Chapter 35: League of Villains VI

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A/N: Enjoy this chapter a day early! I have my lifeguard recertification training tomorrow, so I'll be swimming, practicing CPR, and dragging limp bodies from the pool all day tomorrow for TWELVE hours of training! I might be too exhausted by the time it's over to write or even post anything, so enjoy the early post today!

"Does Dabi know that you're P05itiv3R3v0lt?" Shigaraki asked, recovering from the fact that all of his previous plans were now off the table.

"Uh..." Denki stalled as he thought back, "I think so," Denki said as he realized. "We were talking about me stupidly being in love with Neito and Hitoshi when he just kind of abruptly changed the subject and asked if I liked video games. I think he figured it out then."

"And that's when he sent you in here to play games with me..." Shigaraki mused aloud, conflicted.

What the UA student was saying earlier about Dabi truly caring for him started making sense to Shigaraki. How else would Dabi trust sending in his long-time friend, who also happened to be his gaming friend, in to play with Shigaraki unless he knew that Denki would make it out safely? Did he really trust him that much? Or did he just know him that well?

He knew that Dabi valued P05itiv3R3v0lt by the way they planned to hunt down the offending soulmates if any harm was to come to their online friend after the almost-kiss had happened. If Dabi cared for this kid so much, how could he risk his wellbeing by sending him in to compromise with Shigaraki of all villains? Did Dabi recognize that Shigaraki isn't as explosive as everyone makes him out to be?

Maybe Dabi just knew both of them well enough that he predicted how the exchange would go and knew that Denki's personality wasn't going to clash with Shigaraki's. But that would mean that Dabi had been paying more attention to Shigaraki during their interactions than he had realized.

Shigaraki's heart fluttered in his chest at the possibilities of what that could mean.

"That manipulative, little—ugh!" Denki raged with wide eyes before storming over to the door and ripping it open before bolting out.

In true Denki fashion, Shigaraki noticed that he didn't hesitate in which direction to run in. He was always good with his spatial memory, always quickly becoming familiar and confident with the game maps. It was no surprise that this skill turned out to be useful in real life, too.

What was a surprise was to the other villains who were lounging around the barroom, waiting for Shigaraki to come break the news that he accidentally-on-purpose killed the UA student after they had discovered that Dabi left the two alone together.

"Hey, uh—where's the kid?" Spinner had asked as Dabi leisurely strolled into the barroom like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Ah, Denki?" Dabi asked, like there was another 'kid' that Spinner could possibly be referring to. "He's playing games with the boss man."

"You left Kaminari alone with Shigaraki?!" Toga shrilled, jumping to his feet. "You want him dead now, or what?! I thought we needed him! I thought you liked him!" she accused, pointing a judgmental finger in Dabi's direction.

"He's going to be fine. They'll both be better off for it," Dabi reassured, but the other villains weren't as confident and started planning what the next steps would be if Shigaraki killed their captive.

Spinner, Toga, Twice, and Magne jumped, whipping around to look at the staircase when they heard a scream that had to have been from Denki.

Even Mr. Compress and Kurogiri peered around the stairway, concerned.

Dabi was unphased, sitting there, playing with the remaining ice in his glass from his finished drink as a smile started growing over his face.

"You really did want the kid dead," Spinner accused in a whisper, noticing Dabi's reaction.

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