Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 23

In my defeated trance, I barely even noticed when Dabi started to stir beside me, and I tried to snap myself out of it. Rethink your life later. Do your job first. I tried to get myself to move, to do literally anything to keep Dabi from waking up, but it was like my body decided to shut down. My hands wouldn't move, but I wasn't sure if it was because of the pain from the burn or just because my body was fighting itself now. By the time my hands started responding to what I wanted, Dabi was already woozily standing up, one hand wiping away blood from one of the many cuts I'd given him, this particular one on his cheek. 

For several seconds, he stared at the blood on his hand, an unreadable expression painted on his face as I did my best to stand up, but my legs shook harder every time I tried to move. Control yourself. This is nothing. Just because you've learned something new about yourself doesn't mean that it changes who you are, the rational voice at the back of my mind told me. It changes everything! You can't go on as if nothing happened, the more emotional one screamed back, and the constant arguing between them made me instinctively grab my head, my fingers intertwining among the long strands of black hair and tugging at them with as much strength I could muster.

This pain was familiar. I've felt this pain before, on so many different occasions. It brought me a strange comfort, almost as if it was releasing the angry thoughts that swirled in my head until I was left with a blank canvas once again. Relieved of the confusion, I made a silent promise to myself to rethink my realization later - I had to deal with Dabi first. For whatever reason, he was just staring at me, hand still covered in his blood, almost as if he was waiting for me to make the first move. Oh, right. I'm valuable to the League. He wouldn't want to hurt me unless he has to. I subconsciously glanced at my charred arm. Yeah, a lot of good that did for me. Still, I managed to get to my feet, ignoring Dabi's raised eyebrow as I swayed slightly where I stood. 

"You okay, princess?" For the first time since I'd met him, he didn't have that cocky undertone in his voice, but then again, my mind was still a mess, and I was probably just imagining it. 

"Oh yes," I retorted, feeling some of the adrenaline from earlier start to return as I rolled my eyes. "Splendid, now that my arm is half burned off."

"Glad to hear that," he smiled, and that overconfidence that had been absent before came back. I hated it, but it somehow brought me a little comfort - the other version of Dabi that had almost seemed genuine scared me even more than the one I'd gotten used to. "Wouldn't want my darling princess to be hurt, now, would I?"

I almost snorted with laughter, but managed to control it, instead starting to circle around Dabi with my knife in hand, this time determined to keep him down. "Did that broken nose already heal?" I grinned, lunging forward with a manic look in my eyes. I couldn't afford to go soft on a villain now, or else I'd end up just like my sister - dead and forgotten. Thinking about her rekindled the rage in my chest, and I forced attack after attack on Dabi until we'd left the center of the street behind, with me pushing him backwards into the wall of a building. He had nowhere to run now.

With his back against the wall, the best Dabi could do was dodge my quickening attacks and try to use his quirk, but the knock on the temple must've been pretty strong, because instead of the usual inferno of blue flames, the best he could conjure were a few pathetic sparks. Starting to realize that he was playing a losing game, Dabi focused on something else, finally responding. "Really, princess, you need to control that temper of yours," he retorted, his mouth still stretched in a smile even though we both knew I'd win this time. "It'd be a shame if I had to hurt your other arm, too. Just give up and join the League already." 

"Bitch, please," I rolled my eyes, lunging forward to drive my blade into his shoulder, but he managed to slip away, and I had to stop myself before the knife slammed into the wall. "You couldn't burn a leaf right now, so stop acting so high and mighty." Dabi frowned, knowing that I was right, but still refused to back down as he dodged another slice that I aimed for his ribs. Still, I could see him grow tired - making that tornado of fire must've been exhausting, and the aftermath seemed to be finally catching up with him. I, on the other hand, had barely used my quirk today, and in my state of adrenaline, my mind converted the pain from my arm into more fuel for my body to use. I felt like I could keep going forever, as long as I didn't focus too much on thinking about Dabi's words from a month ago.

His movements were getting sloppier, the misses becoming more and more narrow, and when I slashed at his chest once again, my blade caught on the fabric of his white shirt, pinning it to the brick will behind Dabi. With a growl, Dabi pulled away from where I'd managed to hold him, tearing himself from the knife impaled into the wall. The worn-out cotton of his stained shirt tore from the force of him drawing back from the impact, and a chunk of the bloody shirt was now pierced into the wall, the tip of my knife holding it in place. I smirked, yanking the knife out and continuing my assault on the villain, not giving him a single moment to rest.  

The blade grazed over his cheek once again despite the fact that he'd tried to duck away from it, and a dribble of blood already started to form on the fresh cut. With each strike my confidence grew more and more until the confusion and fear of myself that I'd felt earlier was completely gone, the raging monster that others saw in me emerging instead. One final move let me completely trap Dabi against the wall, my left hand managing to pin both of his wrists above him as I pushed the villain's back into the bricks, my right knee finding a spot to rest on his solar plexus to further restrain his moves. It was over. I won.

Dabi was still too weak, too exhausted from using so much energy on his quirk, and even my heavily injured arm was enough to keep his hands from moving - from what I knew, his quirk manifested through his hands, so with them out of the way, I was safe from getting burned again. With my knee pressed against him, keeping him against the wall, there was no way he could possibly when. A satisfied smile spread over my face as I tauntingly raised my blade, bringing it slowly to Dabi's neck, the edge teasingly resting over his Adam's apple that bobbed ever-so-slightly with each ragged breath he took, almost as if it was begging for my knife to slice through it.

"Not so cocky now, are we?" I whispered, leaning forward until I was inches from Dabi's face, the usually-confident look in his eyes gone as he stared down at me with a new found fear. "You'll be wishing you were dead by the time I'm done with you."

"Please, princess, as if you'd actually go that far," he shot back, and I pressed the blade a little harder to his throat. 

"Try me," I snarled. "You said it yourself, didn't you? I'm not fit to be a hero. I'm too cruel and violent, aren't I?" A few seconds of silence passed as Dabi realized he'd dug his own grave with it, and I shoved my knee a little harder into his stomach. "Answer me when I'm talking to you."

Sudden rage flooded in his eyes, but there was no way in hell that I'd back down. "What do you want?"

"I want you to tell me everything you know about the League. I want to know every last detail," I ordered, inching closer and closer with every word. "And I want to know why you're so hellbent on getting me to join you."

In the flash of a second, Dabi broke his hands out of my grip and grabbed me by the shoulders, slamming me against the wall with enough force to make the dagger drop out of my hand, falling to the ground with a loud clatter. He'd managed to switch our positions, and now he was the one pinning my hands to the wall behind me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull free from his grasp. So it was just an act that he was weakened. Shit. He summoned a flame with his right hand, a manic grin pulling across his scarred face.

"Careful, princess. I'm in control now."