That's not a dog...

[NicTheDjinn]

They thought they’d thought of everything. They had backup plans in case things fell through and had been so very careful with how they’d setup their security. They’d built up their numbers, sorted them all into competent teams with quirks that complimented each other. Wars were never supposed to be quick and clean. They weren’t foolish enough to have thought that, but… Quick it had been. The heroes were organized when they shouldn’t have been. They knew where to go and how to trap them. The resulting fight was violent and bloody, but the ‘war’ they had been so prepared for ended before it could properly start. They’d lost.

For years, the tattered remains of a boy that had loved his father above all else had wandered the streets, growing into a broken man that had little more than bitterness to live for. Then he’d seen it, Stain’s broadcast. It had comforted him to know that he wasn’t the only one that knew how corrupted hero society really was and had inspired him to do something about it. He finally had something to live for and threw everything he had towards achieving that goal. All for nothing… The heroes had won, the corrupted system remained in place, and all he had in the end was proof that he was nothing more than what he was when he was a child looking up to the man he admired the most. Not good enough.

It had shattered his already damaged and splintered psyche and left him completely broken. The heroes had taken him captive while he lay unconscious on the battlefield and when he woke up, it was to discover that not only was his body covered in even more burns than before and he’d been given a court ordered surgery. He’d heard whispers about it before, but it figures that the commission would be bold enough to implement it now when they had hesitated before. A quirk suppressing implant. It was a clear violation of human rights and it seemed that he’d proven himself too dangerous for them to care. After that, he was locked away and all he had to do to pass the time was harass whatever soul was unfortunate enough to be assigned to care for him.

Eventually what was left of him adjusted to his new life, for what it was. He was lonely and openly craved all the things he’d been deprived in his life which made taking care of him rather difficult. He demanded attention, bit and scratched when agitated, and keened when praised. He’d had several caretakers by this point and had been moved several times. On days where he’d acted out, he would be shackled inside his cell and on others he would be allowed to be free within for good behavior. At the moment, he was chained down, the restraints biting at burnt skin that still hadn’t gotten the proper medical attention to heal and with the way he kept damaging himself, it may never.

He perked up when he heard footsteps, wondering who was coming to visit him. Was it time to eat? He was hungry… All the same, he forced his aching body to move, straining against his shackles to be able to reach the bars and grip them. The glow of aquamarine eyes flitted between the bars, trying to see, his voice rasping its way out of him. “Who’s there? Here to visit me?”

[cynnabnnuy]

The war almost felt like it was over before it began. Almost. The citizens had gotten off easy this time, and he had been one of the primary pieces behind that. He'd spent time trying to work his way in with the opposing team, gaining the trust of the members he could, risking the life of one of the only people remotely close to a friend, and killing a man. He killed a man. One he hadn't intended to, but nevertheless. Things don't always go according to plan, like the assignment he'd been given a few short months after everything ended.

Said job was keeping a former villain contained. Although, the man was labeled former due to his capture and presently lacking the capability to maintain himself. He'd met Dabi before. He'd interacted with the man sparingly. The person contained by chains within a cell was not him. Not anymore, at least. Failing the futile task he'd been given had destroyed an already broken man, leaving others to pick up his shattered remains. It felt pointless to him. He could be off doing more important business while the other continued rotting in some asylum, but instead, he was spending half his week providing the man some vague semblance of care.

He'd been instructed to do it, though. So, there he was, approaching the cell with the provided meals for the pitiful excuse of a man who used to be as his lips pressed together. His greeting always unnerved the blonde, falling so differently on his ears than the ones he'd received before his fall. It was a stark difference. One that made him want to leave more, but he continued walking. Quiet footfalls resounded in the space the man had been provided, the winged hero stepping up to the cell as golden eyes met aquamarine. "You know you're not supposed to touch the bars when you're restrained." They both knew he wouldn't do anything about it, he never had before, but he was still supposed to chastise him.

"Have you been behaving today? I'd rather not have to make getting you fed any harder on either of us." His voice was low as he approached the door, food held on one hand as the other pulled his key to the cell from his pocket. "Your brother says you were having a calmer week, so I'm thinking we'll let you roam if you can be good. Sound like a plan?" Asking that, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, cautious and keeping his distance while closing it once inside. He always tried to be colder, as opposed to Shouto, who tended to spoil the other. It would typically fail soon after he arrived, but he could at least say he did try and didn't praise and assure him as much as the other man. Or- he assumed he didn't. He never cared to check on the footage of their time together, not interested in what he might see.

[NicTheDjinn]

That eerie smile grew unnaturally wide as he was told he wasn’t supposed to be touching the bars, lightly drumming his fingers against the cold metal as if each touch was a new delightful infraction. He was also supposed to move back away from the bars entirely when someone was going to enter, but didn’t do that either. Regardless of what Shouto may have reported, he was already pushing limits where he could and Hawks hadn’t even opened the door yet. The fact he was still smiling and still fucking staring was not helping matters. He remained in place for now, but they had long since learned his habits and had adjusted his containment appropriately. While he could reach the bars while the door was closed, as soon as the door’s motion sensor went off, the chain tethering him to the center of the cell started to retract. He backed up as it pulled him, even backing up a little further till there was some slack. There he waited, still openly watching the blond.

As the key slipped into the lock, he could feel the click through his own chains as his restraints locked into place so that the slack he’d given himself was all he had. “One of my little brother’s friends range from I’ll succeed if it kills me to I’ll succeed if it kills *you*. He wouldn’t know what calm was if it smothered him with a pillow.” His brother’s taste in friends and his up bringing probably had a lot to do with why he was so patient. Also, probably why he had developed more personality than a pet rock that had been painted red and white. Regardless, the all but mummified man remained where he was, waiting with unusual patience. He had little of it nowadays, living moment to moment rather than playing the long game as he had before. He was quite tired of waiting…

The hero had only a second or two longer of relative peace after the door clicked shut before the man lunged forward. The chains did their job, as they always did, snapping taught and causing him to jolt to a standstill with a pained grunt. ‘He never learns’ might come to mind, but this wasn’t true. He clearly knew exactly how long his chain was allowed to be or he might have fallen outright. It had all been calculated time and again till it was muscle memory. He was left leaning against his harness, wrists pulled back further so they were just behind him and couldn’t reach forward. He was bored. He was bored and making trouble got him attention and gave him something to do. It also contributed to why he’d grown so much creepier in comparison to the cool and usually calm man he’d been before, all his fiery passion locked away. Now it was like he’d been turned inside out grasping desperately for everything he wanted and no longer willing to quietly wait for a better chance later.The bastard was already croaking out amused chuckles at his own actions. “Feed me and I might not make it hard on you.” Frustratingly, it was hard to tell if he was lying or not. The only hint that it might be true was the way he leaned into his restraints enough for blood to well up from his staples, eyes leaving those golden ones to instead fixate on his food. It was generally easier to deal with Touya when you had something he wanted, otherwise he did as he pleased as he had no motivation to do otherwise. It was as easy as withholding what he wanted till he followed an order. This seemed particularly cruel when it came to something like food, but as he had become so reactionary, he responded quickly so ‘withholding’ was a relative term…

[cynnabnnuy]

Being stared at didn't deter the man, but it did earn the other an unamused look as golden eyes flitted from the scarred face to tapping fingers and back. Either Shouto had simply lied, or he'd been pampering the former villain again. It was likely both, but Keigo couldn't gather enough of a fuck to care. However, the little quip did earn a slight scoff of a laugh. The man had a point, but that didn't mean he couldn't hope for a few less complicated days with the captive.

Regardless, the hero took note of the lack of movement, eyes narrowing at Touya in distrust before the door pulled closed, clicking as it locked itself automatically. He looked back to the other at the sound of his lunge, the feathers behind him ruffling slightly as the chains prevented him from getting closer. "Is that right? And how am I supposed to trust you when you're causing problems not even two minutes into my being here?" He posed the question while expecting an answer that would make no difference. But, as he watched the other look to his meal, the hero sighed lowly. He had yet to see today's option, but he was hoping it was one of the better ones so he could coerce the man into behaving a bit longer.

"If you want to eat, step back and sit down. You know our routine well enough by now, don't you?" Keigo would wait until Touya was seated before even considering anything. He had let the other move during meals before, but it always ended up being a mess he wasn't interested in cleaning. So, he took over feeding the man from then on. It was easier to keep him clean that way, which meant less work when the time came to bathe him. There was no need to make more problems than he already had to deal with. Besides, sometimes it wasn't as unpleasant spooning food into the grown man's mouth.
Emphasis on the sometimes.

The hero never hesitated to withhold things, though. Cruel or not, it was the easiest way to get through their time together, and he didn't exactly care about the other to change. Although, he had started bringing small treats as incentives. Little candies or snacks the other liked that the commission didn't provide. If needed, they could be an easy way to get through the rougher days or treats on the good ones. They were an investment he was willing to make.