chapter fourteen;

     "WHERE'S PAPA AND THE REST?", youko asked as she held onto dabi's yukata. johnny followed closely behind with a bag of special liquid attached to his back as the tube connected to it.

     youko had wanted to take johnny out the laboratory, hence why compress had came up with the idea of bringing some of the liquid from the tanks to help keep the little nomu alive.

"meeting with some loser", dabi blankly answered, making youko laugh.

"w-who?"

dabi sighed as he rolled his eyes. "duke chisaki kai: overhaul".

"oh...isn't he the duke that works as a...as a..."

     "the young leader of the yakuza: shie hassaikai", dabi finished as he then raised a brow.

     "wait, how did you know?"

     "huh? oh! ever since I started talking, kuro has been giving me lessons on all the lands. and you know how papa didn't exactly see me for a while...so I had a LOT of time on my hands", youko replied.

     "so you remember all the lands and the royals that rule it?"

youko laughed. "nope!"

dabi gave a small—nearly nonexistent—smile as he patted the girl's head, to which it had made youko quite happy, as she always felt that dabi was emotionally far to reach.

"anyways, can we go to a nearby market?? I want to get papa some scrubs and johnny a new outfit", youko smiled.

     "that nomu? why?"

     "because what if he feels cold?", youko worried.

     "nomus don't feel anything", dabi bluntly stated, only to get ignored by the little princess.

     the little girl started running towards the stands that were right outside some of the bigger, more popular, shops.

     youko enjoyed the more rural area, as she got to witness many people at work with their quirks aiding them.

     "hello sir! do you have any lotion that smells really really good??", youko politely asked.

     "oh yes! there's vanilla scented ones...um..apple, strawberry...lavender...and a few minty, wood-like smell. which one would you—"

the old man suddenly hushed as he saw dabi, who just wore a bored expression on his face. in fact, nearly everyone around them tensed at the burnt male's presence, along with a weird looking creature trotting behind them.

     instead of waiting for the man to finish his question, youko just hummed as she picked out a few—a lot—of the lavender and strawberry ones.

     "how much for—"

     "d-don't worry about it! it's for free. have a nice day!", the old man rushed as he just awkwardly smiled as youko raised a brow.

     "o-oh well okay...thanks then! you have a nice day too mister!"

     as the old man packaged all the jars up for youko, the little girl then waved as she started heading off once more.

"uncle dabi, are you hungry?? should we get some food?", youko cheerfully asked.

"what do you want?"

"mmm...let's go there!", youko pointed as she already started heading over to a outside seating restaurant, with a couple working at the cart.

"good afternoon ma'am! may I have two bowls of soba and some yakitori please?"

the woman kindly smiled as she nodded her head, calling out for her husband to prepare the food while dabi searched his pockets for some money.

     "thank you very much. sit anywhere you like please", the woman softly said.

     dabi had picked the wooden table and bench furthest away from the main road that they were just on, while youko followed suit.

     "thanks uncle dabi! do you like necklaces by the way?", youko asked, swinging her legs as she made sure johnny sat right beside her.

     "why?"

     youko fumbled around her dress pockets and pulled out a black twine with three silver beads that were the size of a nut.

     "ta-daaaa!! himi, big sis magne, and I made a few a few days ago. do you like it?? let me help you put it on!!", youko immediately blabbed as she hopped off her bench and inched closer to dabi.

     dabi wasn't sure if he really wanted to wear it, but just externally agreed as he could always snatch it off once the princess wasn't around.

     "here are your sobas and yakitori", the woman smiled as she placed the plates down in front of the three, including the nomu of course.

     youko hastily hopped back into her own spot as she first fed johnny some yakitori: a dish of bite-sized cuts of chicken grilled on a skewer.

     since there was a little opening in the glass helmet for the nomu's beak, youko was able to command the little nomu to eat, even though it really didn't need to.

     "you should start eating before it gets cold", dabi warned.

     "cold soba isn't bad though...", youko mumbled, grabbing her chopsticks as she started twirling her soba around the two wooden sticks.

     as youko was about to take a bite, an obnoxiously loud slurping was heard beside her, making the little princess glance over.

     "what?", dabi asked, with his mouth full of noodles.

     "mm...nothing", youko giggled as she did the exact same, slurping loudly as dabi just raised a brow in amusement.

"are you...mocking me?"

"no! I'm just enjoying my somewhat cold soba!", youko defended herself as she gave johnny another piece of grilled chicken.

dabi squinted his eyes as he once more slurped his noodles, with youko copying his exact eating style.

     "brat".

     youko just smiled as she looked up at the male, who had immediately snatched a napkin and wiped the little girl's mouth.

     "I could've done it myself!!", youko pouted.

     "tell me that when you can pick out your own clothes without kurogiri's help", dabi snorted.

"there's too many options okay?! I'm not you...who wears the same thing everyday", youko mumbled, to which dabi had just clicked his tongue and pinched the little girl's cheek.

"say that louder?"

"ow ow ow ow!!! okay okay I'm sowwyyy!!", youko whined as she gently slapped the male's hand away, eating her noodles obnoxiously once again.

dabi huffed as a small grin made its way up to his face.

"that's what I thought".

youko was then about to say something again, but decided that it'd be best to keep her mouth shut.

_♚_

"WE'RE BACK!!!", youko happily announced, skipping around as she started unpacking everything and handing out gifts to everyone.

"by the way, where's big sis magne?? I got us some matching hair clips since her hair is so long and she never seems to tie it up", youko smiled while fumbling with the bags.

everyone stayed silent until twice was about to speak up, only to be interrupted by shigaraki.

"I let magne off. she's enjoying a tour in another continent right now", shigaraki lied, making youko turn around curiously.

"really?? but she didn't even say bye to me...", the little girl slightly pouted.

"she was in a hurry to leave. it was a once in a lifetime offer", shigaraki said, to which toga had to briefly clench her fists to stop herself from saying anything she would regret.

"oh..well I'm glad she's having fun. can we send these clips to her then? and can I write her a letter??"

"of course you can", shigaraki answered, about to pick youko up before she ran over to compress, noticing something different about the male.

"mr. compress, what happened to your arm? did you get in a fight? does it hurt a lot?", the little princess worried, bombarding the male with questions.

"I'm quite alright your highness. thank you for caring".

youko hummed as she raised a brow, suddenly clapping her hands together as she went back over to her bags.

"I know what will cheer you up!! here! I got you this really cool crystal. it's not little like the ones you have, but I thought it was really pretty!!", youko brightly smiled, showcasing the clear crystal that had a little sunflower stuck in the middle of it.

     compress hesitantly took the present as he stuffed it in his coat, patting the little girl's head as he slightly smiled, not that youko could see behind his mask.

     "thank you, your highness".

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