deercountry | [Open] 🚬 September Flames

Entry tags:

[Open] 🚬 September Flames

Who: Dabi & others
What: September Catch-All
When: September
Where: Various

Content Warnings: Potential mentions of domestic/child abuse, potential mentions of murder, violence, adult language/subjects

Notes: General and specific starters and event prompts are found below. Contact under cut.

If you want to hit me up for ideas on prompts or plots, feel free to comment on Dabi's CR meme post or his Event plotting post, hit me up on my contacts – Plurk (

StarSeed69) / Discord (StarSeed#3572) – shoot me a PM, or drop an ooc comment down below, and we’ll hash it out. I'm down to write a unique starter for our threads if you prefer.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Closed Prompt ... Blast n Burn

[the hell was up with this month. dragging him to some further-corrupted version of this world (the same that already dragged him from his own world -- was it normal to get kidnapped from the place that already kidnapped you?) to deal with cults and monsters and fucking flowers. shoving him into the annals of the library to meet up and have an as vague as possible "heart to heart" with a stranger for the sake of some new (and important) bling. and finally siccing his charred ass on a creature that couldn't fucking stay dead but ultimately had to die to help crops grow. right, because all of that sounded completely logical in his mind. whether it was logic or insanity, he was tired of it. usually gets tied of trench's shit by the end of the month... well, more tired than he looks normally.

all points to crashing inside his house and not going out for the next week. but unfortunately, life called and dabi had to... uh... nah, flop back on the couch with one arm thrown over the back and a leg dropped on the floor. better. he took another hour to nap before finally getting himself up and off the furniture. had to meet with someone to make a trade. rummaging around the storage, he found what he wanted and pocketed a spiky-looking orb of a trinket that he'd found in the caves a while back. someone had mentioned wanting something like it and after showing them a picture of the item, the bargain was quickly struck. which piqued his curiosity instantly about how valuable this thing really was... but considering what he was getting for the item, it was worth the trade. after all, if he's honest, the only reason dabi brought the trinket back from the cave was to trade it later.

no salt on the air from a walk on the beach, no smoke hanging around while wandering between burning buildings, the streets of trench are rather calm today. as calm as the dreary place can get. the cloudy skies lit with dusk light are more the villain's preferred time of activity. particularly when going to his preferred trading spot. not bad actually... trading a ball of spikes for a-

hold that thought. speaking of ball of spikes... turquoise eyes shift to the side, noticing the telltale explosion of ashen blonde across the way. talking with a vendor, counting coins in a pouch, staring at a ware, lost in thought. doesn't know what he's doing, but he's there. that explosion kid. dabi one time told shouto that he had no intention of hunting down and hurting his little brother's friends. what point was there when they weren't trying to stop him (regularly) and he had no personal vendetta against them? except in this case... there's indeed a very personal vendetta.

dabi turns his course, boots leaving the dirt path and heading onto the brick and cobblestone. each step bringing him closer to the young hero. amusing that shigaraki thought this kid would become one of them. didn't he see the spirit behind his eyes? how was it not obvious that effort was a waste of time? he'd never become a villain, too swayed by all might, too blinded by the hero he aspired to be.

tsk... touya knew all about being blinded by the adoration of a hero...

it wasn't the first time someone'd tried to kill him. wasn't the first time he brushed himself off and kept going with his life afterwards. and it wasn't the first time that violent streak, fueled by revenge, pride, and general assholery, came flaring back like a match held to a gas leak. this kid tried to murder him. which was all sorts of amusing after the fact. a hero, given in to his baser instincts, too weak to resist the corrupting influence of this infesting world. what it must've done to his spirit, the weight of that guilt, especially considering bakugou's fall that day had almost resulted in the "other" toga dying. another hero, all burned up by endeavor's cruelest flames. nah, he had no regrets over that event...

save for one.]

[that's all. a single greeting, almost as casual as meeting a friend for dinner. before dabi's glowing hand burst aflame and FWOOM!! pumped out a wide-spread burst of blue fire straight at him. it's nostalgic really. he did the same sort of thing to this explosive bastard's teacher.]

[This was bound to happen. Katsuki knew it, he's been expecting it. Not in the sense that he's fucking scared or anything--hell no! There's no goddamn avoidance or cowering from the consequences of his actions. Screw that. Shigaraki may have been right about a couple of things--like waking up in the night drenched in a cold sweat from dreaming about the burning and crushed bodies and losing sleep for it. Trying to fight back the disgust and threat of nausea any time he cooks meat, because he can still smell burning flesh if he lets himself go too far into his own head. But that asshole is not right about this. Katsuki meant what he said to him the night he brought Ochako home, he knows what he damn well signed up for in being a Hero and he isn't going to "disappoint everyone around him instead while he spiral in his own self-loathing over spilled milk". Ain't fucking spilled milk to him in the slightest, but he will never roll over and give up, not for anyone or anything. No. It's time to shut the fuck up, bury that shit and stick his goddamn chin up and out like he always has. Keep fighting. Keep doing better than he has before--do it right, with every single turn he takes.

The reality of it is, Trench is just an unfortunately small world, and honestly? It's a fucking wonder that it's taken this long for them to have the pleasure of running into each other again considering that Katsuki himself got dragged into the library for the very same thing. Spent another stretch of his squid life hunting the very same beast in the very same woods. Hearing Dabi's voice, all too casual for how Katsuki very nearly had him dead, is behind him and far too fucking close for having his damn back turned to him. It has his blood running ice cold in his veins and then burning hot with the instant shot of adrenaline that follows, all in just a heartbeat's measurement of time. His head snaps before his body has time to fully turn, sharp crimson eyes wide with not just alarm but a knowing--even before he knowingly clicks that he's seeing Dabi's hand start to move. The thing that really fucking sucks about this happening right here, right now is that they're on the streets. There are people all around them. If what he's been ready and waiting to happen happens, then every single one of the lives that Katsuki is instantly almost supernaturally aware of are at risk. The man he was just bartering with. A woman standing in wait, just a few feet to his left. Two more to the right, about the same distance. One.. two, three, spread out around them and walking past with no idea about what's about to fucking happen. That's just their immediate vicinity. No telling how many are inside of the buildings all around them, buildings that are about to be a repeat in his and Dabi's now notably violent history.]

Shit--!

[Dodging the flame isn't an option; the vendor is gonna take the brunt of the attack of Katsuki moves even an inch further than he has in turning to face Dabi head on and so both of his hands are up in an instant. The only thing he can do is hope that the sound that comes with the large but well calculated blast that he emits to disrupt the rush of flame has them all fucking scattering like people do when danger cracks in their ears like that.

BOOM!

Thankfully, for the most part, he gets his wish in that regard. The vendor, though he can't see it himself, drops beneath the counter for cover. The three that he could see just strolling are taking the hell off as soon as they realize what the fuck just erupted near them and the woman who is still to his left would successfully be doing the same if it weren't for her knees buckling. One out of all the rest ain't bad, but it still confirms exactly what Katsuki already knew in the first place. He has to get out of dodge, take this elsewhere before he goes and gets people killed in the crossfire.

Again.

It ain't fucking running. Not even remotely. Might look that way to someone else, but it's not. This fight was and is inevitable, in his mind. But the blond is moving before the smoke even clears, tilting his palms down to the ground to blast himself up into the air. He uses his quirk to get himself onto the roof of a building a small distance away--where he pauses briefly in a crouch gage where Dabi is. It's obvious that he'll know that Katsuki wants him to be in pursuit and he may not bite when the teen goads him from up above, which is why he stops where he does. The grin that the explosive teenager wears today is wide, leering and thrilled, but there's an edge to it that wasn't there the day that he was out of his mind. A tension that comes with the true understanding that this isn't going to end well for someone.] Didn't get enough last time, hah?! WELL COME ON THEN, YOU FUCKING MANIAC! LET'S GO!!

Edited (some shit wording and altogether forgotten ones) 2022-09-11 04:54 (UTC)

[what does this kid know about the smell of burning flesh and the crush of bodies under his feet? some inexperienced bastard who was born with the proverbial silver spoon offered to him from birth. this brat who for so long never needed to worry about the consequences of his actions. of course he expected this... touya knew from the second he saw those red eyes with honest murderous intent within them that this encounter began stalking forward. down a path of fire's smoke and explosion's break. death had long since lost its terrifying grip upon him. even when he woke from his sleep as the phantom pain of his own flesh peeling off his muscles screamed through his mind, the numbness took over as water gurgling from a backed up drain stoppered by his slumber. he's died once before. perhaps even twice. there was no cold sweat whenever those memories came back... the sound of his own screams as his body blackened inside his own flames. desperate to survive. terrified of his eminent death. funny. enough exposure to something and the sensation dulled. no fear as the kid advanced towards him with death in eyes. only a mild curiosity as to whether the young hero had it in him to actually kill. or if he'd find himself retching at the realization and memory of what followed should he ever go through with those threats he slung so readily. don't talk to him about death when you can't fucking commit!

you want to kill, then you better see it through to the very end! this bastard tried to kill him. kill him! where the fuck did he get off on the idea that touya's life was his for the taking? the irritation ate away at him as he lay in bed at night. some damn hero who got off lightly for his grievances against him. it wasn't pride that churned his stomach with anger, but rather a sarcastic and embittered sense of disgust that this innocent little shit with no blood on his hands was able to escape unstained. never a forefront of his mind, but bakugou crept back into his head at random times, needling him over the unfinished business. he owned that kid a death. did he look for him? nah. already told shouto he had no qualms with the heroes here, so long as they didn't try to stop him or interfere with his goals. but this? ... this one went personal. neither the library nor the woods showed any revelation of that erstwhile target. but today? here in the marketplace surrounded by people and carts, wood and livelihood, their smoked paths crossed once again. there was no possibility of walking past him. a predator and prey. natural inclination and draw saw him drifting off his path and heading towards the scent of murder. close enough to touch him. close enough to talk to him.

close enough to kill him.

felt like a revving engine. casual and callous with each step, his heart beating calmly within his chest. until that very moment when the reality struck. i'm going to kill this kid. a spark bursts, his heart ramps up to a million, and boiling blood surges through his veins as blue flames erupt from his outstretched hand. burn him black. for an eternal split second, cold blue eyes meet with alarmed red beneath respective veils of choppy bangs. hey, kid. just like his fuckin teacher. whatcha gonna do? take it and die? or stand your ground and save? dabi's aware of the world around them, can follow the cogs in katsuki's head turning as those flames blaze to life. panic, focus, questions, weighing, flee, stand, dodge, save, life, death. every life around them goes up like candles in the darkness. except that only one of these two gives a shit about them. so how about it, endeavor's intern? how many lives get to be consumed by endeavor's flames today? how many deaths are ya gonna be responsible for because you didn't have to fucking guts to put an end to him back then? how long till ya spine telescopes, your ribs crush, your legs break under the stupid guilt you heroes pile on yourselves over people who ultimately don't even fucking matter?

shit--!

BOOMSH!!

a torrent of flames bursts upward and outward, spreading like the wings of a malignant phoenix screaming into the sky beyond the deafening thunderclap of that widespread explosion. dabi rocks back on his feet, slamming one boot into the ground in defiance of that pressure, hair whipping back from his brows and coat flapping wildly in the wind behind him. but the look in his eyes immediately blazes into a vicious delight. fight! fight! come at me like you mean it this time! this is what you wanted, you little bastard! time to finish what you fucking started! god, he really is mad at dynamight, isn't he... damn.

skidding back slightly, the villain drops his arm like a puppet's strings cut, lanky body dangling in that threatening hunched position. drenched in his normal black and dark blue amid the smoke blowing away. people run from all sides, screaming as they scramble through the streets in panic to get away. innocent people who should never have been dragged into this fight, yet are here now fleeing for their lives. dabi's eyes roll in his skull, following the figure erupting from the smoke up and to the side. he tilts his head back, almost bored in his expression and stance, already clocking the woman collapsed to the side of him and the man who cowers behind the counter. everyone else has run... but those two remain.

dynamight's putting distance between them. gearing up for this battle that was started months ago. as the blonde takes his place on the rooftop nearby, dabi turns to face him, coat tails falling against his legs still in the same spot he'd been (maybe skidded a bit to the side) from where he attacked the hero. obviously the hero wants him to follow. take him away from the place where so many people could get hurt. here comes the rhetoric. spewing out of that foul mouth with all the angry conviction of someone so self-assured he's in the right. like a typical hero. muscles relax in his cheeks, dropping his own maniac glee to something callous and dark. oh this isn't going to end well for a lot of people.]

Lemme give ya a lesson, kid. [one hand rotates at his side, aiming backwards towards the stall behind him and the muffled voice of the man hiding beneath the wood.] When ya wanna kill someone... [he lifts his other hand, fingers unfurling as if reaching towards the woman who can't get her legs to work. her quivering breaths hike up into hyperventilating panic. wonder if she has kids... wonder if she treats them like shit... flames spurts up on his flesh, crawling from his palms and peeling over the sides.] ...don't miss.

[FWOOSH!!

You don't know what a maniac really is, idiot. So bring it on. Do it for once in your privileged life. Let's see just how disgusting a hero ya are!]

[It doesn't take much for Katsuki to realize the gravity of his own mistake, and it's like a gut punch from All Might when he watches Dabi's face go from that maniacal glee to deadly dark in an instant.

They're both still down there.

Fuck! Fuckfuckfuck! He's supposed to be smarter than that shit! Caught off guard or not, there's no excuse for the fact that one of those people is going to die and it's all because he didn't make the right call. Maybe they would've gotten hurt, being in the vicinity of his quirk, but hurt is better than dead. Katsuki has personally made sure that someone down there is about to die. The bared teeth hold absolutely no upward edge anymore as he watches--his face is all hard lines of fury now as he watches with wide alarmed eyes as the demented Todoroki shifts one hand back... and Katsuki isn't fucking waiting for the other one.] FUCK YOU, DABI!! [The teen snarls that viciously as his own hands swing up fast, one with his palm open and pointed directly at the lanky murderous prick down below and the other coming up to form a circle in front of it.

BOOM!

There isn't a right way to decide which one to save, he just has to do it and do it NOW, so that precise shot is aimed directly at the shoulder of Dabi's closest to the booth. Dabi will be forced to move at least on that side, unless he wants a big gaping fucking wound in the upper side of his body. (Seems like the vendor was just luckier, somehow, a fact that's going to absolutely make Katsuki sick to his stomach with himself once this is over.) However the fuck it ends. Right now, he can't afford himself the time to feel remorse or to beat himself to death over what he's done. All that the teen has inside right now is an overflowing rage that he means to use to take this bastard out. No more innocent lives that don't come back because they don't have the luxury of being essentially immortal fucking squids, this is between you and him! You absolute motherfucker! He is going to beat you within an inch of your pathetic villain life, again, and then when he's got you down like he did before HE AIN'T GONNA FUCKING MISS!!

Arms swing back and he blasts himself forward as soon as the AP Shot has been fired off. Watching the flame extend out and overtake and render that woman to nothing but ash with that sickening fwoosh just adds to his enraged determination to make sure that he fucking pays for it. In a callback to their previous fight, Katsuki is in Dabi's space within seconds. This time, he's coming straight down at him from above, and instead risking the man he's just saved by using his quirk? He's swinging his left grenadier bracer down like an explosive battle hammer, aiming right for his piece of shit skull. And regardless of how it's dodged--he knows Dabi's reaction time is stellar and anticipates that, as soon as his feet hit the ground Katsuki is going to be bringing his armored knee up to slam it into whatever body part he can get, as hard as he can. Something is landing and it's gonna hurt, you piece of shit!]

[isn't this what heroes want? a battleground devoid of casualties and risk to by-standing life? people could get hurt, those two behind him would be caught in the battle. dabi's aware of that heroic thought process; in that event, he's merely acting on heroic wishes and ensuring that they did not. it's called clearing the area of innocence. just like a fucking hero.

and it dawns on this kid too late. does he get it now? light and heat gather, the realization of what he's doing rolling off dabi's shoulders like proverbial water. that's what they all did... those damn heroes who decide who lives, who dies, who succeeds, who fails. thinking they have the skill, power, and right to law down that law. sickening, and yet, it's such a rush. i don't care if you live or die... no wonder the heroes craved that power.

what would endeavor think? knowing two more lives are going up in his precious flames? blue fire flicks around the curve of his palm, erupting in a shallow coating around his hand. feels it rising beneath his skin, his own power and heat. death is terrifying. to see. to feel. to cause. experience it enough times, however, and he's lost sensitivity to it. people are just kindling. useless to him outside of feeding the gluttony of his bloodline's ravenous fire.]

You can die.

[boom!]

Huh?

[fire spews outward from both hands, roaring with no brakes. twisting to the side, body dropping in an effort to avoid that lightning-fast zip of scorching heat. this little bastard! a shout rings out, masculine and terrified, as the man behind the stall covers his head and cowers beneath the wood. crashes break through the poles, snapping the sign off before it's swallowed in the consuming flames. too late! the aim was off! having to dodge that long-range shot, dabi's foot grinds against the ground, one arm slung upward from the wrench of his body to avoid getting his damn shoulder blown off. this fucking child! he really aimed to take his arm! fire sails through the air in an arching upward whip, missing the vendor by a hair, might have a blackened singe down his back, but he'll live with a scream of pain and fright as explosion and inferno roar above him. the same cannot be said for the woman. her screams last only a second or two before there's nothing left to scream. hmph... someone's not going home today. remorseless, dabi slams his heel behind him, facing up at the building top housing his opponent. so he managed to knock his flames aside and save one. tsk... fair enough, brat. he can deal with minor frustrations lat-

what th-! he's not there?!

rage. he senses it, a wave of blazing orange, crashing against furious blue in a threatening war to be equal or greater. except, the one he imbibes his fury towards isn't here. it takes some of that edge off, and yet also sparks the flint to ignite it anew. he's not here... so this shit can stand in for him! if killing people gets this kind of reaction... he'll kill even more to get those goddamn eyes on him! look at me... look at me! THAT'S ALL I WANTED FROM YOU!! OPEN YOUR EYES AND FUCKING LOOK! AT!! ME!!!

he's there. right above him. dabi's eyes widen, head jerking up so fast he might've snapped his neck, body still just now catching his balancing from that pivoting dodge. katsuki's right there-! no explosions. just a mass of metal and green filling his vision. yeah, his reaction time is stellar and his anticipation is fair, but the sad truth is, dabi's never been good at close quarters. he's pretty weak. gravel scrapes, his body wrenches, and yet he still feels the sickening crush/tear of that bracer crashing down onto his shoulder. head jerked to the side, all lankly height and limbs pulling away in an attempted dash, bones scraping ligaments as his entire ball (what the fuck is your obsession with THIS damn shoulder?!) is literally bashed out of its socket and flops numbly against his thigh. missed his skull, but...

*crunch!* - *skffk!* - *whump!*

metal embeds itself into his stomach, knocking his breath from his lungs. his knee-! folding over the impact with his air forced from his mouth, dabi isn't sure if he's struggling to breathe or if he's going to throw up and inhale his own vomit and blood in response. it's white, it's all white, for a second or two, before the world crashes back into order and his back hits another stall with a crash and clatter of wood splinters and limbs.

fuck... this is why... he keeps his distance... this is why... you hated me... because i couldn't... i wasn't... enough.]

FLASHFIRE FIST!

[i hate you. i. hate. you.]

[both of his hits land. The sickly crunch of Dabi's shoulder getting knocked out of socket under the impact of the first blow is satisfying in its own right, but watching his opponent get more than the wind knocked out of him and stumble back into the next booth dazed just makes that adrenaline pump even harder through the teen. He can fucking do this! If he allows Dabi to start cranking up the heat like he did in their last battle, Katsuki's own odds go down far more than he likes and he's just. All too fucking aware of that. His odds are already off enough, what with the cold weather that puts him at a disadvantage with the quirk he.. is really fucking trying not to even use here. He remembers, too vividly, what the aftermath of their quirks clashing looks like.

The second he grabs Dabi, he's gonna light himself on fire and stop the blond from hauling him away from their current arena like he wants to. If he tries to bait him again, well. Lesson learned on that one. But obviously the elder Todoroki really isn't as well trained in close physical combat like Katsuki is, and if he can keep kicking the ever living shit out of him this way???

Before when they battled, he had killing intent in a way that he never has in any other fight he's ever had. That was all about revenge for him, and that came with an advantage of having zero preservation for himself. Katsuki doesn't see killing as black and white in the way his childhood friend does–or desperately wants to, but he does still believe that every other avenue should be fought for before that final, terrible decision is made. Capturing, incapacitating…. Everything in between and after that should all be tried first, if possible, but if he had no other choice?

Does he have that choice now?

If your opponent is so fucking unhinged that they'll take down anyone they can just because they can; if there is nowhere to fucking take them to put a stop to it for good, even if you did knock em out? Trench especially doesn't supply possibilities in terms of alternatives in a situation like this. What the fuck else is there? Laying down and dying for it?

No. Not if he can help it. It doesn't feel like he's going to be given a choice. This fight is kill or be killed, Dabi will make sure of that and thats perfectly clear. He just has to get through this fight without dragging anyone else into it.

In the short time it takes Dabi to recover from the blow to his gut, Katsuki has already cleared that short distance in between them. At the same time, a cloud of black almost smoke wafts out of the center of his chest and over to the side where his omen, a very large grey wolf, takes form… and promptly takes off down the streets. Someone has to know, Ochako has to know. Either he is gonna be needing some serious medical help here soon, or… well. They have to at least know.

The heat is cranked up to a hellish level with the bellowing of that move–Flashfire Fist and it burns to even get close but he's fucking doing it anyway. One hand is shooting out to get near Dabi's, the damgerous one that hasn't just been turned into a dangling piece of meat and Katsuki releases an explosion just before they meet. Large enough to possibly deflect, or at the very least minimize a little bit of the damage his arm will take… but not enough volatile force to level much around them. If anyone unseen gets caught in the debris field, there may be injuries but at least wont be fatal. Someone will be coming for them, he's made sure of that by sending his omen home. The other arm is already in motion, his signature right hook with everything he has getting put into it. Right into the center of Dabi's face with another hard crunch; only to draw back and go again. And again. Over and over, punching him as hard and as fast as he can, as many times as he can.

Keep him in that daze that comes with every impact, keep him from fucking thinking for even a second. Until he isn't thinking any more. If he drops, follow and keep fucking pummeling. Get out of dodge when there isn't any other choice, only use your fucking quirk when you have to. Katsuki isn't even aware of the fact that every time there's impact, there's either a-] FUCK! [-or a-] YOU! [-getting screamed out into the air between them.]

[[Ooc: okokok if you can/are ok with it, gimme like two of those punches at least and then the damage floor is all yours lmao!! This fight aint gonna last very long cause of the location orz

Also sorry for any fuck ups and subsequent efits, typos/html wise. Phone tagging before bed woooot]]

[both hits land. and it would've had a lot more effect... if dabi hadn't fucked over his pain receptors thanks to that accident when he was a child. even when feels the crunch of bone and the way it pops out of his shoulder socket, there's little more than the sensation of pressure, of cracking, of disconnection before his arm's left dangling in a dislocated mess. even pointed metal to his stomach is far more an injury of wind and more knocked out of him than agonizing pain it would've caused someone else. that's what makes it easier to focus on other things. that's what makes the pain a non-issue. that's what prevents him from getting distracted by something as stupid as "it hurts" while his mind slams on the proverbial gas pedal with both feet. what's a brake? touya doesn't know. never came in his lessons. beat him around all you like; he can focus on THIS!

katsuki so desperately wants to get them away from this location, even if the last close-range bystander has already run off with his back burn. no cops. no heroes. no law enforcement to get in the way. just him an this bastard who wants to literally beat him to death again. is that what a hero's supposed to be like? wildly pummeling another person until his fists come away with red smeared all over them? he should be amused... he is... but... dabi also has his pride.

you don't think he's had the ever-living shit kicked out of him before? you don't think he's had his body torn to pieces and rendered in so much agony he couldn't get a single thought through his mind? the abject terror of feeling his own flesh peeling and breaking off his tissue as fire poured through his skin. when pain itself elevated to such a surreal state his brain was cooking in his skull and his heart was threatening to pop from the boiling blood evaporating within his organs. this is nothing... this is nothing... this is nothing!! beat him up, break his bones, knock his teeth out, bleed him dry, there's no such thing as fucking pain left for him anymore!!

still just a goddamn child. for all that bravado, he's afraid to kill. afraid to commit to that final stroke. you can't believe in trying for every possible method to avoid killing and hope to win in a battle to the death. dabi stepped into this fight with that very intent in mind. he's not getting out of this alive and he has zero intention of allowing katsuki to escape without paying that same price! you're not him, but you trained under him, you defended him, you looked up to him! so you'll do as practice pyre material! i'll drag you down into the flaming abyss myself! we're going to hell together, endeavor's intern!

this place must be such a frustrating existence for these heroes. not wanting to kill, yet forced to confront that possible requirement for the better of everyone else every day. a place without any of the limits they're used to cowering under, without the shackles they're so intent on wearing for the sake of "decent" society, without a place to throw the problems away into the dark and lock them up to never think about them again... a place where they can't "win" any meaningful way.

all they can do is die and come back and die again. over and over. last time, katsuki came at him with the intent to kill, influenced by the event and stopped by another hero. but this time, the only influence is one based on rage and desperation. did it ever cross his mind the person he's beating on right now has even more rage, even more insanity, inside? an explosion will never be anywhere near as hot as the blue flames coursing through dabi's veins.

like hell you will...

black flames this time. blooming out the side of dabi's body in a rush before a black wolf leaps from the flickering ebony tongues. patches of white show through its obsidian fur, turquoise eyes glowing in its dark face as blue flames leak from the corners of its maw. a row of azure fire runs down its spine, two or three hitodama drifting above it as it blitzes forward in a rush. no one's gonna know. WHAM! sinew, muscle, and teeth slam into katsuki's omen as dabi's rams it, immediately setting on the creature with every intent to maim, kill, or at the very least contain or stall it. katsuki came to kill him and failed; this time, dabi's the instigator and he's not about to let this kid go without showing him how it's done! you wanna kill someone, you go for it 100%

smack! fingers meet fingers and dabi jerks against the wood going up in flames all around them as katsuki lands an explosion on his good hand, blowing the villain's backwards into the flames. fine. let him have his hand. he's already ignited his flashfire fist, body temperature and flames shooting upward towards that hellish maximum that blazes even hotter than endeavor's. the wood around them goes up in ash, the stones under their feet start to sizzle and melt. katsuki deflected what would've been a jet burn to the face, but the rest of dabi is just as dangerous, just as hot. a hero tries to avoid leveling the area around them, but a villain takes collateral and runs with it. one explosion didn't level much, but the now-raging blue inferno is rapidly causing everything around them to spontaneously combust, vaporize into ash, or begin to boil and melt. did he really think he could stop this?! baka! this fire is mine! you can't stop what's already burning! i don't care if i die, so long as i take you with me!

no one's coming. the omens are clashing, dabi's blocking katsuki's with the same wild, sadistic ferocity the villain's eyes blaze with each time he faces the hero pummeling him. it's hard to tell whose blackened skin flecks are starting to peel off into the sweltering air with each blow. that doesn't hurt... that doesn't hurt at all...

*snap!*

and crashes his left hand around katsuki's right wrist, blackened fingers melting clean through the bracier before clasping their skeletal burning grip onto the hero's arm. dabi's skin is already peeling off again, lips half-burnt away from his teeth as flames start to flicker and lick through the holes in his cheek and gout from the inside of his mouth. tendons and muscles, strung wire tight from his life as a villain, fueled by hate and rage, are enough to match for the brawn pounding at him. his jaw's a mess, a few teeth missing, and there's something broken on the side of his head, but dabi doesn't even seem to notice as he sits up from the funeral pyre katsuki's more or less demolished the area around them into before the villain set it ablaze. fire consumes everything, roars and cracks breathing as intensely as dabi himself, and it's impossible to even picture any world that used to be around them. it's all blue and black and white, fire and smoke and noise. just the two of them together, burning up and bleeding within the heart of this unleashed conflagration.

one solid jerk brings katsuki towards him, staring into his eyes with feral, bloodshot craze.]

Let's go to hell together, Bakugou Katsuki! Prominence-

[BUUURN!!!]

[ooc: haha, oh he got a lot more than two punches. it's pulpy by this point. this fight's definitely ending on his terms! but yeah, certainly would've been a longer fight without the location and innocence involvement. next time, if/when they have one, it'll likely be less rage-craze and more a spar, so they can actually have a decent clash of quirks.

(thare r know such dings as typoes, efits, and phuck uts when phone tagging in bed~ feel free to PM or discord me if you wanna change anything in this! particularly the omen interference.]

[Of course it's crossed his mind that Dabi has far more fury than he does. Insanity? You fucking bet he knows. There isn't any trying to find the alternatives, because there aren't any. What the fuck is he gonna do, try to reason with this piece of villain scum? He fucking wasted that lady--and would've murdered the vendor too and for no reason other than to set Katsuki off. To bait him back into a situation he will do anything to prevent. Nothing more, nothing less. Dabi is fucking batshit, and so hellbent on getting his revenge or teaching him a fucking lesson that's entirely fucking senseless in a place like Trench that he's willing to kill them both to do it. He's just sent his omen out to stop Katsuki's from going for help for whoever will be left in the aftermath, because he wants the worst possible outcome. There is nothing else he can do.

It's not that he's afraid to make the call, it's that the call that Katsuki has decided to make is just... completely fucking savage in it's application because essentially he does plan to beat him to death if he can. This hero in training refuses to have a hand in the death and destruction of month's past, ever again, even if that's at his own expense. And as the azure flames roar to life painfully around the both of them, as every nerve in his body starts to scream with the burn of it... it becomes increasingly clear that it's probably going to be. Every hit that Katsuki connects into his face is with a frenzied force, one crack after another, coming harder than the last in a last ditch effort to knock him the fuck out and stop the unrelenting, overwhelming burn from overtaking him. Drop him! DROP! HIM! MAKE HIM STOP!!

He can't hear the snarling of their omens clashing viciously, not over the roar of flames and definitely not over the sound of his own voice doing the same in both pain and his rage. All he can do is will Murder Hound to pick up on his absolute desperation for someone to at least know he's gone. Fight that mutt off! Kill him!! They can't be left wondering, and at this rate, there's going to be nothing fucking left to even clue them in. He can't leave Ochako like that. Deku. If there is one thing he needs to come out of this, it's his omen fucking making it to them so that they know.

Fuck! It hurts! Everything fucking hurts! It hurts more than he could think to describe, and just when he thinks that it can't get any worse, it fucking does. The blaze of Dabi's quirk just goes and goes, it feels an infinite hell that he won't escape... because it is. Millions of agonizing needle pricks, encompassing everything, threatening to consume him. Adrenaline and endorphins have nothing on it--they're not his friends here, as there's no reprieve from the agony that he's trying force himself to fight through. Swing-- Crack!

Again! Again! Don't fucking stop! Crack! AGAIN!

CRACK!

Dabi's not going down, for anything. Fucking monster, honestly! And Katsuki, for all of his determination, is only human. He can try to will himself to move through it all he likes, but there is a point that his body makes the decision for him, and starts to move on it's own in retreat. Too much. Bubbling skin, boiling blood, no room for oxygen or anything but the sound of his desperate heartbeat drumming in his ears. Get out get out get out--

Dabi's hand seals around his arm, burns through his bracer and right into the already screaming meat of his forearm and the boy who prides himself on his strength and resolve can't help but choke on the scream that tears out of his chest.]

ghkYYYYAAAAGHHHFUUUCK!!!!

[The teen jerks back hard, which only makes the surrounding nerves that haven't just been seared into oblivion hurt even more, if possible, but before he has any chance to thrash or plant his boot into Dabi's center to kick off and away from this fucking maniac... he's pulled in. Closer to that face, that peeling , skeletal leering face right in his like some kind of fucking nightmare of a monster. It's over. It's all over. And it's fucking disgusting. Looking at his face, accepting that this horrific monster is gonna be the last thing he sees, and experiencing the way it makes him feel almost frightened... all of it just fucking pisses him off to no end.

You don't fucking scare him! You piece of SHIT! YOU WANNA FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT, HAH?! FINE!! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!!

He snarls, good hand coming up to slap over the mess that they've both made of Dabi's face to vice grip it, and just as the taller man is finishing ejecting the word Prominence, just as the flames that will render him into nothing but ash roar to life, he pumps one last explosion right into his skull.

BOOM!

Later when he's washed up on the shores all over again, he'll acknowledge that the end was actually the easiest part of being burnt alive. One fast, final stroke of agony before nothingness. But in this moment, it's just black nonexistence.]

Edited (oh and also don't leave things you meant to delete FUCK IM SORRY IM DONE) 2022-09-20 18:08 (UTC)

[it is fucking senseless. this entire place has driven that point home plenty of times over the months. returning to life after dying, plaguing them with events that clear up at the end of each month, not even a goddamn tease about going home despite people vanishing back to whence they came (possibly) all the time. doing anything in this shithole could be a waste of time and effort. so what does it matter if he kills someone? who gives a shit if he murders a person to prove a point? it's not like he's going to be there at the end of the day waiting for him to come back home! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT SON OF A BITCH EVEN CARES!! HE'S NOT HERE!! THE VERY REASON FOR HIS BEING IS FUCKING GONE AND HE'S SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT?! AT LEAST RIGHT NOW HE ACTUALLY FEELS JUST A LITTLE BIT LIKE HE'S LIVING!! so burn out to ash! burn up and die! fire needs fuel to burn and stay aflame... be my kindling...

there won't be anyone to come and help, no one to break this apart or rush to their aid. this is between him and katsuki. the hero who finally gets it through his damn head the only way out of this is with someone's blood on the other's hands. does it feel bad? does it feel wretched, to have what you once held so tightly in pride and respect suddenly torn away from you? no longer given the choice you always thought you had and instead be forced into one option... the one you hate the most. give up. stop it. realize that there's no future beyond this now. dabi's not asking for more than this, saturated in the rage, hate, and sadistic euphoria of the moment. just as he'd been ready to immolate himself and shouto on the battlefield in front of their father, just as he'd plunged his little brother under the waves in trench and tried to drown him before offing himself, the villain knows there's no future for him but the grave. all because of that bastard... and if that's his fate, then dammit, he'll drag as many people as he can with him into that fucking tomb! this is his legacy, endeavor; he's YOUR legacy! forever! you did this! this is your handiwork! ARE YOU PROUD OF ME NOW?! OR DO YOU REGRET CREATING ME EVEN MORE?!

every blow to his face brings those thoughts surging to the surface, his charring skin breaking and ripping from his muscles and sinew and bone with each impact. katsuki's seriously going to kill him and he's just fine with that. there's no pain, and in one respect, it pisses him off. this numbness that leaves him floating within the void, unable to feel the bite of this kid's rage and pain. but he knows... he knows exactly what it feels like to burn. watching each time he can turn his head enough to get a look, the way katsuki's body begins to cook. blisters growing and popping as water evaporates under his flesh, a ripped area blackening and peeling off his muscles, or maybe that was a piece of his own cheek slugged off dabi's face. ripping him up alive like a feral beast while endeavor's eldest child fixates on roasting endeavor's little intern to death.

wolf's emotions feed of the same burning animosity and warped determination, doing it's utter damnest to fulfill dabi's stranglehold of a desire to silence any attempts to reach out. it's a sickening feeling, isn't it. to be choked by the smoke and heat of his own burning flesh. terror running through his body in stark spite of the flames erupting across his flesh. running blindly through the forest, sobbing as his heart slams wildly within the oven of his chest, knowing with every scrap of time that he's dying. he's going to die like this! that damn child so full of fear and desperation to live while his fingers blackened and his jawbone peeked through the flakes of peeling skin curling backwards like wrapping paper in the fireplace. there won't be anything left of him! no one'll even know! someone... anyone... don't let me-!! I DON'T WANNA-]

DIE!

[he doesn't know if he's screaming at katsuki or himself anymore. die! end it! begone! scorch away into nothing! so damn concerned with other people's feelings, , what about your own? no, just your friends! your parents! the people left behind! another crack and dabi's jaw snaps lose on one side, swinging his chin and snapping tendons of his cheek downward in a grim angle. tongue lolling slightly in the fractured setting of his mouth, every remaining tooth exposed as his face continues burning away the more katsuki beats it off. he can't feel it... not the pain... the impacts yes, but... at least his blood cauterizes immediately when it flows out.

god it "feels" good to grab that arm, fingers crushing bony and unnervingly fragile around the other boy's wrist. that's what he thought. hurts, doesn't it. there's no way he's letting him out of this. they're already halfway to hell together and no resolve, pride, or strength is going to make him let go of him. he started this all those weeks ago and now he's going to finish it whether he wants to or not! impossibly, dabi's charred throat works, rasping out ragged words through the skeletal obsidian of his face as he leers into katsuki's eyes. so close he can see the tears evaporating off the blonde's lower lids. and screams that last defiant promise with every flared intensity of hate.

ya don't get it yet, do ya, brat? I'M THE ONE WHO DECIDES WHEN I DIE! not you! not all for one! not endeavor! not shigaraki! me! i'm in charge of my life! and i'll do what i want with it!

pretty galling this kid's the last thing he's gonna see. from tat snarling face to the sudden rush of fingers and burning flesh abruptly shoved over his face. dabi's eyes widen, crimson veins in his sclera turning his whites bloodshot all the way to the turquoise irises burning with the same internal fire. right at the very end... fingers clamp around his face, and those sparks burst into light and heat. he's still got this left?! after all that?! the heat, the burns, the smoke, the pain, breaking apart and frying in his own meat, there's enough of that stubborn pride to grab him and in complete defiance to dabi's words-

he's gonna kill me-!

[final explosion. final flame. smoke and light and everything goes up in ash. they're not there to witness the finale of that clash between pride and stubbornness. when explosion and blueflame render all around them into momentary nothingness. a cacophony heard around the city, rocking the streets to the core and wiping out the walls around that point. ground zero. hell fire. leaving only the glowing crater that illuminates the surrounding world with orange and blue amid the billowing smoke.

yeah... it's always easiest at the end. because it doesn't matter anymore. survival gone. just... just this sensation of drifting as a film rises against his chest, all the way to his neck, before dragging downward and peeling from his skin. a liquid metronome using his body as its back and forth pendulum, waves eternally keeping time with gravity's rhythm. back and forth, reaching his neck again... and drifting back out. no... no he can feel that at least. cool water. no pain. steady breathing of the waves going wahooossshh... wahooossshh...

just... give him a bit... he'll come around in a few after being washed ashore like a piece of grilled driftwood on the black beach.]

Edited 2022-09-20 21:47 (UTC)

[Being a squid is actually pretty great. No pain, no attachments. Guilt free jet propulsion under water and the natural cycle of being a creature in the sea. Eating, moving, eating, so on. As a squid, he doesn't know this. Katsuki will only remember how serene it was later, and a small part of him might long for it once again when he has to face the reality of what got him here in the first place.

Serenity like that can't last forever, and the call to return to shore and himself eventually takes over. By the time he makes it there, Katsuki is fully formed with only one thing on his mind. Get out of this freezing fucking water! It hasn't hit him yet, why he is in the water... what got him there. Just that he is, and it fucking sucks all around. His equilibrium is way off, everything is hazy and slow. Swimming like that is extremely difficult and likewise dragging himself across the sand takes far more effort than it has any right to, being who he is. Once out of the water, all that can be afforded for a couple minutes is laying on his back, staring up at the sky as he pants for air, chasing oxygen like it's out of fucking style. It's even colder out of the water, he finds, and once he's gotten his heart rate down to a relatively normal thump... thump... thump, the blond is pushing himself up to sit. Wrapping his arms around himself in a senseless gesture of trying to preserve body heat, his brows knit hard as he looks around to figure out... what the fuck. To the right, first, slowly because it makes him feel dizzy to turn too fast. There's nothing but open beach on this side, and that just makes the downturn of his mouth pull further. Trying to wrack his brain, force it to provide the right information to him.

What the fuck happened?

Slowly, turning to the left, at first there's nothing except for his grenadier bracers... weirdly placed just near as if they've been waiting for him, but something compels the teen to crane his head even further and that's when he sees him. In the sand.

And it all floods back, stopping his breath in his chest like a direct punch to it. Fire. Burning. Dabi's face, eyes wide and bloodshot, fucking crazy with his damaged, broken jaw hanging unnaturally, tongue lolling. Burning. Boiling. His arm. His fucking arm, burnt through skin and muscle, they were practically melded together. The sizzling of his own flesh, the pain. The fucking pain. Katsuki doesn't even realize that he's unfolded his arms and taken the one that was damaged into his other hand, until he's pressing and feeling it to make sure he's fucking whole still. There's a sensation, tingling, just where Dabi had grabbed him, but otherwise he feels whole... and that's good enough for him. Too much work, when that bastard is nearby and he's suddenly fighting the urge to turn and vomit into the sand. They killed each other. He tried to beat him to death. He blew his fucking skull up like a goddamn melon, because he refused to give the eldest Todoroki the full satisfaction.

Fuck!

Tense, wide crimson eyes never leave Dabi's form, moving or not, even as he feels himself out. No fucking way. He's ready, if he has to be... but god fucking dammit, you psychotic piece of shit. It's fucking pointless! No more. When you pull your crazy ass together, leave it at that!]

[it sucks. the endless monotony of a life without purpose other than survival. no goals to reach for, no enjoyment to feel or satisfaction over accomplishments. merely a beast with no higher functions. all things that aren't going through his mind, but will probably haunt him later after waking up. at which point dabi would instantly do his damnest to forget. he rejects all things squid!life in his mind. as best he can. cause it's stupid.

cold doesn't bother him. the wetness, however, does. yet he can't... seem to move his limbs yet. reaching out with his senses, it takes a tremendous effort just to open his eyes, dragging lead-like lids open as if it's the worst garage door. wouldn't be surprised if rust fell into his pupils. rust might've been better, since even the dull light of a cloudy sky is enough to skewer his retinas and slam his eyes shut with a hard wince. ah shit, that hurt. yeah, a pain he can actually feel. cause it's not exactly 'physical' like getting stabbed or burned. fine, leave his eyes for a bit. they can flutter every now and then to start adjusting to the light. what else works... finger... he can feel a finger. tendons pull, muscles clench, and a marked success leaves him able to twitch the tip in the sand. one... two... a third one... and abruptly spasms hard enough to sink those fingers into the sand in a vicious clawing motion to crush the grains into his palm. fuck! he's alive! sucking in air--gargling for a second--nope, spitting up water in a quiet choke and cough. oh gross... but each spit propels life into his limbs as if trading the water out of his lungs.

good enough. he dares to sit up, uncoordinated and shaky as he digs his palms into the sand and uses his arms like stilts. bones creak, his muscles whine, and his head wobbles on his neck in a broken marionette style. ugh... know what hurts most right now? his face. yeah. feels like someone punched it into the back of his skull. his jaw pops once or twice, wiggling side to side. but it's coming back. the feeling in his nerves, a bit more coordination in his body, a headache eager to sweep his bra-

oh that son of a bitch. like a dyke bursting, what had been nothing more than "what happened?" rapidly fills in with details. every single blow slamming into his face. katsuki's arm hauling back covered in sweat as his flesh boiled the rest out of his pores. he remembers seeing his own blackened skin coming off on the kid's hand, always coming back to that rage-filled face slathered in fury, desperation, and an blinking presence of pain each time he didn't push past it. fucker was beating him to death, right for his head. after crushing his shoulder. right... katsuki killed him. before he could immolate himself and the hero on his own terms, that bombastic brat plunged a grenade into his face and pulled the proverbial pin.

no wonder his head's killing him now. hn hn hn... bastard. suck part is, the memories at least trail long enough to realize this was all because of some damn event that pushed the blonde into acting out of his ordinary ways. dabi slogs his head forward and drops it between his shoulders, one hand twitching in effort to reach for it, but failing because it doesn't wanna move properly right now. still thinking that shoulder's ripped out of socket apparently. a miracle he didn't collapse as he sat up on it. at least he catches sight of those metal cuffs sitting beside him. temperature regulators. only real piece of "tech" he's got on him. maybe the rest of his stuff is nearby.

... nope, not his stuff, but someone is. he'd recognize that blonde explosion of hair anywhere. is it not enough they killed each other, but the place deems it necessary to wash them up on shore together? there's ironic, and then there's being a piece of shit for the hell of it. the satisfaction of murdering the hero is muted by the emotions and frustrations he felt during the fight, as well as a now-cleared mind realizing how much it'd been influenced and triggered by outside machinations. regret it? nope! hate being used like that? hell yes.

oh, he's awake. katsuki's moving. dabi watches him from the corner of his eyes, white hair hanging down in front of his face to shadow the turquoise gaze. well, guess the blonde's getting a full view of just how damaged touya's body is, purple scar tissue running from his thighs all the way down to an ankle on one side and mid-foot on the other. swathes on his torso expanding over his stomach and back. both arms wearing scarred sleeves with one pausing around his shoulder, though the other flows unforgiving into his collar and scorched neck and lower face. chest less than 40% good flesh by now. guy's lost a ton of his epidermis real estate... and katsuki's over there sitting pretty with whatever scant number of scars he's got.

jealous? not really. unamused? very. since katsuki's gonna stare at him, touya's gonna watch right back, not bothering to move more than tenting his legs at the knees and resting his arms atop them. they're back. they're alive. this prick's not gonna start something; he knows that well enough by now.]

Seems we're even.

[It's a sentiment shared between the two of them, that's for sure. It ain't fucking funny, not even a little bit, to have to join the world all over again with the motherfucker who was so determined to take him out of it in the first place. Fuck Trench. Fuck this place. Katsuki can't even say that he blames Dabi for what he did, because he wouldn't have done it if it weren't for him starting the whole thing. Against his goddamn will. It pisses him off. So much. He gets to sit and try not to eject his stomach's contents into the sand because the vivid memory of fucking burning alive is so fresh, and the burden of responsibility for that doesn't go fucking anywhere. Except on himself. Too weak to resist the pull of this place. Not thinking straight, causing casualties with his own bad decisions. Punching him. Over and over and over again with so much killing intent. His call. The only call, but still his own.

Everything feels horrible. Everything. His skin. His arm. His fucking bones. His head feels like he's just stepped off of one of those insanely fast spinning rides you'd find at some shitty festival. There's no more holding it back, not between his physical condition and with how his mind keeps racing over everything that happened. The blond tears his gaze away, boots dragging up in the sand to draw his legs up and out of the way. Bowing inward because he doesn't have the energy or give a shit to move far, he retches and heaves, ejecting all of the salt water he'd swallowed while struggling to swim his way back to shore, right on the sand between his own legs.

Ugh. Fucking hell.

He just sits like that for a long moment, spitting and panting all over again. Waiting to decide if he's done. Eventually Katsuki brings his hand up to wipe at his mouth, head turning to cast his dark gaze back on the villain just a stone's throw away. Hard not to look at the damage that Todoroki Touya has done to himself over time, honestly, and having experienced exactly what it takes to get to looking that way? He can't help but have some respect for the fortitude it would take to do that over and over again.

Still. Fuck you, Dabi.

No, he isn't going to start something. And Katsuki fucking hopes that Dabi won't either, but he can't be sure... and so they stare at each other. Tense, at least on his end, unwavering all the way up to Dabi's voice finally cutting through the ambient sound of waves.

Seems we're even.

All of that... and that's the fucking line he gets. Didn't really want anything else, but it still leaves a bad taste in his mouth to hear it come out of him so casually. Like they didn't just brutally, painfully murder each other for no real reason at all. Katsuki scoffs darkly and just lets his body do what it wants at that point. Absolutely nothing. Dropping back to lay in the sand, one arm laying at his side while the other hand comes up to press the heel of his palm into his forehead like that might help steady it.] You crazy sonovabitch... [It ain't defeat that has little bite in his tone. He's just fucking tired, on all levels. He just wants to go home and lick his wounds in peace.] Are we? Y'get that pointless bullshit fully outta your system, then?

[speak for yourself, asshat. you tried to take him out of the world first. you just sucked at finishing it. but it's not a pleasant experience either way and dabi's keen to sit here on the shore with his butt in the sand and glower about it for a while. similarly, he's finding it annoying to "blame" katsuki for the row since he knows it's trench's manipulations. for as aggressive and death-spitting as the kid is, he doesn't have the guts to kill someone even on his worst day. there's no concern from this side of the party regarding the blonde's current state. it's a sensation he'll get used to over time... the memory of burning to death. dabi still finds himself waking at night in a sweat, the sensations crawling across his skin in his mind only, and occasionally checks himself in the mirror to make sure he's not burning his flesh off while he sleeps. frustrated with himself for falling into a similar sway here. it's not like he hasn't fucked around with the other heroes. that floating bitch still hates him and the green kid's wary of him as ever, even if he's a bleeding heart who'll work with him. shouto's shouto, so no comment. but those had been his own choice, acting off the heroes' current mental states and influences. this one... hmph, this one felt good at the time, and now it's got this gross feeling of being used.

ah well. nothing he can't toss over his shoulder and ignore. he's good at that. not really big on "feelings" anymore, as he told shouto during the war. even if those "feelings" are in different categories. shit he has to sift through on his own... and now he gets to listen to katsuki puke up a small tide pool between his legs. could've done that when he was only semi-conscious. he had the courtesy to do so and he's a dirty villain. he lets his eyes drift back out to the water, focusing on the waves instead of the unpleasantries going on over there. maybe it's symbolic in a way, getting this out of their system. or maybe someone swallowed too much seawater and this is the natural result... and why the hell is he thinking so much about this kid retching?

right. because the rest he can think about is a weight of frustration, irritation, and mild confusion. so now where does this leave them? it wouldn't be "easy" to reach over and blast the cretin into a pile of ashes. dabi's not even sure he can aim right, much less trigger his quirk without some interfering blowback. his arms are supported by his knees because one of them barely wants to function and the other one's still numb, if he's honest with his current state. not a good time to get into a fight with katsuki.

feeling eyes on him again, he rolls them back the other hero. it's a strange stalemate, wondering if the other's going to do anything and whether he should make the first move to prevent it, but also realizing both of them are fucked up right now. a single wrong move or mistake, a jump to assumption, one shot fired hit or miss... so he makes the first move and opens his mouth.

tch, what'd he want? a heartfelt apology or some offering to analyze what the fuck just happened between them? no. they're even. katsuki tried to kill him and failed, dabi tried to kill katsuki and succeeded. they don't need a repeat of the event. this is as simple an acknowledgment of what happened without either of them having to get into the fact they were influenced by this place like idiots, and a proverbial olive branch to offer a truce without having to voice it and come across a weakling. plus dabi doesn't want to talk much right now; his mouth and jaw really fucking hurt.]

Urusei, asshole. [if he could drag that "shut up" harder through the sand, he would. but it'd take effort he don't have right now. of course katsuki's gonna question him. an exhausted scoff drifts out his mouth. don't make him talk right now, dammit. he needs a cigarette. and a drink. or both. damage control alone.] Ain't gonna waste my time on this crap again.

[Oh you fucking baby. Cry more. It's just puke. Try living with someone who's body has tried to make that a living for her. And to the earlier narrative point, you can shove that shit right up your ass too. It isn't that he sucked at taking you out, it's that he got interrupted and the so-called spell was broken. If weren't for your blatant suicidal streak and obvious desire to die, Katsuki'd call you fucking lucky in that regard. The hero version of Toga saved your ass, whether you wanna like that shit or not. He had every intention of doing exactly what he wound up doing in this fight. Blasting that fucking skull into pieces. Doesn't have the guts... you deluded motherfucker. He had the guts, twice, he just doesn't feel even remotely good about having the spine for it.

He refuses to feel good about it. To feel okay with himself. About killing, about attempting to kill. Any of it. It's like he said to Shigaraki... someone who can walk around after making a call like that and feel nothing--or worse, pride and euphoria... they're broken. Something is fucked up within them. Maybe it ain't necessarily their faults, maybe it's just the circumstance that's made 'em completely fucking insane... he's seen a lot of that in these villains, point and case. Katsuki has come to accept that reality, between home, Nippon and now here in Trench. Nothing is black and white. But it doesn't make it right. It doesn't make it justified. Killing is wrong, and it should feel wrong, even if he has to do it.

And y'know? Maybe that's screwed up too. Maybe he is just shackling himself to misery for no real reason at all, tethering himself to a broken system, but fuck you. Fuck no. He chooses to be different than that. Than to roll over and give into baser natures, to not give a shit and just say hey. The universe is fucked up, people are fucked up, so lets just light it all on fire. He chooses to fight to be better and do better, for himself. For the people around him. For the world around him, whichever fucking one it is. Katsuki picked his path because he believed in it, and he still fucking does. Even now, even if he's screwed up and done horrible shit. Even if it's not everything that his starry-eyed child self thought it was, because no matter what a kid can see on TV or hear, they can't just absorb and know how dark it actually gets. Doesn't matter. It's who he is, and who he's gonna be, and any outside opinions on that mean nothing to him.

So fuck you. Eat shit.]

Tch! Like I'm the goddamn asshole for all of this. Y'deluded prick! [There's still just very little bite to his words. Seriously, no energy for it and it's clear that Dabi is feeling the same. He's barely moved. Katsuki doesn't say anything further right away, letting the sound of waves take over for a few minutes as he digs deep to try to find the will to move again. Eventually though, he decides he's had more than his fill of this cold ass beach and with being anywhere near this fucking guy. He wants to go home. He wants to go home to Ochako, get into bed with her and stay there for a goddamn week. Maybe more. There's the aftermath to deal with, of course, he can't even imagine how bad it's been... and he ain't gonna. He can't. Not til he's there. For right now, in this very second, he'll focus on what doesn't make him feel like a garbage human being. Just long enough to get himself there.

The teen groans and pulls himself up to sitting once more. From there, a steeling breath and a hard lined scowl, before he twists to his hands and knees and then slowly uses what little strength he has to push to his feet. The sway he gets as he straightens out, two unsteady steps to the side like a fucking weighed down drunk or a dumbass baby deer just learning to walk, would be aggravatingly embarrassing... if he gave two shits about anything but getting home. All it takes is stopping there and getting used to the feeling of solid ground for a second, and then he's free to make his way over to his gear and pick 'em up. One gets put on, but the other stays in hand as Katsuki finally turns his gaze back onto Dabi and addresses him for the last time, tone dead serious.] Ain't fuckin' worth it. Never was. 'm done.

[That's as close to offering the word 'truce' as he's gonna get. He means what he says, Katsuki is done. With the entire thing. So Dabi doesn't get anything else from him. He just starts towards the the boardwalk.]

[oy, he ain't the one over here throwing himself a pity party out of guilt and not-as-bruised pride. and you can choke up and die on that bitch's quirk making her puke. try living with a quirk that fucking kills you for using it. then come and bitch to him about a little bit of vomit. (totally sucked at taking him out. so suck it. he's gonna be immature about it too, ya brat.) look at his life and call him "lucky" again, you pampered shit. still not going to admit that toga (the other-way crazy one) had a hand in saving him, even if dabi tells himself he would've immolated them both if it came down to dying at katsuki's hands. similar to how it just played out two and a half days ago. which is now turning out to be a pain in the not so proverbial ass. damn, if coming back to life feels like this every time, he'd rather skip it. anyways, glad to know ya got the spine for murder somewhere in your glass pride, you abusive egotistical maniac.

there's a lot in their world, any world, that isn't "right" if you look at it one way or another. it's not right to kill, but apparently it's right to deprive someone of their chance at living a decent way. it's not right to abuse, but so many of them went through that abuse and no one came to help. even hawks has that story in his background, but he's one of the lucky ones that escaped. dabi's seen some of the heroes here, particularly katsuki and ochako, and realized they've come from experiences that made them accept that grim reality: sometimes, there's no avoiding death. but ultimately, katsuki's right. as far as touya goes, he's broken beyond repair. and both of them know who's responsible for it too. death no longer matters to him, so long as he can bring it to endeavor before his own life goes out like the pathetic star his father always wanted him to be.

thing is, dabi doesn't give a shit about "life" in general. he's lost that part of himself, burned away a long time ago by the flames he was supposed to control. stain's ideology of a better world with better heroes. shigaraki's plans to wipe away everything out of blind hatred. even all for one's... whatever his ever-changing goal is. he doesn't care about any of that. they're simply a means to an end. an end that refuses to see anyone or anything else get in the way of. there's nothing else for him, only one single path he'll claw his damn fingers off to drag himself along if that's what it takes to get to the end. he lit the fire under him and it consumed him, drenched in the desire to be everything endeavor wanted. only to be discarded, emptied out, reamed and hulled until his own existence became worthless. in a way, touya and katsuki have similar focuses, refusing to allow anyone outside them swerve their paths or change their minds. but beyond that... their paths are so very different.]

Ugh. Ya talk too much. [he drops his head between his shoulders, letting it dangle bonelessly on his neck. each word from that mouth over there pounds into his skull, interrupting the at-least-rhythmic cresting of the waves. not helping this headache, brat. and he's the one who gave it to him. via that bomb to the face. can't wait to get back to his place. collapse in the darkness alone with no one around to witness this pathetic state he's in. seriously... killed by a goddamn hero. by katsuki of all people. never should've let him get close. should've kept him outside and torched him to death from afar. when he's not feeling like a piece of shit, dabi'll review the battle, as much as he remembers, and kick it into his training. but that's for future him. who has way more energy and drive than present him, who feels like driftwood puked out on the shore.

okay. there's movement over there and like hell is he gonna let that shit get to his feet while he's down. rolling his legs to the side, he digs his knees into the sand, hands pressing into the shore, and then works on getting one leg up, then the other. balance threatens to put him right back down, but he bites the vertigo back and straightens his legs, glaring at himself through tired eyes. move... you can break down later. you've moved all this time. and you'll continue to move until that last endeavor. up! god it feels like he breaks his back just to rise like that, but he does, ignoring the way his head turns into an invisible fishbowl that threatens to stagger him around in a clownish way. he is... not going the direction katsuki is. the complete opposite, further out into the beach. away from him, away from them, away from this.

he has his own shit to look for on this damn shore. katsuki's words come after him, over his shoulder, into his ear. glad they both agree this wasn't worth doing again. might argue the blonde being "done" anytime soon, but that's a pettiness he doesn't have the strength for right now. all dabi bothers to give... is lifting his hand and flicking the young hero off. even spits a blue flame out the tip of it to be extra dickish.

go die. dabi's had enough of him for the while. leaving katsuki to his traipse, the villain slow walks out into the beach, mind as heavy and weary as his body. he has no intention of repeating this blasted burn.

ain't worth it.]

[back atcha, motherfucker. fuck you fingers in the air like we just don't care.]

[made you look. he blind birded first. his victory. now piss off, kopykats.]

[icon keywords]

[mic drop]

[?????

okei]

[~ fu ~]

[come and get it bitch]

[don't tempt me bastard]

[but look at this coming undone face]

[Open] 🚬 September Flames

Prompt ~ Going Out With A

B-B-B-BAAAANG

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

2.5 days later

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

lmao i couldn't help myself

now you've done it

i'll do it again too watch me

bitch please

ahem

his is bigger

size ain't everything

wholly agree

holy shit, someone call the press. there is agreeing going on

they agree on a lot of things. like, people are stupid.

this is true, but that one is just like. DUH

they're both stubborn, rude, and very focused.