"Alright. Repeat the rules back to me." Dabi drawls, crouching in front of you so you're eye-to-eye.

You'd woken up tucked into bed, your face buried into teddy's belly.
Dabi seemed in a better mood too, like he was back to his usual teasing self, which was nice. It allowed you to rest a bit more, the worries about him being sick of you already slowly ebbing to the back of your mind again.
It was late afternoon when he ushered you out of the hotel room, telling you that Shigaraki, the  guy he'd had a meeting with, the guy with the 'gross' hand, wanted to meet you.

You were now standing in an alleyway, a little anxious, and having had Dabi reel off a lot of information at you all at once.

"No giving out your real name, no following strangers, no sleeping alone, behave and no swearing." You reply, with the most confidence you'd ever recited anything before.

He blinks, surprised at the fact you'd remembered all of that. He cracks a grin at you, his eyes glittering.

"Good memory, kid. But I'm talkin' about the Shigaraki-specific rules." He says, cocking his head. "Ya been listenin'? It's important."

You think over the things he'd mentioned, trying to remember each bit of information he'd given you.

"Um, don't stare..." You start off with, and Dabi nods a little. "Don't ask too many questions, don't be rude, don't touch anything..."

Dabi continues nodding with each rule. There were a lot of rules, and it was making you even more anxious.

"And don't, ever, ever, ever, touch his hands." You state finally, making sure to say it with the same firmness that Dabi had.

He gives a final nod, a soft smirk and ruffles your hair playfully before standing to his full height again, gently pulling a few stray strands of your hair attached to his sutures off of him.

"Attagirl. Now, when you see him, you're gonna wanna stare, but you can't. 'Kay?"

He eyes you cautiously as he taps on his phone.

You wonder to yourself what could possibly be so weird about Shigaraki that he has to really drill in the fact you can't stare at him.
You hadn't stared at Dabi, after all, and you appreciated that most people did stare at him when you were in public.

"I won't." You promise again.

"Good girl." Dabi praises, rubbing his thumb against your cheek a couple times.

Soon, a gust of wind blows your hair into your vision, only revealing one of those black portal-like things again when you move your hair out of your eyes.
Dabi looks over at it lazily before looking down at you.

"Want me to go first?" He asks.

The question highlights the fact that maybe you should be more worried about this weird wormhole that manifests whenever Dabi goes off to see this Shigaraki person. The only reason you hadn't thought of it before Dabi asked if you wanted him to step through first is because he seemed so casual when he'd appeared through it in Girans office.
Maybe it wasn't the abyss that you needed to be worried about, and it was being left alone in Shigaraki's office for a second or two without Dabi that you needed to worry about.

It's amazing how such a simple question makes you spiral so quickly.

"Can we go through together?" You ask, a little nervously.

Dabi looks over the portal again, his expression still as bored and as stoic as ever. He shrugs lazily.

"Don' see why not." He replies.

He seems to be waiting for you to make the first move, and a little reluctantly, you hold your hand out, your face burning and your eyes refusing to meet his.
You hear a slight snicker come from him, but he seems to catch himself, his warm hand enveloping your own in his easily.
He gently tugs you along as you refuse to look at him or the swirling black mass, giving your hand a slight squeeze as you step into the black mass, your vision blacking out for a brief moment, and a coldness enveloping you, before you realize when your vision returns that you're in a completely new place.

Your eyes widen when you realize you're in a dimly lit bar, with only a mist-formed man and a pale haired man sitting with his back to you.
You can't help the noise of amazement that leaves you.
This perks the blue-haired man's attention, his body moving from his slouch over the counter to a more upright position, his head turning slightly to face you.

Except you can't see his face, it's covered by some weird hand-mask.
You take an unconscious step closer to Dabi.

"Dabi." This man, who must be Shigaraki, says slowly, as though he was taste-testing the name. "And, Star?"

He turns around more, revealing the whole hand. It looks really realistic, even if it is a little gray. You see what Dabi meant now about him having a gross, creepy hand.
You take another step towards Dabi, practically bumping into his side, but you bow politely.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Shigaraki." You say politely, trying not to stare at the near-emaciated man sitting at the bar.

Somehow he's thinner than you, and he clearly hadn't been living off scraps from the streets like you had.
You can barely make out a singular red eye peeking through the gray fingers, and messy blue hair, so you settle for trying to focus on that.

"The cool portal was Kurogiri's quirk." Dabi informs you quietly, gesturing vaguely to the man with the swirling mist face.

You nod, bowing to Kurogiri, the man behind the bar. He bows back which makes you smile a little bit.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Star." Kurogiri says, his voice an awful lot clearer than Dabi's drawl and Shigaraki's rasp. "Would you like a drink?"

You look up at Dabi, unsure whether this was a safe place to accept a drink from. He gives you a little nod, gently pushing the center of your back to encourage you towards the bar.
You're a little nervous about getting closer to Shigaraki, but trust Dabi enough to not lead you into danger.
Dabi gestures subtly for you to sit on a stool one stool apart from Shigaraki, watching you climb onto it before taking the seat furthest from him.

"We have juices, and since the introduction of Miss Toga, we now have a variety of sodas, too." Kurogiri informs you. "Which would you like?"

You feel the need to look over to Dabi again, but fight it.

"Um, can I have some apple juice please?" You ask quietly, trying to ignore the burning gaze in the side of your head.

Considering only one eye was visible thanks to his eerie mask, it really did feel like it was piercing into your soul.
Kurogiri gives you a little nod, going to work behind the bar.

"So, Star..." Shigaraki rasps once more, leaning his face into his hand. "How old are you?"

"I'm ten, mister." You reply instantly, trying your best to hold eye contact and ignore the gruesome hand covering his face.

Shigaraki gives a thoughtful 'hm', his red eye sliding to the corner momentarily before looking back at you.

"And you were on the streets?" He asks.

The subject is uncomfortable for you, but it's not one that brings you to tears instantly like it used to. You're thankful for that at least, you weren't sure you'd feel comfortable crying in front of this man.
He was tiny, smaller than Dabi in build and almost shorter in height too from what you could tell, but there was a certain unsettling air to him that you couldn't quite ignore.

"Y-yes sir." You confirm, thankful when Kurogiri places a glass of apple juice in front of you, a pink straw placed in it, and what seemed to be sugar around the rim.

He really went all out on that one, and you couldn't help but wonder who was meant to be impressing who.

"Why?" Shigaraki asks, in a rather blunt tone.

The question should have been expected, and you didn't cry instantly anymore when you were reminded of the circumstances that led you to where you were now.
But it does make you freeze, and panic.
You look over at Dabi, hoping he might be able to get you out of this situation, but he's just looking at you lazily as he takes a sip of his own drink, the ice clinking against the glass filling the silence for you.

When you don't answer for a while, Dabi eventually speaks up for you.

"She doesn't like talkin' about it." He says simply, setting his glass on the bar.

"It's important." Shigaraki counters with no hesitation.

You look down at the glass between your hands. You couldn't guarantee that you wouldn't immediately burst into tears the second you tried to tell this stranger why you were homeless, and you didn't want to embarrass yourself or Dabi by being unable to control yourself.
It isn't until you see Shigaraki move slightly beside you that you immediately start blabbering, Dabi's warning about not touching his hands making you nervous about any movement the skinny man made.

"Mom, mom took too much... I think... I just woke up and she was still sleeping, and she wouldn't wake up, so I just..." The words leave you too quickly in your rush to just get it out there. It'd be a surprise if he even picked up on anything you said.

"So she's dead." Shigaraki says, and the last word sounds even more horrible with how blunt and bored his tone is.

You can't stop the whimper before it passes your lips, immediately earning a warm hand in your hair, grounding you before you can float away mentally from this situation, his thumb tracing over your skull gently.

"Tomura Shigaraki." Kurogiri warns.

"The fu-The hell's your problem? Ya never learn social skills?" Dabi snaps at the same time as Kurogiri, his voice a stark contrast to how soft his hand feels against your head as it lowers.

You try to use your hair to mask the tears that are quickly forming in your eyes, refusing to make a show of yourself, even if it takes a few loud swallows that you even struggle to take thanks to the lump that had formed in your throat to make them go away.
You're surprised at the fact Dabi had snapped at this man, his future boss, especially after the fuss he'd made about you not being allowed to be rude to him. But you suppose as a grown up, Dabi probably has different rules.
It also feels nice to have someone back you up. Mom never used to when her boyfriends made you upset.

There's an awkward silence, only filled with the sound of you sniffing back the tears that you were refusing to spill, and what sounds like scratching.
It feels like it drags on forever, but it's probably only a minute long at most.

"Star." You hear Shigaraki address, and you take one last gulp before raising your head and turning to face him.

"Yes sir?" You ask, trying to keep your voice even and your eyes dry as you look at his one visible eye again.

"Why didn't you ask for help?" He asks simply, his hand moving from his neck back to cradling his face as he leans on the bar's counter.

You hadn't even explained this to Dabi yet, and Shigaraki was demanding honesty and answers that you weren't entirely ready to face or say aloud yet.

"I didn't want to go into care, sir..." You respond. "When I asked for help when... When I asked for help before, they said they'd take me away. I didn't want to be taken away from mom, I just wanted her boyfriend to go away..."

You're blabbering again, you can feel the words leaving you before your brain thinks them through properly.

"When I called for help, I didn't want to leave mommy and they tried grabbing me and..."

You start getting tearful again, remembering how much the hero's claws had hurt when they'd tried pulling you away from your mom when they arrived with all their equipment.
The second you'd heard "dead on arrival" while wiggling out of his grasp, you'd run, and you'd hid.

Dabi's hand starts working its way through your hair again, sensing your distress.
You don't look up to see the sharp look he's giving Shigaraki.

"Sounds about right." Shigaraki huffs. "Using brute force to get their way."

You grip onto the new pants Giran had given you as you continue fighting back tears, Dabi moving to rub your back instead of stroking your hair like he had been. You hear the ice clinking in his drink again.

"Hey." Shigaraki says after another short silence, clearly trying to gain your attention again.

You're obedient, looking up at him instantly.

"Do you like games?" He asks, completely changing the subject.

"Wh-what?" You ask, and even Dabi's hand pauses its course on your back.

"Do you like to play games?" Shigaraki asks, repeating it slowly. He may have just been trying to be patient, but with how emotionless his voice is, it sounds kind of harsh.

"I-" You look over at Dabi, who's looking straight back at you. "I only really know Mario Kart..."

"I have Mario Kart." Shigaraki says, waving towards Kurogiri, who seems to pick up on whatever Shigaraki's planning, turning on a TV overhead and a games console.

Wordlessly he places a controller in front of you both.
You look over at Dabi, silently trying to ask what was happening right now through a look alone, he simply raises his shoulders slightly in a half-shrug.

"I've found playing games with new recruits helps." Shigaraki explains, picking up his controller in a weird way. "You can tell a lot by the way they play. Are they a strategic person? Or do they just go full bore and hope for the best?"

You're kind of lost, but you mirror his movements, picking up your own controller as the game menu loads up.

"Who do you play as?" He asks, removing the hand-mask from his face.

You're surprised by his face. You expected something scarier.
He has a kind of round face in comparison to the rest of his body, his red eyes surrounded by horizontal scarring, one of them having a vertical scar that mirrors a similar one on one side of his mouth. His lips are dry and cracked, as though he hasn't drank any water for a while.
He looks young. Dabi's age or younger.
You have to remind yourself not to stare.

"The mushroom man." You reply, moving your eyes from his face to the screen.

"Toad. Good choice." Shigaraki mumbles, choosing a little green dinosaur. "Alright, you win a race, you get to ask a question. I win and I get to ask a question. That sound fair?"

You nod, slightly distracted by watching him pick out a track. You've all but completely forgotten about Dabi's presence beside you, his hand having disappeared from your back.
He seems to pick out the easiest set of tracks first, which works amazingly in your favor, you winning the first race, much to his clear displeasure.
He pauses the second game before it starts, leaning back in his seat.

"Alright. You won fair and square. What's your question?" He asks, and you pause, completely having forgotten about that deal.

"Um... How old are you?" You ask, a little taken aback by the sudden pressure.

Shigaraki blinks at you a couple times before chuckling dryly.

"Twenty." He replies simply. "Are you ready? This time..."

The threat hangs coolly in the air, but it doesn't bother you, you kind of feel like he's trying to be a little playful in his own blunt way.
You nod, signaling your preparation to play on, and before you know it he really has beaten you the second time. You almost wonder if he was being deliberately generous by letting you win the first time with how quick he'd won this round.
He leans back, a smug smirk on his face.

"What's your quirk?" He asks, taking a drink from Kurogiri's misty hands.

This reminds you of your own drink, and you take a couple sips through the straw before answering.

"Dabi said it's vertigo." You say, pronouncing the word carefully. It felt a little alien on your tongue. "I can make people sick."

Shigaraki seems thoughtful about this, starting up the third race.
You're midway through the first lap when Shigaraki asks you another question.

"Have you used your quirk much?"

"A few times." You reply without thinking too much about it. The game does a good job of stopping you from dwelling on the times you had used your quirk and felt guilty afterwards.

"You're givin' him information for free, Star." Dabi speaks up, amusement clear in his voice.

His voice distracts you for a moment and you catch Shigaraki shooting him a sharp look. You almost panic before seeing that Dabi's still giving a lazy smirk even with Shigaraki's glare.
The smirk on Dabi's face is enough to tell you you don't have to worry.
You turn your attention back to the game, determined to win again.

"Because you got to ask an extra question, can I?" You ask, using your whole body to swerve in the game with the controller in your hands.

Dabi snickers a little beside you, either at your request or at the way you moved your body as though it'd help you turn in the game.

"Fine." Tomura answers, a little snappily.

"Have you used your quirk much?" You ask, sticking your tongue out in concentration the second the final lap is called.

Dabi had told you Shigaraki's quirk was dangerous, but hadn't gone too much into it other than warning you to steer clear of his hands.

"Yes." Is Shigaraki's simple reply. It leaves no more room for conversation. He really was lacking in conversational skills like Dabi had said earlier, and you were picking up on it.

You punch the air when you pass the finishing line before Shigaraki, forgetting yourself for a half second before shyly lowering your arm again.
The reaction, thankfully, gets a snicker out of Dabi, and when you're brave enough to look up at Shigaraki's crimson gaze, you're a little surprised to see an ever-so-slight smirk gracing one side of his mouth.

"What's your second question then, Star?" He asks, drawling your name out like he had Dabi's earlier.

"What is it?" You ask instantly.

"What is what?" He asks, his brows moving together, and you finally realize that he doesn't actually have eyebrows, just the scarring around his eyes.

"Your quirk." You clarify. "What is it?"

Shigaraki looks confused for a second longer, his mouth opening as if he wanted to say something, his eyes seeming to flicker to Dabi before returning straight back to you.

"It's decay." He replies simply. "You know what that means?"

You shake your head.

"Decaying is like rotting. You know what that is?" He asks, cocking his head ever so slightly.

"You can make things rot?" You ask.

That doesn't seem too scary. You'd had to deal with a lot of rotting food when mom would sleep for days on end. It just smelt bad and it meant you couldn't eat those things. That didn't seem dangerous at all.
He doesn't give a verbal answer, just gives a little nod before unpausing the game and announcing it was your final track together.

The final race is the most enthusiastic one yet, both you and Shigaraki trying your hardest to win, to get the prize of the final question, with Dabi chuckling and egging you on whenever you tried to sabotage Shigaraki's success.
It almost feels normal.

Eventually, he wins, despite your best efforts.
You sigh, placing the controller on the bar. He looks pretty proud of himself, even though you were younger than him, and weren't too well versed in games anyway.

"I want to know how your quirk works." He says, replacing his controller with the drink Kurogiri had given him earlier.

"Um... I have to touch people to make it work, but that's all I really know about it..." You reply, a little awkwardly. You didn't really know too much about your quirk at all. Not like some people did with theirs.

"How long does the vertigo last?" He asks, swirling his drink thoughtfully.

"An hour or two...?" You reply, a little uncertain of your own answer.

"And can you stop it before then?" He asks, sipping his drink. His eyes are distant, thoughtful.

You shake your head slightly. You're staring at him, you know you are, but his scarlet eyes are so much warmer than Dabi's gaze could be, and alongside his soft features, you couldn't help but find him pretty, even if he was a boy.

"We're alike." He says, his tone matching the thoughtfulness of his gaze as he looks at you.

"You have to touch things too." You say knowingly.

He nods. "Exactly."

"Can I see?" You ask, your curiosity getting the better of you. You feel Dabi stiffen next to you, and in response you immediately shrink into yourself a little. "Sorry..."

There's a short silence, Shigaraki's eyes clearly on you from the sheer feeling of his gaze alone.

"Watch." He says simply after a while. You look over at him curiously, to watch him neck the rest of his drink quickly, before wrapping his whole hand around the now empty glass.

The glass cracks loudly a couple of times before it crumbles into ash before your eyes, the dust falling into a pile on the bar countertop.
You make a little 'oooh' sound, your eyes widening as you watch it happen.

"That's way cooler than mine!" You exclaim, leaning towards him.

He seems to instinctively move back, as if he was scared of you, but you're too enthused by the show of his power to really notice or care.

"Do you ever accidentally rot things?" You ask, and the reaction you get from him was surprising. He flinches, as thought the question had upset him. In an effort to save his feelings, you continue on in your excitement. "Just because when my quirk came, I accidentally made my mom sick, I felt so bad. Does that ever happen to you?"

The continuation doesn't seem to help any more, his face souring a little, his eyes sliding to the sides as if he was thinking about something.

"Star." Dabi warns, and your mood instantly shifts.

You'd annoyed him and you'd somehow managed to upset Shigaraki.
You ignored the rule of not asking Shigaraki too many questions, something Dabi made sure you remembered not to do before coming here, all because you were stupid and excited about seeing such a cool quirk in person.
You'd messed up everything.
You'd messed up this opportunity for Dabi, and yourself.
Now he was definitely going to leave you behind. You were going to have to figure out your way on the streets again while trying to keep out of hero and police radars.

You're about to open your mouth to apologize to both Dabi and Shigaraki when Dabi's chair squeaks against the floor, leaving you to turn in panic to face him.

"Goin' for a smoke. Stay here." He says, ruffling your hair.

The simple action has your heart lifting with hope.
He can't be mad if he's willing to do that. You've seen him in a bad mood now, and he didn't like being touched, or touching, when he was like that.

"You didn't leave to smoke before." Shigaraki observes, and you don't need to turn around to hear the frown in his voice.

"I don't smoke 'round her." Dabi shrugs. "Only got little lungs."

"I'll come with you. We can talk."

The way Shigaraki says the final word makes your whole body jar up.
It was so ominous. Talk in a good way, or a bad way?
Talk about potentially hiring Dabi, or talk about how awful you were and that he didn't want to take Dabi on if you were coming with him.
Did you do something wrong, something that would make him hate you? Should you have let him win all the races so he could ask you as many questions as he wanted? Was he mad that you hadn't drunk all your apple juice? Did he get mad when you stared at him a little earlier? Did you ask the wrong questions?

You just watch, clearly nervous, as the two walk off to the other end of the bar together, taking a seat opposite one another.

"Miss Star."

You jolt a little, looking over at Kurogiri, wishing there was more of a face to read as you look at him. You may be able to get the answers you need from him if you could see a clear face instead of flickering yellow eyes in a purple mist.

"Would you like some fruit snacks?" He asks.

"Um... If that's okay..." You reply. You were a little hungry, and you hadn't actually eaten any fruit or vegetables for a while.

He nods, getting to work on cutting you up some fruits behind the bar. You watch carefully, fascinated by how he could possibly be holding a knife in those hazy hands of his, only occasionally looking over to the booth you'd seen Dabi and Shigaraki sit at, wondering what the 'talk' was about.