Dabi hadn't expected Shouto to come out with a question like that right away, bluntly cutting right to the heaviest thing that they possibly could talk about. But then again, the last time that he had really interacted with Shouto on familiar and friendly terms was when the boy was five, so he really had no knowledge of how Shouto usually acted.

Well, now that he thought about it, he probably should have expected it.

He didn't really know anything about how Shouto had been raised after he left, but going by his own history, it probably wasn't great. No, it definitely wasn't great.

Placing his plate slowly down onto the counter, Dabi was acutely aware of the silence that had settled over the kitchen. Letting out a long sigh, Dabi stared down at the rice like he somehow would be able to find the answer within it. Unfortunately, there was no answer to be given spelled out between the grains, leaving Dabi to come up with it himself.

"It wasn't because I wanted to." He finally said, trying to articulate the mixed feelings that had been simmering inside of him even back to the day when he had first left them. He didn't want to abandon them to this fate, but his concern hadn't really been about them at the time, it was only about his own suffering and what he could do to relieve that. There wasn't another choice. "I had to."

"No, you didn't." Shouto spoke back surprisingly fast, causing Dabi to look up from his plate and towards his younger brother. "The rest of us lived under our father too, and we didn't become villains."

"Oh, and like what you did become is any better?" Dabi shot back, regretting the sharp tone as soon as it came out of his mouth. He didn't mean to take out his disgust with hero society out on Shouto but instead of backing up and apologizing he doubled down, voice cracking into the silence again. "What? I don't know what you were expecting me to say. I'm not sorry for what I've become."

This was not how he wanted this conversation to go, but it was going that way anyway. It would just be the elephant in the room the longer that he stayed here, and the tension would likely never go away. Dabi had burned the bridge to his family a long time ago when he decided to become a villain, and as much as he was sure that they wanted him to come back, he'd committed to the life he had chosen.

"Do I feel guilty about leaving you guys behind? Yeah. Do I wish we didn't have to have this kind of reunion? Yeah. But do I feel sorry for taking this path and giving Enji what he deserved? Absolutely not. I know you don't approve of that, and I don't expect you to. I'm only here because of Rei, and now that she knows I'm alive, I have no reason to stay any longer."

"Dabi.." Hawks started, but Dabi wheeled on him, holding up a hand to stop him from continuing.

"Don't talk to me right now, you are not a part of this and you're just as bad as he is." As much as Hawks was entangled in this situation, he still was a hero, another fact that even their feelings towards each other couldn't gloss over.

Abandoning the plate of food that had been barely touched, Dabi turned on his heel and walked back to his room to grab his stuff, ignoring the very tense silence that had settled over the people that were still gathered in the kitchen. He hoped they weren't afraid of him now, but it was a little late for that too.

"Tell Rei I said thank you." He finally spoke as he got to the front door, not able to meet anyone's eyes as he stepped out of the house.

Closing the door behind him with an unsatisfactory click, Dabi turned his back and headed down the walk. The warm afternoon sun shone down on him unapologetically, the calm weather starkly contrasting the emotions that were wild inside of him. He wasn't sure if he should be mourning whatever it was that he left behind, or if he should be angry that he felt like he couldn't go back to it.

At any rate, apparently they were doing just fine without him, so there wasn't a reason for him to stay. They were all together, with Rei, and Enji was gone, which isn't that what Dabi wanted in the first place? He should be happy that they were happy.

Well, that was nice, but it wasn't what Dabi really wanted, was it.

He wanted revenge for what happened to him. He wanted the heroes to suffer for allowing him to become this, guilty as he was about doing it sometimes. Maybe that was why he kept pushing Hawks away, and didn't want to admit how he felt about him, because Hawks was one of those people.

"Dabi!"

Speak of the devil.

"Leave me alone."

"Please stop running away from me, Dabi."

Dabi spun on his heel to face Hawks, unregulated emotions still causing him to lash out. "Why should I? Feelings aside, you're a hero. I'm not. I've been trying to get that through to you since the beginning."

"I quit the HPSC."

Hawk's words caused Dabi to pause, all the anger draining out of his expression at the sudden admission, replaced with disbelief. "..What?"

"I quit the Hero Public Safety Commission." Hawks repeated, "I lost my hero status."

"Why?"

"They wanted me to bring you back in."

"And you said no?"

"I said no. I'm not going to support an organization that allows people like Enji to hold power while also ignoring the people that actually need saving."

Dabi was speechless, the words he thought he was going to say dying in his throat as he looked back at Hawks. He seemed entirely genuine, and committed to his answer, which is something that Dabi would have never expected of him.

"That's why I showed up to the house again. I didn't know where else to go."

"You gave up being a hero.. for me?" Dabi's voice was quiet, as if he didn't believe it despite everything Hawks had done and said already.

Hawks gave a nod, solidifying it once and for all.

"God, you really are stupid." Dabi finally let out a breath with a laugh, shaking his head as he turned around to continue walking, motioning for Hawks to join him.

"What?" Hawks scrambled up to join him at his side, a wing tucking back behind Dabi, the feathers occasionally brushing up against him.

"Let's hope you're better at vigilante life than your pampered ass looks."

"Huh?"

"Well, you're obviously not going to stop saving people, and I'm not going to stop being a villain until I get what I want, so 'saving me' is going to be a rocky road for you."

"I'll figure it out."

"I stole the money in your wallet, by the way. To make up for it, I will generously allow you to stay at my place, but I expect rent after the first month."

"Generously? I broke you out of prison, you should be thanking me!"

"Speaking of prison. They still have Toga, and I'd like my stuff back too."

"My first move as a vigilante hero is not going to be breaking a member of the League of Villains out of prison."

"We'll see about that."