Chapter Text
“Sir Dabi, you have been brought to this court's attention for atrocious crimes against our kingdom including: arson, robbery, and treason. We have reviewed your case and deemed you guilty on all counts. The punishment for these crimes has been decreed as beheading. Do you accept your fate?”
“Well, obviously not, but fuck me I guess.” Dabi stared insolently up at the judge reading his sentence. Choosing to ignore his words the judge continued with his monologue.
“Your execution will commence immediately following the lunch hour. You will have until then to put your affairs in order.” At this the judge put down the scroll he was reading his speech off of. “I want to let you know that I am very glad that this day has finally come. I was hoping that I would be the one to put you behind bars at last, but,” He gave a wicked grin, “this is infinitely better.” He turned to the rest of the court house, “Court dismissed! The execution will take place in exactly one hour in the city square!” Without sparing Dabi another look, he swiftly gathered his quills and parchment and swept out of the room.
“What a pretentious bastard.” Dabi muttered under his breath. The guard gestured for him to follow him back into his holding cell to wait until the lunch period was over. Of course they didn’t let him actually be free for one hour, they weren’t complete idiots. The guard butted him with his club.
“I’m going, I’m going! No need for such violent acts!”
The guard grunted and shoved him into the cell. Locking it securely, he double checked it before turning to leave.
“What? Nervous, I'll get out under your watch?”
“You better not.” The guard said but triple checked the locks before leaving at last.
Dabi smirked. He did have the tendency to mysteriously disappear when facing punishment, hence why he was now sitting in the most secure courthouse in all of Endeavor. A price had been on his head for quite a while now and it would be downright embarrassing if he was able to slip out from right under their noses again. Doubly so since his capture had been so widely publicized. The king needed a victory under his belt to show that he was actually accomplishing something useful. Endeavor was currently engaged in war on multiple fronts, all of which they were losing. Dabi’s capture was just one less thing to worry about.
He got up off the rough cot he was sitting on and strode over to the barred window set high in the wall. If he stood on his toes he could grab the bars and pull himself up. He looked out onto the square. The guillotine was already set up and a crowd was beginning to form, eager to see blood like some sort of crazed beast.
Dabi pulled on the bars.
Solid steel.
Damn.
Clearly the council wasn’t taking any chances. They had apparently finally caught on to the fact that ordinary iron bars were relatively easy to melt with his fire and had taken the precaution of putting a special set of steel ones on his window and door. In fact, he bet that if he tried to melt the wall he would find the entire room was encased in steel. Still doable but not without raising the alarm and no matter how much Dabi liked the attention, he would prefer not to broadcast his escape to the multitudes of guards on duty.
He dropped down from the window and laid back on the cot. He wasn’t particularly worried about escape. He’d figure something out, he always did. Might as well try to squeeze in a couple minutes of sleep. Who knows how long he’ll have to be vigilant after his miraculous escape.
He had just begun dozing off when the sound of something banging at the cell door got him up and to his feet in a flash, blue flame dancing across his palm in preparation. He relaxed once he saw it was just the guard who had now backed up into a corner holding his sword aloft.
“So the rumors are true! You are a demon!”
Touya approached the door and the guard took another step back, sword arm trembling slightly.
“Relax, I’m not going to roast you. As much fun as it would be, I would sadly gain absolutely nothing except perhaps a slightly more painful death.” He extinguished the flame in his palm. “Well, has the moment of my untimely demise finally arrived?”
The guard slowly lowered his sword, although he didn’t sheath it.
“No. I was sent to inform you that you have a visitor.”
Surprise briefly flitted across Dabi’s face before he once again smoothed his features into a mask of indifference. Best not look too shocked by this information in front of the guard. Maybe he could use this to his advantage.
Before execution, criminals were allowed one hour of visitation to say their goodbyes and take care of business. Touya didn’t expect anyone. He had already taken care of all necessary business long ago and he didn't expect his crew to risk their necks just to say teary goodbyes. They knew that if he didn’t show back at their base before sunset then there was no need to look for him. So this begged the question, who exactly was coming to visit him?
“Right this way sir.” The guard gestured to a figure hidden in the shadow of the door. Sir? Just who was this mysterious guest?
“Thank you. You may leave us.” The guest dismissed the guard and stepped into the flickering lamp light. Touya couldn’t hold back a gasp. The king’s most favored advisor, and a member of the council, was standing outside his cell door.
It had been a long time since he had seen Takami. A lot had changed since then, Takami had grown up to become an esteemed member of the king’s advisory council and Dabi had become, well, a villain.
There wasn’t time for a tearful reunion. Dabi was about to be executed and he really didn’t want another variable to incorporate into his escape. Even though Keigo used to be a friend (a very long time ago) that didn’t mean he’d be of any help now. Dabi was already walking away from the door when a voice reached him.
“Touya, I’m going to get you out of here.”