She was paranoid, but he had to admit that she still looked pretty cute. It took way more effort than Dabi usually liked to put into something, but he had managed to convince her to skip work. Of course, she called in sick like the pure-hearted, innocent girl that she was. She was acting so sheepish; like she was a high schooler skipping class.

Sayuri needed groceries so she dragged him with her to the supermarket furthest from the school where she taught. She even went as far as to wear a hooded sweater and a pair of sunglasses as if that disguise would actually work. Dabi trailed behind her down an aisle, his thumb and forefinger gripping the back of her sweater when she started to get too far ahead of him.

He smirked and tugged at her sweater sharply, making her fall back against his chest. "What're you so nervous about?" he taunted.

"I never call in sick," she muttered, glancing up at him.

"Awww. You think you're gonna get fired for skipping one day?" Dabi wrapped an arm around her front, a hand pressing at her breastbone to keep her against him. Leaning down to her ear, his warm breath caressed her sensitive skin and made her quiver. "You're pretty cute when you're nervous."

The girl's face started to take on a pinkish hue and she glanced away from him. "If I lost my job, we'd both be on the street," she argued. "You don't exactly pitch in."

For an instant, he felt a bitterness at hearing that. A lazy smirk twitched at his lips and he nipped at her ear, earning a squeak of surprise from her. "I'd take care of you," he teased. "Don't I always take care of you?"

She gently pulled out of his hold and continued down the aisle with her shopping basket. Sayuri walked ahead of him, turning to glance over her shoulder and flash him a small, teasing smile. Looking down at her phone again, she skimmed her grocery list for the next thing she needed to grab.

Dabi followed at a slight distance. Watching her hips sway as she walked, staring at the way the pale fabric of her jeans hugged her hips and bottom. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a blush cross the face of another shopper that Sayuri passed. It was a man around his age and Dabi could not help but notice the way the man leered at her when she reached the end of the aisle.

"Are you coming?" Sayuri turned to look back at him. She tilted her head to the side a little, her innocently curious expression only making him more excited.

"Nah. Not right now." He sauntered down the aisle to reach her, smirking when he saw the man tense up. Dabi threaded his fingers into Sayuri's hair when he reached her and smashed his lips against hers. His free hand pressed on her lower back, pushing her closer and rolling his hips into hers.

When he broke the kiss, Sayuri blinked up at him with her wide lilac eyes. "What…?" A bright red shade took over her face as she realized the dirtiness behind his reply. "We're in public," she hissed, trying to look angry.

He could tell that the outrage was superficial. Wrapping an arm around her, Dabi started to guide her away from the aisle. Away from that stranger's nasty stare. He saw her turn her head and stare at something in the distance. He followed her line of sight and frowned.

Sayuri was looking at a small family that was shopping in the fruit section. A young mother and father with their toddler. The couple looked so happy and the baby was giggling as the father did some sort of cheap magic trick where he pretended to make an apple disappear. Sayuri's expression fell from fake anger to a bittersweet little smile.

Dabi raised an eyebrow. Is she upset because her parents ditched her or is she upset because she wants something lame like that? He looked to the pale-haired woman beside him and smirked. "What? You want that?" he taunted.

"It's not like that." She looked away from the family, but there was already a wet sheen to her eyes. Sayuri walked in the opposite direction with Dabi following close behind. She was quiet for most of the walk, but when she stopped to grab some cup ramen, she finally spoke again. "You…probably never wants kids."

He studied her for a moment, trying to determine what she meant by that. Deciding that she probably wanted one, he came up behind her and wrapped both arms around her. A finger hooked through her belt loop on her right hip and Dabi pressed himself against her rear. "What? You want to make one?"

"Do you want one?" Her voice shook a little as she asked this.

"Can you imagine what kind of quirk they'd have?" He chuckled and slipped a hand down along her thigh. "I bet they'd have some kind of healing fire. Wouldn't be the worst thing, I guess."

Shift P.O.V

Sayuri had butterflies in her stomach and she was sure her heart was beating loudly enough for him to hear. It had been bothering her since she talked to Fuyumi about it. The Eri situation.

She wanted to be there for Eri, but she was limited in what she could really do. Sayuri was also reluctant to deal with Chisaki. In a perfect world, Sayuri could just take Eri and make sure the girl was safe. She was sure she could give her a good, normal life where the little girl could have friends and go outside as much as she wanted. This was not a perfect world, though.

When she asked Dabi if he wanted kids, what she really meant to ask was if he would be okay with helping her raise Eri. Whether she got her by means of legal adoption or by doing the unthinkable and sneaking her out of Chisaki's house. She wanted to know that Dabi would be alright with it.

Her pulse quickened as she remembered that she was supposed to tutor Eri that night and she had yet to call to cancel. Sayuri rummaged in her bag for her phone and checked the time. It was around noon. Seeing Dabi's face reflected on her phone screen, she quickly looked away and put her phone back.

"What?" He hugged her a little closer, his tone kind of gruff.

"N-nothing…" Sayuri put on a bit of a smirk, feeling bold. "Just admiring that cute look on your face."

"You think I'm cute?" he taunted.

She was about to retort, but he leaned down and pulled her face to the side. His lips covered hers for a moment before he began to trail down along her jawline and to her neck. Heat raced through her body, settling at her core. Sayuri lifted a hand and skimmed her fingertips over the staples that ran along his cheek.

They finished their little shopping trip and when they got home, she started making a late lunch for them. I don't want to cancel, she thought as she started divide their food. I want to see Eri. I just don't want to see her father. Something about him is just so…

"You didn't call yet." Dabi gave her a firm frown as he started eating the simple, but sloppy, onigiri she had made.

"Right. The thing is…" Sayuri ran her fingers through her pale hair, pulling it back into a loose ponytail so it was out of her face while she ate. "Dabi, I'm going to go for a walk this afternoon. Alone. I just…I need some time to think about stuff. I'll call, but I don't want to completely cancel on her."

He looked annoyed, but shrugged and continued eating. "Whatever."

"Are you mad at me?" She found herself being tugged by the arm so she fell into his lap, his arms wrapping around her and his chin resting on the top of her head. Her pulse skipped as she felt a hand slide beneath the hem of her sweater. Heated fingertips skimmed along her side, making her quiver and bite back a moan.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pissed off." The sound of his low, faintly raspy voice made her squirm a little so her backside rubbed against him. "Just call it off and stay with me."

"I can't." She knew he was upset, but this was important to her. Sayuri needed to be there for Eri. The thought of making the little girl cry was enough to make her heart feel like it was being squeezed.

When she left the apartment, Sayuri dug in her pocket for her phone and dialed the number for Chisaki. Walking down the sidewalk by herself, she listened to the phone ring. When Kurono finally picked up, she was toying with a stray lock of her long, snowy hair. "It's Naosu."

"Naosu? You're not supposed to be here for a few hours, right?" There was a noise in the background. It sounded like some sort of machinery.

"Is Chisaki-san there? I…sort of need to talk to him."

He paused for a moment and the sounded faded. "Sure thing. Here he is."

"Isn't it kind of early for you, Naosu? I thought that you were supposed to be working at this time." Chisaki's voice made goose bumps rise on her skin.

"Yes. I mean, not today. I sort of…have the day off." She was hesitant to admit to calling in sick. He struck her as a strict person so he would likely look down on her if she admitted to skipping work. "I wanted to talk to you about Eri-chan's tutoring today."

"I see. Fine. What is it?"

"I…actually, um…" Sayuri tugged at the lock of hair she had been playing with. "I need to cut back how often I tutor Eri-chan. And I won't be able to make it today." She heard a heavy sigh and felt her heart sink. "Chisaki-san?"

"Are you serious? I thought you were better than this. I was sure that you'd never let Eri down the way her mother did." He continued to chastise her until he finally seemed to have run out of things to say.

When Sayuri heard Eri's quiet voice over the phone, she felt her heart sink even further. Her shoulders hunched as she heard the little girl ask if she was going to tutor her. She heard Eri's voice quiver as she doubtlessly began to tear up. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Eri-chan."

She was so focused on trying to reassure the child that she was not being abandoned, Sayuri failed to pay attention to her surroundings. The young woman reached a corner just as a bicyclist came speeding across her path. A hand darted out to grab the back of her sweater and pulled her back just in time to avoid having the bike slam into her side.

Sayuri was steadied by a hand on her shoulder as well as the one gripping her sweater. Blinking in surprise at the bicyclist that was rushing down the street, her pulse sped up. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and she shook her head. "I…I'll call you back," she mumbled.

Turning to thank her rescuer, Sayuri found a man that was around Dabi's height. His eyes were kind of narrow and he was scowling, but there was a hint of relief in his gaze. "Thank you."

He looked away as he released the back of her sweater. "Watch where you're going next time," he mumbled. The man continued to stand next to her at the corner; apparently waiting to use the crosswalk.

She stood next to the stranger, being the only two at this intersection, and tried to think of some way to thank him. A glance over made her do a double-take. There was a scar running down the center of his forehead. She would offer to take it from him, but she was afraid it might not be fresh enough for her to take.

Sayuri wanted to somehow express how much she appreciated this complete stranger pulling her out of harm's way, but her phone started to ring. Her attention want back to Eri as she answered the call to find the little girl's father speaking. He told her that Eri was upset about Sayuri hanging up on her and she felt that heavy guilt from before returning.

"I'll be there soon, then." She gripped her phone tightly and when the light changed for her to cross the street, she looked both ways first. I have to be more aware of my surroundings. I'll be letting down even more people if I get hurt.

There was a slight pause before Chisaki started talking again. "So you're going to come after all?" He sounded skeptical.

"I'm on my way now. Can I talk to Eri again?"

He sighed and she just knew he was probably shaking his head. "She's busy right now. But I'm sure she'll be done by the time you get here." The sound of a door closing could be heard and then the echo of footsteps. "You know, you're pretty important to her. Her behavior's always better after your visits. It's just too bad. If you were here every day, I'm sure she'd stop having her tantrums."

Tantrums? Sayuri frowned to herself as she moved along the sidewalk. Eri struck her as being a timid, sweet little girl. I can't imagine her throwing a tantrum. Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed quietly. "I'm sorry, Chisaki-san. I'm sure she'll grow out of it, though. Children in my class still have little meltdowns sometimes, but you'll see less and less of it as she gets older."

"You know a lot about raising children, don't you? It's a surprise that you don't have any of your own. Or can't you?"

Something about his tone made her stomach twist in knots. She bit the inside of her cheek, her lilac eyes narrowing. "This…isn't a professional topic."

"No, I guess it's not. Where are you? I'll send Kurono to walk with you."

Sayuri told him her location and settled on a bench outside of a café to wait for Kurono. Slouching on her seat, she typed out a message to Dabi to let him know she would be late. I'll have to make it up to him. I know I promised to spend the whole day with him, but…I can't let Eri down. I don't want to be the reason why she's crying.