Bittersweet Cafe

Chapter 17 - Quirks

Dabi just stared at Midoriya, completely dumbfounded.

"The Hero Killer?" Dabi hissed, raising his eyebrow, more in confusion than in maliciousness, "Wasn't he arrested? Are you sure it's okay for him to be here?"

"Yeah, it's all good." Midoriya shrugged, "It was either jail time in Tartartus, or letting me take charge of his case and letting him stay with me while I deal with him."

"Well... okay then..." Dabi just blinked at the older man, "Hi."

Akaguro nodded back at the fire user, before he turned to Midoriya, "So, what exactly do you expect me to do here? Why did you even bring me here in the first place?"

Midoriya just glanced at Akaguro knowingly, "Look, let's just say I've made several arrangements. So all you have to do is stick around for a bit while I get everything else sorted."

"Okay then." Akaguro looked around the cafe, "Do you... live somewhere else? Or in the cafe?"

"We live upstairs!" Eri replied as she approached the taller man, but Kota called out to her, "He's a villain, ya know. The one from Hosu!"

"To be fair, the main villains in Hosu were the Nomu." Midoriya piped in, before he went back to refilling the coffee machiens.

"And, Zu-nii wouldn't have brought him in if he didn't trust him! So I think I'll trust him too!" Eri smiled at Kota, before she turned back to Akaguro, "I'm Eri! And this is Kota!"

"Er..." Akaguro blinked at the two children, "I'm Stain. Akaguro Chizome."

"Oh! Can I call you Chi-san!" Eri's eyes sparkled, and Akaguro just sweatdropped, not sure if he wanted the nickname from the little girl, but he felt someone nudge him in the knee. He glanced backwards, only to find Kota standing there. The small boy looked up at him, "Just accept it. Or she'll call you something stupid, like Chi Chi."

"Ah... alright..." Akaguro nodded, still dumbfounded at the actions of the two kids.

Eri cheered, and Dabi let out a small sigh, "Well... better get used to it."

"I don't have a spare room for you at the moment." Midoriya muttered, as he leaned on the counter, and turned to Akaguro, "You can have my room. I'll take the couch."

"Na. I'm used to sleeping on couches." Akaguro replied, and Midoriya sighed, "Well, alright then. I'll grab you one of the spare blankets later... Eri, Kota, can you show him around?"

"Will do!" Eri grinned, as she proceeded to drag both Akaguro and Kota up the stairs.

Dabi just watched as Akaguro left with the two kids, and he looked back at Midoriya, "Are you sure it's okay for him to be here? Like... he's called the Hero Killer. And you serve heroes here."

Midoriya shrugged, "He's a little sharp around the edges, but he's a lovable noseless idiot once you really get to know him."

"Isn't the phrase rough around the edges, not sharp?"

"Did I stutter?" Midoriya snickered, "Plus, he uses knives! If that's not sharp, then I don't know what is."

Like someone flipped a switch, Midoriya immediately turned serious, "Look... Heroes aren't always good. Villains aren't always bad. Aki isn't a bad person; he genuinely wants what's best for the world. He wants to purge fake heroes and change the current society. His way of doing things is just... incorrect. Have you heard of a vigilante called Stendhal?"

Dabi tilted his head to the side, thinking deeply, "I think I may have heard the name before, but I'm not sure."

"That was him." Midoriya nodded, "Before Aki became a villain, he was actually a vigilante; killing off villains that heroes missed. He actually wanted to be a professional hero, and then dropped out when he saw just how bad his classmates were; just wanting to be heroes for money."