Sorry for the shorter chapters everyone. This one was just a bit more difficult to write and keep actually decent. But we get to better and better things soon. Some trigger warnings for this chapter, mentions of violence, lying, death threats, and telling someone to kill themselves. Enjoy!


"For the last time, Keigo, I'm sure," Leinei says as her brother frets on the other end of the phone call. She's casually leaning against the wall outside the convenience store, wearing a pair of sweatpants and one of Katsuki's black hoodies. She fiddles with the strings with her free hand, the feeling of the thread digging into her fingers helping her steel her nerves. "Everything is going to be fine."

"That's what everyone says moments before disaster," Keigo replies, his voice a soft sigh of irritation and disappointment. "I have half a mind to take you home."

"I know. But I'd end up doing this with or without your help. I'd rather have you here in case something happened."

"And thank god you have that much sense. Alright, I'm gonna hang up before I wrench myself out of this cafe and kick your ass. Please please be safe."

"I will. Love you, see you soon."

"Love you too."

He ends the call and she pushes her phone into the side pocket of her pants, taking a breath as she pushes herself off the wall. She looks either way, pulling her face mask up over her nose as she heads down the alley. Her heart is drumming against her ribs, starting the tempo to a song of anxiety that almost gives her a panic attack right then and there despite barely being five steps in. Each breath feels as if it's her first and last, stabbing her lungs as she gets further in. Her legs tremble and her body feels so heavy, she can barely walk.

But she presses on, turning the corner and heading towards the same alley she saw that petty criminal die in. She traces the same rushed steps she had that day, her heart dropping to her stomach as she gets ever closer. She starts to second guess herself, debating if this is really truly worth it. Keigo could just take her to get dinner, since she hadn't eaten with Katsuki and his parents to keep up the lie of eating with her brother. This doesn't have to happen.

"Well hello there, Little Mouse."

Her blood runs cold, feeling Dabi's palm press between her shoulder blades. She swallows, but can't seem to get past the lump in her throat. For a moment, she's back in the dark room, the image of his boot coming down on her etched into her mind as he gently redirects her away from the original spot. Panic settles into her stomach as they walk towards the opposite end of the alley, towards a dark side street.

"Where-"

She stops talking as heat bleeds through the hoodie Katsuki gave her, biting down on her lip underneath the black face mask. She can feel Keigo's feather in her pocket shivering, and feels guilty. This wasn't in the plan. He won't tell me where we're going.

They step onto the dark side street, Leinei glancing either way as Dabi keeps his eyes straight ahead. She's trying to find clues for anything, to make a note of where they're going. She tries to make out a sign, a road sign preferably, until she feels Dabi's hand grip the back of her neck. A soft whimper leaves her throat at the tightening of his fingers.

"You trust me, don't you?" he whispers, his voice a low growl. "Of course, if you did, you wouldn't have had a Pro tag along."

She stiffens, her eyes widening as they continue walking. The feather in her pocket settles down, Keigo seemingly hearing what he said. She swallows, getting past the lump in her throat as they turn right down another alley. He sure does have a penchant for dark and secluded, doesn't he?

"You told me to meet you in the alley where we reconnected," she mustered up the courage to say, folding her arms under her chest in an effort to keep her trembling hands out of sight. Her voice cracks on the last syllable, a heat rising to her cheeks as he chuckles at it. "You never said I had to come alone. If you wanted me to be alone, you should have said so in that cryptic letter you left me."

"Must not have been that cryptic if you figured it out so quickly."

"Still annoying. Who says witching hour anymore?" she rebuts, rolling her eyes. He chuckles again, stopping as he looks down at her. She takes a breath before looking up at him, seeing those same brilliant eyes from before. "What, Dabi?" she hisses at him.

"Nothing. Your attitude is the same as it was at the bar. All bark, no bite."

"I headbutted you. And kicked you. I have a bite, thank you."

"It's all false bravado, Little Mouse," he retorts, shrugging. "You're too weak to actually do anything, so it's easier to do something like that in a situation where you knew I couldn't hurt you back. All bark. No bite."

"So why do you want someone as weak as me next to you?"

"I'll tell you, once we're somewhere more private," he assures, loosening his grip on her neck as they continue walking. She makes note of the one more right turn, and the two left turns they make. They approach a run down seeming warehouse, her heart sinking as he lets go of her. Oh god. This is where I die. He brought me here to finish the job. I'm so stupid.

"Hoodie off, phone stays out here," he tells her, walking towards the door. She flinches hearing him jerk the door open, his soft grunt audible as he wrenches it open enough for the two of them to step inside. "Hurry up. Neither of us have all night."

"Yeah..if you say so," she mutters, pulling the hoodie over her head and folding it over her arm. She slips her hand into her pocket, detaching the feather from her case before pulling her phone out. She feels the tines sweep over her fingers in a controlled movement from Keigo, telling her he was still there if she needed him. Ugh he's gonna be pissed. I have so little control in this situation.

"My stuff won't get stolen out here, will it?" she asks, stalling slightly as she tries to get her nerves under control and get some facade of her power back. She shivers as a soft breeze comes through, raising goosebumps on her exposed arms. He looks at her, eyebrow raised as he shakes his head. "What? It's a valid question. We're obviously in a bad part of town."

"It's Hosu. Every part is a bad part," he corrects her. He points with his chin to a broken down crate nearby. "Put it in that. No one will touch it. We'll be done here soon."

"Yeah. So they can find my body," she mutters under her breath, flinching as he chuckles again. She does as he says, making sure to cover her phone with the hoodie and some of the broken wood planks. I should have told Katsuki 'I love you' before I left. I might not get the chance now.

"Hurry up, Mouse, or else I'll think you're calling the Pro who tagged along with you."

She grits her teeth, a tight pain running through her jaw as she stands and turns. He's waiting impatiently, his hands in his pockets with his head tilted as he watches her. Even under the face mask, she can tell he's smiling. It's the way his eyes light up, the dark playfulness lurking just underneath. The presence he has now is much different than when she first encountered him, or during the training camp and again during the bar. Then, it was a hunt, a game to him where she was the special prize, culminating in him snapping once she rejected him. This time…she can't tell, despite feeling out around her with her quirk. He has his emotions locked down, only radiating a neutrality that is almost refreshing.

"I'm coming," she assures, walking past him into the warehouse. He forces a soft quick exhale of air through his nose, walking into the building behind her before shutting the door. The grating of the rusted metal causes her to wince, but she doesn't look back, instead taking in the broken down boxes, the holes in the roof letting in the barest amounts of moonlight to spot the floor. Somehow, it's colder in the warehouse than it is outside.

"You wore the ring," he says, shaking his head as she jumps again, turning to face him this time. "I almost thought you wouldn't. Considering how close you are to the angry brat."

"I almost threw it away," she lies, shrugging as she stares at him with the most passive look she can muster. "It's gonna turn my finger green anyway."

"My feelings," he mocks, rolling his eyes. "Do what you want with it. Burn it, throw it away, drop it in the ocean, wear it. It's just metal."

"So why did your note make it out to be a big deal?"

"Why did you wear it?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why do you?"

Her eye twitches, her hand coming up to cover it as he pulls his mask down to sit under his chin. He gestures for her to do the same, nodding as she does so. There's a healthy distance between them, several feet to give her just enough of a cushion to feel somewhat safe.

"If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it in that alley," he tells her, his voice taking a cold tone instead of the playful one he had before. She flinches at it, swallowing again. "I'm not one for drawn out bullshit."

"Says the one that beat me to an inch of my life," she scoffs.

"Not my fault you needed some sense beaten into you. Obviously it worked, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now. Tell me, did you come because you think you can fix me?" He mocks her again, tilting his head this way and that. He scoffs at the way her face flushes at the words. "Leinei, Leinei, you can't fix what's beyond repair, my little mouse."

"Yet you want to fix society."

"No," he corrects, starting to walk towards her. Her blood runs cold as he closes the gap, using two fingers under her chin to tilt her head back. "I want to destroy society and create a new one. What's so hard to wrap your head around that for?"

"Because it's insane," she replies, sounding breathless as she seemingly can't get enough oxygen to her brain. "Slaughtering thousands of people isn't the way to go-"

"Who said thousands?" Her blood runs like ice at the small laugh he lets out, watching as he tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Well, that may be an accurate enough estimate. Who knows. Maybe a new census will be taken when we're done. Show us the carnage we made."

He's not telling me any concrete plans. Right now, he sounds like a Stain fanboy.

"So why do you want me by your side then? I'm training to be a hero. I'm going to be a hero."

"That's why you're perfect to join us," he tells her, dropping his head forward to study her face as the passivity falls, a small crack of surprise breaking through. "We..already have a hero in training candidate, but, they're…well, they're not you." As he says this, he pulls his hand away and turns his back to her. She's reeling from this revelation, trying to think of who would be most likely to betray them. No one comes to mind immediately, childish hope that he's lying to her, just trying to get her off her guard. "They..haven't been hurt the way you have. Been let down so many times by the same system sworn to protect you, and yet you're still here trying to defend it. It's…so admirable, it's borderline stupid."

The comment is grating, physically causing her to flinch as he turns to face her again. Her passivity is dropping, replaced by anger as he smiles again. She crosses her arms across her chest again, the nerves taken over the growing rage inside her as she glared up at him. It makes his heart skip to see her blue eyes blazing the same way his flames do. I finally lit a fire in her. Let's see what I can do with it.

"You're a victim in this society," he continues, watching as she rolls her eyes. "I can make you a survivor. You can be so much more than you are now. I can help you do that. You deserve that much."

"You're just using me, Touya."

"Dabi," he corrects her, seemingly patient despite the edge to his voice. "But even so, you're using me too. I can help teach you things UA can't. I can get information UA can't. It's a give and take relationship we'll have, and it'll be me giving to you and you taking from me. This benefits you more than it benefits me."

"And how exactly does this benefit you then?" she demands, untucking one hand to gesture at him. "This seems to be pretty one sided."

"I get the pleasure of your company," he says matter of factly, to which she raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side. He can barely keep a straight face, sighing as he puts his hands up. "Alright. I may have stipulations. One, you tell no one. Not the brat, not your sister, no one. You tell anyone, and I'll burn them until they're nothing in front of you before I burn your fucking tongue out." She flinches at the threat, her face going pale. "Two, we meet…" He tilts his head side to side, as if trying to work dates out in his head. "Once a week. I won't ask for information about your class, you don't ask me for information about my associates. We don't have that level of trust yet."

"I wonder what gave that away," she retorts, rolling her eyes. His hand snaps out, grabbing her chin. Her breath catches in her throat as his fingers dig into her jaw, leaving crescent moon shapes along her skin from his nails. A soft whimper leaves her lips as she comes up to grab his wrist. "Okay, okay, I'll stop joking."

"You've gotten really cocky," he whispers to her, loosening his grip just enough to keep his nails from creating deeper shapes. "That smart mouth of yours will get you in a lot of trouble one day."

"Are you going to try and beat it out of me again?" she says, taking the same mocking tone he had been using before. "I'm not chained up this time and I have my quirk, so I wouldn't try it. I'm a lot scarier than you remember, Dabi."

"You might be. With better training," he agrees, taking his hand away. She lets his wrist go and shoves her hands into her sweat pants' pockets. She brushes the feather once to let her brother know she's alive, while keeping it seeming like she's just contemplating his offer. "You don't have to decide today. I'm not a monster. You can decide when we meet up next week."

"And what makes you think I'll show up again?"

"Hmm.." He turns again, walking a few steps towards the door with his hands in his pockets. Her stomach sinks as he turns back to face her again, a sick smile on his lips. "You've been spending a lot of time at the brat's house. How fast do you think it'll burn-"

"You lay a hand on them and I'll kill you," she hisses at him, taking a step forward. He chuckles, putting his hands up again.

"I wouldn't have to. They'd be dead before I could even touch them."

"Fine, I'll fucking do it," she growls at him, watching as he laughs. "What's so funny?"

"So eager to protect everyone. Don't worry. We'll test those limits soon enough."

"Go jump off a building."

"You really have been around that boy too much. That is such a rude thing to say to someone you love, Leinei."

"Last I checked, I felt nothing towards Dabi. I don't love you."

I feel like I'm lying. Why is my stomach wrenching like I'm lying?

"I'll take your word for it," he replies with a nod, shrugging after. "By the way, next week, wear something that you won't mind messing up."

"Um..why?"

"Well," he starts taking his jacket off, leaving himself in his jeans and dark t-shirt. "I just have a plan. Don't worry your ever working mind over it."

"What are you doing?"

"You really think I wouldn't teach you anything before you left here? We're going to spar, then you'll go home to your boyfriend."

Katsuki lays across the living room couch with his head propped up on the arm by his forearm. He's scrolling through his phone again, glancing at the time now and then as he waits for Leinei to get back. Something was up, and she wasn't telling him, which bothered the hell out of him. He had texted her about an hour ago, asking when they would be back. No answer. That bothered him even more.

She probably didn't even notice I texted. She's with Hawks. Sibling bonding time. I should just leave her alone.

But he couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong. She had been quiet the entire night until she left, and even then, Keigo hadn't said anything to his parents where they'd be going. He's not entitled to that information, but..it would have put his mind at ease knowing where they were going.

He groans and opens the text chat with her again, seeing the unread message. His thumb hovers over the keyboard before he relinquishes to his lesser instincts and texts her again.

Katsuki: {Hey, when are you going to be back?}

Katsuki: {Is everything okay? Are you two arguing? If you need an emergency phone call, just text help.}

By the time he exits out of it again, she's responded. Relief floods his system as he rolls on his side, readjusting as he clicks it to open. It's a short message, and worry gets him again.

Leinei: {I'm fine. Heading back now.}

What the hell is going on? Where is she? What's going on? Why isn't she..no, I'm overthinking all of this. It's the paranoia, she's fine. She's with the Number Three Hero. Everything is fine.

So why the fuck did she walk in with cuts on her hands and a bruise on her face that suspiciously looked like someone punched her?

"I'm fine. Keigo and I sparred, he got a good hit on me, it's fine," she tells him, crossing the living room to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He follows her, pissed off. "Katsu, I'm fine. It was an accident. He apologized and bought me five things of ice cream."

"As long as he apologized," he mutters, leaning on the counter as he looks at her. He notes the dirt stains on her pants, a few stray splinters in the hoodie he gave her because she tried to leave in just a short sleeved t-shirt. My girlfriend isn't going to freeze her ass off, he had said. It made him happy when she pulled it on without hesitation. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Positive," she assures, smiling at him. She winces as her cheek pulls at the bruise, shaking her head. He lifts a hand and touches the spot, letting his fingers brush over it.

"You know you can talk to me," he tells her softly, the tough demeanor falling away for a moment of vulnerability and concern. "We've been over this. You have to talk to me."

"Katsu, I'm fine," she assures, covering his hand with hers. "I promise. Everything is fine. We're fine. Just sparred with Keigo and shit got too real. We're fine."

"Alright.."

Why are you lying to me?

I hope he never finds out…I can't lose him.