chapter twenty;

YOUKO WOKE UP TO THE SMELL OF SOMETHING BURNING, and it definitely wasn't the type where kurogiri would wake her up by gently tapping on her shoulder and telling her that breakfast was ready.

     the little girl yawned as she rolled out of the futon that she shared with her lovely father. youko trudged towards the closet as she randomly found a shirt and changed.

     though it seemed more like a dress to the little girl, as for some reason, it was quite big and dragged on the floor a bit.

     with the little girl's vision still slightly blurry, she bunched up as the fabric that was from her "dress", and started stomping towards the kitchen, where the burnt smell was coming from.

     or so she thought where the aroma was starting.

     "huh? I swear I thought something was burning...", the girl mumbled as she rubbed her eyes, only for it to get even more fuzzy.

     for some reason, ever since the girl started using her quirk, her eyes became more unclear after she woke up from the night or her nap.

     though it wasn't anything big, as the girl's vision usually got better after breakfast.

     "HELLO??", youko shouted, her voice a bit raspy like her father's.

     "did they leave me again?", youko pouted.

     recently, the league had been busy recruiting others. and with the loss of kurogiri, it wasn't very efficient traveling places in a stolen vehicle.

     "at least I have johnny...JOHNNY?!", youko called out, to which she heard footsteps pitter pattering towards her.

     "good morning johnny. can you take me to where the burning is coming from please? I'm worried something's on fire", youko nicely commanded, to which johnny had started leading the way.

as youko followed johnny towards the back of baron giran's house, youko struggled sliding the door open that revealed the back garden.

"mmm...uncle dabi?"

the scarred male looked up as he wiped the sweat on his face away. dabi inched closer to the little girl as he towered over her, making youko pinch her nose.

"uncle dabi...you smell. stay away", the little girl said as dabi had just came even closer, sitting on the wooden bench, next to youko.

"what are you doing up so early?", dabi asked, ignoring youko's comment as he purposely raised his arm and started ruffling the girl's dark hair.

"what do you mean early? it's 8", youko replied.

"and why the hell are you wearing my shirt?"

"huh? no I'm—oh".

youko rubbed both her eyes and blinked a few times before as realized why her "dress" was so long and nearly tripped her.

     "if you wanted to look like me, you could've just said so. didn't need to use one of my shirts", dabi grinned.

     "no thanks. I like my skin clear and all of it", youko smiled, teasing dabi back.

     "you little brat!"

     dabi engulfed youko into a tight hug, making the little girl squirm as she choked on the sweaty smell of the male.

"I-I CAN'T BREATHE!! MURDER! MURDER!!", youko loudly shouted as dabi just swiftly covered the little girl's mouth, letting her go as he pinched her cheek.

"if I wanted to murder you, I would've burned you while you slept", dabi scoffed.

"but then papa would've decayed you, so I guess that wouldn't have been very worthwhile", youko rebutted.

dabi clicked his tongue, feeling that kurogiri had taught the girl too much in such a short period of time.

"anyways, what are we eating for breakfast today?", youko asked, clutching her stomach in hunger.

"bacon and eggs", dabi swiftly answered.

"you know how to cook??"

"just lay some bacon strips on my arm and crack an egg in my hand and it'll be done in no time", the man grinned.

youko fake gagged. "let's go out to eat today".

"tch. you ungrateful child".

     "well sorry for not wanting your sweat in my food. I'm going to go change. please take a shower before we head out", youko smiled as she skipped off.

     only the princess would dare speak to dabi like that without having to worry about being burnt.

     "what a little shit", he chuckled.

_♚_

     "and so I told him that he's going to fit right into our family", youko said, explaining to dabi about the conversation that she previously had with hawks.

     "I see..."

     "yeah...weird guy, but very nice", youko smiled, stabbing her scrambled eggs that wasn't stained with dabi's sweat, thankfully.

     "say, do you want to come with me to buy a camera and some hair dye?", dabi casually asked.

"what's a camera? and why would you need hair dye?"

"a camera's a device that you can use to record things with, and you can replay it anytime you want", dabi explained.

"really?? that's so cool! can I get one too then?"

"no, they're expensive", dabi snorted.

youko unconsciously clicked her tongue. "it's not like you're going to pay for it anyways, why can't you just steal one for me too?", the little girl pouted.

"excuse you, I'm actually going to pay this time", dabi said. "and in return, I'll let you play with it first, how about that?"

"okay!! and what about the hair dye? are you wanting to go blonde too?"

"absolutely not", dabi scowled. "I just need to re-dye my roots".

youko nearly spit out her water. "your hair's not actually black?!"

"keep it a secret between us won't you? I'm doing a surprise reveal later on", dabi smirked, cutting his steak that he had ordered.

"ohhhh is that what the camera's for? sure, but for a price", the little girl smiled.

     "who taught you how to negotiate?"

     "papa. he said something about tenfold the thing...but anyways, I want a picture taken. using the thing papa has", youko requested.

     shigaraki wasn't exactly one to use his phone around youko, but the one time he had to pick up a call from toga, youko was amazed at how the device was able to connect two people's voices.

     "you mean a phone?"

     "YES, THAT!!"

     "a picture of just you??", dabi questioned.

     "obviously not! I want a family picture!!"

     dabi rolled his eyes as he thought about how troublesome that would be. but in order for the girl to keep quiet, he begrudgingly agreed.

     "fine, but a deal is a deal".

     youko smiled as she wiped her own mouth this time, hopping off her seat, as she knew dabi was going to take care of the meal.

as dabi discreetly walked into a shady store, youko waited outside due to dabi's instruction. it was near an alleyway, making youko breathe through her mouth so that she didn't have to inhale the nasty smelling garbage.

"hey look...isn't that..."

"shhh, don't make us too obvious", another whispered.

"she's the king's daughter isn't she? what's she doing out here all alone?", the first one asked, staring at youko, who was kicking the pebble in front of her.

"g-guys, I don't think we should...what if..what if someone sees?", the third one chimed in.

"no one's near! plus, imagine the money we'd get by seeking a royal", the second man lowly chuckled.

as the three inched closer to youko, the little girl looked up, smiling.

"hello misters. may I help you three?"

before the three robbers could even answer, a blue swirl of fire shot through the glass of the store, shattering the window as youko shielded herself.

     dabi hopped out through the window as he took off his black coat and wrapped it around youko, carrying her as he started to casually walk away as if nothing had happened.

     "why'd you do that?", youko asked. "and did you get what you needed?"

     "they were about to kidnap you. didn't crusty teach you not to talk to strangers? and yeah".

     "oh yeah..sorry", youko apologized.

     as dabi kept walking, youko felt incredibly warm. shedding off dabi's jacket, the little girl noticed a bit of steam coming from the arm that was supporting her.

     "are you a rice cooker? why do you have smoke coming out your arm?"

     "it happens every time I use my quirk...depending on how much sometimes", dabi bluntly answered.

     "ah..well can you put me down?"

     dabi raised a brow as he did as told. youko searched her pocket as she smiled, finding a bandaid with kitties on it.

     "lemme see your arm", youko said.

     "it's fine, it's not that big of a—"

     "I said, let me see your arm", youko persisted, using her quirk as dabi accidentally made eye contact with the girl.

     unwillingly, dabi lifted his right arm towards the girl, who giggled as she peeled off the plaster.

     "kuro said a little kiss will make the pain go away", youko said as she kissed dabi's arm, surprised at how warm it was.

     the girl then pasted the bandaid on where dabi's arm seemed to be the warmest.

     "ta-daaaa!! all fixed!!"

     dabi sighed as youko grabbed onto his hand, walking towards their current residence.

     "I'll treat you to ice cream next time".

     "sounds good!!"

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