Chapter Text
Fuyumi texted Dabi to tell him she wouldn't be going to the Forge that Saturday. After her scare with Natsuo discovering the bruises, she decided to take some time off from fighting. Her body needed time to heal.
It left her a little jittery, her body accustomed to exerting itself to its limits at least once a week. Being chased by Miruko during the week had provided a similar adrenaline rush, but she couldn't really fight Miruko much in earnest. She always fought her to escape, not to win.
So when the grocery store she was shopping at got attacked, she was maybe too excited.
It was a small store, with only one register that was currently being held up at knife point. Or rather, scissor-point.
Oh it was the scissor man. Or, as he was called at the Forge: Snipper. He had shown up at the Forge once or twice since Fuyumi first saw him, but last time he'd ended up using his scissors on his opponent, and was kicked out for breaking the rules.
Now he had an accomplice who held open a bag as Snipper held his scissor hands up against the cashier's throat. The cashier was moving slowly, transferring money carefully to not jostle his throat against the blades, though Snipper shouted at him to hurry up. Crimes like these were preferably fast: Get in, get the money, and get out before any heroes or cops have time to get on the scene. They clearly weren't equipped to handle anyone interfering.
Fuyumi tried to calm herself. She was nearby, perusing some different seaweed brands by the entrance, but didn't have her mask or weapons, and this was a delicate situation. Any wrong move could slice the cashier's throat open.
But it was frustrating to see the bag grow bigger. This wasn't a big store; they probably would struggle to make up that kind of loss. If nobody interfered soon, the robbers would just get away and the store would be out of luck. Well, hopefully they had insurance, but crime insurance was expensive in this city.
So when they finally had emptied the drawer and started running out, Snipper's hands leaving the cashier, Fuyumi couldn't help but sweep her foot to leave a paper-thin trail of ice on their path. Just a tiny delay that would give the Pros more time to get here.
The effect was near instantaneous, Snipper slipping first and landing on his face before his accomplice fell on top of him. Fuyumi desperately wanted to jump on top of them, pin them down and maybe throw a couple of punches, but that would be too obvious of an interference so she held herself back.
She failed at holding back her laughter.
It's just... it was comical, seeing Snipper try to be a rugged, don't-mess-with-me type robber when last time she'd seen him he had still lost a battle even when he used his quirk. Now he guffawed at his own accomplice, making blames of ineptitude that Fuyumi had to laugh at.
"You think that's funny, bitch?"
Turns out laughter was distracting. Snipper had the chance to get up and aim his scissors at her throat now. She had to work very, very hard to restrain her continued laughter. He grabbed her arm, causing her to drop her basket of groceries. A head of lettuce rolled on the floor, unsanitarily. "If anyone tries shit, this woman gets it!"
With that, he began dragging Fuyumi out of the store, scissors at her throat. She almost held back a grin. Was he going to take her to an isolated secondary location? With no witnesses? She was practically vibrating at the thought.
Once they were in a far off alleyway, they finally stopped moving. "We're gonna let you go, and you're gonna wait here for ten minutes before moving, alright?" Snipper told her.
She nodded, trying to look scared.
He let her go, hand withdrawing from her neck, so she struck.
Knee in the crotch, always a goodie (banned at the Forge, tragically, after she used it a few too many times and Lead started getting complaints). He immediately doubled over, and his friend ran to restrain her. Him grabbing her arms was convenient, since it allowed her to duck under his body, shift him onto her back, and then fling him onto Snipper. When they collided together, he lost grip of her hands and she was free to move. She grabbed Snipper and flung him against the wall of the alley, hopefully causing enough head trauma for memory loss. Once she did the same to his accomplice and they looked suitably unconscious, she picked up the bag of money. She left the alleyway, intending to go right back to the store.
Instead she almost had a heart attack.
Miruko was hopping down the street. As soon as she spotted Fuyumi, she changed her trajectory to land right in front of her. Fuyumi's heart went a mile a minute. Did Miruko know? Fuyumi was in civilian-mode, but did she see all of that and suspect-
"White hair with red flecks..." Miruko murmured, as though repeating a description, "Are you the gal who got taken hostage by some thugs?"
Oh. That was why she was being followed. "Y-yes."
Miruko looked down at the bag. "They left the money with you?"
"Uh..." Fuyumi rushed for an explanation, "They dragged me here, but then someone came and beat them up for me, so I thought I'd return this bag."
"'Someone', huh? Describe 'em."
Fuyumi panicked. She couldn't describe an actual hero or Miruko might ask and figure out she's lying. And there was only one vigilante she knew well enough to describe, and who would definitely corroborate the story if confronted. "She had like, black clothing, and wore blue goggles?"
Miruko's face darkened. "Leia."
Fuyumi gulped.
Then Miruko went into the alley, slapping cuffs on both robbers before lifting both over her shoulders. It was an interesting sight, the petite hero carrying two grown men. Fuyumi had always admired her strong legs and thighs, but now she couldn't help but wonder how much Miruko could bench press.
"Come on, there are some cops back at the store who can take these guys. You just focus on carrying that bag, if anyone tries to take it I'll beat them up."
That was... reassuring? Fuyumi walked back with her, an unfamiliar feeling after being chased for so long. Like this, she could actually take a moment to look at Miruko. She wondered if she could move her big ears on their own. She stood straight and confident, eyebrows pinched with a determined grin. If Fuyumi wasn't used to being her prey, she probably would feel incredibly secure next to this mountain of a woman.
Once everything was taken care of, Miruko patted Fuyumi on the back. "Stay safe, lady."
With that, she leaped away, and Fuyumi had the chance to watch her going away for once.
Fuyumi was accustomed to chasing down trouble herself, not trouble coming directly to her.
Which is why she wasn't expecting a sneak attack from behind as she patrolled. In the ensuing scuffle, she hadn't had time to pull out any of her usual weaponry, and was disoriented from the suddenness of the attack. It was dizzying how quickly she ended up pinned, a stranger raising a dagger above her heart.
"The Fukuron send their regards," He said as he stabbed down.
She froze her chest, above her athletic shirt, under her jacket, creating a thick barrier. It turned out to be for naught, though, since just before his dagger reached her, he was flung to the side by seemingly nothing.
Fuyumi was confused, but took the opportunity to get up, scurrying backwards to put some distance between herself and her attacker. He was now pinned to the wall by... feathers?
"Oof, attempted murder? Not a good path to go down," A young male voice said.
Fuyumi's head flicked to see Hawks, the pro-hero, flying into the scene. He was quick enough that she barely registered his presence before he had the man cuffed. He used his feathers to send the man flying away, presumably to a police station or something?
She wasn't going to stick around to find out. She turned to run-
And was instantly lifted by feathers. "Hey, hey, slow down, I'm not here to hunt you. You're that gal Miruko is always chasing, right? I know lots of heroes disagree, but I think vigilantes are a blessing. Doing the work of a hero, for free? It lightens our burdens."
Fuyumi regretted freezing her chest. She was getting chillier the longer he talked. "Put me down."
The feathers pulled back and she began running again, only to gasp at the cold permeating her ribs. She punched at her own chest, trying to break up the ice so she could spread it away from her heart, but she had made it sturdy and thick enough to deflect a dagger, so her punches did nothing.
Maybe she could slide the whole thing out of her jacket, but Hawks was still right behind her- "You okay there?" He asked.
Fuyumi frowned at him. She wasn't about to sort of reveal her quirk to a pro-hero, who could search a quirk registry for suspects. "I'm fine, leave."
"Hey, hey, wait," He hovered around her, "You seem kinda sick, are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm sick of your presence," Her cruel words were weakened by her teeth-chattering. She wanted to run, but she wouldn't get far like this.
"Uh, you got a cold or something? If you need some help, I'm not gonna turn you in-"
"No. Leave."
"Can I at least fly you somewhere safe or something?
"I'm not going to share any locations with you."
"Fair enough. But I can't leave a woman alone, shivering on the ground like you are. I know a place that would-"
"She's not alone," Dabi's voice was a relief.
Knowing heat was so close, she gathered the strength to get up and stumble in his direction. He caught her and pulled her upright, glaring at Hawks the whole time.
"You her friend or something?" Hawks asked.
As they made conversation, Fuyumi saw a trash can right behind a corner. She walked in that direction as Dabi spoke, "Yeah, so back the fuck off."
Fuyumi almost stumbled again upon hearing Dabi admit they're friends. She rounded the corner and unzipped her jacket, leaning into the trashcan to let the hunk of ice slide out. "No need to go all guard dog on me, just trying to make sure she'd make it home okay."
With the ice disposed of, Fuyumi zipped her jacket back up and returned to Dabi's side, watching the staring contest between the two men with a front-row seat. "Well she'll be okay with me, so you can leave."
Hawks slid his eyes over to Fuyumi, as though searching for clues as to their relationship. Fuyumi took a step closer to Dabi and nodded, as though to say Yeah he's safe, I trust him.
Hawks shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to it, then."
With a lazy wave, he flew away. As soon as he was out of sight, Dabi turned to Fuyumi. He seemed startled by how close she was standing to him, and took a step back. She wished she could hug him and soak up all his heat, but she remembered he had expressly forbidden that before. Once Dabi established his comfortable speaking distance, he asked, "Did he do anything?"
"N-no, if anything he was helpful, got rid of some Fukuron dude who a-attacked me, but after that he j-just refused to leave me alone."
Dabi's eyes widened. "You're shivering."
She needed a cover. "I caught a cold."
"Ugh, fuck," Dabi grumbled, "And you went out while sick? You dumbass."
She wrapped her arms around herself, still struggling to make up body heat after having so much sucked away by her impromptu ice barrier. She avoided Dabi's eyes, knowing that when he called her a 'dumbass', it was sincere. "Whatever."
She was surprised when warmth enveloped her. An actual... hug? From Dabi? "Like you've said, I'm warm," He told her, "Don't think too much about it. Just trying to make sure you don't actually die from a cold."
Her shiver melted away in his arms. "...Thanks."
"Stop doing stupid shit."
It wouldn't have been stupid if Hawks hadn't suddenly appeared, but she understood Dabi's reaction to her cover story. "Yeah."
"...So the Fukuron attacked you?"
Fuyumi's brain caught up with the events that occurred, and now she had time to process. "Yeah, I guess an assassination attempt?"
Dabi's grip on her tightened. "Those fuckers are gonna pay."
Fuyumi laughed. "Honestly, I'm a little flattered they think so highly of me, that I'm important enough to get rid off."
"You've interfered with a lot of their plans."
"You've interfered, too, so watch your back, Dabi."
"Unlike you, I don't go out when I'm sick."
Fuyumi grumbled. After spending that conversation in the nice furnace that was Dabi's arms, She had mercy on him and took a step back. "I think I'm warm enough to make it home."
Dabi avoided her eyes. "Fucking good."
Apparently that was all Dabi needed as reassurance, since he immediately stalked away. Fuyumi also left, and as soon as she got home she drew up the hottest bath she could, soaking in the heat and keeping her perpetual coldness at bay.
She relaxed into the bath, thinking. Dabi was a rough kind of guy, but the more time she spent with him the more it became clear that he cared. She wished his personality could be as warm as his quirk, but... it was still nice.
She was a big sister. She took care of things. If Natsuo or Shouto got in trouble, she was the one who bailed them out (usually by cooling Dad's temper). It wasn't in her nature to let someone... protect her.
But when Dabi had shown up, she had felt relieved beyond words. He introduced her to the underground, and it felt like he knew everything. Maybe she was clinging onto him, like a duckling imprinting on the first creature it sees, but she felt like she could rely on him.
The last person she really relied on was Touya.
She wondered if Touya would be insulted if he knew she was starting to see a big brother in Dabi. Touya was only older than her by a few minutes, but he had been attached to the idea of being the 'big' brother. Fuyumi and him used to rely on each other, something she hadn't reciprocated for a long time. Fuyumi hated how her mind drew connections, linking their quirks as if to say This is the older brother Touya could have become.
She left her bath abruptly. She needed to go to bed and stop thinking such things. No one could take Touya's place. It was rude to his memory to treat Dabi as some sort of replacement. They were separate people.
...But perhaps she could imagine Dabi as an additional big brother.