserve whatever he gets when he’s caught for being a fucking villain. 

---

The next time Katsuki was able to open his eyes and stay awake, he came around to the desk lamp being on, Naoki seated at it with the laptop pulled open, typing furiously into the keyboard. If he had to guess, Naoki finished what he’d been doing when Katsuki first came back, closing the lid gently.

He heard a sigh, seeing glasses settled onto the desk.

Huh… Glasses. Visual weakness, maybe. 

It’s night again, though.

A roar of thunder from outside threw that into suspect. Maybe not- just stormy enough?

The chair swiveled around and Naoki stretched his arms out, looking toward Katsuki.

“Morning, sunshine.” Naoki chuckled at the face Katsuki knew he’d made.

“I’m more like a bomb than fucking sunshine. What time is it?” He barked back, heat in his cheeks he was hoping- in vain, he knew- was a fever.

“Around eleven at night. Ready for Round 3?” Naoki answered.

“Three? When-”

“While you were sleeping, I started healing again. Healing is a lot less taxing than Reversing, but I still need a break here and there. And- I think we could both use food. Take a look.” Naoki had stood and approached the bed, gesturing at the mirror.

Katsuki looked. His eyes were wide at what he saw.

“Woah- that’s badass…” 

“Yeah- but using Reverse first both saved your back, and cost me almost ten whole hours I had to sleep to be able to keep going. Round three will have to be all tonight, I’m afraid.”

“Will I even need a round four?” Katsuki asked, looking and assessing. He was still numb as hell, but…

He was surprised at the amount of skin he had back. Not the whole thing, muscles still exposed at the worst places there had been damage. But it was really impressive.

Katsuki wanted to check out his thigh and arms, and he was sure he would soon.

“Okay, Katsuki, let’s get you up and business-checked. After some bandages for safe-measure, we can eat. You need it, and so do I… Tai- I mean Dabi’s making a very late dinner.”

“Wait- you guys made up? And you trust him to cook for us- for me?” Katsuki felt a bit like he’d been whiplashed by that information.

“Well… Turns out there’s one hell of a lot more going on than anyone but that numb-skull knew…” The door slid open, cutting Naoki off from finishing.

“I heard that… I’m not that numb-skulled… Anyway, food is done. Oh- spicy curry okay, right, Bakugou?” Dabi gave Katsuki a glance. Katsuki was a bit put-off with how friendly Dabi was acting- well, as friendly as a villain can get when he’s burned to hell and can’t emote worth a shit…

“Uh… Sure, I guess… How’d you know?” He pressed.

“Well, on top of you, an old… acquaintance of mine requested some help with a few of your classmates. So, I spent about four and a half hours giving eight pints of blood for your classmates… The first two units went to a girl with a head wound, and a boy with some pretty busted-up arms if my Quirk is anything to judg-”

“Deku? That bastard…”

“Yeah- his arms were a mess… I could feel it even across the grounds… He’s- well- definitely not as bad off now, but he’ll be out until tomorrow. 

As for the curry… It was a spiky-red haired kid with teeth that match that hickey… He was the one who collected and ran the units to the two kids… He mentioned you like spicy curry, so I thought it might ease things even a little for you here.”

“Shitty-hair… Fucking hell…” Katsuki felt a world of relief. If Deku and his classmates were treated by this healer, they were fine . 

And if someone had called Naoki in for that, then he was safe too.

“But why’d char-broil have to cook it?” Katsuki knew he was complaining. He couldn’t just outright trust the villain like he could with Naoki… And all things considered, it made sense to him. 

“Similar tastes think alike. And Nao can’t eat spicy shit like we can- Kouya could though. Kirin too. Besides- since he doesn’t eat it, odds are, Naoki would fuck it up if he tried. And let’s be honest, curry isn’t good when it’s fucked up by the cook.” Dabi smirked. It looked different than the one he’d worn at the League.

Softer. That was all Katsuki could think. Even as Naoki flipped the bird at Dabi while collecting supplies. Katsuki found that kind of endearing- like the kid at the camp kicking Deku in the crotch. He’s got spunk.  

“Dabi- dish your guys’s spicy soup. I’m going to get him up and bandaged, then we’ll be out.” Naoki ushered Dabi back out.

“So if you aren’t eating curry, then what?” Katsuki would be a fool to miss how much paler Naoki was than even that same morning- or how fucking thin the healer was.

“Tuna nigiri. Dabi hates fish, I hate spicy. Tuna just so happens to be good for my Quirk recharging too.” Naoki was already helping Katsuki sit up. When he grabbed the scalpel, Katsuki only closed his eyes, trust stunning him when he didn’t flinch or back away. 

It must be ingrained that at least Naoki wasn’t going to hurt him- and as long as he was there, nor would Dabi.

“Here.” Katsuki looked at the small plastic disposable cup before him, filled half-way with thick, red blood.

“What for?” He took the cup so Naoki could keep gathering bandage rolls and readying them with some other supplies.

“May as well start round Three. And Blood Temper’s expired in you right now, so you try to stand, you’ll feel it. Take it you don’t have my level of pain tolerance? It’d be shocking if you even approached the number of fucks my nerves don’t give.” Naoki was smirking now, almost playfully.

“Man, you’re a lot more snarky when you’re not dead-ass-tired, huh?” Katsuki lifted the cup and gulped it down in two swallows.

It didn’t taste like blood- just a touch off.

Huh… wonder what’s up with that…? Then he got a look at his thigh and wrists where he’d been rotted like bread, and burned by the crispy hobo outside the room, seeing little outright better or fixed in either three areas. Huh… That’s… I thought these would be fixed already, so why’s he taking his sweet time with the easy shit?

Katsuki allowed himself to be mildly man-handled so Naoki could wet-pack the wounds and wrap them correctly. It felt a bit weird, having the excess weight on his arms, and more padding on one thigh than the other… But, eh, what can I do… He’s the expert here I guess.

Naoki finished, standing and moving right to the next task at hand, Katsuki grateful for the consideration, given he’d… sort of forgotten. Neither Naoki or Dabi had mentioned or looked or anything, so being used to how he was feeling, it slipped his mind… Man- anyone ever hears of this, I’ll kill ‘em. Fucking forgot I’m still in my fucking birthday suit… The hell, Katsuki…  

“Okay, I’ll let you freshen up and all in the bathroom while I see if Kouya’s got some clothes that’d fit you… Dabi’s would be too long or big, and mine too small, so…” Katsuki watched Naoki shrug. “Nii-san’s it is…”

As Katsuki was coming back out of the bathroom, Naoki slid the door behind him, carrying a bright orange teeshirt and black gym shorts. Katsuki looked at the shirt after it was handed to him, seeing the black ‘biohazard’ sigil on it. The look he gave the healer was returned with a smirk, chuckle and teasing shrug. Katsuki pulled it on- which was surprisingly fluid and painless.

Gymshorts came next, Katsuki finding an unopened package of boxer briefs under them in his hands.

“Huh?” He asked as he pulled them out to see.

“Habit of a healer. Have a bit of everything in every size. Given you were in boxer briefs, all I had to do was look at the tag and match the size. Hopefully, tomorrow morning, you can get a shower if you want. I should have enough healed to barrier it off safely.”

“Okay- well, I ain’t getting dressed with you gawking.” He didn’t even with the whole ‘barrier’ mention. He was too tired and hungry to care. Either way, a shower would be nice , though, it would also be a bit… uncomfortable, given the situation. A vigilante and a villain being in the house… 

Naoki didn’t bite back like Katsuki expected. He just went into the living room, door closing behind him.

Katsuki dressed, looking at the laptop just casually there. Just like the phone. It was either this healer was that trusting and naive or he was just sure his patients weren’t going to try…

Or the worse- he had it there as bait.

Katsuki was sort of… wondering what was going on. At the bar, they’d left the news on as if to try and make a point and use it to make him join… But at least he’d known what was going on. Here, Naoki hadn’t even brushed or mentioned it. And only being in this room, Katsuki hadn’t seen the rest of the place yet.

Dressed, Katsuki stood and took a deep breath before going out into the main room. He’d been out-fucking-cold when he’d been brought there, only waking up when he assumed Naoki cut everything off.

From what he could tell after closer inspection in the bathroom, his thigh and both arms hadn’t been touched outside the cuts, needle marks and small shit that had been done by the psycho blonde girl. He had been unhooked from the IVs, but the line was still in his arm, Katsuki sure he’d need it again- or Naoki wouldn’t have left it. Naoki had bandaged it down with gauze and shit at some point, though.

Probably part of why I woke up- he’d taken me off the drug cocktail and wrapped it… Wonder what he was working on, though…

Oh…

“Oh…” Katsuki found himself saying at the exact point he was thinking it.

There was a table pulled up to the couch, a rocking chair on the other side. Opposite the wall the couch was on, there was a shelving unit with a TV, dvd player, a few cords, an old game system and a crap-ton of actual legal-looking dvds and games. I wonder if the damn thing works? The news and all… Hope so. If I get a chance, that laptop, phone or the TV might come in handy… Same with the fire alarms and a few other things. Just in case things get dangerous or something…

Before long, Dabi was setting dishes out, steaming and filled with curry he could smell- it smelled perfect .

And made his presence known with a growl from his empty gut.

“The couch’s a three seater, and my side is the left. So, pick- middle or right, Katsuki.” Naoki smiled. It was a soft one again.

Katsuki sat in the cushion furthest from Naoki, but half-way onto the other one to keep from being joined by Dabi- who seemed mildly peeved, but content with the rocking chair anyway. 

“The sooner you finish eating, the sooner I can start more intense healing. It’ll go a lot smoother for us both once you’ve got some nutrients in you. Think of it this way, Katsuki… If we intended to harm you, why bother healing you first? 

But I guess if you need a bit of reassurance, even something like aconite or simple food poisoning couldn’t affect, harm or kill you with ‘C’ coursing through you. Hell, even draino wouldn’t cause any damage. So, eat up. It’s been a long day for me, and if you’d rather be up and moving and capable of protecting yourself sooner, I need rest.”

“I feel fine, so I’m not sure where you’re getting that I’m helpless.” Katsuki bit back.

Dabi choked on the bite of curry he’d been swallowing. 

“What’s so funny flame-brain?” He spit out at the obvious humour Dabi had literally choked on.

“Just-” Dabi took a drink of the liquid in his glass. “The fact you think you’d be up walking- let alone awake- without Naoki keeping you able to move and killing the pain you’re still in.”

“Haah? You’re joking. I feel fine , so shut your- Ouch! Fuck! What the-” Katsuki felt a sharp spike of pain from his- well, his everywhere. Literally. 

Naoki was looking up at him from a lowered head, eyes in a very tired glare. “You were saying? That was only a tenth of what I’m blocking. I’m not risking taking vectors down to prove a point and add to what I’d have to heal, so take that as an example. Dabi knows because he’s been worse off than you before. Now eat.”

He obeyed, another protest of his stomach urging him to the food.

The hell was up with that? Vectors? And Dabi’s been ‘worse’? He chanced a quick look at Dabi, who was getting up for a second helping already. Can’t see something worse than what he’s got… And even then, he seems to move and function fine. So it can’t be that bad. He’s not showing any pain at all. Can’t tell me you can get more burnt than his rubber levels. Whatever. Guess it’s safe to eat then. Not like I have much choice.

Katsuki moved the steaming hot bowl of equally spicy-smelling curry closer and dug in. He waited for Dabi to eat a few bites of his second bowl. Naoki was a few pieces in to the plate of red and white tuna sushi.

He checked out the glass in front of him. Dabi seemed to have red liquid in a glass while his was orange and Naoki’s was purple.

I guess, like Naoki said… If they wanted me dead or hurt, they’d be hurting me, and would have left me to die at the League. 

Katsuki started on his curry, careful not to upset his stomach, given he’d not eaten for a while.

Once he was done with his own second bowl, Katsuki asked a question. It had been a decent, somewhat pleasant and rather quiet meal thus far. 

A lot more quiet than his meals at home or school. More than he’d had in most of his life, actually. Quiet, yet somehow not uncomfortable. 

Dabi was in the kitchen, seemingly washing the dishes he’d used to cook and eat with, also having gotten Katsuki and Naoki’s by that point.

“How many days do you think are left before you guys’ll let me go?” Naoki looked at him with a studying gaze. Katsuki had stood up to give his legs a bit of movement, stiff from the lack of exercise for so long. Not what his body was used to.

“I think in terms of sessions as opposed to days, since how much I can do in one go varies based on, say giving eight pints versus a day where I’m fully rested and recovered… 

That said, I think it’s safe to say you’ve still got at least three, maybe four rounds left. And that’s taking into account re-exam and rechecking or double assuring everything- so a miniature physical of sorts while Blood Tempter is keeping tabs inside. Once we’re absolutely sure everything’s good, you’ll be safe to go back.”

Naoki said it with such ease while it made Katsuki’s hands clench into fists at his sides. He gave the front door he was less than a meter from a quick glance, seeing Naoki’s phone on the table within his reach as well. His breath was barely being held back as he thought up a quick escape plan.

Blast this room to hell- aim a hand at each of them. Grab the phone and leave… Call the emergency service number and get as far as I can. Ten minutes is more than enough time to get somewhere, I’m sure.

Katsuki felt his hands crackle in preparation, but then he thought it through. He had their guards lowered. He had a number of ways out he could do once he was able to move. 

No sense blowing up just yet… ‘Back’ is simple to misunderstand… I should just get healed. Bide my time until this is done. If they were honest, then they won’t take me back to the villains. If they try, then they got another thing coming. I’ll show them…

Katsuki pushed himself back to calm- those stupid breathing exercises his anger management coach used to teach him- or try- just for those same techniques to end up vital in his hero training classes. 

He noticed Naoki watching Dabi in the kitchen for a moment before he smiled and turned back to Katsuki. “Okay, well, food’s been had. Hydration-” He looked at Katsuki’s glass. “Finish up so we can get Round Three done in a safe position… This definitely pushed past my ten minutes, so I’m almost spent again… Do you have anything else you need to ask or do?” Katsuki jumped at the chance, saying the first thing in his mind. 

Even if he knew they’d never let him do it… He was still kidnapped and basically hostage. 

“Can… Can I call my parents? I just want to make sure they know I’m- ah, you know what, fuck it… They’ll be fine- if I can make it through this, they… They should be fine… So long as mom doesn’t go fuck shit up and my dad doesn’t try to be smart… Which just means he’s even stupider, but brave enough to throw a shoe at a spider and break a lamp instead.” Katsuki ended that laughing. He knew it’d be a long shot anyway, but he also realised how much worse it could make everything, given what he knew now.

Katsuki chugged the rest of his drink, Naoki seemingly grateful he hurried through it. 

Once Katsuki was back down and his back was accessible again- other wounded areas still kept covered, and thankful he was left in the gym shorts at least, he watched in the mirror as Naoki’s incised arm bled into his back again. 

He still looks paler than he had been this morning… And he said eight pints… That’s not normal- more like normal for eight people, not one … No wonder he’s more spent than I expected… But… At least that means my classmates and the other Pros that were hurt definitely got some help. 

If he does this kind of thing as much as he suggests, then he’s probably keeping other patients and clients out for my sake- well, that and Dabi’s, obviously.

I wonder if he can answer the question I asked before… about why he’s dating Dabi or Taichi or whatever his name is…

Chapter Text

Naoki

Naoki felt his limit closing in right with the last of Katsuki’s third round finishing up. 

Looking down at his handiwork, he visually assessed the remaining damage to the desiccated back. He’d long since healed the rot out, and all of the flesh was healthy, plump and properly coloured- on the boy’s back and otherwise. He had the layers of muscle that were directly covering bones and joints, tendons and ligaments all completely repaired with session two, so three finished up the muscle. 

Four should be enough for the skin on his back… Five for the areas on his arm and thigh, all in one go. Six will have to be the burn. Reverse the cauterisation, while simultaneously using Blood Tempter on the actual wound as I reverse the burn. All of that will take up to six hours. Add in the physical assessment and double-checking, and he’ll be fully functional by sixteen hundred, give or take a half hour. 

That is all under the assumption I am not needed for more blood, and get enough sleep- and keep warm enough… I… Might have to make some demands of Dabi, given I’m repairing the result of his mistakes, the least he can do is be a good heater…

But not in Kouya’s room. That unhelpful, still-hurt and angry part of him argued. Naoki shook it off, moving back the the matter at hand.

“Okay, Katsuki. Options I can offer.” He waited for the garnet eyes to meet his in the mirror. 

“Yeah?” The voice was more rough than Katsuki had been for a while. He’d been pretty rational and levelheaded from the start, which was surprising considering how Naoki had seen from the Sports Festival, and how Dabi had described him.

“Now that I’ve got you rebandaged, I’ll go ahead and set you up like last time- paralytic and a clicker for the other cocktail, with an IV drip for safe measure on the fluid front… But the option comes in something rather simple… A comfort of sorts. I know you’ve slept a lot, and while your body could probably use it, I also realise you might be a bit stir-crazy, so… Maybe give you the option of tranq when you want to sleep as opposed to a small dose outright? It’d just be a different cocktail in the clicker. Tranq in there, something like morphine and paralytic in the drip instead. 

As far as something to do, it’ll take me a minute, but I can set up a few movies- your pick… And since I am offering, I am more than willing to set it up. It’s not a bother, okay.” He made sure to reassure and give a hearty smile with it.

Katsuki looked away from the mirror, thinking it over, Naoki assumed.

“Can I watch the news?”

Naoki took a deep breath. “Well, I’ll say this outright… Given I work as a vigilante, and most of my patients are… panicky at best, paranoid at worst, I don’t keep things like access to the news easy to come across… We have that TV out there, but it’s not connected or capable of anything but the dvd player, gaming console, and hooking to my laptop for things I have saved… News channels also tend to scare me a bit… After my brother died, I felt really lost and alone, and to be honest, knowing there was a fucked up world out there- that caused the states my patients have come to me in… This house is my brother’s… And it’s my safe haven too. I want to be able to have one place where I’m not terrified. 

Kirin, my brother, Taichi- they put in a lot of work when I was younger, and Kirin since Kouya died, to make sure this place is as safe as it can get.” He saw the initial anger, watched it subside into something resembling understanding and bordering on pity.

But he also knew how the kid felt. He was capable of compromise above many things.

“That said, I can pull some news up on my phone for you. But it’ll have to be watched quickly. I’m hoping to have you healed by tomorrow night, and hopefully, back home by the next morning.”

Garnet eyes locked onto his own.

“You’d let me watch it?”

Naoki nodded. He had a feeling it wasn’t just about the news- why Katsuki was back to that earlier level-headedness he’d been before this round of healing.

“I understand where you’re coming from, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to sate some of the ‘what-ifs’ and unknowns to get your head to settle down. I may be a vigilante, but I’m a healer, and not a heartless monster.” Naoki got his phone out, aware Katsuki was studying him and his every movement on the device.

Which is fine. He won’t figure out the codes. Tao made sure of that. Outside himself and Kouya, no one could unless I told them- but even then, they’re trickier than just that.

“Here. This is the same channel they broadcast across televisions in streets. This is the last repeat of the news for the night, so…” He looked at the time, “It’s got about a half-hour left. Will that sate you? I’d still like to get a good night’s rest while it’s still night.”

“Yeah- this should do. Um… Thanks.”

Naoki nodded, sitting down in his computer chair and watching from the reflection on the ceiling mirror while Katsuki got the phone itself.

It was about as vague and bleak as it could get, poor views of heroes and U.A. An overall distasteful outlook on the League’s targeting Katsuki of all students. Questioning the thoroughness and effectiveness of the police and pros for letting the League remain active and allowing a student to be taken. 

Just general discussion on the state of things. 

Not a single mention of where the investigation into the League’s whereabouts or member’s identities. Nothing. No showing of the parents of the missing teen. Nothing about or from his classmates or teachers. How the school had taken the route of silence for the current time being.

Then the station signed off, and the video playback ended.

“Are you all good, or still wanting to do something yet?” Naoki asked, standing and stretching. Katsuki watched his movements enviously. I’d bet he wishes he could move normally and all… Don’t worry, by this time tomorrow, you’ll be fine. Tired, I imagine, but you’ll be moving quite well, and on your own. I promise.

“Yeah… So, can you get a game to work somehow?” The question was like some sort of ‘check first, but settle if it’s as impossible as it sounds

Naoki just smirked.

“Why of course. You have any idea how many kids I’ve had who were bored when I had to keep them conscious, while being elbows-deep in their abdomen? Voice-controlled games are a no-brainer.”

“Seriously? Wait- kids?” He was shocked in a good way at first, then concerned. The implications were as bad as they implied, and that seemed to catch Katsuki’s attention.

“Yeah. Kids… I’ve seen any number, variation and combination of people. Civilians, vigilantes. Villains who just wanted their kids to live after a Pro or police thought it was okay to use them to lure their parents out- uncaring if they were caught in the crossfire. Little kids covered in blood who run into me at the park and beg me to save their mom and dad in a car accident because they know I’ll help without question or demands… 

A preteen being dragged in by his younger sister after he got bullied by schoolmates for being quirkless, then beaten just a bit too far by his biased parents for being weak…

A fourteen year old beaten, molested, then burned alive in a dumpster by his father…

Sorry… I didn’t mean to ramble. I’ll be right back with that. Any preference in game, Katsuki?” Naoki cut himself off when he realised he’d let that slip.

“I… I think I’m just going to sleep instead. Sorry for the trouble.” Katsuki gave off the impression of thinking through something again. 

I really do make him think when I talk, I guess… He must not be used to different views and all… Maybe it’s a good thing he takes it seriously, though. I’ll finish setting him up and let him be then, I guess.

Naoki did just that. He’d gotten mostly done before his rant, just having to swap out the clicker’s contents at the changed plan. Once he had the blanket pulled over Katsuki’s back, he made for the door, turning the light off and opening it to leave when Katsuki spoke up. 

“Hey- Naoki? Thanks. For healing me and my classmates.” He was quieter than normal, Naoki noticed, giving Katsuki a nod and smile. 

“Good night, Katsuki.”

Naoki slid the door and locked it from the inside- not that Katsuki would be able to tell, given it was with Ricochet. 

“You took a bit… Everything okay?” Dabi’s voice echoed behind Naoki. It was dark in the living room, but turning around, Naoki could still easily find Dabi’s eyes, glowing like blue embers in the darkness. 

“Yeah. I let him catch the last half-hour of the news… He’s only a little older than you were, so…”

“I don’t blame you, and I’m not upset. C’mon little ‘eight pints is fine’… You’ve gotta be spent. Least I can do is make myself useful as a heated body pillow… Though I’m a bit more pointy than a good pillow- like someone shoved a bunch of tacks and sticks into it… And replaced a good chunk here and there of the fabric with rubber.” Dabi’s voice belied what he was feeling.

Self-conscious and disgust in his self-image.

It made Naoki’s chest ache. 

“You’re warm, and you’re here… That’s all that matters. Tacks and sticks and rubber and all- you’re still you . And if it wasn’t obvious, I fucking missed you.”

Naoki could feel the tears in the corners of his eyes. He felt Dabi’s heat close in where he’d stopped by the window next to the front door. The storm was still going strong- as strong in weather as it was in the society around them all.

Dabi’s arms wrapped around him, cheek resting against Naoki’s own before Dabi buried his face in the crook of Naoki’s neck.

He felt that aching chill being burned out of him already. Given the shiver coursing through Dabi then, Naoki knew he’d gotten a good chill for the first time in what was likely three years.

“I don’t want you to forgive me until I deserve it… Even if I somehow manage to fix everything I’ve fucked up.”

Dabi’s words were pained, but honest. His voice is raspier than it was last time we spent a thunderstorm together… How… How bad has he gotten? C-Can I… Can I heal him this time? Can I reverse or heal burns this bad? I-I don’t want to lose him because I couldn’t- because I wasn’t strong enough to fix what’s killing him… 

And… what if he goes back anyway? After this? What if I heal him, but he… He just leaves again? He- he won’t even tell us- tell me- why he left in the first place…

I’m scared… I’m so scared I’ll lose him too- before I know it, he’ll just die out of nowhere and never tell me, never ask me for help or let me help him…

Maybe that’s why I can’t turn him down or reject him or refuse or deny. Why when it comes to him, the very concept of ‘no’ vanishes from existence… 

“C’mon… I set the couch up how you like. Let’s get some rest and recovery in while we can, huh?” Dabi pulled Naoki with him, and Naoki was more than content letting himself be pulled.

He wouldn’t let go so long as Dabi was the one pulling. If he’d let him, Naoki would follow Dabi back to that hell house he’d grown up in. He’d follow Dabi back to the League. He’d follow Dabi as long as Dabi would let him. Anything not to lose the last shred of hope and good he had left.

Naoki shimmied out of his jeans, kicking his boots and socks off with them before pulling the button up and scarf off, all heaped in a pile on the floor. The table was back in the closet, so the living room was actually spacious again. There was more to the house than this floor and these few rooms, but Naoki hadn’t been anywhere but the attic or shed outside these few since Kouya died. There was little point to the rest of the house.

And even the attic and shed had been to put away the extra beds, gurneys and cots. After the League attacked the USJ, there had been a steady decline in patients coming to him, and he’d gone out for more instead. 

They were frightening more than the pros at this point. Most knew how to wait out the storm safely. And, they were for the most part. A few vigilante groups were still active, and Naoki was as well… Though the group Taichi used to run and work with hadn’t been on the scene for a while. Kouya was always a bit… concerned by it. It was unsettling to him. 

Naoki feared it wasn’t that they weren’t active… But rather that they’d all been wiped out. When? Who did it and how, he didn’t know. How even Kouya couldn’t find much also bugged them both- Tao too… But it wasn’t likely as simple and ‘good’ as the dissolution of their group.

More likely dissolution of their corpses…

He heard Dabi’s new coat hit the floor with a heavy sound, boots and socks with it before the shuffling of blankets sounded in the quiet.

He’s never taken his excess off like he used to… Earlier when I was in the shower, his pants were on the floor, but he’d kept his coat and shirt on, and the sheet over his torso and down… When we got back from the cemetery, it had been the same as this… He keeps his shirt and pants on… 

Self conscious and disgusted with his bodily state… Which just worries me… How-How bad is it?

Naoki fitted himself against Dabi’s side, head over his heart like normal. It was a tight fit, but they could make it work. 

“Geesh- last time we did this, I’m pretty sure I was still in the five-feet spectrum- barely… And you’re taller too, huh?” Dabi whispered humorously.

“Yes, I am. I‘ve only grown four centimeters, though… So you’re still holding a solid twenty-two over me if my calculations are anything to judge by.”

“Yep- 182 to 191… So, you’re 169 now… Heh. Perfect. If you’d gotten taller than me, I’d really hate myself…” Dabi’s tone was different after his self-deprecating chuckle, Naoki noted.

“You’re about the same weight, though… Less, actually.” Naoki fretted over that, even though-

“Same with you… I… I’m sorry. Mine is my own fault, but…” Dabi trailed off. “I’m sorry for this morning… Shoving you into the wall and pinning you and shit. It wasn’t right, no matter what… I’m-I’m… I’ve tried not to be like him, but I still- I just did the same thing in the end.”

“No.” Naoki rolled on top of Dabi, hands finding hot metal and a round chin and looking into those burning bright turquoise eyes as he spoke. “Neither of us were right. I said what I did- and no matter the reason, it was still wrong. I knew it would hurt and I wanted you to hurt something like you hurt me when you weren't taking anything I said seriously… It wasn’t right. I egged you on, you retaliated… 

But… You still hurt me. You still fucking broke my heart… And I didn’t know- I still don’t know why …

That said, you… You’ve been hurt and you’re hurting too. I don't know so I shouldn’t assume or judge. You aren’t the kind of person to hide this kind of thing without reason. I don't know why you’re doing this, but… Dabi, Taichi-” Naoki leaned in closer, letting his lips stop just short of Dabi’s- noticing hot breath hitch at his closeness. “Touya… I trust you. And no matter what, I love you.”

Naoki could feel Dabi’s lips curl into a smirk before rising that little bit up to his. All he could focus on or care about was that- Dabi, Taichi… Touya- was finally back with him. Finally having the hole in his heart warming enough to heal. 

Dabi leaned back down, Naoki pulling up a little to let them both breathe after following for a few more needed seconds.

“Fuck… Nao- I missed this- I missed you… And I love you, forever, always. That’s never changed, and as long as I’m alive, it won’t ever change.” Naoki felt hands on his head and just above his hips, drawing him back to Dabi’s lips and holding him closer.

And, oh how Naoki had missed this- all of it. Kissing too, of course. And… And more- but not that he wanted anything more at the moment. Not until things were okay again. Kissing was fine- it was always fine. It had always been fine, actually.

He couldn’t buy or make something that he thought was good enough when I turned thirteen, and asked Kouya if he could improvise… He did- and it was my first kiss. 

Kouya was halfway between congratulating him and giving him the talk. Tao- he was just clapping and giddy. 

He’d said he was sorry that he’d never be good enough, but he was grateful for everything he’d never had a chance of having at his birth home- that utter hell…

And I remember I was so red, but then crying when he said that. It was the happiest I’d been, and turned to the saddest in a matter of words. 

Why would I ever see anyone else- Touya, Taichi… Dabi- he’s always been my hero. 

Dabi reluctantly separates himself from the kiss, eyes meeting Naoki’s as he speaks.

“Let’s sleep while we can, love. I know you’re fucking taxed and exhausted as shit, so use my heat and fucking sleep, doll. I’ll still be here when you wake up, so you can kiss me more then if you need to- or want to.”

“U-Um… Yeah. Good night, D-Dabi. I… I love you.”

Dabi smiles sadly at that, but Naoki’s looked away again. “I love you too, Naoki. Forever, always.”

Before long, they’ve got Naoki’s phone and speaker playing the song he’s relied on. With sleep well on the way, Naoki rests over top Dabi where he should be, and usually is when they’re like this, ear pressed to Dabi’s left pec, over his heart.

Dabi knew it lulled him to sleep, as well as Dabi’s playing with his hair and rubbing at his scalp or back or carressing wherever his hands are while Naoki dozes and until Dabi does. Dabi usually thinks before sleep, and after sex. Naoki sleeps easily and readily after sex and thinks things over when he wakes up.

“Please don’t leave again… I don’t think my heart can take another shattering…” It’s only halfway coherent, but Dabi hears it easily. Even with the music.

He hopes Naoki didn’t feel Dabi tense up at his words.

Just as much as he wishes he could do what Naoki needs and wants.

Chapter Text

Tomura

Shigaraki looked down at the chair Katsuki Bakugou had been in the previous night. At the blood dried to the floor and lingering specks of dust from the brat’s flesh decaying in his hands.

Where Dabi had grabbed his hands and stopped him. Which still smarted and bruised. He was surprised the beanpole was so strong, considering he was burned that bad and obviously seen better years. 

I can’t believe he did that! Who does he think he is? If I wanted to kill the U.A. smart mouth, I had every right to. 

“Sensei?” Tomura asked.

“Yes?”

“I can destroy everything I don't like, can’t I? So who gave him the right to stop me?”

“I believe there is more to our flaming ‘friend’ than there appears, Tomura Shigaraki. Perhaps we should test where his loyalties truly lie.”

“What do you mean? He ran off with our hero-bait and stopped me from killing him using that stupid line- and I actually believed him. Why didn't you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me that it was a lie?”

“There are some things best learned by experience, my dear student. And besides that, this gives us a chance to test his loyalties- as well as where the rest of the League places him in reguard to their true leader.”

“They’re all Stain lovers, so of course they liked Dabi better. It was you who gave him leadership over the attack and let him plan it- even you didn’t ask me first.”

“I did as much so if it ended poorly, you wouldn’t be to blame. I did it to test them- that is what the point of this little excursion was, correct? Now we know the likes of who is left are worthy of remaining, and with this, we know Dabi may not have been as… sure of his convictions as he claimed. It will surely disrupt his favour with the others if that is the case. If not, then we also now have reason to question him and make him prove himself better.”

“Yeah, and if he messes up or crosses me again, or can’t meet my expectations, then I can destroy him all the same.”

“Precisely. So, you see, you did not displease me, I merely wanted to absolve you of guilt in case something went awry. And, we just so happened to flush out a traitor- or at the very least, a weak link.”

“And a party leader is only as strong as his weakest player.”

“Indeed.”

Shigaraki left the bar, going to his own room to assess his games’ current predicament. How he could still win without having to go back to the title screen again.

It starts, like Sensei said, with knowing where exactly Dabi’s loyalties lie. So, I’ll test him. It’s that simple.

Let’s see- it’s about noon… Nothing yet from him, so let’s find out what’s going through his head.

Huh- Whaddya know read my mind, huh, Dabi?

Shigaraki looked at the message on his phone.

[Brat’s got a fever. Out cold still. Not moving him yet. See how it looks tonight with cops, etc.]

“So- you think the cops are who you need to be worried about? Fine. Tomorrow, I’ll let you make your choice… After that, well… we’ll just have to play by ear.”

---

All For One

As his student left the bar, All For One sighed. 

He’d thought Tomura was past this point- that he’d improved and advanced and grown from that desire to destroy unabated. Now, he was back to childlike temper-tantrums once again. 

He supposed he couldn’t folly the young villain, though. Having his new league’s only long-range combatant turn out to be… unfavourable must be hitting Tomura harder than he believed it would. 

And he’d only just found his conviction, pity.

All For One, of course, had gone through extreme pains and to extensive measures to ensure only the finest lasted long enough to meet his pupil, yet somehow, this… Dabi… Seemed to have thrown even him for a loop. He was certain up to that point that above anyone else there, Dabi was someone useful and reliable. Someone headstrong and firmly rooted enough to temper and balance Tomura out. 

To improve Tomura’s nature.

Instead, somehow, Dabi managed to shake that newly-found foundation Tomura had built.

And, naturally, this displeased All For One.

He wished to know what brand and variety of fire- as it were- he was playing with.

Unlike the others there, Dabi didn’t have a previous record, no previous crimes or anything concrete or defining as his ‘past’. Nothing All For One could find, anyway.

Which, naturally, upset him greatly. He disliked not knowing everything about whom his student was being influenced by or cohorting with. 

Even Giran- wise and useful and thorough Giran- couldn’t make much in the means of head-way of their mutual fire-wielder. No family, no past, no record. No Quirk registration or identity. Before about two years ago, dearest Dabi had no presence at all. 

And, while an obvious testament to how easy it was to go unnoticed and unknown in this society, someone escaping even his own knowledge…

Well, that was rare- nigh-on impossible, really.

Although, All For One knew of one such person who did it both prior and post his singular encounter with All For One. Had he known that letting that teenager and his failed project live that day nearly forteen years ago, and leave at that- that he’d never be able to find them again, obviously, he wouldn’t have. 

It’d been obvious then that the teen’s only concern was for his little brother, not All For One, so after testing the boy’s Quirk and finding it… unappealing, he toyed with them, made it clear he was letting them live when he very easily could have killed them both- the project he’d toiled on for five years was already a bit too broken to be of any further use to him- and once he was satisfied, he left. He allowed them to live… And then promptly lost any trace of them. 

So- yes, it was possible for someone to avoid him… But not with a Quirk as powerful and flashy as Dabi’s had proven to be.

Which just made All For One all the more eager to know .

If all else failed, then he knew the good doctor wouldn’t have any issues with a new Quirk to collect and a new Nomu for him to create from whatever remains of the fire-user there were- at the very least, he could use the genetic material or skin samples- something, All For One was sure.

So, either way, Dabi coming into his cross-hairs was by no means a waste or to be regretted- at least from any perspective that mattered.

He was sure his disciple would much rather have a Nomu with that Quirk than the man himself biting back at him- as opposed to the obedience of a Nomu.

And, given his own… curiosities in reguards to the fire-wielder, All For One had already placed certain measures into action to… assist him in this endeavor.

As such, he contacted both Kurogiri and the trusty, handy little mole he’d gotten hold of recently.

They could certainly play a hand in helping All For One find out about this little… disturbance in his student’s plans and drive to destroy All Might, as well as the whole of the society held high upon that man’s shoulders.

If anything, then he could see this as a game to pass the time and await the ensuing storm ahead. 

---

Kurogiri

“I’ve done as you requested. I am still unsure where he was staying. My apologies.”

“This is more than enough.” Kurogiri watched his master gesture to the glass Dabi had been drinking from before he stepped in and stopped Shigaraki Tomura. “I take it you know what to do, right? DNA, fingerprints. Find out who he is and who he was. I want to know by tomorrow morning at the latest. The sooner, the better.”

“Of course.” The official picked the glass up and bagged it like evidence should be handled. And he left. 

“Now, on to the other task I assigned to you before. Anything?” All For One asked.

“No.” It was a simple answer- he had nothing, just as with the years of this same task being assigned. It was still incomplete.

“Pity. That man… He really does know how to hide. Even from me. I suppose expecting him to be dead would be too much to ask for. Very well, keep trying how you can. It’s not an important task anymore. Anything else you need to report?”

“No.” His master sighed. 

“Oh well- there is very little that could ruin this for me- even if it turns out Dabi isn’t as loyal as he seems, I can still use him. Even if Bakugou Katsuki manages to avoid being returned to us, I can still use it. This isn’t end-game. Not even close. You’re dismissed.”

Kurogiri warped back to the bar, hearing two consecutive thralls of thunder surpassing the others of that evening. It was interesting how weather behaved, he thought.

---

Aizawa

Finally, getting enough of a chance to sleep , Aizawa was in bed- not his own , sure, but a bed nonetheless. He wasn’t sure about leaving his students alone just yet, so he’d volunteered- insisted, really- to sleep at the hospital, and shockingly, they agreed without any qualms.

But, for as exhausted as he was, Aizawa knew he wasn’t going to sleep. 

How can I after a talk like that ? All Might… He just dumps that on me like some kind of stress-relief session and I’m the therapist, and then asks me to help him look after Midoriya- his successor - in case something happens…

First off, that’s way too obvious, looking back. Explains why he’s always kind of been in Midoriya’s corner… They’re a lot alike, but also different too, and… anyway…

Secondly… It means he trusts me to help him. And, yeah, of course I will. He’s my student… I just didn’t know he was also the chosen successor of the Symbol of Peace- the one who will hopefully carry that torch if- when, really- All Might no longer can…

And- topping that all off was my discussion with the youngest of four Todoroki children yesterday morning. I didn’t even know he wasn’t the only one. I hardly knew anything about the situation with his mother, and by god, I do now… Which just brings me back to square one- how can I help my students?

One that’s been abducted. One that’s supposed to bear the burden of Hero Society- and one who’s family has suffered because of the effects of that society, because of how the number 2 pro hero treats them out of lust for status and power and being number one- no matter the cost…

Even if that cost is Dabi …

Which is a whole new issue… If ‘Dabi’ is actually Shouto’s eldest brother… If what he told me and trusted me to know is true… Then that adds another helping of- of everything bad to this list of trouble…

But… At the very least, Shouto was sure that if it was his brother, then even the likes of Katsuki Bakugou wouldn’t be killed or harmed… Dabi- or ‘Touya’, hopefully?- wouldn’t let the League kill or harm him… too much. Shouto wasn’t overly clear, but said his brother had always had lines- whatever that means.

I don’t know what I’m hoping… It to be Touya so Bakugou is safe… Or it to be a mistaken identity so that doesn’t become another issue in and of itself…

After trying to look or check into the likelihood of Touya Todoroki being ‘Dabi’, Aizawa discovered that someone obviously didn’t want it pried into, found, messed with or uncovered. There was so much red tape, anyone would lose their job trying to cut through… 

Obviously, someone put that tape there, and Aizawa had a sinking feeling it was the likes of Endeavor- of Enji Todoroki. 

But, obviously, Aizawa found out, someone else wanted and acquired that information. So, as soon as All Might was able to get a hold of a certain contact, or tomorrow before the press conference if he wasn’t able to, they were going to pay a visit to someone who could get that information. It had been Tsukauchi’s idea, and was… bordering illegal, but they’d do what they could.

The press conference… Don’t remind me… It’s why I need sleep… Can’t let the world see I’m bone-tired from trying to ensure my students- my kids are all safe and make it home to their families. Katsuki Bakugou included.

---

All Might

“Tsukauchi- you’ve done well this time- as always. I’m grateful I have you to watch my back still.” Toshinori began picking up the conference room with his police contact and ally. This initial meeting had been at Might Tower, and had concluded a half-hour ago. It consisted of the U.A. Staff, Tsukauchi and Best Jeanist.

Though, Aizawa had stayed until a few moments ago to discuss his own… troubles with them both once the others had cleared out. All Might had addressed his own with his coworker prior to the meeting, and given all it entailed, it’d taken the whole of that time.

“Of course. And this time, we’ll get him. We have to.” He paused, shuffling a set of extra documents into the folder labeled ‘Dabi’. It was Aizawa’s theory- apparently brought up by none other than Shouto Todoroki. But these few documents were all they had on the Todoroki Family. Everything else, they’d hopefully attain the following morning- with or without the aid of All Might’s acquaintance.

“I can’t help but think that if I had taken his advice- if I’d relied on him back then- than maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess here and now. And, he certainly wouldn’t be hiding or dodging my phone calls now…” Toshinori sighed, setting the last coffee filter in the garbage.

“While there’s no point dwelling on the ‘what ifs’ this long after the fact… I was thinking about that, his avoiding you… Would you mind giving me his cell phone number? I’m sure he knows it, but it might get his attention if we’re both calling.”

“Oh- good idea. Yeah, here, Tsukauchi.” Toshinori gave his ally the phone number. He’d only called those two times that day, but there was a reason he’d wanted to wait until it was night.

The first time, it went the same as Toshinori’s- inactive or shut off. The second, it wasn’t any different…

At first. 

“Hello? Anyone there?” They both remained quiet, listening.

“Hello? Still can’t hear you…”

“Are you sure it’s not-”

“Aandd- Enough of that. No answer means I’m either dead or dying, so yeah, leave a message after the- Beep.”

Toshinori grimmaced at the scenario, and Kouya’s typical cynicism and derisive sarcasm- that was sure to be worse.

“Also- in case this is NT- If you and TY both tried this, get the picture already… If it’s an emergency, grow a spine and get your own hands dirty. But seriously, my life’s work- and therefore, network- is still out there, you just have to find it. Good luck. Also- keep your hands off my kids or so help me, I will find out. Don't want that, do we?”

The line went dead, leaving both of them surprised for different reasons.

“That- that was different than the one I got… Personal the same too, but…”

“Let me hear yours, All Might.” So, they called the same number, but on All Might’s phone this time, getting the same message Toshinori had gotten before.

“They’re personalised. Individualised… Hold on- let me check something.” Tsukauchi pulled his work laptop back open, typing on and off for a good ten minutes. He shut the lid and sighed, head tilted back and frustrated, Toshinori could tell. “Never mind. It’s a dead end. Nothing shows up on him or anyone connected to him outside us… He’s too cautious, clever and careful… Always has been, but… Now we need him and he’s nowhere to be found. Not even a birth certificate or address or anything.”

Toshinori sighed as well, he was beginning to have a bad feeling about this. As much as it was like Kouya, it also… wasn’t .

---

Hawks

Hawks wasn’t pleased to find out he’d been casually omitted from the meeting at Might Tower the previous night… Or finding out second-hand via the HPSC that he wasn’t going to be part of the raid like almost every other Pro with any kind of standing or use was likely to be. 

They either want to keep me out of it so I’m the only one left should something happen… Or there’s some other unknown reason I’m unaware of… Either way- I don’t like it.

He was at the nicest place he could find- while flying and using his phone to do some light research on the matter, at that- waiting in line to order food. Sushi, of all things. Tuna sushi. And, somehow, not for himself, which was actually nice .

Except for the countless people who kept trying to give up their places to sit or places in line for him. He was insistent that neither was necessary- it wasn’t. And it wasn’t in good favour to accept anyway. It was a bit rude, taking advantage like that. Though he knew plenty of heroes did.

So, he gave autographs, took selfies with people and greeted who-knew how many excited fans- another normal morning.

Except the whispers and rumours that were already circling about Hawks and his ‘fling’ from the day before. 

So, it went around already. Leave it to the masses to make a big deal out of that like it was a big scoop- but they need it after the mess going on at the forefront. It was the whole point- something to help ease them in such a troubling time…

“Hawks! So- are you waiting for someone? Or picking up food to go out?” A girl asked after getting a photo with him.

“Oh! Are you seeing someone?” “Is it your girlfriend?” “Ah, no fair, I’m jealous. My boyfriend won’t ever pick up something this nice for lunch- even for our anniversary.” “She’s so lucky, Hawks is gorgeous.” “Didn’t you hear? She’s stunning too, you know?” “Really?” “That’s hard to believe.” “Here, look!” “Let me see!”

Hawks decided it might be a good chance to rebute some of their fretting and gossip.

“Actually, he is just a friend. He’s a bit under the weather, and asked yesterday if I’d bring some sushi by for him since he’s stuck home. It’s no sweat, so here I am.”

“Hawks, you’re such a good friend!” “No way- that’s a guy ? He’s prettier than Mt. Lady-” “Man if she ever heard anyone say that, can you imagine how mad she’d get?”

Hawks himself pondered that… And it wasn’t wrong in his mind… Naoki was very attractive- stunning, as said before… And he realised Yu Takeyama would likely blow a fuse, she was quite vain. He was one back from ordering now, looking over the menu and pondering what to get- Tuna nigiri, Naoki had said, but… 

“Wonder how many pieces I should get… Hey miss-” He asked the young lady just behind him now. 

“Y-Yes?” She asked, pink dusting her cheeks, but overall apprehensive timidness pervading her- not at his being the one talking to her, but at something else Hawks somehow couldn’t place. 

“What’s a normal number of pieces? I’ve never gotten just a single dish of one kind of sushi, so… Any way you could help me out?” Hawks asked, letting his charm do the work. He wasn’t trying to get her to buy it or anything- just general advice. And networking a bit wasn’t a bad idea. Humanising himself with the civilians he was protecting and working for either.

“G-Generally, eight is a good place to start. That might be more than necessary, but it should cover you, I guess.” She ducked down, something about her behaviour giving Hawks the feeling she’d been hit before. He didn’t really like that concept- she was maybe in her early twenties, white with red streaks here and there, grey eyes and glasses.

And she’s giving off fear now too… Not at all like earlier. She’d been calm, timid and shy, but… She came across as almost motherly in a way, kind of like a teacher, maybe.. But now she’s just plain scared . And… She seems familiar- a bit like the U.A. student, Endeavor’s son… Older, of course, but those features aren’t exactly common… I wonder why she’s-

Hawks realised the crowd's attention had left him at some point- just after he’d been thinking over the number of sushi to get- and was now focused on the bigger eye-attractant- Endeavor. And that had Hawks somewhere close to a smile at the flooding memories from another name and time.

But the near-frantic shuffling from the young lady drew his attention away from his personal hero. She’d moved past him and was avoiding Endeavor’s every possible line of sight. 

Interesting… 

Whatever else he’d have thought or done was cut off, “Sir- your turn.” 

Hawks stepped up to the counter and placed it, glancing around to see if he could find the young lady. She was at the back of the line now, courteous of having stepped out of line- a bit too enunciatedly polite for something like that. He pointed her out to the tender, asking whatever she ordered be billed to his tab too.

Once he had the sushi, he left.

Chapter Text

Katsuki

The sun was already well-out when Katsuki woke to the room’s door opening, letting more sunlight stream in from the living room he’d eaten in the previous night.

“Good morning, self-proclaimed bomb~” Naoki’s voice was almost chipper, trilling a bit as he came in, sliding the door shut behind him. Katsuki noticed he had a tray of sorts with him, similar to the one- the same one, Katsuki realised now- that had been on the nightstand the first day he’d been there, holding medical supplies.

“What’s got you so damn happy?”

“Good night’s sleep after three years of shitty-fucking mockery-attempts at rest. I hope you’re hungry, Katsuki. I made breakfast, and I think even you’ll approve.” Naoki seemed way too proud of that, it was kind of silly.

Naoki helped him sit upright, “Get cleaned up, you can take an actual shower after one more round, so an hour or so. Until then, eat and we’ll get to session Four.”

So, Katsuki did his business, still put-off by the whole routine of what was normal- but odd as hell when he was at some random-ass vigilante healer’s home and not his own. 

I’m going to have to figure out where this place is at… Just in case I even need something from this guy. Or healed again, I guess… Sure as hell ain’t fond of turning him in- burn-freak, sure, maybe… But Naoki’s a good person, just lost faith in heroes… Makes sense, thinking on everything he’s said. Just means I’ll have to restore that lost-faith myself. Make sure he finds that again.

While Katsuki was eating some surprisingly good sausage-gravy and biscuits, Naoki was back on his laptop, typing away. The food was perfectly seasoned, somehow unneeding of spices with whatever was in it already- and yeah, Katsuki could admit he approved . 

However, Naoki didn’t seem bothered by Katsuki being there, or seem to care if Katsuki saw whatever he was doing on his laptop. 

He has his glasses back on again… Wonder what’s up with that? Doesn’t care if I see whatever’s there either. So either he’s naive enough to think I won’t look, or sure that if I do, I won’t get it, turn and tell, or he’s baiting me… Heh. It’s not that I won’t- I just don’t care to right now. I can later when he leaves. See what he’s hiding on there. Maybe something else too… Internet or something means I can do just about anything.

“Hey- I’m done.” Katsuki held the plate out at Naoki, Naoki just turned and grabbed it, seamlessly moving to return it outside the room- likely to the kitchen, given how long it took him. 

Katsuki gave the still-showing screen a long stare, trying to see without moving much. He figured that’d be something Naoki would sense or whatever.

Looks like some kind of document- just a normal writing application from the looks of it. Can’t tell what he’s writing, though… So didn’t learn much… I’m sure I’ll get another chance.

Naoki came back in, and it was about the same process as the other two Katsuki had been conscious for. Naoki got him onto his front, back exposed and bled into it. Sliced Katsuki’s finger open and took some blood too. And Katsuki could watch in the mirror as Naoki worked quietly. 

From what he could tell, Naoki was healing all of the skin back into place- but only what was gone from his neck and back. 

He hasn’t even touched my leg or arms yet outside the small cuts and shit that psycho blonde did to me. I get the feeling he’s just stalling too… Like this shouldn’t be that hard if he’s as experienced as he’s shown and vibe he gives off… What he’s said here and there about other ‘patients’... 

And what was all that about not being able to hurt him or get a hit on him, just break and need healed? I still don’t get that… I keep feeling like he’s hiding something, and that’s bugging me…

Probably doesn’t help that I’m getting a bit stir-crazy sitting around all day and sleeping all the damn time… But it’s starting to get on my nerves, only knowing so much about the guy who’s healing me…

“What time is it?” Katsuki blurted out, more out of sheer boredom than anything.

“About eleven am. Should have this round done shortly, then it’s to the showers with you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep Dabi in the kitchen and living room with me. Put his sorry hide to work. 

He’s still out cold… Literally. You have no idea how much a cold sleep does for him… Running at one-hundred-five degrees all the time like he does…”

He what ? That- I know that’s high… Even I don’t get that hot… Fuck- how’s he still functional? And if he’s that hot… What about Naoki? He feels cold to me , so I know he’s colder than anyone damn well should be, but how’s he feel to that burning-fucker? Damn good, I’d bet…

Yet he still threw it all away like a piece of shit. Dumpster-fire hobo, much?

Katsuki went back to watching the mirror, watching the last shreds of his back slowly knit together into slightly pinkened skin, no sign of the damage or decay done to him. 

Another few minutes, and even the pink was gone. Naoki’s hands pressed and felt around, and it made Katsuki shiver and flinch.

“You’re about to feel again- back at least. So, tell me what you feel and if anything hurts.” Naoki told him. As soon as Katsuki verbalised acceptance, Naoki’s red and-and silver eyes- a new colour, Katsuki noted- met his in the mirror, then feeling fully returned in Katsuki’s back.

Huh…?

He didn’t feel anything off or abnormal. It felt just the same as it should- as it had before being taken hostage by villains. Not even a hair felt out of place. It was unnerving. 

“So…?” Naoki pressed. 

Katsuki shook his head. “Nothing feels wrong or off or bad at all… Feels fine.” He brought up his arms, noticing the action wasn’t as smoothe and effortless as it had been the days he’d been at the healer’s, suggesting that Naoki had been enabling him to move, as terrifying as that was. But he’d felt like he’d been moving too easily before too. Now, it was back to normal- just his body moving like it was supposed to.

Rolling a shoulder and stretching his upper back and shoulders out one at a time, then a few other stretches, and still- nothing.

Outside tugging and discomfort from the burned skin and other remnants of the decayed skin on his opposite arm, that is.

And outside Naoki watching the way his back moved and muscles flexed while he tested and stretched. 

Maybe it’s just a healer thing? Nothing in him reads anything but studying and watching like a hawk for anything abnormal… So, odds are, he’s not perving out or anything… Still- definitely better build than him by a long-shot, so I know it’s impressive.

Nothing like that dumpster-fire hobo, I know- I hope. As soon as this burn’s gone, then nothing at all. 

And once that and the rest of the decay are cleared up and he gives me the ‘okay’ and field test or whatever, then I can blow this joint and go the fuck home. Forget any of this happened, and get on with my life.

“Okay-” Naoki gave Katsuki a resounding swat on his back.

“Ow! The fuck was that for?”

“Checking capillary response, pain reception, musculature reactivity and reflexes, among other things. And, you’re good there. Not a problem in sight, now or in the future reguarding this bodily trauma.” He smiled, and Katsuki swore it was like watching an eclipse or some cliche shit- stunning . 

“Did you have to slap me? Ain’t that gonna bruise me or something?”

“No- not near enough force. And that aside, for the next few minutes at least, Tempter’s still going. That said-” Naoki stood from the chair, stepping out of the room.

And leaving his phone on the nightstand. Katsuki eyed it until Naoki stepped back in with a glass of what Katsuki now knew was the same orange pedialyte he’d been drinking that whole time and a few painkillers. 

“Here- take these, I’ll get you barriered up on the remaining damage, then you can go shower. Feel free to take your time and enjoy whatever temperature you want. I already had mine for the day, and Dabi can do it later if he wants- no hot water necessary for him usually.” Naoki was smiling again, handing Katsuki the drink and pills. 

“They’re high-dosage ibuprofen, not much, but enough to get you through a shower. Take that package of boxer briefs in with you and I’ll set some clothes out for you too. Towels are in there, same with soap and whatnot. Enjoy~” 

Naoki waited for Katsuki to down the pills before stepping out again.

Next time he came back, Katsuki was just about to reach the bathroom- so less than a minute This time, he had clothes. A black tank top and red gym shorts. He gave them to Katsuki, and left the room again.

Katsuki heard the lock click, seeing it happen from where he was, Naoki outside the room, yet still locking it from out there without touching it or being able to see it.

And, he left his phone and the laptop, Katsuki grinned at noticing.

Stepping over to the desk, Katsuki lifted the laptop lid, finding it locked. He clicked his tongue, but grabbed the phone before going to the bathroom to shower.

While letting the water run to cover some of the noise there might be, Katsuki called the emergency number he didn’t need the phone unlocked for. 

He’d decide what he’d do when there was an answer. 

It answered before the second ring even finished, but before Katsuki got the chance to speak, the voice on the other end caught his attention. 

“Hey, Little One. If you’re calling this, it’s gotta be bad, huh? Well, if anything, even from a grave, I’ll try to be there for you during emergencies. Why else would you call this, right?

But remember, no matter how bad it is, just hold me in your heart. Maybe you’ve reached the absolute bottom, and you can’t find a reason to keep going. Maybe it’s just a bad day out of the blue, or you’ve lost whatever means of holding on you have held onto… But baby brother, you know you’ve got every reason left to stay alive. So, find out what’ll take to survive, and hold on- don’t let go. 

All the hell you’ve survived, all of it you’ve lived and seen, all that you will inevitably come across… All the bad out there, all the pain and fear and hatred outside your safe haven- 

Little One, I want you to hold what we’ve got in your arms until that tear in your heart heals and those missing parts come back home. You’re not alone, so let love surround you until you’re not lost anymore. Remember that. 

I’ve taught you how to go on without me, but I’ll never be closer to you, I’ll never be too far away. So, when the lights go out, I’ll be right there with you. You’ll be safe and sound. Even if I’m not there to walk beside you through the dark, you’ve got two other lights to guide you. So, rely on them. Hold onto the memories we made- the two of us, three and four of us. All of us… Keep them safe. 

Even in the darkest hours of the blackest nights, I’ll be right here, holding you until the morning comes.”

The voice changed, and Katsuki kept listening. He was dumbstruck, feeling like this was something unnervingly personal, but so- so enlightening too.

“Through the harshest and roughest storms- the ones that never go away or the ones that come out of nowhere… I’m just a breath of wind and a flash of light away.”

It went to this and the first voice speaking together now for a sentence before it was back to just the first voice. 

“Through stormy, cold nights, we’ll stay together, no matter what happens, we’ll all live in your heart forever. 

And promise- swear- you won’t let go.” The line clicked dead, no answer from anyone- no emergency services like there should be.

But… Something told Katsuki that message was supposed to be Naoki’s emergency service somehow. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about that or react to it… If he should feel bad for hearing something so obviously personal and sensitive. Just… that Naoki had been going through things Katsuki couldn’t even see if the message alone was anything to go by.

A message lit up the screen that made Katsuki’s belief in all of this a bit more resolute.

[Ki- you all good? I know the 2nd anniversary was yesterday… I’ll check on you later, okay, Little One. Call me if you need, and listen to Kouya’s message on his number for you if you need. You’re not alone.]  

The name saved with it was ‘Tao’. Nothing else. It made Katsuki confused more than anything. 

Katsuki slipped out of the bathroom long enough to put the phone back where he’d grabbed it from, feeling both stupid and complexly worried or- or something - at having even tried that. And at having heard what he did. 

Then, he went for the shower, enjoying it like he’d been told he could. 

It gave him plenty of alone time to think- well, a lot- through. 

Like everything he’d learned, everything he’d heard, and everything he’d discovered.

It gave him time to assess his current condition and give his body a thorough checking. 

He hadn’t been sure what Naoki had meant by ‘barrier’ before, he still wasn’t completely positive, but from what he could tell by looking at it- his arms and thigh- it seemed there was some invisible layer of- of something - over the injuries- just them and nothing else.

It seemed to be keeping them from soap, water, debris and contaminants, all while keeping the wounds as moist as possible. They weren’t drying out, and the barriers were letting Katsuki clean himself freely without rubbing into them or messing them up. 

Which also meant he couldn’t touch, feel, poke or rub or prod at them, he found out after trying but only feeling a distinct tingling sensation where he’d tried to touch them, and an almost sickeningly smoothe surface under his fingertips, even over the obviously rough skin and muscle. And the two small spots he was sure were bone in the decayed areas. Small little specks, sure, but they looked like bone. Given their positions, it was likely.

And that had Katsuki glad he couldn’t mess them up or dig into them or get anything into them either.

Once he had the shower out of the way, he went about drying off, inspecting his back and the rest of himself in the mirror as best he could, trying to distinguish between the healed skin and what had never been damaged. There was no difference at all. It flowed seamlessly and perfectly, which only further shocked and somehow frightened Katsuki. It had been so damaged and wrecked before. And now, it was like nothing had ever touched him- like Tomura Shigaraki hadn’t happened…

Until Katsuki looked down at his arms and wrists and thigh.

With a distasteful glance at the clothes he was sure were from the same place as his earlier set, Katsuki dressed, nothing short of dissatisfaction at the clothes he was painfully- and disturbingly- aware were Naoki’s older brother’s. 

And they fit , which didn’t help his mood any.

Chapter Text

Tomura

Shigaraki looked at his phone screen, having been… pondering ‘Dabi’ a good chunk of that night and morning now. 

And, with nine am rolling around without another peep from the resident ashtray, Shigaraki also unable to figure out where Dabi had gone, where he stayed normally or anything, he was going to ask his Sensei for advice- and permission.

“Sensei.” Shigaraki began. 

He was acknowledged instantly, making something in him glad his Sensei answered so timely.

“Yes? What is it, Tomura Shigaraki?”

He doesn’t sound disappointed, displeased or angry with me, so I haven’t failed or upset him, just like he said yesterday. That… That is good to know. I shouldn’t have doubted him.

“It seems a fair amount of the heroes, police, and common civilians all think Katsuki Bakugou is the most likely to… go villain- to join our cause. They believe that is why we targeted him, right?”

Breath baited, Shigaraki waited for his Sensei to confirm or… or something.

“That is why you targeted him, if I recall correctly. Yet, he seemed quite the opposite to me… once he was here. Tell me what you are thinking, my pupil, for I also have… some revelations to share.”

Shigaraki grinned. He was getting the chance, and his Sensei- as always- had something to add, say and had his back. Unlike everyone else, his Sensei had always understood him on a foundational level.

“We happen to have a rather hefty supply of Katsuki Bakugou’s blood, courtesy of Toga. Even if Dabi is cowered down and out of the way, hoping to let this blow over before he comes scampering back out, we can still use ‘Katsuki Bakugou’ to take a swing at this fragile little situation we’ve created for the pros. Imagine the response when their fears of him turning villain would turn out to be reality.”

“Hmm. I do believe you may be onto something. But if I recall, miss Toga cannot use the Quirks of those she transforms into, can she?”

All For One was cautious, ever the best one to bounce plans off of, clever and experienced.

But, Shigaraki already had… something in mind for the issue pointed out.

“Katsuki’s first ‘mission’- his initiation for lack of a better word- could be one without his Quirk, and with an escourt, naturally. Can’t put complete trust in him, and anyone would rationalise that much.”

“I see you have put a great deal of thought into this. Very well, whom would you have escourt this… Katsuki-look-alike?”

“A clone of Toga to throw anyone off of it not really being Bakugou, for one. Secondly, Compress in the background to extract or support, but far enough out of the way not to be caught in the chaos or pinned down by it.”

Shigaraki was proud of this plan. One of his own making. One done with caution and thought of more than the headlines. 

One not made by Dabi .

 “If we use his little vanishing act like this, then it puts Dabi in a corner. It puts another hole in the foundation of this society I want to see crumble and fall. And, it gives Bakugou little room for redemption in the eyes of the public, police, pros or otherwise. Even if he lives, his image will be ruined- no hope left of being a hero. It gives us an edge too. If we can make a top U.A. hero-trainee join us, then maybe more will, and we’ll cease being NPCs to everyone who doubts us still.”

He could almost hear All For One’s smirk. “Well then- what are you waiting for?”

“I’m going to give Dabi one last chance… Not that he’ll need to know it’s going to be his end.”

“Hold off on that part for now. I have discovered something useful our fire-wielder can yet do for us. If he returns, let him. And once I have everything… finalised, we’ll put the last of him to work for us, and use something against him he cannot pass up the chance to take for himself. Don’t inform the others he’s being… disposed of like this, though. Best to keep the feral cat in the cage, so to speak. As for the rest of the plan, go about it as you intended. I may have a few pointers to suggest, however, so we’ll discuss those momentarily.

But first-” He paused to make sure he still had Shigaraki’s attention, and to let it simmer a bit before his reveal. “I also want you to entice Dabi into returning, even if it is without Bakugou. Leave him pressured to return, even if empty handed. I’m sure you can come up with something.” They discussed the pointers his Sensei had before the final reassurance- praise, even- was given.

“I’ll leave you to your side of this little exercise, my precious student. You, Tomura Shigaraki, are learning and doing quite well as you are.”

Shigaraki could tell his Sensei was off-line now. 

However, receiving praise from his Sensei was rare, and he was savouring it almost drunkenly.

---

Izuku

When Izuku woke up, the doctors explained the odd sensation and blood-drip he had and was confused about.

Apparently, they’d brought in a healing expert of sorts, and that was the reason Izuku was both conscious and hardly any damage remained from what state his arms had been in. Also, why he didn’t hurt much at all.

They’d had to wait until Izuku wasn’t suffering seizures anymore to rely on the healer- for his sake more than said healer’s, since neither side knew how seizures and the healer’s Quirk would interact. 

But about half-way through the night after his second unit of blood-drip- it was how the healer’s Quirk worked, he’d been told- Izuku did finally wake up fully.

His arms were stiff, and a bit sore at the joints, but unbroken and otherwise undamaged. Same with any of the rest of his injuries. 

Aizawa was there when Izuku woke up, and promptly got the doctor, though he was obviously sleep-deprived and exhausted. He’d been set up to sleep, apparently in the other bed in the room out of an attempt to both sleep, stay with his students, and take up one less room. Izuku was the only one still unconscious.

Once the doctor and nurse on duty checked him over and gave the ‘ok’, a few police officers came to get his statement.

Izuku found out a pretty insurmountable heap of bad news, and only so little ‘good’. 

There wasn’t yet any sign of Katsuki Bakugou, Tomoko Shiretoko or the League Of Villains. 

The villains who attacked the camp were calling themselves The Vanguard Action Squad of the League Of Villains. 

But outside this, there was still… nothing new, and nothing good.

“Silver lining, I suppose, is that thanks to Recovery Girl’s friend, all of your injuries, as well as any the others suffered outside the gas and what couldn’t be fixed, are all healed and taken care of. I watched him myself- watched and listened while he explained… I don’t know yet how I feel about him, but All Might… He seems to think highly of the kid for nothing than who his older brother was…

Which leads to another issue I’m not touching with the length of my capture weapon until later. Get some rest. You might be healed, but the healer and doctors all still recommend rest to make a full recovery. Good Night, Midoriya.” Aizawa flipped the light switch off and the room went dark.

Izuku hadn’t been up too long yet, but he’d eaten and gotten a rundown of what was going on, and a few other things. But now, he was supposed to rest more.

I don’t even know if I can- even if I wanted to…

His head was swimming and swirling around so much it could have made him dizzy if he wasn’t already lying down. 

I feel sick and so full of self-blame it hurts. I know there wasn’t anything I could have done at that specific time… But if I hadn’t have injured my arms so badly, then I’d have been able to- to reach Kacchan and save him…

Thoughts turned to his mom then… She’d left him a plate of apples, a note, and although she’d not been allowed to visit in person- same with every parent, and somehow had to do with Endeavor trying to pull his authority to get in from what Izuku could infer- she still weighed heavily on his mind.

She’d been so worried, and he’d promised her he’d be careful and safe- that this wouldn’t happen again… Yet here I am again anyway…

Guilt. Blame. Self-hatred. Anger at his stupidity and weakness. Weak. Izuku… was feeling a lot- and none of it was good.

But, before long, he was somehow lulled back to sleep.

The next day, Izuku was woken by his door sliding open- Aizawa had left already, Izuku noted as he sat upright, his classmates filing in after Kaminari.

Kaminari was explaining the reporters swarming the school- how it was worse than after the USJ.

Mineta brought a melon and Tokoyami apologised for losing control- no one blamed him, and he’d saved their lives doing as he’d done. Izuku wasn’t sure how to tell him that, but he did want to eventually.

“I caused you trouble, Midoriya.”

“No- please. I did this to myself. I was just lucky enough this time someone could save my arms…” He looked down at his hands, clenching them into fists, once, twice and again. “Did everyone from Class A come to visit?” He asked. He wanted to know if anything had changed since the rundown he’d gotten the previous night. 

“So you got healed too, huh? I don’t know how it works, but that Quirk was really something. He fixed Yaoyarozu right up like it was nothing… but- uh” Kirishima paused, hoping someone else would take lead, Izuku could tell. He seemed pretty shaken up, though he was covering it exceptionally well, Izuku read.

“No. Jirou and Hagakure are still out. They were knocked unconscious from that Villain’s poisonous gas… And while she’s fine now, Yaoyarozu did get hit in the head pretty hard. She’s still hospitalised- we all are… We’re not allowed to leave, and nor are our parents allowed to visit. They don’t even know that we’re at this hospital based on the press’s reports- no one does outside those involved.

Aizawa-Sensei has spent the nights since the attack here as well, although he's been in and out pretty frequently as well. Outside Hawks and Recovery Girl, the only other outsider who’s been here was Recovery Girl’s acquaintance- the healing specialist. So it’s just us here- only fifteen of us- though obviously we all wish the whole class was here…”

“But that’s not possible because Bakugou’s gone.” Shouto said. It took Izuku nothing to see something was bothering his friend- more so than normal, and more than what was eating at the others there.

I’ll have to talk to him when I get the chance. He’s not very good at opening up to the others, or anyone, really… But I’ve found it isn’t too hard to coax him into it with the right methods- he’s not closed-off to me, or as much as the others think, so once he starts, he almost can’t stop…

Izuku grinned inside at that- those memories. They weren’t all good, most were about hit and miss things in his childhood he was thinking about or struggling with at any given moment, so Izuku felt a lot closer to him than most ever got to, and while it made him happy, it also worried him.

He’d worried about Shouto since the Sports Festival, really, and it hadn’t ever stopped, just gotten more pronounced and defined.

Which just meant his tears and anger and self-blame and everything was not just for his missing friend. 

He couldn’t save someone who was right in front of him… And now, that included Kacchan.

“All Might- he’s always told me that there will always be people beyond our reach, so we- we have to make sure to save everyone in front of us… It’s the whole purpose behind my Quirk… But when it really mattered, my body- it just couldn’t move anymore. I-I was so close to being able to save him. I had to, I needed to… But it’s just like Aizawa-Sensei said… And now that I’ve failed to save him, he- Kacchan’s gone… And it’s all my fault.”

“Alright- then let’s go get him.” Kirishima’s words echoed in stunned silence- like someone firing a musket in a field of corpses after a battle was already over.

Or like a last cry of strength when facing an impossible foe and a righting a wrong.

“We- Todoroki and I both- were just outside her room when Yaoyarozu explained… Apparently, she put a tracker on the Nomu that attacked the camp. She made a transceiver for it to help and gave it to the Pros and police. We both- we can’t just keep sitting around here and waiting. We have to do something . Bakugou’s still in danger, and we’re all frustrated we have to just sit here- that we can’t do anything to help… And I honestly hate it… Feeling like we’re just… In a stalemate with a bunch of villains after they took our classmate and could be doing who knows what…” Kirishima finished.

“Wait- that means you’re planning to have Yaoyarozu make another receiver for you, doesn’t it?” Iida pressed, obviously in inner turmoil. Izuku could understand why, given the thing a while back with Stain.

“So what if it does?” Shouto asked. It shocked Izuku- he was there that day, just like Izku was.

If he’s jumping into this all the same, then… There definitely is something more to this then the others would see… He’s more coarse than usual.

“WE SHOULD LEAVE THIS TO THE PROFESSIONALS! JUST LISTEN TO OUR TEACHERS AND THE POLICE- TO THE RULES! IT’S NOT THE TIME TO BE GETTING INVOLVED- IDIOTS !” Tenya yelled, throwing the room’s tension a mile high when Kirishima yelled back, obviously angry, though there was more Izuku could see, yet not place.

“MAYBE! BUT ALL I KNOW IS THAT AT CAMP- I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING!! I HEARD MY FRIEND- KNEW MY PARTNER- WAS TARGETED AND I JUST STOOD BY- HELPLESS !! SO IF I JUST STAND BY AND DO NOTHING NOW, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALL MYSELF A HERO OR A MAN?!?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LOOK HIM IN THE EYE ONCE HE’S BEFORE ME AGAIN!?!”

Surprisingly, no one jumped his throat about the rest of the revelation there, putting it aside for the moment in lieu of the bigger picture.

Kaminari tried to get them to calm down and stop yelling, Tsu pointed out Iida was right- which… Yeah, technically, legally, he was, Izuku knew he was… But…

“All of you, please just listen to me for a minute I know what you’re saying is right… But still! Come on , Midoriya! He’s still within your reach! You- we can still save Bakugou!”

Kirishima held his hand out to Izuku, and he knew what he’d do, he already wanted to, already knew what he had to do.

Things calmed down from there.

“So… let me get this straight… You’re going to get Momo to make another receiver, track a bad guy and then try to save Bakugou all by yourselves?” Mina was nervous, which was new coming from her.

“Yeah! That’s right!?” Kirishima was already going down with this plan, one way or another.

“The villains who attacked the camp… They were supposed to try and kill some of us, they didn’t get anywhere with that bec- for some reason…” Todoroki’s cover was all-but seamless. 

“But either way, they took Bakugou alive. What we don’t know is how long they’ll let him live… Or how tolerant and patient they are for whatever goal they have in mind for him. Even if that patience and tolerance is a lot, this is still Bakugou . That- That’s why we’re going after him- and that means wherever that receiver takes us.” Shouto kept his eyes downcast, face indifferent- to most, it would seem that way, but Izuku could read something more in the mis-matched eyes than just what he said. No one seemed to notice his near mis-step. Izuku, though, did.

There is another reason Shouto wants to go after the villains aside from Bakugou- though I can’t place what exactly it is, I can tell it’s not to fight them or anything hostile or volatile, so… I wonder what’s going through his head… He sounded like he was about to say something else- something different, maybe- right there… 

 “HAVE THE TWO OF YOU LOST YOUR MINDS!?” Iida yelled again, but was cut off and quieted by Shouji.

“Calm down, class rep. I can understand Kirishima’s frustration, and how Todoroki feels as well, since he couldn’t catch Bakugou. I’m upset too, and so is Midoriya… But we can’t let our emotions get the best of us, right?” Izuku had an… odd appreciation for Shouji’s level-headedness, and after the training camp, that had amplified, given everything therein. He was the youngest- and the tallest- classmate, yet also sometimes the more rational and calm.

Something Izuku was as well, most times. And, therefore, someone he admired and strove to learn from.

“U-Um… Shouldn’t we just leave it to All Might and the Pros- the police? Aizawa-Sensei only gave us the okay to use our Quirks to fight at the training camp…” Aoyama pitched in, ever-increasing in nervousness.

“Aoyama is correct, though, I am part of the reason we failed. I don’t think I should have an opinion or input. If I’d guarded the rear properly, none of this would have happened in the first place… But I lost control of Dark Shadow, and…” Tokoyami trailed off, Izuku once again wondering how he should help- not just his current classmates, but also the others, and Kacchan…

Kirishima tried to defend his position and decision, Tsuyu shut them down… If they went out looking for villains, knowing they were breaking the laws, then they were acting more like villains than heroes… And that- that stung … 

But Izuku knew it wasn’t entirely accurate. There was a term for people who did that… 

Though, they were often considered criminals and villains all the same, they really weren’t. 

A knock on the door and a doctor needing to talk with Izuku had his classmates leaving. 

But before stepping out, Kirishima came over to the gurney and gave Izuku the rundown. 

“We talked to Yaoyarozu yesterday, and if we’re doing this, it’s tonight. I know you were pretty busted up, but you’re healed up now… I didn’t think you’d be able to come if you weren’t awake or still injured, so now that you probably could, I’m going to invite you- because you probably feel at least partly the same as I do… Maybe worse if not the worst… You two grew up together, so I can’t really compare to that as short a time as I’ve known him… But look, we- we’re meeting in front of the hospital after dark.” 

The doctor didn’t have anything but criticism for Izuku, and what he learned this time was a pretty thorough shocker, all the same.

“Recovery Girl and her acquaintance both performed some pretty hard-core healing and reparing on your arms, so they’re better than they could have been, especially without our regularly donating specialist… 

But don’t get me wrong- you’ve still done some absurd damage to your body just over the last few months. They were seriously messed up- even the specialist had trouble. He could only do so much where joints and ligaments were concerned. His words were along the lines of ‘monstrous damage’. 

Unlike Recover Girl and the staff here, he didn’t even see your charts, that was just in comparison to what a normal, healthy and active teenager your age and body-type should be like. Two whole units went in where most times, a single unit can be split four ways and heal or treat most injuries with ease, so… That’s saying something on its own there. 

Frankly, from that, and what I could see in your charts, this is a whole new league of trauma you’ve been causing on your body. Your arms, specifically.”

“You mean it was that much worse this time?” He had to ask, because he honestly didn't feel like there was any more bad in them than there had been at the training camp when it began.

“Based on your charts, your past injuries were bad. Splintered bones and ripped up muscles. Painful, sure, but they could have been repaired over time. This time, though, the damage was devastating. Usually, a person’s body has limitors that keep them from using more than so much of their body’s strength at any given point. Strength inhibitors, the healer called them. 

In crisis situations, it is possible for those inhibitors to fall away, enabling higher percentages to be used- even one-hundred percent… It’s called ‘hysterical strength’. But the reason we have those limiters built into our brains in the first place is because our bodies can't handle that level of strength or exertion.

From what he could tell, even remotely, you have this strength, and used it. You put your body into that level of exertion for an extended period of time. It’s not good for your bones and muscles to be broken and shredded and splintered and ripped apart like that, but it’s even worse for your joints. 

That is one thing neither Recovery Girl or our specialist can help any- and he is more versatile than she is on just a Quirk-basis. Your injuries could be healed and repaired… For the most part… yet each time you’ve damaged your body, your ligaments and tendons- the things that protect and enable your joints to move properly- have endured catastrophic damage that isn’t able to be healed. With this, your joints are in a pretty horrendous state of disrepair- they’re seriously degraded…

In short, if you sustain this kind of injury, even two or three more times, you won’t likely be able to move your arms anymore. 

Even if the rest of you can be healed time and time again, as of yet, that isn’t possible with joints. 

I’ve only met two others with serious joint damage, and for a five year old, that meant barely being able to hold a juice box to reach the straw…

So, for now, focus on rehabilitation. Use them a lot, even if it hurts. I’ll leave the rest to U.A. And, I’ll go ahead and discharge you. They’re still keeping you kids here for the night, so take it easy. But you need to take this seriously.”

“Right. Thanks for your help, Doctor… And the Healer’s too… I’m sorry for any trouble I’ve caused.” Izuku felt like he’d been… well, only an arm’s-length from his dream and life forever falling out of his reach. He felt crushed in a lot of ways.

“Recovery Girl’s fed up with you. But, hey- I get the feeling that’s nothing new… Also- don’t forget you did save someone. Healing begins in the mind. Try not to worry, stay positive. It’ll be easier for you than it ever was for that five year old, I have a feeling.” He handed Izuku a letter from Kouta.

And that… made him feel better. It also made his decision more concrete.

Chapter Text

Naoki

Closing his own bedroom door behind him and hearing the water start up eventually, Naoki sighed and let himself lean back against the wall just beside his door.

It’s… been a hectic few days- but among the best few in years. I’m happy. 

Yet… also worried… How much longer will it last this time? Before this happiness once again returns to something bad?

Naoki thought to himself for a few minutes, smile eventually finding its way to him before he pulled up and went to the couch where Dabi was still out cold.

A hand pressed to his forehead, and Naoki was somewhat grateful he wasn’t as hot as he’d been before. Though- he was still too hot for anyone’s good.

Closer to 101 now than 105… that’s good. Means he’s cooling down. Once I get Katsuki fixed up, you’re next. I hope you know that. I’m not going to just sit and let you keep destroying yourself- no matter your reason… Even if you demand it.

Dabi barely registered the cold of Naoki’s hand either being placed or removed, driving in how exhausted he must have been. 

He looks so peaceful sleeping right now. It’s good to see, really. I-I want him to be able to have peace like this when he’s awake too.

With a press of his hand to the blanket Dabi was under, Naoki let Ricochet do the job his not being physically there could do- cooling Dabi down, in other words.

And, Naoki stood, preparing to check the mail, alongside his other normal routines. He barely caught Dabi’s phone screen lighting up before there was a knock at the door.

That had Naoki rushing around. Pulling another blanket over Dabi first and foremost. Making sure Katsuki’s remaining clothes were out of sight for second-most important. And the other various assorted medical supplies- that was third.

Then he got to the door- not quite certain who it would or could be.

Tao? He’d just come right in… not him, so… who?

“Oh.” It was all he could think to say in reply to the dorky grin, visor raised and headphones lowered.

“Sorry- I did try texting. Everything okay?” Hawks asked.

Naoki found his left hand in his bangs, half-peeved he’d forgotten, half that this could have been avoided if he’d just answered- not that he could remember where his phone even was…

“Nah- I- I mean yes! Everything’s fine. I was cleaning up what’s left from breakfast earlier. My- my boyfriend’s in the shower, so I shouldn’t take too long. So u-um…?” Naoki hoped the inquisition into why Hawks was there got through.

“Tuna nigiri. I said I’d bring some by. Did you forget or did I misinterpret that- you saying the only thing you might need after yesterday was more tuna sushi?” Hawks seemed to be fishing, almost. And not for a response. 

He’d found Naoki’s behaviour strange enough to warrant it, Naoki surmised.

“N-No- not at all. It really will help. I’ve just been a bit frantic cleaning this morning. ‘T’s what happens when I miss a day after several months of also missing… I’ve been having a bit of trouble up until recently, so… Behind on my laundry, shopping, dishes and-” He peeked behind Hawks. “My garden’s probably certifiably dead … Man…”

Hawks turned enough to get a glance, Naoki using that to step out onto the porch with him instead, praying he’d not seen or assumed anything too bad.

Hawks… didn’t seem convinced it was that simple.

His eyes narrowed for a thought or two, and his demeanour changed when he spoke, “Naoki? Is there something going on? You don’t come across as helpless or weak or anything, exactly- but you are acting like you’re in danger- or something similar. I’m a Hero, but I’d like to think I’m a friend too. So I was going to try asking and giving you a chance before anything else. Are you safe?”

Naoki inhaled. “More so than I’ve been since my brother died in many ways, but also a bit wavering in a way too… I’m okay, I promise. And everything’s fine. I really appreciate the concern, I do.” Naoki gave, honest, though vague- but still accompanied by a reassuring smile. 

“If you’re sure. So- did you misplace your phone?” Hawks seemed to take it at that, thankfully not insisting on a premise search or anything- Naoki thanking any small deity out there for that simple thing.

“Yeah- I lose it in my own house a lot, somehow… It’s probably in close proximity to my laptop if I had to guess- I was working on a story this morning.”

“Press?” Hawks asked. They were settling down on the stairs up to Naoki’s porch.

“N-No- nothing like that. I just- art and creative writing make up most of my time anymore. Kouya- he used to take care of everything, but I’ve been trying to get my head back together since he died… Hence the schooling thing I mentioned… He left everything to me, and he fully owned this place. So I’ve got more than enough to get by how I do… Probably could increase my spending and still have enough funding for the next five years yet. 

I-I do work too, though… Mostly donations and healing, I guess, but I’ve been at a few other places until my brain fries itself and I hit a bad low… Then promptly lose that job…” Naoki confessed- again, not lying. 

He’d had a few jobs that went that way. Hawks nodded and thankfully didn’t poke at the ‘bad low’ Naoki mentioned. His own mental health wasn’t his ally or friend- never had been.

“That’s pretty neat, still, though. You do seem the creative type, so it’s not that surprising. Here- may as well eat since we’re out here. I went ahead with an eight-piece to be on the safe side.” He handed Naoki a container of sushi and a few other fixings.

“Oh- thank you, really. What about you?” 

Hawks pulled a chicken sandwich out. “Fried chicken sandwich. So what are you doing today? You and the boyfriend doing anything special?”

“Huh- oh… Well, we’re going to go meet up with my cousin tonight. But that’s about it, really. I’ve got some cleaning and resting and other stuff here I need to do, though.” Naoki shrugged, going for a piece as Hawks finished his first bite.

“Doing anything in Kamino? It’s not too far from here, right? ‘Bout an hour on foot.” Hawks asked. Naoki had to keep from any reaction, finishing his mouthful before answering.

He’s a Pro- no doubt he knows about the League… About Dabi too… But thankfully we’re not heading there… So I assume that’s where the League’s at, maybe… Based on the necrosis Katsuki had, though, Dabi had to have backtracked and doubled around a significant amount, considering how much it had spread…

“No. Probably closer to Mutsutafu if anything. My cousin’s got a place up there- and that’s where we’re meeting for- I assume- a late dinner or something. He’s never one to fully plan or detail things when they’re meant to be surprises… Which just means we always know when it’s going to be a surprise… 

And that gives us a chance to try and keep it from going awry when it’s bound to otherwise.” Naoki smiled fondly at that memory, Tao’s attempt at a surprise party when he’d gotten an office building to work from with Kouya… Only for a thunderstorm to hype his Quirk up and fry the whole area’s wiring.

“Ah- I see. Well, sounds like you’ll be stuck cleaning up whatever happens there, but you don’t seem to mind. I’d wager you probably enjoy it. So- cousin, huh?”

“Uh- technically, second cousin. My and Kouya’s mom- her youngest cousin… And like- way younger than she was, considering even now he’s younger than Kouya was when he died. 

And I do enjoy it. Even though he’s way too hyper, eccentric and overbearingly extroverted, and I usually get drained by him pretty quick… Luckily, my boyfriend and brother knew how to either knock him down a few pegs- Kouya- or know how to tell him to stop before he regretted it… Taichi didn’t ever need more than a few words, but Kouya would verbally gut Tao when he got to be too much. 

Taichi gets overwhelmed too, but he’s also a bit scarier… And that means picking on him wasn’t ever fun for Kouya or Tao… I wasn’t so lucky, so Taichi always had to step in… It- it always made me feel guilty because I couldn’t do it myself back then… Ah- I-I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to ramble.”

Naoki wasn’t sure why he’d even said   those names… Or why he’d spilled so easily. Or why he was so scatter-brained.

Maybe it was from the good sleep? Or Dabi- Taichi- being back finally? He wasn’t sure.

Or maybe he just missed the way things were back then… Heck- even just Kouya, maybe.

Hawks swallowed. “Hey, you’re fine. I was under the impression you seemed kinda lonely, and that just means I was right. 

Well, as much as I’d like to stick around, I gotta take off. That said, I had a good time- and that’s not really common. So, ‘til next time? Just don't leave me up in the air, shoot me a text or something.” 

“Yeah, I will. Thank you again. You really didn’t have to go this far. Have a good day, Hawks.”

Hawks slid his visor down, headphones on, and with a smile and a wave, took off.

All Naoki could do was sigh.

After a good minute, he stood up and went to the door. Lifting the mailbox lid once, he went inside to finish his food not in the sun.

Shadow Manipulation definitely makes me wear faster in sunlight if I’m not careful or using Ricochet… Never knew Kouya had this much trouble with sunlight until I had the Quirk myself…

Huh-

Dabi was sitting upright, looking toward Naoki with something almost bittersweet- right up until he met Naoki’s eyes.

Wonder what that was…?

“So, Redbird brought you sushi afterall, huh? Good talk?”

Naoki wasn’t sure why he felt like he should be guilty. He’d explained it to Dabi the previous night, and Dabi had been more than fine with it.

“Yeah. It was just a short visit… Said he’d texted but I haven’t the slightest where my phone’s at.”

Dabi scoffed, amused. That bad feeling was slowly going away as Dabi’s expression returned to it’s new normal.

“Same here… I think I rolled off the couch when you threw the blanket on me maybe? I know I woke up on the floor a few minutes before you came back in…”

“Oops… Sorry… I didn’t mean to wake you up… You really need the rest.” Naoki sat down, pressing a hand to Dabi’s cheek again. “You feel warmer already…” That wasn’t a happy or good feeling, not at all.

“You’re fine… So- any clue where your phone is? Might need it to find mine…”

“I have an idea. Can I finish eating?”

Dabi nodded, slumping back onto the couch how he’d been sleeping, except for his legs now swung over Naoki’s knees and behind his back, hemming him in.

And they both knew Naoki wouldn’t mind. 

Naoki finished and stepped into the bedroom- once Dabi released him, anyway. “There we are-” He grabbed his phone, hitting the screen light, and a bit confused why he had a message from Tao- three from Hawks, too, but…

He was hitting the last password button when he sat back down. 

Oh… Well, explains why Tao messaged… Katsuki probably called the emergency number, but got Kouya’s message Tao fixed in for me- well, for Kouya, but for my sake… 

He glanced at Dabi- who was still lying back with his eyes closed. A shake of his head, he ignored it- it wasn’t worth starting trouble over. No harm in the end, so…

The three from Hawks were pretty simple. Only a few minutes between them each. 

“Good morning.” “I’ve got sushi- Now a good time?” “I’m landed, going to knock once I get situated.”

Short and to the point, but still polite. Naoki felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth at the pleasantness. 

“Hey, Dabi- I’m going to call you now.” Naoki verbally warned Dabi. He wasn’t sure what Dabi might have his phone settings on, so he wanted to give Dabi a heads-up.

Don’t even know his number either… 

“Right-” Dabi sat up and listed it off, Naoki typing it in and calling. 

Shower’s off now…

A few seconds to connect, and they could hear the phone, a familiar tune playing as Naoki called that made his chest hurt- and also brought his smile all the way out. It was what Taichi had always had Naoki’s number set on.

“Thanks.” Dabi waved the device, having found it pretty quickly.

He went to it as the bedroom door slid open, Katsuki tossing the towel toward Dabi, Naoki snatching it before it hit instead.

“Staples, Katsuki… Please don’t tear them.”

“Fuck if I care.” Katsuki’s voice was harsh and clipped, but his body language read differently.

“Are you ready to begin again? Round five’s going to be the thigh and arm- decay, not burn- but all in one go.”

“Tch. You sur-”

“Fuck! Shit…” Dabi sounded panicked, and Naoki did not like that. But he didn’t give any time to ask. “Time- Damnit! C’mon- seriously…” He growled, standing up and storming into Kouya’s room, the bathroom door audible as it shut too.

“What’s up his ass now?” Katsuki asked. 

Naoki just worried more. But he pushed it aside, beginning on the next healing. 

Dabi will ask if he needs something… I shouldn’t press or get in his way. I’m worried, though… That was a pretty volatile reaction. I hope everything’s okay.

Katsuki let Naoki get him situated and let the process go without much-to-any snark or attitude, his eyes narrowed toward the direction Dabi was now, thinking- Naoki was sure- but not saying anything.

Chapter Text

All Might

Toshinori sighed at his sixth failed attempt. 

I know Kouya’s always been… cautious… But I’m starting to worry it’s far more than that. Perhaps we should forego relying on trying to find Kouya, and ask him . I need to check in with Tsukauchi first, though. See if we know anything new… There’s going to be a second meeting with the other Pros than those from U.A.’s staff, Tsukauchi and Best Jeanist this afternoon, so we may need to spend our remaining time more wisely…

His phone ringing interrupted hit thoughts, Tsukauchi calling.

“Tsukauchi- hey. I was just about to call you.”

“Good timing then. I need you to come out this way. We’ve maybe got something. Aizawa’s coming in as well, so he’ll drive you. He should be there shortly.”

“Alright, thanks- oh. He’s already waiting. Wish I’d known he was out here…” Toshinori locked the door and made toward Aizawa’s vehicle- again.

“Well, I’ll fill you both in when you get here. Bye.”

“See you soon, then.” The line clicked and Toshinori climbed in the passenger seat.

“Good morning, Aizawa. Listen, I-”

“Before you go apologising or something, don’t get too bent up. I’m already settled with everything. Let’s just… do what we need to here and now. The rest can come later.”

“That aside, then… Did you get any sleep?” Toshinori just did what he did best- take it and roll with it. 

He actually was going to apologise, but if it wasn’t wanted or needed, then he could let it rest.

“I managed okay. Midoriya came to in the middle of the night, so he’s awake and been through the police already. They’re likely going to discharge him here today- not that any of them are going home just yet…”

“Oh! That’s good.” Toshinori sighed in relief. “I was worried when I heard of his injuries.”

Aizawa scoffed, mid-turn by this point, “Two whole units of Recovery Girl’s healer friend’s donations. Something said there from what the staff mentioned. And he’s still not coming back without issues from what I hear. When I saw his arms that night, I had a lecture list a mile and a half long for him, but now I just want this whole ordeal over with… 

Muscular- that’s who he fought, according to Kouta. I… Know that now, and while it doesn’t change much, it does add some perspective…”

“Ah- I am sorry about that… I’m afraid that responsibility lies in my own ineptitude. Pleas-”

“Save it- we’re here.” Aizawa cut him off once again, but they were at their destination.

They made it up to Tsukauchi’s office, the door closing and locking before Tsukauchi would speak outside greetings.

“Alright- we’ve identified the clone maker and the one who turned people into marbles. Jin Bubaigawara. Quirk is ‘Double’ here are his records. Next is Atsuhiro Sako. Quirk is ‘Compress’. Files here… That leaves the fire-user. We’ve still got nothing on him. 

On a good note- we’ve fully confirmed the Nomu’s current whereabouts.” Tsukauchi gave them those files before moving on. “And… A few weeks ago, someone with a patchwork appearance was spotted near an abandoned building by an officer of mine. There was nothing relevant to it at the time, but we know from you and Vlad that our unidentified fire-wielder has such an appearance. 

We did some digging, and turns out there’s a sketchy bar running out of that building in the back. All of that said, the other thing he noted was that this patch-work villain known now as ‘Dabi’ seemed to linger outside quite a while, almost like he was intentionally letting himself be seen by any people nearby at the time. 

And, since my deputy saw him, he’s only continued to do so, more frequently as well. However, the past three days, this trend hasn’t continued. It’s likely this could be a trap, though it’s also suspicious in as many ways as he is…

That said, any luck with our contact, All Might? I may have found a possible alternative if there’s still been nothing on Kouya yet. Unfortunately, we no longer have the luxury of time to wait for him, and… If we can’t identify this fire-wielder, I may know someone who can identify him and likely find Kouya, though it is broaching illegal- as I informed Aizawa.”

Toshinori shook his head, curious if they had indeed come upon the same route to possibly solving their problems. 

“No, I haven’t had any luck. Each time plays the same message. As much as this kind of behaviour is like him, it’s also starting to worry me because it’s not like him in a way.”

“I see. Then we should head to this alternative right away. Given the talent he’s displayed in reguards to this case thus far, I think it’s something he’ll easily be able to do.

Both identifying our fire-user, finding out about Kouya, and possibly circumvent all that red tape around your theory, Aizawa.” 

Toshinori looked to Aizawa curiously. He’d yet to be informed of whatever ‘theory’ Aizawa had- or what it was about, even.

Aizawa noticed, and with a nod between him and Tsukauchi, Aizawa filled him in. After the fact, it made sense why they’d been hesitant about it, though.

---

Tao( Kirin )

This was the busiest Tao could remember being in most of his Hero career. Between keeping up his Hero duties, there was the side-business he had to keep up as well. 

Naoki helped quite a bit- a lot more than Tao honestly wanted, considering the health issues he knew of- and those his oldest cousin’s youngest child didn’t inform him of. Kouya had always been better with Naoki- and as his elder half-brother, that was rational. Right, even.

But Naoki insisted on helping, and when Tao started having trouble keeping up with the sheer efficiency of Kouya , he had to accept… 

Though, given Naoki’s other business, it wasn’t easy on either of them.

Especially when Taichi comes back making the biggest mess of things a single person could ever be capable of! I have no idea why, and don’t even start on how I’m supposed to help him get out of it! Not when he’s still hiding something. I could feel it at the cemetery the other day- 

God, what day even was that? Can’t remember- been awake way too long… Even for me.

With a sigh, Tao continued, same speed as he’d been maintaining with all of this work.

Faster than Hawks… 

And that was saying something. Hawks was fast- considered the fastest… Tao wasn’t ‘fast’ physically- not enough to outmatch the Wing Hero… He could catch speeds surpassing Hawks’s physically… During a thunder or lightning storm… And for as long as a half-minute… Then he’d crash and burn. Not ideal, really. 

No- the speed he was proud of was involving electricity. Technology. Information flow. Fast as neuron synapses in the brain or the flow of an electrical current from light switch to light bulb.

Meshing, fusing with his electronics- or hundreds of them- and ensuring every police station and hero agency across the country were all up to date on every single thing synonymously was an easy task.

Managing the information so it fit Kouya’s rigorous standards and classifications- his business, and all… That was what taxed him just a bit… He wasn’t taking it here and now, just organising it the same way Kouya would while involved in this case- it was crazily efficient for finding and keeping track of information.

But, all of that said only meant that he was Kouya’s network now… Naoki as well. 

He didn’t want Kouya’s life’s work going to waste. All four of them- Kouya, Tao, Naoki, and Taichi- had a goal… Obviously, Kouya wasn’t able to see when it was met now… And for whatever reason, Taichi gave up on it…

But that wouldn’t make Tao sell him out. So, keeping those who didn’t need to know from finding out so he could maybe keep Taichi, Dabi , safe… was of vital importance. 

Then, around eleven am- he only knew because his phone noted the time, Naoki’s phone called emergency services… Or Kouya’s second-to-last message. Set up by Tao- along with dozens of others for various people. 

That message from Kouya to Naoki was so if or when Naoki needed that kind of help- enough to call that number- it would be Tao who was notified… That only applied to Naoki’s messages, though. And Naoki was the only one Kouya made two for. 

He quickly sent a reply to Naoki. He’d check on him as soon as he could. 

Tao was a bit peeved he’d likely be losing his long-held low ranking because of Best Jeanist and Recovery Girl suggesting and otherwise demanding this job from him- because they both knew how good he was at it.

Odds were, he’d get more popular. Not his cup of shock-therapy.

A few hours later- close to thirteen-hundred hours, and Tao’s assigned assistant informed him he had company. Visitors who had a favour to ask of him.

He pulled half-way out of his work- at least to see who they were and what he was needed for. He’d pull all the way out if they needed. So, he still had one hand typing furiously away. 

There were other techy hacker likes he always had to be wary of, and half-in, he could still keep them out .

Where they belonged . 

Otherwise, he’d have to take a few solid minutes closing his network and wiring up tight .

Three knocks at the door, and three people.

None of which Tao was particularly happy to see… Given he’d gifted all three of them specialised messages from Kouya years ago… Before he died.

“Oh boy.” Tao’s mouth always had a habit of moving before he could stop it when he most needed to stay quiet… Good thing he really despised cursing and usually, insulting unnecessarily, so he generally avoided too much trouble. 

Though, admittedly, the other day with Taichi was a different story. Obviously.

“You’re gonna have to give me a minute to knit this all back up nice and pretty… If I just pull out, it’ll leave this whole thing wide open for anyone.” So, Tao did just that, luckily not getting any input or reply as he did. It would’ve distracted him- which may have left gaps in his proverbial stitching of electrical wounds.

“Okay- What can I do for you guys?” Hands in his lap- so he could suppress his fidgeting and picking- Tao rolled around in the chair to face them.

Shota Aizawa- homeroom teacher of Class 1-A of U.A. Highschool, and underground Pro Hero ‘Eraser Head’. Quirk ‘Erasure’. 

Naomasa Tsukauchi. Detective, allied to All Might, and had former connections to Kouya, though none to Naoki, thanks to Kouya’s work. Quirk- Truth.

And Toshinori Yagi. AKA ‘All Might’. Current Heroics instructor for U.A.. Protege of Nana Shimura, former holder of ‘One For All’- current holder being Izuku Midoriya, All Might’s chosen successor. He still held embers of the Quirk, but they were fading more each time he used them…

Someone connected to Kouya, and unsurprisingly, All For One. 

He also didn’t know Naoki personally, hardly much more than a nickname if even a name. He knew the connection between Recovery Girl and Kouya was Kouya’s younger brother- who had a blood-based Healing Quirk. Nothing more, really. Though, if he bothered to remember or note it somewhere, he knew where Kouya once lived. Not that he knew anything further or recent if Tao had to guess. 

Hence why he was here now.

The No. One had stubbournly refused Kouya’s help in dealing withAll For One years back, which was presenting its results and after-effects now. 

Personally, Tao was prone to leaning a bit more towards Kouya’s views on the matter, even despite the other man’s reasonings and whatnot. 

He had a feeling he might know what they were there for. A certainty, rather.

They may know of his connections to Kouya, might not… Either way, they likely wanted to find out this- and more- through him. Not good. 

All Might- Toshinori Yagi- spoke first. As always, he held the utmost authority in any given situation. A man of absolutes, Kouya had once said. 

“Pro Hero Kirin, correct?”

Tao narrowed his eyes. They knew that. “Yes- though I believe you can’t possibly not know, given my current position and activities at this particular time.”

“We need you to do some digging for us, and quite probably circumventing a good deal of red tape in the process.”

Tsukauchi’s words had something vile pricking at the insides of Tao’s throat. The mention of proverbial ‘red tape’ was suggesting illegalities, he was sure- bordering or otherwise… And even if he was already hands-in on a number of similar or identical ventures, having the Number 1, a detective and Aizawa being the ones to ask him to do it… certainly left something bitter in its wake. 

At least they weren’t having Tsukauchi use his Quirk on Tao- he knew as much without doubt.

“And that would be?” He kept his eyes firmly rooted in the three of them. Body language, facial and vocal cues. Anything he could use or glean or make headway from.

He was nothing close to Kouya, but he’d learned as best as he was capable. His mind worked differently. 

Kouya lived and thrived in the shadows adeptly and effortlessly like Dark Matter. Tao was as eccentric as the varying colours of both visible and non-visible spectrums- and thrived on emotions above all else.

“We’ve identified all new members of the League and determined that Kurogiri, and therefore Shigaraki Tomura are involved.”

Tao cut them off there- for Taichi’s sake, he hoped they didn’t know everyone. “And their own puppet master, I’m sure. There’s little chance someone isn’t illustrating this from behind the curtain, judging by the looks of it. The sheer difference in his mannerisms and behaviour between the USJ and now suggests as much to me.”

All Might gave him a look, something Tao imagined Kouya received often for how much he knew that he really shouldn’t know. But Tsukauchi kept moving, Tao having successfully derailed and stalled enough to think of a way to handle this. He didn’t have Kouya or Naoki’s thought processing, he was far more scattered than them thanks to his Quirk and other eccentricities. 

As such, he usually needed a little time to get things shaped up- something his quick tongue usually found quite easily, Tao knew from experience.

“Perhaps.” Tsukauchi began, gulping and moving on, not outright agreeing or refuting. “Anyway, what I was saying was that we’ve identified them all- and determined Tomura Shigaraki and Kurogiri’s being at play- however, there is one we haven’t found anything on at all, though, we’ve assessed where the League’s base is thanks to this. 

Everything I’m saying has yet to move on outside the three of us, mostly because we wanted the chance to try and find out or confirm something before we do. Either way, it will be passed on at a shortly-coming point.” Tsukauchi handed Tao a paper-only file. 

Tao accepted, but didn’t open it right away. Best to wait for that implicit order.

“Open it.” So he did.

It was a file about the currently unidentified ‘Dabi’ of the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains… As well as a few simple and miniscule scraps of information about Rei, Natsuo, Fuyumi Todoroki. What there was- so what Tao and Kouya already had- anyway. Birth records and some minour information, Quirks, current statuses. Simple things.

Enough to give Tao a bad feeling about the fourth sheet.

The one holding the even-lesser shreds of known information about Touya Todoroki- something Kouya himself had so much more of- Tao too, of course, though likely far less than Kouya had, he was sure. Still, he had more than enough to know where he was at that exact moment. 

But he was also missing the last three years, just like the trio in front of him- though they were missing far, far more than that. They didn’t even have a photo or birth certificate. No Quirk information or anything. 

Anything but a rough sketch Tao recognised as Touya from around the time Naoki had found him- but obviously before what had been done to him, and a sketch of Dabi- without the burns and black hair. A photograph of the ‘Cremation’ villain right behind those.

“The sketches were from Shouto Todoroki when he proposed this theory to me the morning after the attack. Those sheets of notebook paper are what he divulged to me- what he remembers, anyway. He was rather young… He’s… never believed whatever was told to the family about Touya’s… well, anything.” Aizawa was taken aback at the scoff from Tao. 

“What’s so funny?” Aizawa asked, watching Tao carefully. His inability to hold his tongue may yet be the end of him, Tao was beginning to realise.

“Just that, well, if this is all new to even the Number 1, a well-renowned and respectably honest detective, and you, and it’s all you have… Honestly, it’s hardly anything… not reeking of something foul.” He snapped the file closed, images flashing through his head of Touya when he’d first ever seen the boy- still recovering from what his monster of a father did to him.

“Which is why we’re asking you to help us. If there’s any validity to this theory, then we need to know. It could spell the difference between my student living or dying. Shouto said his elder brother had distinct lines, but was rather vague on what they were… I do know my student, and his mouth isn’t likely to spare him being killed otherwise. Also… it makes a significant difference between being arrested and quite possibly harmed in the process- or singled-out to be protected and captured safely for this ‘Dabi’. It would be something in the case he’s caught- if anything could give him a chance, I sincerely want to.”

Tao chewed at the insides of his mouth, eyes lowered as he thought. 

I still haven’t figured out what Taichi was hiding… Why he’s at the League. It could get him killed if there’s something involved I don’t know about… I can’t risk that outright.

However… I also know it won’t go unchecked into an empty grave if it ‘turns out’ what Shouto told Aizawa ‘proves true’.

It could make Taichi come home. It could be the start to Kouya’s life’s work finally making a difference like it was meant to. 

Maybe… If I can ensure he gets the support he needs in the meantime- joining for real or not, if I can keep him safe from them and the Pros, he’ll open up- or I can dig whatever this mess is out from under him with that time. Keeping him safe, nonetheless. It’s of the utmost importance… 

But I need time . I’m not as fast as Kouya, and even if I can prove it with all he had, all I have, and this… What’s going to prove it to the rest of the world is what’s behind that red tape… 

Kouya knew, but he never let it out. He locked it back up himself, and he was the only one I could ever have legit competition against in the realm of technology- because my skill is from my Quirk… His was something he perfected without it. 

Meaning when he was serious- and he was when it came to Taichi especially- he did things in a way that rendered someone coming at it with a Quirk in their bag of arsenals impossible… 

So if I can somehow get through without my Quirk- on innate skill, talent and trained skill alone… Then maybe… 

Otherwise, I’m going to need time, and making up something to get me time has always been a skill… One I come by easily and naturally.

I don’t really see or know of another option at this point…

So with a resolved mind, Tao swallowed, giving his answer.

“I’ll do the red tape, but it is bordering illegal- I hope you all know what that means… And I’ll need time. Odds are, whoever had it put there or arranged it- maybe even who taped it up directly- didn’t want anyone getting to what’s behind it…

That said, you mentioned his not being identified yet as what led you to the League’s base, correct?” Tao had intent behind his words. He was just hoping he was able to portray it well enough.

“I did.”

Tao gave a small, subtle nod at Tsukauchi’s answer. He’d suspected as much, but now Tao felt he had a bit more to go on- some kind of lead or trail he could follow- or cut his way through like a railgun if necessary. He’d scraped at the surface and been digging hit-and-miss, haphazardly on it, but this gave him some kind of real place to start.

“Until I’m able to get through that tape, I think it's best to tread carefully around Dabi. That behaviour reminds me of someone trying to tip the Pros and police off. We don’t know anything about him- which coming from me- isn’t exactly easy to do in this society… But I’ll put some work into both that and this red tape. And the moment I make any headway, I’ll let you three know- before anyone else. Is there anything else?” Tao asked, knowing full-well anything too much more would get dangerous, risky and complicated.

“I have one thing, though it is relatively personal…”

Aizawa nodded, “As do I, actually.” 

Tao took a sharp inhalation. Oh boy… One from each Pro… well, I just had to ask… Here goes.

“Yes?” 

Toshinori spoke first. “I’d like to see what you can find out about a certain young man. He should be twenty-seven now. His Quirk is Shadow Manipulation. Kouya Tsukikage.”

Somehow, I knew this was coming up- they’ve gotten curious at Kouya’s messages… How bold to ask directly like this. But I’ll answer it, given I actually know it off-hand, and it wouldn’t hurt too much.

He pulled a small scrap of paper from a nearby empty sheet, writing the necessary address onto it. “Here… And twenty-six, actually.”

Toshinori looked baffled at that response, looking down at the slip. 

“He’s there.” Tao added, then looking to Aizawa. “And your inquiry?”

Aizawa glanced curiously at Toshinori, but quickly went onward. “I’d like an address, email or phone number for an acquaintance of Recovery Girl’s. I intend to send thanks for the help given to my students- specifically the injured ones, and the Cats would like the same, since Pixie-Bob falls into this same boat. I asked Recovery Girl, but she denied my inquiry, and I’d left before getting the chance to ask when I could have.”

He means Naoki, I’m sure. Simple, really- except that his student is currently being healed by Naoki in his illegal, vigilante home-business! Not a good combination on any existential front…

Tao stayed silent, hoping to get Aizawa to just confirm his beliefs. And he did. 

“He said his name was Naoki Kirahara.” All Might seemed happy with that confirmation, like he’d assumed, and had just been proven right. It meant he knew Naoki’s name and Tao wasn’t aware.

They’d both been proven correct, though like with Kouya, Tao wasn’t exactly happy about it.

“I’d suggest you and All Might both go there once things settle down- he should remember where that is. But don’t waste time with what’s going on right now. Are we all settled, then?

I work through the red tape, find out what I can about ‘Dabi’ and keep up my other duties in reguards to information in this case?”

“You can let the work you’ve been doing go for the moment. From here, it’ll be on a more as-needed spectrum anyways. Focus on that, please. And Kirin- thank you, honestly. Best Jeanist sure came through with you.” Tsukauchi gave him a solid nod. 

“I’m grateful you’ve been making this easier for all parties involved- and closer to impossible for those who shouldn’t be. Thank you, Kirin.” All Might probably knew hackers would have trouble getting through Tao’s Quirk and other efficiencies therein. Even if not outright, he’d suspect it.

Aizawa just gave him an appreciative nod, and they left…

Leaving Tao to fall back into his rolling, spinny chair with exasperation and exhaustion unlike anything he’d felt since Kouya first died.

And scrambling to think of how he was going to pull this off.

His evening was supposed to be relatively simple. Meet with Naoki, get the ‘VIP’. Transfer the VIP to Recovery Girl, and then figure out what the hell he was supposed to do about Taichi- Dabi- Touya’s catastrophe.

Now, he’d have to figure it out on the run, and he’d be better off not wasting time doing as much.

Thinking back to the message he sent earlier, he realised he’d likely have to put that off for the time being and get this under control before people he loved ended up dead. Again.

---

Tomura

Watching the clock tick closer and closer to the deadline he set for Dabi, Tomur grinned, wide and cruelly. Like this, he could definitively turn Dabi over to whatever his Sensei had in store for the resident ashtray. Less than a minute remained until that would become an irrefutable certainty.

It feels like a weight off my chest at this point, really. I can get rid of an annoyance, and Sensei will have it all handled from here with that failure of a villain.

Except, the bell tolled at the door within the same minute, a very winded Dabi coming in, hands promptly resting on his knees as he was bent in half, obviously trying to catch his breath.

But without Katsuki, just as he and his Sensei thought Dabi would.

And that redoubled Shigaraki’s maniacal grin. 

Let’s see what excuse he comes up with this time, shall we?

“You were almost late, Dabi . Mind filling us in on where our hero-bait is, or at least his current condition.” 

Dabi glanced up at Shigaraki for a second, no longer, then stood upright, exhaling sharp and deep before drawing in breath to speak- breath Shigaraki had a feeling wouldn’t be there come morning.

“Infections aren’t likely, and his fever’s broken, but he’s been drugged enough he’s been out cold. If I’d brought him along, I’d have struggled to get here on time… Stayed up ‘til he was in the clear and passed out close to dawn, so can’t blame me for sleepin’ like that, can ya? I’ll bring him tomorrow- think it’ll be safe to by then.” Dabi got out, cockiness still lingering, but overall serious in response.

Like he knows something’s wrong, almost… A bit too serious and cautious, I think.

“Then you’ll do that. In the meantime, though, as I mentioned in the message, we have… an alternative method, given we’re short our real bait, and I still have a League to lead and a society to destroy. Besides, I believe this way is far more likely to produce results, whether or not anyone… does anything.”

Dabi gave an apathetic, but curious, look Shigaraki’s direction, urging him to spill, Shigaraki was sure. “That why you said to stabilise him and get here even if it was without him? Ya need me to do it or something?”

The arrogance and smugness he has… No, I don’t- but I need to make sure you stay out of the way and the real one isn’t out and about to counter this plan. Not that you’ll know of it.

“In a way, yes. There is a part for you in it, after all. But for now, take a seat and get a drink. You look like you’re going to keel over any second. 

Middle of summer heat can’t be comfortable for you, I imagine. 

Kurogiri- whatever he wants, give him. He’s our ally and I intend for my elite Vanguard Action Squad not to lose any more members- especially their competent leader- and our only long-range fighter at that. 

You should eat something too, Dabi. I doubt you’ve had much in the way of food wherever you’re staying.” Shigaraki knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but he wasn’t going easy on someone he couldn’t really be sure he trusted to begin with- let alone now, after the stunt Dabi pulled.

Still, feigning kindness or whatnot for his comrade and ally wasn’t difficult.

Dabi only barely narrowed his eyes, just the smallest bit, but because he was actively searching for that kind of miniscule change in the likes of Dabi, Shigaraki noticed- and promptly pretended he didn’t.

How could I have missed those kinds of things before? Oh- right. I hated him and loathed his very existence from the start, and that bred ignorance and intolerance to try and see anything but that smug derisive attitude he had… 

But now I know they’re there, and I know how to look for them. How to spot them. It’s all too easy, even the smallest of shifts and movements.

With a stool taken, Dabi just asked for the simplest thing he could- and Shigaraki could laugh. The most damning thing was that he asked for anything at all.

“Water.” Short, blunt, simple and to the point.

And with the ice cubes clinking in the downed glass after Dabi gulped the whole thing down, Shigaraki considered it his victory.

“So what’s this ingenious plan ya got or whatever?”

“I’ll fill you in when everyone gets back- they’re out or otherwise engaged at the moment. So you’ll just have to be patient, Dabi. You can surely manage that, can’t you?” Dabi ignored him, as Shigaraki wanted. The less he had to listen to Dabi, the better.

A half-hour passed, and Dabi was nodding off at the bar. Just as Shigaraki needed.

Just as Sensei suggested.

A solid thud echoed in the bar as Dabi hit the wood flooring, the same instant Twice, Toga as  Katsuki Bakugou and a double of Toga came into the bar.

Shigaraki smirked at the single instant of confused panic before Dabi passed completely out.

“Get him to one of your rooms and let him rest- he obviously needs it. Then wait for that press conference, and move out. You three know the plan, so follow it.”

“Is he okay? Is he dead?! Wake up, moron!”

“I sincerely hope so. Seems he’s exhausted enough he couldn’t stay awake any longer. I’ll fill him in once he’s up again. Don’t worry, Twice, he’ll be fine. I’m quite sure Dabi knows how to handle himself. 

Think about it- his fire Quirk probably does him no favours in the summer heat, on top of trying to take care of his self-assigned ward, I’m sure.”

Twice seemed content with that answer, taking off with Dabi, and everyone outside Shigaraki, Kurogiri and Sensei remained unaware of the cause of Dabi’s… state.

Shigaraki looked to the camera in the middle of the room, hoping he did well. Hoping he maybe did well enough . Maybe, even enough to be praised again.

But not until this is over and I’ve had the success I’m hoping and looking for. When my plan pans out for the best, I’m sure Sensei will be pleased.

A few hours remained until the press conference where U.A. would apologise for their ineptitudes and failures. Once it started, so too would Shigaraki’s self-concocted plan.

Chapter Text

Dabi

Dabi had his phone, Naoki having helped him find it. He caught bits and pieces of chatter between Katsuki Bakugou and Naoki, but what he saw on the text message from Shigaraki drowned everything out, panic settling in deep. 

[I need you back at base by one, even if it’s without Bakugou. We’ll need you here, and I have a strategy I need to discuss with everyone in the League. Even if you can’t bring Bakugou, make sure he’s stable and that you’re here on time.]

The next message- that was what made Dabi frantic. 

[If not, then you’ll be considered a rat, and be hunted like one. Prove to us that you’re in the League for real, and show up.]

“Fuck! Shit…” Dabi panicked, scrambling to check the time on the phone, double-checking on the stove clock. “Time- Damnit! C’mon- seriously…” 

He growled, standing up and storming into Kouya’s room, grabbing his clothes on the way to the bathroom- he wouldn’t have time if he didn’t leave in the next two minutes. And he’d have to risk being late because under no circumstance was he risking Naoki’s home or safety in any way, so doubling back and everything he’d done to get there… 

But mid-day, in the heat and with people, pros and cops out looking for the League in full-force… 

So it wasn’t going to be anything close to easy, he already knew.

No choice, I have to go, and I have to go now .  

So once he was dressed, he did just that.

Not giving Naoki or the blonde so much as a hint or word as he left through the front door.

And Dabi had to stop himself from looking back, had to hope it wouldn’t be his last chance to see that house, be in that home… Or see Naoki again. Because it very well could be. 

Luckily, Nao doesn’t need me for Kirin’s extraction of the damn kid… 

Dabi rushed, and he was still pushing it. So, he moved faster. His body actively resented running, but when he was going to be late otherwise, he had little choice. 

After all, if he messed this up, he was certifiably fucked- in likely every way imaginable. 

And, odds were, he’d have his Quirk stolen and be killed- or tortured if they so fancied- and probably turned into a Nomu or something like that. 

Not even taking the other end into account. The ones who shoved him into the League and left him there to either figure a way out or die there.

How his failures would cost others was the bigger concern to him- always had been. It was why he was there, afterall. Under threat. But not his own life- no, they knew better than to try that… 

Instead the crooked assholes went a different road, and it worked- gods, did it work.

A minute remaining, and Dabi pulled the bar’s door open, that seemingly endless spanse of a hallway all that remained between him and the base. Dabi sprinted it, and with mere seconds left, stumbled his way into the bar, empty except for Shigaraki- the bastard- and Kurogiri.

They seemed content to give him time to catch his breath, and Dabi loathed how vulnerable and weak that alone made him look- because he was , but he’d always concealed it. 

Now it was forced out and put on grand display for the duo- and likely All For One as well, Dabi knew.

There was little chance he wasn’t seeing everything in that bar in one way or another, Dabi knew. Even blindness and lack of eyes would do nothing to impair the likes of that man.

After the hand-creep deemed he’d given enough time, he spoke, and Dabi had to force himself to be done. 

He’d shown enough weakness as it was. Not that he could have avoided it at that point.

“You were almost late, Dabi . Mind filling us in on where our hero-bait is, or at least his current condition.” Dabi glanced up at Shigaraki for a second, no longer, then forced himself upright, exhaling and breathing in deeply- one last centering attempt at controlling his breathing and try not to fall over. 

He didn’t miss the way his name had been spoken, and it made his instincts light up and skin crawl- made his burns itch under the rubbered, likely-dead and numb flesh. A pretty unsettling feeling, considering how long it’d been since he felt anything where his skin was now purple and stiff like a cold rubberband. 

“Infections aren’t likely, and his fever’s broken, but he’s been drugged enough he’s been out cold. If I’d brought him along, I’d have struggled to get here on time…” He’d decided against lying- there, at least- just in case. He still didn’t know the full ins and outs of All For One’s Quirks, so he was playing it as safe as he could… In reguards to what was asked. 

Throwing a bit of misleading into his continued answer was bearing other intents, but he had a reason… Kind of. “Stayed up until he was in the clear and passed out close to dawn, so can’t blame me for sleepin like that, can ya? I’ll bring him tomorrow- think it’ll be safe to by then.” 

He knew he’d be unable to follow-through, but he genuinely hoped he’d not even have to worry about the League, come morning. Come tomorrow. 

He really just wanted his home and peace- his life and loved ones- back, and he hoped with everything he had that he’d be able to have that. 

Not that anyone here needs to know any of that.

“Then you’ll do that. In the meantime, though, as I mentioned in the message, we have… an alternative method, given we’re short our real bait, and I still have a League to lead and a society to destroy. Besides, I believe this way is far more likely to produce results, whether or not anyone… does anything.”

Dabi couldn’t have missed the implications in Shigaraki’s statement, and it made something prickle in his gut again. Hoping Shigaraki would spill or enlighten him the smallest bit, Dabi tried coaxing it out of him.

“That why you said to stabilise him and get here even if it was without him? Ya need me to do it or something?”

The way he’s speaking isn’t giving me outright bad vibes, but at the same time, I know I can’t trust him… I shouldn’t expect anything good in this ‘plan’… I just hope it doesn’t get in my way.

“In a way, yes. There is a part for you in it, after all. But for now, take a seat and get a drink. You look like you’re going to keel over any second. 

Middle of summer heat can’t be comfortable for you, I imagine. 

Kurogiri- whatever he wants, give him. He’s our ally and I intend for my elite Vanguard Action Squad not to lose any more members- especially their competent leader- and our only long-range fighter at that. You should eat something too, Dabi. I doubt you’ve had much in the way of food wherever you’re staying.” 

Dabi’s immediate instinct was to very much not drink or eat anything easily contaminated… But Kurogiri used fresh, unopened water bottles from the fridge or tap water with ice exclusively up to this point, so that was the safest bet. 

It was best not to let them in on his wariness or distrust, so something normally asked for wasn’t a bad idea.

He was aware Shigaraki’s eyes were glued to him, studying and monitoring like a hawk waiting to dive down and finish off its targeted prey, so he did the simplest thing, taking a seat two away from Shigaraki before speaking. 

“Water.” Short, blunt, simple and to the point. That was something Dabi had always been prone to doing anyway, it also just so happened to be something when he was wary or distrusting. 

Kurogiri procured a bottle from the fridge, scooped ice out before filling the glass, setting it down before Dabi.

He went right for it, knowing his body needed that kind of cold inside it, the sooner and more at once, the better. So, he downed it all in one go, also not unusual for him. He had to keep up consistencies. 

When he set the glass down, shifting ice giving the condensated glass several taps, Dabi asked again, differently this time. 

If he was given the slightest moment, he’d get the information to Kirin or Naoki, somehow. 

“So what’s this ingenious plan ya got or whatever?”

“I’ll fill you in when everyone gets back- they’re out or otherwise engaged at the moment. So you’ll just have to be patient, Dabi. You can surely manage that, can’t you?” 

He felt himself bristle at that.

Something in the way Shigaraki almost playfully teased him left something foul boiling in the back of Dabi’s head. But he let Shigaraki be. Best not to push whatever semblance of luck he had with the pupil of the likes of All For One, Dabi figured. 

A half-hour passed, and Dabi could feel himself nodding off at the bar, somehow, his growing exhaustion building and taking over no matter how much he fought it off.

At first, he thought it was just that, nothing more than exhaustion piling up over years finally tipping… But right as he acknowledged it wasn’t, and stood to-to something , Dabi hit the hard wood bar floor. 

Then the base’s door opened to reveal Toga, Twice and- and Katsuki Bakugou … Dabi realised how much he’d just fucked up. 

Especially when he caught Shigaraki smirking at him right as consciousness went dark on him.

---

Hawks

Hawks took off from Naoki’s place, still a bit unsettled. He was a Pro Hero, skilled in a very wide variety of things.

And every single part of him, down to his most basic instincts told him something was wrong. Off. That Naoki was either in danger or was going to end up there.

There were two things holding him back, though. 

First- Naoki wasn’t lying about anything he said.

Second, Naoki was his friend , so he didn’t want to be that kind of paranoid bastard who pried and forced things, did something just because he was a hero and he could .

Still, when his work-related-friend apparently took a break for lunch and hopped on over to his agency, and it was still eating at him, the  other Pro took notice.

“Hawks! What’s goin’ on with you? Look like you’re debating going for a roadkill chicken. So what’s up? Spill.”

It takes Hawks a few seconds to think of how to respond.

“Mirko, hi there. And… It’s nothing. I’m sure it’s fine.” He shoots her a Hawks- trademark grin. “Thanks, though.”

She gives him an incredulous look. “Does this have something to do with that civilian you were seen with that your fans blew up about?” There’s that wicked smirk spread across her face now, and Hawks knows he’s in trouble. Well, not like actual trouble, but still.

“Haha- okay, you caught me. But he’s just a friend . I swear.”

“Mm-hm. Suurreee.” She taunts, playful as ever.

“I’m serious. He has a boyfriend! And do you really think I’m that kind of guy?” He gives her the innocent-version look that he’d learned of his own accord for this kind of situation. For something just a little fun in a controlled environment.

“And have you actually seen this boyfriend, loverboy? Or could it be you’re just bummed he turned you down?” She mocks again, eating a bite of her meal as he replies.

“Well no… But when I dropped by to deliver him sushi earlier, he said his boyfriend was in the shower.” Hawks shrugged, “The shower was going, and someone was in it. He wasn’t lying either.” Hawks tallied the three things off on his fingers before adding the fourth, “And he wasn’t lying about having a boyfriend either times he mentioned it. Er-go, he’s not lying and he does have a boyfriend.”

Head thrown over his shoulder to give her a smart smirk, “And yet… the boyfriend thing isn’t what’s bothering me…”

“Okay-” She sat down atop his desk, ankle atop her knee, the other foot on the spinny chair she’d confiscated from Hawks the previous week- again. “Spill. You’re not named Hawks for no reason.”

So he does, and they end up doing some digging at Mirko’s insistence.

Hawks… kind of hates himself for doing this, but now he’s also aware he wasn’t wrong. Something had been off… Just not what he’d been expecting.

“So the Pro Hero that was recommended to assist with the situation right now, Tao Kane- aka Kirin… he’s related to Naoki and his brother, via their mother. So, odds are, he might just have a bit more of an idea of what’s going on than most civilians should?” Mirko tests, but the way it rolls off her tongue implies she’s buying it about as much as Hawks is- they both think there’s something still off about the whole situation.

“I don’t think it’s just that. I can’t place it at all, but it still feels like I’m missing something.” Hawks groaned in annoyance. “Okay, enough. I’ve spent enough time digging when there’s work to be done. And I was trying to keep a line between personal and work, so… I don’t want to keep crossing it like this.”

“Sounds good. So, what were ya before?”

“Trying to figure out what to do because I’ve been called out of participating tonight. And… trying to figure out why .”

“You too, huh. Guess that’s the head lady’s schtick then. Your guess isn’t going to be right, no matter how creative. Just suck it up and bounce it off ya.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” Hawks gets to thinking when a thought occurs to him out of nowhere. “Hey. Did she ever give you any CI’s, Mirko?”

“Haahh?! The heck ya talking about, Hawks?”

“Take it that’s a no then.”

“Obviously.” Crunching into a huge, thick carrot, prompting Hawks to explain.

“Okay, so three, four years ago, like, right after I started my agency, I got this notification from her that I was supposed to get in contact with this one cop, and through them, some kind of CI who’d worked some kind of deal out with this cop, right…” She nods, maybe only half listening because it was obviously on Hawks’s mind, but not interested personally. 

“Well, I couldn’t get a hold of the cop. Like… the guy didn’t even exist where I was directed. And with this issue, couldn’t get in touch with this supposed CI. I asked her about this CI the other day and she had no clue what I was even talking about. That she didn’t and wouldn’t ever assign me a CI. I pressed about it- still have the message, so I showed it to her. She got uh… testy and ordered me not to bother her about it anymore…”

Mirko looks at him, long and hard. 

“What the fuck brought this on?”

Hawks looks back, brows knit and not his usual casual, composed and playful self. “Naoki, for one… His brother died three years ago yesterday… The exact same day I got that notification. And I was thinking how right about now, with all this League of Villain stuff going on… that having a CI on the inside would be really helpful.”

She scoffs, “Yeah, sure. But you and I both know that’s just you being a lazy parrot. That’s not gonna happen- things don’t work that way, Hawks. And hey- you’re not the only one banned from participating. I’d love to kick those villains’ asses and you know it.

Anyway-” She stands and stretches. “Get your head outta the clouds. I don’t know what to say about that mess, so best thing to do is just let it die.

Well, nice having my lunch here. That place was pretty good, so I might hop over this way more often. Wouldn’t you like that.”

“Haa…. Yeah, maybe.”

“Have fun with your not single ‘friend’, Hawks. See ya around.”

And like that, she gave one mighty pounce with her legs, and she was gone.

Sighing, Hawks got up and closed the balcony door, lest someone else decide it being open three stories up was an invitation.

He seriously was concerned.

It was too bizarre and odd, too much to just be coincidence .

So, he looks into Naoki’s brother. 

The guy’s dead, so it’s not technically digging in Naoki’s life… 

Right?

Gods I suck at this whole ‘friends’ thing…