NeonHorizon: Please let me know if you like this story. Posting the first chapter to see if people are into this. If enough people enjoy the first chapter, I'll write more. If there isn't enough interest then...

What she was doing was beyond dangerous and she was well aware of it. If he happened to catch her, she was sure the consequences would be severe. Not to mention how embarrassing it would be. She was unsure of how she would even explain herself to him since she had decided to do this on a whim.

When Dabi announced he was leaving her apartment, she just had to know where he was going. It was weird for him to leave before sunrise. The scarred villain would often drop in some time in the afternoon and crash there until morning. After all, the medic had plenty of food. She had a comfortable apartment. She had entertainment in the form of a number of movies and video games; not that he ever wanted to play a game.

Kaere was so used to him staying overnight that she was thrown off when he said he was going out. So…where are you going? She followed him at a distance, trying to keep herself hidden, but it was quickly becoming clear that he was either completely oblivious or knew she was following and he was just apathetic.

Chewing at the skin around a fingernail, she tried to think of what he might be doing. If he was going out to hook up with someone, she would just go home. She had absolutely no romantic feelings for him anyway; their friendship, if it could be called that, was built simply on their common factor of being involved with the League of Villains.

Keeping a good distance, she found that he was heading into a very desolate part of the city. In daylight, this area would have very few people traveling through this. Nighttime made it eerily vacant of life. It felt like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie, but Kaere felt relieved.

She was a medic. An underground medic that often worked with people that were unable to go to an actual hospital. Villains, criminals, but also people that were either just too afraid to go to a hospital or feared costs. Kaere could provide medical care in a quiet atmosphere with little to no cost, depending on the client.

That was how she ended up getting involved with the League of Villains. Giran called on her for her wound care expertise when Compress lost an arm. She patched him up and ever since that one instance, the League kept in contact with her. She had yet to officially join, though.

Kaere was rather awkward when it came to interacting with other people, face to face. She always found it hard to speak up and say "no" when she was asked for something, which is why Dabi continually invaded her home and commandeered her couch as his bed. As awkward as she was, Kaere did want to feel wanted and liked so she always just allowed it.

She tasted blood and frowned, realizing that in her anxiety, she had bitten into her own fingertip instead of her nail. The girl shoved her hands into her pockets and paused around the corner from Dabi, leaning against the cold outer wall of a building. Kaere fidgeted with her glasses for a moment, pushing them up and quietly tapping a fingernail against the black plastic frame.

What am I doing? If he knows I followed him, I'll never live it down. He'll make fun of me. He always…loves messing with me like that. And I know he'll tell everyone else and then Toga-chan will start making fun of me, too.

Hearing him speak to someone, she tensed. For a second, she thought he might have finally noticed that she was following him and was calling her out. Peeking around the corner, Kaere realized she was mistaken. Instead, he was talking to a shorter man with bright red wings.

Kaere lifted a hand to fidget with her glasses again, scraping a nail along the side of the frame. Wait. That's…the number two hero now, right? He has a bird name for his hero name. What was it? Cardinal? Sparrow?

Seeing Dabi talk to this hero, on what seemed to peaceful terms, made her tilt her head. She felt a churning in her stomach as anxiety began to build and she moved around the corner again. They were supposed to be villains. He was, anyway; she was still unofficial.

Maybe they're friends? Maybe he knows him from before he joined the League? But why is he…? She went to peek again and focused her gaze on the hero instead of Dabi.

The winged hero was wearing his typical hero costume, indicating that he had probably just finish patrolling before coming to this meeting place. He had short, messy golden hair. Slightly narrowed eyes behind the visor he was wearing. Headphones were hanging around his neck, giving him an oddly casual look despite his hero outfit.

Dabi spoke with him for at least ten minutes and never once looked over his shoulder. He was completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. When he finally walked off, the hero lingered for a moment and seemed to be pondering his next move. Fingers ran through his hair as his body language relaxed.

He…looks tired. Kaere toyed with a strand of dark brown hair hanging loosely beside her face. She could sympathize; interacting with other people often left her feeling pretty drained. He's a hero, though.

She slipped around the corner, removing him from her line of sight, and sighed quietly in relief. Now she had to face a real challenge. Since she left the apartment after Dabi, she would have to basically sprint back to the building before he returned.

Once she was safely back in her home, Kaere settled in her room with her phone. She grabbed some earbuds and decided to do some research on the hero. Upon realizing that he was called Hawks, she felt her face starting to burn. I can't believe I thought his name was Cardinal or Sparrow! Those sound so stupid compared to Hawks.

She tracked down the footage of when he was announced as the number two hero and she had to smile to herself. Compared to Endeavor, who stood stoic and imposing, Hawks looked like a kid that had been dragged to the event by their parent. His attitude was so casual compared to the other heroes.

Kaere jumped a little when she heard the apartment door open and close, loudly. She stayed tense, holding her breath, and jumped again when her bedroom door opened. Dabi stared back at her for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Wh-what is it?" she mumbled, pulling out the earbuds.

"What're you doing?"

"Why're you in my room?" She saw him smirk and she trembled. "What?"

He leaned against her doorframe, taking in the pitiful image of the medic. She was sitting with her back against her headboard, blanket draped over her shoulders, cellphone in hand with the light being the only illumination in her room. "What're you watching? You look…seriously creepy right now."

Kaere lowered her head, biting her lip as she tried to ignore his words. It was too late. Embarrassment made her face flush to a bright shade of red. "I-it's not like that. Why do you…have to tease me all the time? I'm letting you sleep here, but you keep doing this." The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became as her courage faded.

The other villain seemed satisfied that she was flustered and turned away. "Just keep it down. If you wake me up…" Dabi looked at her over his shoulder, his bright turquoise eyes widening slightly. A grin broke across his face and the girl shrank back further against the headboard. "Night."

She watched him disappear back into the other room and heard the soft thud of him more or less throwing himself onto the couch. Kaere waited a few minutes to be sure he was done bothering her before she quietly crossed her room to close the door. Before she did, she peered into the other room. He was lying on the couch, facing away from her and using his right arm as an extra cushion beneath his head.

Sleep was out of the question until she was absolutely sure that he was asleep. The grin was unsettling enough to raise goose bumps on her skin. Kaere settled on her bed again and decided to play a console game until she dozed off.

As she played her game, however, she started to think about it again. Dabi met with the number two hero. But why? And why would that hero even talk to Dabi? It's no secret that he's a villain. Kaere chewed at the skin around her left thumbnail, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

Her eyes darted toward the door and she saved her game progress. Pushing up her glasses with one finger, she listened carefully and was unable to hear any movement beyond her bedroom door. Kaere put her earbuds in again and watched the video once more.

When she was a child, she looked up to heroes just like any other child. Unlike most of the other children, Kaere had a less popular favorite. Most of her classmates in elementary school were fans of All Might, but she admired Endeavor.

She liked that he was less talkative, less friendly than All Might. Mostly because, in her eyes, it seemed easier for a hero to project the image everyone wanted. Endeavor seemed to completely disregard what others thought of him.

Being so self-conscious, she wished that she had that kind of strength. The ability to stay so stoic in the face of danger, to be able to not bend to societal expectations. Of course, she never managed to obtain those envious traits.

Kaere was fidgety, socially awkward, and afraid to say "no" when someone wanted something, but all while having that horrible human need for acceptance. Acceptance was nearly impossible without conforming to what people deemed "normal" and she had tried a few times, but it was just so difficult.

Shift P.O.V

Dabi was oblivious, but Hawks was not. He knew almost immediately that they were being watched. At first, he wondered if the person was with Dabi. When it became really clear that Dabi had no idea they were there, he wondered if this person even knew what they were witnessing.

Of course, he had to investigate. Hawks lingered in the area on purpose in hopes of getting a better look at the person. Flying overhead was his best option and he was rewarded with a good view of the "spy". They were not what he was expecting.

This was a girl in her late teens or early twenties. She looked like she was probably a little bit shorter than him and she had messy dark brown hair that fell around her shoulders. She had long bangs that hung partially over her eyes, which were behind glasses with purple-tinted lenses. The girl was wearing a black jacket and black pants so it was difficult for him to really tell her build from this distance. Not to mention that she was basically sprinting through the alleys and only had her face visible for a moment before lowering her head.

Even more curious was the fact that she eventually disappeared into an apartment that Dabi proceeded to enter about fifteen minutes later. Dabi let himself in as if this was completely normal so Hawks was sure that they must know each other. He tilted his head, frowning a little as he wondered if she was a villain.

From the information he had, there was currently only one girl in the League of Villains. Toga Himiko. This was definitely not her. She did not match Toga's description and she was acting different. She seemed almost scared when she ran through the alleys back toward her building. Like she was afraid that Dabi might get back before her.

Is she supposed to be a secret? Why else would she be sneaking around like that? Hawks left the area, but it was starting to bother him. He could not help but wonder if she was some sort of secret weapon the League was planning to use. She might have a really powerful quirk or she might be helping them behind the scenes somehow. He needed to know.

Asking Dabi directly was out of the question. If she was that afraid of Dabi, then drawing attention to her might put the girl in danger. Asking the Hero Public Safety Commission about her might not be the best option, either. If they had zero information on her, they might question how he knew about her and then he would have to explain. It might mean her arrest and that could result in Dabi realizing that he was a spy.

A plan, brilliant in his eyes, took form and he made up his mind. He managed to monitor the area without drawing attention to himself and waited for just the right time to strike. Making sure to allot himself some free time in which no one would question where he was, Hawks made his move.

If he could not get his information from Dabi or the Hero Public Safety Commission, he would need to find another way. After all, she might be a threat. Though there was a small part of him that wondered if she might be involved with Dabi against her will. She seemed scared when she was running back home so it might be a situation like what happened with the Shie Hassaikai. If she needed help, he would find a way to give it to her.

He wore casual clothes so he could appear as nonthreatening as possible. He put on the friendliest smile he could manage when he saw her door open. The hero greeted her with a half-wave and pushed off from the wall he had leaned against while he waited. "Hi."

The girl stared at him with wide hazel eyes. She lifted a trembling hand to push up her glasses and looked away, her face turning pink. "Ah…um…h-hello...?"