Part 12
The days following the joint incidents on several big-name hero agencies had made the news, and it seemed as if everyone was talking about it. From the news anchors to school children, to the heroes themselves. No one seemed to be able to get over just how well planned the attack was.
Let alone that it was mostly thugs who had attacked... and some people were left with questions. Other with theories. And some simply saying that the world was becoming more dangerous and this was nothing new.
But even so... the events of the joint raids were second on the mind of a recovering rescue hero. Her dismissal from the hospital today and then the hours of interrogations she went under had left Fuyu drained.
The feeling on her lips was still strong, and if she wasn't already aware of what his quirk was... then the female was sure Dabi had placed some kind of curse on her making her lie through her teeth about the events from last week.
It had started with her being found hours later in the small church near her office. A hero checking the area after the events seeing her and calling for medical specialists. And then came the surgery on her shoulder.
It was long, painful, and required her to take no less than a month off of field work and to gobble down a display of colorful pills to help.
Then Fatgum had decided that due to the events of late and how she seemed to be a continual target for vicious villain attacks... that her month of no field work would be turned into a month away and off work. At least he gave her paid leave... but Fuyu still wasn't terribly happy about it all.
She was a hero! And already having been off work so much before made her nervous. She needed to get out here, or she would get rusty and fast. But there was no arguing with Fatgum and his worried heart.
Hawks and Endeavor had come by her hospital room around the third day after the incident. She cooperated, as usual, giving both men the flash drive and saying how she managed to recover it from Spinner from the League of Villains before he impaled her and she knocked him out.
"I was injured and knew I had to find somewhere to lay low until things died down." She had lied directly to them. "And I remembered the church down the block. It was a miracle I made it... and even more so, that someone found me in my sorry state."
Hawks had assured her she did the right thing, especially getting the USB back and then hiding. He showed his gratefulness that she was alive and would be healing well. Endeavor remained quiet, not saying much... but she could at least tell he wasn't suspicious.
That and Fuyu had made it clear from the start that she would much rather talk to Hawks then him. Though... while she felt this way due to her own feelings of disapproval towards the number one hero... Enji seemed to think it was because Hawks was a much easier hero to speak to.
The police cleared her name and were once more pursuing the League of Villains for their potential involvement or if Spinner had simply taken an opportunity he came across to steal data.
The heroes each sent flowers and get well cards, showing their regret for not being able to help her when she was facing an enemy on her own.
The doctors had told her of the success of the procedure and how everything would be fine in another month. But until then she needed to relax and not push herself.
No one suspected anything. No one knew of the person she had kissed. No one knew of the sin she had committed and how much more corroded her vow was becoming.
Her lips tingled as the memory came back. How gentle he was and how even after the fact he didn't push the idea further. Nor did he stay for long, knowing both she and he needed time to sort through the revelation that had just come across them both.
But she had reached out at the last moment, telling him of something she knew would confirm or deny it all. And so... she was waiting. Her phone always close and fully charged and her mind filling with the idea of what it meant for it to ring.
If it did... what did it mean for her?
His feelings would be confirmed with the sounds of her ringtone filling the quiet air of her apartment building. But that didn't make her own feelings would be as easy to understand. In fact, she was still struggling to understand them herself.
She had kept quiet. But she still wanted to do good. She accepted him and his past. But she hated how he went about attaining his own goals. She hated him. But she also had her own interest in him.
It was clear to her by this point that she couldn't go back either. And so, she decided that she'd wait to see his own feelings first. A selfish notion... but she couldn't just jump in head first after him. At least by knowing how he felt about her... she could sort her own a bit better.
And so, she waited the last seven days for her phone to ring. For her to hear his voice on the other side of the line and for her own heart to confirm or deny what he had already told her of his own feelings and if she felt the same.
Instead... as it appeared, Dabi had dropped off the grid. No mentions of him anywhere on the news, or on her phone. And with another day seeming to pass by fast... Fuyu couldn't help but wonder what he was doing... and if he really truly meant what he had said and told of her.
Feelings were not something she liked to mask or fake. And at least from the little, she knew about Touya... she had a feeling he was the same way. So if anything... she at least didn't have to worry about that.
Instead, she could spend much more time worrying about the little things. Like why her heart was still racing from the kiss that occurred seven days ago.
~~~~~
Shigaraki tapped his fingers against his neck, eyes lowering to the ground as his mood followed suit. Ever since the partial success of the secret raid last week, he seemed to be in a much more destructive mood then anyone had ever thought he could be in.
Even so much as grazing all his fingers across some surface at once would lead to his quirk destroying it within a second. Any sort of control the white-haired male had previously was now gone. And the reason for his mood was placed on one sole person.
The same person who seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth after he had left Endeavor's office. The person whose communication devices were all turned off and no sort of surveillance or other tracking methods had picked up on him.
"I assume if Dabi wants to be found... he'd make sure of it." Kurogiri informed the younger male sitting across from him at the makeshift bar. "Likewise... if he wants to disappear, he'll make sure he'll stay that way until he wishes to reemerge."
Red eyes peered up to the warp gate and then at the drink that had been passed to him. The male's hands destroying the glass and its contents the moment he touched it. Kurogiri sighed, knowing this was done on purpose... like the other drinks had been.
"I don't care what reasons he has for disappearing..." Tomura spat. "All I want are my flash drives..."
The conversation died at that statement, and despite all the other drives collected... three were left uncollected. One having been the drive two heroes managed to take back from Spinner before the idiot passed out in the alleyway.
And the final two having been taken by Dabi... and currently still with him wherever he was.
~~~~~
The dark haired male looked at his roots in displeasure, seeing a few wisps of red starting to come through again. His lips fell into a deep frown as he looked at one of the two reminders of who he really was.
Well, one of the three if he was to count his quirk as well. But seeing as it had a different name and affected his body much differently than the man who he had the displeasure of calling his father, Dabi wasn't one to really mark his quirk as a reminder of his heritage.
His eyes were one thing, and no matter how many times he bought those colored contacts, he could never put them in. Some distant memory of the woman who brought him into this world saying how much she adored his cerulean hues and how they sparkled when he was shining as bright as the flames he could produce.
And so... the color of his eyes remained. But his hair was not as lucky, seeing as even the color reminded him of the name he hated like no one else on this planet. The color red as bloody as the past torture he was subjected to.
In a way, he has started dying it jet black as a way to show that Touya was dead. And that for the last few months had worked out well for him. But now, seeing as his roots were coming back, as the hairdresser had warmed all the way back in July... he knew it was time to go back and get another application of the sticky and smelly dye.
And yet, despite having the number already punched into his phone... the male couldn't bring himself to dial the number. His mind telling him that with the erasure of his red hair... Touya would be gone again. And while in the past he would not have cared, something made him hesitate this time.
Or rather someone.
Knowing that she knew of his original name and that now he was aware of his growing affections, Dabi was putting serious thought into whether he really wanted to go all dark-haired again, or if he should maybe let it go back to his original color.
Though, now that he thought of it... letting his hair grow out would look a bit weird. His youngest brother had a weird hair color already, or rather two weird colors together, and separated. So what would people say when they saw him with red and black... two and two might be easier to put together then. And Dabi currently wasn't looking for anyone else to figure him out just yet.
And so, seeing as he had collected more than a simple, yet empowering kiss in the church from a week ago... he decided to put good use to the new number in his new phone. In fact, it was the only number on his phone.
It rang a few time, picking up on the third or fourth ring. The familiar tune of her voice answering, as she didn't yet know this was his number. She founded well though, meaning the heroes and medical staff must have not pressed her much.
He was grateful to that... knowing that despite it all, he didn't want her to fall because of him. He'd much rather have her realize the misgivings of this world herself and then the two would take things from there.
He wasn't saying he wanted her to join him. He knew she'd never be someone who could hurt someone else. Something of the way he eyes glazed over told him he wasn't the only one familiar with parental abuse as a child... but he also knew to not push or pry her.
So instead... he was going to see where things led. And if she even felt the same. But of course, he'd need to take the steps to get there. And right now seemed to be the perfect time to take his third step.
"Fuyu.... Do you know how to dye hair?"