While the group was trying to think of a plan, the LOV was waiting it out.

Medea talked to Monama for hours easily before she hung up.

"I think we all know what's going on there," Compress remarked to Silk, "Are we okay with her dating a hero boy?"

"He seemed harmless enough." Silk shrugged. "And she's happier, and right now, it's nice if anyone is." She stared into her tea. Then put down her hand. "I win."

"Okay, I know you're cheating," Compress complained, "but you always look so uncertain... It's a trick."

"Is called having poker face," Silk said.

"More like a fake worried face," Compress said, "It's not enough to look stoic, you have to go the extra length?"

"Sounds like loser talk." Silk collected her winnings. "I suppose someone should check on boss. He's been awfully quiet for a while."

"I hope he's not contagious," Compress said.

"Oh, don't you start that now," Silk said, "Besides, we have masks."

['Cause we all know that always works. 😅 😷]

Silk peered in on Shigaraki. He seemed to be asleep--fitfully, but still.

Probably the most sleep he'd gotten in weeks.

He hadn't eaten much though, and his temperature had been running pretty high. Silk doubted he had much of an immune system left currently.

She turned back and shook her head, then she rubbed her temples... Not another headache.

Ever since Lethe had used his quirk on her, she got them frequently...but her memory had never come with it. She wasn't sure why, and that bothered her. Unless it was a side effect, and no memory was actually gone.

The headache would pass when she stopped thinking about it, so another minute and she was fine.

No reason to mention this to anyone, she had decided. What could they do about it? It would just worry them.

"Everything all right, Kira?" Compress called.

"He seem fine," Silk said, coming back in.

"Not what I meant," Compress said.

"I know." Silk sat back down. "But I'm fine." She was pretty convincingly nonchalant.

"I hear when women say they're fine, they're never fine," Compress said.

"But I'm Russian," Silk shuffled the deck, "and we're pessimists, so we're normally awful. If I say I fine, it means it's going better than usual."

"That's humorous," Compress said, "You know, though...if you are not fine, you can tell me."

"Don't be so serious," Silk said, smiling coyly, "It doesn't look good on you."

"I wear many hats." Compress gestured to his literal hat.

"I think you should stick to magic." Silk dealt the cards deftly. "Part of your charm is being the arrogant, self absorbed, melodramatic showboat."

"You wound me. What I do is so much more than being arrogant and melodramatic. I add the style to this whole d--- League." Compress gestured in typical over-dramatic fashion. "But for you, I could try to be a little less in the spotlight and a little more in the audience."

Silk smiled faintly. "It would be a boring performance."

"Oh, never," Compress said.

Silk looked at her hand. "Even so, there's really nothing bothering me. Let's play before Spinner or Twice walks in here and wants to join in."

"Oh, anything but that." Compress looked at his hand also.

[Still feel like Silk isn't playing a straight hand, but maybe she just likes being mysterious. Who knows? What? You all think I know? I come up with most of this as I go.]

* * *

"How's it going?" Medea asked Mirko over the phone.

"It's not," Mirko sighed, "We're all at a dead end."

"Too bad," Medea said, "Will the police find you there?"

"They're bound to check Endeavor's property sooner or later," Mirko said, "though he'll stall them as long as he can, since he's the number 1 hero.... 'Course that might look suspicious."

"What happens to Dabi if he does go to prison?" Medea asked nervously.

"Oh...well, they'll try to get him to talk," Mirko said, "but even if he gets out of that, the ninja will find him there. I think we're dead either way. Maybe he should just disappear again."

"The Origi-ninja could still find him though."

"If you start calling them that now, so help me--" Mirko began.

"Oh, come on, it makes them sound dumb," Medea replied.

"You know what? You just go train," Mirko said, "Practice turning your fire off and on on command, at least 50 times in a row."

"50? The most I've done it is, like, 3."

"Then you're under-training! Go do it or when I get back I'm going to make you train with water spraying you."

"What kind of a threat is that?" Medea said.

"Want to find out?"

"You are the worst!" Medea whined, "but fine. Because I have nothing better to do while we wait, I'll do it, but I am not happy, and I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this so I won't go stir crazy."

"As if I care," Mirko scoffed.

Medea hung up.

"What was that?" Shine asked, coming out of the room she'd been thinking/praying in.

"Oh, you know kids," Mirko, who knew nothing whatsoever about them, shrugged, "They always b---- at you about doing their chores."

"Was that Medea?"

"Yeah. I was telling her to train."

"Oh, she's training now?" Shine said, "Wow. Who's training her?"

Silence.

"I'm kidding. I'm not stupid," Shine said, "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday."

"Oh, wow, and the LOV let you?"

"Let me? They don't tell me what to do!" Mirko said.

"Not quite what I meant, but okay." Shine smirked like she was enjoying this concept too much. "So, my friend has finally become a tutor, huh... Wow, I would not have pegged you for the type to have the patience to teach, but then, I didn't have it when I started and look at me now. I put up with you."

"Oh, real funny." Mirko flipped her off. "Actually, she's kind of a brat about it. Major attitude."

"Not surprising. She's 16, BPD, and you're you," Shine said.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're not the most polite or sensitive person," Shine said.

"Never tried to be either of those things," Mirko said.

"And are you giving her a hard time?" Shine asked.

"Oh...no more than usual," Mirko said.

"How were you trained?" Shine asked, "We tend to imitate that."

"Oh, you know, the real way." Mirko flexed. "Lot's of hard knocks and challenges."

"If it was anything like UA, I'm scared for Medea," Shine said, "At least you don't have giant robots."

"Do they still use those tin cans?" Mirko scoffed, "I could crush those when I was in middle school."

"Yeah... Hey, I've taught a lot of people, so if you need any pro advice, I'd be happy to help," Shine said, "and I'm sure Fuyumi could even make some suggestions."

"For what?" Fuyumi came in.

"Rumi is teaching someone," Shine said before Mirko could stop her.

"Oh, how nice." Fuyumi had no sense of irony in her tone.

"I was offering her advice that she probably won't take," Shine said slowly.

"Oh, piss off," Mirko said.

"Well, you know with kids," Fuyumi assumed they were talking about kids, "I find it's best to use positive reinforcement as much as you can. I mean, we should say when they do something right...if it's appropriate."

"Ah, I forgot Japan schools are different," Shine said, "But since America's schools are crap, I'm not surprised. I was homeschooled." She tossed her hair. "And since what you're doing is far closer to that, I'm like an expert."

"Oh, so who taught you?" Fuyumi asked, "Our dad homeschooled Shoto, sort of..."

"It wasn't anything like that," Shine said, "We have our own curriculum, and you just follow along. Mostly the student just does the work the teacher would normally do. I corrected my own stuff, or my mom did."

"That sounds useful. You learn from your mistakes," Fuyumi approved.

"And then I just read all the time and picked up a lot. You can learn way more from reading a diverse assortment of books than one textbook," Shine said, "Authors do their research more than people think. Then we'd also watch edutainment (that's educational TV), and we went on field trips. And we had a lot of free time. Kids learn by experience."

"Wow," Fuyumi said, "That's so different from how we teach here."

"Oh, I know. If I had as much homework as you guys do, I'd have quit." Shine made a face. "I hate homework, and it never really helps you learn except by repetition."

"I...don't think that idea would go over well..." Fuyumi looked like she was hearing treasonous thoughts.

"I know," Shine said, "but you know, homeschooling is historically how most people learned, including royalty. Public education is a modern phenomenon." She laughed.

"You know, since we're talking about training, none of this would apply," Mirko said a bit sourly.

"Well, on principle it does," Shine said, "Students learn a lot on their own. And I should warn you, they will learn the most what you're not teaching them on purpose."

"Oh, I like that," Fuyumi said, "What does it mean though?"

"Look at Deku and All Might." Shine said, "All Might tells Deku, from all I hear, to be more careful and think things through, but Deku still rushes in every single time. Both of you have seen the news, I'm sure."

"That green haired kid?" Mirko said.

"Shoto's friend?" Fuyumi said, "He's nice."

"Nice but dumb." Shine was unceremonious. "He does what All Might always did--throws caution to the wind...and while All Might is nice enough, I would never emulate him. Deku will though. All Might doesn't have to teach him a dang thing for him to copy him. Works for teachers we don't like too. If a teacher is lazy, uninterested, or harsh, the student will be too. I've seen that more times than I can count. That's why Vlad's class is such a mess."

"How do you explain Bakugo?" Mirko asked, amused at this idea.

"Uh, Aizawa is his teacher and All Might is his role model," Shine said, "Duh."

"I think they look up to you too, Miss Likstar," Fuyumi said.

"Call me Shine... Well, I hope," Shine said, "I try to be worthy of it."

"What do you do if the kid sasses you?" Mirko asked, on a real note, "Or says you're a bad teacher?"

"Are you being a bad teacher is the first question to ask there," Shine said, "and if they sass you...well, either you deserved it, or they have issues. Usually trust issues. I've had a lot of students who are disrespectful because they've been treated badly in the past. Some just never were taught that adult should be respected. Depends on the kid. Eh, Fuyumi?"

"Most of mine are very good," Fuyumi said, "but they do use their quirks when they shouldn't sometimes. It's so hard to convince kids not to do that."

"Which is another problem in of itself." Shine frowned. "When did she sass you?" To Mirko.

"When didn't she?" Mirko replied.

"If you're being too hard on her," Shine said carefully, "She's not stupid, you know. She's going to fight it."

"Why do you think I'd be too hard on her?" Mirko said.

"Because you give off Toph from Avatar vibes, and you have the patience of a rabbit," Shine said.

"Hey!" Mirko got mad. "Don't with the rabbit jokes."

"Sorry, it was right there. You make those jokes."

"It's my quirk. I can make jokes about if I want," Mirko said.

"Well, you know, if you do, you tell other people it's okay," Shine said, "I personally never say stuff about myself I don't want to hear back...unless I'm having an insecure moment. Are you?"

"Oh, shut up," Mirko said, "And...who's Toph?"

"Is that show really not a thing?" Shine was shocked. "Wow... Or maybe it's just before your time, hmm... Look, Rumi, I love you, and I think you're funny, but to a teenager who's trying to get herself together...you could be kind of intimidating."

"Good," Mirko said.

"If she doesn't trust you, and she doesn't think you believe in her, she won't believe in herself." Shine was serious.

"I like that," Fuyumi said, "I feel like I should be writing this down."

"What does that even mean?" Mirko said.

"Well, any time you get frustrated with a student, they feel crushed," Shine said, "They are already frustrated with themselves, by that point. If you show frustration, they'll give up. Always act like you think they're close to getting it."

"Oh, wow," Fuyumi nodded.

"Lot's of praise if they do something right, and if they do mess up, just explain it calmly," Shine said, "and never bully them. That's a death sentence. Once you're unfair, they'll never trust you again, if you don't immediately apologize and fix it. Take it from someone who stopped respecting a few teachers after that happened to her."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but how could your teacher bully you?" Fuyumi asked.

"It's easy to bully someone under your authority," Shine said.

Mirko cocked her ears. "What counts as bullying?"

"If they can't fight back, or they won't," Shine said, "Why? What did you do?"

"Nothing...just an argument. She doesn't seem to care for my methods," Mirko said, "But if she doesn't get past that self pitying attitude towards her quirk, she'll never improve."

"And why do you think she pities herself?" Shine said, "She lost it all because of her quirk and her brother, but who do you think she blames deep down?"

"So she should get over it," Mirko said.

"You're right, but it's not as easy as just telling her to," Shine said, "She's afraid of her quirk, and if you push her too much to control it, you'll make her more afraid. She'll think you're afraid. It is dangerous, so some amount of caution is necessary, but you can be cautious without being afraid. Delicate balance there. If you push her without reinforcing that, you're going to make her snap."

Mirko thought it actually might be good advice. "Okay...so how do I motivate her without making her snap?"

"If I may," Fuyumi said, "If she doesn't like her quirk, I...well, I get it...but it might be best to find something about it she does like."

"Oh, that is excellent advice." Shine grinned. "Try to get her to name things she's done with it that she likes, that were good. If she can't, you have to. She has to change how she thinks of it. This is true of most people who don't like something about themselves." She shrugged. "It works with anything. If you don't like being tall, one thing to do is start thinking of all the things you can do because you're tall--like I don't need a stepladder to reach the top shelf."

"Ha, that's what my brother Natsou says," Fuyumi said.

"Tall, yeah, I can relate." Mirko was sarcastic.

"Well, it can work if you're short too. Like ducking things is a lot easier for you." Shine shrugged. "Find something good about it. Look, don't they teach you any of this stuff when you train? It's important for mental health to know how to think."

Blank looks.

"I guess that's a no," Shine said.

"If it's anything like when I was in school, they tell kids their quirk could be used to kill the first week," Mirko said.

[Anyone remember when 13 did that? Way to scare the kids. Not that it's not true...but they all have to know that already. You're just going to stress them out, right?]

"Oh, wow..." Shine said, "Well, oh, why am I ever surprised? FYI, anything can be used to kill... You can kill someone with a toothbrush, for crying out loud. But if you think like that, you'll be too afraid to learn how to use it properly. You'll look for danger everywhere, and if you do that, you'll go mad. The world is not against you. That's the first problem. We may be against it, but the world cares far less about us than we think. For every person who picks on someone because of their quirk there are hundreds who do not care."

"I've never heard it that way," Fuyumi said, "but all someone remembers is who picks on them."

"I know. You have to unlearn that," Shine said, "Mental toughness, you know--some I had to use. I've been picked on quite a bit for my...well, let's say, oddities. It's tempting to see everyone that way, but I learned too that most people don't care, honestly, and the ones who do really have nothing better to do with their time. Mostly they're just jealous anyway of your confidence, your happiness, whatever it happens to be."

"Or they think you're weak," Mirko said.

"That too," Shine said, "but I've had people hate me because I'm strong much more often. Weak people hate strong people. We hate what we can't be, you know."

"But what does that have to do with teaching?" Mirko said.

"A lot," Shine said, "I'm sure you've thought of this, but your quirk is nothing like hers. If you're not careful, she'll end up resenting that. So, hey, don't show off too much."

"This...is sounding way harder the way you put it than I thought," Mirko said.

"Your first mistake was thinking it would be easy," Shine and Fuyumi both said, then laughed.

"Oh, wow, doesn't that just sum up what I thought when I started teaching," Fuyumi said, "I mean, they're just kids, we think--how scary can they be?"

"Kids are harder to teach than adults. Adults will ignore you privately," Shine said, "but kids will do it to your face. But bless them, that is why it's easier to correct them. But when that falls into the wrong hands," she frowned, "it's...horrible. We should never take teaching kids lightly. They'll become much more like us than we think they will."

"Well, I'm pretty cool, so I'd be okay with that," Mirko said.

"If Medea turns into you," Shine said, "we all should be very afraid."

"Oh, come on, you make it sound like they have no agency of their own," Mirko said.

"No, they do, but it will affect her." Shine gestured. "You see, that's what people don't get. We all choose what to do, but we don't have the luxury of saying that means our actions don't affect others. Broken trust is still broken. You won't forget that. Let's hope we make each other stronger, but we are not inconsequential. That would be horrible, wouldn't it?"

"I think some people would prefer that to thinking they couldn't ruin someone else's life," Fuyumi said.

"I know," Shine said, "I've been there...but you know...if there was no risk, there would be no meaning to anything we do. I think you just have to accept that in life."

"Perhaps," Fuyumi said.

Dabi came in. "No risk, no reward," he said.

"Oh, hi," Shine said, "We were not talking about you, by the way."

"I know," Dabi said, "but I've been giving it some thought, and I think I know what to do."

"You do?" Fuyumi said, "I didn't think of anything."

"Look, we all know that running is going to mean nothing in the long run," Dabi said.

Some of the others came in now, hearing this conversation happening.

"We could still try," Miss Joke said, "I don't think anyone here wants to hand you over, Mr. Dabi."

"Don't use Mister. It sounds dumb," Dabi said, "And, yeah, and I get it. You're all willing to do that, but that's just breaking the law, and this time, you'll be caught. They'll know it's you. They'll know it's the Todoroki family too."

Shoto and Fuyumi and Endeavor all exchanged looks.

"So?" Shoto said.

"So it's not a secret anymore." Dabi shuffled and put his hands into his pockets. "Basically, the way I see it, I'm taking everyone with me if you all help me run...and the ninja will find me anyway. We all know that. If it's between them and the government, I'd rather be caught by the incompetent idiots who won't know jacks--- about me."

"Uh...isn't that naive?" Miss Joke said.

"Let's hear him out," Aizawa said, "This is the most sense he's made."

"Oh, shut up," Dabi said, "I'm not done yet. I know," he saw Shine about to talk, "it's not safe in prison. But it's not safe anywhere. If I go to prison, you'll at least know if I disappear. You can do something about it. If I went to into hiding, it could take weeks to know if that happened, and you can't be babysitting me. You have other students."

Shine bit her lip.

"Wow," Wally said, "That makes sense."

"We can hope the ninja just wanted me to go to jail to hurt you," Dabi said, though he didn't have much hope of it, "and if that's all there is to it, I guess I'm not scared of that."

That was not quite true, but he was trying to convince himself it was. "So I'm just going to have to turn myself in."

"If you do that," Endeavor spoke up, "no one will trust it. They'll think it's a trick by the LOV."

"And that will at least distract them," Dabi said, "I'm not asking your permission for this. You all can't stop me."

"You know," Wally said, "I think he's right. We did this once with my friends, and it kind of worked."

"But they weren't wanted criminals," Shine said, "You think the law will be fair to him?"

Fuyumi wiped her eyes.

"Well, on that note," Endeavor said, "I think you're forgetting that I'm the Number One Hero."

Dabi looked at him oddly.

"I can't stop them from arresting him," Endeavor said, "but we all have witnessed that he's been quiet for a while, and if I vouch for that, given that we are related, the press will probably not all want to sink us."

"Wait just a d--- minute. I didn't ask for you help--" Dabi said.

That might have worked on Endeavor--honestly he was so used to guilt tripping by now--but Shine stepped forward and yanked Dabi's arm.

"Now you listen here," she said, "This is not all about you. We all know that your family will go down with you if this goes badly. Anything Endeavor can do to make this less bad, you're going to cooperate, okay? At least I would appreciate it. I like Shoto happy."

Shoto almost smiled.

"She's right," Fuyumi said, "This will affect all of us. So don't see as a favor to you, see it as one to me and Shoto. And I'd be willing to testify that Touya has changed, if it would help."

"I'd prefer you not have to appear in public," Endeavor said, "but there's plenty more people who could...if my endorsement is not enough."

"You know, that could work," Shine said, "I don't know much about your justice system, but surely the No. 1 Hero helping out couldn't hurt."

"I think people love a good villain turned morally okay story anywhere," Wally said.

Mirko snorted. "Won't stop them from beating him up. He'd better get solitary."

"I think they'd give him solitary no matter what," Shine said, "but...we can't visit, then... Oh nevermind, I'll find a way."

Dabi snorted. "You think you can bypass a prison security system?"

"They'd have a hard time stopping me," Shine said, "I'm not just abandoning you over this. That's not Christian."

"Likstar, you're crazy," Dabi said.

"I don't like this," Mirko said, "I feel like it's what they want."

"Not entirely," Shine said, "They will never expect him to do it willingly... This could buy us a little time. I do not think they will come and kidnap him while the media's attention is on it. That's not their MO. So the more controversy we can dredge up the better. I hate using that, but we have to play the hand we're dealt. Touya, I'm proud of you, though. This is not an easy choice to make."

Dabi rubbed his head. "It's nothing I want to do. I just know when I'm doomed either way. Nowhere to run."

"A lesser man would try to run even if he couldn't," Wally said, "Believe me, I've met plenty of them."

"Don't get all sentimental on me, West," Dabi said, "I've never liked you."

"Ouch," Wally said.

"He's kidding," Shine said.

"No, I'm not."

"Dabi, shut up," she said.

"If this is all he can do, then what do we do?" Shoto spoke.

"You can help by confirming he's changed," Shine said, "You're already in public. Can't hurt you more than it already has. Other than that...I'd think breaking it to your mom."

"Oh, yes. We need to talk about that," Fuyumi said.

"Maybe we all should do that together," Endeavor said, "This is my fault anyway."

"Ew," Dabi said, grimacing, "Gag me."

"Don't tempt us," Mirko said.

"So emo," Shine said. She walked up, though, and hugged him. "I'm gonna miss you..."

"Stop embarrassing me," Dabi said. He looked kind of upset though. He'd gotten used to being around them...

Momo started crying. "This just doesn't seem fair..."

Shoto hugged her.

"The League will love this," Mirko muttered to herself, "Shigaraki will throw a fit... I hope he's still out of it. Not sure I want to listen to that yelling match..."

"If you're going to turn yourself in," Shine spoke, "you'd better go to the police directly. And don't try to act cute with them. Don't fight them. Anything odd will set them off. Okay?"

"We'll have to keep an eye on the situation," Endeavor said.

He wasn't going to say this, but he'd spent most of the last hour crying privately over the fact that Touya was actually alive, and this turn of events was not the one he wanted, but he didn't think he had any place to express that to the rest of them.

Still, he was determined not to let this get any worse if he could help it.

* * *

Mirko returned to the lair, still with her doubts about the whole thing.

But hers were nothing compared to the outrage of the LOV later when they saw the news update. Dabi had just turned himself in.

"That moron!" Compress was livid. "I bet Likstar put him up to this."

"He can't do this! We're all dead!" Spinner said.

"We have to stop him!" Twice said, "No, we don't."

"Do you think we could snatch him back, so to speak?" Compress snapped his fingers. "They'll move him to prison just like Overhaul. We have some connections there. We could take him back. He could come back with us."

Mirko heard them and came in.

"No," she said, "Dabi didn't want to come back here. I heard him say so himself."

They all looked at her, a little hostile.

"Why not?" Silk asked.

"He just doesn't," Mirko said, "and, FYI, jackasses, he came up with this idea. Likstar was all set to help him hide. He literally talked her out if it."

"I find it hard to believe that," Compress said.

"He is crazy," Spinner said, "but we're still going to rescue him. He'll thank us later."

The other members began to agree with Spinner and suggest ways they could pull it off.

Mirko then startled all them by kicking the floor so hard she dented it.

They all jumped.

"All right, listen up a--h---s," Mirko said, "Dabi chose this, and you're not going to do any of what you're saying." She looked at them fiercely. "Got it?"

"And just how do you intend to stop us?" Compress said, "Remember last time?"

The answer he got was Mirko launching into him at a speed he was not ready for and smacking him into the back wall.

Silk tried to grab her--but Mirko had learned to expect that, and she ducked and grabbed the cloth with one hand, then she yanked it, and Silk was jerked forward and off her feet.

Mirko proceeded to wind the silk around her in a few jumps, kicking off the wall in order to get momentum.

She kicked Toga's knives aside without a second glance.

Twice yelped and jumped away from her.

Spinner backed up too.

"Anybody else?" Mirko said.

They shook their heads.

Mirko brushed her hair back. "I think we're clear, right? All of you losers need to get one thing straight: Don't frick with me." Her eyes blazed. "And as for Dabi, let him make his own d--- choices. You've no right to stop him. If you try, I will fold all of you. Anyone want to frick with me right now?"

No one spoke.

"Good," Mirko said.

"Well, maybe you can beat us," Spinner said, "but the boss will be mad when he finally wakes up."

"Shigaraki?" Mirko scoffed, "He'd be on my side. What about respecting Dabi's decisions? If anything, you should be glad he wasn't around to hear you say that. Now," she tilted her head, "I suggest you or Toga take one of your knives, you cut the bulls---, and you get used to the idea of Dabi doing whatever he d--- well wants."

She tossed her head and left the room.

"Are we just going to let her get away with that?" Compress asked.

"She just smacked three of us down in 3 seconds flat," Spinner said, "I guess she's hard to catch off guard twice. Anyway, if Dabi's gonna be a pill about it too, what's the point?"

"I don't want to die because of him," Toga whined.

"I'm with Mirko," Medea spoke finally, "I don't get it, but he must have a reason for being willing go to prison."

"Perhaps she's right," Compress said, "In which case, I guess we should leave it alone. I'm still telling Shigaraki that b---- kicked me, though."

"Can someone help me, please?" Silk said, "Is hard to manipulate this when it's tied around me so tight. Take forever."

"I must say I never thought that pro would be faster than you." Compress helped her get free. "I guess she learns quick."

Medea blinked. "You know, I'mma go practice some more." She walked away.

"Dang..." Spinner muttered.

[Simp!...because this is my running gag now.]