My Hero Drabbles

S:T Dabi

(Art by sofiaasamara on Twitter.
TW for self harm.
Y/N is around the same age as Dabi, so early 20's ish.
Let me know if y'all want a part 2.)

~~Y/N POV~~

My 16th birthday had taken place in the middle of the semester, and the words had begun appearing in the middle of class.

My classmate had actually been the first to notice the blossoming black marks etching their way across my skin.  Our teacher even allowed us to pause the lecture to allow everyone to see my reaction.

I'm sure they expected delight. That was what I'd expected. But as more and more letters stained my skin my excitement slowly turned to dread.

Even now, several years later, that dread coiled in my belly whenever I caught sight of the letters;

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahaha no, stabbing is more HER thing, now hold out your arm.

I'd tried over the years to convince myself that I'd gotten a good person, and I was just reading the words in the wrong tone. What sort of person would have THOSE be their first words to me? But no matter how hard I tried to deny it, the only type of person they could be was...a villain.

My phone buzzed, breaking me from my sour thoughts, notifying me of a new mission. Two members of the LOV had been spotted near my location. I was to observe and report back. I didn't have much information of any of the LOV, having only returned to Japan a few days ago.

I pushed to my feet, ensuring my hero suite covered the cursed words on my arm, and sunk into the shadows to get to work.

I'd been tailing the duo for the past ten minutes with very little to report.  If I hadn't known they were villains I would've just assumed they were a couple friends going out shopping. They'd gone into a few stores, pick out items, then paid like anyone else would. The entire time they had bickered like they were siblings.

It was almost endearing.

The girl looked like a high-school student, wearing a uniform, her blonde hair tied into two buns on the sides of her head. The guy...well he looked more like one would expect a villain to look. He looked incredibly intimidating,  despite his relaxed posture. Deep purple scars covered a large portion of the skin that was visible around his dark clothing, staples studded along where his unscarred and scarred skin met.

"Ahhh~ I think we've got everything. Let's head back to the hideout."

"Fine. The less time I'm stuck with you, the better."

"Dabi, you're such a meanie~"

Dabi... I made note of the name for my report.

His eyes slid in my direction as I shifted. He'd occasionally glanced in the direction if my shadows this entire time, but I knew that my body was fully dissolved into the darkness. There was no way he could actually see me.

He paused by the entrance to an alley, making the girl stop with him, "Let's go back this way."

She opened her mouth, but Dabi tightened the grip he'd had on her arm. Her eyes darted behind him for half a second before a grin curved her lips, "sounds good to me~"

I waited a moment before ducking into the alley after them.

I pulled up short when I realized that they'd stopped halfway down the alley. The girl was facing me, a wicked grin on her face.

Before I could react a wave of blue flames flooded down the alley, dispelling the shadows was hidden in. I fell to the ground as my body was forced to rematerialize.

The flame formed a wall across the end of the alley I'd entered, closing off my chance of escape. I scanned the alley to find another way out, but that blue flame had robbed me of all of my shadows.

Movement made my eyes snap back to the duo. Dabi was approaching me, his hands in his pockets.

I pressed my back to the wall. This was bad. Combat had never been my strong suit. My skills all leaned towards observing and avoiding.

The girl giggle as Dabi continued his nearly lazy approach, "sorry little hero, but we can't just have you following us."

Dabi stopped, close enough that the toes of his boots touched the toes of mine.

I eyed his hands that had remained in his pockets. That, combined with how close he was, suggested he was a weapon user.

I licked my lips to stop them from trembling, and glared up into his piercing blue eyes. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking I was scared when I died.

"What are you gunna do, stab me?"

He blinked in surprise.

Then the laughter started.

~~Dabi POV~~

I'd noticed the shadows near us shift unnaturally a few times in the past few minutes, so I'd gotten Toga to come down the deserted alley with me to set a trap. Sure enough, the persistent shadow had followed.

After forcing the hero out of hiding I'd watched them weigh their options while taking my time approaching. They knew they weren't walking away from this.

But the glare they shot at me when I came to a stop made a delicious chill wash over me. But that was nothing compared to the thrill I felt when they spoke.

"What are you gunna do, stab me?"

The laughter that ripped from me surely made me sound unhinged, but I couldn't stop it.

With the skin on my arm so badly damaged, I'd been shocked when the words had still stubbornly forced themselves to appear. The black letters had nearly blended into the deep purple of my scars, but I'd read them over and over whenever I got the chance.

I'd laughed at that time too. What kind of psycho would have those as their first words to me?

What are you gunna do, stab me?

Now, with this little hero glaring up at me with a ferocity burning in their eyes that rivaled my fire, I finally understood.

As I finally got my laughter under control I crouched, pulling my hands from my pockets.

"No, stabbing is more HER thing, now hold your arm."

I'd jersey my head toward Toga while I'd spoken, but now I extended my left hand towards the hero.

The colour drained from their face, but the glare remained in place as they clutched their left arm to their chest.

I made flames flare next to them, and I lunged forward to grip their arm in my hand when the flinched away from the heat. I shoved my sleeve up, then theirs.

The scars gouged across each letter on their arm made me pause. They had clearly decided they didn't want me long before they even met me, strongly enough to even injure themselves like this. I puffed out a breath. There was no way I'd let my own soul mate reject me. I'd always imagined spoiling my soulmate in every way a villain like me could. And I still intended to do just that.

As the tingling began and the black letters began to fade to match the deep purple of my skin I softened my grip and leaned forward.

My little hero gasped when my tongue made contact with their wrist. I gazed into their eyes as I dragged my tongue over their scarred letters. By time I'd reached their elbow, all signs of resistance had melted out of them. The colour had returned to their face, a blush staining their cheeks, and confusion had replaced their glare.

I placed my hand on the wall beside their head, the new patches of their skin tone standing out against my scars.

I leaned next to their ear, "I'm going to make you love being my soulmate. But for now, you're coming with us."