Three Sides: A My Hero Academia OC Fic

6. Downpour

Her leg was burning. 

Dabi was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall and legs stretched out in front of him. 

Her leg hurt so much that she was afraid to sit down herself, concerned the pain would be too great and she wouldn't be able to get back up. So she stood, back straight and eyes fixed firmly on a clock. She deserved this, she kept reminding herself. Shina wasn't supposed to fight back, she was supposed to take any punishment given to her. She was supposed to accept any fate Father handed to her, he was the only one who loved her. His love meant he had control over life and how long or short said life would be. 

"So this Father guy," Dabi begins. "He tries too hard."

Shina bristles but stays silent. Dabi had a strange voice, it was like a fire had burned his lungs and it was still burning. He was constantly inhaling the toxic smoke. She wondered if his voice had always sounded like that. 

"Too charismatic and it's weird how all of you are supposed to call him Father," a blue flame lights in Dabi's palm, and Shina tenses. If Dabi noticed he doesn't comment. "Unless he actually is everyone's Father....but that would be odd wouldn't it?"

Shina assumed he was talking so much because he was digging for information. A waste of time, Shina was good at keeping secrets. 

"You seemed to be upset when you found out that I was supposed to kill you," Dabi says. "And you were afraid when you thought I was going to kill you."

"Burning alive sounds like an unappealing fate,"  Shina murmurs. She wasn't revealing anything about Hades or Father. "A painless death would be best."

Blue eyes cut into her purple ones. "Painless? That isn't much fun. You should know that," his eyes glint dangerously. "It's better when they suffer."

"How would I know that?" Her eyes peer curiously down at him.

"Freezing someone on the inside isn't exactly a painless death," Dabi points out.

"Is that so?" Shina shrugs, "I wouldn't know how that feels. I've never been frozen before." Her words were pointed, reminding him that he had just been on the receiving end of her Quirk. No matter how effective it had been. 

He makes a noise that Shina can only assume to be a laugh, "You don't say." He gestures to himself, the purple scars that litter his body. "You should try turning your Quirk on yourself. Then you'll know how your victims feel."

Her eyes widen a moment, he didn't really use his own Quirk on himself, did he? Shina shakes her head, "That would be too risky, if I froze myself how would I unfreeze? Not to mention everyone on the receiving end of my Quirk usually dies."

He shrugs, "Good point I guess."

The two fall silent after that, something Shina was thankful for. She wasn't good with conversation and it didn't seem like Dabi was either. Her gaze flicked to the clock again, it had been an hour. Shina didn't know how long these sorts of meetings usually went. Typically when this sort of meeting was being held Shina was training or stuck in her room. Babysitting a half-burned man wasn't something she was used to. At least he had extinguished the blue flame in his palm. It made her nervous.

God, the burning in her leg was growing unbearable. She dared a glance down at it, her stomach rolling. It was bubbling, the skin an angry red. Acknowledging the burn made the pain much worse, she swayed a little. Once again, Shina could sense Dabi's gaze on her. 

"It'll scar," he says. "You guys have a healer around here or something?"

"That will be unnecessary," Shina responds. "I am capable of tending to my own injuries. A scar is just a scar. Father calls them lessons."

"Lessons?"

"Lessons to do better next time," she explains. "This is only part of my punishment."

Dabi raises a brow, "What are you being punished for?"

"Freezing you," she says. "It wasn't polite of me to use my Quirk against a guest and an important one at that."

"Not even if said guest was trying to kill you?"

"Especially then," Shina responds. "If Father wishes for me to die then that is my fate. To fight against such a fate is to put Father's love into question."

"Christ," Dabi scoffs. The corners of his lips turn up in a twisted smile, "Fathers really love to control the lives of their children, don't they? How repulsive."

"Not at all," she says. "Father does what he does because he loves me. It's far from repulsive."

Dabi opens his mouth to argue with her but his eyes focus on something behind Shina. The girl turns, following his gaze. Father and Shigaraki stand a few feet in front of Shina, Father beaming as usual. 

He walks towards Shina, his hands clasping her shoulders. "Shina, my daughter, pack your things. You will be leaving with Shigaraki and his associate."

She struggles to hide her shock, "I am?"

Annoyance flickers briefly behind Father's eyes before quickly being buried behind amusement. "Bring your jaw from the floor my girl," he says. "From this point on I will be partnering with the League and you are to be my link to them. You will stay with them and provide Shigaraki assistance however he sees fit and relay any important information to me."

Leave? Father was sending her away? She's never stayed outside of the compound before. Never lived with other people before. What if they killed her the moment they left the compound? No. That was ridiculous, Father wouldn't send her to die. Despite how he acted before he wouldn't really let anyone kill her. She was too important to him. Shina was the daughter that stayed after all. 

She nods, offering him a small smile. "A wonderful idea," she says. "I'll get to work on packing my things immediately."

Suddenly she was enveloped in a hug, Father's face pressing into her hair. "Thank you, Shina," he says. Then, his arms tighten almost painfully around her. Shina sucks in a sharp breath as she feels something burning in her stomach. "Don't let me down my dear."

His words were clear: do anything to mess this up and the punishment would be severe. Agonizing. 

Father releases her, ruffling her hair. "Now go pack, we mustn't keep our guests for too much longer."

Shina nods, hurrying off. She makes her way to the elevator, riding it all the way to her small room. As she packed her few belongings and clothes, Shina couldn't help but feel anxious, afraid. This was going to change things for her, she had a feeling it would. At the moment Shina didn't know if said change was going to be good or bad. She would just have to risk it. 

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And so chapter six is brought to an end! I hope you enjoyed it! I don't have much to say so I'll see you next week where we return to our resident vigilante: Nine Lives!