NeonHorizon: Okay. I think Dabi is a Todoroki, but I just know that the second I specifically make a reference to that then Horikoshi's going to come out with a chapter that says he isn't. So I'm going to try to be really careful and kind of vague for a little while. Unless everyone's just okay with the Dabi is a Todoroki idea and want me to roll with it.
"I…want to learn how to cook." Sayuri averted her eyes and nervously toyed with a lock of pale hair that hung loose beside her face. "I know it sounds dumb, but I think…maybe…I should probably know how to cook, right?"
"You want to impress your boyfriend, don't you?" Fuyumi smiled and saw her friend nod. "What're you embarrassed about? That's normal!"
"Yeah, but I mean…it's embarrassing that I don't know how to cook a lot of stuff. I've been making boil in the bag curry and pan-fried chicken. And I don't even have much for cooking; I've got one pan for the stove and a big bowl for microwaving stuff."
The other woman pushed up her glasses and blinked in surprise. "Sayuri. That's pretty bad."
"I ordered more cookware online, okay? I'm just waiting for it to be delivered. But…can you show me how to make some meals?"
Fuyumi stared at her friend for a long moment, knife poised over the vegetables she had been chopping. "Um…sure? What do you want to make first? We can plan a list to get ingredients the next time we go shopping."
Sayuri felt bad about asking for help, but she wanted to impress Dabi. She hated that she had such a limited amount of meals she could make and she hated it even more that she had relied on getting food from restaurants so often. He never said anything about it, but she was pretty sure he wished she could cook more.
Right now, she was at the Todoroki house after helping Fuyumi carry her groceries home. I'm…kind of pathetic, she thought with a frown. Her friend was now listing off easy recipes they could try as Sayuri nodded in silent agreement. I can't cook. I haven't really tried much before Dabi moved in.
"You can help me with dinner tonight, if you want. I'm making enough that you can take some home with you," Fuyumi offered.
"Thank you." Taking direction from her friend, Sayuri began slicing meat as Fuyumi continued chopping vegetables. She tried to make every piece the same thickness and size, but she was anxious about potentially slicing her fingers.
"So you mentioned something about finding a little girl on Sunday?"
"Right…" She frowned and paused in cutting. It had been a few days since the incident and she had found herself looking back on it every so often. Something had felt "off" about the scenario. The little girl had looked so frightened, even after her supposed father had come to get her. Not to mention that the scars Sayuri had taken from her were really strange and the pain that had come with them was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
"After you left, this little girl ran into me. She…wasn't wearing a coat or shoes. She had these bandages on her arms and legs, too. I took her back to the café and I tried to help her warm up. I wasn't sure if I should take her to the police or the hospital. She was alone and she looked really scared."
"How old was she?"
"She was around…five or six? Pretty young to be wandering around alone. So we were sitting there and this man came up to the table. He…said he was her father. He had been looking for her all morning, I guess. And he gave me his business card and said I could schedule a home visit if I'm concerned."
Fuyumi finished her work and turned to look at Sayuri. "Are you concerned?"
She gave a small nod. Sayuri was hesitant to explain the rest to Fuyumi. The part about the fear in the girl's eyes and the scars she had taken. Without details, it seemed like it would just cause needless worry to another person.
"So call then. Set up a time to pay a home visit and make sure everything's okay. If you have a bad feeling, you should trust your gut."
"You're right."
"Now move over. I'll take care of the meat; you make your call."
Sayuri went to the dining room, where it was quiet and she had some privacy. There was a nervous twisting in her stomach as she made the call. She had gone on home visits before. She always brought a coworker with her and there had only been one time when she had needed to request that the child be removed from the home for their own safety.
"Who's this?" The phone was answered by an unfamiliar male voice.
"Hello. My name is Naosu Sayuri. I'm calling for…Chisaki Kai. About setting up a home visit for his daughter Eri." She felt her face turning pink as she spoke. Sayuri always disliked making phone calls to strangers.
"Oh! Yeah, he mentioned someone like that. Sure; let's set up a time and date." There was a sound of pen on paper.
A visit was scheduled for that Saturday, in the evening. Sayuri made a mental note to ask a coworker to accompany her. It was just standard to not go alone. For legal reasons as well as safety.
Sayuri opened the door to return to the kitchen and jolted when she nearly bumped into Fuyumi's youngest brother. "Ah…hello, Shouto-kun."
He simply stared for a moment. "Hello. I didn't know you were here."
"Fuyumi's teaching me how to cook something so…"
An unfortunate, awkward silence fell between them. The boy eventually gave a nod and continued on his way to his room. Sayuri glanced after him and frowned. Despite visiting frequently when she was younger, she was never close with the youngest Todoroki. She could talk to Natsuo and Fuyumi, but not Shouto or their father. Their mother had seemed alright, for a while.
Fuyumi's oldest brother…what happened to him? She never told me. He just…wasn't here one day. No one said anything, though. It was…Touya, right? Sayuri tried to remember him as she walked back to the kitchen. He had been a little older than her and she remembered that he treated her kindly. Even though he was often injured or sick. He never asked her to take his injuries.
She stepped into the kitchen and her frown deepened. Fuyumi was missing, but the food had been put on the stove to start cooking. Not wanting to feel useless, Sayuri began to absently stir the pieces of meat that were simmering in sauce. Her attention was on the stove so when she heard approaching footsteps, she assumed it was just Fuyumi or Shouto.
Shift P.O.V
Dabi tossed some pellets into the cage and watched the rats eat for a while. Something about watching them take a pellet into their tiny paws and nibble away at it brought him a weird sense of calm. He smiled faintly, leaning in closer as the larger one paused in eating and looked up at him.
"I'm going out." He stood and stretched a little. Most of the day had been spent lounging around the apartment, trying to resist a certain urge. That urge steadily grew, though, until he had no choice but to indulge himself.
Over the past few days, he had thought about what Sayuri said. The story she told him about a hero forcing her to take a broken arm for his kid. That entitled parent. That entitled hero. Just thinking about it filled Dabi with so much hatred that he felt physically sick to his stomach.
He put on a hooded jacket and let himself out of the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him. It was past the time when Sayuri would normally return home from work, but he had a good idea of where she was. With her best friend Fuyumi. Fuyumi, who let her father force an injury on Sayuri when she was just a kid. Fuyumi, who was monopolizing Sayuri's free time.
It was annoying. Every time he thought about it, it just filled him with disgust. Her so-called "best friend" had let something like that happen to her. He had trouble understanding why Sayuri was still so close with her.
The wind outside was freezing and there was still light snow swirling in the air. Dabi tucked his hands into his pockets and moved through the alleys whenever he could in order to avoid the wind. His thoughts briefly flitted to the apartment. To the idea of a warm bath when he went home. If Sayuri was back, he might try to convince her to join him.
The streets were moderately empty. With it being so cold, no one really wanted to be out for too long. He saw high school aged kids traveling in little groups, people rushing home from work or shopping. Mundane. Ordinary people with ordinary little goals and boring, ordinary lives where they relied on heroes to make sure that their lives stayed that way.
While fighting the urge to do this, Dabi had done a little planning in case he wanted to give in and do it. He knew where he was going. He had a loose idea of who he might encounter if things went sour. So when he found himself standing down the street from the Todoroki house, he knew that most of the residents were most likely home.
Natsuo. Shouto. And the disgusting creep that had damaged Sayuri. If Dabi was right, then Fuyumi would be out with Sayuri at this time. The other three would be home, based on the time of day and the normal working hours of a hero agency.
If I burn it to the ground, I wonder if they'd all scream. He tilted his head, a grin drawing his lips back. He's got flames, too, but they're nowhere near as hot as mine. I'd like to see him burn down to a pile of ashes, but the wind would pick him up and spread him around. That'd be…pretty gross. Like fertilizer.
Leaning against the tall wall behind him that served as a divider between someone's home and the street, Dabi settled in to observe the house. He stared at it intently, almost wishing that Endeavor would come out and confront him. If he did, then he would soon find himself being engulfed by blue flames.
As he stood there, waiting and watching, he thought about Sayuri. He thought about the scar on her arm from where they had repaired her broken limb when she was younger. It had been bothering him for a while. It was familiar, but he never told her that. The story itself sounded like something he had heard of before, or something that happened in his own life.
Tugging his hood forward more, he had to wonder how much more innocent she might be if it had never happened. If Endeavor had not forced her to use her quirk for his child's benefit. Using her like a personal first aid kit. It pisses me off. Sayuri's too nice to be mad, but I'm not gonna let it slide.
Shift P.O.V
Sayuri continued to stir the meat in the sauce, but began to become aware of a stare directed at her. Goose bumps rose on her arms, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She wanted to speak, but she was nauseatingly afraid.
Finally, the owner of the stare spoke. "Oh. It's you."
She felt like her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Flashes of memories came to her. Her arm being grabbed and her being dragged to a room. Being shoved toward a crying, younger Shouto whose arm had snapped. There was bone showing, blood pooling on the floor and mixing with the tears that ran down the kid's face. A booming voice shouting at Sayuri and demanding that she fix Shouto's arm. Threatening to keep her in that room until she obeyed.
The memories made her start to tremble and she lowered her head. I want to leave. I want to run out of the room, but he's right there. I don't want to look at him. I'm…afraid. I'm afraid to move, even if I want to.
Behind her, the fridge opened and closed as Fuyumi's father got something. There was a pause as he looked at her again and then the sound of footsteps told her that he had left the room. Sayuri remained frozen in place, though. Even as the sauce in the pan simmered loudly and the meat began to overcook.
When Fuyumi returned to the room, she seemed to immediately know what had happened. "I'm sorry! Sayuri, he was supposed to have something after work so I thought it would be okay! I'm sorry!"
"I…I can't stay here. I'm sorry, Fuyumi. I have to go home." She turned quickly and grabbed her jacket. Without even pausing to put it on, Sayuri sprinted out of the house and down the street. Running until the house was no longer visible.
She finally stopped and paused to rest in a narrow alley between a coffee shop and a book store. Trying to catch her breath, Sayuri felt tears burning at the corners of her eyes from remembering the incident in such detail. It was one thing when she talked about it to Dabi, but reliving it in her mind was too much.
The young woman wiped at her eyes, hating how weak she felt in this moment, and nearly screamed when she felt arms slide around her waist from behind. Before she could even begin to thrash, she felt the scrape of warm metal over the side of her ear and cheek. A chin rested on her shoulder and the patchwork hands that rested on her hips drew her back against Dabi.
"Caught you," he murmured in a soft taunt. "What's the matter? You look…pretty upset."
Sayuri let him turn her around and rested her forehead against his chest. "I…I went to my friend's house and…her dad came home early."
Fingers gently slid through her long, snow-pale hair. "You're that afraid of him, huh?" He felt her nod against him. "I'm here now. I'm not gonna let him anywhere near you."
She basked in the warmth radiating off of him, letting it comfort her. "I'm sorry. I'm…I'm a coward, aren't I? I let my own quirk traumatize me."
"Nah. You didn't do anything. A fake hero did." He drew away, but took her hand and flashed her a somewhat mischievous grin. "Come on. It's freezing out here, right? I know what'll cheer you up."
