chapter three;

     YOUKO QUIETLY SIPPED HER APPLE JUICE as shigaraki chugged his dark coffee. the little girl awkwardly sat in front of shigaraki as they were outside enjoying the nature of the royal garden.

kurogiri set down a silver plate of chocolate chip cookies as youko thanked him.

"is this seriously all you wanted?", shigaraki asked, much to youko's surprise.

"h-huh? oh yeah...well...I just thought it'd be a great chance for us to get to know each other", the little girl mumbled, tightly gripping onto her small teacup.

shigaraki just hummed as he looked down at the girl's small form. her long black locks covering majority of her face.

"are you aware of my quirk?", the pale man asked, lifting up his pinkie as he took another sip of his coffee.

     kurogiri had strongly suggested shigaraki not drink alcohol in front of youko, hence why coffee was the next best option.

     "disintegration. kurogiri told me", the girl answered with a smile, proud that she remembered such a long and difficult word.

     "and you're not scared that I might decay you?", shigaraki grinned, reaching his hand out towards the little girl.

youko just stayed still, anticipating what's to happen next.

"yes", the little girl answered.

"yes what?"

"yes I'm scared, your majesty", youko replied, making shigaraki scoff as if he had already expected that answer.

     "though it's of your quirk, not of you", youko finished.

     shigaraki stayed silent momentarily before he huffed and stood up, making youko flinch.

     the blue-haired male swiftly left without saying another word, leaving youko more confused than ever.

     though the girl did sigh a breath of relief as she thought she would've died right there and then.

     'good job on staying alive, youko. good job!', the small girl mentally praised herself.

kurogiri then hastily warped the rest of the tableware away, leaving not a single trace of mess on the round wooden table.

     "princess, would you like to—"

     "MY SWEET YOUKOOO!!"

     youko turned around only to be attacked by toga, who had lumped onto the little girl, nearly squishing her.

     "toga! you can't be so disrespectful towards—"

"BYE KUROGIRI!!", toga interrupted as she quickly picked youko up and started sprinting away.

"TOGA! YOU CAN'T JUST..."

kurogiri sighed. the mist man just followed after as he leisurely took his time walking in his nice button up and dress pants.

     "miss toga, where are we going?", youko asked as she was being carried to who knows where.

     "I told you to just call me himiko! and today, we're going somewhere special", the girl giggled, making youko slightly worried.

     youko had quickly learned that what "special" meant to toga was very different from youko's standpoint.

     "okay....himiko..."

youko just rested her head on toga's shoulder as she waited for the girl to stop walking, in which she shortly did so.

"is this..."

"yep! the training grounds!! isn't it boring for you to be all cooped up in your room? why don't you watch how all our quirks work", toga suggested, to which indeed, the little girl was hooked.

"r-really?? are you this is okay with his majest—"

"DABI, COME HERE!! LOOK WHO I BROUGHT!", toga shouted, completely ignoring youko's concern.

the sinister male perked up at the sight of the small girl who just looked utterly dumbfounded.

"oho? if it isn't the little princess", dabi grinned.

for some reason, with the way dabi has said it, it made it almost sound like an insult.

youko just smiled as she waved. surely he wouldn't harm her right?

"did she you steal her from kurogiri? I'm surprised he hasn't warped you out of the kingdom yet", dabi half-heartedly joked.

"he would never! not without tomura's permission anyways", toga chuckled.

"hm...well I'm sure crusty's got the same idea", dabi nonchalantly said, making the blonde girl gasp.

"anyways, what's she doing here?"

youko glanced up at dabi. his turquoise eyes filled with boredom and such distance that it felt like even if she ran forever, she would never be able to reach him.

     it made her feel...sad.

"I brought her here so that she could see all our quirks!", toga smirked, clearly in the mood to stab someone.

"hm~ are you sure?"

dabi looked over at youko, who just nodded in agreement to toga's statement.

"alright then", dabi said as he swiftly turned around and gathered some people that could be assumed to be part of his squad.

youko was then let down by toga. the young girl decided to camp under a huge oak tree that shaded her entire body along with a few feet of legroom.

     bringing her knees up against her chest, the girl waited in anticipation as there were many men standing in a block in front of dabi.

     despite how everyone dressed—most were in dark nagagis—they seemed very strict and intimidating to little youko.

whispers were heard as everyone noticed a little girl curled up into a ball, sitting on the grassy area of the field.

"let's put on a good show for the princess now, shall we?", dabi grinned, signaling for the group of men to start sparring.

     as different sized men started grouping together and fighting each other, youko was awed by the many different quirks that were presented.

     water and sharp stems shot from underground, which youko knew was an emitter type. according to kurogiri, there were others like transformation and mutant.

     out of them all, youko perhaps liked the one that could trap people in their little crystal balls, as the man with the peculiar mask was very much so like a magician.

that is, until a mesmerizing assortment of brilliant blue flames nearly wiped out the entire field, encasing everyone in the circle, except dabi and youko of course.

the little girl unconsciously stood up, inching closer as she felt drawn to the fiery flames that burned with such confidence and authority.

"don't get too close. you wouldn't want to get burned".

youko, snapping out of her trance, heeded to dabi's warning.

"mister—"

     "just call me dabi".

     "mm...what's your quirk dabi?"

     "cremation. interesting isn't it?"

     youko glanced up from the man's burning hot flames that quickly diminished most likely due to dabi's desires.

     obviously no one was hurt, but a few did complain about dabi showing off.

"does it hurt?", youko questioned, making dabi a bit off guard for a second.

"what do you mean?"

"kuro said that every quirk has a downside to it", youko answered. "is that why his majesty has flakey skin?", she wondered out loud.

dabi grinned at that.

"well aren't you a bright one".

     youko smiled at that.

"do you like cookies?", the little girl asked.

"not particularly".

"well I'm sure you'll like kuro's after you try the—"

"princess, it's about time we head back", kurogiri suddenly said, making the girl flinch.

"o-oh umm...already?", the little girl pouted.

"indeed. we've got to head back for dinner. his majesty's expecting your presence".

"again...?", youko softly muttered, making dabi grin even wider.

"if you ever want to leave, just give me a signal. I'll burn that crusty fuc—"

     "AHEM!"

     dabi gave kurogiri a quick glare before rewording his sentence.

     "I'll come retrieve you", dabi finished.

     "I'm sure that as much as the princess appreciates your offer, she won't be needing you flaming the entire dining hall", kurogiri reprimanded.

     "I'll keep it in mind though. see you later dabi!", youko waved as she held onto kurogiri's hand and left.

     dabi's grin immediately dropped as his sadistic eyes flickered with a hint of amusement.

     "later indeed".

✦ . . . . ────────☀️