Work Text:
Night 1
He was spooked on his first night. He had been around ghosts for years at this point, but meeting new ones, you never knew what to expect. He didn't see anyone that night, but he could hear screaming, crying, and wailing. Around five thirty, something went up in flames. All Tomura could smell was burning flesh. He couldn't get a good look at it, but the loud wails made him flinch. When it had burned out, nothing was left but soot, ashes, and the smell of burning flesh lingered in the air. Remnants of a horrid death.
Night 2
He walked around the place, cautiously listening to the sounds from outside. He was making sure his wrists were clad in protective charms when he heard something walk past him. He froze, only daring to breathe when the steps distanced themselves. Great. That one was either invisible or only manifested at a certain time. But that also meant it was unable to hurt him, for now. Shortly after that, he heard the screams starting back up. He wasn't sure when they started last night, but it was 3 am now. He listened and slowly moved closer, trying to sneak a peek. He couldn't see. He'd have to get even closer. "No, daddy, please! I don't wanna! It hurts!" A broken voice pleaded. There was no answer. Tomura peeked around the corner at a burst of light.
Flames.
Light blue flames enveloped the wailing soul. The soul was clutching its head and wobbling dangerously as it tried to walk somewhere, before breaking down. At that point, its skin was melting, and soon it fell into nothing but ashes. It was a horrifying sight. Once again, when it had burned out, nothing was left but soot, ashes, and the smell of burning flesh. Remnants of a horrid death. After his shift, Tomura went home, thinking of burn victims. He researched for hours, trying to find the soul. He even hacked into the police database. He had gone through over 150 reports when he knew he needed to sleep lest he wanted to fall asleep on duty.
Night 3
He returned to work that night with a tool to keep the soul from burning immediately after showing up. He placed runestones around the spot the soul frequented to die as soon as he got there and then it was time to wait. A shiver ran down his back, he felt like he was being watched. But soon, the steps were approaching, and the closer the soul got, the more Tomura could see them materializing. They were ghostly pale, apart from crude purple scars stapled to their frail looking body. Stark white hair, and eyes the color of the flames that killed them every night. The clothes they were wearing were singed but not burned yet. When they stepped into the circle, it activated. The soul's hazy eyes cleared. They looked around in confusion, before settling their sights on their hand, "What the fuck?" They whispered in awe as they flexed their fingers. "Hello, Soul. What name do you go by?" Tomura asked the figure, startling it. The sharp blue eyes that snapped on him were unsettling. “What do you want?” The soul snarled and lifted a hand. Blue fire burst from its palm at the action. Tomura lifted his hands up in surrender. His motions were slow. He didn’t want to startle the soul any more than he already had, or worse, fight. “I’m here to help,” he stated slowly. His head lowered slightly in what could only be described as deference. The soul scoffed in disbelief, “Sure you are. How did you make me.. how..? Why am I able to move?” Their voice wavered a bit at the end, understanding that it was Tomura’s doing they weren’t going up in flames yet. “I placed a few runestones around this spot, to help you materialize without.. burning. I just wanted to talk to you. Would you tell me your name?” Tomura explained carefully. He didn’t move from his spot, trying to make the soul feel more in control than the both of them knew they were. “I.. I don’t like my given name,” the soul stated hesitantly. Their eyes went back to their hands with a deep frown. “I won't use that one, then. But I would like to know your past. Would you be so kind as to tell me? I assure you, my intentions are pure,” Tomura slowly sat down on the dirty floor. The soul looked back at him with a pained expression. “You.. I’m gonna burn again when you’re done with me, right?” they asked. Tomura smiled sadly. “I’m afraid so, I can only prolong your current state for a bit,” he admitted. The soul sat down as well, a weary sight left their lips. “What do you intend to do with my story?” They asked carefully. “I want to stop the circle of agony you’re currently in. But I can only do so if I know why you’re still here. I would need to resolve the cause,” Tomura informed them. “That won’t be possible unless you're willing to become a murderer,” they chuckled darkly. “Let me decide that - what happened to you?” They looked up at Tomura with a curious gaze and told him their previous name. The runestones lost their glow, and the haze returned to the soul’s eyes as they stood up. "No, daddy, please! I don't wanna! It hurts!" Their broken voice pleaded, arms lifted to try and defend against an invisible force hitting them. Once again, they were left unanswered. And again, when they had burned out, nothing was left but soot, ashes, and the smell of burning flesh. The remnants of a horrid death.
From up this close, Tomura could tell that their own magic had killed them. But not on purpose. They had been forced to use it by their father. As he went home this time, he still felt like he was being watched. His affinity for the supernatural was simply too high to miss the being looking over his shoulder as he typed the burning soul’s name into the police database. Immediately, articles popped up. It had been 20 years since the last articles were published on them. Even longer since they had died. “Touya Todoroki died in a fire at age 18”, “Touya Todoroki, too weak to handle his own fire magic”, “Touya Todoroki, how the family handled their firstborn’s early loss”. He read all of them, scoffing at the last article. Enji Todoroki, the cause of his own son’s death, feigned sadness about it. It made Tomura sick and angry to read the words. He recognized the Todoroki name. A wealthy family, too clean to be good. Established in the industry for 80 years, starting with the late Todoroki head. He'd always assumed they had bodies in the closet. But he didn’t expect one of them to belong to their own blood.
Night 4
When he returned to work that night, he prepared a new runestone circle to talk to the burning soul. He ignored the small soul that had been following him around for the past day. It didn’t seem intent on hurting him, just curious. He did his rounds on the premises, looking at and walking past gravestones, until it was time to return to the circle. Until it was time for the burning soul to return. Their invisible steps rang through the air. Their body slowly manifested as they got closer to their nigh eternal suffering.
The soul's hazy eyes cleared as soon as they stepped into the circle. They looked around in confusion before setting their eyes on Tomura. A relieved sigh escaped them, and they settled on the floor to talk. “I looked up your name and family,” Tomura began calmly as he settled on the floor as well. The soul tensed, “I settled on a name you can call me,” they interrupted him urgently. “Oh, what is it?” Tomura asked curiously. He could feel the small soul next to him practically vibrate in excitement and saw the blue eyes flick over to it before settling back on him. “I will go by ‘Dabi’ from now on.”
Tomura nodded in understanding, “Dabi, alright. My name is Tomura Shigaraki.” Dabi visibly flinched at his last name. “You’re a necromancer?” they asked warily. Tomura nodded calmly, “I am. I can help you get revenge if you want to. I have killed for souls like yours before and have no qualms about it. But you seem to have a power far stronger than your father’s. And I believe you would like to kill him with your own hands after what he’s done to you, no?” Dabi hesitated; their eyes flicked back over to the small soul. Tomura still couldn’t see them, but he knew Dabi could. “What are they saying?” He asked curiously, drawing Dabi’s attention back to him. “She says you’re.. angry, for me. That if I say no, you will kill him yourself,” Dabi spoke cautiously. “Well, she’s not wrong. Necromancers are the only form of justice a soul can get, and we are usually serious about keeping our territories safe from wrathful souls. I have recently moved here, but I was able to feel your anger and fear from two cities over,” Tomura explained calmly. “I can’t leave here; how would I kill him?” Dabi asked skeptically, changing the topic as if that would make it any less scary to talk to a necromancer. “I will free you from this place by giving you a body of magic. All I would need to do is dig up your grave and use your bones. You’re bound to your remains, after all. I would keep one on me, and the rest on your new body to give you some freedom. You wouldn’t be able to defy my commands, but I don’t intend to keep you bound to this world after your soul is freed from its burden,” Tomura mulled over the logistics in his head as he spoke. He wouldn’t be able to stay in the city for long after digging up a grave on the job. Thankfully, he always went by an alias unless doing business, having expected as much. It wasn’t like people took kindly to necromancers after all. “Alright. I agree, when will we start?” Dabi asked with a crooked grin, he still looked a bit nervous. “Tomorrow, I will need to make some preparations and get a few tools to dig up your grave. The ritual might be uncomfortable or hurt you a bit. But as long as I have your remains, everything should be fine.”
Soon after they finished their conversation, Dabi’s eyes glazed over. Once again, the agony of their last moments played out. “This is the last time. I promise, Dabi,” Tomura whispered the promise as he watched the burning spectacle unfold. He could feel the agreement from the small soul stalking him.
Night 5
Tomura was early that day, he had taken a shovel, candles, and different runestones with him and started digging up Dabi’s grave as soon as night fell. It took him two hours. He disintegrated the casket. It was just for show anyways. All that was left of Dabi was half a jawbone and a small trinket. Unfortunate, but he would have to make do with it. He was short on time. He prepared the ritual candles and runestones at Dabi’s usual spot. As soon as he heard their steps, he started casting. Dabi entered the circle in a daze, like the past few days, their foggy eyes cleared, giving way to confusion, and then understanding when he looked at Tomura. “Shit, okay..” Dabi mumbled as they watched Tomura’s eyes glow a faint red, spells spilling from his lips in a dying tongue at an unusually fast pace. Tomura could feel the gazes of many souls on him. He clutched Dabi’s jawbone and the trinket to his chest tightly, eyes glossed over by a milky sheen. He could see them. The many souls around the graveyard. Different colored souls, indicating the grade of their innocence by color. The jawbone gave a pull towards a brilliant white soul. The spells died on Tomura’s lips. “Found you,” he whispered, and reached out. Magic chains wrapped around the soul, and he heard Dabi let out a startled, frightened sound. Tomura forced the soul closer. Purity, innocence, fear, longing. Those were the emotions keeping Dabi’s soul tied together. Tomura held the jawbone out, making sure the pure soul enveloped it entirely before he cast another spell. His chains fell into dust as his magic gathered, building the same body Dabi had before in a reflection of Dabi’s view of themself around the core of their soul and last physical remains. Tomura closed his eyes and let go of the jawbone. Instead, he tightened his grip on the small trinket. A very small doll, barely filling his palm. The shape of a snake, made of purple fabric. He didn’t know if it was self-made or a gift; all that mattered was Dabi’s attachment. And that was grand.
“I bind you to this body. I bind you to me. Until we fulfill our promise, until you wish to leave for the peaceful beyond, you will belong to me,” he finished the chant, panting heavily from the strain. Despite having been dead for a while, Dabi’s magic was extremely powerful. The only reason Tomura had been able to perform this ritual with their soul was because he had been doing these things for a while now. If he had been any less experienced, he would have lost Dabi’s soul. Especially because there was only one fragmented piece of his body left.
“-omura? Hey, Tomura, are you alive?” Dabi’s voice, clearer now, rang through his ears. “..I don’t know, Toga! He looks fucking dead, alright?” “Not.. dead..” Tomura protested tiredly as he opened his eyes and met Dabi’s. “Holy shit!” Dabi exclaimed and almost let Tomura fall. That’s when Tomura realized that his upper body was lying on the reawakened soul’s lap. Dabi propped him up into a sitting position. “I can’t believe this fucking worked..” Dabi muttered in awe. “You’re too fucking powerful, almost lost you,” Tomura muttered and looked at his arms. One of them was now littered with deep red scars, the pinky and ring finger missing, leaving bloodied stumps. He’d overused his magic. “Damn,” was all Dabi had to say to that. Tomura’s alarm went off, signaling the end of his shift. “We need to go,” he urged and shakily got up. Dabi lent him a shoulder, keeping him steady as Tomura swiftly decayed everything he’d used. He couldn’t leave evidence of necromancy, and it was easier to remake or buy those things. It was bad enough that he wouldn’t be able to make the grave look normal in time. Together, they made their way to his car. Dabi settled in the passenger seat and buckled up. He looked like a giddy child. “We gotta go home first. I need to regain my strength. Normal people won’t see you, but magicians can. It’s still dark, but next time you should sit in the back,” he informed Dabi as he quickly drove off. His home was already packed up. Most things moved back to the old house of his master in a far-away city the day before. He laid down on his bed as soon as they got there. “Don’t leave the apartment, don’t be too loud. We have around three hours until we need to leave.”
Day 5
Tomura was woken up by Dabi. The reawakened soul could feel people with weird intentions around. It had been two and a half hours since Tomura had gone to sleep. “We should leave,” they whispered when Tomura opened his eyes. Tomura just nodded and slowly got up. He was groggy from sleep but could tell Dabi was feeling something potentially dangerous. He opened the window after checking the ground beneath. “Come on, then,” he mumbled as he climbed out. He checked around the corner of the house and immediately spotted the cars of his previous employer and the police. “Good job,” he praised Dabi and led them out the backyard. He then started his discreetly parked car, and Dabi got in the back. He drove in the direction of the Todoroki mansion. “I won't be able to do much, you only have one try. It’s his day off,” he informed his charge.
They parked ways away from the massive Todoroki mansion. Tomura was tense. But Dabi was giddy, bouncing on his feet with a borderline manical grin.
Day 403
Dabi was currently possessing his beloved snake plush. He was snugly sitting in the front pocket of the necromancer’s black dress shirt. Tomura was socializing with his late master’s friends at said master’s funeral. Whenever he noticed anyone’s bad intentions, be it greed or murder on their mind, he let Tomura know by heating up. He enjoyed being with Tomura. After killing his father, he’d decided to watch the necromancer. He could have gone into the blissful void, but he chose to stay. He chose to pay back the man who had helped him out of the vicious circle of damnation. Tomura had accepted easily enough. Had told him that since pulling him out, he couldn’t access a lot of his powers because he hadn’t been prepared for his powerful magic. If Tomura was in danger, Dabi was ready to burn anyone or anything in their way.
Tomura left to the back after being informed of the nth person’s bad intentions. He pulled Dabi out of his front pocket and stroked his small head gently. “I knew he hung out with shady people, but I didn’t think there were that many,” he let out a wary sigh. Dabi increased his heat slightly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thanks for sticking around, shall we?” Tomura gave Dabi a tired smile, not waiting for an answer he knew he wouldn’t get out of this form before putting him back into his pocket and returning to the ballroom.
Really, Tomura’s master had been way too pompous. Dabi internally rolled his eyes.
Bonus, until Day 418:
After Dabi chose to stay, things changed. The necromancer took him back to his creepy master’s house and even gave him his own room. Dabi didn’t need to eat, drink, sleep, or even breathe. But he appreciated it. If he wanted to, he could stay in the form of his favorite trinket, a small snake toy that he’d made from a sock with his mother’s help when he was still a child. It meant the world to him. And being able to take the form of his favorite animal was a big plus. Tomura was kind to him. Always took care to handle his, as well as any other soul’s trinkets with the utmost care. When he possessed his trinket, Tomura still spoke to him, still made him feel validated, kept him in the loop with whatever was going on. Dabi learnt that Tomura had only gotten the power of necromancy after his family had died in a tragic accident. His powers had been the only reason for his master to take him in. Dabi was honestly glad when the old fart died. He’d always given off morally grey vibes. Which, generally, would have been fine. Tomura did too, after all. But while Tomura frowned when innocent lives were taken, his soul wavering, the old man was someone who took innocent lives without a hint of remorse.
Dabi had been sure the old man had been a psychopath or something.
The most fun part about staying with Tomura? The man had referred to him as ‘They’ since souls generally didn’t have a gender. But after a few months, his soul had shaped into something aching to a human. After a year, Dabi had been able to eat and drink small amounts.
And after 418 Days since he’d first seen Tomura, his body was imperceptible as anything other than a human’s. He was free, happy, and he’d gladly help Tomura save souls for all eternity.