Build Me a Funeral Pyre

All for Nothing

Dabi hates using the warp gates. No matter how brief, it leaves him with a spinning head and a churning stomach. His hold against the back of Bakugou's neck tightens for a moment before he has to remind himself not to break the poor kid's neck. Loosening his hold, he breathes out a sigh when the both of them arrive at the villain hideout.

He sees the remaining members of his Vanguard Action Squad first. Mentally taking count of who's left. It seems Spinner and Magne safely made it back as well as the other three that had been with him when Midoriya and his ilk came hurtling down from the sky like a falling star. Seeing that Muscular, Mustard and Moonfish are not here- he can only surmise that they've been apprehended. What a shame. Curiously enough, he sees that his nomu isn't here either though he's seen it step through one of the gates. It leaves Dabi wondering where it went and how many more of it are out there, hunkered down somewhere in the seediest parts of the city- sleeping and awaiting orders to wreck more havoc.

Dabi's squad parts out of his way and perched on his usual bar stool is Shigaraki, watching Dabi and Bakugou. Through his hand, red eyes gleam with pride.

"Good job everyone," Shigaraki starts- not standing up from his place at the bar. "Dabi, please let go of Bakugou." Dabi raises an eyebrow, glancing down at the fuming blond before back at Shigaraki.

"You sure 'bout that? This one's a punk." Shigaraki says nothing and Dabi sighs, letting go of Bakugou and immediately ducking out of the way as Bakugou whips around with explosions going off. They make Dabi's ears ring and he clenches his jaw. No wonder why the kid is always yelling, he thinks as he sidesteps another one of Bakugou's attacks, probably can't hear worth a shit through all of those crackling explosions.

Dabi gives Bakugou credit though, he's tenacious- but not quite fast enough to catch Dabi off guard. He had trained for ten years under the number two hero, an extra loud kid with the temper of a stick of dynamite's fuse is nothing more than an annoying bug to him.

Through Bakugou's persistence, Dabi's patience is wearing thin and smoke begins to seep from between his stitching- ready to give the kid a piece of his mind when a gate opens up and Bakugou falls through it and next to Mister Compress. With a well practiced flick of his wrist, Bakugou becomes entrapped within another marble prison and Shigaraki tells Spinner and Twice to get some restraints.

Dabi watches as Mister Compress tosses the marble up and catching it, tossing it and then catching it. He wonders if Bakugou can feel that he's being thrown up and down like nothing more than a coin. Just the thought of it makes Dabi sick. Instead of dwelling on that particularly dizzying thought, Dabi makes his way over to Shigaraki and sits down next to him.

"We lost three of our people." Dabi props an elbow against the bar top and Shigaraki glances over at him, his crimson eyes not holding their usual fury and instead, he gives Dabi a softer look.

"I see that. Despite that, we still won in the end."

"Did we?" Shigaraki nods, and snaps his attention to the door as Spinner and Twice burst through with various restraints.

"Yes," he hums, "even if we don't have everyone back- you and your squad had done exactly what I was hoping for."

"And that is?" Dabi motions for a glass and a second later, he throws back his head- the familiar warm sting of alcohol runs down his throat. Spinner and Twice begin setting up a chair to hold Bakugou, their bickering fills the bar and from the sofa- Toga watches them intently, her ochre eyes flickering from either men and her smile grows with each rise of their voice.

"Making the heroes scared and shaking the trust of the public in them. Their prestigious school and its classes have been attacked twice in a short amount of months. That's enough to put cracks in the foundation of the pedestals they built for their so called heroes."