"Are you going away again?"

The woman pauses in packing her suitcase, her gaze turning to the little girl who stood by the doorway. She could be no more than 7 years old, dressed in mint-green pajamas and cradling a frog plush. From the looks of it, she had waddled from her room, roused awake by the sound of her packing.

The older woman goes away from her suitcase, steps towards the little girl and kneels to her level. Smiling, she picks the child up and holds her close.

"Yes, but mama and papa will be back before you know it!" She reassures the little one in her arms, her hands gently brushing away the dark hair away from the child's face. Sleepy grey eyes—eyes she inherited from her father—blinked back at her mother, but she held up her pinkie finger to her mom's face.

"Promise?" The child asks, and for a moment, a sliver of uncertainty flashed in her mother's gaze, but as quickly as it came, it vanished. The older woman plasters a cheerful smile on her face, before she raises her own pinkie finger and hooks it around her daughter's.

"Pinkie promise!" She says and presses a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead and exiting the room with her daughter in her arms. "Now off to bed you go."

As both mother and daughter trekked the hallway back to the little one's room, a man meets them halfway through. He glances at his wife, then to their daughter in her arms.

"Megumi, let me." He offers, moving close so the woman—Megumi—could give him the sleeping child. She does so, and follows her husband as he carries the sleeping girl back inside her own room. He sets the child gently on the bed and with gentle care, he places a blanket atop her small figure and tucks her to sleep.

For a moment they watched the child slumber.

"Shigeru, I'm afraid." Megumi reaches out for her husband's arm, gripping it tightly as her eyes train on the gentle rise and fall of their daughter's chest. "I can't leave Naomi alone…what if…what if the mission…fails?"

"Megumi, she will be safe with Ichijou and his wife," Shigeru prompts, turning his body so he could hold his wife close to an embrace. "What we are about to do is to ensure not only her safety, but for her future as well."

He pulls back, his thumbs gently brushing away the tears that began to spill from his wife's face. Shigeru's gaze drifts to the jagged scar running down the right side of her face, a scar she had willingly shouldered for his sake.

"We have to come back," Megumi replies, her grip tightening against the fabric of her husband's shirt. "We have to come back for Naomi."

"We will," Shigeru replies, drawing her close to his chest once again. "Definitely."

The blank ceiling stares at her as Naomi wakes.

Naomi blinks, her eyes adjusting to the dimness of her room before forcing herself up into a sitting position and survey her surroundings.

Oh yeah that's right, Naomi thought to herself, I finally moved out yesterday.

Gone were Ayane's closet full of her clothes, her dresser with her skincare routine and the glow-in-the-dark stars plastered to the ceiling. Instead, a barely made-up room stared back at Naomi: her work desk placed against the wall next to her bed, her wardrobe closet and several unopened boxes of items she hadn't unpacked yet.

Naomi lingers on the mattress of her bed for another moment, before she finally works up the courage to get off. Making her way to the sliding door that opens to her balcony, she draws it open, greeted by the blare of the early morning sun. Stepping outside, she pads over to the balcony in her bare feet, inhaling the scent of the morning air as her eyes glimpsed the flurry of the city's morning rush: students in high school uniforms walking in brisk paces, adults in crisp working suits, an old lady on a walk with her dog and a few construction workers on their bicycles.

An early breeze sweeps through the surroundings, giving her hair a not-so-gentle tousle, moving wayward strands towards the inside of her mouth. Naomi spats them out and pushes them behind their ear, disgusted by her lack of elegance. Once she recovers, she turns her gaze back to the city, a wistful smile on her face.

The first order of business for her today was to unpack and unsort the rest of her stuff.

Naomi stands in the center of what she decided to be her living room, hands cocked in her hips as she surveys the interior of the place. Uncle Ichijou, Jun-nii and Ayane had helped her move in yesterday, but they only managed to get her heavy furniture set up upon Naomi's insistence. If she didn't impose that she only needed help with the heavy-lifting, they would go overboard and redecorate the whole place for her.

So far, she had a sofa and a low-rise coffee table, items she both remodelled and repaired by hand prior to her move. The sofa was a cream color, and the table carved out of mahogany-furniture items once owned by her parents. Placed against the wall were two empty bookcases, their contents yet to be unpacked from the boxes.

The space was divided by her kitchen counter, the space devoid of stuff except for her trays and plates stacked neatly on top of each other while her eating and cooking utensils were stored in boxes on top of the countertop. There was also a sink, her cooking stove, rice cooker, microwave oven and her fridge, while overhead cupboards and cabinets housed her condiments and cleaning supplies respectively.

All in all, it was a decent apartment-not too big, not too small-just enough for someone who has started living on her own. Ayane had helped her get a unit here in Kamino ward-working in advertising makes her connected to all sorts of people-and it comes with a reasonably priced rent, too. A good investment, even for Naomi's terms.

Exhaling softly, Naomi plops herself down to the floor, cutter in hand as she draws the first box towards her.

Well then, Nao, she mutters to herself, time to put your life back in order again.

It was already night out when he got out of the meeting with the League.

Dabi murmurs a curse under his breath as he walked out of the bar, hand messing with his hair in frustration. The discussion didn't end well—Shigaraki had set-up a meeting with the Precepts and the latter had offered to help in their crusade, over the expense of taking some of the League members as part of the operations. A begrudging deal Shigaraki was forced to accept as one of their members went out of commission. As a result, Dabi had to deal with all the tongue-lashing Shigaraki hurled at him.

Hell, he had almost considered burning the place down to a crisp, but Kurogiri—ever the pacifist—stepped into their petty squabble before Dabi had even moved to activate his flames.

At least the Crazy JK Girl is gone with them, Dabi mulls to himself as he weaves his way through the back alleys leading to his own hide-out, and I'll be free from Twice's incessant yelling, too.

He releases a silent huff, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tattered jeans as he speeds up his walking. Kamino Ward had particularly been on high alert ever since the aftermath of All Might's fall and annoyingly, cops had doubled their efforts to patrol the pace. Just as he rounds the corner, Dabi spots a uniformed officer making his way towards him. Cautiously, Dabi maneuvers and ducks into a street alley—a small part of his route that the damn cops didn't manage to trace yet—and trudges on forward.

Passing this way, he emerges out into a busy food district, his eyes catching sight of a dimly-lit izakaya pub to his right and beside it, a ramen stall where it was flocked to by tourists and wayward salarymen. The sight of ramen makes him remember the subtle taste of that girl's own shio ramen, and his mind unearths memories of a quiet night on top of an outdoor terrace.

It had been a month since that moment of peace. Dabi quickly darts to another alley by the corner as a police patrol car passes by. Leaning his head against the wall, he lifts his gaze to the night time sky.

What was her name again? Rio? Mio? Dabi muses, faintly remembering the grey glint of her eyes and her dark hair. Ah, Nao.

He scoffs once he remembered her name: a skittish, wide-eyed Quirkless girl who maybe shared a few bowls of ramen with him, and so what? Merely an insignificant little girl who was maybe a bit smart because she could sense that he was a dangerous person. Hell, he was even surprised that she hadn't reported him at this rate.

I've never been back to her place for a month now, He mulls, lifting his body off the wall to resume his pace going towards home. Bet she's probably thankful for it, huh.

Shaking his head to rid the memory of the girl, he resumes his steady pace, only to pause for a moment, his senses on high alert as movement rustles behind his back. He drops his hand, fingers slowly igniting a small amount of blue flame.

Someone was here besides him.

"If you show yourself instead of hiding around, we could wrap this up nicely," He calls out, his voice cold and calm as he remained with his back to the enemy. "Maybe I'll even let you off once you stop following me around like a rat."

More movement rustles and this time, Dabi pivots quickly, arms raised out with a flame just as a steel pipe appears out of air. One Dabi caught with his palm and immediately igniting a blast of blue flame at his assailant.

"You really think you could get me in with this flimsy piece of shit?" Dabi intones out lazily, and with a flick of his fingers, reignited his flames with more force, beginning to melt the metal in his assailant's hands. Without a word, his assailant jumps back, letting go of the pipe, which clatters to the street in a clang.

Under the dim lights, Dabi surveys his attacker. A towering height with built to match—maybe the brawling type, god he hates dealing with those types, with a Heteromorphic Quirk and super strength to go along with it. Dressed in dark clothes with a hood obscuring their face, Dabi squares his own posture, hands igniting once more with blue flame.

"You've got balls trying to get the best of me with nothing but a steel pipe and dark clothes," Dabi drawls out, "What, you some sort of vigilante or something?"

His assailant doesn't say a word, but without warning, launches at him straight with fluid grace. Dabi blasts blue fire towards the attacker, forming a solid wale of hellfire between the two of them. For a while no one breaches through, making Dabi scoff a bit at the short-lived battle, but to his surprise, the assailant re-emerges from his wall of fire, their hands now brandishing two short swords.

Fire-resistant gear. The bastard was equipped with fire resistant gear.

Dabi bit back a curse as he dodges out of the way, one short sword mere inches from sinking itself on his side. The assailant doesn't seem to pause in their attacks, pivoting once more and moving to strike back at Dabi.

Close-range combat was Dabi's weakness. He may have survived a few street brawls here and there but most of the time he had relied on his Quirk in tougher fights. Now, he cursed himself for not picking up a few moves the last time Kurogiri offered.

But who the hell was this guy? He muttered, dodging attacks as best as he could. His attacker moved with a deadly grace, their short swords aiming at his vital points with frightening aim. From the looks of it, they were equipped with gear best suited for attacking Fire-types like him, and the fire-resistant gear they were wearing seemed to be an innovation—with materials made to survive high temperatures as well.

In the midst of analysing his enemy, Dabi falters, an opening the assailant didn't pass up. They moved to stab him in the arm, but at the last second, Dabi avoids it, the blade only leaving a graze on his skin. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

With a hiss, Dabi spins around, aiming a kick to his assailant's gut, sending them toppling backwards to the ground. Breath heaving, Dabi straightens his posture, flames igniting from his uninjured arm as he marched towards the assailant with renewed purpose.

"Who are you working for?" Dabi growls, irritation rising from his near-brush with death, "Is it the Precepts? Or the goddamned Pros?"

To his credit his assailant didn't flinch, but when they spoke, it came out mockingly.

"Neither, but you've got a score to settle with me." They say, voice coming out marbled and warped all funny, making Dabi realize that they must have been equipped with a voice-changing equipment. "Dabi of the League of Villains."

"Oh yeah? What's there to settle when I'm through with you?" Dabi barks back, a growl rising in his throat. "You can only do nothing when you're a pile of charred bones and ash."

"We'll see about that." To his irritation, the assailant merely chuckled before they rose and pointed at the hollow of Dabi's throat. "I believe I might have won this round."

"The fuck—" Dabi begins but not before a dull throbbing enters his skull. Pitching forward, he slumps against the wall, suddenly feeling numb and can't feel anything. His vision blurs and he reaches out to his throat, cursing all the while.

A tiny dart, miniscule enough, had buried itself in the skin of just below his collarbone. Not just any ordinary dart—dart tipped with a numbing agent to render him unconscious. The bastard must have shot it at the moment Dabi's knee connected with their stomach.

"Son of a bi—" Dabi didn't manage to finish his curse, before his vision dimmed. Faint ringing in his ears pounded and all he could hear before he could black out was a garbled mixture of words from his assailant.

"The blue dragon passes his judgment upon you. Atone for your sins."

With one of the League's vanguards down, the hooded assailant reaches for the patchwork man's body. Drawing one of their short swords, they aim it against the skin of Dabi's throat, a bit disappointed.

"You know, I was hoping you would be more of a fight," They mutter in that disembodied voice. "But it's better off this way, considering that you didn't give us a fighting chance back when you burned my brothers to death."

With a snarl, the assailant draws his weapon back, preparing to finally put an end to Dabi, when their phone buzzes in their pocket, making them pause in their movements. An irritated snarl escapes their throat but they relax, sheathing the swords back into their scabbards by their sides as a gloved hand retrieves a phone from one of their side pockets. Pressing the gadget to their ears, they hissed out an irritated "What,"

"Blue."

They stilled, immediately recognizing the voice at the other end of the line. "My apologies. I was in the middle of a clean-up."

"No matter then." The voice from the other end of the phone replies, tone dismissive. "We need you back at the base now. Finish your fun, Blue."

"Noted, sir." The assailant—Blue—replies in a clipped tone before they shut off the device and shoved it back to their pockets. Blue takes one last look at the slumped, unconscious body of Dabi against the wall and clicks their tongue.

"You got lucky today, Dabi." Blue snarls. "But the next time won't be as fortunate."

Blue takes one last vengeful glance at the Villain on the street before they disappeared into the night.

With a victorious exhale, Naomi chugged the last of the energy drink down her throat as she exited the 7-Eleven store she entered earlier.

Her unpacking finally finished way into the night, her things settled up nicely. She didn't even own much in the first place, so Naomi was still delighted with the way things panned out nicely in her apartment.

Unfortunately, she got too engrossed in unpacking and organizing that she missed out on dinner, finding her favourite bento shop by the road already closed for the night. So she had compromised on walking to the nearby 7-Eleven, where she ended up refilling on necessities as well.

She crumples the can in her grip before tossing it to a nearby trash can. Plastic bag filled with food slung on her right wrist, and she stretches her arms upward, ready for the trek home. Naomi hums to herself, momentarily getting distracted by the bright lights and advertisements flashing on the wide-screens of Kamino ward's billboards, but quickly regroups herself when she notices the time.

"Best be off on our merry way home," Naomi mutters to herself, crossing the street intersection to pass by a quiet street where she would take another right to lead her into an alley that would open up to the location of her apartment. A shortcut she discovered earlier.

Maybe this is my Quirk after all, she jokes to herself. I'm a pro at finding shortcuts. Not that it would prove anything useful in a head-on Villain clash, sure, but I can always escape.

She shakes her head at the foolish thought. When she walks, a police patrol car passes by her, and Naomi couldn't help but feel shivers down her spine once she rounds the corner in the alleyways. Police patrol cars reminded her of that disastrous day at Club Narcissus, and the traumatic first meeting with—

Dabi.

Naomi pauses in her tracks, eyes going wide at what appears to be the familiar figure of the patchwork man—only this time, he wasn't brazenly flinging silent threats at her but rather seemingly knocked out unconscious.

What is he doing here, Naomi thoughts, panic rising to her throat, Hell, what even happened to him?

Just as she was on the way to recover from her, ah, unpleasant memories with him, he shows up again in her life like this. Hell, she was doing fine after one month of not seeing him and fearing for her life!

But still, like the impulsive, entitled idiot that she is, Naomi crouches down, convenience store bag and all, arm reaching out to tap him awake.

"D-dabi," She begins, tapping him softly to alert him awake. "What are you sleeping here for? Cops are going to—"

The wetness on her palms surprised her, and when she draws back, her eyes widened.

Blood? Naomi now visibly panics, the coppery stench of it filling her nostrils. Why the hell is he covered in blood?

Warning bells alarmed in her head. The rational part of her—or what's still left functioning while the other part of her panicked to oblivion—was screaming to leave the man alone, call the cops and just go home to finally sink into her bed and get some well-deserved rest. It was the most sensible thing to do.

But yet, some stupid part of her, the part which also was responsible for her letting him eat with her in her uncle's restaurant, the stupid part where she had decided to share a meal with him, sang out to her. Help him.

And being the stupid, stubborn idiot that she was, Naomi gave in to the calling of that side.

With a groan, she reaches out to the unconscious Dabi, her arms pulling underneath his armpits, with her heaving and half-dragging him across the ground towards her apartment. Uttering a silent prayer under her breath, Naomi hopes that he would be in a better mood when he finally wakes up.

Oh god, she mutters. I do hope he won't burn me when he wakes up.

Author's note:

I am back! Did anyone miss me? *cricket sounds* OKAY NO THEN.

Well, it's certainly been a while everyone. This story has been gone and un-updated since my last, uh, "hiatus", which was pretty much months ago. First and foremost, I want to apologize for that because school and other responsibilities from real life has hindered me from writing (until now, actually). I AM still working on this story, FYI, but it'll be probably another while for the next update as I am busy with MORE school stuff. Your girl here is on her last year of university so that means more stuff to do, oof.

Secondly, I admit, I've been out of touch with the recent updates on Boku no Hero Academia series as I've been, ah, dragged into a new fandom (Where my Hypnosis Mic homies at?!) and needless to say I've been trapped into an endless hell with my beloved anime rap bois.

Third, real life happenings and all got in the way. I've been to Japan last October 2018 and it was the most amazing experience of my life. I stayed there for 10 days on an exchange trip and it was very eventful as I got to explore and experience Japanese culture where we managed to stay with our host family and all. I even went to Harajuku and Shibuya and well, banked a lot on anime merch and magazine, you get the gist. Gosh, I miss Japan.

ANYWAY! Thank you so much for supporting this fanfic even though I've been gone for so long. I've been getting alerts via e-mail on new followers, favorites and reviews and gosh that thing warms me up from the inside. I am really really happy for the support you guys and for the patience you have for me and my un-scheduled updates.

For now, let's say I am back, as I need a distraction from the crazy amount of schoolwork left to do. Please leave a review as always and if you're too shy to tell me, you can slide in and drop me a PM or something. Or even talk to me, idk. I need friends. LOL.

See you next update!

Juri