A/N: You guys! This chapter is almost 8,000 words! What the heck happened to 2,500?! Oh well! Some familiar faces in this chapter that I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think in the reviews as I love hearing your reactions, predictions, and thoughts!
Chapter 36
Present Day – Day 39
"Fuyumi," Asami croaks out a breathy smile as tears threaten to breach the edges of her lashes.
Asami takes a step forward to embrace her in a hug, missing her best friend so much when she feels Dabi's hand clutch onto her forearm with a painful heat. He pulls her against his back, and she does everything in her power not to whimper at the helpless feeling overcoming her.
"What are you doing here?" the white-haired woman asks her with a large smile on her face, having not recognized the purple-haired girl since she never wears ballcaps.
"I…" Asami winces when she feels Dabi's hand grip her forearm tightly, warning her against saying anything that will get the both of them killed. "Just shopping." She can feel the heat emanating off of him and she knows if she makes a move or says anything to the girl, he will burn her and her friend, along with everyone in this building.
How foolish of her to think that she was ever free and that Dabi actually cared about her. She was a sex toy to him. He was always pining for her as a way of sticking it to Hawks for whatever vendetta he has against him. There is nothing there between them, his willingness to hurt her proves it. She is—and always will be—his captive, and he will do everything in his power to make sure she doesn't forget that.
"For your birthday?" she asks with a tilt of her head. "I've been meaning to text you to see when you wanted to come over. Natsuo is already super excited to see you! And I have the perfect dinner spread idea!"
"My birthday?" Asami finds her voice whining more than she would have liked.
Fuyumi is taken aback by her tone. "Wow, does my dad really have you that overworked?" she shakes her head with a playful scoff. "It's tomorrow. I can't believe you've forgotten; I should have texted you a reminder," she scolds herself.
Asami's heart races as she thinks of her birthday and how it was always a celebration with the Todoroki's growing up. She shared the same birthday as Touya, and ever since his death, they used the day as a way they could still celebrate, despite the sadness that weighed heavily in the air.
Every year she would celebrate with the Todoroki family with a feast that Fuyumi prepared with her, and they spent the whole night laughing and remembering the good times of their childhood.
"You're still coming, right?" she asks her, feeling subconscious as she reads the confusion in Asami's micro expressions.
Asami opens her mouth to respond, but Dabi's hand tightens over her forearm, heating his Quirk as he begins faintly burning her. Asami groans as she quickly chokes out, "I wouldn't miss it!" and Dabi tightens his painful grip on her, not giving a shit that he's burning her. "I won't miss it," she affirms strongly, more to him than to Fuyumi. "And if I do then a villain must have gotten to me," she adds and Dabi presses his back against hers, heating his whole body up and making her sweat.
She's panicking, fearing that he will kill Fuyumi and everyone else in here for her words, but she needs to show the white-haired girl that she's in danger and she's been kidnapped. They've been friends for so long, Fuyumi knows when she's in distress.
And like the best friend that she is, she catches onto the situation. Her eyes widen as realization strikes her and she immediately takes note of the situation before her. She looks at the man pressed behind Asami's back, unable to get a good look at him, but noticing his black hairs peaking through his hood. Her eyes slide over to Twice, gathering every detail of his exposed face. "Great, can't wait," she awkwardly adds. "And who's this?" she asks hoping that she is reading her best friend's distress incorrectly and these strange men with her are just coworkers or something.
"Umm," Asami turns to the blonde at the table as Dabi tightens his grip on her, warning her with the heat radiating off of him. "This is…" she lingers for a moment, trying to think of something to say when she panics. "My boyfriend," she croaks out and Dabi stiffens behind her. "Yup, my boyfriend, Haruto."
Asami uses the same name of the boy who cheated on her as a child as a tell to Fuyumi that Dabi won't understand. She once told her white-haired friend that she would never date another Haruto again, regardless of the circumstances, and as silly as it might be, maybe Fuyumi will see this as a situation that is out of her control.
"Oh," Fuyumi is completely taken aback, figuring she was still with Hawks, but after the Billboard Charts she wasn't really sure. She still figures it rather quick that the girl moved on, but she can't shake the strangeness in Asami's posture. "Well, Haruto, you're welcome to join, if you'd like," Fuyumi says, unsure if that's something Asami wants or not.
"We'd love that," Asami says before Twice or any of his personalities can ruin the moment. "We will be there!" she assures her.
"And…" she lingers as she tries to look at the man behind her. Dabi peers past the corner of his hood at the white-haired girl. She can't see much of his features as his face is shadowed by his hood, but she catches his bright eyes for the briefest of moments and she swallows down the tension building in her throat at the look in his eyes. It's almost… familiar. "Who's that behind you?"
"Haruto's brother," Asami awkwardly adds. "But he's shy, cripplingly shy."
Fuyumi awkwardly chuckles as she's too nice to say anything about how strange this encounter is becoming, but smart enough to pick up on the subtle nuances of underlying danger. "Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow. Six o'clock sharp!"
"Yeah," she smiles at her friend, wanting to go in for a hug, but Dabi holds her too tightly. "I'll see you then," she says looking at her longingly, missing her so much.
Fuyumi turns around from the strange encounter and once she is out of sight, Asami tears her arm out of Dabi's hold, while the man quickly turns on his heels at her. He looms over her in a threatening way that makes her sink into her shoulders.
"What the fuck was that?" he spits out like venom on his tongue.
"Dabi—" she attempts to reconcile with him, but he quickly snatches her jaw, pulling her into his space as his eyes overflow with hate.
"You want me to fucking scorch her? Think I won't with all these people around, figure a hero might save her? How long do you think she can survive burning at 2,ooo degrees? I'll give you a hint, it ain't long!" His eyes are wide and homicidal, aching to retaliate against her foolish stunt.
"Fuyumi is my oldest friend," she whimpers back at him, unable to appear strong in his grip like this. "That was painfully clear that I was in trouble, so if I don't show up to her house tomorrow night, she will tell Endeavor."
"Yeah, I'm fucking aware of that!" he barks at her as he shoves her face out of his grip. "How about I go to that party instead and barbecue them for dinner?"
"Dabi," she says looking up at him with widening eyes. "Please, I haven't tried to run away from you. I've played along with your games and worked with the League to elevate you guys above the MLA," she lifts her hands into a pleading gesture to graze his cheek but he snatches her forearm and grips it away from him. "All I am asking is that you let me have this dinner with them."
"Not a chance," he sneers down at her.
"Please," she begs him. "I…" tears begin pooling in her eyes and she looks up at him with glistening orbs. "I never got to say goodbye to them."
He turns his head away from her, keeping his gaze off those eyes as he tries to settle down his rage.
"Please," she begs. "Just let me say goodbye."
His jaw tightens as his brows furrow with frustration. He glances back at her, seeing how much this means to her, making anything she's ever asked for in her life utterly meaningless. His eyes slide from one to the other as he searches for her intent with him.
"I'll tell her everything is fine, and that I was just surprised by her appearance. She won't suspect that I'm kidnapped if you let me go. But if you don't…" she hesitates and he glares down at her. "She'll know something's wrong and she will tell Endeavor. He'll never stop looking for me."
Dabi tightens his jaw, feeling the painful itch of his staples as his inner heat gnaws uncomfortably at his body. He still has the double that's keeping that flaming fucker none the wiser, but if Endeavor goes to her and asks about her demeanor at the mall, she will say she was never there, causing the self-righteous bastard to ask questions and stick his nose where it doesn't belong.
He can make another clone to go to the dinner, but with the first one not being convincing enough for Hawks, Fuyumi will see right through the ruse.
I have no fucking choice.
He bites down the fury and the self-doubt on why she's so willing to escape him, even after everything he's done to show her that he fucking cares helplessly for her. With the realization that he has no other option here he begrudgingly says, "Alright. But we do this my way."
Present Day – Day 40
Asami's hands shake as she tries to stabilize them while doing her makeup. She looks at herself in the mirror as she applies the heavy eye makeup. She tries to keep her eyes on her own reflection and not the reflection of Dabi who stands in the back of her room, leaning against her wall with his hands crossed over his chest. He's angry with her and she doesn't blame him.
"I'll be watching from the courtyard," he tells her with a dissatisfied look on his face. "If you make any attempt in telling them about your situation, I will burn that house to the ground, and all their lives will be on your hands."
"I understand," her voice cracks as she shakily applies the blush to her cheeks.
"Is that flaming shithead going to be there?" he asks her.
Asami gulps down the panic in her throat. "No," she chokes. "He's never really there during these gatherings."
"Good," he says turning his head from her. "He shows up, you leave immediately."
"I understand," she repeats with a broken tone.
"If none of the above happens, you have two hours, and then you leave. No questions, no arguments, no exceptions."
"I understand."
"You keep the conversation off of Twice. His face hasn't been publicly released, and he'll be unrecognizable thanks to the mask, but we don't need them asking about him either."
"I understand."
He watches her wordlessly as she finishes up her makeup. Her fingernails are painted a light lilac color from one of the nail polishes he bought her. She's wearing a long-sleeved white shirt tucked into a short black skirt with black thigh-high stockings. She wears a lavender scarf to cover the love bites all over her neck from Dabi, and completes the outfit with black heels and a black peacoat that wait on the bed for her to put on.
Her purple hair is up in a curly messy bun with stray wisps of hair falling around her forehead, ears, and nape. She wears black earrings that dangle past her chin. Dabi's eyes examine every last inch of her, and she looks absolutely gorgeous. He can't help but admire how beautiful she is as he looks onto her, and he hates the way his heart painfully leaps in his chest at the sight of her.
This is by far the worst-case scenario for him and his plan. He isn't even sure if there is a plan anymore. It seems like he reached abandonment with it when he found out she was the girl from his childhood. But this is the worst thing that could happen to him.
He can't have her near that family, and he can't be near it himself. There was a reason he left and never returned to them. He loathes every last one of them, and he's managed to live his life comfortably without them. He finds his body igniting with an uncontrollable hatred for that family, and that house. Going anywhere near it makes him uneasy with dread.
Dabi watches her as she finishes getting ready. She told him that he was enough, and that she would never leave, so why did she react the way that she did when she saw Fuyumi? Why was she so desperate to show her that she was in distress? Is being here with him and the League that despicable? Why say she'd never leave and this life was enough when it wasn't?
"You said you didn't want to leave…" His voice calls out involuntarily and he tries to swallow down his words.
She shifts in her seat and looks up at him with glistening eyes. His heart thumps wildly at her stare.
"I don't," she admits to him and he holds in his breath, seeing no lie in her words. She thinks about Twice's words and how—like him—she's chosen to be here with Dabi and the others. She's just too scared to admit that.
"I miss her, Dabi," she says with a hint of a whine playing at her throat. "I feel so lonely without her," her voice is weak as she speaks and Dabi watches her with hurt eyes. "I know I have you, and Twice, and the rest of the League, but I can't help but feel that there's a part of me that's still missing. She's always been my sanctuary and escape from it all. I tell her everything and she makes me feel whole."
Asami clung onto Fuyumi after the death of Touya, and the two became inseparable through their grief. They helped each other mourn and eventually heal from trauma they endured, and the idea that she will never see her again feels just as finite as losing Touya all over again.
"She's my friend and is an important part of my life. I can't just cut her out without saying goodbye." Asami knows that after tonight, Dabi will not let her see the members of the Todoroki family again, so she has to make the best of it, and she needs to have this final moment with them. She lost Touya without saying goodbye. And though she can't stomach the idea of losing them too, she has no choice but to say goodbye.
She exhales when he has nothing to say in return. "I'm ready," she tells him.
They didn't tell Shigaraki and the others about their plan, because god only knows what the crusty man would say if he knew what they were doing. They will do what they have to do, and once they are finished, she'll finally stop fighting him on this.
She places her heels on, and tugs her arms through the black peacoat. They meet with Twice who is in a button downed dark grey shirt and black dress pants. He's still wearing the beanie to keep his head from splitting, and Dabi only prays that he will be able to hold himself together during this shit show of a dinner.
They head towards Musutafu, all wordlessly piled into a car the Meta Liberation Army provides them with. Not a single word is spoken as no one dares to speak with one another. Twice may not understand the severity of this issue, and Asami doesn't quiet grasp much if it either, but the closer that they get to that house, the deeper Dabi feels himself plummeting.
After a long and quiet drive, the car stops and they all get out. Asami looks up at the home, feeling a sense of anxiety press onto her chest as it did the first time she looked onto the daunting structure.
Dabi wordlessly turns down the alleyway next to the home, while Asami and Twice stand at the door. She attempts to take in a breath, but her airways are collapsing in her throat. She's not sure how this dinner will pan out, but her biggest fear is that it will end in flames.
They buzz themselves in, and the gate opens up to them. Asami clutches onto Jin's arm as she intertwines their limbs together. He doesn't seem bothered or worried about the outcome of this dinner as much as Asami or Dabi are, and she wishes she had his ignorance to this.
They enter the threshold of the front door when they are greeted by an always smiling Fuyumi. She's wearing a light purple sweater and an apron as she's in the thralls of cooking dinner.
"Welcome!" she excitedly cheers as she opens her arms to Asami. The purple-haired girl immediately launches herself in the arms of her friend, feeling a warmth and comfort in her hold that she took for granted. "Happy Birthday, Asami!" she excitedly chirps as she rocks her in a tight hug and Asami does everything in her power to not lose her composure in her embrace.
"Thanks, Fuyumi," Asami cracks, trying to keep herself from crying at how she's missed this so much.
The girls pull away from one another and Fuyumi examines her from an arm's length. "It's so good to see you, it feels like we haven't talked in a while."
"It feels like years," Asami sadly declares.
"Well, you're here now," Fuyumi says, always focusing on the positives. She turns to Twice. "Haruto," she says with a polite bow that he returns. "So good to meet you."
"You too," he returns. "Where's the grub?" he snaps under his breath.
Asami awkwardly laughs, "He's just hungry," she tries to take over the spotlight from Twice as Dabi had asked of her. "I've been hyping up your food this whole time."
"Well, you're in luck; it's almost finished," she begins as she turns from them and the two of them slide off their shoes. "I'm making your favorite; Mapo Tofu."
Asami's stomach grumbles on cue as she removes her shoes and coat, but keeps her scarf snuggly wrapped around her neck. "I can't wait!" she announces as they happily make their way towards the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Twice begins to stuff different ingredients into his mouth. Asami tries to stop him, but Fuyumi laughs, allowing the man to try every stage of the course. He's shockingly behaving himself from any manic episodes and Asami is grateful. She already has the overweighing dread of Dabi waiting outside to burn down the home at any moment, the last thing she needs is Twice to make a scene on the inside.
"Do you need any help?" Asami asks as she enters the kitchen.
"No way," she excitedly scolds her, "It's your birthday, you can't be cooking on your day!"
"It's your birthday?" Twice finally perks up. "You are looking a little old." Asami makes a point to push out a laugh while Fuyumi stares at the blonde.
"He loves joking around," Asami tries to explain. "That's what attracted me to him," she says almost clenching her teeth at the lie.
This is going to be a shit show.
Asami wonders where Dabi is, and how she will be able to tell that he's planning an assault on the home. Will she be able to calm him down and convince him not to? It seems like her allure over him is dwindling, and she won't be able to talk him out of this with the promise of her body or whatever enduring favors that worked on him before.
"So…" Fuyumi sings as she draws out the word, "Where'd you two meet?"
Asami looks at her friend, wondering what even to say to her, not entirely planning a story about them because that was the last thing on her mind with all this.
"Umm, the park outside my apartment," Asami says on the spot, thinking about Dabi. "I went for a late-night walk to clear my head, and he was there," she leaves out the part about Dabi lighting a cigarette for her, because she knows Fuyumi hates that she smokes sometimes. "We had a short talk, but we ended up bumping into each other on the streets after the attack of those Nomu things, and he ended up pulling me out of a stampede of people." Asami also conveniently leaves out the kidnapping piece of their involvement as well.
"Wow, that must have been really scary!" Fuyumi's eyes widen as she holds her hands closely to her chest.
Asami thinks about that day, looking up into the sky to watch as Hawks and Endeavor battled the Nomu. That seemed like it was ages ago.
Fuyumi shakes her head, "I can't believe those nasty rumors about that fight. How can people be so senseless to believe something so absurd?"
Asami's heart races, thinking about the message she was trying to send, and wondering if anyone seemed to catch on.
"You'd be surprised how desperate some people can be," she returns sadly.
While Twice is in the thralls of stuffing his mouth with anything in the kitchen, Fuyumi hands Asami a glass of wine and they make their way towards the edge of the kitchen. "So…" she lingers now in a different tone. "Haruto?" she gives Asami a knowing glance and Asami's heart races at her friend's ability to pick up her distress.
"Yeah," Asami begins with an awkward chuckle as she scratches at the back of her head. "I know I said I'd never go for one of them, but he's different. He definitely kidnapped my heart."
Fuyumi blinks at her choice of words, and awkwardly laughs. Asami sighs, seeing that she's not pushing her as much as she expected her. Though Asami figures it's for the best that Fuyumi doesn't question her since Dabi is undoubtedly listening in somehow. She needs to stop pushing her luck with him; there's only so much her appeal can get her away with.
Fuyumi questions if she should ask Asami about her strange behavior at the mall when her eyes slide down her face and land on a bruised mark on Asami's neck. "Oh my gosh!" Fuyumi shrieks as her hand quickly snatches the scarf and pulls it down her neck. "Asami!" she screeches. Asami quickly wraps the scarf back around her neck. "I knew there was a reason you were still wearing that!" she teases her.
Asami's heart races as she tugs on the fabric of the scarf, feeling her face redden at the embarrassment. "It's not what you think!" she tries to frantically explain.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Fuyumi giggles at her. "I'm just happy that you're happy," she smiles at her, nudging her playfully with her hip.
Asami smiles back at her, but it doesn't reach her eyes. She isn't really sure if she's happy or not.
The doorbell rings and Asami jumps at the sound. "That must be Natsu!" Fuyumi announces as she rushes to the door.
Asami pushes herself from the wall and glances down at Twice who continues to sip at the broth, while trying different portions of the meal. "Are you feeling okay? Can you still do this?" she asks him with caring eyes.
"No problemo!" Twice gives her a thumbs up. "I'm going to starve to death!" he grumbles. "You've got a good friend with her."
Asami smiles down at him and places her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. She turns from him and walks down the hall towards the front door, leaving Twice to his own devises when she sees the tall Natsuo walking towards her. Her heart races as she looks onto him, and she begins charging herself at him.
He extends his arms out and she launches herself into them. He laces his arm around her waist, crushing her in his tight hold as he lifts her off of her feet effortlessly. "Natsu!" she happily cries out as he squeezes her.
"Asami!" he returns as he plants her back down onto the ground. He towers over her as she cranes her head up to look at him. He's gotten more muscular since the last time she saw him, and he looks handsome as ever. "Happy Birthday," he says as he places a bouquet of flowers in front of her that she didn't even notice in his hand when she launched herself at him.
"Thank you, Natsu!" she takes the flowers and they begin walking together towards the kitchen.
They enter the kitchen where Twice sits and Natsuo freezes in the doorway. "Natsu, this is my boyfriend, Haruto," Asami introduces him.
"Oh," he lets out reactionarily. He glances at Fuyumi for an explanation and she returns with a subtle shrug of her shoulders. "Nice to meet you," he says with a bow and Twice thankfully keeps himself on his best behavior and bows back at him.
Asami releases a building breath in her lungs to see that things are actually going pretty well, all things considered.
"Well, should we eat?" Asami asks with a clap of her hands.
"Actually, Sho is coming too!" Fuyumi happily announces with crescent moon eyes.
"Shouto?" Asami smiles wildly, "Wow I haven't seen him for a year, I think!"
"Yeah," she happily grins, "He's bringing some of his friends from school, and my dad is coming too!"
Both Asami and Natsuo stiffen at the mention of his presence. "Endeavor is coming?" Asami's voice cracks as a wave crashes into her body like a brick wall. She can feel her mouth drying at the news as a sense of panic stacks on her chest.
Fuyumi's brows furrow at Asami's wide-eyed response. "Is that alright?" she asks her, confused as to why she would care, since she seems to have a great relationship with her father, unlike Natsuo.
Asami shakes her head and cools herself down, "Yeah," her voice cracks unconvincingly. "That's fine," she tries to reassure herself, wondering if she should find Dabi and tell him. If she does, he will demand that she leaves, but she can't leave… not now.
Maybe if I don't tell him, he won't notice?
Asami helps Fuyumi set the table while Natsuo struggles to speak with Twice, who is more focused on the food then he is speaking with the young man. Asami's heart races at the idea of Endeavor showing up. If Dabi is skulking around the courtyard somewhere, he will certainly see Endeavor enter the household.
Will he give her time to explain herself to him? Will he give her time to get out of the house and leave? Or will he set the house ablaze with everyone inside? Will he even care if she gets out, or is he willing to kill her and Twice for his vendetta? Dabi doesn't seem to care much for Endeavor for whatever reason, so she can't imagine him holding himself back to the opportunity of burning the man.
She wonders what Dabi has against the flame hero. He has a Quirk similar to Endeavor's, so maybe Dabi was a fan of his growing up? Maybe he attempted to work for the man at some point and intern under him, but Endeavor rejected him, causing him to grow some hostility towards the hero. Then again, she can't help but scoff at the idea of Dabi wanting to be a hero.
The door rings and Fuyumi excitedly goes to answer it, leaving the trio in the kitchen together. Asami's heart races as she thinks about how Dabi is going to respond to all of this. He had to have seen him enter the courtyard, and yet they are all still alive and unscathed. Does this mean that he's allowing her to meet with them? Or is he biding his time?
Quickly after Fuyumi left them in the kitchen, does she return with the red-and-white-haired boy behind her. Asami's smile reaches her eyes when she looks onto the two-toned boy. "Holy crap, is that Shouto?" she scoffs happily at the sight of him.
"Oh, Asami," Shouto blinks at her. "You're here as well?" he returns in a flat tone as the purple-haired girl moves to hug him.
"Sho!" Fuyumi grumbles. "It's her birthday!"
"Oh, that's right," he says as he pulls away from her hug. "Happy Birthday," he returns with a more enthusiastic tone.
"Thanks," she smiles up at him. "When the hell did you get taller than me?" she says with her hands on her hips. She hasn't seen Shouto in person since her last birthday, mostly because when she sees Fuyumi, it is outside of the home.
"I'm not sure," Shouto awkwardly scratches at the back of his head, answering her question that was more meant to be rhetorical.
She looks at him, seeing how handsome the young boy is. A sting of sadness strikes her chest when she notices the similarities in his face and Touya's. His eldest brother was only three years younger than he is now when he died, but they look so similar to one another, causing her heart to ache at the memory of him.
"Well let's all gather around and eat!" Fuyumi shepherds everyone into the dining room.
"About time!" Twice grumbles as he springs into his seat.
Asami enters the room where everyone sits. She notices a green-haired boy and a pale blonde-haired boy sitting at the table next to Shouto, and she figures these must be his classmates.
Asami sits between Natsuo and Twice, across the table from the boys as Fuyumi stands next to her white-haired brother. "Let me do introductions again. I'm Shouto's older sister Fuyumi, I teach at an elementary school nearby. And this is Shouto's older brother Natsuo. He's in college."
"Hey what's up?" he lazily responds.
"This is my best friend Asami," she says motioning to the purple-haired girl. "She works for my dad's agency as his PR directory but she's practically family at this point, and today's her birthday!"
"Oh wow! Happy Birthday!" the green-haired boy excitedly states and she thanks him.
"And this is her boyfriend, Haruto," she introduces and Twice waves over his slurping. Asami jabs him in the ribs with her elbow and the man huffs at the act. "Shouto, this is where you introduce your friends."
"Right, these are two of my classmates in the hero course. Midoriya and Bakugo," he returns in a flat tone.
"Uh! It's nice to meet you!" Midoriya energetically bows at each of them.
"You two were in the Sports Festival, right?" Asami asks them and Midoriya excitedly nods at her. "You were the one who broke his fingers and arms right?" she says recognizing them from the broadcast.
"Oh yeah," Midoriya awkwardly smiles at her as his shoulders sink in. "But I've learned a lot since then and can control my Quirk better now!" he excitedly announces.
"That's great!" Asami smiles at him. "And Bakugo, you came in first, right?" The blond huffs at her with a pout on his lips and his arms crossed over his chest. "You've got a pretty impressible Quirk. I can see you being a great hero one day."
"Yeah, Imma be Number One," he promises her with a smug tone.
"I bet," she nods. "But you'll definitely want to invest in a top-of-the-line PR team when you first debut," she teases him, remembering the nightmare that he was as he was muzzled and chained to the podium.
"Yeah? Well, if you haven't retired by then I might call you up," he smugly responds.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya scolds him under his breath.
Asami chuckles at his arrogant demeanor, and he reminds her a lot of Touya when he was younger and searching to attain the same pillar. "I look forward to the call," she grins at him, knowing with that attitude, he will reach great heights.
"Hey, you look familiar, do I know you?" Twice animatedly points at Bakugo. "He's the kid with the crazy eyes!" his other side answers him and Asami glares at him, while Bakugo narrows his eyes at the man.
"Don't mind him," Asami chuckles. "He thinks everyone has crazy eyes."
After another awkward moment, Fuyumi continues to work on defusing the situation. "Asami is also an Alumni of UA!" she happily boasts.
"Really?" Midoriya asks her with widening eyes.
Asami lifts her hands up in the air, waving them defensively as she smiles at the boys. "I wasn't in the hero courses like you all, just the managerial studies!" she downplays. "I've been doing PR since graduating and have worked for Hawks and now Endeavor," she says, glancing over at the flame hero.
He doesn't seem in the slightest bit worried about where she's been for over the past month, and she wonders if he's even noticed her absence from the company, since he's made no point to ask about it. She sees the scar on his face from the fight with the Nomu and she's grateful that was the worst that happened to him in the aftermath of the fight. She wished she was there to help shape his image after the battle, and being next to him in the flesh, she feels her heart weighing heavily at the disparaging words she wrote about him in the name of escape.
"Wow, that sounds Amazing!" Midoriya swoons.
Asami feels a tension towards her right and glances over to see Natsuo glaring at Endeavor at the end of the table. She frowns at him, seeing that he still harbors a lot of animosity for his father and their tumultuous past. The tension is clear between them, and it seems as though the entire room grows thick with their unspoken stiffness.
They begin digging in, and a quietness falls amongst the people at the table as they all silently enjoy her food. Everyone smiles to themselves as they fill their bellies with the warm meal.
"This food is amazing!" Twice energetically states. "It's better than yours!" another tone adds. Asami glances over at him, wondering when he's ever had her cooking, but just awkwardly laughs at his assessment. The blonde boy at the table glances up from his food to look at Twice. His eyes are narrowed a bit at him as a familiarity strikes the boy.
"Fuyumi's cooking has always been amazing," Asami adds.
Midoriya also adds his compliments to her food, while he begins muttering on about the texture and flavor of the food. Asami's heart jumps when the blonde snaps at him angrily for hyper analyzing the food with a booming voice.
They discuss how great of a cook Fuyumi is, and how Asami used to cook for the family as well from time to time. They begin reminiscing about the past as they linger on a memory that makes the three young adults at the table cry with laughter.
"Remember when we were 'cooking' mud pies in the garden out back?" Fuyumi brings up. "Natsuo was the judge while me, Asami, and Touya were cooking?"
They begin laughing as the fallout of the memory plays out while the others listen in with soft smiles at their carefree retelling.
"Yours always came out so pretty looking!" Asami grumbles at Fuyumi. "You would sprinkle all these flowers and leaves to make them look so beautiful!"
"Remember when Touya got mad that the mud wouldn't stick to the mold when he flipped over the pan?" Fuyumi laughs.
"He used way too much water!" Asami points out. "He was getting so angry!"
"Well, you kept laughing at him!" Natsuo defends. "He got so mad at you that he set your pie on fire!"
Endeavor watches as the three cry with laughter at the lighthearted retelling of the fond memory, having not seen the three of them so carefree in a long time.
"No!" Fuyumi booms, "The funniest part was when Asami threw Touya's pie at him for setting hers on fire! He was covered in mud!"
"He went crying to Mom, and she told him he needed to play nice with her," Natsuo nods.
"I think he refused to speak to me for months after that," Asami fondly smiles.
The three sigh as a heaviness slowly overcomes them. It was a happy moment—one that makes them all smile and laugh with nostalgia—but the harsh reminder that there was not a fourth account to sit here and retell his side of the story sinks in.
"I don't remember that," Shouto finally chimes in over the awkward silence that befalls them.
"Well Endeavor did have a close eye on you," Natsuo bitterly responds. "Didn't have much time for playing with the likes of us." An electricity crackles through the air at Natsuo's whiplike tone.
Asami almost spits out her tea as Natsuo waits for his father's response with narrowing eyes. The flame hero takes in a breath when he looks up at his now eldest son. "I suppose you're right, Natsu. I did keep Shouto from you and the others." His voice is deep and unreadable, showing no inflection into how he truly feels.
Natsuo scoffs at this, feeling his chest boiling over with hatred. "I can't do this," he shakes his head, lifting himself from his seat. "I'm sorry, Sis but I can't sit here and pretend everything is okay. Not when he's here. I'm outta here." Another electric crack of tension strikes the table as the younger guests sit with stiff bodies and wide eyes. Fuyumi attempts to bring her brother back to the table, but Endeavor tells her to let the boy go.
Everyone sits around the table with a thick tension they can seem to navigate through. The silence is finally broken when Endeavor speaks up, "I'm sorry, Hatsuse," he turns to Asami. "Happy Birthday," he wishes her and she smiles sadly at him. "You have done so well at the company with the most recent attacks on my image. I couldn't have wished for a better employee, and I am glad you're here."
The smile wipes off of Asami's face as her lips slowly fall into a slightly parted dumbfounded look. Her head slowly cranes over to Twice who slurps on his soba. "My recent work," she chokes glaring at the villain. She lifts herself from her chair, "Excuse me, I need to grab something from my coat. Haruto," she glares down at him expectantly. "Would you please help me?" she asks him with the weak excuse.
"At your service!" he jumps up, "What're you grabbing? A couch?" he challenges her and the blonde boy glares at him with narrowing eyes.
Once they are out of the room, Asami spins on her heels to look at the blonde man. She lifts her hand and points in his face. "Twice, what the fuck?" she growls at him. " 'My recent work?' " she quotes. "What does Endeavor mean about that? Dabi has a double of me, doesn't he? Is that why no one's been looking for me?"
"No way!" he waves his palms defensively. "That's precisely it," his other side deadpans.
She shakes her head, "That blonde kid keeps looking at you like he knows you. Anything I should be made aware of?"
"Never seen him in my life," Twice pouts with his arms crossed over his chest. "Oh yeah, we kidnapped the kid!" he excitedly adds.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Asami grumbles as she stomps out of the house. Her head shoots back and forth, seeing that Natsuo must have already left so the courtyard is clear for her to confront the man she knows is lurking around here somewhere. It doesn't take her long to find him as he steps from the shadows.
"You need to take him," Asami demands in a threatening tone. "The blonde kid practically recognizes him from when you kidnapped him and he's a loose cannon!"
"But I didn't get to finish my meal!" Twice grumbles.
"Your dinner's done," Dabi returns in a more threatening tone. "Endeavor is in there, the deal's off," he says snatching her by the wrist.
"Let go of me!" she yells at him, pushing her hands on his chest and shoving him away from her. "You fucking asshole!" she yells at him. "You made a double of me!" she snaps in an infuriated tone. "That's why Hawks never came to find me," she says with a whine playing at her throat. "Because you made a double of me to keep him busy. You're not playing the game fairly!" she barks at him.
"Fairly?" he scoffs, placing his hands in his pockets. "I'm playing the game how I see fit. Not my fault he can't keep up."
"I'm not some fucking toy you can use against Hawks for whatever competition you two have with one another!" her voice rises. "Fight him all you want, but leave me out of it!"
"He didn't even know it wasn't you!" Dabi spits out spitefully. "He was so eager to fuck the double, that he didn't even question for a moment whether or not it was you."
She takes a step away from him, her eyes watering at his words. "You're such a fucking asshole. You're a liar!"
"Don't believe me? I filmed it if you'd like to watch," he says with a sinister tone that holds no tease or pleasure in it.
"You're fucking disgusting!" she barks at him. "You're a monster!"
He scoffs with a roll of his eyes, "Call me what you want to make yourself feel better, the fact remains he's not going to look for you, because he's busy fucking a cheap fake version of you," he says harshly, fully intent on hurting her. "He'll never come looking for you. None of them will. Because that's how they are. It's too much work, too exhausting, doesn't fit in their perfect little world. So, they'll stop looking for you, and then eventually, they'll forget about you all together."
"Why not stay with us?" Twice pops in, "Our cooking's not as great but we're a fun crowd!"
Asami and Dabi ignore Twice as she glares at him, looking onto him with a face torn in confliction. He speaks to her in a way that only someone who's gone through this would understand. At some point Dabi loved someone, and someone loved him back, but for some reason or the other Dabi was left behind, and he was inevitably forgotten.
He watches her, seeing the contortions in her facial expressions as she lets the idea simmer in her mind. It's the same face of betrayal she had in the gondola when he told her that shit stain was cheating on her. Back then, when she saw the truth, it drove her into his arms. Maybe this will be the same.
She plants her hands firmly on his chest, shoving him once more with all her might but his feet remain planted on the ground this time.
"Why are you so cruel?" she asks him with a whimper as her eyes begin tearing up.
"Hate me all you want, Butterfly, but it's true. They don't give a fuck about you. Now let's go, and we can forget about 'em."
We don't need them. We don't need their false sense of love and affection. It's all a fucking show. Once it's inconvenient to them, you'll be forgotten just like I was.
She unwillingly shakes her head, her brows tangling in sorrow as his words stack on her chest. "No," she tells him firmly. "They love me! I'm family to them!"
Dabi keeps himself from laughing at her declaration. That's exactly why I'm trying to protect you. Because of how he treats his fucking family!
"But we can be your family," Twice interjects.
"I'm going back inside," Asami turns from them.
"You take one step back in there, and I'll burn this fucking place to the ground!" he growls at her, pulling his hands from his pockets and snatches her wrist with a burning heat that scorches her wrist.
She ignores the pain, high on wanting to hurt him. "Go ahead and try," she challenges him. "Endeavor is in there and he's far more of a man than you are!" her voice carries in the courtyard as the venom spills from her lips.
Dabi sees red, his eyes igniting with fury as he moves to strike her. She sinks into her shoulders as she winces away from him while Twice speaks up to protect her. Dabi averts his hand from hitting Asami in favor of grabbing Twice by the face. He heats up is flames in a controlled burst as he engulfs the man's head in a sheath of fire. Asami cries out as she watches the flames turn white from the sheer heat he produces, only to feel a sense of reprieve when she notices the man dissolve in a grey goo and the realization that he was a double sinks in.
Dabi turns to her, eyes wide with murderous intent when they hear the sliding of a door. He quickly snatches her wrist, pulling her into the shadows when she sees Natsuo exiting the home.
Her eyes widen and she needs to move quickly. If she fights against Dabi, she will be able to yell loud enough for Endeavor to hear. The hero will be here before Dabi can make a move against Natsu… Or at least she hopes.
She pulls her wrist out of his hot grip and pushes him away from her. She quickly launches herself in the courtyard where Natsu sees her turning the corner looking disheveled. She makes a move to scream when she notices that Dabi does not follow to burn her or Natsuo.
She glances over at the villain, seeing him sink into the shadows with a tensed jaw as he grits his teeth. He's holding back from fighting them, and she wonders why. Natsuo is not trained with his Quirk and he can easily overpower him, but she figures it's because Endeavor is so close by, and he knows he cannot overpower the Number One Hero.
She turns to Natsuo, "You're leaving?" she asks him, seeing his jacket and backpack on him.
"Sorry if I ruined your birthday, but I can't be in there with him," he tells her as he steps closer to her in the courtyard.
She nods once, shivering at the cold now that she's away from Dabi's immense heat. She digs her hands into the pockets of her trench coat, feeling a carton of cigarettes in her pocket and pulls it out. She's always liked a smoke on a cold winter night. Something about it was always soothing.
She pulls out the stick and places it to her lips. "I didn't realize you still smoked," he notes.
"Fuyumi would kill me if she found out," Asami mumbles over the stick in her mouth as she tries to calm her nerves from watching Dabi murder what she thought was Twice.
"Mind if I take one?" he asks her.
She hands him the stick with a grin on her face, "I won't tell if you don't."