This was the second time you laid eyes on Dabi in broad daylight. However, the middle of nowhere wasn't where you'd expect that to happen. He grinned snarkily.
"Some damn honor you heroes have, right? What a joke. Smart, and if he wasn't such a pain in the ass I'd even be proud of him but I'm fuckin' tearing him apart for pinning it on me."
You were terrified. You'd never been naive enough to feel safe around Dabi but he'd always gone relatively easy on you. Now, he looked pissed, and you had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
You tried reaching for his wrist but he caught it. He hissed,"You're worse. Is that why you saved my life? To paint me as the villain instead of him? You want a villain that bad, (Name)? Because I'll ruin you", the look in his eyes was crazed and without even giving you the chance to respond, he shouted again,"Is that why you saved me?!"
The nonsensical confrontation emphasized your danger and you shut your eyes in a panic, willing the soil around his feet soft enough for his knees to sink. Dabi snapped back to reality once he lost his balance and you tackled your shoulder into his chest. He tumbled onto the ground and though he looked far from happy, the unhinged look had left him. He glared openly at you.
You scoffed,"What the fuck's your problem?! Following me out into a mountain just to act crazy?!"
"You think I care enough to follow you? Cute", he scoffed as he slowly got up again. His height became prominent again but you were too shaken up too care.
"Right, because you happened to be in the middle of nowhere at the same time as me, my bad", your apologetic movements dripped with sarcasm.
Dabi squinted, stretching the staples under his eyes and analyzing your attitude for a few minutes. It only served to confuse you more before he finally regarded,"...You have absolutely no idea what's going on in the city, do you, doll? I bet my little brother planned that out too."
You scrunched your eyebrows, your silence enough of an answer for him and his face hardened. His face twisted with disdain, a sick grin on his expression,"My old man's called a city-wide manhunt on me. Guess he does love me after all."
His joke held a great amount of contempt. You gasped,"A manhunt?What the hell did you do?!"
"Nothing."
"Right."
"Nothing", he snapped,"I'm being wrongfully convicted. Can you imagine? Out of all the people I've killed, Enji's mad about the nutjob. The one person I didn't. Dumb psycho's probably haunting me for selling her out."
"Good", you sneered, ignoring his claim of innocence,"I hope she makes you shit your pants for tricking me into letting you go. Where's your honor? Toga was mine to question, not yours to kill. I've got nothing on Bakugo now."
Dabi rose an unamused eyebrow. The anger seemed to subside into annoyed boredom,"You've got some poor deductive skills. It's no wonder you couldn't find that brat in time."
You were beyond irritated. Solving a riddle was the last thing you wanted to do after getting a first kiss from Todoroki,"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I almost pity you. You blindly let my family into your world and with that same blindness, you never saw us set it on fire."
His cryptic words took you for a spin and though you didn't understand him at all, a feeling of dread grew deep in your stomach. You stayed completely still,"...Dabi?"
The villain's face was devoid of anything,"You're right. With the nutjob dead, my part of the deal wasn't held and I went free anyway. I'll do you a different favor instead, doll. I can open your eyes for you."
"You know what?", your patience was long gone. With how vague he was being, you were getting nowhere,"I'm tired of this. This conversation's ov-"
"The night I broke into Enji's home looking for you, I burnt two corpses. One of them was some random paparazzo."
Your blood ran cold. A knot grew in your throat as you remembered,"The one Shoto and I met?"
"Sweetheart, the bastard was drained bare by the time you 'met' him. Blame the psycho for that", his turquoise eyes were dull.
Something in your head clicked,"Wait, Toga told me this already. I didn't get more from her because I got into an argument with Shoto. Why the hell does this conversation always come up when I ask about Bakugo?"
The feeling of dread in your stomach deepened.
Why did Bakugo keep coming up whenever you talked to villains? It never came up elsewhere. Ever. You pretty much spent all your time with Todoroki and he usually avoided talking about the blond. He'd already blatantly said he didn't care about his disappearance the way you did; it'd been the whole reason you fought. You froze as you remembered how opposed Shoto was to questioning Toga.
You grew nauseous the more you thought about it. The last time you'd seen Bakugo was in the real paparazzo's camera, in which he and Todoroki fought. The sight of it had made you uncomfortable. Now you knew the paparazzo had been dead all along.
Why was that again?
Toga's words flashed through your mind.
'Besides, the paparazzo became a witness. Killing him helped. Shouldn't I get a thanks?'
Dabi's eyes shone with pleasure as he witnessed you start putting the dots together. He grinned. You shook and didn't register yourself asking,"Dabi?"
"Yes, doll-face?"
"Who was the other corpse?"
Silence. Dabi's smile grew arrogant--a silent response because he knew you knew. You immediately rejected his non-verbal answer,"No."
"I'm proud of you, y'know?", he mocked,"You did what I couldn't: turn a hero. Now, thanks to you, there's two less."
This had to be a joke. A cruel, cruel joke. Your blood went into a boil,"That's insane. Bakugo would never lose to Toga."
"Who said he lost to her? He lost to Shoto."
"What?"
Your rage disappeared, replaced by a silent feeling throughout your entire body. Dabi raised an eyebrow,"As if you haven't thought of it. Grow up, doll. You're fawning over your villain."
"Are you seriously trying to suggest Shoto killed Bakugo?!", you spat,"You're deranged, Dabi. Go back to the city and get some fucking help."
Dabi's smile faded at your hostility. His voice hinted some of his own,"Careful, doll. I still hate your guts enough to decorate a few of these trees with them."
You pointed a revolted glare,"You disgust me. I can't believe you're somehow Touy-"
You didn't get to finish your sentence before Dabi swiftly took hold of your arm and spun a kick to the back of your knees, forcing you to the ground. Your head hit the ground too hard, hard enough to knock your consciousness faint for a few seconds but it was enough for him to pin his leg against your chest. He held both your arms in one hand. The man leaned down with a murderous look, close enough so that his savage eyes were all you could meet.
"Let's get one thing straight. I'm still out to kill you. Not yet, not before Enji, but it'll happen. Don't you get it, doll? The Todorokis know nothing but murder. I'm not Touya--my old man killed him. I've killed more than you could imagine. And your hero? He's killed too. Your pyromaniac friend, Toga? That's Shoto's kill count."
You tried to sputter a response but the denial and physical shock rendered you mute. He relished it. All you could register was his smoky smell and the blue of his eyes as he dared,"Do me a favor. Next time you see my brother, really look at him, and let me know: Can you look at him dead in the eyes and not see him as a killer?"
Your breath was frozen as you took his words in. Dabi was a stalker, a serial killer, a villain, but never a liar. He'd gotten that point across a long time ago. Still, you didn't believe him. You didn't want to.
Bakugo couldn't be dead.
Even more, Todoroki couldn't be the reason why. You laid completely still as Dabi's question dawned on you.
The man noted your limp body and faraway look. He loosened his hold on you, staring for a few moments before speaking up,"You in shock or somethin'?"
"I...", you couldn't even hear yourself over your beating heart. Half of you was picking apart every Bakugo-related interaction you'd had with Shoto while the other half revolted at your audacity to even consider Dabi's words. Your mind was being ripped in two. He sighed.
"You're in shock", he let go of you and stood up, giving your limp form an apathetic look before walking to the nearest tree and sitting. You let out a shaky breath as you continued spiraling. Dabi kept his eyes on you,"Sorry for the inconvenience, doll. I'm pretty disappointed too though. I hid all the way out here to avoid the chaos Shoto brought upon me. What a mess."
You weren't even blinking. The only way he could tell you apart from a dead body was your shaky breaths and he leaned into the tree he sat at, keeping his line of vision solely on you. He didn't know what possessed him to make the next offer but it didn't matter. You'd likely never take it anyway.
"If it's any consolation, I know what it's like to get fucked over by my family. I don't care much for sentiment but if you ever need to see where I burnt your friend's body--for proof or some kind of emotional bull, let me know. I won't return to the city for a while. You'll know where to find me."
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Your steps were silent as you made your way back to Todoroki. Dabi's words still rung loudly in your ears and it was all you could hear, even when Todoroki perked up at your return and muttered your name softly under his breath.
His steps your way were quick. Todoroki's uneven eyes examined your body fully as he noticed a few dirtied spots,"Is everything okay? You took a very long time. Did you get lost?"
The amount of concern dripping from him only made you feel worse. You responded without thinking,"T-The signal. For the call. I couldn't find signal for the call, that's why I took so long."
His eyebrows furrowed at your shaken-up tone. He didn't understand what was going on but he figured it might have something to do with the fact you couldn't reach Mina. With how fast you'd rushed out, it might've been something really important, and with how vaguely you'd assured him it was 'girl things', he didn't know if you were okay with him asking.
Still, he wasn't okay with how you looked so he did what felt natural. You froze as he gently tilted your face upwards. He gave you a small reassuring smile that spoke what he thought: that he was there for you. Then he laid a soft kiss on your forehead.
A small blush graced his cheeks and he averted his gaze as he mustered,"I'm glad you're back. I...missed you. I've also been meaning to ask you something and I'm not willing to keep it to myself any longer. I told you you're everything to me and that I'd explain why. (Name)..."
His gaze was warm and affectionate,"I think I'm in love with you. No matter what I do, you're in my mind. You're in my heart. Feel it", he brought your hand up to his chest,"You're there. My heart's not beating properly if I'm not with you and that kills me. I like having you by my side. To see you, hear your voice, make you smile. Even though you're already always smiling and you make me smile instead. And you're just-", he stammered,"You're just so beautiful to me. Inside and out."
Your breath hitched. He swallowed. His speech forced you to look up at him, making eye contact for the first time. When you met his eyes, your heart broke, because you heard two questions at once.
"(Name)...Will you be my girlfriend?"
'Can you look at him dead in the eyes and not see him as a killer?'
The long silence before your answer haunted you.
"...No."
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I feel like???I found my writing confidence again all of a sudden??Like, the last chapters felt so funky but I sat down today and I felt like I was a famous pianist performing flawlessly??Idk I just stopped overthinking and instantly felt way better
Next chapter's ending is something else though
Written 8/9/23
Published 8/9/23