Skin

White Lies

Tyra looked down at her phone and tossed it to the side before slamming her bloody knuckles into the wall. "Dammit!" She shouted, "How could this happen?!"

"There's no point in beating yourself over it now." Gill looked down, re-reading the urgent text that he had missed.

"Dire and his daughter needed us! And I-" she slumped her shoulders and wiped a tear away. "I had my phone turned off cuz I didn't want to be bothered before my fight." Tyra was actually an underground street brawler. That was how she made most of her cash, aside from being hired every now and then to be the one to carry out a hit on someone. "Hell, even that moron, Okada tried his best to help."

"I was with my niece. My phone had died and I forgot my charger." Gill recalled getting home and plugging in his phone to find a text from Toga saying that Dire's daughter was in trouble and that they needed his help. "I don't know what I could have done but... I wish I could have at least-" he sighed, not being able to finish his sentence. The weight of guilt was weighing heavy on his heart. Gill didn't have any kids of his own, but his little niece meant the world to him and he'd lay his life on the line for her if things came down to it. He couldn't even imagine the pain Dire felt in his last moments trying to save his daughter.

"What's done can't be undone." Yoku commented coldly, pushing himself up off the wall. "They're dead and we didn't do shit. That's the reality of it all."

"Oh fuck off." Gill spat, "What's your excuse, Playboy?"

Yoku scowled at the two then shrugged uncaringly. "I heard my phone go off and I ignored it. I was just taking a nap and figured hey what the hell? It could wait." He chuckled although there was nothing amusing about the situation, "Boy was I wrong."

The three sat in silence waiting for the others to return. Tyra and Gill allowed their shame to show, but Yoku was focused on something else. Losing a comrade was rough, especially because he was lying about what happened. Yoku actually showed up to the school and decided to walk away. Not because he didn't want to help, but because something even more strange caught his attention...

After everybody was gathered in the base aside from Tora who was still in school and Twice who had went back to the mountains to meet up with the doctor and check in on Shigaraki, the group was filled in on the events that took place earlier that day.

"Wait so Endeavor showed up?" Gill asked in shock, "I thought his agency was on the other side of town."

"It is." Toga confirmed, "Which is probably why he showed up late."

"Couldn't have given your Old Man an early heads up, Dabi?" Yoku teased, "Maybe if he would have been quicker, Dire and Tsuka would still be alive."

Dabi tried to contain his rage. If he showed any type of sympathy or offense for The #1, the league would definitely view him as disloyal to his own beliefs. "You think I talk to that bastard on a regular basis or something? It's not my job to tell him to be a sorry ass hero."

"He's actually the reason why we got away..." Compress added, getting a surprised reaction from the group. "Dire did warg him, but I remember he mentioned to me once that the hold he has on people isn't that strong. So it was strange that Endeavor showed no signs of fighting him off."

"What did Dire do?" Dabi asked.

"He used Endeavor's flames to kill everyone who was trying to harm the girl." Compress continued to explain, "We all got away. Even the UA students."

Dabi felt his body stiffen, "Shouto?"

"No, it was the bird kid from the camp and two other kids." Toga answered, "I didn't see your brother anywhere."