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Dabi knew the League wasn’t the only villain group out there.
In fact, there were many. There were far more in Japan than he had expected, but it did not deter him. He and the League had a mission, an ideology - and they would see to it until the very end. They certainly had more of an influence and media coverage than other groups, so Dabi felt pride knowing they were the group that mattered most.
Still, that didn’t stop Dabi from being curious. He liked to lurk around and watch the other groups. He really didn’t like to call them villains, since they were mostly just crowds of vigilantes who committed murder and other heinous crimes. They certainly did bad things, but… they weren’t fighting for a cause. Their only goal seemed to be to cause as much chaos as possible and who could score the highest body count.
They didn’t deserve the title of villains. Villains, like himself and the League, do what they do for a reason. These guys were just scum.
Dabi had thought about just killing these groups, as they mostly just disgusted him. Yet, he couldn’t deny they contributed to causing distrust in heroes, as they were responsible for the rising crime rates. So, he supposed they were fine for the time being.
For now, he would just watch whatever they had in store.
Word of what other criminals were planning usually spread fast among these groups. They weren’t like the League, who were tight-lipped and extremely secure about future events. So when the League received information that one particular crowd of vigilantes were preparing for a mass bomb attack in a major city, they were curious about what the outcome would be. The League was always on the lookout of what other groups did, mostly to understand what they should and shouldn’t do. Really, it was all for research purposes or bragging rights.
Dabi volunteered to go and observe the results, since he hated being stuck in their hideout for too long, and Shigaraki approved of his proposal.
So now, here he was, standing on top of a building with reasonable distance from all the structures exploding. He watched with furrowed eyebrows at all the screaming below, seeing all the panicked citizens attempting to find refuge. Some low-rank heroes had even appeared on the scene already, clearly distraught and lost on how to deal with the situation.
Dabi couldn’t help the wicked smirk that spread across his face. It seemed that with each passing day, more and more heroes were beginning to lose hope.
As Dabi grinned coldly at all the scared heroes struggling to figure out what to do, another building erupted ten or so blocks to his right. He didn’t flinch at the deafening boom, or the quick rush of air ruffling his hair from the explosion.
He did, however, flinch at the scream following the bomb going off.
He recognized that scream from anywhere.
He was jumping from building to building and dashing towards the crumbling structure before he could even think about it. His head was reeling, and he was trying not to panic.
What the fuck is he doing here?! He’s supposed to be at the school.
Dabi arrived at the scene as quickly as he had heard the scream, standing on top of one of the only intact buildings next to it. His eyes darted all over the wreckage, desperately looking for any signs of the student.
Just as he was about to jump down and start digging through the rubble, he heard a cruel laughter coming from the street. His head jerked towards it, eyes widening at the sight.
There, in the middle of the broken and severely cracked street, was an injured Todoroki Shouto being surrounded by members of the group who were responsible for today’s attack. Dabi’s gaze immediately landed on a long piece of glass lodged in the boy’s right side. It appeared to be apart of a window, and Dabi concluded he likely got it during the explosion.
He could see Shouto hissing at the pain while trying to fend off the criminals closing in on him. Blood dripped from the wound with each move the boy made, and Dabi could already see a thick red trail coming from his injury. It splattered on the ground, and painted Shouto’s skin and clothes.
Dabi’s head started to rapidly spin, and he had to try and keep from spitting out bile. His mind screamed at him to move, but his body was glued to the spot.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” a member of the group said in a mocking tone. He strode towards the student, avoiding each attack he threw at him with ease. Shouto’s quirk was getting weaker and weaker with each passing second - they could all tell.
“The son of the Number One Hero? I think today’s our lucky day, fellas.” The member, who Dabi assumed was the leader, grinned evilly at the last part.
Shouto growled in response, trying to blast another wave of fire at the man. It came out pitifully, and the boss easily dodged the attack. The other members kept getting closer, wearing matching wicked grins and bloodlusted eyes. Some were beginning to ready their quirk as they drew nearer. Shouto kept attempting with his attacks, but to no avail. He kept walking backwards from the group until his back hit the wall of an adjacent building that was still mostly intact. Shouto clutched his impaled side, trying to stop the blood flow and remain standing. From Dabi’s position, he could see the terror and despair seeping into Shouto’s face. Across the boy’s eyes flashed options: making a run for it, continuing to fight, anything - yet they all ended with his death.
“Oh, can we kill him boss? Pretty please? I wanna fuck him up so good he’s unrecognizable,” one of the members begged, looking ecstatic. She gripped the spiked bat in her hands as she looked at Shouto hungrily.
“Yeah, plus, it’d be cool to kill the kid of a famous hero,” another piped up, licking his lips at the idea.
The other members chimed in their agreement. They waited for their leader’s signal, looking like predators ready to pounce on their prey.
Shouto, in a last ditch effort to save himself, tried to create an ice wall. It didn’t even get above a few inches before he stumbled, yelping and hands flying towards the glass in his side. He fell to his knees, trying not to scream at all the blood pouring out of him. His entire body was trembling, yet he still looked at the group with hatred and rage.
The criminals’ cold smiles grew bigger at the sight.
“Haha, he can’t even fight!”
“Oh, oh, look at all the blood…”
“Pretty pathetic for being the son of Endeavor, if you ask me.”
The woman who had spoken up initially glanced towards the leader. “Come on, boss! Let’s finish him off before that stupid piece of glass does! We promise it’ll be worth your while!”
The boss pretended to think for a moment, placing a hand on his chin as he studied Shouto. The boy’s eyes fluttered yet he still kept his enraged gaze on the group. Dabi could tell he was close to blacking out. He had lost so much blood already.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the boss spoke maliciously, “Go ahead, but make sure he’s awake for every single second of it.”
That made Dabi move.
Before any of the members could start dashing towards Shouto, Dabi had jumped down from the building and created a wall of protective blue fire around the student. He saw Shouto lean as far as he could into the building, startled at the sudden flames. The group jumped back, gasping out of surprise. They hadn’t yet noticed Dabi’s presence, so he used that as an opportunity to start shooting hot blue flames at them.
They began to scream, falling to the ground and gripping their burned limbs. The skin affected was already starting to blister and welt, and Dabi could even see the burns he had caused were producing smoke.
God, he hadn’t been this angry in a long time.
He continued his rapid-fire attacks until he made it to Shouto, letting the fire wall come down as to not accidentally burn the boy. He stood in front of him, hands ignited in a brilliant blue as he stared at the vigilantes with nothing but pure rage.
“Touch him and I’ll kill you,” he growled warningly.
They gaped at him with terrified expressions.
“Shit, that’s-”
“-Dabi from the League of Villains!”
“Retreat!” the boss yelled.
And just like that, they all scrambled to their feet and took off running. Dabi watched their every move, making sure they were out of sight before he let the flames die out. He panted, trying to calm his beating heart and churning stomach. He was so angry he could feel himself shaking.
He pulled himself together when he remembered Shouto’s condition. Spinning around, he saw the boy weakly looking up at him. His eyelids fluttered open and close consistently, trying to stay awake. A shaky hand - his right - was raised towards Dabi, while his left clutched his oozing wound.
“S-stay… back…,” he rasped. Then, his eyes abruptly closed and his raised arm fell to his side. His body slumped against the wall, limp and motionless. His breathing was noticeable, but extremely labored.
Dabi sprang into action, dropping in front of the unconscious boy. He gently moved Shouto’s left hand away from the wound in order to better observe the severity of the injury. He winced at the amount of blood that had soaked Shouto’s hand and arm. Taking a shuddering breath, Dabi inspected the piece of glass digging into the boy. It had moved around too much inside Shouto’s right abdomen, so it couldn’t stop a good amount of the blood spilling out around it like it normally would. Dabi wouldn’t take it out though - not yet - as it would only worsen the blood flow. Although the wound was long and stretched down most of Shouto’s right side, it fortunately didn’t seem too deep. It likely missed all the important organs, and only tore apart a bunch of muscle.
The villain swore under his breath before tearing off a few pieces of his long coat. He tightly tied them around the object as best he could, trying to cover the wound and keep Shouto from losing anymore blood. It would work for now.
“You’re such a fucking idiot,” he scolded the unconscious student as he kept checking his breathing and pulse, “you’re going to be a hero, aren’t you? You should know what to do in these type of situations, dumbass.”
Dabi was well aware there was a hint of worry in his voice, but he tried not to think about that too much. Once he finished patching Shouto up, he stood up to glance around for any signs of paramedics or heroes to hand Shouto over to. He could hear yelling and sirens in the distance, but there were no signs of human life on the street the two were on.
Before Dabi could start to weigh his options, another explosion went off a few blocks down. Tremors violently shook the ground, and Dabi leapt for Shouto, who was about to fall onto his right side that had the glass lodged into him. He carefully held the boy against his chest, righting him as to not further worsen or irritate his wound.
He stared at the flames emitting from the block where the most recent bomb detonated. The screams and cries were still fairly distant, but now louder.
Dabi’s stomach dropped in realization. Fuck, there are still bombs going off?!
He couldn’t wait here or look for help in this godforsaken city. Who knew where the next bomb was located - it could even be at the fucking hospital for all he knew -
Everything was too risky. He couldn’t take Shouto to the hospital because a bomb was likely close by, and he couldn’t leave the city without being noticed or getting caught in the crossfire of another hidden explosion.
Dabi held Shouto a little closer as he desperately looked up and down the street for a sign of what to do. Between the threat of another bomb going off and Shouto bleeding out, he was running out of time.
As his mind raced with ideas that wouldn’t work, Dabi’s eyes fell upon a manhole a few yards away. It sat in the middle of the street, untouched by any of the previous explosions. He recognized it was one used for construction. His eyes widened in realization - being above ground was the worst decision he could make right now.
Dabi seized the opportunity.
After gently setting Shouto against the wall, he ran over to the manhole cover and tossed it aside with ease. Then, he rushed back over to Shouto and carefully scooped him up in his arms, making sure his left side was pressed against him and his right side - the one with the wound - was free. For a brief moment, Dabi just stood there, staring down at the unconscious boy. A sudden wave of nostalgia washed over him - a memory he had tried hard to repress - but he shook his head and swallowed harshly. He had to focus.
Holding Shouto close to him, Dabi jumped into the underground.
A quiet knock on his bedroom door shook Touya from his half-asleep state. He sat up in his bed, looking towards the door. A few seconds passed before another knock came, along with a distressed, “Touya?”
Immediately recognizing the voice, Touya threw off his covers and leapt from his bed. He quickly made his way towards the door and threw it open, looking down at his youngest brother.
He was shaking, and tears were welling up in his tired eyes as he looked up at his older brother helplessly.
“Shouto, what’s wrong?” Touya inquired worriedly, kneeling down to meet the younger boy at eye level.
The tears began to spill over Shouto’s eyes, and he raised his hands to wipe them away, “I had a nightmare.”
His voice was so quiet and frail, reminding Touya of a skittish baby animal.
“I didn’t want to bother mommy because she’s crying again…,” Shouto continued, looking down at the floor instead of Touya’s face, “and since your room is the closest… and you said I was always welcome whenever dad’s not home… can I stay for tonight?”
Shouto finally met his brother’s gaze as he hesitantly asked the last part. He started wringing his hands as he waited for his response.
Touya thought for a moment. Their father wouldn’t be home until tomorrow afternoon due to his job, so they were in the clear. He beamed down at his brother, reaching a hand out to ruffle the boy’s hair, causing Shouto to give him a small smile.
“Of course, come on in,” he said warmly, standing up and stepping aside to let the five-year-old in. He happily accepted, wandering into the room and climbing onto Touya’s bed. The second Touya joined him, Shouto wrapped his arms around his brother, clinging to him. He buried his face in the older boy’s shirt.
“I don’t - I don’t want to have that nightmare again,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, “it was scary.”
Touya looked down at Shouto sadly, already knowing who the dream was about. He started to run his fingers through his younger brother’s hair, knowing it was something their mother did to calm him down.
“I hope you won’t have another nightmare,” he said after a beat of silence, “but if you do… just know -,” he paused, then grinned as he spoke in his best All Might impression, “‘I am here!’”
That caused Shouto to look up at him in surprise. He blinked before starting to giggle, “You sound nothing like him!”
“What?! I thought that was pretty good!” Touya gasped, pretending to be offended.
A half-hour later, they had fallen asleep while still holding each other, with soft smiles on their faces.
Shouto awoke to a gas lamp lighting the room with blue. His head was titled to the side, and he stared at the bright flame that swayed in his blurry vision. He blinked a few times, trying to regain complete consciousness.
In a split second, everything came rushing back.
His eyes shot open, and he thrashed as he tried jumping to his feet. White replaced his blurry vision, and he couldn’t stop the scream from escaping his lips as pain ripped through his right side. He gasped and shuddered, his body falling back against the floor of… wherever he was. He hadn’t gotten a good look of his surroundings quite yet. The white blinding him and the pain tearing through him could only allow him to wither and whimper on the floor.
“Hey, will you fucking relax?! You’re gonna rip your skin open,” a stern voice yelled at him.
That voice. It was familiar, but...
How sad, Todoroki Shouto.
… there was no mockery to it this time.
He felt a shiver run up his spine. Dabi…?
Although he was tense and prepared to attack if necessary, Shouto tried to relax his body to the point where the pain wouldn’t completely wipe away his ability to see. After a minute of taking deep breaths and wondering what the hell is going on, Shouto’s vision finally cleared.
They appeared to be underground, judging by the single lamp being the only source of light, as well as the dark walls that surrounded them. There was no exit or entrance to be seen, causing Shouto to look up. There, about twenty feet or so up, was a tiny spot of white light.
A manhole, Shouto realized.
His gaze traveled back down to quickly look around the enclosed space they were in. There wasn’t much to be seen besides a few crates and other construction tools. Satisfied to know his surroundings, Shouto finally looked towards the elephant in the room - er, well, the villain in the room.
Dabi was hunched over Shouto’s right side. He was holding stitches, thread, and a needle in his hands. There was also a first aid kit laying next to him, and it was open with a few of its contents spilling onto the floor. Shouto’s eyes slowly traveled to Dabi’s face, who looked concentrated as he slipped a stitch into Shouto’s skin, causing the boy to lightly jump at the sting. It wasn’t as bad as before, when Shouto had panicked, but it still hurt.
“I told you to relax,” the villain said without looking up at him.
Shouto couldn’t help but sneer, “Relax? With you here?” He ignored the feeling of another stitch going through him as he looked at Dabi, both angry and confused as to why he was helping him.
“Hah…,” Dabi darkly chuckled. Another stitch. “... you have a point there.”
For a moment, Shouto thought about attacking Dabi at that very instant. But he was unable to move much due to his injured right side, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to defend himself from a quirk as powerful as Dabi’s in his current state. Besides, Dabi was fixing his wound for him. To fight him now seemed like an awful idea. Dabi was calling the shots at the moment, so Shouto decided it was essential to his survival to let the villain do his thing and not piss him off too much.
Shouto shook his head before noticing a few lines of blood on his wounded abdomen and Dabi’s hands. He bit his bottom lip as another stitch was put in, causing a tiny trail of blood to trickle down from where they were etched into his skin.
“Why are you helping me?” He asked.
Dabi went quiet for a while. He reached into the first aid kit for more supplies before resuming his work. “Reasons,” he said simply, still not looking at the boy.
Shouto huffed, glaring at the villain. “What, is it because you want a fair fight? Because you want to kill me when I’m at my best?”
That finally caused Dabi to look Shouto in the eyes, his icy stare causing the student to falter for a brief moment. “You really think I give a damn about that sort of thing?”
Shouto blinked, but continued to glower at the man. He thought about Dabi’s question, and remembered watching Endeavor fighting High End on live television, and how he was so close to death, and how Dabi appeared, ready to finish off the newly crowned Number One Hero -
When Shouto only responded with silence, Dabi snorted before turning away and going back to patching the boy up. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already.” He said matter-of-factly.
Shouto felt a cold chill rush over him. He wouldn’t have been able to fight back if Dabi wanted him dead. Instead of finishing off Shouto himself, however, Dabi had saved him. He had fought the criminals ready to tear him to shreds and was now fixing him up. It was terrifying yet… comforting, oddly. For whatever reason, Dabi wanted him alive.
“Why do you want me alive?” Shouto asked, watching Dabi’s hands skillfully continue to stitch the wound together. He must have done this before.
“I already told you, brat,” Dabi spat, “reasons.”
Shouto scowled, but let it go. He looked towards the first aid kit curiously.
“Do you carry that with you everywhere you go?”
“I stole it,” Dabi said, slightly tilting his head up towards the manhole above the two without actually looking at it. His eyes remained glued on his handiwork.
“You stole it? From one of the buildings that exploded?” Shouto raised an eyebrow.
“You ask too many questions,” Dabi grumbled, “shut up.”
Shouto rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. He allowed Dabi to continue patching his injury up as he thought about how weird this all was. After their first encounter at the Training Camp, Shouto was certain Dabi was out for his blood. The way he had said his full name that way… it made Shouto feel deathly cold. And yet when he was so sure he was going to die at the hands of some petty criminals and a big shard of glass, Dabi had come to his rescue. And now Dabi was fixing his injury for him as if it were a regular occurrence.
Shouto thought Dabi wanted to kill him, but instead he had saved his life.
Weird.
He glanced towards Dabi once more, and felt his body still upon seeing sudden softness in the villain’s eyes. He had the faintest hint of a tiny smile on his scarred face, and he looked as if he were recalling something important to him.
Shouto blinked, afraid to move or say anything. He could only stare at the man before him, wondering what was going through his head.
“Some things never change,” he heard Dabi mumble. It was so quiet Shouto would have missed it if he weren’t paying attention.
Hearing the villain say such a thing with such fondness caused a weird, uncomfortable feeling to bubble in Shouto’s chest. Was this one of Dabi’s tricks…? What is going on?
“What are you talking about?” Shouto blurted out, feeling confused and angry and afraid all at once, yet somehow not feeling those things at all. God, he was starting to get a headache.
Shouto’s voice caused Dabi to snap out of whatever trance he was in, and he growled at Shouto as he began to work a bit faster on the stitching. “Wasn’t talking to you, brat.”
Shouto could only watch in bewilderment.
A few minutes of awkward silence passed before Dabi stopped patching up Shouto’s torn skin. He leaned back a bit to view his work before nodding and locking eyes with the boy.
“Done. Don’t move around too much or do reckless shit until you get to a hospital, okay? You’ll tear it open if you do something stupid.”
Shouto blinked, feeling tense. What was he supposed to say? ‘Thank you’? ‘Okay’? ‘Will do’?
Instead, he goes for, “Can you let me out of here then?”
Dabi doesn’t answer him right away. He stands up and stretches, glancing up at the faint light coming from the manhole above them. “Nope, can’t do that yet. Last bomb went off about fifteen minutes ago, and a few first-responders were above us around an hour ago. Said they think there’s a few more left or something, and that the situation has yet to be fully settled. I’m not taking you anywhere until all this shit clears up.”
Shouto groaned, shooting daggers in Dabi’s direction. “Oh great, so I’ll be stuck here with you for god-knows-how-long?” He felt annoyed. He just wanted to go back to U.A., where his classmates and Aizawa were likely worried and panicking. Guilt coursed through his veins as he thought of Fuyumi and Natsuo getting a call from his teacher and being told he had ran off -
The villain frowned deeply at him. He rose his voice out of irritation, “Quit whining, brat. I saved your life, remember? Besides, you’re the one who got yourself into this mess. If you had just stayed at the school and not come to this city on this day-”
Shouto couldn’t stop himself from flinching at that. Dabi must have noticed because he cut himself off in an instant. A tense silence fell over them for what had to be the millionth time that day.
“Why aren’t you at the school, anyways?” Dabi inquired, voice more softer and gentler than before, and it was so odd coming from him of all people. It made Shouto’s head spin more, causing him to feel a bit dizzy.
The tone of voice he used too… it was almost like he already knew.
Shouto avoided his gaze, instead choosing to intently watch the blue flame dancing inside the lamp.
“Reasons,” was all he said.
God, he didn’t want to cry or lash out in front of Dabi. He didn’t want to think about how his dad had raised his hand at him, ready to strike, just when Shouto thought he really was changing for the better. He didn’t want to think about how the betrayal left Shouto feeling empty for days afterwards, and how he just wanted to run and get away from it all because it was eating him up.
He didn’t want to think about how he had suddenly decided to take off and go wherever his feet took him, because everyone he cared about was probably so worried about him.
Dabi didn’t say anything in return. The two went quiet, but strangely, it wasn’t as tense as before. There was an atmosphere of… understanding. Shouto didn’t know why, but it was there.
He continued to watch the bright blue flame, trying to concentrate on its movements rather than everything else. As he watched it, something in the back of his head clicked. It was like the flame had lit up the dark parts of his brain, bringing light to everything he was forced to forget.
A brief memory of laughter and crying, of blue and red, and of light and dark flashed across his mind. Shouto felt a single tear roll down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away, hoping Dabi didn’t notice.
Haha… why am I thinking of Touya at a time like this…
Suddenly, a loud BOOM came from overhead, and everything began to violently shake around them. Shouto winced at the pain that returned to roar through his right side. He glanced towards Dabi, who was staring up at the ceiling of the underground site. A horrified expression was on his face, causing Shouto to look up as well.
Everything around them was starting to crumble.
Debris and rubble already began to fall around the two, and it was growing larger and larger by the second. Shouto froze, scared and unable to move due to the pain. He felt vulnerable, and the fear of dying came rushing back to him for the second time that day.
He couldn’t explain why, but in that moment, he looked at Dabi with terrified eyes.
Dabi was looking right back at him.
Then, Dabi quickly looked above Shouto’s head, and dashed forward. He lurched towards the boy, arms outstretched.
The expression on his face - was fear. Dabi was afraid. His eyes were glazed over and he looked desperate as he tried to reach him in time. It was something Shouto was certain he would remember for the rest of his life.
“Shouto!” Dabi screamed.
A sharp pain suddenly filled Shouto’s head, and his entire world went dark.
"I hate my fire side! I never want to use it!” Shouto cried. His skin was covered in fresh bruises and burns. He was clinging to Touya, leaving wet spots on his older brother’s shirt as he sobbed, “it’s from dad and it’s scary! I hate dad!”
Touya bit his bottom lip to keep it from trembling. He was brushing his fingers through Shouto’s hair, trying to calm him down. Albeit it was rather difficult, as he was trying to keep himself from crying out of hatred and sadness.
He had to be strong. Not only for Shouto, but for Natsuo and for Fuyumi and for his mother.
“Hey now…,” Touya said quietly, voice soothe and gentle, “you will never be like dad, I know it. You are everything good and he is everything bad. Your fire is your own, got it?”
Shouto looked up, eyes red and puffy and his cheeks tear-stained. He sniffled, “But… but-”
Then, Touya got an idea. “Hey, let me show you something.”
Shouto stared at him for a second before nodding. Taking his younger brother by the hand, he lead him to his room. When they were inside, Touya closed the door behind them and turned off the lights. He began moving towards his windows, blocking out any light streaming through.
“T-Touya, what are you doing?” Shouto questioned nervously, “you know I don’t like the dark…”
“I know, I know, just…,” he turned, giving his brother a pleading smile, “just trust me, okay?”
Shouto shifted, a bit uncomfortable and afraid. Still, he met Touya’s eyes and nodded, “Okay.”
Once they were completely casted in darkness, Touya lit up a flame in the palm of his hand. A bright blue instantly flooded the room. He looked towards Shouto, who was watching his brother with curiosity and wonder.
“See? Fire’s not so scary,” Touya spoke as he walked towards Shouto, kneeling down at eye-level to hold out the blue flame to his baby brother, “it’s making the darkness go away, isn’t it?”
Shouto shook his head ‘yes’, but still looked a bit uncertain.
Touya grinned, “You know those All Might videos you watch, right? Have ever noticed how he’s always standing in or walking towards the light?”
Shouto’s face lit up at the mention of his favorite hero. He glanced up at his brother with an excited but confused expression, “Yeah…?”
“Well, he’s our Symbol of Peace. The light in the dark,” Touya explained, using his free hand to gently grasp Shouto’s left one, “just like your fire.”
A smile began to grow across Shouto’s face, causing Touya’s heart to swell with happiness. His younger brother looked between his left hand and Touya’s blue flame in amazement.
“Can you make a light in the dark, Shouto?” The older brother asked softly. He looked down at Shouto with nothing but love in his eyes, “to let everyone know…,” Touya switched to the voice he used to impersonate All Might, “‘... you are here!’”
Shouto laughed at that. A genuine, wide-mouthed laugh. Touya almost cried tears of joy at the sight.
His younger brother hadn’t laughed like that in a long time.
Shouto then stifled his giggles before focusing on his left hand. He held it out with his palm facing up. Touya watched carefully, still letting his own flame burn brightly.
A brief look of fear flashed across Shouto’s face as he tried to summon his own fire.
“It’s okay,” Touya said patiently.
Shouto took a deep breath, and replaced his terrified expression with one of determination and hope.
A tiny, red flame ignited on his hand. Touya held his breath, watching his brother’s reaction. He merely stared at it blankly for a few moments before a tiny smile graced his lips.
Touya’s own smile widened at that.
“Yeah, good job, Shouto! You’ve let the whole world know you are here! The light in the dark!” Touya cheered, trying not to cry.
Be strong, he mentally scolded himself.
Shouto smiled up at his brother, looking proud. The two just stood there for a moment, letting their two flames burn together side-by-side.
Then, Shouto said in witty tone, “You’ve gotten better at sounding like All Might, by the way.”
“Why, thank you,” Touya chuckled teasingly, “I’ve been practicing.”
They both erupted into a fit of laughter.
Dabi threw his body over Shouto’s, standing above the boy as he sent the hottest flames he could muster at the rubble trying to crush them. He could feel his body overheating and starting to steam, but he didn’t care. He had to save Shouto.
He continued to send blast after blast at the debris that nearly fell on them, melting it in an instant and ignoring his body screaming in agony - telling him he’s reached his limit.
He’s not sure how long he went on like that; overusing his quirk to the point his body threatened to melt and him just not caring because Shouto was all that mattered in that moment. Eventually, the ground trying to cave in on them stopped, and light rushed in from the giant hole in the street above them.
Dabi stopped, panting hard and trying not to pass out from the pain ripping through his entire being. He had to focus on Shouto.
He stepped away to stand by the boy’s side now, feeling sick at what he saw.
The rubble that had fallen onto his head and cracked his skull open had done worse damage than he previously thought.
Blood was pouring out of his head, painting the rubble and debris surrounding them in a sickly red. His skin was far too pale to be considered normal, and it was hauntingly similar to the remains of the white concrete around them. Shouto just looked so weak and motionless and -
He wasn’t breathing.
Dabi shakily fell to his knees, quickly tearing a large piece of his coat off to use as a makeshift bandage for the boy’s head. He saw his hands were trembling as he wrapped the cloth around Shouto’s fresh wound. “H-hey, come on now… you can’t do this to me for a second time today, you brat…” he muttered, his voice sounding vulnerable.
Keep it together. Be strong. The voice of his younger self echoed in his head.
Dabi stared at Shouto, waiting for something, anything -
Nothing.
“S-seriously…,” Dabi stuttered, his grip on Shouto tightening desperately, “stop messing around… y-you’re stronger than this-”
His vision was beginning to blur as a heavy weight made itself known at the back of the villain’s eyes. God, when was the last time he had cried?
His head was spinning and yet it felt like it had stopped at the same time. The world, itself, seemed like it had stopped.
“Shouto… y-you…,” Dabi trailed off, pleading for the boy to open his eyes through the deadly silence.
Even through the tears now streaming down his face and the awful trembling racking his body, Dabi could see Shouto was still lifeless.
Dabi did not like to feel fear. Fear meant weakness, and Dabi was not weak.
And yet as he held Shouto’s limp body in his arms, he allowed himself to feel fear for the first time in years.
“No, no… you - Shouto, you can’t,” he cried, pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around him. His fingers found their way to the boy’s hair and they began to gently brush through it - a motion that now felt all too familiar.
Dabi let out a sob. This pain was far worse than the pain of melting his own skin off.
Even after all these years, heartbreak still hurt.
“Shouto, you c-can’t die… do you have any idea of what that’ll do to m-mom… to Natsuo and to Fuyumi…,” Dabi ragged, squeezing his eyes shut painfully, “do you have any idea of what that’ll do to me?”
Dabi knew ever since he chose the life of villainy, he and Shouto were supposed to be sworn enemies. They were supposed to hate each other and want the other dead.
But Dabi couldn’t.
He knew the League had Shouto on their ‘kill list’, which is why he had stepped forward and claimed the boy was his. He had dibs on putting an end to Todoroki Shouto.
But Dabi knew he could never bring himself to do such a thing. He just had make the League believe that he could.
Dabi couldn’t hurt or kill Todoroki Shouto, because, because -
After all these years - after everything - he was still his baby brother.
"Hey Shouto?” Touya called out as he stepped into his little brother’s room. The boy in question was sitting on his bed, reading a book. Shouto glanced up at the sound of his brother’s voice, and he smiled upon seeing him.
“Touya! What is it?” Shouto chirped, looking both happy and curious as to why his older brother was seeking him out.
Touya’s heart clenched at that.
He gulped. This wasn’t going to be easy.
He smiled back, knowing he had to pretend everything was normal. “I just wanted to talk to you about something real quick.”
He crossed the room and sat next to Shouto on the bed. His younger brother looked up at him, tilting his head to the side. “What do you want to talk about?”
Touya blinked away the tears that were beginning to form in the back of his eyes. He forced a wider smile as he tried to hide the shakiness of his voice, “I just wanted you to know I love you, and I always will, okay? Never forget that. And never forget what I’ve taught you about your fire power - the light in the dark.” Touya reminded him, playfully tapping Shouto on the nose as he spoke.
“The light in the dark,” Shouto repeated, beaming, “and I’ll never forget important stuff like that, because I love you too!”
That gave Touya whiplash.
Shouto had only said those words to their mother before - it was like he was too afraid to say it to anyone else. Like he was banned to.
Touya had a feeling - no, he knew - that Shouto loved him and the rest of his siblings very dearly. He just couldn’t say it.
And yet here he was, giving his oldest sibling the most genuine and loving smile in the world.
Right when Touya was about to…
I’m so sorry, Shouto. Please forgive me.
Touya pulled his brother into a hug, letting a few tears shed. “Haha… I’m so glad…”
That night, Todoroki Touya committed suicide.
There was a memory Shouto always had in the back of his mind. It was a memory that had been there since he was very, very small.
It’s a bit hard to make out, but he can still remember the feeling of it well.
He can remember Touya and his mother, and he’s there too - but he’s just a baby. His mother is holding him, looking down at Shouto with nothing but love and affection in her eyes. Touya is watching from the side, studying his new brother curiously.
“Do you want to hold him?” his mother’s soft voice calls out.
Touya can only nod.
The bundle is brought into his arms and Touya is a natural at cradling him (because Shouto’s not the first baby he’s held, he held Fuyumi and Natsuo when they were just babies too).
Touya is staring down at him as a smile slowly spreads across his face. His turquoise eyes are lighting up in excitement as he gazes down at his new baby brother. “He’s so tiny and cute…”
Shouto can remember the warmth and love he felt while being held in Touya’s arms. His baby self had started cooing and smiling and raising his hands out of the blanket he was wrapped in to touch Touya’s face.
“He’s smiling for you,” Rei says, joyful tears forming in her eyes, “he already loves you.”
“Yeah,” Touya agrees as he begins to softly cry, “I already love him, too.”
After Touya’s death, Shouto thought about his oldest brother’s loving warmth for a long time.
He doesn’t know what to feel when he comes to, and he’s surrounded by that warmth.
His warmth.
Shouto slowly opens his eyes, and through his blurred vision, he thinks he can see Touya’s red hair and turquoise eyes.
“Touya…?” A weak voice calls out beneath Dabi.
Dabi freezes, and although his mournful sobs stop along with him, the tears are still flooding down his cheeks. He can feel stirring from the boy in his arms, and although he’s overjoyed at Shouto being alive, his mind is completely drawing a blank upon hearing that name again.
He slowly looks down at Shouto, who looks a little lost and confused - just like Dabi is.
Dabi can’t help but give his brother a small smile.
“Touya…,” he wondered aloud, “I haven’t been called that in a very, very long time.”
Shouto reaches a hand up slowly, carefully touching Dabi’s cheek. He runs his thumb across the staples and scars. All Dabi can do is watch with bated breath.
He knew Shouto would likely find out at some point, but never like this.
Not when Shouto had nearly died in his arms.
His baby brother looks so out of it, and he blinks up at Dabi wearily, “I don’t understand…”
The villain gulps.
“You died,” Shouto whispers, tears spilling down his face, “we buried you.”
“I-” Dabi starts, but stops himself. He doesn’t know what to say, or what to do -
Suddenly, sirens are blaring overhead on the street above them. They sound like they’re just starting to make their way towards the giant hole in the street. Dabi glances up, feeling relief that proper paramedics have shown up to care for Shouto, but also upset he has to leave his baby brother now - of all times.
His time’s up.
He gently pulls away from Shouto, getting ready to stand up.
“I have to go,” he says quietly, guiltily.
Because even though this is killing him, he can’t get caught - not now.
Shouto reaches out to him to desperately, blinking in confusion as more tears slide down his cheeks. “No, Touya - please don’t go, not again-”
“I’m sorry,” Dabi mumbles, biting his bottom lip to try and hold back more tears that threatened to break loose. He stands, and stares at Shouto for a moment. He quickly ruffles the boy’s hair one last time before stepping back and creating a quick burst of blue flames.
In a flash, he is gone.
Shouto cries out, and he is unable to stop his whimpers as heroes pull him out of the hole and rush him into an ambulance.
Dabi watches from a distance, wiping the tears from his eyes.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he mutters as he watches the ambulance carrying Shouto drive off.
He can’t ignore the voice in the back of his head that whispers, that’s just your way of telling him to be safe.
After Touya’s death, Shouto thought about his oldest brother’s loving warmth for a long time.
Even as he lay in a cold hospital bed, over a decade later, he thought of it.
Once, along with the warmth, he would reminisce about turquoise eyes and red hair.
Now, he’s thinking of purple, wrinkled scars and dyed black hair.