"Are we… almost there…?" Mirio asked breathlessly.

He could feel slick sweat trailing down his face and neck, caused by both the heat of his beaked mask and his own feelings of shame and guilt. Mirio had remained totally silent as he and Dabi walked the city streets for almost fifteen minutes, and with every step, he felt more and more like he wanted to simply phase through the ground and never come back up. His heat and nausea induced stupor kept him so preoccupied that he very nearly ran into Dabi as the charred man suddenly stopped and turned. Mirio just stared as he stopped mere inches from his colleague, breathing hard. He wasn't quite sure through his partially fogged lenses, but he thought that Dabi almost looked concerned.

"Another two blocks," Dabi answered, tilting his head to the side. "You alright in there? You sound like you're about to drop."

"I feel like I'm about to drop," Mirio admitted as his shoulders slumped. "Are we in friendly territory? Can I take this damned thing off yet?"

"…ish," Dabi answered with a noncommittal rocking motion of his hand. "That beak detach? Take that off so you can breathe. Wouldn't be good if you take off the whole cowl and get recognized. Only a few heroes walk around this part of town without getting looks, and you aren't one of them. Yet."

"I think there might be… somewhere on this thing…" Mirio mumbled as he reached up and began fumbling along the edge of his beak. He let out a massive sigh of relief as he found a latch on one side and flicked it open, before doing the same on the opposite side. The beak of the mask detached, and he pulled it off to hold it down in his hand. "Felt like I was about to pass out. Should've thought of that earlier…"

"Detachable mouthpiece is one good thing about Overhaul's stupid designs," Dabi muttered as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You good? Think you can make it the rest of the way?"

"I… y-yeah," Mirio replied as Dabi turned and began to walk again. "It's… not just the heat, though. I feel terrible."

"Yeah? Why's that?" Dabi asked, not even bothering to look back to make sure that Mirio was following him. "You got the job done."

"I fleeced an innocent man out of money he could be using to repair his business," Mirio lamented.

Dabi whirled and stopped once again, but unlike the last time, Mirio was ready. He watched as his colleague put on a manic expression, his eyes widening and his smile seeming to stretch so wide that it threatened to spilt the staples holding his cheeks together. Dabi braced his hand upon a nearby brick wall and leaned forward, looking Mirio directly in the eye.

"Innocent man? You're… you can't be serious!" Dabi said before letting out several barks of laughter. "Innocent man, holy shit…"

Mirio took a cautious step backward, doing his best to keep his expression neutral given that his mouth was exposed.

"What do you mean by that…?"

Dabi continued to laugh for several seconds before shaking his head. Finally, he ran a hand through his hair and fixed Mirio with a more subdued look of amusement.

"You really don't have any idea how the world works out on the streets, do you? It's all heroism, justice, doing what's right, and fairness with you, huh? Tell me- why do you think that jackass was paying protection money to us to begin with?"

Mirio hesitated, wracking his brain to scrounge for possibilities.

"…his shop is in Shie Hassaikai territory…?"

Dabi blinked, looking at Mirio as though he was from another planet.

"Territory? There are only two big Yakuza families left, and the only 'territory' they actually control are specific businesses run by actual members. The days of broad 'turf' and patrolling the streets looking to shake down people who don't belong are long gone- you heroes saw to that," Dabi explained. "No, no, y'see, Kyotoku Jiro made a fun little deal with the Nue- our rival clan, and the only other well-established family still around. I don't know the specifics of the deal he cut- you'd have to ask Overhaul. Something about moving stolen instruments, or stuff hidden inside those instruments, or some shit like that. Our boy tried to screw over the Nue and got caught. Barely managed to talk his way out of it without getting himself killed. Now, he pays the Shie Hassaikai protection money for us to keep them out of his hair… which suits us just fine. He's not paying protection money to prevent us from working him over- he's paying protection money for actual protection from those masked assholes."

"…so he's… shady?" Mirio asked, somehow feeling even more uneasy.

"Shadier than me, depending on who you ask," Dabi answered, his grin returning. "Does that put a wrinkle in things? Not feeling so bad, now? Kyotoku Jiro gambled with the Nue and lost. You don't do that without consequences. We only raided his shop 'cause he tried to screw us, too. He chose to get involved with the Yaks. He knew the risks. Don't waste your energy pitying that fool- just collect for the other fools you now work for and stop asking so many questions about jobs. Just do what you're told, go where you're told, and when you don't have orders, do what you want."

Mirio rubbed at his chin, unsure what to believe. Somehow, the new information did nothing to settle his nerves, nor did the sudden realization that the sidewalks all around them were practically devoid of people.

"…Dabi, where are we, and where are we going…?" Mirio suddenly asked as he began to look around.

"Oh. Right," Dabi said, his amusement only intensifying as he turned and waved for Mirio to follow him. "We're right on the edge of the fun part of town. Take a good look now- nobody's around in the afternoon. At night, this place will be drenched in neon and windows with red lights in 'em."

"Neon and…?" Mirio echoed, only to stop talking as the pair emerged from beneath an overpass and into a seemingly new world.

Nearly every building beyond the bridge had some kind of neon sign or billboard mounted upon the side of it, though none of them were lit up. A quick look to his left gave Mirio a good view of an incredibly sketchy looking bar, while on his right was a shop with various phallic objects sitting in a window in plain view and a 'XXX' sign above them, just begging to be lit up in red. The sides of the shop and bar were both covered in graffiti, while several of the streetlights along the sidewalk were busted and in a state of disrepair. As far down the strip ahead of them as Mirio could see, more shops dealing in questionable goods, restaurants, and bars lined the sidewalks.

"Welcome to the red light district," Dabi said with a hint of glee in his voice. "You can find just about anything you want here, if you know where and when to look. Drugs, weapons, pussy, you name it. It's a shame your first time is too early in the day to see this place lit up and crawling with freaks."

"Yeah… a shame," Mirio mumbled to himself, feeling very much the opposite. Suddenly, realization hit him, and he sped up to walk alongside Dabi. "Dreamgirl works here, right? Is that where we're going?"

"Mm-hmm," Dabi confirmed with a subtle smirk quite unlike any Mirio had ever seen from him. "I'm in no rush to get back to base, and we're in the area. Might as well pop in, say hi, and get you back on your feet. Her joint is a safe place to lay low for a bit."

"I'm not about to argue," Mirio offered as he kept his eyes upward, looking for any sort of signage that could signify a strip club. "I just need a place to sit, take off this mask, and maybe some water. Sorry for causing drama."

"You'll get used to this kind of thing," Dabi replied with a wave of his hand. "Just takes practice."

"What kind of thing? Being a villain?" Mirio asked as they rounded a corner and continued to walk.

"Oh, we're not 'villains,'" Dabi said as he turned his head to the side, keeping his eyes on Mirio as he made his way down the sidewalk. "At least, the Shie Hassaikai aren't. Not in the way you people use the word. The Nue are definitely villains, constantly robbing stores and drawing attention. The Shie Hassaikai might be prideful assholes with delusions of grandeur, but they mostly keep to themselves, unless someone causes them problems."

Mirio tilted his head at Dabi, following the other man's movements as they came to a stop next to a broken streetlamp.

"…and what about you? Would you call yourself a villain?"

"Dunno," Dabi said with a shrug as he nodded toward a building across the street. "Guess you'll have to decide and tell me some other time. After all- you're the hero. You'd know better than I would. There it is."

Across the street was a large brick building with a set of windows featuring backlit silhouettes of women in various alluring poses behind red curtains. Neon trim highlighted each window, and a neon sign reading "The Glistening Pearl" sat proudly above the door, though none of the fixtures were turned on so early in the day. The sign spanned the entire front of the building, and Mirio could easily imagine it lighting up the entire side of the street. A burly man wearing sunglasses with blond hair down to his neck and a matching goatee stood before the rotating glass door, seemingly guarding the place.

"Well, this ought to be… enlightening," Mirio offered hesitantly. "I've never been inside of a place like this…"

"Who knows, maybe you'll finally see a boob," Dabi said sarcastically as he began to cross the street.

"I… I've seen one!" Mirio insisted, getting flustered.

"Just the one?" Dabi asked, clearly amused. "And magazines don't count."

"No, not just o-"

"And take your dumbass cowl off," Dabi interrupted. "No one's around, and you might pass out if you see some ankle, straightedge. Riz shouldn't have to wipe your nosebleed off the floor the second you see cleavage."

Mirio rolled his eyes, though he was silently grateful for the advice as he pulled back the cowl and finally let his sodden, matted hair and the rest of his face spring free of the tight confines of his borrowed mask. One of the bouncer's eyebrows raised over his dark glasses as he looked over Mirio's disheveled hair and sweaty face.

"…aren't you that Lemillion guy?" the man asked, his voice deep and gravelly. "What the hell happened to you?"

"It's… a long story," Mirio answered with an exhausted sigh.

"He's with me," Dabi clarified as he clapped a hand onto Mirio's shoulder. "And he's going by 'Zero' now."

"Cute," the bouncer commented as he stepped aside. "The boss is at the bar, if you're looking for her. Keep your hands to yourself and you'll be fine, new blood."

"Of course," Mirio acknowledged. "I would never t-"

"Neither would any other guy, until they get a few drinks deep," the bouncer interrupted, clearly unimpressed. "Though you're too early for any action, anyway. All of the girls are either at home or backstage."

"We're just here to mooch off of Riz for a bit," Dabi let on as he stepped into the carousel doorway.

"Right. Nice meeting you?" Mirio tried as he stepped into the next opening in the rotating door.

The bouncer merely grunted as he returned to his post.

"That guy's actually a pushover, but the security my girl keeps inside? Don't fuck with him," Dabi said as he stepped into the entranceway of the club. "Though honestly, the rules don't really apply to us, especially right now. It's usually just a skeleton crew working before nightfall."

"Good to know," Mirio acknowledged as he made his way into the entrance hall.

The sides of the hallway were done up with red velvet cushioning, and pink neon lights ran the borders between wall and ceiling. A curtain of sequins was ahead of them, and despite the building being closed, a thumping, heady beat was playing somewhere deeper inside. Mirio could feel the rhythm pulsing in his skull as he followed Dabi toward the curtain, his curiosity piqued at what might lie beyond it.

"Welcome to the premier strip joint, night club, cabaret-hybrid mess that is my girl's place," Dabi said as he slipped through the sequins and out onto the show floor. "Our own little den of hedonism away from home."

Mirio stepped through the swaying curtain, using a hand to brush aside the veil of hanging, sparkling discs. The very moment he made it into the club proper, his eyes widened and he froze up as he looked the place over in awe.

"This is… uh… wow."

Author's Note:

I hate to cut the chapter here, since originally, I wanted to make this longer and contain the next scene… but my hand and forearm have been killing me all week long, and I barely managed to get this out as it is. For now, I'm planning on still doing a triple-upload across all three "big" stories next week, but depending on the situation, I might need to finally take a week off. I'll update my profile if that happens.

Next chapter will go back to the UA meeting, before we return to these two to tie off the scene.

-RD