Cora: Age 19

Dabi: Age 22

Cora woke with a start before she was wracked with pain at the sudden jerking motion of her jolting upright in a panic as flashes of memory from the night before flooded her mind. She opened her eyes and struggled to focus her quirk on herself. She was in a room she didn't recognize. Her panic dissipated as she spotted a familiar figure sprawled across a small sofa against the wall opposite her. Toya, though he was going by Dabi now, was sound asleep. He looked exhausted.

Her body protested as she scooted to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over the side. Heat spread through her as she noticed she wasn't wearing her blood caked tank top or jeans anymore. She was now wearing an oversized black t-shirt. Her face was a bright shade of scarlet as she realized Dabi must have changed her clothes. She shakily got to her feet and felt a smidgen better as she realized the t-shirt was pretty long and fell to about mid-thigh on her.

From her quirk's vantage point, she watched herself inch across the room stiffly. Her body ached all over. She could feel bandages over the freshly cauterized gunshot wound on her torso. There were more bandages around her arm. From the pink tinge of the thick bandages she had a feeling Dabi didn't cauterize that one after she'd collapsed. There were more bandages on her cheek from when the officer had slammed her face into the glass covered asphalt. She felt a twinge of guilt wondering how long Dabi must have stayed up after she'd collapsed to doctor her wounds.

Once she reached the sofa, she pulled the folded-up throw blanket off the top of it and gently draped it over Dabi's sleeping form so he wouldn't catch a cold. A gasp escaped her lips as he suddenly caught her wrist in his hand, his hardened teal eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at ceiling knowing that was where she was seeing them from.

"You should be resting." He chided her lightly as he sat up with a yawn.

Cora smiled faintly, from her viewpoint she could see the top of his head and saw a lot of stray dyed hairs sticking up in funny angles. She reached out with her free hand, unconsciously, and fixed his hair. "I'm okay now, thanks to you."

Dabi grimaced at this, as he remembered the pain he'd put her through. He had a hard time falling asleep the night before, every time he closed his eyes he saw the pain on her face and heard her cries of anguish.

"How'd you get mixed up with those assholes anyway?" He asked her curiously as he released her wrist from his hold.

"I was working a case." Cora shrugged but instantly regretted it as her freshly cauterized wounds screamed in protest. She nearly stumbled as her knees weakened from the immense pain.

Dabi hooked an arm around her waist and caught her as her knees gave out from under her. "You were working with them?" He frowned.

"Not by choice." She blushed as he sat back down on the sofa pulling her with him.

"How'd they find you, I figured you'd have gone as far away as you could the moment you became an adult and were released from the system." Dabi mused.

Cora shook her head, "I was never released from the system, they just moved me to another prison, my quirk is apparently too valuable to them."

Dabi clenched his fists. He never expected her life to be easy, but he'd hoped she'd gotten out of the system. Rage bubbled up inside of him, she was a slave to the system to be used and abused by cops and heroes as they saw fit. The system was broken, it was filled with false heroes and crooked cops.

"Dabi?" Cora asked curiously, she could feel him shaking with rage.

"You're free now, and I won't let them take you back." He vowed.

Cora relaxed against him and focused on one of her many handlers who accompanied her on various missions. He was an angry middle-aged man with a failing marriage. His wife was terrible and never stopped nagging him for anything and everything. He often took out his frustrations on Cora. Her perspective shifted. She found herself looking down at her apartment as her handler and several police officers tore through her things, not that she had many, just the few clothes and necessities she'd been given. They searched for loose floorboards and secret compartments for any sign of where she'd gone. She couldn't focus enough to hear what they were saying but it didn't appear they had any leads to her whereabouts.

"They're looking for me now." She said softly.

Dabi looked to the ghostly pale girl. Her revealed legs were littered in bruises and various old scars and even some fresh cuts, scrapes and scabs. She was thin, too thin. He desperately wished he would have forced her to come with him all those years ago when he'd run away from home. They could have figured another way to keep his father from finding them. He caught her hand in his, it was cold, bony and trembling slightly. He clasped her hand between both of his in an attempt to warm her up.

"I'll cremate anyone who get's too close." He squeezed her hand in his.

A small ghost of a smile spread across her pale rose hued lips. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. They sat in comfortable silence for a long moment before Cora's stomach let out a soft grumble.

Dabi chuckled softly, it reminded him of their first meeting. "Come on, let's get some breakfast." He got to his feet pulling her with him and carried her out of the room.

Giran was sitting in his living room watching the news waiting for the two young adults in his care to wake up. He got up off the sofa as Dabi stepped into the living room carrying the sickly pale girl in his arms. She looked a little better than the night before but still to be in bad shape.

"You two wouldn't happen to know anything about the two dead cops found a few blocks from here, would you?" Giran asked suspiciously wondering if they'd be honest.

"Haven't the faintest clue." Dabi shrugged as he carried Cora to the kitchen and set her down on one of the barstools. "What do you have to eat?"

Giran sighed, "she's wanted for killing two cops, her picture is all over the news, Dabi, everyone is looking for her. They apparently have video evidence of her shooting one cop, though they refused to release the footage to the public, the other was found charred, in a nearby alley. Though I have a hunch she wasn't responsible for that one."

"Maybe you should check the underground news." Dabi pointed as he started rummaging through some cupboards.

Giran frowned and began searching through an underground network on his burner phone. In a matter of minutes, he stumbled upon the video of Cora being assaulted, fighting back and fleeing for her life. His stomach churned, "fuck." He lit a cigarette and took a long drag off of it before letting out a sigh. "They'll be going door to door asking people questions. Which means their search will probably bring them here looking for potential squatters that might have seen anything, we'll have to get out of here." He frowned as he tried to think up an escape route where they wouldn't be seen.

Dabi looked to Cora, "can you see how close they are?"

Cora nodded weakly and opened her eyes. She focused on the building they were in and slowly began to expand her field of vision. After a few minutes of searching she found several police officers going door to door in an apartment building a block away from where it had happened.

"Three blocks away."

Giran stared at the girl in awe. "That's a hell of a quirk. I've got a safe house we can hide out in, but we'll need to drive. Any traffic checkpoints?"

Cora focused again scanning the nearby streets, she didn't see any. She shook her head and shut her eyes feeling weak and exhausted.

Dabi frowned.

"Alright, let's get moving." Giran got off the sofa with a sigh, grabbed a bag near the door and beckoned Dabi to follow.

Dabi scooped up the semi-conscious Cora and followed Giran out the door. He grew worried as she slumped into his arms. She really needed a doctor or at the very least some antibiotics to fight off infection. They descended the stairs. Once they reached the ground floor Giran looked to the semi-conscious girl and winced sympathetically as he gently shook her to rouse her.

"Sorry, little surveillance camera, I need you to make sure the coast is clear." He felt bad for waking her.

Cora opened her eyes and scanned the street and sidewalk outside. "There's a homeless man in front of the building next to this one. No one else."

Giran nodded and ducked outside. Cora watched him hand the man some money and ask him to take a walk. The homeless man accepted the cash and walked away without question. Once the coast was clear she signaled Dabi and he stepped outside. Giran led them to a car tucked in an alley. Dabi got into the back seat with Cora and laid down so they weren't visible as Giran got in the driver's seat.

"Coast still clear?" Giran asked.

Cora focused on the surrounding street, "clear."

Giran pulled out of the alley and turned onto the street. Cora continued focusing on the area around them and skipping ahead to check for any checkpoints or police officers. Dabi looked down concerned as her thin frame trembled against him. She was straining herself.

"There's a police officer on the next corner, turn right." Cora guided Giran.

With the help of her quirk, they managed to make it to the safe house without running into any cops or heroes. The safe house was on the outskirts of the city tucked in a small forest just outside of the city. As they arrived, Cora slipped from consciousness.

Dabi carried her inside the safe house. There was a flush to her cheeks and a thin film of sweat clinging to her skin. He pressed his lips to her temple in an attempt to check her temperature. His frown deepened. She was running a fever.

"You're good at procuring things, right?" Dabi looked to Giran.

"That's kinda my job." Giran pointed.

"She needs antibiotics." Dabi gently set Cora down on a comfy looking sofa in the front room.

Giran nodded, "agreed, but with her being wanted and everyone seeing her face on the news we can't risk having someone take a look at her...I'll go get some..." He paused as he got to the door remembering that Dabi had been looking for food before they took off, "and some food."

Dabi looked to the man with the pale greasy hair and offered him a faint smile, "thanks."

Giran smiled, "sure, but you owe me."

Dabi rolled his eyes and dropped into the armchair next to the sofa he'd laid Cora on. "Hurry back."

Giran slipped out the door, he could move unhindered without a fugitive with him. He reached out to one of his many contacts to cash in a favor. There were several doctors who tended to people in the criminal underworld but only one he felt wouldn't ask too many unnecessary questions.

While Giran was out, Dabi explored the safe house. He got some ice from the kitchen and found a clean towel to wrap it in before applying it to Cora's forehead in an attempt to get her fever down. He found a closet with some blankets and covered her up to keep her comfortable. The safe house was pretty barren it had some simple furnishings in all the rooms and basic necessities but that was it. Growing bored with exploring the safe house, Dabi returned to the living room to watch over Cora as she slept.

Giran returned an hour later with a bottle of antibiotics, a few bags of groceries and a bag with some clothes for Cora. He spotted Dabi sitting on the floor in front of the sofa with his head resting against Cora's arm. They were both sound asleep. He smiled faintly as he looked at the young pair. 

Video- "Trials" By Starset