𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑽𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑭𝑭𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 ➣ Dabi

beginning

You frown, looking at yourself in the mirror. About a week ago, a week after you had been taken hostage, you had bags under your eyes, you looked sick, and you could barely stand on your own. You still have faint bags under your eyes, you haven't completely healed but at least you have more strength than normal. At least you look slightly better. Your scar still lingers. Of course, it does. It'll never go away and some days, you really hate that. Somedays you want to break everything in sight because why? Why did you have to get that stupid scar? You quickly swipe away at the unwanted tears. No. No crying right now. You can save your tears for later.

Dabi somehow managed to get you a new outfit. New black jeans, short combat boots, and long sleeve black shirt. And somehow, he guessed your size pretty well. Sure, the clothes are a little tight but it's okay. It's not like you're fighting anyone. You'll be in the back of a white van, they somehow stole, with Dabi the entire time.

Is it bad that you don't feel good about this? That you haven't been able to sooth the churning in your stomach and the ache in your chest? It just feels too real. Because once you get in that car and use your quirk to help them attack a Hero training facility, you're a villain. You'll no longer be a citizen and this, if you're caught, will be put on your record. Right? You helped them. Will they even look at the fact that they kidnapped you? Probably not. Either way, this doesn't sit right with you. They're just kids. Go attack All Might somewhere else.

You hear a knock on the door before Dabi peeks in and looks at you. "You ready?" You nod. "Then let's go." He gives you a side smile before checking you out. He licks his lips and walks out. You shake your head, trying to ignore the look he gave you. It didn't mean anything. He's a villain. You're not.

You're about to become one but that's neither here nor there. Sighing, you step out of the bathroom and follow Dabi down to the bar. Shigaraki stares at the clock and Kurogiri stands with his arms crossed as he watches him. It's tense in the room. From the way Shigaraki violently scratches his neck to the complete and utter silence that allows you to hear every small sound you couldn't before. A bug crawling across the floor. A creak as the building settles. Dabi's breathing as he stands next to you. It's silent. Way too silent. It makes your skin crawl and your breath hitch out of fear that the heroes have caught on and they'll find you and throw you in prison.

Should you be wishing they would save you? Isn't that what heroes do?

And yet. . .

You're still afraid that if they do, you'll be labeled a villain who helped attack the U. S. J. and not a hostage. Not a citizen in dire need of help. A hostage. A slave.

"Now," Shigaraki says.

Kurogiri opens up a portal and you all step through. You teleport to a new warehouse, a more abandoned one. And this time, there's a crowd of villains. Some are about eight feet tall with nothing but pure muscle. Some are small but seem to be good enough to be here to help Shigaraki. Either way, the room in here is radiating hate and vengeance. It's honestly intimidating and you can't help but let out a small whimper as you step back behind Dabi.

"It's alright, Little mouse. They won't hurt you."

You nod but stay put behind him with your hand hovering over your heart. As if that would stop a bullet from hurting you.

Shigaraki gives them a pep speech. Or, some type of one? It didn't make much sense to you but the villains in the crowd looked inspired enough to attack a prestigious hero school to kill All Might. It makes you sad. They have to understand that they won't win. Right? It's All Might. A big pro hero. The number one pro hero.

"Your job is to distract the other heroes and the students. I'll take care of All Might. Understand?" Shigaraki asks.

They nod, though some of them look disappointed that they don't get to hurt All Might and instead are stuck hurting kids. Dabi takes your hand and nods to Kurogiri, who quickly opens up a warp gate and lets you and Dabi go through. You take one last glance at the crowd before you step through. This is it. This is where you use your quirk for evil. What happens if they take down All Might? Won't it be partially your fault? You did help increase their quirks after all. And if Shigaraki is successful and manages to win, he wouldn't be because he's a good villain and knows what he's doing. Because quite frankly, this is the biggest mission he's ever done. No. It'll be on you because you gave him the strength to do it. You pushed him to his maximum capacity. So, you'll be held accountable for it. They all will.

That is, if you get caught. Because as long as you don't get caught, you're fine. They won't know you had anything to do with it? If you stay hidden, like Dabi said, you'll be fine. They won't be able to find you. You won't be known as the person who helped kill All Might.

Dabi lets go of you hand when you step out of the portal and walks over to the white van. Kurogiri brought you to an alleyway. A dark one with trash covering the ground and stray cats glaring down at you. It gives you the chills so you quickly walk to stand by Dabi. He pulls keys out of his pocket and unlocks the van. He looks back at you and gives you one of his infamous smirks.

"Hop in, Doll. It's showtime."

As a kid, you had a blanket that you took with you everywhere you went. It was torn and sometimes dirty but you loved it so much. It brough a sense of peace, comfort even whenever you had it with you. You slept it balled up so you could hug it. You had the blanket all the time. It was the one thing that made you feel safe. More so than the heroes who claimed to protect you. Your blanket was your hero.

And then one night, you heard a crash. A scream. Fighting. More screams. It was terrifying. You were a kid. Just a kid with two loving parents and a new baby brother on the way. You were loved. You were happy. You had everything you had ever wanted and you were so excited to grow up and be an older sibling. But it all happened so fast. Too fast. You had no control over what happened. And the fear of death was keeping you trapped underneath your covers as your family died outside your bedroom door. The clamps of anxiety kept you from screaming out but didn't stop the rush of tears and the painful ache in your chest that made it hard to breathe. One minute, you were saying goodnight to your parents, and the next, they were letting themselves die to protect you. If only you had known how to use your quirk. Maybe then you would've been able to save them. To help them be strong enough to save themselves so you could live with them. Maybe.

Since that day, you never wanted to become a villain. Or a hero. Because what if you ended up in the same situation and lost? The people who idolized you would be scared again. And because you didn't want the spotlight or to even know the other heroes.

After you heard your parents screams, it went silent. Utterly and eerily silent. You were choking on sobs, your small brain trying to understand what was going on. And then he walked in. A villain who you have a hard time remembering. The tears made it difficult to really see what he looked like. But you remember, oh so clearly, how he took that torn and tattered blanket of yours, and ripped it to shreds. The last piece of safety. The last piece of comfort and love.

Somedays, you wish he had killed you. You wish you died next to your parents. You wish you didn't have to see their dead bodies outside your bedroom door for a week. You were left alone. Devasted. Broken. Alone. Terrified. You wanted to leave but you were afraid of the outside. You were afraid the villain might be waiting for you, that it could all be a trap.

It wasn't even a hero that found you. It was a neighbor. She quickly picked you up and carried you away from your family but you kept screaming at them. You wanted to stay by your mother. She was so comforting. Because in your small head, they were going to wake up. They were just tired. That's all. One day, they were going to open their eyes and say, "It's okay, honey. We're okay. You're safe now, I promise."

That never happened. They never woke up. And you ended up living in an orphanage till you were eighteen.  

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