Magne can say that working in the South Side had been... Interesting to say the least. Sure she was used to dodging sketchy figures having worked her fair share of jobs in red-light districts, but running the "Minty Delights" bakery was very different from all of her other positions.
She had been an unofficial "boss" a couple of times but this time she was the boss in name, title, pay and all so she had to do was spend some time getting an idea of what "her" new business needed before she could think about opening. There were obviously some kinks she had to work out when it came to employees and getting the day-to-day operation up and going, but little Midori-Chan had been a great help through it all surprisingly.
She hadn't had to worry about getting ingredients or having them restocked, simply write a list for the boy and he'd have someone get what she needed. Being under the boy's payroll also gave herself some leeway with the locals', herself being an outsider or not. Magne is pretty sure that is why she's been mostly left alone by the troublemakers, the boy's hand-drawn map of the district helped in that regard too.
The work itself wasn't the most challenging considering she had a decent time baking all of the treats and the two kids working under her were competent enough. She got a decent amount of customers since starting up with some regulars coming in once or twice a week, she also was given a lot of autonomy since Midori-Chan was only able to check in on Fridays.
But he was always available by phone if there was an emergency which the kid wasn't joking about as she learned last week, thank God because Dabi had been worse than she thought he was and Dabi definitely needed that fire-proof place to recover, while she'd been taking care of him she was able to badger the poor guy into staying with her until he found a new place.
Dabi was a respectable roommate and tried hard to find some work to cover his part of the bills once she reluctantly let him search for a job. The boy hit a lot of roadblocks with his complete lack of previous work history or proper identification, and of course, his appearance made it impossible to find one.
Dabi's stubborn insistence that he had to earn his keep eventually caused him to break and take Midori-Chan's offer the day before yesterday. Magne hadn't known about the kid's offer but tried her best to reassure Dabi that Midori-Chan likely wouldn't take advantage of him... Probably, he didn't seem like the type from what everyone told her.
Today was Dabi's first day of "probation" and trying out his new role of peacekeeper, he wasn't under contract yet and Midori-Chan wanted Dabi to give his job a try before locking him into a contract but the Greenette assured them both that he would be paid for his probation period as well and forwarded a map with instructions of what Dabi was expected to do.
It was pretty straightforward duties-wise as all it entailed was that Dabi patrolled the South Side bouncing between each business or property Midori-Chan owned, check-in with the people there, and keeping an eye out for any kids he saw during his daily meandering. And of course, if he did see anyone causing trouble well... Midori-Chan's buildings were all privately owned so Dabi had Midori-Chan's permission to use his quirk how he saw fit, so long as there wasn't any outrageous property damage or casualties.
So with all this in mind, Magne made sure to bake Dabi's favorite cookies so he could have them when he eventual popped by, she led him to the district that morning but hadn't seen him since then, Magne tried to keep from worrying about him too much or else she'd be likely to stress bake all of their stock.
It was a relief that Dabi finally strolled in around noon, the guy looked exhausted but he was in one piece and she didn't clock any funny movements "Hey there hun, I was worried you were gonna try avoiding me." She teased coming around the counter to the little table that Dabi chose to collapse at "That brat's trying to kill me." He grumbled back at her, his face buried in his arms.
Magne pat him on the back "Your first day not going that well, Hun?" She asked and he gave her a look "I've been running around in circles because that brat has his "business" all over the district. And of course, I can't just go from point A to point B because of all the gangs roaming this shithole." He spat in response.
She gave an understanding hum, The South Side was loaded with gangs and she had her own trouble avoiding them in the beginning. She couldn't imagine how much more difficult it would be if she was as underweight as Dabi is, much less when winter was in full swing as it was now "I know it sucks hun but it's better not to mess with the locals until you make a name for yourself, Midori-Chan only has so much sway around here." She told him.
Dabi gave her the stink eye "I don't need that brat to protect me." He huffily replied and she could swear it was his equivalent of pouting, Magne chuckled over his childish behavior and ruffled his black hair "Sure you don't kiddo." She teased and Dabi proceeded to try and smack her hand away from him "Don't call me that! I'm over twenty years old! I'm not a kid!" He maturely protested making her playfully roll her eyes.
"So you say, but until you can prove it you're always gonna just be a kid to me." Magne said, Dabi groaned and buried his face in his arms again. "Everything's been fine here hun but feel free to stay as long as you need kiddo, and I've made you a little snack for your trouble." She told him dropping a baggie of cookies in front of him.
Dabi's eyes lit up and he eagerly pulled out one to gobble it up like the little goblin he was making her chuckle again. She turned away and was moving back to the counter when she heard the soft jingle from the doorbell "Welcome to Minty Delights, how can I-" she greeted turning towards the entrance only for her brain to crash when she saw who was there.
Because there was no way that her mother would ever be caught dead anywhere near a place like the South Side on principle, much less be standing inside the district. But no, the longer she stared at the well-dressed woman the clearer it became that she was standing in the shop and that she wanted to be anywhere else from the disgruntled look on her face.
Magne felt she should've known that they might've shown up to make a scene at her work, it has happened twice before but she didn't think either of them would be so crazy as to travel across Japan to confront her in person in a red-light district.
Her mother ever the aggressor took charge and marched over to her scowl firmly in place on her face "Kenji it's high time you stop with this childish tantrum of yours and come home." She spat and Magne took a step back a familiar twist in her gut once she heard her old name, Dabi was on his feet and would have intervened if she hadn't quietly motioned for him to not.
"Mother we've talked about this... You can't just barge into my life or my work whenever you feel like it. And that's not my name anymore, I had it changed years ago." Magne tersely replied trying her best to not give Mother the emotional response the woman wanted, Mother pursed her lips "Perhaps I wouldn't have to go to such extreme measures if my son wasn't acting so irrationally." She coldly told her.
Mother glanced down at her clothes and her face twisted in disgust, no doubt at her clothes. Magne wasn't wearing a dress today but she was wearing pastel colors that her parents absolutely would have never let her have under their roof, the frilly pastel apron no doubt wasn't helping matters.
"How long do you plan to continue this absurd rebellion of yours, Kenji? You're twenty-six now, you don't have much time left to find a good job and a decent woman. You shouldn't be wasting the prime of your life on this foolishness, much less in a place like this." She questioned rudely gesturing to the wrecked area outside the shop window.
Magne's fists clenched, she was used to her parents looking down on her and her "life choices" but after spending a decent amount of time with the people who lived in the South Side, she couldn't help feeling personally insulted. Not everyone that lived there was a criminal or some drug addict, she's met a couple of good people here who just were in a shitty situation, one she could easily be in if she wasn't as lucky.
"I'm not wasting my life by being who I am or doing what makes me happy with people who support me. And until you can understand that, I want nothing to do with you. Either of you." She firmly said crossing her arms, the other woman scoffed and was going to continue her rant when someone cleared their throat behind her "Excuse me." A familiar young voice called and when her mother moved she saw little Midori-Chan standing there.
Magne felt her face start burning embarrassed at being caught fighting with her mother and was worried that the woman was going to cause her problems at her job... Again. The boy didn't look annoyed at least but as his eyes locked onto mother she felt her anxiety rise "Is there a problem here Miss?" Midori-Chan asked his tone oddly neutral.
"This is a private matter and none of your business boy." Mother sneered back at him, to Midori-Chan's credit he didn't react to her aggressive demeanor, though in retrospect Magne doubted her mother could be as scary as any of the criminals she knows he's associated with "Considering I'm the owner of this bakery, I believe I am more than entitled to ask why you're disrupting my employee's shift." He blatant replied, his voice flat.
Her mother's face was fully scowling now "Even if you were the owner of this pathetic business you have no right to butt into a private family matter between myself and my son." She hissed back and Midori-Chan blinked looking slightly confused. Magne began to feel even more embarrassed and upset with how entitled her mother felt she was to her life.
But she wasn't surprised and she was going to apologize but he spoke first confusing the other three in the room "I thought Magne-San was an only child?" Then his eyes widened and he smiled though Magne swore it was different from the one she was used to seeing.
"Ah, I suppose congratulations are in order on your new sibling Magne-San, if you'd like to take some time off to help them at home I understand, after all... It must have been a difficult pregnancy at your mother's age." He sweetly offered, making her mother's face turned almost as red as her hair while Dabi snorted.
However, dread began to pool in Magne's gut because her mother's infertility was an incredibly sore spot for the woman. And as she feared, her mother lashed out as she always did whenever her fertility was brought up "How dare you?!" Her mother shrieked and before anyone could do anything the woman slapped Midori-Chan so hard the boy lost his footing.
"Back the fuck off!" Dabi shouted immediately putting himself between the woman and Midori-Chan when her mother tried to step closer to the boy then set his hand on fire when mother tried to step closer "Go ahead bitch, try me." He spat glaring at the woman but Magne was more focused on the greenette in her panic to properly hear her mother's cry of offense.
Magne had moved to check on the poor boy only for Midori-Chan to suddenly catch himself from his fall by his hand suddenly grabbing the chair behind him, and his face turned back to her mother and gave her an unimpressed look, despite the clear handprint on the greenette's face he only looked slightly irritated.
"Miss, I believe it's time you leave." He calmly told her mother gently pushing her to stand behind Dabi, the pyro quickly getting in front of her the rest of the way, her mother scoffed and was going to speak but Midori-Chan cut her off "That was not a suggestion Hikiishi. As the owner of this business, I am telling you to leave and if you won't I'll have my security escort you out." He firmly said motioning to Dabi, who happily waggled his fingers that were still on fire.
Her red-faced mother's skin managed to finally match her hair "Now you listen here you-" She snarled only for Midori-Chan to pull out his phone and show her a video that made her fall silent and it took Magne a moment to understand what she was seeing herself.
But then it looped and she realized it was a muted recording of her mother aggressively speaking to Midori-Chan before striking him hard and cut off when he started to fall, the video had to have been taken by someone outside through the large bakery storefront window given the angle but it was clearly her mother and Midori-Chan.
Magne turned to look outside but didn't see anyone where the cameraman should have been, Midori-Chan gave a soft hum "I wonder what the school board would say if they saw this Hikiishi?" He pondered out loud and while Mother lost a lot of the wind in her sails she wasn't backing down "As if they'd ever listen to a disrespectful brat like you." She spat and Midori-Chan smiled back at her.
"I'm sure they won't but if this got leaked to every news station in Japan? I can see the headlines now... "Beloved and respected high school teacher caught on camera assaulting a poor defenseless boy". Do you think they'll stand beside you when a mob of angry parents comes demanding your head, Hikiishi Junko?" Midori-Chan proposed looking her mother dead in the eye and that made the woman pale.
The threat, while mostly unsaid, was very clear and Magne couldn't believe what was happening, Midori-Chan stepped towards her mother "The thing about living off of a reputation, is how easy it is for everything to be taken away from you. So, Mrs. Hikiishi, I think you should go home to your husband before you do something you can't come back from." He sternly advised and left the air thick with tension.
Her mother was furious and Magne didn't need a mind-reading quirk to tell the woman wanted to curse Midori-Chan out. Mother did have a brain however, instead she huffed storming off taking the tension away with her and as soon as the woman was out of sight Midori-Chan's shoulders slumped his posture returning to the concerned nature she had come to know the boy by.
He turned to her "Are you alright Magne-San?" He softly asked and if she was being honest she wasn't, having Mother randomly show up in her life was always stressful and admittedly left her an emotional mess. Today probably wasn't going to be an exception but she could have that existential crisis when the day was over with the help of a cheap bottle of wine.
Right now though she was way more concerned about the bruise blossoming on the boy's face "I'm not the person who just got hit, are you okay Mido?" She questioned back her hand unconsciously going to cup the injured cheek but it stopped halfway not wanting to cross a line. To be fair to Magne's worries, her mother's fingernails apparently scratched the boy bad enough to draw blood and three drops were building upon his cheek.
Midori-Chan's eyes flicked down to his cheek as if he could see it without a mirror before they went back to her "It's fine Magne-San, I can handle some discomfort to keep my people safe." He simply assured and Magne, of course, noticed his inclusion of her being one of his people, though Dabi who wasn't as familiar with the boy scoffed "Since when is a slap that knocks you off your feet and draws blood count as discomfort?" He inquired, his arms crossed,
The boy shrugged "I've been struck harder by toddlers, you'll find most of us two-toes are a touch more durable than the "average" person." Midori-Chan explained, adding air quotes when he said average but Magne was sure she wasn't alone in her confusion over what a "two-toes" was but chose not to ask about it just yet.
"Compared to a girl I knew when I was seven and the way she used to throw me around with her strength quirk, this," he pointedly poked the bruise without flinching "Is nothing compared to what I've been through. So please don't blame yourself for it. Either of you." Midori-Chan told them but it was hardly comforting to hear the boy admit he was so used to being assaulted.
Magne couldn't help feeling guilty that her narrow-minded mother was the one to harm the boy and was now worried about the boy's past, well... More worried since he was mixed up with a lot of "criminal" groups. Dabi didn't look like he was taking it any better "You're paying me to shut that shit down before it escalates to, that." Dabi spat gesturing to Midori-Chan's bruise "Scar, I hired you to take care of things when I'm not here, I don't expect you to, or want you to throw yourself into every fight." He calmly corrected.
Dabi gave a huff "I've told you not to call me that, my name's Dabi." He half-heartedly complained and Midori-Chan hummed back "Perhaps you should have thought of that when you threatened to barbecue me, I did say I'd call you Scar if you wouldn't give me a name." Midori-Chan dryly replied "What are you even doing here? Aren't you only supposed to be here at three?" Dabi questioned changing the subject.
"Since the South Siders tend to be naturally distrustful of outsiders, I figured it would be best to have you follow me around so I can "introduce" you, I can do my online courses at any time." Midori-Chan simply explained brushing it off, Dabi's eye twitched "I don't need some green twink babying me." He told him making Midori-Chan roll his eyes.
The two continued to bicker almost... playfully which helped to drain a majority of the tension leftover in her body from the confrontation. Watching the two of them certainly eased Magne's mind a bit but not entirely, she wasn't the smartest person, or that observant so it was only by chance that she realized Midori-Chan was more affected than he let on.
After all, the shaking of his tightly clenched hands was very minor and almost invisible with how his arms were crossed... Maybe she was reaching given she hasn't known the boy for long but the way he held himself felt tenser than he usually was.
And that did hurt on some level for the woman that she needed the kid to force himself through his anxiety to protect her from her own family... But on the other hand, knowing someone so paradoxically powerful had her back to the point he'd take a blow for her sake was grounding, in a way she's never had in her life before, and something she knew she shouldn't take for granted.