Shield
Summary : Dabi wanted to burn down her entire home. He wanted to take everything away from her so she wouldn't have any choice but to follow him, but he couldn't do that. His flames wouldn't even lick at his skin at the thought of being what caused her smile to falter. He could barely stomach the idea of being behind such tears. Dabi wanted to see Yua cry, just not in that way. He wanted tears to be in her eyes as she cried out his name over and over again, as she withered and shivered beneath him. It was how he knew he was in deep for her, deep in whatever sticky feelings made people want only good for someone else.
Chapter Three
There was nothing pleasant about walking home in nothing but a frayed, patched, and tattered jacket. Nothing welcoming or friendly about the cold continuing to gnaw at her like some starved rat. Yua couldn't wait for winter to fade into spring and summer to consume all with its glorious heat. She truly detested these cold months with a passion. The bitterness biting at her face, creeping down her clothes, stealing the heat from her veins, and leaving her numb and aching was not fabulous.
If numbed feet could have shuffled faster they would have, but the body weighing her down slowed the both of them. Yua had to keep reminding herself that her situation could have been a lot worse. Like being the second crispy body gathering dust in an alley. That a few frost bitten toes and purple tinted lips were nothing to be complaining about if it meant staying alive and being able to breath. Besides it wasn't like she was being assaulted that brutally by the cold. Even with her teeth chattering and feet so numb each step hurt the heat radiation off of Dabi was actually chasing most of the chill across the rest of her body away.
Yua wasn't certain what exactly his quirk entailed but she was positive human furnace had to be part of it. Bloody hell, the palms of her hands were damp with sweat because of how much heat he was emitting. She wasn't even sure if the wheezing breaths puffing out in smoky clouds were because of how much heat was swirling around inside or because of March's cold winter touch.
Murky hues flickered back to the apartment building that had just recently come into view. Not a word had been uttered between the two of them after she had asked for his name. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it had been chewing at Yua for a while now. She felt like she should have had something else to say to him, but her mind was blank and empty. A state that was confusingly entangled with the curiosity and suspicion bubbling within. A part of Yua wanted to ask more, but her mind kept replaying him burning someone alive. She didn't want to offend him, especially as they stepped into the building. Yua would never be able to forgive herself if she brought unnecessary harm down upon Kayda.
Which in irony was exactly what she might just be doing by bringing the scar faced stranger home. Sure he had walked out peacefully once, after squatting in her apartment, but the violence she had witnessed in the alleyway was different. She could easily report the murder to the authorities. So, who was to say he would even let her walk after witnessing such actions?
'He was defending himself. If he wouldn't have acted then that scaled man would have likely done the same.' Still it didn't shake the sense of dread slowly building in her belly.
He didn't seem to want to harm her, and Yua prayed to the gods that the rest of the early morning hours would pass by in peace. No harm no fowl. If any luck was on her side then their exchange would be short lived again. She'd provide help with his wounds and then he'd leave and return to wherever he had sauntered out of.
On instinct upon reaching her front door Yua had moved to retrieve her key, only to stop when she remembered blue flames had eaten her clothes and spare belonging in a flash. It hadn't occurred to her till then that the key might have melted from the heat, or fallen to the ground and gotten swept away in the chaos that unfolded. Yua was almost grateful that she had forgotten her wallet at home. Losing absolutely everything would have been a headache.
Dabi shifted, putting more weight onto his own feet, when her right hand released the arm she had slung over her shoulder. Her knuckles rapped against a door that looked even less sturdy than the last time he had seen it. He doubted it would stay standing if someone charged at it.
"Choi? It's me Yua." The first knocks had been soft and light but the set that followed were heavier and more demanding. "Can you come open the door for me, please?"
There was a shuffle behind the door, followed by the clinking of locks, before the wooden slab finally swung open. The action was done far slower than Yua would have preferred, but it wasn't like she could hold it against the elderly lady.
Large black buttons, where a person's eyes would be, peered up at the two. Choi's wrinkled face was masked in a sleepy haze, but the cheeky turn her lips took as she ushered the two in didn't go unnoticed by Yua. A faint pink dusted Yua's cheeks in a silent response as she stumbled through the threshold, hands once more clamping down on Dabi. She could practically hear the woman's scandalous teasing remarks, and her mouth hadn't even opened yet.
"Sorry to wake you, Choi. There was an-" Green hues shifted to stare at Dabi. A man who looked on the edge of commenting on her sitter's appearance. Unsure of what he was going to say, if he was, Yua's frozen foot jabbed down on his cladded one. Effectively promoting a half-assed glare to be tossing in her direction. Yua doubted the small attack had done much but suddenly the weight bearing down on her seemed to intensify. "-incident and I lost my key."
"Not only your key I see!" Choi retorted cheekily, a grin that could rival that of a Cheshire Cat spread across her round cheeks.
With a roll of her eye, and not a beat missed, Yua scoffed. "Nope, no, nothing of that sort."
Choi hummed, her gaze soaking in the situation before her. She stayed close, but not so much she'd hinder them. Button eyes were not blind to the blood seeping and staining. Just as they were not blind to bare red feet and the stagger the two shared in their steps.
Slipping past Yua escorted Dabi to her bathroom, the only bathroom. Tingling feet kicked Kayda's clothes and used towels out of the way before seating him on the toilet. He curled in on himself, a sheen of sweat shining across his forehead, as Yua set to rooting around in her cabinets for the first aid kit. After plopping the supplies down on the sink next to him she hurried from the bathroom, leaving Dabi to deal with his wounds himself.
Shivering Yua slipped into her room as silently as humanly possible. Her gaze fixating on the sleeping lump curled beneath the blankets. It took Yua a matter of seconds to dig through her drawers for a baggy checkered shirt, a pair of grey sweatpants, and some hopefully clean underwear. Forgoing a bra when she couldn't find one and instead using a few socks laying on the ground to wipe off the blood that had soaked through his shirt and coat off her skin. Then, she was darting from the room with a set of clothes she hoped would fit him. Nothing spectacular, just something she had found on the floor of her closet. The likelihood of it once belonging to someone she had a one night stand with was high. Especially since she had found them crammed in the corner.
"I can take the little one with me and let you two have some alone time." Choi had been waiting for Yua in the hallway, just outside the eldest Hibiki's room. Yua simply patted the woman on the shoulder as she passed on by.
"That won't be necessary, Choi. Nothing going on between him and me. He helped me, so I'm helping him. There's nothing more to it then that." Yua spoke, stepping back into the bathroom. She tried not to stare at his exposed upper half but she kept finding her eyes had other plans. One moment they were obediently set on his face, watching the annoyance, irritation, and pain that crossed, and then the next they were back to resting on the seeping puncture wounds on his side.
Dabi tipped the bottle of hydrogen peroxide over the wounds once more. Letting the liquid fester and bubble. His chest rumbled as he groaned in discomfort and his face scrunched up as his side burned. Then, he was back to pressing the faded green handcloth that had been sitting on the sink to his side. The pressure was nothing but unpleasant but it helped in flushing out the claw marks and scratches. When he pulled his hand back the wounds oozed blood even slower than before. For how much he had been bleeding Dabi was pleasantly shocked with how shallow the puncture wounds were. He was half tempted to forgo stitching them shut and just opting for cauterization. There were risks with doing it that way but at least he'd have one less area that was leaking some sort of bodily liquid.
Glancing up from the corner of his eye Dabi found the blonde loitering. Her gaze fluttered from the newly blossoming bruises to his slowly seeping wound and the burnt patches of skin being held to his body by medical staples. Did she find him gruesome or pitiful?
"Something wrong, doll face? Not liking what you see now that it's under some light?" He snarkily asked, hand pressed to his bleeding side once more. Incidentally, every part of Yua ached and not just because there was an equally as rude response being bitten back on her own pink tongue. It was like more than just the cold that had nipped at her flesh. Almost like for an instant she was feeling a ghostly reflection of the pain Dabi was currently enduring. It had her shivering and her lip curling.
"You stink, take a shower." Her tone was just as attitude riddled as his, but her eyes were pools of confused pity. It wasn't often Dabi was faced with all three emotions in one go from someone. "The hot water takes a bit. So, just give it a few minutes otherwise it'll be like walking in on an ice storm." She uttered, plopping clothes foreign to him on the counter before leaving. The door shutting in Dabi's face before he could utter his response…. well then.
Choi was gone from the hallway when Yua returned from her room once more. This time with Dabi's coat folded neatly under her arm. She found the old woman at work on the island in the kitchen. Two steaming mugs sitting on the table. Yua could smell the sweet scent of hot chocolate before her lips touched the cool rim of her cup, and only after drinking half the content inside did she realize that the caramel tang was whiskey. Yua's insides reacted sweetly with the heat of her drink.
"So, are you going to leave this old lady worrying? Or, are you going to explain how you ended up butt ass naked with a scarred hoodlums ratty jacket on?" Choi inquired innocently. Skilled fingers glowing a faint yellow as she finished assembling a little cloth doll.
Taking her seat Yua glanced at the mess spread out across the cracked island. Makato Choi's quirk was Doll Creator, and it quite literally was just as it sounded. She could make dolls. Cute, harmless, little clones of people or animals with a bit of the subject's DNA. It was the old woman's pastime hobby now that she was retired. Something that gave her a little extra cha-ching to use at the casino.
"Long story short. My quirk protected me from turning into a pile of ash during a scuffle between two men in these early morning hours." Yua didn't have much to hide, other than the fact Dabi had incinerated someone and had squatted in her home back in January, but other than that she spoke freely as she rested her head on the table.
Choi hummed. The soft sound Yua's only que to continue on.
"I don't know him, not like I do you, but I trust he isn't a bad person." Despite her words the memory of Dabi's hand flaring and blue flames consuming someone to their very death taunted her mind. The vivid images were nearly as distracting as his ruined, torn, and blood shirt that had been discarded on her bathrooms tile flooring. Though she wondered morbidly about the staples patching scared skin to normal flesh. What would happen if more of his staples had been torn out, and were currently decorating the bathroom floor. Would the strangely purple tinted area slosh off or would it stick to his body still? Yua shivered in disgust and disbelief at her own intrigue. Through the entirety of her life so far this was by far the stupidest thing Yua had decided to do, and she had done a lot of idiotic and ridiculous things in the past twenty-three years.
"At least enough to bring him back home." Yua rounded, a frown tugging her face down. She didn't really have a way to prove he wasn't a bad person. Just as she couldn't completely say he had been the victim in that alleyway. Yua had no inkling about why the two of them had been fighting. She was clueless to who had instigated what.
'What differentiates someone as good, bad, and evil?'
Sipping at her drink, to help settle the flipping and flopping of her belly, Yua counted to ten inside her head. It was understandable that she was revolted by Dabi incinerating someone. That sort of emotion was only human. Yet, the longer she lingered on the memory the more curdled her thoughts and insides got. Had he really just been protecting himself? Acting in self-defense?
'Stop, Yua. What's done is done…' There was no use wasting energy and time being concerned and trying to spin suspicion into disgust. Just like most things in her life Yua would simply look the other way and keep going on with her own life. As long as this incident didn't affect her way of living, and Kayda's, then Yua wouldn't obsess over it. No use in trying to change what can't be changed.
"He's interesting looking." Choi said slowly, dragging Yua back to their conversation. The sound of the shower running was a dull reassurance to the doll maker that Yua's newest acquaintance wouldn't be able to overhear them. "Just don't be leaving that heart of yours on your sleeve so visibly, my dear. It will get you into deep trouble with boys like that."
"You're gonna need to elaborate on that, Choi."
"It's in his gaze. I've seen eyes like his before. The boy has gone through a lot and it haunts him. Each and every moment of it."
Silence ensued as Choi let her words seep into Yua's blood and brain, watching as dark pupils dilated and hands clutched her mug tighter.
"How do you do it?" Yua asked, voice barely above a whisper. "Read people like that? Your quirk is doll making not profiling."
"Years or trial and error, dearie." With a sip from Choi's own cup she began collecting her things. Moving finished dolls into zip lock baggies and supplies into their respective containers. "I'm not saying you shouldn't rail each other into oblivion-"
"Makoto Choi!" Yua cheeks were kissed pink, and her voice defensive and horrified by her kid sister's sitter's declaration. Yua wasn't one to shy from a body, and a good time, but it being so boldly suggested from someone Yua considered as a friend left her flustered and funny feeling inside.
"Do not interrupt me, child! But, please Yua do watch your back. Don't try to make a project out of him."
There was no need to mule over this. Yua understood what Choi was saying perfectly. "I can barely manage the projects I already have." Yua joked before adding. "I'm not interested in adding another to the pile."
Wanting nothing more than to change the conversation Yua huffed. "I lost my paycheck today. Can I pay you in a few days."
It was a stupid question, but Yua couldn't think of much else to say. She knew if Choi had her way she wouldn't be accepting any money, but Yua was hard headed like her late mother. Nothing comes free of charge because even that which is labeled free has some sort of expense to it.
"Don't worry about it, dearie. Why not instead put the next check towards something cute? You haven't seen a hairstylist in a few months. Maybe treat you and Kayda to a spa date."
A spa date? A hair appointment? Choi's suggestions had Yua smiling, but in the end Yua still viewed them as delusional. Money was tight, and those few yen bills could be used to help pay for this month's rent or go towards Kayda's doctor appointment in April.
"I'll have it before next Monday. I promise." Not that it mattered in the end. Those bills belong to Choi.
Dabi wasn't sure how much he appreciated how the tantalizing fragrance of cinnamon played with his head. It had glazed over him when he had been dragged into the apartment and even after his cold shower, after he had scrubbed himself clean, Dabi could still smell the faintest traces of it. Everything in her shitty home smelled like it. Even the clothes she had brought for him to change into had the faintest tinges of cinnamon on them, that and must. Like the garments had been crammed into somewhere small, dark, and possibly damp.
Scared and calluses hands yanked up again on pants three sizes too big. Dabi wasn't sure who's clothes he was wearing but it was blatantly clear that they weren't the blonds. Despite his slender build Dabi still was taller than Yua Hibiki. Which left him pondering just who's clothes he was wearing. During the days he had spent aimlessly following and watching her (Stalking. The correct term was stalking.) he had never notice any of the opposite sex entering or leaving her little abode. He didn't think she had a boyfriend. Images of vacuously smiling individuals were lacking on her walls. Looking back Dabi wasn't sure there were many, if any, pictures of people anywhere in her home. It wasn't like he had looked that hard, but from what Dabi could recall he wasn't sure he had seen any. Which was odd, and very off. Though it did fit with her theme of not decorating. Dabi wouldn't be lying if he said he'd see more put together places in the slums.
Even her toilet, which was surrounded in specks of browning blood, was discolored and sinking into the floor. It wasn't that Dabi expected any flats in the building to be up to high standards but Yua Hibiki just didn't seem like the sort of person to tolerate living in a ramshackle. She didn't seem like the sort of person either to hoard crap. When he had been sifting through the bathroom cabinets and cupboards he had found an odd amount of wrapped toilet paper and soaps. Other than her obscene amount of TP and soap nothing had really stuck out to Dabi. Out of everything he only pocketed an old bottle of prescription painkillers and a pair of nail clippers.
Rolling his shoulders, Dabi shuttered as the shirt irritated his burned skin. He was missing staples, tore out from the tussle. A few had even come off when he had shed his own shirt, and Dabi hadn't bothered to collect them off the bathroom tiles. Not that it mattered. When he was done here he'd be pulling out more than those that had fallen out. His two weeks was up and it was nearly time to remove the last round of staples before popping in new ones.
His gaze flickered to the few he could see dotting the ground. She had brought him here so she could clean up whatever mess he made. Dabi hasn't asked for her help. He wasn't even sure why she hadn't left him bleeding in the alley. What was there to gain by bringing him back to her apartment? To where someone she claimed to be so precious to her was likely sleeping down the hallway? Dabi couldn't decide if she was just idiotically stupid or not.
Leaving the bathroom Dabi lazily glanced over barren walls as he made his way down the hallway. He sought after a perineal touch, something that laid claim to this place, but there was nothing. Not even a crappy painting or cheesy quote. Her home was functional not personal. The only odd artifact was a faded duck night light plugged in but not on somewhere further behind him. An object Dabi didn't need clarification to know was for the small child Hibiki lived with.
Everything he was seeing just furthered the fact of how much of a bore she was. Nothing stood out. Nothing but her ability to resist his flames. Yet, somehow she had managed to snag his interest. He hadn't been able to figure out how or when but it was what had him coming back to linger and watching from the shadows and sidelines. It was just something to pass the time, between the odd jobs he took up. Soon his interest would fade and he'd forget the blonde doll.
Though as he came to where her kitchen was Dabi stopped to stare. A vacant gaze soaking in the woman curled up on her seat with her head resting on a cracked island. His attention flickered from his folded coat inches from her head, to an abandoned mug, before settling on the fuzzy dino socks covering her feet.
"Squeaky clean?" Dabi hadn't expected for her to be awake. The slow and steady raises of her back had given off the illusion that she was asleep. Yet, blurry eyes fighting the urge were in fact peeled open.
"Why do you have clothes this big?" He asked, directing his feet to carry him closer. Eyes studying as she sat up. Watching as her back straightened with a pop and her fingers and sock covered toes curled and uncurled.
"One night stands. You'd be surprised how often guys leave their shit when they're in a hurry to escape."
And, then his stomach growled and she blinked. A small smile cracking across dried lips as if he'd just spoken in a foreign tongue. Short, stifled, laughter that followed came so childishly and pure. There was not an ounce of judgement weighing it down. It settled in Dabi's ears with a tickle and bounce, catching the young adult off guard. The annoyance that was still lingering in the back of his mind after tonight dissolved for a single moment, and unconsciously Dabi leaned in closer. Drawn in by such a light and airy noise. He didn't catch on to what he was doing till she moved to stand and told him to take a seat.
"Hungry? Want something to eat before jetting?" She had suggested it so innocently. Narrowed teal trailer after her. From the very beginning she hadn't acted overly repulsed or disgusted by him. She had always spoken to him as if he were an actual person and not some back alley thug ready to mug her for whatever belongings she had on her at the time. Hibiki had shown nothing but kindness to him. Even after she had found him squatting in her little abode. Would she still be as friendly if he told her about what he would have done if he had found her asleep in her bed that night? Would she still look at him the same way after?
There was nothing more irritating to Dabi then him not being able to understand the reasoning behind a person's actions. She had to have an alternate objective. Why else was she being so hospitable? Did she think these sorts of actions would put her in his good graces? Had him burning someone alive till there was nothing but an ashy disfigured body not been emotionally upsetting?
Or, maybe this was her way of coping. Dabi did know where she lived, and who lived with her. He hadn't thought until now that maybe, just maybe, everything she was doing was to make sure she didn't make an enemy of him. Perhaps she had thought that if she had just left him in that alley wounded and bleeding he'd retaliate. Dabi could be crude and violent but spiteful and petty?
Instead of sitting, as she had suggested, he crossed the distance in long strides till his slender body was leaning over hers. With the rattle of his exhale she shivered. Her skin prickling under the heat.
Against the husk of her ear he whispered, "Do I not scare you? Am I not scary to look at? Intimidating? Gross?" He's admonishing, not angry but patronizing. Like Dabi was having to example something mundane to a child.
Yua stood stiffly below him, her fingers grasping the cups of ramen a bit too tightly. She was uncomfortable, that much Dabi could tell, but what he didn't know was that it was him leaning over her shoulder like this that was making her squirm. One of his arms came to brace along the counter space as Dabi inhaled softly. Even though she had changed clothes he could still smell the stench of his smoke. It mingled with the cinnamon in a way that had his lower loin tightening. He liked it. Dabi really did.
Cocking her head to the side Yua peered up at him. Wide eyes focusing on those half lidded. There was an indifferent look glazed over his hues, and Yua ignored it. She didn't want to bother worrying about what was going on in his head. It would only cause her unnecessary stress and anxiety.
"You scary? Not really, but creepy and perverted yes." A smile didn't grace her features as she spoke, her tone dead serious.
Dabi didn't know why he suddenly was laughing so hard, he couldn't find a reason behind it. Just as he couldn't stop the loud sound from crawling up a smoke burned throat and rippling across the otherwise quiet room. His chest rumbled against her back, shaking the both of them. It was an unexpected explosion that had Yua twisting around and slapping a hand against his mouth. Muffling then noise the best she could as she scowled up at him.
"Don't be loud. My sister is sleeping still." She has barely finished speaking before a hand harshly wrapped around her wrist. Icy blue orbs burning into Yua with such an intensity she wanted to shrink away, but to where? She was literally stuck between two hard spots. The physical contact has shut Dabi up instantly, and tensing beneath the hand pressed firmly to his face. Yua could see the distrust in his eye, and the slow simmering fire beginning to burn. She didn't know how but it appeared she had hit a nerve by slapping her hand over his face… or had it been because of her comment on him not being scary?
'Cute.' The thought was mingling in with the newly discovered fact that the small child with raven hair and green eyes was just a sister, and not a daughter. Though his attention stayed trained on the freckles splattered across her face. There were more than he thought, a majority faint against her pale skin. In an odd way they matched the brown splotches entwines in muddy green.
In a split second Dabi's teeth sunk harshly into the tender fleshy surface of her palm and suddenly every nerve in her body and brain became electrified. The surprised and pained squeak that fell from full lips had him shivering. Flicking his tongue over the wound Dabi raises his gaze to meet hers. The reaction that greeted him was intoxicating, so much so that Dabi's eyes widened a fraction and the corners of his lips tugged upward — stretching already aching staples.
'There.'
It was in the way her face bloomed red, and her pupils tried to blow themselves out as her eyes glossed over with unshed tears. The way her body twitched and her hands trembled. If it weren't for Dabi's own grasp clamping down on her hand Hibiki would have surely slunk away from him.
For the first time Dabi could claim that the look in her eyes was one of terror. It thrilled him.
They say in a moment like this, when the fear is sitting on you like a pillow, that your mind instantly begins to focus on a way to escape. Even if they are as meaningless as screeching and scratching. Yua though couldn't find the energy alone to force her feet to move let alone her free arm. With a heart beating painfully in her chest, echoing like a drum in her ears, Yua weakly attempted to pull away. Which to her surprise worked. Dabi let her hand slip as his fingers loosened.
"Like I said, perverted. Now go sit and give me back my personal bubble." Why wasn't she getting angry? She has lost her temper on people who had done less, but had instigated a silent promise to so much more. Dabi in all rights of the term had assaulted her. Had he been trying to provoke her? The intensity flaring in tired cobalt orbs had the stone in the base of her belly stirring.
'-Yua do watch your back.' Yua pursed her lips as Choi's words rang in the back of her mind. She was trying to, but the damn scared faced man was making it hard to get anything done. It had her wondering, once more, if bringing him back to her home really was the right decision. Maybe, she should have just stopped at a 24/7 convenience store and gotten him a first aid pack and called it good.
"What? Did I get you all hot and bothered?" Dabi scoffed under his breath, leaning away from her. "You really are a lewd thing aren't you, doll face."
Then, just like that, those worrying emotions dropped off a cliff and vanished. The worry and fear nibbling at her heart. The sense of safety and overprotective sisterliness that had been slowly begun to get yanked out from beneath her. It all came to a sudden harsh half. This jigsaw asshat was teasing her.
'Well, fuck him and his pretty eyes.'
There was a lot about Dabi that Yua didn't understand, nor expect. Him being a noisy eater, slurping his ramen like some kind of vacuum cleaner, had definitely been a surprise. For someone so quiet and calculated yet rude and possibly unhinged in the head Yua would have thought there would be some sort of shame in his table manners being this disgraceful. Yet, he showed no signs of embarrassment as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hands. His behavior didn't bother Yua, not in the slightest. If anything he reminded her of Kayda. Her sister was a messier eater, and half her meals usually ended up either in her hair or on the ground. For a three year old Kayda was a terror at the table.
"Just because I brought you back to my home doesn't mean I trust you." It was a bit random on her part, but it was something Yua felt that she needed to say. Especially after Dabi had bitten her. Even after the initial surge of pain had ebbed and she was left with a tingling dull throb Yua hadn't stopped gently rubbing the irritated area - primarily around the joint that connected her thumb to the rest of her hand. She had been pleasantly surprise that despite how harshly he had crunched down Dabi hadn't broken skin. Sure she was going to have one heck of a bruise and sore thumb but she'd rather have a misshapen bruise than a human bite mark on her hand. Maybe, if she got lucky she'd be able to pass off the bruising from getting her hand slammed in a closing door. It could work as long as the slight indentations encircling her thump faded, otherwise she'd have to resort to wearing form fitting gloves.
"Smart people don't trust anybody."
Pursing her lips, Yua frowned deeply at him. "I don't entirely agree with that. Retards don't trust, stupid give out their trust to easy, and the smart only let trust go in stages."
"Which are you?"
"A bit of the stupid and a bit of the smart I guess. Whatever makes up a person who has an icy heart but still wears it on their sleeve." Dismissing her own bowl Yua put down her fork. She hadn't really been hungry to begin with. "When my trust is given the other side better know that if they screw up there won't be a second chance."
"I don't need my flames to kill you." His blue eyes watched for a reaction. The tensing of muscles, the shrinking of pupils, or even the shiftiness of fraying nervous. Dabi saw nothing besides a tired face with shadowy bruises under glossy eyes. If he was spooking her again she wasn't showing any physical signs.
"You could, but so could anything else." Yua exhaled. Her gaze drifting to the small pile of clean dishes set out to dry. Choi and Kayda must have done them today? Choi had claimed she'd been attempting to correct the youngsters horrid manners. "My sleezy manager, anyone in this building, a potted plant, Kayda, a really ambitious duck, heck I could even kill myself. Point is, anything can kill me at any given moment. Well, other than quirks."
"What's your quirk?"
"What's yours?" Yua countered. "It's a two fold question." She popped leaning forward in her seat as Dabi's eyes narrowed from lazy observant to a half-assed glare. "How about this for each detail I give you I get one in return."
Dabi's silence and penciled stare put Yua on edge. The longer she scanned his patched together face the more antsy she became. Why was he just sitting there not saying anything? Was this because she had inquired on his own quirk? Sure she had seen it but there were attributes to it that Yua wanted to discuss if give the change. Though she was beginning to think that questioning him over his own quirk, a powerful one at that, might not be something she should be doing. It was beginning to dawn on her as well that maybe, just maybe, her curiosity would get her into trouble.
Choi had warned her not to try and make a project out of Dabi, and while Yua had no interest in keeping the blue flaming man around it didn't change the fact he was interesting to her. Many over the years had caught Yua's eyes, but few ended up sitting at her island in her kitchen eating instant ramen. Fewer had the audacity to bite her upon their second chance encounter.
"I'll start." She began, breaking the silence by offering the hand he had sunk his teeth into. "Try and burn me."
Dabi has already witnessed the ineffectiveness of his flames across her body. He already knew he couldn't scorch her. Yet, as she offered herself up as a test dummy Dabi didn't turn the opportunity down. Unlike before this time he had all intentions of making her skin wrinkle and turn black. Dabi could envision her reaction and her body's response, but as his hand hovered over here and tentacles of blue curled around her hand nothing happened. Hibiki's fingers wiggled with the flickering flames.
The show was intoxicating, far more intriguing than infuriating. Dabi didn't feel weak, inadequate, or threatened. He was fascinated by the way she didn't flinch from the heat. His hand burned as he intensified his flames, and all she did in return with her palm facing upward was curl and uncurl her fingers. To Yua they felt warm. In a way it was similar to the warmth one would feel from the sun after being stuck inside a cool building. Despite the positive reaction her body was having towards the flames her mind wouldn't let images of an ashy body leave, or the smell that came as her clothes and paycheck disintegrated. The simmer to the air around their two hands was another harsh reminder of just how dangerous Dabi's quirk was.
"What do you think?" She inquired, as blue flames crawled up her exposed arm. Flickering dangerously close to the edge of her cotton checkered shirt.
"You're an emitter." Dabi muttered. "Your quirk protects you from others."
What was her limit? How long could she hold her invisible shield up for? Dabi's mind flashed with images of when he had completely encased her in his flames. How only her belonging had melted away and she had been left as bare as the day she'd been born. There had to be a period when she wasn't protecting herself. A gap that would allow his flames to seep in and mark smooth skin. Quirks weren't all giving. They are just an extension of the body's natural abilities. So, Hibiki had to have a limit. Perhaps she kept her little shield up walking home, or when in the presence of some who could really hurt her.
"Bug spray." Dabi loosely muttered, recalling how she had referred to her ability. "You don't deflect it, or absorb, but instead it's like a shield. Protecting you."
Color Yua impressed. Dabi isn't just a set of pretty eyes, there's an actual brain behind that skull of his.
"My turn." Grabbing her discarded fork Yua popped it into the flames. Watching as it heated red almost immediately before beginning to bend and melt. The sound of hot metal sizzling against her countertop, and the smell of burning metallic, had her nose wrinkling.
"You're an emitter as well, but we differ greatly from there. Your fire is hotter than regular fire. The color alone tells me that, as does how quickly it melts away everything it touches." Murky hues dance across purple tinted patches. "And, I'm only making guesses now but I take it that your body has a very low tolerance for your quirk. It's too hot for even you to handle." Yua pauses, briefly, to study an annoyingly apathetic face. "I'm also going to assume that Dabi isn't your real name. I think it's a nickname you've taken to liking because of what your quirk is. So, with that in mind I believe your quirk is to cremate or in full cremation."
Dabi grinned, full canines and gums showing, as he cocked his head to the side. Sending spiky black locks tumbling. Had she really gathered all that by their two interactions? The little mouse was observant.
Blue flames died out as Dabi's fingers flexed. Then another wave, one Yua could feel a significant increase in heat, washed over her skin. It easily flew past her elbow and all the way up to her shoulder, singing and burning through her checkered sleeve. Yua flew from her chair, a string of curses falling in harsh hisses, as she set to smacking the flames out. Smothering worked best, but it did little to settle the hammering of her heart.
"Not cool man." Yua growled, teeth bared, as she glared at the large hole now in her shirt. Dabi's eyes mirthfully glowed as he watched her fuss over melted threads. The entire sleeve on her right side was gone, leaving a shoulder exposed. The temptation to throw a few spitfires at her had his hands glowing, blue flames lapping at the edges of his pierced skin.
Yua cursed viciously, muttering phrases she knew he was catching wind of. Her brain stuttered for a moment as she went to toss another annoyed look. Slender fingers spasmed as she caught a familiar look in his neon eyes.
"No." Yua stated firmly, despite the tremble of her body as goosebumps rose. "No games. You want to know something then ask, don't test theories out in my home." That whole cat and mouse crap wasn't going to fly here. Intimidation is one thing but predatory play was a no-go.
If he wanted to throw his flames at her then so be it, because Yua in the end would always be fine. Her quirk was always active, always protecting her. She didn't fear his fire, not in the sense others most likely did. The possibility of it getting out of hand and the building lighting up, or worse bringing harm to Kayda, was something Yua would never be able to forgive. Him or herself.
Sifting through her thoughts, and their conversation up till now, Yua quickly spoke. "Impervious, that's what my quirk is called. It means to be unable to be affected. No quirk has affected me yet. I have no limit and no way of manipulating my quirk. It is always active."
Fingers flexed as Dabi carefully watched her. She was tense, figure ridged, and the cute little annoyed glare still dancing about in her murky orbs. She was beginning to look a lot less like the doll he saw during the day and more like a fuzzy brown mouse. A little civilian mouse, hidden in the grey between a black and white world.
Lips twitched upward. He was amused, and from the looks of it she was far from feeling the same. Did Dabi trust every word that fell from rosy and plump lips? Of course not, he'd be stupid if he did, but for now he let him suspicion slide. He knew a lot more than he did before, and if it ever came down to it he could always pull a few strings and get a copy of her actual quirk file. It was still a bit odd knowing there was someone with a quirk like hers. Someone he couldn't burn. If she were a hero Dabi didn't doubt she would have been one hell of a pain in the ass. Hand to hand combat was such a drag and too exhausting. He'd rather just burn the false heroes and everyone else below him to ash instead.
The question now was what he was going to do with her. Walk away and leave her to live her life as it was, or keep her in the back of his mind. A toy, a doll, for him to play with. One that might just last longer because he couldn't burn it.
"Sissy?"
Dabi's gaze snapped just as fast as Yua's to the small child waddling in with two ducks in tow. Little fists rubbing against dark green eyes.
"Are we being too loud? Did we wake you up?" It was nearly five am, three hours too early for Kayda to be up, and as Yua crossed the distance in a flutter of quick steps she tossed a warning look back at Dabi. A silent promise that if he tried anything funny then Yua would without hesitation stir up such a level of anxiety in Dabi it would leave more than just emotional trauma.
Kayda's attention never shifted from her big sister. Little arms reaching out as sleepy dark orbs glistened with unshed tears.
Dabi hadn't spent a lot of time on the small child. Never really minding much about who she was or where she went. Now though as he sat at the cracked island in silence he noticed a few minor things. Unlike the older Hibiki the younger sibling didn't have a single freckle dotting sun kissed cheeks. Both were pale, but the kid looked like she spent more time outside under the sun. Even their eyes differed in shade. The blondes were murky and dark but the child's reminded him not of a swamp but of a forest encased in shadows. Scoffing, Dabi broke out of the trance he had slipped into. Finding interest instead in the lump of metal that had hardened on the tables top.
Kayda's face was scrunched up in a picture perfect representation of being to tired and on the edge of a toddler melt down. Dark brows creased and face tensed. At first Yua thought Kayda was asking to be picked up; she quickly discovered that cuddles were not what the child was after.
"Bed." She whined, small fingers tugging on one of Yua's hands. Kayda didn't want to be held. She wanted her sister to come to bed with her, and as much as curling up and falling asleep sounded good to Yua she couldn't just yet. Not with Dabi still sitting in the kitchen. At least he had put his flames out like she had asked.
"Sissy can't just yet." Yua began softly, kneeling down to her sister's height. "I have to see someone out, and once I do I promise I'll come lay down with you. Okay?"
Kayda's face crumpled instantaneously. She did not like that answer, and made sure to express her dissatisfaction in loud pundit whines as fat tears rolled. "No! No! No!"
For a fraction of a second the corners of Yua's mouth twitch upwards. She did not want nor need her sister throwing a temper tantrum right now. It would just further worsen the situation already at hand. A possible psychotic thug behind her and a crying three year old in front of her. Life couldn't possibly get better.
"I know sweetheart. Life's tough sometimes isn't it." Both ducks were thrown haphazardly at Yua as she tugged a red chubby cheeked child to her.
Kayda cried as if her own body was betraying her, and not because Yua had told the child no.
She sobbed into Yua's chest unceasingly, hands at first beating down on her sister. It took seconds, literally seconds, before Kayda gave in and clung to her sisters ruined shirt. Little fingers tugging harshly on the large hole Dabi's flames had departed Yua with.
Yua held Kayda close, rocking the child back and forth on her heels as she whispered sweet words into her messy bed hair. A tiny lap had Kayda pulling away and looking up with tears in her lashes, before collapsing back against her sister's chest as another round of howling misery began.
It took a bit of time before Kayda finally stopped crying and had resorted to clinging to her sister desperately. Heavy eyelids being fought to stay open. Standing, with Kayda in tow, Yua turned and mouth to Dabi 'I'll be back.' before disappearing down the hallway.
It felt odd and wrong to tuck Kayda in and leave her there in their shared bed. So, much so that Yua had stood hovering over the bed as she watched the rhythmic rise and fall of her sister's chest. Her mind spinning with random ideas, impossible ideas, as hands twitched at her sides. Right here curled up in the comforter and buried in the pillows was where Kayda would be safest. Yua was doing the right thing by slowly tiptoeing her way out of the room and closing the bedroom door behind her.
Yua chewed at her thumb nail as she returned to the kitchen in the quiet of the moment. Only to pause, her short nail hanging from her teeth, as murky hues darted about the small room.
He was gone...
She couldn't remember seeing Dabi on her way back, and all doors had been open. Part of her mind drifted and urged her to go check on Kayda. To make sure Dabi hadn't slipped in there and was with her sister. The more rational side, the more mentally stable part, noticed that his jacket that she had folded up and set on the island was gone. As were the bowls.
Had Dabi stolen her dishes?
Stepping in with furrowed brows, that only continued to descend downward, as Yua spotted two bowls in her sink. Still shiny from being rinsed off, and left on the empty side of the sink.
He had left. Almost all traces of him being here had vanished. Just like that first night back in January. This time though he had left a mark. A dark silver burned blob on her island top and two bowls in the sink. If Choi hadn't seen him, there weren't damp and bloody towels in her bathroom, and a ruined pair of male clothes Yua would have thought that she had imagined the whole incident. That her lack of sleep, and never ending stress weighing down on her shoulders, had caused her to hallucinate to such a drastic degree. She might have even been able to play it off as a big visual joke. Because Dabi had done it again. He had just walked into her life and done something so strange and unexpected that it felt big enough to leave a large impact on her life. Like him squatting at her house or burning a person alive wasn't something big enough to leave some sort of scar on her mind. Like she'd just forget it ever happened. Like him dropping off the side of the earth wouldn't irritate her.
Say what now?
Yua's heart pounded in her chest. If she had been confused before she was completely lost now. This was what she wanted wasn't it? Him to just walk out of their lives like he had done all those months back? Of course, that's what she wanted. There weren't any other options.
It wasn't like Yua was lonely to the point she was craving the attention, the touch, of some utter stranger. Yua had learned to walk alone, support herself alone, and how to carry her sister alone. She had ignored the loneliness seeding itself into her heart and spreading through her veins like an illness after the death of their parents. If Yua was lonely, if she was desperate for attention and craving it like some whore, then she wouldn't have flipped on her sleazy manager when he had told her to suck his cock in exchange for a job. She wouldn't have dodged drunken hands at the club, or ignored the cat calls. Clammy hands clenched at her sides, and short nails dug into the tender flesh of her palms as teeth ground. How did she explain her one night flings? The nights she would leave Kayda with Choi without a warning, only to show up and apologize in the morning.
Him disappearing like this, leaving without a word, was what was right. It fit him in a way, because in a way Dabi reminded Yua of a spook. There one second and gone the next. She knew - truly understood - that him staying, lingering, would only cause issues. Yua had seen first handed the true raw power, and madness, swelling inside him. It would be smart not to mingle or form any sort of bond with a criminal, because that was what Dabi was. No matter what Yua told herself he had murdered someone. He had killed someone with those tantalizingly bright blue flames of his without a bit of hesitation. It hadn't bothered him a bit, Yua had seen that in his eyes.
Like he had just stepped on an annoying bug.
The thought had her belly churning, and the food she hadn't eaten threatening to come up. Yet, her mind tugged in the opposite direction. Dragging her feet towards her front door. Where her nostrils blew wide as the hints of cigarette smoke tainted the air.
"Aren't you cold?" A chill that came with winter washed over Yua as she stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door to her home cracked so she could return later. Her tone was soft, barely above a whisper, as she focused on the figure leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette. Yua hadn't seen him before she had spoken, hadn't known if he was the one outside her front door.
"Human furnace has it's good points." He responded with a shrug, not meeting her intense gaze, before asking oh-so-innocently. "Your parents dump her on you or did you think it would be fun to run away with a kid to raise?"
"Neither. I kidnapped her in the dead of day." Yua wasn't sure if he actually found her retort funny but a half grin graced his face. It had her own muscles twitching upward.
"So, that's your big time crime." He taunted, a cloud of smoke flowing past his lips. "Should I be worried?"
"About what? Me kicking in your knees? I'd be more worried about if I'm gonna take off your head with my bat the next time you show up at my home. Or, shoving you down the stairs. You don't look it but you're heavier than you seem."
"Charming."
"I try."
She didn't regret it, helping him, and as much as Yua continued to deny it she enjoyed his company. She liked the snarky comments and the almost predatory glint he got when he looked at her from time to time, even if it unsettled her a bit. It was this sort of behavior that she sought after that had earned Yua the entitlement of being a sadist masochist. A side Yua had failed time and time again to hide and withstrain. Biting her lip and bowing her head short blonde locks hid her face from his view. Dabi's hand twitched at his side as he debated if he really wanted to reach over and move the hair out of the way or attempt to burn the locks even shorter than they already were. When Hibiki finally looked up she found that he had finally looked away from the wall in front of them. Intense, nearly scorching, turquoise narrowed upon her. It had her shivering, her toes curling, and the sudden mental awareness of just how close their bodies were. Of the heat radiating off him and chasing the cold away.
'No. Yua. No.' She scolded mentally.
Burning the last of his cigarette up with his flames Dabi stared down at her dispassionately. She wasn't innocent, not as much as he had first anticipated. Though was that really a shocker when he looked at where she was living? The dark side of the city? Where the heroes rarely patrolled and the police took calls but most of the time didn't show up? Dabi wasn't going to change his option that she was in the grey of both worlds, but he was about to be a bit lenient. Especially now that the strong scent of cinnamon wasn't overwhelming him. Memories of her storming into the alley anger blazing in her gaze, a silhouetted form kneeling nude before him, and covered in nothing but his ratty coat poked at a desire turning his lower loin warm again. She was cute, he'd admit that, but what stilled his hands wasn't the fact there was a child inside but words she had spoken.
"You scary? Not really, but creepy and perverted yes."
She hadn't smiled, hadn't teased, or sought any sort of reaction from him. She had been serious, dead serious at the time. While Hibiki wasn't the first to speak to him in such a manner she was one of the few who made him pause and second guess his actions. He didn't care how he came off to people. Their opinions were nothing to him. He didn't really care how she felt about him, but his curiosity in her. That was new.
It made him want to play.
He wondered what she'd do if he pinned her against the wall, her ass to him, and made a matching set of teeth marks across her neck and shoulders. If he used rough hands to memorize each inch of her flesh. Would she complain of the moldy smell out here if he claimed her right in the hallway? Or, would she moan his name if he curled his fingers into her hair and jerked his hand back to make her crane her neck into an uncomfortably angle just to look up at him.
This was his new toy. That's what she was, and Dabi was curious just for how long would she last? He wanted to ruin her, piece by piece, but into what he wasn't sure.
"Thanks for the food and shower. It's been a thrill." He muttered, the cockiness significantly faded when compared to before. Yua felt him lean closer, pressing into her side, his voice low and when she didn't answer he hummed. In a way it almost sounded like he was laughing at her, and the feelings that washed over her had flesh riddled in goosebumps.
'He's not someone you should be mingling with. He's not a project or a one night stand.' Yua refused to meet his gaze. She couldn't explain it but she knew if she did there would be no turning back.
Then, his warmth was gone. The loitering heat being sucked away by an icy chill. Her head shot up and Yua watched in horrified silence as he entered a room nearly seven doors down. Dabi had used no key to open the flat, and Yua knew with certainty that she was the only occupied of this floor.
All this time had he truly been only that far away from Kayda and her? Was this why she had found him in her apartment back in January? Had he mistaken her broken door for his? Whatever the case, when Yua finally slunk back into her home and locked the door behind her sleep didn't come easily. Not with knowing now how far away he was.
'It's none of my business.' She repeated, curled up with Kayda beneath the sheets.
Half an hour later Yua lunged from the bed; eyes wide, mind empty, and heart pounding. The hypodermic of adrenaline seemed to have suddenly been emptied from her belly and into her toilet. Leaving her straining in the darkness, with a rate of breathing that refused to steady and sticky hands. She hadn't been able to keep puke from slipping between fingers on her way to the bathroom.
She hadn't even known she had slipped off till she was being thrown from her nightmare in a hysterical mess. The smell of burning flesh still pledging her, and the dried blood splattered about her toilet didn't help matters. Neither did the staple she had stepped on in her hurry, or his ruined and forgotten clothes sitting against the wall behind her.
Like Kayda had in the earlier hours Yua sobbed. Finally letting out how the appearance of a corpse, the smell of death, and cold apathetic eyes, had affected her. Then, after the snot and tears had passed and Yua had collected herself she set to readying the new day. Cleaning the vomit, the blood, and discarding what he had left in her home.
She didn't have time to waste on melting down. A new day has begun. The sun was rising.
At six-forty Choi was knocking at her door. She carried with her a box of muffins, an all knowing grin, and a twinkle in aged buttons. It went unnoticed by Yua but Choi carefully watched the eldest Hibiki in the few minutes they had together before the young adult darted out the front door. Yua was on her own but having someone else watching out for her put Choi a bit more at ease. Even if that someone had to be Choi herself.
It had been worrying when Yua arrived barefoot and in a ragged coat, with a limping and heavily scarred man draped over her shoulders. Choi heavily believed Yua needed someone or something more in her life but she wasn't sure if whatever that had been was what she needed. He reeked of toxicity and trauma. Choi wouldn't intervene though. Not unless Yua asked or things got severe. She cared about the Hibiki siblings, but she wasn't their grandmother. Yua could take care of her family. She had good judgement, even if her temperament was startling at times. Choi knew Yua was quicker to throw a punch then ask a question, but she only hoped it wouldn't get her into trouble with the wrong people.
For three days Yua had done nothing but clean in her spare time. She had practically scrubbed her apartment down with an old toothbrush and a box of Q-tips. Though, Yua had only resorted to that after she had disemboweled her fridge and taken a close look at the mold trying to grow along the windows. Her early morning adventure with Dabi, and the mess that had been created between the two of them, had opened her eyes to how much attention her home was in desperate need of. A distraction she eagerly and greedily gobbled up, and when her home could offer no more she invaded Choi's.
For the last hour and a half Yua had been tidying up the elderly woman's kitchen. Everything from dusting to scrubbing out the cupboards. All while Choi worked on her dolls, and the kids played in one of the back rooms. It had been a while since Kayda and Kota Izumi had last seen each other. After the boy's parents had died he had been placed in the care of a relative that lived farther away. Since then a good six months have passed. When Shino Sokaki, a Pro Hero and cousin of Kota, had reached out Yua had been hesitant. Yua wanted to help and support Kota after the death of his parents in any way possible, he was after all a close friend of Kayda's, but she worried about how the shock of losing his parents had affected him. Unlike her sister Kota had shown a high level of mental maturity from a young age. Always more aware of his surrounding and environment. Yua had no clue how losing his parents had affected him. As much as she cared about the boy she didn't want him relaying any repressed anger off on Kayda. After a long conversation with not just Sokaki but Kota's therapist Yua had decided she'd agree to the kids meeting up again. It just so happened that Choi had watched the boy for many years before and was more than comfortable keeping a careful eye on the two of them while Yua was away at work. In one way or another it was how Yua had gained access to cleaning Choi's home this afternoon. When Yua had returned Choi had recapped to her that the two were getting along just dandy, and that there had been some mighty bold talk from Kayda about a tea party with dinosaurs before she had dragged Kota down the hallway.
"He'd really rack in the popularity polls if he smudged that eyeliner a bit."
"What?"
"That pretty bird boy hero." Choi muttered, pointing towards the muted television mounted on the wall. Her words muffled by the needles she was holding with her lips, as she plucked two blue buttons from a box.
Turning to look at the news broadcast Yua focused on the subtitles flashing across the screen. 'Street Interview with Number 3 Hero : Hawks!' One of the youngest to reach the top hero brackets in all of Japan. A youth who was rising too fast for his own good, or so many claimed in their headlines. Yua paid little attention to the conversation and more to the cheerful, nearly flirtatious smile on his face. He looked laid back in nature. Someone with a carefree, maybe even jovial, attitude.
"If he was a stripper, pole dancer, or porn star maybe." Yua would have liked to say she didn't trust him, at least no further than she could throw him. That this was her gut telling her not to trust the mask he's wearing, like all celebrities do in the light, but honestly Yua knew it probably had to do more with the fact pretty boys like him had just broken her heart one to many times in high school and before she had dropped out of college.
"You are no fun!" Choi teases, raising a thick grey eyebrow. A wide grin settling perfectly into the lines of her face. Sometimes winding-up the eldest Hibiki seemed too easy. "Do you know how sexy he'd be with it smudged, ruined, and under you? A writhing and moaning mess! I had a hot fling once with a man with an animal quirk and I can say that some of those animalistic qualities do follow into the bed chambers! I've got the bite marks to prove it."
"Makato Choi! Too much information!" She bite back in muted tones.
"Oh, please." A wave of a hand dismissed Yua's disapproval and reddening cheeks. "It's not like you're an angel when it comes to carnal pleasure. There's no sinning without our devils and soon to be fallen angels."
"Don't try to make it poetic!" There was little point in trying to sway, or even scold, the older women. So much so that Yua couldn't help but crack a smile and roll her eyes as she focused her flustered attention on the screen. The bottom lighting up red with a warning
'CRIME RATE RISING. HIGHLY ADVISED THAT ALL CIVILIANS BE LOCKING THEIR DOORS AND STAYING OFF THE STREETS ONCE NIGHT HITS. AVOID ALLEYWAYS AND EMPTY STREETS. DON'T TRAVEL ALONE. THE HEROS AND POLICE ARE WORKING HARD TO MAKE ALL STREETS SAFE, AND VILLIAN FREE!'
What cities? What districts? What sorts of crimes? Yua hated these sorts of news reports. The ones deemed important enough to run in bold under the main program but not so major that they top priority over some street interview with a pro hero. There was nothing Yua could do about it, but curl her lip and bite her temper. She only hoped that before she left for her shift at Lux there'd be at least one coverage over the topic, but Yua wasn't holding her breath. Sir Hero Hawks's interview could easily go on for another twenty minutes.
Redirecting her attention back to the drawers she had pulled out Yua's mind drifted. Worry threading in as she gnawed on her bottom lip. Had the body Dabi had basically tried to incinerate been found? Was there much of a body left after his flames had died off? Could she be traced back to the crime scene? Hands froze and fingers clenched around the damp cloth till her knuckles turned white. What sort of issues would come if she was tied down as an eye witness, or worse a suspect? Would they try to take Kayda away? Deem Yua to be an unfit guardian?
'Stop.' Yua was panicking. Overthinking the situation. She needed to slow down and take a breath. This was Yokohama City, and one of the more neglected districts. The likelihood of a full blown investigation being put underway over one chard body was highly unlikely… Of course unless Dabi has a thing for leaving a pathway of ashes in his wake, but how likely would that be? That out of every possible person she could be blessed to meet with a fire quirk he just happens to be an arsonistic villain. Three chances out of ten? Four, maybe?
Yua had been so absorbed in her own mind she hadn't noticed the last part of the report being played on a loop. About the brutal killing of two pro hero's.
Weeks passed by without fault and before she knew it winter had faded into spring. April was upon them, and with the month came seasonal colds and a gradual increase in the everyday temperature as the sun warmed the earth. Kayda had felt the need to stop Yua, just before they entered the community hospital for the child's checkup, to show her the newly sprouting buds along the willowing branches of some bushes.
They were in no hurry. Kayda's appointment wasn't for another twenty minutes. So, there was no harm in letting her sister drag her about. Yua had taken the day off since they had to travel so far, and in the process of doing so pisses Gintoki Mori off. The man had quite literally ground his teeth so hard it had sounded like a molar in the back had cracked.
Aside from her day shift at the GIANT Basket Yua didn't have to worry about being anywhere until eight thirty that evening. She was to work the Velvet Room again at Lux, and prep before would take about an hour. Yua didn't mind the second class private section, and often the people inside were generous with their tips. It beat working the main floor or the nights she had to play nice with those down in the Green Rooms.
Following Kayda's back to back appointments the two had gone for ice cream, a treat Yua had promised Kayda they'd get - and at a fancy parlor no less.
"What's my quirk gonna be like?!" The small child hadn't stopped bouncing since they had left the doctors office, or asking questions. Which had a smile etched permanently onto Yua's face. It was intoxicating how bubbly and energetic her sister always was. "What were mommy and daddy's like? Will I have one like yours?"
There was an ache where Yua's heart lay, an emptiness she didn't like to acknowledge, and as sensitive as the topic of their deceased parents still felt it wasn't a taboo sort of conversation. She knew no good would come of avoiding or getting mad at Kayda for being curious. Her sister had all the right in the world to ask her questions, and in the end if Yua got a bit teary eyed then so be it. Any bottles up feeling that might be dragged to the surface could easily be thrown out with whiskey later.
So, with a chuckle to mask the cold prickling pain seeping from her heart Yua told Kayda about their momma and papa. That their mother had a quirk called Living Ink and their father had a quirk known as Rose Bush. She explained to the best of her abilities how each had worked and functioned, and with each sentence that she spoke Kayda had five new questions to ask.
"Did daddy have to water his roses? Did he have to sit in the dirt like other plants? Did cutting off his roses hurt?"
"Was mommy friends with her tattoos?"
"Could she make butterflies and-uh- tigers?!"
"Did mommy make daddy blush a lot so he would bloom her flowers?"
But, it wasn't till Kayda asked about Yua's quirk did the eldest Hibiki finally give a small smile that didn't feel forced or fake. She told Kayda in a short summary that while mommy and daddy weren't shields, that their great grandmother on their mothers' side had a quirk similar to the one Yua possessed. That her quirk was still genetically inherited, but just not directly from mommy or daddy. An uncommon manifestation but not so rare that it couldn't be trace back to their genetic pool.
"When did your quirk show up?"
"I don't know. The doctors believed mine manifested when I was born. Since it's always been active as long as I can remember it's hard to say."
"What about mine? Will it man-e-feast on my birthday?" Kayda asked, stumbling over the large word, as she shoved the last of her ice cream into her mouth. A sticky face staring awestruck but at the same time confused up at her big sister.
"That'd be something special wouldn't it. A birthday quirk." Yua teases, pushing her own half eaten creamy dessert towards the youngster to finish. "My guess is you'll be a late bloomer like dad was. His didn't appear till he was seven."
Kayda did not like that. The sputter and spitting of ice cream as she cried out did little but make Yua's face scrunched up. Grabbing the nearest napkin and scolding her sister Yua asked, "What sort of quirk do you think you have?"
Kayda slumped back in her chair, eyebrows scrunched, as her thoughts spun. Her little mouth opened and closed. She was stumped. What sort of quirk did she want? Something that let her run really fast? Or, maybe fly? Kayda shook her head at that. She didn't like heights and knew if she had wings she wouldn't like it one bit. Whatever her quirk was going to be she just hoped it was as cool as her big sisters and Mrs. Choi's. Maybe, something colorful like the mister with the purple patches. Kayda liked the way he could make the blue twirl and dance!
"I want it to change colors. Like Choi's buttons do."
"Mrs. Choi." Yua cut in, her tone soft but scolded. Her habit of not showing the proper respect to those older was going to get Kayda into trouble, and if Yua could snip that bud before it fully bloomed then it would be one less thing she'd have to start hearing about next year during student conferences.
Kayda nodded as she leaned onto her elbows. Her little mouth running slower than her mind. "Can it be pretty like your friends?"
"What friend?" Yua's mind drew a blank as she tried to think of who her sister was referring to. There weren't many she had kept in contact with after the accident, not that Yua had many friends to begin with. People come and go, and the few she was acquainted with hadn't stuck around for long. Especially when Yua uprooted herself and moved away to Yokohama City.
Yua had felt so lonely in those first handful of months. It had been a bitter pill to swallow and even harder to admit but she had been bothered deeply by how it seemed everyone in her life had just utterly abandoned her. People thought, assumed, that a simple "I'm sorry" or "It's gonna get better" would fix things. That it would be enough to stop the stupid decisions that followed and the consistencies that came. Yua had cracked under the pressure and what felt like an unjust situation. She had been forced to sell their childhood home, because keeping up with the bills was unimaginable. She had willingly dropped out of college, to find work so she could support Kayda. In a span of hours she had gone from typical college student to broke, stressed, and more than just a sibling. Yua had been left with nothing but her own head on how to become a parent. It had felt like her life had been completely torn apart and shredded, and while she felt more together after two years Yua still had an empty hole inside her. One she filled regularly with denial, alcohol, and on the great occasions sex.
So, it was pretty self explanatory why she stared confused down at Kayda. Her mind racking itself for anyone the small child would consider a friend of her big sisters. There was no one. The only other adult Kayda saw Yua with on a regular schedule was Choi… past that? There hadn't been anyone else - Dabi. He had been inside their home twice. While both encounters between the two had been short Yua would never have imagined her sister considering the stranger a friend of Yua's.
"Me? Having friends? I'm not the social butterfly, that's you. Are you trying to pull my leg?" Despite the cold running like ice through her veins Yua smiled and spoke light and bubbly. Almost taunting and teasing Kayda, and all the while watching her sisters reaction closely.
Dabi hadn't had any one on one time with Kayda that she wasn't aware of right? He hadn't approached her while Yua was gone? Surely, Kayda would have told Yua or Choi about seeing or even talking to him… right?
"He's been over twice!" Two small fingers were held up, an extra show of her agitation. "You had a sleepover with him!" Kayda was furious with her big sister. How could she have forgotten about her funny looking friend with the staples on his face? Forgetting about a friend wasn't nice.
Yua hadn't said a word. Her face portrait nothing.
This…. This was not how she thought the conversation was going to go, not that she knew what to expect but this? Kayda thinking that Dabi had been over for a sleepover? That left Yua wordless.
"He's not a friend." She explained, her mind oddly heavy. Yua wasn't sure what to consider Dabi. An acquaintance? A danger? A threat? Yua had only met him twice and each time he had left her head spinning. He seemed so two faced. So bad-ass to strangely vulnerable in a matter of seconds. "He's just someone sissy met that needed a bit of help."
"Maybe, he could be a friend. Mrs. Choi says friends are important. That we should be nice to everyone no matter what they say or do." Kayda babbled and Yua half-heartedly listened. Her mind conflicted over the scared faced man who was squatting on the same level Yua's apartment occupied. She didn't know if she was relieved or upset over the fact there had been no hide or hair of Dabi. It made her wonder if he had wandered on, and found somewhere else to crash. "-I can't wait for my sleepover with Kota! If you make a friend maybe we can have a sleepover together!" Yua could only hum in response. Her mind still elsewhere as she clean Kayda's sticky face.
Another two weeks flew past without a sighting of her squatting neighbor. For someone who she had only seen for a couple hours in total he hadn't once completely drifted from her mind. Though as the days dragged on and Yua was swept away in her day to day life he had become less of something she worried about. Though there hadn't been a single moment that as she left her apartment that Yua didn't glance down the hallway towards the door he had disappeared behind. Not once that she hadn't double checked shadowy alleys she darted through to get somewhere quicker. Even the smell of others smoking had the patched together man surfacing in her mind.
It bothered Yua greatly how much he had interrupted her life. How much he weighed on her mind. She didn't like how two interactions left her wanting more and begging he'd never show up again. That he'd just disappear into the night, like he had done so far, and never return.
Other than her wandering thoughts, Yua's only other biggest issue so far had revolved around Choi. The old woman just wasn't accepting the babysitting money. There always being an excuse to give, a reason to not accept the envelopes of bills. Besides that nothing spectacular had happened. Well, other than when Yua had been trapped in the women's bathroom at the GIANT Basket where she worked during the weekdays. That had been embarrassing.
Thankfully the weekend was upon her now. All Yua had to do was get through her night shift at Lux tonight. Then, she could go home and sleep straight till her next shift. There would be no Kayda needing her this weekend. No need to go in and clock hours at the motel. Nothing but blissful rest.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, Yua's murky gaze fluttered over the crowd. Of all the levels in Lux the Green Rooms were what she detested above all else. An area restricted, with illegal actions at play. Where the third most income for Lux was done. A casino, nearly a brothel, that lived beneath a swirl of dancing blues, acidic green, and golden lights. Music drowning out the activities going on behind closed doors.
Workers, both male and female, shifted through the crowd in their designated uniforms. Those dresses in black and gold, as Yua was, separated them from those adored by loose clothes and pretty painted faces.
Few tried to look proper here. Those in expensive suits and fancy ties didn't spend face down in the Green Rooms. If they wanted pleasure they could seek it out easily through other methods. Ones that were more likely not to leave them with sexually transmittable diseases or missing valuables. No, the people that came to the Green Rooms were looking to get drunk, gamble, and not worry about getting in trouble if they got handsy.
Accidents happen. Yua understood that, especially on the nights she served drinks in the Green Room. Men, women, those who don't identify as either, all sometimes got handsy. The drunken haze, or a lewd dare, caused the regular servers to get assaulted once in a while. A simple grab of the waist, or smack of the bum, but past that it was rare for an actual commotion to occur.
Yua had dealt with these types before. It wasn't a nightly or even weekly occurrence but it did happen more often than not. Most of the time it was a drunk lazily smacking at her bottom or making immoral comments. Things Yua could handle. Things she could report to a bouncer if they started to get out of hand.
Tonight her fuse had been shortened. Tonight she was supposed to have been serving in the Velvet Room, but plans had changed. They needed more servers down in the Green Rooms.
Yua had lost it. Letting instinct govern over rational thought. She twisted around so quickly that the growl in her throat hadn't sounded before the platter of drinks in her hands were wreaking havoc. At some point in her rage one of his friends' fists had grazed the right portion of her face, sending white hot pain shooting through her cheek bone.
"Women. They're just bags of meat. Always needy and whiny. Even when they say no their body's saying yes. The heat, the throb, the moans."
Even as one of the wandering bouncers jumped in, as her fellow serving girl's hands tried to hold Yua back, her mind played on loop the words she had heard. They were slurred and choppy but Yua had easily been able to make them out as she went to place an order of drinks down at a table across from them.
"They say men are ruled by their dicks. I say a woman is only functional after a good hard fucking. She been bad. Fuck her. She need to be punished. Fuck her. She been good? Fuck her. She's got the hole for a reason."
Talk was one thing. Yua had heard many speak big but never actually act.
"It doesn't matter what they say. What they identify as. A women is still a fucking horny slut no matter when or where. Says she doesn't want to do it in public. She's lying. She wants to get railed with everyone watching. They crave to get passed from one dick to the next. Each of my old hags were like that. They struggle a bit in the beginning but gave in to their basic desires by the end."
Ignore. Besides warning a bouncer and her fellow serving girls Yua couldn't do much else. She couldn't kick the group out for the way one was speaking. She couldn't cut off alcohol consumption. She would have just kept on going, with a soft smile on her face, if a hand hadn't forced itself between her legs and groped at her nether region. Sharp nail tearing through her dark stockings like they were nothing.
Yua was deaf to the calming coos of her fellow workers. Her eyes burning holes into the man being pummeled. Yua hadn't even noticed one of the customers, a man with dark hair and four eyes, springing forward and tackling her assailant from behind. Words falling from both in loud pitched curses. Bouncers struggling to separate those fighting.
Then, Yua was standing before one of her managers. The two away from the prying eyes of the public. Yua had done nothing wrong. Her actions had solely been in self defense, but that still didn't justify the chaos that followed. At least not in the eyes of the business. Defending herself was one thing, but attacking the customer? It was a rule at Lux that the servers didn't physically hit the customers. Too many loop holes could come about if the club was sued. So, anything that happened like this was supposed to be left to the bouncers to take care of.
She wasn't fired, something Yua was grateful for. She knew her anger sometimes got the best fo her. Rage guiding her fists before words could register to be said. There was just something so sweet and justifying about letting pent up anger or frustration out in a hit. Most of the time though she didn't focus on those emotions. Usually when she swung someone had agitated her beyond her limits.
Tonight someone went well past the line she had drawn in the sand, and on instinct alone Yua had reacted.
"Leave. Take the night off, and this weekend. You can start back up Tuesday evening in the regular part of the club." Her manager uttered, arms crossed but not an ounce of being angry or upset visible on the ladies soft face. "I'm sorry this happened to you Hibiki. Are you sure you don't want to press charges? You are more than free to do so, and have all the right in taking action."
Yua didn't care about pressing charges. What good would that do? More likely than not the man would be put in jail for a few months. After that he'd be back on the streets.
"Thank you for understanding." Yua stated clearly, head bowed low. "I apologize for making a commotion. I'll try to refrain from doing so again in the future."
Dabi came to a halt, eyes narrowing at a familiar silhouette with blonde hair stumbling over her own feet. Why wasn't she dolled up in a short skirt, dark tights, and a nearly see through top? Why wasn't she serving out drinks and dodging drunken hands with a fake smile plastered on her freckled face. Clad feet moved quickly, gaze shifting about the shadows but his attention primarily focused on the nonsense mumbling of the women.
If she heard him coming she didn't show it, nor did she jerk when he poked her in the shoulder. She simply cocked her head over her shoulder to see who was bothering her.
Dabi leaned down, as her body turned to face his, intense turquoise peering into her glazed over dark green orbs. Yua just stood there in her alcohol induced daze, not at all intimidated by the scarred beast before her.
"What're you doing? You're a mess." He taunted. Dabi's attention snatched away as his finger tore the bottle from loose fingers.
Frowning, she watched as he sniffed at the liquid before taking a long swig. His face scrunching at the bitter taste that washed over his tongue. He had expected a cheap bottle of vodka or gin not whiskey. Dabi hadn't taken Yua to be a whiskey girl, and a cheap bottle drinker at that. None-the-less he took another swig before her greedy hands yanked the bottle back.
"You're an idiot." The words slipped out before his brain could really process them, but Dabi wasn't wrong nor did he regret saying them. It was idiotically stupid of her to wondering around drunk at night alone on these streets. Even with a quirk that could nullify and shield her there were other ways that worthless slum could do harm. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. A part of Dabi wanted to show her just how stupid and reckless she was being.
"You shouldn't play with the flames, doll. Didn't anyone ever teach you that?" She snorted, and his eyes widened a few centimeters. A tiny smile played teasingly on her lips, and Dabi had the sudden urge to grab her by the bottom lip and yank.
"What flames?" She giggles, her red tinted cheeks flaring brighter. Yua's hand jutted out and snatched the cremator by his wrist. Not caring about personal space she stepped closer before tugging him down to the ground where she was already situating herself to sit crisscross.
She was giving him one rude gesture after another.
"Ew, your staring." Another drink, and amber liquid was dripping down her chin. It had him falling deeper into the trance she always casted. "Weirdo."
More words came in mutters but Dabi ignored them. Turning instead to staring into rich hues glazed over and twinkling. It was then that he noticed the red tinting and puffy skin around her eyes. What had she been crying over? It had the flames beneath his skin coiling. Why did it upset him to know someone or something had affected her in such a way? It made him - angry? No, that wasn't quite right. It annoyed him, but even that wasn't it entirely.
"What am I so attractive you want to get handsy with me to?" It was meant to be a teasing remark, but all Dabi heard was the bitterness in her voice.
Nearly glaring down at her he asked, "Did someone touch you." It wasn't a question but a demand. Dabi wanted to know who had tried to mark the doll again. He was getting tired of catching her dotted in bruises.
"Don't get moody when you're the one who instigated our conversation." She deflected, eagerly putting the bottle back to her lips.
Staring apathetically Dabi finally kneeled down beside her, taking the bottle back in the process. He needed something to take the edge of what was boiling beneath his skin. It was irking how a practically total stranger could have dug herself under his skin so easily.
'Too kind. Too open. Too stupid. Too weak.' Were how he justified what he was doing. If she didn't want his help then so be it. It wasn't like she deserved it. Whatever had happened to cause her to become upset she must have earned. Yet, her words on being manhandled played in a loop in his mind. It was enough to cause blue flames to eat away at the bag she had covering the whiskey.
"Want me to burn them?" He offered, languid and dark.
Her head was spinning, as was the world, and Yua couldn't think of anything but closing her eyes and lean against the warm body beside her. He was radiating heat in a way that had Yua thinking that he might have just activated his quirk. She wondered if he'd mind being her human furnace for a short while.
"And, become a puppet behind such arson? I think not. Besides it's not like you give anything away for free. I'd rather deal with drunken hands grabbing for my coochy than be in debt to anyone." She muttered her head lulling to the side till his unsuspecting shoulder caught it.
"I can do favors without charging you know." He thought about feigning hurt.
"Still a double edged sword. Just because you wouldn't charge money doesn't mean you would come looking for some other sort of compensation down the road." Sleepy eyelids peeled back to stare vacantly at what lay before them. Her hand stretched out and not a second passed before the bottle was back in her grasp, this time with no brown paper sack over it.
Yua didn't question it. Just like she didn't question why he chose to go by the name Dabi or why he always had the faint scent of cooking meat and tanning leather to him. She simply drank.
Dabi smirked, his finger toying with her chin before tugging it towards him. He liked the feel of cool skin beneath his heated fingers. He liked that when little blue flames rose her skin didn't wrinkle and wither.
She wobbled a bit as her body folded itself into his. The daze in her eyes and the line of alcohol that had spilt from the warm chamber of her mouth dribbled off his hand.
What would she do if he leaned down and kissed her right here and right now? Would she pull away in disgust or lean closer and let him eat her from the inside out? Would fear smoother the tranquil look in her wide eyes? Or, would lust replace it in a heartbeat once his hands danced across her flesh.
"What do you want, little mouse?"
"To drown in the euphoria of sex."
Dabi quite literally stopped breathing for a whole second, not necessarily because he hadn't been expecting her to say that - because he most certainly hadn't -, but because of how blunt and straightforward her words had been. He couldn't help himself as laughter bubbles up from the pit of his belly, and if his tear ducts worked a few stray drops most likely would have fallen. His hand released her jaw as he leaned back, enjoying the emotions washing over him.
Was this how she usual was, or was this because of the alcohol? Clearly in distraught over the reaction Yua shot to her feet in an uneasy stagger of stumbling steps.
"Sit your little ass down before you fall." He watched, and waited to see if she'd trip but surprisingly she didn't. Instead hands came to rest on her hip as the bottle of whiskey swayed with the movements.
"The the fuck do you think your laughin-" a hand slapped over her mouth as her belly flopped. "Oh god." She said turned to the side just as her bowels emptied themselves.
That was gross, and what better way to wash acidity throw-up then another sip from the bottle.
Wiping her mouth Yua stared down at Dabi, the intensity of his neon hues making her belly curl. She didn't understand it. How she found him to be so attractive. The man was literally a football with how stitched up his body was. Yet, she liked it. She liked the way his voice sounded and the feel when their skin brushed.
Shaking her head Yua tried to focus on anything but the lewd images in her head. Oddly though she said, "No string attached. I promise."
As he stood Dabi's face never changed. She couldn't read the void-less space. His eyes though there was a glint in them she had seen before. One she couldn't decide if it was when he had burned that scaled man alive or when he was fixated on her and her alone.
Yua wasn't short, but Dabi still stood a few feet above her. His lean body suddenly daunting.
"How sweet, little doll." He smiled, devilish and wickedly cruel, and suddenly she knew she had seen that look. It was the same one he had given her in the alley. When she had felt like the dainty prey cornered by the scary predator. The time in her kitchen when he had sunk his teeth into her hand, and the time when he had stared down at her in the hallway. It had her swallowing the saliva pooling in her mouth. "I'd rather fuck your into oblivion when your sober though."
Dabi could have had her in every ounce of the word. It wasn't to late to change his mind, this he knew, but in all honesty he didn't want to have sex with her in the state she was in. If he was going to rail her then Dabi wanted it to be an experience she'd not be forgetting. Plus, drunk sex was only good when both sides were equally as shit faced.
So, instead he guided the sulking drunken women back to her home. When they entered the building and began to descend up the floors he had curled his lip at the middle aged man he had seen more than once waiting in the hallway to get an eyeful of her. It irritated him having such scum flock to her. If he hadn't been so preoccupied with the body leaning into his Dabi would have burned the sleazy creep to a crisp.
Yua did not wake up like a king or queen. When her drowsy mind called her to consciousness it had been a confusing and baffled mess. Her heart, lungs, and brain all simultaneously expanding was not a blessing upon her. If anything it was short of unpleasant with the addition of a dry mouth and heavy head. She groaned in agony as she snuggled deeper into her nest of pillows and plush comforter.
Questions like :
How had she gotten home?
What happened after the liquor store?
And, why she could smell a lingering scent of musky smoke were all swept under the imaginable rug.
Just as the regret that she had gotten sloshed at half past eleven would have made her reconsider her life choices up till now.
At least she wasn't feeling nauseous, that had to add positive points somewhere.
Yua slumped as she finally sat up, blinking into the darkness. She had no windows in her room, no way to tell if the sun had risen yet. Her phone had last been in her pants back pocket, and that article of clothing was missing from the lower half of her body. If it hadn't been for the wallpaper like paste coating the inside do her mouth Yua might have just fallen over and gone back to sleep. Instead she slowly and cautiously wobbled her way from her room. Hands out in front of her in search of the wall or the door.
She crawled slowly down the hallway, her path barely visible thanks to a duck night light Kayda had stolen last year. What a show that had turned into when the two sisters had gotten home. Yua had been horrified that after saying no twice and putting the light back once Kayda had still snatched it and hidden it under her clothes.
Once she got to the kitchen the light switch and a glass were forgotten as Yua darted for the sink. The urge to drink dominating her thoughts. Cupping her hands Yua slurped down as much water as she could. Ignoring as it trickles down her arms and chin. The dampness spreading across her chest as the water was soaked up cooled the fever that had tried to set across her body.
Alcohol. The only toxic lover that would forever have her back.
Then, Yua began to retreat back to her room. To a bed that was calling her name, and with a throat now significantly less like sandpaper.
That is until she began to past her bathroom and something in the shadows moved, effectively catching her attention. "You're alive." That and a familiar rough smoke burned voice summoned back memories misplaced while in a drunken haze.
"Fuck!" She cried, her body bouncing off the wall and heart hammering away in her chest. It took her good golden solid minute to remember what she had said... everything she had said. Dabi didn't move from his spot in the doorway of the bathroom. She couldn't see much past his dark silhouette, barely lit by the small stolen night light, but she sure could feel his eyes baring down on her.
"My offer still stands." Her body relaxed and hands found the wall once more. Her mind returning to what she had brought up back out on the street. Her cheeks flushing at the memory of what he had said after. It made Yua giddy inside.
Dabi didn't respond and a pinch of anxiety began to sprout in her belly. Words tumbled out faster than her no longer sleepy mind could handle.
"I wasn't that drunk-" Yes, she had been Dabi internally corrected. He was honestly shocked her ability to speak properly had returned. Yua's words before had been clear, just a bit jumbled and slurry. "When I said I'd have sex with you if you were willing, no string just carnal pleasure, I had-and still do mean it."
Leaning against the door frame Dabi watched her. He couldn't see much but his gaze still drifted down to her exposed legs. He knew she didn't have any pants on. She had stripped those off and left them at the front door as soon as they had stepped inside her warm abode. With her still clinging to him Dabi had seen her to her room. Where she had promptly collapsed onto a bed before waving him off with a "couch is open." Dragged from his thoughts at the sound of bare feet hitting solid floors Dabi didn't budge when her hands tugged at his loose shirt.
"Did you know a good eighty percent of the world's issues come in pairs? I don't do the 'I can't. He won't. She won't. I won't.'. So I'll ask again. Do you want to do it? No strings attached?" Yua frowned when she still didn't get a response. It didn't occur to her till now that maybe he was sleep walking, but she couldn't help but wonder if sleepwalkers took themselves to the bathroom and leaned against the door frame.
Hands cool when compared to his skin slowly crawling their way up his torso. Dabi could practically feel the warmth of her breath fanning across his neck and lower face. She had to be on her tippy toes to be this high, and the image that came to his head had him grinning. He found it cute. The tug she gave to his shirt had him leaning down, allowing both to be pulled closer to one another
"Tell me to stop and I'll stop." She whispered softly. Dabi let his own hands wander, finding a comfortable place high on her hips. Fingers sunk into supple flesh, wrinkling her long shirt.
"So?" She questioned, and even in the dim light casted by the orange duck nightlight Dabi knew she hadn't stopped leaning in. Being so close allowed him to see her better. Her gaze had cleared, and while he didn't doubt that she was still under a bit of liquid courage who was he to say no?
"What a slutty little mouse?" He uttered, and in response she froze. Scarred hands shoved Yua backwards, stumbling till her back hit the hallway wall. Fingers snuck under her shirt and upward, trailing the divots of her ribs and using hot fingertips to tease and taunt. Though when he found a bra covering her chest blue flames sprung to life so quickly Yua could do nothing but squeak as her clothes lit up.
The light of his flames burned everything on her except for her own body. It was becoming addictive to watch. To see all else melt away and only this boring woman left standing in his destruction. It had him grinning and his staples stretching to the point he bled. Still it was odd to know that his heat wouldn't leave marks on her soft flesh. He still was used to the thought of that yet.
She was going to pull away. Dabi just knew it. He could see the twinkle of fear in her eyes
"D-don't call me a mouse. Do I look like some furry brown rodent? My hair is blond and I certainly don't live in the walls." She tried to sound angry, and she did, but the high pitch and the slight stutter ruined any chance she had of pretending to be calm and collected.
If she unwound this easy from something like that then what would she do when he actually started touching her? Hunger glazed over his hues, and the look didn't go unnoticed by Yua.
"You're small and weak. Like a little mouse." He told her, taking in her nude form before his flames fizzled out. Dabi wondered if in the morning she'd find marks on the floor or the wall because of the heat.
"Small? You need to get your eyes checked, staples, because one of my thighs is bigger than both of yours put together." Yua slapped her thigh to further prove her point, and as much as she wanted to argue that she wasn't weak she honestly couldn't because without her quirk she was. Even with it she wasn't that physically strong. Someone like Dabi could easily over power her if they wanted to. That didn't mean Yua couldn't throw a nasty right hook. She fought dirty for a reason.
"What about dollface then? Or, do you secretly like to be called degrading things, brat." No, Yua didn't like to be degraded in such ways. She didn't mind some things said but referring to her as any sort of prostitute was an instant turn off to her.
"It's a turn off. So stop." She hissed, her hands snatching up his wrists. Bringing them to her face she bit down, hard. "I want to fuck, not play."
Dabi wasn't sure what he wanted more. To see her squirm or to flip her over and shove her against the wall before rail into her.
"What cat got your tongue? You just gonna take it? Never thought you'd be a sub, Dabi." Yua teases, unlatching her mouth. His fingers twitched and without warning sunk into her mouth. It was warm just as he thought it would be, and wondered how warmer it could get. "Oh, you gonna hurt me?"
"Gladly." Swiftly, more so than Yua was prepared, she found the soft flesh of one of her own hands once more in his mouth. Yua would have cried out when he bit down and sucked but the fingers in her mouth muffled such noise.
He was going to obliterate her, Dabi decided as he ran his tongue over the wound.
Jemstone6259 alright so due to the guidelines and rules on fanfiction I didn't post the 18+ content of this chapter. For those who are interested in reading that you can find it on one of the other platforms I publish off of : Quotev, Wattpad, and Archive of Our Own. My user name is the same as it is here on Fanfiction.
I can't express how happy I am with the results of this story so far! Thank you everyone! Please, leave a review! I love to read them!