strangled

²⁹only a meaningless charade

The bar is silent as Dabi walks inside.

It's only eight a.m. The burned villain can't help but be confused at the lack of people in the room. Shigaraki is the only one, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. Because he doesn't taunt Dabi as soon as he walks through the entrance, Dabi assumes that the man is lost in thought. The far away look in his piercing red eyes proves the guess to be accurate.

"What's going on?" Dabi asks while stalking towards the counter to get a drink. Once he reaches the cooler, he begins to search for the biggest bottle of alcohol he can find. He doesn't ask Shigaraki the next question until he's gulped down most of the liquid.

"Where is everyone?"

"They're all just getting ready for something tonight." Shigaraki shrugs, the faraway look in his eyes disappearing in a mere second.

"Well if it's a mission you've got planned then I'm not going. I've been going all over Japan for the past few hours looking for her. What if she's trying to leave us? I don't know why she ran away but I swear when I see her I'll—"

Tomura rolls his eyes. "She came to the base earlier today, Dabi. She's not trying to run away from us."

Blue eyes widen in surprise before Dabi grits his teeth. Cuspids grind against each other as the burnt villain stomps toward the exit. Puffs of smoke can be seen fuming from the flesh of his wrists.

"So she can meet with you and everyone else but ignores my calls and messages?"

Shigaraki's next few words make Dabi stop walking:

"Before you get mad and disappear for a whole day again, (f/n) is not trying to leave anybody. All she did was ignore you for a little bit. Are you some kind of attention whore? Stop throwing a temper tantrum because of something so stupid. If you actually have a silly crush on her then you should be more worried about the fact that she might die soon."

Sweltering blue flames dance around Dabi's knuckles. His eyes darken till they're nearly pitch black. Storming towards Shigaraki, he grabs him by the collar of his shirt and yanks him closer, glaring into his eyes. This is a risky move. Dabi knows that Shigaraki might kill him for this, but hearing that you might die made his head fog up to the point where he couldn't think about anything other than that possibility looming in his head.

Dabi growls, his words come out low like a threat, "What. Did. You. Do."

Shigaraki smirks behind the hand on his face. "I should have (f/n) leave the League. Ever since she joined you have been getting too bold."

"Answer my question..." Dabi's hands heat up. "...before I burn you alive right here."

"I did nothing. Stop touching me, dirty bitch." Shigaraki yanks himself out of Dabi's grasp. "Your little girlfriend came up with some stupid plan to break into Tartarus tonight. She wants to go alone so that nobody else risks getting hurt trying to help her. Knowing how the hero commission fears her, they might take the opportunity to get rid of her right now before she can unlock her true power."

Dabi's hands stop burning. Though he has his usual uninterested demeanor, there is just a bit of worry in his eyes. "What time tonight?"

"Midnight." Shigaraki rolls his eyes and sits down on the couch before continuing,

"Don't worry though. Most of the villains are preparing to break into Tartarus tonight as well."