Face Me Like An Idiot

40

Heavy footsteps thumped against the pavement, followed by tired breaths. Whenever a foot landed on a puddle of water, it would splash and alert pursuers of his whereabouts. The rain and thunder attempted to obscure his location, but with someone whose Quirk was to track virtual footsteps, running was practically pointless.

Nevertheless, it never stopped him from trying. He couldn't stop—his heart was beating rapidly, almost drowning out the sound of the rain. The fear that overwhelmed him clenched his heart tightly in its fist, prepared to crush it from its confines. They were after him. They were going to kill him.

He really shouldn't have messed with them.

Suddenly, as he turned the corner, a large barricade of crystalised water filled his vision. Taken aback, he stumbled and fell onto his back. Frost crawled onto the surface of his skin, making him tremble more than he already did.

"Wew, you sure made us run quite a bit…" a dark, ominous voice stated from behind him. He immediately recognised it, and it was enough to make him shudder. Not even All For One could scare him like this. This kind of… fright was on another level.

"D-Decipher…"

"You should have guessed that you would be the first to die," as a sharp pain struck his gut, causing him to cough as he tumbled into an alleyway. Away from prying eyes; from anyone that could beckon the Heroes. He grasped his stomach, a pained hiss escaping his gritted teeth.

"You betrayed me, Dabi."

"Ugh…" Dabi groaned in pain as he looked up from his crouching position. Decipher, who he had initially described as unusually short, towered over him like a sort of divine entity. Fingers gripped his hair and pulled his head up, forcing his eyes to meet his former boss'.

Decipher smirked wickedly, yet Dabi wouldn't be surprised if he was actually grimacing. "Pretentious scum," he uttered, fury in his tone. "I allowed you to roam freely in our ranks, yet you repay me by conjoining with the petty League of Villains…"

"I… was never on your side," despite the fright prickling under his burnt skin, Dabi kept his pride. Commendable, but absolutely foolish. "I was a spy that originated from the League. I was never within your ranks."

To make his situation worse, Dabi… spat on Decipher's face.

"…" The hand that held Dabi's dyed hair trembled—in fact, Decipher's entire body was shaking. With a quivering, agitated voice, he muttered: "You…"

The next moment, Dabi's head was no longer connected to his body. Decipher fumed, his eyes flaring furiously. In his rage, he hadn't even realised that he had killed Dabi. Or… perhaps he merely didn't care.

A shadow was cast over him, and he looked to his side to see Tasei holding an umbrella over his head. "…Took you long enough."

"Sorry, I…"

"Shut up. Get a move on," Decipher… was pissed.

He glanced to the giant icicle on his left, "Good work, Frostbite. But do try to be more punctual next time."

"Yes, Boss…" Shouto looked away in shame, but there was a small twinkle in his eyes from being complimented by him. He jogged up to Decipher and lit a flame on his left hand to warm him up—under the umbrella, where it wouldn't be affected by the rain. He even stood outside the coverage of the umbrella to avoid taking up Decipher's space.

As the months passed by, Shouto had grown more… attached to Izuku. No matter how many times he would kill in front of him, Shouto would always find himself clinging onto him like a puppy. A puppy that had no other purpose but to follow its owner until its dying breath.