basically my contribution to the dabi is a todoroki theory mixed with some good ol' shigadabi
disclaimer: i donut own bnha

special note: dabi's full name is todoroki ryou, based off of this
special note 2: this fic is the civilian!Shigaraki and vigilante!Dabi AU

When Tenko stepped out of the office, he was instantly hit with a blast of cold air. He muttered a brief curse and intertwined his gloved fingers in the pocket of his hoodie. When he had come for his shift in the afternoon, it had been much warmer and Tenko had been perfectly comfortable in his hoodie.

He shook his hair out of his eyes, then started the somewhat long trek to his university dorm. He tried to ignore the hollowing sense of loneliness when he once again knew he would be spending the rest of the evening alone. When Tenko was four, his parents were civilian casualties of a rampaging villain. They had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and it cost them their lives. He was sent to a state home, and though there were many other children just like him, he'd never properly developed social skills. His destructive quirk didn't help him either, especially given how often other people remarked about it being a villain's quirk. He had been given gloves when he was nine, and never used his quirk besides when helping with garbage cleanup.

At Tenko's nineteen years of age, he was technically an adult. Whether he felt like one was a whole other story. Because he had good enough grades, he attended university on a scholarship supplied by the government, but his personal well being like whether or not he had food in his stomach depended on him.

Tenko worked two part-time jobs - one as an information filer at the local police station, and the other as a florist. Still, he could barely afford instant ramen and often ended up furiously scribbling as much of his homework as he could while he was at work.

A black cat suddenly crossed Tenko's path, but he shrugged it off. He had never been the superstitious type; on the contrary he actually liked black cats quite a lot. Would have gotten one, too, if his university dorm didn't have its 'no pets' rule.

Tenko shivered again. It was awfully cold for an August night. Against his better judgement, he decided to take the shady alley shortcut which, despite the eerie vibe it gave off, would save him a good fifteen minutes. The sky was quickly growing darker, and the sun disappeared behind the towering skyscrapers.

He could see the building of his university dorm when he suddenly tripped. He yelped as he crashed painfully onto the cracked concrete, and his messenger bag flew off of his shoulder. It landed with a slightly concerning thump, and Tenko felt a wave of relief when he remembered that his shitty but useful laptop was still in his dorm and his phone was in the pocket of his sweatpants. The only things in his bag were some binders and a very much hated math textbook.

Headline: Friendless loser trips on his own social anxiety and faceplants, Tenko thought in irritation as he got back on his feet. He patted the dust off along his legs, and huffed when he felt a new hole in his pants. No wonder people thought he was a homeless drug addict.

He had just pulled his messenger bag off the ground when something yanked hard on his hood. Tenko whipped around, heart pounding.

A man glared back at him. He was stocky, dressed in rags worse than Tenko, and had a scraggly beard. He pointed the knife in his hand at Tenko and barked, "Give me your money!"

Despite the familiar nauseating feeling in his stomach of anxiety and his clammy palms, Tenko scowled and yanked his hood back up. In a voice much steadier than he felt, he snapped, "I'm a broke university student. Do you think I have money?!"

The man spluttered angrily, wildly waving his knife around, "Just give me your damn money, kid!"

Tenko squinted. The man didn't seem like he had much experience in mugging people, but he really didn't want to take any chances. He reached into his pocket and flipped open his phone. The cracked screen lit up, but before Tenko could call 911, the man smacked his arm, and the phone flew out of his grasp. Tenko winced as it clattered to the ground. Rest in pieces, phone.

"Hurry up, damn it, or you'll regret it!" The man took a threatening step forwards, and despite the inappropriate timing, Tenko's brain continued to provide unhelpful commentary. The only time we take this shortcut we get attacked. Wow.

Hey, do you think that if we lie down and pretend to be dead, he won't mug us?

Tenko stood his ground the best he could, and retorted, "Dude, I literally just told you that I have no money,"

The man made some sort of weird growling sound, and Tenko was just about to throw in a comment about furries when his cheek exploded in pain. His head snapped to the side, and when he regained his bearings, he realised that the man had decked him in the face.

So maybe he isn't all bark and no bite , Inner Tenko remarked.

Kindly shut up , Tenko replied. He began scratching his neck, a nervous habit he never quite managed to break. The man took another step forward, and Tenko's breaths came shorter and shorter. He screamed at himself to run, but his legs wouldn't budge at all.

Guess this is the end, Koko-chan , his Inner self told him, death by alley mugging. Nobody will remember you, or even know you're gone.

Then, the most amazing thing happened. Suddenly a lanky body appeared in front of him and punched the man . He skidded a few good meters, then laid there, groaning.

His savior turned to face him, and Tenko nearly jumped. He had dark, spiky hair and bright eyes, but the part that stood out the most was his patches of dark purple and deeply wrinkled skin. The borders between those areas and the rest of his skin appeared to be held together by crude surgical staples and stitches.

Still, Tenko really wasn't one to judge someone by their appearance, considering his own looks. When Tenko opened his mouth and started to thank the scarred man, he suddenly stumbled and crashed into the wall. Tenko instinctively jumped back, then realized that it was most likely a really assholeish thing to do. He stepped closer, unsure of what to do, then noticed what he hadn't before.

Blood.

Some of it had stained his shirt, and Tenko saw drops flow past his exposed ankles.

"Uh, dude, you're bleeding?" Tenko stated/asked lamely.

"I sure am," The man gave him a lopsided grin, "Don't tell the authorities, 'kay,"

If Tenko said that he didn't think that, he would be lying. But the authorities were never any good, Tenko knew this firsthand. Then again, the man who had saved him was very obviously injured and seemed kinda out of it. Tenko wasn't a big enough asshole to just leave him here for another thug to mug. Still, he had no medical training outside of sticking a bandaid to a cut…

Tenko scratched at his neck, and tried to stay calm. The best thing he could do now was making a rational decision, whatever that might be.