There was a mishap in editing, so I'll be posting chapter 7 after this immediately given how short it is.

-x- Dabi -x-

Dabi aged himself up walking to one of the most expensive clothing brands, heading to their main building to try to get a job. He looked eighteen, not sixteen. Taller and older, but still looking like Dabi. He faked a resume, and put the wrong age. He didn't know if it was illegal, and if it was he'd lie and say he didn't think it through, he was only a minor, blah blah.

When he went inside, there were already some people auditioning for the modeling role. They looked up at him, burnt and stapled face in all it's glory, and they looked mocking at him, as if he wasn't any competition. And maybe he wasn't, he didn't know how the brand would think of him. He knew it might be uncomfortable to be on camera, but not too bad since none of those bodies he'd choose would actually be him. Just random people he created in his mind. He already had precreated faces. He had one for a little girl, a teenage girl, young adult woman and then the same for males.

He was prepared.

When he got to the front desk, he said he was there for the gig audition. She also looked at him oddly, and told him to sit down. This place was far from his hometown, so he wouldn't be spotted on the street visibly younger than he looked when trying out. Maybe he should come in as a different appearance, but he didn't really care.

There were plenty of places that sold clothing that he could go to and offer his service. He'd be asking for a high pay, but they'd still be saving plenty of money by hiring him to replace many models. This body he had was him as an 18 year old, so he could be seen as an adult but still honestly say he was in school.

Everyone went ahead of him and smirked at Dabi like they were sure he was no issue to them. When it was his turn, he was the last one and had waited for over two hours, scrolling on his phone and minding his business. When he walked inside, they immediately looked at him like he was crazy to audition, but couldn't just turn him away immediately without risking looking bad. And since Dabi's appearance was one where he had severe injuries, turning away a burn victim instantly was a bad look.

"What's your name?"

"Kaneko Dabi," Dabi said.

"And how old are you? Are you in school?"

"I'm 18 and in high school," Dabi lied smoothly. He was asked why he thought he'd be a good candidate. He did his research and knew the values of this place. They weren't big on teamwork, which was good for him if he got the job and took multiple spots. "I think I'd be good because I could spare you a lot of money." They were interested. "My quirk allows me to take on other appearances. I could be anything you want me to look like, any age, any gender. You wouldn't need dozens of models when you'd have an unlimited amount from me."

He tried not to sound too full of himself. Eyebrows raised, and he was asked to change into various ages and appearances, which he did. They were in awe and a greedy look came across all their faces. "What are your available times?"

"I have school and a club until 4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can come in any day after 4:30. I can get home by myself easily, so traffic or anything wouldn't be an issue." Mei thought he was getting a different job. Hopefully by the time she figured out he was lying, he had proof it was a good thing. And he wasn't planning on inappropriate shoots. At least, not at this time.

"I would like to be paid well, saving up for getting my own place. But hiring me would still save money."

"How long are you able to work after school time?"

"Two to three hours." Dabi was able to create clones by now from a quirk he saw on the news from a criminal, which was very helpful and he could just have a double do his homework for him. His doubles had all of his personality and quirks.

"Hired. We'll pay you a biweekly salary fo 470,000 yen." Dabi grinned at that. "Please don't use the models you make for us out in public." The overpowered teen nodded. That was more than enough money a month to save up for. Maybe he'd help out with household expenses, but he had a bank account made from Mei that saved allowance money for him instead of a piggy bank or something. Hopefully she wouldn't check it. He had to be careful.

"Thank you for auditioning. We'll have your first shoot next week. How is that?"

"That's fine," Dabi agreed. They all looked more than happy and Dabi didn't much care that he stole potential jobs from a lot of people. He headed home, and then called his friends to tell them about his success.

"No way! That's so much fucking money!" Shuichi said.

"I'm gonna save it up so I can move out at 18 and live on my own just fine. If you guys save up too maybe we could all go to the same college and room together," Dabi said brightly. He didn't want to be lonely in life, so having his friends as roommates would be fun.

"That sounds awesome!" Toga cheered. "By then we'll be a better band, maybe we'll make money then, too!" Dabi smiled. They talked on the phone some more before it was too late and they should go to bed. Dabi fell asleep with a smile on his face.

-x-

"I'm off," Dabi said.

"Have fun," Asahi said. They both thought he had a job out of town and were fine with that. Maybe he should have been truthful, but it was too late cause they'd know he lied. Oh well, he'd enjoy it while it lasted. It wasn't like they'd be keeping him, he was temporary. He could be a little shit sometimes, it was fine.

After years of being unable to rebel, he realized he was doing it now because he could. He didn't want to hurt their feelings when they were nice to him, but he couldn't help it, he felt good to do his own things. Like when he'd gotten his piercings without permission or approval. Oh well. He made sure to age himself up when he landed a few blocks away and walked to the agency.

He was right on time, and was ushered in quickly. It was clear the photographers and bosses were prepared as they'd made faces they wanted him to imitate with an AI generator, and he did just that. He was given the clothes to change into in a curtained changing room. They worked him hard, but with the pay he was getting so far, it was fine.

Dabi followed their directions and was given a large mirror behind the camera and lights so he could make sure he looked the right. He was portrayed as conventionally pretty people, or cute children. He did well, followed directions. They weren't assholes to him, and even had food for him to eat between shots. He felt like fucking royalty and it was weird.

After he was done, he headed back home, pleased. "How was work?"

"Good," Dabi said honestly, but said no more. Mei smiled, and Dabi felt a small twinge of guilt. But he couldn't admit it now. It was fine.

-x- Keigo -x-

Keigo got a phone call from Natsuo, and didn't answer right away since he didn't want to get yelled at by Endeavor again, but he thought perhaps it was an emergency, and answered the phone. He didn't get a word out before Natsuo was shouting in a panic that Touya had been found and Endeavor was going after him.

Keigo went pale. "Where's the address, Natsuo?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't say! He just said he was bringing Touya home!"

Fuck! Keigo had no way to contact him through reddit, which wasn't reliable since it didn't seem Dabi was active on it. He tried to message him, but found he'd been blocked! Keigo had no idea what to do. "What's your car look like?"

"He's not driving, he's taking a helicopter to get there faster!" Natsuo cried. "You have to help him!"

Keigo jumped out of bed and dressed in random clothes, shoving his glasses on and making sure the safety strap was around his wrist so he didn't drop his phone while flying. "Do you know what the plan is once he gets taken back?" Keigo asked, louder to be heard over the wind.

"No. He just said he was bringing Touya back, but looked angry about it, he's been angry the whole time Touya's been gone," Natsuo said, tears in his voice. "I don't want him to come home if he'll be miserable!"

Keigo wouldn't promise he'd help him because he didn't know if he could. He knew the location of the school that Dabi had gone to, as he'd looked it up, so he was flying that direction as fast as he could along a major highway, hoping he could get ahead of the helicopter but not knowing exactly where Dabi lived now.

He was nervous and frightened for Dabi's wellbeing. Endeavor was clearly going after him for the wrong reasons. He was bitter, and Keigo hadn't once heard him sound sad that his kid went missing after being tortured. Maybe because he knew Dabi was staying away for reasons. He didn't want to go back home and he'd lied his whole life he'd had his quirk.

Keigo did not catch up to the helicopter since he didn't come across it at all. He searched, sending as many feathers out as he could, looking for the sounds of familiar voices or the flying vehicle. But he couldn't get there in time. By the time he gave up, Natsuo cried that they were back. "Natsuo, I'm so sorry!" Keigo swore.

"You promised it w-would be okay!" Natsuo cried before he shouted Touya's name and hung up. Again, Keigo fucking failed. That's all he was, a failure. He'd do whatever he could to get those kids out of there, though. Like he'd managed to get the Atlas program shut down, he'd get the four of them out of that house.