Spinel took Shouto's arm reassuringly and led him in. "Don't worry I was like that too when I first came here." She giggled as she steered him in every which direction. "I have the VIP room booked for this evening." She waved at the bouncer who threw the keys in her direction. "Thanks!"
One of the best parts about being a resident of the most unsafe area in Musutafu was the fact that everyone kept their own business as their own business. She could rock up with a dead body and no one would care. Of course, the body would have to be taken out once its purpose was fulfilled, but that wasn't the main point.
------
Shouto had never been in such a place, never had he even considered stepping foot into a place like this. The mostly undressed women, the intimidating bouncer, the smell of smoke and cheap perfume was overwhelming enough but it had to go even further. The music, the alcohol and the money. The entire place screamed depravity.
Once the pair had reached their destination, Shouto looked around the VIP lounge. The door and wall were made out of glass and there was a curved loveseat beside a black marble table filled with all kinds of alcohol. Spinel covered the door and windows with the red curtains and gestured for Shouto to sit. "Alright. Sorry about the kind of long trip." Spinel took off her mask and gestured for Shouto to do the same. "We can talk freely here without any prying spectators." One of the main reasons Spinel brought Shouto to the club is because she knew that Eraserhead was on patrol that night and she couldn't risk getting caught by him. She was only able to escape the first time because of extreme preparedness and caution; she probably would have a much harder time escaping if it was just a regular nighttime chase.
Shouto shifted on the comfortable seat as he removed the mask and hoodie. "Alright, let's hear it. The full story. Including the part about Touya being a villain." He crossed his arms. "I have my suspicions."
Spinel nodded before she began her story. Spinel figured she wanted to get the big thing out of the way first. "Touya is Dabi." Much to her surprise Shouto didn't say anything or react at all. He simply waited for her to finish.
- ----ONE TRAGIC BACKSTORY LATER-----
"And we make it back to present day. Well almost present." Spinel knew Shouto was waiting for the present-day stuff, but he needed to know the backstory first before making any judgments. Her heart squeezed a little from the pain as she recounted the story of yesterday. As she recounted the story, tears started to form in Spinel's eyes while she struggled to keep her voice from quivering. Even now she still hoped that this was all a bad dream. Thousands of scenarios played relentlessly in Spinel's head. She didn't want to keep seeing Dabi die over and over again.
By the time Spinel had finished with her story Shouto needed a moment to process three key discoveries that he had just learned about.
One, Touya -Dabi- was planning to leave the league after...taking care of Endeavor.
Two, Spinel had wanted to be a hero since she was a kid.
Three, Shinsou had ratted them out and it resulted in Touya's death.
A moment of silence fell between them, the temperature of the air dropped suddenly as Shouto found himself unknowingly activating his quirk creating frost around him.
"I know this room is quirk proof and all, but I'd rather not test that claim." Spinel tapped him out of his trance.
"Sorry" Shouto mumbled as he quickly dispelled his ice. "I was just thinking."
"Take all the time you need."
Spinel took a seat opposite him. She really wanted to stare at his reaction but instead she went to grab the juice pack that was put in the room every time she booked it -courtesy of Mitzi.
Shouto wasn't really sure what he felt. He was livid at Shinsou first of all, but at the same time he understood the internal turmoil he must have felt when he told the heroes. Shinsou was undoubtedly the closest person to her so it must have been ridiculously difficult. But again, because he was the closest, the fact that he betrayed her trust hurt so much more in a different, more cruel way. "Did he know?"
"Who?"
"Shinsou. Did he know that Touya was quitting?" Shouto clarified.
"No." Spinel smiled sadly. "I should have told him that too. But I didn't even tell him that Touya was Dabi. That's why I thought it wasn't necessary. I guess I should have been more careful about what I say and who I trust." She continued to drink her juice pack as the sting of self-loathing came back. It's all my fault. If I hadn't told Shinsou. If I just didn't make friends with him. If I didn't go to UA. If I didn't run away. If I didn't exist. Dabi would still be alive. Spinel shifted uncomfortably in the plush red seats as her thoughts ran wild.
"Spinel, hey Spinel. Spinel!"
"W-what?" Spinel looked back up at Shouto.
"I've been calling you for the past few minutes."
"O-oh. Sorry" She rubbed the back of her head bashfully.
Shouto -like Dabi- seemed to have an uncanny sense of being able to read Spinel's emotions with ease. He frowned slightly as he examined her reactions. He had seen all of them before. The grief. The pain. The anger. The self-loathing. Shouto didn't know how to pull her out of that state, but he was certain Touya wouldn't have liked to see her like this. "Can...can you tell me more about him?"
Spinel smiled just the slightest amount. "Yeah! I have pictures if you want to see?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Ok, so this first one." Spinel took out her phone and opened an image of Dabi trapped in a burrito blanket.
--------
Eraserhead sighed as he leapt from roof to roof. It had been quite a day as a teacher and now he was having a night as a hero. It wasn't that there were a lot of criminals to capture, but it was the long silences of the area he patrolled that threw him off. It was usually much louder. He sighed, secretly he was searching for Spinel. After she ran off, he wasn't able to find the green and white-haired girl. If he didn't know any better, he would think the district was trying to hide one of their own. He decided to take his break in the neutral area. Maybe he would find any clues that way.
"Ah, Eraserhead. You're here. I almost thought you wouldn't be coming. The little miss has been waiting for a few hours now." The bartender gestured to one of the booths with the unnamed informant slouched forward, her chin rested in her hands.
Eraserhead nodded a quick thanks to the burly man before he sat across from the tiny informant. "I heard you were waiting."
The informant sat up, "I almost thought you wouldn't come Eraser" the girl purred.
At first he had assumed that the informant was Spinel, but if she was, it wouldn't make sense that she would be waiting in the bar for him. "You didn't send a memo. Why did you want to see me?" Eraserhead deadpanned as he kept his emotions under control.
"Welllllllll, you see. I heard from a pretty birdy that you've taken out one of the big names. Dabi from the league of villains is dead. Funny how when a hero kills a villain it's called 'heroism' but if a villain kills anyone on accident it's called murder." She sighed. "Say Eraser, what makes someone a villain?"
"A criminal is someone who endangers the lives of others and disregards the laws of society. A villain is basically that, but on a bigger scale. There are no exceptions."
She nodded. "A man who steals a loaf of bread for his family because they can't afford food is a criminal. His wife, son and daughter are accessories to the crime. They will all be going to jail."
Eraserhead didn't respond.
"A woman who can only whore herself out to men because she needs money to live and has no other means of making it. She will be jailed too." She continued. "A child who works illegal jobs as a runner for means of survival will be joining them behind bars as well. If or when all these people get released, then what? After being labeled as a criminal they don't have any options left but to continue a life in crime. Who would want to hire a criminal?" The girl turned off her voice modulator. "Perhaps it is more heroic to kill them after all, do you agree?"
Eraserhead grit his teeth. He was well aware that some -not all- criminals were just dealt with a shitty hand in life and they were just trying their best to live through it all. As much as he wanted to say more, he couldn't. The informant was trying to get a rise out of him. "I don't agree with killing. But you are wasting moonlight. What did you want to talk about?"
The informant sat back in her seat with an unamused huff. "Everyone knows that Dabi has a younger sister who was under his protection, but no one has personally seen her roam around at night. She wears a scarf all the time and it's pretty ugly to be honest. So, tell me. Where is she?"
Eraserhead narrowed his eyes. "What does it matter to you?" He responded. The voice was familiar. He couldn't quite pin it down with the soft chatter in the background almost overpowering it. It had to be Spinel, right? She was only asking questions about herself to throw him off.
"I'm curious about what you plan on doing with a relative of a criminal" She laughed lightheartedly.
Eraserhead glared at her, quirk activated so his eyes glowed a terrifying red, "That's none of your business."
"Wow, how scary" She feigned fear to mock him. "Maybe you'll settle down after story time. Wanna hear a fairy tale?"
"Not really."
"Well too bad I'm telling you anyway." The informant pouted. "It's a very sad story."