Little Miss Aizawa | Dadzawa [BOOK 2]

Chapter 17 - Anything? Anything.

WARNINGS: choking

"That's it?" Neito sounded astonished as the four of them craned their necks around the corner like something out of a cartoon.

"It's always the unassuming ones." Dabi hissed back, already regretting his decision to tag along with a gaggle of children. Heroes in training or not, they were noisy and got underfoot. It was like dealing with three Togas in one go, when even just one was too many. 

"'Cause you would know?" Midoriya muttered. Dabi even couldn't find it in him to be pissed, not with the guy saying it with such unfiltered curiosity and a look of wonder in his eyes. He briefly wondered if the green kid even remembered he was a Villain. 

"Lesson one of the real world, brats." Dabi pulled all three of them back around the corner. He was close enough to the smell one of their shampoos, hear the slightly ragged breathing on the black haired one, and the hint of fear in the blond's eyes. "Never trust the unknown. Nothing is ever guaranteed, so get your heads out your asses before you fuck up for real."

"Words of wisdom." Neito deadpanned. "Consider me inspired." 

"I should have come alone." Dabi grumbled to himself as he turned away. How Eraserhead and Present Mic handled this attitude for years was a mystery to him. He can only tolerate Shiggy for so many hours before the grating attitude brought out the peeved side of him. It resulted in a scorched table last time, followed by a lecture from Kurogiri about respecting the furniture. 

"Suck it up. We're not thrilled you're here either." Hanta bit back. 

"Gee, what a way to make a fella feel loved." 

"The only thing I'm loving about you is that coat." 

Dabi whipped around to stare at the blond sceptically. "It's ripped in, like, five different places."

Neito just shrugged. "Retro."

"Shut up." Hanta pressed a hand over both their mouths, internally grimacing as he felt Dabi's staples pressing into his hand. "Look." All four of them peered around the corner again, watching in silence as a hooded figure unlocked the door to the apartment above the corner shop. They glanced left and right before stepping across the threshold and shutting the door after them.

"Well, there we have it." Midoriya murmured, eyes lingering over the closed door for a moment.

"We should go." Hanta slipped the metal earpiece from his pocket and put it on, his eyes closing as the mask expanded over his face. Dabi watched on with a quirked eyebrow. Hanta's eyes narrowed. They had made an agreement before they left: if Dabi kept their identities as the vigilantes a secret, not a word about the League of Villains' base would be uttered the the Hero agencies. The Villain had shook it on, but the look on his face made Hanta feel uneasy. "We have a deal." He reminded him.

Dabi held his hands up, nodding. "Of course. I've kept my real name quiet long enough. Another few won't hurt." 

Just before they stepped out into the daylight, Neito's hand grazed across the back of Dabi's neck. 

"Oi!" The villain craned his neck around, glaring up at the boy from his spot on the ground. "The hell?" Neito looked down at him, then raised his hand. With a snap of his fingers, a blue flame sparked between his thumb and forefinger, the glow being reflected in the visor of his mask. Dabi's frown deepened. "Does that not burn you?"

"A bit." He waved his hand, putting the fire out. "I got ten minutes starting now." 

"Then let's go." Midoriya sprinted out into the street, diving across the road in a blur of green flashes and crosses until he stopped in the shadow of the building opposite. Hanta followed directly after him, propelling himself through the air to land beside Midoriya. They looked back to Neito and Dabi, waiting for them to follow.