Chapter 95

.::Straight to the Point::.

The warehouse was very quiet as Shouto sat by the oil drum they'd used to make a fire to keep themselves warm. Morning light drifted through the gaps in the boarded window behind him and cast a dull glow over Uraraka, curled up in her sleeping bag on the couch fast asleep. Between that and the camping stove, her supplies had certainly come in handy.

For various reasons, they'd decided against checking into a hotel after Midoriya left and stayed at the warehouse. Since the area wasn't exactly safe, they agreed to take shifts keeping watch during the night, just in case. Uraraka had taken first watch, and according to Shouto's phone he had about an hour left before the agreed upon time to wake her up.

For his part Shouto focused on the dwindling fire, quietly tearing up a cardboard box to use as kindling. The abandoned warehouse lacked any central heating—or if it had it, it lacked the power to run it. That, combined with the large size of the room and a handful of broken windows, made it pretty chilly. He'd spent most of his watch tending to the fire, and after tossing in the cardboard he let a small wisp of fire pass from his left hand to ignite it.

As the flame swiftly swelled to a healthy size he sat back and glanced at his palm with a small frown. He'd noticed it before, but using his fire came more naturally. The tiny wisp of fire he just made had been almost unconscious, requiring no thought to control its size. At first he'd attributed it to his training back home, but lately he suspected that wasn't the case.

No, it was likely a result of this world's Shouto's training.

Even now, he knew next to nothing about his counterpart's life here. Things had obviously gone quite differently with Endeavor becoming the number one hero back when Shouto would have been seven. It hadn't been early enough to prevent his mother from snapping and flinging boiling water at his face though, or Touya from... Well, not dying, as it turned out.

Touya was Dabi. Dabi was Touya.

Shouto still had trouble wrapping his head around that fact, but after almost a week, he'd started to... adjust to the idea, he supposed. His supposedly dead brother, who died so long ago Shouto could barely remember him, had never actually died. He had survived, somehow, and become... Dabi.

A villain. One of the key figures in the League of Villains, at that.

He'd already talked it out with Uraraka a couple times. They'd had that first conversation on Thursday, and a couple more since then. Turned out everyone was right about how talking about things could help alleviate stress and clear your head, who knew? It was easier to work through his feelings by having someone to listen and give some input.

From what she said, Dabi seemed to care for him in this world, and as doubtful as he'd initially been, Shouto was inclined to think she was right. Just last night he'd had a dream about sitting on a beach with Dabi late at night, roasting marshmallows over a (notably blue) fire. Maybe the smell of smoke from their own fire had influenced the dream, but Shouto had been more struck by the sense of familiarity and comfort with it.

He hadn't been totally comfortable, even inside the dream, but Dabi's smile had been casual and friendly as he glanced his way. It was a sharp contrast to that haunting grin he'd seen at the summer camp. So was his brief dumbfounded stare when his marshmallow caught completely on fire, which had actually made Shouto laugh in the dream. Not a full laugh, just a small snort, but Dabi had lapped it up.

It ended with him chasing Shouto playfully threatening to burn his marshmallows as they ran through a UA/stadium hybrid. Up until Aizawa caught them and forced them to join the baseball team or else get expelled for running through the halls. Dreams were weird sometimes, okay?

Point was, Shouto had dreamed of a normal sibling interaction with Dabi, and he couldn't stop thinking about it. Up until the dream took that left turn into their newfound sports careers, it had felt like a pretty natural interaction. It went against every preconceived notion he had of the man. He doubted his Dabi would ever behave like that.

This world's Dabi, though... If he did care about Shouto like Uraraka so firmly believed, what made him different from their world? Clearly the events that led to his transformation into Dabi had preceded All Might's death here, since he was still Dabi, so it probably wasn't one of the mysterious differences Midoriya had suggested yesterday.

Also... how did Hawks play into it? Dabi clearly trusted the man if he had him calling Shouto on his behalf, and apparently Shouto knew him too since he made the connection from just "Takami." That seemed like a pretty clear-cut example of his counterpart's subconscious memories bleeding through. Shouto knew Hawks was still a hero in this world based on internet searches, so how did he and Dabi meet?

Shouto's frown grew as he pulled out his burner phone. The calls had briefly spiked again after the call from Hawks, but had gone silent by Friday. It made him wonder how Dabi must be reacting. In retrospect, his responses to Hawks after the revelation about Dabi had been... less than eloquent. The fact Dabi had stopped calling again might not be a good sign.

A small grunt had him glancing over his shoulder to find Uraraka starting to stir. She still had a little time before she was supposed to wake up, but Shouto was a bit tired of being alone with his thoughts. "Good morning," he greeted quietly, and she groaned as she curled up a bit tighter.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled, the words slurred.

"Do you want a granola bar?" he offered.

There was a pause, and then a quiet, "Yeah."

A few minutes later they both sat on the couch, eating the granola bars. They were more savory than he was used to rather than sweet, with oatmeal, various types of seeds, bits of seaweed, and sunflower seed butter. It tasted surprisingly good, and made for a decent way to start the day. "So, what's the plan for today?" Uraraka asked between bites, and Shouto thought it over for a moment.

"The others are going back to Odawara, aren't they?" he asked. Others being just Kirishima and Shouji. There'd been plans for some of the runaways to check a couple other cities, namely Monoma and Ojiro, but those plans got derailed by Mic's sudden appearance.

"Yeah, they should be, but I'm just thinking," Uraraka said with a small frown. "Deku can't really communicate too much when we're so far apart. I mean, it's way too risky for him to talk about most of it on the phone or FacePage." That was true, both those methods had been compromised already. "It's easier if he can just come to the warehouse and tell us ASAP, and then we can pass on the info to the others!"

"But we can't talk about it on phone or FacePage either," Shouto pointed out. "And we also still need to tell everyone about what Midoriya said yesterday."

"Yeah, that's true," Uraraka muttered, face screwing up as she tried to think of a solution. "Maybe one of us can stay in, just in case, and the other can go back to Odawara to report what we talked about yesterday? And then if something happens, Deku can tell whoever's still here, and they can hop on a bus or train to Odawara!"

Shouto didn't agree with that idea for a few reasons, but decided to point out the most obvious flaw. "You just skipped over 'Nabu' again," he pointed out, which had the brunette slumping with a dejected groan.

"Dang it, forgot about that stupid Quirk. Guess splitting up won't really help if only one of us can actually talk..."

"I don't think there's much we can do anyway, at least right now," Shouto said, trying to comfort her a bit. "If there's a sudden problem, we can't really just barge into the Alliance's base."

Uraraka heaved a large sigh at that. "I know, but it just sucks, you know? I mean, it seems like there's a lot going on right now with Shinsou-kun and all that." The reference to Shinsou had Shouto remembering something.

"Oh, right, Anjou sent a message," he told her, pulling out his burner phone to open FacePage. It had come in a little bit before Uraraka woke up. "She said, 'Hey, got some important info I need to share. Can't go into detail over text, but it's about that guy deku_breaks_bones mentioned. The one from gen-ed, Shinsou. He's one of ours.'"

That had Uraraka sharp and alert, losing the few lingering traces of drowsiness in an instant. "Wait, he's a runaway?" she asked in disbelief.

"I guess?" Shouto shrugged and continued reading the message. "'Sorry I didn't mention it earlier. I guess I'm too used to keeping secrets. He's been MIA since October. Don't mention him to Lee or Kaitou though or they'll go nuts. Don't tell any of the others either, but those two especially. Dancing Queen knows why, so you can ask her for details.' And that's it."

Uraraka just stared at him for a moment, clearly still absorbing it. "...I have so many questions," she whispered. "Did Deku reply yet?"

"He did," Shouto confirmed, scrolling to Midoriya's response. "He said, 'I have so many questions.' And she replied, 'If you want answers, go somewhere quiet and alone where you can't be overheard.' And he replied, 'So you can do that thing Chargebolt mentioned?' And she said 'Yes.'"

"Oh, I bet she wants to do that sense-hijacking thing Kaminari mentioned!" Uraraka exclaimed excitedly.

"Ah," Shouto said softly. Right, he forgot about that. It had been a rather minor detail among everything else Kaminari reported from his meeting with Midoriya and Anjou. Then another thought occurred to him. "I'm on her network, so she could do that with me, too, couldn't she?"

Uraraka sat a bit straighter, eyes going wide. "She could! Which means we can use you to communicate in an emergency if Deku can't talk to her." Shouto paused at that, turning to stare at her silently. After a few seconds she slumped on the couch again with another large sigh. "Yeah, okay, that's kinda pointless since he probably can't talk to you, either."

At least he didn't need to explain it this time. Still, he understood where she was coming from. Leaving Midoriya alone in these circumstances felt wrong, especially now that they'd met in person. "We don't need to go back today," he said, trying to find a compromise. "We can go back tomorrow instead. Maybe he can get some information about what's going on with Shinsou today."

"Yeah, I guess," she relented with a nod. "There's definitely something up with that. Although, why do you think Anjou said not to tell Ojiro or Monoma? Do you think they're friends?"

"I guess?" Shouto shrugged. "They're all vigilantes in this world, so maybe they worked together? Ah." He blinked, understanding washing over him. "Maybe Anjou's worried about them trying to break into the Alliance headquarters if they find out he's there."

"Would Ojiro really do that though?" Uraraka asked doubtfully. "Or Monoma? I mean, I don't know them that well, but they don't seem like the type to rush into something without a plan." Shouto admittedly didn't know them too well either, but he still got similar impressions. Except, there was one thing.

"You never did either," he countered, and she shot him the most unimpressed scowl possible.

"Really?" she asked flatly, and he just shrugged. It had been pretty unbelievable when Midoriya told them, but it had happened. "Come on, you guys did the same thing when you rescued Bakugou!"

"We didn't plan to join the League of Villains though," he countered calmly. "That was your only plan."

"...I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Probably not."

He just went back to eating while Uraraka groaned.

For the most part, Izuku's morning had been what he could call normal. Another day started with his phone's alarm, a half hour of light exercises in his room to keep in shape, a trip to the kitchen to get breakfast... Tomura had been busy, so Izuku had prepared two breakfast sandwiches for himself and Aizawa-sensei, figuring eating together would be nice.

It was a very quiet meal. Aizawa hadn't been too talkative, or rather, he was even less talkative than usual. Izuku hadn't wanted to press him too hard for conversation, not wanting to risk disrupting the still-budding trust between them. At least the fact they were both eating made the silence a bit less awkward than it would be otherwise. Besides, Izuku had plenty of stuff to think about.

Like, you know, how Shinsou was part of the runaway network.

That had come out of no where, but it at least explained what he meant by having somewhere to go. It also put a lot of his wariness around Izuku into even more context, since he had a lot more to lose if he slipped up.

On that note, Izuku had mentioned Anjou and the runaways.

He knew he'd mentioned "Nettmegg" on Friday when he used Shinsou's own whiteboard to explain about the situation. He hadn't noticed any reaction from the purple-haired teen other than his eyes going wide; the muzzle kind of made it hard to read most of his expression. And unfortunately, that had been Izuku's last major interaction with him before the muzzle's removal.

That made him wonder whether that was connected to the muzzle's removal at all. He couldn't help but remember Kacchan's words, about how Shinsou must have made some sort of deal with the Alliance... or they had something on him. An entire network of runaways would be a pretty heavy thing to hold over someone's head. If the Alliance decided to attack them... Izuku didn't even want to think about it.

The problem was, Izuku couldn't actually ask him. Shinsou was still wary of him, just like Aizawa, and saying the wrong thing would get him to shut Izuku out even more. Mentioning Anjou had told him about Shinsou's connection to the runaways might reassure him that she found Izuku trustworthy... or might make him panic more and close himself off for good. Whatever happened clearly had him on edge, and Izuku didn't want to risk the fragile trust they'd managed to build so far.

Which meant he felt kind of lost when he took Bakugou to visit Shinsou for the first time post-muzzle-removal. Part of him hoped that Bakugou would be able to help bring up the topic about how the muzzle got removed without making Shinsou wary. Of course though, Izuku was also slightly worried that Bakugou might not be the most tactful about it. His pleas for the blond to be mindful of his words before the visit predictably fell on deaf ears.

"So that's what your face looks like," he commented within seconds of the door closing, and Izuku resisted the urge to face-palm. Wow Kacchan, so considerate and thoughtful.

Fortunately, Shinsou didn't seem offended or bothered by the remark. "What, prettier than you expected?" he snarked.

"As if," Bakugou snorted. "Also, what the hell? Your voice doesn't sound anything like I thought it would."

"Yeah, yeah." Once again, Shinsou seemed largely unbothered by the remark, though he peered at the blond curiously as he asked, "What did you expect?"

"I don't even know, I guess all hoarse and raspy and that shit?" Bakugou shrugged as he plopped onto the bed, and glanced around. "Hey, hold on a second. Where's your whiteboard?"

"Gone," Shinsou replied. "Same with the phone. I don't need them anymore, so they took them." Bakugou frowned briefly at that before shaking his head.

"Fine, whatever. That's right, you don't. And since you can actually talk now, there's one thing we need to do."

"Work on the plan?" Izuku asked—or at least started to ask.

He barely got out a single syllable before Bakugou cut in. "Yeah, that's right Deku!" He snatched one of the three Switch controllers from the bedside table, flashing a savage grin. "We're gonna fucking crush that stupid café."

...Neko Café Manager was not what Izuku would have guessed to be Bakugou's first priority. Shinsou looked just as shocked, just staring with his jaw hanging open. "Um, what?" he asked after a few seconds.

"You heard me," the blond huffed. "Half the reason we keep having trouble with it is because you couldn't actually talk and tell us when shit was on fire or orders were done and all that! But now that you can, we're gonna ace every single one of those stages and show those stupid cats who's boss!"

"...Seriously?" Izuku asked, still in disbelief. Bakugou rolled his eyes and gestured for him and Shinsou to step closer. The pair did so warily, and Bakugou leaned forward.

"Deku, didn't you notice those creeps following us?" he hissed, catching Izuku by surprise yet again. "A couple of grunts were shadowing us the whole way from my room. Shittyraki's probably got them watching us now that the vigilante wonder can actually talk to make sure we don't try anything."

Understanding finally dawned on Izuku. He didn't know how well the door could block sound, and without the whiteboard or phone, they didn't have a way to communicate silently. No wonder he'd asked about those earlier. Playing a game would probably be the best way to deflect any immediate suspicion if someone was spying on them.

Fortunately, Shinsou also quickly understood, and nodded as he grabbed another controller. "Fine," he said, turning on the Switch and choosing Neko Café Manager's icon. His face filled with stone-cold determination as he sat on the bed. "Let's do this."

Izuku nodded as he grabbed his own controller, feeling a bit of his own determination and confidence swelling as he grinned. "Yeah, let's go back to all those other levels and get all three stars!" While this wasn't how he planned to spend the day, he couldn't deny that finally beating those levels with three stars would be very satisfying. They could do this.

~Thirty minutes later...~

In retrospect, it might have been a mistake to agree to this particular game.

Actually, forget might. It was absolutely a mistake.

"...You destroyed a controller," Bakugou whispered as Izuku stared at the twisted pieces of plastic in his lap. The blond looked absolutely stunned, as did Shinsou, but it was more shocking to see that wide-eyed expression on Bakugou instead of his usual scowl. Almost as shocking as, you know, the part where he destroyed a controller.

"I... guess I'll get another controller from the gaming room?" Izuku said after a moment. "So we can still do multiplayer games?"

"How are you going to explain the damage to that one?" Shinsou asked, which was a fair question. The controller hadn't just been snapped in half, his grip had actually crushed the two halves. This sort of damage couldn't be done without a strength Quirk. It couldn't even be blamed on Bakugou's explosions due to the lack of scorch marks.

"I'll just throw it away," Izuku said. "He'll never have to know."

"And when he asks about the missing controllers?" Izuku had to pause and think it over. He'd been to Shigaraki's gaming room a few times now, and after replacing the last controller Bakugou destroyed, only three other controllers for the Switch remained. A missing controller would stand out.

"...I'll buy new ones tomorrow," he decided. He'd have to dump the controller outside the base anyway, too risky to throw it away here where someone might see it.

"Do you even have money?" Bakugou asked, and once again, Izuku's mind went blank. Did he have money?

"Um, Seiko?" he called hesitantly. They all tensed, waiting to see if she'd appear, but after several seconds it became apparent that she wouldn't.

"Okay, where the hell is she?" Bakugou snapped irritably. "This is like the third day in a row she hasn't shown up!"

"Yeah, this is starting to feel creepier than when she is here," Shinsou agreed with a frown, rubbing the side of his neck. "I think I preferred her showing up randomly. I feel like I'm constantly jumping at shadows because I never know if she's there or not..."

"Have you seen her at all, Deku?" Bakugou asked, but Izuku shook his head.

"No, but I've also been kinda distracted," he admitted sheepishly. Between dealing with the news of Mic (and later Rise of Kijin) on Friday, the meeting with Uraraka and Todoroki yesterday, and Shinsou having the muzzle removed, Seiko had been at the back of his mind. The last thought had him pausing and glancing at the controller. "Hey, wait. The controller was pretty loud when it broke, right?"

"Yeah, it was," Bakugou snorted. "I saw that stupid ghost-cat jump out of its skin and run under the desk." Sure enough, when Izuku glanced over he saw the largely-black kitten hidden in the shadows under the desk staring at them warily. Shinsou got off the bed to go over to her, getting onto his knees.

"Shh, it's okay, Mion," he cooed, and Izuku sat a bit straighter.

"Mion?" he repeated, and saw the other teen stiffen.

"...That's what I've been calling her in my head," he said after a moment. "Mi, for beauty. The on is one of the ways to read the kanji for hiding and concealing."

"Huh," Izuku said softly, thinking it over. Given the kitten's ability to turn invisible, the second part made sense. "It fits. And we can't really keep calling her Sushi the fifteenth..."

"Yeah," Bakugou agreed with a nod. "Way better than—wait. The fuck?" He whirled to face Izuku in shock. "The fifteenth?" Even Shinsou's head whipped around to stare at Izuku with a distinct look of shock and horror. It only took a second to realize what they were thinking, and once he did he winced.

"Oh, no, Aiko said most of them got rehomed!" he quickly reassured them. "And two of them were sick when we found them, so they died of natural causes!"

"Still. How were there fourteen other cats named Sushi? That's like, two cats a year!"

"Well, apparently one was pregnant when we found her?"

"Wait, were they named Sushi too?" Shinsou asked incredulously, and Izuku laughed sheepishly.

"Y-yeah, apparently... Anyways, she pretty much belongs to you, so I was going to suggest you come up with a new name anyway. So Mion sounds good to me!" He saw Shinsou relax slightly at the comment, probably relieved he hadn't overstepped any boundaries. It was a depressing thought, but Izuku pushed it away as he pressed, "But anyways, the controller breaking was really loud, right?"

"Yeah, Deku. We just established that it scared the cat." Bakugou rolled his eyes.

"So then, if Sushi heard it, then so would any guards outside, right?" That had the others pausing, all three turning to the door. If anyone had actually heard it, no doubt they would have barged inside to see what happened.

"...If they're not here now, no one's listening," Bakugou declared, and spun to Shinsou. "Alright, Eyebags. What did you do to get the muzzle off?"

That was much more direct than Izuku would have liked, making Shinsou flinch back. "Kacchan!" Izuku hissed, but the blond just scowled at him.

"There's no reason to beat around the bush. Shittyraki wouldn't approve removing that damn thing without being sure he wouldn't use his Quirk against him. So," he turned back to Shinsou, "What did you do to get it off? Did you make some sort of deal? Do they have some sort of dirt on you?"

Shinsou grew even tenser at the questioning, his eyes wide and looking almost panicked. "Kacchan, that's enough!" Izuku hissed again, stepping between them to shield Shinsou from him. "I know it's concerning, but you can't just ask that so suddenly! We can't push him to tell us if he's not—"

"No," Shinsou suddenly cut in. "I... I'll tell you." Izuku spun to face him in surprise and frowned in concern.

"Are you sure?" he asked. His mind kept flashing back to that message from Anjou that morning, and his concerns about harming the fragile trust with Shinsou. Even now, Shinsou looked almost sick where he still knelt by the desk, eyes cast downwards and hands balled into tight, shaking fists on his knees. The last part in particular had Izuku's frown growing. "You don't have to if you're not ready or don't want to."

The other teen shook his head though. "No, you need to know," he said firmly, forcing his gaze to flick upwards towards them. The eye contact made Izuku even more aware of how bad he was. He looked physically ill, visibly swallowing and mouth set into an uncomfortable grimace. Yet despite his obvious discomfort his eyes held a steely conviction as he said, "I made up my mind already. This is critical, and if we're getting out of here, you need to know."

Izuku frowned, but after a moment he sat on the floor. Bakugou followed suit, for once dead silent as he plopped on the floor next to him. Shinsou's gaze returned to the floor, still looking deeply conflicted. His throat bobbed as he swallowed again, fists briefly clenching even tighter. Neither of them spoke as they watched him, waiting for him to collect himself and speak.

"I... I didn't make any deals, or get blackmailed," he said after a few seconds passed. "They didn't threaten me or anything like that. Th-they didn't have to."

His voice took on a bitter note, and Bakugou frowned. "What does that mean?" he demanded, voice hushed and almost gentle despite the otherwise harsh tone. Shinsou looked up again, his eyes full of conviction and despair in equal parts as he answered.

"I can't use my Quirk."

No question for next time. Just looking forward to your reactions and theories.