Good In Evil
By: SomeRandomPerson648
Chapter 17: Company
A/N: Hey guys! A neat reminder here that canonically Dabi can't feel anything due to his nerves having burned away, 'cause that sure is fun to write. Hope you enjoy!
Shoto Todoroki rose from his restless slumber wishing simply he hadn't. Given that school ended yesterday he had a whole day ahead of him. But rather than rest and relax like a normal person he instead spent his free time training. Today would be no different
He looked to the walls of his bedroom, none of which sparked any sense of emotion within him. Outside of some fancy katanas and fans displayed over his shelf the room was barren of any personality that marked who he was. His room was built to mimic the ancient japanese style, well before quirks existed in the world. The whole house was made this way in fact, clumping him with the rest of his family. As a matter of fact the fans were gifts from his mother while the katanas were from his father, neither of which he had permission nor courage to replace
With nothing better to do the cold hearted boy left for the kitchen, hoping to make himself some cold soba again before training. But to his surprise he found two others there... Natsuo and Fuyumi
Shoto couldn't remember the last time he saw them, seemingly two strangers he met from time to time. His older brother had short white hair and always seemed to be wearing a jacket or hoodie in pure spite of Enji's dress code. His sister had long white hair with red streaks and wore glasses along with a soft sweater. In contrast to Natsuo, she always radiated a sense of maturity much like their shared mother did, smiling even in the worst of circumstances
The three estranged siblings froze upon first sight, the older two staring at the younger until he slowly creeped away
"Wait!" Fuyumi pleaded, a tinge of despair painting her voice. "Come eat breakfast with us. I'll make you something."
The teen hesitated even when the offer provided no downside. Natsuo slid to the side to provide a spot for his younger brother, which was soon accepted. Both siblings smiled at to themselves as Fuyumi abandoned the table temporarily, leaving both brothers to sit alone
Awkward silence clung between the two, neither of which being inclinded to begin a conversation. That was until Natsuo finally caved, tired of the silence
"So how's school?" He asked rather nervously
"Hmm..." Shoto replied, not having a real answer
"Same as ever huh?"
"You could guess that?" He questioned, easily calling his brother out
"No," he sighed, "but you're not giving me much to work with here."
Realizing his mistake the teen tried to search for the words, dragging the silenece between them further
"It's been... hard, recently."
"I could imagine." Natsuo nodded. "Were your injuries bad?"
"I've been through worse."
...
...
"If I remember correctly," Shoto continued, realizing the awkwardness he created, "you should be in college now."
"That's right, I actually start in a few days so I'm getting packed."
"Lucky." He said under his breath, still loud enough to be heard
Thankfully Fuyumi returned with a proper meal at hand and served it to the young Todoroki before the silence could return yet again
"Dig in!" She ordered with a beaming smile on her face
In front of the young Todoroki was his sister's dish, a bowl of Miso Soup that was likely a surplus. Even still the Tofu was not deformed in the slightest nor was the seaweed soggy. Upon the first bite Shoto was suprised with the rich flavor despite the simplicity, which was a combination that he found most enjoyable
"How's school?" Fuyumi asked in between his bites. The sweetness in her voice masked the awkwardness of the situation
"Tough," was the only response. Naturally the conversation would've defaulted back to the incident a week prior but to Shoto's surprise it did not go there a second time
"Have you made any friends?" She asked
Another while passed as Shoto pondered his reply. However, this time it seemed as though Fuyumi waited with patience rather than nervousness, setting the boy's mind at ease as he took his time
Looking back the teen couldn't say that he talked to any of his classmates let alone knew them well. Yaoyorozo and Bakugo were the only exceptions but the spiky haired boy was not necessarily his friend. Although he was tempted to call Momo his only friend even he knew that their private converstaion did not bring them any closer to that title
"Can't say I have." He reponsed, taking another bite of his food
"Not with those speech skills you have." Natsuo teased, getting a light smile from their sister
"Hmm."
...
"You know normally this is where you laugh." The older brother clarified, scratching the back of his head
"Oh. Sorry." The younger one apologized, storing the information
The harmless laughter died quickly at the instance of an ominous sound, faint but recognizable. Even the youngest of the three knew the sound of heavy footsteps and knew what they entailed... he was approaching
Slowly the steps got closer and heavier, bringing with them a recognizable anger until finally the door slid open. Standing on the other side, looming over his own children was Enji Todoroki, the very reason for their silence and fear
But in spite of years of torment Shoto scowled to mask the unease inside. Lucky for him he was not the only one. Just beside him Natsuo glared hatefully at their father while Fuyumi could only sit completely still. Their father's firey glare was focused primarly on Shoto, ignoring the other two siblings as though they were of no concern. Yet defiantly Shoto glared back, his brother supporting his stand by holding his own
"I should get going." Natsuo growled, standing from the table and allowing a moment for Shoto to rise as well
"I got better places to be." Shoto supplied, walking past his father and in the opposite direction of his brother
The lonely silence from before returned as he trudged away. He was relieved to have left but felt a tinge of regret for having abandoned his sister as he tended to do. But as he felt the pair of eyes on the back of his head he knew his father would not lash out at her
The young Todoroki sulked elsewhere with a bitter taste in his mouth that refused to go away, ruining the pleasant taste of his sister's food
Elsewhere at the same morning hour rose a more fractured individual and for the first time in a long while he recieved genuine sleep in an actual apartment. His bones creaked as he sat up from bed, groggy and confused. Given that he'd long since burned his nerves away the feelings of fatigue and restfulness were of the very few feelings he could still register. The softness of the blanket or temperature of the room no longer held any value to him as they did when he was a kid
Out of habit the man glanced towards the nightstand full of his stuff that he acquired with the warp gate's help. Outside of the small array of bare necessities the room itself remained barren and devoid of color, yet clean enough not to appear abandoned
Dabi savored the lingering sleep he felt before it eventually passed, allowing him to leave his bed and start his morning. He began with a shower, a small luxury he could finally afford, before leaving for the bar. Eventually the corpse of a person arrived to see the same strange faces minus the green haired boy and the grey haired broker. As far as he knew the boy still attended school like a normal person, but given that his 'friend' did not in spite of her attire meant that she wasn't a regular classmate
The warp gate cleaned glasses behind the bar while the girl and the creep sat at opposite ends of the bartop, none of which spoke to each other
"Good Morning." Greeted the shadow man, to which Dabi nodded. "I'll get your plate for breakfast."
With little objection the man slumped into his seat to await his meal. Like many times before he sat in complete silence, observing the quiet strangers beside him. None of the three were compelled to speak and none were interested in it, thus leaving the room barren of sound save for the shuffling of dishes from the kitchen
Soon enough breakfast arrived, which was a small bowl of Miso Soup that seemed lacking in every possible attribute. To confirm his suspicions Dabi tasted the meal and for a moment he'd forgotten that his taste buds were still intact. He was surprised that a soup with seaweed and Tofu could taste identical to water and yet here he was
"Apologies for the quality of the meal, we seem to be lacking in spices this time around."
"It's better than picking for scraps at least." Dabi sighed, getting a small nod from the girl beside him
Of course, not one to be wasteful, Dabi continued with the terribly plain food to the last drop. He would've asked for more if he didn't have standards but given that he did he allowed the empty plate to escape him
And now with nothing but time the man contemplated his next immediate action. He could continue to explore the city around him, or sit around a while longer...
...
"How do you know Izuku?" The girl asked abruptly, pulling his attention from his empty thoughts
"I'm sorry, what's your name again?"
"Toga, Himeko Toga." She introduced, still waiting for an answer
"And I'm Dabi." He clarified, not in the slightest bit worried of the tension. "I met the kid a while back on the street. He was... well he looked like an interesting kid so I had a quick chat and gave some advice. I didn't think I'd see him again in the same way or join the little band he's a part of."
Behind him Tomura scoffed at the small dig but otherwise remained silent
"And you? I doubt you met him at school."
"Hmph." She huffed at the true statement. "I also met him in the street. He looked approachable." She answered, refusing to fill in the blanks even if they didn't necessarily need filling. Although Dabi wasn't one to snoop he was surprisingly informed already
"He's treated me well ever since and even got me a place to stay yesterday." She smiled, blushing at the memory of the kind gesture
To that a short cackling could be heard, turning their attention to Tomura as he amused himself
"That idiot." He remarked. "Still playing hero even in these circumstances. How naive."
"Hey you take that back!" Toga growled, seemingly reaching for something from within her pocket. "Just 'cause he's nice doesn't mean he's like those fakes! And what even are you supposed to be?"
"Me? I'm the leader of this 'little band' and the name is Tomura Shigaraki." He addressed
"The leader? Don't you work under a bigger guy?" Dabi intervined, forcing a laugh from the young man
"Sensei has bigger things to deal with so I'm the one you two should be obeying."
"And what about Izuku? Is he also a 'leader' or are you just playing pretend." Toga mocked whilst resting on the bartop
"That kid isn't cut out to lead. He's too insecure."
"I guess that's reason enough." Dabi aggreed, not nodding along but seeing the point
"Like you're any better." Toga continued to mock, smiling mischievously as she did. "What was it you said? 'Destroy everything All Might built?' What does it matter?"
"Tch, whatever. I'm not here to answer stupid questions." Tomura remarked, finishing his plate and sitting at the couch. Without a second thought the young man began playing a console game that neither of the two were familiar with
The other two smiled to themselves before returning to the silence. Toga, being the young girl she was, began staring at her phone while Dabi rested his head on his palm
None of the three were particularly friendly but the bantered seemed to lighten the mood between them. Likewise, none of them wanted to leave the safety of the hideout, instead ignoring one another as they dropped their guards around each other
The youngest Todoroki continued his grueling training schedule, not giving himself a moment of rest as he flooded the field with his ice
Unlike his father, Shoto did not use the training room inside the house that was full of equipment. It wasn't just to make a point but also because the room's fire-proof countermeasures were not suited to counter his ice. The most it had was a state of the art air conditioner that could drop the room's temperature in seconds and raise it in even less time. The outdoors were more his style. They were far less cramped and suffocating than that horrible room
The light of the sun bounced off the field of ice and snow, almost blinding the teen as he rested for a moment. But even in the bright and sunny day Shoto could only feel a freezing chill run down his spine, one he was very well used to
His primary form of practice was through expending as much of his ice as he could before he gave out from exhaustion, a form of endurance training. At this point he was capable of making massive glaciers of ice without suffering the withdraws, all through his work alone
And yet his defeat proved that he still had a long way to go before he could be greater than his father. All it took was one strange creature with super strength and a level of resistance to counter his abilities. He'd normally chalk it up to the villains being out of his league but his classmates all left without too many scratches, all except Bakugo and himself
"So much for being the strongest in the class." He told himself, staring at the sky above. Ever since his loss he's been training twice as hard but with only half the results. He didn't get an ounce of improvement and only ended up with more frostbite than normal
There was an easy solution to this problem, but one he did not dare rely upon
Just as the thought crossed his mind he felt the temperature around him rise exponentially, startling him as he looked to his surroundings. Sure enough the field of ice surrounding him began to melt as one living torch approached him
"You're training is still ineffective." Enji Todoroki lectured, emphasizing the frost building over his son's body
The freezing cold within Shoto disappeared but in its place was a searing hatred of equal proportions. His fist clentched as he stared at his father, who crossed his arms and looked down at his son. No matter how helpful the warmth was it was not welcome in the slightest
"You're well aware by now that you need fire to negate frostbite." He remined, glancing at his melting surroundings. "And yet you continue to resist just to prove a point."
"I don't need your flames." Shoto bit back. "I just need to endure."
"The whole reason you were born is to master both elements, Shoto." Enji countered with frustration
"I won't."
"Hmph." He huffed, unmoving. "Then you'll only continue to fail until you learn your lesson. Just as you did at UA."
The boy's patience hit a breaking point as he stood up to his own father with anger tainting his voice. "That thing was created to counter my powers! And yet I'm alive no thanks to you!"
"That's no excuse for your injuries! You were helpless against a foe and resorted to those beneath you for assistance. Had you used my fire then the problem would've been resolved in seconds. It was your 'code' that led you to being the only kid at the hospital!" Enji returned the fire with more of his own as his facial hair of flames grew fiercer
The two were unmoving in their positions, looking one another in the eye as they stubbornly held their beliefs. Shoto was seconds away from initiating a battle he could not win all just to express his frustrations. But the thought of raising a hand against his father filled his stomach with dread. He knew what would happen next because it has happened before, all within that damnable training room
Despite the pounding chest and gritted teeth Shoto was completely still. His blood was boiling and yet he remained frozen in place, the worst of both worlds it seemed. A full minute passed before the flame hero huffed for the last time
"You'd do well to listen to me before its too late."
"Nothing you say will stop me." Shoto spat. "I'll get stronger with just my ice side and I don't care how long that will take."
Having overstayed his nonexistent welcome the large man turned and left the same way he came. The moment Shoto knew he was out of earshot he fell to his knees, clenching the ground below. His legs had given out both from an intense sense of fear towards his father and an unmanageable anger, neither of which he fully understood. He only knew that he's carried these feelings for a long time
The boy wanted to scream at the sky but the moment he tried his throat closed up, preventing his voice from being heard. Instead he slammed a fist into the ground, doing his best to force a scream yet only getting a strained cry
He needed to speak. He needed to vent his frustrations and face his fears and yet he could not do either on his own or with those he knew. So instead he cried, choosing to remain silent as his emotions tore him apart
The day slipped by like water, uneventful as always. The only source of sound that filled the empty bar was from the TV as Tomura sat in front of the screen for hours with little break. Behind him Toga and Dabi sat around, occasionally observing the game or staring at their phones to entertain themselves. The only other activity came from Toga hours earlier, disappearing into a portal only to wordlessly reappear soon after. Neither of the two boys questioned it and as such it became unimportant
But eventually Toga broke first, setting her phone down and stretching like a cat after a long nap
"Can I play something?" She asked yet again, getting a quick and concise 'no' in response. "Come on! All you've been playing is the same outdated arena game for the last few hours."
"Shut up, I'm trying to rank up." Tomura growled. As Dabi glanced at the screen he learned enough in the past few hours to know that he was losing his current match. "Go bother Midoriya if you're bored."
"I can't he's swamped with all the homework he put off." She groaned her frustration. "And given that you're his friends you're the closest things I have to play with!"
"Friend is a strong word." They stated, frustrating the girl even further
"And is this bar even legitimate? No one showed up for hours." Dabi shifted the topic. Even the barrender was absent having left to run errands hours ago
"Its just a front for master to launder money." Shigaraki answered frankly. "Otherwise its a safe space for us to use."
"Go figure." Dabi shrugged, glancing at the various alcoholic beverages that remained fully unused
Seemingly grasping at straws the girl slumped back into her seat, contemplating. Given that Dabi knew next to nothing about her he could not guess just what she would be thinking about. That was until she absentmindedly voiced her thoughts on her own
"Can I stab you two?"
"What?" They questioned in unision, looking back at the girl in confusion. Of course, from her looks they could tell she had a few screws loose but...
"Can I stab you and drink your blood?" She explained more slowly, realizing she hadn't properly introduced herself
The two men glanced at one another as though to gauge each other's reactions. Tomura was less taken aback but still just as surprised while Dabi was fully caught off guard by the request. He knew there were crazed people roaming around in the world, hell he himself counted as one, but he didn't expect someone so young to count as yet another lunatic
"No..?" He hesitated, still confused by the ease and sincerity of the question
"I'd turn you to dust before I let you stab me." Tomura remarked, returning to his game as though it were nothing
"Hmm, plus you wouldn't be as tasty as Izuku." Toga judged, forgetting about her request entirely as she returned to her phone
"I don't know what the kid was struggling with earlier." The older man thought to himself. He had assumed from the boy that the girl was out of his league in some way but listening to her now made him realize just what he meant by outcast
The lack of activity, save for Tomura gaming, made it seem as though time returned to a standstill. Even then the energetic teen could not keep quiet as she brainstormed a slew of potential activities. Eventually the teenager finally perked up from her seat
"I'm going to get some snacks. Anyone want to join me?" She invited, jumping out of her stool
"Pass." Shigaraki replied almost immediately, distracting himself for just long enough to accidentally place his pinky on the controller
The other two watched as the bright red controller shifted to a grey color before crumbling in the 'leader's' hands. He growled but otherwise patiently walked to the bucket full of spares and began using a different controller. A looming sense of danger seemed to radiate from him as he returned to his frustration
"Can't you go by yourself?" Dabi questioned both unmoving and unwilling
"I could but its no fun!" She whinned. "Aren't you tired of sitting around doing nothing? At least walk a little!"
The scarred man didn't know what to make of the girl's childish demeanor and could only stare at her pouting face. With her odd insistance he would've thought she had an ulterior motive but the strange innocence in her eyes revealed that there was no malice behind them. There was insanity, sure, but there was no ill will towards him
"I guess I'll go." He gave in, standing up and stretching due to hours of inactivity. "Sure beats sitting around for another hour."
"Great! Lets go find a corner store then." The teen replied, hopping away and out the door for the older man to follow along. Luckily for them they missed the very moment Shigaraki began yelling at the screen, tossing a great deal of things every which way
The small excursion did not take the two freaks far because only a mile away was a quaint cornerstore. No words were exchanged. In fact the very moment it came into sight the girl rushed ahead and disappeared inside, leaving Dabi behind
Eventually the older man casually strode inside and scanned the store, finding no trace of the girl he was following. A surprise to be sure but that allowed him to browse the aisles at his own convenience
Of the array of snacks that were present none seemed to catch his eye. Not that they ever could, for he truthfully had no idea what he should look for in terms of cheap and tasty treats for he never had a reason to seek them. Even back then his family wasn't one for chips, cookies, sodas or any of the sort. If anything, browsing the vast array of snack options was a brand new activity for the reborn villain
"How come I've never done this before?" He wondered, smirking as he stared at the colorful rainbow of energy drinks behind the fridge, all of great variety yet limited to a handful of flavors
But of the many themed and flavored beverages one caught his eye, a red, orange, and blue drink in the theme of the Number Two hero... Endeavor...
Dabi grabbed hold of the merchandise and stared intently at the energy drink, burning his eyes onto the caricature of the hero. Without realizing it his quirk activated in his palm, searing the tin can until it became a molten metal sludge that slipped through his fingers. The sensation of the scorching hot metal sliding down his fingers should've brought a great deal of pain but instead he felt a numbness settle over his hand in place of pain. The man didn't even recognize his action until the smoking metal fumes overtook his nose and forcing him to plug it
Not long afterward the store's smoke alarm triggered and blared loudly. The store clerk jolted awake and scrambled to his feet before rushing to the fire extinguisher and searching for the source of the alarm. Silently the cause of the problem slipped out with two family sized bags of chips for his trouble
To his surprise Toga reappeared behind him with pockets full of bite sized snacks and small drinks along with an armful of assorted chips. For a moment the two petty criminals glared at one another before smiling to themselves
As though they had all the time in the world the pair devoured their snacks, cruising through the streets and observing the sun as it settled behind the many buildings. They weren't worried about their crime, knowing that some stolen goods weren't nearly as important as a fire, although that did mean they could never return there again
Wordlessly the loners paved the way with snacks at hand, walking in a manner that was second nature to them. Unconsciously they noted the many faces that passed and subtly avoided the crowd, sure to draw in over enthusiastic heroes and paranoid cops. Neither of the two spoke and yet slowly they became more comfortable with one another, recognizing their similar habits
At some point in their walk, after having devoured the large assortment of snacks, Toga pulled out a cranberry juice and poured in half of a blood red vile into it and shaking it before drinking the contents
"Is that actually blood?" Dabi asked, taking his final bites of his snack before tossing the empty bag to the side
"Yep!" She smiled. "Izuku let me have it for today and I want to make good use of it. So I'll dilude it into my drinks until tomorrow." She explained herself
The fellow psychopath nodded along, seeing the logic behind it without understanding the reason. Instead he continued. "Did you learn that trick from experience?"
"Yeah. I had to learn how to save blood when it got scarce. Luckily Izuku helps me by giving his own but..." She trailed off, either uncomfortable with opening up or unwilling to. Not that Dabi minded
...
"Hey... Dabi was it?"
"Yeah?"
"What did Izuku tell you? When he talked about me?" She questioned, lookinh at him with big, curious eyes
"What's with the question?" He asked, trying to deflect it but failing
"I'm just trying to be nice since we're on the same team. And not only that, but we know the same person so..." She answered, her question still standing in the silence that lingered
"... He didn't mention much." He caved. "He only said that you were someone that needed a friend and he wanted to be there for you. He never mentioned any specifics and honestly I thought he wanted to ask you out because he was so nervous."
From the corner of his eye he saw the wide grin that plastered the girl's face before she hide it with her hands. Strangely enough that was the first time he'd seen someone appear so innocent, like a young maiden in love. Her genuine reaction caused him to nearly trip over the concrete path
"He really does care about me!" She sang, oblivious to her surroundings even as she continued walking alongside him. "He's too pure! It really makes me wonder why he's still with me..."
"Now you sound like him." He chuckled
The girl's innocene faded away as doubt settled over her, changing the mood between the two. Likewise the sun gave in to the horizon, slowly darkening the city as they walked. Dabi could sense the heavier tone that the teen took, watching her smile fade as she stared at the floor. Yet the feeling was not something he could replicate, striding along with no change in demeanor
"I know." She chuckled bitterly. "He's always thinking too much about stuff that he's passionate about. It's what I like about him... that he likes things that don't matter..."
"Hmm." He hummed, staring ahead and allowing the girl to vent further
"I hurt him... When I took too much of his blood he was so weak that he fought those students at UA with no energy. And yet he tried lying just to keep me from worrying. Why?" She questioned, yet all she received was a shrug. "I really don't get him. He's spending all that effort just for me. He even got me a place to stay..."
A small silence befell as they continued walked, watching as the sky transitioned from day to night before their eyes. And yet the questions continued
"And there's this new feeling that I don't like... This odd pain I get when I think about what I did. Do you know what it is?"
The burned man searched within himself for the feeling that was described. He recognized the word it represented, 'guilt.' And yet neither in his past nor present was he able to find an instance of this feeling, not one trace
"I really don't know. You asked the wrong person."
"Is this something that normal people feel?" She prodded, staring at the sky above rather than the path ahead
"Probably."
Yet again the conversation died out and simultaneously the two realized that they strayed rather far from their own path, nearing the more vibrant and active main street. The two instinctivly redirected themselves, retracing their steps and returning to the safe house
Normally the silence would linger until they arrived to their destination, having run out of topics of interest. Dabi knew how these things worked at least well enough to know how to kill the conversation. But for some reason well beyond him he felt inclined to continue the conversation. He was unbothered by the depressing atmosphere and instead felt his interest peak for the first time in a while
"What's so good about blood anyway? Does it have to do with your quirk or something?" He wondered, mostly off topic yet that was not something he cared about
Like adding water to a withering plant Toga's smile revived, albeit weaker than before. Likewise her sigh was that of someone who had too much to say on this niche subject
"When I drink blood I can turn into the person it belongs to, but only on the surface." She explained, temporarily morphing her face into that of Midoriya before a strange goo formed and fell off, turning her back into herself
"As a kid I always thought blood was this type of drink I could never have, something that drew me crazy every time I thought about it." She explained further, to which the man nodded as though he understood. "But eventually I learned that its what I can do with it that makes it so addicting."
Casually the girl pulled out a hidden box cutter knife from the folds of her skirt, toying with it between her fingers
"I love the taste more than anything. But... I can learn a lot about a person from the way they taste, the way I can walk and talk as them. Its like I can be the people that I like or want to be. There's just no feeling like it."
"That explains a lot." He thought, recalling the earlier request for blood and her eventual rejection of the idea
"Izuku's blood always tastes sweet, like chocolate! And whenever I turn into him my heart skips a few beats and my stomach gets light." She confessed, her blush returning to her. "He's the only one who's let me drain his blood like this before, who's understood me and became my friend even with my quirk. Because of him I've been able to think so clearly..."
In the middle of her monologue she froze, standing in the middle of the sidewalk for the older man to guess her thoughts. For a few moments she contemplated, looking for a way to articulate her words before finally she spoke
"...Should I try to give up blo-"
"No." Came the swift yet stern response, startling her with its certainty. "You don't owe him anything."
"Really?" She questioned, tilting her head out of curiosity and forcing another answer from him
"I don't know the kid well, first of all," Dabi clarified, "but from what I do know all he's wanted is the best for you. He's a good kid, so you shouldn't try and do the impossible when he's trying to support you the way you are. As long as he sees the effort your putting then that's all he cares about."
"Huh." She replied, taken aback. "That's pretty observant for someone who doesn't know him that well." She teased, causing him to place his hand on his neck
"He's the caring selfless type, that's not hard to see." He defended himself
"Damn. When did I get so invested in teen drama?" He wondered as Toga returned to his side
"You're fun to talk to you know that?" She complimented, skipping as she did before and with a renewed energy
The compliment caught the scarred man by surprise, momentarily stopping him in his tracks. At no point in his life did he believe he was a conversationalist, nor someone who'd give out advice to those that were young and inexperienced
...Like an older brother...
"Huh, guess I didn't." He waved it off, trailing her as the two continued to follow their own steps
...
"So..." Toga continued, trying to continue the now finished conversation. "What about you?"
"Was all that just to get me to talk?" He smirked, chuckling at the idea
"Of course not!" She denied, elbowing the taller man. "But I haven't heard a thing about you."
"Hmm." He considered, pausing for long enough to make the teen anxious
"Well..?"
"Maybe one day." He concluded, smiling at her frustration
"Whatever." She huffed both playfully and out of embarrassment
At the sight of her expression the man laughed out loud, his gruff voice sounding remotely joyful for once at the outburst until it died down, surprising the girl. And yet he also had the urge to pat her head, stopping himself upon realizing that he wasn't close in that strange, familial sense. Yet already he felt strangely comfortable, as though he was talking to his little sister rather than a stranger let alone a deranged maniac
"Is this what being an older brother feels like?" He wondered with a smile, continuing their walk in a comfortable silence