Dabi draws the hoodie over his face and steps into the alley. He continues to walk slowly, the figure shrouded in the darkness stills and turns to face him.
"I'm surprised that you're here." Dabi offhandedly mentions, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He summons a small flicker of blue fire and lights his cigarette, glancing up with a quirked eyebrow.
"Aw, c'mon. I'm not that late. No need to give me the cold shoulder." He's still met with silence and Dabi sighs, leaning against the warm brick wall.
"Well I guess this means that our meeting will go by faster since you won't be jabbering my ear off then." He exhales and watches the cloud of smoke float up into the night sky and he pushes off of the wall, a sly grin growing.
"Playing your little games on me isn't going to work in your favor." Dabi stops short as he gets closer to the figure and narrows his eyes.
Standing before him isn't Hawks.
Dabi curses under his breath, dropping his cigarette and slides a foot over the ground- gaining a better stance as he raises a hand towards the figure. It tilts its head to the side and begins to laugh- disappearing from his sight. Dabi clenches his jaw and holds his breath, listening for any movement.
"What a shame. Your time is slipping by and you have no idea!" A voice purrs behind him and Dabi whips around, a flash of purple melts back into the shadows before he can let his fire loose.
"Now that your time has finally come, you have done nothing with your life. You have nothing to your name, you have done nothing noteworthy and no one will recall who you were!" Dabi slowly turns in a circle, looking for that flash of purple when a touch as light as a whisper runs across his back.
"A villain such as you couldn't even stick to your guns and no one will care enough to remember you," the voice tuts, "Now as your time is done, only now do you look back and ask yourself, 'why have I sold myself so cheap?'. These years have slipped by you so quickly, piling up on the heaps of your broken dreams." Dabi rolls his eyes at the woman's speech and lifts his hand above his hand, grasping his wrist for support and letting out a large wave of fire and covers the entire alley. Blue fire rains down, smoking embers dance in the dark of the night and he brushes off one that lands on his shoulder.
Something cold grazes over his skin before the owner of the voice plunges the knife into the side of his neck. His hand flies up towards the wound, warm blood gushes slowly from between his fingers and a hand pushes him down to his knees.
Stepping in front of him, a small woman looks down at him with a wide grin. Violet eyes start to glow in the darkness as she takes another step towards him.
"You don't need to hide any longer," her eyes glow brighter, throwing the rest of her face into a series of dancing shadows as she squats down to be eye level with him, "It's time to face your fears."
"Fuck off." Dabi slurs, his body begins to feel cold and sluggish as he fights to keep his eyes trained on her. The woman in front of him only shakes her head and smiles.
"I'm afraid not. You have forgotten who you are, prove to me you haven't wasted your life away." Without another word, she leans forward. Freezing cold hands cup either side of his face and he can't tear his gaze from her glowing eyes- lost in the swirling purple light. She leans closer still and brushes her lips over his and finally closes her eyes.
A bright flash of purple is all he sees before he's plunged back into darkness.
Slowly, he opens his eyes. He feels well rested and warm. Thick downy blankets rest over him and the soft light of the morning sun filters between his slightly parted curtains. He rubs at his eyes and remembers last night, it must've been a result of too much drinking at the bar. Nothing but a skirmish with some homeless woman and he just let his drunken mind run wild.
He closes his eyes again and enjoys the silence for once. Most times, even in the early hours of the morning, the hideout is always bustling with energy and rambunctious laughter. A morning with peace is just what he needs for his headache.
It takes a moment for his thoughts to catch up but he opens his eyes again and frowns. His room at the League's hideout isn't this nice. There's no snoring from the other side of the wall in Twice's room and he can't hear the muffled mumbling and pacing of Shigaraki next door. He turns over and stretches, eyes widening in disbelief.
There's no hint of burnt skin or sutures to be seen on either of his arms. Touching his arm, all he can feel is flushed but healthy skin. He bolts up in bed, chest heaving. With shaking hands he reaches up and runs them over his face, he can't feel scarring or his piercings. Sinking dread makes its home in his stomach as he pulls a strand of hair down into his line of vision and bites down on his lip when bright and fiery red hair stares back at him.
Soft footsteps break him away from his growing panic and he listens as the person on the other side of his door pauses. He watches as the doorknob slowly twists and opens. A face he thought he'd never see again appears, stepping fully into his room and smiles down at him.
"Time to get up and get ready for school." He can't answer and can only stare at his mother. Her gentle smile falters a little bit and she sits down on the edge of his bed, a soft hand resting over his forehead.
"Touya, are you feeling okay?"
Prove to me you haven't wasted your life away. The woman's last words echo in his mind and he balls his fists, the bitch sent him back in time.
Author's Note
I take a break from writing one fic and immediately begin writing like three others. I'll most likely be publishing throughout the rest of the day with the others. Guess it's time to finally clear out my WIPs. This one won't be nowhere nearly as long as The Shape of Fire, I'm only planning on this being a few chapters long.
That's all for now, reviews are always welcome!