Suggestion

Part 18: No Longer Held Back

"I think it's time you take a little nap," stated Dabi.

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As night fell, Bakugou approached Midoriya's room. To his irritation, the extras were still surrounding his door. Uraraka and Tsu called out to Bakugou as they saw him approach.

"Bakugou, have you seen Deku?"

"Isn't the nerd supposed to be with you right now?"

"Well, we were supposed to hang out, but he's not here."

Bakugou barged into Midoriya's room again, but he wasn't there, just like they said. Only one person would be so stupid, he thought, so he ran to Todoroki's door, kicking it down. Todoroki just stared in disbelief, his door laying on the floor in pieces.

"Where's the nerd? I know you have him!"

"I don't have Midoriya."

"Then where is he?!"

"I don't know. Maybe he took his walk a bit later today."

Both men knew the odds of this being true, so they each ran out to find Midoriya, passing everyone like a blur. They needed to be sure Midoriya was okay; that he was just running late on his walk or talking to one of the teachers.

They raced through the path Midoriya usually took. They looped around the course twice before admitting he wasn't on his daily stroll. As they made their way back, Todoroki heard a faint noise down one of the alleys. Todoroki broke off from Bakugou in search of the noise.

"Oi! Where are you going?"

"There's something this way." Todoroki came to a dumpster, a muffled moaning echoing from inside. "In here."

Bakugou cracked his knuckles, ready to strike as Todoroki slowly lifted the lid of the dumpster. Both heroes scrunched up their noses as they took in the sight within.

Blood. Lots of blood.

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When Midoriya woke up, he was in a locked room. He stood in front of the nearest door, which he quickly broke down. On the other side, Dabi stood, staring at him.

"Well, that was rude. You just destroyed our door."

"What's the meaning of this, Dabi? I thought-" Dabi started walking towards Midoriya, making him tense and back up into the room.

"You thought what? That we were really a family? You're really naive, Izuku." Dabi leaned down to Midoriya's face, "We're not."

"Then why don't you all kill me? Toga seemed ready to."

"That's just if I can't control you. But you're going to be a good boy, and stay here quietly."

"Why?"

"I don't like it when someone takes what's mine." Midoriya glared at him. "Heh. You think you have a chance to escape? You can try."

"But there's no reason to keep me around. I won't help you guys anymore!"

Dabi leaned in, causing Midoriya to blush and back away.

"That's true. There's no strategic reason not to kill you. Instead, I'll keep you for myself." Dabi held the back of Midoriya's head, and kissed him. "Remember what I said when we started all this? Don't think you can run away now."

Midoriya pushed Dabi away. He quickly covered his lower face with his arm to hide his blush. Despite his situation, Dabi always messed with his head. The effect Dabi had on him made his blood boil.

"Izu, you love us, right?" asked a small voice.

Yuya. Midoriya looked down to his side to see the small child in white, looking up at him with teary eyes. Her arms pulled into her sides, and a tiny hand gripped his shirt. His heart squeezed, seeing her hesitation. She was just a child, pulled into a bad situation.

"Of course I do," whimpered Midoriya.

"Yuya, go tell Compress about the door. I'm taking Izuku to a different room for now."

Dabi held onto Midoriya's hand, pulling him away from the broken door. Midoriya looked up at Dabi's back, his broad shoulders leading the way. His hand felt warm, and Midoriya found it difficult to pull away.

What was Dabi thinking? What did he really feel? Did his heart race with the smallest touch like his? Midoriya didn't want to pull away until he knew the truth. Dabi opened a door down the hall from the last, guiding Midoriya inside.

"This will be your new room."

"Dabi, do you feel bad at all for bringing children into this life?"

"You don't know anything about those two. Who's to say they didn't have it worse where they were before?"

"Then enlighten me."

"The twins were put in an asylum by their cousins after their parents died in a murder suicide. They didn't want to raise kids who caused them distress."

"Distress?"

"Well, knowing you, you've probably somewhat figured their quirks out by now so there's no harm telling you, I guess. Yuta's quirk is called Suggestion. He can suggest things like scenarios until the person he's using it on believes it. Like brainwashing." Dabi leaned against the shut door, obviously disinterested in the story he's telling. "We call Yuya's quirk Overwhelm. She can take pre-existing emotions and heighten them. You can imagine what two grieving children with those quirks could do to the people around them. Even the doctors at the ward kept them in solitary to avoid the same effects."

"But they are just kids..."

"That doesn't matter to some people. Heh. My father was the same way. He abandoned me for my younger brother, Shoto, when he showed more promise, and trained him ruthlessly." The stoic expression on Dabi's face turned sour as he spoke about his family. "Endeavor, a revered hero, never cared about anyone but himself. So, how do you expect normal citizens to act?"

"Wait... Endeavor?"

"My father."

Midoriya's eyes widened, his breath frozen in place. Dabi looked at him, those cold blue eyes striking Midoriya, just as Shoto Todoroki's did at the sports festival. That one blue eye looked so similar to Dabi's. No wonder. They were brothers.

"Why are you telling me this now? You avoided telling me this kind of stuff before."

"Before I held back on a lot of things to avoid doing something that might disillusion you. Telling you about Shoto's past might have made you want to go back to him. There's no point in secrets now though. You don't have a choice but to stay."

"Why are you doing all this? What about Todoroki? What about your other siblings and your mom? Don't you think they'd be sad if they knew how you have been living?!"

"That's besides the point. My only reason to live is killing that man."

"This isn't right, Dabi, and you know it! Don't let your father control how you live! You could someone great-"

"Will you shut up?"

Dabi grabbed Midoriya's arm, and pulled him against his chest. Their eyes locked, both knowing and wanting to connect. Grabbing the back of Midoriya's head, Dabi pulled him closer until their lips crashed together. Midoriya fought to keep up with the most passionate kiss they ever shared. He stumbled backwards, as Dabi pressed on. Barely disconnecting for a moment, Dabi pinned him down on the bed.

"Dabi! Stop! What's gotten into you?" demanded Midoriya.

"Remember, I said I held back before." Dabi smirked as he slid his hand under Midoriya's back, down into the back of his jeans. "I won't from now on."