Not Yet

XLV: Painful and Whole

"Come on! Come on come on! We have to get you out of here!" The taller boy mumbled under his heavy breath as he carried the other one on his back. Green tufts of hair from the other boy's head that slumped motionlessly against his shoulder poked at his neck and irritated the stitches around his scar, but that was the least of his worries.

He could hear the screams of civilians in the background, running away from the building he had set aflame with his blue fire.

He had nothing against them, they just happened to live right above their underground lab, so it was just their fate. But he gotta say, it was both dirty and clever, hiding in the middle of the city where no one would suspect villains to set their hideout.

Clever, but dirty, nonetheless.

He had to burn the whole area for distraction if he was to get this nameless boy out of that horrible place. Yet it still left a sour taste in his mouth, to burn innocent civilians.

The boy on his back started to wake up, which made the dark-haired teen slow down his steps.

"T-toya," the nameless boy called out for him.

"Shut up. Don't say anything. I'm getting you out, like it or not." He gritted his teeth, knowing what argument this stupid being was going to spit out.

"People... you killed them," the boy's tone was not blaming, nor was it reprimanding. It was just... sad. A bone-crushing guilt and despair hidden behind those few words.

"I don't care! And neither should you!" The panting boy found himself shouting immediately.

"They are apart of this messed up system that abandon people like us! Those people and their beloved heroes only care about themselves! They pretend to uphold high moral standards only when it suits them, only when it's still in their comfort zone! And when a real dilemma arises, they back out and remain 'natural', saying it's 'too complicated' or 'there is no right or wrong' instead of standing with the victim!" His ramble left him breathless as his legs started feeling shaky under the wight of both of their bodies.

He thought of himself as tight-lipped, a man of few words. But he really meant every word he said. This was what turned the little boy named Toya, who dreamed about being a hero with the only goal of making his father proud, into this cold-blooded villain called Dabi. He had sworn to always live as Dabi from now on, but only this nameless being, this unfortunate soul that happened to spark the interest of the most dangerous villain of all times, only around this person has he allowed himself to be Toya again.

"Toya...put me down."

And just like that, Toya found himself always complying to the nameless's commands. Not in the way he followed orders from All For One or the other villains. It was not out of fear, or even respect. Maybe it was out of solidarity, or pity. Maybe he saw himself in him, maybe it was just a whim. But he complied. And he had risked his position among AFO's men to get this one person out. This could cost him his revenge, but he still did it.

He was such a failure for a villain.

The nameless held one hand to his abdomen that still dripped of blood, while his attention was on the mass of civilians gathered outside of the burning building.

A loud wailing was particularly heartbreaking, one that was coming from a distressed young boy on the ground, gripping and tugging frantically at his black hair.