NeonHorizon: A longer than usual chapter to celebrate Dabi's birthday (I wrote this on his birthday). No actual birthday celebration in the chapter though. Also, some conflict appears. The pairing is still Dabi x Sayuri.
"So? Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?"
Sayuri glanced over at her friend before lifting her paper coffee cup to her lips to take a drink. Every year since they were in junior high, neither girl gave chocolates to a boy. Mostly because they were almost always single around that time of year.
They would typically hang out and eat chocolate together on Valentine's Day. It was just yet another friendly ritual they performed every year. Even the year when Sayuri had been seeing someone; she had chosen to spend time with her friend Fuyumi instead.
Now, as she looked at her friend, she felt a bit guilty. This year was different because she was in a relationship and she actually really liked Dabi. She did want to make something for him, but it would be difficult to surprise him since he never left the apartment once she was home.
"We're having chocolate and seeing a movie, right?" Sayuri finally asked. "Or did you want to do something different this year?"
"Seriously? Come on, Sayuri! You're not going to tell me about him?" Fuyumi gave her a sheepish grin. "I mean, you've been practically glowing for a while now. You started dating someone, right? Who is he? What's he like?"
She felt heat rising to her face as she bit her lip. "Well, I…guess I can tell you about what he's like. He's warm, but in his own way…if that makes sense. He's always trying to make me smile and he's really gentle. But he tries to act aloof. It's actually pretty cute."
"Sayuri! We have to make chocolate this year then! You can make some for your boyfriend and I'll just make some for my brothers and father." Fuyumi saw her friend visibly grow tense and her smile fell to a frown. "We can do it when he's not home. I'll make sure he isn't there when you come over."
Walking home alone, after parting ways with her best friend, she felt her good mood fading. Sayuri loved spending time with Fuyumi. She used to be alright with visiting the Todoroki house, when she was younger. It was during her second year of middle school that she began to absolutely dread setting foot in their home.
Her brain was trying to pull the memory to the front of her thoughts and she fought to keep it pushed back. The memory was finally pushed away as something collided with Sayuri's side and nearly knocked her over. She managed to maintain her balance and turned to find a little girl with long, pale hair now sitting on the ground at her side.
The child's knees and palms were scraped from falling down, blood rising to the surface of the scrapes. She stared up at Sayuri with fearful, shimmering crimson eyes. Sayuri instinctively crouched down to the girl's eye level and gently took her hands.
"Are you okay? Here, let me see…" She winced, seeing the dirt ground into the scrapes. "Okay, just hold on a second; I'll fix you up." The young woman offered her a reassuring smile and saw the girl tilt her head curiously. The child was obviously frightened, still in pain, but was at least momentarily distracted from it.
She rummaged in her purse for some tissues and wiped the dirt away from the scrapes before using her quirk. As she closed her eyes and activated it, Sayuri felt something unexpected. Pain. Not just from simple scraped knees and palms, but an absolutely searing pain in her arms and legs. Like knives slicing into her.
Her teeth gritted, tears welling in her eyes. Sayuri bowed her head to try to hide her pain from the little girl, but it was intense. What…happened to her? This feeling. What is this? Like dozens of chunks of flesh being cut out! And…what…? Just as the pain became unbearable, just as she was on the verge of blacking out, it all ended as if it never happened.
Sayuri opened her eyes and stared down into the teary gaze of the girl. No coat. No shoes. Where did you come from? She shook her head and shrugged off her coat, leaving herself in just a pale blue t-shirt and jeans. Settling her coat over the child's shoulders, she tried to keep smiling. "What's your name?"
"E-Eri. It's Eri. Um…" She bowed her head and let Sayuri put her arms around her in a gentle hug. The girl was trembling, either from cold or fear; it was hard to tell. "Thank you…"
"It's nothing. I'm Sayuri. Naosu Sayuri. I'm a teacher so it's my job to help kids. I couldn't leave your injuries the way they were." She nodded to herself. "That being said…Where's your mom and dad? You shouldn't be outside on your own. Especially without a coat or shoes. You could catch a cold."
"M-my mom…and dad…? I…I don't…" Fresh tears rolled down the girl's face as she seemed to shrink in on herself almost.
"Hey, it's alright. Eri-chan, do you need help?" Sayuri saw her nod and ruffled the girl's hair, trying to cheer her up as best she could. This girl was around the same age as most of Sayuri's students, but none of her students ever looked this sad. This frightened. "Can I carry you?"
She lifted Eri after the girl nodded and she frowned to herself. She's really light. Most kids her age weigh a little more than this. Is she homeless? She got so upset when I asked about her parents…Shaking her head, she began walking down the sidewalk. I need to just focus on getting her warm, before I think about anything else.
Shift P.O.V
Where is she? Dabi glanced at the time and frowned. It was a Sunday so Sayuri had the day off. She left early that morning to meet with her friend, saying she would be back in a few hours and that they would spend the rest of the day together. It was now past noon.
He stretched his arms over his head, yawning as boredom started to set in. The book he had borrowed from her fell onto the floor, open, and startled the rats in their cage. The slightly larger rat jolted and proceeded to scurry from one end of the cage to the other in a frantic attempt to get away.
Watching that was at least a little entertaining. Dabi sat up once it was over and ran a hand through his hair. He was half-tempted to go for a walk to try to kill some time, but his motivation was just low enough to keep him from actually doing it. Besides, if he left now, she might come back and then they would have even less time.
They never did anything crazy. He knew better than to expose her to that side of his personality. Usually, they would just lie on the couch together and watch a movie or she would tell him weird stories about when she was younger. Occasionally, they slept together.
Thinking about that brought a half-grin to his face. She was innocent, even when it came to that sort of thing. I've gotta teach her something new, he decided as he stood. Maybe when she gets back, I'll show her a few different ways. I'm getting bored with that vanilla stuff.
Dabi helped himself to some leftovers from the fridge, tired of waiting for Sayuri to return and eat with him. Cold, poorly seasoned chicken. Her attempt at stir fry. At least it was cooked through all the way and had yet to give either of them food poisoning.
Boredom finally made him decide to go out. He grabbed his coat and determined to take the back alleys to travel. The last thing he wanted was for Sayuri to see him and accuse him of worrying about her. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he imagined it, though. The sarcastic tinge to her voice, the smug smile she would wear. It was cute.
He knew the name of the café where she was going. Before she had left, she had been telling him about their lattes and that she wanted to take him there sometime. If she's still there with her friend, maybe I'll drop in. I wanna see how nervous she'll get before she's ready to leave.
The dark alleys were, unfortunately, vacant of people so he was spared having to use his flames on anyone to clear a path. It was a minor disappointment that was easily overshadowed when he imagined what he was going to do to Sayuri when he found her. All of the things he could do to try to make her flustered in front of her friend.
When he found himself in an alley across the street from the café, Dabi's smirk fell. His amusement faded and he felt himself growing irritated. Sayuri's innocence was something he loved about her. Something he wanted all to himself. The man talking to her in the café posed a threat to this desire.
Shift P.O.V
"There. It should be cool enough now. Go ahead."
"I…I can really have this? It's for me?"
"That's right. It's yours. Go ahead and try some. Let me know if you need more ice." Sayuri pushed the mug of hot chocolate closer to Eri and saw the girl lift it with two, trembling hands.
A few sips were taken and then a gulp. She looked to Sayuri with watery red eyes. "Th-thank you. It's good."
"Does it make you feel warmer?" Sayuri saw her nod and she smiled. "Good." She sipped her own warm beverage, mind racing. Police? Or hospital? Her arms and legs are covered in bandages. Her gaze dropped to her own exposed forearms and she gently ran her fingertips over a series of fresh, deep scars. She's so young. I don't want to believe these were from self-harm. They wouldn't have healed quickly enough for me to take them, either. Unless she has a healing quirk like I do.
Eri finished her hot chocolate and sat quietly, fidgeting with the cup. She looked even tinier now that she was wearing Sayuri's coat. The sleeves had been rolled up so her hands were free. She lifted her head so she could look at Sayuri now, her pale hair falling away from the horn that protruded from her right temple. "Sayuri…thank you."
"Of course. Teachers help people," she replied, smiling.
"No…you…don't understand."
"Hm?" Sayuri set her cup down and leaned closer, her lilac gaze meeting the girl's crimson one. "What is it, Eri-chan?"
"Eri. Here you are. I was looking everywhere for you."
The young woman jolted at the sound of a male voice to her left. She had failed to notice the young man approaching their table until he was directly beside her, speaking. "Ah. Oh, hello," she greeted the man.
Golden eyes narrowed down on her for a moment before he looked to Eri. "Hello. Thank you for taking care of Eri. She ran out of the house earlier and I've been looking for her all morning. She likes to play games. Don't you, Eri?"
Sayuri turned to regard the stranger and felt something peculiar about him. Something "off". He was around her age so she had trouble placing what exactly his relationship was to the girl. Unlike Eri, he was wearing a dark green winter coat over a black button-up shirt and pale tie. Over the lower half of his face, he was wearing a simple black medical mask as if he was trying to either avoid catching a cold or spreading the cold he already had.
"And you are…her older brother?" she attempted to guess.
"I'm her father." He turned his gaze from Eri to Sayuri and seemed to fixate on her forearms. "Those scars?"
"I took them from her. I found your daughter wandering alone in the street. No coat. No shoes. Not even a hat. What kind of father lets their child out of the house like that?" Sayuri's tone went from kind and warm to her stern teacher voice. "She could have gotten sick. And these scars-!"
"You took them from her?"
"I can take other people's injuries and give them to myself or other people. But these scars…aren't normal. Tell me what happened to her."
The man sighed through his mask and set a gloved hand on the table. Leaning down closer to her, he met her eyes directly. "She's accident prone. I'm doing the best I can to keep her out of trouble. But sometimes it isn't enough. Now, are you going to embarrass her or are you going to stop talking about it?"
Sayuri felt her face growing warm when he leaned down. The man's intense stare felt like a pressure coming down on her. She shook her head. "I'm a teacher. It's my job to worry about a kid's wellbeing."
"I'm her father. It's my job to take care of her. If you're really that worried about her, why don't you pay us a home visit? I'm sure you'll find that I'm doing the best I can, raising her on my own." He turned toward Eri and gave a nod toward the exit. "I'm sure you want your coat back. Eri-"
"No. She can keep it. I don't want her to get sick."
"So we're on the same page now." He reached into his coat's inner pocket and drew out a business card. "Call to set up a home visit if you're still worried about her." The card was set in front of Sayuri and he led Eri out of the café.
What was that just now? She looked down at the card and frowned. Chisaki Kai? Sayuri was dragged out of her thoughts as a hand gripped her shoulder. Jolting, she looked up and found Dabi. "Oh. Sorry for making you wait. I just-"
"We need to talk." His eyes were narrowed on two figures on the sidewalk.
"What? Oh. Those two. I found that little girl wandering around so I was trying to help her. That man is her dad so she's fine now. Sorry I was gone for so long."
Dabi slid into the seat beside her and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. "I don't like the way he was looking at you."
"He was looking at my arms," she tried to explain. "Here." She lifted her right arm for him to look at the deep scars she had acquired.
Looking them over for a moment, he seemed to become more annoyed. A warm fingertip traced over a particularly deep one, sending a shiver up her spine. "I don't like you taking other people's scars," he spoke quietly, bringing his lips to her ear. "I like it just between us. My own personal healer."
Sayuri's face went red, her heart pounding when she heard those words. Somehow, when Dabi said it that way, it seemed sensual. Like healing him was a private little bond that they shared alone, like it was nearly the same as sleeping together. When he touched her scars that matched his, it only solidified this idea.
"…we're in public…" she murmured, trying to make him lean away.
"So? Come on, I'm ready to have you all to myself again." He saw her eyes widen and smirked. His hand threaded into her snow-pale hair and drew her face close to his, forehead resting against hers. "Don't you wanna have some fun today?"
Her stomach did a flip and she gave a small, shy nod. Thoughts of what had occurred with the strange man and Eri were quickly being pushed away as Dabi drew rather flustering thoughts to the forefront of her mind. Sayuri let him lead the way back home, holding his hand and gladly traveling through the back alleys.
About halfway back to her apartment, he turned suddenly and pressed her against the cold brick side of a building. Warm hands held her hips, fingers slipping beneath the hem of her shirt, as his lips covered hers. Sayuri lifted her hands to weave her fingers into his messy dark hair, remembering how much he liked it when she touched his hair.
He lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and smirked into the kiss. Keeping her pinned against the wall using his hips, he broke the kiss and leaned an arm above her head. Dabi's mouth moved along her cheek to her ear and gave a small, quick bite. "You want me, don't you?"
"Y-yes," she hesitantly replied, face burning with embarrassment.
"What're you gonna do to show how much you want me?" He was pleasantly surprised when Sayuri leaned down and kissed along his neck. The warm, scarred, discolored flesh of his neck was met with her gentle lips and drew a groan from him. "How do you know me so well?" Before it could go any further, he pulled away and set her down. "Come on. We'll finish this at home."
