Warning: This chapter is REALLY long and I hope that doesn't discourage anyone from finishing it! It was also heartbreaking but on an exciting level? I guess? Hell, I don't know. I also needed to practice being descriptive, so I'm sorry if it was too wordy! Thank you for checking this chapter out!
Her Peace
I thought that we were meant to be
'Till you struck out like one, two, three
The thought of you was heavenly
At first, now it's where Hell will be
~Suicidal: YNW Melly ft Juice WRLD~
They stood there, unmoving.
Two broken individuals stood there with the crisp winter wind demanding them to move with it.
The stars brightened the blackening night. One was emotionally crumbling as her heart cracked with each step her love took farther away. The other was physically damaged, carefully putting back the pieces of his missing flesh.
Thirty minutes they stood, staring at one another.
Forty minutes they stood, daring the other to act first.
Dabi had been gone for forty-five minutes now. Was this really his goodbye? Was that the end of Gini's wild ride? He warned her that he would cut her off if she kept this act up.
She couldn't blame him. It was her fault. She only had herself to blame, stupid woman.
"Eri needs my care. May I share her room tonight?" The solemn woman asked.
Chisaki nodded his head. He kept her six feet away. He was afraid to even breathe on her.
"There's somewhere I need to go," Chisaki finally spoke.
He was Overhaul. He wasn't going to let that Frankensteinien monster best him. Besides, he had other meetings to get to.
Blue flames ate away at the closet full of baby items first. Soon, they engulfed the entire bathroom before they gnawed their sizzling teeth into the rest of the apartment. The burning fingers of his insatiable fire quickly gripped through the whole building, leaving nothing untouched but the people that had managed to get out in time.
Dabi lazily walked away from his inferno. He was running late to Shigaraki's summons about a meeting going bad. He didn't want to go, but part of him hoped that the League got a new recruit and that it was a female. He'd never get over Gini emotionally, but he could at least fuck away his problems.
Of course, when he made it to the base there was no recruit. Instead, he was met with a fuming Shigaraki blowing him up about the loss they had taken. It was good that Gini wasn't here. She wouldn't have handled Magne's death very well. By the looks of things, neither were Jin and Himiko. What a fucking mess he walked in on.
-2 MONTHS LATER-
The months since she'd last seen Dabi ticked by in an unusual manner. At this rate, she had been pregnant longer than she had been active with the man and it didn't sit well with her. This wasn't supposed to be how soon-to-be-parents behaved.
To distract herself from her internal strife over the matter, she had somehow convinced Kai to let her oversee Eri's experimentations. She expected constant arguing with Overhaul; however, they had only shared one fight the entire time she'd been here.
It was when she caught him operating on her cousin. Her hands instinctively blocked him from slicing the quivering child. She wasn't sure what convinced him to hesitate. It didn't really matter. He had stopped and allowed her to persuade him into letting her try it her way. All she needed to do was provide him with results.
She did. What he didn't know, was that she had been using her own blood in place of Eri's. The already successful bullets were secretly being replaced with her fake ones. The faulty ones wouldn't be revealed until after the yakuza used them on the field.
By that time, she would be long gone with the girl she had developed a motherly bond with.
She was even able to share the information of the faux duplicates with both Tomura and Nighteye without raising any alarms within the criminal house. She had never been this lucky. Things never worked out for her. Karma must have opted to be kind to her this time.
Two whole months of this and the man only had a dozen or so functioning quirk suppressants left; half of which were supposed to terminate a quirk permanently. She knew one was reserved for her and hoped she'd manage to get out before he decided to shoot her with it. With the way things were going, she didn't think he would do it though.
The most surprising thing about the entire situation she found herself in, was Kai himself. He was nothing like he had been that day he forced himself on her. Their 'relationship' if it could be called that, was strange to say the least. At first, she was required to be with him 24/7, except, she couldn't be any closer than arm's length. Eventually, he allowed her to touch his personal items like jackets, paperwork, etc. (after washing her hands of course) and even let her venture around outside as long as Rappa or Shin tagged along.
Her surprise with him didn't stop there. It was only topped by his choice in pleasure. Ginsui assumed he'd be just as savage as he had been the first time he got his hands on her. Much to her wonder, he had yet to force her to do anything that involved physical contact. It seemed that he had taken Dabi's warning literally.
Instead, she had to do nonconventional tasks such as bathing in a milk and honey filled tub as he watched to make sure she cleaned herself properly. Or the one time he made her spend hours cleaning their room in nothing but an old-fashioned garter belt and black thigh-high tights after she ate in the bed and forgot to clean up the crumbs before he climbed in with her. Those weren't even the weirdest of his requests.
The strangest among them were the ASMR recordings she had to make for him every weekend. She wondered what he did with her soft sighs, laughter, and other various noises she made for them. He didn't dare lay a finger on her though. She eventually found the quirky requests fun. Sexually stimulating acts without actual sex? Yeah, she could do that!
Her faithfulness to Dabi remained intact and maybe he'd accept her back once this chapter in her life was all over with.
Ginsui knew that Kai's unusual appetite was a ploy to get her to trust him, to get her comfortable enough with him so that she would initiate the first step in physical affection. She was familiar with Stockholm Syndrome and how others would say that she was playing into it. She had ten years of psychological training behind her belt. He couldn't groom her even if he tried harder.
Twice and Toga were sent over from Tomura after he hadn't heard from Ginsui in weeks. At first, they seemed genuinely excited to see her again. But once the joy of being rekindled wore off, they had to confess the horror of Magne's death. Gini shared a long night of mourning with them.
Her friend's death kept her focused on finishing the mission successfully. Had Big Sis not been taken from her, she knew she'd probably scrap her original ideas just as she had when she first went to the League. Sis's death kept her grounded, kept her sane. The loss kept her goal-orientated and awake.
Still, her stay with the yakuza had been oddly peaceful. Chisaki—unless he was better at feigning ignorance than she gave him credit for— didn't seem any wiser about the fact that his minions were still under her influence.
Chisaki noticed that the air about the house was livelier since he began letting Gini work on Eri. The longer the experiment liked living there, the more ammunition he would have. The longer he let Gini have her way, the more trusting she would be towards him. He had been so patient. He was ready to have her. He couldn't help but imagine the way her thighs would taste between his teeth. He coughed to snap himself out of the daze. He was close and he knew it.
"Pet. You have a doctor's appointment today at ten thirty. Will you be taking Eri with you? She's been acting stir crazy," Kai asked as Gini prepared them breakfast.
"Please, please, please, please," Eri begged between mouthfuls of rice.
It was the perfect time for Gini to move on to part two of her plan: the escape.
"I would like the company," Gini smiled at the antsy six-year-old.
The tall woman dressed in an ankle-length black dress that had a rose pattern adorning the dark fabric. It hugged over her stomach lovingly. She only had three more months to go. She was already so swollen; she couldn't fathom getting any larger. Her ribs were going to snap!
Eri enjoyed watching the woman's stomach grow. Pregnancy was an alien concept to the child, but the experience was still interesting for her—especially the parts that involved watching the baby move beneath the mother's tight flesh. Today, they were going to find out if it was a boy or girl.
Gini said she wanted a girl, so Eri wanted that as well.
Ginsui spent the ride over to the office praying that her little one was a girl. If she learned anything from the Todoroki's, it was that the only child the least prone to temperamental mood swings was the daughter. Maybe that could also mean that Rei was mistaken about the quirk type too. Maybe 'Baby Roki' as she had begun to call it, was meant to be an ice caster instead.
"All righty, Ms. Fukukado, are you and this precious cousin of yours ready for the results?"
"Yes!" Eri couldn't help but burst out.
"The baby is...a BOY!" The doctor announced, tossing blue confetti over the pouting girls.
"I don't see either of you smiling, but that's okay! Most new mothers react the same. They all want to buy the fancy dresses and bows. That will wear off soon enough, so don't be too disappointed!"
Fancy dresses and bows? If only she could tell the doctor that was the least of her concerns.
"Now we need to discuss your health. Your hemoglobin levels are much lower than they were the last time you were here. Were you recently in an accident that caused you blood loss?"
"Yes, I cut my arm while reaching for a knife to make dinner the other day," Gini lied, already showing the doctor the cut she had made for making Chisaki's bullets.
The doctor raised an eyebrow but didn't question the matter further.
"Nighteye requested a report as well."
"Yes ma'am. Please tell him that if he doesn't see me by the end of the week, two days from now, that my plan failed, and backup is required."
"I understand. You don't need me to remind you that more than one life is at stake," the doctor frowned.
Ginsui looked at Eri. "Three, counting my...son."
"Take care, Ms. Gini."
"Ugh, that was awful. I'm glad it's over," Gini sighed as she and Eri stepped outside. The sky was heavy with bundles of grey cotton. It would snow soon, she could feel it.
She hated the cold. She hated the snow. She despised the flaky clumps of harsh ice and the way it stuck to clothing and the ground. She hated that crunching sound it would make as people danced around in it.
Her stomach rolled as her baby stretched. He hated the cold too, but at least he wouldn't have to experience it. He was comfortably nestled in the warmth of her womb. She wished she could visit Dabi. She wished she could bask in the warmth of his arms again.
"What did you mean about a plan?" Eri asked, getting Gini's attention back.
"You're about to find out."
"Rappa-san is the other way, Gini," Eri's eyebrows scrunched together after Gini pulled her into the opposite direction.
"We can't go back just yet."
Eri obediently followed her caregiver as they wove in and out of crowded streets and backroads until they found themselves standing in front of a building with a large UA printed on it.
The youngest watched her leader eagerly as the woman blinked into an iris-scanning system.
Gini clenched her hands in frustration when the gate failed to open. She knew that this was a possibility. The school had to terminate her access after she resigned. Still, it was the easiest way to get Eri to a safe place. Fortunately, she had already planned ahead in case this happened.
"Oi!" Rappa's obnoxious voice called out to them.
Shit, he already found us, Gini thought bitterly.
"I'm sorry sir, we're not the girls you're looking for," she causally replied while she waved her hand in front of his face. She would have been a productive Jedi; but alas, she was stuck in the real world instead.
The man apologized and began to walk away in a confused state.
"Gini...what if he figures out what happened and tells Chisaki-san..."
"Don't worry, sweet Eri! I can always get them both to forget about it."
Dabi snickered at Gini's failed attempt at getting into the school. It was too bad that she didn't have a sibling with an identical eye color to hers. That's how he was able to gain access to see how his youngest brother's first day of school went.
He hated being active during the day. It was harder for him to blend in. A burgundy beanie covered his uncombed hair while a matching scarf shielded his face from passersby. He didn't like the way the cotton caught on his staples.
Speaking of those, they were now a bright, yellow gold. He exchanged them and his piercings for the new color because the original light metallic color reminded him of Gini's hair.
He once liked that, but ever since he started sleeping around with females he'd bring home from various clubs, he found the color on him repulsive. The gold was supposed to help erase the woman he was watching from his thoughts.
Obviously, it didn't work. He still found himself asking around about her. So much so, that he learned of her doctor's appointment which led him to this point. What the fuck was he doing here?
His cyan eyes grew as they landed on her swollen stomach as she stretched across from him.
Goddamn she's breathtaking carrying my child. None of those sluts I toyed with last night could hold a candle to her.
He clawed at the back of his neck to snap him out of the trance she put him in. This allowed him to change his focus to the tiny figure beside her. His eyes widened again once he realized he'd been spotted.
"Gini! Gini, it's him! It's your guardian angel!"
"Huh?" Gini asked, once again slapping herself for mentally neglecting gauging their surroundings.
She turned in the direction Eri pointed and her heart naturally swelled as large as her abdomen once she locked onto the man. His cold stare was as frightening as it was beautiful. If only she could have those oceanic orbs look at her lovingly again, just one more time. Was this how Aizawa felt when she moved on? Her heart skipped a beat when he whistled for her to come over.
She fingered her delicate curls nervously as she neared him, her heart racing the entire way. He leaned on a lamppost, silently observing her anxious mannerisms.
Dabi thought he was going to puke as her one-of-a-kind sunset eyes bravely checked him over. Regret of messing around behind her back started to set in. He swallowed sharply, allowing himself to brush away those negative feelings. He shouldn't feel guilty, they weren't together anymore. He didn't owe her any explanations for what he did after their split. She made her choice.
"You've stopped eating again...I like the gold..." Gini spoke up once she was close enough. She fingered her hair again, avoiding eye contact.
"I'm not here for small talk, Ginsui."
"It's a boy," she replied, tightening her grip on Eri's hand and quickly walking away before the man could see the blush of embarrassment flash across her face.
It's a boy rang in his ears. Her tone was like steel, hateful even.
Why did she let herself be so vulnerable around him? She was only going to look foolish, and rightfully so. She could feel his disconnection from her. She would rather him burn her again. That was less painful than his lack of care.
She continued her defeated retreat, feeling her baby press up against her damn ribs again. He seemed more alert after hearing his father's voice.
"He...wasn't as nice as I thought he would be. Is he...is the father?" Eri mumbled, as Gini tugged her away hastily. She could see the woman's face getting redder with each step they took.
"Yes," Gini eventually answered once she felt the need to bawl like a baby pass.
"Where have you been? What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?" Chisaki's questions began as soon as the two were in the vehicle. She didn't expect him to be the one picking her up.
"I wanted a snack. Nothing's wrong other than my self-loathing over the fact that I'm the size of a whale and couldn't even restrain myself from buying junk food again and eating it all before getting back here."
"Do you want me to change your diet again? Would that make you feel better? I think you look fine."
"FINE? You think I look fine," Gini sassed, happy that he took the bait.
Kai's amber eyes slowly blinked as she continued her rant. Once she was done, he sighed.
"Did I say fine? I apologize. Let me rephrase. You are the goddess of fertility. Your glow is brighter than the sun. Men tremble as you and all your feminine glory pass them by," he sarcastically replied.
Gini blamed her hormones for what happened next. Deep, unfiltered laughter erupted from her soul as the man continued to tease her with dramatic descriptions. She didn't know he had a sense of humor as golden as his eyes that continued to look at her, unchanged.
"You scoff at them as your footsteps leave a trail of blossoming flowers behind. The wind refuses to touch you in fear that it would mar your flawless face."
"Kai, no more," she begged as joyful tears rained down her blushing face, "it hurts to laugh. I'm too big and I can't breathe anymore," she continued her fit of giggles.
He stopped but only to admire her bliss. He hadn't seen this side of her just as she hadn't seen this side of him. Yes, he was getting closer to having her. He licked his teeth in anticipation. Tonight would be the night.
Gini finished her ritual of bedtime with Eri. Just a few more days and Nighteye would be here. Just a few more days and Eri would be forever safe. Sure, she wasn't being tortured any longer; however, she wouldn't be able to fully recover until she was out of the building that her suffering began.
Hours passed as Gini spent the rest of the evening propped on Kai's lap as he finished up phone call after phone call. It no longer felt wrong to perch so provocatively on him. It no longer felt like they were intruding in one another's personal space.
"My pet?" Chisaki asked as he ended the last call.
She smiled seductively as she readjusted her position on him. She was now facing him, her cheeks rosy in arousal as she absorbed his desire for her. His eyebrows lifted as he allowed her fingers to trace his face, down his neck, and linger on his shoulders. Her smile went away once she felt him harden under her ass. She bit her lip in sudden need.
She wished it was Dabi, but that man was no longer available. His actions earlier had told her to fuck off. He didn't have to use words for her to comprehend his utter disdain for her. But this man wanted her, and she hadn't been demanded for in so long. Her goddamn hormones exposed her and only intensified Kai's lust.
The amount of restraint the man had was unbelievable. Dabi would have already ruined her clothes and had his way with her by now. She let her fingers leave Kai's shoulders and play with his tie, urging him to hurry up. He caught her thirsty hands and held them up to his unmasked face, kissing them gently.
"As much as I want to hear you purr for me right now, I have a business offer for you."
She stuck her bottom lip out, but remained silent for him to continue.
"You mentioned the other day that you were interested in some of our businesses. The owner of one of the strip clubs is searching for a manager. I mentioned you, and he's interested. He said he'd be willing to meet with us in an hour. I'll need you to get changed and meet me outside in thirty minutes."
"Yes, sir," she nodded and began to pick through her closet for something suitable for an interview, yet risky enough to land her a job managing a freaking strip club. She was coming full circle. God help her if anyone recognized her. It was only going to be for a few nights. The chances were low that she'd know anyone there.
She eventually settled on a black, low neckline, sequined top, a fitted grey blazer and matching grey dress pants that left little the imagination as far as her curves were concerned. She pulled her hair back into a low, sleek ponytail, ironing out her natural curls. She even took time to do her makeup. The purple smokey eye and nude lipstick would look good in the building's dark lighting.
She checked herself over and was pleasantly surprised. She looked hot. She could feel the confidence grow in place of her doubt. She didn't need Dabi's affection to make it through this pregnancy...or even afterwards. She wouldn't need a man. She could get any job she wanted looking this yummy.
She added a small, black fedora with a grey bow to cover one of her eyes. It gave off a feminine spin on the gangster vibe she needed to run a yakuza business.
Kai remained speechless on the way to the club, his eyes never leaving his prize. Tonight was definitely the night.
"Ah, you must be Chisaki Ginsui. The Boss mentioned his new bride was beautiful, but that was not enough. Look at you, woman, I would eat you up if your husband wouldn't turn me into a pile of blood and clothes, no?" The business owner flirted, leading Ginsui inside.
"Wait here, Mrs. Chisaki as I speak with your partner for a while. We have a few things we need to discuss before I can interview you. Help yourself to anything our chefs in the kitchen can prepare for you. Make yourself comfortable, will ya' hun?" The man explained as he waved Kai over to him and through a private door away from the club.
Ginsui retrieved a tall glass of sparkling water from behind the bar and carefully observed the place. A stripper with a slim figure, white hair, and a shimmering, pink bikini caught her attention. She seemed to be focused on a single person instead of the others around the stage. It peaked Gini's curiosity.
She slowly took a seat along the wall so that she could see who was fascinating enough to hold the woman's attention and she nearly fainted. The stripper's thin body swayed closer to Dabi before she ever so slowly lowered herself onto him.
The glass broke between Gini's grip. The shards sliced through her hand, but she didn't even notice. She quickly pulled the hat further down her face so that she wouldn't get caught. She felt Dabi's jacket brush against her leg as the stripper led him into a room for a private dance.
Gini knew what that meant.
Despite her better judgement, she followed. The rooms here did not have doors, but rather thick curtains for poorer privacy. She held her breath as she heard Dabi's deep moans. No wonder he was distant earlier.
Then she did something she knew she was going to regret. She pulled out the gun Chisaki had given her and began firing warning shots into the air. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned she thought sagely as her undoing of the club erupted.
"I wonder if I'll still get the job," she giggled as the screams of panic filled the building. She heard answering gun shots and knew she fucked up.
The stripper that had been fucking the father of her child ran out, screaming along with the rest of the workers and customers. Gini risked looking in to see how the love of her life (or so she had naively thought) was handling the cockblock. He was muttering something as he tightened his belt around his bony waist. That was when he looked up and caught a pair of glistening eyes watching him.
"Like what you see?" He winked at the intruder.
Ginsui startled at getting caught and ran as fast as her tired legs could go. She bashed through the door that led to the meeting Chisaki was in and hoped that they were no longer in there.
She took her hat off and buried her face into it, making an "agggghhhh" screamish sound of someone who had messed up. Pregnancy was not doing her mental health any favors, that was for certain. She dropped the gun, causing it to go off near her leg. She squealed, jumping away from it, she made the exasperated noise again as she barely dodged the bullet.
"I'm not getting this job and Kai is going to fucking kill me," she sighed as her trembling finally subsided.
"What did you say, Ms. Gini?" Keigo Takami asked, anger building up within him.
He had heard that she was no longer associated with Dabi, a victory he thought. He was here because rumor had it that the man he was investigating had a little slut here he seemed to favor. He was also here because the Shie Hassaikai was usually found selling quirk suppressing weapons in the area. He was not here to find Ginsui of all people.
He thought she was done with the dark side of Japan, but here she was sinking deeper into it! She couldn't stay out of trouble this year even if her life depended on it.
And it did.
And holy shit another life depended on her being smart too, he gasped inwardly as he noticed her baby bump.
Hawks rolled his eyes as Gini looked him over instead of answering him.
"What are you doing here?" Gini asked worriedly.
"I could ask you the same."
"Business," the two said in unison.
"If you're looking for Overhaul, he already left. He was the first to his feet when the gunshots went off."
"Oh good. I can hang out here for a while then."
"Ms. Gini, you take care of yourself okay?" He warned before heading out too. It would blow his cover if he was found talked to her.
Gini sighed as she reveled in the aloneness. It hadn't been just her in a long time. She rubbed her stomach as her son's swift movements reached out to her loving hands.
"Come back here! We weren't finished and nobody's here anymore, doll," Dabi's deep voice let her know that she wasn't the only one remaining behind.
"I...I don't know..." a high, trill-like voice replied.
"Your loss," he slurred back. Gini could hear his bootsteps walk away.
"...Okay, but lets go in there, behind the door," she asked.
Ginsui made an "eep" sound as she crawled over to a desk to hide behind.
The door opened seconds after she pulled her legs from view. She held a hand tightly over her mouth to keep herself from being too audible.
There she remained, hand covering her face so tightly she could barely breathe, as she heard Dabi's sounds of pleasure along with the snow-haired stripper's.
Gini hated snow. That cold, unforgiving blanket of frozen water. She hated it.
Didn't he accept that she loved him? He could, and maybe he did. But, that didn't mean he had to return those same feelings.
"I like your white hair, babygirl," Dabi groaned. Gini risked removing the hand from her mouth so that she could use them to shield her ears from the agonizing torture.
She hated snow.
As soon as the two were finished and gone, she allowed herself to crawl back out and puke into a wastebasket nearby.
"We've looked everywhere, sir. I don't know where she could be," she heard Shin's panicky voice. She needed to get out and into the limo before Kai found her. She could talk her way out of his anger as long as she wasn't spotted in the building.
She was already ducking around back hallways of the establishment by the time Shin and Kai began to search the office. Much to her relief, she found a door leading outside.
"So, it was you after all."
