Trigger warnings: gaslighting, mental manipulation, emotional manipulation, abuse, torture, mentions of death. This chapter is a doozy though I did love writing it and the way the characters took over. Dabi is very yandere-esque in this, and I apologize ahead of time for it if it's not your cup of tea. Music selection for this chapter: Stalker's Tango by Autoheart, Meant to Be Yours from the Heathers Westend Musical sang by Jamie Muscato, and Jonathan(acoustic) by Ice Nine Kills. Enjoy the chapter I love you all
Dabi chuckles as Leinei shrinks back into a corner, glaring up at him and wincing as she tries to lower her chin. Blisters formed across the handprint he left on her neck, the once pale skin marred by what would most likely leave a disgusting scar. Tears still bead her eyes, her bottom lip quivering as her nose twitched. She is trying so hard to keep a strong face, despite breaking in front of Bakugo. And he loved it so much.
"Oh sweet naive little mouse," he coos, walking towards her and crouching down in front of her with his arms on his knees. She flinches away from him, gritting her teeth together. "I don't want to hurt you. On the contrary, I just want to take care of you, like how I used to. Don't you want that too, sweet mouse?"
"What I want is for you to fucking kill yourself," she hisses at him, yelling out as he grabs a handful of her hair and pulls her to him. Her hands hang towards the ground, her fingertips brushing the floorboards. He angles her head back so he can admire his handiwork on her throat, smirking to himself. "Oh, so you really are some fucked up pervert," she pants, watching his eyes flicker up to her face before refocusing on the burns. "Getting off on hurting some kid?"
"I get off only by hurting you, little mouse," he retorts, letting her fall to the ground as her hair slips through his fingers. She pushes herself up with her bound hands, glaring at him. He cups her chin and eases a finger against the spot his palm had sat. He shivers as she whimpers. "I've missed you so much. You don't know how happy I am to see you again, my little mouse."
"I told you before," she hisses the words through her gritted teeth. "Stop calling me that. The only person who was allowed to call me by that is dead. And no matter what you try to do, you aren't him. You aren't my Touya!"
"I'm hurt you think that," he whispers, his blue eyes seemingly glowing under his black mop of hair. He digs his fingers into her jaw, watching the pain of his finger curling and digging his nail into the burn wet her eyes again. "I always hated seeing you cry, it made my heart hurt. I always felt so bad seeing you cry. But now, now it fills me with so many emotions, I just want to make you hurt more, so I can see you, hear you sob and beg. I want to feel everything because of you, Leinei."
"You're disgusting," she whispers, jerking her head away from his hand and fall back onto her rear. He giggles to himself, settling down so he sits with his legs crossed in front of her. She swallows, starting to pull at the cuffs and feeling the metal cut into her wrists. She curses under her breath, only for his hand to rest in the middle and push them down.
"What could a little mouse like you, do for a big cat like me?" he whispers to her, watching her eyes widen. He takes sick satisfaction in watching her brain work through those pain filled eyes of hers, his heart skipping seeing her fumble for words. She wants to respond, the innate reflex demanding she do so, but her brain yelling not to, that it was a common kids book, that he just...did so much thorough research, he thought he was Touya.
"I..I…" She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes. She wants to say the words so bad, feeling like the same child that decade ago who was so enamored with the eldest Todoroki sibling, she would have died for him. "I..I could chew through ropes, and find the best food, Mr. Cat..I can even pull the splinters from between your toes. There's so much I could do for you...but what can you do for me..?"
"I'd protect you from all the bad things," he replies, reaching up with his other hand as her eyes widen. He grips the back of her neck as a fresh wave of tears escape her eyes, smirking to himself. "But then, you'd have to be away from me. I don't wanna be away from you anymore, little mouse. It's been so long since I felt something beyond mind numbing hatred, and it's all because of you. Don't you understand? I'm trying to protect you, and all you have to do is be a good girl and listen. Can you do that, little mouse?"
"You're not my Touya," she hisses at him, struggling still to come to terms with what was spilling from his lips. She was trying to make sense of it all, fighting to deny the similarities. His eyes flicker, turning dark as he tightens his grip on the nape of her neck. She stiffens, feeling his hand start to heat up. "M-my Touya would do everything he could not to hurt me, he wouldn't willingly sit there and let someone he cared about be hurt by monsters!"
"Leinei, you're hurting my feelings," he mocks, tilting his head. "I've done everything I can to make sure you are safe. It's not my fault you did a full one eighty in personality and became a loud bitch with an attitude."
"It's not my fault you're a fucking monster toying with children," she spits back, her heart slamming in her chest. She wants to believe it's her Touya, that he survived that fire all those years ago, that he's right here...But she also knows Touya, the Touya she knew, would never do anything like he's doing now.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me, remember?" he asks her, his voice soft again and seemingly sad. The flip flopping of his emotions is making her head spin, being essentially quirkless making it difficult for her to get a decent read on him. "You promised you'd always be mine. Are you still mine?"
"I.."
He slowly brings her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. Her eyes widen as he gently runs his fingers through her hair, trailing them down her back. The way he held her was soft, kind, a shadow of the person he's claiming to be. He whispers in her ear how proud of her he is, how strong she is compared to who she used to be. And for once, she...feels seen, for a split second, she knows it's her Touya.
"I'm so proud of you, little mouse," he coos, smirking to himself as he feels her relax against him as she finally gives in to the truth. She buries her face in his chest, all of the adrenaline ebbing from her muscles. "You want to stay with me, don't you? Just like when we were younger?"
She nods her head, clenching her eyes shut. He coos to her, easing her away from him and gently tilting her head back so he can study her face. He uses his free hand to trace her jaw line, imagining her with burnt, scarred flesh like his. He tells her to open her eyes and she obeys, his heart squeezing seeing the light still in them, the happiness. He didn't need a mind reading quirk to know what exactly was going through her head; he knew each and every inch of her mind well enough to know she was spinning every thought, and all of it coming back to he's alive.
"Good girl," he whispers to her, swiping his thumb under her eye. "You have to do something for me though, can you do that, mousey?"
"Mmhmm.."
"You can't tell anyone I'm alive," he tells her, watching her nod her head up and down. "Good girl, you're such a good girl. You have to do something else. But I'm sure that my mousey can handle it. She's so strong and such a good girl. Aren't you?"
"Ye-yes…"
"You're such a good girl," he coos, grinning sadistically. "You wanna be just like me. You always said that when we were kids, you just wanted to be like me. Do you still want that?"
"Yes, I do, Touya…"
"Dabi," he corrects, watching her flinch and see a bit of the happiness fade from her eyes. It excited him, his hand coming to grip her throat again and start squeezing. She wheezes, grabbing his arm as her eyes widen. "Shh, it's okay. I just want to see the light fade from your eyes."
"To-tou-touya," she gasps out, digging her nails into his arm through his jacket. He slowly stands up, pulling her to her feet as he slowly backs her to the wall. He giggles, a wild look coming into his eyes as her lips start to turn blue. She struggles harder, kicking at him and begging hoarsely for him to stop.
"I've been so numb for so long," he tells her, laughing. He can barely get the words out, his giggles breaking them into nearly intelligible speech. "I've been so angry, so mad, and that's all I could feel for the longest time. Then I see you, I see you all grown up, and being a hero. I see you crying and all I want to do is make you cry more. I want to break you for making me feel all of this." He lets go of her, watching as she slumps to her knees and rubs her throat as she coughs. Tears flow freely down her cheeks, her face slowly turning back to it's normal color from the blue tinge. It makes him so happy as he stands over her, his fingers threading into his hair as another crazed laugh escapes him. "I want you to cry, to love me for it. I want you to love me and only me, and the only way I can do that is if you're like me. No one else understands what we went through! Only you and I do, my sweet Leinei. So love me and only me, be mine and only mine! We can rule the world together, we can bring them all down together. We can destroy Endeavor and Elementia. We can ruin them. Help me ruin them, help me fix this broken world so we can be the phoenixes in the ashes!"
"You-you're insane," she rasps out, coughing still as she looks up at him. Black spots ring her vision, her head feeling ready to explode from the oxygen rushing back to her brain. She feels so dizzy, and so, so tired. "This..this isn't right. You aren't-this isn't you, Touya. Just come home, so we can get you help. I promise I won't leave you, but you-you need help-"
"I don't need help!" he yells at her, his voice breaking. "I don't need help. This society needs help, just like Stain said. These monsters we hail as heroes are the real villains. I'm trying to fix everything, trying to rectify what they broke so long ago! They broke us, Leinei. They broke me, they're breaking you. I can fix you, I can help you. I can make you into who you really are."
"I..I..Touya, I know how bad this society is," she whispers, reaching for him only for him to slap her hands away as insane anger flashes in his eyes. She lowers her hands to her lap, blinking fast as her tears finally stop. "There are better ways to go about fixing it. There are better ways to do all of this. Stain tried to kill me and my classmates, he tried to kill your brother-"
"Heh, you mean Enji's prodigal golden child?" he scoffs, shaking his head. "I wish he had. It would have saved me the effort of burning the flesh from his bones myself." He laughs at the shocked look on her face, running his hand over his eyes. "Is that really such a surprise? Is he taking you from me too? Is he going to take you away from me, keep you away from me? I won't let that happen. I can't let that happen. You make me feel human again, I can't lose you!"
"Touya, no one is taking me from you," she whimpers, able to feel his mental state slipping away even with the cuffs on. Everything he felt-she could feel, so overwhelming it made her head spin. "No one took me away from you in the first place. My parents had a car accident after your accident, you-"
"And it was Enji's fault!" he yells at her, her flinching at his raised voice. Her heart breaks for him, seeing the agony written on his face. "It was all Enji's fault, why I had to disappear. He stopped loving me after Shoto was born, and after you left-if you had been there, you could have stopped me. You could have stopped me and you abandoned me. You...you and everyone else...but I still love you, I still want you. You're the only one who understands what's going on in my head because you can feel what's going on inside me. You were made for me, Leinei. You were made to be mine."
He's too far gone...he's so far gone, he isn't even Touya...he...my…
She closes her eyes, taking a breath. She tries to gather her thoughts, feeling her heart slamming into her ribcage. She wants to help, but how can she help someone who's so far gone? He doesn't...he's a shadow of the boy with the sweet smile, a shadow of the boy she used to chase after. Any remnant of Touya Todoroki buried away with those flames ten years ago. All that's standing in front her is an empty husk, fueled by hatred and bloodlust. All that stands in front of her is a monster wearing Touya's face and speaking with his voice.
"I won't," she tells him softly, watching the smile slipping from his face. He drops his hands, staring at her in disbelief. The heartbreak kills her, but she keeps her tears down, looking up at him with a passive stare. She would hide her emotions, put on a strong face. Just like Keigo does. Just like Keigo. Be just like Keigo. "I'm sorry, Touya, or Dabi, or whoever you want to be. I will not help you kill anyone. There are better ways to correct society than with blood and death. Anyone can be rehabilitated, anyone can be fixed, it just takes time-"
"Society is out of time," he hisses at her, gritting his teeth. He kneels in front of her, grabbing her head with both hands. "How can you still want to save everyone? How can you still want to be a hero after everything Reina did to you? After hearing and seeing what my dear old dad did to me? They abandoned us, she abandoned you, he abandoned me. He made me think I could be the best hero, and then told me to stop because I was weak. Do you think I'm weak too, Lei? Don't you think I could be a great hero too?" Smoke starts to curl up from his hands, heat starting to seep into her skin. She whimpers and shifts, trying to pull her head away. He digs his nails in, his twisted smile coming back. "Come on, say it. Say that I could be a hero too, just like you did when we were kids."
"You-you could be a hero too," she says to him, her voice weak. "You would be one of the greatest heroes…"
"All I have to do is erase them all from existence. All I have to do is kill them all," he tells her, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks as he slips his hands down to either side of her jaw. "They're the reason you've abandoned me, because you wouldn't do this willingly. You love me, Leinei. Don't you love me? You know I'd never leave you, I thought you died that day."
He's backtracking...he's desperate. This hurts so much to see…
"I...I never abandoned you," she tells him, relief washing over his face. "I pity you. I pity you because you could have been so much more than this, but you chose to go down this path. You could have gotten help, and you didn't, choosing to blame everyone else. You're no better than Enji and Reina, no better than the society you claim is so corrupt."
"Shut up," he hisses at her, curling his fingers and cutting through her skin. Blood wells up and trickles down from one of the cuts as she flinches. His face is shadowed, his breathing labored. "You...love that boy out there, don't you? You've been fighting so hard to keep him safe this entire time. You love him, and he pushed me out of your heart. He replaced me. That...you bitch."
He pulls his hands away, her relaxing before the back of his hand comes across her face with a snap. She falls to the side, tasting blood in her mouth as her vision spins. She can't even get a moment to catch her bearings as the toe of his boot slams into her stomach. She gasps, feeling her back slam into the wall behind her. He keeps kicking her, grunting as he doesn't aim and hits her in the stomach, in the chest, in the legs, arms.
"You-fucking-slut!" he yells at her, her arms going over her head to protect her face as she tries to bring her knees up to her chest. She tries to do what she can to protect herself, not wanting to fight back but not wanting to die either. "I would have done everything for you! I was going to make you just like me! I'm the only one that understands who you are!"
She says nothing, feeling something crack in her chest and a searing pain in her shoulder he switches from kicking to stomping his heel into her. She bites her lip to keep from screaming, biting so hard she tastes nothing but iron in her mouth. He...he doesn't know me, I'm nothing like him…
Bakugo hears the muffled sounds of the beating, his eyes wide as his heart breaks. Anger fills his stomach, making his head spin. He wants to break out of here, to help her and get them away safely, but he isn't stupid. They're heavily outnumbered, inexperienced compared to these bastards keeping them captive. And all they're doing is playing cards in the corner, happily pretending that their cohort wasn't beating his friend to death in the other room.
'I know I care about you, and I like spending time with you.'
Her words bounce around his head, bringing tears to his eyes. He...he may never get the chance to learn more about her. Not if they kill her before he can actually tell her how he feels, tell her how her smile makes his day a little brighter. How even now, just the thought of seeing her eyes light up makes his heart feel a little lighter. How he would murder each and every single one of these bastards in here just to make sure she was safe.
'He's my superior in every way…'
I'm not, Leinei. You are. You went through with a plan, a decision to sacrifice yourself for me, and you...you didn't even hesitate. You're amazing and when we get out of here, I'm going to tell you that every day. As long as no one else fucking hears me.
"Hey," he calls, getting Shigaraki's attention. "I ever tell you fucks how stupid you are?"
"He's starting up again," Compress sighs, shaking his head as he places a card down on the table he, Toga, Spinner, Twice and Magna sit at. "Shall I shut him up for you with a few tricks?"
"No, let the kid talk," the blue haired man sighs, waving his hand at them as Twice yells out bullshit and subsequently has to pick up the entire deck in the center of the table. He grumbles about Compress cheating, then congratulating him on a good game. "What's on your mind now?"
"You're all going to jail. And I'm going to laugh as you rot there," he continues, spitting at Shigaraki. "And that Toda bastard-I can't wait to fucking put him away either. Leinei and I will watch with smiles on our faces as they put you away for the rest of your lives."
"If they find her," Dabi says, coming out of the back room and wiping a splatter of blood off his cheek. Bakugo's eyes grow to the size of saucers, his heart sinking to his stomach. "No, she's not dead. Yet. I like to drag things out sometimes. Toga, if you want her blood, go get some of it. It may come in handy."
"Ooh, you're right, Dabi!" the blonde girl giggles as she lays her cards face down and gets up. She waves at Bakugo before heading into the back room. Bakugo's chest heaves, his blood running cold. Tears well in his eyes as he grits his teeth, feeling them grind against each other as a small pain runs through his jaw.
"I'll fucking kill all of you. I'm going to blow you all into so many pieces, they'll spend the next thirteen years just stitching you back together to make you even just remotely recognizable," he growls at them, his voice low and hoarse. Dabi laughs as he walks over to him, licking the bit of Leinei's blood off his finger. Disgust rolls through his body as the scarred man leans towards him with his hands behind his back.
"You think you could kill any of us?" he coos to him, grabbing the boy's throat. "Leinei thought she could talk her way out of this situation, after she lost the fight to me. She cares so much for you she chose to die. And that's your fault. You get to live with that guilt, while she bleeds out. Can you live with that? Can you feel it eating away at you?"
"Dabi," Shigaraki warns, the man pulling his hand away and standing up. "Did you really kill her? We could have turned her into a Nomu."
"It's not my fault she's weak. She chose to die. She chose to give up on living. I simply catalyzed her death."
"You bastard-"
"Careful, or you'll join her. Don't want to make her death in vain, now do we?"
