𝘛𝘙𝘜𝘚𝘛 •𝐭. 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐲𝐚•

XI

"I thought we were getting a hotel. You really wanna test the boss man's nerves, huh darling?" (Y/n) shook their head at his remark, holding the door for Touya and taking their shoes off.

"Nope. You figured it out before, y'know. It's merely a tactic to get what I want." He raised his eyebrows.

"Well you fucked around with the wrong guy then. I'm not backing down that easily." (Y/n) hummed, letting a small chuckle escape their throat.

"That's a shame then. I'll just have to kill you once I'm done with you." Touya scoffed, not falling for their confident facade.

"Yeah right. As if you weren't planning on doing that already. Plus, you said it yourself, you don't want me to leave you. That's your worst nightmare. How could you kill the man you so desperately clung to? I have the upperhand. I can leave you in the dust at any moment and forget any of this ever happened. Do you really want that?" (Y/n) remained silent, their gaze trained on the floor. "Answer me, slut." Their eyes shut tightly as their hands began to shake. Touya scowled and gripped their jaw, harshly pointing their face upwards to face him. "Look at me," he demanded. Their eyes remained closed, but a tear managed to slip between their eyelids. "Look at me goddammit. I'm the guy with the gun." (Y/n)'s heart skipped a beat at the reminder of him being armed, and they lightly gasped when the cold barrel was pressed against their neck. "Is that what you want?"

"No..." they muttered, their throat dry. Touya smirked.

"Then I suggest you stop acting as though you're the one who gives orders around here. We are villains working together. You have no authority here, rookie." (Y/n) scoffed, finally opening their eyes to look into Touya's.

"Says you. You're not the boss either, and you make more mistakes than I do. But fine. I'll play your game your way for now. But you bet your ass that as soon as Keigo comes flying in, I'm killing both of you. It's true that I don't want you to leave, but that's only on your own terms. If I want to, I can and will sever your limbs and shred whatever's left of your skin into powder." Touya's smirk only grew wider.

"There's the feisty bastard I know. Always lying about how much you truly care about something. Y'know, I think you were lying back there about not giving a shit about me. I think that, if it came down to it, you'd take a bullet to the head for me. And if I died, or if you did end up killing me, you would kill yourself right after. You have no purpose for living. Why are you still alive anyway? For vengeance? What the hell are you gonna do once he's dead, die yourself?" (Y/n)'s lips curved down into a frown, and they pushed Touya's hand and gun away from them, taking a step back.

"I haven't really thought that far ahead yet."

"Of course you haven't. That's real typical of you."

"Fuck! Listen!" Their fists clenched as they glared at Touya. "This is way farther than I thought I was going to get. I thought you were gonna kill me after you dragged me out of that bar. Hell, I was kinda planning on it! The rest of this has just been hella lucky improv!" They paused to take a couple sharp breaths, their hands relaxing again and their gaze dropping to the floor. "I've just... I've come too far to back down now. The only thing I've ever wanted in life was to see him die. I was fully prepared to die in the process." The room was deathly silent for a few minutes.

"I think you need a better reason for living." (Y/n) rolled their eyes.

"I'm fully fucking aware, thank you. But I just... I can't find any other goal that I'd be willing to throw my life away to chase after." Touya thought for a moment.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" (Y/n) looked at him in surprise at his tone. "For fuck's sake... You're Karma!! You're known to punish those who deserve it. That's what you do. That's your goal." They shrugged, looking back to the floor.

"I dunno... That's a really broad, open-ended goal," they pointed out.

"Then... Do something to change this society. Do what I do. Make statements until the system is no longer corrupt, no matter how many lives have to be lost in the process." They chuckled nervously.

"And that's too big of a goal. I can't do that all by myself."

"Who said you'd be by yourself?" Another voice chimed in. The two turned their heads to the kitchen, where Shigaraki was standing. "What? Am I wrong? That's what the League is. Yeah, we wanna kill All Might and watch society crumble, but why do we want that? So that we can reshape society. It's not just you, and it's not just the League," he explained. Touya nodded, looking to (Y/n) again.

"He's right." They nodded, deep in thought.

"Yeah... I suppose that is right..."

"So?" (Y/n) thought for another few minutes, a small smile creeping onto their features.

"What do you mean, 'so?' I'm already a part of the League, am I not?" Touya and Shigaraki exchanged a quick glance, shrugging their shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So, you're not gonna kill me anymore?"

"I didn't say that." Touya frowned, narrowing his eyes at them. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I'm not gonna kill you. You've grown on me a little too much. Now, can I get a damn cigarette? This whole interaction is making me stressed as fuck." Touya laughed it off, glancing back to Shigaraki, who pulled his lip up in disgust.

"Yeah, no. You two lovebirds can go fuck on the roof with your nasty cancer sticks. I just replaced that shit though, so don't cause too much damage. And be quiet, for fuck's sake," he said, walking upstairs to retreat to his room.

"Uh-huh, thanks for the reminder, bitchass," (Y/n) spat, rolling their eyes and following him up the stairs, but taking the ladder to the roof. Touya followed after them. Once the two were sitting on the roof, Touya retrieved a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handing it to (Y/n). They took a cigarette from the box, holding it out for Touya to light for them, which he did with his pinkie. They handed the box back to him, and he took one for himself.

"I don't get it," Touya spoke quietly. (Y/n) let out a quiet sigh.

"You aren't supposed to." He gave them a sharp side glare before his gaze returned to the bustling city in the distance. It was nearly ten o'clock at night, but the busy streets of Musutafu never saw rest. Streetlights illuminated sidewalks while headlights scattered highways. Trees swayed and created joyous tunes as the cold winds surrounded their frail branches. The quiet pitter-patter of raindrops against the rooftop reminded the two of the incoming storm. Umbrellas began to flood the streets as the crowds slowly dispersed. "The city's beautiful from up here."

"You hoped that I wasn't a villain, but wouldn't you have already known that I was a villain since you recognized me as Dabi?" (Y/n) inhaled a bit too sharply, coughing out the smoke into the chilly nighttime air.

"Well... I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that..." They chuckled quietly, clearing their throat and taking another puff of their cigarette before continuing. "I didn't want to believe it. Keigo had found a link between Touya Todoroki and the villain Dabi. I got as good of a description of the villain Dabi as I possibly could. When I saw you last night... I saw Touya first. I wanted to ignore all the signs showing that you were Dabi too... I didn't want to believe that you had fallen victim to the same thing I had." Touya shook his head.

"You fell victim to manipulation. I fell victim to suicide."

"Damn. That's deep," (Y/n) said after a moment of silence. They weren't quite sure how to respond.

"For you, villainy was a pure accident. Villainy was my escape. I was saved. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm alive for a reason."

"Yeah? What's that?" Touya scoffed.

"Isn't it obvious? To un-fuck this fucked up world. Touya died of pity and fear. I was born of spite and revenge. I suggest you find a similar meaning. Living for vengeance isn't as fun as it sounds. I'm sure you've already realized that by now, though." After his short speech, he stood from his spot and began to climb down the ladder.

"I already told you, Dabi. I've come too far now to turn back. I can't just give up on this." He nodded.

"Then don't give up. Reach your goal. Reach your goal and live, (Y/n). Live the life he stole from you. Live your life... with me at your side..."

Word count: 1544