MHA- Dabi's Second Chance

8- Big Brother Instinct

[2021 October 6th, Hospital]

Though Dabi kept telling Hawks he was fine, Hawks still brought him to the hospital. Dabi got tested and they didn't find any deep wounds, just a few scratches made from the nomu's claws. 

"See, I told you; I'm fine." Dabi complained. "A few scratches could've been worsened if we didn't come here. And don't talk to me like that, I'm older." 

"You're only one month older though." Dabi said. 

"How did you know that?"

"Research." he said while looking away.

"Stalker." 

"I'm not-" Dabi turned to Hawks. The two's faces were close. Really close. (A/N I mean like a nearly-touching kind of close) Hawks turned away and tried to change the subject. 

"Umm... I'm still a year older though." "But still a month.""Hmph." Dabi wanted to laugh when Hawks did that face.

Dabi started looking around the hospital.

The white hallways might seem pure and calming to some. But it felt nothing like pure to Dabi. The white interior was to know if something was dirty. In other words, to show the imperfections. It was for the cleanliness of the hospital. What happened with the dirty things on the walls? They were erased. To not be shown again. To only show the good parts. It reminded the villain of how the commission would handle things. Erase mistakes, keep the perfect ones. An example of that was Touya and Keigo. Touya was a mistake, so they erased him. Keigo was a perfect image for the Hero Commission, so they kept him.

"Hey Dabi, I need to visit someone for awhile so would you mind just being here?" Hawks asked. "Yeah. I'll be walking around or something." Dabi answered. "Alright. But don't leave the building, ok?" "I won't"

The villain walked along the halls. The halls reminded him of Dorushi School.

"Get away from me... please!" he could hear a little girl cry. 'What the.'

The girl had light blue hair like Shigaraki's and eyes that reminded him of Midoriya. Kind looking eyes. She seemed to be afraid of the nurses. Or was she afraid of hurting them? Dabi went inside the room. He stood a few steps away from the kid, watching her. Beside her bed was a fruit basket. He wondered who put it there. Probably the nurses.

The nurses spoke in a soft tone, "Alright, I won't get closer. But you have to eat your food okay?" "Okay..." the kid was still trembling.

Soon, the nurses left the room. Leaving her staring at the villain with purple scars all over his body. Dabi spoke, "Why are you so scared? Is something wrong?" the little girl shook her head. "No..."

"Is it a secret?" Dabi spoke. It had been a while since he talked with a soft voice. He really did get soft with kids, huh? Guess Keigo was right...

"Mhm." she stopped shivering. Dabi walked over to her, "Is it alright for me to be here?" "Umm... that much is fine." Dabi took another step, "How about here?" "It's fine..."

Dabi took a chair and sat next to her bed, a few steps away. "Could you tell me your name?"

"Eri..." the girl answered. "That's a pretty name. My name's... my name's Dabi." It still felt weird to call himself Dabi, not Touya.

"You... also have a nice name." Eri said while pulling her cheek with her hands, was she trying to smile?

"Can I come a bit closer?" Dabi asked. "Only a bit closer. If you get too close, I might hurt you." the girl, Eri, touched her horn, "My quirk, it's called rewind... it can turn things to how they were. It could ki-, it could hurt you."

Dabi put a hand on her bed. Eri stared at his hand. "Here, you can try holding it." "But-" "Don't worry. I won't get hurt."

Eri slowly touched his hand. She then grabbed his hand, grabbing onto it. Her mouth shaped an O shape as she said, "Your hand is so warm! It's like... hot soup!"

"You like hot soup?" Her eyes twinkled, "Mhm. I like warm food. But, I also like apples."

Dabi turned around and looked at the fruit basket. In there was a red apple. "You want one?"

"Mhm" she waited for him to give it to her. He grabbed a knife near the basket. Eri flinched. "You don't like knives?"

"They're scary..." Eri clenched her fists. Dabi took the knife and slowly peeled the apple. He then cut the apple and gave a piece to Eri. She took the apple. She nibbled on it. "I know knives are scary but if you use them right, you can use it to cut these sweet apples and eat them. Isn't that cool?"

She was still afraid of the knife but it somehow seemed safer now. Would Dabi know who... "Sir Dabi?" "Hm?" "Do you... perhaps know someone with... really warm arms?" "Um... do you know what the person looks like?"

"He has green eyes and green hair, or was it blue? He wears a really cool costume and he's the one who saved me. He's... kind." even with such vague hints, he knew exactly who she was talking about.

"I think I know. His name is Izuku Midoriya. But if you meet him, you can call him Deku." this must've been the girl that the heroes went to save. But that would mean... she had something to do with Shie Hassaikai. What could she-

"Hey Dabi! I've been looking for you. Come on." Hawks said while giving a small smile.

He quickly cut the apple and gave it to Eri.

"Before you leave, Sir Dabi, could you show me how to smile?" "Um... my friend there could-"

Eri looked down, "I wanted you to..." Dabi sighed, he really was weak with kids. He thought of happy thoughts... happy thoughts... the class forcing him to do ridiculous things... Aizawa teaching him...Keigo...Hawks smiling at him...

Dabi smiled. It felt weird using muscles he would never use much. But he wanted to show this kid... Eri, a smile. A real smile. His eyes softened, his mouth widened, showing his teeth. Eri tried to smile like he was showing her, but couldn't. 

"You don't have to force yourself. A smile will be put on your face when you're happy. I'm sure that day will come soon for you to smile." Eri looked up at the guy in front of her. Dabi's hand came closer to her. She flinched, but didn't feel any pain. He left after giving her a head pat. 

At that moment, no one saw a villain and the reason for the death of many heroes. All they could see was Dabi and Eri. Two victims of the hero society sitting next to each other.

Dabi got up and went towards Hawks. Something felt weird. Big brother instinct, he guessed. Hawks stared at the villain. Did he see Dabi's smile? Hawks just left the building.

After that day, Dabi and Hawks would visit the hospital frequently. Dabi playing with Eri while Hawks went to meet Sir Nighteye. Dabi would do her hair, give her apples, tell her stories of the outside world, etc. It was like meeting his younger self. A lot of love to give but no one to love, and no one to be loved by. He wanted Eri's life to be different. He wanted the girl to live a life where she could love people that loved her. Midoriya would be that person. Heroes might not be late this time. Was this also big brother instinct? Probably.