Dabi seemed restless.
I silently thanked whoever might be listening for my good fortune that I was plopped into a seat next to Hawks at the dinner table. Shigaraki was to my right, but I wasn't too concerned because he didn't seem to be paying me much mind at all.
"Is it always like this?" I asked Hawks, glancing at the feast that was laid out on the table in front of me.
"No. We're celebrating," Hawks said.
After a pause to see if he would continue, I asked, "care to elaborate?" even though I could guess it was because of their success in capturing me in their little spider's web of a plan.
Hawks confirmed my suspicions, and even though it seemed like they were celebrating my defeat as much as their success, it didn't really bother me. Everyone was in a good mood, the food was absolutely delicious, and no one was being overly villain-y or weird. It seemed almost normal. And maybe that's how Hawks got dragged into this. When they act like a big family like this, it's hard to not let your guard down.
Dabi stood out though. Like I said, he seemed restless, shifting in his chair, and picking at his food. He was acting like I probably should have been, but staying calm was my best bet at staying alert and noticing things that could help me out later. Plus, I had my best friend here. I just wish I could talk to him alone to find out if he really trusts these people or if they have something against him or exactly what the hell is going on.
Maybe being calm was just an act that I was putting on that I was starting to believe myself, because I definitely jumped a mile out of my seat when from across the table, Dabi yelled, "Shigaraki! Think fast!" and whipped a roll at his head.
Shigaraki caught it easily, barely even looking in the direction of it, before it disintegrated in his hand. He kind of just sighed in resignation, brushed the remnants of the roll off of the table, and continued to eat his meal. To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I've seen the result of his quirk before; everyone has. But to experience it 12 inches away from my face? To see exactly how dangerous those hands that were touching me a few hours earlier were. If Shigaraki noticed me staring at him, he was gracious enough to pretend he didn't long enough for me to compose myself and turn back toward Hawks.
"You should have seen him a few years ago! He'd've flipped the table if Dabi did that, that is if it didn't turn to dust the second he touched it!" Toga commented from across the table, seated next to Dabi.
I guess she did notice my staring and was not gracious enough to pretend she didn't. I noticed the side of Dabi's mouth twitch into a smile, but it was gone just as fast as it appeared. Dabi had also gone back to eating like he didn't just randomly taunt one of the most dangerous people alive.
It was actually kind of a relief. This little exchange gave me some reassurance that the impulsive neck-grabbing Shigaraki from a few hours ago was not always quick to anger and harsh with consequences. I felt the tiniest bit safer.
"Ha! Shigaraki used to just ignore Dabi completely and let whatever he was throwing just bounce off of his face! Totally unphased! Very cool and levelheaded!" Spinner, the giant lizard-man said, speaking to me directly for the first time since I've arrived.
"What changed?" I asked, glancing from Spinner to Shigaraki.
Surprisingly, Shigaraki himself was the one who answered me. "Dabi decided to throw a brick at my face. I couldn't trust him enough to not catch whatever he was throwing at me after that." Shigaraki was most stoic, but I did see a hint of a smile as he remembered his companion's shenanigans.
Shigaraki glanced over at me and his eyes widened just the tiniest bit, but I caught it. I'll admit that I was stunned myself when I realized that I was smiling while watching and interacting with this mismatch group of villains. I dropped the smile from my face and turned my attention back to my food, but I wasn't really hungry anymore. I picked at my food and drank my water while the others continued the conversation around me.
"Has it crossed your mind that the food might be poisoned, or your drink might be spiked?" Shigaraki asked me quietly. The others didn't seem to notice our side conversation as they carried on themselves.
"Briefly. But you had your hand around my throat earlier, so…" I trailed off.
"So… what?" Shigaraki asked, turning in his seat just the slightest bit toward me.
"If you wanted to kill me, you could've done it then. Hell, you could do it now. How would I stop you?" I asked, but he still didn't understand.
"My quirk doesn't work on you," he stated, narrowing his eyes at me to try to understand what I meant.
"No, but I'm not immune to being suffocated," I shrugged. I realized then that I had turned a little in my seat, too, to face Shigaraki more.
Shigaraki looked away for a second in thought. And you might be screaming at the screen right now saying 'why would you tell him a weakness he didn't know about?!' The answer is simple, really. If he feels like he has at least some control over me, he will not watch me so closely. At least, that's the reasoning I came up with later. In the moment, I was just rambling before I realized what exactly I was giving away about myself.
One thing that I finally did right, though, was control my outward appearance when I realized what an idiot I was being. I didn't change my face, I didn't look away too quickly, I didn't shift in my seat, I didn't freeze in place. Finally, I did something that a hero would do.
Shigaraki called me 'underground hero Succubus' when he addressed me earlier, and that is my official title, I guess. But I'm seriously no hero. My quirk is pretty useful, but I really just want to do what my cover persona does. I want to follow Katsuki Bakugou around, watch him fight, and come up with new tech to make him even more efficient.
Not many people know that I'm Succubus. Most just know me as that smart girl that is always at Bakugou's side, the girl who is always sketching out new ideas as she watches Bakugou fight and train, the girl who the Dynamight Agency was happy to bring aboard as a personal tech wizard for in-house updates and designs without the need to outsource everything. Other agencies had made offers to try to get me to work for them instead. Or even just part-time as I keep on working at the Dynamight Agency. Having someone that is with you and your team, and who can design and build custom hero support technology, is priceless. But I never wanted to work anywhere else.
Sure, I've had side projects here and there, worked for independent heroes, worked on teams with other tech geniuses to make huge leaps in the tech world, but I never wanted to work for another agency, and so I never did.
Bakugou pulled me aside before and told me about an agency that reached out to him directly to request me, and even offered money to 'rent' me from his agency for a week. He, of course, snarled that I am not an object or property of the agency, and I can make my own choices. He wanted to reassure me that I would face no consequence if I worked for another agency. I wouldn't be fired, I wouldn't be demoted, his gratitude would not change in the slightest in any way. So, I assured him that it wasn't because of him that I was turning other agencies down. It was my own personal agenda. And that is the first and last conversation we ever had about it.
"Hey, Harpy. You look tired. You okay?" Hawks asked me.
He asked me if I was okay. After he sold me out to villains and got me kidnapped in a straightjacket of all things.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, and was startled at the fact that it wasn't exactly a lie. "I don't feel tired at all."
"You were spacing out there for a second," Hawks informed me, nudging my shoulder with his own. "Do you want to go back to your room? Do you want me to accompany you?"
This was my chance to talk to Hawks alone to find out what the hell was going on and to find out if he actually trusted these people or if he was in a dire situation that he needed help getting out of.
As I nodded and started to stand from my chair, Dabi piped in, "I'll come, too."
Damn it all to hell.
The others looked more relaxed when he said that, though. That at least gave me some information: Hawks was not completely trusted here. Whether that was because of our friendship in this specific circumstance or if he is never fully trusted, I had yet to figure out.
Hawks led me down the same, dim hallway and into my room with Dabi following closely behind us. I made eye contact with Hawks, but I really couldn't decipher if it was safe to speak in front of Dabi or not, so I chose the safe route of saying nothing.
"Do you need anything?" Hawks asked me as I sat down in the bed. Dabi hovered in the doorway, leaning against the frame like he didn't have a care in the world.
I shook my head in response, but Hawks hesitated to leave. Dabi stood up from the door frame and took a step into the room.
"Good night, Harpy," Dabi teased, using Hawks's nickname for me, and shooting me a cheeky wink before nodding his head in the direction of the door to signal to Hawks that it was time to go.
"My name is Kei Seijin."
Dabi's head snapped around to look at me. "What?"
"Kei Seijin," I repeated, even though I knew that is not what he meant.
"Why would you tell me that?" he clarified.
"It's not important. You know my hero name, the agency I work for, my quirk. Everything important, you already know. My name gives nothing away when you already know all of that," I shrugged.
Dabi paused in though before saying, "I prefer Harpy."
Dabi grabbed Hawks's wrist and pulled him out of my bedroom, shutting the door on his way out, before I could respond.