He stares at the pink monstrosity, not quite believing his eyes. Princess Charming, as the middle-aged woman insists on being called, is wearing a bright pink lolita ensemble, with a very fake, very fluffy pink wig to top it off. He can't help but wonder, if she knows what she looks like – or if she just doesn't care.

"Hello, handsome!" she exclaims in a sweet, sugary voice that sounds like it should belong to a small child. "You must be Dabi."

Urgh, he can feel a headache setting in. It's for Shouto, he can do it.

"Yeah. That's me." he confirms, forcing something that – in the right light and from the right angle – could be considered a grin. Motioning for her to follow him, he steps back into the apartment and leads her into the living room where Shouto is resting on the couch.

"Aww, look at that cutie pie! No wonder you want him." she says, winking at him. It takes a moment for him to process what she just insinuated, and no, just no. When she sees his face, she giggles and waves at him. "Just kidding! The boss told me we want him on our side. It doesn't hurt that he's adorable though."

It had felt very much like striking a deal with the devil, but Dabi had accepted the graciously offered assistance. Not that he trusted Kurogiri or his boss for a minute – no, they both needed to die in a fire, but for the moment, he could make use of them. If this Princess Charming could help him gain Shouto's trust back then he'd take it, but her personality was not doing her any favors. If she did anything to harm Shouto, well, he wouldn't have any qualms killing her.

So far, everything about her gave him goosebumps. From her weird look, to her sweet smile, to her very sharp eyes. Everything about her was fake, and he could tell that she was much more dangerous than she let on. No one joined the league because they were harmless anyway.

He hadn't been happy with the idea of someone messing with Shouto's memories, and potentially discovering who Dabi really was, but at the moment he didn't have a choice. If he had declined Kurogiri's offer the man would have reported it back to his boss, and he'd rather Kurogiri didn't. He never met the big boss that Shigaraki clung to like some toddler, and he didn't particularly want to. He might have his own reasons for becoming a villain, but that didn't mean he had to follow every oh so great leader that became head honcho of their alliance.

But everything inside him screamed to get away from her. To take his brother and run.

"So what exactly do you want, sugar?" she asks in her sweet, fake voice, smiling brightly at him.

"Him on our side." Dabi replies, watching her.

"Oh, I know, silly." she chimes, clapping her hands together. "How do you want to do it? New memories? Change some around? Remove some relationships? Plant new ones?"
"You can do all that?" he asks, feeling kind of stumped. Kurogiri had mentioned that she could manipulate emotions, even memories, but never the extent of her quirk.

"Well, sort of." she replies, still smiling happily. "I can't rewrite a person entirely. I can change existing memories. I mostly work with emotions, because memories can be kind of... frustrating. If a person is strong-willed they can put up quite the fight, and it might end up not working properly. Emotions, on the other hand, are easy to manipulate. Everyone has felt resentful towards the people in their life at some point. So I just take that and amplify it... or make it disappear."

"Uh-huh." He didn't really need her to change Shouto's memories all that much. Their father had done his part by trying to ruin his little brother over and over. And he did hate their father, even if there was a hefty dose of fear still mixed in. That and respect for heroes. Even if their father was anything, but one.

He watches as she walks over to Shouto, crouching down next to him to look at his face.

"So what will it be?" she asks, looking almost serious for a moment.

"I want him to hate his father." Dabi tells her. "I want him to want his father dead. So much so that he's willing to actually kill him."

Her eyes go wide with glee. He can't stand her. Not in the slightest. Everything about her disgusts him, and the longer she stays, the more the feeling intensifies.

"I want him to turn away from the hero side, but you already know that or you wouldn't be here." he continues. "I want him to trust me. He knows me, and has trusted me at some point in his life."

"Ooh, how intriguing." she grins, all sharp teeth and threat. "The boss mentioned something like that."

For a short moment he feels very cold in his warm apartment. Shouto has been giving off heat like a furnace with his quirk going on and off. He glances at his drugged, and dead asleep, brother on the couch. It's going to be worth it, he tells himself. It's no surprise that the big man knows things about him. He can handle it.

"Very well." she says, watching Dabi like a hawk. "I'm going to search his emotions first. See how he feels about you and Endeavor. Then I'll let you know what I can do. Anything else?"

"He might have made some friends at the academy. Remove them." he says. Shouto doesn't need friends. They are all liars anyway. They are going to be heroes, and he knows what heroes are like.

"Okay, sugar." she smiles, reaching out to gently brush Shouto's hair from his forehead. "Since you're asking for a lot, it's going to take time. I can't just do it in one session. Maybe two or three."

"Fine. Focus on Endeavor." he replies. 'And me' goes unspoken. She already knows. Despite all her fake sweetness, she's seeing right through him, leaving him wondering if she's going through his emotions without his permission.

"Okay." she chimes again. With a few swift moves, she has Shouto in her arms and is cradling him like a small child. Her eyes go white for a moment, seemingly staring into the distance.

At first, it seems like nothing is happening. Shouto is still resting in her arms, and Princess Charming doesn't seem to be doing anything either. Just then, a shudder goes through Shouto's body, and his face scrunches up. A mere moment after that, Princess Charming's eyes snap open and she turns to look at Dabi.

"Okay. I can do this!" she chirps in her disgusting voice. "I can definitely make him hate Endeavor in no time."

And what about me, he wants to ask, but stops himself when he sees her fox like grin.

"Don't you worry, sugarplum. He's going to adore you." she purrs. "Already cares about you a lot."

"You said it's going to take some time..." he begins, but she waves him off.

"It sure is. Well, the hero stuff will." she explains. "Getting him to hate Endeavor and to trust you might take a little while. I'd say a few hours. The hero stuff? That's different. Might need a few days."

"I see. Heroes last, then." he decides. He doesn't want her here for days. Gods no. But if she actually manages to get Shouto away from his brainwashed friends, and back to Dabi's side, he's willing to put up with her. That doesn't mean he trusts her. No, not at all.

"I do have one warning though."

"What?" He wonders if she's ever actually going to get to it or if she's stalling him.

"It's going to hurt." she says with a smile, before she closes her eyes and presses her mouth to Shouto's head.

In an instant, Shouto lets out a wail, sounding so much like the child Dabi cared for that it takes his entire willpower not to shove her away, and pull Shouto into his arms. The air around Shouto seems to freeze – ice crystals forming on every surface of the apartment. He can see Princess Charming beginning to freeze, and he can't have that. Taking a deep breath he starts to warm the apartment, counteracting Shouto's ice, creating a deeply uncomfortable humidity.

Princess Charming doesn't seem to be bothered by any of this, holding on to Shouto like his quirk doesn't exist. Maybe she's not even feeling it, wherever she is, Dabi muses, but he can't risk her getting hurt. Not as long as she's messing with Shouto. Who knows what damage she could do.

All he can do is wait. But it's hard, so very hard, listening to Shouto's cries – nothing will ever be as bad as listening to Shouto cry for mercy and beg their father to stop – and watching him squirm – no doubt reliving some of their father's training session. He doesn't know what he was expecting when he requested her help. Watching Shouto struggle in her arms, clearly suffering, makes him wonder why he even considered this offer in the first place. Anger makes his skin boil, almost literally, and he forces himself to calm down. It's going to be fine in the end. Everything is going to be okay. It's going to be worth it. Shouto won't hold it against him. He'll understand. He'd do the same if their positions were reversed.

After a good hour has passed, Princess Charming opens her eyes with a sigh. Shouto is still shuddering and panting harshly – eyes wide open, but not seeing anything.

"Alright. First session is over!" Princess Charming exclaims, releasing Shouto, and helping him lay back down. "He's a bit out of it, but it worked just fine."

"Define out of it." It takes everything he has to not grind his teeth and snarl at her.

"Confused, honey. He might not know when and where he is. I've been rooting around his head quite a bit. Looked through a few memories here and there." she tells him. "But don't you worry, your darling brother will be fine once he sleeps it off."

With that she stands up and walks over to Dabi. Leaning in close she gives him a peck on his cheek – he almost physically recoils, but manages to stop himself.

"I'll be in touch about our next session." she says, as she winks at him and leaves. It's really, really hard not to snap her neck, Dabi realizes. He might need her for now, but maybe, just maybe, she could have an unfortunate accident after everything is over.

Once he's certain that she's far away, he walks over to the couch where his brother is curled up and not moving. When he sits down next to him, and reaches out, Shouto shudders and shrinks away.

"Shouto?" Dabi asks, uncertainly. "It's me, Ryouta."

"Ryouta?" the voice might sound like Shouto, but the way he said his name just now reminds Dabi strongly of the little boy that he left behind.

"Hey." Dabi says softly, pulling up Ryouta and smiling like he means it. "There you are."

"Ryouta!" With that Shouto throws himself into Dabi's arms, crying like a child. "I'll be good, I promise. Please don't send me back. I'll be good. Don't let him find me."

That bitch. What did she do to his brother? That wasn't the hatred for their father that he'd requested – no, that was Shouto at seven years old, terrified and hurt. In an instant his fury burns so bright that he almost catches fire. Only Shouto's panicked response snaps him out of it.

"Of course not." he tell Shouto firmly, trying to gather his thoughts. She said that he'd be confused – out of it – but at the moment Shouto was lost and scared, relying on him. "You're safe with me. I'll never let him take you away from me again. I promise."

With that, Shouto sags against him, eyes unfocused, but breathing calmly.

"I'll be good." he mumbles again, and something inside Ryouta gives a painful twinge. If Princess Charming lied and Shouto remained like this. No, he can't think of that right now. He can't. But he can't trust her either.

Then it hits him. She said that she'd looked through his memories. She called Shouto his darling brother. She knows.

They need to leave. Shouto isn't safe here anymore. Princess Charming might have seen more than she let on, already admitting to rooting around in Shouto's head and not doing what she'd been asked to do. He can't trust Kurogiri, much less trust whoever Kurogiri is answering to. No, they need to leave. Shouto is vulnerable right now, and it's his fault.

They need to get somewhere safe.