Trust Falls

I loved her first

"Do you mind? I'd like to have a conversation." The former league member drawled.

Shouta scowled at him and pulled his capture weapon tighter, taking a little bit of satisfaction from the groan that came from the scarred man as he did so.

"I'd like to know how you found me." Shouta growled, tugging on the weapon again as he stalked forward.

Despite Izuku's wishes, the animosity Shouta felt deep in his bones for the fire-quirked man in front of him was not going to just disappear. Not when the phantom panic and horror of the training camp still lingered in his chest whenever he saw the man's face. Dabi had purposely made himself the face of that attack and the effect lingered long past the actual event.

The scarred man wheezed a little as the weapon constricted around him. Blue eyes shot him a dirty look before the man sank to the ground, crossing his legs as the fabric tightened around his upper half and restricted his movement even further. It was obviously a ploy to seem unthreatening. For some reason.

"Izuku." He said, rolling his eyes as the thunderous look on Shouta's face darkened. " He's had your patrol patterns memorized for years. He used to be a big hero fanboy."

Shouta rolled that information over in his head as he stood over the villain. The kid had told them that at one point he used to watch villain fights and wanted to be a hero. It would stand to reason that he'd look up to one of the few heroes around that fought quirkless considering his own goals.

How exactly the kid had found out enough information about him to predict his patrolling patterns was a little disconcerting. Especially considering the circles he and the villain in front of him ran in. That was certainly a serious conversation he was going to have to have with Izuku when he got home tonight.

"What do you want, Dabi? I can, and should, still arrest you for the training camp." Shouta ground out, watching the man twitch a little at the reminder.

Something nagged at the back of his mind. Something off about the way the man was behaving now versus that night at the training camp.

In the few minutes he'd been wrapped up, not once had the villain attempted to escape his hold or burn the fabric holding him in place. There had not even been a hint of his quirk. Which could be chalked up to knowing what Shouta was capable of but that didn't seem like the right assumption. The twitch was mostly in his face, lips down turning before his expression wiped clean and was a blank mask of indifference again.

"I have something to pass along to Izuku. I figured it'd be easiest to give it to you since he's, you know, living with you." The man rolled his eyes for effect but now that Shouta was watching him he could see the way his shoulders were tense and his posture deliberate.

He had a ton of puzzle pieces but he was not particularly a fan of the picture they were forming at the moment. Taking a deep breath he flicked his wrist and unwound the capture weapon from around the younger man and took a step back, still wary of an attack from the scarred man.

Said man pushed himself back up onto his feet before turning his attention back to Shouta. In his right hand, he clutched a large piece of black fabric. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before he tossed it underhand to the older man. Shouta kept his eyes on the villain for a moment longer before turning his gaze down to the fabric in his hand.

A hoodie.

A large, black, hoodie that was very similar to the one his son had insisted on wearing since the day he'd met him. The one that he'd looked absolutely gutted over being destroyed in whatever had gone down inside of the league's former hideout.

Dark eyes met blue, the younger not backing down from whatever image was being painted in the man's mind.

"It was yours." Shouta's voice was accusing as his hand closed around the fabric tightly. "Exactly what are your intentions with this? He is a child, as I'm sure you are very well aware."

Dabi's lip curled a little, as did his fists at his sides. Still no sign of his quirk, though, which made something twist in Shouta's stomach uncomfortably.

"My intentions aren't what you're twisting them to be." The younger man spat, seeming to restrain himself for a moment with a breath before continuing. "The sleeves give him something to fiddle with when he's anxious. And a place to hide his knives. I know the last one was pretty much ruined and I didn't want him to spiral."

Shouta blinked, a little taken aback by the intensity of the other's words and how quickly they were coming now. It almost, almost, reminded him of Izuku when he was nervous.