Chapter Text
Noriko crawled along the ground, her heart racing, and her vision blurry. She can still hear the villain cry out in anger as blue flames shot out in random directions. The flames causing the air to heat up to such a degree that the ground she padded along on was warm to the touch. Noriko could not tell if she was sweating from the adrenaline pushing through her veins or because it was so hot it felt like she was trapped in a furnace. She knew she had a limited amount of time where he would be trapped in his own memories, so out of pure will the trembling rookie forced herself to her feet and ran along the street. Pushing her own exhausted and burning legs to get as far away as possible from that back alley turned incinerator.
When she woke up that morning never would have, she thought her day off from work would end up like this.
It was an early morning in a quiet suburb of Musutafu, and a caffeinated Noriko was currently preparing breakfast and packing lunches for two. One for a 15-year-old boy who would be graduating soon and the other for a 49-year-old nurse who is used to eating whatever she can get out of a machine in the break room. Besides the sounds of sizzling from a pan and the hissing of a coffee machine Noriko heard an annoyingly loud alarm go off, guessing from the direction she assumed it was her mother. Knowing this house like the back of her hand, and her family she recognized the same alarm she grew up hearing when she was young. Her mom is probably climbing out of bed now and groggily trudging her way to the kitchen for her coffee.
“Shouldn’t you be at your apartment and making your dinner by now?” Asked the older woman as she went to pour herself a cup of coffee.
“And what, let you and Nobuyuki eat cold cereal and maybe toast? Besides, it is the start of my two days off, so I thought I would spend it here. I am still the newbie at the Police department so having more than one day off is rare. Otherwise I’d be running around getting lunch and coffee for the higher ups by now.” Noriko replied while finishing up her brother’s packed lunch. In the background Kaiya rolled her eyes at the first comment, sipping her coffee while silently agreeing that her daughter is right about being the new person at work, and the rungs you have to climb to just be respected. If there was one thing she appreciated about her daughter that she thinks came from her was her work ethic, some days Kaiya got away with only making toast and leaving money on the counter for Nobuyuki to get breakfast at school. It may not be the norm for mothers, but it is when you are the only parent who is used to working incredibly long hours to keep the lights on and clothes on her kid’s back. Kaiya did feel guilty for not spending enough time home, but instead she would pay for whatever sport or club that Nobuyuki wanted to try so he may have an easier time making friends. With a comfortable silence Kaiya glanced at her daughter, appreciative of her coming back home and helping around the house even though she has a place of her own to tend to as well. She constantly offers Noriko her old room back but each time her daughter turned it down, adamant that she keeps her own place. Instead Noriko comes and goes, offering to take care of chores or to help her brother with his homework. The peaceful silence was broken when another loud ringing shot through the air, only to end in a thump as both women knew it was most likely the clock that got slammed and thrown across the room. One sighed before taking another sip of her coffee while the other just gave an odd look at the direction of the boy’s room, not happy with the way her brother was conducting himself. Expecting her younger brother to come down the stairs Noriko started serving breakfast, setting a full plate in front of a less grumpy Kaiya and another in her brother’s usual spot at the table. After a few minutes of silence Noriko yelled upstairs for her brother.
“Nobuyuki come down for breakfast!”
No response.
“Don’t worry it’s not cereal for once! I cooked!”
The sound of excited thumping was soon heard and Noriko couldn’t help but give her mom a smirk while Kaiya went and got herself a second cup of coffee, silently grumbling to herself as she walked away with her steaming cup in hand. Noriko counted the thumps, her mind already knowing where he was at on the second floor of their home. Growing up she was lucky to have her own room as she knew that her and her brother would have been at each other’s throats constantly if they had to share a room.
Nobuyuki came down the steps in a hurry, smelling the fresh made food as soon as he opened his bedroom door. Mouth watering and eyes alight he immediately sat himself at the table and began to eat. Finally getting down to sit at the table herself with her own plate and drink in hand, Noriko could not help but stare at the scene before her. Her little brother, Nobuyuki has grown a lot while she was away at school, his dark hair falling over his face framing it while the rest of it was pulled back into a tiny ponytail. He still looks like a boy to her of course, it’s her younger brother but it was a bit of a surprise to see him nearly as tall as her, at this rate next year he will be taller than her. He always had a lot of energy in him as a kid, focusing on sports and taking Kendo classes at school in his club but now the biggest thing he’s been going on about is going to a hero school after his break ends. Noriko supported it but Kaiya was anxious at the idea. After what happened to her husband, it is understandable that she wished her kids picked more peaceful careers.
“So… I decided that I want to apply for U.A.” piped up Nobuyuki after downing a gulp of orange juice. Kaiya nearly dropped her fork but composed herself, instead she took a small bite of her food while inwardly reminding herself to take deep breaths and to just listen. She already knew her kids had inherited their father’s stubbornness, and that this hero school business was not going away so easily. The eldest glanced at their mother for a second, noting the tense energy emanating from her direction, thinking they can push this a little farther, Nori responded to her younger brother.
“Oh really, good that you finally decided that. I suppose you are going to go for the general course?”
Nobuyuki gave an observant glance at their mom before continuing his conversation with his sister.
“Actually, I was thinking I’d apply for the Hero course. I’ll have summer break to prepare for it.” Noting that their mom was still looking calm and composed, Noriko continued.
“Oh! That sounds exciting, why don’t I help you prepare? We can go out running and I can help with your application. Noriko gave a smile to her brother, happy that this is going better than they expected.
Before Nobuyuki could say another word, their mother interrupted the conversation.
“If this is your guys’ way of telling me that you signed his application and sent it in already then you could have at least acted this conversation out better.” Remarked Kaiya as she used her fork to point at them. She remembered that the application form required a signature from an adult in the family, and until her eldest came back she was the only adult in the family. Getting up from the table she quickly thanked her daughter for breakfast before retiring to her bedroom to get ready for work. After the sound of the bedroom door shutting, the tension in the room dissipated as Noriko and Nobuyuki glanced at each other and sighed in relief as this could have ended differently. They both remembered how frantic and upset their mom got when Noriko finally confessed that she wanted to follow in their father’s footsteps. That was an uphill battle but eventually Kaiya accepted that law enforcement in any form just runs deep in their veins.
Later that Day
After a nap, a shower and folding all of the weeks’ worth of clean clothes, scrubs, and sport uniforms, Noriko was reading a book on the couch till she got a text from her Mother.
Forgot that lunch you made. Can you bring it over?
Looking at her phone, Noriko sighed and put down her book. There was nothing else to do right now so after a shrug and a can of cold cola poured over ice, she got ready and took the bagged lunch she made earlier that morning. To be fair, after that conversation Kaiya kind of rushed out the door to work. Obviously perturbed by her kids sneaking behind her back. The way to the hospital where her mother worked was a bit of a commute from where they lived as they were up north and the hospital where her mom worked at was way down south in one of the older districts of the city. Hating to have to make the commute the woman muttered complaints, but Noriko did feel guilty from earlier, so she made the trip.
Well after what felt like an hour of waiting and walking, Noriko found herself outside the employee entrance, she texted her mom to come out and get her meal. While she was waiting up against a fence near her mother’s car, she spied a frantic looking guy in a lab coat leaving the building through a side door. At first, she thought the guy looked like he needed a cigarette because he was heading a good distance away from the building but then he turned a corner down an alley way. Noriko stared on till she noticed her mother waiting by the employee entrance. Handing off the food she tried her best to be cheerful only to receive that certain mom look that said. ‘I’m still not happy with you.’ But Kaiya thanked her daughter for making and delivering the lunch for her, still acknowledging her daughter’s good intentions. After a quick bye hug Noriko left the entrance, adjusting her red jacket she headed out the parking lot to the bus stop until she heard a shrill scream go off in the distance. Immediately Noriko had a bad feeling in her gut, like her subconscious had a premonition of this moment already. As much as her gut was telling her to not investigate, all of the alarms were going off in her head, Noriko ran into the direction of where she heard it, realizing she’s going in the direction of where that guy in the lab coat went. Running down the alley way she can hear the screams get louder and more desperate. Recognizing the sound of someone in danger Noriko immediately withdrew her standard police issued pistol. Finding the door that lead to an abandoned building she stopped beside the door before peering through the open crack. She could not see much within the dark interior, but she did see the lab coat guy from earlier. His white uniform now looked charred and blackened and he was pressed up against the wall. When she saw what looked like blue sparks like a blow torch coming closer towards the frightened man, the rookie decided to make her presence known.
“No stop! Please I can get you more, just let me-“
“Stop! I’m with the Musutafu PD! Drop you’re weapons and put your hands behind your head!” Ordered Noriko as she stepped back into her officer mode, remembering her training as she raised her pistol at the man dressed in black. The Abandoned building was dark and although some light shone thru the broken windows, it was not enough to get details of what the assailant looked like. The scared lab coat guy looked a little relieved, but that did not last long as the man in black gave a dark chuckle and in a deep voice he responded.
“Sure, thing officer… If you insist.”
While slowly turning around to face Noriko he raised his hands up to his head, the first thing she noticed on this guy was how hidden his face was thanks to inky black hair, the only detail she can make out in this dimness was a wicked looking grin. Before the rookie cop could even bark out another order the man flipped his hands over and all she could see was the color of light blue flames, it was so sudden that it felt like she just got hit by a flashbang grenade. A sudden sinking feeling in her stomach grew stronger as she realized that this guy did not have a weapon, his hands were the weapon. A grimace formed on her face as she tried to open her eyes to adjust, feeling the watering of her irritated eyes and stinging sensations finally residing. Only to feel her stomach do a flip and the sudden feeling of nausea building up within her as she saw the once living guy in the lab coat now blackened to a crisp. Noriko’s eyes stared on in horror as his once normal appearance easily morphed into something unrecognizable.
Amused the dark dressed man chuckled lowly as he watched the reaction on the rookie’s face, now that the whole floor of this abandoned building was very well lit by the blue flames he produced he got a good look at this little cop who tried to save the day. He took in the fit looking woman who still had a gun aimed at his face.
“My, My, are you sure you know what you are doing with that dangerous weapon? Careful now you might hurt someone with it.” He said with a smug tone. Suddenly the man outstretched his palms again and produced more bright blue flames, too far away to burn but close enough to blind his new target and make her feel the sweltering heat of the flames. Using the flash of his flames to his advantage he watched as she once again was forced to close her eyes, instinctually backing away from the direction of the heat. Using this to his advantage he could not believe how easily she was playing into his hands. With quick speed the predator moved in, coming from behind her and immediately wrapping his left hand around her throat and the other grabbed the gun she so desperately clung onto, if anyone were to hear a gunshot go off then that would cut his time short and he didn’t want that. Not now that he found a new mouse to play with. Noriko fought immediately against his hold, her own hand moving to claw his off her throat while she tried to wrench the gun out of his grip. All she heard was an amused hum and the weapon she was fighting to hold onto was becoming hotter and hotter, forcing the rookie to let go before she scalds herself. Pulling her sensitive hand back to herself all she caught was a glimpse of the gun getting kicked into the fiery blue blaze, truly witnessing how hot the flames where she seen the metal weapon glow orange. Stunned by the sight she felt the grip on her throat get tighter as she was forced to take steps closer to the flames, her nose finally taking in the smell of smoke and burned flesh. Feeling her fight or flight instincts finally kick back in she mustered up as much strength she could and rammed her free elbow into the man’s side. It worked as he let go of her throat, doubling over from the impact giving Noriko a good target. With an inhale she pulled back her right hand that was now tightly formed into a fist and exhaled as she landed it across his cheek. She knew the hit was not enough to subdue the murderer but hoped it was enough to stun him she thought as she sprinted away from him, running back to the door where she came in from. Seeing the natural light of the sun was a blessing to see instead of the dangerous cool blue flames providing their ominous light. As she felt herself making it through the door that lead back into the outside alley way, she snuck a glance over her shoulder only to see a mad grin spread along the fire starter’s face as he licked his lips before charging after her. With a gasp Noriko sprinted away from the building, trying to make it down the alley way closer towards civilization but before she can even get close to where she came in at she felt a heavy weight knock her to the ground. Immediately raising her arms to guard her face she fought and struggled as she felt warm, angry hands forcing her to her back. She immediately tried to swing out again to punch the man on top of her, but he easily caught it. Soon she found herself trapped underneath this murderous criminal, his hot hands easily pinning hers above her head. The firm and squeezing grip on her wrists were so intense she could feel her fingers tingle as he was choking the circulation out of them. Noriko’s heart was beating out of her chest at this point, never being this close to someone as dangerous as this man who straddled her waist. Finally looking up at the man who trapped her Noriko froze, His face and body were covered in scarred almost purple looking skin and staples graced along the perimeter of each piece of charred looking flesh. His inky black hair covered turquoise eyes that looked almost alight like his blue flames, and right now his eyes were focused on hers. Turquoise stabbing like daggers into Noriko’s sepia colored orbs.
“You know I should just incinerate you right here, right now. But lucky for you little mouse, I’m actually feeling pretty nice right now.” He growled out as he gave an extra hot squeeze on the woman’s wrists.
“The name is Dabi, remember it because you’ll be screaming it for mercy later.”
Noriko could hardly comprehend what he meant by that till she was interrupted by a harsh bite on the crook between her neck and shoulder. Immediate tingling chills ran down her back, her body responding to the rough sensation. She let out a groan as she felt those bites start to turn into suckles along her shoulder, the sensation making her shiver in response. All the unwanted attention on her neck and shoulders made her back arch, with small whimpers escaping past her lips. When she felt the hot and threatening grip of Dabi’s hands leave her wrists in exchange to pull off her jacket, did Noriko see an opening. Using Dabi’s attempts to get the jacket off against him she pulled her arms out of the sleeves, her hands finding their target immediately. She pressed her fingernails into his skin as hard as she could as her hands wrapped themselves around his throat, determined to put up a fight regardless if she won or lost. Feeling nothing but anger and fear Noriko growled out of frustration as she watched the expression on the smoldering male’s features change into that same wicked smile, was he excited by this?
Suddenly the rookie felt a sharp sting on her left cheek and tears prickling her eyes, the shock now turning into a throbbing burning pain as she realized he must have used his quirk. With no time to regain her breath she felt the same hand grip her by the jaw and pull her to look at him in the eyes. At that moment Noriko could not hear what he said nor see anything else but his furious looking turquoise orbs.
Sensing the danger that lurked behind those eyes, all Noriko could hear right now was the beats of her frightened heart and the familiar sound of her father’s voice echoing in the back of her mind. Sepia colored eyes lit up like a projector for an old film and she could feel her mind push inside Dabi’s, her unconscious remembering immediately what to look for. She felt her own body grow numb as she kept pushing further and further, breaking through every wall that he put up until she found what she was looking for. She could feel the tumultuous knot of anger, fear and sadness build within her as she neared her target. This was one of the only offensive attacks that her quirk could do, one that she knew that came at a cost. Her eyes strained harder the more she pushed further, realizing that these memories reached all the way back into his childhood. She could feel the veins pulsing already in her eyes as she kept pushing, breaking down through the mad man’s mental walls to truly know what he feared so much to remember, just to make him re-experience it all over again like a never ending nightmare. Noriko cried out in pain as she felt her eyes burning from overuse, a consequence she was asking for by not practicing her quirk in years. But even so she pushed on till she reached all the worst memories that were repressed away by this madman, forcing them to rise to the surface.
Going by like a flip book animation, Noriko breathed heavily as she saw all Dabi’s repressed memories flash in her mind’s eye. She remembered the side effects of using this technique, whatever she made Dabi relive, she would also live every time she closed her eyes. Like developing film, she now had the negatives of each image taken imprinted into the back her mind too.
With heavy ragged breath, Noriko came back to the present around her. She could do nothing but breath till her vision steadily came back to something useable, she felt a heavy weight on top of her and with one shaky hand she felt what it was. Slumped forward and in a blacked-out state, Dabi was deadweight against her. Knowing that this was her only shot, Noriko pushed the man off her and began to get on all fours. Her breath was heavy, and her eyes were pounding as she tried to keep a clear vision. She forced her aching muscles to crawl towards the end of the alleyway she came in from. She knew she only had a set amount of time before her quirk would wear off and this guy would be conscious again. It was not till she managed to get near the end of the corner did she hear groaning behind her, Noriko’s heart was beating out of her chest and her limbs were running on nothing but adrenaline, yet she could not help but stop in place to look over her shoulder at the dangerous monster behind her. Almost expecting him to be looking at her with murderous intent in his eyes, Noriko was relieved to see that instead he was still trapped in his nightmare memories. Well she was, until Dabi began to stick out his palms in random directions and his breathing get heavier did she see the small blue sparks forming in his palms.
Furiously Noriko crawled till she reached safety, feeling the heat of blue flames shoot out behind her. Once the flames died down, she could hear Dabi groaning in his repetitive nightmare, and his breaths coming out unevenly as she can tell his body began to break out into a sweat.
As Noriko crawled along the walls of the buildings to get further away from the mad man, she could hear her heart thumping out of her chest and feel her eyes threatening to go in and out of focus. Her body freezing in place as she heard a pained scream from the trapped fire boy, feeling a deadly heat build up behind her as he continued to incinerate his surroundings, like he was fighting for his life against his own demons. Noriko continued crawling along, feeling how the ground underneath her was even beginning to grow warm. So out of pure will the rookie forced herself to her legs, using the walls to hold herself up as she got closer to a safer area. A part of her couldn’t believe how different the scenery looked in such a short distance, here she is with the rest of civilization but just 15 minutes ago before her frantic running and crawling, she was pinned to the ground outside of an abandoned building with a madman on top of her. With only the pain in her body keeping her grounded, Noriko kept running her mind racing still as she saw her goal in site, the woman did not care how she looked to others now. Only giving a quiet apology, Noriko rushed through the opening past the man that was ahead of here about ready to board. She needed to put as much distance as she can between her and that place where he is. Even as she sat down on the back of the bus with her hands running along to smooth her hair did, she still hear the anguished cries of Dabi echoing in her mind. Never having to inflict that kind of attack on anyone before, his reactions almost made her pity him. She would almost feel guilty for doing it if it were not the fact that he, Dabi truly terrified her.