--So, this got super graphic and violent--
After eating, Aurora's eyes hung low. Light from the lone window hung in the air. She thought, maybe something inside herself would change. Eventually.
But it hadn't.
She stared over at Dabi. He sat bored, staring at the back of his left hand. Gently going over the burned skin. Inspecting it's integrity.
"Aloe Vera can stop it from separating." Aurora stated absent mindedly.
"Not your business."
She looked down to her lap. At her phone, whom no one ever contacted. Not her family. Or coworkers, when she had them. Or friends, that she never had.
Not Mei.
---
Dabi watched her reaction. It sat wrong in his mind. Her behavior was off. Like her episodes when they first met. He didn't want to deal with her having another episode. She had been taking her meds right on time, but he had always been skeptical of medicine.
His gaze averted to one side in frustration as he stood. Rubbing his neck absent-mindedly. He walked over and set beside her on the bad hotel bed.
He sighed, looking over to her. Aurora hadn't moved at all. As he stared, he noticed a white streak in her hair. It was bright and ran from her temple all down the length.
With his left hand, he moved her hair away from the section and took the strands in his right.
It seemed to sparkle as it moved in the light.
"Wonder how I never noticed your white hair."
"I've had it since I was about fourteen."
"I've watched you brush your hair and put it up. Never saw it."
"I think it happened after my sister was murdered."
Aurora's inflection was so flat and lifeless. The time coming to catch the main culprit of her sister's murder was getting to her. Dabi moved his hand down to her neck. Her skin was burning hot.
His fingers moved through her hair softly, and he leaned his forehead on her.
"Nothing to worry about, psycho. This guy's gonna die." His tone was sinister and confident.
But, his thoughts were more confusion at his actions. Followed again by deciding it didn't matter, and going with it was fine.
"Thank you." Aurora responded.
"Don't thank me. This is your whole thing."
"Well, you're here, though."
"Yea, yea. Cuz the boss said-"
"Just pretend, will you?"
"I mean, obviously, I don't mind being around ya. I haven't left, have I?" Dabi clenched his teeth tight.
"Yea, great. I'm tolerable enough to not abandon. Thanks." Aurora turned her head away from him.
"Don't interrupt me, psycho. The boss said I gotta make sure you wanna stay with this group. That's when you first joined. This lately has been you and me."
Hearing him talk that way was gross. And yet, not unpleasant. Aurora could say it was okay, I guess.
"We have the same goals. You're also a loose canon. I also like being with you." Holy shit, that last one was the most difficult sentence I have ever spoken.
The jolting and strain in his voice made that clear.
Aurora folded her arms. "Well. I like being with you." I'm gonna puke.
She sighed loudly, putting her head back and a hand over her eyes.
"This is weird. I need to, like, leave. Somewhere." She got up quickly and slipped on shoes. The hotel door closed behind her before she could even see what Dabi was doing.
What he was doing was also putting boots on to follow her. Knowing she was not paying attention. As was usual for her. Which was why he continued to stay around her. So he told himself.
'Babysitting a psycho' at this point was a cheap cover. It hadn't been an expectation of him since the first week. Toga was confused during the three days Aurora was asleep that Dabi sat around the whole time. But, sure.
Down on the street, Dabi just walked behind Aurora. She was fidgeting and antsy. Chainsmoking, staring too closely at her phone. Maybe she knew he was five feet behind her, also, maybe not.
She did not.
Aurora dropped her lighter and shakily went to grab it. Dabi picked it up and handed it to her. Which promptly scared the shit out of her.
"Where did you come from??"
"I've been behind you the whole time."
She breathed deeply. "What- so you're just following me now?"
Dabi made a face. That frustrated face. The quirky one you're picturing? Yes, that one.
"I've basically been walking next to you."
His deadpan tone made her laugh. She took the lighter and slid it into her pocket while taking a drag. The smoke trailed up into the sky slowly.
"You know, it was exactly one month after they found her body, I noticed my hair turned white."
Flick of the ash off her cigarette.
"No one helped her. They didn't kill her right away. People saw. They saw her. No one did anything. Did anyone notify police? Or a hero? If they did, none of them came either."
Aurora took out another cigarette.
"Her body was dumped just off a main street. Just, right there. In the grass. They estimated her body had been laying there, in that spot, for almost an entire day."
Anger and sadness bloomed and boiled over within her.
"I'm just. So tired. I don't want to do this anymore. But I can't let these people stay here either."
Dabi pulled her close to him suddenly, shushing her.
"Hold on." He put his arm around her and they began walking.
"Uh, okay-"
"Someone's been watching us."
She watched his face as he side eyed the main street. A quiet chuckle.
"Look-" Aurora took his arm and put it around her shoulders, leading him to the other end of the alley. Onto the neighboring street, her hair was down and a sweet smile brushed her cheeks. Dabi looked irritated and didn't think of this as a good idea.
"Just pretend. We won't be in that hotel more than a day anyways." She whispered closely to his ear. "And I know you could make anyone quick work if you wanted to. Those thugs are aimless idiots regardless of whoever their boss is."
Dabi rolled his eyes, but kept close to her. Attempting to play the part of a casual couple. He picked up a flower from a stand. Looked at her with soft eyes and delicate smirk. Aurora became lost in the illusion. Forgetting quickly the fiction of it all.
He was looking at her. Acting normal. Like ordinary couples do. And, over time, they mazed their way back to the hotel. Whoever was following had lost them. They kept the curtain pulled.
The illusion faded quickly and Aurora retreated into herself. Dabi showered but the smell of soot always lingered. It came as a comfort to her.
Out of the shower, Dabi patted at the charred skin along his arms and chest. Aurora watched with an urge to be the hand that patted his skin with a towel. The partner who could be kind and caring all the time. And stable.
He looked over to her and as his eyes met hers, she quickly looked back down to reading on her phone. He placed the towel atop his head and walked over to her on the bed. Sitting beside her. Leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.
His arm moved back against her and he placed his hand onto her knee. Continuing to look down into the void, he kept a firm grip. Like she was an anchor to reality. And he actually needed an anchor on occasion, too.
Aurora looked at his hand. He was nearly able to wrap around her entire knee. Glancing over to his covered face. She leaned casually against his shoulder.
She reached over with her other hand onto the towel on his head. Sitting up and with both hands, she gently dried his hair and neck. Pulling back the towel from his face, his hair slicked back.
Seeing all of him, the charred skin up around his ears and the burns under his eyes. She could see they led up to his waterline. He didn't move as she studied him. His gaze as bored and disinterested as it always was.
The surgical staples keeping skin attached to skin glinted in the single light of the bathroom. She touched them and they were cold. His burns were cold like a corpse. His unmarred skin was cool to the touch, yet. She could smell how cold his showers were each time.
Aurora let her urge move her. She looked to his eyes and then to his lips. Her hands set on his chest as she moved slowly. Waiting for his rejection. Her warm lips touched his. In a moment when all she needed was this, nothing more. She attempted to move back.
Dabi held onto her shoulders. Pressing his lips firmly against hers. Breathing her in. Brushing his tongue against hers. He then let her lean back to look at him.
"Is it almost time?"
"Soon. It sounded like the area will be crawling with scum in an hour. By around 11 or so, we oughtta make our move. We'll set out explosives to funnel everyone away from feasible escape routes. I know there's more than one freak you want to pin down."
Aurora stood and walked to the window, opening the side enough to waft out smoke.
"You really are a softie." She spoke with a soft smirk. Twiddling subconsciously the lighter in her hand.
"Heh. I guess I can be sometimes." Dabi noted.
Even his most subtle of smiles gave her butterflies. Aurora made coffee and drank the entire pot by 9:30. She had applied mascara and delicate liner. A deep red over her lips.
"I told you, we're not going in anywhere, psycho."
Her eyes snapped over to him from the mirror.
"Don't you like looking at me?" She batted her lashes with copious sarcasm.
Dabi returned his gaze to the television silently.
When she finished her makeup, she took down her hair. Freshly washed with that weightless bounce. The visible beauty she could see of herself reflected back at her was empty. It was a lie. Countless lies. From her face to her arms and torso. Damage ate away at her body. Tarnishing the beauty she once had.
Still, she smiled. Her eyes glittered. The red of her lips against her skin was striking. She put on a dress and heels. Twirling in the bathroom light. 10PM.
Aurora turned to Dabi, standing by the door.
"Let's go." Dabi's eyes radiated bloodlust.
Aurora smiled wide, excited.
They walked in the cool night air. Past the bustling nightlife. Through a residential area. Out to industrial buildings converted into too expensive condos.
Aurora placed her explosives along neighboring building walls. They blocked off the main roads. Rubble would surround them. Lead them into various corridors and through narrow pathways. Empty dirt lots.
"They'll go off soon. It'll be total chaos." Dabi watched the building.
"I'll just be going after Watanabe and his henchmen. Keep anyone else back for me."
"That's the plan."
They shared glances. 10:55. Aurora folded her arms, tapping her finger. Staring intently at their target. They stood atop the third building down. Her foot began to tap loudly.
Dabi handed her a cigarette. "Chill it out there, psycho. Couple minutes to go. Take it in." He stretched his arms out. "They're going to see what their corruption leads to."
Keeping eye contact on the target, Aurora laughed. She laughed the way she did months ago. Uncontrolled. Nervous.
10:59.
"Here we go."
Aurora dropped the cigarette. Propelling herself into the sky as the bombs detonated. She moved down into the shadows as the cockroaches scattered. Cars crushed and two of the main roads completely blocked by rubble and Dabi's fire.
She watched as Souta and three other men ran from one car to another. Locked and without keys. A building Aurora left open was their only route. The concrete floor flooded with water as they entered.
One man produced a gun from the flesh of each arm. The other prepared knives from his shoulders. They looked around, surrounding Souta. Aurora slid from corner to corner. Music began to echo from every direction.
Pure Acid Hell - Grimbeard
The chaotic notes rumbled from the ground. Needle thin tendrils of water slashed around them. A vortex of razor sharp water surrounded the men. Man 3 who had not used his quirk as yet erupted with a swirl of wind, blowing away most of the water.
With that, the warehouse went silent.
Wet footsteps came from the darkness. Slow and methodical. Her eyes glowed from the light of dusty windows. Man 1 locked onto her and began to shoot. Aurora pulled up a thick, rotating wall of water to shield her.
Man 3 shot a quick gust of wind, damaging the integrity of her shield and allowing a bullet to hit her left arm. She winced and propelled herself up atop a large crate. Moving back, unseen. Water tendrils shot from her right hand up and over to man 3, mutilating his dominant arm.
Aurora gripped her left arm hard. Blood poured from the wound. She breathed heavily. Staying quiet felt impossible. Her body felt hot as frustrated rage boiled inside her.
All at once, she propelled up over them, pulling every molecule of water up and over them. Slamming it down hard in one sheet.
As she moved her arms she yelled out. Gritting her teeth. Her blood mixed with the water.
So did theirs. The heads of man 2 and 3 slammed against the concrete. Man 1 was able to cover Souta. Each of them came out of the attack somewhat unscathed. Man 1 shot two bullets quickly in the direction he thought she was.
Aurora narrowly dodged, pushing herself down to the ground on her back. The wind knocked out of her and the intense, radiating pain in her left arm had her stunned. Gasping for air. Blurred vision watched Souta slowly stand behind man 1.
Man 1 began to laugh at her. Souta smirked. The look in his eyes told her he had no idea who she was. But, why would he? Why would a man like him need to care?
Aurora took a deep breath. She smiled. Her right hand balled into a fist. Suddenly, the two men found they could not move. Man 1's quirk failed to activate. Confusion covered his face.
"I swallowed your blood, Mr. Watanabe." Aurora choked out.
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Souta bellowed.
Aurora began to laugh.
"If you're looking for money, you're not getting it. I'll have you put away for the rest of your pathetic life!"
Her laughter grew louder and more crazed as he spoke.
"Oh, what? You one of those losers who lost their apartment? That's what happens, it's just business." He shrugged his shoulders. But after a moment passed, and she didn't stop laughing, his smile faded.
"Let me go, you psycho! I w-" Water began to seep into his mouth and nostrils. Down his throat, into his lungs. He choked and gurgled. Man 1 could do nothing but watch as Souta's body was dragged to the opposite wall.
Before Aurora could react, a wall of blue flame erupted and charred the bodies of man 2 and 3. Both of which had regained consciousness and had stood to attack.
"Hey, there." Dabi's casual voice cut through the billowing flames.
Relief washed over her as he approached.
"Help me up. That asshole shot me."
"Heh. At least you're not over heating, psycho."
Aurora smiled as he took her right arm and assisted her up. She breathed hard still and gripped her arm. After a moment of thinking, she stood upright. Water wrapped around man 1 and slammed him against the wall beside Souta.
"Would you like to see something interesting?" She gestured over the left side of her face and skull. Water swirled around and the flesh and bone which once was there, dissipated.
"I learned to heal my wounds with water and blood. Something about blood has this energy. Originally, I thought, the additional RNA may help. Especially if I can take bone marrow. But, it's felt like any blood helps."
Souta looked on in horrified amazement. Frozen in place.
"Do you know when this happened? After I was raped and beaten, I was shot in the head. And then, left for dead in a ditch. I remember seeing bits of my skull on the grass when I moved." Her smile widened, stretching the exposed muscle along her face.
Souta began to scream. Loud wailing and shrieks pierced Aurora's ears. The sound calmed her. In a way.
She then began to remove her dress. "And this one?" Water formed and swirled around the right side of her torso. Revealing a gruesome, mortal wound. "I got this from the men who attacked my family. The men who made my father watch his family be mutilated before blowing his head off."
Aurora watched him in silence.
"But those aren't the worst wounds I live with, Souta. No. Everyday, I live knowing the men who took my sister. Who raped her. Who sold her. And who left her body mangled in a field, walked free."
She watched his eyes as his thoughts spun. As he realized. And as he whispered.
"Rapist slayer."
Aurora's eyes widened with excitement.
"Yes! Yes, I am! And you're the rapist! All of you! I'm going to drain your bodies until you're a dried husk. I'm going to do it slow. But first-" She turned her gaze to man 1.
"I want to show you one of my favorite methods."
Her hand slipped up his torso, over his sternum and chest. Then, put her fingers together, palms out. In one motion, she opened them like cabinet doors. And, like cabinet doors, man 1's ribcage opened out. Revealing muscle and organs.
A bubble of water kept everything in place. Everything running.
"Most of the time, the shock will cause them to lose consciousness. On occasion, it's like their mind ignores it. And I get to torture them for as long as they stay with me." And man 1 did, indeed, stay conscious.
Aurora watched him, his eyes avoiding the sight of his body, staring straight ahead. So nervous.
"Are you scared?"
Tears streamed down the man's face. He could not speak.
"This is unfair, isn't it. And painful. It shouldn't be my right to decide his punishment, should it, Mr. Watanabe?" She looked over to Souta as he watched his guards body in horror.
"But someone has to. People say, 'leave it to the justice system'. But the 'justice system' is just people, too. You know? Like you. And, like me."
Aurora pulled the heart from man 1's chest. Holding it in her hands, the last beats gushing blood. As she watched it, the meat darkened and shriveled. The blood drained from it and absorbed into her.
She felt the life from man 1 leave him. Dropping him to the floor, she turned her attention to Souta.
"I love this feeling so much, Mr. Watanabe." She began to twirl back and forth as though listening to a melody no one else could hear.
"Sometimes, when he let's me, I like to dance in blue flames." Dancing gave her a euphoria nothing else could. She turned on a song, the notes bouncing around the room. Her toes sliding through blood and gore as she went.
Dabi laid back against a crate across the room. Bobbing his foot on occasion.
"Come on, hurry up. This guy can't last forever."
"Oh, give me a bit. I'm having fun." Aurora pouted. The life slowly drifting from Souta.
"I could just burn this place down right now." A warning. His version of letting her know she had five minutes.
Aurora huffed and turned to Souta. She approached, watching his face intently.
"I have waited for this for quite a while. Mei would have loved to see this moment. I just know it." She whispered into his ear.
At the very end, she didn't want to kill him. To give him the freedom of death. Not right away, anyway.
She walked toward Dabi with a serious demeanor. As she slipped her dress back on, she nodded to him.
"Light this place up to your hearts content."
"I've never been good at lighting small fires." He lifted his arms and a giant burst of flames shot from him. Aurora stood just outside, putting her heels back on. The heat felt good. It singed the water droplets from her arms and chest.
Dabi walked out after watching the bodies burn into ash. They left the building burning to the ground, and the entire area destroyed beyond recognition.