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Chapter 60

I wasn't sure whose blood I was wearing.

I wasn't sure the position my body was laying in.

Unsure of whose breathing I could hear beside me.

I didn't... for the first time. I didn't know.

I hadn't seen anything since I fell through the mist. I know there was a loud crashing sound, something smacking against my head so harshly that it created a sickening crack that echoed through my brain. I didn't know if they'd popped my eardrum or not- but I hadn't heard a single thing from my left side in over an hour.

I couldn't move. I wasn't sure if I was so overcome with fear and waiting for Bakugo to tell me to get up; or if I was actually paralyzed. I think I was in shock, judging by the way my vision was hazed and I could hardly feel the cool cement below my head.

I hadn't seen Bakugo since we arrived, hadn't seen anything besides the gray concrete below me. I was sure the image was burned into my head by now; an image that I'd beg to get rid of for the rest of my life.

I know there was something on my ankle. I could at least feel the throbbing sensation at how tight it'd been put on. Maybe... well maybe it's a quirk holding me down.

Maybe I'm dreaming. Maybe Izuku will shake me up in a few seconds. If I just close my eyes and try hard enough...

"Good morning," somebody cooed from above me, their hand wrapped around a strand of my hair as they twirled it between their fingertips. "You know... I was given instructions to break your will to fight. Judging by the way you haven't moved an inch in the past hour, I'd say you did it yourself. I guess I should thank you. I was almost nervous," he chuckled. "Someone else tried earlier but... you never gave in. They said you were going to be like breaking some wild horse. That I'd have to burn you and the boy alive to even break you down an inch. Maybe... maybe you can still entertain me."

I couldn't breathe, my mind not moving fast enough to process what he was saying; let alone respond. "Shit kid... are you even alive? Don't tell me she hit you that hard. Jesus Christ, you're pathetic." He quickly stood up, bringing a foot into my spine as I simply groaned and rolled onto my stomach. "You're annoying. A nuisance. I don't understand why that freak out there wanted you so bad. He keeps blabbering that mouth of his about wanting to kill you but anytime one of us tried he just... freaks out. Does that make any sense to you?" He began slowly pacing the outline of the room, dragging his fingernails along the wall as he began to circle me.

Judging by the pace of his feet and the sound of his fingernails, I was in a cemented room with four walls. "Look at me... talking to a vegetable. Can you even speak? You've just been staring at the ground this whole time. Who am I kidding- I should've known you'd be easy to break. After all, you're just a product of your environment. Weak. Heroes... they think they're so fucking cool. I wish once... just once that you guys would get the shit beat out of you so badly that you wouldn't be able to get back up and run your lie-infested dirty mouths. Heroes..." he chuckled. "My ass," he muttered. He bent down before me, my eyes remaining entranced onto the ground as he cocked his head at me. It was the man before, the man with the soot-black hair. "I'm Dabi."

He leaned forward, nudging my cheek with his purple and flesh colored hands held together by staples. "Are you... dead? Already?" He asked. "Silent treatment? Not the style I thought you'd chose. Too bad... I almost wanted to talk to you."

"Go to hell."

"Oh?! So she speaks? I'll tell you what- you took the beating of your life and you're still awake. I guess that goes for something." My hands twitched in anger and I quickly realized I was bound at the wrist and ankles by some sort of contraption. He reached down, wrapping his ice-cold fingers around my chin as he squeezed my cheeks, forcing my face to look at him. "You're going to die here."