Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 50

My face lit up with a smile, and I almost rushed forward to give Dabi a hug in thanks, but then I caught myself and remembered that it was literally his job to take me to the League, so I didn't have anything to thank him for. Still, I grinned at him, a wave of relief washing over me. So what if I wasn't a hero? I'd just have to be a villain instead, then. Villains have more fun anyway, don't they? Besides, now I knew that no matter how corrupt I was, Dabi and the League would still welcome me with open arms, and that was saying something. 

An awkward moment of silence passed, and I glanced up at Dabi. "So... lead the way, I guess?"

"Ah, not so fast, princess," he said, holding up a hand, and I involuntarily relaxed a little. He's back to calling me princess, so it's all good. "I need to make a call first, alright? Give me a second."

I nodded and jumped over the railing to the sandy beach below, giving Dabi his privacy but not straying out of sight. I overheard him say something about the target caving in, and curled into myself slightly. Being called a target wasn't exactly the best feeling, but I wouldn't complain about it for now. The call didn't last too long, maybe a minute or two at most, but it gave me enough time to completely rethink the choice at least six times. Even after thinking about how absolutely crazy I must've been to actually go through with the decision, I couldn't come up with a better plan for myself.

I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and the only person who even remotely cared about me before now thought I was a murdering psychopath. Even before the whole fiasco, I hadn't exactly been the most popular, but now, I really doubted I could just stroll into a company and ask for a job without getting either kicked out or sent straight to a mental asylum. I had nowhere else to go except for the one place that still accepted me with open arms, except for one particular villain. The League was really my only choice now. It wasn't just that I wanted to get my revenge on Keigo for wasting so much of my time on him - it was also the fact that if I didn't join, I'd starve to death, or do something even worse than become a villain.

I flinched slightly at the word 'villain'. It was no longer just a random criminal that I'd have to call a villain. It was myself now, too. I sighed to myself, watching the waves cast ripples across the otherwise-smooth water. I'm becoming the very thing I despise. I shivered slightly as a breeze cast over the sea, the smell engulfing me completely, but the now-ragged flannel was barely enough to keep the chill out. No, I tried to correct myself. I don't hate villains. I hate people that hurt others and don't get what they deserve. That thought comforted me slightly, but nowhere close to being enough to put my mind at ease. People like Keigo. He hurt me, and he doesn't even know it. He needs to pay for it. It's only fair.

"Running away already, princess?" Dabi called out from behind me, snapping me out of my daze, and I just shook my head.

"I wanted to give you some privacy. That was Shigaraki, right?"

"Yeah," Dabi nodded. "He said it's great that you're finally coming."

"Perfect!" I tilted my head down the beach, silently asking him to come along. "Can we go now? I'm cold."

Dabi scratched the back of his head, almost as if he were nervous about something. "About that. I'll, uh, need to blindfold you and lead you to the meeting location," he said sheepishly.

"What are you, scared I'll run away?" I teased, raising an eyebrow mockingly. "Really, Dabi? I haven't eaten properly in a week, and I'm honestly surprised I even got to you. I'm sure even you could catch up to me if I tried to run. Not that I'm going to try to run."

"Just a precaution, alright?" Dabi replied, rolling his eyes in annoyance, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips as he, too, jumped the railing and landed beside me. "You were completely loyal to the Hawks Agency less than a day ago, so you can't really blame Shiggy for being careful."

"Fine, fine," I muttered, putting my hands up in defeat and watching expectantly as Dabi pulled a long thick strip of unidentifiable cloth from one of his pockets. "You always just keep blindfolds with you?"

"Shut up and come closer to me."

I did as he said, ignoring all of my natural instincts to fight back as he tied the uncomfortable fabric over my eyes. It itched like hell, and it felt as if my face was getting torn apart by thousands of small blades, but I tried to ignore it. Every single rational thought screamed at me to break out of the bonds that Dabi put on me, to kick him down and to start running - I could probably outrun him even in my current exhausted state - but I forced myself to stay calm and walk where Dabi led me. 

The first few minutes were completely silent, with Dabi's hand holding a firm grip on my wrist to lead the way, and despite the fact that I knew the city inside out, I felt my sense of direction completely lose itself. I trudged after Dabi, trying my best not to trip over the random curbs or dips in the pavement, but I still found myself stumbling a few times. The quiet, however, was oddly comfortable, and definitely a change from the usual jabbering of us trying to learn as much information as we possibly could in the short span of an hour.

"How'd you even find me?" Dabi's voice broke the silence, and I almost fell flat on my face at the sudden question - blindfolds definitely weren't something I enjoyed - but thankfully, Dabi's hand over my wrist kept me upright.

"I, uh, memorized the route you usually take and then just followed the burn marks," I explained, only now realizing just absurd my reasoning had been. Dabi wasn't the only person to have a fire quirk, and just because I saw some scorched walls, it didn't mean Dabi was the one to burn them. "Gut feeling, I guess. Or just luck."

"Ah." With that, Dabi kept walking, giving me the occasional warning about a curb or pothole that I needed to avoid, his response completely calm, as if I'd explained everything he needed to know. "Well, you're lucky it was me there. If it were some other villain, you would've been screwed."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, not wanting to admit he was right. "If it was someone else, I would've just used my quirk to hide myself, you know?"

"And then what?" Dabi snorted, but he never let go of my wrist. "You'd run away and go where? Or would you just collapse  from using your quirk? You said it yourself, you haven't eaten properly in five days. You're weaker than usual. You've gotta take care of yourself, y'know?"

He had a point, but he didn't need to know that I agreed with him. "I'd still be able to escape from them. I'm not that weak right now." Even I knew I was lying to myself. I was absolutely that weak, and we both knew it.

"Save the bullshit for someone who'll believe it, alright, princess?" Dabi suggested, and I could almost hear his crooked smile as I rolled my eyes. I was grateful it had been him that I ran into, but I definitely wasn't grateful for that idiotic nickname, even if it was starting to grow on me. Still, as per request, I stayed quiet and only kept walking.

How long had I been wearing that blindfold and following Dabi now? Twenty minutes? Thirty? I stopped hearing the gentle crash of the waves a while ago, so surely, we must be pretty far away from the beach by now. I racked my brain, trying to stabilize my mental compass, but I was lost, so very lost, that I wasn't sure I'd even be able to find my way home with the blindfold off. I started getting restless and tired, but I didn't complain - I just kept walking and walking and walking, always aware of the gentle comforting hold that Dabi had on my right wrist. 

He pulled me up, the sound of a door creaking and upbeat music overflowing my ears, before coming to an abrupt stop, and I almost crashed right into Dabi, barely managing to catch myself from running into him. "We're here," he announced, and quickly untied the knot that held the blindfold over my eyes. 

I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the sudden light as I looked around. Dabi had brought us to a rundown bar that looked way past its prime, but surprisingly, several people occupied the low tables, drinking shots from grimy glasses that made me want to vomit. Dabi's hand was still on my wrist, and he guided me gently to the far corner of the bar, not saying another word. All I could do was follow him, though I was more than relieved that the blindfold was no longer on me. He pushed a sliding door out of the way and gestured for me to step through. A little worried, I walked forward, and came face to face with the one and only Shigaraki.