Chapter 92: Miracles Happen

You tried your best to follow Hakuchō's advice and behave, even when you really didn't want to, because annoyingly, she was right, and it was nice when you weren't all fighting. And a little part of you worried that you were maybe becoming like your mom with how much you had been arguing with them. You didn't want that. You wanted to continue living a nice life where you were loved, even if you weren't here really.

But the more you behaved or at least kept your mouth shut and your hands to yourself, the more freedom you were granted by Hawks.

It wasn't much freedom, not like when you lived with Dabi, and you had the freedom of the entire mansion and being allowed days out with Dabi, Himiko or 'Mura, but it was more than you had when you continually got locked up in that room.

But the more peaceful you were, the more Hakuchō would leave the house and leave you alone with Hawks, even though you didn't like him or feel safe with him.

He was never mean to you while you were alone with him, but he did constantly try talking to you, even when you were drawing or watching TV, and you didn't want to talk to him.

Whenever he did try talking to you outside of absolutely having to, you mostly ignored him or gave one word answers back.

You definitely didn't engage with the questions about Dabi, or your other family members, no matter how he tried phrasing it or worming into the subject matter.

So whenever you were left alone with him, you ended up going to the room yourself and eventually, he just started working while Hakuchō was out, only occasionally peeping into the room you stayed in upstairs to check in on you.

You weren't expecting the opportunity to leave the house so quickly after you started behaving. Hakuchō had approached you asking if you wanted to go to a cat café, and after learning that it was a café full of free-roaming cats, you absolutely wanted to go and see what the big deal was after Dabi had told you that cats were his favourite animal.

She kept reminding you to behave from the moment you agreed to go up until before you got out of the car to go into the café.

The outside didn't seem as scary as you'd heard Hawks saying, it was a little bit quieter than usual, and a lot of shops had boarded up windows, or looked like they'd been destroyed, but that was further in the distance from where you were.

And then when you'd seen the fluffy animals inside the café through the window, you were well and truly distracted, only paying attention to Hakuchō and the boy she said she wanted to date when he appears close by.

He was dressed just like Dabi, from the torn clothes to the black nail varnish, and rightly or wrongly, it made you feel like you could trust him because it was the closest thing you had felt to home at the moment.

Hakuchō doesn't look happy with you, and you can safely guess it's because you're staring, but if he just had scars, blue eyes and black hair, you could pretend it was Dabi.

"Feathers." He greets her, and then looks at you. "F/N."

You don't like that, so you correct him, telling him your name is Star.

He immediately apologises and corrects himself, and that makes your shoulders release their tension. He was listening, just like Dabi did but no-one else seemed to.

He even crouches a little, going eye-to-eye with you, close enough that you can see he's wearing makeup like Dabi does to hide his white eyelashes.

"Ready to go see some cats?" He asks you.

"My pawpaw likes cats." You tell him.

He nods, the corners of his mouth turning upwards ever-so-slightly just like Tomura's did sometimes and he says: "He has good taste in animals, then. Come on then."

He even complimented Dabi!

You decide there and then that you like this boy that Hakuchō wants to be boyfriend and girlfriends with. He even opens the door for you like Atsuhiro used to whenever you went anywhere with him, only following you into the café when both you and Hakuchō were inside.

A ginger cat immediately hisses at Hakuchō, so you decide you like that one, and immediately sit down and encourage it over.

You're not too sure on how to pet cats, because you'd never been allowed a pet before, and you'd only really pet ducks that you remembered. Your hand is a little clumsy as you pet it, but it's rumbling and curled up on your lap anyway, so you assume you're doing a good job.

You're so distracted by the cat that you don't even sense Hakuchō's boyfriend coming up to you to join you in petting the soft ginger cat on your lap. You don't make a fuss, because he's not touching you, and doesn't seem to intend to.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink, Star?" He asks quietly after a while.

You shake your head, and he doesn't pester you like Hakuchō and Hawks tended to do when they decided they wanted you to try to eat something again.

You can't help but smile softly at the little cat that was rumbling louder and louder the more you pet it. It was so cute and relaxing that you can absolutely see why cats would be Dabi's favourite animal.

"Happy?" Hakuchō asks. "Shinsou's not scary either, is he?"

Shinsou, that was his name. You shake your head in response. So far he'd reminded you of three of your family members and listened to you when you asked not to be called your dead name, so that made him good in your books.

"He's nice. He dresses like Dabi and listens." You agree, still rubbing the ginger cat's head.

She agrees quietly with you, and then leaves you alone again. That was just fine with you, you were actually at peace for the first time in a long while, feeling loved by this warm creature on your lap, and loving it straight back.

Shinsou comes back, you just about make out in your peripheral vision, and places drinks and cakes on the table. You watch a little more carefully as he reaches something towards you.

"I know you said you didn't want anything, but I got you an apple juice just in case." He says, giving you the Tomura smile again. "If you don't want it, that's okay. I can take it back to my little sister. She likes apples."

"Thank you." You say quietly, staring at him as he leans back and focuses all his attention on Hakuchō again.

He definitely liked her back, because the way he was looking at her reminded you of the way Tomura would look at Dabi sometimes when he wasn't paying attention.

And they were definitely in love, more than mom and her boyfriends were, because they didn't fight all the time or hurt each other or lock one out the other outside or anything like that.

They start talking to each other about things you don't care about, so you focus more on the cats again, petting the one in your lap and trying to encourage more of its friends to come over. You're even brave and take sips of the apple juice Shinsou bought you, because it reminded you of Kurogiri.

A lot of the other cats are busy doing their own things, napping in the window, playing with each other or alone with toys and being pet by other people, but a couple other cats approach Shinsou and Hakuchō and sit on their laps for a while, too.

You suddenly catch sight of something metallic amongst the fluff, and gently pry a tag out of its fur.

'Hello! My name is Lasagne!' The collar reads.

"His name is Lasagne." You say, amazed that you could read the new word without a struggle.

"What kind of name is Lasagne?" You ask with a confused frown, looking up at Hakuchō and Shinsou.

"It's a joke." Shinsou explains patiently. "There's a cartoon ginger cat called Garfield that likes lasagne."

You frown, looking back down at the rumbling cat as its claws dig into your leg in what you assume is meant to be a friendly way, because it didn't hurt too much.

"What's a lasagne?" You ask.

Shinsou chuckles, a deep rumbling sound not too dissimilar to Spinner's, the memory of Spinner threatening to make your cheeks heat up.

"It's an Italian pasta dish." He explains again, and then pulls out a phone to show you pictures of the food Lasagne is named after.

You look at the food with wide eyes. Admittedly it did look yummy, and you make the mistake of vocalising it.

"Would you eat it?" Hakuchō asks instantly.

You shrug harshly, wanting to shoot her down as quickly as possible. You didn't want to be badgered about eating. Whenever you were forced to try, you retched and lost your appetite the second you even smelt food.

The door to the café opens shortly after, and the man that had driven you here peers around the door, jutting his thumb in the direction of outside. You assume he's looking at Hakuchō and not you, but it's hard to tell with him wearing sunglasses even though it's not that sunny outside.

You obediently get up, albeit slowly so you don't upset your new orange friend by moving him harshly before he is ready. The other two don't seem to be moving quickly, and you wonder why you have to behave and no-one else does for a brief moment.

And then Shinsou leans close to Hakuchō's face, rubbing his nose against hers briefly and then kisses her quickly.

You scrunch your face up in disgust. You'd gotten used to Dabi and Tomura kissing, but you didn't like seeing Hakuchō kiss, especially when she'd been so mean to you and Shinsou seemed nice.

"Gross." You huff, and Shinsou laughs again as he gets up.

"Sure is." He agrees, his hand going to the top of your head.

You flinch automatically, not used to men touching you in a nice, safe way anymore. He moves his hand away instantly though, not like Hawks, and apologises.

"It was nice to meet you, Star." He tells you, and you avoid his eyes, because you're close to crying after the simple touch has reminded you of how much Dabi used to pat your head.

Luckily Hakuchō ushers you out of the café soon after that, waving goodbye to her boyfriend as you get into the car silently, trying so desperately to be good and fight back the tears.

You do a terrible job of it though, because not long after the driver begins to drive, never saying a word to either of you, your sniffles turn into tears.

You wanted a cat. You wanted a piece of Dabi that no-one could take away from you, something soothing that would love you even when it felt like Hawks and Hakuchō didn't.

"If I keep being good, could we get a pet cat?" You ask tearfully.

"No, cats don't like Keigo." Hakuchō replies firmly.

You whine a little childishly, feeling like whatever was left of your heart had finally shattered.

"But they reminded me of Dabi." You sob.

"Too bad." She says coldly, sighing.

You cry even harder at the lack of empathy being shown towards you, your vision blurred as you stare out of the window, wanting a hug.

But then, through your blurred vision, you think you see a familiar shape in the distance. You rub your eyes to try and clear your vision, and sure enough, Zero's shorter frame with his long, silver hair poking out of his hoodie comes into view as the car passes him. He doesn't look like he saw you though, he's just standing still on the corner.

Your body moves automatically, you unclipping your car seat even though Dabi told you never to do that while a car's moving, and trying to open the door via the handle, only for the door to stay shut.

"What are you doing?!" Hakuchō asks angrily, grabbing your arm.

Your body chooses to fight, and you try shaking her off as you begin calling for Zero as the car passes, as loudly as you can, knowing that you'll probably get put to sleep again if he doesn't hear you.

You can't hear anything over the thumping of your heart in your ears and your own screaming of Zero's name as Hakuchō tries wrestling the car seat belt back into its slot.

And then Zero is at the front of the car, holding the car still somehow. Your face lights up when you see him, his stitched-up face finally clear now he's closer. You were so close to your actual family, after all this time.

But your view of him is short lived as Hakuchō throws herself at you, blocking your sight with her body and wings as a loud squeaking sound rings out, the car begins to feel tighter and there's the loud sound of splattering and a deep wheeze.

You scream in distress, figuring that maybe Zero had been hit by the car. You begin wiggling more again, wanting to get away from Hakuchō even though you'd wanted a hug from somebody earlier.

She uses her strength to pull you closer to her, shifting the two of you in the car but still blocks your view, her heart pounding audibly with your face pressed against her shoulder.

Something shatters nearby and Hakuchō yelps, which makes you scared, so you wiggle and yell for Zero more, knowing he would make you safe because Dabi said that was his job and Zero always did what was asked of him.

Hakuchō refuses to let go of you though, clinging to you like you used to cling to your teddy after your nightmares.

"Hakuchō." Zero's voice says, sounding close. "It's in your best interest that you give Star to me."

"Zero!" You cry out in relief, straining against Hakuchō's hold again.

"You killed him." You hear Hakuchō say in disbelief.

You're scared by those words, but you know that if Zero had killed someone, it was to make sure you were safe, and if someone had to die to make sure you were safe, that meant that they probably deserved it anyway.

"I was told to get Star back by any means necessary." Zero replies calmly. "That stretches to you, too, unfortunately. An order is an order."

You wiggle a little more, not liking Hakuchō, but not particularly wanting Zero to kill her, too. She was just a little girl like you, and she didn't ever hurt you back even when you hurt her, not really.

"We can do this peacefully, or you're welcome to fight me." Zero says, as though this entire situation wasn't scary at all.

"Let me go! Let me go!" You exclaim, the part of you that Dabi said was 'full of love' wanting Hakuchō to just agree and let you go peacefully.

Luckily, Hakuchō seems to listen, loosening her grip on you.

"Don't look, Star." Zero instructs. "Close your eyes."

And so you do, you squeeze your eyes shut and feel Hakuchō let go of you completely, only to be replaced by strong, safe hands that lift you out of the car as though you weigh nothing.

"There, there, Star." Zero soothes, rubbing your back. "You're not looking too good. Let's get you somewhere comfortable."

You open your eyes, but all you can see is the material of Zero's clothing as he holds your head to his shoulder, continuing to carry you wordlessly. You're fearful it's not Zero for a moment, but then you feel stitches catch in your hair as he rubs his cheek against your head soothingly, and that's it for you.

You burst into tears of relief, grabbing onto him as tightly as you possibly can, blubbering nonsense as he walks, silently listening to your barely-coherent sentences.

You don't stop crying when he somehow manages to get you into a new car, putting you in the passenger seat and giving you your small duck plushie wordlessly, which makes you sob even harder as you squeeze it against your cheek. It smelt like smoke and the smell of something else burning, too. It smelt like your pawpaw and home.

He occasionally pets your hair while he drives and tries to soothe you with reassurances that you're okay now, that you're safe, that everyone's going to be pleased to see you, and that everyone's missed you so much, but every time he speaks with that soft, calm voice, you're hit with a fresh wave of sheer relief.

You're not even aware of your surroundings or how long he's driving for when he finally stops the car and quickly gets you out of it, holding you like you're a lot younger than you are again and carrying you as you cling to his clothing with one hand, and your ducky in the other hand.

You hear him knock in a weird rhythm on a door and then the door opens a few moments later.

You're hit with the smell of smoke and cologne instantly, and you know exactly who it is when you hear the words: "Holy shit."

You snap your head towards your Uncle Giran, your face wet and snotty from all the crying, and then your face crumples again when you see his wide, pink eyes staring straight back at you.

"Grandpaw!" You whine, reaching for him.

He drops his cigarette instantly, stomping it out on the floor and ruining the nice carpet, but holds his arms out for you, Zero instantly placing you in the older man's arms.

He holds you tightly, taking a sharp breath inwards, but he doesn't seem to struggle keeping you off the ground.

"My darlin' girl! I can't believe it." He utters. "How the hell did you get her back?! Get my phone an' call her paw, now."

You hear Zero agree, and feel Giran carry you further into the house, his lips pressing all over your head as he soothes you himself.

"Aw, darlin'. I know! I know! Must've been so scary, huh? We gotcha now, though, hon. Ain't no way yer paw, or anyone else gonna let ya be taken again." Giran soothes, sitting down on a chair with you on his lap, throwing a blanket over you. "Look at ya! All that health zapped away. Some heroes they are, eh?"

He shushes you, reaching for a tissue box and trying to dry your face gently with one. "Love, yer gonna wash away ya fancy bandaids!"

"They have bunnies on them." You sob.

"They do! So ya wanna keep 'em on yer face for now, huh? Bet your paw will appreciate 'em..." Giran doesn't sound certain about that though, for some reason. "Holy hell, can't believe yer here in my arms, lil' love. Yer grandpaw missed you so much, ya hear me? Can I get you anythin', love? Anythin' at all?"

"I want Dabi." You say with a heaved and shaky breath.

"Oh, an' you bet he'll be here in a heartbeat hon. Yer paw's been lost without you." Giran says. "You want somethin' to eat, love? Yer skin and bone."

"Not until I see Dabi." You say, burying as close as possible as you can get to Giran, even with the fluffy jacket he has on.

"Okay... okay." Giran agrees. "Le's jus' snuggle up, ey? Ya must be so relieved, your poor lil' body and brain just needs a little rest. Want grandpaw to tell ya a story 'til yer paw gets here?"

You nod, gripping his furry jacket and your ducky, squeezing your eyes shut and hoping, praying, that this isn't just a sleepy medicine induced dream.