𝘛𝘙𝘜𝘚𝘛 •𝐭. 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐲𝐚•

Prologue

It was a busy Saturday night, around nine o'clock, at the well-known tavern in the middle of the city. Sitting down at the bar, the tall, dark, mysterious man that all of the bartenders had been ogling over all night motioned for one of them to come over to him. Their coworkers immediately prodded them along, jealous that they had been chosen among all the others, but supportive of their friend. The man wore a white shirt and blue jeans with an expensive-looking leather jacket hiding his arms from view. His face and neck were covered with purple skin grafts. His bright blue eyes had been observing the tavern for nearly an hour while he stood by the door for the majority of the time. He had eyed up every bartender multiple times, and they were beginning to place bets on who he would ask out. Hesitantly, the bartender he had selected approached the man with a smile.

"Hey! What can I get ya?" They asked. He watched them carefully, his eyes traveling around their face.

"I'll take a shot of your smoothest tequila," he stated, sliding a 2000 yen note across the table. "Keep the change." The bartender nodded with a wide smile.

"Thank you very much sir! I'll get that right out for ya: smoothest tequila we got..." They took the note and put it into the register, pulling out change and pocketing it. They then turned to the wall of liquor, filing through the different bottles before finding one and pulling it off of its stand. They grabbed a shot glass and filled it with the tequila, putting the bottle back and returning to the man sitting on the barstool. "Here you are!" He thanked them and swiftly took the shot, his face contorting only a little bit at the strong alcohol content. He gently placed the glass back on the counter and nodded.

"Now that's what I call tequila. You know your drinks well, I see." The bartender laughed, leaning against the table with their arms folded in front of them.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm a bartender!" The man laughed as well.

"Well there's a lot of bartenders out there who really don't know anything about the craft of their trade. You can say the same thing about other occupations too. It's a sad society we live in," he explained, staring off at the crowd of people seated at tables eating and drinking and watching football.

"Tell me about it," the bartender said with a scoff, studying his features. "Y'know, all the others I'm working with have been eyeing you up all night. It's only fair that I ask you if you're single for them." He looked back to them, making direct eye contact for a moment before a smirk broke across his face.

"Not interested in relationships. But a little bold to go right to the point. You haven't even asked for my name, darling," he pointed out. The bartender's face flushed out of embarrassment.

"Right, sorry; my bad. What's your name?"

"I go by Dabi around here. How about you?" They chuckled at his response.

"Alright, 'Dabi.' If we're just going by codenames here, then you can call me Karma." The two stared at one another for a moment or two. "Anyway, could I interest you in another drink?"

"Only if you'll have one with me." The bartender smirked and raised their eyebrows.

"Not interested in dating, huh? I'll buy you another shot of tequila, then. I'm working overtime anyway," they said, taking the empty shot glass and walking back to the wall of liquor. They grabbed the same bottle from the wall and another shot glass, pouring the liquor into each glass. They put the bottle back and put a few notes into the register, letting one of their friends know they were done their shift. Finally, they took the glasses to the bar table and set them down before they walked around to sit on the opposite side. While they were walking around, Dabi slipped a small vial from his coat pocket, dropping a couple droplets of the liquid into the shot glass to his right. He quickly pocketed the vial once again, turning to watch as the bartender approached him and sat beside him.

"I'm not interested in dating, no. I'm just interested in you." They laughed, taking the glass in front of them and raising it to their lips.

"That's a first." And with that, they downed the tequila in one gulp, their face twisting as they placed the glass back down. "Yep, smoothest tequila in Japan." Dabi laughed and took his shot too, turning to the bartender.

"So, your coworkers are into me?" They nodded.

"Yeah. They keep saying you're the 'tall, dark, handsome and mysterious guy' that they've only seen in their dreams." He laughed at their response.

"What do you think?"

"Meh, not bad. Not really my type, no offense. But hey, if you're seriously interested, I could hook you up with my best friend. She is way better than me, trust me. Totally out of my league."

"I told you, I'm not interested in dating. I just want to talk to you," Dabi reiterated.

"Kinda weird dude, but alright. Whatcha wanna talk about?" He smiled.

"I think you know what I want to talk about." They nodded slowly.

"Heroes?" He replied with a nod. "Aha, that's what that comment was earlier. You were wondering what my thoughts were on heroes. Well, I think that some of them are alright. They help who they can when they can, and some are just in it for the politics or the money or the title. Some of them are kinda shitty, not gonna lie," they explained. Dabi cracked a small smile.

"That's what I like to hear. Can I show you something outside?" The bartender hesitated, but nodded. They stood up, nearly falling over, but Dabi caught them in time. They chuckled and shook their head, allowing Dabi to help direct them outside. When the two were alone in a small alleyway, they sat down on the ground.

"Y'know... I really wanted to believe you weren't a villain... You seemed too safe to be a villain..." Dabi stared at them in confusion, raising his eyebrows.

"What part of me seems safe? What part of me looks anything less than threatening and villainous?" He asked. They smiled.

"Your eyes..." Dabi shook his head.

"Whatever. You're a villain too, yes?" They slowly nodded, slowly beginning to lose consciousness. "Perfect. What's your name, love?" They hesitated before whispering one word.

"(Y/n)..." They slowly fell onto their side, eyes closed and breathing slow. Dabi shook his head and leaned over, picking up their unconscious body. He threw them over his shoulder, holding their legs in place against his chest. He walked to his pickup behind the building, laying them down in the back and putting the bed cover over them.

Since they had mentioned their name being Karma and the way they reacted with the topic of society being brought up, Dabi knew who this was. Karma wasn't a very well known villain, but a villain nonetheless. And he knew about them. In fact, he looked up to them in a way.

And now here they were, unconscious in the back of his truck. He had them in his grasp, literally. He had the upper hand over them. He was in control of them. And he wasn't ready to let that control go.

Word count: 1096