"Jirou!" You scoff as the call disconnects, wanting to throw away your phone. Oh my God, oh my goodness, gee wow, who would've thought that a complete stranger wasn't supposed to be trusted. Who knew that your bad decisions and trusting the wrong people would lead to bad outcomes that could harm those around you, wow! Who could've known?!

     You try and call a few more times, before giving up and walking off to go after her yourself.

     Locking the door behind you, you cursed at the elevator that was still slowly, painfully taking its time to go up, not even anywhere close to your floor.

     Finding that it wasn't gonna come any time sooner, you curse and walk towards the stairs instead, slamming the doors open and descending down as quickly as you could. You almost tripped multiple times, but that didn't really matter if it meant saving your friend's ass from wherever she was. 

     "Ow, ow, ow," You breathlessly mumble as you skipped more than a few steps, almost falling off and twisting your ankle multiple times. Almost. 

     You pant as you look at the number on which floor you got on, which was twelve. And. . . you had to reach. . . the ground floor. Which meant. . . more stairs.

     Good God did you have to work out more.

     You inhale sharply, as you go on, hopping over the railings and jumping every four steps. It was a pain, a hassle and an overall nuisance to today. Halfway down you even forgot why you were doing this in the first place, but as your mind flashed to the thoughts of food you then remember that you were going down the stairs to look for your roommate. 

     With each rest you took you shot her a message, each one getting more and more desperate as it showed no hope of her ever responding.

     You pant as you finally reach the ground floor, stumbling towards the door as you opened it looking disheveled. You emerged on the other side to the face of the same man you had rode with on the elevator earlier, still on his phone but finally looking up as he hears the doors to the stairs slamming open. You looked hung over, makeup smudged and hair sticking to your forehead from the sweat as you awkwardly grin.

     He only stares for a few moments, sending a weird smile of his own before going right back to his phone.

     You paid it no mind, rushing through the crowds as you arrive at the glass doors and pushing it open as your wide eyes look through the slowly dispersing crowd from earlier today's events. Police were leaving the scene with some people arrested, pesky TV crews now done with interviewing random people— but not a single purple haired guitarist in sight.

     You clicked your tongue in exasperation, before turning to the parking lot. Maybe her truck would be there.

     You run over, ignoring the blazing heat that bit at your skin as you made your way. Having to push past people was a work out in itself, but you manage to eventually reach it. It was jam packed with cars, many belonging to rich people that for some reason wanted to park here. You groan even louder, getting to work as you run past many of them, calling out to Jirou as though somehow her truck would respond with an 'Oi mate, I'm ova' here, stop yelling yeah.'

     . . .

     You didn't know why you imagined it with an Australian accent, but eh might as well commit to it. 

     "Kyoka! Kyoka where the hell are you?!" You cry out as you look past many vehicles, trying everything from looking under them to standing on the tip of your feet and jumping up and down like a defected jack-in-a-box. But with enough will power, you eventually spot the hideously colorful thing next to a blue car you couldn't care to name. It looked expensive, and that's about it. It looked like the type of picture you would expect to see if you searched for an expensive blue car on google. 

     You rush over to it, looking through the window to see her guitar and your lunch on the seats, probably already melted. 

     "Goddammit Kyoka where are you," You huff, grabbing your phone and opening up her number. You gasp as you see a response, a simple 'I'm coming home' making you sigh in relief. You look around, head tilted as high as you physically could before it snapped right off your neck as you strained to look for her. 

     "You look like a flamingo." You let out a small scream, snapping it towards the voice of Jirou, who was holding onto her phone and keys. Her outfit was ruined, her hair looked worse than yours and her mascara was—

     Actually, her mascara looked as fine as ever. 

     "Oh thank Britney Spears you're okay," You huffed into her jacket, earning a small groan of complaint going 'sticky' as you embraced her small figure in a probably-painful hug. "You have," She pants, exiting your embrace, "a lot of explaining to do."

     You sigh, nodding. "I know. But can this wait? I haven't eaten and you look like shit, let's go home first." Her face scrunches up, glaring at yours. "You're one to talk."

● ● ●

     "Do I hear a three hundred, a three hundred, oh a four hundred! Four hundred, a four hundred. Anyone wishing to go higher?"

     Dabi clicks his tongue as he looks down at the ongoing auction. He didn't know why he had to be dragged along, seeing as this was a job for Mr. Compress. But that didn't exactly annoy him that much. He didn't really have anything to do. But having to sit so close to the commotion, as a Goddamn eye-in-the-sky they stationed like a fucking gargoyle statue, and having to be silent the whole way through? Now that was torture to the man who had one too many things to say. 

     He sneers as the number goes higher, finding the idea of a bunch of old geezers fighting for a piece of rock a random person found in their basement and calling it 'ancient', putting a ridiculous price tag that only got higher as time goes on utterly stupid and a complete waste of time. 

     "Enjoying yourself, Frankenstein?" A voice belonging to a very punch-able face rings out in his ear like an annoying insect, sneering as Shigaraki laughs in the other line, knowing damn well that he wouldn't be able to respond even if he so wanted to. "Hah, sucker. How's it in the kitchen, leech?" Toga cries out quietly, the girl more than a little pissy. "It's stinky, that's how. Did I seriously have to hide here in the storage, out of all places?" There was the sounds of shuffling, and very obviously she wasn't comfortable. "Why couldn't I get a cute disguise or something? I would look  so cute in their uniform!"

     "Alright, alright shut up already I didn't ask for a fucking yelp review." Their leading man scowls, Dabi wanting to either mute the earpiece or just throw it out a window altogether. "Should be good to go in a few more seconds. You got that thing set up yet, hats-for-brains?"

     "Screw you." Came Mr. Compress' voice, before being followed up by a begrudging yes. Dabi had already zoned out by then, eyes scrutinizing the still-ongoing event directly below him in pure boredom. "And sold, to the Mr. Centabridge up front!" His ears perk up at the name, miraculously being able to remember it from their briefing a few hours before. "Come and get your price, good sir!" 

     "Alright pucker up, show-off. Your next magic trick is coming up to the stage." Shigaraki barks through, the man now being a whole lot interested to see the man's brains blowing out of his ears. From where he would be standing in, Mr. Compress would have a very clear shot, so this should be a pretty short mission. 

     At least that's what everyone, including Dabi, thought. 

     He turns to see the door to the room opening and seeing a familiar face, grimacing at that coincidence. Oh God why'd you have to show up now?! He bit his lip as he looks to where the bullet would be flying from, trying to ignore your voice that asked multiple times why you had to be there. 

     "I told you, this is my first time, and I get nervous, okay?" Momo whispers with a giggle, grabbing hold of both you and Jirou as she leads you towards her reserved seats. "You don't get nervous, you deal with people— that's your whole thing. . !" You tried to reason as you get forcibly sat down on the cold metal chairs, "Also, why not just be with your brother?! He's here with us too!" The air conditioner blasted in all four corners of the room like it wasn't already nearing December outside, turning the whole already-dead feeling building into a morgue. "Okay, my ass definitely has hypothermia now." 

     "Quiet," Jirou shushes, gesturing to the already ongoing auction that you missed the opening of because someone refused to wear a dress and spent five hours trying to decide on a tie color out of all things. "You're one to talk. . ." You pout as you lean back, inhaling sharply as the cold metal once again gave it's seasonal greeting and bit at your exposed back. 

     Today was supposed to be a rest day. Rest! But it seems that your good Yaoyorozu friend had an auction to attend to in place of her parents. And you got hit with a sobering reminder that she was in fact still human and even then got nervous at times. Especially because this was her very first one, but still you had a right to complain. 

     Also, who throws an event like this late into the night on a Sunday?! People have lives too, y'know!

     You turn to the front, where a man, probably in his early fifties, held onto. . . what looked to be a piece of rock, watching in horror at the number displayed as it's final bidding price. "That much for something literally anyone can find in their backyard. . ?!" You quietly cried towards your two friends, who sat next to each other in awkward shoulder-touching distance. "Not everyone has a backyard, Y/N-san. Heck, we don't have a backyard."

     "Uh, yes we do, it's on our balcony." You once again get shushed by Raven, the girl excitedly eyeing what looked to be. . . oh look at that. Another piece of nature one could easily pick off a sidewalk. But oh no folks, don't be fooled! It wasn't just any regular rock, this time it was shinier! How impressive!

     "Momo-chan. . . please don't—"

     "Oh I believe I will," The girl giggles as the man starts the next bid at a five, not being able to hold herself as she raises one of the given placards. "Oh wow! We have a twenty right off the bat! Anyone possibly wishing to go higher?" You and Jirou bury your faces in your hands collectively, not being able to believe the casual attitude old-rich type of people showed in events like these.  

     Unbeknownst to you, a different sort of situation was happening in the very same building you were on right now. 

     "Hey Shiggy, uhh," Toga's voice registers through the communicator with a slight nervous laugh a few moments earlier, what sounded to be a man quietly groaning in pain beside her making the black haired male sigh quietly as the thought of the blonde doing something off the initial plan once again. "So I may or may not have grabbed someone— But don't worry, don't worry! He's a complete John Doe and no one saw me."

     "Toga. . ." Shigaraki's ticked-off voice made Dabi practically feel the nervous reactions from the rest of the party. A pissy Shigaraki was an annoying Shigaraki. But an angry Shigaraki was a bad Shigaraki. 

     I mean come on, look at what happened to the dinosaurs and the now lost city of Atlantis.

     "Oh, oh he's trying to get away. Give me a second, I'm just gonna go after him." What followed next was a few moments of silence, the target getting his hands on the item and was now making his way back to his seat. 

     "Shouldn't he be dead by now?" He dared make a sound, whispering into the earpiece as quietly as he could as, in a split second, alarms start flashing in a frenzy, red lights going off as water sprinklers soaked the people below. Okay, extra much.

     Many of the rich folk started reacting most immediately, idle chatter and whispering turning in a symphony of panic as many tried and covered their heads. "I fucked up, I fucked up, I really fucked up, oh God," Dabi rolls his eyes and groans loudly as Toga's voice resounds, not even minding if anyone heard him as he hops to his feet, holding onto the wooden supports that kept the roof up and glaring below. The sprinklers were situated on the bottom side of the plank he was stationed on, so he was thankfully kept dry and not yet useless. 

     "I am going to kill you!" Shigaraki practically screeched into the earpiece, barking at Mr. Compress to pull the trigger. "I can't! I lost visual!"

     "Why are you all so useless?! You, fuck-face! If the alarms are gonna go off we might as well give them a real fucking fire to worry about!" He hums in amusement, "You sure?"

     "Yes I'm fucking sure! If none of us can kill him then at least make yourself useful and burn him to a crisp for me, dammit!" He laughs at that, happily taking off his glove and touching the very vulnerable piece of wood right beside him with a wide, wide grin. "No need to tell me twice."

     But alas, he did have to be told twice. 

     He feels that all-too familiar heat rising in his arms, hand sparking with blue as he grips the start of his next arson quest. But as his eyes trail down. . . He couldn't help but notice your panicking form standing out from the rest of the crowd. You were leading others out the door, having to be grabbed by your friends to avoid being left behind as Dabi clicks his tongue at the thought of you being dragged into this again.

     Nonetheless he sets the entire pillar aflame, the fire quickly spreading through the rest as he jumps out of the way before it either burned him or the light revealed his position to the public.

     Meanwhile you were currently trying to chase other people out, pushing them to continue on as Jirou grabs your wrist and scolds you for trying to be a hero. "Either you live, or you don't! Let's get out of here!" You refused to argue while in the middle of a panicking crowd, so you agree with her and run after.

     But as you looked back into the room to try and see if there were more people inside, you noticed. . . blue flames? Your eyes widened in horror as it lit up the room and spread through everything faster than the plague, now full on shoving your two friends out as the musician had no need to grab your wrist along with her. "Go, go, go!"

     You reached the emergency exit quite quickly, the door wide open as people pushed through to get out. But before you could follow after your friends, a man pushes you out of the way and sends you flying towards the wall, crying out in pain as you probably broke at least two of your bones from the impact. "Y/N!" Momo's horrified screech stood out from even the ongoing commotion, watching as the two girls struggle to go against the crowd and back towards you.

     Gee how cliché.

     You wince as you cradled your arm, dislocated in everything and about two tugs from falling right off your body. You lean against the wall in an effort to keep yourself up, each person that shoved through the emergency exit not sparing a glance your way as you frowned.

     Not because they didn't care, you wouldn't either, but because your arm and back hurt like a bitch.

     You waited until the crowd somewhat lessened, deciding that breaking more of your arm trying to escape the building would be an overall stupid idea on your part. But as you look to your side you remember why people were running in the first place, and decided that pain be damned, you weren't gonna be dying today.

     "Out of my way!" You yell as you push through, managing to reach the somewhat middle of the ongoing stream of people as you go down as quickly as you could. This was a relatively small building, so you should be able to reach the ground floor in a matter of minutes.

     But, of course there was a but, that wasn't happening anytime soon.

     You groan loudly, being drowned out by the rest of the noise as you look over the railing and down. There was. . . what you could only describe as a clogged toilet trying to push down more pieces of shit that it could physically flush down but ultimately failing and it's just not a good time for everyone involved.

     A very vivid description, but it made sense to you.

     You look around, before looking at the nearby door that, with relatively little effort, you could reach. You know that there were a different flight of stairs, and even if it was risky, a part of you was sure that the fire upstairs hadn't reached this floor yet.

     Hugging your broken arm even closer—seriously how strong was that asshole for him to be able to throw you to a wall and almost break your arm in half—you push through the crowd, drowning in the smells of both sweat and ridiculously expensive perfume mixing into an all gummed up mess of an experience.

     You push open the door with a deep breath, closing it behind you and catching your balance for a moment. But the slowly strengthening smell of smoke reminded you of how you weren't exactly safe just yet.

     You rush towards the stairs, happy to see that no one was stupid enough to go through here as well, so you pretty much had it all to yourself.

     You rush down, a weird sense of déjà vu coming over you the more steps you skipped and jumped over.

     Although this time, it was a lot harder to do in heels.

     "God, fucking, fuck!" You yell in frustration as you kick off your shoes, grabbing and holding them close with a lot of effort to make sure you didn't either drop it or break your arm trying to avoid said dropping. Christ, with the way things were going you might as well file this as the worst day of your life. Ding ding ding peeps, we got a winner.

     "Isn't this an interesting predicament?" You didn't even need to see to know who that voice came from, once again groaning, "How and why are you everywhere?!"

     Dabi laughs out loud as his face comes into view in the floor you arrived in, holding out a hand free from his gloves. You only stop however, glaring at the obvious char marks on his more. . . normal, skin.

     "Alright Dabi what's going on?" You pry, taking a small step back, "First Jirou almost gets killed earlier today, where you were present no less, and then now you're suddenly, magically in a burning building filled to the brim with rich old geezers two steps away from kicking the bucket in their sleep— who are you?"

     He could only sigh, expecting that this question would come no matter how many times he'll try and avoid it. "Okay, I'll explain everything. But can I please save you first?"

     "No, I want to know everything now."

     He scoffs in disbelief, the look on your face very much set on your decision as he gestures to the emptying building and the fact that there was still very much a fire upstairs.

     Sure, he started it, but hey! He didn't want you to die to it either way!

     "Dollface, come on, you can't be serious!"

     "Oh, I am, I very much am. So either you start talking or we both die a gruesome, fire-y death." He bites the inside of his cheek, eyes darting up the stairs and the faintest sign of smoke coming through, "Okay, okay fine, fine." He could see satisfaction playing on your lips, and decided that hiding the truth wouldn't be of much use.

     Especially because a fire he caused was about to come any minute now and kill the both of you, so he best start chatting.

note ; sorry for the late-ish update, kind of hit a writer's block lmao. hope you're enjoying the story so far! also i'll be changing the update schedule from everyday to every other day, because ✨life✨

see you next chapter!