The day was a long and lonely one for Mirio- the perfect sort of setup to let him stew within his own thoughts. Though Rizumu had given no timeframe for her potential return, Mirio had expected to see her at some point before nightfall. As time wore on, though, Mirio's mind became otherwise occupied in his solitude. There was much to do in the unfamiliar apartment, and much of it consisted of activities he hadn't expected to get involved with.

It had started with cleaning, as he had said he would. While the apartment was generally tidy, there were odd pockets of mess here and there all around the living space. Small spots and stains upon the counter in the kitchen, stray clothing draped over a chair, a slightly askew painting in the hall, a toothpaste tube uncapped atop the sink in the bathroom. As he went about fixing the small inconsistencies, Mirio couldn't help but wonder which of the tenants was responsible for the chaos. While Dabi was the obvious candidate, he couldn't help but envision Rizumu rushing to get ready and absentmindedly leaving things strewn about. Perhaps it was both of them, taking turns without knowing.

As Mirio capped the toothpaste and straightened up the various items on and around the sink, he found his eyes drawn to the medicine cabinet. He knew he shouldn't snoop, and yet, the temptation quickly became irresistible. With a quick, fruitless look over his shoulder to make sure that his hosts hadn't somehow suddenly appeared in the doorway without making a sound, he pulled open the small door and began to investigate the contents.

Mirio regretted the move almost immediately.

The medicine cabinet was packed with various bottles, devices, and dental accessories, including some that Mirio didn't immediately recognize. Most striking was the large collection of pill bottles, all of which were affixed with legitimate labels from a local pharmacy. Mirio had a sudden feeling of guilt and apprehension at merely seeing the bottles, let alone reading the labels. Though he had half a mind to close the door immediately upon seeing the collection, he eventually let out a sigh and pulled one down to read the specifics and pop open the cap. He expected some sort of illegal drug in a legitimate bottle to deter any suspicion at a cursory glance. Instead, he found an incredibly strong pain medication with half of the pills missing.

Mirio capped the bottle and put it down on the counter before pulling down another. It was a second strong painkiller, also getting rather low. There was another beside it, and yet another after that. Most of the names he had never heard of and had to search on his phone, but of the ones he did, he knew that they were serious and required a prescription in order to be legally obtained. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he turned the labels toward himself and checked the name. Every single one was made out for Fujita, Dabi. Mirio reached up to rub at his forehead, feeling miserable for the man. The tub of burn cream next to the pills didn't make him feel any better.

Just as Mirio reached to close the cabinet once again, he noticed something he had seen the last time he was in Rizumu's bathroom- two containers of hair dye. Unlike the last time, however, both were inside of the medicine cabinet… and the cabinet was quite clearly divided into Rizumu and Dabi's separate products. One of the boxes of hair dye was on her side, while the other was on his. As expected, Dabi's dye was the black one, while Rizumu's was blonde. Mirio made a mental note of the detail before his phone suddenly vibrating in his pocket caused him to jump and whack his head into the cabinet. Several bottles tumbled into the sink, and Mirio's heart nearly stopped as he watched them bounce around within the porcelain basin. Fortunately, all of the bottles had been properly closed, and Mirio let out a sigh of relief as he pulled out his phone and answered it.

"Hello…?"

"Mirio?" Nejire asked. "Can you talk?"

"Yeah, I'm alone right now," Mirio answered. "I'm at Rizumu's apartment, and I've been checking regularly that I'm not being followed."

"So have I… and I'm pretty sure I am being followed."

The sensation of panic and dread that had begun to subside flared up again, and Mirio swallowed hard before beginning to put the pills back up into the cabinet.

"Uh… what do you mean…?"

"I'm at Kaoruko's house right now. I took that Bakugo kid with me, and we've been talking a bit about the situation with One for All, Sir Nighteye, and other things. On our way off campus, I just… I had a funny feeling, and I looked through the thermal goggles you had us start carrying. We were being followed by a girl with an invisibility Quirk… which lines up with what you told Tamaki and I about the other night. It makes too much sense not to be the same person."

"Caught red-handed?" Mirio asked, sounding surprised. "Who is she?"

"That's where it gets really interesting," Nejire said, sounding more annoyed than like she was telling an interesting or exciting anecdote. "Toru Hagakure- one of the recommendation students among the first-year class. We need to get some information on her as soon as possible. I'd say we should talk to All Might, see if he can get us access to whatever database the professors have for student information."

"Yeah, we should," Mirio agreed. "That's… not good. That's not good at all. I thought I was being followed from the Shie Hassaikai outpost onward, and if she's a Hassaikai plant… then I can't afford to lie to them about anything. She might be tailing me to verify whatever information I give them. Shit…"

"I think at this point, we have to assume so for safety's sake," Nejire advised. "Stay frosty. Keep checking with your thermals… though we also probably shouldn't be too obvious about it. If she knows we're constantly on the lookout for her, that wouldn't be good, either. There's… also another problem. Possibly a bigger problem. You know Midoriya?"

"Yeah, we've talked a little bit," Mirio acknowledged. "Briefly. I told him that the three of us were here to help with One for All."

"Apparently that's not good enough. He's bringing people in on the secret. His mother knows, his roommate knows. It's unclear who else might know, too. Wouldn't be surprised if he's going to end up telling his classmates, eventually."

Mirio paused for a moment, trying to process the information. The silence was long enough that Nejire must have thought the call had been disconnected.

"…Mirio?"

"Yeah, sorry, I…" Mirio said, filling the silence. "…I don't even know what to say. That's a dangerous game. I get it. I can see why he'd want them to know, but we can't… I'll talk to him."

"We'll talk to him," Nejire corrected. "It's a situation that needs to get handled, but fortunately, Bakugo seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He's fed up with Midoriya, but he'll also beat some sense into him. I think the three of us should support Bakugo, too. He's supposed to be Midoriya's anchor and voice of reason, but he's about ready to wash his hands of the situation. I don't blame him."

"I'll take your word for it. Haven't really gotten to know him at all," Mirio admitted as he finished replacing the last of the pills and closed the cabinet. "You've always been good with people. I know they're best friends, right? Is he doing okay?"

"He's not, no," Nejire answered. "But that's a discussion for another time. Are you doing okay? It's not an easy day…"

"No, it isn't," Mirio agreed as he walked out of the bathroom with a sigh. "I'm… holding it together. I'm not watching the news or anything. Just… cleaning their apartment and doing a little digging."

"Anything juicy?"

"Maybe," Mirio replied as he walked back into the living room. "Maybe, but… it's all personal. I feel bad for these people. Really. Their morals might be a little questionable, but… they have problems, Hado…"

"Don't we all. Just… be careful, okay? I trust your decision-making, but I also know you, Mirio. You're too good. Not every sob story is enough to justify joining the Yakuza."

"Yeah, maybe," Mirio considered as he heard footsteps echoing from the stairwell on the other side of the door. "Gotta go, sorry."

Mirio pocketed his phone as the door opened. While he expected to see Rizumu, he was instead greeted by her partner, rain-soaked and looking miserable. Dabi's posture was slouched, and so far as Mirio could tell, his eyes were unclouded by whatever drug he had taken earlier in the day. Any aggression or contempt he felt for Mirio before was absent as he walked on in and slipped out of his boots, his expression dour.

"Hey," Mirio tried as Dabi moved past him. "Everything okay…?"

"Streets are packed," Dabi muttered as he made his way toward the bathroom. "Impossible to get anywhere, some roads are blocked for press conferences… day's a total loss. Wasn't so bad at first, but the past two hours or so? It's like all of Japan's outside for one reason or another."

"So much for avoiding it…" Mirio muttered to himself as Dabi disappeared into the bathroom.

"…what the fuck were you doing in the cabinet?"

Mirio's face drained of color and he stiffened up. He momentarily considered just phasing through the floor and running, but he couldn't bring himself to do it as Dabi emerged into the hallway with a bottle of pills in his hand. Mirio could so easily imagine the other hand going for his throat, and yet, he couldn't move as Dabi slowly approached.

"I was cleaning," Mirio explained, remaining calm. "There was some stuff left on the sink, and I… saw some things I probably shouldn't have seen. Got a call, hand slipped, and I knocked some things over. I'm guessing they weren't put back correctly…"

"They weren't," Dabi confirmed, looking annoyed. Though Mirio expected fire either literal or otherwise for his transgression, Dabi's expression soon turned to one that looked more defeated than anything. His sodden hair and clear exhaustion combined with his souring mood gave him the distinct air of a man who was just done with the situation, and the sight made Mirio feel even worse for snooping in his supposed friend's belongings. "Fuckin'… just… stay out of our personal shit. I'll clean the place when I get around to it. We don't need you making an even bigger mess of things."

"Dabi, I swear I wasn't trying to go through anything personal," Mirio tried as he followed the other man back toward the bathroom.

"Well, now you have, and you've see enough to probably start asking some obnoxious questions," Dabi spat as he shook out a pair of pills. "I don't want to hear it. Save your sympathy or whatever else you're thinking. You're lucky I'm too exhausted and Rizumu's too nice to let me thrash you."

"No questions, just an offer," Mirio said. "If you ever need someone to pick up a prescription, I can get it done. You and Rizumu are busy. I wouldn't mind helping out."

Dabi looked over his shoulder as he finished popping the pills and gave Mirio a questioning stare. After a moment, he shook his head.

"…you're something else. I could've killed you last night, I'm pissed at you now, and you still just want to help. Fine. Whatever. I'll let you know when I'm getting low on shit. Probably a few in here that need refilling soon…"

"…I saw a few that were looking near empty," Mirio admitted. "I can call them in as an apology and get you more tomorrow. Do you… actually use all of these?"

"Didn't I just say I don't want any dumbass questions?"

"…right. Sorry…"

Dabi moved toward Mirio, who got out of the way to let him out of the bathroom without getting bowled over. Mirio kept a respectable distance from his host, not wanting to anger him further as they walked into the living room and to the couch.

"…yeah. I do," Dabi finally answered as he settled onto the couch. "Quirk's fuckin' killing me. Hurts every day, even when I don't use it. That's just life. You inherit the world, or you inherit shit, and have to deal with it until the day you die. Seems to me like you got lucky."

"I guess I did, yeah," Mirio agreed as he sat on the opposite side of the couch. "There's got to be some way to get you lasting relief. Maybe…"

"I don't want to hear it," Dabi said with a wave of his hand. "If it exists, I've tried it. Just leave it alone."

Mirio sighed and gave up with a nod as he leaned back into the couch.

"I will for now… but I'll find a way to help you. You have my word."

Author's Note:

Next time- something completely different…

-RD