TW: mentions of violence

Chapters might slow down a bit from here on out. Trying to keep pace with the anime and stuff, but honestly we might end up ahead. The War is almost upon us after all. Enjoy!

Leinei sighs as she unwinds her scarf from around her neck, inspecting it for tears. She makes note of a few pulled stitches, and bent or broken microneedles, before placing it in a pile on her bed. Her door opens as she takes her mask off, Dabi stepping in with a passive stare. He closes the door behind him as she places it on the bed and turns to him.

"What? Do the others want me to debrief or something?" she asks.

"ReDestro wanted to let you have a few hours to wind down," he replies, his words soft and measured. There was something…different about him this time, and her stomach twists at the thought of whatever he's plotting. She hates not being able to read him like everyone else, when it used to be so easy. Something's changed. There had to have been.

No one's really immune to my quirk. I've always been able to read whoever I needed to.

"Alright. Then why are you here? I need to finish getting changed."

"I've been thinking about what you said the other day, about not wanting us to fight anymore," he remarks, walking over to her nightstand and picking up the book she'd been reading in her down time. He opens it and flips through the various pages of poetry and short stories. "You asked me what I wanted you to be."

"I remember," she replies, choosing her words carefully as she stares at his back. She reaches down to the throwing knives on her thigh, taking care to think of how quickly she could stab one into his back if it came down to it. He closes the book and places it back down, albeit a little crooked compared to where she had it originally set.

"I can sympathize with how hard it must've been taking in everything that you've been told about your family," he starts, turning to face her now. "I can also understand you've been grasping at everything you can to keep yourself afloat. You've been doing amazing, Mouse."

The praise makes her face burn, her eyes widening as he steps closer to her. Soon the distance between them is nonexistent. He places a hand on her head, a slight smile pulling at the staples on his face. For that moment alone, they're kids again.

"I don't want you to be anyone else but my mouse," he tells her gently. "I don't want anything from you but your loyalty, and you're proving over and over that I have it."

Oh. So…he's just doing this because I'm playing into his hands.

Her shoulders slump as tears prick at her eyes. His words and praise are empty once again, only formalities for a job well done. The small spark of Touya she had seen falls away once more, a dying ember on an ocean before it's engulfed completely.

"Yes, you do," she murmurs, her voice empty. His smile grows a fraction, his hand moving from the top of her head to her cheek. It prompts her to look up at him closely, seeing flashes of her Touya before they're replaced by the horrific scene that is Dabi.

"Good," he whispers, tilting his head as he studies her empty eyes. It's the same dead look he's been craving from her since the first time they saw each other in a decade. The sign of a broken spirit, one he can completely remake the way he wanted it to be. She would be perfect in his eyes alone. "Get some rest, Mouse. We're all very impressed with your work today."

With that, he leaves her alone. The tears finally fall from her eyes, but she wipes them away before they could get to her chin. She fights the urge to scream, instead methodically taking her suit off and making note of any and all damages before putting them on top of her dresser. She takes a nice long shower, before standing in the mirror to look at herself.

The scar on her neck from Dabi's hand is just a vague outline today, only noticeable if one were to genuinely look close enough to see it. There's a long gash on her shoulder, no doubt from her battle today with the Boulder(that's what she dubbed him). Bruises and other thin scratches litter her body, superficial wounds that would heal in a day. Turning, she angles her head to see over her shoulder. There's a massive black and purple bruise covering the expanse of her back, definitely from Katsuki's attack. She reaches a hand under and behind, touching the outside of it and wincing in pain.

But for some reason, it makes her happy. It makes her feel better, knowing that his spark, what made him him, isn't lost. Her Katsuki is still there. She's glad that he's been able to move forward despite what she's put him through, despite the hell she thinks he's going through.

I'm not the end of him. That's all I wanted. I just want him to be happy.

A few hours later, she's called to the Lieutenants' room, and goes, wearing just a baggy gray hoodie and sweats. Dark circles are under her eyes from being woken up from the nap she was taking to recuperate. With her hands tucked into her hoodie pockets, she stands in the center of the room, surrounded on all sides by the Lieutenants running the Front in Shigaraki's absence. On a screen behind them, the video footage of her fight with the Boulder is playing.

"You did amazing today," ReDestro remarks, smiling brightly as he laces his fingers together and rests his elbows on the table. Her eyes won't leave the ongoing footage of her fight against the villain, stitched together with another's footage of her speech against Shoto, Izuku, and Katsuki. Then another stitch happens, and it's her confrontation with Katsuki on the rooftop. "I had no idea you were so well versed in our ideologies! Truly, you and Hawks are genuine marvels and advocates for our cause," he continues, gesturing to the screen behind him as she listens to her speech.

"Well, thanks," she says, finally able to tear her eyes away from the screen and look at the man funding the entire operation. "I didn't really even think about it, the words just fell from my mouth."

"I knew we made a good choice in sending you out today," Trumpet remarks, finally speaking up despite having been so quiet before. It almost causes her to jump. "Skeptic was a little, well, skeptic about it, giving your history with those trainees."

"My duty first and foremost is to the Front," she lies smoothly, taking her hands out of her pockets to fold them over her chest. "While I don't approve of the vigilante shtick, if it helps, then whatever."

It gives me more chances to slip out and breathe.

"Beautiful! Since your mission dossier shall be updated then. Now that the Boulder will be put in jail, I suggest we line up other villains for Miss Salinsa to take down," ReDestro continues, which shocks her. It's evident on her face as he laughs. "You believe we aren't above orchestrating attacks?"

"Hundreds of people almost died today!" she protests, dropping her arms as she starts towards the pointed nosed man. He doesn't move or break his composure as she slams her hands on the table in front of him. "What if I hadn't incapacitated him when I did?!"

"Those buildings were evacuated ahead of time, Leinei," Spinner speaks up, drawing her attention to him. "It's just collateral."

"What if it hadn't been!?"

"Then the families would've been compensated generously."

"That-"

That's unethical. They're…gods what did I get myself into? Keigo, I want to go home.

"Whatever. You're the ones in charge. I'm just a lowly peon," she huffs, leaning back as she crosses her arms across her chest again. ReDestro's smile slowly falls, Dabi sitting straighter in his seat her words. "What?"

"I apologize for leaving you in the dark on this," ReDestro says, solemn now as she stands there fuming and attempting to get her own emotions under control. "We wanted to see how you would act even with very little information, and finding things out on the go. You did beautifully, and you are highly commended for that. Please do not insult yourself again. You are a valuable asset and we are very lucky to have you."

You're lucky to have my skill set and my quirk. You couldn't give a shit about me.

"Yeah. I need to get some more sleep," she says, rubbing her cheek as she closes her eyes. "Am I dismissed?"

"Of course! Please, recuperate. You deserve it."

"Thanks," she mumbles, turning and walking out. She hates the feeling of all those eyes on her back as the door closes behind her. Pausing to take a breath, she rubs her eyes this time. For some reason they're feeling dry all over again, for a moment she's reliving the first time she used it, and her heart pauses its rhythm.

No. No, no. Don't think of that right now.

She hurries down the hallway, unable to stop rubbing her eyes. The pain is increasing, the dryness making her eyes feel like they're about to crack and bleed. She can't even cry.

"Leinei, is everything o-"

"Not now," she hisses, barely able to get the words out as she slams her arm into a wall's corner trying to get around the voice of Zori. He grabs her arm, concerned by the way she's rubbing her eyes raw. "Please, I need to go, I can't right now, Zori. I need to go back to my room."

"Leinei, what's wrong?" he persists, grabbing her hand that won't stop rubbing. She cries out as if shocked, flashes of gun's barrel and a loud bang reverberating in her head before she yanks herself away from him.

"Don't touch me," she pleads, continuing to rub her eyes. "I can't right now, please. I just need to go back to my room-"

He keeps trying to get her to talk to him, genuinely concerned by the way she's acting. Blistering heat on his back makes him shut up as she slumps to her knees. He lets go of her so she can go back to viciously rubbing her eyes raw as he looks over his shoulder at Dabi standing there.

"She told you to let her go," he remarks. "Surely you're not disobeying a direct order from a superior."

His voice is the opposite of his flames, so cold that it chills Zori to the bone. He can't answer, his vocal cords having frozen as Dabi's flames die away. He swallows, mumbles a quick apology, then hurriedly walks away. Dabi watches him turn a corner before crouching in front of Leinei.

"Hey, come on," he murmurs gently, touching his fingers to hers. She gets flashes of blue, of a bright hospital room, of his own photo on the altar at his former home. Jerking away from him, she starts to hyperventilate, the skin around her eyes red and swollen from the incessant rubbing. "Lei, count to ten."

"N-no, I-I can't," she forces out, shaking her head viciously. "It won't stop, I can't-I want it to stop-"

"I know, Mouse, I know," he tells her. "Let's get you back to your room. I can call Dr. Ujiko to come-"

"NO!" she snarls at him, recoiling further from him at the mention of the bastard. Dabi slowly pulls his hands away from her, holding them up as she tries to get herself under control. "No. Don't call him. Hawks-I need Hawks, I need my brother."

"Okay, we can do that. We just need to get you back to your room."

Keigo brushes his hands off as he takes a step back from the villain he and his team just incapacitated. Tokoyami looks over as his phone starts ringing, his brow furrowing as his mentor fumbles to get it out of his pocket. The Winged Hero holds up two fingers, before flapping his signature crimson wings to get him into the air. One of his sidekicks sighs and shakes their head as they get the would-be serial burglar off the ground.

"Everytime that damn phone rings now, he answers it," they grumble, catching Tokoyami's intrigue. "It's annoying."

"Really? I've never noticed it before."

"Because you just resumed your work study with us. Ever since that kid sister of his threw herself off that bridge, his phone is always ringing."

"I think it's his therapist," another pipes up, shrugging as they walk the villain to a waiting cop car. Tokoyami looks at Dark Shadow, who is slipping around his shoulders and looking up at their mentor. "He did talk about seeing one now."

"I thought the patient was supposed to call them, not the other way around."

"I mean, it could be one of those proactive types."

"Hmm."

"Hey, guys sorry but I gotta bail," Keigo says, lowering himself to where his sidekicks and mentee could hear him. "Something came up, and I have to go take care of it. Tsukuyomi, sorry about this again. Be sure to get home safe too."

"Yes sir."

Dabi, what the hell are you doing to my sister?