Kaere was used to waking up alone. She had lived alone for so long that it was just normal. However, as she opened her eyes and realized that Compress was gone, a loneliness set in. Pushing herself to sit up, she ran a hand through her dark brown hair to push it away from her face.
It's not fair. I shouldn't feel upset about this. The girl heard footsteps approaching her door and hurried to grab her glasses. The idea of being nearly blind while Dabi came into her room made her stomach twist in anxiety. She was slipping them on just as he pushed open the door.
The other villain seemed almost disappointed that she was awake. Like it was ruining his fun. Dabi leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "He was gone when I woke up. What's the deal? You just hook up and he leaves?"
Kaere lowered her head, letting her hair fall around her face. She got out of bed and gathered some clean clothes without looking his way. I don't want to be alone with him. It feels like he's…going to do something if I stay here. I feel like I'm in danger.
The girl tried to slip past him to go to the bathroom, but Dabi caught her upper arm. He turned her and pushed her back against the wall, his sharp blue eyes meeting her soft hazel ones briefly before she looked away. His free hand went beneath her chin to lift her face so he was at least in her peripheral.
"Let…let go of me," she muttered, trying to pull away. The sense of danger was increasing. It was like being circled by a feral animal that was on the verge of snapping at her with its teeth and claws.
His eyes narrowed and his fingertips pressed at both sides of her jaw. "After everything I've done for you, you're still treating me like this?"
A panicked, fluttery feeling began in her chest. Fear made her start to tremble and she gripped his wrist with one hand. "I don't know what you're talking about," she argued. "Please. I didn't…I didn't ask for you to do anything!"
"Right? So you should be a little more grateful, don't you think? I've been going out of my way for you and you're still cold to me. Maybe I've just gotta warm you up." A manic grin tugged at the corners of his lips, the staples straining to hold his damaged skin together. Leaning down so his face was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him.
"What's the matter, Kae? What do you think I'm gonna do? You keep acting like you're afraid of me, right?" Dabi's hand tightened on her upper arm and he lowered his head so his lips brushed against her right ear. "Just say it. What do you think I'm gonna do to you?"
In a move of desperation, Kaere planted a small, cold hand against his chest and shoved with all of her strength. He was apparently not expecting her to physically fight him and stumbled back a step. She slipped out of her room into the open part of the apartment and kept her eyes on him.
Dabi advanced at a lazy pace with his hands in his pockets. "Where's that spine when it matters?" he taunted. "If you acted like that all the time, maybe I wouldn't have to keep doing stuff for you."
She backed up more and darted into the bathroom. Slamming the door closed and locking it. The girl changed quickly, brushed her teeth, and left her pajamas abandoned on the floor. When she emerged from the bathroom, she saw Dabi lounging on her couch with her phone in his hand. "G-give me that!"
"You want this?" He held it up, wearing a teasing smirk. "Come get it."
Kaere felt a cold sweat break out just at the thought of getting close again. Her gut told her to keep her distance and she instead went into her room to get her bag. I have to get out of here, she decided. I don't want to be alone with him. He's…really scaring me. What did he mean when he said he's been doing things for me? Did he mean sending that hero to watch me and Twice or is there more?
Packing her laptop, handheld console, and medical kit into her bag, she listened closely in case he got up. She cautiously approached the back of the couch and peered over his shoulder. He was using her phone to send taunting messages to Shigaraki. Her heart dropped into her stomach when she saw what he was typing and hoped that Shigaraki would know that it was someone else saying these things.
Dabi looked back at her with narrowed eyes. "Where are you going?"
"I'm…going out. Alone." She gripped the strap of her bag when he lifted her phone and tilted his head.
"You're gonna go out without this?"
"I-I don't need it." Kaere made quick steps to cross to the apartment door and let herself out. She was on edge as she walked down the alley; listening for his footsteps and wishing that she had her phone. At least then I could ask for someone to walk with me…She shook her head, frowning. No. I can do this. I…can walk by myself without being guarded.
Entering the abandoned building, she was glad to find it quiet. The girl moved through the dimly lit hallways and up the old wooden stairs, careful about how much noise she made. As she stepped into the usual meeting room, she paused and felt heat rush to her face. She looked away in embarrassment and pushed up her glasses; tempted to turn back and find somewhere else to spend her morning.
Shigaraki was sitting on the floor against the wall. Gripping a handheld game console with eight fingers and looking sort of like he had foregone sleeping that night. Too tired to even care that his private gaming time had been invaded. On the floor next to him, his phone kept lighting up with new messages. "What're you doing here? I didn't even call a meeting today," he grumbled.
Kaere stepped back into the hallway. "S-sorry, Shigaraki-san. I was just…um…I just wanted to…" She lowered her head, chewing at her lip and picking at the skin around her left thumbnail.
His messy blue hair fell over one eye when he tilted his head and he picked at the chapped skin of his lower lip. "As long as you're here, you might as well make yourself useful. Come here. I'm farming supplies. You can collect some for me so I get twice as much."
She sat on the floor with him, but left about two feet of space between them. Kaere adjusted her glasses again as he told her what to do and settled into a quiet, peaceful moment of gaming. "Um…my cellphone…I didn't send you any messages," she explained, still worried.
"You think I don't know that? You don't even trash talk in a game. I know you wouldn't tease me, anyway; you're too nice." He spoke the word like it was some disgusting term that made his stomach turn. "I know it's that freak Dabi."
They had at least twenty minutes of quiet, peaceful, introverted gamer bliss. She could almost forget about everything that happened with Dabi that morning, but then she heard the creak of the wooden stairs. She looked toward the door, chewing at her lower lip, until Shigaraki snapped at her to pay attention. Kaere lowered her gaze to the console again as she heard footsteps in the hallway, accompanied by someone muttering to themselves.
"Where's Compress anyway? He's supposed to be your guard, right? Don't tell me you walked here by yourself. You're the only healer in our party," Shigaraki grumbled. "Don't be so irresponsible."
"I'm…sorry." She sank down into her hoodie; slouching and letting the dark fabric cover the lower half of her face. He's right, though. That hero yesterday. What if he decided to come after me? Goose bumps rose on her skin at the memory of facing him and she let her hair fall over her face. My quirk is useless when it comes to protecting myself.
"K-Kae?! Kae-chan's here? Ngh! What're you both doing here? It was supposed to be empty!"
When Kaere looked up through her dark hair, she saw Twice standing in the doorway with a hand pressed against the side of his head. Fingers digging into his messy blond hair and the muscles of his jaw clenched as he struggled to hold himself together. He was clearly sweating and truly looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown. Before she could even start to get up, he turned away.
Beside her, Shigaraki watched with an annoyed expression as Twice dug around in the gym bag he was carrying for his mask. "What are you doing here? This place isn't supposed to be some kind of club room. I wanted it quiet."
"S-sorry! I just…I wanted to get away from people! No one was supposed to be here!" Twice dropped his bag and lifted his mask with trembling hands. He glanced over at Kaere a final time with teary blue-gray eyes before yanking the mask on over his head.
Something…isn't right. He looks so panicked. She felt her breathing hitch when he picked up his bag and turned toward her, the eye parts of his mask indicating that he was smiling now. "Twice-?"
"Kae-chan! You look as cute as ever! What's with wearing so much black? Wear some cute colors for once, will ya?!" He was soon falling onto his knees on the floor in front of her and pulling her into a tight, warm embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay! I promise I'm not gonna do it again! Okay, well maybe just a few more times."
"What…what are you talking about?" She hesitantly leaned back and adjusted her glasses. His hands were now on her shoulders and his masked face was close to hers. "Twice?"
"Oh yeah! Check out this present I got for you! To make up for it! This better get me a kiss on the cheek at the least!" Twice dug through his bag and produced a pack of sweet and spicy gummy candy. "You love stuff like this, right?"
He doesn't want to tell me. The girl accepted the candy with a shy smile and nodded. "I…I love sweet and spicy stuff. You know me really well."
"Of course I do! I love you! What're you doing? Can I watch?" He seated himself next to her and then dragged Kaere into his lap without a second thought. Arms wrapped around her midsection. Perfectly content to watch from over her shoulder as she played her game.
The warmth against her back made Kaere blush and she decided to just go with it. Whatever was bothering him, it seemed pretty bad. If she could distract him from it for even just a little while, she would feel better. She continued to help Shigaraki until his console started to blink with the "low battery" warning. He grumpily decided to just save the game and announced he was going somewhere quieter as he left the room.
The villain behind her let go for a moment and there was a rustling as he opened the bag of candy. "Here you go, Kae-chan! Try one! I'm gonna have some, too!" He gently put a gummy candy into her hand and pushed up his mask to eat a piece himself.
She chewed and would have smiled. It really was a candy suited perfectly to her taste. However, she could feel that he was still far from alright. His arms went around her again as he chewed on his candy, but tighter than before; like he thought she might disappear if he loosened his hold even a little. On top of that, he was trembling.
Finishing her piece, Kaere closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Her chest was starting to tighten, her lips twisting into a frown as she saved her game and set it aside. The girl's cold hands settled on his arms and she felt him nuzzle into the space between her shoulder and neck. "Twice. Are you…are you alright? I can tell that something's wrong. Please. Whatever it is, I want to help you-"
"I did something bad." His voice cracked as he spoke, his breath warm against her skin. "I'm sorry, Kae-chan! I did something really, really bad!"
Her heart dropped into her stomach. The amount of pain in his voice was bringing tears to her eyes. She turned around so she was kneeling on the floor in front of him with his legs to either side of her. "It can't be that bad. What can I do…to make you feel better?"
Twice held his head in his hands, tears rolling down his cheeks as he was forced to face the timid little medic. He struggled for a moment with an internal conflict; digging his fingertips into his skin and gritting his teeth as he fought back an urge. A fight that he soon lost as both arms wrapped around her to draw her against his chest.
"I...did something unthinkable," he mumbled. Her arms went around his neck and he could feel the slight chill of her hands against his upper back. "Kae-chan, I did something…really, really bad. I shouldn't have done it. I…told myself I was never gonna do it, but I had your measurements." He gritted his teeth again as his hold tightened more. "I didn't wanna leave you last night! I thought if I could see you again, I'd be okay. I just…I just wanted some Kae-chan cuddles all night! No, that isn't what it was about!"
He…made a double of me…because he was so worried? She blinked away tears as she held him. "Twice, it's…it's okay."
"It's not okay! When I woke up, you were just a puddle! Ngh! You…died! Kae-chan died! But you're here. The real you. You're not a double, right?! You're the real deal?" Twice leaned back, taking her face in his hands and staring down at her. "You've gotta tell me you're real! Please!"
Before she could answer, there was a sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway. Both villains turned to look and found Compress standing there. He lifted a hand to remove his top mask and started toward them with a faint smirk. "My dear, are you trying to make me jealous?"