week 6, post trial

[robitussin]

[Their numbers keep falling. Three people have died already this week, with two more on the way tomorrow. With the outburst the townspeople gave them once the results came through... If anyone were feeling downhearted, it's to be expected at this point. Things continuing at their current pace is a frightening thought, after all. Like last week, the offer to spend time together or meet in a central location doesn't come.

Hawks and Dabi wait for the morning in their cells, but the rest of the tourists are free to wander about the town as they please; free to rest, to talk with each other, and to try to gather strength wherever they can. So, where does the evening find you, Cartesio?]

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[robitussin]

[She leans forward in turn, breathing in when she hears him. Part of her is surprised she managed to get that much, but while she doesn't expect him to answer the next question...]

...Your scars?

[amburere]

The original ones. [ Somewhere on this battered body of his, there's scars not of his own making. But they're long buried now—he couldn't stand to look at them. ]

[robitussin]

[She suspects there are a fair few details she's missing in this equation, but even that is enough to prompt the following:]

He can get fucked.

[amburere]

[ He laughs and then smiles. Actually smiles for once, even if it's all wrong on his face. ]

And then some.

[robitussin]

[After a moment:]

You didn't deserve to end up like this.

[Whether she means who he is as a person or whether she's referring to his current position isn't clear, but she doesn't specify.]

[amburere]

That's just the way society is. [ And that's why he hates it and wants to burn it all down. ]

[robitussin]

...Maybe he is, but not all of it is.

[She sighs.]

I wish you could have grown up somewhere better.

[amburere]

...most of it. [ As much as he wishes he could be direct here, it's probably for his own good that he can't. So, moving on. ]

Why? Told you, I don't have any regrets.

[robitussin]

I know you don't.

[She takes another breath, crossing her arms over her torso before she continues.]

...But I don't want you to die. That's all.

[amburere]

[ ...ah. He wants to push back? But as much as it's instinctual, he can't manage that after everything that's happened. And not while she's looking at him like that. ]

Too late. Been on that road for a while.

[robitussin]

...It's too late this time, maybe. But I'm going to bring you back.

[But that means she's still worried about what the bigger picture means for him, when and if he returns home.]

[amburere]

Already died once. Twice is pushin' it. [ A pause before he realizes he needs to clarify. ] Not that way. Dabi isn't my real name.

[robitussin]

[A little firmer:]

I'm bringing you back.

[amburere]

.....

[ His silence is going to have to be acquiesce enough. Maybe this will help though. ]

Got a pen and paper?

[robitussin]

[She has to take a moment to decide whether to shift to this new topic or insist once more, but in the end...]

I can get one. Can you wait a few minutes?

[amburere]

I'm free all night. [ A self-depreciating smirk, but it's the truth. He'll wait patiently and won't even light a hand on fire while she's gone. He does go through the motions of doing so, though. ]

[robitussin]

[As she's said, she comes back with a notebook and pen after a few minutes. It's flipped open to a page in the middle since it's one she's written in extensively.]

What've you got?

[amburere]

Give it to me, it'll be faster. The Sarge likes to talk a lot when I got under his skin.

[ ...which was most of the time they talked tbh. ]

[robitussin]

...Okay, but don't read the rest of what's in there.

[That being said, she hands it to him without waiting for him to agree.]

[amburere]

[ Dabi nods; he won't even glance at the rest of the notebook as he starts to write down what he's committed to memory. It takes him about 5 minutes or so, but he'll hand the noteback with these additions when he's done. ]

There's some stuff in my room too. [ He'll wait on those details in case she has any questions about what he wrote. ]

[robitussin]

[She does read over all of it, and several things stick out. First...]

Did he say anything else about breaking people?

[amburere]

Took a bit for him to give me even that. He didn't wanna talk 'bout it, but when I guessed that his whole plan was to break people he said "possibly". And that he couldn't say more without "infringing on his orders."

He was always interested in Bakugou and Hawks. My boss is the same, so figured their reasons were similar.

[robitussin]

...I think it'd make sense, based on the kind of people he brought here.

[There's a small noise, half bitter and half amused, before she continues.]

You know, I spent so long trying to find some similarity between us... If it was that all along, I'm going to be pissed.

[amburere]

[ He smiles wryly. ]

That's not why he was interested in me. Clarisse too, probably.

[robitussin]

Because you'd both be willing to do something like this easily, then? Or was it something else?