Chapter 7

Hello everyone! Mimmy here with chapter 7 of The Flame's Shadow! I hope you enjoy!!

#WritingMatters

“They are doing some stupid internships with pro-heroes.”

For some reason he would never it aloud, Dabi tensed up. “Pro-heroes?” he asked. That was bad. That was bad in more ways than one. “Which ones?”

Matt just shrugged. “I'm not sure, a few kids were mentioning it a few days ago in the lounge area. That's not what worries me, I've managed just fine so far. But...” Dabi wanted to interrupt him, but he stopped himself. “There are some kids in my class that could be a problem.”

Dabi glanced at the entrance to the living room and frowned a bit, he grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him further away, not wanting Toga or Twice to listen. “Why?” he asked, seemingly ready to burn down U.A if he had to.

“There's a group, the one Hiro is part of, they're... pushy,” Matt started. “I don't know how far they're willing to go, but they tried to start a fight a few days ago,” he said, “someone came in before it could escalate but it was hard not to burn them alive.”

“What are their quirks?” Dabi's question was sharp and direct, giving no room for Matt to avoid answering.

“Hiro's is some variant of the frost quirk in your family... Eri's is something water-related, but I haven't figured out what it is... and I stil don't know Kairi's... I haven't really interacted much with him.”

“Water? Out of all people you could have bad blood with you choose your one weakness?” Dabi let out a scoff and leaned against the wall beside him.

A snicker came from the living room. “Remind you of someone?” Twice called as Toga chuckled.

“Shut it,” Dabi hissed, not needing to glare at them before turning back to Matt, trying to steer the conversation back on the right track. “Well, you've got a lot to consider while you're there. Those pros are not people to mess with either,” he said.

“You said they didn't stand a chance against us!” Matt frowned. “I get they can't know about me but... you managed to keep it a secret just fine without a problem,” he said.

Dabi raised an eyebrow. “That's what you think?” he asked, getting a nod from Matt. “Do you know how I managed? Everyone, not just my family, but the entire country thought I'd died, and they all only saw me the way I wanted them to. I never allowed anyone to see me whenever there was something wrong. I was Dabi from the League of Villains, no background leads.” He shifted, pushing off the wall. “You have too many background leads. If you used your quirk or said the wrong thing, they would figure it out. Just the fact that you're keeping your identity and quirk a secret is suspicious enough. If you came in with the wrong person, you wouldn't need to use your quirk or open up for them to know you're my son.”

Matt groaned, slightly annoyed. “And my friends?”

A look of shock and disbelief crossed Dabi's eyes. “Your what?” Matt's annoyance visibly grew at the question. “You have friends? Since when?” he asked, glancing at the living room and seeing Twice and Toga at the door, listening without trying to be sneaky about it.

“I thought you hated everyone,” Toga said, also confused. “That's what you always told me. You never mentioned friends.

“I did hate everyone... I just met a few people who are decent enough to be around. They're not exactly friends but they're the closest to it.” A spark of interest crossed Dabi and Toga's eyes and Matt sighed. “There are three kids, and they're really nice, so we hang out from time to time.” That didn't seem to satisfy either of them, in fact, Twice seemed deeply interested as well. “I don't know that much about them, just their names... I'm not even sure what their quirks are. But they're nice.”

“Useless...” Dabi muttered. “Don't spark our interest if you're gonna give us nothing.” Matt scoffed and rolled his eyes. “But, seriously, you need to be careful, those people are not heroes.” Matt nodded slowly. “And, if they find out, none of them will help you out of trouble, no matter how much you think you can trust them.”

Twice and Toga exchanged a look and shifted a bit but stayed quiet, knowing better than to talk when Dabi was in full protective parental mode.

Matt nodded. “I know. I won't trust them, I promise.” He sighed. “Well, I'm going to bed. Good night,” he said, walking away without really waiting for a response.

When Matt was out of sight and earshot, Twice and Toga turned to Dabi. “Someone's projecting...” Twice said, leaning casually against the doorframe. “He's a smart kid, he won't fall for it.” Dabi shot a glare at him. “I'm not saying you're an idiot, I'm just saying he's not!” He shifted. “Although you kinda are...”

Dabi's glare didn't soften, he just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Keep bringing that shit up and I will kill you, especially around him.” His gaze shifted to Toga. “I am not in the mood to give explanations.”

Twice blinked. “We all make mistakes, man, it's fine! It's just that yours were really bad.” Toga bit back a laugh and Dabi groaned, turning to walk away. “Okay, okay!” Twice conceded, seeing Toga nod beside him.

“Don't worry, Dabi,” she said with a smile Dabi wasn't sure he could consider trusting. “I know he won't make your mistakes, look at him! He's got you. You had us... it's not exactly the best thing. It's not like you had a dad.”

Dabi looked back at her, his eyes wide. “Gee, thanks, crazy,” he said. “Makes me feel much better.”

In truth, it almost did relieve him. Despite everything he was, he had tried to keep Matt's childhood and upbringing the furthest from what his own had been like. He had tried his best to not be like Endeavor had been, and, so far, it seemed to be working just fine. He just hoped it wouldn't all fall apart now that heroes were getting involved in Matt's life.