As Dabi lead me towards the gated entrance, I felt incredibly heavy beneath his arm. He reeked of scorched flesh and cinders, and I became a strict mouth breather for the first time in my life.

"You sure you won't get into trouble for bringing me here..?" I asked, more concerned about my own hide than his, but I was met with a low chuckle.
"Nah, everybody who's anybody around here knows I've had my eye on you for a while, Dollface. If anything, I'll be congratulated. Brought the boss a pigeon pair!"

I knew exactly what he was talking about, but it was safer to play the fool, so I just returned him an awkward, confused chuckle as we approached the guards, one of which was a familiar face.
"Who the hell is this?!" Slidin' Go took an aggressive step forward, puffing his chest out to seem bigger, not that he really needed to.

"New recruit, and I'm pretty sure you know exactly who she is. You gonna question me?" For someone so lanky, Dabi really seemed to have a lot of confidence when it came to facing up against people bigger than him. I hadn't had the displeasure of fighting the villain myself, but from what I had heard his flames were on par with Endeavor's, at least.

Clicking his tongue, Slidin' Go looked me up and down from behind his mask, obviously recognising me. We had been at some of the same events, after all.
"Songbird. Just what we needed. Another smartass flier..." He grumbled, turning his attention back to Dabi. "Is this some kind of kink of yours?" The ravonet waved him off with a limp wrist, his arm tightening around me.
"I just know talent when I see it. Anywho, you gonna let us in, or what? It's fucking cold out here and I don't wanna have to use you as kindling so we don't freeze to death..."

Like hell you don't...

"Fine, but if she causes any trouble..." The supposed hero trailed off as he glanced upwards, his body stiffening and his finger shooting up to point towards the sky. "Where the hell have you been?! You can't just come and go as you please!" I heard his wings, and I felt their wind, and I slowly turned to see Hawks descend, a steaming to-go cup in his hand.
"Not my fault that the coffee here tastes like boiled shit. Besides, I was under the impression that it was my job...to..."

When our eyes met, his voice petered out, and I could see, behind the sheen of his visor, that he was struggling not to panic. Dabi, again, pulled me just a little closer, leaning forward and smirking at my husband.
"Ah, didn't expect to run into you so soon, man. Look at what I picked up today. A familiar face?" My chest squeezed in the worst way as my cheeks were pinched and squeezed inward, my face hurting from the pressure of his grip.

"Hawks..? You're part of the front..?" I honestly deserved an Oscar for my performance, batting Dabi away so I could step forward, forcing a look of confusion and surprise onto my face. Hawks took a second or two to register the situation, the slight 'o' shape of his mouth stretching into his usual showman smile.

"Well pluck my feathers and stuff 'em into a pillow...This is great!" When he pulled me into his arms, I could feel his pulse, wild and racing, and our fear seemed to melt into one beast. "If I'd known you were so into the cause I would've brought you here myself!" When he pulled back, I could see the cup in his hand quivering, so I quickly snatched it away and took a sip, not that I needed to add caffeine to my nervous energy collective.

"Of course I am! I couldn't put that book I borrowed down!" Turning back to Dabi, I motioned to Hawks with my head, lifting a brow. "Why didn't you tell me?" Amused, and seeming to buy it, Dabi approached and took me under-arm again, using his other hand to reach out and lightly jab the number two in the shoulder.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for plot twists. Anywho, you two have all the time in the world to be all lovey dovey. You're coming with me so we can get you settled in." Refusing would have been suspicious, but blindly agreeing would have been to, so I made sure to stumble a bit as he tried to pull me into a walk.
"O..oh, uh..?" Looking back to Hawks, I only hoped that he could see what I was trying to silently say to him. For him not to worry, and for him to just play along, for both our sakes. "I..I guess so..? I'll see you later, then, alright?"

"Y..yeah...Later, Sunshine..."

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The tour was, for the most part, uneventful, and consisted more of Dabi trying to flirt rather than give me any in depth explanations.

I did, however, get to meet two of the other villains that accompanied him on the most wanted chart. Bubaigawara Jin and Toga Himiko. Neither of them seemed particularly evil, or violent, other than the fact that Toga seemed unnervingly interested about knowing my blood type. Putting two and two together, it wasn't difficult to realise that she had been the peppy journalist at the Herogue photo shoot.

Bubaigawara, much to my surprise, seemed like an incredibly nice man. He shook my hand, welcomed me with enthusiasm, and was just genuinely, well, warm. Nothing like any villain I had ever come across. He had honestly been more pleasant than half of the heroes I had mingled or worked with.

Relief had washed over me when Dabi informed me that I wouldn't be meeting with the big boss quite yet, and I just played along with his vague mumbling as we moved on, eventually stopping by one of many doors that stretched along the hallway.

"You can stay in there. Got your own bed and stuff. Unless...you wanna tip-toe over across the hall..." Dabi took a few steps back and knocked against the wood of the room across from mine, smirking as he looked me up and down with sleazy eyes. "...if you want some company..."

Is he seriously..? Is he..? Oh god, I think I might be sick...but I need him to like me if I'm going to make this work...ugh...

Chuckling, throwing in a little hair-tuck behind the ear to add effect, I glanced to the floor, peeking back up at him with a timid smile.
"I'll...keep that in mind. Thanks, Dabi." I went to reach for the doorknob, but before I could get a firm grasp, my wrist was seized, and I was suddenly pinned to the wood.

No matter how I looked at Dabi, all I could see was damage. Past his burns and scars, there was no doubt that there were many underlying problems within that man, each a ticking time bomb. I had seen it in myself, and I had seen it in Hawks, but Dabi's had turned septic somewhere along the line. Internal wounds that oozed hatred, violence and decay. It only took one look at him to understand that he hadn't been born evil.

"Your hubby'll probably come check in on you real soon, Sweetcheeks. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do..." He spoke in licks of warning, the shudder in my spine flash-freezing my entire body. "Oh, and by the way..." He moved right up to my ear, his marred skin like leather against my cheek. "...If I had you on top of me like that, best believe I'd get the job done instead of blowing a load into my pants..."

His cerulean eyes sliced into mine when he pulled away, snickering to himself as he turned and sauntered off, posture slouched and shoes scuffing. It took me a good minute or two to gather enough mind to turn and open the door, quickly shutting it behind me before racing to the bathroom, dry heaving over the porcelain sink.

He saw that...How did he see that..?! Did Keigo know that he..?! Fuck..!

It was only a matter of time before Hawks sought me out, but I wasn't prepared for that confrontation. I knew better than anyone that I had gotten in way over my head, and mistakes had been set in stone. Still, I couldn't bring myself to regret it. Now that I knew what was going on, and what the goal was, I was prepared to do anything in my power to make it a reality.

Faucet on and face thoroughly splashed with tepid water, I began my second greatest routine for dealing with stress. I paced. Back and forth, to and fro, I would likely form a groove in the carpet, but that was the furthest thing from my mind. Were they expecting me to spy on the other heroes? Did they want me to fight? How long was I going to be stuck here?

A knock on the door made me stumble mid-step, and I had to catch myself on the edge of the bed. Feeling my face, I confirmed that I hadn't reached the point of loose tears, and I hurried to flatten out any stray hairs that had been messed up in my freak-out.

"Uh...c..come in..!"

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***Dabi would be grateful for a slice of your ass. Feed the man.

I haven't slept more than 3 hours over the past 2 days because my daughter keeps waking up and asking questions like, "what's liquid made of?" and I'm going to sob.

Next Time: I'm Supposed To Be The Stupid One***