The chapter's playlist is here!

Strip- Little Mix ft Sharaya J

Help Me Out- Maroon 5 ft Julia Michaels

Still Got Time- ZAYN ft PARTYNEXTDOOR

DABI

"He broke up with me because I'm fat."

At first, his face contorts in utter confusion, not being able to comprehend the words that just left Rumiko's mouth. Soon, rage takes over the confusion.

"He did what?!"

"He even made sure I knew I was embarrassing him with this dress. Apparently, he can't be seen with someone like this."

"And you let him break up with you? You should've broken up with him! What a piece of trash of a man." Hawks comments harshly.

"It caught me off guard, it was so sudden. If I knew it was coming I would've given a piece of my mind. But fuck him, it's not even worth my wrath."

Dabi gets to his feet. His glance darts around the dance floor and it lands on his target. Until the sun rises again, that man will be dead.

"Where are you going?" Rumiko wonders.

"I'm willing to do your favour after all."

Without any other words, Dabi stomps between the random people, pushing his way through, his eyes locked on target. Small flares of blue flames ignite around his figure. When the guy is within his reach, Dabi notices how he is already hitting on another girl, that is most like the guy's type, but far less beautiful to Dabi's eyes.

Dabi lands his hand on the guy's shirt. A thin line of smoke lifts at contact. The man yelps and turns around to face Dabi.

"Do I know you?!" the man exclaims, his voice high-pitched with surprise.

"You think you can do whatever you want with whatever girl you find?" he says in a low tone, grabbing the collar of the man's shirt and pulling him close, so he could see Dabi's sadistic eyes up close. "Are you coming for her? Are you blind? I'll kill you, you fucker!"

People around them scream when Dabi's free arm ignites with his flames. The man trembles in his grasp.

"Rumiko? I didn't even like her. The relationship was getting nowhere!" The man's voice was desperate. "I did her a favour!"

"Yeah, you did her the favour of getting her rid of you. But your little comments can't go without punishment."

"Ah, what is happening here?'' A friendly tone gets closer to Dabi's ear. Then, an arm wraps around his shoulders. "It seems my friend here got overheated, am I right? Why don't we go calm down?" Hawks gloved hand fans Dabi's flames in a ridiculous attempt to put them out. The rhythm of the fanning gets more urgent, as Hawks' face closes to Dabi's to whisper. "We don't want anyone else to get worried, do we? Besides, as a former hero, I can't just let you kill a man like it is nothing."

The flames dissipate only because Dabi decides to subside his quirk. His face falls to his normal, bored demeanour.

"Get closer to her ever again and you won't get off this easily." Dabi leaves a warning to the shaking man before he releases his shirt. The man falls to his knees, a terrified look on his face.

Smacking Hawks hand away, Dabi turns around to pace back to the table where Rumiko awaits him. Her face portrays some feeling between worry and contempt. As in, her eyebrows are furrowed even though she is trying so hard to show a smug smile. However, her fingers fidget with the end of her dress. A sign of distress Dabi recognizes.

"So, did you kick his ass?" Her voice is well masked.

"Fuck him." Dabi stops in front of the woman and extends his scarred hand to her. "Want to leave this place? Let's have an actual good time and party somewhere else."

Rumiko tilts her head.

"Are you sure? It's still early to leave."

"It's fine. I want to show you something."

The woman deposits all her trust in Dabi when she accepts his hand on hers. Together, they leave the bar without saying their farewells. Seeing how Rumiko follows him without much question gives him a sense of appeasement. It feels natural when he helps the woman with her coat. Like it should be.

However, for that night, Dabi won't focus on himself. Only on Rumiko.

Under the ethereal moon, on their way to Dabi's apartment, she starts to vent to her friend,

"I thought I could find some inspiration for new songs if I found love. Guess it's not that easy, huh?"

"You were in love with that guy?"

"Hell no." She shouts. "Do songs about flings sell?"

Dabi chuckles at the remark. He fishes for the keys to his apartment in his pocket once the elevator stops and the door slides open.

"You should write an empowering song."

Rumiko makes a puzzled face.

The first thing Dabi does once he steps into his apartment is to turn on his speakers. Not too loud, but enough for the energetic melody to fill the darkness between the walls.

"Strip." He commands.

"Excuse me?!"

The sleeves of his coat slide off his arms. Right after, he pulls the white shirt off his body. Freedom possessing him with all his scarred skin out in the open. The purple tissue spreads up his arms and occupies most of his torso.

"You gotta do what you love." Dabi says over the music. "However, first of all, you gotta love who you are."

A grin grows on the woman's face seeing Dabi losing himself to the song.

"I'm feeling kind off stupid over here all alone." Dabi observes her with care as she throws off her coat to the floor.

Dancing around like two maniacs, they can't help but laugh at themselves and let their bodies loose with the energy of the songs that play on the speakers.

Dabi jumps on the couch and grabs the remote and makes a microphone out of it as he sings a verse of the song he knows by heart looking directly into Rumiko's eyes with a loving gaze. He leans forward, in her direction, as he gets more into the song. The woman smiles at him and dances with the rhythm just for him. The song ends and Dabi unfurls his arms to the grand finale.

Right before the next song rings the first cords, a bang on the wall catches their attention. Biting his tongue between teeth. Rumiko laughs at his antics, falling backward into the cushions of the couch. Dabi joins her soon after in the new silence, sitting on the floor, his head drops backwards next to Rumiko's legs, he breathes heavily. Probably the most exercise he had that week.

"I've been struggling to find inspiration for music. And tonight, you gave me the confidence to seek it out. I needed this. Thank you, Dabi. "

He turns his head to face Rumiko. She smiles gratefully. Her lips part like she is about to say something more, but gives up on it. Like something she might regret saying, but Dabi wants to hear it more than anything.

"I know there will be one day you will need somebody too," Rumiko speaks softly. "And I want you to know I'll be there. Whatever it is. You can count on me."

His eyes open wide with a glimmer of yearning, visible even in the darkness of the room due to the moonlight that enters through the window with no curtain.

"Well," Rumiko raises her torso and kicks her legs over Dabi's head. "I'll head home now."

"Huh?" Dabi raises a brow. "At this time of the night? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine." She doesn't face him while she looks for her coat.

"Just sleep here. You can have my bed. I'll sleep right here."

Dabi relaxes his body completely on the floor and closes his eyes. He might even sleep in that exact position, but eventually he will crawl to the couch.

"I don't want to bother you even more."

"I said you could, didn't I?"

"Okay, then." Rumiko agrees, her voice becoming more energetic and gaining momentum. "Only if you admit I'm an amazing dancer!" She shouts.

"Dabi groans in confusion.

"C'mon, just say it. You know it's true."

He opens a slit of his eyes only to see a determined Rumiko awaiting for his compliment. He sighs.

"Fine. You are an amazing dancer, Rumiko Sano." Dabi closes his eyes once again.

"And you're a really decent friend when you want to." Rumiko says before she disappears into Dabi's room.

A pink flush raises to his face. When the heat on his body suddenly rises, he blames it on the dancing and jumping around.

Who would know there would come the day Dabi would be a helping hand to anyone but himself.

ZORA IDEALE

At the rise of a new gloomy day, Zora wakes up already tired. He has been living in half truths of his youth. Ever since the accident, everything he has been living has been in half portions. He has a feeling that it's the same way with all the others.

They never had the courage to disband, not even after months of producing nothing worth tapping. Because they know she would never turn her back on them. If they took the official decision to break the band apart, it would be like they were turning away from her. The one who fought more than anyone in the name of Even Flow. The one who gave the meaning to the band's name.

To always strive for that high feeling with their songs and to keep it that level throughout the concert hours. An even flow of high ecstasy. That's the feeling they want to give to their audiences. It's the way she wanted it.

On days like this, when his mind wanders again to the fallen, Zora visits the cemetery, regardless of the weather.

His hair falls on his face due to the heavy rain. Alone in the cemetery, the footprints of his boots are the only ones to mark the mud. Zora stops in front of a simple grave. The grey stone writes her name, years of birth and death,

'The flow between us, let it connect our spirits even on the other side.'

The fact that she left this message to be written on her grave stone prior to her death it's eerie to Zora. He always thought so, maybe the others feel the same, but her death is a topic they never really talk about. No one wants to hear it.

"Hello, Emi," Zora kneels down, leaning forward, using his arm as support on top of his left knee. "Somehow you keep luring me out to this place, even if it rains like today. But you always had that effect on people. It's amazing to see how many lives you affected in the few years you had. Far too few." His voice thick in torments.

How annoying it was knowing that Emi would be so pissed if she knew about the state of the band. And that he alone could do nothing about it.

"Your song, the one that belongs to you alone, still rings in my mind. Even though I only heard it once. It was enough to be unforgettable. It lasts through a lifetime, believe me. And I can think of a certain feathered friend, probably spent the whole night awake singing it to himself. He's probably on top of some building catching a cold like me. Singing and barren. We have all suffered your loss, but I believe Keigo has it the worst."

One year prior

HAWKS

On a certain night, Hawks is staring off into space, resting his head on the palm of his hand, his other arm crossed in front of him while leaning on the wall. In a street filled with the purple and pink lights of the bars he usually frequents, he stood out like a sore thumb with his uninterested expression. Soon, he starts to become restless and pacing in a tiny circle. He lets his mind wander off to other places, but time passes slowly.

"What are you doing?"

A woman barely shorter than himself, short white hair and a side fringe that covers her forehead. She stands tall with a mocking smile on her face. It is Emi.

"Trying to kill my boredom while waiting for you!" Hawks point his finger at her..

"Sorry about that." The woman takes a step back from her tempered friend. "I swear I was working on the new song."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but then the inspiration became annoying and I broke up with him." Emi shrugs.

"You were with another guy?"

"I wanted to write a love song, I don't know if it's happening at this rate."

"You won't find love if you keep on trying to find it." He says in a low tone, making the woman raise a brow. "I know you want to tour the world as fast as possible, but you still have so much time. Your career has a long path ahead of it. If this is not the time for you to write your song, then it's not the time. Don't rush things. Especially artistic tempo." Hawks face opens with an endearing smile. "And you're wasting your time with those random dudes."

Emi chuckles before she takes Hawks arm and pulls him closer to her, walking to the closest bar.

"I'll waste my time with just one more random dude." She jokes.

"Oi, you better not be talking about me." He faked a desolate tone, even his wings drop from their usual placement.

And she laughs. Her smile alone can change the world. And Hawks curses himself for every single day he doesn't get to appreciate it like it should be.

A/N:

You wanna know the best part of this chapter? Dabi's little crush might've developed into love, but let me assure you Rumiko doesn't have that kind of feelings for Dabi. But oh well, this is only chapter 2 and things might change. Or not. We'll see.

I will publish the next chapter this week, but it's really short though! After that, you're gonna have to wait until I write more.