"For two highschool kids, you sure stir up a storm fast. Can you imagine how much trouble I'm in because of your little theory?" Dabi taunted, cherishing the expressions on their faces for just a few seconds. Sure, he was there to get information from them and had no intention of causing a problem currently, but he still had to milk being a villain for what it was worth, right?

Of course, such words didn't really reassure the two heroes in training, who looked about ready to jump and attack him or defend at a moment's notice.

"I'm not here to kill you guys. Relax." Dabi held his palms up, keeping a relaxed and open posture. Sure, teasing them was fun, but he wasn't looking to get attacked either.

Obviously, it was clear that they were unsure about it still, seeing how they glanced at each other before looking back at Dabi. He was hoping that Shouto's curiosity over Touya would win out, especially since he already had the audacity to bring it up publicly.

"Do you actually have information about Touya?" Shouto finally spoke, confirming Dabi's suspicion.

"I do." Dabi nodded, watching their body language loosen slightly, and decided to press forward with his first demand. "He has to go first." He said in reference to Midoriya, who likely came with Todoroki for protection's sake if the person had turned out to be a fraud. Or a villain, though Dabi happened to be acting outside of the League's intentions at the moment.

"Midoriya, please leave." There was surprisingly little hesitation before Shouto agreed, and it seemed to surprise not only Dabi but also Midoriya as well.

"Todoroki! You can't-"

"Five minutes, Midoriya. Please." Todoroki cut off his friend, his eyes away from Dabi now as he looked at the green haired boy. To his credit, Midoriya still seemed concerned, but ultimately decided to obey and slowly backed away before disappearing around the corner. Most likely he would still be listening and probably watching from around the corner, but that wasn't really Dabi's main focus right now.

He wasn't planning on giving anything away anyway, so there wasn't like he had anything to be concerned about.

Once Midoriya's figure disappeared around the stone, Todoroki brought his attention back to where Dabi was still standing, though Dabi had brought his hands down and into his pockets now.

"What do you know about Touya?" He asked, but Dabi's only response was to stick out his hand expectantly and wait for what he had been promised.

"Phone number first."

"Why do you want to talk to Natsou?" Todoroki didn't seem to be giving in right away either, and Dabi had to admit that the kid definitely had more nerve than he had originally thought. He could admire that.

"Phone number."

The small smirk on his lips grew with the slight frustration in Shouto's eyes. Sure, he was his brother, but he still was going to mess with him a little bit. What's the worst Shouto could do, freeze him?

"Why haven't you said anything till now?

"Number."

Todoroki let out a tight sigh, but dug into his pocket regardless, procuring the item that Dabi had been waiting for. It was a small slip of paper which he handed to Dabi, their hands never touching during the exchange. With one hand Dabi flipped it over, making sure that there was a number there before he tucked it into his own pocket and turned to leave.

"Wait, you didn't give me the information!"

"I thought your teachers would tell you not to make agreements with a villain?" Dabi said offhandedly as he began to walk away, the question as rhetorical as it sounded.

"Are you my brother?" Shouto only answered him back with another question, one that caused Dabi's footsteps to finally come to a stop.

"Can't let that go, can you." Dabi sighed, turning around again to face the young hero.

He stood there for a solid few seconds of silence, looking into the mismatched eyes of his brother. He had accepted that Shouto was his brother, that they were related, but why was it so hard for him to actually say it?

Was he still scared about what that could mean for him?

Maybe.

Fuck, the kid looked so despirate though. He had to give him something. Hawks was a grown man and he could deal with the pettiness of Dabi refusing to acknowledge him, Dabi never felt guilty about that. This? This he felt guilty about, but still, it wouldn't be very smart of him to just say it straight up.

"I didn't say no."

He finally settled on those words, pouring as much into them as he dared to, which honestly wasn't much. Still, it seemed his message got across, as there was a flicker of relief that appeared to sink into Shouto's face.

"Thank you." The boy's words shocked Dabi, enough so that he wasn't able to respond in the few seconds it took for Shouto to turn around and run to where his friend was waiting around the corner.

Dabi wasn't planning on sticking around any longer either, and turned heel again to return to his apartment before anything else could possibly interrupt him.

Closing the door behind himself once he got back, Dabi didn't even bother moving away from the door before he pulled out the number again and entered it into his phone. It wasn't already saved in there, he had gotten this phone after he joined the League, though he assumed he probably had one before.

Staring down at the number, Dabi let out a quiet sigh. His finger hovered over it, just centimeters from pressing down and calling Natsou. What would he say anyway? 'Hi, I'm your brother that you thought was dead, oh, also I'm a villain now just fyi.' He didn't feel confident enough in his realization that he was Touya enough for him to do that. The name still felt weird to think about, much less to have as a label for himself.

Maybe he'd just try it anyway. It couldn't be that bad, right? His talk with Shouto had gone just fine, though he was pretty sure that Shouto already knew even before Dabi had said anything. Plus they hardly knew each other. Touya was supposed to have more of a relationship with Natsou.

Before he could psych himself out of it by thinking too much, he pressed the button, bringing the phone up to his ear. It rang four times before going to voicemail, which only took a couple of seconds, but they were the longest four seconds Dabi had ever experienced.

"Hey, you've reached the voicemail of Natsou Todoroki. Sorry I missed your call, leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks."

His younger brother's voice crackled slightly over the line thanks to the shitty connection within the apartment at certain times, but it was clear enough to make out the sound of his voice. It sounded calm, and sturdy and strong, and it was far too familiar for Dabi to handle.

Tearing the phone away from his ear, he didn't even bother pressing his finger down on the cancel button before chucking the phone across the room where it hit with a soft thud the back of his couch.