Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Shoto wake your ass up,” Dabi yelled at his little brother, banging on the door.

“Screw off,” Shoto muttered back burning his face in his pillow. The morning was too evil to wake for. Then there was a quieter much more gentle knock.

“Come on Shoto,” Fuyumi said, opening the door and walking in, “You have the entrance exam today. You don’t want to be late.”

He groaned but got up when Fuyumi ran a hand through his hair. Shoto got dressed in his school uniform after his sister left and then came out for breakfast.

Fuyumi was making eggs, bacon, and rice, and Dabi was scrolling through his phone at the table. Shouto sat down next to him and without looking, his older brother messed up his hair in a playful manner.

“Stop it,” he says hitting at his hand. Dabi smirks and puts his phone down. Fuyumi, bless her soul, placed our plates in front of them and they began eating.

“Natsu’s coming home tonight for dinner,” their sister said halfway through.

“Cool,” the youngest said with his mouth full of food.

“What do you guys want for dinner?” she asked.

“Soba,” Shoto said.

“Was that even a question?” Dabi asked.

Soon it’s time for Shoto to go. Dabi and Fuyumi were watching as Shoto put his shoes and jacket on.

“You’re going to do great,” Fuyumi reassured, straightening her brother's jacket, “And if not, it’s okay. We’ll find something else. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried,” he said.

“She was talking to herself,” Dabi said. Fuyumi then smacked his shoulder.

“Come to the shop after the exam,” Dabi said.

“Got it,” Shoto said before opening the door, “Bye,” he said stepping out of our apartment. Shoto sucked in a breath and said, “Let's do this.”
XXX

Shoto Yukitomo was 15 years old when he went to take the UA entrance exam. He had almost blinding snow white hair that was long but didn’t go past his neck. He had mismatched heterochromia eyes. One stark gray, and other burning turquoise. Over his left eye was a large burn scar. His papers said that his Quirk was named Cryokinesis. It allowed him to control the ice he made.

Yukitomo did well in the exam. Using his ice to freeze robots before they could strike him. In the end, he had close to 78 points. But then the ground began to shake and rumble. And then there was the fake villain worth 0 points. He made a huge ice wall. Stopping the thing in its path.
XXX

After the exam was over, Shoto headed to Dabi’s shop. Dabi ran a tattoo parlor called Cremation Ink. It was a pretty good size and had a nice setup. Music was always playing and the place was warm and bright. It smelled like ink, burnt wood, and coffee. Dabi seemed really loved running the place, but business could be slow sometimes. Dabi had to work a part-time job at the record store down the street just to make sure that he could run this place and keep the apartment the siblings lived in. Sure Fuyumi worked too, but, a preschool teacher doesn’t make all that much.

Shoto walked in and heard the sound so the old American bands Dabi liked to play. Along with that was a buzzing noise that came from a tattoo gun. Shoto walked in further and saw that my brother was in the middle of work.

Shoto moved over to the large leather couch back at the front of the shop and pulled out his book and read. An hour and a half later the two come in the front of the store.

The customer was a guy with a bright blue mohawk with the sides of his head shaved. The tattoo he had gotten was of a blue dragon running down his arm.

“You sure you like it?” Dabi asked as the reached the door.

“Man, I freaking love it,” the guys said, “It’s sick as fuck.”

“I’m glad,” Dabi said, “So, you’re good with me putting it on my site, social media pages, right?”

“Yeah man, go nuts.”

“Alright, come back soon,” Dabi said holding the door open for the other guy.

“Will do Dabi,” the guy said before leaving.

“How was your day?” Shoto asked not looking up.

“Fine, yours?”

“Fine,” he said, “You talking to that guy you met last month?”

“Don’t,” his brother warned, walking towards the back.

“What?”

“Shoto, I am being serious.”

“Is that hard for you?”

“Do you want to die brat?” he asked, “Because I can make that happen.”

“You wouldn’t hurt me. Fuyumi won’t let you,” Shoto said, eyes still glued to the pages.

It’s another half an hour before the brothers lock up and head home. On their way back to the small apartment Dabi asked,” So how was it?”

“Fine, I guess,” the white haired boy said.

The two brothers couldn’t look more different as they walked down the street. Dabi was a good couple inches taller even though he has been on the short side most of the time. Shoto was tall too, but not his brother’s height. Shoto had snow white hair, and Dabi had jet black. Both of them had pale skin, but Dabi’s arms and torso was covered in ink. Images of flames, snowflakes and monsters, flowers and other symbols. His ears and nose were pierced in several places.

When they got home they found that their other two siblings were home. Fuyumi was working on dinner and Natsuo was in the living room, TV blaring. Shoto plopped down next to his older brother, and Natsuo ruffled his hair.

“Hey, Sho, how the exam?” he asked.

“Good, I think.”

“I’m going to go look over some calls,” Dabi said shrugging his jacket off.

“Then you go and shower,” Fuyumi said, “You too, Shoto.”

Shouto just sat, leaning against his other brother as they watched the news. For a split second he was flash of the number two hero on the screen but before anything the channel was changed to a volleyball game that was on.

“Who the hell used all my shampoo?” Shoto asked coming out of the bathroom, shaking the empty bottle.

“Shouto,” Fuyumi said, “You use too much of it.”

“No I don’t,” he said.

“Yes, you do. And so does Natsu.”

“Leave me out of this,” the older boy said.

“Did you use it?” Shoto asked.

“ I will confirm or deny nothing.”

Shoto threw the empty bottle at his brother, but Natsuo caught it. Shoto growled.

Later Dabi came out of the shower and they ate dinner. The four siblings talked about their day. Dabi talked about people who came into the shop. Fuyumi shared stories about her class. Natsuo talked about his professors and classes. And Shoto talked about his entrance exam.

“They made you fight robots?” Natsu asked.

“Yep.”

“Huh, well that something.”

“Speaking of school,” Dabi said, “Have you picked a major?”

“Well I was thinking maybe physical therapy,” Natsuo said, “You know so I can help people.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Fuyumi said, smiling.

As they got more into the meal, Shoto’s brows knitted together for a moment. “What am I going to do if I don’t get into UA?” his tone wasn’t one of despair or dread. It was one born out of true curiosity.

All three of his siblings looked at him for a moment and thought. What would Shoto do?

“You become a hoodlum like your brother,” Natsu tested. Dabi hit him up the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“Don’t worry Shoto,” Fuyumi said rest her hand on top of her brothers, “If UA doesn’t work, we could find another hero school. Or we can find something else for you to do if you want. We just want you to be happy.”

“Thanks,” Shoto said.

If you were to look at Yukitomo siblings, you would see that they were closer than anything. That they were loyal and relied on each other. The neighbors thought they were all delightful children. They truly didn’t deserve what happened to them. It was truly bad luck for such sweet children. To have their father horribly, painfully killed in a home invasion, which left poor Shoto scared, and their mother insane. Poor Dabi had been tasked with keeping all of his siblings safe at such a young age. All four of them worked so hard to stay together. Truly lovely children, with terrible luck.

After dinner, the four cleaned up dinner and sat in the living room and watched action movies.
XXX
Later that night while the younger two of the siblings were asleep, Fuyumi and Dabi stayed up talking.

“I’m getting worried,” Fuyumi said, pacing the kitchen floor, “We’re running out of money. I’ve been looking over the bills and checks and we only have enough for maybe the first third of the year. And we can’t just have Shoto and Natsuo go out and get jobs with them both going to school,” she ran a hand through her long white hair.

Dabi didn’t want to say it out loud but he was getting worried too. She was right. Money was growing thin, and their brothers couldn’t get jobs as they did. Natsuo would be in college, and Shoto was going to going to a hero school of all things. He wasn’t going to put the stress of getting a job on them.

“Yumi,” he said after a minute, his voice sounds more confident than he felt, “Don’t worry. I have a bunch of appointments scheduled over these next few months. It will be more than enough.”

“But will it?” She asked, worried, “Dabi, you know how hard it is to support all of us. You know sometimes a fully booked month is hardly enough.”
“Relax,” he told her “I have a plan if things start getting bumpy.”

“What?!” she cried a little too loud. She had stopped pacing, “Join a gang and sell drugs? Rob a bank? Sell off all of our things?”

“No,” he said, trying not to get upset with her worry. She was much more open with emotion in time of stress when it was just them.

“Then what?” she asked, “And if you say Taijo, I swear to the gods-”

“I promise it’s not Taijo,” he whispered, “And keep your voice down, you’ll wake Natsu and Sho.”

“What is it then?” she asked, more softly, her hands shaking.

“We draw some cash from our funds,” Dabi said plainly.

“Touya!” Fuyumi cried before she was hushed. Dabi cringed at the sound of the name. It was strange and bitter after so long. Even though it was the dead of night there was no one else but they were up, Dabi looked around. Checking to make sure no one heard. After a minute he let out a sigh and his shoulders dropped.

Dabi looked at his sister, and placed his hands on her shoulders carefully, “Yumi, listen to me. I know it’s risky, but we’ve gotten away with it before. No one knows they’re there, and no one will know that the money’s gone. And it is just a little bit. Just a little bit of cash that’s ours anyway. We’ll wait for a few more months. And if business at the shop keeps doing well then we won’t. Please, Yumi, trust me on this.”

Fuyumi looked down at the ground. She was shaking a little bit, and tears were welling up in her eyes. She didn’t want to look at her brother. Her older brother who always made sure she was safe and okay. Who would hold her when she cried. Who took on all the problems Fuyumi couldn't figure out on her own. She felt weak next to him. Dabi pulled her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded.

“Okay,” she sobbed, “but only in a few months. Promise me.”

“Okay,” he said, rocking her, “I promise.”

“I’m sorry,” she cried, “I’m sorry I’m not stronger-”

“Fuyumi, you’re stronger than any of us,” Dabi said, in a gentle voice, “You do things that I never could. You handle all our finances, you cook and take care of us when we’re sick, you help Shoto and Natsuo with homework when the world knows I couldn’t have. You are so strong Fuyumi. I never want you to think otherwise.”

She nodded. For the longest time, Dabi just stood there holding his little sister. It was moments like things they both remembered how much they need each other to get through things. How they had to work together to make sure their little brothers could have it better than they did.

“It’s okay,” Dabi promised, “It’ll be okay Yumi. Only five more years of the hard stuff. Five more years,” he whispered kissing her forehead.

Five more years. Then they could finally make a move and not worry about as much about losing each other.
XXX
(Two Weeks Later)

Two weeks later the four Yukitomo siblings were in the kitchen. Fuyumi was grading some papers and Dabi and Natsuo were talking about work and school. Shoto was looking through the mail. There were six pieces of it. Three of them were bills. One was a postcard from one of Fuyumi’s friends. The other was a magazine. Finally, there was a letter, for Shoto. From UA.

Shoto slowly opened it without saying anything. Then a small dice dropped out. Then a holographic image popped out of All Might. The other siblings turn their heads and their jaws dropped.

They all sat and listen to the results. In the end, tears ran down the siblings' faces and there was the tightest group hug of their lives. They all smiled and laughed for a good long while. Once all the crying and laughing stopped, and they all let go of each other, Shoto said, “I’m going to UA.”

“Yeah, kiddo,” Dabi said, hugging him “You are.”

Shoto was going to UA, and he was going to be a hero. A hero who helps people, like his siblings helped him, and he was going to a better hero than he ever was.

Chapter Text

Shoto sat on the roof of the apartment complex. The morning air was cool and crisp. He sat with one leg dangling over the edge and the other pulled to his chest. The sky was turning from light purple to pinkish-orange. Shoto watched as a few morning planes flew overhead.

It was quiet, but there was still some noise to remind him that life was going on. He liked that, but being relaxed and calm didn’t mean he could shut off the bad parts of his mind.

There was still yells, and screams, and cries. Hot flashes, pain in his body, the feeling of his stomach churning, fear in his core. Shoto’s fingers ghosted across his face. They were wet. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and sniffed. It was stupid to cry. Even if he was told that it was normal it still felt stupid to him.

“Shoto?” a voice called. Shoto turned his head to see Dabi climbing up. “Hey. You okay?” he asked, sitting down next to his brother.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Shoto said, despite clearly sounding upset.

“Don’t lie,” his older brother said softly. Shoto sat quietly for a minute.

“I can’t shut the noise off,” Shoto whispered looking forward, out towards the city. His fists gripped the ends of his sleeves so hard he knuckles turned white. Dabi wrapped his arm around his little brother’s shoulder and pulled him closer.

“I know, bud,” he muttered quietly. “I can’t either sometimes.”

The two were quiet for a long time. They didn’t need to talk. They both knew what the other felt, so there was no need to bring the pain up now. Dabi just moved his chin to rest on the top of Shoto’s head.

Finally, after a while, Dabi pulled away and patted Shoto’s shoulder. “Alright come on. You need to get ready for your first day.”
XXX
“Do you all really have to walk with me?” Shoto asked as the four Yukitomo siblings reached the front of UA’s gates.

“Yes,” Natsuo said happily, poking the back of Shoto’s head. Fuyumi shot him a look, and Dabi just shook his head.

“How would you like it if we walked you to your first day of college classes?” Shoto snapped. Natsuo was quiet but scowled at his younger brother. Soon, they all stopped and looked up at the tall school building.

“Well, this is it,” Dabi said, resting a hand on Shoto’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Shoto said, thoughtfully.

“You got this,” Natsuo said, and slapped Shoto’s back a little too hard.

“Now remember,” Fuyumi said, “If anything goes wrong, call us.”

“I will. I promise,” Shoto said. The four siblings looked at each other.

“Do not,” he warned. His older siblings didn’t listen, as the next moment, they were all in a group hug. Shoto let out a muffled groan. “We’re in public!”

“Don’t care,” Natsuo said, a smirk evident in his voice. In all honesty, Shoto wasn’t really too annoyed. Shoto almost didn’t want them to let go. He wanted them to stay with him a little bit longer, but they did need to let him go. Fuyumi kissed his forehead. They began to walk away and Shoto turned to face the school. However, before he could take one step, he heard Fuyumi call to him.

“Shoto!”

He turned around to look at her.

“Make some friends!” she yelled.

“I’ll try,” he called back. Then he finally walked towards the school.

“You go, Shoto!” he heard Natsuo yell.

“I don’t know him,” Shoto cried. Once Shoto was in the building and had put his shoes away, he began looking for Class 1-A. Soon he reached the abnormally tall door to the classroom. When he got in he saw that there were only eight or nine other students. Shoto quietly made his way to the back of the room and took a seat next to a girl with black hair pulled back in a high ponytail.

“Hello,” she said, a little while after he sat down.

“Hi.”

She looked like she was waiting for Shoto to say something, but he didn’t. Shoto never was the best with people his own age, or really anyone outside his siblings, except for maybe Shiki, his former downstairs neighbor. But the girl next to him didn't have to wait long for someone to come over and talk to her. Just as Shoto was about to put his head down on the desk, a loud voice cut through the air.

“Hey!! Yaoyorozu! It’s me, Yoarashi! We met at the entrance exam!!” a tall boy with a buzz cut said to her. Well, he didn’t say, so much as yelled. Nevertheless, Yaoyorozu looked pleased to see him. It wasn’t too long before the other boy noticed him.

“Hello! I’m Inasa Yoarashi! What’s your name?” he asked.

“Shoto Yukitomo,” the white-haired boy replied. Shoto wasn’t the biggest fan of people who were loud, but Yoarashi seemed nice. He ended up talking to both Yoarashi and Yaoyorozu for a little while. There was one kid who had been here when Shoto got here and introduced himself, his name was Tenya Iida. He and Yoarashi then struck up a friendly conversation, which lasted for several minutes. More and more students made their way into the classroom. Everyone seemed to have a lot of energy. Except an ash blond kid who came in looking pissed, and threw his feet on his desk. Something which nearly gave Iida a heart attack.

Iida stood up to the kid to get his feet off while the other more or less told Iida to fuck off.

That argument didn’t stop until a green-haired boy caught both Iida and the blond kid’s (whose name was Bakugo, but Shoto didn’t care at the moment) attention. Shoto turned to look at the newcomer too.

This was a lovely reminder, that, yes, he, Shoto Yukitomo, was very, very gay. Yep, he was super sure on that. Shoto sighed. Well, middle school was boring, maybe high school would be more interesting.

XXX
Dabi’s brows knitted together and he pressed his lip into a tight line. Only five more minutes, he told himself. Then he would be done at the record store and head to his tattoo parlor, the job he actually likes. The record store wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best, and it was pretty draining. He had to wear this stupid-ass polo and cover all his tattoos up.

The raven haired man let out a huff and placed the last of the CD boxes on their shelves. Three more minutes passed and then his boss gave him the nod of approval, which meant Dabi could leave. Can a man get an Amen?

The rest of Dabi’s afternoon was filled with clients coming in for their tattoos. One person got some koi fish on one of their shoulders. Another guy came and got the words ‘Do or Die Mother Fucker’ written on his chest. And one girl got a simple rose wrapping around her wrist.

Around 4:45 the shop was empty. Dabi let out a relaxing sigh and flopped down on the couch. The cold leather felt nice, and he took a few moments to collect himself. Dabi made a mental note to give himself some more ‘me time’. Then there was the sound of the door opening and Dabi forced himself up and walked to the front.

“How can I help-” he stopped once he saw who it was. There were two men, both dressed in black leather jackets and jeans, along with gray t-shirts with skulls on them.

“Get the fuck out of my parlor,” Dabi growled, pointing at the door, “Now!”

“Jeez man,” the guy with the navy-colored hair and horns said, “No need for the hostility.”

“Yeah,” the other man said. He had tanner skin and grape colored hair, “Just stopping in to say hi.”

“What the hell do you want?” Dabi asked, his palms starting to smoke.

“The boss man has some information he thinks you and your siblings might find to be very interesting,” the first guy said.

“Yeah,” the other added, nodding, “It’s about your old man.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck about my old man or anything thing he’s done,” Dabi spat, “Now get the hell out of my shop and tell Taijo to leave me and my family the fuck alone.”

“Big words for someone with so few resources,” the navy haired man said. He nodded at the other man and they began to walk out of the shop. The navy haired man stopped to look at Dabi.

“Rumor on the streets is that your baby brother got into UA,” he drawled.

“What’s it to you?” Dabi demanded.

“Just saying if your brother is half as good as you at fighting, there may be a reason for our folks to start worrying. Be a shame if something were to happen-”

Dabi grabbed the man by his neck and slammed him against the wall with all his might.

“Lay a finger on my brother,” Dabi growled, “and you’ll be a pile of ashes.” The smoke coming from his palm was getting thicker, and the whole room felt hotter. Dabi let the man go, and he staggered out the door with a red handprint on his neck.

Dabi was shaking with anger. How dare they come to his shop, and threaten his brother? Dabi would kill them if he could. He looked over at the pictures of him and his siblings he kept in the parlor. He picks up one of him and Shoto. No one was going to hurt his family, ever again. No one was ever going to lay a hand on them. Not as long as he was around to stop them.

And Taijo better watch his fucking ass.

XXX
When the day was over, Shoto walked out of the school with Yaoyorozu, and looked for Yoarashi. He found him talking to Iida, so he made his way over. He waved goodbye to the black haired girl as she walked away.

Shoto found out that they were waiting for Midoriya, and he was instantly happy with his choices. Izuku Midoriya was the green haired boy from this morning, and Shoto could definitely say that he was something.

In their Quirk assessment test, (which he placed second in, but at the same time, who the hell has a Quirk assessment on the first day?) Midoriya hadn’t done well in any of the tests but one, and even then, he totally wrecked his finger. Shoto had to wonder how much having a Quirk that hurt your body had to suck.

But then again, Dabi’s Quirk wasn’t too good for him either. Shoto shuddered at the memories of what his oldest brother used to look like before…

“Hey, Midoriya! Over here!” Yoarashi called, snapping Shoto out of his spirals. The green haired boy looked a little shocked by the attention but came over regardless.

“Your power is really cool!” Yoarashi said, as soon as Midoriya was close enough.

“Oh, um, thanks,” Midoriya said. “Your Quirk is really strong too. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Thanks!” the taller boy said, “I can’t wait to start training with you all!”

Iida then asked, “Did Recovery Girl heal you?”

“Yeah, good as new,” he said, showing them his hand. They began to walk.

“UA is the top hero school,” Iida said as they walked, “But even so, lying is downright immoral.” Iida was referencing their teacher, Mr. Aizawa’s lie about the person who came in last getting expelled.

“I think it depends on what you are lying about,” Shoto said. Which was true. For him, lying was almost like second nature.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Iida said. “Regardless, I trust UA’s judgment.”

“Hey, wait up!” a bubbly voice from behind them called. It was the girl in their class who got ‘infinity’ on her ball throw. She had brown eyes and hair, and Shoto had only seen her smile. She kind of reminded him of Natsuo.

“Hi Uraraka,” Yoarashi, said with a wave, having already learned everyone in the class’ names. Yoarashi had an aura of energy and friendliness that made him think that Yoarashi’s parents were constantly chasing him down as a child

“Hey!” she said brightly, “Are you guys going to the station? Can I come with?” she asked when she was close enough.

“Sure,” Midoriya said.

“You’re the Infinity Girl,” Iida said.

“I’m Ochako Uraraka,” she said. “Let’s see, I know Yoarashi. You’re Tenya Iida and you’re Shoto Yukitono?”

“Yukitomo,” Shoto corrected.

“Oh sorry!” she cried, then turned to Midoriya. “You’re Deku, right? Midoriya?”

“Deku?” he said.

“Yeah,” the girl said, “that's what Bakugou called you, isn’t it?

Midoriya’s face turned red and he stammered a bit as he said, “Um, a-actually, it’s Izuku Midoriya. Deku is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me.”

“What an asshole,” Shoto said, before he could really consider it. It took him a minute to figure out who Kacchan was before he realized it was Bakugou.

“I agree,” Iida said. “It is unsportsmanlike. But I don’t think you should use that language, Yukitomo.”

Shoto shrugged.

“You know what?” Uraraka said, “I like Deku! It means you can do anything, and that you won’t give up!”

“That’s such a cool way to look at it!” Yoarashi said.

“Yeah,” Midoriya said quietly, “It is.”

“Isn’t it still insulting to you?” Iida asked.

“I don’t know!” Midoriya cried, hiding his face.

“Well, let’s walk to the station,” Uraraka said.

Just then, a voice called out to- “Shoto!”

“Oh, gods no,” the white-haired boy cried, and turned around to see his older brother walk over to him.

“Who’s that?” Midoriya asked.

“My older brother,” Shoto groaned. Today, said brother was in a black tank-top and black skinny jeans, and with his countless tattoos and piercings, he looked like the last person to be at a hero school.

“Really!?” Uraraka asked, “Wow, you two look so different.”

“Do not tell me you came to pick me up,” Shoto said when Dabi was closer to him.

“Sorry to rain on your parade, brat,” Dabi said, and reached for Shoto’s head. The younger tried to squirm away but his brother still messed up his hair.

“Shoto,” Dabi said, “Aren’t you going to introduce me?

“No.”

His brother looked at him.

“Fine, this is Yoarashi, Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka, they’re my classmates. Guys, this is my older brother, Dabi.”

“Sup,” the raven haired man said nodding.

“Nice to meet you,” Iida said.

“Hello,” Yoarashi said.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re making friends,” Dabi said, and swung his arm around Shoto’s shoulder. Then he looked at the other teenagers, “He’s very anti-social. When he was little, the only people he’d talk to were his All Might figure, his stuffed fox, and the old lady and her granddaughter who lived below us.”

“Dabi!” Shoto yelled, hitting his brother in the stomach. Dabi only laughed.

“I like your tattoos,” Uraraka said.

“Thanks,” Dabi said, “I did a lot of them myself.”

“Dabi’s a tattoo artist,” Shoto said.

“Cool!” Yoarashi excalmed.

“Yeah,” Dabi said smiling, then he became serious, “Please tell everyone who can and want to get a tattoo to come to Cremation Ink.”

“Stop self-promoting,” Shoto deadpanned.

Dabi smirked and clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “Alright kiddo, we should head. Nice meeting you.”

The others said their goodbyes and then the two Yukitomo siblings walked off.

“Did you have to do that?” Shoto asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Yes, I did,” Dabi said, “For two reasons. One, I’m your brother, I live off your embarrassment. Two, I wanted to make sure no one was lurking around who shouldn’t fucking be.”

“Did something happen?” Shoto asked quietly.

“Nothing that’s worth getting too worked up about,” Dabi said, “Some guys came to the shop. Talked trash. Don’t stress it.”

That didn’t stop Shoto from worrying, but he trusted his brother to keep him and his family safe.

“Come on,” Dabi said, “Natsuo is meeting us at the shop. I have some papers to work on.”

When they got to the parlor, the place was closed, but the neon lights and shop lights inside were still on. Music was blasting when they went in and found Natsu laying upside down on the couch.

“Hey,” the college student said.

Shoto shrugged off his backpack off and joined his brother on the couch. Dabi looked at his two brothers and shook his head, and went to his office. An hour later when Dabi came back out he found his younger brothers wrestling on the floor.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“Shoto took my phone!” Natsuo yelled, trying to grab the device and keep his brother in a headlock at the same time.

“Give Natsu back his phone,” Dabi said.

“He’s texting a girl,” Shoto gasped, as he moved his elbow to hit Natsu in the face.

“Keep his phone,” Dabi smirked, “Better yet, give it to me.”

“Shoto,” Natsuo yelled, “Don’t you dare.”

It was too late. Shoto slid the phone across the floor where it bumped into Dabi’s foot. Natsuo tried to get up as quick as he could to grab it, but Shoto jumped on his back.
“Get off!” the older one cried.

“You didn’t listen to me,” Shoto said, “So I won’t listen to you.”

Dabi was now scrolling through the phone, biting on his tongue to keep from laughing. “Oh my sweet Mary hell,” he said, “Sho, did you read this?”

“I didn’t get the chance,” he said, as Natsuo finally and literally got him off his back.

“It’s priceless,” Dabi said. Natsuo made a grab for it, but Dabi held it high in the air.

“Come on, man, give it!” Natsu cried. Dabi rapped the side of his fist into his brother's stomach to knock some wind out of him in order to get space. He then sat on the couch with Shoto, who would swat Natsu’s hand when he tried to take his phone back.

“Let’s take a look at this,” Dabi said.

“Please don’t,” Natsuo begged, burying his face in his hands. The oldest boy enraged him and began to read them

“Okay, this one says, ‘Hey kana’. Her name is Kana,” Dabi explained, looking at Shoto.

“Nice name,” Shoto said. Dabi kept reading.

The texts were evident that Natsuo had the flirting abilities of a seven-year-old, but this girl must have liked it. Dabi would burst out laughing at something because it got so bad. At one point Dabi stopped reading and said, “If I see a dick pick, I swear Natsu-”

“Oh my God, shut the fuck up!” he yelled.

“And on a side note,” Dabi said, “You are not the hottest out of all of your siblings.”

“Am so,” Natsuo quipped.

“Oh, you wanna bet?” Dabi challenged. While his two older brothers went back and forth, Shoto took the phone from Dabi’s hand and scrolled through the text. There was one that caught his eye.

“You want a tattoo?” he asked raising an eyebrow. His two brothers stopped their conversation. Dabi looked at Natsuo with the same look as Shoto had.

“For real?” Dabi asked.

“Well, yeah, I mean, I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Natsu said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Since when?” Dabi asked, sitting up more.

“I don’t know, I’ve just been thinking about it,” he said.

“Why don’t you get it now?” Shoto asked. The other two looked at him.

“What?” Natsuo asked.

“Why don’t you get a tattoo now,” Shoto repeated again, “I mean, we’re here and everything.”

“I can get the tattoo gun,” Dabi said, already getting up.

“Wait, we’re doing this now?” Natsuo asked,

“If you wanna,” Dabi said. Natsuo mulled the idea over in his head for a few minutes before nodding.

XXX
“Just remember,” Dabi said, “This is permanent.”

“I know,” Natsuo said rolling up his sleeve, to show his exposed forearm.

Shoto sat between them on the end of the counter and watched carefully as Dabi applied the rubbing alcohol. Shoto always found it to be fascinating when Dabi gave tattoos. It... hypnotized him, in a way.

“How much does this hurt?” Natsuo asked, eyeing the tattoo gun.

“Depends,” Dabi said, making sure he shaved all the hair off Natsu’s arm.

“Great. That makes me feel so much better.”

“You don’t have to get one,” Dabi reminded him.

“I’ll get it, I’ll get it,” Natsuo said. After the first three minutes, Shoto could see that Natsu wasn’t enjoying himself. Sweat had formed on his brow and his teeth were grit tightly. The white-haired boy would let out a curse every time he saw a bead of blood on his arm. Shoto offered his hand and, with the one not getting a tattoo, Natsu took it. Shoto regretted offering his hand, because any grip from Natsuo was a death grip.

After what felt like forever. Dabi turned the gun off and tore off his gloves. “There,” he said, “All done.”

“About time,” Natsuo muttered. Natsuo had gotten the same tattoo that Dabi already had on his left forearm. ‘Family,’ in solid black kanji, not taking up much space. It was in the same font that Fuyumi had a charm bracelet in, with the same words.

Shoto and Dabi both snapped a picture of it and posted it to Instagram and Snapchat respectively. Natsuo ran his thumb over the new tattoo and hissed a little.

They all turned their heads at the sound of the shop door opening. It was Fuyumi, looking a little tired and worn down, but happy nonetheless. She looked up at them and smiled. “I have McDonald's,” she said as she held up the two paper bags.

“Wahoo!” Natsuo exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. The four siblings all sat down on the couch and matching chair of the shop and dug into their meals. The Yukitomo siblings freaking loved McDonald's, but didn’t get it a lot.

Fuyumi noticed Natsu's new tattoo and gave Dabi a sharp look.

“What?” Dabi asked with his mouth full of Big Mac, “It was his choice. I didn’t do anything.”

Fuyumi shook her head and kept eating. Halfway through dinner, Shoto felt his phone ding. He pulled it out to see a notification from Instagram.

Inasayoarashi1254XD has requested to follow you.

Shoto smiled, slid his phone open, accepted the request, and followed Yoarashi back.

“Who’s that?” Fuyumi asked.

“A kid from school,” Shoto said.

“Our little baby made friends today,” Dabi said, pinching his brother’s cheeks. Shoto slapped his hand.

“So, how was the first day of UA?” his sister asked. Shoto told them everything, about his teacher, about his classmates and the sorta-friends he made.

“Sounds eventful,” Fuyumi said.

“Yeah.”

“Anyone in your class hot?” Natsuo asked nudging Shoto’s leg with his foot.

Shoto thought back to Midoriya, and felt his face turn pink. There was no way he’d flat out tell his siblings, so he said, “I wasn’t paying attention to that.”

“Liar,” Natsu said.

“Shut up,” Shoto groaned

“That has to be the lamest comeback ever,” Natsuo said.

“Maybe that’s why you use it so much,” Shoto said.

“Shut up, Shoto,” Natsu growled.

Dabi and Fuyumi laughed and Shoto smiled. He was lucky, he told himself. The four of them were all lucky to have each other.

XXXX
Later that night, Dabi sat at the kitchen table of the apartment and looked over the bills. He could pay them, for now. The raven haired man tried to stay positive. In the end, he left the table and walked into the living room.

The TV was on and the lights were off. All of his siblings were fast asleep and spread out on the furniture. Dabi shook his head as he turned the TV off. He picked Fuyumi up in his arms and took her to her room. Once he placed a few blankets on top of her and removed her glasses, he went back for his brothers. Natsuo was too heavy for him to move, so he put a pillow under his head, and threw a blanket over him. Then there was Shoto. The high schooler was a lot heavier than the last time Dabi carried him. When was that? He shook his head and set Shoto down on his bed.

Dabi didn’t leave right away. Instead, he sat down on the foot of the bed and watched Shoto for a minute. Dabi remembered when Shoto was born. All he did was sleep. He slept in his crib, in their mother’s arms, everywhere. Then his Quirk came, and sneaking into Shoto’s room to make sure he was okay was the only time he saw his baby brother.

Dabi closed his eyes at the memories. For a minute he could taste rich iron in his mouth, mixed with vomit. He could feel the heat on his skin. He could hear the cries of his mom and little siblings. He could smell the fire.

He opened his eyes and sighed. Dabi looked at his brother. He was safe, Dabi told himself. . Five more years and then Dabi wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder anymore.

His eyes drifted over to Shoto’s nightstand. There was a lamp, and an empty cup of water, and an All Might figure Shoto got that first Christmas. And there was one more thing. It was a little, handmade white fox Shoto had had since he was a baby. There used to be small red markings on it to go with it, but that was long lost. Their mother had made it for him. She made each of them an animal. Dabi had a dragon, Fuyumi had a cat, Natsuo got a dog.

Fuyumi and Natsuo still had theirs, placed somewhere out of harm's way. But Dabi’s little blue dragon was long gone. Burnt to ash by his own hands. Not on purpose, but that didn’t make it any better.

Dabi sighed before getting up to leave his brother to sleep in peace. When he closed the door behind him, he looked down at his hands. Then his eyes darted around the apartment. Everything they had, everything they built, none of it had come easy. Dabi looked at his palm again. A small blue flame formed.

Dabi had done a lot of things to make sure his siblings were safe and happy. Things he didn’t even want to think about again, much less talk about. But he knew he’d do it all over for them.

His mind went back to this afternoon. Those two guys in the shop. He grit his teeth. He should go out, find Taijo and make it clear just how much Dabi wanted him to stay away. But then the faces of all his siblings came to mind. He remembers how worried they all were the last time he confronted Taijo. So Dabi decided to let it go this time. This time.
For now he was just going to bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he remembered what Shoto had said that morning, about the noise. He wasn’t the only one who felt that way, by any means.

Chapter Text

Shoto looked at himself in the mirror of the locker room. Against his better judgment, he let his siblings help him design his hero costume-- or rather, they made him let them help. It wasn’t horrible though.

Shoto’s boots were made to look like they were carved from ice. His pants were plain black. The shirt looked more like a vest. The fabric was dark blue in color and looked as though it had frost snaking down it. The fasteners looked like shards of ice. Fake white fur lined the collar, hem, and sleeves of the shirt. His sleeves stopped right at the cover of his shoulders, but about two inches down stared armbands in the same dark blue color. Finally, there was a black face mask that ended at the bridge of his nose.

When Shoto flipped his hood up he faintly looked like Assassin’s Creed walked through a blizzard. He shook his head. Shoto didn’t like things being too over-the-top, but he’d designed this with his siblings, and that meant a lot to him. He kept it how it was.

When Shoto walked out to join his classmates, he took time to look over their costumes. Everyone’s seemed to reflect their personality just a little bit.

It was their the first day of actually hero related classes, and everyone was excited. Their teacher was All Might-- of all people-- and Shoto was internally panicking. He had always admired the number one hero, and now he was going to learn from him.

They were doing Heroes vs Villains simulator. Shoto was partnered up with a kid in his class named Shoji. As of now, he and the rest of his classmates went to a monitoring room to watch the first match. Midoriya and Uraraka as heroes, versus Iida and Bakugou as villains.

They didn’t have to wait long for something to happen. Not long after the heroes entered, Bakugou was hot on their trail.

There was something about the way Bakugou was acting that made Shoto believe he wasn’t just getting to play the part of a villain. He was trying to hurt Midoriya. Badly.

Shoto focused on his classmates’ match. Uraraka was able to get away, which left Bakugou and Midoriya to battle it out. That’s... probably what Bakugou wanted. Midoriya started off strong, but as time went on, Bakugou began to take the upper hand. There was a time when Shoto was sure Bakugou wanted to kill Midoriya. While watching the match go on, Shoto noticed that Bakugou was smarter than he let on; he seemed to have a plan for everything he wanted to do.

As time began to run out, it looked as if the hero team was going to lose. It seemed to just be a face-off between Bakugou and Midoriya, and the end result certainly wasn’t going to be pretty. All Might tried to call it off but to no avail.

Midoriya sent his punch upward. Shoto wasn’t sure what happened, but the sheer force of the move seemed to wipe everything out, which allowed Uraraka to claim the weapon. After that, Midoriya fell unconscious. Bakugou was left seemingly shocked, but Shoto wasn’t sure exactly what to call the face he made.

Shoto didn’t have much time to think about it. It was his and Shoji’s turn next. They were heroes, and their classmates (Ojiro and Hagakure) were the villains.

“They’re on the second floor. The first room,” Shoji said, gesturing with his dupli-arms.

“Good,” Shoto nodded, “Step outside. I got this.”

“You seem pretty confident,” Shoji said.

“Because we’ve already won.”

Once Shoji was outside, he pressed his right hand to the wall, and let his ice freeze everything in its path.

When Shoto was sure the whole building had frozen, he made his way to the room where the villains were. He saw Ojiro trying- and failing to pry himself out of the ice, and he thought he saw were Hagakure was.

“If you keep trying to do that, you’ll lose the bottom of your feet,” Shoto warned. Ojiro gave up. Shoto claimed the weapon, and in his ear, he heard, “Hero team wins!”

“Don't beat yourself up over it,” Shoto said to them, “The odds just weren’t in your favor.” He shifted his left foot towards them and pressed the palm of his left hand to the ground, and melted the ice.

The rest of the matches went on without much problem. Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi were together, and the impact Yaorashi had on the team against was devastating. When school was over, Shoto started to talk to a few of his classmates but instead walked out with Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi.

“You technique was amazing!” Yoarashi exclaimed.

“Thanks,” Shoto said. It felt nice talking to kids his own age. A flash of something caught the corner of his eye.

“There’s something I want to check,” he said, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

He waved goodbye and walked over to where he’d seen something, but there was nothing there. He waited for a minute, but a loud crash from behind him made him turn around quickly.

It was a cat.

She was clearly a stray. She had a pure white coat and mitch match eyes- just like Shoto did. Her left eye was blue and her right one was green. When she saw Shoto, she tilted her head at him. She reminded Shoto of a gray stray that had lived at the corner of their street for years. Fuyumi would never let him pet it in fear of fleas, but that never stopped Shoto from feeding it.

Shoto bent down on one knee and held his hand out to the cat. She walked forward and rubbed her head against his palm. Shoto smiled.

“Yukitomo?”

Shoto turned to see Midoriya standing there. He felt his neck get hot and couldn’t form words. Midoriya looked at him for a second before saying, “You found a cat.”

“Yeah,” Shoto said. Midoriya smiled. Okay, that had to be the cutest thing he’d ever seen. Midoriya stepped closer to Shoto and knelt down beside the cat.

“She kinda looks like you,” the green-haired boy said.

“You think so?” Shoto asked.

“Mhm.”

Shoto was unsure what to do. He didn’t know how to act around people, let alone people he really liked. Ah, he could see Natsuo laughing at him now. The only thing Shoto knew about getting a boyfriend was what he’d learned from a special on TV on Rockhopper penguins. Shoto doubted a flightless bird documentary was a good way to get dating advice.

“I think we should name her,” Midoriya said.

"What?”

Midoriya thought for a minute. He held his chin and knitted his eyebrows. AHHHHH!!! Why was this boy so cute!?!?

Midoriya snapped his fingers. “Oh, how about Gekko?”

"Okay,” Shoto said, trying to hide his face a little, “Yeah, I like that.”

Gekko let out a light meow and rubbed her head against Shoto’s left leg.

“Aww, she likes you!” Midoriya said. Shoto glanced at Midoriya. He has a pretty smile, Shoto thought. Shoto scared Gekko's head.

Shoto swallowed and asked, “You wanna walk to the station together?”

Midoriya looked at him and smiled, “Sure! Let’s go!”

Shoto stood up a little quicker than he meant to, but he ignored it and walked with Midoriya. Listening to the green haired boy ask him questions about his Quirk was kind of… nice.

XXX

Fuyumi readjusted her glasses as she looked at the paper in front of her. She had gotten used to reading the messy words of her students by now, but it was still difficult.

Soon the bell rang and the group of fourteen small children she was in charge of came rushing back into the room. Fuyumi looked at Miyoko, the other teacher she worked with, but when she said nothing, that left her to assume that nothing important had happened during outside recess.

There were only about thirty minutes left of the day, so that meant they would read a little and then send the kids home. Fuyumi loved all the kids she worked with. They were all so sweet. They were at the age were their Quirks were just beginning to show up, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.

An hour later when all the kids were gone and the rooms were clean, everything was done for the day, Fuyumi packed up and headed out. As she walked down the street, she checked her watch. She had time. She was on her way to her second- and secret- job.

It was working the counter at a flower shop two blocks away from their apartment. It was a pretty good job. Her boss was super nice, and it was a great way to get some extra cash. Dabi had explicitly told her after she started teaching that she wasn’t to work another job. Now, Fuyumi did feel a bit guilty for going against her brother’s wishes, but she of all people knew how tight money was for them. There wasn’t any real harm, and Fuyumi liked this job, a lot.

When she got there, she headed to the back room and changed into her work uniform. After that, she got straight to work. She mainly checks to make sure all the flowers were still alive and would head over to the cash register if someone needed her. She would make arrangements if they were needed.

When her shift was reaching the end, it was getting dark out. Her boss, the owner of the shop, came out. “Everything good?” Fuyumi asked.

“Everything's perfect, Mrs. Sakara,” Fuyumi said. Mrs. Sakara was in her forties and had long dark hair, light pink eyes, and the kindest personality Fuyumi had ever encountered. “Amazing,” she said, “Listen, Mai’s home sick with a fever, so I need to go home and take care of her. You mind locking up?”

“Oh no, of course, I can,” Fuyumi said.

“Thank you so much,” the older woman said, turning to get her coat and keys. She tossed a set of keys to Fuyumi, “You know the drill,” she said. She paused, “Almost forgot,” she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope.

“Here you go,” she said giving it to Fuyumi.

“Thanks,” the white-haired girl said, taking it with both hands.

“Thank you, Yumi. Have a good night.”

Yumi. That was the only name she went by when she was outside the apartment.

When Mrs. Sakara left, Fuyumi carefully opened the envelope and counted the money inside. It wasn’t a lot, but still, it would be enough for gas and electricity this month.

She looked outside. It was dark and windy, it almost looked like it might rain. No, it was definitely going to rain. Fuyumi flipped the open sign to close and was on her way to the cash register to count the money up before closing it when she heard the door open. Fuyumi cringed- she hated telling people to leave.

“I’m sorry, we’re closed,” she said, turning around. She stopped when she saw two kids, a boy who looked about nine, and a small girl, maybe four or younger. They were both dressed in matching raincoats and boots, with their hoods up, and they both had surgical masks on.

“Oh please, miss lady,” the little girl begged, folding her hands together, “It’s for our aunt. She’s in the hospital. We have money and we know what we want. Right Nii-chan?” she asked, looking up to her brother.

The boy sighed and gripped his umbrella tighter, “She said they’re closed. We’ll see if there’s some on the next block.”

He took the little girl’s hand and turned to leave. “Wait,” Fuyumi started, “I haven't counted the money yet. You said you know what you want?”

The little girl nodded vigorously and bounced up and down on her toes.

“Come on then,” she said, giving them a smile. The younger of the two siblings raced over and pointed to some Dahlia flowers and tiger lilies. “Those are Auntie’s favorite! Can we have them?”

“Of course,” Fuyumi said, smiling. She wrapped the flowers in a bright red ribbon like the little girl asked. When it was done, she handed it to the girl, and boy rummaged in his backpack until he pulled out the cash needed to pay.

“Have a nice night,” Fuyumi told them as she gave them their change.

“Thanks,” the boy said, stuffing the money in his pocket. He looked up at Fuyumi for a moment, then looked down. He tugged on the little girl’s free hand, “Come on Harue, we have to go. It’s going to rain soon.”

“Okay!” Harue chirped. “Thank you!” she called to Fuyumi as the two left the store. Fuyumi smiled, but something was bugging her. That boy’s eyes, she’d seen them before, she knows she has. And that little girl’s eyes too, they were familiar. She shrugged.

Twenty minutes later, Fuyumi was finally leaving the shop. A few drops of rain began to fall just as she got a text from Natsuo. She got out her umbrella and opened her phone.

Natsuo: can you get some pancake mix? Maybe some apple sauce?

Fuyumi: Yes, anything else?

Natsuo: Shoto wants kettle chips.

Fuyumi: Alright, I’ll be home soon. We’re having chicken tonight, so defrost it and set it out on the counter.

Natsuo: Got it

The supermarket that Fuyumi got all their groceries dangle from the apartment complexes. Fuyumi got the things she needed and dug into her purse to see if she had any coupons. There were two for applesauce, one for chips. There was a really good one for pork loin, that was about to expire. Fuyumi decides that they could have that for supper tomorrow and made her way to the meat section.

When she got there, she found what she was looking for and then placed it in her basket. Fuyumi looked up and was about to head to the front to pay when she saw something. Someone. At first, she froze. Her brain told her to leave her basket and run home, but she remained calm. Then she began to turn around slowly and sneak to the front. But then there was an arm around her shoulder.

“Well, well, well,” a voice that sounded like silk and honey said, It made Fuyumi shutter.

“Hey girls, look who it is,” the voice called.

“Why are you here, Shynah?” Fuyumi asked trying not to lose herself. “Dabi made it clear that you and your brother weren’t-”

“Here’s the thing,” the taller woman said, “That big brother of yours, I’ll admit he’s a looker, but I ain’t too afraid of him.”

“That’s your mistake,” Fuyumi muttered without thinking.

Shynah raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Her two little sidekicks were here; Misa and Shino. Misa looked Fuyumi up and down and made a ‘hmm’ noise. Fuyumi felt like she was back in middle school like these were the mean girls.

Shynah took her arm off of Fuyumi’s shoulders and looked at her. “So whatcha been up to?” she asked.

“Do you really care?” Fuyumi asked.

Shynah shrugged. “Fair point.”

Fuyumi could tell that Shynah hadn’t changed much since the last time she’d seen her. The girl had olive color skin and sleek black hair and was taller than a mountain. The other two looked the same, only different with darker makeup and larger breasts. All three of them were dressed in mostly black clothes, and leather boots and jackets.

Fuyumi took a deep breath, “I need to get home,” she said, “Can you please move?”

“Why you in such a hurry?” Shino asked, with the drawl of hers. Shynah looked at them. “You two go wait out back, in the car. I wanna talk to Missy here alone.”

“We’re still gonna rock this joint, right?” Misa asked, with her arms crossed.

“Just go to the fucking car!” Shynah snapped. Misa rolled her eyes and huffed before both she and Shino stalked off.

Fuyumi eyes drifted towards Shynah’s belt. Her jacket hid it well, but Fuyumi could still see the gun’s handle.

“Are you gonna rob the store?” Fuyumi asked quietly.

“Eh, not anymore,” Shynah admitted, which was surprising…

“What do you want from me?” Fuyumi asked, keeping her voice steady. She knew that deep down Shynah had a strange soft spot for her- she wasn’t going to hurt Fuyumi. Keywords: Wasn’t going to hurt Fuyumi. Everyone else was still in the air.

“Don’t want anything from you, really,” Shynah said, moving away from Fuyumi to pick a can of pineapple cubes. She tossed it from one hand to another, before putting it in her pocket. Fuyumi didn't say anything.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Fuyumi repeated. And she was right. Shynah and her little minions, or anyone from ‘that crowd,’ wasn’t supposed to come near them or where they lived. Dabi made that painfully clear.

“If Dabi finds out your brother-”

“You seem to forget that Taijo doesn’t tell me what to do,” Shynah said, calmly looking back at Fuyumi.

“So, what?” the white-haired girl asked, “You weren’t going to rob this place for him?”

“Tai, the fucking ass-pain, doesn’t let us rob fun things anymore,” Shynah grimaced. “It’s only other gangs and ex-members houses.”

The black haired girl pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

“You can’t-” Fuyumi began to say. Shynah took a long drag before she puffed it out. Fuyumi leaned her head back, careful not to inhale any of the smoke.

“Believe it or not,” Shynah said, before taking another drag, “Taijo is doing what your brother asked.”

“I don’t believe that,” Fuyumi said, wishing she could just get out of here and go home. Home. Where she was safe.

“Yeah, well you should,” Shynah muttered.

“Two of your brother’s guys went to Dabi’s Parlor the other day.”

Shynah’s CoverGirl-like, eyebrows raised up in surprise, but the rest of her face didn’t show her shock.

“What, you didn’t know that?” Fuyumi asked.

“I don’t know how much you think my fuckwad of a brother tells me,” Shynah said, “But it ain’t as much as you think. We ain’t like you and your siblings.”

She dropped her cigarette to the ground and crushed it with the heel of her boot.

“I have to say though,” Shynah said, looking Fuyumi right in the eye. “What your brother did that day, it was ballsy. Hell, everything he did with us was. I swear he either has nerves of fucking steel, or he loves you and those two other brats so much it makes him stupid.

“In any case,” Shynah continued, “I need to bounce. Keep that big brother of yours close, missy. He’s the biggest source of protection you and those tuts have.”

She started to walk away, but she turned around, “Unless of course, you think about what I told you. Do you remember?”

Fuyumi gripped the handles of the basket so tight frost threatened to form. “All too well,” Fuyumi said her voice on the edge of being a growl. Shynah smirked and walked away.

Once the black haired girl was out of sight, Fuyumi let out a shaky breath. She took a few minutes to collect herself. She wasn’t going to cry, or break down and have a panic attack. She was going to pay for her items, go home, cook for her brother, and tell Dabi what happened. He would deal with it.

That was how it worked. Fuyumi took care of Shoto and Natsu, and Dabi made sure there were no threats to her or any of the boys. It’s how it worked. It’s how it always worked. But sometimes Fuyumi wishes that wasn’t how it did.

XXX

Natsuo rubbed his eyes as he looked back to his computer screen. He was working on a paper for one of his classes and it was nearly halfway done.

It was late. Really late. He was pretty sure all of his siblings were fast asleep in their own beds. But not him, he was wide awake, and nowhere near ready to fall asleep.

He sighed and looked around his room. Sometimes Natsu wondered if he was doing the whole ‘college student’ thing right. Well, he had friends; Kana, Hiro, Seiko, Kaito, and there was his best friend/roommate, Taiga. He worked a job in his spare time, which he honestly had little of now. But that didn’t seem to cut it for him.

Natsuo didn’t go out and have fun with his friends. He studied and worked mostly. When he wasn’t doing that, he was home visiting his siblings. No one he knew at the university did that. Yeah, okay, there were others who studied and were workaholics, but even they snuck a few drinks here and there and went to parties. Everyone he knew hated the idea of going home to their families.

It wasn’t like Natsuo didn’t want to relax and have a good time. He did! He really, really did. School was stressful, and so was working as a barista four days a week. The thing was, he’d worked hard to get here. Stayed up late and woke up early to study. Quit both football and volleyball half way thru third year to pour in more energy into class time. Study math even when it was super tough. Spent hours reading and writing papers till his fingers literally bled, even though the words seem to float off the page.

Natsuo thought back to how hard his older siblings worked to make sure he got into a good middle school, one that would help him get a little bit ahead. How they were so tired coming home from those jobs. He wasn’t going to even risk throwing that away. He knew he wanted to be a physical therapist, he just had to work to get there.

After shaking his head, Natsuo turned his focus back to his paper. It was for his psychology class. He was writing a paper on trauma, things PTSD, recover from abuse, and insanity from trauma. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t focus right now.

Natsu's mind drifted to his mom, at least what he could remember. It had been so long since he saw her. He can remember some of the things about her before Shoto was born. She smiled a lot more, she wasn’t jumpy. She liked to go for walks and she’d sing to them when they were scared or sick. She was good a cook too. His mother was perfect.

Then Shoto came, and everyone agreed, he was perfect. He looked perfect, he was quiet, he didn’t fuss. Perfect baby. Natsuo being four, at the time was over the moon about this. He was finally a big brother, and now it was his turn to boss around a younger sibling. Fuyumi was happy too. Dabi, well, he just watched the three of them quietly.

The first four years were good. Shoto was content with pretty much anything. Natsuo didn’t have any reason to believe something was wrong. Mom always told him and others that they were good big siblings. Although there was that time when Natsu held Shoto over his head like Simba at the beginning of Lion King, and another time when Dabi tossed Shoto to Natsu, after yelling “YEET!” Their mom was not too happy about that.

But when Shoto’s Quirk came, everything went downhill. They weren’t allowed to say anything about it. Their mother checked on Dabi more and more. She was telling Fuyumi all sorts of things as if the end of time was here. She told Natsu that he had to be strong and watch out for Shoto. And Shoto, well, their mother hardly let Shoto out of her sight. But not all secrets can be kept forever.

Looking back Natsuo realized his mother began to break down slowly. That was a process that had already begun before he was born. But what he saw of it was that his mom started walking around with bruises. She'd smile through it and would give him and Fuyumi a smile whenever they asked if she was okay. But her smile was beginning to fade. Then she started crying at least once every two weeks. Then it was once a week. Once a day. Then she became ready to break down at any second. She was so scared.

When she was put in the mental hospital they weren’t allowed to see her. A year or so later, Dabi started going to see her. He still did. He’d asked Shoto if he wanted to visit her, seeing as he asked for her all the time, but Shoto had grown paler and started to cry, saying he couldn't see her. Dabi asked Natsuo if he wanted to. He didn’t have to ask twice.

The hospital was cold. Too cold. It felt gross and sickly. When they got to their mother’s room, he didn’t feel better. The room was the same as the rest of the place.
Unwelcoming and uncomfortable. When he saw his mother, he ran to her and hugged her so tightly. She began crying as she hugged him. She kept telling him that she was sorry. He cried too.

The rest of the visit was blurry. Natsu remembers leaving and hugging his mom goodbye, telling her he'll come again.

But he didn’t. He doesn’t know why, but the thought of seeing his mom in that place, he hurt him in a way. Natsu growled. That shouldn’t have mattered. He should have still gone. He should have talked to her and tell her what was going on in his life. Tell her that his siblings were okay. That Shoto was happy now, and that they all loved and missed her and just wanted to be with her. Instead, he’d write notes and get gifts for Dabi to give to her.

Natsuo slammed his computer screen shut and wiped his eyes, only to find he had been crying. He checked the time on his alarm clock. He sighed, it was almost midnight. Natsu got up and walked to the kitchen.

When he opened the fridge he saw the apple sauce he asked Fuyumi to get, and leftovers from dinner. The funny thing was, that earlier when Fuyumi asked him to defrost the chicken, he kinda didn’t. And when he saw Fuyumi come to the door he tossed the frozen bird at Dabi and yelled: “Fix it!”

Natsuo grabbed the applesauce and the opened the freezer and pulled out a tub of vanilla ice cream. While eating his midnight snack he scrolled there his phone looking at Twitter and memes. There the front door open and Dabi walked thru the threshold.

His older brother seemed out of breath and wet from the rain outside.

“What are you doing?” Natsuo asked once Dabi shut the door. The older one turned to look at him. Even without the lights, Natsu could see his brother, and how banged up he was.

“I was out,” Dabi said, peeling off his soaked hoodie.

“Doing what?”

Dabi sighed, “Nothing awful, but something you would probably have rathered I not have done,” he took a seat across from Natsuo, “Pass me a spoon.”

Natsuo grabbed a spoon from off the counter and slid it to his brother. Dabi then took the tub of ice cream and placed it in the middle of the table.

“How’s work?” Natsuo asked.

“Slow,” Dabi said, eat a spoonful of ice cream, “But getting better. How’s school?”

“Good.” they didn’t talk after that. Natsuo noticed that Dabi knocks were bloody and smudged with soot. He thought about saying something about it. Instead, he said, “You know, you don’t always have to fight for us. We’re getting older, I can learn to be okay without my big brother.”

Dabi leaned back and sighed, “I know,” he said, “But that’s never going to stop me,” Natsuo watch as Dabi ran a hand thru his hair.

“I just wanna make sure you guys are safe. Safe and happy. If I can make that happened, then I’m good.”

Natsu then asked, “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Don’t you get to be safe and happy?” Natsuo asked, “Don’t you get to have fun, maybe met someone if you wanna?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Dabi said looking towards the window, lost in thoughts.

“I’m your brother,” Natsuo said, “I should worry. And I should want you to be happy, shouldn’t I?”

“Listen,” Dabi looking back at him, “You, Sho, and Yumi, and Mom, you’re all I need. If I know that you’re okay, then I can be happy, alright?”

Natsuo nodded deciding it was too late to argue anymore. The two brothers clean up their snack. Dabi had hit Natsuo in the back of the head for trying to the empty tub of ice cream back in the freezer.

When Natsuo went back to his room, he didn’t grab his computer, but he did grab his textbook. He opened it and read until he fell asleep, quiet and content with the life he had for right now.

Chapter Text

Akito held his umbrella in one hand and his little sister's in the other. Harue was holding the flowers for their aunt tightly as she could. The elevator ride was slow. Almost painfully so. When they finally reach the sixth floor, Aki had to try not to bolt out.

It took him and Harue a minute to find the room, but when they did, he had to stop Harue from running like always. Akito pushed the door open slowly. And there was his aunt. Her eyes were closed but she was awake- that’s not what bothered him. The bruises on her face and neck, the cut and burns that littered her under the hospital gown, and the IV in her arm, that’s what bothered him. It made Akito’s stomach churn and eyes water.

“Auntie Kosuke!” Harue squealed, ripping off her mask, as she cried tears of joy as if nothing was wrong. Their aunt opened her eyes and smiled. She sat up a bit as Harue rushed over and handed her the flowers.

“We got your favorite!” Harue said happily.

“I see that,” said Aunt Kosuke. She patted the bed, signaling for Harue to come to join her. Harue all but jumped on the bed and snuggled up to their aunt. Akito stained by the door quietly.

When Aunt Kosuke saw him she moved Harue to her lap and patted the bed again. Akito came reluctantly, not wanting to cause his aunt any discomfort. When he sat down his aunt wrapped her hand around his shoulders and kissed his head.

“Are you two alright?” she asked.

“We’re okay!” Harue promised as she began to tell Aunt Kosuke about everything that happened since she was admitted to the hospital. Their aunt smiled through it all.

“And then when we went to go get your flowers, the lady was closing the shop, but she kept it open, it was really nice, and Nii-chan was very quiet, and, and, and-”
“You should put your mask back on Harue,” Akito said quietly.

“She’s fine,” Aunt Kosuke said, running a hand thru Akito hair. The nine-year-old looked down at his hands and then to his aunt and then asked, “What happens now?”

Aunt Kosuke's face fell and she looked out of the window at the rain. Then she smiled again and said, “Don’t worry about that Mooncat, I’ll take care of it.”

Akito wanted to argue, but he didn’t. He just sat quietly and began to count the minutes until he got here.

XXX

Shoto Yukitomo began to get dressed for class. They were going to an off-campus facility to train today. He had just finished putting on his boot when he walked out, and down to the front of the school. He found Yoarashi and went over to him.

“Oh man! Rescue training! I’m so freaking pumped!!!” the taller boy yelled out, jumping in the air. Shoto chuckled quietly. Then he looked over at Midoriya talking to Uraraka. He was in his gym clothes since his hero costume was basically destroyed in his battle with Bakugou.

“If you like him, just ask him out,” Yoarashi said, thankfully in a quieter tone than normal. Even still Shoto jumped about a foot in the air.

“I don't know what you’re talking about, and be quiet,” Shoto hissed. Yoarashi chuckled. “I can’t do either of those things.”

Just then, Iida began to blow a whistle and started to instruct them onto the bus. Shoto was about to head on when he felt something tug on the bottom of his pants. He turned around to see Gekku looking up at him.

“Hey,” he said looking down at the cat. She meowed and threw her paws up to rest on his knees. Shoto leaned down and scratched her head. Then there were more yells from Iida.

“I have to go,” Shoto said, “I’ll see you later.”

Gekku didn’t like that and began to meow louder. When Shoto didn’t turn back around she began to follow him. She stopped at the bus doors and let out one more sad meow before the doors closed.

XXX

“You can’t,” Rumi said with her hands on her hips, that smirk of hers planted on her lips.

“Oh yeah?” Hawks asked, crossing his hands over his chest.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Alright then,” he said, “why don’t we place a little bet then, hm?”

“You are so on,” Rumi said, “What are the stakes?”

“Loser has to get a tattoo,” Hawks said.

“Done.”

XXX

It was quiet this afternoon in the parlor. Dabi wasn’t doing much, just looking over the bruises he got from fighting with that little weasel of a bitch Shynah. After Fuyumi and his brother went to bed that night, Dabi had gone out to find Shynah, and warned her to stay the fuck away from his sister if she liked her face the way it was.

Shynah clapped back telling him to watch his ass unless he wanted to be found in a river in a body bag. There were some more threats, and before long the little bitch had decked him in the face. Dabi didn’t fucking care if she was a girl, he was going to beat her. Hard. For scaring his sister, and for coming near them. He wasn’t sure when Quirks got involved, but they were both lucky neither one of them killed the other. He walked away with a banged up torso, bloody knuckles, and an animal like scratches on his back. Shynah had only a few minor burns and one ugly black eye that wasn’t going away soon.

Looking back, Dabi admits it wasn’t the smartest choice he has made. Fuyumi would kill him if she ever found out about it. Which is why he wasn’t going to tell her.

Speaking of the white-haired she-devil, she was calling him now. He knew it was before even looking at the caller ID because the ring tone was a recording of Fuyumi saying “I’m calling you,” that he’d recorded to make his ringtone for her. She hated it.

“What’s up?” he asked, even though he could tell right away that something was very wrong. In the beginning, he could tell what she was saying. She was talking fast, and crying, and sobbing. The first words he could understand were “The news, have you seen the news?!”

“Fuyumi, what the hell is going on?” he tried but all got was more crying.

“Shoto,” she said, “Shoto, I-I don’t, I have no i-idea if he’s-”

“Fuyumi what about Shoto?” he asked her, trying not to get worked up himself. Then his phone buzzed another call from UA.

“I’m getting another call, from UA,” he told Fuyumi.

“Answer it!” she cried. “Answer it right now and tell me the minute you know.”

“Fuyu-” his phone rang again and he answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello, are you Dabi Yukitomo?” a voice asked.

“Yes,” he said, weakening with fear.

“I’m a caller for UA. Today your brother Shoto Yukitomo and his class went to an off-campus facility. That facility was attacked by villains. The situation has been maintained, however, we are asking parents and guardians come and pick up their children.”

“WHAT?!” Dabi yelled, “How?! How the hell did this happen?! My brother! Is my brother okay?!?” he demanded.

“Sir,” the voice said calmly, “I’m not allowed to tell you anything. We just ask that you come to the campus to collect your child.”

“Oh, I’ll come, and I have a few words that I’m going to give to someone,” he then pressed the hang up button as hard as someone could. Then his anger subsided. Horrible images flashed into his minds. His baby brother, broken, and bloody, and mangled, and dead. The thought made him want to vomit. A part of him said he should have never let Shoto enrolled in UA.

He shook himself. Now’s not the time. He had to tell Fuyumi what was going on, but she happened to come through the door of the parlor. Tears still fresh on her face. Dabi opened his arms as wide as he could and held her as tight as possible as she rushed to him.

“O-oh gods,” she sobbed, “T-the news is s-saying that, o-only one of them g-got hurt. Wh-what if-?”

“It’s not Shoto, Fuyumi,” Dabi swore, “The brats too strong and stubborn to get hurt,” the raven-haired man blinked back his own tears of fear and panic.

They took a minute to collect themselves, before running to UA faster than anyone had before. There was a swarm of people in front of the gate- news reporters, and other people from the media. Dabi and Fuyumi pushed their way to the front.

“Family only,” someone in front of the gates said, holding out his hands.

“We are family!” Fuyumi cried, “Shoto Yukitomo, he’s our younger brother!”

“ID,” the man said. Dabi yanked his out harshly and shoved it in the man’s face.

“This good enough?” Dabi asked, ready to lose it with everyone. The man looked at Fuyumi, who the fumbled a little to get her ID card out. Once the man saw it, he opened the gates and let them in. Before they could get far there was another person to stop them. This time a woman, the R-18 Hero Midnight.

She told them the Shoto was fine and in the classroom, with his fellow student, unharmed and waiting to get picked up. Fuyumi looked like she could pass out with relief. Dabi, on the other hand, stayed angry. They ran the whole way to the Class 1-A room.

“If there is a single hair out of place on his head, I will burn this fucking place to the ground!”

XXX

Shoto sat quietly in the corner of the room and waited for someone to come to get him. The USJ had been attacked by villains. The ‘how’ of it all was still unclear, but Shoto didn’t care right now. He was scared during the whole thing, but not as scared as his classmates were. It was more like he was nervous.

He had handled himself well. Kept out of villains grasp and stayed unharmed. Midoriya, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. He had broken his bones again, trying to help All Might. Shoto would admit it, he was impressed.

Midoriya was more than a smart guy, flashy Quirk, and a cute face. He was selfless and willing to jump in no matter what. And now he was knocked out in the nurse's office.

Shoto rubbed his eyes, he should have listened to Gekku.

Yoarashi sat next to him. He wasn’t as upbeat and excited as he normally was though. He was still taking a lot, which was at least something. Everyone at least looked to be okay. He doesn’t know what they were thinking, but he never did. Sometimes he wished he could read minds instead of the Quirk he had.

Shoto ducked his head down. He thought about his siblings. He wanted his brother.

Just then the door banged open, Shoto’s head shot up to see Dabi and Fuyumi standing in the doorway.

“Shoto,” Dabi demanded. Everyone pointed to the teenager in question. Shoto’s body acted before his mind. He rushed over to hug his brother and sister. Fuyumi pulled him as close to her as she could and then Dabi wrapped his arms around the both of them.

The room was quiet. Shoto felt a few tears hit the back of his neck. Whether they were Dabi’s or Fuyumi’s, Shoto couldn’t tell, nor did he care. It was a while before either of the two let him go, but when they did, Fuyumi cupped his face.

“Are you okay?” she asked. It was clear in her voice that she was crying. Her face was red, her eyes were a bit puffy, and her glasses needed to be cleared.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“I will be the fucking judge of that,” Dabi said, grabbing Shoto’s face, and began to scan every inch of him he could.

“Dabi,” Shoto said in a voice close to a growl. He had just remembered that his classmates were still there, and he could hear a few of them snickering.

“Shush,” Dabi said, turning Shoto’s head in his hands. It was another minute before Fuyumi told Dabi to stop it and the Shoto was fine. Dabi sighed and pulled Shoto into another hug. When he was let out Dabi asked, “You are okay, right?”

“Yes,” Shoto said.

“Good,” Dabi said. The raven-haired man looked around the room to see that the rest of the teenagers in the room were watching them.

“Well, this is awkward,” Dabi said.

“You think?” Shoto asked, annoyed. Fuyumi chuckled and told Shoto to get his stuff. He did, and Shoto waved goodbye to his classmates. He and his siblings were shown back outside. Dabi’s arm was around Shoto’s shoulders and Fuyumi’s hand rested on his back.

When they got home, Natsuo was waiting for them. He had jumped over the couch and all but squeezed the daylights out of his baby brother. Shoto but let out a tiny groan, but didn’t protest.

“Do you have any idea about the heart attack you gave me?” Natsuo asked, not even close to loosening his grip.

“Sorry?” Shoto asked, unsure how to respond. Natsu shook his head and hugged his little brother tighter. Much to the dismay of Shoto’s ribs.

Soon all four of the Yukitomo siblings were hugging, a long time passed before Shoto was able to walk free.

Later that night Fuyumi made soba because she wasn’t going to say no to Shoto anytime soon. Shoto offered to help, but he was still banned from the kitchen after he tried to make ramen in the coffee pot and broke everything.

Dinner was quieter than normal. No one was sure what to say. At one point Shoto put his chopstick down and asked very quietly, “Do you want me to stop going to UA? Are any of you okay with me being a hero at all?”

They all looked at him.

“Sho, why would you ask that, kiddo?” Dabi asked.

Shoto shrugged. “You were all worried and- I don’t. I didn’t think any of you really cared about heroes…”

“Shoto,” Fuyumi said gently, resting her hand on top of his, “Do you wanna be a hero?”

“I think so,” Shoto said, “But-”

“Sho. It doesn’t matter what we think,” Natsuo said, “All that matters is that you’re happy. Then we don’t care. You could be a homeless person who lives under some bridge, an’ as long as you're happy, we’d be fine.”

“Um? Natsu? I would not be fine with that,” Fuyumi said.

“Hush now,” Natsuo said, holding up a finger. Fuyumi hit the back of his head.

“What our brother is trying to say,” Dabi started, “is that we want you to do whatever you wanna do with your life. Whatever that is, Sho, we want you to have it. Yes, we’re gonna worry, but only because that’s our job as your big siblings. Okay?”

Shoto nodded. “Okay.”

“Good,” Dabi said. There was quiet.

“Can we watch Frozen after dinner?” Shoto asked, looking up hopefully.

Dabi sighed. “Only after we watch the Little Mermaid.”

“And Lion King,” Natsuo added.

“Done,” Shoto said.

XXX

“Well, fuck,” Hawks said. He looked at Rumi who was smirking her ass off. He lost. Now he had to get a fucking tattoo. What the hell?

XXX

Harue hugged her brother tighter. Her daddy and Auntie Kosuke were in Auntie Kosuke’s hospital room yelling, a lot. They were using big people words she didn’t understand.
Things like ‘lawsuit, and ‘custody’, and ‘visitation rights’. They kept talking about a trial, and something happening in a few months.

Harue whimpered. She was scared. Auntie kept calling Daddy ‘bastard’ and Daddy called Auntie something that sounded like bike but started with a ‘d’. She wasn’t sure with either word meant, but she knew she wasn’t allowed to say either of them. Uncle Iroh was trying to calm them down. They yelled over him.

Nii-chan closed his eyes and was holding back tears. If Nii-chan was crying, it must be okay for Harue to cry too. Nii-chan was her big brother, so that meant he was super strong. And if someone like Nii-chan cried that meant she could too. But Nii-chan wasn’t crying, so Harue didn’t either.

No one seemed to care or want to do anything about grown-ups yelling in the room. Their voices were muffled, so no one but Harue and Nii-chan could hear them.
Harue wonders to herself if there was anyone else who had ever been afraid of their daddy like she was.

XXX

A few days after the whole USJ mess, Dabi was back to work at the tattoo parlor. He had Fall Out Boy blaring and was trying not to lose his fucking mind over the fucking pile of bills he had.

Soon Irresistible came on the speaker, and just as the choir hit, Dabi heard the door open. He jumped at his desk a little, then went out to see who was here.

When he saw who it was, he wasn’t star-struck, per se. It was more, ‘what the fuck are these two doing in my shitty-ass tattoo parlor?’ He wasn’t stupid, he knew what the number three and number six heroes looked like.

Miruko was dressed in combat boots, cut off shorts, a white tank top that said, ‘girls are great’ in black block letters, and there was a red flannel tied around her hips

Hawks was dressed in converse, a simple white t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and had rings and bracelets on.

The two were bickering back and forth.

“I can’t believe this,” Hawke grumbled with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Hey, remember, this was all your idea,” Mirko said, a smirk painted on her lips.

“Can I help you two?’ Dabi asked breaking their conversation up. They turned to look at him. Mirko clapped and rubbed her hands together, “My friend here needs a tattoo,” she said, with a huge smile on her face.

“Well, you’re in luck, because that’s all we do here,” Dabi said. “Have a seat.” Dabi gestured to the couch. The two pros walked over and sat down on the worn-out black sofa.

“Can I get either of you anything?” Dabi asked carefully.

“No, we’re good,” Hawks said.

Dabi nodded and took his seat in the chair. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Bird brain here thought he could beat me in a race, and now he has to get a tattoo,” the female hero said.

“Well, that’s not the strangest thing I’ve heard from someone in here,” Dabi said. “So, you know what you want?”

Hawks sighed, “No, I haven’t really thought about getting a tattoo.”

“All right, that’s totally fine. I tend to suggest starting small,” Dabi said, “But you can do whatever.”

“Oh, get a big one, I wanna see you cry,” Miruko said.

“Shut up,” the winged hero groaned.

Dabi cleared his throat and said, “If you want you can pick something from the books or we can do something else.”

“Can I just have an artist choice?” Hawks asked, “Honestly, I have no idea what to get.”

“I can do that,” the raven-haired man said, “Wait here. I got something I think you’ll like.”

Dabi came back a few minutes later with a sketchbook. It was opened to a page of a feather and as it went up it turned into flames.

“Wow,” Hawks said, taking the books in his hands, “You did this?”

“Yep,” Dabi said. Hawks mulled it over in his head for a minute before nodding. Hawks was going to get it on the back of his shoulder so his wings could hide it. Dabi was almost shocked to find that the man could change the size of his wings.

“Just so you know,” Miruko said to Dabi, “He has very sensitive skin.”

“Oh, my God, Rumi! Shut the fuck up!” Hawks yelled. Dabi chuckled and went to work. As he started on the winged hero’s tattoo Miruko looked around his shop. She was looking at the pictures over by the door when she asked, “Who this?”

“My siblings,” Dabi said not looking up from his work, “I got three of them.”

“Oof,” she said.

“It’s not that bad,” he said, “My youngest brother just started UA. Hero Course.”

“Well, we’ll have to keep an eye out for him in the Sports Festival, won’t we?”

“Yeah,” Dabi said. Time went on. Miruko asked more questions and Dabi readily answered them. At one point she asked, “What do your parents think of this whole tattoo thing?”

“Well my mother, bless her, says she happy I’m doing something I love. She says I might have to give her one someday,” Dabi shook his head and smiled at the thought of his mother sitting in his parlor getting a tattoo. It was crazy.

“And your father?”

“Dead.”

“Oh, sorry."

“Don’t be.”

Every few minutes Dabi would ask Hawks how he was feeling, and when he wasn’t told to stop or that it hurt, he kept working. When he was done, Hawks sat up and huffed.

“Take it easy,” Dabi advised.

“Does it look good?” Hawks asked.

“Actually, it does,” Miruko said, looking over the tattoo.

“Thank goodness,” he said carefully putting his shirt back over his head.

“Hey, so, I was thinking,” Miruko said.

“Oh no,” Hawks grumbled.

“Shut up,” she laughed. “I was thinking that I kinda wanna get a tattoo now too. And I’m cool with whatever. Like, I can come back, or I can do it now. It doesn’t matter to me,” she said.

“I can do it right now,” Dabi said, “I’d just need a minute to get everything set up.”

Miruko nodded her head and took a seat in the chair that Hawks had been in a few minutes ago. When Dabi came back, Miruko showed him the tattoo she had picked out. It was of a crescent moon that was simple enough but had some nice detailing. Miruko had Dabi put it right on her forearm.

While Dabi worked on the female hero, it was Hawks’ turn to ask questions. “How long have you been running this place?”

“Two and-a-half-years,” Dabi said, “Weird question, but how’d you find my shop? I’m just curious.”

“Rumi found your Instagram,” Hawks explained. “We saw your work, and thought it was pretty sweet.”

“Awesome to know that’s working,” Dabi said, “It was my sister’s idea.”

“You got a lot of followers,” Hawks said.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they all come to get stuff done.”

“How much does it take to run this place?” Miruko asked, much calmer than Hawks had been.

“More than you’d think,” Dabi said, sounding annoyed.

“You post all the tattoos you do on your Insta?” Miruko asked.

“Most of them go there and my website, yeah,” Dabi said. “I normally ask my clients if they're okay with it. Not a lot say no.”

“Neat,” Miruko said. It was still a while before the heroine's tattoo was done, but when it was, Miruko inspected it.

“Holy hell,” she said, “This is awesome.”

Dabi chuckled. He led them back to the front of the store and gave them both instructions on how to make sure they didn’t get infections. The two heroes paid and had Dabi take a photo of their new ink.

“Well, thank you for coming,” Dabi said, a little awkwardly.

“Thanks for having us,” Hawks said. Dabi looked at him for a second before clearing his throat and opening the door for the two.

“Thanks again,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” Miruko said, stepping out.

“See ya,” Hawks said. Dabi nodded and closed the door. He looked down at his phone. Maybe two pro heroes coming into his parlor could help him more than he’d thought.

XXX

When he and Rumi got far enough away from the tattoo parlor, Hawks said, “Well, that guy was hot.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, Midoriya!” Shoto called running after the green haired boy after school got out.

“Oh, hi Yukitomo,” Midoriya said turning to look at him, “Do you need something?”

“Um,” Shoto felt his checks turn pinkish. In case anyone would have asked, he had no plan.

“I was wondering,” he said slowly, “If you, um... I wanted to know, if you wanted to... train, with me sometime?”

“Oh, you mean like to get ready for the Sports Festival?” Midoriya asked. When they got back to school after the USJ attack it had been told to them the annual UA Sports Festival was going to take place soon and that they should prepare for it.

“Um yeah,” Shoto said, “Yeah, I was thinking we could train for the festival.”

“That’s a great idea!” Midoriya said happily. Shoto felt his heartbeat quicken. Could this mean he would be alone, with Midoriya for an extended period of time?

“And we could invent a few others too,” Midoriya said. Well, scratch that plan.

“Oh, yeah that sounds good,” Shoto said looking to the side a little bummed.

“Great! I’ll talk to Iida and Uraraka,” Midoriya said, “And you can invite Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi. Your friends with them right?”

“Yes, I am,” Shoto said. It was still weird for him to say that he had friends. Before there were only his siblings and Shiki.

“Okay then,” Midoriya said, “I’ll text you tonight, so we can plan it. Sound good?”

“Sure,” Shoto said still a little disappointed.

“Great, um, here’s my number,” Midoriya said, after scribbling something down, tearing a strip of paper off the top of the blank page, and hand it to Shoto. When the white-haired boy looked at it he saw a phone number and a smiley face written in Midoriya slightly messy handwriting.

“I’ll talk to you tonight,” Midoriya said before waving goodbye. Shoto watched him leave and looked down at the number again. He had Midoriya’s number. There was a tiny voice in the back of his head that screamed, yes!

He carefully placed the paper in his pocket. As he walked out of the school he saw a familiar flash of bright white. Gekku was trailing him. When Shoto first saw her in the morning she had seemed mad, as if she was upset Shoto didn’t listen to her. But now she was much happier. On the train ride, he texted Yoarashi and Yaoyorozu in the group chat that Yoarashi had made.

Rich, Loud, Soba Group Chat:
Chaotic Soba: Hey, remember when you told me I should just talk to Midoriya if I like being around him?

Chaotic Loud: YEs!!!

Neutral Rich: Yes, we remember.

Chaotic Soba: Well I did.

Chaotic Loud: AND!?!?

Chaotic Soba: Is your cap lock always on?

Chaotic Loud: Basically

Chaotic Loud: There I use small letters? ARE YOU HAPPY??

Chaotic Soba: I’m never happy

Neutral Rich: You were saying?

Chaotic Soba: It backfired completely and now I have to ask if you two wanna train with me, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida.

Chaotic Loud: Sure!!!

Neutral Rich: Sound fun, I’ll go.

Neutral Rich: And I’m sorry talking to Midoriya didn’t work out well.

Chaotic Soba: It’s fine.

Chaotic Loud: I’m just happy you are out of DE NILE

Chaotic Loud: *Denile. Sorry about that.

Chaotic Soba: How could I not admit it when you badgered me ever six minutes about.

Chaotic Loud: OWO

Chaotic Soba: There is one good thing though.

Neutral Rich: What is it?

Chaotic Soba: I got his number.

Chaotic Loud: *LOUD CHEERING*

Chaotic Loud: THAT Is AWESOME!!!

Chaotic Soba: Yeah.

Neutral Rich: Now what do you plan to do with it?

Chaotic Soba: No clue.

Chaotic Loud: OH!! We could help you!!!

Chaotic Soba: Noo

Chaotic Loud: Why Not?!?

Read at 5:45.

Chaotic Soba has left the chat.

Chaotic Loud: Did he just leave us on read?!

Neutral Rich: I think it’s more he left you on read.

Chaotic Soba: She’s right

Chaotic Loud: Hey!!! D:<

Read 5:47.

Chaotic Soba has left the chat.

Chaotic Loud: Jerk.

XXX

Dabi slumped against the door of the apartment. He was greeted by the sound of the TV and dinner cooking. He was so fucking drained. Hawks and Mirko coming to the shop and having it posted it on his socials things, did help bring people in. A lot of people.

Dabi was now booked thru the next three months, which was good, but gods he was tired. The raven-haired man slipped out of his shoes and hung up his jacket on the post.

When he walked father into the apartment he found Fuyumi making udon because she always claimed they ate too much soba, and Shoto and Natsuo were in the living room doing homework and sorta watching the news.

Dabi walked up to Fuyumi in the kitchen as she was chopping up vegetables. Slowly he pulled out an envelope and set it next to her. Fuyumi stopped what she was doing and opened it. Her jaw dropped when she saw the contents. She pulled the money out carefully and counted it even more carefully. Then she counted two more times, just to be sure. She looked at Dabi.

“I’d told you I’d figure it out, didn’t I?” he asked, placing a hand on his sister’s shoulder. Fuyumi looked down again and then back up to her brother. She looked ready to cry tears of relief but she didn’t. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Dabi neck and hugged him.

Dabi pulled his sister close to him and buried his face in her hair. For the first time in months, he wasn’t worried about finances or bills. For once both he and Fuyumi could take a moment and just breath. They were going to be okay, for now.

When pulled away from each other Dabi asked, “You think it’s enough?”

“It’s more than enough,” Fuyumi said, “At least for a good while.”

“And this isn’t even the best part,” Dabi said.

“What’s the best part?” Fuyumi asked.

“I got promoted at the record store,” he said, “Which means more pay.”

Fuyumi covered her mouth with her hand. She was quiet for a minute before she pulled her hand away from her mouth and smiled. Then she was laughing.

“Oh my goodness,” she said, looking so relieved.

“You know what we should do?” Dabi asked, “You and I should go out tonight.”

Fuyumi looked at him like he was crazy, “And do what?” she laughed.

“Drink, dance, something if not anything,” he said.

“We don’t drink, Dabi,” she said.

“Coercion, you don’t drink, I do.”

“Dabi,” Fuyumi said giving her brother a look.

“Come on Yumi,” Dabi said, “We don’t go out, ever. We save money. We save, and save, and save, even on rainy days. Let’s go out, be twenty-somethings. Just once, then we never have to do it again.”

Fuyumi looked down, shaking her head and smiling. She looked back up at her brother. She smiled, “Fine, after dinner, we’ll go out.”

“Yes!” he said throwing his hands, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Fuyumi shook her head the shooed her brother out of the kitchen so she could cook.

XXX

The club was darkish with pink and red lights everywhere. There was some weird music playing that neither Dabi or Fuyumi recognized. They sat at the bar, Dabi drinking Jack Daniels and Fuyumi was having club soda.

Dabi just finished his third drink when he turned to Fuyumi and slurred, “Isn’t this great?”

“Oh yeah,” the white-haired girl said, “Loud music, the smell of cigarettes, obnoxious people everywhere. It’s great.”

“Come on Yumi,” Dabi said.

“What?” she asked looking at him, “Oh gods, are you drunk?”

“No!” he said. He didn’t seem to notice that right then he had been messing with his sister’s hair the way a cat uses its paws played with a string of dangling yarn.

“Really?” Fuyumi asked raising an eyebrow, moving brother’s hand away from her head “Why do you drink? You know you’re a lightweight.”

“I’m not a fucking lightweight!” he exclaimed.

“Mhm, okay,” Fuyumi said rolling her eyes.

Dabi shook his head. They left a little while later and went to a different place, this time a bar. It was calmer than the club. Much quieter. They got a table area towards the back, per Fuyumi’s request.

Dabi got another drink, even though Fuyumi told him not to. Although she did preck up a bit when Toxic came on and she and Dabi all but screamed it. After a little bit when they had been sorta dancing for a bit, (it had really been Dabi spinning Fuyumi in circles) Dabi said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” she asked, laughing a little because she was dizzy from Dabi spinning her around for minutes on end.

“Nowhere, I’ll be back.

“You better not get another drink,” she said.

“I’m not,” he cried, “And even if I was it’s no big deal.”

“Your Quirk makes you crazy when you drink!” Fuyumi yelled at him over the music, “Fire and alcohol don’t mix!”

“I’m fine,” he said, turning around.

“You better not been smoking!” she yelled.

“I’m not!” he called not turn back to look at her. He was lying.

Dabi used to smoke a pack every two days, but when Fuyumi found out she threw an absolute fit. Dabi had never seen her so angry. She yelled about how he was setting a bad example for Shoto and Natsuo, and how he was gonna get lung cancer. She made him swear to quite. And for the most part, Dabi did. But every now and then he would sneak one or two.

When he stumbled out into the street, he was met with cold night air, which sobered him up a little, not a lot but still. The noise coming from inside the bar could still be heard but it was muffled. There were two other guys smoking. Dabi pulled out his pack, but he stopped. Even when his brain was muddled with liquor a nagging voice said he knew that he shouldn’t, for his sister’s sake at least. Besides, there was no doubt Fuyumi would smell it on him. So he crushed the pack in his hand and set on fire. He let the pack fall to the ground and stopped it with the heel of his boot.

The raven-haired man huffed. He decided to get one more drink. Yeah, his sister told him not too, but she would be too upset over that. But when Dabi got to the bar he caved and got water. He cussed at himself. Fuyumi was lucky he loved her so much. He took the water and drank it in one gulp.

He was about to go find his sister when a voice called out, “Hey! Guy with the tattoos!”

Dabi turned around looking for the voice called out for him. Then his eyes landed on messy ash blond hair and warm brown eyes. It was the wing hero.
Well, this should be good.

“Hey,” Dabi said trying very hard not to come off as too hammered.

“Hey yourself,” the shorter man said, smiling. He smelled like whiskey and fried chicken.

“What you are you doing here?” Hawks asked after a minute.

“I’m with my sister,” Dabi said, pointing to the other end of the bar, very clumsy like, “She’s over in the corner.”

Hawks moved his head, try to she see if he could spot where Dabi pointed. The raven-haired man turned to look to, only to see his sister talking to Miruko. Just then Fuyumi looked up and waved. Dabi waved back.

“I see Rumi has taken an interest,” Hawks said, running a hand through his hair, laughing a bit. Dabi looked back to him. Maybe it was all the alcohol in his system, but Hawks looked really good. Like his face looked good in the bar’s crap lighting. His clothes hugged his body well too.

Before Dabi could think too much into it, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned to see his sister and the other pro hero.

“Hey,” Fuyumi said, “I think I wanna head back home,” she said, quietly.

“Okay,” Dabi said, nodding, “We’ll go home.”

“Oh man,” Hawks, most likely without thinking, seeing as the next thing he did was cover his mouth and say, “Oh fuck was that out loud?”

“Yeah, it was,” Miruko said smiling in her drunkenness.

Fuyumi the whispered very quietly to Dabi, “If you want to stay you can.”

“I don’t want you walking home by yourself,” Dabi said. That may have seemed a bit overprotective, but they weren’t in the safest area right now. Even if Dabi was as drunk as he was if he walked home with his sister few people were going to give them problems.

“Hey wait,” Miroku said, “I could walk your sister home,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Why the hell would I let you do that?” Dabi asked.

“Oh come on,” Miruko said, “I’m a Pro fucking hero. I’m more than capable of walking your sister home. Besides I’m not as drunk as you.”

“You’ve had three White Russians since we got here,” Hawks said. The taller of the two pros hit him in the stomach with the back of her hand and shot him a glare and Hawks fell quiet.

“Dabi, I’ll be fine,” Fuyumi said, resting her hand on his shoulder, “You need a break, you should get it. I promise it will be fine.”

Dabi chewed on his lower lip before asking, “Are you sure?”

“Mhhm,” Fuyumi said nodding, “I’ll be okay.”

It took some time but finally, Dabi agreed. Miruko was still gonna walk her home stating she had the morning shift and she should really head home herself.

Dabi gave his sister a quick hug, “I’m glad we spent some time having fun together.”

“Me too,” Fuyumi said to let him go, “Next time let’s just do something that doesn’t get you sloshed.”

“Okay,” the taller man said, smiling at her.

“Make safe choices,” Fuyumi begged walking towards the door.

“No,” he said back.

“Don’t drink and fly bird brain,” Miruko said as she followed Fuyumi out. Hawks turned back to Dabi and said, “So um, you wanna stick around here?”

“Not really,” Dabi said, “I mean, I don’t wanna go home, but it’s kinda lame here.

“So, um,” Hawks said, “I got alcohol back home, good stuff, been saving it. Do you wanna, I don’t know go there?”

Dabi normally would have said no, but his brain was clouded with whiskey. In his mind, what could go wrong going home with a way, way, above average looking guy and drinking some more? Well a lot, but he wasn’t thinking.

“Lead the way,” he said.

XXX

Fuyumi had to bite her tongue trying not to laugh at the hero walking next to her. Miruko wasn’t overly drunk but she was at the very least tipsy.

The whole this was a bit strange. Fuyumi didn’t go out much with Dabi, they really didn’t have the option, and it was even rarer for her to be with people outside work and her family. Honestly, she would be fine if she didn’t go out at all.

“So,” the rabbit hero said, her words slurring a bit, “What's your brother’s deal?”

“What do you mean?” Fuyumi asked.

“Well when me and birdie were getting our tattoos, he seemed to be I don’t know.”

“He’s just focused when it comes to work,” Fuyumi said, pulling her sweatshirt tighter around her. Fuyumi was dressed in jeans and a white shirt with roses on the front. At one point in the night, Dabi had thrown his hoodie on her shoulders. Fuyumi looked back to the other woman walking next to her.

“So where's your place?” the taller of the two asked.

“It’s that building there.”

“Sweet.”

Soon Fuyumi found herself in front of the apartment door. She didn’t see the lights on through the windows, so she guessed Shoto and Natsuo was asleep.

“Um, thanks for walking with me,” Fuyumi said turning to look at the other white-haired woman. "Hey, no problem,” Miruko said, giggling a little, “Oh hey, have this,” she dug around in her pocket for a minute, then pulled out a small card and handed it to Fuyumi.

Fuyumi adjusted her glasses to look at the card. It was white and had purple accents. It read:

Rabbit Hero: Miruko
Rumi Usagiyama
Phone Number: XXX-XXX-XXXX
“It’s my info,” the Pro hero said, “Hit me up if you need help, or if you need someone to go out with. You seem like someone who desperately needs to go out more.”

Fuyumi bit on the inside of her cheek and looked down at the ground.

“In any case,” Miruko said, “I gotta get going.”

“Do you need me to call you a cab?” Fuyumi asked seeing as the other was still fairly buzzed.

“Nah, I’m good,” Miruko assured her.

“Well, goodnight,” Fuyumi said.

“Night,” Miruko said was she walked down the stairs back to the street.

Fuyumi didn’t go inside right away, instead, she stood in front of the door looking out over the neighborhood. Everyone was tucked into bed fast asleep. All the lights turned off, except for the few street lamps. It was calm and quiet. This place was always quiet, that’s why Dabi picked.

A quiet place for the family to grow together.

Fuyumi then sighed and walked into the apartment. When she walked into the kitchen she saw that Natsuo had been there seeing the leftover crumbs on the table and counter. She shook her head, she cleans it in the morning.

Fuyumi was about to head to her room when she felt the need to check on her brothers. It was a bad habit both she and Dabi both had. She pecked her head in to see Natsuo had fallen asleep studying again. A smiled pressed her lips as she went to pull the textbook out of his hands and place the blanket over him. Fuyumi left the room, the sound of Natsuo light snores following her as she checked on Shoto.

When she walked into her baby brother’s room, Fyumi saw one of Shoto’s arms was dangling over the side of the bed, his phone still clutched in his hand. She walked in and placed Shoto’s arm back, and went to plug his phone in. As soon as it was started charging, Fuyumi saw a message form Shiki pop up.

Shiki: Call me if you want advice.

Now Fuyumi wasn’t going swipe, or snoop, or even ask questions, but that didn’t stop her from wondering as she walked to her room. Shoto was always questioning Shiki’s judgment,(in the friend most course, but still) why would he be asking for her advice?

XXX

Hawks had to thank Rumi so much when he saw her again. It was her idea to go out tonight, and she most definitely didn’t have work tomorrow. She clearly left him alone with the hot tattoo artist, so he could try to get something.

Hawks’ original plan was to go back to the tattoo parlor and get more ink work, but seeing the place was booked thru the next three months thanks to him, that wasn’t the best plan.

But it worked out seeing as he was on his way back home with the raven-haired man in question. Dabi was quiet most of the way, sometimes tripping over his own feet. Hawks wondered if it was a good idea to be drinking with this guy, but he wasn’t backing out now.

When the reached the door Hawks struggled to dig his keys out, his mind still pretty hazy from the bar. He didn’t drink often but when he did he was not the most put together person.

“Come on in,” Hawks said pushing the door open. The place was nice, but the wing hero tried his damnedest not to make it too nice. He didn’t want to come off like he was trying to shove things in people’s faces, but at the same time, he wanted his place to look presentable. It was big though, Hawks couldn’t do anything to help that, nor did he really want to.

Dabi shrugged off his jacket and took his shoes off before going any farther and Hawks went and got the alcohol.

“You can have a seat in the living room,” the ash blond said.

“Okay,” Dabi nodded flopping down on the dark brown sofa. Hawks brought the bottle and two glasses over and set them on the coffee table. First, the winged hero poured himself a glass, then he handed the bottle to Dabi.

The tattoo artist poured himself a generous glass and began to drink. He let out a hiss and looked at his glass.

“That’s some strong shit,” Dabi said.

“Yeah, it is, but it’s good.”

They made small talk for a bit. They both drank about two more glasses, when Hawks eyes fell around Dabi’s collarbone/neck area, right where his tattoos began.

“My eyes are up here,” Dabi said, snapping the ash blond out of his trace.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Wanna see em’?” Dabi asked, casually. Hawks head shot up to look at the other man.

“What?” he asked stupidly.

“Wanna see em’?” Dabi repeated. Naturally, Hawks was left without words. Was this guy for real gonna take off his shirt to show him his tattoo? In the end, he chalked it up to Dabi being drunk. But at the same time, Hawks wasn’t the soberest either. He might have said no if he was thinking clearly.

Finally, the wing hero nodded. Dabi grabbed his drink, drain of its contents and lost his shirt.

“Woah,” Hawks whispered under his breath. Dabi’s tattoos were insane. His eyes didn’t know where to start looking. He stared with the raven-haired man's arms. At the top of his left shoulder, curling around and going down the middle of his bicep was a dragon. It was in traditional Japanese style and was light blue and white, with small flames coming from its mouth. The going from there to his elbow were waves with water lilies and small colorful koi fish jumping up and swinging against the current. Then from there to his wrist were clouds, and coming from them was a beautiful flurry of snowflakes on one side and rain on the other. There was a gold compass with the needle pointing north on top of his hand.

Then on his right shoulder, there was another dragon spiraling to the middle of his biceps again, only this one was red and looked angrier, with blue flame coming from its mouth. Then downward, there was a red oni mask on the inside of his arm and a small turtle on the outside. Then below that, there was the kanji for safety, peace, healing, and family going down the inside of his forearm and a tiger on the outside of it. And on the top of his right hand was a lion’s head, looking strong and proud.

Without thinking, Hawks dragged his fingers down the side of Dabi’s arm. His skin was warm, like really warm, and Dabi shivered a bit when Hawks touched him, but he didn’t say anything.

Then Hawks moved on to look at Dabi’s chest. On the left side of his chest on his collarbone, was a silver chain and then it hung down a bit and went up to connected to the other end by his shoulder. Then the chain dropped down to about his waist, and at the end of the chain was a pocket watch. The time was set to 12 o’clock but Hawks was having trouble looking at the date on the bottom of the watch.

Over Dabi's heat was a list of names followed by a date, then a flower. The first was the name Rei, followed by a date, and the flower was a lilly looking one. Then it was the name Fuyumi, the date December 6, and then a narcissus flower. After that was the name Natsuo, July 1, and larkspur. The last name on the was Shoto, January 11, preceded by a carnation flower. There was still room for more names so most of that part of his chest was uncovered.

Dabi’s other pec had a beautifully detailed Calavera over it. Behind the skull was blue, and whitish colored flames dancing up towards his collarbone. Around the bottom of his neck was a rope of rose flowers and vines wrapping around. It was done so that if that when Dabi wore a shirt it would mostly be covered. Starting at the base of his neck by the rose tattoo, down the black-haired man thorax, stopping right about two inches from his navel, was a detail katana sword. It was done so well that it looked like there was a reflection of fire in the metal.

After that Hawks looked down. On the left side of Dabi’s mid-section, there was a much bigger tattoo. It was a phoenix perched in a sarkar branch. It went all the way down to the waistband of his pants. It was so detailed, it looked like it was going to come off of Dabi’s skin and fall away. On the other side of his midriff, there were two more tattoos. The one closest to his navel was a heart, like an actual human heart. There was a hand above it and it looked like he heart was dangling for marionette strings. On the inside of the heart were stitching. The last tattoo was in a circle shape. Inside was the circle was a crystal blue lake an island looking mountain. At the bottom of the circle was the words “Thanks for the Memories,”.

Hawks pressed his palm gently against the last one. They had been sitting in silence for a long time. Finally, Hawks said, “They’re all beautiful.”

Dabi just hummed in agreement.

“Did you do any of them?” Hawks asked.

“My forearms and hands,” Dabi said, “And the ones on my legs and thighs. A friend did the rest of them”

“Can I see them?”

“Take me to dinner first,” Dabi slurred.

“Hell yes,” the ash blond muttered quietly. Neither of the two of them seemed to notice that Hawks was all but laying on top of Dabi. Dabi’s hand was running threw Hawks’ hair in a very slow matter. Hawks kept his eyes trained on the ink work in front of him, scared of saying something stupid.

“You know,” Hawks said, still not looking up at the other man, “I wanted to go back to your shop to get another tattoo, but you're all booked up.”

“Well that all your fucking fault,” Dabi said.

“That was mean."

“I am mean.”

“I don’t you think you are,” Hawks said, resting his hand on Dabi's neck.

“Hm,” Dabi said, “Maybe, after hours sometime I could maybe fit you in. If the price is right.”

“Done,” Hawks said. They stayed like that for a while. It was most like the most peaceful moment they both hand in a long time.

And then things got kicked up a knock.

XXX

When Dabi woke up, he had the worlds biggest hangover. His head felt like hammered were banging against his skull. There was a ringing in his ear and a small voice in his head telling him that Fuyumi told him so.

He was surprised that his alarm didn’t wake him up. In fact, it was a few minutes until he realized he wasn’t in his bed. The sheets and blankets were too soft and nice to be his bed.

Dabi forced himself to set himself up. He blinked a few times and looked around. He was in a nice bedroom. The walls were a warm shade of red, and there were large black and white photos of some forest someplace.

Dabi looked at the nightstand next to him. There was a glass of water and two aspirin with a note that read: Drink me! :)

“What is this,” Dabi muttered to himself, “Alices in fucking Wonderland?”

Regardless Dabi grabbed the two pills and swallowed them with the water. It was like magic because his head was because increasing less bad.

Then Dabi realized he was only in boxers. And that these boxers weren’t his.

Fuck! What did he do last night?

He rubbed his head and tried to think. He went home, told Fuyumi about his rise, and they went drinking for the first time in a year and a half. Then things got fuzzy. He ran into Hawks the Winged hero. Fuyumi left with Miruko. Dabi went to Hawks apartment, well he calls it more of a penthouse. They drank, Dabi took off his shirt, oh boy, that meant he had a lot in him. Then he and Hawks talked. What else happened?

Then he remembered.

He remembered they did, things. Not sex, but things. He also remembered that he didn’t kiss the guy either, that stuck out in his mind.

“Fuck,” Dabi ground, flopping back on the bed. After that, if Dabi remembered correctly, the hero gave him a new pair of boxers and they both went to bed.

Dabi ran his hand over his face. Then he jumped out of bed and began looking for his clothes. Then there was a voice.

“Your clothes are on the chair over there.”

Dabi looked up to see Hawks standing in the doorway. His ash blond hair was a bit messier than normal. He was only jeans and a simple black t-shirt.

Dabi didn’t say anything. He just walked over to the chair and started getting his clothes on. After a minute Dabi looked up to see the hero was still watching him. He bit his lip, unsure what to say. Then he asked, “Do you know where my phones it?

“Your phone?” Hawks asked. His face looked a little worried at the idea of Dabi having his phone. Dabi said, “What’s wrong? Afraid I’ll tell everyone the number three heroes gay?”

“First off,” Hawks said, “I’m bi, so jot that down.”

“I’m bi too, so.”

“Oh,” Hawks said. Finally, Dabi stood up and saw his phone on the dresser. He grabbed it and slipped it in his pocket.

“So um,” Hawks said, “I was wondering…”

“What?”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to, like, I don’t know, go do something. Like dinner, or maybe a movie.”

Dabi was taken aback a bit. He thought about it. A small part of him said, no. This was a bad idea, this was a way to get caught. But another part of him told him that there was a hot guy asking him out.

“I’m free next week on Thursday.”

Hawks looked up surprised. “Really?”

“Hell yeah,” Dabi said, “You said you take me out anyway.”

“Um,” Hawks said, “Okay, yeah.”

“Here my number,” Dabi said handing the ash blond a piece of paper.

“I’ll call you,” Hawks said.

“I plan on it,” Dabi said, as he headed out the door.

XXX

When Dabi walked into the threshold of his own apartment, Fuyumi was waiting with her hands on her hips, looking pissed. Dabi groaned inward.

“And just where in this green and glorious earth have you been?” she asked.

“Places,” he said, trying to walk around his sister.

“Bullshit,” she said.

“Yumi.”

“Don’t you Yumi me,” she snapped, “Do you know how worried I was?”

“I am a grown man,” Dabi said, “I can take care of myself.”

“You’re a grown man who becomes a toddler when he drinks,” Fuyumi said, crossing her arms.

“I wasn’t that bad last night,” he said. His sister let out a huff.

“Where were you?” she asked again calmer.

Dabi sighed, “I went to a guy's house,” he admitted.

“Dabi.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do all your working brain cells leave when I do?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Fuyumi let out another groan and shook her head.

“Cheer up sis,” He said, “Now I have a hot date.”

“Oh yes, that makes me feel so much better.”

XXX

Shoto waited for Shiki to answer her phone. He was heading to training with Midoriya and the other but he needed to talk to her first. Shiki, the closest human being Shoto could call a childhood friend, was currently studying in the US, training as a basketball protege. She left right before the UA entrance exam, and with the time difference, it was hard for the two to talk.

Finally, she picked up.

“Shoto Yukitomo,” she said, the smirk so clear in her voice.

“Space Jam,” he said back.

“How is my darling friend?”

“Fine,” Shoto said wanting to get to the point.

“So I’m told,” she said, “So, there is a boy.”

“Yes,” Shoto said.

“And he cute you say?”

“Very much so.”

“Well my dear,” Shiki said, “You have come to the right place.”

“Please,” he said, his voice still monotone, “I have to leave soon and I need your lesbian wisdom.”

“Okay first off,” she said, “Lesbian wisdom is not going to help you gay ass ever. Second, tell me how far you’ve gotten with this guy?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like are you just talking, has there been back and frother?”

“Well, yeah I talk to him,” Shoto said, “He’s my classmate.”

“Okay,” Shiki said, “That answers my questions.”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind,” Shiki said, “So you want my advice?”

“For the first time in my life, yes.”

“Rude,” Shiki said with a fake gasp. “All right, what I think the best course of action is to take it slow. Just find time to hang out, just the two of you. Just talk.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know, anything.”

“Okay,” Shoto said.

“What’s wrong?” Shiki asked.

“Nothing.”

“Shoto, I mean it.”

“I’ve never-” he paused, “I’ve been, I’ve never felt-”

“Sho,” Shiki said. “I get it, man. I do. It’s scary the first time you really, really like someone.”

“What if he doesn’t-?”

“Shoto,” Shiki said, “You have the social skills of a paperclip half the time, but anyone can admit, you are the catch of the century.”

“But what if he’s not gay?”

“Well,” Shiki said, “You move on. Find the new boy who’s got the eyes of a cartoon lamb, as you say.”

Shoto rolled his eyes and smiled a bit. “Thanks,” he mumbled, “I needed this.”

“No problem, Elsa.”<

“I’ll call you again soon,” he promised.

“No pressure,” she said, “You’ve got to go to school and so do I. But know that I’m just one call away."

“I know,” Shoto said, “I appreciate.”

“Aww, he does have a heart.”

“Stop.”

“Oh text me a pic of quote “the cutest boy ever” sometime,” she said. “I wanna see his face.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“What? No! Come on, Shoto!”

XXX

“Hey! Yukitomo!” Inasa called, “We’re over here!”

Shoto looked up to see the group of five other kids. They were at Dragbaon beach, a place Midoriya said he trained all of the time, to practice.

“Sorry,” Shoto said, when he reached them, “I got held up a bit at the station.”

“It’s fine,” Midoriya said, “We haven’t been here long.”

“Should we get started?” Uararka asked.

“Yes, we should go,” Yaomomo said.

They broke off into groups. Shoto started training with Iida. they began with quirk training. Shoto found that the best way to beat Iida was to stop him from moving. And to do that Shoto froze the ground on which Iida ran on. The white-haired boy watched his classmate slip around on the before freezing him in place.

“It seems you’ve won,” Iida said, having trouble staying upright.

Shoto stepped towards him, “Here, I’ll get you out.”

Soon enough ice was gone that he could get Iida out. Shoto was pretty sure he may have gone a little too far seeing as Iida was shaking from the cold.

“I’m fine,” Iida said, his teeth grit a bit.

“Why don’t we both sit down?” Shoto suggested. It took a bit of time but finally, he got Iida to say yes. They sat down in the on the sand and Iida took out his water bottle. Shoto looked over to the others.

Yaomomo and Yoarashi were going against each other. Yoarashi using all the wind he could without sand interrupting other fights, and Momo was using metal barrier she had made to bock the wind. On the other hand, Midoriya and Uraraka weren’t using Quirks. Both of them were using well-timed punches and kicks. Shoto watched for a while before turning back to Iida and asking, “Do you wanna go again?”

They trained for a good couple of hours. Everyone gets a chance to go against everyone. In Shoto’s opinion, it was a pretty solid workout. Everyone had their own abilities and disadvantages to bringing to the table, making each match different.

Momo clearly was one for strategies, as was Iida and Midoriya. Although Midoriya’s strategy was less organized than the others. Not that it was bad, it just was different. Inasa fighting style was based a lot on his Quirk. Shoto didn’t doubt that he could fight without it, but it seemed as though, Yoarashi relied on it a lot. Uraraka didn’t seem to know how to us her Quirk in combat a hundred percent, but she definitely knew how to fight. She gave Midoriya a run for his money.

As the sun began to sink, and the sky turn, orangish pink, everyone started heading home. Yaomomo was picked up by her family’s driver. Yoarashi and Uararka both had to catch the train, and Iida had to get to dinner with his family. Then it was only Shoto and Midoriya.

“So,” the greenet said, “Are you heading home?”

“Well, are you?” Shoto asked.

“Um, well, my mom’s not going to be home for a while so I, I don’t know.”

“We could just stay and talk? I mean only if you want to,” Shoto said.

“Oh, well, um, that sounds okay,” Izuku said. Shoto nodded and then there was silence, and the two boys stood there awkwardly for a while. Shoto felt his cheeks heat up. Shiki said to talk about anything but he didn’t know how to even start.

Finally, Midoriya said, “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did,” Shoto said, and then internally yelled at himself.

Midoriya nodded and went on, “I noticed something about you Quirk.”

Shoto felt fear fill his gut and swell up like a balloon. He told himself to stay calm, there was no reason for him to panic, and besides, there was no way Midoriya had found out. Right? Right?!

“What about my Quirk?” Shoto asked.

“It’s just,” Midoriya looked as if trying to piece together how to phrase the words he was trying to say, “When you use your Quirk, I’ve only ever seen you use the right side of your body. Why is that?”

Shoto felt his heart jump into his throat. It’s okay, he told himself, remember the story.

“My Quirk is stunted on my left side,” the white haired boy said.

“Stunted?” Midoriya asked carefully, tilling his head to the side.

“Yeah,” Shoto said, “there was an incident when I was younger. I don’t like talking about it. It’s how I got my scar, it’s why I can only use my right side.”

“Is it also what the left side of you seems warmer?” Midoriya asked.

“Yeah,” Shoto said.

“That’s, crazy,” Midoriya muttered. Shoto nodded and said, “Well, at least I don’t break my bones all the time.”

“Ah!” Midoriya said, “Well, yeah, I guess, when you look at the two of them next to each, mine does seem a bit more bizarre. I mean, having a Quirk that can damage your own body isn’t that uncommon, but the rate of mine is a bit-”

Shoto listens to Midoriya mutter and rambled on for a few minutes a smile pressed his lips. Cute, he thought. Although Midoriya talking about his Quirk it got Shoto thinking. When the green haired boy stopped he let out a sigh looked off to the side.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Shoto asked once they had been quiet for another long period of time.

“Oh um, sure, sure, that sounds,” Izuku looked down at his feet, his face the color of Kirishima’s hair and then he looked up again, “That sounds nice.”

XXX

“Hey,” Fuyumi said, as Shoto walked through the door, “How was training?”

“It was good,” Shoto said, slipping off his shoes and heading to his room. He flopped down on his bed and pulled out his phone. He needed to ask Yaomomo and Inasa something that had been on his mind all week.

Rich, Loud, Soba Group Chat:
Chaotic Soba: Hey, I have to ask you guys a question.

Chaotic Loud: Yeah?

Netural Rich: What is it, Yukitomo?

Chaotic Soba: What do you think the chances are that Midoriya is All Might secret love child? Or something.

Chaotic Loud: What?

Chapter Text

It was hot. Too hot. It felt like someone had wrapped Shoto in a blanket, put him the oven and left him there with no way out. His skin felt like it was going to melt off. Like the air itself was going to burst into flames.

Next to that, Shoto's limbs felt like lead, too heavy to even be a part of his body. His stomach felt queasy and too empty. There was the taste of bile and iron in his mouth, and it was so strong he wanted to pass out.

Then he looked up, and he got scared. He saw himself much younger, maybe four or five years old. He was on the ground crying and holding his stomach.

"Get up."

Shoto froze. He knew that voice. He tried so hard to suppress it, to push it to the back of his memory. But here it was as cold and evil as ever.

The younger version of himself looked up meekly. A tall, awful shadow of a monster stood in front of both Shoto and little Shoto. His eyes burned into the depths of Shoto's soul and made him feel small.

"Get up!" the voice braked again. Little Shoto looked down back and let out a sob.

"Stop this, please!" a faint voice cried. Shoto's breath caught in his throat as his mother came and rushed to the side of his younger self. She looked down at the small boy, tears filling her eyes. She looked up to the monster.

"Stop please," she begged, standing up.

"Mom," Shoto whispered, "Don't, please."

"Get out of my way, woman!" the monster growled. Raising his hand and hitting Shoto's mother across the room. When she tried to get up, the beast grabbed her by her hair and threw her down again.

"No!" Shoto yelled, "Leave her alone!"

He held out his right head, planning on making an ice wall to keep his mother from the shadowy monster. But no ice came from his hand, only flames.

Shoto's eyes grew in terror at what he was seeing. There was no ice. No cold. Only fire and heat.

The scene melted away, and Shoto was surrounded by towering red flames in a black void.

"No," Shoto whispered, feeling small and helpless, "This isn't me. This isn't who I am. This isn't what I choose!"

The more scared and angrier, Shoto grew, the higher the flames got. There were whispering and mutters, he couldn't make out what they were saying. They grew louder and louder, and soon it became so loud that Shoto couldn't think. He tried to make ice, so some of the unbreakable heart would go away, but all that came was fire.

Shoto closed his eyes and buried his hands in his hair.

"Go away," he said, "Just go the hell away!"

Then the noise and the heat was gone, and everything was replaced by freezing cold, too cold even for him. Shoto opened his eyes to see he was in a snow-covered woods. It was horrible quiet, and nothing moved, save for the snowflakes falling to the ground. Then he heard the quiet sniffs.

Shoto turned around and saw another younger version of himself. He was dressed in pale blue shorts and a white baggy shirt. His hands looked like they had dried smudges of blood on them. There were bandages over his left eye, and his head was hung down, looking at his feet. Then the younger Shoto looked up to the older Shoto.

"You ran?" the younger asked, his voice low, "You ran away?"

"Yes," Shoto said, his voice raspy and sore.

The little version of him looked up. Tears were falling down his face. Shoto's throat tightened.

"You were so stupid," little Shoto said, in a voice that made the older of the two tenses, "So stupid to think you could run."

"I-"

"Did you think you could just run away, that you could get away from him?"

"It was-"

"It was what?"

"It was the only way to make it stop," Shoto said.

"Don't you get it?!" the short of the two yelled, "You are never going to get away from him! It will never stop!"

"You don't-"

"Touya-nii can't protect you," the boy with a bandage over his eye said, "Natsu-nii can't either, and neither can Fuyumi-nee."

"Stop talking," Shoto whispered, feeling sick, "Yes, they can, they have before."

"Not from him. They could never protect you from him."

"Stop," Shoto pleaded, "Stop. Why are you doing this?"

"Because," the younger version of him growled, "You act like you're free. You've forgotten how life really works.

"Run from him, hide from him, you'll never get rid of him. He is always there. His mark is there on your face. Nothing is stopping you from becoming him."

Just then the world turned black and spun round and round. It was ungodly hot again like Shoto was standing in hell.

Nothing is stopping you from becoming him.

Then was a mirror in front of Shoto, and when he looked into it, he saw himself, with crimson hair and matching turquoise eyes. He looked just. Like. Him.

XXX

Dabi was woken up by the sound of Shoto screaming. The sound made his eyes snap open, his heart stopped, causing him to jump out of bed and rush to the youngest Yukitomo's room. In his hands, he was clutching his phone and headphones. Fuyumi and Natsuo were right behind him, all three of them calling out to their younger brother.

When Dabi got to Shoto's room, it was covered in frost, and Shoto himself was covered in sweat, kicking and screaming, seeming to still be asleep. Shoto was having a night terror.

The black-haired man moved over to Shoto and tried to grab him. He got kicked and scratched a couple times, but Dabi didn't give a fuck about that. He grabbed Shoto by his shoulders and shook as hard as he dared.

"Shoto! Shoto, wake up!" he yelled.

"Shoto!" Fuyumi cried, grabbing one of her younger brother's flaring arms. Shoto did wake, but the tears were running down his face, and he looked scared and confused about where he was. Dabi sighed in relief and pulled Shoto closer to his chest. Shoto let out a small sob that he tried to suppress, and held the front of Dabi's shirt so tightly, it almost ripped.

Fuyumi opened up Dabi's phone, plugged in the headphones, and handed them to Dabi. The oldest Yukitomo sibling began playing the playing list and put the headphones on Shoto's ears. The action seemed to surprise Shoto, even though it wasn't a new thing. However, the music seemed to calm him down.

Dabi, gently hugged his youngest brother, Fuyumi did too, as well as stroking his hair the way their mother used to. Natsuo placed his hand carefully on Shoto's shoulder but soon joined the group hug. It was the ritual that they did every time Shoto had a nightmare. They all sorta held, him, and waited for him to calm down. He used to get them a lot when he was little, but as he grew older, they became less frequent.

Dabi found that music seemed to help a bit. Their mother used to sing to them when they had bad dreams as children. None of them sang so, Dabi made a playlist of songs Shoto loved when he was little. Shoto had picked them all out when he was six, and they were the calmest songs from Dabi's preferred tased in throwbacks. Songs by Owl City, Train, and others were all there. They were gentler upbeat songs that Shoto begged his brother to play when he had a bad dream.

Dabi could faintly hear Fireflies change to Play that song, to Hey Soul Sister. Once Shoto's grip on his shirt lessen, and Shoto stopped crying, Dabi scooped him up, and the four siblings went to his room.

A part of him thought that it wasn't necessary, that Shoto was 15, that he didn't need to be cared for like this, and if he needed something else to help calm he down, he would ask. But still, all four of the Yukitomo sibling piled into Dabi's Queen size bed, that most definitely shouldn't have held all of them.

Fuyumi laid on the left side, Shoto leaned into her hold more. Dabi got on the right side, and so did Natsu pressing the four of them extremely close together. When they were much younger, the four siblings was share one big bed (or mat) together all the time, but they grew out of it. However, every now and then, they would either curl up together on the living room floor or in Dabi's bed, with the secure feeling that they were all right next to each other as they drifted off to sleep.

Right before he closed his eyes, Dabi looked at Shoto fasted asleep. Hopefully, Shoto's nightmares would stop, and he wouldn’t need Dabi to take care of him like this, but until then, Dabi was going to make sure Shoto always had what he needed. Even if that was crawling into his bed.

XXX

"What time are you going to be back?" Fuyumi asked him thru the phone.

Dabi sighed and rolled his eyes, "11:30 at the latest."

"And if you're not back by then I'm gonna-"

"Yumi, for fuck's sake I'm a grown-ass man, not ten. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" his sister asked him again.

"Yes, I am," he said. The speaker on the train turned on, and he said, "I'm at my stop. I'll talk to you when I get home tonight. Love you."

"Love you too. Have a good day," Fuyumi said before he hung up. When Dabi go out of the station, it was around 7:00. He had about two hours until he had to get to the record store. He swung by the flower shop and got some white roses before finally making it to the hospital.

It was always cold inside the building, and Dabi hated it. Places like this felt too clean and too bare for his liking. Why Natsuo wanted to work in a place similar to this, he would never understand.

Dabi got up to the front desk, and the woman there smiled at him.

"Yukitomo," she said, flashing, Dabi a blinding white smile, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, "Is she-?"

"She's in her room," the receptionist said, "She just got done with her therapy session, so you can just head on up."

"Okay," he said, "Thank you."

One short elevator ride later Dabi was in front of the familiar white and gray door. He knocked on it twice, and a voice from the inside called, "Come in."

Dabi pushed the door open slowly and saw his mother sitting on her bed, with her hands in her lap. When she saw it was him, a beautiful smile broke across her face, and she jumped up to hug him.

"Touya," she said happily, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey Mom," he said, breaking into a smile of his own. Dabi took a moment to savor his mother's embrace. It felt like years since he had been with her even if he saw her last week. When she let him go, he handed her the flowers, "They were all out of your favorite so…"

"They're lovely, sweetheart," she said, taking time to admire them before placing them on her bedside table. She had Dabi sit down on the bed as he told her everything that happened since the last time he saw her. His mother always listens intently, taking time to soak up all the information she was given.

"The Sports Festival is in a few days," Dabi said after his mother told him about how she had been.

"Oh," his mom said, nodding her head, "Has Shoto been getting ready for it?"

"Like crazy," Dabi said, "He's always out with his friends' training all the time. He's doing really good, Mom."

"That's wonderful," she said.

"Are you allowed to watch something like that?" he asked her.

"No," she answered, shaking her head, "not normally, but maybe I can ask the doctors if I could see it this year."

They were quiet for a minute, "Mom, I can try to get the others to come more if you want," Dabi said, his mind tracing back to the lacked present of his siblings, and how happily them would make his mother. It didn't make him mad, but he did like to see his mother happy. Plus, he knew his siblings missed her too.

"Touya," his mom said in her, well, mom voice, "I've told you, your siblings will come when they can. Fuyumi busy with work, and Shoto and Natsuo are still and school."

"They want to see you thought," Dabi argued, "I could-"

"Touya," his mother said sharply, "I don't want to rush them."

Dabi opened his mouth, but then shut it, knowing he had no reason to argue with his mom. He didn't like disagreeing with her. She took it upon herself to change the topic, "So, you have that big date tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah," Dabi said, blushed a little because it was his mom.

"You excited?" she said, a smile spreading across her face again.

"I guess I am," he admitted.

"Good," she said, "I hope it goes well."

"Me too," he said. Dabi checked his watch. The time made him let out a sigh and say "I gotta go, Mom."

"All right," she said, standing up with him. Dabi hugged his mom aging, trying to draw it out as long as he could. She let him go, told Dabi that she loved him, and then Dabi walked out the door, into the hall. He sighed and leaned against the wall.

He loved visiting his mom. He loved it more than most things. But seeing her here in this place, a place that was so unwelcoming, it made him want to scream or burn everything down.

Dabi shook himself. Now wasn't the time to think about that. Right now, he had to get to work.

XXX

It was 6:30 when Dabi closed the parlor and began to get ready for his date. He wasn't doing much, just black jeans, white shirt, and black bomber jacket. That was good enough for a date, right?

Dabi splashed some cold water over his face. He felt kinda, nervous. He didn't know why. He wasn't even sure he really liked the Hawks that much. Hell, he didn't even know Hawks' real name.

"Buck up, Dabi," he told himself, before drying the water off his face and hands before heading back out into the central area of the parlor. When he got out of there, he saw Hawks waiting outside the glass doors of the parlor. The winged hero was in dark jeans, and a charcoal color t-shirt, and had a right amount of bracelets and watch on his arms, just like the first time he saw him.

Dabi opened the door. "Can I come in?" the winged hero asked, jokingly.

"Do what you want," Dabi said, holding the door open wider, and Hawks walked inside.

"So I was thinking-"

"Was that hard?"

"You are so mean!" the ash-blond said.

"It's a gift," Dabi said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hawks huffed and went on, "Anyway, I was thinking maybe before we go to what is going to be the greatest date of your life, you could maybe help me pick out my next tattoo."

"If you want," Dabi said, "For fuck's sake don't look so happy. We're picking how long I get to stab you with a needle repeatedly."

"Hey, I can handle a little pain," the shorter man said.

"You last time in here says otherwise."

"Rude."

Dabi chuckled to himself as he pulled out a couple design books and handed them to Hawks as the two flopped down on the couch and began flipping through them.

"So where do you want the next one?" Dabi asked.

"I was thinking I would get in on my wrist," Hawks said, not looking away from the pages.

"You know that going to hurt like a bitch, right?"

"I'll be fine," Hawks said. They were quiet for a few minutes, looking through the books in silence, pointing out a design every so often. Then Hawks said, "Hey, what about this one?"

Dabi looked over to see what the other man was talking about. It was a phoenix design, wings spread out and flames coming from them. It wasn't super detailed but still a little introquit.

"I can do that," Dabi said, leaning forward, a bit to look at it better. They talked a bit about a time to do the tattoo, and then the two men grabbed their jackets and went out the door.

XXX

"So where are we going?" Dabi asked as they walked down the sidewalk in the downtown area of the city.

"You'll see," Hawks said, turning to look at him, striking a bit.

"Yeah, leaving me in the dark is really fucking whimsical," Dabi said.

"It's called a surprise," Hawks said, putting his hands on his hips.

"For all, I know you kidnapping me and dragging me to an abandoned warehouse."

"What do you take me for?"

"Hey, I wouldn't put it past you to have a dark side, birdie."

Hawks rolled his eyes and shook his head. After walking a little bit more, they finally arrived. It was a fusion join, a place that would typically be above Dabi's pay grade if he was by himself.

"This place good with you?' Hawks asked.

"Yeah," Dabi said, "It's fine."

Hawks held the door open for the raven-haired man, and two walked in. They were seated in a corner booth, so as not to draw attention to themselves. They both just got the night’s special and when the waitress left them began talking.

"So tell me about yourself," Hawks said, leaning forward a bit, with his forearms on the table.

"What about me?" Dabi asked.

"I don't know just stuff," the ash blond said, "I'll tell you stuff about me."

"I know, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't stop."

"Mean."

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know," Hawks said, resting his chin on his palm, "Favorite color?"

"You crossing the line there a bit, aren't you?" Dabi teased. Hawks laughed a little, "But really, what is it?"

Dabi looked down at his plan for a second before saying, "Black or blue."

"Cool," Hawks said, "Mine red and rusten."

"Hmm."

"So tattooing, how didja get into that?" Hawks asked.

"When I was younger, I got a couple," Dabi started, "Then a friend of mine taught me how to do it myself."

Hawks nodded.

"How'd you get into hero work?" Dabi asked leaning back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh," Hawks said, his whole mood changing a bit, "Well, um, when I was younger, there was an incident. I was able to help, and some people saw me. The Heroes Commission, have you heard of them?"

Dabi felt his stomach turn a little, even though nothing had happened. He nodded, he had heard of the commission.

"Well," Hawks went, "They saw me and offered me a deal, and well, one thing leads to another, and…"

"Let me guess, they offered your family some big cash grab, and they trained you and all that garbage?" Dabi said.

"How do you-?"

"I knew some people," Dabi said, looking to the side.

"Yeah, well, that kinda what happened," Hawks said dryly.

"Do like your job thought?"

"Well, yeah," Hawks said, "Sometimes I wish I just wasn't the number three hero. It gets tiring."

"I can understand that," Dabi said, resting his arms on the tabletop hunching forward a bit.

"Anyway," Hawks said, wanting to change the topic, "Tell me more about you. Tell me about your siblings."

"Sure," Dabi answered, "They suck."

"Woah," Hawks said, laughing a little, "Kinda mean, don't you think?"

"They're awful," Dabis said, joking of course but still.

"Come on, they can't be that bad. You sister seemed nice the other night."

"Yeah and she's also a real nag."

"Come on, what about your brothers? You said you had two of them."

"Don't get me started. Natsuo, the older one, once thought it was a good idea to walk down the stairs of our apartment building in roller skates, spoiler warning, that didn't end well. Sprang his fucking ankle. And the younger one, Shoto, has given me more heart attacks than anyone has before. I think I actually have gone into cardiac arrest because of him. And that's not even scratching the surface."

"So, enlighten me," Hawks said, a smirk growing across his face.

"Where to begin?"

XXX

"I feel like you know too much about me now," Dabi said as they walked down the sidewalk after dinner.

"Eh, I don't mind really," Hawks said, bumping his shoulder against Dabi's. The raven man rolled his eyes a bit but was slightly amused.

"So what do you wanna do now?" Hawks asked.

"You don't have a plan?" Dabi asked.

"I just wanna see what you wanna do."

"Vandalism," Dabi said.

"Very funny," Hawks said.

"You think I am kidding."

"I really hope you are," the ash-blond said, "Can you even imagine what the story would be if we got caught.

"If you do it right, you don't get caught," Dabi said.

"We're not vandalizing," Hawks said.

"You're no fun," Dabi said, crossing his arms over his chest. Hawks gave Dabi a 'help please, you're killing me' look.

"Well, I might settle for grabbing a few boxes of Pocky and sitting on the couch and watching a movie."

"I believe I can make that happen," Hawks said giving Dabi a smile.

Just then Hawks phone began to ring. The two stopped walking, and the hero groaned and said, "I need to take this."

He answered the call, and Dabi watched as the ash blond's face fell. Hawks had his lips pursed and his eyes looking up to the sky in annoyance. Finally, Hawks closed his eyes and sighed out his nose.

"I will be there in forty minutes," Hawks said, trying hard not to growl. Hawks hung up the phone and looked at Dabi.

"I'm guessing you gotta go," Dabi said.

"Yeah," Hawks, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Can I at least walk you home?"

"Do what you want," Dabi said, beginning to walk.

When they got back to the apartment, the two men waited outside the door.

"So," Hawks said, with his hands in his pockets, "I had a good time tonight."

"You had me talk about my siblings," Dabi said, "How's that enjoyable?"

"You are just impossible, aren't you?"

"I try."

Dabi was about to say something else; however, the words never left his mouth because then Hawks pulled on Dabi's shoulder, lower him enough to kiss him on the cheek.

"Um, call me sometime?" Hawks said jumping up on the metal railing still facing Dabi.

Dabi shrugged and leaned back against the door with his arms crossed.

"Maybe."

"Okay then," Hawks said, "See you."

And with that Hawks leaned back and fell off the railing towards the ground. Of course, his wings caught him, and Dabi watched the hero fly off into the night.

"Crazy bird," Dabi whispered to himself, in an almost dreamy voice. He then turned around and went inside.

After closing the door, Dabi leaned back against it again. All the lights were off and Dabi could see the tv on. Once he took his shoes and jacket off, he walked in to see Fuyumi draping a blanket over Natsuo who was snoring away.

"Hey," he said.

Fuyumi gasped in surprise and turned around to look at him.

"Well, you're home sooner than I thought you be," she said.

"Yeah, something came up, and he had to leave."

"Did you have fun?' she asked.

"Guess so."

"You wanna give me details?"

"Nah, I think I'll just keep to myself."

"Oh, come on!" Fuyumi cried, "Tell me."

"Nope."

"Mean."

"Nag."

The two siblings stared at each other for a second and then began laughing.

"Do you like him?" Fuyumi asked turning to shut off the TV.

"Eh," Dabi said, looking to the side.

"Maybe you should invite him to the Sports Festival party we're gonna have at the parlor," Fuyumi suggested, as they walked to their rooms.

"Maybe," Dabi said.

"Well, in any case, goodnight."

"Night, Yumi."

XXX

Sunlight streaming into threw the curtains is what woke Iroh up. He stared at the ceiling for about a minute before sitting and swinging his legs off the bed. The man quickly made his bed, got dressed, and washed his face before heading to the kitchen.

Iroh normally loved morning, but not today. Today was going to be long. Trials were long and tedious, Iroh knew that. But a prosecution between his brother and sister over the custody of his niece and nephew, he couldn't think of anything worse.

Akito and Harue were staying with him until the whole event was over. If Kaede was here she'd try and joke it was because he was the middle child. Always in between arguments.

An argument so bad that it puts his little sister in the hospital.

Iroh shook his head. It wasn't the time for that. Right now, he had to feed his niece and nephew.

Iroh was half way threw with breakfast when Akito cam padding out from his room, already dressed for the day. He had his journal with him and is pens and pencils which Akito always carried around for writing.

"Good morning," Iroh said, setting a cup of tea in front of Akito.

"Is going to be that good?" the boy asked.

"Hey, now, don't be like that," Iroh said, placing the food on the plates, "You can't say a day's been bad till you've been through it."

Akito quietly grumbled to himself. Iroh could tell the boy was going to be in a bad mood, and there was nothing he could do to change that. It sorta reminds him of his own son. Of course, it didn't go unnoticed that Akito didn't give thanks before eating. If it was any other day, Iroh might have said something, but today he'd let it slide.

It wasn't long before Harue came bouncing out of her room, also fully dressed.

"Uncle Iroh," I said, pulling on his pant leg, "Can you do my hair? Pretty, pretty, please?"

"Of course," Iroh said, picking Harue up and setting her in a chair and placing her breakfast in front of her. Harue ate her breakfast happily as Iroh braided two neat braids into her hair.

"Uncle Iroh?" Harue asked, holding up her cup asking for more tea.

"Yes?"

"Why aren't we going to school today?" she asked.

"Because we have to go to the trail," Akito said, putting his plate and utensils in the dishwasher.

"Do we really have to go to that?" Harue asked looking up at her uncle with big puppy dog eyes.

"I'm afraid so," Iroh said, handing Harue her tea.

"But why?" she asked.

Iroh sighed and tried to rack his brain for a way to give Harue answer that would make sense to her.

"Because Dad's bastard!" Akito yelled, before storming off to his room. It was so unusual for Akito, who was usually well mannered and tempered, to act out like that it almost made Iroh even more worried.

Iroh wanted to call out to him, but Harue stopped him.

"That's what Aunti Kosuke keeps saying," Harue whispered.

Iroh looked at his niece. Harue lifted her arms up, silently asking to be picked up. Iroh of cures gave in and picked her up.

"Try and understand, little one," Iroh said, "Your aunt and brother are upset. Anger can make people say mean things, even if they don't mean it."

"So, Nii-chan and Auntie don't mean it?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know about but Akito," Iroh admitted, "But your Aunt Kosuke is just like your father. Big blustery tempers."

"Your not like that thought."

"You are very right, my dear," Iroh said, "But don't be fooled. I can very quickly turn into an angry dragon!" he said, tossing Harue in the air and catching her again, making the small girl giggle.

"No, you can't," Harue laughed.

"Oh, ho, ho, but I can. Whenever anyone insults my tea."

"But you make the best tea!" Harue exclaimed.

"I know!"

Harue laughed again and put both her hands on Iroh’s cheeks. She then hugged her uncle by wrapping her little arms around his neck.

"Thanks for taking care of us," Harue said.

"You don't need to thank me for that," Iroh said. Harue was quiet for a minute.

"I just want this to be over," she said, burying her face into his neck.

Iroh sighed and closed his eyes, "Me too."

XXX

"Eat up," Fuyumi said, placing Shoto's breakfast in front of him.

"Thanks," Shoto said before he began scarfing now his food.

"Don't choke," Dabi said, not looking up from his phone.

"Jeez, Shoto, you're eating faster than Natsu normally does," Fuyumi said.

"I don't think anyone can do that," Shoto said with a mouth full of eggs and rice.

"You nervous?" Dabi asked, looking at his little brother.

Shoto shrugged and kept eating. Once he was finished, the white-haired teen ran to his room to get dressed. He saw a text from Shiki that read:

Kickass Ice Princess!

Shoto smiled as he walked back out to the hallway.

"Good luck," Fuyumi said, give him a tight hug.

"I wanna see you kill a kid out there today," Dabi said ruffling Shoto's hair getting hit from the teen in question. Fuyumi also shot him a sharp glare.

"Dabi will pick you up afterward and take you to the parlor, alright?" Fuyumi asked.

"Yeah, got it."

"Good luck," Dabi called as Shoto walked out the door.

When Shoto got to the station, he found Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi waiting from him.

"Hey," he said, as the three of them got on the train.

"You ready for today?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Believe so," Shoto said.

"I do hope we've talked you out of that crazy idea you have about Midoriya," the black haired girl said sharing a look with Yoarashi.

"It's not crazy," Shoto inserted.

"Keep telling yourself that," Yoarashi said.

Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi kept talking but Shoto grew quiet as a thought crossed his mind.

Today the whole country would be watching. All eyes on the students of UA. What if? What if Shote stuck out to people. What he-?

Shoto shook himself. No, no, that wouldn't happen. He wouldn't let it. Never in a million years

Later three teenagers found themselves waiting in a room with the rest of their class. Shoto sat in the corner of the room, his eyes trained on Midoriya the whole time.

Now Shoto wanted to win, and he had a strong feeling he was going to. But right now his head was filled with thoughts on his green haired classmate. The other night Natsuo and all his 'infinite wisdom' decide to give Shoto advice on how quote 'get the guy.' Well, Natsuo said girl, but they both knew that's not who Shoto was trying to woo. Yet again, Shoto would probably get better dating advice from a rockhopper penguin, but that was neither here nor there.

Just go wish him luck, a voice in Shoto's head. Yeah, yeah that seemed like a good plan. Shoto pushed himself up and began to walk over to Midoriya.
"Midoriya," he said when he got over to him. Midoriya turned around and looked at him.

"Oh, hey Yukitomo," the other boy said.

"I just want to say…'

Come on spit it out now.

"I'm gonna beat you."

FUCKING WHAT??!?!?!

Chapter Text

What the fuck have you done!?!?, Shoto’s brain screamed. How did that word transaction even happen?! Shoto could feel his face heat up and turn red. How did he come back from this?

“What?” Midoryia said, looking up at him in confusion. In the back of the room, Shoto could see that both Yoarashi and Yaomomo were face-palming. Everyone in the class was not looking at them.

“That’s not what I meant to say,” Shoto whispered a hand slowly cover his eyes in embarrassment.

Before anyone could say anything, Bakugou then grabbed Shoto by the front of his shirt. Oh, thank gods! It was literally anything else!

“What the fuck, Ice princess?!” the blond yelled. Shoto frowned at that. Shiki had called him that name ever since they were children; it was childish and sweet when she did it, but from someone else in almost made him mad. Almost. It made him think back to middle school again when he was forced to be around-

“If there is anyone you should be focusing on beating, it should be me. And I’m gonna kick both yours and Baldy’s asses into next week.”

“Please don’t call me bald,” Yoararshi said.

“Shut up!”

“Alright, alright,” Kirishima said with a nervous smile on his face, “Let’s everyone calm down. There is no need to fight right now.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Bakugou snapped. Thankfully it was time for them to leave, and Shoto couldn’t be more grateful.

“So, what were you trying to say?” Yoarashi asked, smirking as they walked out.

“Don’t,” Shoto warned, not wanting to talk about it.

Everything from before was fading. Now it was time for him to focus. He had something he needed to prove.

XXX
“How do we know this many people?” Dabi asked, before taking another drink of the weird party drink Fuyumi had made.

“Beats me,” Fuyumi said, looking out over all the people who had come to watch the Sports Festival at Cremation Ink. It was mostly neighbors, some of Dabi’s regular clients, and a few close friends and better know co-workers the three oldest Yukitomo siblings had. Natsuo had actually brought a lot of his friends from school, and surprisingly to Fuyumi and Dabi’s delight, his girlfriend, Kana. Who Dabi wanted to point out, was way out of Natsuo league.

“So, the new boyfriend coming today?” Fuyumi asked, nudging her brother.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Dabi said, which Fuyumi scoffed at, “He was going to come, but he got called into work.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“You have a boyfriend?” a sweet older voice from behind them asked.

The two turned around and smiled.

“Mrs. Kitabayashi,” Fuyumi said happily as the older woman gave her a hug, “You made it.”

“Wasn’t going to miss it for the world,” the gray-haired woman said, before turning to hug Dabi. Mrs.Kitabayashi was their downstairs neighbor and Shiki’s grandmother. When the family first moved in, she became a sort of surrogate grandmother. None of the Yukitomo children remembered any of their grandparents, and Shoto had never met them, so her presence was welcomed. Besides that, she made an amazing anpan, which speaking of…

“Oh, anpan!” Natsuo said, with his eyes trained on the plentiful that Mrs.Kitabayashi had brought. As he reached for one, the elderly woman slapped his hand away. Natsuo made a face like he was a five-year-old getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and Mrs.Kitabayashi gave him an ‘oh, no you don’t,’ look. Then she smiled and pinched Natsu’s check like she did when he tried to pull the same stuff when he was younger. She then let Natsuo take one but said, “Make sure you let other people have some.”

“Yes ma’am,” the white-haired boy said, before shoving half the roll in his mouth, before getting pulled away by one of his friends.

“Now what’s this about you having a boyfriend?” Mrs. Kitabayashi asked.

“Dabi has a boyfriend!?” a cheery voice cried. Two more people had shown up, Hotaka and Ren. The Yukitomo siblings had known the couple since they were first on their own. Hotaka used to be a teacher who had lived in the old neighborhood and was Natsuo's teacher for a very short time. He was a good guy, really smart and stuff. He was tall with tan skin and black hair that kicked across his forehead. Ren was Hotaka’s partner, and well, very different from Hotaka. Ren was usually in drag and, if not still dressed in very loud clothes. But despite that, Ren was one of the most delightful and most exciting people on the earth to be with.

Dabi had seen Ren around before Hotaka started dating them. They'd be on the corner selling oddball items and doing unusual jobs in the hope of paying rent, and when they weren’t doing that, they were seen helping others find a way to keep a roof over their head.

Like the Yukitomo siblings, Hotaka and Ren were able to get out of the shitty living conditions they were in before. Once they were married, the couple opened up a cafe that doubles as a place for people to stay if they had nowhere to go.

“Ren, Hotaka, good to see you,” Dabi said, nodding his head.

“The pleasantries can wait,” Ren said, “I want to hear about this boyfriend.”

“I do not have a boyfriend,” Dabi said, trying to walk away.

“Yes, he does,” Fuyumi said.

“Oh!” Ren cried.

“You sound to be in denial,” Hataka said.

“Whatever.”

“He’s just stubborn,” Fuyumi said.

“Can still hear you,” Dabi yelled from across the room.

The black-haired man watched the group laugh and start talking as he walked to the back room. He pulled out his phone and saw a couple of messages from Hawks.

Bird Guy: Hey, sorry for not being able to come.

Bird Guy: Maybe I could stop by later?

Bird Guy: Or we could hang out another time?

A smile tugged at Dabi’s lips, and he was about to text back when Fuyumi opened the door and said, “Hey, ith festivals about to start. You coming?”

“Okay, I’m coming,” he said, “Let’s watch out little brother kick ass.”/p>

Fuyumi smiled “That’s the sprite.”

XXX

“I am so ready for this!” Yoarashi yelled.

Shoto glanced down at his friend for a second before, taking a deep breath as he finished tying the last band across his forehead.

In the first round of the Sports Festival, Shot had failed to place first. Sure he got in the top three places in the obstacle course, but fuck it, he wanted to win this with his power. No, he needed to win this with his own power.

The cavalry battle was the only thing Shoto was thinking about at the moment. On his team, he had Yaomomo, Iida, and Yoarashi. His gaze moved over to Midoriya, but this time it was to just stare at the pretty green-haired boy. No, that would have to wait; this time, he had to focus on beating Midoriya and all his other classmates.

When they were told to start, Shoto was focused on the task at hand. Blacking other teams from steal points and trying to take as many as he could. It reminded him of when he was little in elementary school, and they would play capture the flag with their Quirks before the teachers noticed.

As they reached the end, things began to blur. Shoto’s heart picked up the pace, he was breathing fast, and sweat dripped down his face. He was doing everything he could to keep Midoriya and his team away from them.

But then, Midoriya came at him, on his left side. There was this specific power around Midoriya that felt familiar, but then, it happened.

It was a knee jerk reaction. Something that he hadn’t done since he was a small child that Dabi could pick up and toss over his shoulder. It had been disciplined it out of himself to never, ever do such a thing, and for almost eight damn years, he never used it beyond warmth and thawing ice. Not one damn time. Honestly, it ended as quickly as it came. It was practically nothing.

But still, it happened. Shoto was so distracted by it he didn’t notice that Midoriya had taken one of the bands until it was over. Maybe it was fine. Perhaps no one saw anything at all.

But one look into those green eyes told Shoto everything. It was his worst fear come true. The feeling of utter dread filled him. He was forced to face the facts.

XXX

Natsuo looked at the tv with a dry feeling in his mouth. Looking around the room, it didn’t seem like anyone else noticed. They hadn’t seen what Natsuo saw. He swallowed thickly and tried to push the fear down.

It was okay, he told himself, no saw anything. Not one person saw it. It was only him. Only him. However, he was starting to shake, and it seemed like Kana did notice that.

“You okay?” she asked, resting her hand on top of his in concern.

“Yeah,” he said, sounding out of breath, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just gonna talk to Dabi real quick. Be right back.”

Kana nodded, and Natsuo pecked her on the forehead and got up and walked over to his brother.

“Did you see that?” Natsuo whispered once he was close enough to Dabi.

“What?” the black-haired man asked.

“Sho’s arm,” Natsuo said, pointing to the tv that was showing a replay of the events.

The two Yukitomo boys observed. It was hard to notice, all most impossible to see from the screen of a tv. But if it were in person, up close, it wouldn’t be hard at all to see the few tiny licks of fire.

Dabi’s jaw fell a little, and he cursed under his breath. The two brothers looked at each other. Dabi covered his mouth with his hand and looked over to Fuyumi, who was watching carefully and smiling next to Ren. She hadn’t seen it.

“Don’t say anything to Fuyumi,” Dabi whispered.

“Well, no fricking duh!” Natsuo hissed.

“Shh!” Dabi looked around the packed room, “It fine no one seemed to notice; here or on TV. Just go sit back down.”

Natsuo nodded but bit his lip as a sinking feeling fooled his gut. He walked back over to his friends and Kana, each step feeling heavy and filled with tight nerves.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Huh?” he said, looking at her, “Oh, yeah. Everythings fine. It’s just fine.”

Although Natsuo knew damn well, things were not fucking fine.

XXX

It looked like no one had noticed anything strange about him during the match. Bt that looking in Midoriya’s eyes was haunting him. Nothing else mattered. He didn’t care or hear Yoarashi cherries of victory and glee at the fact they had moved on. He didn’t move when Yaomomo placed her hand on his shoulder and asked him if he was excited. None of that meant anything.

Honestly, right now, if Shoto’s life was an episode of that old American show Natsuo liked called It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the title screen’s white letters would read: Shoto has a fucking crisis.

Shoto looked across the field at Midoriya.

It was time for a talk.

XXX

The hallway was dark. The opening lets in light so Midoriya and Shoot could see each other. The white-haired boy noticed that the smaller teen looked a little nervous, which was fair, see as Shoto all but dragged Midoriya into the hall. Also, they had just been staring at each other for a long time, and Shoto had been informed many times by his siblings that it was creepy when Shoto stares at people because he failed to blink.

There was a thick, tense silence that hung in the air, like the time Natsuo, Dabi, and he had broken Fuyumi’s ceramic ballerina figure (one of the few things she loved at the time,) and not one of them knew what to do. The quiet was sickening almost, so Midoirya decided to end it.

“You brought me here,” he said quietly, “Now what?”

A wonderful question. It went unanswered for some time.

Midoriya looked at the ground and nervously said, “We should go eat soon. The cafeteria is going to be busy. Don’t you think?”

Very, very far back in the corner of Shoto’s mind, he did think that all the chances of him maybe getting into a relationship with Midoriya beyond friendship were going to die after this conversation. After the slip up this morning, and the stuff he was bound to mess up now. There was just no coming back for it.

“That day on the beach,” Midoriya said, “You lied, didn’t you?”

Shoto said nothing, his heart sinking a little.

“Your Quirk isn’t stunted on your left side,” he went on, “You have a dual Quirk. That's why the left side of your body is so warm, it’s why you can’t use ice on that side of your body. You almost have two Quirks.”

Midoriya looked down at his feet then back up at Shoto, “The other part of your Quirk has to do with heat.”

Nothing.

“Why would you hide it?” he asked, “It could help you so much.”

“I was caught off guard,” Shoto said, “It made me do something I swore I’d never do.”

“What is that?” Midoriya asked. Shoto was quiet again.

Shoto looked down at his left hand, “All the other’s, Yoarashi, Uraraka, Iida, all of them, they didn’t notice it. Me using that other power. But you’re not the only one who’s been watching people. I’ve been noticing things about you too. At that moment, I was the only one who noticed your true power. It reminded me of something. Being around All Might’s Quirk.”

Shoto looked at Midoriya. The green-haired boy swallowed nervously, “Well yeah, okay. Is that all?”

“I’m saying the power from you felt the same as All Might’s.”

Here it goes.

“Midoriya, are you All Might’s secret love child, or something?”

The look on Midoriya’s face could be compared with someone who heard the most bizarre and terrifying thing in their life. What followed was per-usual Midoiray answer, having him talk fast and frantic move his arms as he denied everything Shoto said. However, the white-haired boy noticed that the world's Midoriya used suggested that something was going on between him and All Might.

“It’s fine,” Shoto said, “Even if I were right, you wouldn’t tell me anyway.”

There was quiet again.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Midoriya said.

“About what?”

“Your power. It's more than just ice. Why are you hiding it when it can help you? What is it?”

Shoto sighed and closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn’t be telling some as smart as Midoriya. Not if there was even a sliver of a chance of him finding out. But at the moment, Shoto could stop himself.

“My father was a terrible man,” Shoto said, “Prideful, cruel, arrogant. He was never happy with what he had, and he knew he was never going to surpass the one man who kept him from having everything. So he sought to achieve his goals through his children.”

Shoto opened his eyes and looked at Midoriya, who seemed to sink a bit.

“Midoriya,” Shoto said, “Have you ever heard of a Quirk-marriage?”

The other teen’s eyes grew, and he let out a tiny gasp. Shoto took that as a yes and went on.

“My father had money, power, and status. He easily convinces my mother’s family to sell her off like she wasn’t even a person. He forced her to have us, me, and my older siblings.”

Shoto looked down at his boots and threw grit teeth, said, “My brothers and my sister were failures in his eyes. My older brother was forced to train with his Quirk, even though it was literally killing himself to do so.

“Then, I was born. And I was the perfect mix that he wanted. I was five, and he pushed me with training that most people in their adult years can’t handle.”

“But my mother,” Shoto said, his voice trailing off a bit, “She tried to stop him. She tried to protect us…” Shoto looked at his hand, “And he would hit her.”

Shoto eyes stung as he thought of his mother, “He drove her crazy. In all the memories I have of her, my mother’s crying. She couldn’t look at any of us, especially me.”

Shoto lent his head back and closed his eyes, his hand moving to cover his scar. “You’re left is unsightly, that’s what she said during one of her meltdowns before she poured boiling water on my face.”

“Ever since I was younger, I resented my father and the power he gave me. I reject him completely by not using my left side.”

The white-haired teen opened his eyes, “And besides, me only using my right side keeps my family safe too.”

Shoto looked at Midoriya. The look on the other teen’s face was hard to read. If Shoto had to describe it, he'd call it a mix between sad and shocked.

“What happened to your father?” Midoriya asked quietly.

“He’s not a factor in my life anymore,” Shoto murmured, “Neither is my mother.”

“Why did you tell me-?”

“I don’t know,” Shoto said, shaking his head, “I don’t know. What I do know is that I have to bet you. It’s the truth, and I’m not sorry about it. I do wish you luck. I came here to be a hero, my own kind of hero. I’ll do anything I can to make that happen. Sorry to unlock everything.”

Shoto began to walk out of the hall, deciding to go and have some lunch. There was nothing left to say.

“Yukitomo! Wait!”

Shoto stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Midoriya.

“You’re strong,” he said, “You’re really, really strong, even when you only use half of your Quirk. It’s insane. You have been doing amazing but,” Midoriya looked down and then back up again, “I came here to be my own kind of hero too. So even though right now you’re stronger than me, just know, I’m going to do my best and give it a 100%!”

His face fell a little, “You should think to do the same.”

And with than Midoriya left.

XXX
Dabi screamed with everyone else in the parlor. It was Shoto’s first match. The black hair kid on-screen had wrapped him up in what looked to be tape. A lot of people were worried that Shoto was going to get out in the first round. But Dabi knew better.

One look at Shoto’s face, and Dabi could tell it was about to go down. And holy fuck was here right. If he had to guess, the freaking ice wall his brother had made was probably bigger than anything he had ever made before.

“Well, he dealt with that one,” Mrs. Kitabayashi said dryly, before taking a drink of tea.

“Remember that time he did that so the landlord couldn’t get to us?” Ren asked.

Dabi looked over at Fuyumi. Her jaw was hanging down, and her eyes were glued to the screen.

“That happened,” Dabi said.

“Y-yeah,” she said. Dabi looked back at the tv. “I think little baby Shoto is upset about something.”

“You think?” she asked, looking at the screen. Dabi looked down at Fuyumi’s hand, gripping her drink. Little ice shards were starting to form around her hand. Dabi sighed and looked at his brother on TV. He looked cold.

XXX
Shoto ran his hands through his hair. Deep breaths, he told himself. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. He hadn’t meant to do all of that to Sero, or freeze half the dang stadium. It just happened.

He was getting cold, and Shoto knew that when he gets cool, things got bad. He thought back to what Midoriya said and shook his head. Midoriya didn’t know what he was talking about. He didn’t realize the unholy hell it would unleash on the Yukitomo household. He didn’t understand that Shoto using that power to fight, let that monster win.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, he told himself. Remember what Fuyumi taught you.

After what seemed like forever, it was time to go out for his match with Midoriya. He was ready. He could do this. He thought back to his siblings, who were all back at the shop, watching and cheering him on with all their friends and neighbors.

It felt like one of those things that weren’t just for him. It was for them too. It was for Fuyumi who helping him study. It was for Natsuo who patched him up when Shoto was too rough with himself. It was for Dabi, who trained him and who gave Shoto everything. This was for them. He was a hero for them. He was showing them he could do this.

That they didn’t need to watch after him anymore. It was his turn to watch after others.

When Shoto got out back into the arena, he was vaguely aware of the hoards of people cheering for him and Midoriya. Shoto’s focus was unsurprisingly on the green-haired teen across from him. He’s pretty, Shoto, though before pushing that aside time to focus.

But a though blessed in his mind. Not of Midoriya, or the monster, or of the crowd, or of his siblings. It was his mother. Why was he thinks about her now? Why was he thinks of the time he cried into her chest sobbing. If he was to focus, Shoto could remember her gentle hold and the soft strokes of her hand.

“Shoto,” she had said, “Do you still want to be a hero?”

Had she asked him that?

“Just remember to stay true to yourself,” her voice rang in his mind. Had he forgotten what she had said to him back then?

Shoto shook himself. Now wasn’t the time.

When the match started, Shoto out a trail of ice with his foot, and Midoriya deflected it with a shot of power from his finger. The wind from it almost pushed Shoto back, but he made a barracked to stop that. Midoriya’s finger of cores broke, which meant he only had nine shots left. Shoto tried the same move again, which led to Midoriya brake another finger.

He can’t keep doing that, Shoto thought. Once again, the white-haired teen shot out an ice trail, which was yet again deflected. Another broken digit.

“If you want an endurance match, you came to the wrong place,” Shoto said, “I’m going to end this real quick.”

For a fourth time, Shoto let lose an ice trail, and with that, Midoriya had four broken fingers. It was time to act further. Shoto began to run towards Midoriya, going up a ramp of ice. However, using the fingers of the other hand, Midoriya shot Shoto out of the air. Shoto tried to land an attack before he got to the ground, but Midoriya dodged it. He was able to snag Midoriya’s foot in some ice.

To get himself out, Midoriya used a full-on smash. It was a lot more potent than any of the other attacks, and it had broken his whole arm. He was trying to keep Shoto plenty far away. Shoto could feel patches of ice forming across his body, he could feel himself shaking. It hurt but nothing he couldn’t deal with. Or so he told himself.

“You’re not going to let me near you,” Shoto said, “Smart.”

Midoriya looked scared and unsure.

“What’s wrong?” Shoto called, “Already worn out from blocking my attacks?”

Midoriya didn’t say anything; he just looked at Shoto like he was studying him.

“Sorry to do this, but thanks for drawing it out. Nothing personal,” Shoto said, before shooting out a stiff torpedo of ice towards Midoriya.

“I'm not done yet!” Midoriya yelled, and before he understands what happened, Shoto’s ice was obliterated by a mighty blow from Midoriya. It nearly knocked Shoto out of bounds.

Shoto looked at Midoriya. He had used his broken finger. This guy was crazy.

“Why are you going this far?” he asked the green teen.

“You’re trembling,” Midoriya said, “It’s easy to forget that Quirks are physical abilities. That means there’s a limit to how much cold your body can take. I get it whatever heat base Quirk you have o your left side is meant to balance out the cold of your right side. But you're not going to do that are you?”

Shoto growled angrily. He wasn’t going to deal with this.

“Listen,” Midoriya said, “All of us are giving it everything we have to try to win. So that we can make our dreams into reality. To become number one. You think you can win with half your strength? Look at me, Yukitomo. You haven’t managed to put a single scratch on me yet. So come at me with ever you got!”

“What are you trying to do?” Shoto asked, “You what my left side? Trust me, you wouldn’t like what happened.”

“Try me,” Midoriya challenged.

Now Shoto was fucking pissed. He began to charge at Midoriya, but even he could tell his movements were slower. When he got close to Midoriya, Shoto noticed he messed up, allowing Midoriya to punch him in the gut. But with the closeness, Shoto was able to freeze Midoriya’s broken arm.

Shoto scrambled to his feet. For a while, it was Midoriya swinging at him and Shoto dodging, then even more of Shoto shooting ice and Midoriya braking it and sending him back.

“Why are you putting yourself through this?” Shoto yelled, “What are you getting out of it?”

“I wanna live up to people’s expectations,” Midoriya said, running towards Shoto. “I wanna be able to smile while doing something good for them. I wanna be a pro. Whatever takes to be a hero!”

Midoriya’s fist collided with Shoto’s gut and sent him back afoot, the white-haired boy struggled to stay upright.

“That’s why I’m giving it my all, just like you should be!”

Shoto was breathing heavily. Panting and shaking. He was so cold, so tired.

“There’s no way I can know what you’ve gone through,” Midoriya said, “Or why you’re even here. Your life has been so much different than mine. But right now, stop screwing around. If you wanna reject your father, fine, but stop screwing around. You don’t deserve to be number one if you’re not going to give it you're all.”

And then something inside Shoto snapped.

XXX

He’s on the floor of the dojo. He’s just thrown up his lunch, and he coughing and wheezing. Father looms over him, face ablaze. Shoto’s crying. He wants Mama.

“Stand up,” Father yells, “If you get hurt that easily, you can forget about beating All Might.”

Shoto doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to train. He doesn’t want to beat All Might or anyone.

“Please, stop this!” Mama cries, “He’s only five!”

“He’s already five, not get out of my way, woman!”

SMACK!

Shoto looks up, “Mama?” he whispers.

~X~

Shoto's body is getting colder.

“Shut up,” he whispers through grit teeth.

~X~

They’re in Mama’s room, Shoto’s cries into her chest, while she runs her hand, threw his hair.

“I don’t wanna Mama,” Shoto cries, “I don’t be like him. I don’t wanna be some who bullies you. I don’t wanna be some who hurts people. I don’t wanna be like Dad!” he wailed.

“But honey,” she says, so sweetly, “You still wanna be a hero, don’t you?”

Shoto looks at her.

“Just remember to stay true to yourself. You can be the kind of hero you want to be when you grow up.”

~X~

Midoiya punched him in the stomach again.

Shoto flew back.

~X~

His siblings are playing in the courtyard. Natsuo’s the tallest. Fuyumi’s the best dribbler. Touya’s wrapped in bandages. The nanny watches them.

They’re laughing. They’re happy. They’re free.

Shoto watches from the railing.

He wants to play too.

Father grabs his wrist so hard it bruises.

“Don’t look at them, Shoto,” he says, “They live in a different world than the one I’m training you for.”

Shoto is tripping over his own feet to keep up. He doesn’t wanna go to the training room.

~X~

“Ungrateful brat!” Father yelled, hand around Touya’s neck.

Shoto, see’s his big brother wheezing, struggling to breathe.

There’s fire, blue and red.

Natsuo's holding him.

“Learn some respect,” Father says before slamming Touya down where he withers in pain from his own power.

“Nii-chan!” Natsuo cries

“Ani!” Shoto says, trembling before Father pulls him away. ~X~

~X~

“Mom, I can’t do this anymore,” Mama says, “The children, every day they look more and more like him. Shoto, I can’t raise him anymore. All I see is his father. His left side, it unsightly.”

“Mama, what are you talking about?” he asks.

Mama freezes and turns to look at him while the teapot whistles.

Shoto had never seen her eyes like that before.

~X~

Shoto remembered it.

~X~

“Stupid woman, to hurt you at such an important time,” Father grumbles.

“Where did Mama go?” Shoto asks.

“Huh, she hurt my masterpieces, so I put her in a hospital to keep you safe.”

“That was your fault,” Shoto says.

“What?”

“You, the one who made her hurt me.”

~X~

“I’m afraid I’ll be like Dad!” Shoto says holing on to Dabi's shirt for dear life, “I’m afraid that even though we’re away, he still has control over me!”

“You’re nothing like the old bastard,” Dabi said, “You reject him, Shoto. You’re not him, you never will be.”

~X~

“I won’t do it,” Shoto says, “I would use his power, I won’t use my left side.”

Then it was Midoriya’s turn to snap.

“It’s your power, isn’t it!! It’s your power, not his!”

~X~

It’s an All Might interview. Mama’s watching it with him.

All Might says that kids get their power from their parents, but their abilities are their own.

~X~

“Come here, Shoto,” Touya says, pulling him close and opening his palm. A little blue flame blossoms and dances across his arm.”

“See? Fire’s not all that scary.”

~X~

“I know your dad was a bad person,” Shiki says, “But my grandma says that the best way to get back at someone is to forget about them and try and be happy.”

Shoto looks at her. “Your power’s really nice, Sho-chan! I’m sure you’ll be a good hero!”

~X~

“It’s okay if you wanna use your fire side, Shoto,” Fuyumi says.

“Yeah!” Natsuo says, “Dad’s not around to make you use it. So it’s okay.”

~X~

Shoto looked at Midoriya.

And then erupted into flames.

His power

Chapter Text

The next few seconds were blurry to Shoto. When he had calmed down and come back to his senses, he found out he won and that Midoirya was knocked out. But then he also realized how badly he messed up.

Half his shirt was gone, and he no longer felt cold. The world was blocked out from Shoto’s scenes yet again. There was only one thing going through his mind.

What had he done? What had he done? What had he done?
XXX
Dabi’s jaw hung open, his body was stiff, and not even a wrecking ball could get him out of where he stood. What the fuck just happened?

When they saw everything Dabi, Fuyumi, and Natsuo had all yelled out their brother’s name. Most of the other patrons of the place didn’t seem to understand what was going on. But the three Yukitomo siblings stood with blank looks on their faces, frozen in pure blinding fear.

Fuyumi had gripped her glass so hard it broke into pieces and was now scattered across the floor. No one moved to pick them up. Natsuo was trembling as if a ghost had shown up before him. No asked him if he was okay.

For the first time in years, Dabi was scared, honestly, and utterly frightened. He wanted nothing more than to crawl through the screen and grab his little brother and lock him away in the apartment forever to keep him safe.

Dab felt like he couldn’t breathe. This isn't happening. It just couldn’t be happening. No, no, no, no. Wake up, Dabi thought to himself, wake up from the nightmare. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

“Oh, Shoto,” Fuyumi whispered, so quietly, Dabi almost didn’t hear it. A tear slid down her cheek, “What have you done?”

Dabi was almost about to race out the door to UA, but then the news switched on.

XXX

“I messed up,” Shoto said.

“You did more than mess up, you fucked up,” Shiki said through the phone.

“How are you even getting the footage?”

“I told my coach I wanted to show my best friend off to my teammates and support you,” Shiki said, “They hooked me up from there.”

“Gods, Shiki, what have I done?” Shoto asked.

“You made a mistake, and now you gotta deal with it.”

“He’s going to find us,” Shoto said, “He’ll find us, and it’ll be all my fault. And I-”

“Hey! Shoto, calm down dude,” Shiki said, “Deep breaths man. It’s going to be alright. He’s not going to get you. Dabi will never let that happen.”

“But my teachers, they’re not dumb. They could easily figure it out,” Shoto said.

“No one looks for dead people Shoto,” Shiki said, “And besides, dual-element Quirks aren’t common, but they’re not one in a million.”

“But-”

“It will be fine,” Shiki said before Shoto could finish talking, “On an unrelated note, where you wearing make-up and a contax?”

“Yeah, I put them both on before the one on one matches started.”

“Okay, that’s smart,” Shiki sighed.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Shoto asked the hand h wasn’t holding the phone with buried in his hair.

“I don’t know Frosty, “ Shiki whispered, “I don’t know.”

XXX

“What you did young man was very dangerous,” Recovery Girl scolded, “Do you understand that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Shoto said with his hands on his lap. Shoto wasn’t sure is she was yelling at him to using his right for so long he almost got borderline frostbite or if she was talking about how he used his left side. Most likely, both.

The makeshift nurse’s office was pretty small. Shoto was told he had to be checked out due to the fact he had a Quirk show up that he wasn’t marked down for. He guessed they wanted to make sure he wasn’t on drugs or something. To ensure that Shoto didn’t slip up or make himself look suspicious, Shoto answered every question with either “Yes, ma’am,” or “No ma’am.”

Recovery Girl picked up a folder and opened it. “I say here you were in an incident when you were younger.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And that resulted in half your body being stunted before your Quirk manifested, making you never able to use your power on the left side of your body, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The nurse put the folder down and looked at Shoto.

“I am going to put down in your files that you have gone through a rare case of late-manifestation,” she said, “Do you know what that is?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The hero looked at him for a minute, “Some may say the stress you went through today was miraculously able to reverse the trauma your body went through. Does that make scenes?”

Shoto wasn’t a doctor, and that didn’t make sense, but still, he nodded and said: “Yes, ma'am.”

“Good,” Recovery Girl said, “You will have to change what your Quirk is registered as, seeing as it is not simply an ice Quirk. I will check in with you in a week or so to see that it is done.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“However, there’s one other thing I would like to know,” Recovery Girl said. Shoto looked at her. “How was your family able to get these foraged doctor files?”

Shoto froze. His mouth went dry, and he blinked a few times. “Ma’am?”

“I’ve been in medicine for many years now, young man,” the old woman said, turning to her desk, “I’ve seen Quirk stunt. I’ve seen newly manifested ‘late-Quirks.’ And more importantly, I am well aware of what it looks like when someone is trying to hide power.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, ma’am.”

“I know you don’t deary,” she said, walking over to him and grabbing ahold of Shoto’s right arm and shook her head. She pulled out a lollipop out of her pocket and gave it to him.

“When you get home tonight, wrap this arm and heating pads,” she said, “I know you will keep using your power throughout the day, so be careful. If you see frozen skin or feel numb, call me at once.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’d also suggest you use that heating sleeve, I’m almost positive you have.”

“How do you know that?” Shoto asked as the older woman left. She stopped at the door and let out a hushed sigh.

“It’s what an old student of mine used when she was young, “ was all Recovery Girl said, leaving Shoto scared and bit confused.
Mostly scared.

XXX

Should Izuku have guessed that Yukitomo other half had to do with fire? Yes, yes, he should have. But it’s important to remember the keyword there is should.

The flames had been so intense and warm. The climax of the fight is a bit hazy in his mind, but he was sure it would come back to him. His arms were also messed up beyond belief, yay.

Izuku thought back to the look in Yukitomo’s eyes, right before the flames came. They weren’t crazy, or angery, they had almost looked liberated. Another thing that was bouncing around in his head was what Yukitomo said back in the hallway. That him not using his left side kept his family safe. What did that mean? What his left side unsafe? Or was there something else.

Yukitomo said his father wasn’t in his life anymore, did that mean he died. Yukitomo lived with his three older siblings, and from what Izuku understood, the oldest one was the white-haired teen’s legal guardian. So what had happened? How did they getaway?

And Yukitomo’s mother, what had happened to her? Did she get in trouble for hurting her son? Had she gotten help for the pain her husband caused her? Where was she now?

What about Yukitomos other siblings? They all sounded normal from the way Yukitomo talked about them. They looked happy in the pictures white-haired teen showed. How much of that was an act?

There were so many questions he had, but Izuku wasn’t sure he wanted any of them answered.

“Deku, are you okay?” Uararaka asked.

“Oh! Um, I’m fine, just lost in thought, I guess,” Izuku blurted quickly. The girl nodded but still gave him a funny look.

“Hey Midoriya,” Kamanari called, “What the heck were you, and Yukitomo talk about during you fight?”

“Yeah,” Ashido called, “We were gonna ask him but Recovery Girl dragged him away.”

“Well, um...”

“Iida! You’re back!”

Izuku turned to see his other friend straight from the lost match with Yukitomo. The green-haired teen let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to have to talk about his fight with Yukitomo.

“Hello everyone,” Iida said.

“Hey, Iida! You did a great job out! It was awesome!” Yoarashi said.

“Thank you,” the blue-haired teen said before his whole body started to vibrate.

“Ah!”

“Don’t worry, just my phone,” Iida said, at Izuku and Uararaka’s shock, “It’s my mother. I’ll be back.”

Izuku watched him walk away and looked down at the field, with a sinking feeling he had done something to Yukitomo he couldn’t take back or fix.

XXX

The final round was only a couple minutes away. Shoto was trying to clear his mind. Forget about Midoriya. Forget about the monster. Forget about what Recovery Girl said. Just think about the match.

In the end, Shoto popped off his phone case and pulled out the picture he kept there. It was from around a year or so ago. They wear at a festival, dressed in kimonos, and smiling. It had been a good night. Natsuo had won fish he named Gin, and Shoto had gotten an oni mask that looked like the one Dabi had tattooed on his arm (which is still in his room). Someone had been kind enough to take their picture during the fireworks, which could be seen in the background of the photo.

Shoto sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before looking back at the picture. The Shoto Yukitomo a year hadn’t done what had. That Shoto was still safe without a care in the world. He sighed and put the picture back in his phone case.

Shoto had gotten no new messages from his siblings. Not a call or a text. Not since lunch. Whether that was good or bad, Shoto hadn’t the faintest clue.

Dabi was going to kill him.

Not that he wanted to, but Shoto could already see the look of fear and disappointment in Fuyumi’s eyes.

He had no idea how Natsuo as going to react, but probably not good.

How could he have messed up this bad?

Shoto looked at his left hand. He wasn’t naive. Shoto was aware of the ultimate power he wielded. Even when he used just his right side, he was stronger than most. But his left side was a whole other story.

Dabi had shown him how to control it was he was younger. But Shoto’s firepower at age eight was a lot different than Shoto’s firepower at age 15. Shoto realized his brother never forced him to be accepting of his left side. He had a sneaking suspicion that Dabi wanted to teach Shoto to use his fire. To train with it and make it Shoto’s own gift and ability. To show Shoto that he was his own person with the flames as well as the ice. But Dabi never pushed it, letting Shoto reject that part of himself to help him deny their father.

Shoto swallowed. He hardly ever thought of their old man now in days. He didn’t do it because thoughts of that man brought up painful memories. Mom crying in her room because she thought they weren’t around to see her. Touya on the dojo floor, moaning in pain as his skin seared and the smell of burnt flesh surfaced everyone. Fuyumi shaking at Father’s loud voice, telling her to get out. Natsuo turning even paler because he had the audacity to come and see if Shoto was okay and Father caught him.

Shoto closed his eyes. Don’t think about it, he thought, not now.

Just then, the door to the waiting room banged open. Shoto turned to see Bakugou standing in the doorway. They both looked at each other for a minute.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Bakugou yelled at him.

“I made to the finals,” Shoto said, turning his head away from the blond, “We’re going against each other.”

Bakugou set off an explosion knocking the table across the room. Shoto blinked up, fazed. He turned to the other boy who looked pissed.

“Let’s get one thing straight, ice princess,” Bakugou spat, “You are not going to fucking hold back on me like you did with the glasses guy.”

“Iida,” Shoto said.

“No fucking cares!” Bakugou yelled, “You use your full power on me, just like you did with fucking Deku. I’m going to put you in your grave, but if I see you half-assing it-”
“You’ll do what?” Shoto asked, “What I do is none of your business last I checked.”

Shoto watched as the blond’s face twist even more in furry. It reminds Shoto of the people in Taijo’s crowd. The ones who got pissed at Dabi’s snarky words and higher status among them.

“You use your full power, you fuckwad,” Bakugou said, “I don’t give a shit about you dumb personal reasons.”

Shoto had no idea how Bakugou found out, probably overheard, but him saying that made him mad. Usually, it wouldn’t have, but after today it did.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” Shoto said, standing up and turning to storm out of the room.

As he left, Shoto could hear the explosive teens yells, but he didn’t listen. He was, Shoto was so done with this day. A tiny part of him wanted to leaven right now. He pushed that away. He had a festival to win right now.

XXX

Harue sniffed and rubbed her nose with her sleeve. The trail thingy is over now, and from what she understood, no one was happy about. The judge lady had said a bunch of stuff Harue didn’t understand. And she hadn’t liked those lawyer people either. They asked Harue about things she didn’t want to talk about. One of them made her take her bandages off and show her bruises. They asked if she was afraid of Daddy and if she loved Auntie Kosake more. She didn’t want to talk about that! She wanted to go home.

Now she was home in away. She was at Uncle Iroh’s, but it wasn’t better. When they got here, Auntie Kosake yelled and screamed, and Uncle Iroh tried to help calm down her.

“It’s no right!” she cried, her sobs loud enough for Harue to hear, “He should go to jail for what he’s done, not get joint custody!”

Harue covered her ears and let out a whimper. She wanted Nii-chan, but he was angry too and hiding in his room.

Harue found Miss. Yamamoto and Ryoto and hide under her blanket under the bed. Why did big people have to yell? Daddy yelled. Auntie yelled. There was too much noise!

Was it her fault? Was she a bad girl? It felt like it was. Everyone kept talking about her what was best for her. Uncle Iroh and Auntie Kosake said it wasn’t. Even Daddy said she didn't do anything wrong, and he hadn’t even yelled at her for asking.

Daddy was scary, and Harue was afraid of him, but she still liked Daddy. He’d pick her up and carry her around the house, and he gave her Ryoto and Miss. Yamamoto fixed when her face broke. But Daddy did yell a lot. He yelled at her and Nii-chan. He yelled at Auntie, Kosake, the most.

Harue didn’t like living with Daddy. He was loud and made her get up early. She didn’t like the nannies. Daddy had at his house. The ones who fussed over her every day. She didn’t like the teacher Daddy had come in. She wanted to go big kid school like Nii-chan finally got to. Daddy didn’t like her Quirk either or Nii-chan’s.

She wished Daddy would work less. Maybe he’d be less grump. Maybe then he’d play with Harue, and Nii-chan like Uncle Iroha and Auntie Kosake did. Maybe if he were home, he'd see how boring it was there and take Harue and Nii-chan go out and play at the park, like Uncle Iroh did. Daddy said she or Nii-chan couldn’t go out, not after the last time.

Harue felt her lip quiver and curled up very small and started to cry. She tried to be quiet, so no one would come in and made her talk about why she was sad. But soon enough, she heard the door open, and she tried to stop crying altogether.

“Harue-chan?” Nii-chan’s voice called. Harue felt someone drag her out from underneath the bed and take the blanket off her head. Nii-chan looked at her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Everyone's so loud, “ she sobbed, hiding her head in Nii-chan chest. Harue felt him wrap her arms around her. He didn’t make her talk about her feelings or anything. He just gave her a really good hug.

“Come on,” he said, “let’s watch the Sports Festival,” he said, “I recorded it for you.”

“You did?” She asked, rubbing her eyes and letting out a tiny sniff.

“Yeah, I did,” Nii-chan said, “Come on,” he said, holding his hand out for Harue to take. Slowly and quietly, they crept to their cousin’s room (who Uncle Iroh said was at university, and that’s why he did live here anymore). When they got in Nii-chan, shut the door, and Harue jumped up on the foot of the bed.

Harue’s eyes grew wide with wonder at all the big kids and their powers. They were all so cool and strong. But there was one boy Harue liked the most. He had white hair and two different colored eyes. He looked pretty. But not only that, his Quirk was really cool! He had an ice Quirk! Harue never seen anything like it before.

When the battles happen, she begged Nii-chan to let her just watch the one with the white-haired boy. They could rewatch the other matches later!

In the first fight, the white-haired boy made a huge wall of ice, and it was so big! Harue had jumped off the bed to look at the tv even closer. That was until Nii-chan pulled Harue away a bit because he said it would ruin her eyes. But in the second fight, something amazing happened. The white-haired boy didn’t just have an ice Quirk but a fire one too!

“Nii-chan! Nii-chan look, he has two Quirks! Two of them see! See!?”

“I don’t think he has two Harue,” Nii-chan said, look really hard at the tv. Harue hadn’t really cared. Harue just wanted to see the boy use his power more.

They watched another fight, but this time the white-haired boy didn’t use his firepower, and Haruhi was a bit disappointed. He grabbed the remote to skip to the next fight, but she didn’t get far before it stopped.

“Hey!” she cried.

“Were caught up in real-time,” Nii-chan said, “That means we get to watch the fight live.”

“Really!?” Harue asked, turning around to look at her brother.

“Yeah.”

Harue smiled and jumped back on the bed with Nii-chan, “I don’t want to miss it!” she said.

“Don’t worry,” Nii-chan said, “You won’t.”

“I hope he wins,” Harue said. Nii-chan nodded, but when Harue looked at him, she couldn’t help but think that he looked sad.

XXX

Shoto let out a breath. Bakugo was a good fighter. Shoto knew that going in. All his regular tick didn’t seem to work on the blond, not in the way he wanted.

However, that didn’t mean that Shoto wasn’t doing well. He had landed a few hits on the other boy. Shoto also noticed that Bakugo kept grabbing his forearms. He was reaching his limit too.

The end of the fight was drawing near. Shoto could feel it in his gut. This was it. This was the time to prove everything.

It was happening, Bakugo was coming at him. If Shoto did this right, he could end the match in one blow. There was one problem. He felt cold, almost more so that before. Damn it, why now?

Shoto wasn’t thinking, that problem why he raised his left arm in the air. He could feel the flames begin to build. Bakugo wanted him to use his full power, fine he’d give it to him. He takes first with both his sides.

But then another flood of memories came.

Mom crying. Touya in so much pain. Natsuo and Fuyumi looking so scared. Shoto’s own broken and bleeding body on the ground.

But it didn’t end there. He thought of the first birthday he had with his siblings. He thought of play heroes and villains with Shiki as children. He thought of the movie nights the Yukitomo siblings had. The memorable dinners the four of them had. He thought of going up on the roof of the building watching planes fly overhead. He thought of Natsuo play football with him. He thought of Fuyumi teaching him how to make soba. He thought of Dabi training him, and the playfully messing up his hair like he always did.

Shoto thought about how happy he had been. How happy they had all been. How lucky they were.

Shoto lowered his arm and looked down.

No, winning isn't worth training all that away.

He wasn’t ready to embrace that part of himself. Not yet. Not without help.

Shoto closed his eyes and wait for Bakugo to come and knock him out. He wasn’t winning today. That felt like the only choice he could make at the moment.

XXX

Shoto looked down at the silver medal. Even though this what borderline a day from hell, Shoto was still proud of himself. But most of that pride was crushed by the feelings of anger and fear. What was going to happen now? What were his classmates going to say? His friends?

He had avoided everyone after his match with Midoriya. He didn’t know how to confront them. Did he tell them what Recovery Girl had said? Would they believe it? Had he given them a reason not too?

Then there were his teachers. Was he going to get in trouble? It was clear the Recovery Girl knew he was lying about his Quirk being stunted, but would she tell them? Wasn't there a rule that doctors could tell other people about someone's medical stuff?

And even if everyone bought what Recovery Girl said and even if she didn’t tell the teachers there was still Midoriya. Would he go around debunking everything? Would he tell everyone everything he knew? And what about Bakugo? He knew somehow too.

Shoto tried to tell himself that Midoriya wasn’t that kind of person. He also said to himself that Bakugo didn’t care.

After letting out a heavy sigh, Shoto buried his hands in his face. What had he done? What had he done to himself and everyone he cared about?

Once more, Shoto looked down at the medal. He remembered what All Might had said he placed it around his neck.

“You fought well, but I can see you’ve been dealing with many other problems today. I won’t ask, but you can relax now, the day is over,” He had looked at Shoto, “Well done, young Yukitomo.”

All Might was almost right. The day wasn’t done yet, he still had to go back to class for a few announcements. He still had to face his siblings. He still had to deal with Dabi's wrath.

There was no point in delaying it any longer. Shoto Stood up and walked out of the locker room and to the classroom. He waited outside a few seconds and then pushed the door open.

It was a typical scene, everyone was standing it little groups talking. Shoto saw Yaoyarozu and Yoarashi toward the back by their spots. When they saw him come in, they stood up and walked over.

“Yukitomo, are you okay?” Yoarashi asked, truly looking worried.

“Yeah, man are you alright,” Kirishima asked, walking over to him. Shoto know released most of the class was looking at him.

“Yeah,” Shoto said, nodding, “I’m fine.”

“Recovery Girl told us what happened,” Uararaka said.

“Did she?”

“Yeah, she said that part of your Quirk had been suppressed and manifested under presser.”

“Yeah, that a simple way of saying it,” Shoto said. Eventually, Shoto got to his seat and sat down. He had heard that Iida had gone home after their match because something happened to his older brother. Shoto hoped that it was nothing big, but with things day probably not.

When the door opened again, it was Midoriya, and Shoto winced at the sight of his arms. He knew that a lot, if not all, the damage that happened to Midoriya’s limbs was green-haired teen own fault but still.

Soon enough, Mr. Aizawa came into the room and stood in front of the room. He said that they did and that there be no school for a few days. Shoto kinda tooned it out, letting his mind wander. When they were dismissed, Shoto stood up quickly and was going to run to his locker as soon as he could, but before his hand could touch the door, Mr. Aizawa said, “Yukitomo wait.”

Shoto turned around as the rest of his classmates head home.

“Yes, Mr.Aizawa?” Shoto asked, feeling nervous.

“Principal Nedzu, All Might, and I would like to have a talk with you.”

Shoto swallowed but nodded.

XXX

Shoto felt like a rabbit being stared down by wolves. He was sitting in a chair in front of a table before two of his teachers and the school principal. All Might and Principal Nedzu were smiling at him, and Mr.Aizawa’s face was still hidden by his bandages from the events of USJ.

Shoto's hands were on his lap, and he was gripping the material of his pants so tight that is knuckles turned white. Shoto had developed an excellent poker face over the year. But slowly, he could feel himself starting to crack.

Finally, Principal Nedzu broke the silence, “I would like to begin this by saying that you are not in trouble, Yukitomo.”

Shoto only nodded. Like his talk with Recovery Girl, Shoto was nervous about slipping up his wording.

“We simply called you heard to have a talk about what happens now.”

“I thought I wasn’t in trouble,” Shoto said.

“You’re not,” Mr. Aizawa, “However, as you may know, new powers are hard to control, and something like fire can be quite hazardous.”

Nedzu nodded, “Yes, and though you have incredible control of your right side, we’re are a bit worried about your left side getting out of control unintentionally.”

“We’ve already spoken with your brother,” All Might said, “As he is your legal guardian. He says he has a fire Quirk and that he will work with you if you wish.”

“Overall, what we are asking is that you be careful with your new power to not try anything too risky too soon,” Nedzu said, folding his hands (paws?) together.

“I understand,” Shoto said. They talked to him a little more. As the minutes ticked on, Shoto grew more and more nervous. Deep down, he had the urge to bolt out of the room and run home as fast as he could.

They did let Shoto go, and the white-haired teen had to fight himself to not run out the door.

As he walked down the hall, he began to feel his feet get heavy. An hour ago, he wanted nothing more than to go home, but now he was nervous about going back.

“Yukitomo!” a voice called.

Shoto turned around to see Midoriya. The other teen looked at Shoto and said, “I just wanted to say… I just wanted to…” Midoriya looked down as if he was trying to think of what to say.

Shoto looked down at his own feet and said, “I understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore.”

Where he and Midoriya even friends before? He had a feeling that maybe they were, but now he wasn’t sure

Midoriya’s head snapped up and said: “I don’t want to stop being friends with you, Yukitomo.”

“You don’t?” Shoto asked, looking up again.

The green-haired teen shook his head, “No, I still want to be friends. All I was saying before was that I understand that your life must have been hard, and I have no idea what that’s like, but if you ever need to talk, if you ever wanna talk, I’ll listen.”

“Midoriya I-,” Shoto sighed and smiled, “Thank you, Midoriya.”

“You’re welcome.”

XXX

When Shoto got outside the school, Gekko was waiting for him. She rubbed her head against his leg and purred happily. Shoto bent rubbed the top of her head. Gekko also gave Shoto a few nips and licks before heading off.

Once the cat was out of sight, Shoto stood up to head home. He hardly got out of the gates before he heard someone call, “Shoto, hey!” Shoto looked up and saw Dabi. He was smiling ear to ear, waving at Shoto from across the street. Shoto walked over to him as fast as he could.

“You did fucking amazing!” Dabi said as Shoto was halfway to him, “Come on, show me the metal. I think I’m going to have to hang it in the shop right next to your old drawing-”

“I’m so sorry!” Shoto yelled when he got in front of his brother. Dabi’s smile feel, and very quietly he said, “Shoto, kid,”

“I’m so sorry, Dabi,” Shoto “I hadn’t meant for any of it to happen I don’t know what came over me. I should have held back, and I didn’t. I know I put us all in danger, and I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Dabi I’m sorry-”

SMACK!

Dabi had slapped him and then pulled Shoto into a tight hug.

“Let’s get one thing straight, kid,” Dabi said, his voice shaking, from what Shoto didn’t know, “You’ve done nothing wrong, got it. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Shoto didn’t know what to say. He had been ready for yelling and screaming, not this. It just dawned on Shoto how tired he was, how drained he was. It had been a very emotional day, and Shoto just couldn’t hold back anymore. The dam broke, and Shoto began to cry. He cried and gripped the side of Dabi’s jacket. Shoto cried and cried, Dabi holding him tight to his chest. They just stood there on the sidewalk, Shoto just letting it all out.

Once Shoto had calmed down a bit, Dabi wiped some tears away from his younger brother’s face and asked, “Feel better?”

Shoto nodded, and Dabi said, “Good. Now let’s go home.”

XXX

When the two got back to the tattoo parlor, almost everyone who had been there that day was gone. Everyone but the other two Yukitomo siblings, Mrs.Kitabayashi, and Ren and Hotaka.

Shoto had been quiet most of the walk home. Dabi didn’t push him for answers or to talk. They just walked.

When they got inside the shop, Fuyumi rushed to hug Shoto.

“I’m so proud of you!” she said, grinning so wide it looked like her face was going to split in two.

“I’m sorry I missed up,” Dabi heard Shoto whispered.

“I don’t wanna hear that talk,” Fyumi said, letting Shoto out of her embrace. Then it was Ren turn, “Darling, you did wonderfully,” she said, hugging Shoto.

“Thank you, Ren. It’s good to see you.”

“Well done, kid,” Hotaka said, patting Shoto’s shoulder. Next, it was Natsuo to pull Shoto into one of his bone-crushing hugs. Shoto huffed in protest but went ignored. Finally, Mrs.Kitabayashi smiled at him, quickly hug him, and said, “You did wonderfully, dear.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Shoto said.

“Alright,” Dabi said, “I waited long enough, show us the damn metal!”

“Yeah, Shoto, come on!” Natsuo cherried, “Whip it out.”

They all watched as Shoto fished around in his pockets for a minute or so only to pull out the silver medal. They all cheered and clapped, smiling ear to ear.

“We very proud of you,” Dabi said, resting his hand on Shoto's shoulder.

“Yeah, and I’m not even mad that I lost 6000 yen today,” Natsuo said.

“You what?” Shoto said, looking at him.

“You were betting on our brother?!” Fuyumi growled.

“Oh, what? That’s a bad thing?”

Soon enough, everyone was sitting around eating and giving commentary on the other Sports Festivals. Dabi told Shoto that he recorded he and the Shoto could watch it later. They also busted out the cake that had made, and you almost couldn’t tell that it really said “Congrats on 1st” instead of “Congrats on 2nd”.

“You know silver is much more your color anyway,” Mrs. Kitabayashi said. They all got a good laugh out of that.

After a while, Ren and Hotaka went home, and so did Mrs. Kitabayashi. Then it was just the Yukitomo siblings left. A little later, Dabi’s phone buzzed, and he looked to see a text that said:

Birdman: Hey, come outside quick.

Dabi slipped out quickly, and adjacent from the shop, he saw the winged hero.

“Hey,” the raven-haired man said.

“Hey yourself,” Hawks said, smiling, “I have like thirty seconds before I gotta go again, so I thought I swing by.”

“How noble of you,” Dabi said, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” Hawks said, “Um, I thought that maybe we could hang out sometime next week. You know, watch the movie, like we were talking about?”

Dabi looked up at the sky like he was thinking about it, “Maybe I could work something out. I’m kinda busy now and days. Might have to just book a few more days just so I can’t give you the free time.”

“Come on,” Hawks said, “You’re killing me here.

“Fine then,” Dabi said, looking back at him, “I free Wednesday night, does that work.”

“It does actually,” Hawks said.

“Good, I’ll be there,” Dabi said. Just then, Hawks’ watched beeped, and Dabi heard the shorter man let out a string of curses, “I got to go.”

“Can I get you something to eat before you leave?” Dabi asked.

“As great as that be,” Hawks said, “It’s not a good idea to eat and fly. Learned that the hard way.”

Dabi bit back a laugh.

“Tell your brother congrats for me,” Hawks said.

“Will do.”

And with Hawks flew off and out of Dabi’s sight. The tattoo artist sight and went back inside. The news was on now, and Shoto’s face was not a good sign.
“What’s wrong?” Dabi asked, sitting down.

“My classmate’s brother,” Shoto said quietly, pointing to the screen as the news anchor talked about the Hero Killer: Stain have attacked the hero Ingenium, and the hero in mention was in critical condition.

Dabi looked at Shoto, who was now looking down at his feet. There was nothing that Dabi could really say to make Shoto feel better about this one. He didn’t think, “Hey, sorry, your friend's brother might die,” way to help.

But then another news story came on. The one from earlier today. Dabi groaned but left it on. Shoto needed to see this. It would help him calm down.

“Hey, look at this,” he said, nudging Shoto. The white-haired teen looked up at the news reporter.

“Now, with more info on a story, we covered earlier today. The Flame Hero Endeavor apprehended a group known criminals earlier today in a raid. The police in the heroes involved, mainly the number two hero and many of his sidekicks, were hoping to find the villains base but to no avail see as it was only a mere hideout. The sketch of the leader of the organization and others is still ongoing.”

Dabi turned to look at Shoto, who leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. It was the first he’d seen Shoto relaxed all day. Dabi smiled, but it soon vanished as he heard the reporter went on.

“We have been given permission to tell you the name of the crime group and their young leader. The Name of the organization is the Demegawa Gray Skulls, and their leader is believed to be a man named Taijo Hayabusa.”

Everyone in the room got quiet. All eyes were on Dabi as he stared at the screen.

“If he even thinks about dragging us into this,” he said slowly, “I will kill him.”

And do know that that was no exaggeration.

Chapter Text

Shoto couldn’t sleep, not after today. He hadn’t got yelled at like he thought he was going to. And he knew there was a good chance they were safe for now. But something kept eating at him. He couldn’t sleep because of it. Shoto rolled over to look at his clock. 11:49.

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Shoto got out of bed and slowly walked to his door. Once he was in the hall, he walked ever so quietly to the living room. He saw that the kitchen room lights were on. So he pressed himself against the wall of the living room right by the door.

“Are you still worried about the Taijo thing?” he heard Dabi’s voice ask.

“Are you not?” Fuyumi asked him.

“It’s towards the bottom of my list of concerns.”

“How can that be? He’s looking for Taijo and if he gets to him he could-”

“Taijo is sick bastard,” Dabi said, “But he knows how to not get caught.”

“But why would the law be trying to get them now?” Fuyumi asked, “They’ve been quiet for almost three years. Most evidence on the group is gone now; that’s how deep into the shadows they are.”

There was a pause, and then Fuyumi said, “Do think they’ve figured it out? And now that want to question Taijo about?”

“Yumi,” Dabi said, frustration filling his tone, “No one will ever find out. Not him. Not the police. They think they’ve already solved it. The case is closed.”

“Cases get reopened, Dabi,” Fuyumi said, her voice also getting a bit more peeved. “They could look into the Gray Skulls, and then we are-”

“Listen,” Dabi snapped, “If the police are looking for Taijo because of that, which they’re not, and if they catch him, which again, probably not, Taijo wouldn’t be the one who tells them. And all those dumb fucks know better than to go against what Taijo wants, and I don’t think Taijo wants us under the bus.”

“How can you say that?” Fuyumi cried, “After what you said about-”

“I never said anything.”

“He could still be mad at you for leaving. He could be angry about what you did after. And all the times' members came around, and you hurt them.”

“Taijo is conniving bastard,” Dabi said, “He does fucked up things for his own amusement. He’s a manipulator who plays with others’ emotions. But despite the few people that have come near us, he has kept his word.”

“Does he word mean fucking anything!?” Fuyumi yelled before getting shushed.

“Hardly,” Dabi growled, “But he doesn’t need to get revenge on me or us. He has more to lose by telling them. If he tells them about me and what I did, it will get him and the Skulls in more trouble than it’s worth.”

There was quiet again.

“Taijo’s already hurt me,” Dabi said, “He doesn’t need to get even, because he already has.”

“So because he hurt you,” Fuyumi said, “because he did all those things to you and your body, because of what he made you do, then you two are even? He wouldn’t tell the cops because of all that? That’s why he doesn't want revenge? That’s the reason you’re not worried?”

“It’s more complicated than that, you know it is!” Dabi yelled.

“I do, but it’s not right, Dabi!” Fuyumi yelled, “None of this whole situation is!”

“Oh, thank you for pointing that out captain obvious!”

“Don’t yell at me! It’s not my fault!”

“I know it’s not your fault, it’s mine!”

There was quiet again, and Shoto covered his mouth, so his siblings couldn’t hear his breathing. The white-haired teen closed his eyes and listen again.

“Dabi,” Fuyumi said, “It’s not your-”

“It is,” Dabi said, cutting her off again, “I chose to ask Taijo to help us. I chose to join them. It’s my bed to lie in.”

“You’re not the only one to make choices in this family,” Fuyumi said, “I’ve done things that have put us at risk too. So have Natsuo and Shoto. We’re a family, which means our mistakes aren’t just one person to carry. We help each other. You can’t just put all the blame on yourself.”

“But I’m the oldest. I should have known better. I should have-”

“Dabi.”

“No,” he said, “Don’t say it. Don’t say it’s not my job because it is.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not talking about Taijo anymore?”

Shoto heard his brother sigh and then say, “You know what I’m really worried about? It’s not Taijo. I know how to deal with Taijo and his bullshit. What I don’t know how to deal with is a school full of Pro Heroes breathing down our necks.”

“You said when you talked to Shoto teachers, they didn’t suspect anything.”

“Yeah,” Dabi said, “Now they don’t, but what if something happens to make them look into us?”

“Shoto’s a good kid,” Fuyumi said, “I doubt he can cause too much trouble. Besides, every document and paper is in order.”

Shoto swallowed as he thought back to what Recovery Girl asked him. Did he tell his sibling that she knew? What would they say?

“But what if they look into us? Huh? What then?” Dabi asked.

“What could they possibly look into us for?”

“Um?

“You and I both know if they were going to catch you, it would have happened years ago.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Dabi, for the love of our mother, what are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that I never should have let Shoto go to UA, and it the biggest mistake of my life. I should pull him out of school right now.”

“Stop it and shut up,” Fuyumi said, “You’re going to wake up, Shoto, and he’s going to hear you.”

Just then, Shoto leaned his head back against the wall, and only then the picture that was hanging on the wall fell on his head.

“Ow!”

Shoto then realized he’d talked and ran back to his room, shut the door, hopped into bed, and threw the blanket over his head. Shoto held his breath, and after a minute, the door opened and shut, and Shoto heard his brother said, “I know you’re awake, Shoto.”

Shoto didn’t move, why he wasn’t sure. After a minute of not moving or speaking, Dabi peeled back the blanket. Once the sheet was pulled back, Shoto sat up and looked down at his hands.

Dabi sighed and rubbed his eyes, “Shoto, listen, I didn’t… I didn’t mean it like...”

Shoto looked up at his brother. Dabi looked like he was trying to find a way to say what he wanted to without being mean. The black-haired man took a deep breath in through his nose and said, “I didn’t say those things because I think you shouldn’t be a hero. Or because I don’t want you to be a hero if that’s what you want.”

Shoto muttered, “I know why you said-”

“I’m not done yet,” Dabi said, “You know how I am. You know how I look at the world. You know that all I’ve ever wanted for you is to be safe and happy. However, you’re getting to the point where that’s become harder for me to control.”

Dabi looked down at his hands and then took a deep breath before going on, “You’re the best of us, Shoto. You don’t have my hatred for the world. You don’t have Fuyumi’s fear of the unknown and craving for normality or Natsuo’s unyielding pettiness. You have this thing inside you that’s good and kind, but there’s also a willingness to do what needs to get done even when it’s hard.”

Shoto looked at his brother as he kept talking, “Sometimes I look at you and think you almost have to be a hero. Not because of anyone else. Not because he wanted that but because it’s what fits you best. You want to give people good things, and you can do that, Shoto. I know you can.”

“So, you’re not going to pull me out of school?” Shoto asked.

Dabi chuckled dryly and said, “No, I’m not. You’d get all bitchy about it, and then Fuyumi would be pissed with me too.”

Shoto smiled, but when he looked down, he caught sight of his brother’s hands. If Shoto looked past the tattoos and at the pale skin underneath, he could see it turning darker, almost as if it was bruised.

Before Shoto could say anything about it, Dabi messed up his hair and said, “Go to sleep, brat. You’ve had a long day. You need to rest.”

“Okay,” Shoto said, as Dabi stood up off the foot of his bed.

“Oh, Shoto,” Dabi said before he was almost out the door.

“Yeah?”

“I ever find you eavesdropping on me again I’ll kill ya’.”

“Yeah, right,” Shoto said before smiling.

Dabi shook his head, “Good night, Shoto. Get some sleep.”

“Night,” the white-haired teen muttered as his older brother shut the door. After a second or two, Shoto laid back down in bed. Before he closed his eyes, Shoto held up his left arm, He looked at his hand in the darkness. After taking a deep breath, Shoto let the ends of his fingertips light up like birthday candles. He watched them for a minute, taking in the warmth of the flames on his face. Soon they were put out, and Shoto rolled over and let himself fall into sleep.

XXX

“I’m gonna head out,” Shoto said, wiping the corner of his mouth. He placed his blow in the washer then grabbed his bag off the back of his chair. “Be back later,” he said, giving Fuyumi an awkward one arm hug as she said, looking over a few more bills before she went to work.

“Where are you going?” she asked, not tearing her eyes away from her work.

“The hospital,” Shoto said as he reached for his jacket in the entire way of the apartment.

“What!?”

Shoto then heard the sound of a few papers flying in the air, and the chair fell to the ground. Shoto looked up to see Fuyumi run out of the kitchen, with an almost crazed look in her eyes.

“You’re going where?” she asked again, almost sounding out of breath.

“I’m going to see her,” Shoto said, looking at his sister for a minute before putting on his shoes.

“Wait, Shoto,” Fuyumi said, “Have someone go with, like Natsuo, or-”

“Natsu left an hour ago,” Shoto said, “Dabi’s at work, and you have to go here in a minute. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I know you will,” she said, looking down, “Both of you will be, but…”

Fuyumi was quiet for a minute, trying to think of the right words.

“Why now?” she asked, “Why go see Mom now?”

Shoto turned to look at the door instead of his sister. He sighed and said, “I'll be home before dinner. Love you.”

And with that, Shoto was out the door.

Shoto had been thinking a lot. Almost too much. He was thinking about being a hero. Not such a strange thing for someone going to UA, but in the past couple hours, Shoto had been given more thought than he ever had.

Shoto knew that he was quite literally born to be a hero. In the early years of his life, it had not been a choice. No one had asked him, no one his mother. Before his Quirk came, he was like any child. Starstruck by the hero he saw on the TV. Amazed by their power and kindness, will, and determination. Shoto could recall the childhood longing to be like them. Wanting to help people as they did.

That’s why when Father began training, he wasn’t too upset. At the start.

The dreams of being a hero weren’t fun and games anymore. Nothing was fun at that time, really. Everything in Shoto’s world was made for him to focus on being strong. An almost cruel life for such a small child to live.

Shoto knew one thing about heroes at the time. Heroes were good. Father was not. Therefore Father was no hero. Even still, the idea of heroism was ruined in Shoto’s eyes for a long time.

After his mother's breakdown, after they were out. After they were free, Shoto didn’t know what to think about heroes. He still liked All Might and a few other, Natsuo did too. However, at this point in time, heroes symbolized two things to Shoto. The strong arm of the law, and a one-way ticket back to the prison that was their home if they were found.

Dabi had installed almost a fear of heroes in them all, at least for a time. Every day when Shoto and Natsuo were dropped off at school were told to walk home and be safe and don’t talk to adults or heroes. There weren’t many heroes in the area they lived in at the time or even the place they live now, but the matter was still the same. Shoto and Natsuo were told if they were ever in trouble to not run a hero. If a hero was talking to them, they were to walk away. They were told if they even saw a hero to go in the opposite direction. They were taught to never go near heroes, no matter what.

Shoto had asked Dabi if all heroes were bad, and that was why they could be around them. Dabi’s answer was the two things he knew about heroes at the time. Not all heroes are good. Most heroes are good thoughts, but they weren’t good for the Yukitomo family.

In the years that came after, Shoto never had real opinions on the matter of heroes. Childishly, they were still fun. He likes playing heroes and villains with Shiki in the lot next to the apartment building. He liked watching them on TV. He was always happy when he got a new action figure for his birthday.

But then there was the more grown-up, how good were heroes good for society part of it. Shoto knew in the world he lived in heroes were needed. He also knew that not all heroes wear the same type of people his father was. He knew that, but at the same time, there was this part of him that didn’t trust them. He couldn’t help it. He also, for a time, could never feel entirely sure that pro heroes did things solely for the sake of others.

But then that changed. It had happened a few months right before he went into middle school. There was some sort of festival going on in their neighborhood. Shoto had been with Fuyumi at the time. They were looking at a stand that was selling some handmade craft. Shoto turned his head for a moment to see a lady drop her phone. He had then run over to pick it up and hand it back to the owner, and that was the first time he broke Dabi’s number one rule.

The hero's name was Banshee, Shoto obviously didn’t know her real name, but he had seen around their neighborhood while she was patrolling. He’d seen her chase after the people who’d tried to rob the sushi bar a few years back. Her skin was pure white with a grayish tint, and she wore purple lipstick and had black eyeliner. Her dark purple hair floated above her head and flowed in midair like she was submerged underwater. Her hero custom was a simple dark purple jumpsuit with boots and fingerless gloves. To most people, she’d be pretty forgettable, but Shoto can still remember the first time he saw here clear as day.

She smiled at him, taking her phone back and saying “Helpful little thing, aren’t you?”. Fuyumi had just realized that Shoto was no longer at her side, and she rushed over to them. At the sight of the female hero, Fuyumi had frozen.

If the Pro Hero noticed the two Yukitomo siblings' light fear, she didn’t say anything. She just kept smiling and asked, “Why’s your name?”

Shoto knew it would seem strange to not say anything so very quietly he said, “Shoto.”

“Well, Shoto,” Banshee said, “Thank you for giving me back my phone. It wouldn't have been good if I lost it.”

She then patted Shoto on the top of his head and left. They Yukitomo siblings would see her around still. Sometimes she’d be on the corner or talking with local cops. One time Shoto remembered she waved at him when he and Dabi were walking out of the grocery store. Shoto knew it took all of his brother's willpower not to grab Shoto by the wrist and ran back to their home at full speed.

Shoto knew that despite her ghostly looks and Quirk, Banshee wasn’t going to hurt him or his siblings, but she still put him on edge even when there was no reason.
She was just a friendly neighborhood hero. Her presence was hardly needed in their quiet area. But she was there always watching out. Maybe that’s why Shoto was scared.

But then the day came. He and Shiki were walking home from school, too busy talking about their plan to watch the marathon of Sailor Moon reruns that were playing that night. They didn’t notice they were being followed until Shoto looked back. The man had been tall, wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap to hide his looks. Shoto had begged Shiki to move faster. The man kept up. Then they began to run, and so did the man. Shoto had grabbed Shiki’s arm and dragged the two down an alleyway he hoped would get them out, only to find it was a dead end.

Shoto remembered Shiki and him shaking in their shoes as they looked back at the man was he was closing in on them. Shoto had made an ice wall, thinking it would keep them safe, only for it to be shattered by the man’s Quirk.

He and Shiki were pressed up against the wall, scared and unsure what to do then. Shoto was ready to make an ice wall or even use his left side if it meant keeping Shiki and him safe. But then he felt some floury powder hit his head, and the next thing Shoto knew was that he couldn’t hear. He looked up to see Banshee. She opened her mouth and screamed, but Shoto heard nothing. But he could see the sound waves he could feel the vibrations from it. He could see the man who had been following them cover his ears and fall to the ground.

His hearing came back, and he and Shiki learned that they had been hit by a powder the pro hero used to protect the ear of the people she was saving so she could use her Quirk on her targets.

When the cops showed up, Shoto wanted to run, not wanting the police around. But the way Shiki had held on to his arm petrified in fear made him stop himself from running. The officer asked them if they were hurt, if the man cashing them had done anything to them, and if they need to call their parents.

Banshee had come over and said she could walk them back to their apartments. Shoto tried hard not to flinch when she placed her hand on his shoulder as they walked.

When they got home, Shiki turned in bowed thanking the hero for saving them, and then she raced back home to her grandmother. Shoto waited for a minute, looking at the hero for a minute.

“Are you alright?” Banshee asked, bending down so she could be eye level with him. Shoto had nodded as he bit his lip. He mulled over asking the hero he had, but in the end, he gave in.

“May I ask you a question?” he asked her.

“Of course,” Banshee said, smiling.

“Why do you do this?” Shoto asked, “Why are you a hero?”

Banshee thought for a minute. Finally, she said, “So people, like you don’t need to worry about being safe. Everyone has so many problems to deal with, and if I can make it, so you don’t have to worry about being safe or villain, then that’s a small thing I can do for everyone. I’m a hero because I want to help people. Whether that's fight villains or simply help someone get across the street. I do what I do for the sake of other people.”

Something in the long explanation caused a change inside Shoto's mind. As if the meaning of what are hero was and what they had just now been shown to him. He remembered staring at her. Shoto thought about what she said, and he knew she wasn’t lying.

Banshee’s Quirk was powerful. She could let out deafening screams, float in the air, make an object float, and turn transparent. She could quickly get into the top ’20s if she really wanted to, but instead, she stayed around this small neighborhood.

After Shoto had overcome his awe, he bowed and thanked Banshee before running up to the apartment. For weeks Shoto only thought about what Banshee had said. She showed him that what he thought might be true of other heroes was. She restored the goodness of heroism in him again. That there were people who did for the good of others, not just themselves.

Shoto made the choice then and there. He was going to be a hero. Fuck big titles and getting cash, Shoto had never cared about that. What Shoto had always wanted was to help people. His whole life people had kept Shoto same, now he wanted to do the same for others.

The conversation with his siblings had been nerve-racking. It was over dinner at the beginning of his second year of middle school. When the words came out, the whole room froze. Natsuo and Fuyumi had looked at each other, and Shoto had held his breath as he watched Dabi who’s face had been blank and non-emotional.

They were all ready for the eldest Yukitomo to shut the idea down right then and there, but that’s not what happened.

Dabi had set his chopsticks down and looked at Shoto and said, “Is that what you what Shoto? Is that what you really want?”

“It’s what I really, really want,” Shoto said, smiling, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. Dabi had closed his eyes, shook his head, and smiled.

“Okay,” was all he had said. Shoto began to train with his Quirk for the first time in years the next morning.

The voice on the train had pulled him out of his thoughts. Shoto looked to his right to see a little boy sitting with his mother. The kid was talking fast and almost incoherently. The mother was smiling at him. Its scene tugged at Shoto's heartstrings.

The walk from the station to the hospital was reasonably short. But every step Shoto took felt heavy and near impossible. He pressed on the thought that he had to do this. If he what to become the type a hero, the kind of person he wanted, he had to go on.

Inside the hospital was cold due to the June heat outside. It smelt like harsh chemical cleaners and air fresheners. Even with the pastel coloring of the floor, counters, and furnisher of the waiting room, the stark white of the walls took over. It engulfed Shoto in a feeling of lurid.

As he walked up to the front desk, Shoto felt his stomach turn. No turning back.

“Excuse me,” he said. The lady in scrubs behind the desk looked up at him. She smiled as he went on.

“I’m here to visit someone,” Shoto said, “Rei Todoroki.”

The woman’s smile fell into a look of shock, and her jaw dropped a bit. It took her a minute to recover, and when she did, she asked, “What’s your name, hon?” her voice horsed. Shoto noticed the other people working at the front desk were looking at him too.

“Yukitomo,” was all Shoto said. The Lady nodded said, “Yes, you must be Dabi Yukitomo’s brother. Yes, I see.”

She then grabbed a clipboard and looked at a few pages. She then set that down and turned back to Shoto.

“Your aunt is on floor six, third door on the right,” the woman said.

“Thank you,” Shoto said, bowing his head a little. Aunt, he though on the elevator ride up. Guess Dabi could tell the staff there that he was her son.

When the elevator doors opened, and Shoto got off, he felt winded. Deep breaths, he told himself. You have to do this. He told himself.

Shoto wasn’t a child anymore. He had words to describe what had happened to him and his siblings when they were younger. It was abuse. What had happened to them was abuse. What had happened to their mother was abuse. And that abuse shaped them in different ways.

It had made his siblings some of the most protective people Shoto has ever known. They had given everything so the Shoto could have some form of a normal, happy life. Dabi, Fuyumi, and Natsuo had all given something up for his sake and saved him from the worst. When he decides to become a hero, he plans to become a person they wouldn’t need to protect. To be a person who protects other people.

But ever since his fight with Midoriya, there was one person Shoto could get out of his head. His first protector. The one person he loved more than anyone else. His mother.

Shoto hadn’t seen her since the day of her breakdown, almost ten years ago. He’d been given the change. Dabi visited their mother practically every week, and Shoto couldn’t even begin to count the time that he had been invited to come. But he always said. Shoto never wanted to rush his mother. He never wanted to push back her recovery by being around her. Shoto had ever thought that he’d bring her more pain than comfort.

Now thought Shoto realized that think and mindset couldn’t help anyone. If he wanted to save people, he had to start small. And there was one person he wanted to save her more than anything. Shoto knew that he had to save his mother, so he would. He’d save from this place. He’d help her get better and be with her every step of the way from here on out. He would be her hero.

Shoto sucked in a breath looking at the door. And without thinking, he pushed it open and walked in. Once he was in, he shut the door behind him and saw her.

She was facing the window, keeping her face from Shoto’s view. It was almost like she hadn’t noticed anyone come in, but Shoto knew that she did. Not wanting to waste another second, Shto opened his mouth and said, “Hey, Mom.”

Shoto could hear the gasp that had left her mouth. He tensed as he watched his mother slowly turn around. She looked just how he remembered her. She still looked young, even after everything she had been through. She was still as beautiful as Shoto's childhood-self remembered. The only thing he could tell about her that was different would be her bangs and a tiny hint at crows feet at the corners of her eyes.

They looked at each for a minute, almost in disbelief. Shoto swallowed and began to say, “It’s good to s-”

He never finished because mom bolted from her chair and wrapped her arms around Shoto faster than he had ever seen a human being done before.

The minute Shoto realized what had happened, the tense feeling from before vanished her relaxed into his mother’s hold and returned her embrace. A feeling he hadn’t felt in years. In a strange why he felt home.

Then Shoto felt a few drops hit the back of his neck and a small sob escape his mother. He was suddenly filled with panic, but he couldn’t move to see what was wrong. That’s how tight his mother held him.

“My baby,” she whispered. On hearing that, Shoto’s body went lax again. The two stood there for a long time. When Shoto noticed his mother’s grip did loosen up, it was only so she could kiss his forehead and right above his left eyebrow where his scar began. When she was done, she pressed her forehead to his. Shoto sniffed, feeling his own tears starting to come up as he said, “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” his mother whispered, tears streaming down her face, but now Shoto could tell they were out of joy.

“I hope I look okay enough for you,” Shoto said, shrugging a little.

“Oh baby,” she whispered, running a hand through Shoto pure white hair, “I never should have said that. It did mean it, honey. Please know that I was in a terrible place hen I-”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Shoto said, “I was never mad with you.”

There was a moment of quiet before Shoto went on to say, “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“No, no,” she mother said, shaking her head, “None of that dear. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“But I-”

“You’ve done nothing wrong.”

They were quiet again, but this time Shoto looked up at his mother, smiled, and said, “We have some catching up to do, don’t we?”

His mother smiled and laughed, “Yes, we do.”

XXX

When Shoto got home that night, he was met with Dabi. Fuyumi wasn’t there, and neither was Natsuo.

“Hey brat,” the raven-haired man called from the kitchen. Shoto walked in and saw his brother leaning against the counter, scrolling through his phone. “How was your day-?”

Dabi was cut off by Shoto, hugging him, and the older of the two was taken aback for a moment. He overcame it after a minute and hugged his little brother back, asking, “You okay?”

Shoto nodded, “Yeah,” he said, “I went to see Mom today.”

“I know, Fyumi told me.”

Shoto let his brother go and said, “I need to ask you to do something for me. Can you do it?”

“What is it?” Dabi asked.

“Teach me to use my left side,” Shoto said, “I know it’s another way to get caught, but my teachers are going to think it’s weird if I don’t learn to use it. I don’t know how to control it, but I want to. I want you to help me make this power my owe.”

Dabi was quiet for a moment, and Shoto held his breath as he waited for an answer. Then Dabi's face cracked into a wicked grin, and the older Yukitomo said, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that for years.”

XXX

Dabi flipped open his schedule book and flipped through the pages. It was his first slowish afternoon in a week, and he was reviewing all the appointments. This morning had been busier. Dabi had taken Shoto to the older warehouse, where they trained to mess around with the younger’s left side. Then before he opened for Hawks stopped by, the two of them talked until the hero had to take off for his own day of work. Then it was three consultations right after the other.

Finally, it was over for the day, and Dabi was going to use it for housekeeping. Things were slowing down in terms of appointments, but Dabi wasn’t too worried.

For a moment, he glanced down at his hand and noticed the dark skin. He also took into account the fact that he had been feeling warmer for days now. He was getting close, and he knew it. Dabi shook himself, now wasn’t the time to think about it.

The tattoo artist was deep in concentration when he was pulled out by the sound of a door opening in the front. Dabi groaned and shut the small planner and walked out to the front. When he saw who was out there, his blood froze.

Taijo looked just the same as the last time Dabi saw him. Same jeans, same shirt, same jacket. His golden eyes, tannish skin, and navy-black hair were the same. Dabi could see the falcon tattoo that was on Taijo’s chest sticking out from under the shirt collar.

Dabi also noticed the Kagero and Daisuke where there. The two of them hadn’t seemed to change much either. Kagero still looked like a walking corpse, and Daisuke still looked like the biggest prick in the universe.

When the crime lord saw Dabi walking into the main area, he smiled.

“There the man I’ve been waiting for,” Taijo said, lifting his hand is the air.

“Get the fuck out,” Dabi said, his voice dangerously low, “Get the fuck out right now before the three of you are nothing but ashes and charred bones.”

“Now, now, Dabi,” Taijo said, “Let’s not get too hasty. Kagero, will you.”

With the Kagero snapped his fingers and the windows of the shop where covered in a black mist, blocking the inside of the shop from the outside world.

Tajo turned back to him and smiled.

“I mean it, you fucking bastard,” Dabi said, “Get out now.”

“Oh, Dabi,” Taijo said, stepping closer “This is the part I missed. The anger, the threats that I know aren't empty, the fiery look in your eyes. It’s wonderful. I’ve missed it horribly.”

When Taijo got close enough, Dabi grabbed by the collar of his jacket and growled. Taijo just smirked and leaned in closer to Dabi's face as if to kiss him. The action made Dabi push the other man back. Taijo just smirked.

A voice in Dabi said just burn them, burn them now. Watched the skin melt off their bones and watch them turn to ashes. Cremate them into nothing

“Now,” Taijo said, fixing his jacket, snapping Dabi out of his murder soaked trance, “I get you don’t wanna hear anything from me and all that, but I feel like I should tell about our current situation.”

“I don’t care,” Dabi said, balling his fist till that turned white.

“I think you should,” Taijo said, “Seeing who’s on our trail.”

Dabi grit his teeth and felt his palms smoke. Underneath the angry, Dabi could feel a small sting of pain at the activation of his Quirk.

“So this is the deal,” Taijo said, begin to walk circles around Dabi, “The cops and heroes had been trying to bust for a good few months now. One of my uncle’s old friends was on his deathbed, and while confessing, he ratted us out. They put Endeavor on our case because he asked, which I’ll get to.”

Dabi only let out a quiet grunt and watched as Taijo lit a cigarette.

“Now, here’s the real kicker. Now the number two’s secretary, how should I say this? Her dead husband was one of my bitches. Now to keep her and her little girl afloat money wise she lets me in a few little details on the hero’s dealings, shall we say?”

Taijo stopped to take a long drag of the cigarette and then kept going, “Now I was well aware that the heroes were coming to raid the one hideout, so I left a bunch of morons there who were getting on my nerves. If they were smart enough to get away great if not, fewer people to pay. But what I wasn’t expecting to hear was that raid was done at a time so that Endeavor could use it as a cover-up.”

“What do you mean? A cover-up for what?” Dabi asked.

“Missing the Sports Festival, some shady shit, who knows?” Daisuke said, his arms crossed over his chest.

“It was weird, to say the very least,” Taijo said, “Now I was able to watch the Sports festival. It’s not normally my thing, but how could I miss it when little Shoto was going to be in it?”

“You shut the fuck up about my brother,” Dabi said.

“Don’t worry,” Taijo said, rolling his eyes, “My focus has never been on your brother. Only you. But for real, that light show he put on. Tch, not too good. You and your family got really lucky. Now I’ll also tell you this. The flame man is reportedly not going to watch a recap of the games. Too busy or some shit. However, he is going to offer an internship to one of the top three. So that’s that.”

“Why the hell did you come to her to tell me this?” Dabi asked, “Why’d you tell me at all?”’

“In all honesty,” Taijo said, putting out his cigarette, stepping closer to Dabi, and leaning closer to his face, “I wanted to see that pretty face of yours. A friend of mine says he saw you with some guy. But not just any guy. The number three hero,” Taijo smirked, “You gotta thing for birds?”

Dabi could see the fingers on Taijo’s hand shift to falcons, and he grabbed the other man’s wrist, and let out heat.

“Get the hell out of here right now,” Dabi said, almost dead quiet, “I mean it this time.”

Taijo pulled his hand free and said, “Okay, okay, we’ll go.”

He turned and nodded at both Daisuke and Kagero and walked out the door. Kagero snapped his fingers, letting light flood into the shop once more. Daisuke followed Taijo right out the door, but Kagro lingered.

“Did you not hear me?” Dabi asked, ready to throw blue flames in Kagero’s face. Kagero smiled with his hands in his pockets and walked closer to Dabi. He looked at the other man's neck and said, “You’re burning. Your times coming to a close.”

“Shut up,” Dabi said.

Kagero reached his hand out and cupped Dabi’s face. The other man pulled back in disgusted.

“Oh, Dabi,” Kagero said, “You used to be one of us.”

“Then I woke up,” Dabi said.

“Oh, did you?” and with that, Kagero was gone.

XXX

“Dabi Yukitomo, where have you been?” Etsuko asked as Dabi walked into.

“Taking care of my family and working,” Dabi said, as his friend gave him a hug, which he stood strife in to annoy her.

“Oh please, that is no reason you can’t come and see us,” she said, gesturing to herself, Kei, and Naoko.

“Well, this is my reason,” Dabi said.

“Oh my friend,” Naoko said, taking a look at Dabi's hair, “When was the last time your hair was colored properly?”

“It looks fine,” Dabi said, “If I wanted to know what a hairstyles thought about it, I’d talk to you more.”

“Watch you melted Ken doll,” she snapped.

“Speaking of which,” Etsuko said, looking at Dabi’s hand, “You are burning up, and your skin is getting worse by the minute.”

“I know,” Dabi said, “Part of the reason I came.”

“What’s the other part? Kei asked.

“Me.”

They all turned to see Sora standing in the doorway. Her short black hair was tied in a ponytail, and her black short-sleeved shirt made her tattooed arms pop.

“Come on back,” she told Dabi, “He’s mine for today, girls.”

“You’re no fun,” Kei called as Dabi walked to the back room.

Dabi sat down in the chair as Sora got out the tattoo gun. “Your chipper today, “Dabi said, taking notice of the scowl planted on Sora’s face.

“Fuck off,” she muttered, “On the other side of that wall is the loudest, nail and hair salon on this side of Tokyo.”

“I’m fully aware,” Dabi said, holding out his left hand.

“Are you sure I should be giving to a tattoo when you’re like this?” she asked, looking at his hand.

“It’ll be fine,” Dabi said, “I wanna silver metal, right along with my thumb.”

“You got it,” Sora said, getting to work.

The silence among them only lasted a minute before Dabi said: “So you saw the Sports Festival then?”

“Oh, I did,” she said, not hiding her angry.

“All right, then let it ou then.”

“What can I tell you that I haven’t before?” she asked, “I think you letting Shoto go to UA is the dumbest fucking idea ever.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Dabi said.

“Fuck off,” Sora growled. They were quiet for a minute before he asked, “How’s he doing?”

“Fine, I guess,” Dabi said, “He went to see our mother yesterday.”

“Holy fuck,” she said, not looking up.

“Yeah, Dabi said, nodding, “he’s asked me to teach him to use his left side as well.”

“Is that a smart idea?” Sora asked.

“I don’t know,” Dabi said, and without thinking, he added, “And it’s not your place to comment on how to raise him.”

“Oh, hell no,” Sora said, shutting the gun off, “You did not just say that to me of all people.”

“He’s not your brother, Dabi said, “He’s mine.”

“The hell does that matter?!” Sora almost yelled, “You know damn well that I love that kid more than my own siblings. Hell, I love any of your siblings more than my own. Shoto grew up in this parlor and Etsuko bar, just as much as he did in that apartment. I watched him and Natsuo for years. I pretended to be his mother with you for countless parent-teacher conferences. Hell, I have a drawing he did for me tattooed to my arm.

“I care about hat kid because you made me care about that kid. I was the one who helped you take care of the three of them when you had no idea what to do. We both I’d do it again if I could. So do not tell me I don’t get to comment that it’s not my business, because it is Dabi. It fucking is. That kid is like a family, and so are you. Blood doesn’t mean family, you should know that. I tattooed it to your fucking back.”

The two of them were quiet then. After a minute, Dabi said, “I’m sorry for saying it.”

“And I’m sorry for yelling,” Sora said, “My parole officer says I need to work on my anger.”

At the mention of Sora’s parole, Dabi glanced down at the ankle bracelet the was slowly beeping. Sora started the gun back up and went on with Dabi’s tattoo.
“Speaking of blood relatives, “Dabi said.

“Don’t wanna hear it,” Sora said, “I saw everything on the news.”

“This isn’t about the news,” Dabi said, “This is about your fucking brother coming to my parlor.”

“What the hell did Taijo want?” she asked.

“To be a creep.”

“What was the fake reason he gave you?”

“To tell me about Endeavor.”

“I bet that went over well,” Sora said.

“Nearly burned them all to death.”

“You should have,” she said, “Could have build sandcastles with their ashes.

“Okay, that’s far, even for me,” Dabi said.

“Oh come on,” Sora said, showing her first hint of a smile today, “Have some fun.”

“He said the old man was using the raid as a cover-up.”

“For what?”

“No idea.”

“That’s probably just Taijo messing with you,” Sora said, “Little bitch and Shynah lie more than the devil’s lawyer.”

“Yeah, probably,” Dabi said, “Not to pry, but when was the last time you saw him?”

“Right before I got arrested,” Sora said, “It’s part of my plea deal that if I ever see him again, I call the cops. I think he knows that and is staying away.”

Dabi let out a sigh and said, “For the first time in forever, Sor, I’m nervous. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“If you can be smart about what you do, and what you let Shoto do, you guys will be fine,” Sora said.

“But is it good enough?”

“Since when are you one to ask what’s good enough?”

“Let’s just forget about it.”

“On the topic of things we should be forgetting,” Sora said, “I’m only asking this now because I remembered it last night, but are you still hooked on the fucking terrible idea for when Shoto becomes a legal adult, because if you are…”

“You’re not going to talk me out of it,” Dabi said.

“I think I can,” she said, “if you’d just-”

“Drop it,” Dabi said, “Okay?”

“You know someday you’re going to have to start talking about things you don’t want. You know that, don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” Dabi asked, “I’m just going to keep all of my feelings here,” he said, bumping his fist on his chest, “And one day I’ll die.”

Sora laughed and rolled her eyes. The rest of the time, they talked about light topics. Dabi told Sora about Hawks, and she said, “Are you stupid, boy?”

Other than that, the time went by fast. When Sora put the tattoo gun away, Dabi looked at his hand. The new tatt was small and smile, but he liked it.
When he stood up, Sora opened her arms and made Dabi hug her.

“You’re the world's dumbest man,” she said, “But I care about you, dumbass, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dabi said. When Sora let him go, it was Etsuko's turn to look him over.

“It’s not good,” she said, turning his hand over, “This one’s going to hurt.”

“Had a feeling,” Dabi said. He didn’t tell her that he felt overwhelmed by the heat, or that his inside felt melted.

“It is going to happen tonight,” she said, “Then we’ll leave you for three days and come and made you right a rain.”

“Awesome,” Dabi said, standing up.

“You know, maybe you should think about some more permanent options,” Etsuko said.

“To do that, I would need doctor's records and cash,” Dabi said, “And I have neither of those.”

“I can get you doctor's papers,” Etsuko said.

“What about cash?”

“Swing down by the bar, and may I can get you some.”

“Etsuko,” Dabi said, “You’re the best, but I’ve told you a million times I won’t do drag.”

“That’s not what I mean, you jackass,” Etsuko said, putting her hands on her hips.

“I know,” Dabi said, smirking, “I gotta go.

“See you in a couple of days,” Etsuko said, “You hurry and get home. You don’t want it to hit before you get there.”

“And hey,” Sora said as Dabi walked out the door, “Bring one of the brats with you haven’t seen them in ages.”

“I’ll try,” and with that, Dabi was out the door.

XXX

As Dabi go closer to home, the more the pain inside him grew. Everything burned. How he was able to walk was a damn mysteries. The process always fast went it was close to the end.

He told himself to breathe in and out, trying not to think of the pain he was going to feel over the next couple of days. Right now, his only goal was to get up the stairs before his skin fell apart.

When he got to the apartment, he banged the door open and slammed it behind him. Steam and smoke were coming from his now; it was so much all at once.
“Dabi,” Fuyumi called, “Are you home-”

At the sight of him, she gasped and covered her mouth. Shoto and Natsuo came into the room, their faces ghostly white.

Dabi could feel drops of blood trickling down his eyes like tears, and he said, “Hey Natsu? Why don’t you and Shoto go to your rooms for the night?”
Natsuo looked at him for a minute, before slowly nodding his head and tugging on Shoto’s arm.

“Wait,” Shoto said, “I wanna stay with you.”

“No,” Dabi said, “No, you don’t.”

“Shoto, come on,” Natsuo said, trying to pull Shoto into the hallway. When Shoto wouldn’t budge, Natsuo picked him up, throwing the younger boy over his shoulder despite his kicks and punches.

With his two younger brothers out of sigh, Dabi let his knees go lax as he felt to the for and ripped his shit off. Closer was not his friend right now.

Dabi gasped at the awful heat that rocked his body. It was burning him from the inside out. He looked at his skin. It was turning dark and begin to burn and blister. There were tears in his eyes from the pain.

“Dabi let’s get you to your room,” Fuyumi said, trying to help him up, but Dabi no longer had the strength to move.

“Yumi, stop! It hurt’s too much!”

“Well, we need to get you to your room,” she said, fear clear in her voice and on her face.

“Just go to your room,” he begged, “Just go, I don't want you to see me.”

“I’m not leaving you alone,” she said.

Dabi wanted to respond, but there was too much pain. It all hurt, and it felt like smoke was filling his lungs. Dabi wheezed and coughed, waiting for it all to be over. If Fuyumi was talking to him, he didn’t hear it.

All Dabi could do was watch as his skin turned black, opened up, and fell off his body. There was no pain like it, and even though he’d felt it before, it hurt every time. He knew it looked awful; he knew it looked like something out of a nightmare.

All he could do was lay there on the floor, his body burning and bleeding, waiting until the pain went down enough for Fuyumi to dress his wounds and go to bed.

Damn fucking Quirk.

Chapter Text

They patched Dabi up with medical staples. They did it every time. Stitches took too long to sew, and none of them were good at doing them. At the opening of the wounds, the gaps between the staples, infection was most likely. Besides that, there were times where blood, pus, and other gross bodily fluids would come leaking out- sometimes going unnoticed because of the pain Dabi felt in the first couple of days.

Staying clean was the most important thing, so every hour someone had to help Dabi check all the stapled areas and apply medication. On top of the strict medical regimen that Dabi was on, there was, as mentioned, unimaginable pain.

With that in mind, Natsuo tried not to look at the few staples left on the table from last night. It wasn’t easy.

He and Shoto sat awkwardly at the breakfast table, eating in silence. Natsuo cooked this morning since Fuyumi had to run to the drug store to get more supplies. She was also probably going to get Dabi some morphine; he needed it big time.

Dabi had finally been able to fall asleep only an hour ago from what Fuyumi told him. Dabi was used to the process of his skin coming apart, burning to purple, and being put back with staples. However, that didn’t mean the pain got any easier to deal with. The opposite really. Dabi had once told Natsuo that, every time it happened, it got worse.

The whole world felt like it was freaking awful. Natsuo found himself not even hungry, which everyone knew wasn’t a good sign. Even the world outside seemed to scream, ‘Hey, everything sucks!’ with the rain pouring down.

Looking across the table at Shoto, Natsuo could tell his little brother was more distracted than him. It was clear on his face even though the face in question was reasonably blank.

What had happened at the Sports Festival had been rough on him, Natsuo knew. The three older Yukitomo siblings had tried to get him to perk up, but then, the Taijo news story came out. Shock waves were sent through the whole family. Natsuo swore that Dabi was going to flip his lid and go out and find Taijo himself, but that didn’t happen. Well, as far as Natsuo knew, it didn’t happen.

Natsuo had thought his little brother would be doing better after visiting their mom. Honestly, when Natsuo heard Shoto had gone to see her, he couldn’t help but smile. It was good for Shoto to see her, and it was another reminder that he had to step up and go see her too.

But then, Dabi came home. Body a mess and fear inside every one of them.

Natsuo had never seen the actual process of Dabi’s skin going haywire. Only seen right before and the end result. But the screams and cries of pain, he had always heard those. They were similar to the ones he heard when he was younger.

The events of last night kept playing in his head. The look on Dabi’s face and the quiet, worried tone of his voice. The way Fuyumi had paled so quickly. It was sickening. But, the worst part of it had to be Shoto’s reaction.

The way the youngest Yukitomo couldn’t tear his eyes away from their elder brother was almost heartbreaking. Natsuo knew by now that Dabi physically falling apart had to be traumatizing to watch. That’s why he picked Shoto up and threw him over his shoulder.

Natsuo knew it was the right choice, but it was so hard to do. Most likely because, like Shoto, Natsuo didn’t want to leave Dabi alone there on the floor. He didn’t want to see or know his brother was in pain and not be able to help.

However, Natsuo could help Shoto as he did many times before. So, that’s why last night, after Natsuo dragged Shoto out of the living room, he marched right to his own bedroom and held Shoto in a tight hug as they listened to their brother in agony for hours.

It wasn’t easy. Shoto tried to get away at first, but Natsuo had always been bigger and stronger by nature even despite the training his brothers had done most of their lives. After a while, Shoto gave up and just went limp in Natsuo’s hold. Neither one of them could tell who began crying first, but that didn’t really matter. The only thing that could be heard, the only thing on every inhabitant of the apartment’s minds were Dabi’s screams and groans of torment.

The night was long and sickening. The sound of his brother suffering, Fuyumi’s desperate attempts to try to make things better- it was torture.

Overall, it made Natsuo feel helpless. Helpless to do anything for his older brother. It made him feel like he was a child again, back in that house. He hated it. Natsuo despised it with every fiber of his being.

The only thing Natsuo could do was hold Shoto like Fuyumi and Dabi had held him as a child, as they listened to their mother scream, Shoto cry, and the monster yell.

Natsuo rubbed his face. No, no, it was not the time to be thinking about this. He looked across the table to see Shoto still poking his food like a little kid.

After a minute, the younger of the two stood up and said, “I should get going.”

Natsuo watched him leave the kitchen before getting up himself and following. “Hey,” he said, “Why don’t I walk with you to school today?”

Shoto looked up at him, face blank but a puzzled look in his eyes.

“But, you have classes today,” Shoto said, “Won’t you be late?”

“Nah,” Natsuo said, grabbing his own raincoat and umbrella, “I’ll be just fine.”

After a little back and forth, the two Yukitomo siblings walked out the door to the station. For most of the walk, Shoto was quiet; Natsuo didn’t push it, but when they got on the train, he said, “So, that Midoriya kid, he’s something else, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Shoto said, his voice sounding as if he was dreaming, “He really is.”

“You guys, friends?”

“Well, I mean, sort of,” Shoto said, looking down at his feet. Natsuo noticed the tint of pink that spread across his brother’s cheeks. Natsuo smirked and asked, “He wouldn’t happen to be that boy in your class you said you had a crush on, would he?”

“Fuck off,” Shoto murmured, turning his head away from Natsuo to look out the window. The taller of the two only laughed at his younger brother.

When they got off, the two talked about classes and other school-related things.

“Holy frick dude, you climb this hill every day?” Natsuo asked, looking up the hill that sent a wave of water towards them, courtesy of the rain.

“It's not that bad,” Shoto said, pulling on his hood a little more, “Why are you that out of shape?”

“How dare you, I am not out of shape!” Natsuo cried.

“Right.”

There was a beat before they both yelled, “Race you to the top!”

It probably wasn’t the safest idea to run in the rain like they were, but a race had been called, and damn it, neither one was going down without a fight. The two Yukitomo brothers were neck and neck, but as UA came into sight, Shoto seemed to get a burst of energy and bolted to the school’s gates.

When Shoto got there, he turned to look at Natsuo and said, “I win.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Natsuo puffed when he caught up to his brother, almost out of breath, “Whatever.”

Shoto laughed and smiled up at his brother. Natsuo smiled back and pulled his brother’s hood down to ruffle his hair.

“Ah!” Shoto objected, pushing his brother away and racing to pull his hood back up before he got too wet.

“Have a good day,” Natsuo wished, “Okay, Shoto?”

“Yeah,” Shoto said, “I will.”

“Love ‘ya,” Natsuo said, heading to get to school himself.

“Love ‘ya too,” he heard Shoto mutter. Natsuo turned and watched his brother walk into school. There was a girl with black hair pulled back in a ponytail who waved at Shoto. He hurried over to her, and the two began talking as they walked into the school. Natsuo smiled to himself

Shoto would be fine, he decided, just fine.

XXX

The past three days had left Shoto drained on an emotional level like never before. Seriously, he was so tired. He almost didn’t want to go to school today.

It seemed like Yaoyorozu noticed because when Shoto was putting his stuff away, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“Kind of,” Shoto answered, not knowing how to respond without telling her everything that was going on in his life.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Long story, don’t wanna get into it now,” Shoto said, “What about you? How are you holding up?”

At the Sports Festival, Yaoyorozu had been knocked out very early. Shoto knew it was a massive blow to Yaomomo’s mild and, at times, unsure ego and confidence. When Shoto first met her, the black haired teen seemed pretty sure of herself, but as time went on, both Shoto and Yoarashi saw it chip away just a little.

“Oh,” she said, looking down for a moment, “I’m doing fine. Why do you ask?”

“Yaomomo-” Shoto began. He never got to finish because that’s when Yoarashi found them.

“Hey, guys! How was your break?” he asked when they got close enough.

The three of them talked about their time off as they made their way to class. When they get there, they found the room buzzing with excitement. Everyone was talking about their popularity from the Sports Festival. As usual, Shoto made his way to his seat, watching his classmates talking to one another.

After sitting down, Shoto’s eyes landed on Iida, his heart falling to his stomach. Iida wasn’t standing up, waving his arms around like normal. He wasn't engaging with his classmates or being their over-the-top class rep. He was sitting there looking forward with a blank face.

When Shoto had first seen the news story on Ingenium, he hoped the hero’s injuries wouldn’t be so bad as to forever keep him off the field, but as more and more information slipped out from the news, Shoto realized how bad of a shape the engine hero really was.

The white-haired boy was well aware Iida looked up to his older brother, even more than Shoto did any of his own siblings. Shoto also knew what it was like to have one of the people you idolize most in life be hurt, having no idea if they were going to be okay or not. He knew what that was like. He understood. Maybe he could try to talk to Iida later. Be a person the blue-haired teen could talk to.

Soon, Aizawa came in, bandages finally off his face and body, a new scar visible right under his eye. Shoto was glad his teacher was alright again and didn't look like a mummy anymore.

He began talking about internships and the offers they had gotten during the Sports Festival. Shoto’s jaw dropped a little when he saw he had the most out of all his classmates, followed by Bakugou, Yoarashi, Tokoyami, then the others. Over two hundred agencies wanted Shoto to intern with them. Most people would have been ecstatic, but Shoto couldn’t help but wonder if among one of those two hundred names lay the monster.

What happened next, Shoto really wasn’t ready for.

They had to pick their hero names.

Everyone went nuts. Shoto tried to zone them all out, Midnight and Aizawa included.

His hero name. What he picked today would be his name for life. He had no idea what he was going to go with. When his siblings had asked if he had any ideas, he said he was planning to just go with his real name. They erupted quicker than anything Shoto had ever seen in his life.

Shoto could remember late nights where the four Yukitomo siblings would sit at the table with either ice cream and/or cheesecake and try to think of ideas. There were some fun ones that his siblings had come up with, but none worked for a hero with a fire and ice Quirk.

Shoto threw his head back, looked at the ceiling, and let out a quiet groan. Why was it the simple stuff that made being a hero student hard?

“You okay, Yukitomo?” Yoarashi worriedly asked him.

“No,” Shoto said, “Can’t think of a stupid hero name.”

“Really?” Yaomomo asked, “You haven’t ever thought of it before?”

“I have, it’s just none of them work now,” Shoto said, slumping in his seat. This sucked. As Shoto racked his brain trying to think of an idea, his classmates went up, one by one, to show their names. Some were weird, others were really good. He liked Yaomomo and Yoarashi’s names a lot (and no, it wasn’t just because they were his friends).

Shoto knew he had to think of something. As more and more people went up, he figured he should cut his losses and just go with his name, but then, something in his brain clicked. Shoto grabbed his marker and began to write the name.

“Yukitomo,” Midnight called, “Do you have something?”

Shoto nodded, and she called him up. As he got to the front of the room, he began to hope the name wasn’t stupid.

“So, I’m going to be Blazing Blizzard: Ryukori.”

Shoto looked to his friends and saw them smile and nod their heads. Midnight then asked, “Where did you come up with that?”

Shoto shrugged. He doesn’t tell them it’s a name his mom came up with when she told him and his siblings a story about an ice dragon. He doesn’t need to tell the class how that story got him through countless nights and inspired wonder in him like no other.

Once Shoto was back in his seat, he let out a breath. That was done and over with now. He hoped that ten-year older Shoto would still like the name. But if he really thought about it, Shoto thought that, maybe, in ten years, the name could possibly mean even more to him.

XXX

At lunch, instead of going with his friends, Shoto sat alone in a hallway and began to look through all the agencies that had given him an offer. He couldn’t wait a minute longer. He had to see the name, see if the monster’s was on there.

The agencies were in alphabetical order, so it was an easy find. Shoto just sat there looking at the name blankly. The name looked back at him, taunting Shoto with its innocent font. It burned into his brain and triggered a plethora of emotions inside his heart.

There was only one thing to do.

Shoto grabbed his pencil case and pulled out his Exacto knife. Carefully, checking the back as well, Shoto cut out the name and pinched it between his thumb and forefinger. The smoke came, and before Shoto knew it, the paper was nothing but ashes.

The act gave Shoto a feeling of satisfaction. He had gotten rid of the name, and it was gone now. Shoto knew it wasn’t really, it never could be, but just burning that small piece of paper gave him a feeling of relief.

Slowly, Shoto slipped the papers back into his bag and leaned against the wall he was sitting next to. He knew he should head to the cafeteria to eat lunch with friends, fuel up for his hero classes for the second half of the day.

As he got up to head down to lunch, Shoto saw Iida making his way up the stairs. Shoto realized that now would be the best time for the other teen and him to talk, away from prying eyes, so the white-haired student got up and ran down the hall after his classmate.

“Iida!” Shoto called when he was close enough to the other boy. Iida turned around to look at him, seemingly taken aback by the volume of Shoto’s voice.

“Yukitomo,” Iida said, his tone neutral, “What is it?”

“Listen,” Shoto said, “I know you probably don’t want to hear any empty promises. I genuinely understand it’s that very last thing you want to hear right now, but-” Shoto paused to take a breath.

“I know what it’s like to see the person you love and look up to more than anyone else in the world lying in a hospital bed with you having no idea if they’re ever going to be okay again. I know what it's like. My oldest brother, he’s been there more times than I’d have ever liked.”

Shoto focused on his feet for a moment and then drifted back up to Iida.

“During all those times, all I wanted was someone other than my siblings there with me. I was lucky enough to have my best friend right there to talk to or just be with. I know we’re not close, and Midoriya and Uraraka have already told you they’ll be there for you, but if you ever need to vent or talk to someone, I’ll listen. If that’s not creepy.”

Shoto looked into Iida’s eyes. He couldn’t read them, couldn’t tell what the other teen was thinking. Luckily, Shoto didn’t need to read anything because not long after Iida said, “Yukitomo, thank you for saying that. I am very appreciative of it. If I do need to talk, I will keep what you said in mind.”

“Cool,” Shoto said, “You wanna go to lunch? We’ve still got plenty of time to eat.”

“I’m actually on my way to fill out the forms for my internship,” Iida said.

“You picked yours out already?” Shoto asked, looking at the taller boy.

“Yes, it was pretty easy,” Iida said, “Well, I should be off.”

Iida turned around and began to climb the stairs. Before he got far, Shoto called out, “I hope your brother gets better.”

Iida stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

“I really mean that,” Shoto said, his voice quieter.

Iida just looked down at the ground. The pain and sadness were evident on his face now. Shoto could relate to that face, to the feeling. Iida didn’t say anything, he just walked away. When he was out of Shoto’s sight, the white-haired teen let out a sigh. Shoto checked the time. He should go eat and see if he could stomach anything.

XXX

Aizawa slumped forward in his chair, elbows on the tabletop and fingers folded together. Besides him, there were six other people in the room. Mic and Midnight were to his right; Vlad, Thirteen, and All Might across from him; and Nedzu at the head of the U-shape table. The room was reasonably quiet as they waited to talk about the point of this meeting: Shoto Yukitomo.

Right from the moment the kid froze the 0-pointer villian during the entrance exam, Aizawa knew the kid was going to be... on his radar, to say the least. The kid was 15, and his alleged stunted Quirk was Pro Hero levels powerful. Watching Yukitomo in classes, nothing stuck out about him other than his raw power, talent, and inconsistent social interactions. For a while, Aizawa was convinced that the kid was just oddly ahead due to years of training for UA, and that was that.

But then, there was that scene at the Sports Festival, and Aizawa knew that his class was going to have more than one problem child. Wonderful.

“I think you all know why I have called you here,” Nedzu began.

All of them either nodded or, in Aizawa’s case, let out a grunt of acknowledgment.

“Normally, I’d let something like this go if it were as simple as it seems, but according to Recovery Girl, it’s not simple at all,” Nedzu said. Time to get to the big thing thought Aizawa. “Recovery Girl strongly believes Yukitomo’s Quirk was not in fact stunted on his left side, rather that he was lying about the matter.”

Aizawa bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep a blank face. He knew Nedzu was going to give them a bunch of information before getting to the point on this one.

“Based on a few minor tests, we are assured that Yukitomo was on no drugs or any medical treatment to enhance or repress Quirk power. While we have no true way to tell if there had even been any stunt in Yukitomo’s left side, Recovery Girl is nearly certain of her suspicions. Also, Yukitomo’s behavior after he burst into flames shows us that he had an idea that his Quirk was, in fact, working.”

“That leads to the question of ‘why would he lie?’” Midnight said.

“The kid’s already super strong, why would he limit himself to use only half his power?” Mic asked.

“That is one of the main reasons I have called you all here,” Nedzu said, passing out the many folders he had.

“I have done the work of looking into Yukitomo’s background, and upon closer inspection, it is rather curious.”

“How so?” Vlad asked, eyeing the folders they had all been given.

“Well, starting with his parents,” Nedzu said, “There is hardly anything on them, reportedly due to the fact that as children, both of them had been in foster care since they were young. While there are foster records on both Yukitomo’s parents, there is no way to look into them besides that.”

Aizawa looked at his own copy of the file on Yukitomo’s parents. It was the smallest one, and that wasn’t saying much what with the other folders being reasonably light as well.

Nedzu went on, “Then, there comes the matter of Yukitomo’s father’s death and his mother’s drive to insanity. Reportedly, the father was killed in a home invasion, which resulted in Yukitomo’s scar and alleged stunt. The files say the death of her husband and the harm of her young son is what drove Mrs. Yukitomo insane. While there are a death certificate and gravesite for Yukitomo’s father, his mother is a different story. There are records of her being checked into a facility, but after that, nothing. There is no way to look into her current condition or visit her. Also, the location of her care has changed and has not been updated. It is like she has vanished.”

The way it sounded, these people seemed like a family of ghosts. Coming from nowhere and then vanishing without a clue. It wasn’t exactly sloppy work if it was a cover-up, but it also wasn’t concrete proof of their story.

“With that, there’s the matter of the children not going into Child Protective Services, seeing as, at the time of their father’s death, the oldest Yukitomo sibling was 15. Barely out of middle school. However, he was able to gain custody of his siblings. There is also no record of Yukitomo attending any form of school until he was eight.”

Aizawa looked up at that.

“It also says that the oldest, Dabi Yukitomo, never went to school after middle school and didn’t even officially graduate. There are, however, many records of him getting various jobs throughout the years,” Nedzu said.

“Well, this isn’t strange at all,” All Might said dryly.

“Other than that, there’s only one thing about Yukitomo himself,” Nedzu said.

“What is that?” Aizawa asked.

“His name,” Nedzu said, “According to these police records, the family changed their name for about four years to Kakusuya. Yukitomo’s name was changed briefly to Shou Kakusuya. The reason for this was because the family claimed the people who broke into their home the night their father died were looking for them as well. When the police caught the men responsible for the crime, the Kakusuya family was called in. The situation was explained, and the family’s paperwork was corrected. Dabi Yukitomo was an adult by the time, so no one questioned him raising the children. Neighbors also seemed to influence the police in not looking further into the Yukitomos.”

“So, that’s it?” Aizawa asked, “A bunch of unorganized records, a few missing people? That doesn’t explain why Yukitomo lied about his Quirk.”

But, it did lead Aizawa to believe that the Yukitomo’s were hiding something.

“No, it does not,” Nedzu said, “It seems very odd, though.”

“Is that all there is on Yukitomo?” Thirteen asked.

“On Yukitomo himself, that seems to be all that’s notable,” Nedzu said.

Aizawa looked at Yukitomo’s file for himself. It was pretty perfect. Yukitomo had been a good kid in school so far. In middle school, he was number two in terms of grades. Participated in an archery club and served as a stagehand in multiple school productions. Relatively average, well-behaved kid.

“However,” Nedzu went on, “There is a good deal on his brother that is fairly interesting.”

Aizawa looked at the picture of Dabi Yukitomo. The black-haired man seemed strangely familiar to Aizawa, but he couldn't explain why.

“He didn’t seem like he was much when we talked to him about young Yukitomo’s Quirk,” All Might said.

“That’s what I thought as well, but looking into Yukitomo, strange things were revealed about his brother.”

“Like what?” Mic asked.

“Well, there are his various jobs, as mentioned before,” Nedzu said, “There is nothing much to them, but they are worth taking note of. Then, there are his friends and former mentor.”

“Former mentor?” Aizawa asked.

“Dabi Yukitomo runs a tattoo parlor,” Nedzu explained, “But what’s interesting is who taught him how to tattoo and who he worked for several years prior: Sora Hayabusa, former leader of the Demegawa Gray Skulls and older sister to their current ringleader, Taijo Hayabusa.”

“Are you saying there’s a connection between Yukitomo’s brother and the Gray Skulls?” All Might asked.

“There is no proof that he ever worked with the group at any point,” Nedzu said, “But he did testify at Sora Hayabusa’s trial, and the transcription shows hints that he may have not been fully honest in his testimony. He was also there when she was released. Dabi Yukitomo is also friends with Etsuko Sasaki, a young woman who has a record of dealing with crime lords on her own terms. She’s served a small sentence and got out early. One other thing is that five years ago, he was caught vandalizing three abandoned buildings with graffiti. The first two were fairly harmless images, but the third...”

Aizawa looked at the picture depicting a painting of blue fire over a city and the words “Fuck Endeavor” painted in big red letters. There were a few other anti-hero phrases throughout the piece. Dabi Yukitomo didn’t seem to like heroes.

“When he was caught, the elder Yukitomo boy paid several hundred dollars worth of fines, and those seem to be the only official crimes on his record.”

Aizawa frowned. It didn’t make sense. All the stuff together only told them that the Yukitomo family had done some possible shade stuff in the past regarding their family records and were friends with some very questionable people. If they were trying to hide, it seems the only people they had to fear were the men who supposedly killed their father. But, that was done and closed case now. If they were trying to hide from police, they had done a poor job of that, seeing as they had been caught by authorities on one occasion and possibly done things that might have risked their capture.

If Nedzu wanted to catch the Yukitomo’s brother on the possible crimes he might have committed, he would have said that already. These were parts to a bigger picture Aizawa just couldn’t see. What the hell was Nedzu getting at?

“Are you saying that Yukitomo may have lied about his Quirk because of his brother's possible involvement in criminal organizations or the family being chased?” Vlad asked.
“While those seem like the most logical conclusions,” Nedzu said, “They are not quite right.”

“What do you mean?” Thirteen asked.

“There is reason to believe the Yukitomo family is hiding but for a different reason. The documents on the Yukitomo parents aren’t strong enough for me to believe they are real. Along with this, Recovery Girl claims Yukitomo’s medical files from when he was a child, while done by a professional, are, in fact, fake. She and I have discussed it, and while she does not want to assume or say names, we have reached a similar conclusion.”

“Which is?” Aizawa asked.

“As children, the Yukitomo siblings ran away from their home and have been hiding ever since.”

“Are there any cases of four missing children from one family?” Mic asked.

“Not of missing children, but if you were to look in the last folder, I have given all of you...”

Aizawa opened the last and biggest folder. Once he realized what it was, he was looking at, his mouth dried, and his stomach turned.

“There is no way you are seriously suggesting-” Aizawa began.

“I’m afraid I am,” Nedzu interrupted quietly.

“It’s impossible,” Midnight said, “They found the car, they found the bodies.”

“Yeah, bodies burned to ash,” Mic said, his voice was unusually quiet.

“DNA tests were done on the bodies of the children, weren’t they?” Thirteen asked, “Didn’t they come back positive?”

“But if you look at the names of the children, they’re similar,” Mic said.

“That doesn’t mean much,” All Might muttered, not pulling his face away from his own file.

There was a short pause before Vlad said, “If it’s true, then, why did the children run away?”

“What makes a 15-year-old decide to run away and bring his siblings along?” Aizawa asked.
“That’s what I wish to find out,” Nedzu said.

“Why not just call in Tsukachi?” Mic asked, “Have him question Yukitomo if not the whole family. See what the deal is.”

“Tsukachi doesn’t have the same freedoms we have in dealing with this matter,” Nedzu explained, “Right now, there is no reason for us to try and remove Yukitomo from the custody of his brother or to try to have anyone in the family incriminated. I’m not even interested in Yukitomo being removed from the school even though he lied about his records. Yukitomo is a strong and well-natured individual. I believe he will be a good hero if he is taught right. What I wish to do is see if the assumption I have made is correct and find out why they have done what they have done. Once that is found, we will decide where to go from there.”

Aizawa looked down at the file in front of him again. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like any of it. If what Nedzu deduced was right, then Yukitomo and his siblings being alive would turn the most tragic and brutal case Japan has seen in twenty years into something possibly worse.

He blocked out his co-workers and fellow heroes’ talk. The only thing on Aizawa’s mind right now was trying to make sense of it all. What makes a 15-year-old runaway and take his siblings? Why would a child burden himself with that? Aizawa didn’t like any of the ideas he came up with.

XXX

Fuyumi gripped her mug tightly as she looked out the window. The sky was gray, but she knew it would lighten up as the morning went on. Slowly, she turned to look at her younger brothers. Natsuo and Shoto both ate breakfast in silence. Both of them ready to go to their internships.

Fuyumi tried not to worry. It would be fine, she told herself over and over again. Natsuo was just going to work at a hospital, nothing strange about that. And Shoto, though recent event told her otherwise, was perfectly fine around heroes. He was going to intern with Banshee, so even though he wouldn’t be home, he’d be close.

She had nothing to be worked up about. Her little brother out of her hair for a few days, and Dabi…

Fuyumi practically slammed her mug down on the counter, making the two boys at the table look at her with concern.

“Yumi,” Natsuo said slowly, “You good?”

“I’m fine,” she said, turning away and closing her eyes, “I’m just fine.”

“Okay,” Shoto said, but the tone of his voice told Fuyumi he was suspicious.

“I’m sorry,” she admitted, turning to look at them again, “It’s just the past few days…”

“We know, Yumi,” Natsuo said, “It’s okay, you don’t need to explain.”

Fuyumi just shook her head and sighed. Then, there was a knock on the door that seemed to make all three of them jump.

“Who is it?” Shoto called as Fuyumi went to answer it. To the white-haired woman’s great relief, it was Etsuko. The other woman’s long ebony hair and dark freckled skin were just the same as the last time Fuyumi saw her. With her was her large alligator bag and faux fur coat she wore like she was the queen of the district.

Etsuko smiled at Fuyumi and said, “It looks like you’ve had a rough couple of days, huh, sweetheart?”

Fuyumi didn’t wait for another second to hug Etsuko and say, “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“I’m sure you are,” the other woman said, returning Fuyumi's embrace. When they let each other go, Etsuko stepped into the doorway and took off her sky-high heels, losing six inches in height.

As the two walked in more, Natsuo and Shoto noticed it was Etsuko and stood up to greet her.

“My goodness, you boys got so tall!” she said as Natsuo came and hugged her. When she pulled away, she grabbed Natsuo by his upper arms and said, “I hear you’re going to school to be a doctor. Is that true?”

“Well, physical therapist, but there’s still time to go full med,” Natsuo said, smiling.

“Now, ain't you glad I helped you with all those biology tests?”

“Yes, I am,” Natsuo confessed.

Etsuko was 29, but she had the soul of an elderly woman who used to live in Hollywood, and it was her natural instinct to care for others.

After she let Natsuo go, Etsuko turned her attention to Shoto.

“My boy, I saw the Sports Festival, and let me say, I was blown away,” Etsuko said. “You were truly incredible. I wish I’d have come to the party Dabi threw, so I could have seen you afterward. But, I will say the only thing I didn’t like is realizing how much you grew, boy,” she said, playfully pushing Shoto a bit. “I mean, it seems like yesterday you were running around the bar after closing hours. Heavens, I used to be able to pick you up and hold you to my chest like a little koala bear. What the heck happened?”

“I got older,” Shoto said, shrugging, but looked happy to see Etsuko after so many months.

“Oh, I have something for you all before I have to go to work on your brother,” Etsuko said, digging into her alligator-skin bag. She pulled out three small packages and handed them to the three Yukitomo siblings.

“It’s just a little something from the girls, Sora, and me,” Etsuko said.

Fuyumi set hers down for the time being and watched her brothers open theirs.

“Oh my gods, yes!” Natsuo cried, lifting up his gift, revealing it to be 5,000 yen and two tickets to the US vs. Japan football match that was happening in a few weeks.

“Sho, what you get?” Natsuo asked, turning to look at Shoto, who had not taken the items out of his box yet. Natsuo’s voice snapped Shoto to attention, and he closed his box and said, “Pencils and tickets to a show I’ve wanted to see. Thank you, Etsuko,” Shoto said.

“You’re welcome, dear, both of you.”

Just then, Fuyumi looked at the time and said, “You boys have to go now. You don’t want to be late.”

The two nodded and said goodbye to both Fuyumi and Etsuko. Once they were out the door, Etsuko said, “Well, we should go visit Frankenstein’s monster, shouldn’t we?”

Fuyumi only nodded before the two made their way to Dabi’s room. When they got there, they found Dabi lying on his stomach, blankets pulled down to his lower back. On hearing them come in, he turned his head to look at them and said, “About damn time you showed up.”

“Oh hush,” Etsuko said, sitting down next to him on the bed. Etsuko pulled her glasses out of a pocket on her coat and began to look over Dabi. Fuyumi did too.

Her eyes strained at the wrinkled purple skin of the burns on her brother’s body, medical staples, and gauze pulling dead skin to living.

“Well, it’s about as bad as last time,” Etsuko said, resting her glasses on top of her head, “Pain level one to ten, ten being the worst.”

“Sixteen, the first day-and-a-half, went down to eleven, the first night it was ten, and since then, it’s been a nine-and-a-half.”

“Okay, and how much pain killers has Fuyumi given you?”

“Not as much as I’d have liked,” Dabi mumbled.

“If I gave you more, you’d die,” Fuyumi said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“He’s been drinking water, right?”

“Plenty,” Fuyumi said, her eyes darting over to the empty glass on the bedside table.

“Alright, when was his last dose?” Etsuko asked, digging into her bag.

“Around three hours ago,” Fuyumi replied.

“None of your back looks infected,” Etsuko said, “We’ll pull the staples from there and heal that part first.”

“Am I going to be good for tonight?” Dabi asked.

“Why, you have a hot date?” Etsuko teased.

“Yes, actually,” Dabi said.

“Oh,” Etsuko said, smirking, “Well, as long as there’s no infection or any other problem, you should be fine.”

Etsuko pulled out her gloves, and Fuyumi went and got a bowl of warm water and bandages. Dabi was given a rag to bite down on. One by one, Etsuko careful removed the staples. Fuyumi watched Dabi grip the sheets and clutch them until his knuckles turned white.

When they were done, Dabi was given a small break. Then, it was time for the hard part. Fuyumi took Dabi’s hand and held it tight. Etsuko’s hand glowed a light purple color. She then pressed it carefully to Dabi’s back.

Dabi let out a muffled groan of pain and gripped Fuyumi’s hand even tighter. Smoke came rising up from the cracks in Dabi’s skin. After a few seconds, Etsuko pulled her hand away. The wound healed as if in slow motion. Gradually, the skin fused back to one and turned pale once more. Dabi’s tattoos blossomed across his back again, and a small part of him was whole.

They repeated the process with each of the scarred areas of Dabi’s body. When it was all over, Dabi’s skin looked sunburnt, but after a quick ice bath, he’d be all good again.

“Now,” Etsuko said, ripping off her gloves, “You’re all good but still take it easy. No using your Quirk for about a week, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dabi said, sitting up.

“Good,” Etsuko said, “You come around sometime, ‘kay? Sora’s been acting ornerier than normal, and I’d love for her to have a distraction.”

“We’ll see,” Dabi groaned, still in phantom pain from the ordeal.

“I’ll walk you out,” Fuyumi said.

When they got out into the hallway, Etsuko said, “He should be good for about eight to nine months.”

“Right.”

“Hey,” Etsuko said, resting her hand on Fuyumi's shoulder, “It’s okay, he’s out of the woods, and you did a great job. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess. Yeah,” Fuyumi said.

“You guess?”

“I know.”

“Good,” Etsuko said. “Hey, you didn’t open your gift. I wanna see you open it before I go.”

“Um, okay,” Fuyumi said, picking her gift up. She unwrapped and opened the small box. Inside was a necklace with a snowflake pendant covered in tiny white crystals and gems.

“Oh, my.”

“Dabi picked it out actually, for your birthday, but it wasn’t ready then, and it kept getting pushed back. Kei made the gems herself, so they’re 100% real.”

“Etsuko, it’s beautiful,” Fuyumi said, marveling at the gift.

“I’m glad you like it,” Etsuko said. “Hey...”

Fuyumi looked up.

“If you ever need a break or just someone to talk to, the girls and I are only one call away, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Fuyumi said.

“And you know you’re not a mom, right?”

“I-” Fuyumi started. Etsuko was right, she wasn’t a mother. Fuyumi probably never would be, but she knew what Etsuko meant. She was talking about the way Fuyumi cared for her brothers. Etsuko had said on one too many occasions that Fuyumi had to remember she wasn’t the Yukitomo’s mother. She was still just a child, and it wasn’t her job to care for them all. Fuyumi had tried to argue, but when Etsuko said something, it was so.

“Yes,” Fuyumi said after a moment, “Yes, I know.”

“Good,” Etsuko smiled, “Well, I have to go. There’s a show at the bar tonight, and I need to make sure the girls are already. I know it’s not your thing, but come by if you want to and hang around after, okay? Take care of yourself, honey.”

“I will.”

One more quick hug and Etsuko were out the door, leaving Fuyumi alone. After a minute, she looked down at the necklace again. It was gorgeous. She thought about what Etsuko said. She hadn’t visited Etsuko’s place in years. It wasn’t because she didn’t like going, it was more along the lines of not having time. Maybe she’d go see Kei and the other girls, possibly Sora would be there. Was Sora’s house arrest over? She could ask Dabi or perhaps just go see herself. When she was stripped of responsibility, Fuyumi promised to try doing more things she usually wouldn’t.

“Yumi?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Fuyumi turned to see Dabi leaning against the wall.

“Hey, you good?” she asked.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, well, I need to soak in ice until my date, can you help me?”

Fuyumi laughed. “Sure.”

“Are you going to be okay tonight by yourself?” Dabi asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Fuyumi said, “I might even go down to Etsuko’s. There’s a show tonight, I might go down after.”

“You hate bars,” Dabi said, “And if there’s a show tonight that amplifies everything you hate.”

“Maybe,” Fuyumi said.

“Maybe?” Dabi asked.

Fuyumi nodded, “Maybe.”

XXX

“So, is it weird that I don’t know your name?” Dabi asked.

“What do you mean?” Hawks asked, not pulling his eyes away from the TV and shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“I only know your hero name, dumbass,” Dabi said, looking at him.

“Wait, for real?” Hawks asked.

“Yeah, you never told me,” Dabi huffed out.

“Oh, fuck.”

They were on Hawks’ couch halfway through Star Wars: A New Hope. Why did they put that on? Dabi had no fucking clue, but they did. So here they were sitting, eating popcorn, and Dabi was asking about Hawks’ name.

“So, are you going to tell?” Dabi asked, “Or is that not something heroes are allowed to do?”

“Jeez, you think I’m a nun, having to follow all sorts of rules?”

“I have no idea.”

There was a pause and then…

“Keigo.”

Dabi turned his head, “What?”

“My name’s Keigo Takami, happy?”

“I mean, I’m glad I can call you something now.”

Keigo just rolled his eyes and shifted, so he was lying across Dabi’s lap.

“So, how was work today?” Dabi asked.

“Fine, not a lot happened,” Keigo said, “Everyone’s trying to find the Hero Killer, so there’s that.”

“Yeah, Ingenium’s brother is one of Shoto’s classmates,” Dabi said, “Kid was pretty upset.”

“Yeah,” Keigo said quietly.

“Did I say something?”

“No, no,” Keigo muttered, sitting up. “It’s just,” he sighed, “Ingenium, he was a good guy, ya know? Like, for real, he took work seriously, but he was laid back when you talked to him. And... he could be dead. Other people are dead, but it’s just… I hate work,” Keigo finally said. “I hate work.”

He leaned back and rubbed his face. Dabi chewed the inside of his mouth. Well, now what?

“What’s the weirdest Quirk you ever saw?” Dabi asked.

“What?”

“Weirdest Quirk,” Dabi said again, “An old friend of mine, when she inhaled this certain gas, turned into a demon monster. It was weird.”

“Well,” Keigo said, looking at his hands, “It’s kinda hard to call stuff in our world strange, isn’t it?”

“Just pick a power that made you go ‘what the fuck?’”

“Um, when I was 13, I met this one kid whose Quirk made him forget everything and only remembered when he heard certain sound waves. The main problem, though, as he forgot everything when he heard the sound of his name.”

“What the fuck?” Dabi asked.

“I know!” Keigo exclaimed, “It was the most confused I’d ever been talking to a person!”

They kept talking about random topics until the movie was over. When the credits began to roll, Dabi said, “I see you got a lot of toys.”

“They’re not toys!” Keigo defended, crossing his arms. What Dabi was talking about were the shelves of collectible items from various comic books, manga, and other nerdy things. He hadn’t noticed it the first time he came because he was pretty fucking drunk, not gonna lie.

“Dude, they’re, like, all toys,” Dabi jabbed.

“They’re figurines,” Keigo insisted, “Besides, toys don’t cost 1,500 US dollars.”

“I’m sorry you spent that kind of money on plastic?” Dabi asked, incredulous.

“Yeah, it’s my money, I’ll spend it how I want,” Keigo said.

"Oh my gods, I’m dating a rich boy,” Dabi said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

“What does that mean?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Um, yeah, I would.”

Dabi laughed, but as he got to the kitchen, he let out a quiet groan. There was still some pain and fuck, it hurt. But he played it off. Soon, Keigo was in the kitchen too, and very carefully, he said, “So I know it’s late but…”

“It’s a little early for me to help you be hiding a body, isn’t it?” Dabi asked.

“What?” Keigo asked, “No, I was just going to ask if you want to sleepover.”

“Is that how you ask a guy to have sex with you?”

“Is that how I- wait, WHAT?!”

“Is that not what you’re hoping for when you ask me to stay?”

“No! Well, yeah, but that’s not what I was trying to-” Keigo’s shoulders fell in defeat, “Oh, fuck you, man.”

“Yes, I’m asking if that’s what you’re trying to do,” Dabi said.

“Oh my gods, you’re the worst, like the actual worst, you know that?”

“I try, Birdy, I really try.”

Keigo rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I won’t mind staying,” Dabi said, “And I was only joking. Unless...”

“Unless?” Keigo asked before it hit him. “Oh, right. You wanna do that, like, now? This is, like, our second date, is that okay with you? It’s not weird?”

“You wanna talk weird? I once fucked a guy in a pentagram. No demon came, but the guy did make a bunch of noises that sounded like one would, so silver linings.”

“I don’t even want to know if you’re joking or not,” Keigo said. Dabi only shrugged.

“So, you wanna sleep or sleep?”

Keigo looked at him for a second. Then, slowly, he grabbed Dabi’s face and kissed him. It wasn’t really the heaviest kiss Dabi ever had, but it was nice. It was gentler than Dabi was used to, almost sweet. Dabi noted that Keigo tasted like fried chicken and off-brand chapstick.

When they pulled away, Dabi asked, “Your costume covers your neck and whole body, right?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t i-” Keigo eyes grew in realization, “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes,” Dabi said, smiling wickedly, taking Keigo’s hand.

XXX

“You’ve got nothing but health food, what the hell?”

“Hey, I’m a Pro Hero I need to be on top of my game,” Keigo said.

Dabi rolled his eyes, “Oh yeah, that’s why there are three empty buckets of KFC in your trash.”

“Hey, it’s called a cheat day.”

“More like cheat month,” Dabi muttered.

“Rude!”

“I can’t believe this,” Dabi moaned, “I give you the best night ever, and you can’t even give me a good breakfast.”

“I don’t know if I’d call it the best night ever,” Keigo huffed.

“Oh, really? Well, what would you call an experience that made you scream-”

“Okay, okay, I was there, you don’t need to repeat it,” Keigo said.

Dabi smirked.

“Okay, how about this: I'll go down the street to the bakery. They got some donuts, bagels, and stuff. I'll pay.”

“Fine, but only if you wear a v-neck.”

“I'm covered in hickeys!”

“So am I!”

“Yeah, well, your tattoos hide them.”

“Save your cries for next time.”

“Fuck you!”

“Did that last night."

Chapter Text

Shoto stood next to Yaomomo and Yoarashi as they waited to be dismissed to head to their internships. All of his classmates seemed to be buzzing with excitement. Glancing over at Yoarashi, it seemed like the taller was going to explode with anticipation. Shoto was looking forward to internships too, but he was most looking forward to the gift Etsuko had given him this morning. He’d have to text Shiki about it on the train.

Aizawa gave them the necessary instructions, things along the line of being respectful and representing the school. Shoto couldn’t help but notice a few times when Aizawa’s eyes were trained on him for more than a second. It weirded him out.

As his teacher talked, Shoto’s eyes drifted over to Iida. There was something about him that seemed off. Shoto didn’t know how to describe it. There was just a look on his face that reminded Shoto of something. Yourself, a small voice whispered. It was a look of resentment, anger, and maybe even a hint of bloodlust. Shoto could only guess what Iida was thinking about. Odds were the Hero Killer.

Before Shoto could think any more in-depth, they were dismissed, and Iida was walking away, Midoriya and Uraraka following him along while pulling him over to talk. Shoto sighed and reminded himself that Iida had friends to talk to if something was genuinely wrong. He turned to look at his friends.

“Good luck, I guess,” Shoto said.

“Thank you,” Yaomomo said, “I hope both of you have a wonderful time.”

“Text me about your guys' first days, okay?” Yoarashi asked, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

Shoto nodded. Then, a voice on the speaker called out over the station. He had to get going. He waved Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi goodbye. Shoto noticed he was running late for his train, so he started running, the case for his new and improved hero costume in one hand and his school bag in the other. Luckily, he reached it just in time and found a seat on the train.

When he got settled in, he pulled out his phone.

Shoto: Hey, you have any plans the week you come home?

Shiki: Not really, why?

Shoto:Etsuko gave me two tickets to the show we talked about.

Shiki: You mean the tin-foil hat, conspiracy panel?

Shoto: no the other one.

Shiki: oh

Shiki: Oh! Oh, hell yeah!

Shoto: I know. So you want to go?

Shiki: Yeah, we can tell Baba we're going to the library

Shoto: There’s no way she still buys that

Shiki: You better believe she does.

Shoto shook his head and smiled. He was excited for July and for Shiki to come home. School in the US was done, but Shiki stayed for a little while for the start of the summer Basketball League and her strong desire to go to San Francisco Pride with a few of her friends and teammates. It worked out well because then, when she did come home, Shoto would be on break, and the two would get to hang out.

Shoto had a strong feeling that when Shiki did come home, there was going to be a lot of sitting on the roof and running around doing odd jobs for pocket change. At least they'd both be too busy to get the summer jobs they had last year. Working at CVS, ugh, Shoto still got shivers thinking about going back there.

Shiki being gone was still weird to Shoto. They used to see each other every day, and now they could hardly find time to talk. Shoto missed her, sure, but thinking about it; maybe it was better than they were apart right now. With all the trouble starting back up in their neighborhood, Shoto knew if Taijo wanted to hurt him or his siblings in some way, there was a chance of him going for Shiki and her grandmother too. Shoto knew there wasn’t a high chance of that happening, but it was still something he worried about in the back of his mind.

For the rest of the train ride, Shoto just pulled out his phone and watched cat videos. When he got to his stop, he quickly got off the train and hurried to the address on his assignment sheet.

After a short walk, Shoto reached the five-story building that was the BAI Hero Agencies. Shoto had seen the gray and white building only a few times, having stayed clear of the hero agency for obvious reasons. It wasn’t the flashiest place ever; in the windows of the third floor, Shoto could see fake cobwebs despite Halloween being nowhere near.

There was a weird twisting feeling in Shoto’s stomach as he took a deep breath and walked up the stairs into the agency.

The lobby of the building was a warm, canary yellow with dark blue and red furniture. Shoto saw a receptionist with blonde hair and pink butterfly glasses sitting behind a desk in the middle of the room. When he got to her, she looked up and smiled.

“Are you the UA student?” she asked.

“Um, yes,” Shoto said, “I’m interning with Banshee.”

“Well, that's wonderful!” she exclaimed, “Let me see where she is right now.”

The receptionist typed on her keyboard for a minute before saying, “It seems that she is,” she leaned closer to the screen, “Right behind you.”

Shoto blinked, “What?”

“Boo.”

At the sound of the voice behind him, Shoto jumped in surprise and looked around but saw nothing. He could hear a laugh, and then, Banshee slowly appeared behind him. She floated down to the ground and smiled.

“Sorry 'bout that,” she said, still laughing, “Couldn’t help it, it’s what I do to every new intern and sidekick we get.”

Shoto, whose heart was still beating so had it was almost coming out of his chest, nodded and bowed, “Thank you for having me.”

“Oh, of course,” Banshee said, “Honestly, I’m a little surprised that you picked to intern with me. With how you did at the Sports Festival, you had to have gotten better offers.”

Shoto shrugged, “I felt like this was the best for me at the time.”

Banshee smiled and said, “Well, I’ll show you around the offices. Once that’s done, we’ll have you suit up and go from there.”

Shoto nodded. The first floor was just the wash and locker rooms along with some sleeping quarters for late-night shifts. The second level had a different atmosphere than the first. The walls were electric blue and had photos and clipped out newspaper articles hanging from them. Shoto could also hear music playing almost a little too loud. There were a handful of desks on one side of the room with people working at them. On the other side, there was an open space with a few chairs and the news playing on a big TV hanging from the wall.

“On this floor is were all the sidekicks work,” Banshee explained, “We also have out medical and first aid bay here too.”

“Whose office is that on the end?” Shoto asked, pointing to the visible office behind the wall with a TV.

“Mine,” a new voice said. Shoto turned to see a man with bright blue hair that went to his shoulders. His costume was made up of jumpsuit the shame blue as the walls, white boots, and gloves.

“Impactor,” Banshee said, “This is the UA intern I told you about.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shoto said.

“You’re not gonna let this one get broken, are you Banshee?” Impactor questioned. His tone and face told Shoto that he partly joking- not really a comforting factor.

“Oh, stop it,” Banshee huffed, putting her hands on her hips, “That was one time and you act like the kid was killed. He broke his arm.”

Impactor smiled and nodded, “Sure, okay.”

Banshee rolled her eyes and pulled Shoto along to the next floor.

Once again, the feeling of the area they were in was different. The walls on this floor were all black, and Shoto saw the fake cobwebs in the windows that he saw from the street.

“Here’s where we train and practice,” Banshee said, “There are a weight room and dojo. It helps us stay on our toes.”

“If I could ask, why are there so many fake webs?” Shoto asked.

“Ah, that would be thanks to Arachne,” Banshee said, pointing to a woman at the end of the hall Shoto hadn’t seen before.

“We told her she couldn’t spin her own anymore, so every Halloween, she stocks up on fake webs and hangs them up. She says they calm her down. Her office is on this floor, so based on the contract her, Impactor, and I have, she can have them up here.”

The white-haired teen turned his head to look at Arachne better. She was a tall woman whose hair and make-up was done like Morticia from the Addams Family Sora had shown him when he was little. Shoto could also see that her scleras were light purple and her irises were red. He also noticed that she had two extra, smaller eyes above her first pair, more towards her temples. Arachne's hero costume reminded Shoto of Midnight’s in the sense that it resembled what a dominatrix looked like. She had thigh-high black boots with silver spider webs on them, a long-sleeved black leotard covered in little spiders, and finally, there was a black cape wrapped around her waist that went down to her ankles.

Just then, Arachne turned her head and saw Shoto. Her lips pulled up in a smirk as she asked, “Is that your intern, Banshee dear?”

“Yep,” Banshee said.

Arachne nodded. The way she was looking at him made Shoto briefly wonder if she was thinking about eating him. It was a stupid thought, but it's what came to mind.

Then, there was the last floor that looked most like an office building-no bright colors of anything else.

This is the floor that our conference room is on,” Banshee explained, “We use that is we need to speak with the commission or meet with other heroes to plan a raid or something. Also, my office is on this floor.”

Banshee looked at Shoto and said, “That’s about it as far as where everything is. Any questions?”

Shoto shook his head and Banshee then reached in her pockets and pulled out a key with a tag on it. She tossed it to Shoto and said, “That will be your locker for your time here. You go down and change into your costume. Cool?” Banshee asked.

Shoto nodded and turned to go back to the first floor when Banshee stopped him.

“What’s your hero name?” she asked, “Forgot to ask earlier.”

Shoto looked at her and said, “Ryukori.”

Banshee’s face broke into a smile and she nodded, “Nice. Go get changed then, when you get back while start.”

Shoto nodded and went to change.

XXX

That night Shoto laid on the cot he was given. The day had been eventful. First, there were his custom updates. The Support class apparently had a field day with his custom according to the note he got. The design was split down the middle. The lift side was the same, the only addition being a cooling system. Now the right side of his custom was admittable cool. His right boot was black and made to look like there were sparks rising up. Then the vest. Again the right side was black and instead of frost designs, it was made to look like cracks that reviled lava. The facets alternated from the old ice looking ones and the new ones that looked like pieces of burnt charcoal. The right armband had the same design as the right side of his vest. Also on the right side, his heating system was adjusted.

Shoto usually would hate changes made to his custom without his permission, but this worked. Sure it was a little flashier than he would have liked but it was still closer to the idea that he and his siblings had come up with.

After inspecting his new costume, Shoto went back up to the fourth floor. Banshee had started with the more mundane things, like filling out paperwork, how certain call systems worked, different powers heroes and sidekicks had. All things Shoto’s classes touched upon briefly but never dived into. After that Banshee had Shoto show her of his moves in the agency's dojo. She hadn’t said much. He only nodded and told him he was talented. Then Banshee took Shoto on parole with her. Nothing happened but it was still fun to go out and experience. They got back to the agency around ten, and after he showered and ate, Shoto headed to rest for the night.

Overall, the first day of his internship was pretty good. Nothing major but it was still very informative. Before he turned him for the night Shoto pulled out his phone.

Rich, Loud, Soba Group Chat:

Chaotic Soba: hey you guys up?

Neutral Rich: Yes

Chaotic Loud: What’s up?

Chaotic Soba: Not much, how were your guy’s first days?

Chaotic Loud: It was AWESOME!!! I don’t even know where to start! I got to patrol today and everything! There were no villains or anything but I did help an old lady across the street!

Chaotic Soba: I got patrol too. Nothing happened but it was still a good learning experience.

Chaotic Loud: What about your day Yaomomo?

Neutral Rich: Well Kendo from Class 1-B in interning with me under Uwabami. It’s been a, testing experience so far.

Chaotic Soba: What does that mean?

Neutral Rich: I tell you about it when I see you next.

Neutral Rich: We should get to bed. It’s best to be well-rested.

Chaotic Loud: She’s right. GOod night you guys!

Chaotic Soba: Night

Neutral Rich: Good Night

~X~

Shoto left the group chat and then scrolled through his contacts. He landed on Midoriya’s number and looked at it. It was getting late, maybe he shouldn’t text until the morning. But the desire to talk to the green-haired teen was too strong and Shoto caved.

Ryukori: Hey.

Deku: Hey, how was your day?

Ryukori: It was good. Your’s?

Deku: not what I thought b>t was going to be but it was good.

Ryukori: Cool.

Ryukori: Well I should let you sleep. It’s getting late

Deku: Okay, night Yukitomo

Ryukori: Good night Midoriya.

~X~

Shoto closed out of his phone and then dropped it on his chest. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed softly. Then he moved his phone to charge. Then he rolled over and closed his eyes and was lulled to sleep.

XXX

Getting back to the apartment, Dabi was in a pretty good mood. It was almost enough to make him forget that Fuyumi was going to be braiding him with questions when he walked through the front door. Wonderful. Dabi told her that he was going to be late, and Fuyumi was usually fine with it as long as she knew where he was going to be.

But having spent the night at Keigo’s, and not telling Fuyumi he wasn’t come home was sure to bite him in the ass. If she wasn’t going to yell at him for worrying her, there was a good chance Fuyumi was going to ask him countless questions, like “Did you have a good time?” or “When you gonna bring him over?”.

The thought of it made Dabi groaned as he reached the door. Walking inside to a quiet apartment was, weird to say the least. With his two brothers gone the apartment was too big and silent for anyone to bear. Maybe that’s why Fuyumi was talking about going out on her own last night. Being alone here at night sometimes was borderline punishment.

After not seeing his sister right away, Dabi guessed Fuyumi was in her room getting ready for work. Maybe he could hide out in his room until she was gone, or leave before she noticed he was even there.

Dabi had showered at Keigo’s place so all he had to do was sneak to his room and get ready for work at the record store. Once he found his red and black striped polo he wore for work and his name tag he got dressed.

After getting fully dressed, Dabi quietly grabbed his bag and head for the door, still hoping Fyumi hadn’t heard him.

When he reaches for the doorknob it moved, and it swung open revealing Fuyumi, in the same black turtleneck and pants from the night before. Huh, well this was a change in roles.

The two siblings looked at each other for a moment and blinked. Finally, Dabi his hands on his hips and said, “And where have you been young lady?”

Fuyumi’s shoulder fell and her eyes rolled, “Don’t you even start,” she said pushing past him to get in the apartment.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Dabi said following her black inside, “Do you even have any idea how long I’ve dreamt of this moment?”

“Shut up,” Fuyumi said going to her room and shut the door behind her. This didn’t stop Dabi as he waited outside her door.

“So you went to Etsuko?” he asked threw the door.

“No,” Fuyumi answered, “I went to Sora’s, and waited till Etsuko got home.”

“Right, yes, cause you're friends with Sora.”

“Stop it.”

“What? I’m just trying to make sure my ducks are in a row here.”

Dabi could hear Fuyumi groan and smirked.

“So what did you do last night?” he asked.

“Not telling you.”

“What?! Fuyumi, I’m wounded,” Dabi said with a mocking voice, “I tell you everything that I do.”

The door opened to show Fuyumi with her hair brushed and dressed for work in a gray skirt, white long sleeve shirt, and light blue sweater vest.

“If you tell me everything that I'm Mt. Lady,” Fuyumi said walking over to head out the door.

“Come on,” Dabi said, “You tell me what you did and I’ll tell you about my night.”

“I don’t think I want to know.”

“Probably right, I can very detailed.”

“Eww,” She said looking at him, “What is wrong with you?”

“Lots of things, Yumi, a lot of things.”

Fuyumi huffed and looked at her brother. The two smiled at each other and Dabi said, “Have a good day.”

“I will,” Fuyumi responded grabbing her own bag.

“Want me to walk you to the station?” Dabi asked.

“Sure,” she said and then the siblings took off.

XXX

“We’re getting called into Hosu City,” Banshee said at Shoto lunch break. He looked up at her, his sandwich, still halfway to his mouth. Shoto put his food down and asked, “What’s in Hosu City?”

“I’ve been called in by another agency to help with a mission. They haven't sent us other details so we’ll find out when we get there,” Banshee explained.

“Are you allowed to bring me if they called for just you?” Shoto asked.

“You’re my intern,” Banshee said, “I’m supposed to show you what being a hero is. As long as you do what I say you’ll be safe.”

Shoto nodded and once Banshee left he finished his lunch with his mind still racing. Hosu City. Iida was interning there if he remembered right. But that’s not why the name sounded familiar.

Then Shoto remembered the first time he heard of Hosu and he wasn’t very hungry anymore. Hosu City is where the Hero Killer: Stain was last seen, after attacking Ingenium.

Briefly, Shoto wondered if it was the Hero Killer, Banshee was being called to help with if they allow him to go. Yeah he was an intern, yeah he had a strong Quirk, but Shoto didn’t A: have hero license. And B: was still in his first year.

Then his mind drifted to another thought this time about Iida and the Hero Killer. Who was Iida inturning with again? It was Manual, right? Why was Iida inturning with him? He got better offers and it’s not like the hero and he had similar Quirks.

Did Iida go to Hosu for-?

Shoto shook his head. Just because Iida was angry about his brother, didn’t mean he’d do a 180. However, Shoto knew that thirst for justices did things to people. It did things to him once. His brothers too.

Shoto swallowed. No use in worrying about things he couldn’t help. But he did anyway.

XXX

Upon hearing they had been called by the Endeavor Hero agency, Shoto had to stop himself from jumping out of the train window. He wasn’t sure if Banshee noticed his clearly on edge behavior because if she had she didn’t say a word about it.

After taking a few deep breaths Shoto tried to convince his mind that all would be fine, he also did this while pulling both his hood down and mask up.

When they got off the train and to Hosu it was near 4 o’clock. Shoto was doing everything he could to be as calm as he could but from his clenched palms came frost and sparks.

When they arrived at the police station, Banshee told him to wait outside, due to the fact that Shoto was unlicensed and couldn’t be there for the briefing.

“I won’t be long,” Banshee said, “This is something they want to deal with quickly so they’ll tell me what I need to know and then we’ll meet up with the other heroes we're working with.”

After a quick nod from Shoto, Banshee then walked into the building. Realizing that he was getting a little too warm Shoto pulled off his hood and mask. He didn’t need them yet. Looking across the street he noticed something that set him on edge. Quickly crossing he found that what he saw was a little girl and she was acting like she was lost.

She kept looking up and down the street with tears pooling in her eyes and she looked so confused. Strangely enough, Shoto noticed all her hair was tucked in the bright red bucket hat she was wearing and that she was wearing a face mask. Now Shoto wore his mask for his custom, however, it was summer he couldn’t think of many reasons a little kid to need a mask. She could be sick but she seemed okay health-wise. Shoto walked a little closer to her and asked, “Are you okay?”

The girl gasped and turned around. Once she looked at Shoto her fear seemed to melt away as she said, “You’re that boy from the Sports Festival!”

Shoto blinked before cracking a smile of his own and nodding. A few people had recognized him since the festival and normal that set him on edge, but with a little kid like this, it was more amusing.

“Your Quirk’s really pretty,” she said, looking down at the skirt of her sundress, almost embarrassed that she said it.

“Thank you,” Shoto said, “But I noticed that you were alone. Are you okay? Where are your parents?”

The girl’s eyes became watery once more as she said, “I walked away from Zu-chan and Nii-chan for a second and then when I turned back they were gone.”

“Who’s Zu-chan?” Shoto asked.

“My cousin,” the girl said rubbing her eyes, “He’s on braking so he took us out for the day.”

Shoto nodded. How did he handle this? What would Dabi or Fuyumi say if this was him as a kid? “Okay,” he said “We’re gonna try and see if we can get you back to them. Can you tell me your name?”

The girl let out a big sniff and said, “Harue.”

Shoto smiled trying to relax her and said, “That’s a very pretty name. You can call me Ryukori, okay?”

She nodded and though, Shoto couldn’t see Harue’s mouth, he could tell by the look in her eyes she was smiling. He then noticed that there was something strangely familiar about them. He shrugged. Shoto offred Harue his hand and the two of them walked back over towards the police station.

When he walked in the first he saw was Banshee who was on her way out to rejoin him. Harue was clutching his hand tightly and her eyes were wide with wonder at the sight of Banshee. After explaining the situation to her Shoto they handed Harue off to a female officer with cat ears and then rejoined his mentor.

“So before we talk about the kid, I want to go over this case with you,” she said, “The Hero Killer has been stopped around this area. We’ve been called in by the Endeavor agency to help with a church of the city. I want you to be fully aware that you are to do everything I saw and if at any point in time I feel that the situation is too unsafe and out of your capability level I’m sending you back here to this station. Overall stay by my side unless I say. Got it?”

Shoto nodded, “Got it.”

“Good.”

Shoto looked down at his feet for a minute and then he asked, “Are we leaving now?”

Banshee gave him a smile and said, “You’re worried about the girl, aren't you?”

“She’s just really little,” Shoto said, “She can’t be that old.”

“Don’t worry,” the purple-haired woman said, “We can be a little to make sure the girl gets back with her family. She’s in the back room asking about you. Why don’t you go bright her out here why I go make some calls, deal?”

It wasn’t a hard choice and soon Shoto was sitting on a bench with Harue in the lobby of the police station. She was still wearing her mask, but she was talking a mile a minute. Shoto had never really been around kids younger than him, so he wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“That hero lady is really pretty,” Harue said.

“Banshee?” Shoto asked, “Yes she is.”

“Am I gonna grow to be like that?” Harue asked.

Shoto’s eyebrows knitted together. What did she mean by that? Was she asking Shoto is she was going to grow up to be pretty? How did he answer that with out come off kinda creepy?

“What do you mean?” he finally asked.

“Will I be a hero like her?” Harue asked.

“Do you want to be?”

Harue looked down at her hands, “I think so. I’m not sure.”

“Well that’s okay,” Shoto said, “You’re little yet. You don’t have to know just yet.”

Harue looked at him threw her arms around Shoto’s waist making him freeze. What was happening right now?

“Thank you,” she said very quietly. At that Shoto's whole heart melted, and he was now ready to die for this child.

As soon as Harue let him go the doors of the police stain burst open and a guy around 19, dressed in black jeans and a t-shirt ran to the desk.

Very quickly, all at once, he said, “Hi, I lost my little cousin. She four-years, this tall, dressed in a yellow sundress, red bucket hat, and I need to find her or I’m deader that-”

“Zu-chan!” Harue cried running over to the boy and hugging his leg.

“Harue!” he yelled picking her up and holding on for dear life, “Oh, my gods' kid, don’t wander off like that! I thought you were dead and Akito and I didn’t know where you went. If I didn’t find you Aunt Kouke would have killed me. Are you okay?”

Harue nodded and gripped the teen’s neck tighter. The black-haired man let out a sigh of relief and then put Harue down again.

“I’m okay Zu-chan,” Harue said, “Ryukori found me.”

Shoto waved and Harue’s cousin walked over to him and said, “Thank you, for finding her. If she had gotten hurt or found by someone else-”

“It’s my job to help people,” Shoto said, “I was only doing my best.”

“Thank you still.”

“Now that this is settled,” Banshee said joining them, “We should get going now.”

“Wait!” Harue cried. She pulled on her cousin’s pant leg and asked, “Zu-chan can do you have a notepad?”

“Um…”

The person behind the desk handed him a notepad that he handed to Harue. The little girl rushed back up to Shoto and asked, “will you sigh this for me? Pretty please.”
Shoto blinked. What?

“Look like someone’s asking for your autograph,” Banshee said grinning at him.

Shoto looked down at Harue again, before carefully sighing the page and handing it back to Harue. Once she had it she held it to her chest and said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You’re very welcome,” Shoto said, his voice dipping into a whisper. As he followed Banshee out of the police station a smile pressed his lips. He tried to hold on to it. Now he was on his way to help look for a deadly killer with a monster of a man.

XXX

The minute Shoto’s eye fell on Endeavor, he did all he could to keep his composer. His hood was down and his mask pulled flushed. He waited, heart, beating a mile a minute, as all the heroes took. No one spared him a glance and Shoto was thankful. He stayed towards the back of the group right behind Banshee. He quietly hoped in the back of his mind that nothing was going to happen tonight.

Then the nomu attack happened. And all fucking hell broke loose. The group got split up and then it was just him Banshee, Endeavor, and a few of the number two hero’s sidekicks.

They were chasing after a Nomu when Shoto his phone bing. He didn’t know why but he stopped and pulled it out of his pocket to check it. It was a message from that location app, Ashido had told them all about. You sent out your location and whoever was closest to you could find where you were. Shoto saw that it was from Midoiya and that Iida was with him.

Why the hell was Midoriya in Hosu? And Why was he sending Shoto his location-

Could Midoriya and Iida be in trouble?

Banshee yelled at him, “Ryukori come on the monsters are going this way!”

He turned to look at her, “My friends are a few blocks away and might be in trouble. I have to go help!”

“Not alone! I’m responsible for you remember?” she said.

“This is important,” Shoto cried, “It’s what has to be done! You go after the nomu. When I and my friends are safe we head back to the police station. I swear!”

Banshee looked at her. She was thinking about as hard and as fast as she could. Then she shouted, “You get your friends out and run. Don’t fight unless it gets you out and the heroes will come as soon as I can get them to you.”

“Thank you!” Shoto yelled run towards where he knew Iida and Midoiya where.

XXX

The last thing Shoto exposed to find was the Hero Killer. But there he was about to stab one of his friends. Naturally, Shoto launched a wave of fire at him.

The look in Stain's eyes were horrifying but Shoto pushed threw.

“Midoriya,” Shoto called, “The next time you call me for back up maybe you can add in a few details like We’re being attacked by the fucking Hero Killer.”

“I was a little busy!” Midoriya yelled, “Also, how did you get here? And are you using your left side?!”

“There will be time for questions later!” Shoto yelled shooting ice from his foot towards the Hero Killer and also lifting his friends and the injured pro hero, who was also there, off the ground and then behind him.

“You’re just like they said you were,” Shoto said looking at Stain, “But you’re not going to take any more lives, Hero Killer.”

“Yukitomo don’t let him get your blood! I think if he swallows your blood he can control your actions!” Midoriya yelled.

“He takes in blood and keeps people from moving. That's why he has all the blades. Then I stay away!” Shoto yelled.

The knife came hurtling towards his face cutting his mask and hitting his check.

“You have good friends Ingenium!” Stain yelled at Iida coming at Shoto. He was going to take a swing at Shoto but the white-haired teen blocked it with a blast of ice. Looking up Shoto saw a whole ass sword flying up in the air. Stain had to have thrown it at the same time as the ice. Stain the grabbed Shoto collar and was going to lick his blood. Shoto let the left side of his face lit up with flames, sending the Hero Killer back and setting his mask ablaze. He ripped it off and tried to think of something to throughout the Hero Killer off.

Stain was about to say something right as Shoto yelled, “I’m HIV positive!”

Stain blinked, “What did you just-?”

Right then Shoto set another big blast of ice towards the Hero Killer but he dodged it. Well, that plan didn’t work. Shoto let off another blast trying to send the villain farther back. But Stian was cutting through his ice with his sword.

“Just stop it,” Shoto hear Iida say through gritted teeth, “Why are you doing this? This fight is with me, I’m doing this in my brother’s name. I should be the one who’s trying to stop him. The Hero Killers mine!”

Shoto knew that at this time he should say something to help Iida with the stress and heavy emotion of the situation they were all in but what he said instead was:
“Iida I say this to you as a friend: Bitch, you are bleeding on the ground paralyzed! What are you going to do!?” Shoto yelled before setting off a wave of fire towards Stain’s face.

“With that, you’re becoming Ingenium now, but the thing is the Ingenium I knew never had that look on his face.”

Shoto heard Iida’s gasp and went on, “You have a dark side and it coming throw now. I guess my family, not one who’s fucked up.”

“Careful Yukitomo!” Midoiya yelled.

“I’m trying!”

Then there was a shot of cold air as Stain managed to cut through all of the ice Shoto had made.

“You put your enemy out of your sight when he was faster than you,” Stain said, “That was a mistake.”

“Well then come and get me,” Shoto yelled. Right before a set of claw blade plunged into his forearm. Welp.

“You’re good kid,” Stain said from above, sword raised high “Unlike him.”

Shoto realized that Stain was going for the down Pro Hero and before he could move, a flash of green knocked Stain back.

“Midoriya!” Shoto yelled.

“I don’t know how but I can move again!” the green-haired teen yelled.

“So he was a time limit,” Shoto guessed.

“No,” Pro hero, Native, that what Shoto thought his name was, “That kid should be the last one free. I still can’t move a muscle.”

Shoto looked and saw Midoriya and Stain fall to the ground and once they were there he yelled, “Midoriya dodge!”

Once the other teen was out of the way,” Shoto shoot a wall of ice towards Stain again.

Midoriya was by Shoto's side now and began to say, “His Quirk wore off on me first and I have three guesses why. The first is his Quirk works less effective the more people he uses it on. The amount ingested could play into how long it works. Or it as to do with blood type.”

“If it’s the last one, my blood type B,” Native said.

“I’m type A,” Iida said.

“Yukitomo?” Midoiya asked.

“So you figure it out?” Stain asked grinning wickedly, “Very impressive.”

“For the sake of this fight undisclosed,” Shoto said.

“Even though we know this now it doesn’t make this fight any easier,” Midoiya muttered.

“I was hoping we could do this quickly and carry those two out but it’s not going to happen is it?” Shoto said, “He’s too fast. He can dodge ice and fire. Our best opinion is to hold until the pros come. Avoid close combat.”

“No,” Midoriya said, “You’ve already lost too much blood. I’ll distract him while you support me from behind. Sound like a plan?”

Shoto looked at him, “That is a very big risk.”

A beat.

“Okay. Let’s try and protect them”

While the fight was going on Shoto’s mind wandered a little. He thought back to Iida and the worry he had felt ever since talking to him that day in the hall. He knew the look, he knew the feeling. He knew how obscure the world view was of someone who had a person they loved scorned or hurt.

He thought back to his conversation with his own mother. How he told her about his life after she was taken. He told her about who he’s become. Shoto, remember how she told him to move forward. To not let the past hold him back. That would be her salvation. If he hadn’t talked to her, he may have never asked Dabi to show him how to use his left side. Dabi wasn’t a hero, but he had been trained to be one. He could show Shoto what to do and how to grow into his own.

But still, none of that would have happened if it weren’t for Midoriya. Just two short sentences, that’s all it took for Shoto opened his eyes and see that he was being a moron. Yeah, he also risked his family's safety, but still. Now he had to try and help Iida see. While trying to not die.

A cry from Midoriya snapped Shoto out of his thoughts. His leg had been grazed by Stain’s swords. Shoto quickly shot out a blast of fire. Stain was changing his fighting style.
Fuck.

“You need to run,” Shoto heard Iida says, “I can’t watch this.”

Frustrations build inside Shoto and he said the only thing he could think to say, “You wanna make your brother proud?” In the corner of his eye, Shoto saw Midoriya knocked down with a cut from Stain, “Then stand the hell up and be Ingenium! Be the Hero he wanted you to be!”

With than Shoto aimed more flames toward the villain doing everything he could to keep him back.

“On your right!” Midoriya yelled, just in time for Shoto to dodge another attack from Stain. Shoto kicked the hero in the stomach sending him back a good couple feet.

Try dodging this! Shoto thought, freezing the ground and creating several ice spikes that rise up from the ground as Stain ran towards him again.

“Has anyone told you, you rely on your Quirk too much?” Stain said, “Makes you a careless fighter.”

Shoto then saw the sword come at him, too close for him dodge or move. He was going to cut his left arm clean off. He couldn't do anything

But then there was a rush of wind that came from the side and Stain’s sword never meet Shoto’s body. He looked up and smiled just a bit. Iida could move again.

“Your free now,” Shoto said, “I guess his Quirk isn’t all that strong as first thought after all.

“Yukitomo, Midoriya” Iida said, “This has nothing to do with you. I apologies”

“Not this again,” Midoriya said.

“I’m okay,” Iida said, “But I won’t let the two of you shed any more blood for me.”

Shoto looked up and saw that Stain was getting back up from Iida’s attack. “Oh, my gods, can we talk about this later?!” Shoto said, lighting his arm on fire to get ready again.

“It is no use trying to pretend you're a hero,” Stain said, “A person’s true nature hasn’t changed in a few minutes. You could never be a fraud the priorities his own desires. You’re the sickness that affected society, ruining the name hero. Someone must teach you a leans.”

Shoto’s eyes rolled so far into the back of his head they were lost. For the love of hell, stop talking! He thought. Stain was the last person who got to say what a hero was.
“You’re a fundamentalist lunatic, bitch,” Shoto said. Also thank you Dabi form teaching him to insult his enemies on the brink of blood loss. This wasn’t going to backfire at all.

“Iida, do not listen to anything murderer is saying,” Shoto added.

“No,” Iida whispered, “He’s completely correct. I have no right to call myself a hero at all. So there is no way I can back down.”

Shoto watched the trailer of blood run down Iida’s arm dripping to the ground like tears.

“If I give up now,” Iida said, “Then the name Ingenium will die.”

“Pathetic,” Stain said moving to charge again. Shoto moved Iida out of the way just a bit so he could come at Stain with another fire attack.

“Idiots!” Native yelled, “The Hero Killer’s only after me and the kid in the white armor! Get out of here!”

“I don’t think he’d let me even if I wanted to!” Shoto yelled back, not sure what else he could do. There was a new look in Stain's eyes, it was almost rabbit. Shoto just kept trying different combinations of attacks. Moving between fire and ice. Think he told himself, what should he do? What would his brother advise him to do?

“Hey, Yukitomo” Iida called. Shoto looked over to him as he unlisted a wall of fire between him and Stain.

“Can you regulate your temperature?” he asked.

Shoto called back, “Not well with my left, but my right I’m good.”

“I need you to freeze my leg! Without getting to the exhaust” Iida said. Shoto looked at him while he was distracted Stain tossed another knife at him, but Iida moved in front of him, getting the blade logged into his arm.

“Iida!” Midoriya cried.

“Why won’t you stay down!?” Stain yelled plunging another knife into Iida’s arm.

“Iida are you sure-?” Shoto began.

“Just do it!”

Without wasting another second, Shoto carefully froze the back of Iida’s calf. Once he was gone he stepped back and began shooting fire up towards Stain.

But then there were two bright flashes that went up and Shoto stopped firing. It was Iida and Midoriya. Shoto smiled, and whispered to himself, “Fuck, yeah.”

Because what happened next was pretty impressive. Iida managed to kick Stain in the gut and Midoriya landed a smash right into his jaw. All while in midair.

Stain landed with a hard thud, while Midoriya and Iida landed like cats gracefully on their feet. Shoto walked over and the three of them looked over the body of a knocked out Stain.

After a minute or so, Shoto swallowed and asked, “Anyone got some rope?”

XXX

The got all of Stain’s knives and blades, once he was all tied up and securer. Native was able to move again and Midoiya was able to help him. Shoto was the one who held on to a tied up Stain.

“Midoriya, Shoto asked, “Can I borrow your mask?”

“Why?” the green hair teen asked.

“Please?” Shoto asked, “I’ll give it back, I promise.”

“Okay,” Midoiya said handing the mask over to him. Shoto placed it carefully over his face. They talked among themselves as the group walked out of the alleyway into the street.

“Come on,” Shoto said looking up and down the street, “I know where the police station is let’s get him there.”

“What are you doing here?” the gruff voice called from across the street.

Shoto looked up and saw an old man giving Midoriya a hard look.

“Grand Torino!” the green-haired teen said, a little fear in his voice. While Midoriya was still talking the man jumped up and kicked him in the face.

“I thought I told you to stay on the bulted train,” The man yelled. Oh, Shoto thought, this must be who Midoriya was interning with. With Grand Torino more heroes came, Banshee was one of them. One look from her and Shoto got the feeling he was in for a tough lashing later on.

“Are any of you hurt?” she asked walking up to them, her hands on her hips.

“Yeah,” Shoto said, looking down at his forearm.

“You were injured because of me,” Iida said, at both Shoto and Midoriya. The taller teen bowed and said, “I’m truly sorry.”

Shoto could hear the tears in Iida’s voice as he went one, “I couldn’t see through my anger…”

“Pull together Iida,” Shoto said, “You’re class rep, remember?”

Iida wiped his eyes,” Yeah,” he mumbled.

Shoto let out a sigh. It was over now, he told himself.

“Get down!” Gran Torino yelled. Everyone looked up and in the air, they saw a winged Nomu. Before Shoto could process anything else, the monster swung down and snatched up Midoriya.

“No!” Shoto yelled.

“Midoriya!” Iida cried.

“There’s blood,” a hero yelled, “Did he escape after being beaten?”

“Who cares?” Shoto yelled, “Someone just get him down!”

Once again, Shoto was not ready for what happened next. Stain had jumped up, licked the nomu blood of a heroes' face and ran towards it, breaking out of his binds. He jumped up, landing on the falling nomu and stabbed it to death.

And at that moment, Shoto like everyone else was frozen with fear.

Chapter Text

Shoto kind of blanked out once Stain began his rambling. The look on his face and everything about him made Shoto’s heart drop to his stomach. No one could move, and Shoto feared the spell of horror they were all in would never brake.

Until Stain fell to the ground mid yell, that seemed to very slowly bring everyone back to their senses. When Shoto’s mind came back to him, he and Iida raced over to Midoriya.

“Are you okay?” Shoto asked.

Midoriya nodded a little, shaken up, and said, “Y-yeah, I’m good.”

Shoto’s worry over Midoriya was soon replaced with fear for his safety as Endeavor walked past them. Shoto made sure that Midoriya’s mask was tight on his face as he pulled his hood down tightly and looked to the ground. For a moment, Shoto could feel the hero's cold, haunting eyes on him. The air in his lungs disappeared, and his heart stopped beating. There was ringing in Shoto’s ears, and it felt like there was a weight on his chest.

Shoto looked at the ground watching the flaming boots walk by. Fearful, they would stop. But they didn’t. They kept moving onward. Even when the hero passed them, Shoto felt unsafe and uneasy. He was shaking a little, and he hoped people would think it was due to him being cold.

It wasn’t until Banshee placed a hand on his shoulder that he began to feel better.

“Come on,” she said, “We have you fill out the reports quickly, and then we need to get your kids to the hospital.”

XXX

Their time at the police station was short. It seemed all the hero and police officer wanted the three of them to get to the hospital as soon as possible. A man at the station had done basic first aid on them while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

The vehicles came, with the series ball ring, and they all got in. The people there checked their vittles and then began looking at their wound searching for infection.

At the hospital, they split Shoto up and away from Iida and Midoriya. After changing into a hospital gown, the white-haired boy was escorted into a room where he was treated. Shoto’s injuries were cured by someone with healing work that closes to Recovery Girl's.

After that, Shoto was shown to a room with Iida and Midoriya in it, and a lady came to set up the blood transfusions they all needed.

“All right,” she said, once everything was in place and new blood began pumping into their bodies, “I’m going to have one of our interns coming here and monitor you three. Once the transfusion is over, you three go to bed. You need to rest after the night you’ve had.”

They all nodded, and the lady left the room. Shoto looked at the IV in his arm. Watching the tube of blood come down from the bag and into his arm made his stomach turn a bit.

“Are you guys, okay?” Midoriya asked after the quiet in the room had stretched on for a long time.

“Now I think I am,” Iida said.

“I’ll live,” Shoto muttered. Images from the whole night danced around in his head as he tried to clear his mind. Nothing would get pushed down, no matter how hard he tried. Despite it sounding childish, Shoto wants his siblings. Just someone he knew who’d tell him it would be okay.

Just then, the door swung open, and the intern the technician had called for was here.

“So you three got yourself into a tight spot, huh?” he said, looking at a clipboard. Then the man looked up, and Shoto's wishes were answered. Standing in front of him was Natsuo, dressed in scrubs, with a little badge that read: intern.

When Natsuo saw Shoto, his smile faded, and he grew paler than usual.

“Shoto?” Natsuo asked, his voice almost breaking.

“Hey,” Shoto said lamely, pulling his knees to his chest.

“Yukitomo?” Midoriya asked, looking back and forth between the two.

“Guys,” Shoto said, “This is my brother, Natsuo.”

“Hey,” the older Yukitomo sibling said, waving and coming out of his shock. Iida and Midoriya waved, and after a moment of awkward silence, Natsuo cleared his throat and said, “Well, um, let's get to work.”

After a minute or so, Shoto began to see his brother’s normal behavior. He was just monitoring the three heroes in training, so there wasn’t much for Natsuo to do. But he did manage to help the teens relax and brought up the mood a little.

“So tell me,” Natsuo said, checking Iida’s bag, “How thick-headed is my brother in class?”

“Do you even start,” Shoto said from across the room.

“Ignore him,” Natsuo said.

“I don’t think I can do this as an example,” Midoriya said.

“Oh, come on,” Natsuo tested, “I’m sure you can.

“Natsuo, I swear I will tackle you.”

“Fine go it, I’ll just tell the doctor you need to be sedated. See how you like that.”

Shoto just growled at that one, while Midoriya and Iida chuckled a little. Toward the of Natsuo time with them, he ended up on the foot of Shoto bed, telling the three of them crazy university stories.

“So the moral is children, never let your roommate talk you into buying portable tv and renting it out to people, because it will lead to campus police getting called,” Natsuo said.

“That is not what I go from that story at all,” Shoto said.

“Well then, that’s your fault,” Natsuo said, pushing Shoto’s chest, so he fell back into his pillow.

Just the door and technician from earlier came in. “Alright,” she said, “You may go now Yukitomo, I can handle the rest of this.”

Shoto and Natsuo looked at each other. His big brother patted his leg and said, “You'll be alright, Shoto.”

Then he got up and bid goodbye to the technician, Midoriya, and Iida. He looked back at Shoto one more time and then closed the door on his way out, taking all the joy, and calm Shoto had felt with him.

“Okay,” the female technician said, “Let’s unhook you boys so you can get some sleep.”

XXX
If you were to ask Natsuo would tell you his night has sucked. His head was a whirlpool of emotions, and he felt ready to explode over it. Looking back on his day had been a pretty good day to start with. His internship was going smoothly as it could be. He hung off the words of his instructors and even managed to make friends with the other people he was working with. Then the technician just had to ask him to monitor that room.

“There younger boys,” she had said, “They were attacked by a villain and have had a rough night. Just calm them down and make sure they’re okay. Can you do that?”

Natsuo, of course, agreed, not expecting to find his baby brother dressed in a hospital gown receiving a blood transfusion. The unusual look on Shoto’s face had told him that it had not been a good night for the teen. Natsuo couldn’t describe the emotion he felt at that time. It is hard enough to look at, let alone process. But he had to push that down because part of his job right now was to calm them down. So Natsuo put on a smile and pretend nothing was wrong.

The worst part of the night had to be leaving Shoto. Natsuo wanted to dig his heels into the floor and refuse to go, but no, he had to be respectful and walk away.

He was done for the day, but he couldn’t go home, not until he found out what happened. Natsuo had approached the doctor in charge of Shoto and his friends and asked who had hurt them. He hadn’t asked Shoto because whatever it was, all three of the boys were still on edge about it. The doctor told Natsuo that he couldn’t tell him anything since Natsuo wasn’t family, which lead to the white-haired intern yelling, “He’s my brother!”

After presenting proof and some frustrating exchanges on Natsuo’s part, the doctor sighed and explained that he could not tell Natsuo the whole thing due to the police’s wishes. Still, all he could say was it had to do with the take one of a villain that happened a few hours earlier.

As he left the lobby, Natsuo caught a glance at the TV that was playing the news. The lady on there was reporting a story on how the Hero Killer: Stain was taken down a couple of hours beforehand, along with the chaos of the nomu attack. Natsuo didn’t listen as the woman said there was still information being withheld by the police. He had all he needed to know, and he was furious.

As he left, Natsuo had no idea where he was going, but he didn’t care. He was pissed with the world and angry with himself. He got that being a hero meant that Shoto was going to get hurt, he understood that, but the fact his little brother was in the hospital, and there was nothing more Natsuo could do about it seriously ticked him off!

He felt helpless over the fact that there was no one in his family he could help. Not even a little bit. Natsuo couldn’t help his mom. Couldn’t help Dabi through his events. He had no clue how to help Fuyumi with anything, and now he couldn’t even help Shoto well enough. It was things like this that made him feel he was the worst person on the planet, and he hated feeling that way. It was all so angering that he wanted to hit something!

And he did. His first collide right with the brick wall he had been walking along. Pain snapped him out of it a little as he looked down at his hand. His knuckles were bleeding, and tomorrow they will be bruised. Natsuo bit his tongue and sniffed. Tears of anger and worry slid down his cheek as he sat down on a bench against the wall, face buried in his hands. He was tired, so fucking tired. There was so much bad going on all around him, and he didn’t know what to do.

Shoto could have died tonight, that was the thought that kept floating around in his head. His baby brother could have been a bloody corpse in some back alley of Hosu City.

“Hey, you okay, man?” A voice asked. Natsuo looked up. There was a guy around his age, black hair, and clothes, and a bag of take-out in his hand.

“I’ve been better,” Natsuo said, looking to the side, wiping the corner of his eye with his thumb. The black-haired guy sat next to him with space in between them.

“Bad day?” the guy asked.

“More bad night,” Natsuo said.

“What happened? If you don't mind me asking.”

Natsuo took in a deep breath and sighed, “My little brother’s training to be a hero,” he stared.

“Was he caught up in all the craziness tonight?”

“Sorta, I only found out because I’m interning at the hospital he was sent to, and I was sent to monitor his blood transfusion.”

“That's rough buddy,” the guy said.

“Tell me about it.

Guy sat up a bit and said, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, my day was pretty shitty too.”

“How so?”

“Welp, my little cousins, had been caught up in a legal battle between our aunt and their father, so I thought I’d take them out today since they never go out. And my cousin, Harue, who’s four, got lost. It doesn’t help that his brother was getting mild heatstroke, thanks to his Quirk too. So, I had to leave him with my friend and look for an hour before I found her again.”

“Then it sounds like it sucked,” Natsuo said.

“It did,” the black-haired man said, “And when my dad found out. I thought I was dead.”

They were quiet for a moment. Then Natsuo looked at his hands and asked, “Are you close to your cousins?”

“Try to be,” the guy said, “It’s hard because of their father. Are you close to your little brother?”

“Try to be,” Natsuo muttered. Shoto was always hard to reach. Whether it was because of that man or Shoto's hesitation, Natsuo still had to fight to be close to younger Yukitomo.

He felt a little better now, which was funny since he just unloaded a good lot of his baggage on to a stranger. But he did feel a little bit closer now.

“What the hell happened to your hand?” the guy asked.

“Punched a wall.”

“Seems legit.”

XXX

Shoto looked out the window as the morning light came rushing in. He hadn’t slept well last night, and neither had Midoriya and Iida. Shoto sighed and swung his leg over the side of the bed nearest Midoriya’s direction.

“Thinking about that fight now,” Midoriya said, “We did something pretty incredible.”

“Agreed,” Shoto muttered.

“I think it’s a miracle we’re alive,” the green-haired teen said, “With my leg messed up, I was an easy target. He probably could have killed me if he wanted to.”

“Yeah,” Shoto said, almost absentmindedly, “I guess he let us both live on purpose.”

Shoto looked over at Iida, who was staring at the ground, lost in thought.

“I was impressed with you, though, Iida,” Shoto said, “He was actively trying to kill you, but you stood tall.”

“That’s not true,” Iida said, looking at him, his face filled with disappointment that Shoto had to guess was towards himself, “I was…”

Just then, the door opened, and the three teens saw two heroes standing in the doorway.

“Grand Torino,” Midoriya said, a small hint of a smile on his face.

“Manual,” Iida said, looking up and his mentor. Shoto noticed that Banshee wasn’t with him, so he guessed he was safe, for now.

Grand Torino made his way over to Midoriay and said, “I could yell at you for hours, do you know that?!”

“Yeah,” Midoriay said, fear flashing across his face, “I’m sorry-”

“But before I do,” Grand Torino interrupted, “You have a visitor.”

The door opened again, and a very tall man with a dog’s head walked in. He was dressed in a black suit and jacket and had his hands in his pockets.

“This is Hosu’s chief of police,” Grand Torino explained, “Kenji Tsuragamae.”

Shoto bit his tongue as he and Iida stood up. This was going to be a rough time.

Midoriya moved to get up too, but Tsuragamae said to him, “No, please stay seated. Woof.”

The police officer looked at the three of them and said, “So your the UA students who brought down the Hero Killer, huh?”

“We are,” Shoto said with a sick feeling growing in his stomach. Why did the chief of police come all this why? Why? Why did he do that?

“Stain has some serious injuries,” the man went on, “Severe burns, and several broken bones. Right now, he’s in the hospital under strict guard. Woof. Here’s a lesson you should have already learned when Quirks became the norm-”

Shoto tried so hard not to roll his eyes as the police chief launched into his statement.

“The police force went to maintain the status quo,” Tsurgamae went on, “We decided we wouldn’t use Quirks as weapons. That’s when heroes came in. They could do what we couldn’t if they were licensed, of course, woof. It would be impossible for the police to condemn the use of deadly Quirks. After all, we're here to stop such harm from being done.

“The only reason pros can use their powers now is because of the strict code of ethics the early heroes chose to abide by. That’s why it’s against the law for uncertified people to use their Quirks to cause injury.”

Tell that to almost every person in Shoto’s life between the ages of 23 and 35. Now Shoto knew that that was wrong and understood the law and all that, but there were times where following the rules could get people hurt or worse. Not now, he told himself. There is no reason to get upset.

“It doesn’t matter if you were going against the Hero Killer or not,” Tsurgamae said, “None of you had the authority to harm the villain.”
There was some reason to get up.

“That means the three of you, and your supervisors, Banshee, Manual, and Grand Torino are sure to receive harsh punishment for this gross abuse of your power.”

Most people, while being the presence of the chief of police, would be quiet, calm, and respectful. But Shoto ‘raised by Dabi to say fuck you to authority’ Yukitomo, took that idea, said fuck it, threw it out the damn window and said, “Now wait a minute, if Iida had not stepped in Native would have died. And if not for Midoriya, both of them would be dead!”

The anger was rising in Shoto now, like a raging fire the was being fed gasoline as he went on, “None of the heroes noticed the Hero Killer was in Hosu. Are you saying to us that we should have stood there and let people die!?”

“Calm down,” Midoriya told him. But Shoto wasn’t listening. Wasn’t the point of being a hero, or even a police officer, to help people to keep them safe? Did this guy think that they should have stayed back? If you could do something to help someone you did it, were they getting trouble for that?

“So, it’s okay to break the laws as long as it goes your way?” Tsurgmae asked.

Shoto growled, and then went on to voice the thoughts in his head. “But sir, isn’t it a hero's job to save people?”

“This is why you are not a full-fledge pro yet,” Tsurgmae said, “It’s clear UA and Banshee have not been teaching you near enough. What a shame.”

Everyone got to your bomb shelter because Shoto was going to go nuclear.

“You damn mutt!” Shoto said, not even caring about respect or anything along those lines as he walked toward the officer.

“Yukitomo,” Iida cried, “Listen, he’s right.”

“Stop there, kid,” Grand Torino said, holding out his hand,” You’ll want to hear him out till the end.”

Shoto did stop, but his teeth were grit, and his vision was still red.

“What I’ve said is the official stance of the police department,” Tsurgmae explained, “But any punishment would only be necessary if this went public. If it did, you would probably be crowded by citizens everywhere. But there’s no way you could escape from being reprimanded. On the other hand, we could say Endeavor saved the day. Stain’s burn marks would support the story completely, and we could pretend you weren’t involved. Woof.”

Shoto pressed his lips together and huffed as the anger very slowly seeped out of his body. The chief of police kept talking.

“Luckily, there were few witnesses. This could be the last you heard of any punishment. It would mean no one would know about you. You’d receive no aclament at all. The choice is yours.”

Shoto was quiet. It wasn’t a hard choice.

“Personal,” Tsurgmae said, “I know where I stand. I don’t want to damage any promising young careers. Not for a mistake like this.”

The officer gave them a thumbs up, and now Shoto felt a little bad for insulting him.

“Either way,” Manual said, “We’ll need to take responsibility for being negligent as supervisors.”

At the sight of this, Iida walked forward and bowed, “I’m sorry,” he said, “I should have listened.”

Manual lightly hit him on the head and said, “Yeah, you caused us a lot of trouble. Remember that, and don’t do it again.”

“Yes, sir.”

Next to them, Midoriya bowed his head and said, “I apologize as well.”

Shoto copied and very quietly muttered, “Me too. We’ll leave it to you.”

“I know it’s not fair,” Tsurgmae said, “You won’t enjoy any of the fame and praise you would have received otherwise.”

Shoto personally didn’t care about that but didn’t say anything as the chief went on.

“But at least,” the man bowed, “Allow me as the chief of police to thank you.”

Once more against better judgment, Shoto muttered, “You should have started with that.”

Once the adults all flooded out, Midoriya turned to Shoto and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so angry, Yukitomo.”

Shoto crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. Who could blame him? He was raised by and grew up with people who got fucked over by the law in one way or another. Was it that surprising he got worked up over it sometime?

XXX
Aizawa rested his arms on the table. The hero across from him mimicked his look, although there was a smile pressing against her lips. Banshee was not the first person Aizawa thought to question in dealing with the Yukitomo’s, but Nedzu and recent events told him otherwise.

Aizawa had never met or talked to her, but he had seen Banshee before. She was low in the ranks but good at her job. So were her co-works. But that wasn’t the point right now.

Finally, he leaned forward and said, “I’d like to talk to you about Yukitomo.”

“Of course,” she said, “Despite the events of last night he’s been-”

“That’s not what I want to talk about.”

Banshee’s smile didn’t entirely fall, but her demeanor and overall aura did change, just a bit.

“What do you want to talk about then?” she asked, sitting up straight.

“I just need to ask a few questions,” he said, “You work in the area where Yukitomo and his family lives, don’t you?”

“I do,” Banshee said, her face now emotionless.

“Have you ever noticed anything strange about the family?”

“So we’re going to play this game?” she asked, her voice becoming toneless for a moment. Before Aizawa could ask her what she meant, Banshee snapped her fingers, and her hair, which had been floating above her, felt as if gravity had finally calmed it. For some reason, her hair down in gave her a more intimidating look.

Banshee crossed her arms over her chest, and she said, “Are you asking these questions to find out more on Shoto Yukitomo or his elder brother?”

Aizawa leans forward, “We’re trying to find out what’s going on with all of them. Looking into the family’s background, some things don’t add up. Principal Nedzu and others have a theory behind it, but we want to make sure we are correct before proceeding forward.”

“Why come running to me then?” Banshee asked.

“Any information is helpful,” Aizawa said. They two stared at each other for a long time. Neither one of them willing to look away when Banshee said, “Tell me the theory your colleagues have.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t need rumors flying,” Aizawa said, “If we’re wrong, we could ruin the Yukitomo’s life.”

“Then why poke around at all?” Banshee asked, “They seem like a fairly happy family. Why risk storing up trouble when you could cause so much damage?”

“Because of what it means if our suspicions are correct,” Aizawa said.

Banshee leaned back and looked at him for a minute and said, “Let’s make a deal. I tell you everything I know and promise me this.”

“What?” Aizawa asked.

“You’re not going to break up that family,” she said.

“Is that all that matters to you in this?”

“Why wouldn’t that matter?” she asked, “Why would I want to see a family split up?”

“That's the last thing I want to happen,” Aizawa said, “However I can’t make promises but know that I will do what is best for the family, and make sure whatever happens Yukitomo well be taken care of.”

Banshee thought about it for a minute, then she sighed through her nose and said, “I don’t know much. But I know that the families skittish around heroes.”

“Why?” Aizawa asked.

“No idea,” she answered, “But when I first met the kid, he seemed to be terrified. Every time I notice him and his siblings out, they always go the other way. Especially if the oldest is with them. I think they had a bad experience with heroes.”

Aizawa sat back in his seat and asked, “Do you know anything about the parents?”

“No, I’ve only heard a few things from neighbors,” she said, “some people have told me their mother in the hospital and the father dead. But I have reason to believe they may have been abused.”

“What do you think the chances are the Yukitmo siblings are runaways?” Aizawa asked.

“50/50,” Banshee said, “They’re smart kids. They could finger it out for themselves.”

“Has anyone ever looked into them? People like Child Protective Services?”

“None as far as I know,” Banshee said, looking to the side, “I thought about it for some time, but there was enough for me to do so.”

Aizawa thought for a minute before asking, “What do you know about Dabi Yukitomo?”

Banshee chuckled and said, “He does not care for heroes; I’ll tell you that.”

“In the beginning, you asked if I was trying to get info on him,” Aizawa said, “Why did you ask that?”

“I thought you were trying to get him arrested,” she said.

“Why?”

Banshee raised an eyebrow, “Come on now, you did your homework. You know exactly why.”

“Is there any connection between him and the Gray Skulls?”

“There are tons,” Banshee replied, “But as far as him being a member, there nothing.”

“Do you believe he was involved with any crimes the group may have committed?”

“Listen,” Banshee said, “The Gray Skulls are a few hairs short of being yakuza. Hell, they used to be a long time ago. I know that Dabi Yukitomo is close to Sora Hayabaus, and let me tell you that the girl did some dark thing when she ran the group. But what she was good at was helping people in her vigilante way. So do I think her or her brother can have offered help in exchange for something? Yes, but the thing is, there is no proof. There's hardly any proof on the skulls. That’s how good they are at being shadows in the night.”

They were quiet. After a long, while Banshee asked, “You sure you can’t tell what your friend up at UA thinks going on?”

Aizawa sighed, “Do you really want to know?”

“Try me.”

XXX

The room was quiet. Midoriya went to make a call. So that left Shoto and Iida to sit in slices. For a moment, the white-haired boy wondered if he should reach out and say something. Say anything. But his brain couldn’t come up with words.

Luckily the door opened, and Midoriya walked back in with the help of his crutches.

“Hey, Iida,” he said, “I just got off the phone with Uraraka. She said-”

“Midoriya,” Shoto interrupted, “Iida just got done getting examined.” It was best to rip the band-aid off now rather than later.

They both looked at Iida, who still hadn’t said anything. Finally, he said, “My left hand might have long-term damage,” there was a pause, “Both of my arms were pretty beaten up, but the damage in my left was pretty severe. There was damage to my brachial plexus. But that just means that I’ll have trouble moving my hands and fingers, and I’ll go through some numbness.”

That last part lightened the atmosphere of the room just a bit as Iida went one, “There's a chance that it could heal with nerve transplant surgery.”

Iida’s face fell as he looked down. He said, “When I found the Hero Killer, I stopped being able to think. The first thing I should have done was told, Manual. But I forgot myself in my anger.”

“That’s what happens sometimes,” Shoto said softly. It was the truth. It had happened to him and both in brothers. It was just human nature.

“I hate him,” Iida said, “But he spoke the truth.”

“Well-”
“Not now, Yukitomo,” Midoriay hushed.

“That’s why,” Iida said, “Until I become a true hero, I think I want to leave my left hand the way it is.”

“Iida,” Shoto said, know sure of what to think of that. After a moment of quiet, Midoriya said, “I feel the same way. He was looking at his scarred hand. Then he made a fist and held it out to Iida as if he was going for a fist bump and said, “Let’s get stronger together.”

The teen with the glasses looked at him, and they nodded in agreement — both ready to grow stronger and better.

Then something was put together in Shoto’s mind. Something from when he was little, and he said, “I feel kinda bad.”

“About what?” Midoriya asked.

“Every time I get involved with something, other people mess up their hands. I am most like cursed.”

After a beat, both Iida and Midoriya began laughing, and the green-haired teen said, “Thanks for the joke Yukitomo. We needed it.”

“Bold of you to assume I’m joking. For real, I’m like the ‘Hand Crusher’ or something.”

While laughing, Midoriya said, “Now that should have been your hero name!”

Chapter Text

The rest of Shoto's internship, after he was raised from the hospital, went over calmly. Banshee did make him study and look over hero law as part of a punishment, but Shoto didn’t mind too much. In the end, the white-haired teen was almost sad to go.

“Well, kid,” Banshee said, “You had a rough start, but other than that, you great to have around.”

Shoto noticed a different look in her eyes. They were almost sad, but they also looked like they were studying him. They were looking for some below the surface. But Shoto pushed that away from now.

“Thank you again for having me and letting me learn from you,” Shoto said while giving a respectful bow.

“Don’t mention it, kid,” the hero said, smiling, “Just, try no to get into too much trouble,” her voice grew soft as she said that last part.

“I’ll do my best.”

The train ride home was calm enough, and Shoto was looking forward to going home. Dabi and Fuyumi weren’t able to come to visit him in the hospital, but they had been informed by the police what had happened. Shoto had no idea how they were going to act, but he tried not to dwell on it too much.

On his way up to his apartment, Shoto was stopped by Mrs. Kitabayashi, who was on her way out.

“Hello, dear,” she said with a bright smile spreading across her face.

Shoto smiled back, “Hello, Baba.”

Many years ago back when the Yukitomo siblings first moved into the building, Shiki was the only kid Shoto knew that was his age. So that meant he spent a lot of time with her. A child, Shiki, talked a mile a minute, and a lot of that talk was about her grandma. Due to that, it led to Shoto thinking Mrs. Kitabayashi’s name was ‘Baba’ because that was the only thing Shiki called her. So he called her such as well, which lead to Natsuo also addressing her that way too. The two boys weren’t corrected until Dabi found out. He explained to Shoto that that wasn’t her name, and told Natsuo it probably wasn’t too respectful to keep calling her such. Shoto had been embarrassed at the time, but the older woman insisted that it was no big deal, and both he and Natsuo could keep calling her that if they wanted. So to this brought them today where Shoto still called his downstairs neighbor ‘Baba’ or when he was more respectful, ‘ma’am.’

“So, your internship is all done?” she asked.

“Yes,” Shoto said, “I had a good learning experience, and I’m thankful for it.”

“Well, that wonderful dear,” she said, “Now there has been something I’ve wanted to ask you.”

“Yes, Baba?” Shoto asked.

“Shiki is coming home in a few weeks,” the older woman said, “And I was wondering if you’d like to come with me to get her a welcome home present. I'm sure you'll be busy here soon with exams. But if you want to come...”

“I’d love nothing more,” Shoto said, smiling.

“Wonderful!” Mrs.Kitabayashi exclaimed, clasping her hands together, “Well, I’m off to book club dearly. You be ready to come shopping with me.”

“I will.”

Shoto watched her leave and then made the rest of the way up to the apartment. He had forgotten that his siblings would be there, so he was surprised by the tackled hug he got from Fuyumi on opening the door.

“I was so worried!” Fuyumi cried, pulling, Shoto as close to her chest as he could.

“Yumi, you’re crushing me worse than Natsuo does,” Shoto gasped. He was ironed, of course, and soon enough, he was passed on to Dabi, who held him even tighter.

“Are you a moron?” Dabi asked, “I mean, what the hell were you thinking?”

“Sorry,” Shoto muttered, wanting nothing to be let so he could breathe again. The raven-haired man did let him go, only for Natsuo to hug him even tighter.

“For the love of All Might!” Shoto yelled, “You’re all going to suffocate me!”

“Oh, shut up and take our love,” Natsuo shot back.

After getting more hugs than he ever needed, Shoto was finally let go and able to breathe again. He looked at his siblings, who have all circled around him.

“Are you okay?” Fuyumi asked, “After everything that happened?”

“I mean,” Shoto started, “I’m not hurt. But head wise, I don’t know. Still a little shook up, I guess.”

“Well, we're here if you need to talk, kay kid?” Dabi said.

“Yeah,” Shoto muttered, “I know.”

“Come one,” Natsuo said, “Let’s make dinner. We could watch Howl’s Moving Castle after.”

“Well, if we’re going to do that, we may as well watch Princess Mononoke too,” Shoto said.

“You have school tomorrow,” Fuyumi said.

“I don’t see your point.”

XXX

Dabi was in a weird place emotionally. To start, his baby brother was attacked by a maniac with way too many blades on him. Of course, anyone who laid a fucking finger on any of his siblings should die, and be dragged off to hell by their hair, but as Dabi heard more and more about the villain’s ideology, he could see the point. Dabi hated the fuck, and his methods were, ‘not good,’ no question, but the ideas behind it the actions Dabi understood.

The idea of removing heroes that were toxic and had selfish and self-centered goals, it was tempting to think about. Just take all the filth that were a lot of the pro heroes in the world and just, making them disappear, turning them to ash, it sent an old yet not entirely unwelcome feeling threw him.

But Dabi was going to have to let the Hero Killer and his ideals go. He had to. The lunatic hurt Shoto and his brother was going to be a hero. Dabi was still allowed to have an opinion on the hero, but he figured it was best not to have that one. Beside Fuyumi and he had already argued about Stain earlier that day when she found him watching videos. No need to keep bringing it up.

“Dabi?” Shoto's voice asked, pulling the black-haired man out of his thoughts.

Dabi looked at him, yakitori halfway to his mouth when he said, “Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking,” Shoto said.

“That’s never good.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not at the table,” Fuyumi said, glaring at both of them.

“Yes, brat?” Dabi asked.

“I know I’m still learning to use my left side,” Shoto said, “But I realized that I am limited when I use it.”

“What are you saying?” Dabi asked, putting his food down.

“I need to learn to fight and train more without my Quirk,” Shoto said.

“You know how to do that.”

“Not good enough,” Shoto said, “If I’m going to be a good hero, I can’t just trust my Quirk for all things. I need more methods.”

“He’s got the point,” Natsuo said, avoiding Dabi’s eyes, as he took a long drink.

Dabi signed and leaned back in his chair to think. Dabi himself used long-range combat for almost all his fighting. He knew some close-range fighting styles, but they weren’t that good. He knew a little bit about using a sword, but that was from when he was low, and it was almost all forgotten.

After thinking about it for a while, Dabi realized there was one person who could help Shoto, and he hated to say it. But his brother was right, and if Dabi wanted Shoto to be safe, he needed to make sure the kid was ready for anything.

“Sora could probably teach you more than I ever could,” Dabi said. All of his siblings looked up at him when he said that.

“Will she even agree to teach him?” Fuyumi asked.

“Come on, we all know Shoto’s her favorite,” Natsuo said jokingly, “Of course she’ll say yes.”

“Would you like to train with Sora?” Dabi asked, looking right at Shoto.

The white-haired teen thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

“I’ll call her in the morning,” Dabi said.

“Now that we have that out of the way,” Natsuo said, “Why don’t you tell me about Midoriya, huh Shoto?”

“Shut the hell up,” Shoto growled.

“Midoriya?” Fuyumi asked, “The boy you fought with at the Sports Festival?”

“Yep,” Natsuo said, “And when I saw them at the hospital, someone was staring.”

“Shut up!” Shoto yelled.

“Come on, Sho, tell us more.”

“Oh, my gods, I’m going to jump out that window if you don’t stop.”

Dabi leaned back and laughed at the sight in front of him. Sometimes in moments like these, Dabi thinks about how life would have been if he hadn’t made the choices he made. None of them would be this happy, he told himself. The monster wouldn’t have let them. A small wave of angry rolled threw him.

Only five more years.

XXX

Taijo took a long drag of his cigarette as he relaxed more into his armchair. The room was dark and smelt of blood and garbage, mixed with dirt and gasoline.

The harsh light of the dust lamp beat down on Himura’s face and made the blood trickling down his temples shine. His tight mouth gag was stained with vomit and begging to give his skin a rash. And his right eye was shut due to the blood cape and the other twitching every few seconds.

Daisuke and Kagero were to the left and right of the tied-up man, their weapons still in hand. Behind them was a rack of even more tools and weapons. Daisuke was smirking while gripping his crowbar with blood-stained hands even tighter. Kagero’s face was blank as he looked towards the ground, twirling his knife in his hand.

Mareo sat comfortably on Taijo’s lap, arms wrapped around his neck, one of his hands playing with Taijo’s hair. Mareo also had the side of his head resting on top of Taijo's gently. Though navy-haired couldn’t see him, he knew his pet was smiling ear to ear, with a hint of delight in those seductive eyes of his.

After another drag from his smoke, Taijo said, “You see Himura, I didn’t want to do this. But what can I say? You forced my hand. You’re the one who made the mistakes, and this is the punishment for it. Do you have anything to say?”

Himura looked back at him. There was fury in the man’s eyes, but Taijo only found it amusing. The navy haired man laughed and flicked away his cigarette.

“Tell you what,” Taijo said, “I’ll let you off easy this time, but first...” Taijo looked to Mareo, “What do you think we should do to him, darling?”

The smaller man moved his head to look at Himura, biting his lower lip as he thought. Then a spark of joy flashed in those hazel eyes as he turned to Taijo, and said with a voice full of glee, “You could break his kneecaps, Sir! Then make him go up the stairs with his hands!”

Taijo smiled and said, “That’s a thought, now. How would we break his kneecaps then?”

“You could use the bat,” Mareo said while giggling, “Or I could do it for you, Sir. Oh, please, I’ll make it good, Sir.”

“As much fun as that sounds darling,” Taijo said, “I have another idea. He grabbed his gun and fired a bullet into Himura’s stomach and another into his right pectoral. The restrained man screamed, threw the gag in agony. Bloodstains blossomed over his white shirt like drops of ink on paper.

Tajio carefully slid his pet off his lap and told him, “Go back to the house and lay on an outfit for me, okay, darling? I have a meeting after this. Can’t show up in jeans now, can I?”

Mareo’s lip stuck out in a pout, “But Sir, you said I could watch the whole thing.”

“Come now, darling,” Taijo purred, “Do what I told you, and I’ll take you out after my meeting. Let you go crazy on those morons down at the pier. How’s that sound?”
A smile broke across Mareo’s face, and he nodded.

“Good, now go. And send in Kazama and Okabe on your way out.”

The smaller man nodded again and left the room, partially skipping and laughing to himself. Once Mareo was gone, Taijo made his way over to Himura and grabbed him by the hair to make him look Taijo in the eyes.

“Now, I’m going to let you get healed by Serizawa,” Taijo said, “But you make one more mistake, step one toe out of line. Then the next bullet goes in your head.”

With that, Taijo fired one more bullet into Himura’s right knee. While the man was screaming, he threw his gag, Taijo signaled for Okabe and Kazama to take him while Taijo left with Daisuke and Kagero.

The three made their way through the compound, sometimes stopping to bark orders or to look over inventory. The three men washed the blood off themselves and finished the rest of the trip. Once they were in Taijo’s office, the man lit another cigarette and sat at his desk. After taking one long drag, he gestured for the other two men to sit.

“Thought you said you were going to kill him,” Daisuke said, taking a seat on the leather couch.

Taijo rolled his eyes, “I changed my fuck mind. What’s it to you?”

“Mareo was rather happy to be there,” Kagero muttered, crossing his arms.

“Oh, Kagero, please do keep drooling on in that piss-poor, whiny voice of yours,” Taijo said, leaning back in his chair.

“You let him have too much privilege,” Kagero began, “Mareo’s a child-like sadist on a sugar high. He’s going to get cocky or overdo something if you don’t control him better. Plus, it doesn’t help you’re sleeping with him.”

“What’s wrong with that? Taijo asked, getting a look of disapproval from the white-haired man. Taijo smirked, “You know every time you bring my pet up, you just convince me that you’re upset you are not my main bitch anymore?”

Kagero rolled his eyes, muttering, “Why do you always choose the crazy ones to fuck?”

“They’re more fun to play with,” Taijo chirped.

“I'd like to get back on topic,” Kagero said, “Because we still hadn’t talked about the heroes or police yet.”

“Ug, what about them?” Taijo asked, with a look of boredom on his face.

“Well, have you taken any precaution to make sure our new location isn’t found?” Kagero asked, “Your traps are getting sloppy, Taijo. And for the sake of us all, I hope you’ve done the work needed to keep us in the shadows.”

“I’ve done plenty,” Taijo mutters, getting up to pace, “If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s how to hide, so don’t you worry about that. Right now, the heroes aren't at the top of my list of concerns. And the shadows? I don’t know; they’ve been lame. That’s why the prospect of our future partners is appealing, to say the least.”

“You haven’t even gone to the meeting yet,” Daisuke said, “You so sure these morons will take?”

“Trust me; they’ll take. And if not, well, we all know how persuasive I can’t be,” Taijo said, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Just then, Daisuke muttered very quietly under his breath, “Yeah, Edge Lord’s a great example of that.”

Most people wouldn't have heard it, but Taijo ears could catch the quietest worlds, like a falcon snatching a mouse.

“What was that?” Taijo asked, slowing turning around, walking over to the other man until he was standing over top of him. Daisuke's face fell and lost some of the colors drained, but he maintained his cool.

“What did you say?” Tajo asked again.

“Do you have to do this now?” Kagero asked. Taijo shook his head and looked kept looking at Daisuke. It was clear that he wasn’t going to repeat himself, but he would talk one way or another.

Finally, the red-haired man said, “Dabi needs to be taken out. He’s a bitchy little backstabbing traitor, and we can’t have running around.”

Behind him, Taijo could hear Kagero sigh and assumed the white-haired man rolled his eyes.

“Now isn’t the time to be talking about Da-”

“Shut the hell up, Kagero!” Taijo snapped, looking back at the other for a moment. Taijo closed his eyes, and after a second, his anger subsided, and his smile returned a he looked back at the man on the couch.

“Daisuke,” Taijo said, “How many times do I have to tell your dumbass, that we still need the bitch? Hm? How many times do I have to tell you that? I swear your brain must be full of space because you never seem to get it.”

“Why do we need him, though? What are you waiting for?” Daisuke asked testing waters he knew were dangerous “Think he’s going to change his mind and come crawling. Guess that be good for you cause then you’d have one of you fuck toys back.”

“Daisuke,” Kagero hissed, “Stop it, you're being pathetic.”

“Now, Kagero,” Taijo said, turning back to him, walking away from Daisuke, “That’s a bit harsh. We all friends here, aren't we?”

“I don’t think you know what that word means,” Kagero mutters.

“Oh, come on,” Taijo said. The two men looked at each other for a moment, and Taijo quickly reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a stun pod, and threw it at Daisuke's chest, shocking the man where he sat.

The red-head let out a scream of pain before the electricity stopped, and he blacked out from the pain.

“Did you have to do that?” Kagero asked.

“Shouldn’t have opened his damn mouth.”

“He is still breathing?”

Taijo glanced back at Daisuke and saw his chest rising and falling and gave a quick nod.

“He’ll be pissed when he wakes up,” Kagero groaned, “I’ll deal with him. Shouldn’t you get going?”

“What are you?” Taijo asked, “My whore, mother?”

“Just go get ready for your meeting Taijo,” Kagero said.

“Yeah, whatever.”

XXX

When he got home, Taijo got dressed in the navy shirt and blue suit coat and dress pants Mareo had laid out for him. He also took his gun and stun pod out and put them in the inside pocket of the nex jacket. Once he was changed, Taijo also saw that the other man was dressed for later that night. Mareo had put on his slightly oversize hot pink sweater with the little white skulls on it that fell off one of his shoulders, and he had on cut off shorts that went six inches above the knee, with fishnet tights underneath.

“Sir?” Mareo asked, “Can I bring brass knuckles, or is it too much with the outfit?”

“You can put on whatever you like, darling,” Taijo said, putting two fingers under Mareo’s chin so the other man could see his face. The short of the two flashed a smile and ran off to get his brass knuckles.

After Mareo was all dolled up, they waited outside for the car to arrive. Taijo noticed his pet jumping up and down as he told him a story about some beating or other his pet had seen.

Taijo let Mareo come in the car, but the brown-haired man was told that he had to wait there while his meeting was going.
“But, Sir!” Mareo whined, “I wanna come!”

“I’m already taking you out tonight,” Taijo said, “What more do you want from me?”

Mareo huffed and crossed his arm, turning away from Taijo in a pout. Taijo rolled his eyes as he watched his pet sulk and tried to ignore him. After a minute, Taijo put his hand on the top of Mareo’s knee and said, “Darling, this isn’t a funny meeting. No one's getting the skulls caved in. You’ll be bored out of your beautiful little mind.”

Mareo let out a ‘hmph’ and still wouldn’t look at him, and then Taijo said, “Darling, if all goes well, then we have an excellent chance of being able to have some fun again. Like we did back when we met. Don’t you want that?”

Taijo saw Mareo pick up at that and turned to look at him. “Really? We could have fun like that again if these people team up with us?”

“You bet,” Taijo said, “You could punch and stab to your pretty little heart's content, maybe even get to go after heroes like you’ve been begging for. And I could get Shynah to shut the hell up and get off my ass finally.”

At the mention of his sister, Taijo noticed his pet frown and asked, “What is it?”

“Your sister is so boring and awful,” Mareo ground, “She never wants to have any fun. When she kills, she always does the same thing over and over again. Whenever I try to do something new, she knocks me away or takes my toys. And she makes fun of my outfits too. Sir, I don't have friends anymore, not since Magma died. I’m lonely, and your sister doesn’t help.”

“Well, what would you like me to do about it?” Taijo said, humoring his pet.

“You could let me take her out,” Mareo said rather excitedly, clasping his hands together, “Oh, please, Sir! She’s dead weight, and she never listens! Sir, I’ll be so good at doing it, and it will be like she was never there.”

Taijo shook his head, “Darling, Shynah is still important, and her power is helpful.”

Mareo whined and slumped back in his seat while crossed his arm. Taijo sighed and said, “I can’t do much with the friends' bit, but the next time Shynah slips up, I’ll let you have some fun. Maybe use that new toy I got you to break a couple of her bones?”

“You mean it, Sir?”

“You can’t kill her, and you have to be good, darling,” Taijo responded, “But, yes.”

Mareo giggled and threw his arms around Taijo and rested his on the navy-hired man’s chest. After a moment, Taijo felt Mareo’s hand pat the area of his jacket where his inside pocket would be.

“I thought I made you more stun pods, Sir,” Mareo said, “Did you use one?”

“Yeah, I used one on Daisuke,” Taijo said, wrapping an arm around Mareo’s back and lighting a cigarette.

“Why?” the smaller man asked, “What the moron say?”

“Oh, he was trying to say I’m don’t good at my job and trying to convince me to whack off Dabi.”

At the mention of Dabi, Mareo said, “You still like him better than I don’t you, Sir?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Mareo asked, “Why is he still your favorite? I’m good, aren't I, Sir? Why is the trader your favorite when I’ve been nothing but loyal and good?”

“Because he just is, darling,” Taijo explained, “I’m not going to get rid of you, though, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

Mareo pouted but still nodded. Soon enough, the driver informed them that they had arrived at the location. Taijo pushed Mareo off him and got out of the car. He had the drive roll the window down and lead his head in and said, “You be good while I’m gone okay, darling?”

“Yes, Sir,” Mareo said, “Give ‘em hell.”

“I’ll do my best,” Taijo said, stepping back. With that, the car drove off, and he turned around to see that man he was waiting for. “Grain,” Taijo said, “How are you?”

“Fine,” he said, “Glad you decided to come after all.”

“You kidding me,” Taijo said, “Won’t miss this for the world.”

It was then Taijo noticed that there was someone else there. It was a girl with blonde hair pulled back into two messy buns. Her eyes were yellow, and her pupils reminded Taijo of cats'. She was dressed in what looked to be a school uniform and an oversized catagen.

“And who’s this?” Taijo asked, turning all his attention towards the girl.

“I’m Toga!” this girl chirped, “Are you here because of Mr. Stainy too?”

“Well, part of the reason,” Taijo said. He looked back to Grain, “So are we going or what?”

“Well, not yet,” Grain said.

“Why not?” Taijo asked, “You said we’d get to meet with this Shigaraki guy today.”

“I never said that,” Grain said, “But I rest assured that you will get to meet him. I have to confirm that you are the type of person he wants. Once that’s done, I’ll bring you back here in a couple of weeks if you both still want in.”

“Grain, are you telling me that you called me to come half-way across the prefecture, just to hear you tell me something you could have told me in a phone call?”

“Yeah,” Toga said, “Though we were going to meet people today.”

“Listen,” Grain said, “Things change. But I promise that you will meet Shigaraki when the time is right. I need to make sure that it is still what you want.”

“Oh, yes!” Toga said, “If working with these people means I get to be like Mr. Stainy, then yes!”

“As long as I get what you promised Grain, then I’m still in,” Taijo said.

“Wonderful.”

There was a bit more talking and planning. Taijo was half tempted to shoot Grain in the foot for making him come all that way here for almost nothing, but he didn’t when the broker left Taijo turned to Toga. By the way, she talked and acted; she seemed like someone his pet would enjoy the company of. So he said, “So kid.”

“Hm?”

“You got any plans?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, you see my pet, and I are going out tonight,” Taijo began, “And I think you two would hit off. You have nowhere else to go, right?”

“I guess I don’t,” she said.

“Well, then by all means.”

Taijo lead Toga to the restaurant that Mareo was waiting for him at. Taijo spotted his pet waiting outside, playing with his dagger with the bedazzled handle. When he noticed Taijo, his face broke into a grin and ran to him and jumped into the navy-haired man’s arms and wrapped his legs around his waist. Onlookers stared at the two of them as Tajio crashed their lips together roughly. It didn’t matter that they were in the middle of a busy area, Taijo didn’t care, and neither did his pet.

“Did you have a good meeting, Sir?” Mareo asked.

“Not really,” Taijo muttered, putting the smaller man down, “But I’ll tell you later.”

It was just then that Mareo saw Toga and asked, “Who she?”

“I’m Himiko Toga,” the blonde girl said, “Nice to meet you. I like your dagger.”

Mareo smiled and said, “Thanks, I got last year as a birthday gift. Wanna see?”

“Can I?!”

Mareo handed the dagger off to Toga, who was partially buzzing to hold it. “It’s so pretty!” she said, “None of mine are this nice.”

“Oh, this is nothing,” Mareo said, “So should see the ones I have in my room. I have this triple-bladed knife with a pearl handle. Ah, it's just so, pretty.”

“Ain't triple-blade knife against the Geneva Convention?”

“Yep!”

The two kept talking as the group went into the restaurant. Taijo listens to the go on and on for an hour, smiling at his pet’s joy. When their meal came, Mareo whispered to him, “Sir, can Toga come with us later?”

“If she wants,” Taijo said. Mareo squealed with delight and turned to Toga and said, “We’re going to the pier after this. There are some people down there who owe us a lot of money and haven't played it back. Would you like to come and play with us? You said you liked blood, didn’t you?”

“I’d love to come!” Toga said, a gimmer of blood lust twinkling in her eyes.

XXX

Later that night, the three of them got back to Taijo place. Once again, that had Toga come along because Taijo found out she had nowhere to stay. So on coming home, Mareo let Toga sleep in his room, and he and Taijo went to wash up.

“Did I do good tonight, Sir?” Mareo asked, taking off his sweater.

“You did beautifully, darling,” Taijo called from his place in the bathroom.

“Do see how I smashed that guy’s head into the concrete after he called me a faggot?”

“I did,” Taijo said, “I was ready to rip his heart from his chest with my talons, but you beat me to it.”

He heard a giggle come from Mareo, and then “Sir, even if Toga joins up with that Shigaraki guy and we don’t or the other way around, can I still hang out with her?”

“We’ll see,” Taijo said, “Do you like her?”

“Oh, yes!” Mareo said, “She’s so much fun!”

Taijo walked back out into the bedroom to find Mareo sitting on the bed in his robe looking at his sweater, “I got more blood on it than I thought,” he whined.

“Don’t worry, darling,” Taijo said, “I have someone take it to the cleaner in the morning.”

Mareo nodded, tossing the sweater to the side and scrunching over so Taijo could lay next to him. Once he was settled into bed, Taijo lit a cigarette and closed his eyes. Mareo rested his head on his chest and traced his hands over Taijo’s tattooed torso.

“Sir?”

“Yes, darling?”

“I was thinking. You said you went to Dabi’s place after the raid on the south building, yes?”

“I did.”

“Did you tell him about what Endeavor was covering up?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because pet,” Taijo muttered. “It’s just a rumor. Plus, if it true, how fun would it be to watch Dabi fall apart when he finds out?”

XXX

Sora looked at the chest in front of her. She knew what was in it. She knew she needed what was in it. But still, she couldn’t open it. Etsuko was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. Silently watching her in case something happens.

“It’s just a chest,” Etsuko said.

“I know.”

“No one will die if you open it.”

“I know.”

“Then open the damn chest, Sora.”

Sora sighed. She was acting stupid. It was just a chest. Slowly she reached for the clasps. After unlocking it, she pushed it open. Inside with all her old weapons and tools. Her guns, her crossbow, her blades, and all the ammo that went with them. There were also all the gadgets Tex had made her back in the day.

She looked back to Etsuko and asked, “What should I grab? I don’t think I need much training, right?”

“Grab the grappling armband, the eyepiece, and maybe a few numbing darts and knife,” Etsuko said, “Start the kid out easy.”

Sora nodded, quickly grabbing the thing she needed and shut the chest again. Once she put it on, she turned to Etsuko and said, “Well, let's do this.”

Sora held out her hand and whistled. Threw the open window, Dumpling came flying in. The falcon landed on her arm, and at the sight of her mistress, she let out a happy screech.

“You ready to case after a crazy teenage boy?” Sora asked.

Dumpling cocked her head to the side as if she was intrigued by what Sora had just said. The black-haired woman smiled, moving Dumpling to her shoulder and followed Etsuko out the door.

When they got down to the salon, Sora saw the oldest and youngest Yukitomo there waiting for her. Naoko was fusing over Shoto hair, and the fact he’d cut it, and Kei was smiling from her spot at her station.

“I had to cut it, “Shoto whined, “It was so long that villain could have grabbed me by in and used it against me.”

“That doesn’t mean you do this to it!” the stylist cried.

“It’s not that bad,” Shoto said, as Naoko turned his head to the side to examine more.

“Oh, I know that,” she said, “But it’s just so average. You could have at least done something like an undercut.”

“Maybe next time.”

“Enough fussing over his hair,” Sora said, “I still haven’t seen the boy.”

Shoto turned his head and smiled at her. Sora walked over and hugged the teen, half-terrified to find out he was almost taller than her now. She let him go, messed up his hair, and asked, “How are you doing, kid?”

“I’m okay,” he said, carefully reaching out a hand to pet Dumpling’s head. The bird closed her eyes as if she was starving for pets. Sora laughed.

“So, you’ve gotten to the point where Dabi can’t teach you anymore, huh?”

“Excuse me,” the raven-haired man said.

“Come on,” Sora said, ignoring the man, “Let’s get to work.”

They walked to the top floor of the building, which was an open area with concrete floors and a set of stairs on either side that of the room that led up to a second-floor area that looked over the place.

“Does your parole officer know this is here?” Dabi asked.

“He knows it’s here,” Etsuko said.

“We just haven’t told him what it’s for,” Sora finished.

Shoto stood in the middle of the room and looked up before asking, “So what are we going to do?”

“Well,” Sora said, “Catch.”

She threw his small knife towards the white hair teen, who panicked when he saw it and made an ice wall.

“Trusting your Quirk is not a bad thing,” Sora said, “But it can’t be the only thing you do.”

Shoto looked at her, “You’re a good fighter, probably going to be better than your brother someday.”

“Hey, now,” Dabi said.

“But if you're nothing but a one-trick pony, you’ll find yourself dead. So we're doing to show how to fight the old fashioned way,” she said, “With your fists and random shit you can find. So go grab something to swing at me.”

“You sure that the most effective teaching method?” Shoto asked

“It’s how I learn to fight, and I’m still here.”

“Fair enough.”

"I'm also going to show how to get out of traps and such without your Quirk too. Think you're ready for it?"

Shoto was quiet for a moment, then nodded.

Sora turned to look at Dabi, "If you think I was hard on you, wait till you see what I put him threw."

Chapter Text

Shoto felt the sweat drip down his brow as Sora stood over him. He was out of breath, and she looked like this was all a game. Shoto swallowed and asked, “Aren't you tired?”
“Nah,” Sora said, “Besides, watching try so hard is kind of funny to me.”

Over the past few weeks, Shoto had been getting ready for his final exams. Plus, he had been training with Sora on combat without his Quirk. Long story short, it had not been very fun or easy.

Shoto growled as he got back to his feet. The white-haired teen wasn’t awful at fighting without his Quirk, but he still wasn't as good as he liked to be.

“You’re doing fine,” the black-haired woman said, resting a hand on his shoulder, “It’s only been a couple of weeks since we started, you’re not going to be a master by now.”

“I know that,” Shoto muttered, still annoyed.

“Then stop looking so pissed with your performance,” Sora said, “You’ll get better with time. Besides, you still have your Quirk to use, and it’s not like that’s going away anytime soon.”

Shoto huffed, still bitter with his lack of progress. Sora wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Come on, lose the frown. I bet Etsuko and Fuyumi are probably done with dinner by now. We should eat.”

Shoto nodded, and the two made their way to the next floor. When they got there, they found the other three inhabitants of the house, and Fuyumi deep in conversation.

“Just do,” Kei said, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I died of embarrassment,” Fuyumi suggested dryly.

“Well then, now we know what the worst thing that can happen is.”

“I’m not going to do it,” the white-haired woman said.

“Come on, just call her ba-”

“What are you guys talking about?” Shoto asked.

“Nothing,” Fuyumi said before any of the other women could say anything. Naoko and Kei rolled their eyes in frustration, and Etsuko just chuckled and asked Shoto, “You hungry kiddo?”

“Starving,” the teen muttered.

Fuyumi had stayed with his Shoto for training since Natsuo stuck at university due to the upcoming finals, and Dabi was off with that secret boyfriend he wasn’t telling anyone about.

“You ready for the exams?” Fuyumi asked him halfway through dinner.

“Yeah,” Shoto said with a mouthful of noodles, “I got all my studying done, and we heard from an older student that the other half of the test is just fighting robots.”

“Did they have you do that in the Sports Festival?” Sora asked, hand a bit of meat to Dumpling, who had flown into the window sometime during the meal.

“Yep, and the Entrance Exam,” Shoto said.

“Doesn’t sound like it would be that hard to pass this test,” Naoko said.

“It’s why I’m not worried,” Shoto said.

Etsuko shook her head and said, “Don’t get too cocky kiddo. Next thing you know, they switch up the exams to throw you off your rhythm.”

Shoto nodded his head but didn’t listen fully. It wasn’t because he didn’t care about what Etsuko had to say, it was more along the line of his mind being elsewhere. Failing the final exam meant you didn’t get to go to summer training camp, and Shoto knew perfectly well that missing camp was not an option. Knowing what to expect in the hero part of the exams, everyone began to worry about the more traditional academic classes.

Shoto had always had good grades and been near the top of the class. However, some of his classmates were not so great in that department. A bunch of people had broken off into groups to study together. Yaomomo was hosting the study section at her house and had offered Shoto to come to join, but he declined. He likes Momo and was sure he’d learn a lot with her help, but Shoto found studying to be more comfortable when he was by himself.

Dinner cared about causally back and forth about everyone's lives. Toward the end, Etsuko stood up, a glass of wine still in her hand, and said, “Okay, I get we have a bit of time left, and I should wait till everyone is here. But I would just like to remind everyone in a few short weeks, Miss. Sora Hayabusa’s six years of house arrest will be over, and once again, will she be a free woman.”

Kei and Naoko whooped and cherried, and Shoto clamped as if he was at a golf tournament. Sora herself had a small smile pressing her lips, but Shoto noticed a slight hint of sadness. He guessed because the end of Sora’s sentence was also close to her and Masumi’s old anniversary if he remembered right.

But to be fair, the last he heard of Sora and Masumi anniversary was a long time ago.

Almost a whole another lifetime ago.

XXX

Keigo did not get to sleep in, ever really. The commission and his current rank always kept him busy running around saving people, being heroic, and all that. So on the super rare occasion that he gets to sleep later than 6:45 A.M., Keigo exploits the hell out of it.

So yeah, that’s how he ended up happily laying in bed at 7:30, enjoying himself with his eyes glued to Dabi’s tattoos once more. There were two on the raven-haired man’s backside that Keigo could see now. The first was the one on the back of Dabi’s neck. The messy black hair hides a smaller tattoo. It was a name of some sort, but Keigo couldn’t read it, cause it was tattooed to be crossed out. From there down was a full back tattoo. Keigo by now had seen just about all of Dabi’s tattoos, and for sure, the one on his back was his favorite.

It was huge and so freaking detailed in certain parts, almost to the point of realism, like the phoenix tattoo Dabi had on his stomach. But with that, the style it was done reminded Keigo of the images of old school yakuza tattoos he had seen or of woodblock prints. It depicted a young man with a naginata shielding a woman from another older man with a katana. The woman also looked older than the man protecting her, which gave Keigo an idea that the goal of the tattoo was to show a son protecting his mother. The figures were somewhere dark, and there was fire all around them, both red and blue.

Keigo wasn’t sure how long he stared at the thing, or when he started tracing his fingers down Dabi’s back. One thing Keigo had noticed was Dabi’s skin was either super warm or very cold, and there was hardly an in-between. Right now, the black-haired man’s skin felt warm and inviting. So much so that it led to Keigo moving closer, curling up into Dabi’s back, burying his nose in the crook of the other man’s neck, and tucked one of his wings around them both.

This was nice, Keigo thought mindlessly. It was nice to be close like this to someone. Even for a little bit.

If you were to ask Keigo what label he put on his and Dabi’s relationship, he wouldn’t know what to tell you. The term boyfriend did not feel comfortable, not yet, at least. It was n’t really friends with benefits situation either. Keigo had been in those before, and this was different than that.

The blond sighed threw his nose, maybe he didn’t need to think about what they were right now. They had only been on a few dates and slept together a bit. There was still time for Dabi to get out of dodge. Not that Keigo would ever blame him. Dating heroes, let alone the number three hero wasn’t the most natural thing in the world. Keigo shook his head and pulled himself closer to Dabi. He should be enjoying this while it lasted, he told himself.

Just then, there was groan coming from Dabi, and as Keigo pulled back his wing, the black-haired man turned around to face him.

“Fuck,” Dabi muttered, “What time is it?”

“I think like 7:35.”

“7:35? In the AM?” Dabi cried, “What human is up at this time?”

“We are,” Keigo said, “Like right now.”

“Aren’t you just a little smart ass, huh?” Dabi said, moving his face back into the mattress.

“Says you,” Keigo scoffed. Dabi lightly kicked him in the leg, and Keigo let out a squawk of pain
.
“Jerk!” the blond yelled, grabbing his pillow and hitting the man next to him.

“Quiet it!” Dabi yelled, smacking the hero in the face with his own pillow. Keigo fell back on the bed, and Dabi then moved to hover over the top of him.

“Hey,” the raven-haired man said.

“Fuck off,” Keigo said, trying not to laugh. But he ended up failing, and soon he was pulling Dabi down to crash their lips together. Keigo always noticed that Dabi always tasted like smoke and alcohol. He could never figure out why but that taste made Keigo feel like he was high.

Soon Dabi moved his mouth to the blond’s neck, and Keigo threw his head back and sucked in a breath. However, once Dabi started biting, Keigo said, “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“What the hell does that mean?” the tattoo artist asked, “Think I can’t?”

“No,” Keigo said, “I’m saying, don’t get me worked up for no reason when you have to go to work soon.”

Dabi smirked and said, “Why would work stop me from flipping you over and-”

“Okay, point made,” Keigo muttered, bringing Dabi to kiss him again.

When the finally pulled back for air Dabi said, “So quickie?”

“With roles reversed maybe. And it’s pronounced ‘quiche,’” Keigo said.

Dabi's face fell into a look of annoyance and said, “I fucking hate you.”

“That’s a lie, and we both know it,” Keigo said, stealing a quick peck. Dabi growled, and Keigo said, “Let’s eat first, then I’ll think about it.”

“Whatever,” Dabi muttered, moving out of bed to go find his clothes. Keigo laughed and got up to follow suit when his phone rang.

“No,” the blond groaned already knew who and what it was.

“What is it?” Dabi asked, looking back at him, as Keigo moved to answer the phone.

“Hello?” the blond answered, trying not to sound annoyed.

“We need you to come in today,” the voice of one of the commission work told him. Keigo bit his lip to keep from yelling that it was his only official day off of the month.

Instead, he asked, “For what?”

“You’ll be briefed on that when you arrive,” the voice said.

The hero sighed and said, “Give me forty-five minutes.”

“You have a half-hour,” the voice said before hanging up. Keigo cursed under his breath, tossed the phone somewhere on the bed before falling face-first into his pillow.

“Everything good?” Dabi asked, sitting next to him. Keigo turned to see the raven-haired man had managed to put on boxers and then shook his head.

“I got to go into work,” he muttered.

“I thought you had one full day off this month?”

“Yeah, well, I guess they’re trying to see how many days they can have me work without losing my fucking mind,” he said, sitting up again.

“Well,” Dabi said, running a hand threw the blond’s hair, “If you want, I can go make some of your gross health stuff for your breakfast so you can get ready.”

“That would be wonderful,” Keigo mutter leaning his head on Dabi’s tattooed shoulder for a moment knowing he had too soon pulled away and get ready.

XXX

Dabi liked staying over at Keigo’s place. He did, he really did, but there was one thing that bugged him and made him want to burn the place down. It was a small Endeavor action figure that stayed on the shelf in Keigo’s living room. Unlike the other items on the shelf, this figure had no box or packaging of any kind and had obviously been a well-loved toy.

The thing made Dabi's blood boil, and he wanted to melt it into a puddle of plastic. But he didn’t. For the most likely reason that the stupid thing had to be important to the blond. Why else would it be displayed as such?

It was stupid to be annoyed by something that was literally just plastic, but Dabi couldn’t help. The items seemed to mock him. Like he was never going to escape. Not really. Not truly.

Dabi was only pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Keigo coming out of the bedroom. The black-haired turned and saw the hero dressed for work.

“So whatcha make?” the wingman asked, sitting at the island counter.

“Eggs and toast,” Dabi said, pushing the dish in front of the other man, “Only thing I consider to be real food that you have.”

“You’re so picky,” Keigo said.

“I’m not picky, I just like eating actual food.”

“Whatever.”

“Eat so you can go.”

Before long, they were both dressed and ready to go to work. Dabi turned to Keigo and said, “Have a good day at work,” then leaned down to quickly peck the blond on the lips.

“I’ll try,” Keigo muttered a bit sourly.

“I’ll call you when I get off, ‘kay?”

“Yeah,” The blond said, “Maybe I'll even stop at your place, say hi. Sleep.”

“Maybe,” Dabi said smirking a bit

After one more quick kiss, they both went their separate ways. The morning dragged on. A little bit before 10, however, the raven-haired man did get a text from the hero. It was an image of some old building with graffiti all over it. Then there was another text after that.

Birdman: You said to send you pics of any street art I see.

The image was a girl turned to the side with her palm open and lifted up. Coming from her hand was aurora borealis mixed with stars and galaxies. It was almost a shame that it would be washed away.

The picture almost brought a smile to Dabi’s lips. It reminded him of when he used to go out at night, with Shoto and Natsuo find some building and just make art. He never did his political pieces in front of his brothers. No, only senary parts for little brothers.

Part of Dabi wished he could go back to doing street art, but after getting caught that one time he didn’t want to risk it again. He still had tattooing thought. Sure he didn’t always get to do the things he wanted, but it was still something.

Whether he liked it or not, Dabi's mind drifted back to that stupid toy on Keigo's shelf. It wasn’t something that should have bothered him. It wasn’t something that should keep spinning around in Dabi’s mind.

In the end, Dabi was able to get his mind to go somewhere else. But his last thought on the matter is that the dumb toy didn’t mean any really. He hoped it didn’t anyway.

XXX

Shoto grabbed another clay bird, and tossed it up in the air, shot it on fire when it was high enough. It turned into ash after a few seconds, and then Shoto threw up another. This time he froze it, taking a breath as he watched it fall back down and shatter.

The white-haired teen threw back his head and sighed. He’d be up on the roof practicing for almost an hour, and he was beginning to get tired. He checked the time on his phone and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and it had painted the sky a beautiful array for orange, pink, and yellow.

A smile pressed across his lips as he walked over to the edge of the roof and took a set. Things were still and calm. The only noise from down below was of people making their way after a long day. He tried to relax, take a deep breath, and just be calm.

The other day when he went with Baba to go pick out Shiki’s welcome home present, she noted that he looked like he had worried lines. His own siblings had made comments on his slightly haggard look, but he brushed that off.

“It nothing,” he’d say.

The truth was that he had this feeling in his gut about the test. Like it wasn’t going to be as simple as they all thought it would be. He shook his head. Just nervous, he told himself. Just some jitters before test day.

Everything was going to be okay.

XXX

Everything was not going to be okay.

The final exam was not fighting robots; it was fighting their teachers. And it was just his and Yaomomo’s lucky to have to go up against Aizawa. Oh, today as going to be great.
He sighed, looked over at Yaomomo. The test was going to start any minute now, and they had to get moving.

“We have to get moving,” he said. Although looking back at the black-haired girl, it seemed to Shoto like she was in a trance.

“Yaoyorozu!” he cried, snapping her out or her mind. She looked up at him, and Shoto could see the worry in her eyes.

“You nervous?” he asked. He knew that even since the Sports Festival, Yaoyrozu had been feeling to great about herself. Yoarashi tired to help her cheer up, but nothing work. And of course, Shoto had no idea how to help either.

“N-no,” she said, shaking her head.

“Well, seeing as we are going against Mr.Aizawa,” Shoto began, but let out a sigh, “I have an idea, though.”

Before he could say any more, the speakers informed them that the test had started. This was going to suck.

The two ran off, heading down an alleyway, Shoto in the front.

“It doesn’t matter what you make,” Shoto said, “Just keep making small objects. When you can’t make them anymore, that means Mr. Aizawa’s close.”

As they reached the end of the alleyway out into the light, he went on, “The exam will depend on who finds who first. Once we see him, I’ll draw him to me. Then you can head to the escape gate. We should stick together until then.”

Looked at his partner Shoto saw that she still had a look worry and increment on her face. Either that or she wanted to say something. Typical he'd try and ask what was wrong, but they didn’t have time for that.

“Yaoyorozu, can you please make something quickly,” he said.

“Yeah, right,” She said. Just then, a tiny little Russian nesting doll started coming from the girl's body. Shoto didn’t have time to question it (it was what she asked her to do,) and they started running.

“Let me know if you notice anything weird with your Quirk,” Shoto said.

“You doing great at this,” Yaoyorozu said, as they kept running.

“What do you mean?” Shoto asked, not taking the time to look back.

“You were able to come up with a plan to use against Mr.Aizawa so quickly. You were able to finger out what was the best at once.”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Shoto said. The sound of footsteps behind him stopped, and Shoto turned around to see what was happening. Yaomomo had stopped running. He was going to say something to her when he noticed.

“You’re nesting dolls have stopped!” he cried,” He’s coming!”

Looking up Shoto noticed his teacher upside down from the telephone wires

“If you realized that,” the black-haired man said, “Then you should immediately start acting!”

Shoto got ready to attack as Mr. Aizawa jumped down. “In this case, you should prioritize evasion. Since I stole a march on you.”

“Yaoyorozu, go!” Shoto yelled, kick towards his teacher, his power useless. She took off running, and Aizawa took notice.

“So that’s your plan,” he said, and before Shoto could tell what was going on, the white-haired boy was tangled up in the wraps, dangling from the air.

“This works out well,” Mr. Aizawa said, fixing the end of the wrap so Shoto couldn’t get out. “Either way, I’ve been planning to catch you first since you're the offense.”

“You think you’ve caught me?” Shoto asked, “I can burn and freeze the restrains away at any time.”

“I don’t care what you do,” Aizawa said, “Just be careful where you fall.”

Just then, there were hundreds of tiny caltrops on the ground. If Shoto was to land, he’d end up with feet and hands full of holes.

“What are you?” the teen asked, “A ninja? How many other crazy countermeasures have you thought up?”

“This is different than your fight with the Hero Killer,” Aizawa said, get his eye drops out, “I know the Quirks and the number of heroes. I'm completely prepared to intercept you.”

“Your plan places the burden pretty heavily on yourself,” the pro hero went on, “It’s nice to try and be considerate to the girl, but maybe you two should have talked more.”

With that, the pro hero took off, leaving Shoto to think. Talked it over? Had he not communicate with Yaoyorozu well enough? Shoto had just assumed that if the black-haired girl didn’t like his plan or had an Idea o her own, she would have said something. Well, maybe she wanted to say something.

“Yukitomo!”

Shoto looked up and saw Yaoyorozu. So he hadn’t gotten out yet.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t-” she began, but Shoto cut her off.

“Mr.Aizawa is coming!” he yelled, causing her to look back to there teacher Naruto running on the telephone wires.

A look of fear was coving Yaoyorozu’s face, making it clear to Shoto that she had no idea what to do. Yaomomo was smart; he told himself. She has a plan to get us out; she just needs a push.

“Yaoyorozu! You have a plan, right?” he called, “I’m sorry I should have asked earlier if mine was okay. But you have an idea, don’t you?”

“If your plan didn’t work, how could mine?” she asked.

“It’ll be okay,” Shoto said “Just tell me what it is. You’re the one more suited for this kind of thing!”

Yaoyorozu looked up at him when he said that. “When we were voting for class rep, you had two votes, right? Well, one of them was me! Because I thought you'd be good at it!”
Ever hanging in the air, Shoto could see his friend’s lip quiver and her arms shake. The moment was cut short as Mr. Aizawa finally arrived.

“Are you done?” he asked

“Yukitomo, close your eyes!” Yaomomo yelled. Shoto did as he was told. Threw his eyelids, Shoto could tell there were bright flashed coming. Flash grenade, he assumed.

“I have an idea,” Yaoyorozu said, carefully lowering the white-haired teen down. Once Shoto’s feet touch the ground she said, “I have a plan.”

As Shoto attempted to untie the wraps from his arms, Mr. Aizawa landed a little ways away from them. Finally, Shoto got his arms loose and asked, “So you said you had a plan.”

“Yeah, from the beginning,” the girl said.

“Great, great, tell me what it is,” Shoto said.

“First, we’re going to run!” said Yaoyorozu taking off.

“Nice plan,” Shoto cried as they began to run.

As they were running, Yaomomo began to explain her plan. “Mr. Aizawa’s eyes have become a bit unstable,” she said.

“Because of his injury at the USJ,” Shoto said, “So I take it we’re going to exploit that?”

“No,” she said, “We’re going to get out of his field of vision. It’s just a matter of time. We can win.”

“How are we going to do this?” Shoto asked, “We can’t use our Quirks.”

Just do as I tell you,” Yaoyorozu said, “And keep making sure you can use your ice.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Shoto muttered.

After running for a moment, Shoto turned his head back to see the Pro hero hot on their trail. The teen also noticed that he could still use his Quirk, and they did what he did best. Made a giant fucking ice wall.

“That should hold him back for a bit,” Shoto said, lighting up his left side to balance out his temperature, “What’s the rest of your plan?”

When he looked back at the other teen, Shoto noticed she holding her top open, so he turned around again.

“You’re making a copy of Mr. Aizawa's capture weapon?” He asked.

“Yes,” she said, “I don’t know what it’s made of or the detail of how it’s made, so it’s not quite the same. But I’ve made my own version with a certain material woven in between.”

“What else?”

XXX

Shoto ran out sheet he was give blocking his view. Behind him, he heard the sound of the mannequin Yaoyorozu was using get caught and the sound of the catapult being set off.

“Yukitomo,” She called, “Blast your flames low!”

Shoto did as he was instructed and set off a wave of fire. After that, Shoto ripped off the sheet and watched as Yaomomo’s plan fell into place. Nitinol alloy was pretty fricking cool. He watched as Mr. Aizawa became trapped in the wrappings and fall to the ground.

They had done it. Thank fuck.

XXX

After finishing, the exam all went well with Shoto. All but the part where Yaomomo started crying that he wasn’t ready for. But he watched the rest of his classmate's match peacefully. The most interesting being Midoriya and Bakugou’s fight. Overall today was a win.

Upon getting home, Shoto swung the door to the apartment opened and shouted, “Passed it!” and then proceed to slam the door shut behind him after.

“Nice job, brat,” Dabi said, still seated on the couch but turned his head to looked at Shoto.

“You did?” Fuyumi asked happily.

“Most likely,” Shoto said, setting his bag down on the table, “The written part of finals was easy, and I pasted the heroes test so.”

“That amazing, Shoto,” Fuyumi said, grinning ear to ear.

“Nice job, you soba freak,” Natsuo said, grabbing Shoto in a headlock only so he could mess his hair up.

“Quite it,” Shoto said, his voice muffled as he pushed away from his brother's hold.

Fuyumi shook her head t the both of them and said, “Go wash up for dinner. Both of you.”

The two did as they were told, and soon all the Yukitomo siblings were sitting at the table eating. Shoto was just about to help himself to his fourth blow of soba when Fuyumi asked him, “Do you have any plans this weekend?”

Shoto thought about it for a moment and said, “Other than going to pick up Shiki, I was thinking about visiting Mom.”

Fuyumi nodded and went back to her food. After a minute of quiet, Dabi set his chopsticks down and said, “Why don’t we all go and see Mom?”

The other three looked at him.

“What?” Fuyumi asked.

“Why don’t we all go and see Mom,” he said again, “It would be nice. I’m sure she would appreciate it.”

Natsuo’s face fell, and he looked at his plate. Shoto watched as his brother opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right things to say. Finally, nodding and saying, “Yeah, let’s go see Mom.”

“Yumi,” Dabi said, “What about you?”

“I’d love to see Mom,” she said, “But…”

“But what?” Shoto asked.

“It’s been so long since the last time I saw her,” Fuymi said, “What if she doesn’t-”

“She wants us around Yumi,” Dabi said, “Nothing else on the planet would make her happier.”

“It’ll be okay,” Natsuo said to her. Shoto nodded in agreement. After a few more moments of hesitation, Fuyumi also gave a nod of approval, and Dabi said, “Well, it’s settle. We’re going to see Mom. All of us.”

They went on eating after that, and Shoto couldn't help be notice a warm feeling in his chest. Weird.

Chapter Text

How they were all able to cram into the hospital elevator, Shoto didn’t know. Looking at his siblings, the youngest Yukitomo could tell that they were all nervous in one way or another. Dabi, who was holding the small vase of flowers that their mother (rindou, her favorite) was tapping his foot so hard and fast, Shoto thought he was going to wear a hole into the ground. Natsuo kept pulling at the collar of his shirt as if it was too tight, even though he was dressed in a loose t-shirt and jeans. Fuyumi was biting down on her lip, and Shoto was pretty sure it was going to start bleeding.

Looking down, Shoto noticed that his own palms were sweating a bit. He shoved them back into his pocket and told himself to calm down. It was just his mom. He had already seen her, he knew what would happen. Shoto chalked it all up to still not being used to seeing her yet.

When the door of the elevator finally opened, and all four of the siblings let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. Slowly they were filling out into the hallway one at a time. Soon enough, they reached the door to their mother’s room. They all looked at it, afraid to grab it as if the handle would bite them. Finally, Shoto grabbed the knob and pushed the door open.

Their mother was sitting at the small table in her room when they got in. At the sound of the door opening, she looked up. The biggest smile broke across her face at the sight of all four of them.

“Hey,” Shoto said, not knowing what else to say.

“Hi,” Mom said, standing up to hug him and his siblings.

She reached him first, it was a quick embrace that Shoto loved every moment of. Then she went on to Natsuo, who looked afraid that he could crush her if he held her too tight. She smiled up at him and said, “You’ve gotten taller and stronger, it seems.”

“Yeah,” Natsuo said, his voice almost muttering, “I filled out a bit.”

Their mother smiled at that, and then her gaze fell on Fuyumi, who seemed stiff and rigid. But all that melted away when she was given her hug.

“My little girl,” Shoto could hear his mother’s voice say.

“Hi Mama,” Fuyumi said, wrapping her arms around the other white-haired woman. Shoto could now see how similar his mother and sister looked to each other.

When their mom let go of Fuyumi, she turned to Dabi, who held out the small vase to her.

“Got you a little something,” he said, smiling as she took it in her hands.

“They’re beautiful, Touya,” she smiled, taking a moment to admire them before setting them down and moving to reach arms wrapped around Dabi's neck. A smile that seemed a bit out of place broke across the eldest Yukitomo’s face. Dabi seemed to be visibly calmer being around their mother.

Once she let Dabi out of her hold, she turned to all of them and said, “Well, don’t just stand around. Sit, sit. Tell me everything that’s going on in your lives.”

So they did. They all sat around their mother’s tiny hospital room. Surprisingly Shoto was the first to begin talking. Telling his mo about the final exams and Shiki coming home the next day. Then it was Dabi’s turn, only talking about work, don’t give them any on the secret boyfriend, even after Shoto and Natsuo’s annoying antics. They also found out that their mother knew everything about Dabi's secret boyfriend, and Shoto could help but laugh when Natsuo muttered something about throwing middle child tactics.

Then it was Fuyumi’s turn. She told their mother about his students and how some of their Quirks were coming in.

“I was in the middle of a lesson,” Fuyumi said, “And halfway through, one of the kids in the back row just started floating up towards the ceiling. And I’m pretty sure he wasn’t even aware of it! When I turned around, I almost screamed because there was a floating child, and there wasn’t one before.”

“Where are you able to get him down?” asked Mom.

“It took a while, and parents had to be called, but with time we did get him down,” Fuyumi said, sounding tired from just retelling the story.

“How you manage to put up with ankle-biters all day is beyond my knowledge,” Dabi said, sitting back in his chair.

“Well, I have more patience than the three of you combine so…”

“Hey,” Natsuo said.

“Oh, don’t ‘hey’ we all know it’s true.”

Shoto looked up at the sound of his mother laughing as she turned to Natsuo and asked, “What about you, dear? What's my boy been up to?”

“Just got done with the final,” Natsuo said, “It was hard, but I'm glad it's done now.”

“Well, that’s good,” she said, “Your birthdays in three days, isn’t it? Are you going to do anything?”

“I asked for two things,” Natsuo said, “Cake and food. That is it.”

“It’s the same thing you asked for every year,” Fuyumi said, nudging his younger brother to shine.

“That’s not true,” Shoto said, “We went to the beach a few years ago for Natsuo’s birthday.”

“Oh yeah,” Natsuo said in rebrace, “Dabi got attacked by a bird. Then try to set it on fire.”

“That bird had it fucking coming,” Dabi snapped.

The siblings kept going back and forth, sometimes their mother cutting in to add something or tell her own story of her time with the other residents of the hospital.

The whole scene in front of Shoto felt strange but not unwelcome. When he was younger, he never got to spend time with both his mother and his siblings together. It was nice to see. Nice to be a part of it.

“We should do this more often,” Dabi said, a smile slowly creeping across his face.

“I would like that,” Mom said, placing her hand over Dabi’s.

“Good, we’ll make it happen,” Dabi said, “Right, guys?”

“Absolutely,” Fuyumi said.

“Definitely,” Natsuo nodded in agreement.

Shoto smiled and said, “That would be nice.”

XXX

Taijo fixed the collar of his jacket as he and Toga followed Grain to finally meet this Shigaraki character. Maero had begged all morning to come with him, but Taijo put his foot down and said no. He knew very little about the League of Villains, and even though Taijo thought there was nothing cuter in the world than his pet threatening others, he simply couldn’t have it for this meeting.

Shynah was also meant to come with him. But his entitled little cunt of a sister hadn’t even bothered to show up. Taijo was told that she had gone to Kyoto for the weekend. Fucking bitch. The one time he needed her here, she was off doing what the fucking ever.

The man sighed, lit a cigarette, and asked, “We there yet, Grain? I didn’t come all this way to walk.”

“Get a hold of yourself,” Gain told him, “We’re nearly there.”

“I am a man of little patience,” Taijo reminded him, “And I’ve been waiting for weeks now. Really Grain, my drive could have dropped me off if you would have just given me the real address.”

“Not how it works,” Grain said, “You know that.”

“Not to sound like a toolbag, but these shoes cost more than anything I’ve ever given you in terms of payment,” Taijo said, “Hate to wear them out so soon.”

“Relax,” Grain said, trying to reassure the crime boss, “This is it right here.”

Looking at the building in question, it wasn’t all that impressive to Taijo. Admittedly you didn’t want your home base to be visible to onlookers and the law alike, but still, you could hide and still maintain appearances. The bar, when this so-called League of Villains, only had a dying neon sign, and that was it. It looked sad, and Taijo can’t think of a situation where he’d ever walked into the place on his own. If that’s what these guys were going for, then they did a good job.

Getting to the entrance of the building, Taijo tossed aside his cigarette as Grain turned to him and Toga and said, “Wait here till I call for you both. Got it?”

Toga was bouncing up and down, “I’m so excited! I can hardly wait!”

Grain chuckled and said, “Just wait here for a sec.”

Taijo crossed his arms. He never liked waiting, and he’d been doing it for weeks now. From inside the bar, Taijo could hear voices. Then Grain's hand came and beckoned them in.

Stepping into the bar, Taijo eyes landed a man who had to be Shigaraki. The man's silvery-blue hair was messy and unkempt. His skin was dryer and player than it was in the pictures on the news. The dead dismembered hand that covered his sat there, only revealing his eyes.

He wasn’t much, Taijo thought, lit another cigarette.

“Oh, the handyman!” Toga cried, “You’re friends with Stain, right? Right? Let me join your League of Villains!”

At the sight of them, Shigaraki began to shake with rage. “Get them out!” he braked, “I don't want to put up with some brat and a toolbag.”

A man behind the bar, who was dressed well and seemed to have a body made black misted, intervened to say, “They came all this way to visit, so at least hear them out Tomura Shigaraki.”

The younger man let out a growl, and then Grain gestured to Taijo, “I’m sure you hear of him before, but this is Taijo Hayabusa, Leader of the Demegawa Gray Skulls.”

Taijo pulled away from his cigarette and smiled, “Greetings and salutation.”

“He and his group are known for many robberies and murders over the past few decades,” Grain went one, “But the Hero Killer’s ideology-”

“What can I say?” Taijo shrugged, “It spoke to me.”

Toga was still bouncing when it was her turn to be introduced.

“This young woman,” Grain began, “Her face and name were kept out of the media, but she’s on the run as the suspect in a series of deaths by blood loss.”

“I’m Toga!” the blonde said, “Himiko Toga! It’s hard to live. I want to make it easier to live in this dumb world! I wanna be like Mr. Stainy! I want to kill Mr.Stainy! So please let me into your League of Villain handyman!”

Taijo could tell that Shigaraki was still unimpressed with them, but he did have time to win this man child over, and he had to get to work.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get down to business.”
“And who are you to demand that?” Shigaraki asked.

“I’m not demanding anything,” Taijo said, holding up his hands, “I’d just like to make sure no one here wasted their time.”

The man put out a cigarette and went out, “I strongly believe that you and I could truly help one and other. You new to the field or begin a group of villains that people stay up at night worrying about. However, there are certain parts to what you do that can look, sympheic, shall we say?”

“What would you want?” Shigaraki asked.

“Simple,” Taijo said, “To be in association with you. Equal partners, we could say. In return, you get some resources from me. Anything from money to medical. It starts out slow, of course, can't go full nosedive in with my group. Just to the way things are set up, I did make that rule. Over time we become interwoven and reap the benefits of each other triumphs.”

“What do you mean to start off slow?” the villain asked.

“I mean, at first you get me and my best fighters. Maybe some medical assistance. Around six months, if I see working with you has been worth it, that’s when finances can come into the equation.”

“Why won’t we get that from the beginning?”

“I told you that's not how this little song and dance works,” Taijo said, “But rest assured you're going to be winning at all times working with me on this.”

“What if I don’t like that?”

“Tough shit.”

Before anyone could really tell, Shigaraki lunged for Taijo, who reached for his gun, followed by Toga pulling out her knife willing to cut anyone. The mist man behind the bar had used some sort of wrap Quirk to keep them all from killing each other. Taijo hadn’t fired any bullets and was the first to pull his arms. The barman whispered some to Shigaraki in, most likely to calm him down.

“Whatever,” Shigaraki said to him, walking away and straight out the door.

“Where are you going?” Grain asked.
“Shut up!” the man yelled, slamming the door.

When he was gone, the mist guy asked: “Would it be alright to give you an answer at a later date?”

“You, his secretary?” Taijo joked, “I guess that will be okay.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. It had the Gray Skull crest on it. A falcon with its wings spread wide rests atop of a skull with only one glowing eye.

“Call me when you’ve made your choice,” Taijo said,” Sooner you do so, the more willing I am to negotiate.”

Taijo turned to Toga and said, “Still need a place to crash, kid?”

“Sure!”

“Come on then. I need to swing by my weapons guy. Need to grab things. Maybe get you a new knife. The thing you got there is just sad.”

XXX

Shoto was not planning his day to start with finding out his classmate had been attacked by villains at the mall the day prior. Because of this, Shoto spent the whole ride to the airport crammed in Baba’s old pick-up texting his fellow students to see what had happened.

According to them, what had happened was, Midoriya had run into the head of the League of Villains, Tomura Shigaraki. The mad man had threatened the hero in training and then seemed to let him go after asking a few questions.

“Is he all right?” Baba asked as Shoto told about the whole thing.

“I think so,” Shoto said, looking through all the text he got.

“Call him if you want,” the older woman said.

“I will,” Shoto said, “But, I’ll do it tonight. Give it time to blow over.”

Baba only nodded and turned right toward the exit that led to the airport. After spending an ungodly amount of time trying to find a parking spot, the two made their way into the airport.

Once they got to the pickup point, Shoto kept his eyes peeled for his childhood friend. Looking over at Baba, Shoto could tell she was also getting anxious to see her grandbaby again. Then they both saw her, a little thinner and taller than the last they saw her but other than that same old Shiki. Same black hair and bob cut. Same brown eyes. Same black jeans and yellow hoodie.

Shiki just then noticed them too, and the biggest smile broke across her face. Once she reached them, she dropped her bag to the ground and wrapped her arms around Baba, who returned her embrace.

“Hi Baba,” Shiki smiles into the other woman's hair.

“Hi baby,” Baba said back, pressing her lips against Shiki’s temple.

When they let each other go, Baba placed her hands on Shiki’s shoulders and said, “Well, you’ve grown. I trust you’ve been fed well.”

“Yes,” Shiki said, playfully rolling her eyes, “Jeez Baba, if I did know any better, I’d think you’d be accusing the school of starving me.”

“I can’t help but worry about my baby,” Baba said.

Shiki laughed when she noticed Shoto.

“Hey,” he said, hands shoved into his pockets and a small smile across his face. The black-haired girl smiled back and wrapped her arms around the white-haired teen’s neck.

“Freezer Burn,” She said, “It has been too long.”

“Missed you too,” Shoto muttered, hugging his friend back. When they pulled apart, Shiki ran a hand through Shoto's snow-white hair and said, “This is my first time seeing it cut in person.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Nah, you still look like the gods' gift to all androphiles,” Shiki said.

“Aren’t you hilarious?” Shoto said dryly.

“Man, I’ve missed teasing you in person.”

“All right, you two,” Baba said, “There will be plenty of time for you two to poke fun at one and other on the car ride home. Let’s just get to the car, shall we?”

“Yes, Baba,” the two teens said and unison, as Shiki grabbed her bag and Shoto volunteer to take her suitcase.

After lodging up all Shiki’s bags and the three of them crapping into Baba’s truck, they drove off towards home.

“My jet lag is so bad,” Shiki groaned, resting her head on Shoto’s shoulder.

“Well, may this will help cheer you up,” Shoto said, handing Shiki the carefully wrapped box which held her gift.

“Oh. My. Gods,” she said, “You two are the best!

“You like it?” Baba asked, smiling.

“Love it,” Shiki said, pulling the jacket out of the box. It was a letterman style jacket to go with the one that Shiki had been given by her school back in the US. Besides the white sleeves and cuffs and collar lining, its navy and the back had a phoenix and sakura. Also, on the front, Baba had sewn the number 13, Shiki jersey number.

“It’s so beautiful,” Shiki muttered,” Thank you, guys.”

“We found it at that shop down by the post office,” Shoto said.

“How was something this nice at that place?” she asked, still admiring the jacket.

“Not a clue, baby girl,” Baba said, “But be thankful we got it.”

“Oh, I am,” Shiki smiled, “Can’t wait to wear this.

“It’s summer,” Shoto said.

“I don’t care, Mr. Walking-air-conditioner,” Shiki said, “I look good in long sleeves, and I’m willing to suffer.”

“Careful,” Shoto said, “Or you might not have your human air conditioner.

The teens kept going back and forth, Baba only chucking at their banter.

Soon enough, they reached the apartment building. Shiki and Shoto took all the bags out of the truck, so Baba could go park. Walking into the Kitabayashi apartment, Shiki let out a heavy sigh and said, “I’ve been gone for so long the apartment has a smell to it.”

“What?” Shot said, still taking off his shoes.

“You know. Every house has a smell, but you can smell your house because you live there. That’s what I mean.”

“Oh,” Shoto said.

They both walked into Shiki's room, placed the bags on the floor, and the both of them flopped onto Shiki’s bed.

“Ah, I’ve missed my space!” the black-haired girl said, stretching out like a starfish.

“Oh, really?” Shoto said.

“Don't sass me, Heatwiser.”

“Did you spend every second since hearing about me using my left side to think of fire/heat nicknames?”

“Pretty much,” Shiki said, sitting up.

“Shiki, Shoto,” Baba’s voice called, “Come out here.”

Doing what they were told, the two friends went back up into the central area of the apartment to see Baba and the rest of the Yukitomo siblings. Shiki smirked and then took a running jump into Natsuo’s arms.

“Sup Vanilla Ice?” She asked to hug him.

“Not much,” Natsuo said before setting Shiki back on the ground, “Dude, what are they feeding you? You weight like a fuck ton now.”

“It’s called having muscle,” Shiki said, resting her hands on her hips. She then turned to look at Dabi and Fuyumi and said, “It’s good to see you guys again.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Fuyumi said, giving Shiki a hug as well, “Was your school year good?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” the black-haired girl said. Turning her gaze to Dabi, Shiki said, “Rumor has it you have a secret boyfriend. What that about?”

“Oh my gods,” Dabi said, rolling his eyes.

“Come on, I’ve been gone for almost a year, I need details.”

“Good luck getting them,” Shoto muttered, “We’ve been trying for weeks now.”

“Oh, I can make him break,” Shiki said, smiling wickedly, “We all know I have my ways of making people talk.”

“And that right there is why I have not missed you,” Dabi said.

“Alright, everyone calm down. Dinner’s ready,” Baba said.

“Oh my gods, is that nikujaga?” Shiki asked, craning her neck to look into the kitchen.

“Yes, I made all your favorites,” Baba said with a smile.

Shiki smiled and rushed to the table, followed by Shoto, who had noticed that Baba had made a small batch of cold soba for just him.

“Do you all have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had real Japanese food? The answer is too long,” Shiki said, getting her second helping of nikujaga.

“So, how was America overall?” Natsuo asked.

“Good,” Shiki said, “My English lessons were super fast-paced, so language wasn’t a big deal. California was a lot warmer than I thought it would be.”

“Like bad?” Shoto asked.

“Nah, but everyone was like “in the winter it’s going to get so cold,” and then when winter came, I was like, y’all there not even snow. What are you talking about?”

“Did you just say ‘y’all’?” Shoto asked.

“Yes.”

“Get out.”

After dinner and dessert (dorayaki which Shiki was also super pumped to have again,) Shiki got up from the table and said, “Wait right here. I’m going to get all the gifts I got you guys.”

“Gifts you say,” Nastuo called as Shiki ran into her room.

When Shiki came back out, Baba had placed everyone in the living room and had headed back into the kitchen to make some tea for later.

“Here’s your first one, Baba,” Shiki said, placing her gift down on the counter, “There’s some more I’ll give you later.”

“Thank you, baby,” Baba said, smiling. Shiki then turned to the Yukitomo siblings and said, “One for Dabi, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shoto. If you don’t like them too bad, I spent money, so you have to like them.”

Shoto laughed and watched his sibling open their presents first. Dabi had gotten a book on the history of tattoos and tattoos across the world.

“Even if ya’ don’t read it, it’s a little something to put on your coffee table at the shop,” Shiki shrugged.

“Oh, I plan to read this,” Dabi said, studying the cover of the book.

“Dear gods,” Natsuo gasped, “You’ve done the impossible. You’ve gotten Dabi to read a book!”

“Ah! The prophecy was correct!” Shiki cried, “They said it could be so, but they were wrong!”

“Alright, that's enough,” Dabi said, glaring at the two of them.

Fuyumi’s gift was new, and it was all nine seasons of an American soap opera the Fuyumi used to watch when she was in middle school before it was taken off the air.

“Is this the whole series?” Fuyumi asked.

“Yep, it's the whole thing sub and dub in Japanese,” Shiki said, “Got it from this guy who sells DVDs outside 7-Eleven a block from campus.”

“Sounds shady as shit,” Dabi said.

“Name a situation where buying the whole DVD series of ‘A Moment in Forever’ translated in Japanese that isn’t shady.”

“Hear of the internet?” the raven-haired man asked.

“Smartass,” Shiki muttered.

“Shiki,” Baba called from the kitchen, who was studying the new ceramic teapot that Shiki had given her.

“Sorry, Baba,” Shiki called.

“Oh gods, this is amazing,” Natsuo said, looking at his gift, which had been three t-shirts.

“Ya’ like em’?” Shiki asked.

“They are amazing.”

Shoto looked to see one that said ‘Sun, Surf, and Sea,’ another that read, ‘my memes are the freshest’ and the one more that was…

“You bought me a wolf shirt,” Natsuo said, “Kid, you're the best. I’m going to wear this every day now.”

“You will not,” Fuyumi said.

“Try and stop me.”

“I do your laundry,” the white-haired woman said, “I can and will stop you.”

Natsu held the shirt to his chest and said, “Bold of you to assume that I remember to give you all my shirts to wash.”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair.

Finally, Shoto opened his present, which was a black sweatshirt that read, “If you find my best friend, keep her. She’s loud.”

“This is the most accurate assessment of our friendship ever,” Shoto said.

“Rude,” Shiki said, but there was a smile on her face telling Shoto that she wasn’t really upset.

As the night went, one Baba brought in tea and anpan. As ten o’clock rolled around, Shoto said goodbye to his siblings, and after Shiki gave Baba the rest of her presents, the pair of teens retreated to Shiki’s room.

“I do have one more thing I wanna give you tonight,” Shiki said. She reached in her bag, pulling out one unwrapped box.

“That’s for your brother's birthday,” she said, setting it aside before heading back to dig through her bag.

“You didn’t get him more meme shirts did you?” Shoto asked.

“That is for me to know and you to suffer in silence wondering about.”

After a minute of digging around, Shiki finally pulled out a pretty big box wrapped in light blue tissue paper. It was pretty hefty, and Shoto looked up and Shiki and asked.

“What did you get me? A bomb?”

“Nah, I couldn't fit that onto the plane,” Shiki said, “For really thought, it’s a little package of things I got for over a year.”

“A little package?”

“Shut up and open your gift,” Shiki said.

Shoto did, and when he saw the first item, he looked at Shiki and said, “You did not.”

“I restrained myself and only got you one.”

“You bought me a rainbow flag,” Shoto said, pulling the whole thing out, “What am I even going to do with this?”

“Hang it in your room,” Shiki said, “I got a lesbian flag for my dorm room, and here that gonna hang on the wall. Do you not like it?”

“No it’s great, I just didn’t expect it,” Shoto said, setting it down. Looking through the boxes, he saw an assortment of other things like snacks and trinkets. But what grabbed his attention the most was…

“‘How to Get a Boyfriend in 12 Steps or Less’,?” Shoto asked.

“Honestly, I think you need that now more than ever,” Shiki said. Shoto playful kicked Shiki off the bed, but she grabbed him in time to pull the white-haired teen with her. They both landed with a thud, and Shiki broke into a laughing fit.

“You’re crazy,” Shoto huffed, getting back up, offering Shiki a hand.

“Yeah, but you love me,” Shiki chirped, getting back on her feet.

“Jury’s still out,” Shoto said.

After they both calmed down, the two teens put on their pajamas and put on Your Name. Halfway through, Shiki said, “So you know what I’ve been thinking?”

“Oh, I’m scared,” Shoto muttered.

“Hear me out,” Shiki pleaded, “So I get you’re going to the training camp thing. However, I wanna get to know these so-called new friends of yours.”

“What are you saying?” Shoto asked, raising an eyebrow up.

“Let's have a roof party,” Shiki said.

“Roof party?”

“Yeah. We can get food and stuff and go on the roof, and maybe if we're lucky, we could fire off a few firecrackers.”

“That definitely brakes the apartment agreement.”

“Who cares!”

Shoto shook his head but thought about it for a minute. It would be nice to introduce his oldest friend to his new ones. And a small stress reliever before training camp. After thinking about it, some more Shoto finally said, “Let’s do.”

“I can not wait for this.”

“That doesn’t place reassurance in me.”

“It’s not meant to!”

Chapter Text

Fuyumi’s hand reached for the letter opener, and then trade opened the next bill. Across the table from her, Dabi was looking at the letter concerning the tattoo parlor.

The bills this month weren’t bad. They weren’t good, either. Regardless the white-haired woman let out a sigh and flipped open the checkbook and adjusted her glasses.

“How bad is it?” Dabi mumbled, turquoise eyes still trained on his own set of bills.

“It’s been better,” she said.

“Should I break out the computer and try to-”

“If it has anything to do with hacking or anything illegal, the answer is no.”

“Okay, then.”

They are quiet for a few minutes. The only sound was penned writing and paper being set down and picked up. Numbers started to blur together, and Fuyumi could hardly stand it. She took her glasses off and rubbed the area of her eyes next to her eyes.

“We’ll be okay, Yumi,” Dabi promised, “I’ll make sure we are.”

“I know,” she said, “I know it’s just… It’s a lot of work for one night.”

She doesn’t share her worry or duvets. She keeps them to herself. She doesn’t tell her brother what she’s feeling. Worth it was because of her fear of the truth, or the fear of what her older brother would do, she couldn’t tell.

“Why don’t you go to bed then?” Dabi said, pulling Fuyumi out of her thoughts, “I’ll take care of everything.”

“No,” she sighed, shaking her head, “I got it. I got it.”

“You want some tea?” Dabi asked, unsure of how else to help.

She nodded, “Tea would be nice.”

Dabi got up and kissed the top of her head and got to work on heating up the water.

A few minutes later, Fuyumi looked up to see Shoto and Shiki dressed as if they were going out and heading for the door.

“We’ll be back around 12:30,” Shoto called.

“Okay,” Dabi said.

“Hold up,” Fuyumi called. Shoto stopped walking and turned to look at her. It was then she noticed that Shoto had a canvas bag strapped to his shoulder.

“Where are you two going?” she asked, giving the two teens a suspicious look.

“To the show, Etsuko gave me tickets for,” Shoto said, “She’ll be there tonight show you don't need to worry about it.”

Fuyumi turned to her brother's best friend and asked, “Does your grandmother know you're going?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you tell her the real place you're going, or did you say you two were going to the library?”

Shiki and Shoto looked at each other and then looked back, and Fuyumi and Shiki said, “She’s got Emergency GPS on my phone. She knows where I'll be.”

“What kind of show is this?” Fuyumi asked.

“Yumi come on,” Dabi said, “Let them go. How much trouble can they get into.”
“...”

“Don’t answer that,” Shoto said.

“Etsuko’s going to be there, and she knows who we are,” Dabi said, “She’s not letting Shoto or Shiki go someplace bad. So let ‘em get going.”

Fuyumi sighed and looked at her brother, “You be back by 12:30 at the latest and not a minute later, understood?”

“Yes,” Shoto said, seeming to be getting restless.

“Okay,” she said, “Have fun.”

“We will,” Shiki called back after walking out the door behind Shoto.

Once Fuyumi knew that we’re gone, she asked her brother, “Where do you think they're going?”

“So place stupid, odds are.”

“Why did she have that bag?”

“Jeez, Yumi, is it a crime for people to take bags with them when they go out?” Dabi asked, setting a mug of tea in front of his sister.

“I’m just saying-”

“You worry too much,” Dabi interrupted.

“Is that so?” she asked.

“Yep,” the black-haired man said, “You are.

“Well, if I’m not, who will be?”

XXX

“Why didn’t you just do your make-up before we left?” Shiki asked with her hand on her hip.

“Because,” Shoto said, “It more covenant here.”

“Sounds like bullshit,” Shiki said, “What’s the real reason.”

“The lighting in the bathrooms here is better than at home.”

“There it is,” Shiki said, “Why didn’t you start with that?”

Shoto only huffed and kept working on his face.

“Dude, come on, you’re talking forever.”

“I’m on adding eyeliner, and redoing the foundation around my scar,” the white-haired teen said, “Why are you complaining? The trains are not going to be here for like twenty minutes.”

“I wanna eat,” Shiki cried.

“You already had dinner.”

“I’m hungry again.”

“There will be food there, calm down, woman.”

Finally, Shoto turned away from the mirror and looked at his friend, “Good?” he asked.

“Your eyelashes are looking a bit red,” she said. Looking back in the mirror, Shoto noticed she was right and dug around his bag until he found the mascara. Once it was on, the white-hair teen put everything back in his bag.

“Perfect,” he said.

“You should add glitter,” Shiki said.

“No.

“Yes!”

“Where?”

“Your eyes!”

“Super no,” Shoto said, turning to the door.

“You never wanna do anything fun,” Shiki said, stopping behind Shoto as he looked to make sure no one would hear her walking out of the men's restroom with him. When there was no one around, they both walked out, and Shoto kept talking.

“Okay, but glitter draws attention, and when have I ever wanted that?”

“I just think it’s funny when you wear it,” Shiki said.

“What’s funny about having craft herpes on my face?”

“Hey! That’s my line!”

“Well, I stole it,” Shoto said, “Come on, let’s get to the train.”

On the ride there, the two teens looked at each other's phone, swapping stories back and forth.

“Hey, random question,” Shiki said, “You ever wear make-up to school?”

“Beside mascara, no,” Shoto said, “I’m not looking for attention, and besides, my classes after lunch get me all sweaty, so what’s the point?”

“Just wondering,” she said, “You do like wearing it though, yes?”

“I guess,” Shoto said, “Why is that weird?”

“No,” Shiki said, shaking her head, “Totally fine, man, anyone will tell you that.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

When they got off the train, Shiki dragged Shoto over to the evening mechanic to get something to drink (“I haven’t had Ramune in mouth dude,”), and then they headed off.

It was a short walk until they reached the venue where the show was being held. When they handed their tickets to the bouncer, the man looked at them and asked, “Aren’t you two a little young to be here?”

“We’re 15, and this isn’t a bar or place with an age limit,” Shiki said, crossing her arms, “We're just fine.”

“Etsuko Sasaki is a family friend,” Shoto said, “She invited us.”

The man looked at them both and sighed before letting them inside. They walked down a hallway and found the large room where the show was going to happen. It was pretty dark, with most of the light set above the stage in the middle of the room.

Right away, Shoto found Etsuko and didn’t take long for her to notice them either. Once she did, a huge smile broke across her face, and she ran over to them.

“My babies!” She said, happily wrapping one arm around each teen, “You made it. How are you?”

“Good,” Shoto said.

“Wonderful,” Etsuko said, “And Miss. Shiki all the way back from the states. How are you doing, honey?”

“I’m good, “Shiki said, “You look nice tonight.”

Etsuko was wearing a leopard print dress, black leather jacket, and matching platform heel boots.

“Thank you,” she said, before pausing, “Wait, you compliment me. Do you want something?”

“No, you look nice,” Shiki said, “I am hungry, though. So if you could show me where food is.”

Etsuko tossed her head back and laughed, “Don’t worry. I’d never let either of you starve. Come on, once you get food, I want to introduce you to a few people before the show.”

They got food which Shiki wolfed down like she hadn’t been fed in ten years. Then Etsuko escorted them to a couple of drag queens on the other end of the room.

“Girls,” Etsuko said, “There are the kids I was telling you about. This is Shoto and Shiki.”

“Hello,” said the first of the queens, who had big bright red hair.

“Hi,” Shiki said, waving a bit, “We’re Etsuko’s fairy gay-children.”

“The hell did you just say?” Shoto asked.

“Well, she always says she’s our fairy gay-mother,” Shiki said.

“It’s true,” Etsuko said, nodding, “I am their fairy gay-mother.”

“Oh, I love that,” the other queen said.

“Anyway, Etsuko said, “Kiddos, this is Emiko and Akane. They’re going to be hosting tonight.”

“You two been to a drag show before?” Akane asked.

“One at Etsuko’s place and one in the states,” Shiki said.

“Enough,” Shoto answered.

“Well, you two better get ready because tonight is going to be crazy.”

Shiki laughed and whispered to Shoto with the biggest smile on her face, “Tonights going to be fun.”

“Mmh,” Shoto hummed a little smile on his face as well.

They talked with the two performers for around ten minutes before they were taken backstage. Shiki then grabbed Shoto's arms and said, “Let’s go meet some more people before the show.”

The white-haired teen knew that most boys his age did not think of going to a drag show as the first way to have fun. But for Shoto, it was a bit nostalgic. Okay, that was going to need so explaining.

The oldest Yukitomo siblings worked countless throughout middle school and high school, so that left Natsou and Shoto needing somewhere to go after school when Baba couldn’t watch them. The family never had the broadest range of babysitters. So whenever someone Dabi trusted enough was free, that’s where they went.

Etsuko was their most typical babysitter, and she watched them from work.

Etsuko ran a gay bar for as long as Shoto had known her. The place would be packed even on a slow night, so Etsuko would let Natsuo and Shoto do their homework, watch tv, and play in her office while they waited to go home. Sometimes Fuyumi would come later at night to come to get them, and Etsuko would have them sleep in the loft above the bar.

When they were little kids, he and Natsuo were reasonably well behaved. But curious children wondered, and whenever he left the back room that was Etsuko’s office, Shoto always found himself watching the drag queens get ready for the show.

As a little kid and even now, Shoto found drag, drag queens especially fascinating. Their huge and colorful hair and make-up would make his eyes go big. The performers who worked at Etsuko’s place were always kind to him and would let Shoto sit quietly and watch them do their make-up. Etsuko caught on to this, and some nights when they had all their homework, she’d let her watch a little bit of the show. They never saw anything too crazy, and Natsuo usually passed out, from all the soda he had at dinner halfway through every show. But to Shoto, it was one of the coolest parts of his very messed up and chaotic childhood.

It was a world that was bright and colorful and unafraid. So as a little kid who didn’t have that in any aspect of his new life or even his old one, it was really appealing and beautiful.

So yeah, drag queens were a part of Shoto’s childhood that he still liked to hold on to. Honestly, it wasn't the strangest thing in his life, whether that was good or bad.

When the show did begin, Shoto and Shiki were right upfront. The black-haired girl would scream and cheer for everything while Shoto just clapped and looked up at every performer with a soft smile like he was looking at cats. Why was that the face he made while watching drag? Who knows?

The show was a lot of fun. There was lip-syncing, there was actual singing, one of them did stand-up, which was terrific. All the money Shoto had brought to give out as tips were almost gone by the halfway point of the show, and he had traded someone working at the food bar a twenty to get more ones. When the two teens left the show, after saying goodbye to Etsuko, it was nearly midnight.

“Come on,” Shoto said, “If we hurry, we can get home by 12:15 and use the college rule Natsuo taught us.”

“I don't think that applies here.”

“Just run, woman!”

They ran the whole way to the station and almost ran the entire way home until they were distracted by a cat. They played with the cat for nearly 20 minutes until they realized that it was now 12:37.

“Whatever,” Shiki said, trying to pass it off as no big deal, “It's not like we're going to get in trouble for being seven minutes late. Who’d get in trouble for that?”

XXX

They got in trouble for that.

XXX

The day after they went to the drag show was Natsuo’s birthday. They spent the night eating cake and katsudon and watching movies till they all fell asleep on the couch. But the day after that was the day of his and Shiki’s roof party.

At the moment, the two friends were currently in Shiki's room, checking over the list of stuff they still needed to get for tonight.

“Okay,” Shiki said, sticking her pencil behind her ear, “We get everything on the roof set up before we go, then we just grab the food we need at the store and come back here to finish getting everything together.”

“Why did you put so much fruit on the shopping list?” Shoto

“I was originally going to make a fruit platter.”

“Do you forget how expensive fruit is?”

“Give me a break, it's cheaper in the states!”

The other teen signed a look over the rest of the list. It was the basic stuff they needed. Shoto could also grab some things he needed for the training camp as well.

“You said Fuyumi was willing to make some hot dishes?” Shiki asked.

“Yeah.”

“Sweetness.”

After an early lunch given to them by Baba, the two made their way across the street to the grocery store. On the walk there, Shiki asked, “So how many people are coming again?”

“Well, I told my friends Yaoyorozu and Yoarashi about it and then told them to invite whoever else they thought should come, which led to Inasa inviting my whole class.”

“So a number.”

“Around 19, not counting us.”

“Okay, good to know.”

After getting everything they needed from the grocer, they went home quickly and then headed back out to the drug store a block away to get the stuff Shoto required for camp.

“So, where are you guys going exactly?” Shiki asked.

“They haven’t told us for security reasons,” Shoto said, “But based on the list they gave us, I’m guessing we're going to the woods.”

The black-haired girl nodded, but then a look flashed across her face, which she tried to hide when she saw Shoto noticed.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” she said, “It’s just, camps and places have communal bathrooms.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Okay, I'm going to ask a question that’s going to be uncomfortable, but we’re close enough that it’s okay for me to ask it.”

“What is it?” Shoto asked, turning to look at the bug spray, not thinking Shiki would say anything too earth-shattering.

“Do your carpets match your drapes?”

Shoto turned and looked at her.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“You are going to be showering and bathing near other people who know you for your snow-white mop, and if the bottom doesn’t match the top…”

“Okay, the point made, gods,” Shoto huffed.

“You should probably shave your legs too.”

Shoto shot her a glare, but Shiki only smiled.

“Where the shaving cream?” he asked.

“You could always get wax.”

“I’m not gonna wax my dick,” Shoto said while Shiki was laughing, “Why is my body hair such a concern to you anyway?”

“It’s not,” Shiki said, “It’s just the idea of you being forced to wax yourself is just funny in my mind for some reason.”

“You suck.”

“Love you too, bitch.”

XXX

Later once all the shopping was done and everything was set up, Shoto went to his apartment to get dressed. Shiki suggested they wear their “Wild One” “Mild One” sweatshirts, but Shoto shot that down.

Instead, he opted for a pair of black jeans and an old white Fall Out Boy t-shirt that used to be Dabi’s when he was Shoto’s age. Looking at himself in the mirror, the white-haired teen thought he looked okay. So he grabbed his phone and headed up to the roof. There he found Shiki dressed in jeans, a white shirt, and her new jacket.

“Hey,” she said, “Ready to have the greatest party ever?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Come on, Hot Topic,” she said, giving him a playful shove, “Tonight’s going to be great.”

It wasn’t long before Shoto got a text from Yaomomo telling him that she and Yoarashi were here. When the two other heroes in training got up to the roof, Shoto smiled.

“Glad you guys could come.”

“Are you kidding, man? I would miss it for the world!”

Yoarashi's attention was then turned to Shiki and asked, “Who are you.”

“Shiki Kitabayashi,” the girl said, smiling, “I am human icy hot pack's longest correspondent,“ with that she also gave Shoto's back a hard playful slap.

“She’s my downstairs neighbor and childhood friend,” Shoto rephrased.

“Well, I’m Inasa Yoarashi, and it’s great to meet you!” Yoarashi pretty much yelled.

Shiki snapped her finger by her ear before smiling.

“Likewise.”

“Are we early?” Yaomomo asked, and it was at this moment, Shiki noticed the other girl and seemed to stop all primary functions.

“Only by a little bit,” Shoto said to her, not even noticing Shiki, “I’m sure Iida will be here soon. You know how he is about being on time. You guys can help yourself to food.”

When they were gone, Shiki grabbed Shoto’s arm and said: “I have a critical question to ask you.”

“What?”

“Is your lady friend single?”

“Are you kidding men right now?”

“Answer the damn question, Shoto!” Shiki whispered, yelling, grabbing the front of his shirt.

“I think she is, yeah.”

“Good, good.”

“Be a useless lesbian on your own time.”

“Fuck you.”

Shoto was proven right and right at the hour Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya. He said hey to them as well, and it wasn’t long before Shiki snuck up behind him and went, “So that the famous Izuku Midoriya, huh? I’ll say it, Shoto, you are not bad at picking them.”

“Shut up.”

“Come on, I’ve been waiting for months for this.”

“If you even think of trying one of your stupid little schemes.”

“I don't have schemes,” Shiki said, “ I have Master plans, and they are foolproof.”

“Never would I say that,” Shoto said.

“We’ll see.”

As she walked away, Shoto’s eyes drifted back over to Midoriya, who was talking to Uraraka. Whatever they were talking about, Midoriya must have been really passionate about, because the green-haired boy's eyes were practically stars.

Shoto felt every part of his body burn, and his heart and stomach shake. Tonight was going to be long.

XXX

“So you’re Midoriya, right?” an unfamiliar voice asked. Izuku turned his head to see the only person here who wasn’t a classmate of his.

The news that Yukitomo was throwing a party spread threw the class like wildfire. The whole thing had only been going on for about an hour, but it looked like everyone was here (Kacchan was the only one Izuku didn’t see, and he figured that he wouldn’t). So now he was here cornered by a complete stranger. Yay.

“Um yeah, ah hi,” he said awkwardly.

“Oh, sorry, I’m Shiki Kitabayashi. Just call me Shiki,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, taking it, “Um, how do you know my name?

“Oh, I saw you when I watched the Sports Festival,” the girl said, “Also Shoto has mentioned you a few times.”

“He has?”

“Oh yeah, a bunch.”

Izuku was unsure how to feel about it. Why would Yukitomo bright him up? And why did his chest feel weird at the thought of that?

“So, how do you know Yukitomo?” Izuku asked, trying to get his mind off things.

“Oh, we grew up together,” she explained, “Most of our lives we’re each other's, only friend. I was a little worried about him when I went to school in the US.”

“You go to school in the US?!”

Izuku looked to see that Ashido had overheard them talking along with Kirishima.

“Yeah,” Shiki said, “I was recruited last year for the study program.”

“What do you study?” Kirishima asked.

“Basketball,” Shiki said with a smirk, “But also a side in forestry development.”

“I didn’t know there were still sports programs like that,” Ashido said.

“Not so much here, but the west there is still huge,” Shiki said, “When Quirks and heroes came, most forms of professional sports were pushed to the background and all that. A lot of people thought major sporting industries were going to die, since Quirks no longer allowed for an equal playing field and blah, blah blah. But you could not pull sports from America’s cold dead hands, so they did a lot of shaping all the very, very intensive protocol that goes into it now.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Izuku said.

“Yeah, still got this like baseball and football.”

“Sports are going to go away if people get freak nasty power,” Shiki said, shrugging, “They’re just going to get better.”

“What are you going on about?”

Yukitomo had come and joined them, and, at the sight of him, Shiki smiled and said, “I'm just explaining the history of the current sports atmosphere via Quirk arrival.”

“No one should have to listen to that,” Shoto said.

“Oh come on, Sho,” she said, “You got no room to talk. The most you offer in terms of conversation is dry, sarcastic remarks and a few misleading compliments.”

“Aren’t you just wondering,” Shoto said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, you love me,” Shiki said, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Yukitomo!”

It was Kaminari who seemed to be on a mission as he grabbed the white-haired teen's other shoulder.

“Yes?” Yukitomo asked, looking at him.

“Need to steal you for a game of will it melt.”

“What?”

“We’re trying to see if a bunch of garbage we found on your roof is flammable or not and you have fire so come one,” Kaminari said pulling Yukitomo with him.

“I feel like I need to see this,” Kirishima said.

“I’ll bring acid!” Ashido cried following them.

“That sounds a lot like a game Shoto, and I played as kids,” Shiki said once the other had left.

“What game was that?” Izuku asked.

“Can this freeze to the leg.”

“Um...”

“We put liquid on Shoto’s right leg and see if it froze there.”
“...”

“‘We had a weird childhood.”

XXX

The game of will it melt was very short-lived, seeing as Iida wasn’t in the mood for then to break fire codes in such. But in total, six objects had been burned by both fire and acid, and most people were satisfied.

When that was all over, Shiki dragged Izuku over to the corner of the roof and had him sit and talk with her.

“So you’re childhood friends with Yukitomo, you said?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“That's interesting,” he said, “You two seem so different.”

Honestly, they were very different. Shiki was loud with tan skin and hair as dark as ebony, while Yukitomo was pale, quiet, and had hair the color of paper.

“Opposites attract,” she said, “I didn’t really give him much of choice in being friends with me though, to be honest.”

“I can see that happening.”

The idea of a young Yukitomo being dragged around by a much younger Shiki was a pretty funny picture, to be honest.

“So tell me,” Izuku said, “What kind of sport protocol is there in the states?”

“Are you really interested in that?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Izuku shrugged, “It’s a part of Quirks I don’t know much about. I’m curious.”

“It's nothing really too much. Just a bunch of tests to make sure you're not on drugs or enhancing certain abilities and some quirk represents,” Shiki said, “A lot of it varies from player to player.”

“What kind of test do you have to take?”

“Besides basic drug tests, none. I don’t have Quirk.”

Izuku blinked almost in disbelief. Yeah, he knew there were other Quirkless people, but he never met anyone his own age.

“What?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m Quirkless,” Shiki said, scratching the back of her head, “A reason I do basketball. I'm one of the few people who can play the sport with a lot of handicaps.”

“I’m sorry,” Izuku muttered quietly, “I didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t sweat it, man,” Shiki said, a smile on her face, “Never been that big of a deal for me.”

“It just,” he stopped trying to think of the right thing to say, “My Quirk came very, very late, so I know what it’s like to…”

“Oh,” she said, nodding her head, “You get picked on?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Well,” Shiki said, “My grandmother home-schooled me for the first couple grades. She was afraid of how other kids might receive me. Both Shoto and I entered the public school around the same time. Some kids, you know, were little assholes, but I was a bit older, and I didn’t care. Also, Natsuo, Shoto’s older brother, was with us a lot, and he’d beat up an older kid giving either of us trouble. Scared the shit out the kids our age.”

“What did people give Yukitomo a hard time for?”

“Well, his scar for starters,” Shiki said, “Also, both our families have always been kinda poor. He also just refuses to use his Quirk ever. That aggravated a lot of boys our age. I always wanted to fight and stuff, Shoto could give less of a fuck.”

“Did Yukitomo ever give you a hard time about being Quirkless?” the green-haired boy asked. Once the words left his mouth, he regretted it. That was super personal, he shouldn't have asked it. But it was out now.

“No,” Shiki said, shaking her head, “He was always good about. Once he told me he wishes we could trade places Quirk wise. Then maybe we both will be happy, he said.”

Looking at the sad smile on Shiki's face reminds Izuku of the talk he had with Yukitomo in the hall on the day of the Sports Festival. He remembered how the white-haired boy had hated his left side. The venom in his voice as he talked about how it reminded him of his father and the need to keep his family safe. Has he felt that way ever since he was a small child? Had he felt that fear and anger for that long?

“Oh, wow,” Shiki said, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts, “Let's talk about something less sad, shall we? Tell me about how Shoto is in class.”

“What about him?” Izuku asked, remembering that Natsuo had asked him the same question when Izuku had met him.

“Does he sit in the back and be quiet? Does he try to answer every history question incorrectly on purpose? Does he fall asleep during English because he's a smart ass and thinks he knows everything?”

“Yukitomo has never fallen asleep during class,” Izuku said.

“What? For real?”

“For real.”

“Wow.”

“Why did that happen in middle school, once?” the green-haired teen asked.

“It happened all the fucking time!” Shiki cried.

“Really?” Izuku asked, a bit surprised by that fact.

“Oh yeah, all the time. What we did was just put a bunch of stuff on him and his desk and hope he didn’t wake up,” Shiki explained.

“Did a teacher ever catch you?”

“No! And It was wonderful!”

XXX

The party ended a lot later then Shoto thought it was going to, but he had to admit that it had been fun. It was nice to get together with all of his classmates and sorta relax. Shiki had seemed to meet and talk to all of his classmates at least once during the night, and there was a good chance she now had everyone's socials.

Midoriya, Yoarashi, Yaomomo, and Uraraka all stayed and offered to help them clean up everything. Iida was going to help too, but it seemed that he never stayed up this late in his life, and he was sleep drunk. So Shoto had him call his mom to come to pick him up.

Soon enough, Shoto was in his pajamas, in his room with Shiki. The black-haired girl claimed that she was too tired to go back to her place so, Shoto loaned her a pair of his pajamas, and they both crawled in bed.

“I think we’ve gotten too big to share this,” Shiki said, pulling the blanket towards her.

“We seeing as it is a twin bed made for a nine-year-old-, that checks out.”

Shiki laughed, and then there was quiet. Shoto was just about to fall asleep when Shiki said, “Hey, Elsa?”

“Yeah?”

“You have fun tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Your classmates are nice.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“I’m a bit sad I didn’t get to meet this Bakugo guy.”

“Don’t be.”

“Why?”

“You would have tried to fight him.”

“That’s why I’m sad.”

“Go to sleep,” Shoto said, rolling over.

“One more thing Frostburn,” Shiki said.

“What?”

“You’re seeing your mom again, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You think I could meet her? before you go” Shiki asked.

Shoto paused for a minute before asking, “You wanna meet my mom?”

“I’d love to meet your mom,” Shiki said.

After thinking about Shoto nodded to himself and said, “That would be nice.”

“Cool.”

There was quiet again, and Shoto was almost asleep when “Your friend Yaomomo is super hot.”

“Go the fuck to sleep.”

“Fine.”

Chapter Text

Sitting in Keigo's’ place all by himself made him feel weird. Dabi only allowed himself to go to seat the whole three hours he was, and that was the kitchen to set down the take-out the order hours ago and the living, which is where he’s been.

When Keigo asked him to come over tonight, Dabi wasn’ planning on being by himself for the whole night. The black-haired man had busied himself with Netflix and eating his own meal forever ago.

He was about to shower and maybe to go to bed in Keigo’s room when he finally heard the door open.

“Took you long enough to-” Dabi stopped, “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Hey, hot stuff,” the blond said, trying to smile and pass it off that he was okay.

He clearly wasn’t judged by the black eye, and the way the hero held the side of his upper torso. Dabi even noticed a little dried blood here and there all over the hero also though Keigo was dressed in civilian clothes and had obviously washed up at his agency.

“The hell happened to you?” Dabi repeated.

Keigo sighed and said, “There was a villain attack on my way to clock out. I went a little longer than I thought it would. Sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Dabi asked, not sure of what to do, really.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong with your side,” Dabi asked.

“Nothing, I’m just being dramatic-”

But it was too late. Dabi had pulled Keigo’s arm away and pushed the other man’s shirt up to see the dark, ugly bruises that had blossomed across his chest.

“Honestly, Dabs, the worst of it’s taken care of, I promise.”

The raven-haired man sighed and looked at his boyfriend, “So are you okay?”

“I just told you that-”

“Not what I meant,” Dabi said. Keigo closed his eyes and sighed, and Dabi opened his arms to allow the other man to fall into them.

“I’m so tired,” Keigo muttered against the taller man’s shoulder.

“Rough day?” Dabi asked, wrapping his arms around Keigo's body. The blond only just let out a tired moan.

“Why don’t you get ready for bed, I’ll bring you your dinner, and we watch TV in bed. How does that sound?”

“Mmh, carry me there,” Keigo said.

“Aw, you have legs, you can fucking walk,” Dabi said, letting him go.

“You mean,” Keigo called as he walked away.

“I try.”

XXX

Later, Dabi crawled into bed, handing Keigo he warmed up dinner.

“Thanks,” the blond said.

Dabi put on some random movie on TV and laid back in bed. Looking over at Keigo again, Dabi studied his buries around his eye and along his arm. The other man noticed that he was looking at him and asked, “What?”

“You look like shit.”

“Oh, thanks for that,” Keigo said, rolling his eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

After he finished eating, Keigo moved his plate to the bedside table and wrapped his arms around Dabi's middle.

“What are you doing?” the black-haired man asked.

“You’re warm,” Keigo muttered, squeezing him tighter.

“I’m not your heating pack.”

“Yes, you are. You’re in my bed, so you are.”

“Whatever birdbrain,” Dabi said, threading his fingers through the blond locks.

“‘M so tired,” Dabi heard Keigo mutter.

“Then go to sleep,” the man said, but Keigo was already ahead of him.

After a minute of watching his boyfriend sleep, Dabi reached for the light and shut the TV off before going to sleep himself.

XXX

When Keigo woke up, everything ached. His chest felt awful, and his black eye wasn’t much better. The cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs made him feel worse, and his wings definitely needed to be stretched. All at the same time, his body and limbs felt too heavy to move, so he just buried his face in Dabi's chest.

“You awake?” the black-haired man muttered.

“Wished I wasn’t. Cuddle me.”

“No.”

“Why not?” Do you know how hard that his with your massive fucking wings, dumbass.”

“Make an effort,” Keigo said, moving his head, pressing his cheek against Dabis pec. A moment later, Keigo felt Dabi lace their fingers together. Better, he thought to himself. Much better.

Just then, Keigo's phone pinged, and he let out a groan.

“Oh gods, why now?” he asked.

“I’ll get it,” Dabi said, shifting a bit in the blond's tight grip of his waist to grab the phone. After a moment of pause, Dabi asked, “You want some good news?”

“What?”

“You seem to have the day off.”

Keigo’s head popped up, “Really?!”

“Look,” Dabi said, handing him the phone.

“Holy shit, I do,” Keigo whispered in disbelief, “I have to be in Kyoto by ten, but I can live with that!”

“So, what are you going to do?” Dabi asked.

“Ask to trade shifts with someone, then go back to sleep. Maybe get brunch later.”

“Who the hell goes out for brunch?”

“Me, because it’s wonderful.”

“Rich boy.”

“Shut up!”

XXX

“So did you go through an emo phase at some point in your life?” Keigo asked.

“Bold of you to assume that it’s stopped.”

They were at the parlor. After finding out the hero had the day off the two slept in for a while longer and then went out to get food. When they were done eating, Keigo followed Dabi to work, seeing as he had nothing booked for that day, and no one would come till the night. That’s when all the drunk people came to make life mistakes.

“Honestly, this whole place is set up like it is meant for a music video from the 2000s,” Keigo said clumsily, hoping for one black square to another on the checkerboard floor tiles.

“My place, my decor,” Dabi said, not looking up from the sketch he was working on at the seat on the couch.

Keigo looked back at him and asked, “Whatcha’ working on.”

“Concept ideas to hang up,” the raven-haired man said, “Been thinking about a lot of simplistic ones lately.”

“Really?” the blond asked, unknowing rubbing his thumb along the tattoo that Dabi did on his wrist a few weeks earlier. He walked over to Dabi and sat down next to him.

“They're easier to draw,” Dabi said, “But I never feel happy about how they turn out.”

“I think it looks nice,” Keigo said, resting his head on Dabi's shoulder.

“Your opinion doesn’t count.”

“You are just impossible. You know that, right?”

Dabi only hummed and rested his head against Keigo’s. They stayed like that for a little while until the door opened and a voice called, “Hello.”

Dabi looked up to see who it was and stood and said, “Hey didn’t think you two would drop by today.”

“We were around,” a new voice said.

Keigo stood up to see who it was. Two women had come into the parlor. The first had short black hair that was barely pulled back in a ponytail, and her bangs swept down at an angle across her forehead. Her skin was a bit tan, and she had golden eyes and was dressed head to toe in black. Ink blossoms crossed her arms, thanks to the sleeves of her blazer-like jacket being rolled up.

The second woman was a bit shorter than the first, with long, curly black hair that went to the middle of her back. Her eyes were dark brown, and her skin was reasonably dark and peppered with freckles. She was wearing a halter dress that went to her knees with tiny little cacti printed on it along with heels that had the same design.

“Dabs?” he asked the black-haired man.

“Oh,” Dabi said, “Um, Keigo this Sora and Etsuko, they're friends of mine.”

“Hi,” Etsuko said, smiling.

“Hey,” the blond said back.”

“This the guy you were talking about?” Sora asked, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, it is.”

“You still haven’t told Shoto yet?” Etsuko asked.

“Nah, keeping him and Natsuo crazy. It’s more fun than why.”

“Sure it is,” Sora said, looking a little uncomfortable. Keigo didn’t blame her too much. He recognized them now. Sora Hayabusa was on the watch list of every hero on this side of the country, and Etsuko Sasaki was another name that got whispered about a lot.

They are not criminals anymore, he told himself, Hayabusa did her time, and she wasn’t responsible for her siblings. Sasaki hadn’t done anything worth mentioning in years on top of that. There was no reason to take a problem with the two of them. Maybe with how his boyfriend knew them, but now was not the time.

“What brings you guys here?” Dabi asked, ending the silence that had been floating through the air.

“Well, it has dawn on me that I’ve never seen your place,” Sora began, “And I thought it best that come to see what my only student has built.”

“Well,” Dabi said, holding out his arms, “This is it.”

“So, you taught him how to tattoo?” Keigo asked, looking at Sora.

“Yep, taught him just about everything,” the woman said, “I’m still better, though.”

“Debatable,” Dabi muttered.

“Don’t start fights you can’t win.”

“You think I can’t?”

“Know you can’t,” Sora said.

“Okay, you two,” Etsuko said, “Let’s not get carried away. You’re both good at your jobs. Now can we sit? I run a bar, I’m on my feet all night and day for Heaven's sake.”

“Sit where you like,” Dabi said, gesturing to the chairs and couch. Both women took a set in one of the two chairs, and Dabi pulled Keigo down to sit with him on the sofa.

“So,” Sora asked, looking at Keigo, “That's a nice one on your wrist.”

“Oh,” the blond said, looking at the tattoo that Dabi had done a few weeks ago, “Yeah, Dabi did.”
“Fingered,” She said, “You gotta anymore?”

“One on my back,” he said, “That was the fist one Mr.Emo did for me.”

“And then he didn’t go away,” Dabi said.

“Hey, you let me stay.”

“Never said I was happy about it.”

“Aww,” Etsuko said, “You're both so cute.”
Dabi just huffed and shook his head, and Sora went on to ask, “May just take a look?”

“Um, sure,” Keigo said, moving forward, holding out his wrist so the woman could see it better. Sora grabbed both sides of his wrist and looked at the tattoo. Her eyes trained on the ink work so intensely, taking every little thing about it that she could.

“You know if you went around the outline of the wings and the little flames on the tip of the feathers with a color that’s close to gold, it gives it more depth,” she said to Dabi.

“It’s a design that is meant to be more simple,” Dabi said.

“I understand that,” Sora said, still looking at Keigo's wrist, “I’m just saying.”

She let go of Keigo’s arm and asked, “You got a picture of your other one?”

“Yeah,” he said, pulling out his phone and handing it to her.”

“The line works well, but the coloring here needs work.”

“The hell are you talking about,” Dabi asked, getting up to see what his former teacher was talking about.

“They always like this,” Keigo asked Etsuko, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“When it comes to working, you betcha,” she said, “You should have gotten it when they talk about the tattoos they did on me.”

Keigo looked back to the tattoo artist, realized they weren’t going to be done for a while, and asked, “So what do you have for tattoos?”

“I got a bunch,” she smiled. She moved to sit closer to him and held out her right arm, “So this is my first one Sora did for me. It's a picture of my parents and both my grandmothers, taken at my parent's wedding. That’s why everyone in traditional dress,” Etsuko said. It was as if someone just glued a picture onto the woman’s arms, that’s how good the image was.

“Portited are hard to tattoo,” Etsuko said, “Sora was still new, so it should have been worse, but it’s just fine.”

“It’s beautiful,” the hero commented.

“Thanks,” the black-haired woman said, “Then down here on my wrist is the South African flag. My maternal grandmother was born there, moved to Canada for school, and came here to marry my grandfather. So I got that for her memory.”

She moved a bit to show her left arm better, “Then we moved to Dabi’s work. He did my red and black diamonds on the inside of my upper arms. They're like the one Harley Quinn has in the comics. And then he also did this one on my shoulder.”

The one on her left shoulder was off the trans symbol in the colors of the trans flag.

“That was his first tattoo on another person,” she said.

“It looks good,” Keigo said.

“Sora wouldn’t let him hold the coil and was near me if he wasn’t good,” Etsuko said, “Seriously, they fought over where he was ready or not for like months.”

“That had to be fun.”

“So much fun,” Etsuko said, rolling her eyes at the memory, “Gods, they fight like freaking children.”

“I bet.”

“Anyway,” Etsuko continued going back to her right arm, under the first tattoo, pointing at heart with a banner across it with the woman's name written across it. “I got this the week I was finally able to legally change my name. They did this one together because I asked them to. Sora did the heart and Dabi did the part with my name on it.”

Etsuko then sat up straight and said, “You want to see them fight over the most?”

“Sure, why not?” Keigo asked.

Etsuko then carefully pulled up the skirt of her dress to reveal a massive tattoo. It said Drag Queen Mother, written in English, with a crown between the words drag and queen. The way it was done reminded Keigo of airbrush t-shirts he’d seen online.

“So got this when I was drunk one night, no big deal. The only thing that was different was that the word mother wasn’t there. But once I started taking hormone supplements and things, I was like, well I’m not a drag queen anymore, I haven’t been for years, I’m a woman. So I figured that I could just add the words mother because the queens that work for me at my bar regularly are like my children. The only thing is that Sora couldn’t be the one to add it, so I had Dabi do it. And I have no idea what the thing is, but they just debate about this one all the damn time still to this day.”

“Like bad or?”

“They got so worked up over it, I had to mash Benadryl into the dinner, so they calm down.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah, but hey, they still talk to each other and haven’t hurt one and another, so I guess it's all good.”

“That all they down on you?” Keigo asked.

“I got a few more on my calves. On the left, I have the covers of all my favorite musicals by Mr. Black Parade. On the other is on the back of my right by Sora of Christina of Sweden.”

“Why did you get that?”

“Cause I was 19 and queer, why else?”

The two laughed at that, and the Etsuko continued, “Yeah, so that everything, but my back, but neither of them did it.”

“What’s on your back?”

“Full-blown, full back Irezumi tattoo of Benzaiten, done via tebori method.”

“For real?”

“Look for yourself,” Etsuko said, pulling back her hair to show off her back was an intriguing tattoo of the Shinto goddess.

“Wow,” the blond said, impressed since this was even more intense than Dabi’s, “Wait, what the tebori since I know nothing.”

“Traditional Japanese tattooing,” Sora said, her and Dabi’s conversion finally over “All of our back tattoos were done that way. It works by having a steel needle being stabbed into your back a thousand times.”

“Oh, my gods,” Keigo said, not wanting to think about the pain of that.

“Yeah, it also takes forever, but it 's worth it,” Sora said.

“What do you have for yours?” Keigo asked.

“Amaterasu coming out of the cave to see Ame-no-uzume dancing naked,” Sora said, smirking.

“The gay thing I think you could have gotten,” Dabi said, crossing his arms.

“The point,” Sora said.

XXX

“This was fun,” Etsuko said, as she and Sora got ready to leave, “You should have Dabi bring you to our place sometime,” she said to Keigo.

“Ah, no, I want to keep,” Dabi said, placing his arm around the shorter man's waist.

“Aw, you wanna keep me,” the blond said.

“Eh,” Dabi said.

Sora looked down at her shoes and then back up and said, “We'll see you around.”

“Get home safely,” Dabi said.

“We will.”

“It was nice to meet you both,” Keigo said.

“Likewise,” Etsuko smiled. Sora looked back at the hero. She couldn’t offer anything positive, so she just turned towards the door.

The two women left, and it was about a block before Etsuko asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” the taller of the two said.

“Cut the crap,” Etsuko said, “Tell me what’s the matter right now.”

“I don’t trust him,” Sora said.

“Who, Keigo?”

“I think you mean Hawks.”

“Don’t be like that,” Etsuko said, her voice dipping into a sigh.

Sora shook her head and went on, “It’s not safe for Dabi or any of them to be around him.”

“Dabi’s a grown-ass man, he can take care of himself. Besides, I’m sure there’s a difference between Hawks and Keigo.”

“Was there a difference between Sora and Harpy? What about Etsuko and Maxtra?”

Etsuko turned and looked at her, “Sora, that’s not fair.”

“But am I wrong?”

Etsuko had stopped walking altogether and said, “Sora, you have every right to be worried, but I have a counter-argument.”

“What is that?”

“Did you take into account the fact that Dabi’s kept him around?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Sora asked, crossing her arms and looking down at her feet.

“Okay, How many people have Dabi date in the whole span of his life?” Etsuko asked, crossing her own arms, “How many people have let be near him or his siblings? How many people does he care for in that way?”

“...”

“Sora, answer me, damn it!”

“None. No one, what is your point?”

“That is the point, Sora,” Etsuko cried, “Dabi is not as dumb as you think and is more protective than a mama bear. He’s not going to let a threat lerk around him or even know about his siblings.”

“So what're you saying I should just let it go because of that?” Sora asked.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Etsuko said, “What I am saying is don't jump when there is no clear danger. No one does well by going looking for red flags when there's none.”

“What you're telling me to do is to put on rose-colored glasses.”

“Sora, you’ve never worn rose-colored glasses a day in your life,” Etsuko said, “You wouldn’t start now. All I’m telling you to do is take it easy. Just on this one thing. Dabi seems happy. Just let him have it for a bit.”

The taller woman let out a sigh and nodded her head.

“Thank you,” Etsuko said, “And if you're right about this, you can say I told you so and will take care of it.”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now let’s go get some food. ‘Kay?”

“Okay.”

XXX

“You okay, man?” Shiki asked, looking at Shoto, who was spread out on the bed, hair still wet from the train at the pool with his classmates.

The white-haired teen opened his mouth to speak and then closed again before saying, “I… He- it was just… I need to…”

“Take your time,” Shiki said.

“Boys,” Shoto cried, covering his eyes with his hands.

“I’ll take it that by boys, you mean Midoriya without a shirt?” Shiki asked.

“More than that,” Shoto said, moving his hands away.

“What else?”

“He looks hot when he’s using his Quirk,” Shoto said, “Does that make seans?”

“To me, no, but whatever gets you going, Flame Princess.”

“This that a new nickname or an Adventure Time reference?”

Shiki smiled and said, “Both.”

“What am I going to do?” Shoto asked, sitting up.

“Make out with him?” Shiki said.

“Real ideas only.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, man,” Shiki said, “The only thing I really think of that is sensible is to tell him, but you are not so great at the talking part.”

“Why do I talk to you?”

“Hell if I know.”

Shoto sighed and crossed his arms, “Do me a favor and give me something else to think about.”

“Alright,” Shiki said, reaching into her bag, “Wanna do marker tattoos?”

“What are we 12?” Shoto asked to sit up and take a marker for Shiki anyway.

As little kids, the two friends would draw designs and pictures on each other, to mirror the tattoos of Dabi and the other older people in their lives. They always use permanent markers even though it took days, sometimes weeks to fade away. When they were in grade school, the teachers would scold them, but as they got older, they found adults cared less.

“So, is there anything I should say around your mom tomorrow?” Shiki asked, eyes still trained on the flowers she was drawing.

“Don’t mention the monster,” Shoto said in a dry voice.

“Figured that,” she said, “Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“Okay, then.”

There was a small period of quiet before Shiki asked, “Do you think she’ll like me?”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“I don’t know, man,” Shiki said, “It’s just I want her too. She is so important to you and stuff.”

“I'm not going to stop being your friend if my mother doesn’t like you, even though I think she will.”

“I know that it's just,” she sighed, “I don’t want her to think I’m annoying.”

“Well, you are,” Shoto said, which got him kicked, “But, I don’t think she’ll mind.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

XXX

“This gives me the creeps,” Shiki whispered as they walked down the hallway of the hospital.

“Agreed.”

“Honestly, I don’t mean to stereotype mental institutes, but this place is certainly haunted. No joke.”

They didn’t say anything else the whole way to the room. When they finally got to the door, Shoto turned to Shiki.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, totally.”

Then the door was pushed open, and they two walked in. Shoto saw that his mom was at the small table in her room. As always, at the sight of them coming into the room, a smile broke across her face.

“Shoto,” she said, getting up to hug him, “I didn’t know you were coming again so soon.”

“I wanted you to meet some,” Shoto said. The white-haired woman’s attention was now turned towards Shiki.

“Who’s this?” she asked.

“Shiki Kitabayashi, ma’am,” the black-haired girl said, “It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“So your Shiki then. Shoto has told me a lot about you.”

“You talk about your mom about me?” She said with a teasing grin.

“Stop it,” Shoto said.

“But honestly ma’am,” Shiki said, ignoring him, “I’m very happy to finally meet you. Shoto’s told me a lot.”

“Good things, I hope,” she said, “And you don’t need to call me ma’am. Rei is just fine.”

“Okay,” Shiki said.

“Well, why don't you two have a seat,” the older woman said.

They did as they were told, and Shoto sat quietly as his mother began to ask his best friend questions.

“So, you live in the same building?’

“Yes, I’m right below your children.”

“And it’s just you and your grandmother?”

“Yeah,” Shiki said, “Both my parents died when I was little, and my grandpa died when I was two. So it’s always been Baba and me.”

“I see,” the older of the two said, “Are you close?”

“I’d say so. Other than her, I like to say that your kids are like my other family.”

At the sound of that, Shoto saw a smile brake across his mother's face. It was warm and kind, and it made Shoto smile too. They two women talked for a while longer, and Shoto would sometimes chime in to their conversation as well.

When it was time for the two teens to head home, it was late, and the sun was sinking in the sky.

“It was nice to meet you again,” Shiki said as they got ready to leave.

“It was wonderful to meet you as well,” the older woman said, “I hope you can come again before you have to go back to school.”

“Well, that depends on whether or not Shoto's willing to bring me,” Shiki said, turning to smirk at the boy.

“We’ll see about,” Shoto said. He then walked over and wrapped his arms around his mother.

“Have a good time at training camp,” she said.

“I will.”

The white-haired boy looked at Shiki and asked, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

“Actually, could I have one more quick word with her before you all leave?” his mother asked.

“Just wait for me outside. I'll be out there in a minute,” Shiki said.

Shoto nodded and went to wait outside.

XXX

Shiki looked at the mother of his best friend. The white-haired woman sighed then said, “I know it’s a lot, but can I ask some of you?”

“Of course,” Shiki said, a bit nervous about what she might be asked.

“I want to ask you to look out for Shoto,” Rei said, “Watch out for my baby, please. I know he has his siblings and so many other people but I-”

“I promise till the day I die,” Shiki said, “That I will watch out for him. You have my word on that.”

Rei smiled at Shiki and then hugged her, which the teen was not ready for but relaxed into anyway.

“Thank you,” Rei said, “Thank you for being there for him.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that,” Shiki said as she was let go, “Shoto’s my friend, I watch out for him because that’s what he's done for me.”

Chapter Text

The bus was crammed with all of them in, and it seemed that everyone was screaming. Shoto was seated next to Yoarashi and was only listening to what his friend was going on about. They had to get up pretty early this morning to get to the bus to get to camp, and all Shoto wanted to do was sleep.

Shoto had never been to a camp before and had also never spent more than two nights away from his siblings. None of the Yukitomo’s were worried about this, but all four of them were a bit nervous to finally let Shoto go ahead and be away forever for so long.

The white-haired boy understood his sibling and his worries, but he was 15 and a high schooler. He wasn’t a baby anymore. He could handle himself just fine.

Besides, it was a training camp. What could happen?

XXX
Fuck, Aizawa’s teaching methods.

That was the thought that kept going through Shoto's head the whole damn afternoon.

Shoto had a great deal of respect for his homeroom teacher; he did. But if this were just the start of training camp, they would all be lucky to come out of this alive.

To recap, Aizawa and the Wild, Wild Pussycats who were helping train them, dropped the whole class off the side of a cliff and then had to fight giant rock monsters to get to the campsite so they could get fed lunch. Honestly, it wasn’t all too bad for Shoto, but that didn’t mean he liked fighting to the verge of heatstroke and frostbite like it was a damn video game.

Then, Pixie Bob of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, was also really creeping towards them, mainly Midoriya, though. And then some six-year-old, who lived with the rescue heroes, had punched Midoriya in the dick! The dick!

Honestly, this was turning out to be a terrible day for Midoriya; the more he thought about it. The kid also gave Shoto an idea of what Bakugo had to have been like as a child. Seriously what was wrong with people?

Although Iida said scrotum instead of the other version of the word, it was a bit funny. He’d have to tell Shiki about it when he got back. She’d appreciate it.
However, it was all over now, and Shoto had to tell himself to suck it up because it was only going to get harder.

“You look tired,” Yaomomo said to him at dinner.

“What gave it away?” he asked, “The bags under my eyes or the vibe of wanting myself dead.”

“Both, she said.

“You know, despite the various injuries we all got, I still think it was a great work out!” Yoarashi said, slamming down his third bowl of noodles.

“So, you’re telling me you’re not a drain?” Shoto said, resting his chin in his palm.

“Oh no, I’m exhausted,” the taller boy said, face only now beginning to suggest that that was true. “Honestly, I’m surprised that I haven’t passed out from overexertion and dehydration. I mean, it’s July, and we didn’t have water.”

“You know if you asked, I could have made ice and then melted it into water,” the white-haired teen said.

“You were kinda having a rough time out there today,” Momo said.

“Yeah, dude, I thought you were going to pass out,” Yoarashi said, “But you kept going 100%.”

“Forgive me,” Shoto groaned, “I’m new with the fire, and as mentioned, it's summer.”

“Finish your dinner,” Yaomomo said, “We all have to get up early, and I’m sure you’ll want to take a bath before bed.”

Baths, right, Shoto thought as he began eating again. Then a thought came—a somewhat gay thought.

The teen groaned as he realized that he was not going to catch a break today.

XXX

Usually, a warm bath after a long day of using his Quirk and making his way across an entire forest would have been relaxing to Shoto. But never did he have to take a bath when his crush was five feet away from him!

For hell’s sake, why did he have to be so fuking gay?!

Almost the whole time he was washing himself off, Shoto just kept repeating in his head, don’t look at Midoriya naked, don’t think about Midoriya naked, not acknowledge Midoriya naked.

It was just those thoughts over and over again.

Shoto just thought about leaving now and heading to bed early so he could escape from his torturer. Yet fate just wanted to keep driving him crazy, because the little kid for earlier, had been watching them make sure none of the boys or girls, (who were just on the other side of the wall) didn’t do anything inappropriate, fell over the side. The one to run and catching was Midoriya who jumped straight from the water still-

Nope, nope, nope. Not looking at that. Shoto said, squeezing his eyes shut and using all his willpower not to freeze the water or boil it.

The minute Midoiya got a towel and went to take the boy back to the adults was when Shoto left. He all but ran to the cabin and hurried to put his pajamas on. Once he was dressed, he sat down on his sleeping mat and ran a hand through his uncombed wet hair.

“What’s wrong with me?” he asked no one.

Shoto huffed and pulled his knees to his chest. He felt gross at the idea that he had to restrain himself from looking at some who was his friend. Yeah, he had been sneaking glances at the green-haired teen since the first day, and when they trained at the pool, but for some reason, this felt different. This felt dirty and wrong.

He rubbed his eyes and then grabbed his hairbrush to take care of his hair. Shoto was about to get to sleep before his classmates came back when he heard the door open. Looking up, he saw it was Midoriya who was wearing pants, thank the gods.

“Hey,” the shorter teen said.

“Hey,” Shoto said back, “How’s the kid?”

“He’s good,” Midoirya said, walking over to his bag to pull out a shirt. “He passed out during the fall, but other than that, he’s good.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Are you going to bed?” Midoriya asked.

“Yeah,” Shoto said, “It’s getting late and stuff. And I’m sure it’ll be noisy when everyone gets back.”

“Well, goodnight then, Yukitomo,” the green-haired teen said.

“Night Midoriya.”

Overall the first day of training camp had not been fun, but there had been worse days in Shoto’s life. As he pulled his blanket over himself, he just thought, it can only get better from here, right?

XXX

Natsuo rubbed his face as he deleted the last paragraph of his paper. College sucked sometimes. And by sometimes he meant a lot.

Right now, he was in a cafe working on a paper for his history. The whole class was assigned to do an essay on the impact of Quirk to society and the rise of heroes and all that jazz.

It wasn’t Natsuo’s favorite assignment ever.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like heroes. He wasn’t like his older brother, who wanted the whole system reworked. But the power some of those people had, the thing they could get away with, the abilities they abused, that’s what Natsuo took issue with. And no matter what those feelings kept bleeding into his paper.

He sighed and tried typing again. That paragraph was deleted too. He knew that he swallowed his pride and just wrote some cookie-cutter paper on the right parts of the very complicated world they lived in and called it a day, but he just couldn’t do it. Not again.

“Dude, your brain looks like it’s melting,” Taiga said, not looking for his work.

“Just about,” Natsuo muttered.

“How much of it do you have done?”

“I can’t even get my opening paragraph right, man.”

“Just take a break from it,” Taiga said, “Start of something else. That paper is not due till next week, and it’s a 1,500 minimum. Give your mind a break.”

“I’d like to get this punish-fest over as soon as possible.”

“You are not going to get in trouble for saying you think the way society works is dumb,” Taiga said, “Just write it that way if that’s all you can do.”

“I have to give reasons to that,” Natsuo argued, “I can’t use my real reasons.”

“Why not?”

“Personal reason,” the white-haired student sighed, “What are you doing for it?”

“I’m talking about Quirk/ mutation discrimination and stuff,” he said.

“Why?”

“It’s been on my mind,” the pink-haired student said, “Some called Nikomi a freak the other day because of her eyes and scales, she got upset about it. So I punched the guy, and now we're here.”

“Hm,” Natsuo hummed, looking back at his screen. After looking at the screen for a full minute, he began to type.

The problem with heroes is not their presents but their immunity and the overwhelming power we allow them.

XXX

Daddy said that Reo and Yuma were Akita Inus and that they were meant to guard the house, so Harue could not play with them. But she could help it! They were so cute! Reo was bigger than Yuma, but they both looked blackish, and would give her kisses whenever she gave them turkey from the fridge!

Both dogs were big enough that Harue could get on their backs and ride them, but Auntie Kosuke said not to try that. So Harue sat under the shade of the big tree in the front of the house with Yuma and Reo with her.

None of the trees in the front yard were peach or plum or cherry blossoms like in the garden, but Harue still thought they were beautiful. Nii-chan had shown Harue how to climb when Daddy or their nannies weren’t home one day.

The doggies like to sit out here during really hot days, and Harue would come to find them whenever she was hiding from Mrs.Hashimoto and Mrs.Suzuki's lessons.

Harue felt bad for running away after she was asked not to, but she couldn’t help it! She didn’t like Mrs.Suzuki or Mrs.Hashimoto or their lessons. Out of all three of her nannies, she liked Ms. Azuma the best. She was younger than the other two and the prettiest, and the nicest. She let Harue play when she was tired of lessons and would make Harue yummy cakes, and let her help!

But Mrs. Hashimoto and Mrs. Suzuki weren’t as lovely. Mrs. Hashimoto was very old, even older than Daddy. Her hair was gray and always pulled back in a tight bun, and her face was always scrunched up like she was mad. She wasn’t super mean, but she was very serious, and Harue didn’t like her punishments. Mrs. Hashimoto had been a nanny for a very long time and had told Harue that she was the 26 child she had taken care of.

Nii-chan didn’t count. Harue was told that Nii-chan only ever had one nanny, and she was gone before Harue was born.

Mrs. Suzuki was around Daddy’s age, but she was meaner than Mrs. Hashimoto. Her hair was dark purple and blonde on ends, and she had scary red eyes that glowed behind her glasses. She was the one who had to drag Harue around the house when she was bad, because Mrs. Hashimoto was too old, and Ms. Azuma was told that she was too gentle.

The lesson they thought Harue was so boring! They made sure Harue did her homework and made practice writing, table manners, and speaking, and none of them were any fun! And days where her teachers didn’t come that had her doing lessons from breakfast till bedtime! They also didn’t let her see Nii-chan as much anymore, either.

But today, Harue was able to run away from lessons when Mrs. Hashimoto’s back was turned. She hide in the closet right next to the kitchen and waited before running outside with Ms.Yamamoto and Ryoto to play.

Harue wanted to find Nii-chan and ask him to come to play with her, but that gave the nannies a better chance at finding her. So she sat with Ms.Yamamoto and Ryoto and played dragon and princess.

Yuma would sometimes lift his head when Harue yelled or jumped off the big rock that was in front of the house, and Reo would rush over to her to make sure that she was okay if she slipped while jumping. Harue was just about to play fetch with them when she heard a voice yell out, “Harue!”

The little girl gasped at the sound of Mrs. Suzuki’s voice. She didn’t want to go back to class. Harue quickly climbed up the rock and reached for the lower branches on the tree. Once her hand reached it, she swung herself up and began to climb as high as she dared.

She was near the top of the tree when Mrs. Suzuki and Ms. Azuma came into view. Harue wrapped her arms tightly around the branch when Mrs. Suzuki yelled up at her, “Young lady, you come down from there right now!”

Harue’s lower lip quivered as she shouted back, “No! I don’t want to!”

“Child, if you do not come down from there, or I will shake you down!”

Harue whimpered, remembering that Mrs. Suzuki could controle trees with her Quirks.

“I won’t come down!” Harue yelled. Mrs.Suzuki huffed and began to walk towards her when Harue yelled out, “Yuma! Reo! Guard!”

The two dogs jumped in front of the tree and barked and bit at the ends of Mrs. Suzuki’s green kimono. She screamed and took a step back in fear.

“Let me get her,” Ms. Azuma said.

“No, you’re too soft on the girl, and this is the fifth time she’s run this month, the third time this week.”

“She would come down for you, and we both know that. If you shake her down, she’ll get hurt and good luck telling her father that! She listens to me, wait inside. I'll bring her in.”

Mrs. Suzuki looked at Ms. Azuma then said with her teeth grit, “You get her down in ten minutes. If not, I shake her down. I don’t care if she breaks all her bones when I do so.”

With that, she left and stormed into the house. Ms. Azuma watched her go and then turned to Harue, who was sitting in the tree. She stepped closer to her, and Yuma growled at her.

“Down Reo, down Yuma,” Ms. Azuma said, and both dogs did so.

She walked closer to the tree and called up to Harue, “Dearly, please come down.”

“No!” Harue cried, “No more lessons! Please, don’t make me Ms. Azuma!”

“You know I can’t do that, sweetie,” Ms. Azuma said, “But if you come down now, it’ll be better.”

“I don’t want to get hit or yelled at!” Harue cried, tears running down her face.

“I know, I know,” Ms. Azuma said, “But if you don’t come down now, we’ll have to tell your father. I don’t want to do that.”

Harue closed her eyes and grabbed the branch tighter. She didn’t want Daddy to get mad at her, but the lesson and her other nannies seemed just as bad.

“If you come down now, I’ll make you a Swedish Princess cake and tell you and Akito stories before bed,” Ms. Azuma promised.

Harue looked down at her. Ms. Azuma’s face looked sad as she held out her arms. Harue bit her lower lip and sniffed. She did like princess cake. So slowly and shakily she climbed down and then when she was on the lowest branch, she jumped into Ms. Azuma’s arms. Harue quickly hid her face in Ms. Azuma’s shoulder and tried not to get snot on her pretty blue kimono.

Mr. Azuma stopped and picked Ms. Yamamoto and Ryoto and handed them back to Harue, and she hugged them tightly.

The walk back to the classroom was long, and Ms. Azuma rubbed her hand up and down Harue’s back. When they reach the door, Ms. Azuma set Harue down who tried to run away, but Ms. Azuma held her hand.

“I don’t want to go in there! Please don’t make me go in there!” Harue cried.

“I'm sorry,” Ms. Azuma said, “But you have to.”

Then Ms. Azum pushed the sliding door open where Mrs. Hashimoto and Mrs. Suzuki waited for them. Harue tried to stop crying. Yelling and tears old got her in more trouble when it came to her other two nannies. Harue was set in fount of Mrs. Hashimoto, and the old lady looked at her for a full minute.

“Hold out your hands,” she told Harue. Harue sniffed, not wanting to receive the punishment, but held out her hands anyway after she set down Ryoto and Ms. Yamamoto.

Mrs. Hashimoto whacked Harue’s hands with the small piece of wood she cared around for when the little girl misbehaved. Harue cried once she was hit but turn her hands the other way, so Mrs. Hashimoto hit that side, and her punishment would be over.

“That is the third time you’ve run away this week,” Mrs. Hashimoto said, “One more time and your father is informed. Do you understand?”

Harue hung her head and nodded. She only had time to pick up Ms. Yamaoto before Mrs. Suzuki grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

“You’re hurting me!” Harue cried.

“Shut up, or I'll break that doll of yours again,” Mrs. Suzuki said.

Harue wanted to cry again, but she couldn’t. So she pulled Ms. Yamaoto to her chest and hoped Daddy wouldn’t let Mrs. Suzuki stay for another year.

XXX

“All of you can be moving faster,” Aizawa said, looking out at all of them training, “Don’t lose focus and remember where you were before UA.”

Shoto huffed and thought about that as he sent out another wave of ice. He was tired, but to be fair, everyone was, so he gritted his teeth and pushed through it.

Thinking about what Aizawa said wasn’t hard. Before UA, he was still only using half of his power and could hardly close up combat without his Quirk. Now his left side was catching up in control with his right, and if Shoto ever got into a bar fight, the odds would be 60/40.

Even though he was focusing on his work, he couldn’t help but hear Midoriya talking to Aizawa. It was something about All Might, but what Shoto couldn’t quite understand. That didn’t matter, he told himself. Get back to work.

The sun was beginning to hang lower in the sky when training got done for the day. Shoto was panting and shaking as he climbed out of the water, stretching as much as he could. His hand reached for a towel as he sat down and buried his face into the cloth, trying to even his breathing. Yoarashi was near him and called out, “You good, Yukitomo?”

Shoto nodded and began to dry himself off. After two days of training, Shoto was most certainly ‘feeling the burn.’ Trying to keep and maintain the temperature of his flames the way Dabi taught him, on top of working on his ice wasn’t the most draining, but it made his nerves feel like they were being shocked with all the frequent shift back and forth.

“Feel like you’re getting any better?” Yoarashi asked him as they walked back to the cabin to get ready to make dinner with the rest of the heroes-in-training.

“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel. Mostly cause I can’t,” Shoto said, throwing back his head to stretch out his neck.

After getting dressed in casual clothes, they both got to work doing their respective jobs. When Shoto walked past Midoriya, he thought about the bits of conversation he heard earlier. Did he ask? Wouldn’t hurt, would it?

“Did you need All Might for a particular reason? You asked, Mr. Aizawa about.” Shoto said, standing over Midoriya, who was adding wood to the fire.

The green-haired teen looked up at him, “Yeah, um a did,” he said, looking down again, “Because of Kota.”

“Kota, who is that?”

“The kid who’s been around camp,” Midoriya said, “He’s usually on the edges of the group. He’s Mandalay’s cousin’s… Where did he go?”

Midoriya looked around for a second before letting out a sigh and going back to his work.

What did the little dick puncher have to do with this?

“Anyway, Kota doesn’t like heroes,” Midoriya went on, “Actually he hates the whole concept of superhumans, Quirks, and everything. I tried to talk to him, but I think I just made things worse.”

He was quiet for a minute before saying, “I was just wondering what All Might would have said to him if he were here. I mean, what would you say to him, Yukitomo?”

Shoto sighed. He knew that way of thinking. It was the way Dabi had thought for years and years. The way he had taught both Shoto and Natsuo to believe for a short time. Shoto knew there wasn’t much that could be said to people who thought that way. Some people would, at times, would listen to your thoughts on the matter, but it wasn’t easy to tell when it was best for it.

“It depends,” he said after a moment, not sure how to answer.

“Of course, sorry, I asked!” Midoriya said, looking down.

“To have a stranger come and change your mindset sounds like a very annoying conversation,” Shoto said, “What matters are actions. You have to show him what you are trying to prove, right? If you’re going to rely on words alone, then they are going to have to be incredibly powerful. What you say doesn't matter nearly as much as what you do.”

“You’re right,” Midoriya said, “I went about this the wrong way. How can I, a stranger, say anything to him?”

“I don’t know what your goal is with this kid,” Shoto said, “But it kinda sounds like you shouldn't be messing around with the matter. You tend to get involved with things at the heart of people's feelings, that isn't your problem. It can be annoying.”

“Right,” the green-haired teen said, “Sorry about that again.”

“Your hands are not moving!” Iida yelled, snapping both Shoto and Midoriya’s attention towards him. Back to work.

XXX

When dinner was all eaten, and the dishes were all done, it was time for a test of courage, as everyone kept calling it. Basically, each class was going to take turns hiding in the woods, scaring each other.

Shoto wasn’t too worried about this; he was pretty alone to jump scares in horror related things for three reasons. One his almost constant poker face. Two Dabi having him exposed to scary and creepy movies from the age of five, ranging from Beetlejuice to Dark Water, to Noroi: The Curse. And third, the annual haunted house that popped up every year around Halloween near their apartment.

Shiki dragged him there every year for her birthday, and the rule was they had to go in custom. The only time Shoto ever saw Shiki in a dress his whole life is when she dressed as Wednesday Admas to go to the haunted house. Shoto had only ever gone once with his siblings, and it had not been fun. Mostly because Fuyumi and Natsuo scare easily at blood, gore, and monsters, and that fact, Dabi almost punched a worker who came up behind him. So yeah.

The only problem that Shoto could see about tonight was that he was partner up with Bakugo, who was trying to get Ojiro to trade with him. The white-haired teen just rolled his eyes at the blond’s pointless efforts and tried to focus on having fun tonight.

XXX
Shoto didn’t know what was going on up in the mountains. He couldn’t yet smell the familiar aroma of smoke and charred wood. Or see the bright blue flame and know that that was not coming from a trusting sorcerer he knew. No one knew that the Falcon over the GraySkull was here to bring the fear, with a group of villains with him.

Chapter Text

Mareo huffed angrily as he hung up his phone and shoved it back into his bag. Taijo was picking his sister over him. Again! He and Shynah were going to the site early to scout the land to make sure they were clear, and Mareo was forced to travel with the League of Villains members.

It's not that Mareo had anything against the League or even disliked any of them. Honestly, besides Toga, he just met everyone yesterday. Making the brunette mad was that he was well behaved the whole week, and Taijo still had Shynah with him at the meetings with Shigaraki and on scouting jobs over him. He picked his little sister, who he hated over Mareo. The whole thing made his blood boil under his skin.

And after everything, Mareo had done to get ready. He helped make Taijo’s new support item that was pretty much a flame thrower made like a glove that shot blue fire. He didn’t even mention how the item was meant to copy that scared-faced traitor. Mareo didn’t whine or argue when Taijo told him to go for the student instead of the teachers, even though he knew that Mareo’s number one rule was no fighting children. Didn't even let out a pep when Taijo told him that he’d have to use his Quirk on them, even though Taijo knew that Mareo never used his power on people younger than him.

After doing all that, Mareo wasn’t even allowed to scout the area with Taijo. Scouting! One of Mareo’s favorite jobs to do before a mission. It wasn’t fair.

However, Mareo was still allowed to go on the mission. He was still able to go when even Daisuke and Kagero weren’t welcomed. He should be thankful he got even that.

It wasn’t long before the man reached the location of the League of Villain’s hideout. The outside was that of an unassuming bar, and as Mareo stepped inside, he saw much of the same thing. With the exceptions of a few faded outlines of bloodstains on the floor that no amount of cleaning and product would ever get rid of and a ripped-up poster of All Might hanging on the far wall.

It seemed that Mareo was the last to arrive, which was okay with his book. The muscle guy had been allowed to go early, the same as Taijo and Shynah, so beside him, there were the seven other members of the Vanguard Action Squad he met the day before. There was Toga, of course, then the only other woman of the group, Magne. Then there was a man who took everyone’s measurements so he could make clones if need be, whose name was Twice. Spinner was another member who was trying way too hard to cosplay the Hero Killer. After him was Mr. Compress and Mustard, probably the dumbest codename Mareo had heard but whatever. And finally, Moonfish, who was creepy as fuck.

“Siren, I presume?” the man behind the bar said. This had to be Kurogiri, the portal man.

“That would be me,” Mareo said, “Now that I’m here, isn't it time to get this show on the road?”

“Yeah, I’m so excited to begin!” Toga cried, jumping out of her seat. In her hand was a giant suitcase-looking container. Mareo guessed inside it was the support item and the rest of her costume that she put on once they got to the location.

“Very well,” the black mist man said, “You are all clear on your mission, yes?”

“Yes, the three-plus meetings we had yesterday made it quite clear,” the Mustard guy grumbled.

“Well then,” Kurogiri said before a vast black portal form in the middle of the room. Without thinking about it too much, Mareo sucked in a breath and walked through the portal to the other side.

Mareo blinked, and he was in a completely different place, the rest of the group members right behind him. They were on a cliff in the woods, looking over the camp where their targets laid waiting.

“Can we begin now!?” Toga asked, like a child on Christmas morning would.

“Harpy told us to wait for her and Tengu,” Twice said, “Yeah! She made it very clear!” he said again with a slightly different voice.

At the sound of Shynah’s codename, Mareo scoffed and rolled his eyes. He had no siblings of his own but stealing your sister's old codename was pointlessly petty.

“Aw man,” Toga said, causing Mareo to look back at her. She had opened her case to put on her gear.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I was hoping for something cuter,” the blonde said, still putting on the items, “This is so, not.”

Looking at the equipment in her hands, Mareo said, “You know, after we’re done with this, I can adjust it for you and give you the modification you want.”

“You can do that?” Toga said, finally gone putting on all her equipment.

“Of courses,” Mareo said, “I didn’t get the fucking Engineering degree for nothing.”

It was a few more minutes before Taijo and Shynah rejoined the group. The first thing out of Shynah’s mouth was, “Where’s the Hulk-looking one?”

“He came before us,” Twice said before his voice went more profound, “He didn’t want to wait.”

“Are you fucking with me?” she asked.

“No,” Twice replied.

The black-haired woman rolled her eyes as Taijo went on, “That doesn’t matter. Everything else should go as planned. I had the nomu waiting in the woods. You all know your jobs; I expect you to not fuck them up. Understand?”

Some silences gave the man his answer.

“Good,” he said, the support item Mareo made him lighting up with blue flames, “Let us begin.”

XXX

The smoke and blue fire out in the woods made Shoto's stomach churn. Fire always had been something that kept him on edge, but blue flames had always been the exception. Blue fire was safe and warm. It was his older brother's calming voice and arms wrapped tightly around him. It was Dabi's promise of security.

It wasn't something Shoto should feel threatened by.

But here it was, an element of another attempt by villains to fuck up their school trip. Only this time, they were trying to kidnap Bakugo and had used poisonous gas too, which lead to them stumbling upon a 1-B student who was knocked out and need to be carried.

So yeah, Shoto's night wasn't going that great.

They needed to get back to camp sooner rather than later.

“How far do you think we are?” Shoto asked, readjusting the teen he was carrying on his back.

“I don’t fucking know IcyHot,” Bakugo growled back at him.

It wasn't even another minute before something stopped the two in their tracks as they stumbled upon a grim sigh.

“Great,” the blond whispered.

There was a man dressed in an all-black straight jacket with only his mouth exposed. A small part of Shoto was thankful for that, but it seemed as if he wouldn't be grateful for long as he heard the man begin to speak.

“Pretty. So pretty. No. This is work. So alluring. But no. Can't...Pretty flesh. Gah! So enticing, though...Gotta do the job."

The villain was fawning over a severed human hand that still had blood dribbling out of the wrist.

This wasn't going to be good.

The man staggering to his feet, running towards them, yelling, "Flesh. Flesh!" only confirmed that thought.

XXX

Aizawa rushed down the halls of the main building to get back outside. Half of his class was safe inside. The other half, as well as a good amount of 1-B, were unaccounted for. No one could find Ragdoll. The question screaming around in his brain was how? How did the League of Villian find them? They had done everything right this time. But that question didn't matter, right; there were bigger problems to deal with, like getting all his students to safety and dealing with the fact the Taijo Hayabusa, leader of the Gray Skulls, was here as well.

Well, that seemed to be the case. Earlier, he had been attacked by the villain who seemed to have gained a flame thrower-like support item. Aizawa had managed to subdue him until the man seemed to break apart into mud right before his eyes. The person Aizawa had fought had been a clone of some sort, which meant there was a chance that the real Gray Skull leader was not here.

Getting outside, however, Aizawa was met with the same blue fire that set the woods aflame. Luckily he was able to dodge and turn to meet his attacker—Taijo Hayabusa and his sister.

Shynah Hayabusa's hands had long bird-like talons sporting from them, and her bare arms had feathers growing out of them.

"Well, well, well,” she said, grinning ear to ear, “If it isn’t the infamous Eraserhead. Pleased to make your acquaintances.”

With that, she fully shifted into a humanoid bird person and then charged at him. Aizawa rolled and dodged her attack, and as she shot up into the air, he managed to lasso her leg and pull her back to the ground.

Before the black-haired man could even do anything, Taijo shot another wave of fire. He quickly dived to the right to avoid getting burned. As he was trying to get back up, Shynah came for him, long sharp nails ready. But before they pierced his skin, Aizawa managed to get the capture item around her legs and pulled her to the ground one more. Then to pin her down, he pressed his foot down between her shoulder blades. However, the UA teacher brought his foot down a little harder than intended, and the villain’s body turned into mud.

Aizawa had no time to process this because more fire came towards him.

“Come on now, “Taijo said, “Show me if what they say about you is all it’s cracked up to be.”

With another wave of flames, Aizawa shot himself into the air. Before landing, he was able to get the wrap around the villain’s arms, and torso and the other man toward him, pulling the ends of the items even tighter until the under man’s body burst into the mud like his sisters, leaving the hero to wonder where the real Hayabusa siblings where.

XXX

"Can't believe you have us just fucking sit here," Shynah bitched.

"I'm sorry, you wanna get caught by Pro Heroes and have the whole night fucked up?" Taijo asked.

They were waiting at the second location point with Twice. Taijo had made it clear that there would be no actual fight from either of them tonight, and Shynah seemed to hate the idea.

"I can take any of those Pro Hero bastards any time," she said, "They ain't shit."

"Gods, you really are a fucking moron, aren't you?" Taijo sighed, shaking his head.

"Wach it," she snapped, "I can still make my go at you tonight if I'm bored enough."

Taijo scoffed and rolled his eyes. He'd like to see her try.

Shynah crossed her arms and said in a voice, so Twice couldn't hear them, "At least let me go after Dabi's little brat. We won't even have to bring him the Shigaraki. Just take the little bitch back to base once the deal with the League is done."

"What would you even do with him?" Taijo asked, looking back at her.

"What do you think? I'd have fun with him," she answered, "Oh, don't give me that look, Tai, I'll share after I'm done, then you can try out some of those new toys your whore made you."

"Tempting," he replied, "But not tonight, there's a fucking job we need to do."

"Since when have you ever care this much about little side job, huh?"

"Listen, you dumb bitch," Taijo hissed, "This isn't just a side job. This is the ticket to getting us to the next level. I don't know how many times I have to explain it to you. I swear fucking half my field agents, and smoking all those fancy drugs makes you slow as hell."

Shynah opened her mouth to say something else, but Taijo cut her off, "We don't go after anyone but the targets, got it?"

After a minute of quiet, Shynah had the nerve to ask, "You aren't actually afraid of what Dabi might do if we do something to the kid, are you?"

Before he could say anything, their radios went off. They had the targets. Wonderful.

XXX

Taijo looked the same as Shoto remembered him. Same hair, same jacket, same cocky smirk. None of it had changed. Shynah had been there too, but she disappeared into a portal not long after they got here. It wouldn't have been fine to see Taijo under any circumstances, but here, with the League of Villian, holding the marble that had Bakugo compressed inside was the worst thing Shoto could think of./p>

He had been so close to grabbing him. So close to stoping the villains' whole plan. But Taijo had got to Bakugo first and held the marble up like a trophy. His smile was wicked and eyes full of snerking glee.

"Looks like little Shoto's got a lot more training to due," he said. The magician villain snapped his fingers, reviling both Tokoyami, who was in safety, and Bakugo, who had Taijo's hand wrapped around his neck.

At that moment, Shoto froze. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. There was nothing he could do to get Bakugo away from Taijo. No way to rescue him. Nothing he or anyone else could do. And then they were gone. Faded into a black void.

It only really hit Shoto that it had happened, and they had failed when he heard Midoriya let out one of the most pained screamed ever witnessed. The scream made him know that it was real and that it had happened, and that Bakugo was gone. And they couldn't do anything about it.

XXX

Dabi let his phone ring three times before reaching for it in the dark. It was the middle of the night. Unless someone was dying, he was hanging up. He blindly pressed the answer button and asked, "Yeah?"

"Dabi?" Shoto's voice asked from the other end. He sounded different, worried and a little jolted.

At the sound of his baby brother's voice the black-haired man's eyes shot open as he sat up in bed.

"Shoto? What is it? What happened?" he asked, getting out of bed, working on getting dressed already.

"Dabi, I couldn't- I wasn't fast enough I-"

"Shoto, take a breath. What's wrong, kiddo?"

"Camp got attacked," he said, voice cracking a bit, "We don't know how they found us. It over now, but they took Bakugo."

"The blond kid?" Dabi asked, still worried about the shakiness of Shoto's voice that he forgot to be mad at UA for letting the kids be in danger again.

"Yeah," Shoto said, "Dabi, it's bad, it's really bad. Yaomomo and Midoriya have to go to the hospital. One of the heroes is missing, and it's all-"

"Shoto, hey-" Dabi said, "Everything is going to be fine. Are they bring you home?"

"They're going to load us onto the buses here soon," Shoto said, "We should be back to UA in three hours."

"Okay, I will be there to pick you and take you home, okay, Sho?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone until he said, "Dabi, Taijo was there. I saw him. He's the one who took Bakugo. He was here."

All feeling left Dabi's body at the sound of that. He wasn't sure if he was in disbelief or just so incredibly furious that he could not process it. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was something else. But that didn't matter. What mattered was getting Taijo head off his shoulders and his body burnt to worthless ash.

"I will be there to pick you up," he said again before hanging up and throwing his phone on the ground in anger.

What else was there to do at the time?