The Price of Pain
Chapter 10: Identity Issues
Doctors visits as a villain fucking sucked. Dabi had to fork over his entire savings for this brat. He couldn't believe he was helping out this little shit in the first place. Seeing her attached to a breathing tube, chest mottled with blues and blacks, eyes shut in a fitful slumber made her look truly small. For the first time he remembered she was just a kid. Some people still called him one too, but he was 23 and more than capable of taking care of himself. When he had been her age, he had been in a coma, but when he woke up at 16, burnt and beyond recognition he had been lost and alone. There was nothing but anger. He wondered not for the first time if she felt it too. Why else would she have run away from wherever she was and chose crime?
Kuroishi Akiho wore her name loudly. Dabi had sequestered his way for a more poignant time when his old name would matter. For now, he was Dabi in all ways that mattered. He was a cold, aloof villain with an annoying fucking neighbour who was okay with murdering people in a ring but adopted and refused to kill a horror movie meat-sack. She liked orange juice and showed interest in very little less. She fed the neighbourhood strays despite having little food herself. She made him noodles, and in return he had bought her cinnamon rolls and strawberries.
Dabi was beginning to admit he did care for this little shit now. She was on the way to becoming an actual friend. Despite how much they threatened to kill each other every day, he realised he would also fight for her if she asked. And this anger he felt, for once was directed at someone other than Endeavour. Whoever had hurt Aki would know hell fire.
"How is she doc?" he asked.
"Recovering. I had Cello give her a boost to keep her stabilised. His quirk allows for increased cellular regeneration. Four more days and she should be back on her feet," the Night Doctor said.
Dabi nodded. "You said she was kicked?"
"Looks like someone repeatedly delt blows to her chest and stomach. She also showed signs of a concussion, but there was no complications there thankfully, or not even I or Cello could help. Whoever beat her up stopped themselves just before killing her. They didn't want to kill her, but they probably didn't want her alive either."
What an odd combination. Which one was it? Did the attacker want her alive or not? Dabi hated that he didn't know, and he couldn't exactly know until she woke up and explained herself. 6 was out of commission. The thing was asleep… possibly regenerating.
Dabi perked up when Aki's fingers twitched. He leant forward and watched her face for any sign of movement. Black eyes blinked slowly open, staring dazedly at the ceiling for a moment, before awareness caught up and she scanned the exits of the room first before landing her attention to him. She seemed to relax only a little at his sight.
"D-Dabi," she said, voice raspy.
"Don't wear out my name. Whoever beat the shit out of you must have been good to get the drop like that," he said.
She went still for a moment, her jaw gritted in what looked like pure frustration. She took the breathing tubes out of her nose and coughed a little, forcing herself to sit up. The doctor didn't waste time pushing her head back down onto the bed.
"No moving Kuroishi. You'll move your ribs and make it worse. If you want to get out of this hospital in 4 days you do as I say," he said sternly.
"Never fight the medic-nin," she said groggily.
"Medic-nin?" the doctor laughed.
"Didn't know you watched those ninja kiddy shows," Dabi said, smirking.
She frowned at that. He had expected her to at least roll with the joke, but she seemed more agitated.
"Okay not in a mood for jokes," he said, backing off.
"Shinobi are not jokes," she said.
"The pain medication must be working its effects," the Night Doctor said, chuckling.
Now that Dabi thought about it Aki had somewhat of an old ninja vibe to her. She used shuriken and kunai, and sometimes bandaged the sleeves of her arms and wore a mask. Maybe she had been an Edgeshot fan.
Once the Night Doctor finished his work and told her what medications to take, and how long to rest, he left. Dabi finally decided to ask what happened.
"Who did this to you?" he said, voice going low.
She frowned for a moment and uncharacteristically looked like a scared child. Aki covered her face with her hands and let out a shuddering breath.
"It was… dark. I didn't see her face," she said.
"But did you recognise anything about her? A notable feature? Her quirk?" Dabi pressed.
"She said… she said she was my mother."
Aki went quiet, a full body shudder taking her as she seemed to be processing it. Dabi sat back in his seat also shocked by that turn of events. It seemed Endeavour wasn't the only shitty parent on his hit list now. Why had her own mother done something like this to her?
"Okay that makes things easy. You give me her name. I'll find her and burn her to cinders, and we can move on," he said.
Aki finally looked at him, and he was surprised she wasn't crying. He had expected a more emotional reaction from all of this. Instead she seemed more disturbed and angrier than sad. He could work with that. If it meant she'd join in as they killed her mother together. He'd let her have the pleasure of the killing blow too.
"I don't know who she is," Aki said.
"What? She's your mother, how can you not know?" he asked.
"My father never spoke a word of her. Except when he abandoned me, he did mention she had raped him and later given me to him after I was conceived. But… why now? Why did she come back now?" Aki asked.
"They can be shitty like that. Say one thing and do another," he said, thinking back to his father.
He'd been raised to want to be a hero. He was beaten and bruised but never gave up. It had been his purpose in life. But once Endeavour found out his body couldn't handle his flames, he had other children and left him behind. He was discarded like a useless mistake and ignored by his father. His mother who had been raped by that horrible man, stayed by his side, but even she couldn't understand what it was like to not fulfill his purpose.
"What was your father's quirk again?" Dabi asked.
She gave him an odd look but answered anyway. "Lights out. He can temporarily blind a target when he locks eyes with them."
Dabi thought about it for a moment. That wasn't exactly a weak quirk. In fact it would have been incredibly useful in a fight. One look at an opponent and they would be massively disadvantaged. Aki's quirk was also ocular.
"Did she use her quirk on you?" he asked.
Aki's eyes twitched, which was the only tell now that she was disturbed by the night's events. Whoever had done this to her had scared her. She could have probably hidden it better if not for the medication she was on making her more open to spill her feelings to him. The restraint she had even now was impressive.
"Yes, although it was hard to say what exactly it is. I know for sure she induced some kind of fear quirk on me. I couldn't… breath," she said, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
Mental quirks were not his forte. They were hard to deal with too. Still, there had to be a way around it.
"She's most likely a villain. We can do some research and find some information on fear inducing quirks. Then narrow it down to someone who matches her description," Dabi said.
Aki finally looked at him, and he was surprised to see her smile, as small as it was. She looked exhausted.
"I want to… talk to her," she said.
Dabi was confused now. "To ask her why she's such a shithead before you kill her?"
"No… I don't think I can kill her," she admitted.
"Why the fuck not?"
"She's my mother," she said, as if that was a valid reason not to kill someone.
"That's a dumb fucking reason."
"Maybe it is to you. I can't kill her. If you want to do it, I'm not opposed. First, I have questions," she said.
Dabi could work with that. He would gladly murder that bitch on Aki's behalf. For now he had more important shit to discuss.
"Yeah, about this hospital visit. We're in debt," he said.
"Fuck."
"Fuck indeed."
Six was back in the darkness again, back to the nothingness that existed before he took form. This time he felt floaty and un-present altogether. That was until he heard that familiar pop song again, and he remembered pink hair and a shy smile. He caught flashes of a kind face he felt irrationally like punching in. But most importantly he recalled a hero with a sleek red and blue suit with golden accents.
A long scar across his face.
Six shuddered. He wanted that for some reason. He really wanted that. To be that person again, even though he was never sure he'd ever been that person to begin with.
"Stop this, you can turn back."
Six turned to face a young man, short black hair, and slanted big eyes. He had that dopey face Six wanted to punch in. If he thought Dabi made him knew true hatred, then whoever this man was made him want to destroy the whole world. He also… scared him.
"Please, stop this," he begged, getting on his knees.
"Stop what exactly?" Six asked.
"Hurting the people around you trying to find yourself," the man said softly. "You don't have to be O'Clock. You can just be you. Is that not enough?"
"It's not," Six spat, holding his head.
"I can help," the man said, reaching out a hand.
Six slapped it away and glared at him, and the man was gone. Somehow that was not reassuring. He remembered that face. He knew it from somewhere while he read up on heroes and recent events.
"Haimawari Koichi. The Crawler," he said.
Somehow this vigilante was in his dreams. He must have meant something to him before, especially if he could somehow remember the kid's bloody name.
When he turned around, he caught a flash of another face, similar to Koichi's in a way that bothered him. This was a taller man, slender, but muscled. His eyes were slanted but smaller, and his grin was menacing. Most importantly there was a long scar running across his face. He tucked his long hair back in a ponytail and turned to Six, looking at him with disdain.
"Is this what we've become?" he asked.
"We… Are you me?" Six asked back.
The man tilted his head in much the same way Aki did. Somehow it seemed more sinister than when the girl did it.
"I suppose so. Who knows what we are. Isn't that funny?" he asked, laughing.
Now that someone else was laughing like that, Six concluded he must have looked incredibly creepy. Still, whoever this person was, they didn't look wrong. They were him. He knew that intrinsically now, so when his own form grew taller, he wasn't shocked.
"You decided to take this form again. Why? You want to look like the brat?" his other-self asked.
Six didn't know if his other self was referring to the Crawler. If that was the case, there were some similarities, but not enough to say they looked related. Koichi had that dumb look on his face Six thought he would happily punch.
"We weren't modelled off the Crawler, were we?" Six asked.
His other self, laughed.
When Aki and Dabi came into their apartment to see a random naked man on their couch... well it was chaos.
"That's it I'm burning this place down," Dabi said.
"Wait. Where's Six... is he—"
Aki moved towards the couch with Dabi's reluctant help. She got a better look at the man, and he had the number 6 on his side. This was Six.
"It's him. Six," she said.
"At least it didn't take on your form again," Dabi muttered, before turning back to Aki. "Whatever, you shouldn't be looking at grown naked men. You're too young for that."
"If I'm old enough to kill, I'm old enough to see naked men. Though I don't want to see Six naked anyway," Aki said irritated.
Dabi still took her to her bed, which was in fact right next to his, because they were too broke to afford more than one room.
"Someone's been messaging you. Ochoco or something," he said in way of conversation.
"Just an acquaintance," she said, holding back a flinch.
The woman's words came to mind. How she would kill Ochaco herself. Aki couldn't wrap her head around why her supposed mother had come to her in that moment. From the looks of things she'd been keeping tabs and her distance until then. Suddenly she makes an appearance, dolls out cryptic warnings, and beats the shit out of her.
"What... what if she comes and attacks you or Six. She's an unknown, no description, and barely a quirk we have an understanding of. She probably knows where I live, which puts you both in danger," Aki said as Dabi helped her into bed.
Dabi quirked a brow at her. "You don't think I can take care of myself... well can't say the same for Six, but it looks like he's got an adult body now. Maybe she's the one who needs to watch out."
Aki considered it. "I need to get stronger. Find a way to fight mental quirks. We may as well be sitting ducks until then."
Dabi huffed. "Love your faith in me but go to sleep. You can't do shit in your condition."
Aki listened, but her thoughts went a mile an hour as she replayed the altercation again and again. The woman... her mother, was dangerous. Aki knew how to handle killing intent. Whatever that was though, was nothing like killing intent. It was like abject despair and horror had crawled into her skin and marked her heart. Aki took her phone and looked at the messages Ochaco had sent her, asking if she got home safe.
Akira:
I'm sorry. Got caught up in a robbery. I'm fine. A hero saved me."
Ochoco:
Oh thank God you're fine! Plz don't make me that scared again.
Akira:
Sorry, I will try not to. I'm a bit bruised but I'm fine.
Ochoco:
I gotta get you some pepper spray. There are a lot of creeps out there.
Akira:
Thanks but I'm set.
I'm a little tired. Going to sleep now.
Ochoco:
Yeah take some rest. Ttyl.
Aki stared at her screen in confusion. What did Ttyl mean? She searched it up. Talk to you later, she read.
"Oh... why do I feel like a granny sometimes?" she mumbled to herself.
Then it pricked her heart. Her mother's warning. She imagined Ochaco with a kunai through her throat, burning in a katon jutsu. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Would being around Aki do her any good? Every single good thing she'd ever had died a horrible death. Hitoshi had dodged a bullet. Had she recruited him like she had originally intended he'd probably be dead by now, led to his early grave because she was cursed.
She had a suspicion dropping Ochaco as a friend suddenly would make the girl snoop deeper into her life or be a cause of alarm. Her alleged mother hadn't killed Ochaco outright, which she could have easily done after she'd defeated Aki. The threat had explicitly said Aki would do the deed herself.
Life was a series of calculated risks. Aki was used to taking them every day. When she had joined the fighting ring and made her name known that was a risk in and of itself. Not just of dying, but of notoriety. Being known came with benefits and weaknesses. Aki was used to those risks even as a Shinobi.
So why was she so reluctant to risk one little girl?
"You're still awake?" Dabi asked.
"Thinking," she said.
"Go to sleep and think when you're not half dead," he huffed.
"I'll try," she said, instead of arguing with him like she was used to doing.
She had a lot to think about, but Dabi was right, she was tired, and she could think later when she wasn't reeling from her mother's existence.
Dabi couldn't believe he was going shopping for Six of all people. He'd put it on the little creeps tab. No way was he doing this from the generosity of his heart. The little flesh-sack had somehow become even more Creepy but in a completely different way. The form he had assumed was that of a tall, thirty-something, with a somewhat acrobatically built body. He had an unassuming but somewhat attractive face, with black eyes like Kuroishi's, and wavy hair tied in a ponytail. The worst thing about him was that dumb smile he had on his face, the way he curved his eyes when he smiled, but his muscles around the eye didn't tense the way someone did when they were genuinely happy. He was putting on a show that made him uncanny in the worst ways, and the worst part was Dabi must have been the only one noticing it, because every female store worker had swooned at the man as they gave him clothes to try on.
He came out with a simple pair of black jeans and a pale red shirt and a denim jacket. The cashier complimented his choice even though it was rather average by all standards, before giving Dabi a concerned look at his own appearance. His eye twitched in irritation but he held it in until they went out for lunch, and he bought both of them a burger.
"I get to eat?" Six asked.
"It's going on your tab," Dabi grunted.
Six took the burger and bit a chunk out of it. There was barely a reaction there, but his eyes went wide, and he smiled in a way that someone would when they pretended to enjoy something. Dabi twitched. He should have incinerated this weird creature when he had the chance.
"So you remember your life and shit now?" Dabi asked.
Six shook his head. "Not at all. I had an odd dream with an irritating man I felt like killing, and then possibly with the person I had been before I lost my memories. I assumed his form. It doesn't feel entirely correct, but it'll do for now."
Dabi couldn't stand how hard it was to read the little creep.
"You don't think it's a bad idea to be in this get-up where someone from your past can notice you then?" Dabi questioned.
"I think it would be nice if they noticed. Then I could finally have some answers," he hummed.
"You'll bring danger to our doorstep," Dabi said.
Six smiled in the infuriating way he always did, with the smile not exactly reaching his eyes.
"Do you regret not burning me, Dabi?"
"What do you think flesh-sack?"
"That's not my name."
"You don't even know what your name is. I'll call you whatever I want."
"Sometimes I want to burn you too."
Dabi liked that response. It was the most honest sounding thing Six had ever said to him. Dabi didn't know if he regretted not killing the little abomination before. Like Kuroishi said, it was yet to be seen. Having a shape shifter, even as limited as Six was, would probably be helpful in the future.
"So what's your quirk? Regeneration or shape shifting?" Dabi asked.
Six contemplated it for a moment. "I suppose I may have only scratched the surface of what I can do."
Now that was concerning. Six took a bite out of his burger again and hummed happily. Dabi ate his own food in silence contemplating it. Now that he thought about it, Six had a weird fucking vibe to him, a vibe Dabi only somewhat recalled fuzzily.
"Guess I'm invested in your history now too. Don't get me wrong, the moment you're a liability, I'm getting rid of you, no matter what the brat says," Dabi said.
"Noted," Six said, before he turned his attention elsewhere.
"What is it?"
"Seems like trouble found us already," Six noted.
Dabi turned to see a villain crash into the mall. He wore a black and yellow striped outfit, criss crossing his broad chest, his bulky arms ended its tips into large hammers.
"This isn't our problem," Dabi said, taking the tray with his food, and moving to leave.
Six got up as well. "I suppose it isn't. But wouldn't it be fun to play hero for a bit."
Dabi eyed the man dubiously. He hadn't expected that from Six of all people. He saw the flesh-sack looking on at the destruction and now wounded civilians with a callousness that somehow felt like a relief. Good, he hadn't helped out a possible future narc. Six was no hero.
"Everyone down! Don't fucking move or you'll die. Hands in the air and drop out your phones and other valuables on the ground."
Dabi cursed. He wasn't about to sit down and hand over his meagre valuables to a thief. That was meant to be his thing. It seemed Six had the same idea. He watched the civilians cover and hand over their jewellery and other important items.
"Let's go—"
Before he could complete the sentence, Six was behind Jack Hammer driving a knife he somehow acquired into the man's elbows. He looked down at the bag Jack Hammer had managed to steal, grabbed it and before Dabi could blink, he was by his side.
"How..."
"Less questions, more running. The heroes should be here soon," Six said.
Dabi agreed on that front. Not that he wouldn't badger the man about his new teleportation abilities later. They took to running out the back end of the mall, and Dabi pulled up his hoodie, as they blended into the crowd 6 pushed the stolen goods into a bag and smiled at him.
"There were cameras, you know," he pointed out.
Six nodded. "I wore a scarf around my face. Not to worry. I assumed you wanted me to pay back your tab."
Dabi snorted. "Yeah, sure speedy. How do you have so many quirks anyway? You can shape shift, regenerate, and now teleport?"
Six frowned for the first time since they started talking, dropping that infuriating smile.
"I don't know..."
"One big mystery, huh," Dabi tched.
"I guess I am. It wasn't teleportation though. My body has enhanced processing capabilities," Six explained.
Dabi huffed. Of course he did. "You're going to have to tell the kid, you know."
"I won't keep this from her," Six said, looking almost irritated at the fact that Dabi even insinuated such a thing.
There was some kind of weird relationship there that Dabi didn't want to unpack. Aki was a kid, but for some reason Six was almost treating her like parental authority. It wouldn't have been so weird if Dabi wasn't sure that Six was in fact an adult and not a kid himself. But maybe he had regressed mentally while he regenerated. Dabi didn't know how to unpack all of this, but he did see an opportunity with Six's abilities.
Aki was reluctant to do this, but she found her father a week into her recovery. She was surprised to find out that he had a job and was married now. His wife Yami had a Chipmunk quirk, allowing her to store large amounts of food in her mouth, and it seemed her appearance was also mildly affected making her chocolate brown eyes cartoonishly large and rather cute.
When Aki found out she had two kids, she nearly fell out of her chair. Siblings... she had half-siblings. She looked at the pictures on her dad's Facejournal profile and pursed her lips. They were young, maybe 5 or 6 at the oldest. They had big brown eyes like their mother, but the same mousy brown hair she had.
She looked at the picture of her little half-sister. She was wearing a bright yellow and blue sweater. Aki blinked back tears as she memorised her name. Nezumi, aged 6 with the quirk Sparkle. She could create beams of sparkling light from her eyes. Aki was glad for her. A quirk like that was fun but non-threatening.
Then there was her little brother. Riku, aged 4 who was born with a mutation quirk called Rabbit Teeth. He had teeth that could bite into anything, and it was cutely shaped like a rabbits front tooth. It was a rather mundane, selectively useful, but ultimately tame mutation quirk which would ensure minimal bullying regarding appearances. Aki chuckled softly when she saw pictures of him eating their family couch.
Finally there was her father. Daiso looked happier and healthier than when she had last seen him. He had gained a few pounds, the bags under his eyes were gone, and he was wearing a button up shirt with a familiar freight company logo on it. It seemed he had a proper job and family now. Aki didn't remember having ever seen him smile so brightly.
They looked so happy, like the picture-perfect family. Aki couldn't take her eyes away, not until the trance was broken when 6 dropped on her bed, sitting next to her. She minimised the tabs and turned to see a plate with a freshly made tuna avocado sandwich on it. If nothing, Six was being useful around the kitchen.
"Thank you," she said, taking the food.
"Sure thing boss. Do you want to talk about that?" he asked, glancing at her computer.
"I don't," she said truthfully as she took a bite.
"I sometimes wonder where my family is. I have a feeling they don't exist," Six said.
Aki looked at the man and pat his shoulders consolingly. He snorted in amusement, as if her worry was unfounded. She realised then he probably didn't care if he knew who they were or not. He was always more focused about finding himself.
"I can ask La Brava to find what she can on you," Aki said.
Six pursed his lips. "I don't know her or trust her."
"That's when you do your own reconnaissance. Find out what you can about her, her weaknesses, hobbies, dreams, interests, goals—what makes her tick. Once you have leverage, you ask your questions and ensure there is a fair trade of information, where you won't have to play to her demands."
Six regarded her for a moment and then whistled. "Isn't she your friend?"
"I don't have friends," Aki said.
"Tell that to Ochocolate," he chuckled.
Aki glared at Six and he backed off. She supposed she had shown him her hand, a small weakness of hers. She needed to nip it in the bud.
"Don't get our relationship wrong Six. Ochaco is a good person, and I do care about her, but if it came down to me or her, I will always choose me," Aki said.
Six was looking at her as if wondering if she had lied to him. Aki drew her attention back to her laptop and propped herself off the bed.
"Aren't you meant to be on bed rest for another two weeks?" Six asked.
Aki grunted, finishing her sandwich, and ignoring the creaking pain of her ribs. "I can't sit here and wait for answers to drop onto my lap like you Six. I'm finding my father and asking him some questions."
"It's not my place to tell you what to do boss," he said, holding his hands up.
"I'm not your boss," she said.
"Sure thing boss. But I have to say, if I let you leave alone in your condition, Dabi might actually incinerate me. I'm coming with," he said.
"Do what you want," she grumbled, throwing on a large jacket, and making her way out.
She had a family reunion to attend.
A/N
Ahhh it's been a while guys! Here's another chapter. Things are progressing although I realised just how much of a slow burn this story is. My bad, I suck at fast paced writing. ToT I do need to work on it eventually.