-x- Keigo -x-
Keigo and En were not on good terms with Karin, but they sure as hell acted like best friends when performing. The cast all knew about the drama, which Keigo wasn't sure he was happy about, but would understand why En would let them know, so Karin wasn't able to shit talk Keigo to the others. En and Sato, another nice guy who was much older than En, told her to leave him alone, and he felt like a damn child and it was honestly quite embarrassing.
But he didn't mope or pout or complain. Those weren't things people liked, they weren't respectable and would be counterproductive in every way. He could be bummed and embarrassed at home, not at the work place. He stuck to his bubbly self and acted the same besides when it was with Karin and a few of the other female costars. There were very few of them on this movie. Keigo just felt bad for bringing animosity onto the set.
He didn't say any of his feelings to anybody but Rumi at home. None of his costars knew just how much the drama affected him. He felt weak. He could just imagine the President's and his handler's cruel words, calling him emotionally and mentally weak. A true child. Even though they'd taken that from him. He'd never get to be a child and he didn't want to be. Not now. Too late to freely be a child.
-x- Dabi -x-
"Narrow the nose, Dabi-san," the makeup artist instructed. Dabi did so and she contoured it for him, currently with a female face but male body. When he modeled as a woman, he always changed his body last. It was still unsettling to be in a woman's body more than even an animal. It was silly, but he didn't tell anyone else. They'd laugh.
"Dabi-san, can you turn into celebrities?" Naomi asked.
"I don't see why not," Dabi stated, opening his eyes wider to allow her easier access to his eyelashes. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm working as an apprentice makeup artist for a movie. I'd rather do more than just makeup for photoshoots."
"Ouch, I didn't know I was such bad company," Dabi drawled.
"Hush," she chided with a laugh. "I'd like to try something new. And one of the actors has the perfect face."
"High praise for someone who does makeup on models. Who is it?" Dabi wondered. He didn't usually keep up with celebrities other than musicians. Actors and influencers weren't anything to him, really. On social media he only followed things that directly influenced him or that he was interested in. Mostly music and arts and crafts. Video games, anime, stuff like that. Not real life people.
"Takami Keigo - formerly Hawks. He's playing a secondary character in a movie adaptation to a adventure book." This surprised Dabi and he choked. She took it the wrong way. "I know he's awful- but his face is so perfect-"
"Hawks is an actor now?" Dabi was happy for him, and hoped he made some friends.
"Yes."
"Good for him. Hopefully he's moving on from all that bullshit that happened last year," Dabi said. "He any good?"
"My sensei says there's a huge bet between the producers and directors which type of award he'll win for his performance." Dabi smiled. "Do you think he'll deserve the backlash?"
"Nah. I think people should just move on from that stuff. It would be better for everyone involved and not involved to just let it go. You think he'll get shit for it?"
"Those working with him seem nice enough, everyone is positive. Besides Emmi Karin, but she's a known nasty woman," she said bitterly. "She bullies that poor kid. He's the youngest actor on set. He does his own stunts, and this movie was his first audition." Dabi was very happy for him. He hoped he did well. "I think his performance will affect the public opinion."
"Well, the higher ups clearly don't think it'll be a big deal. Why cast a social pariah that will lose them money, right?" Dabi asked. He pursed his lips to put the lip gloss on. He stood up once it was done and went to the wall with the measurements taped down. He stood beside it and adjusted his height to match what was wanted for this session.
He then went into the chaining room and put on the sundress and heels. He was fine with doing his own hair and put it up into two dutch braids.
"That's a good point-"
"Talk to him after the shoot is over," the photographer said in slight annoyance. Dabi did the usual thing, following the directions. He was so used to this by now that he knew what types of positions were good on camera and what typed of bodies looked best in what positions to the camera. Once it was over, Dabi scrubbed his face clean of make up, changed back into his older Dabi form, and put the piercings back in.
He shoved his phone into his pocket and helped put Naomi's supplies away. This makeup set was just for Dabi, none were shared with any other clients. "I think that nobody would be desperate enough to hire Hawks if they thought he'd be shitty for their product or brand. Plenty of young hot dudes, didn't need to pick the one with bad PR."
"I hope things go alright, even if I hate what he did."
"The only people who should hate him were those affected. Besides, he did it on orders. What's so hard about that to understand? People in military do shit things because their superiors tell them to," Dabi said, sounding genuinely annoyed now. "Sorry, didn't mean to shit on you or anything. I gotta go. Say goodbye before you make it big, yeah?"
"Hah, sure. I'll still be doing your makeup for the time being."
"Tch. Sucks being the disappointment. Oh, and I'll turn into Hawks so you can practice on his perfect face," he teased with a too wide grin, and flew away. He picked up something at the grocery store and headed home. When he got inside he popped out the ears for Enzo and immediately got to homework.
He said, "I can't help with dinner tonight, I have a shit ton to do before tomorrow's test," and hurried up the stairs with no response from Mei, who was crocheting with Sheri. Maybe it was cheating to do what he did, but he called it being resourceful and saving time. He created two clones of himself and they worked on math and science worksheets while the original typed his history essay.
Asahi was the one to get him for dinner, and when Dabi said he could open the door, he whistled. "That's pretty efficient. You could look after a whole house like this."
"Yeah, but who knows if one of them will get the wrong idea and think they were in charge?"
"Shut up, we're you, not fucking dumbasses." That one dissolved and Dabi burnt the goop away.
"You can leave, too," Dabi said to the remaining clone. "And my homework is done." He walked down the stairs after Asahi. Dabi was in a much closer bond ith Mei than Asahi. Dabi, in general, did not like male authority figures. He disliked his male teachers more than female because they reminded him of Enji. His therapist said this outright and it validated him and why he liked Mei so much more.
It wasn't that he'd been raised by a woman so he liked them more. He just liked Enji less than he had Rei. He didn't like both of them, but Enji was by far the worse of the two. Rei was doing well, and wanted to get to know Dabi. He refused. Fuyumi hated him for it, but everyone else told him he should do what was comfortable for him, so he did. He didn't care what she thought or what Rei thought. They could be offended if they'd like. It didn't affect Dabi.
"Apparently, Hawks is a movie star now," Dabi said at dinner. "He's one of the main cast and the movie crew thinks he's so good he'll win an award for his first movie."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Mei said.
"He'll be shit on about the Touya Torture stuff. I was thinking about trying to do something to… mitigate that. Every time it's brought up, it affects me, too. If the media or news were to blast that shit all over the place to discredit him, I'll still see it, too," Dabi explained between bites. Fuck he was hungry.
Mei teared up.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Sheri was beaming, and Rika was giggling behind her hand. "The hell's that reaction for?" Dabi said to her with narrowed eyes.
"Hawks-san is pretty. You do girly things," Rika said.
"I am all powerful for not giving a shit about makeup and nails and menstrual products. All those guys who are pissy about seeming feminine? I beat their asses into the ground, sensitive little babies."
"I think it's a wonderful thing to do, Dabi," Mei said, stopping Dabi's tirade against Geten and his disgust to anything "girly". If only they knew Dabi went bra shopping with Toga as a girl, too. Shit, that would be hilarious. Dabi genuinely didn't give a shit what other people thought. It was annoying sometimes, but never made him insecure in himself.
"How were you going to do it?" Asahi asked.
"I'd look like Touya did, maybe make a video. Toga says we should get into tiktok to be cool, but I wouldn't have any followers. I'd rather do a real news place, but then they might get agendas and ask annoying questions. I'd rather say my shit and bounce," he explained. "Don't know what Hawks would think of it, but I don't really give a shit, it's to help me as much as it is to help him. Plus, I kind of don't want his life to suck more than it already does." He shoved the rice into his mouth. "And I wouldn't let him know until the movie is marketed, it would suck if he knew he was beng gossiped about and I found out through the grapevine."
He pretty much just talked himself into his plan, and then stopped talking about it, allowing the girls and Enzo to talk about theirs. Well, Enzo could not communicate while eating as he needed sign language. Dabi was sure therapy was trying to make him better about that, but it was none of his business.
In the morning, Dabi was called in a panic by Toga. "What? What is it?" he groaned, as he'd had fifteen minutes left before his alarm went off. His black hair was a mess, his smooth skin not pulling on anything, as he got rid of the staples and scars when sleeping at home to just make things easier for himself.
"My hair!"
"What about your fucking hair? I was sleeping! I had a good dream! Enji was being fried by his quirk, and I didn't even get to see the results!"
"One of the kids chopped my hair off!" she cried. "You have to come fix it!"
"With what? I don't have a hair style generator quirk, Toga!"
"Look online! Please, I can't go to school looking like this!"
"Ugh! Meet me outside, if you're not there in three minutes I'm leaving you!"
"Okay! Okay!" and she hung up. Dabi groaned, put his looks on, and flew out the window and picked Toga up. He dumped her on his bed, tossing her in from the window.
Dabi looked at her hair in sadness. One whole side of it had been chopped off. "I could give you a wicked half head," Dabi stated. "Shave half of your head." Toga's eye gleamed and his sharp teeth showed off in her too wide grin, the facial feature they both shared together. Dabi grabbed her a brush and she hurried to the bathroom.
The electric razor was in the locked box on top of the cabinet above the toilet, so Dabi easily got that. He sectioned Toga's hair in two, tightly braiding up the good section. "Ready?" he asked with an eager voice. She nodded, and he shaved half of her hair off. "Hah! I did it!" he laughed. "Dude, half your hair is gone, how does that make you feel?"
"I definitely can't rock a full shaved head," Toga mused. "I'm sad my space buns are gone," she moped. "I'm gonna hurt him bad."
"No maiming, no drinking blood," Dabi said and flicked her forehead. She cried out in anger when he burnt the bits of hair away. "What? You couldn't turn them into anything anyways."
"I was going to put them in his food."
"Bruh, that's nasty," Dabi stated. "I need to get ready. I'm surprised nobody woke up from us."
"Sorry I kept you from seeing crispy Endeavor," Toga giggled. Dabi stuck his tongue out at her, annoyed he missed the sight. He didn't even get to hear the screams.
When Mei and Asahi got up, they were surprised to see Toga there, half of her head shaved when she had always come in two buns. "Oh! Himiko! What are you doing here?"
"Her brother cut off her hair so she wanted me to fix it. Instead, I shaved her head," Dabi said, munching on a Poptart. "It was pretty satisfying," he laughed. "Brrvvv, and it's all gone."
"Oh. Okay, then," Mei said, seeming unable to come up with another response. Dabi got his things and he and Toga left to school together. When they got to class, it was a bit late, as Toga insisted they pick up the Starbucks order she sent in. At least she paid for it herself.
The moment Toga stepped in the door, she didn't even give anyone a moment to naturally see her and announced, "I shaved my head!" Everyone looked over. "Isn't it cute?!" The girls in the class didn't think so, Toga never got along with them since she was just as "vile as the boys", and the guys didn't like it either. Or just didn't care.
"I think I did a good job," Dabi grumbled.
"I do, too, they're all sour pusses," Toga humphed.
Tenko and Shuichi didn't even look fazed by the change. "So what caused this?" Tenko asked lightly.
"Stupid Shinji cut off half of my hair. I wanted Dabi to help so I went over and shaved my head," she said lightly.
"Are you guys, like, a thing?" Chikzoku asked. Dabi and Toga both made faces like they were going to be sick.
"Dabi is definitely gay," Geten said in a snide voice.
"Sorry, I'm not interested. Even if I was gay, I still wouldn't be because I'd be into guys, not pretty boys like you," Dabi sneered.
"Fuck off!"
"Oh, Toga, do you think Geten would look good with half a shaved head, too?" Dabi asked innocently.
"I don't know, not everyone can rock it like me," Toga played along. Geten shut right up and Dabi and Toga snickered and sat down.
"You two are fucking menaces," Shuichi stated.
"Thank you," both said.
At lunch, Dabi admitted he was disappointed Toga didn't have so much hair anymore. He was getting good at learning how to braid hair and had some crazy shit lined up for her. "Now only half would look stupid and some just won't work," he complained. "At least there's Sheri, I guess."
"There's always Tenko!" Toga said, and the quirkless teen glared at her and gave Dabi a threatening look. Dabi didn't delve into the topic further. He was surprised when both he and Geten were called to the office. Dabi groaned loudly and stood up while the white haired teen just looked nervous and angry.
They walked to the office, shooting nasty looks at one another. "This is your fault," Geten said.
"No, you're the one that called me gay first. Looks like you're too stupid to even keep events in order."
"Shut up, you prick!" They walked into the office and Dabi knocked on the door. The principal nodded for them to sit in chairs in front of her desk, side by side. Both of them were scowling but silent and not shooting looks at each other. She had her hands clasped on her desk.
"I hear you two are in constant arguments and berate each other in class." They stayed silent. "Is this true?" Both nodded wordlessly. "Why?"
"He pisses me off, I piss him off back," Dabi stated.
"Have you ever tried to just let it go?"
"Why should I let it go? He gets to get away with being an ass and I just have to put up with it?" Dabi asked incredulously. She sighed, and Dabi bristled. Then she mentioned that "someone" told her Dabi threatened Geten with his quirk. "Yeah, so? It's not like I've done anything about it and it wouldn't hurt him."
"You're prohibited from using quirks at school," she said firmly. Dabi crossed his arms, and mumbled that it was a stupid rule for non-danerous quirks. "It may seem stupid to you, but it's still a rule I expect you to follow. No more quirk usage while on campus." He wasn't going to not use his quirk at least to keep his Dabi body. "You two will get along or I'm pairing you together with whatever your class ends up doing for the school festival."
Both made looked of disgust, but agreed to "get along". Which meant ignore one another. They grumpily made their way back to class, not looking at each other before sitting down. "What's up?"
"Never talking to him again," Dabi muttered.
-x-
"Will you go bra shopping with me?"
"Huh? Why would you want me, ask Mei," Dabi said, playing on his Switch, a new one that replaced the one damaged by the bank robbery. Still nobody knew who conjured the fake All Might but it had faded and nobody was actively looking any longer.
"Mei is with Enzo."
"Just wait for her, then. Why me?"
"You go shopping with Toga…"
"She has nobody to go with, that's the only reason." Sheri looked very embarrassed about asking. Dabi sighed. "What would the point of being being there be? Just to accompany you to the store?" Sheri nodded.
"You make me feel more confident. About my eye… Mei looks like a normal person. And what if the girls in there are mean? You'd be protective. I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," she said in shame. Dabi felt bad, not having thought about the real reason she wanted Dabi there, not the foster mother who would be more than happy to go with her.
Dabi agreed to go as moral support. It wasn't like it was Sheri's very first bra anyways. "First helping with your period and now a bra, if anyone heard I'd definitely be assumed gay," Dabi said. He shifted into a female body and made some severe scars across the face. He needed to look damaged in some way to give Sheri solidarity.
"I think if girls knew you did stuff like this to make us feel better, they'd be much more interested, even though you aren't," Sheri said, in a great mood now that Dabi agreed to go with her. The mall wasn't too far, so they walked there.
"Off topic, but did you ever once see Hikari without her mask?"
"Yeah," Sheri nodded. "It was on accident, but I saw. It was pretty bad. I won't say what because she didn't want anybody to see."
"Poor Hikari. At least she found somewhere. Hope that happens for you and Rika. And Enzo."
"Would you miss me?"
"I would. I consider you more of a sister than Fuyumi, sadly." Sheri timidly suggested he see his birth family. After all, Rei wasn't in the hospital anymore. She was sane and safe. "Maybe. I was thinking about it, but I'm not sure. It would be stupid if I went out of my way to help the guy that shoved a blade into my eyeball but not even see my family. Well, good thing I'm not interested in being honorable." They made it to the mall and went to the JCPenny and to the bra section. Sheri was wearing her sunglasses but the scarring around her eye was still visible. Dabi pretended to look at bras while she was fitted in the fitting room.
There were a few women there, and Dabi didn't interact with any of them. Sheri came back out with a comfortable garment and they bought it and that was that. He didn't point out that it hadn't been bad, he wasn't needed there. Because he wasn't needed, he was wanted and she was insecure, so he had no reason to refuse. Just because he didn't give a shit about what other people thought of his appearance didn't mean most people felt that way.
They got some food at the food court and then went home. When they got back, he went to his room and opened his email. It was a message from Rei he had never answered. He should try in some way. At least for his siblings. He sighed, and replied, Hi. That was it, he didn't know what to say - he had nothing to say.
It was surprising how fast she got back to him.
Hello, Dabi. How are you doing? Good thing she didn't call him Touya or he'd be out. Nobody used his deadname anymore.
Fine.
Good. How are your foster family doing?
Fine. Since the others left, one left and a new one came. He decided to try a bit. Just… try to have a conversation. I had to learn how to read sign language since the new boy is mute.
That's very nice of you. I'm so happy you're someplace that makes you happy and comfortable.
I am too. He paused a long moment before continuing his message. How are Natsuo, Shoto and Fuyumi? Honestly. They only share good things. They never wanted Dabi to worry, maybe scared he'd do something drastic again. And he would, if something was seriously wrong, but he doubted anything was very seriously wrong. And he hoped they'd tell him if it was.
They're doing well. Shoto is having trouble with math at school and Fuyumi isn't making many new friends, but they've adjusted well back to living at the home.
What about you.
I'm very happy. I've officially divorced Enji. I did not sign anything so half of his things belong to me so I can provide for my children as long as they need.
Dabi couldn't help the grin that broke across his face. They were all free. Rei could get a restraining order when Enji came back out of jail, and they'd never need to see his ugly mug again.
Besides Fuyumi. Dabi wouldn't be surprised if she visited the man in prison. Good. I'm glad. You're finally free.
And I'm finally the mother I should have always been. I hope I can make you all proud. Dabi bit his lip through the smile, so relieved that things worked out. He was grateful she didn't apologize to him, or ask his forgiveness. He didn't want to talk about their old, miserable life. But she briefly brought it up, and not in a negative way. Thank you for saving us. I could never, ever be upset that you would rather live with another family. I think I understand a bit how you feel. Wanting to separate you from your old self. I wish I could look different, could change things so I'm not reminded of who I was. You have such a gift. Far superior than any quirk you could have inherited from us.
Dabi smiled again. Rei was… becoming relatable. Something Dabi hadn't ever expected. You can. You can be Himura Rei again, not Todoroki. I like my quirk, too.
Rei sent back a thank you, and then a photo of a dog, which was theirs now. Chimney was explicitly Enzo's but the puppy in the photo was a family dog. This is Elephant.
Elephant?
Shoto's name choice was the one picked. Suddenly there was a feeling of coldness. Feeling left out. No, it was his choice to live here. But his family had picked itself back together. He could move and not hate it there, but he cared for Mei in a way he didn't Rei. At least not right now, not yet. And he built a life there. This house was accessible by his friends, the one in Mustafu was far away, too far.
The feeling left quickly. It was just a dog. But it made him want to stay in more contact with his bio family. He'd talk to them more from now on. Yeah, he would talk to them more, make it clear he did care for them. Maybe he could make up with Fuyumi and come to an understanding. Hopefully. He didn't want to dislike her anymore. He was angry with how she felt regarding Enji and what he'd done to them all, but it seemed like she was the only one to feel that way. Rei got divorced the second she could and was happy to get half of his belongings. And she wasn't one of them, Rei was no longer Enji's property. None of them were.
Dabi hoped Enji found out in prison that she divorced him and took the kids back. He grinned, knowing it would have never been possible without him. He rubbed the part of his stomach that he stabbed. A reckless but phenomenal plan. Enji didn't get nearly enough jail time, and it was disheartening to domestic and child abuse victims all over, but at least his life was unraveling and he had nothing to stop it or even slow it.
-x- Keigo -x-
Keigo was panting as he "dueled" Rumi with a pool noodle they'd cut in fourths. Things were moved aside in the living room as he slammed it into her side and she hit him in the face, knocking him down. "Haha!" she said with one of her big feet pressing down on his chest. "I conquered the dragon!" She was tipsy but not full on drunk.
"Good job. Can I go in my room now?"
"Keigo, you gotta- gotta learn to say no," Rumi said, sounding concerned.
"I did say no! You're relentless when you're drunk!" Keigo shouted, but with a laugh.
"I'm not drunk."
"Sure," Keigo rolled his eyes and pushed her foot off. He confiscated the pool noodle so she couldn't break anything, and shoved them into the hall closet. He shook his head when she flopped onto the couch and passed out, and quietly went into his room. His phone was blinking on the bed, showing he had a message.
He sat down and unlocked the phone, and was surprised it was a reddit notification. He never got those but if it were from Dabi, and the thought of it being from him filled him with nervousness. But it was from Dabi.
I heard you are acting in a movie. I don't want the public to bring all that shit up so I want to make it clear we are cool now. I don't hate you, you don't scare me, yada yada.
What the hell? How did Dabi know? He didn't live anywhere near the studio and Keigo's presence hadn't been made public by anyone. But then his stomach erupted into butterflies at the thought. Of having the world know that the two people involved moved on and would like to leave it in the unpleasant past.
Dabi wanted to help him, again. Keigo couldn't do anything for him, and the feeling made him a bit bummed out. But he would definitely accept this offer.
Thank you! How did you know?
I'm psychic and I spy on you a lot. Keigo's face grew red, but Dabi messaged again a few seconds later. I'm fucking with you. Someone I work with works around you and talked about your face.
You're mean.
Sometimes.
Keigo wondered who worked with Dabi that worked with Keigo. And what did they do? He didn't have any idea what Dabi did in his life besides his music. He didn't hear much abut him from Natsuo, who mostly bragged about his new puppy and how nice his life was now.
When is it coming public? Your involvement.
Filming ends in one week. After that it's eight months of editing. Three months before release the preview will come out. I'm sure they'll try and keep me out of the news of the release for as long as possible. I would like for you to say something around the time the first trailer with me in it comes out. If that works for you.
Cool, that sounds fine. Don't know how the fuck I'm supposed to do it, though. Just make a video of you and me or go on TV or what?
We can film the video and then send it to the media when the time comes. Keigo hadn't seen Dabi in person. Only on that video that caused Endeavor to find him. He hadn't seen Dabi in person. Only him as Touya and then his time as "Tendo". Sneaky fucker. Just tell me when.
I can do it soon. Do you have a camera or some shit? I have a recording studio but it's for music not video. Ooh, that sounded fun. He was glad he had the means to fund his music hobby or future career. Keigo had a phone stand he could use his phone camera with, which wasn't bad quality. But could Dabi create one? Did he have a quirk that could do that? So he asked. Quality of objects varies. Just use phone I guess.
I have a nice stand to use. We could sit against the wall on my couch.
Sure.
Can't right now, my roommate is drunk.
Sounds lovely.
She is. What should we say?
Tell them to fucking move on like we did. Shit's fine, no need to bring up the past. They're all idiots if they're upset when we aren't. Keigo snorted. That would not go over well. Keigo would be a public figure again, good or bad, and being salty and rude in what amounts to be an apology and reassurance to the public that the matter is over and done with wouldn't be the greatest look.
He said, I think we'd need to be more polite than that. I don't want the public to hate either one of us. Being snappy and rude and demeaning will just look bad for us.
You mean you. Touya doesn't exist anymore. Me being a jackass on film doesn't do shit to me. Dabi is Touya now.
Yeah. I want to come across as who I choose to be. A good person whose done bad things.
Bro, why are you still so focused on the bad shit you've done? You did all that bullshit 'hero' crap under a different name. You were Hawks, not who you are now. You're doing nobody any service by hanging on. 'I'm a good person who's done bad things'. No, you're a good person, doesn't matter the shit you did under the rules of someone controlling like they were. Then a few seconds later. I'm not trying to be an asshole but that kind of outlook is off putting and annoying. If you're gonna be the happy go lucky guy, ditch that shit.
Wow, Dabi was brutally honest. But he wasn't wrong. Keigo didn't want to think about his time as Hawks. He didn't want the public to think about his time as Hawks. He should let it go. If Dabi forgave him, or at least moved on and wanted nothing to do with it anymore, he wasn't doing anybody any justice or favor by holding onto it. It just made him feel shitty.
But he knew that taking accountability was a huge thing for him as a person. He felt he'd never done so. He didn't get jail time, only public hatred. He didn't want to go to jail, but if Dabi forgave him and he did what he could do do him justice, there was nothing else he could do to try and make it all better. He couldn't time travel, and he didn't want to redo it. Because things worked out for Dabi, and the Commission was gone.
There was no other course of action to take and dwelling on it did no good for anyone, and did harm for him. I'll try to move on.
Good. And find some excuse to say when people ask shit about it on talk shows. I'm sure that will be fun.
You are a bright ray of sunshine.
Thanks I wasn't even trying. Keigo snickered. Tell me when your roommate isn't smashed. I can handle the background and stuff.
Ok. Dabi was very blunt and honest, which Keigo could appreciate. He waited until Rumi went to bed to message back. She's asleep. Do you need my address?
I already told you I spied on you. A pause. But yes. I need your address. Keigo snorted and messaged it. Be there soon. Keigo tidied up a bit and took out the trash. Dabi knocked on the front door very softly, and Keigo answered it immediately. Whoa, he had gotten a lot taller than last time he saw him, as himself, not as Tendo. He was now taller than Keigo. Curse being so tiny for his avian body.
"Nice to see you walking normally." Keigo smiled and agreed. But he didn't thank him, which seemed to be the right move. Keigo had his phone on a stand, and felt awkward having someone come into the home that wasn't Rumi or Tomoko. Well, they weren't going into his bedroom but the couch.
"Got any idea on what you want to say?" Dabi asked, sitting on the couch after taking his boots off to show he was wearing unashamedly fluffy socks that had cat toes on them.
"I feel like it wouldn't matter what I say. I'm the offender."
"You want me to do the talking?" Dabi asked with a raised brow. He had a tongue ring. Who gave a sixteen year old a tongue ring?
"If that's alright."
"Ah, this is gonna take awhile. I have no filter."
"Just maybe say what you feel about it. You're not a public figure, and you're right, 'Touya' isn't around to get backlash for being an ass." Dabi smirked. Keigo wished he could come across as confident as Dabi was.
"Alright. And is this the background you want? I can change it." Keigo looked interested. "Let's make it so it doesn't look like we're at a house. Make it look like we're out in public instead. 'Oh, the victims in the offenders house, he's kidnapped him!' Y'know?"
"That's a good point." Dabi waved a hand behind him flippantly and it showed they were at a coffee shop. No people in the background, just what was clearly a Starbucks back wall, complete with all the little coffee stop tools, the mixers, the metal cartons of milk and toppings. It was very cool. Keigo was about to compliment him before he saw Dabi was back at Touya, and the older teen went rigid.
He remembered Touya's face, and with him having hit a growth spurt he looked more like he had when he was aged up. He could practically see the blood on his face when he dug a feather into his eye, or when he stomped on his face with his boot. "Whoa, what's-?"
"I'm - I'm sorry, can you change your face again?" he asked, eyes shut.
"Yeah, sure." Keigo opened his eyes and saw Dabi's face back on, only this time it seemed different. Maybe he wasn't fully changed back into his Dabi appearance and this was an illusion. He had a sad, pitying face on. Keigo wiped at his eyes in embarrassment. "Have you been seeing a therapist for this?"
"Not in awhile," Keigo admitted.
"Well, I don't really know how much it will help, but I don't hate you, and I don't think you… were at fault. You weren't the only one that tortured me. You were the most… offended sounding of the bunch since you were lied to. You just did what your bosses told you to, and I was not a kid when you looked at me anyways."
"But do you forgive me?"
Dabi looked like he was thinking. "I think so. I don't really know how forgiving people feels, I just know your face doesn't make me want to piss myself or cry or some bullshit. Hasn't for awhile anyways. Can we just get this done?" he asked, sounding annoyed, but also a bit embarrassed. He didn't want to talk about this much, either, then. He had said he just wanted to move on.
Keigo sat down next to him, and then they started practicing. Dabi was not lying when he said he had no filter. How on earth this person could be the child of someone as closed lip as Endeavor was a mystery. Multiple attempts ended with him going off on tirades about the media being annoying and nosy and rude and to just move on from it already.
There was no nice way to tell him he was doing poorly at trying to make Keigo look good in any light. "Then write a script."
"Now?"
"Yes." The next hour was them getting nowhere on anything because Dabi kept making comments on anything Keigo wrote that just made him laugh and ultimately ruined it. "We're getting nowhere."
"Why do you think that is?!" Keigo asked incredulously.
"Because you can't handle my humor. Can't blame me for that," Dabi said. Keigo sighed and looked at the clock. It was really late by now. "It's fine I left a double at home."
"A double?"
"A clone. Sleeping in my bed."
"So you snuck out."
"Bitch, I'm a teenager, what did you expect?"
"Why don't we just do it over zoom? Remotely and all. Oh no-," he said when he heard a thump from Rumi's room. "Rumi woke up." The smashed bunny opened the door, her hair a mess. "Dabi, let's try this another time."
"Whoa, Kei, what's with the coffee shop," Rumi slurred in confusion. Dabi snickered and left, being a complete asshole and once he was gone making his illusion go even crazier, turning into fireworks popping all over the room. It freaked Rumi out and she passed out. The final firework popped and all was quiet. Keigo sighed and carried Rumi to her bed again.
That got them absolutely nowhere. Keigo was just glad Dabi was like that, not broken inside from what happened. He fell asleep easily, exhausted. At least he didn't need to get up too early.
In the morning, Rumi didn't remember anything. It was a nice memory even if they didn't get anything done. Actually talking to someone closer to his age was nice. Rumi joked a lot but it was often at Keigo's expense. Not in a cruel way, she never meant to be cruel, but it was just different with Dabi since he wasn't making fun of anyone to joke.
He didn't even act an ounce afraid of Keigo, which was such a relief. He was the one that reacted badly when he saw Dabi with Touya's face. It was embarrassing. Shameful. Dabi was the one who went through hell, not Keigo. He was fine to torture him until he realized there was no reason. It wasn't good, he was still okay with hurting people as long as he didn't like them.
Was he still like that? Deep inside? He liked helping people, helping them help themselves. He hadn't been in the position to hurt someone and see if it bothered him and he wasn't about to try and find out. He showered and got dressed, eating a quick meal, packing his premade lunch into his pack and he left, going through the balcony door and flying to the studio.
Only a few days left of filming, but that didn't mean the work was over. There were photoshoots, interviews, so much to do that wasn't fun sounding. At least he only didn't get along with a few of his costars so he wasn't surrounded by toxicity. But when he landed in front of his trailer, he remembered Dabi's toothy smirk, the corners of his mouth pulling on the staples he chose but didn't need.
Keigo was forgiven by the person whose opinion mattered the most. Dabi was happy. Keigo could be happy, too, he'd been given permission. Not outright, but told it was okay, he could move on. It put him in a bright mood. He did wonder who here had tipped off Dabi. He wasn't about to start suspecting everybody of anything.
"Hi June!" Keigo said brightly, the person who did his make up and costume. He took off his wings and shirt, and she smiled to help him put on the brace to make him not look like a heteromorph any longer. She put the finger caps on and then the blue contacts in. "How are you?"
"Tired," she said simply. Keigo hummed, not wanting to press more but not knowing what to say. Once the minimal makeup was done, he went on his way to be briefed on what they'd be doing that day. There were only a few scenes left and they were all reshoots. And Keigo had zero scenes reshot because of his own error.
Karin had a lot of reshoots and En admitted he thought she was mad at them when they didn't. The only reshoots En needed had to do with faulty equipment. His scenes were not as dramatic as Keigo's since he was the character with the emotional crux of the story, losing someone and grieving throughout most of the story as he did dangerous things. So two of the main three had few to no scenes to reshoot while the third had a lot.
Keigo was waiting for the cameras to be reset for another run through with Karin, who was having her make up redone since there was water in this scene that ruined the look after every take, when En came over. "You seem extra positive today."
"I had a friend over last night. It was fun," Keigo said brightly.
"Oh, that's great! Not just your roommate?"
"Nah, he's my own age. I didn't think we were friends before but last night it seemed that way," he said with a toothy smile.
"How'd you meet him?" En asked, sounding invested and interested. Keigo had to come up with a lie fast. He couldn't say he met him and sliced him up while yelling at him about something he never did. He swallowed down the memory by remembering Dabi's face last night, not Touya's. Dabi's.
"Through the gym that closed. Met him when I was working there awhile ago. It was near the beginning - after what happened and everything," Keigo said. They were called back to the scene, and the three started at the far end of the greenscreen set, and went running through the water, hoses spraying on them. Keigo slipped as he was supposed to and nearly went to the edge of the green screen floor, where the ledge would be in post production.
Karin grabbed him before he could get to the edge, and he panted and scrambled up, eyes wide and cheeks red from the effort of running, him able to summon the redness to his face. "Th-thanks," he said.
"Let's go, guys!" En shouted. They stood up and ran to the end of the strip.
"Cut! Good, that scene is wrapped up."
"Finally," Karin said, as if it was someone else's fault she kept messing up. Oh well. If Keigo messed up he'd want people to be understanding and patient, so he made no show of annoyance. They were blow dried after given a new set of dry costumes. Keigo wore a lot of leather in his outfit. He was also the one with the backpack, and maybe that was to help with hiding his wing bumps. In every chance they had, there was a way to hide his back.
They reshot the last scenes and it was officially over. The acting part. Soon they needed the photoshoots, and Keigo approached the director alone to try and appease him if he worried over backlash with Keigo's involvement. It would be impossible for him to be edited out of the movie as he played a main character with his own story arc and it wouldn't work to cut him out completely.
"The person that I hurt came to me and said he wanted to make a statement to try and keep any drama or boycotting from happening."
"Whoa, seriously?"
"Yes. We plan on making a video together and will post it online when the first trailer comes out."
"That's fantastic! I'm so grateful. But we have plenty of behind the scenes footage to show what kind of person you are." Keigo rose his brows. "Think of it as the production trying to help you out. With your performance in this, we think the movie will benefit from your involvement." Keigo's cheeks turned red at the huge compliment. "Is it possible for him to be part of the production to show he's actually sincere and you didn't pay him off or something?"
"I don't know if he would want to do that, he's kept himself out of the public as best as he can. And I'm gonna be honest, he really doesn't have a filter, so working with him might be… difficult." Keigo could just imagine Dabi giving Karin the most condescending looks. He had the attitude to be able to do such a thing and not give a shit over what she thought, or what anyone else thought. "If it's necessary, I'll ask."
So after work was done, Keigo called Dabi on his way home. "I told the director that you were going to try and absolve the drama that might come with my involvement."
"What he say?" Dabi asked. "Hey, stop that!" Keigo heard him shout over the line, and he heard bickering on the other end. "It's not gonna be a long call, shut the fuck up." Then there were the sounds of drums being banged on. "I am not going bra shopping with you again!" and there was the sound of a slamming door.
Keigo was speechless. Dabi went bra shopping with someone? Then did he have a girlfriend? Hmm. Interesting. Keigo knew better than to say anything abut what he'd heard. "Sorry. So what did he say?"
"He was really happy and relieved. I told him it's a likely no but he wanted to have it more… official? Like, have you over to really prove we're on good terms and I didn't pay you off. So people didn't think that."
"Am I gonna get paid for this? I already have work and school and no desire to be seen out as Touya anymore," Dabi stated calmly, sounding deeply uninterested.
"I don't know. They're really pushing on having me be a big deal about this performance. If you asked for pay, I really don't know. But I told him it's a likely no. And also mentioned you have no filter and working with you might be difficult." Dabi laughed on the other side.
"I'm gonna give a hard pass on that offer. I honestly don't want to be in the public anymore as Touya. The more I'm seen out the more likely I'll be traced back to Dabi somehow. I'll just make a video with you or some shit and they can play it. I don't know, we'll figure it out," Dabi explained. "You should write a script when you can in time."
"Okay, I will," Keigo agreed. His curiously came out. "So, you go bra shopping?"
"She only has guy friends." He sounded completely unbothered.
"What do the people in the store think?"
"Psh, you think I'd go there as a dude?"
"Oh. Wow."
"Boobs suck, dicks are more convenient and inexpensive." Keigo snorted. He landed at the apartment and headed inside.
"You learn something new every day," Keigo said. "I'll write the script or something and then message you?"
"Sure. Bye."
"Bye." Keigo dropped his bag on the bed, and immediately started on the script. He wasn't good at writing out something like this, and felt dirty writing what Dabi would say to make him look better. He just needed Dabi to say what he thought but not go completely off the rails. And not come across as an asshole.
Rumi came home from work and saw Keigo smiling to himself. "Ooh, what happened? Shooting over?"
"Yup! Now we have the interview stuff to do, which is the scariest part cause I'm not acting. Hey, if you could shape shift, would you ever go around as a man?" Keigo asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Hell yes, you wouldn't as a chick?" Keigo was surprised, but had to admit he'd be curious, too. That meant Dabi really could turn into anyone. The Commission would have loved having even just that one quirk. They should have been trying to convince Dabi to come to their side, not torture him. Did they just not know the extent of what he could do? He would have been their perfect little weapon.
If they'd even been able to control someone like him. Dabi was confident in himself, Keigo doubted he'd follow what someone else told him. He snuck out of the house at night, pretending to be at home. No way would he have conformed to what the Commission wanted. He'd have been their worst nightmare. Someone they wanted but could never attain. Because even after brutal torture, a year later and Dabi didn't give a shit. At least, he didn't hate Keigo for it.
He was right, that Keigo wasn't the only one to hurt him at the time. Many people had tortured and been rough with him. Keifo wasn't the only offender. He was selfishly glad of this. He wasn't the only one at fault. His feelings made it hard to write any script, so he just had a general message he wanted Dabi to get across.
That he appreciated their concern, but would like the matter to just move on. It's been too long for this and that Keigo didn't choose to do that, he was coerced into it and lied to. Manipulated. He felt dirty making excuses for himself. But Dabi wanted him to be the one to do it, so he did. He finished typing it up, and sent it to Dabi.
He didn't read it that night, probably busy with homework or his friends. Keigo went to make food, and Rumi gave him a thoughtful look. "What happened? You look thoughtful."
"...I talked with Touya," Keigo said. Rumi's sharp brows rose in surprise, but she stayed silent. "He forgives me. He wants to help me out, to try and keep the public backlash low about me being hired in the movie."
"Oh, wow. Didn't expect that!" Rumi said with a grin. "Are you relieved?"
"Yes. And I feel a bit guilty. I know I should move on, but it's hard."
"I know, but you've paid enough for it with how people hated you. How is he doing?"
"Good. He's happy, now," Keigo said. "I'm relieved. And jealous. He doesn't look at me like he's scared or triggered."
"Then why are you jealous?" Rumi asked softly.
"Because looking at his face is painful. I see him covered in blood. Blood that I helped spill. I remembered the sounds of when I stomped on his face. When I tortured him. And I feel stupid. He was the one that got tortured and he's not scared of me but I'm bothered? How is that right?" Keigo said a bit bitterly.
Rumi sighed and hugged him. "He forgives you, or he at least wants to move on. Maybe you should start going to therapy again, Boo. You can't just carry this around with you all your life. You see it's possible to move on - Touya did it. You can, too. And you need to, because if this acting career is going to actually go somewhere, you can't let the past be weaponized against you," she said firmly, but kindly. Something she didn't do often.
Keigo nodded, hugging her back.
-x-
The photoshoot part was actually really fun. His makeup artist for the shoots was fantastic, and confident. Like she'd done his make up a thousand times already, had the perfect colors to match his skin. She looked smug the whole time. He was very compliant and stayed still. "Have you studied my face a lot or something?" Keigo asked, looking in the mirror.
Naomi flustered and couldn't answer straight, so Keigo didn't press, and just said he was impressed and he'd just try to be flattered. Karin and En already had makeup artists that usually did theirs for other productions, so they weren't being done up by strangers. He was just lucky, then. And at least she was nice enough.
It was more fun acting than the shoots but they were especially fun with how badly some of them turned out, and the whole cast laughed together about it. Keigo would miss them. Not Karin and not a few of the older members, but, overall, they were nice for his first movie. It was possibly his only movie, he didn't know yet and planned to tell Dabi about the script later that day.
During the lunch break they ordered a lot of food from a catering company and just ate. "Am I going to be paying for my serving?" Keigo quietly asked En. He just chuckled and shook his head, so Keigo ate as much as he wanted. The room was full of laughter, and it was bittersweet. This likely would be one of the last times they were together not in public or during an interview. Unless more movies were greenlit and Keigo came back.
Keigo didn't really have much to say so he just listened. Once the food was gone, and everyone all walked over, En saw how sad Keigo looked. "Bittersweet when a production ends. But we still have a lot of time together. We have the behind the scenes interviews, the public shows and then award ceremonies," he said with a smile.
"Does everyone stay in contact? Like friends, or only coworkers?" Keigo asked, truly having no idea.
"Aw, you're so cute," Karin said rudely. "Did you think all these people would stay in touch with an 18 year old? You can't even go out for drinks."
"Karin, what the fuck is wrong with you?" En asked in disbelief. "You have no excuse for alcohol." Keigo felt hot shame and embarrassment fill his chest and face. Karin looked at him with a sour face. The room was clearing, all but the main three and a few of the stage crew and caterers cleaning up.
Keigo wanted to escape and be helpful, avoid the conflict, so he sent out feathers to clean up the table for them, to keep distracted. "Do you think just because you're a good actor that you'll make friends in the industry?"
"Come on, Takami, let's get out of here," En said, arm around Keigo's shoulders. "One of these times, someone isn't gonna be professional and your name will get drug through the dirt, Emmi Karin. Just because you have a pretty face doesn't mean you're actually anything special, either. Not as a person or an actor."
"Oh, don't be bitter."
"You're the bitter one and you know it. Takami, the best thing to do with someone like her is ignore her. She wants you to bite because it will make you look bed. It won't make her look good, but you will look bad. Practice patience for yourself. You win by not biting back because they put in the effort but get nothing back," En said, drilling it into Keigo's head. "I want you to be able to take criticism, no matter how unfair it may be, and ignore it. Be the bigger person, you will be more palatable to normal people and future coworkers and bosses."
"Nobody is gonna work with him, stop putting thoughts in his head."
"Takami, just go, you don't need to listen to her shit. I'm still your friend after this is over." Keigo nodded and flew away, angry tears in his eyes. The Commission would be so ashamed about how sensitive he'd gotten. He was just so new and didn't want to fuck things up. He already fucked up being a hero.
He flew to the tallest building in the city and sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest, wings wrapped around him. Did he fit anywhere? It took awhile to calm himself down, for the heat in his face to go away. Yes, he could control his body but not as easily his inner emotions. So the heat in his face had stayed while he was embarrassed.
The ringtone he set for his "coworkers" rang, and he saw it was En. Keigo sighed and answered it. "Hey."
"Hey, Takami. Where are you?"
"Rinku Gate Tower," Keigo mumbled. "...I'm sorry."
"Karin should be the sorry one. She's just jealous and bitter."
"Doesn't mean what she said didn't hurt."
"I know. And I'm sorry I pretty much made you give up and run. It's just that being a celebrity figure doesn't give you the privilege of arguing or making a scene without looking in the wrong-"
"I was trained by the hero government to be a public figure. But I fucked that up already, so who knows," Keigo grumbled. "Sorry. Sorry, that was stupid to say. I just - I know being someone seen by a lot of people has to be careful with what they say and do. I just don't know how to interact with other people in the same boat as me. Do we - do coworkers just never talk to each other again? And it's really all just been business?"
"We have social media. At school, you don't stay good friends with all your classmates."
"...I never went to any school," Keigo said in shame. "I have no frame of reference in how to interact with peers. People my own age or coworkers."
"Then working on set is gonna replace your formative years," En said simply, not sounding annoyed one bit. "I really suggest online study, but you're gonna learn through interaction whether that's the best or not. Takami, I am your friend, we are not just coworkers. I kind of assumed that was a worry. You were a fantastic costar and everyone that weren't jealous or biased adored having you on set. I'm serious."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. After you left, the workers around asked me to tell you to not listen to her. I mean, your reaction to stress and discomfort was to help clean up the area - unasked." Keigo snickered. "Just keep being you and I think things will work out. Be a bit bumpy, but don't stoop to people's level. Just be you. Who you were on set the last few months."
"Thanks, En. I think I wouldn't have made it if you weren't there to be nice to me."
"You're welcome. And I didn't just hang out with you because I felt sorry for you or anything, you're fun to be around. You bring a positive vibe and energy when you aren't beating yourself up."
"For someone who was trained to be a spy, I'm not very good at hiding my emotions," Keigo said.
"Yeah, not really. No offense," En chuckled. "Shit, my dad's calling, I gotta go. Get home safely, okay? Try to have fun tonight, however you can."
"Okay. Thanks. I'll text later? …Maybe?"
"Sure." Keigo smiled in relief, and the call ended. He took some deep breaths and went on a long flight over the city and just enjoyed his alone time up there. He wondered what it would be like to fly with someone else. He didn't know anyone else who could fly but for Dabi, though he hadn't seen him actually fly. Did he have wings like Keigo? He'd never been able to fly with someone, the sky was lonely, but safe. Somewhere he could be himself, always a safe space and somewhere he could seek privacy.
He'd rarely flown other people anywhere, so he did wonder what it would be like to not be lonely up there. But Dabi wasn't his frined. He wouldn't ask. They were acquaintances at most. Dabi only spoke with him to get his problems out of the way. A mutual problem, but Dabi's nonetheless.
Keigo didn't want to be friends with the person he tortured…
That was a lie. Keigo wanted to be friends. Someone near his age, interesting with a dark sense of humor who was confident in himself. Keigo sighed and went home to make dinner. He was still bummed about the last day being ruined for no good reason. He didn't do anything to Karin, her hostility was completely unwarranted.
When Rumi came home, she saw Keigo's reserved mood, and knew something was wrong. When she asked, Keigo explained the day, and the bunny was furious for her fellow heteromorph. "That bitch! At least you have En!"
"What if I do another movie, but there's no En there?"
"Then you'll become even more experienced and hardened. Besides, it's been hella fun without that bitch, right? And Touya is gonna help you out," Rumi said understandingly, serving herself some of her leftovers from the night before. Keigo nodded. "Then look forward to that! And look up costars next time if you aren't super into the movie you're doing, if you continue to be an actor. Only go to films you really look forward to," she suggested. It made sense, and he agreed to do that. He did wonder if he'd stick with this career. He was sure the dealbreaker would be the public response.
And not just for him. If he got awful press, it was likely another movie wouldn't be for him. It was possible he'd be in another movie for this series since it was a trilogy of books and they only got through the first book. It depended on public perception, and he'd be involved if it made sense for the series to continue making money. He could probably be replaced.
Nobody had talked about a second movie. Getting hopes up only to have their hard work being meaningless would be sad, and it had happened to some of the actors before. Keigo had the same mindset, trusting people who'd been through this to not get his hopes up. They talked about Rumi's day, and she had no drama unlike Keigo, which he was glad about. One of them being sad when coming home was bad enough, and he wanted her to be happy.