"Uh I still don't get why we need to be here," You admit as soon as you arrive at a pretty-much run down convenience store, glancing and examining the various, uhm, interesting, details that came with the cruel punishment of time. You were currently standing next to Dabi the next day, the man having quite a fixation on the even more rundown apartment building right next to it. He basically dragged you from Chelsea, and all the way to the Upper East Side where this supposed 'hacker' friend of his lived.

     "I can see my old apartment from here!" You laughed as he ignores your question, standing on the tips of your toes to try and get a good look at the shitty building that was about a. . . you guessed that it was probably seven blocks away. Who knows, your depth perception was even shittier than your old home.

     "I'll be right back, dollface," He whispers before disappearing behind the alleyway, pouting that he ignored you once again. "Like talking to a handsome brick wall." You shake your head, turning to the shop and staring at the sign. You couldn't even read or even attempt to understand what the name was originally, all you knew is that it was definitely missing more than a few key letters. You look at where Dabi had walked off to, then back at the entrance of the shop. Deciding that if you were gonna be alone for a few minutes, or even hours, you decided that getting a snack wouldn't be too bad.

     Also because you didn't want the cops getting called on you for loitering, but that's besides the point. 

     The bell hit in a sound you could only describe as a failed attempt at recreating the sounds of a yowling cat, cringing as you enter the place. A weird, rotten scent hit your nose the moment you entered, the cold air from the broken—breaking—air conditioner only acting as an amplifier as you tried your best not to visibly gag. Christ, how had this thing not be shut down yet from the many obvious health code violations? There's literal pools of dirty water rotting in corners!

     Trying—but failing—to ignore it, you head to the chips section. It was a relatively small store, so the smells basically circled around the entire shop with literally no effort. You tried to just focus on choosing a snack, but even then you failed. "It's fine, this is fine, it's fine," You chant nonchalantly under your breath, grimacing at the equally crappy chips they sold. Famous brands were there, yes, you even saw your favorite one! The only problem was, they looked to be molding so much you could've sworn they were housing a new type of bacteria, and the colors were so faded you couldn't tell if this even came from the right century.

     "What the fuck. . ." You whispered as you shake your head, deciding that maybe you'd have a better chance of buying something that didn't have the risk of giving you an extra arm from the fridge.  You turned the aisle, stepping over another puddle of what looked to be spilled coke and heading for the built-in refrigerator at the far end of the small building. One door had an 'OUT OF SERVICE' sign stuck to it, realizing now that the overbearing smell came from there. 

     You skipped it, trying to hold in your breath without having to inhale and opening the second door.

     You sighed in relief that it smelled like any other fridge, scanning the beverages with a judgmental look on your face. The bell sounded once again, flinching at the very weird and annoying sound with a frown. "Okay kid this is the second pack you've bought this week and you're shaking harder than an alarm clock." You tried your best not to eavesdrop, but couldn't help yourself as you send a quick glance. There was what looked to be a pretty small kid, a dirty gray hoodie pulled over their head. "Pfft what? No, must've been someone else. I," She laughed awkwardly, shuffling back and forth, "I just uh, have one of those faces. . ." 

     It sounded like a girl, not noticing that you've stopped moving in an attempt to listen in more. The burly middle aged man sighs, rubbing his temple. "Look, you're the only person in this entire area who I've seen buy this brand of coffee this religiously. And I don't give a f—hmm, crap, about your life choices, but this is a little too much." The kid groans, grabbing more crumpled dollars from her pocket, "I'll pay you extra or something! Just let me buy these." 

     He glares at her, "I'm not taking your money." 

     "Come on, man! I'm literally dependent on this shit." His thick brows only formed a deeper frown, sharpening his gaze, "Watch your tongue, child. Either pick something else or get outta here." The girl sighs in exasperation, before looking around and spotting you, looking a little too interested in their conversation. You sucked in a breath, quickly going back to judging the various drinks behind the glass. But alas, you weren't fast enough. "Hey! Hey lady, can you help me?" You flash an awkward smile as if to ask how, being met with a grin of her own. "Can you buy the coffee for me? I'll pay you, I swear!" 

     "Uh. . ." The man behind the counter was shaking his head in disapproval, "Leave my customer alone, kid." He sighs, "I'll make you a deal. You can get half the pack—"

     "Deal! I'll come back for the rest tomorrow!" She hurriedly ran back to the counter, slamming her money with a bit too much force. So much so that you could've sworn the poor thing was gonna cave in. "Make that next month. You can't just live off of coffee, that's suicide." She groans, but takes her half of the caffeinated beverages nonetheless. The girl was quickly making her way out, but stop as the man clicks his tongue. "This isn't even close to the price it's displayed as. Put that thing back or pay the whole thing in full, little lady." 

     She whipped around her head so quickly that it completely threw her hood off, a look of betrayal on her face. Blue hair was thrown into a low-effort ponytail, her gray eyes on the verge of tears. Were they fake tears? Probably, but hey whatever.

     "What? That's how much I've been paying you each time!" He only furrows his brows deeper, "Well today's lacking, and I'm already charging you at half the price. So either pay me properly, or put those cans back and beat it." After an approximate twelve seconds of contemplation, you jump in with a small awkward clear of your throat, "Uh, how much is she lacking? Exactly?" You weren't sure, but also pretty certain that the girl had stars in her eyes by the time the cashier looked at you with a raised brow. "About fifteen bucks," He hesitated the slightest bit, but you paid it no mind and put down a twenty and—awkwardly—told him to keep the change. 

     The girl looked at you the way you looked at a branch of McDonald's, smiling widely in pure admiration as you nod as if to say no problem. She only continues staring, actually finding it a bit creepy now as you timidly exited the store without another word. 

     Soon you heard the faint sounds of the fucked up bell that now served as a theme song to your sleep paralysis demon, trying to walk quickly but being stopped by the girl. "Hey lady! Wait!" You thought that simply walking away now would be too rude seeing as she had already spoke to you, turning to the girl with the best smile you could force on. "Uh, hey!"

     "Thanks for paying this thing," She held onto the pack like a mother would her baby, only now realizing the sizeable bags under her eyes as you couldn't help but grimace inwardly. "It's no problem." She stares back at you, a look of intrigue and curiosity on her face before her eyes lit up, "L/N Y/N, right?" Christ almighty why'd you have to recognize me, you thought as you slowly nod with yet another forced grin. "Yup. . ! That's uh, me." 

     "Cool! Thanks so much, you're the best!" You could only nod at the compliment, thanking her once again as she still didn't move from her spot. You'd expected her to be leaving by now. Good God where was Dabi when you needed him. "How can I repay you, though?" You were about to dismiss it, but stop as you once again catch sight of how she clearly doesn't have the best sleeping schedule for a kid that was supposed to be. . . you could only guess as either fourteen or fifteen. "Well, you could take that man's words into consideration and uh, not rely on this stuff so much."

     She visibly frowned as you gestured to the half-pack of coffees she still cradled like an infant, and you panicked, thinking that you might've crossed the boundaries with a child you literally just met. "I know, I know." She sighs, before shaking her head, "Okay fine. I promise or whatever, but only because you paid for me." You smile at that, "Right. Anyway, shouldn't you be off? I'm sure your parents must be worried sick." 

     She flashes a toothy grin, already opening up a can with hand that had chipped green nail polish, "Oh, they're not here."

     "What?" She said it in a tone that only made you think of 'murder', and in all honesty, you could've believed it. "I don't—" 

     "Hey sweet cheeks, I got bad news." Boy weren't you glad to have heard that voice to save you out of your misery. The girl looked pissed as she turns around, almost as if she recognized that voice a little too well. Dabi stops, still with his ridiculous sunglasses as you weren't sure where he looked. But you were sure he was glaring back at the girl. "Look like I've got a different type of bad news."

     "Frankenstein,"

     "Brat."

     "Freakazoid." 

     "Seriously?" 

     You stared at their little back-to-back with a look of someone high off their ass, mouth slightly open and eyes distant and confused. Eventually you shake your head, coming in between the two. "Wait wait wait, okay, calm down, both of you. Dabi have you found this friend of yours?" He still glared at the very short girl, giving her forehead a soft flick. "Looks to me you found it first, babe." 

     "And it looks to me that you have a bad taste in men," She turns to you, "No offense." You ignored that little jab, looking back and forth between the two. "You two. . . know each other? Wait, she's the hacker you've been talking about?!" He looks at you with a look that said 'obviously', but he eventually nods to confirm it. You look at her, then back at him, then back at the kid, then back at the criminal. "I. . . what? How— where are this kid's parents?!" You ask Dabi in the tone of a stressed put mother as though the kid in question wasn't right next to you.

     "Philippines." She answered for him, you looking at her in pure concern, "Then what are you doing here in New York?" She shrugs. "I didn't like them that much, so I snuck off to a random plane. Never thought I'd end up here but," The minor only shrugs, "I'm still alive I guess." 

     "Whatever can we continue this somewhere else? It's hot here." Dabi starts off to where he had disappeared in earlier, urging you to follow as he drags the girl by her hood. She complained but did little to fight back, jogging closely behind as you three disappear behind a—get this, folks—another alleyway! Ding ding ding, time to cross 'pass by/hide in a shady alleyway at least five times in the span of a week' off the bucket list! 

     Well, you think it's been five times. But your days mostly blended into one another most of the time so you couldn't say for certain. 

     You reach the back of the building pretty easily, the narrow openings giving you claustrophobia as you stare at the oversized dumpster pushed up against the brick walls. It was dusty, musty, and everything smelled like shit. You could only watch as the girl sighs and jumps up the plastic hood, squeaky and on the verge of breaking. The girl didn't seem to care, almost assured that nothing out of her everyday routine would be out of place. You assumed it was her everyday routine, she looked too comfortable doing it.

     "After you," She gestures to the ladder as she takes another swig from her can, sighing as you mumble a small 'here we go again' and follow after. Dabi took the liberty of going first, a part of him knowing it was the gentleman-ly thing to do. The girl. . . actually, what was the girl called? You felt bad referring to her as just 'the girl' like she was some sort of title for a horror movie. "Hey, I never did get your name." You ask, the blue haired teenager taking off her jacket once you all reach the top. "Freddie. . ." She mumbled, too focused on getting her broken zipper to open before eventually managing to do so. "My name's Freddie."

     "In here, dollface." You raise a brow, looking around before spotting the barely noticeable opening behind wooden planks lazily banged onto the walls. You could've sworn you saw Dabi's blue orbs glowing, staring right back at you as you hesitantly try and enter the settlement. You do so after a few cases of trial and error, ducking as you saw the window was about your hip's height off the ground. Gratefully accepting Dabi's hand, you land on the floor with a small plop, thanking him as Freddie finally enters. "So, who are we stalking today?" She hums as she trudges through, turning a corner towards a hallway. Rats skittered and squeaked in between the cracked portions of the wooden floor and walls, pipes hissing and groaning with age from seemingly everywhere. 

     All the windows in this building seemed to be sealed off from the outside rather than in, wondering how and why that was the choice taken for it. There was practically no light inside the pretty-much abandoned building, save for the small rays that manage to slip past the wooden blockades and scattering across the floor like a ghetto disco. Trying your best not to trip, you and Dabi quickly catch up to the girl finally reaching a door that was in no better shape than the rest of the building. "Yeah that's the thing, our request isn't really just looking for info about someone." You nod in agreement, "We're uh, trying to figure out who the said person is too." 

     "Challenge accepted," Freddie joked, pulling on the door handle with a hiss a moment later. "Fucking. . ." You offered to help, but she only raises a finger in retaliation. "I got it. . . I just gotta," She spoke with a strain as she struggled to pull the door open, a few tugs away from breaking off the hinges and completely collapsing the entire building as she grunts. You turned to Dabi to ask for help, but he only rolls his eyes. Not at you, but at the immigrant making it harder for herself. "Yudipota— got it!" She turns to you with a look of victory, before entering the room with big and decisive steps, collapsing onto the floor in front of the biggest screen you could see inside.

     "Close the door behind you. Alrighty, what's the goal today?" Dabi had to lower his head to avoid hitting the top of the door frame, because for some reason this thing was shorter than most. It creaked and cried as you slowly pull it to a close behind you, awkwardly shuffling behind Dabi and sitting beside him with hesitation. "Uh, is it like. . . possible? To listen in on a previous call? Or something?" She raised a brow, typing a few things into the keyboard with oddly satisfying clacks. "I mean. . . Yeah, I just need a few more details on it? Maybe?" She pauses, trying to articulate her words, "Okay let's make it simple. Which device did this call happen?"

     "Here," Dabi announces as he takes out a phone from his pocket, handing it to Freddie who, for a second, eyed it warily before shrugging and going back to typing. You raise a brow, "I'm gonna assume he didn't just hand that over to you." He grinned cheekily, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

     "You're both gross, the two of you," She scrunches her nose, scrutinizing you and Dabi before already cracking open a second can. It was your turn to scrutinize, "Shouldn't you be keeping your end of the deal?" She shrugs, wiping away some residue with her shirt sleeve, "I will, just not today. Anyway I'm gonna have to make a call, so Stitch-face! I'm gonna need your professional voice." 

     He groans, "Why?"

     "Because I'm still going through puberty and miss fashionista's voice here is too well-known. I got a script, just wait for it." He sighs as you just shrug, taking out your phone and sending Momo a message. She didn't bother asking why you've been, uh. . . more clingy, since yesterday. You've been asking her to keep her guards close and her stilettos closer since the news of someone being out to kill her came into light for you. You knew that it was Dabi tasked to kill her, and that he wouldn't have been able to do that without you knowing since you've been keeping an eye on him too, but it just made you feel better each time she sent her usual 'I'm fine, just a little busy' followed by whatever variation there was of the heart emoji that existed. 

     "Okay just say these words and try to act natural." He rolls his eyes, grabbing the phone she had pulled out as it ringed and ringed. Your legs were starting to feel itchy under your pants, the cobwebs and spiders skittering around the room making you unknowingly scoot closer to Dabi who, was aggressively squinting at the bright light of her screen where her supposed script was written.

     "Government— Are you seriously making him talk to a government official?" She nods excitedly at your question, "Yup! FBI level type of thing. If he's able to do it well, we have a chance of getting access to the call records of this phone," She gestures to the one Dabi had pulled out of thin air, "Where we can listen to a playback or even watch the whole thing through a recorded video from this very camera. Cool, isn't it?" You slowly nod, getting shushed by the man as someone finally answers on the other line.

     In all honesty? You had no idea what he was reading. 

     He used a lot of fancy schmancy code words, but as much as he glared at a part of the script or shifted uncomfortably in his seat, he managed to complete the whole thing while keeping his composure. He sounded like a well established business man, Freddie nodding and grinning widely like a maniac as she did other things on various other, equally-bright looking screens. 'I got it. . !' She mouthed to Dabi, who politely ended the call and glared at the girl right after. "Your shitty script didn't work, they just outright denied everything you damn punk."

     "It wasn't gonna work in a way you'd understand, dork," She snorted, turning the screen to the both of you and holding it like a young girl would her teddy bear, "I got all the phone calls dating all the way back to three months ago. Each of the same person, but we can also hear any other party that might have spoken and the phone recorded— Aren't I awesome?!" You and Dabi move to better examine the long, long list of previous calls, realizing that if you were to end up with a lead by the end of the day, you best started eavesdropping. You and the man sighed, while Freddie only laughed and started from the most recent recording.

● ● ●

     You yawned as you once again go through another recorded message, the client asking for the head of someone you could care less about. "How much do we have to go through?" Dabi yawned as well, shrugging, "No fucking clue."

     "This one sounds promising," Freddie chimed in as she removed her headphones, shuffling over with laptop in hand. "Yaoyorozu Momo, right?" You perk up at that, nodding as she unplugs the headphones. "The model?" There was a few moments of silence, followed by the same voice going, "Alright. Is there a deadline you want us to meet?" 

     ". . .No." By now a different voice spoke, the slightest bit of hesitation present, "Just get it done. Although, if I were to so boldly suggest, the upcoming ball would be the perfect window of  opportunity. But I'm sure you and your gang already have a plan." All three of you remained quiet, but all for very different reasons.

     Dabi stayed quiet because he was just rudely reminded of how he was the man unfortunate enough to be left to do the job, Freddie was just happy to be doing something as serious as whatever was happening. 

     You on the other hand? You were silent because you knew that voice belonged to Momo's brother.