Being a Hero is just a Side Job (Shinsou x OC)

They Know

"Uh." It was her father who told her it was normal, and it was her mother who told her not to worry about it. "What difference does it make if I eat more? Apart from the obvious money consumption."

Recovery girl whacked Spinel over the head enough to hurt but not enough to leave a bump. "Silly girl. First off, your quirk will be considerably stronger." Recovery girl paused contemplating if she should add the second part in. "I know you don't like the appearance of your quirk; I've heard that much. But perhaps if you were to feed yourself it wouldn't look so scary."

Spinel froze. "What? You mean to say, the rows of scary, pointy serrated teeth are just because my quirk is hungry?"

Recovery girl nodded. "Just because you are hungry. If my hypothesis is correct, if you were to eat your fill, your quirk would have something akin to retractable teeth or perhaps fewer unsettling teeth." Recovery girl handed Spinel a handful of gummy bears. "Go find yourself something to eat and get some rest. You won't be returning to class."

Spinel nodded numbly, in thought. "Thank you." Walking back to her dorm she had a lot to think about. She was considerably calmer now that she had gotten over her initial shock. Her parents were coming to Musutafu, to UA to bring her back to that house. Spinel pursed her lips as she entered the building. I think there was one more pop tart in here somewhere. She looked around the kitchen not finding anything then sighed as she picked up an apple. It would have to do. She munched on the apple as she entered her room then locked the door behind her. Before anything she needed to call Dabi.

It took but a single ring before her call connected. "Hello, Firecracker?"

"Yeah, What's up?" Dabi grumbled sounding half asleep.

"Hangover?"

"Yeah"

Spinel shifted slightly on her bed as she examined 'George the dinosaur'. "Do you want me to call at a different time or..."

"Tell me now" Dabi interrupted her with another grumble.

Spinel licked her lips hesitating just slightly. "M-my parents know where I am and who I am."

There was abrupt rustling on the other end of the phone. "What?!"

Spinel assumed that was Dabi just getting out of bed a little too fast if his quiet hiss was any indication. "Yeah. Yoyei, er- Shindou gave me a heads up. Apparently, there was another person from our street who saw us and overheard. So, um."

"Your parents are coming to Musutafu" Dabi finished for her. He was worried. If what this Shindou guy told her was accurate, her parents would be here in a few days and they would be making their way right to the gates of UA, legal papers in hand. What was he to do? He was already halfway through his plan to leave the league but now he needed to try to stop her parents from meeting his baby sister. "Do you have a plan?"

Spinel was silent for a brief moment. "No" She sighed. Now that she was calmer, she could think through all the possible options. Except there really wasn't any. If they found her, they would and could completely legally take her back. She was a minor with a fake ID -though to be honest Spinel was starting to think that it might just be real, considering no one had caught on yet. Looking back on it now, Dabi's ID is pretty legit too. He was listed as Rosenthal Yatou in the system, her older brother in his early twenties. But no matter how legit the IDs, hell, even if the IDs were real, they wouldn't be enough to stand up to the obvious proof that her parents could bring out.

Dabi sighed from the other side of the line, he knew his baby sister had started over thinking things again. "Munchkin, come back down to earth."

Spinel snapped out of it. "O-oh sorry I was thinking"

"Yeah, I know"

Spinel finished off her apple entirely, core, seeds and all. She never really had any trouble eating anything thanks to her quirk. Honestly, she could probably eat a hunk of metal and still be ok. It would just taste gross. "Firecracker. I don't know what to do" She whimpered. Spinel was out of ideas and had no idea what the plan was. Would she go into hiding? Would she quit UA? Just give up on being a hero altogether? I supposed vigilantism is another option, but that doesn't pay the bills. So, I'll probably become a broker like Giran if anything. Spinel mulled option over option in her head. For just a split second she considered talking to them but immediately brushed that idea to the side. Her parents wouldn't listen. They never did.

"We can think of something tomorrow, ok? For now, just take time to process this all. Sound good to you?" Dabi offered, once again pulling Spinel out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Yeah. Sounds good." There was a pause. "Sorry..."

"What? What for?" Dabi asked, confused.

"For involving you in all this" Spinel whimpered. "I- All I've done is bring you trouble"

Dabi sighed. "Munchkin." He said softly. "It's fine. You are my baby sister. It's my job to help you and be involved in all your trouble." He heard sniffling from the other side of the phone.

"Touya, I'm so scared." Her voice was so small, so fragile as she felt her walls crumbling. She had so much to lose. She didn't know what to do. No matter how much she clawed at her brain for ideas she couldn't think of a single one.

"Hey, it's ok. It'll be ok Spinel." Dabi hushed softly in response. He didn't know what to do either. Murder was always an option, but he was certain she wouldn't appreciate that. "We'll think of something. Alright?"

Spinel nodded, as she curled up on her bed hugging her stuffed unicorn. "Ok." She replied halfheartedly. She didn't know when her parents would arrive nor how everything would go down. But she knew for a fact that they would try drag her back using whatever method they deemed necessary.

The pair said their goodbyes and ended the call.

--------

Dabi sighed and pressed his head with his fingers. His headache was killing him. After hearing the news, he would need to speed up his progress on leaving the league so he could focus on his baby sister's crazy parents coming to visit.

He got off bed to take a cold shower, he needed to be up and ready for the day. At first, he thought slowly disappearing from the league would be easier but since this whole mess came up then he decided just to fuck it and say it directly. He took some painkillers and had one more look in the mirror before he left. He knew things would end in a fight and he needed to be ready. That and looking as good as a zombie like him could get was always nice.

The new hideout was a bit of a walk from where he lived, and it wasn't as cozy nor clean as the bar was. Once Dabi reached his destination he took a while to admire the dilapidated building, something that he didn't do often. It was an abandoned theater and he was willing to bet the reason why the business failed was because of the location. It was smack dab in the center of the seediest parts of Musutafu.

The once white walls were now a yellowish cream color, faded by the years in the sun. The red accent colors along the large pillars chipped off in flecks. He didn't know how long the theater was abandoned, what he did know was the inside was considerably better than the outside. Every entrance and window was boarded up with rusty nails and rotting wood, Dabi shimmied in through a side entrance that left just enough space for someone of his stature to squeeze into the theater hall.

The theater stage, that was perhaps previously a gateway to plays, dance and song lay empty. Everything that made humanity great, dared to surface, be it told in vulnerable cries of emotion or harlequin feathers. Though now there were no blinding lights, no cheering audience and heart wrenching scripts, there was only the smell of dust and mildew as age took its toll.

Dabi ascended to the second floor, the theater's white bricks illuminated by the streams of light through the wood boards. The theater is a place to drag emotions out in the open, to let them take center stage and walk in the spotlight. Though empty for years, the theater now had a new set of stage actors. The curtains rose as the patchwork man strolled in.

"Yo, Shiggy. I'm quitting."