CHAPTER FIFTY - FRIENDS IN THE WRONG PLACES

~Shigaraki~

"Where do you live?" Shigaraki asked once he and Kai were securely seated inside a car and on their way to Kai's house.

"It's… not too far from here."

'That's very vague."

"You want the exact address?" Kai said in a teasing tone.

"Tch. No." Shigaraki folded his arms across his chest and laid his head back against the headrest, thankful for the quiet interior of the car so he could think about the advice Mr. Aizawa had offered him. He was glad Kai wasn't the kind of person that needed to fill the silence with conversation because he really wanted some peace. And he supposed that was partly why they got along so well; it was a comfortable quiet.

Some time later, Shigaraki wasn't exactly sure how long had passed because he didn't have access to a clock or to his phone, Kai finally spoke up and it was to announce that they had arrived.

"You asleep?" He asked, laying his hand briefly on Shigaraki's thigh.

"No."

Kai grinned sedately, "We're here."

Shigaraki did feel tired though, any longer and the gentle motion of the car would have sent him off to sleep. The car was smooth, the suspension superior, he didn't feel a single bump on the road. And he hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, so he was a good candidate for a quick nap.

The car came to a stop outside a tall security gate, the driver hit a buzzer, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it, waiting for a response. Shigaraki looked at the gate quizzically and then over to Kai.

"This is your house?"

"Yeah. Hold on."

The sound of an intercom crackled and then a deep voice grumbled an annoyed, "Yeah? Who you got?"

Shigaraki shifted his eyes from one side of the car to the other. There were security cameras mounted on either side of the gate watching them. "I have CK."

The intercom went dead and then the gates popped open with a loud buzz. The car rolled forward and then came to another stop just inside the gates. The driver, who Shigaraki had not seen until that very moment, lowered the partition to the backseat.

"I am sorry, but I must drop you off here. Your Grandfather has me out on an errand and I'm afraid the detour has put me behind on time."

"This is fine. Thanks for picking us up."

"Anytime, sir."

A tall, muscular man with arms covered in colorful tattoos immediately greeted them when they exited the car, though he didn't look pleased with the unexpected arrival of Kai with a visitor. He adjusted the gun at his hip and then crossed his arms over his beefy chest, eyeing Shigaraki suspiciously.

"Got any weapons on you?"

"What?" Shigaraki replied, stupefied. "Like a knife?"

"Do you have a knife on you, son?" The big guy asked, his eyes widening in caution.

"No." Shigaraki snorted. "Why would I-"

Thankfully, Kai interjected the awkward line of questioning, brushing the big dude aside. "Jesus Christ, Ry. He's clean." Kai asserted, gently pushing Shigaraki forward.

"Let me know when you are expecting a visitor next time. Your Grandfather won't be happy."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Shigaraki's brow furrowed. "What's the deal with him?" He asked, hooking his thumb back over his shoulder at the guard.

"You can call him my Grandfather's paranoia."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They walked through a large courtyard - it was filled with perfectly manicured trees and shrubs - which blocked almost the entire view of the house. And Shigaraki couldn't help but notice the presence of more armed men spread out on the property. This was more than just one man's paranoia; it was a small fucking army.

"You okay?" Kai asked tentatively, looking at his friend.

"Obviously not." Shigaraki returned. He felt like shit, sure, but he knew that wasn't why Kai was asking him. And he was trying to be subtle about the scrutiny of Kai's home, well the unusually guarded front yard anyway, but supposed he wasn't doing a very good job.

Kai turned his gaze away and stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his school pants, "I guess it's not every day you are greeted by a meathead with a gun."

"Right."

It made sense that Shigaraki felt… uncomfortable. Though, that may not be the correct word for his mentality. Either way, it was a predictable reaction for someone who was coming unknowingly into the home of the Boss of the Shie Hissaikai. Kai understood perfectly.

They reached the front entrance of the house. Two more 'guards' were stationed at the ornate doors, only these two looked a little more friendly and were dressed casually in long slate kimono coats and harem style linen pants.

"Master Kai, welcome home." One of the men greeted, before adding, "And you brought a friend."

"Yeah, we go to school together." He mumbled disinterested in conversation as the other guard opened the door for him.

"How nice." He smiled and then added. "Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"We have a couple of days off. For finals study."

"Ah, I see."

Shigaraki flicked his gaze between the two watchers, his brow raised, but didn't add anything to their conversation. He followed Kai inside the house and oddly, the overly polite man walked with them. Kai did not seem phased by their cohort at all.

"Don't mind him."

"Okay."

"He'll leave when we get to my room."

"I have a question." Shigaraki said, keeping in stride with Kai, "Why is he following us?"

"I dunno. It's his job I guess."

"Like a butler or something?"

Kai laughed softly. "Kind of."

"Oh." Shigaraki mouthed, looking back over his shoulder at the guy tailing them. He smiled somewhat tightly at Shigaraki.

Kai could tell that Shigaraki was thrown off by being in his home. It was a lot to take in, Kai knew that, but he didn't like warning people about what to expect because for one, it usually raised too many questions and secondly, it often deterred anyone from coming over. He didn't have many friends, and he rarely invited them over.

"I don't mean to intrude." Came a softly spoken yet assertive voice from behind the two boys.

Shigaraki turned his gaze over to Kai's "butler". He had almost forgotten he was there with them. His footsteps were so light and quiet. "Master Kai, do you need anything? Perhaps I can bring you some tea?"

"Sure, thanks. We'll take it in my room."

"Of course. And shall I tell your Grandfather that you have come home?"

"No, that's okay. I'll go see him in a bit."

"Very good." He gave Kai a slight bow of his head and then sauntered away before disappearing around a corner.

"Come on." Kai shot a brief glance sideways, and then pushed open the door to his bedroom, ushering Shigaraki inside.

"What does your Grandfather do?"

"Hm?" Kai mumbled, like he hadn't quite heard Shigaraki's question.

"Your Grandfather? What does he do?" Shigaraki said again, and then added. "Is it all the money that makes him paranoid?"

"No." Kai shook his head, chuckling.

Shigaraki's brows pinched together in curiosity and then he plopped down on the edge of Kai's over-sized bed. Though he supposed it wasn't over-sized compared to the size of the bedroom itself. It was bigger than most people's apartments. And scrupulously clean. Which didn't surprise Shigaraki at all, Kai was a germaphobe who wore a mask every fucking day, his bedroom was bound to be spotless.

"You're not going to tell me?"

Kai tugged his mask down to his chin, his mouth tightening at the edges. "It's better if you don't know. Trust me."

"Hm." Shigaraki sat back, hands planted on the bed.

He didn't think the question was unreasonable considering what he had witnessed and experienced already - it wasn't common to be interrogated by a guy with a gun just going into someone's house or to be chaperoned to a bedroom by some random dude. Shigaraki had always been curious about Kai. Ever since his unconventional introduction into the third year at UA High. And it seemed that his curiosity was completely founded. Kai was hiding something.

"Sorry."

He really wanted to tell Shigaraki who his Grandfather was, and who he was, but he was wary of spilling the truth - for several reasons. Not only was that kind of knowledge dangerous, but how would Shigaraki react knowing he had just been invited into the headquarters of the Shie Hissaikai? Shigaraki was about to become a pro-hero in just a couple of short weeks. That would be an awkward situation to put him in.

Thankfully, his friend seemed to pick-up on his hesitancy and accepted the ambiguity without further questions. Everyone had their own secrets, and Kai was sure Shigaraki had plenty of his own.

"It's okay." Shigaraki shrugged. "I understand."

Kai nodded with a small smile and repositioned his mask. "You wanna play something?" He asked, changing the subject, and jerking his head over to the large flatscreen and gaming station across the room.

"Ah, i'm pretty beat." Shigaraki said, swiping his hand over the back of his head and then rubbing the back of his neck. "You mind if I get some sleep?"

Kai shook his head. "No, of course not. I should probably go see my Grandfather anyway. I'm sure he knows i-"

Kai's sentence was abruptly cut off by a loud knocking on the door and before he could welcome their visitor in, the door swung wide open and a guy with silver, shoulder length hair barged into the room. He appeared to be around the same age as Kai and Shigaraki, maybe a bit older, and he seemed comfortable enough to come into Kai's room without an invitation. Shigaraki could only assume he was close to Kai but in what capacity he did not know.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?" The guy said with a bitterness in his voice.

"Because I didn't plan too." Kai returned as he met his… friend halfway across the room. They bumped fists and then chests in greeting. "Something came up."

"Well, your timing is perfect." The other guy said, grinning from ear-to-ear now. "We just got the latest shipment of-" He stopped talking as soon as he spotted Shigaraki sitting quietly on Kai's bed, his smile instantly fading. "Who's this?"

"Ah, this is my friend from school. Shigaraki Tomura." He explained, motioning over to him, "Shigaraki, this is Kurono Hari. We're… Well, he works for my Grandfather."

"Oh, is that it? I just work for your Grandfather." Hari said, placing a huge emphasis on the word just.

"Shut up." Kai chuckled before adding, "Hari is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Better?" Kai said, teasingly.

"I mean, kind of."

Shigaraki nodded his head in greeting, the corner of his mouth kicked up in amusement. He could tell Kai was flustered. "Hey."

"I've heard a lot about you." Hari declared, looking from Shigaraki over to Kai and then back again, a shit eating grin firmly in place.

"I wish I could say the same." Shigaraki returned.

"Ha!" Hari laughed. "Not really surprising though."

Shigaraki shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Anyways, we can talk later." Kai started, trying to get Hari to leave the room.

"Hang on. I thought you might want to try out the new-" Hari looked suspiciously over at Shigaraki. "Goods."

Shigaraki raised a brow, curious.

"Ah, sure. I do." Kai coughed a little, clearing his throat.

"What about your… friend?" Hari asked, still grinning.

"He's cool." Kai explained and then turned his head over his shoulder to look at Shigaraki who looked about as equally as dismal as he did exhausted.

"Wanna get high?" He asked unwaveringly. Shigaraki could use a bit of a mental break and Kai had the means to offer it to him. If he was so inclined. He would never pressure Shigaraki to do anything he didn't want to do.

Shigaraki thought silently about the offer for a moment before he nodded his head. "Okay."

~Dabi~

Dabi's back was starting to hurt. He had been sitting against the wall by the door to Shigaraki's room for two hours, waiting for his boyfriend to return for… something. A change of clothes, a toothbrush. Him. Anything. But there had been no sign of Shigaraki and no response to any of his numerous texts or phone calls.

Unconsciously, he reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a packet of cigarettes so he could soothe his nerves with a butt. He knew he shouldn't be smoking in the dorms but at that moment he didn't care about any rules or regulations, he just wanted to clear his mind, and this was the best way he knew how. He lit up the end of one and took a long drag, his head falling back against the wall as he watched the smoke drift upwards towards the ceiling.

He was going to wait. Shigaraki was worth waiting for even if he had to sit there all night long. He took another smoke, eyes fluttering closed as he wondered where Shigaraki was and how he was doing or if he was thinking about him too.

A few minutes passed in silence until a door could be heard creaking open just down the hall. Dabi shifted his gaze slightly, spotting Shigaraki's neighbor and best friend coming out of his room. And he looked none too pleased about Dabi's current position stationed outside Shigaraki's room. Or maybe he was more unhappy about the smell of cigarette smoke filtering around the floor. Whatever it was, it didn't matter because Dabi was not going to move.

"Seriously? Smoking inside?" Kurogiri stated the obvious, disgruntled as he approached Dabi.

Dabi shrugged his shoulders and bowed his head between his bent knees. He could hear Kurogiri sigh in return.

"Dabi, he's not coming back tonight."

"You sure about that?" Dabi asked, lifting his chin and blowing a long, slow stream of smoke from his lips. "Shigaraki likes to have his… things with him. Like his toothbrush. That is very important to him, you know."

Kurogiri didn't say anything in response, he simply lowered himself down and parked himself right next to Dabi. He felt sorry for his classmate. He knew Dabi hadn't intentionally hurt Shigaraki and it definitely wasn't him spreading that incriminating photo or the subsequent rumors around either. Dabi loved Shigaraki and Shigaraki loved him, Kurogiri knew that wholeheartedly yet at the same time he did feel a slight inkling of indignation towards Dabi too. He may not have curated the disaster, but he had definitely been a willing participant based on what Shigaraki had told him about all the things leading up to that detrimental kiss with Rumi.

So yeah, he had extremely mixed feelings about the current situation and for Dabi.

"He's staying with Kai for the weekend. At his family home." Kurogiri finally said, offering him a small tidbit of information. He was sure Dabi deserved that, at the very least.

"Oh." Dabi frowned and took another drag of his smoke. "Has he mentioned me at all?"

"Yeah."

Dabi jerked his head to the side. "And?"

"He doesn't want to talk to you."

"Yeah, I get that."

"He will though." Kurogiri reassured him. "He just needs some time."

Dabi scoffed. "Yeah. That's what everyone keeps telling me."

"You don't think that's true?"

"I just want a chance to explain. And I'm… afraid that the longer we go without talking, the worse this is going to get." Dabi admitted, dropping his chin again. He tried to focus on the smoldering end of his cigarette instead of… anything else.

"I think I know Shigaraki better than anyone, so believe me when I say that's not going to happen."

"Isn't it?"

"Shigaraki is… pretty inexperienced when it comes to relationships. Of any kind. He is behaving irrationally, and maybe even a little immaturely, because he doesn't know how to feel or what to do. Putting some space between him and his problems is how he deals with things."

Dabi nodded. "Yeah. Right."

"Anyway, he is going to be back at school on Monday."

Dabi wouldn't dignify that with an answer. He was sure Kurogiri wouldn't understand that a few days was a fucking lifetime without Shigaraki. One day was too long. How could he wait three whole days?

"It's just a few days. I'm sure you'll be okay."

The ping sound of the elevator reaching the floor echoed through the vacant hall. Both boys turned their heads in anticipation. Kurogiri did not suspect it was Shigaraki and it looked like Dabi was also not expecting it to be his boyfriend. The figure that emerged almost made Kurogiri regret his empathy towards Dabi, he could not believe his eyes.

"What is she doing here?" Kurogiri asked. It wasn't that he disliked Rumi but she had no business being in their dorms or on that floor so he could only guess this was Dabi's doing.

"I invited her." Dabi responded, getting up to his feet.

"Are you fucking kidding?" Kurogiri said, exasperated, following Dabi's movement.

"It's not what you think.' Dabi stated before Kurogiri made any assumptions. "I wanted her to talk to Shigaraki."

Kurogiri laughed incredibly and shook his head, he just couldn't believe it. "This is a bad idea, Dabi."

"I don't think so."

"Oh yeah, because your decision making in the last month has been impeccable."

"If you're not going to help, you can leave."

"Fine. Good luck. And Dabi, if any more photos come out, I'm not going to defend you again."

"There won't be any."

"Whatever." Kurogiri replied angrily. He gave Rumi a curt wave and then stomped away, his door slamming as he locked himself back inside his room.

Dabi blew out a hard breath before Rumi sauntered over to him.

"Hey."

"Thanks for coming." Dabi said, trying not to look disappointed.

"Sure. No problem." She shrugged her shoulders slightly and then folded her arms across her chest. "You needed me?"

"I was hoping you could talk to Shigaraki bu-"

"Shigaraki? About what?" She interjected before Dabi could finish his sentence.

"Ah… about that photo? And the… kiss." Dabi said, his response questioning. How could she not know?

Rumi chuckled softly. "And say what?"

"That it didn't mean anything, that you kissed me, it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing etcetera."

"Does it matter who kissed who? I thought you two had broken up anyway." She inquired, taking Dabi's cigarette and putting it between her lips so she could get a quick fix of nicotine.

"What? No. Why would you think that?" Dabi asked, taking the smoke back from her.

"Because it has been going around the entire third year. For like, weeks." She said, shaking her head at Dabi's obliviousness. "And you asked me to the prom. So, one plus one equals two.'

"No. Thats." Dabi started, stammering. "I just asked you to the prom. As friends only. That's it."

Rumi stared at Dabi for a few silent moments before she replied. "Huh. Shame." She absently inspected her perfectly manicured nails. "Color me wrong, I guess. But you might want to address some of the rumors going around."

"Fuck."

"I'll talk to him if you want though." She made a move to reach around Dabi to knock on Shigaraki's door when Dabi stopped her.

"He's not here."

Rumi dropped her hand back into her folded arms and raised a brow at Dabi. "Why did you ask me to come here then?"

"I don't know." Dabi closed his eyes and pushed his fingers back through his hair, shaking his head. "I thought he'd be back by now."

"Really?" Rumi asked, the corner of her mouth kicking up with amusement. She took a deliberate step forward and leaned in close. "Or did you just want some company?"

Dabi would've taken a step back if he could but he was as close to Shigaraki's door as he could get. This wasn't right and unlike the kiss they had shared outside where he hadn't felt anything in particular, either good or bad, now he felt completely cornered. He didn't want to be this close to anyone except for Shigaraki.

Maybe Kurogiri was right, he had been making some dreadful decisions lately and inviting Rumi over was certainly one of them.

Picking up on Dabi's rejection, Rumi sighed and then lifted a hand to Dabi's shoulder as she leaned in to press a lingering kiss against his cheek.

"I'm gonna go. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." She whispered, the connotation in her sultry voice completely apparent. "See you tomorrow, Dabi."

Dabi was too stunned to speak. And perhaps even more so disappointed in himself for putting himself and Rumi in that awkward situation. He felt seven kinds of stupid for not realizing the vibes he was actually putting out and the worst part about it all was that everyone else had the exact same impression that Rumi had.

So, did Shigaraki feel it too? Had he just been ignoring all the rumors and Dabi's stupidity and ignorance all this time because he loved him?

Whatever it was, Dabi had just a few days to get his story straight so when he did see his boyfriend again, he wouldn't sound like he was just fishing for excuses.