Chapter Text
There is a brief moment where Dabi thinks he feels his body literally falling to pieces with hit after ruthless hit from Geten's ice dragon. He feels something in the emptiness where his heart had been, something that forces him to look away from his enemies and look towards his...his…friends? Family? Colleagues? allies in the League of Villains.
Tomura. His eyes are almost soft...almost sane… as he looks at the League's leader. Tomura is important in a scary way, he realizes as he feels himself dying.
Blue hair falls over red eyes and his leader's manic smile becomes somehow more prominent.
It's somehow sad.
That smile is full of fear. Full of pain. Full of vengeance. Full of...sadness?
Oh.
Oh. He knows.
At this realization, Dabi smiles too. Just as manic. Just as sad. These people, the League of Villains...these are his people. He doesn't want to leave them behind to suffer through this mess of a fight without him.
I'm sorry. He thinks. Unready to leave this world and the people in it behind him despite its inevitably. Maybe his heart wasn't as far gone as he'd tried to convince himself.
I'm so damn sorry.
And the world fades to black.
For a moment, in that brief span of time between waking up and opening his eyes, he wonders if the whole Liberation Army fight was just a really bad dream. He doesn't even feel bruised let alone like he was dying at any point in recent history.
How'd mophead get my ass the fuck out of there?
But then he feels it...or rather he doesn't feel.
There is a distinct lack of the pull of medical staples holding the rubbery parts of his charred skin from falling off his bones and upon realizing this, his eyes can't fling themselves open fast enough because: Oh fuck . I actually died.
He sits up holding his arms out. His burns aren't there. Well… there are burns but they're a light fleshy pink still and not the angry almost-black shade of purple that he had grown so accustomed to seeing.
What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. Dabi runs a hand through his hair. It feels soft. It hasn't felt soft in years. The downside of dyeing his hair constantly, it had become corse and straw-like.
"What the fuck ." Oh no. Oh fuck no. His voice. His goddamned voice. He hasn't sounded this gross since he was in godamned middle school. "What the fucking fuck."
He can't decide if laughing or crying is a more appropriate response to the fact that he's fourteen again... and now that he's looked around a bit, based on the room he's back at the Endeavor Estate. He's fucking Touya right now.
Fucking fuck it and damn it all straight to Hell. Because really how's he supposed to pull that off? He hasn't even used that name since he was declared legally dead a little under a decade ago…or sometime in the near future since he's clearly been sent back to a time before that happens.
He should probably figure out how far before that he actually is and formulate some kind of survival plan. 'How to Survive Puberty the Second Time but Maybe With Slightly Less Scar Tissue - By Dabi who has no family name and is most definitely not Todoroki Touya'...
Step One: Kill dad Endeavor Before He Fakes Your Death.
Step Two: live a normal life I guess…?
Dabi (Touya?) figures that's good enough of a plan for the time being as he swings his legs around to get out of bed and goes to search his dresser for something to wear.
Black hoodie? Check.
White tee-shirt? Check.
Black skinny jeans? Check.
Ripped black skinny jeans? Unfortunately no, but he'll live.
There's a knock on his door as soon as he finishes wrestling his way into his pants.
The things I used to do for the sake of aesthetics.
"Oh. Touya. You're awake already." Despite knowing he was in the past, he was not prepared for this. Not yet.
"Mornin', Mom." He says awkwardly. Being fourteen again is awkward. Being Touya again is awkward. Talking to his mom after a little under a decade is awkward. Being alive after dying is awkward. Having the mind of a twenty-three year old in a middle schooler's body is awkward. This whole damn mess he's woken up to is so fucking awkward.
"Could you go wake up Natsuo while I go and make breakfast? You're sister's awake already too, but Natsuo would probably appreciate some time with his big brother."
Everything about this moment feels weird and wrong and just not okay. He's barely handing seeing his mom right now. How is he supposed to pull his shit together to go talk to Natsuo? How does he talk to Natsuo? What was their dynamic like back when Natsuo was eleven ? Looks like he'll need to amend that survival checklist…
'How to Survive Puberty the Second Time but Maybe With Slightly Less Scar Tissue - By Dabi who has no family name and is most definitely not Todoroki Touya (amended version)' -
Step One: Kill dad Endeavor Before He Fakes Your Death.
Step Two: live a normal life I guess…?
Step Three: remember how to talk to siblings (do this before steps One and Two preferably)
Step Four: Get Shouto away from the flaming shitbag. (Hopefully will be accomplished by Step One)
Who would have thought this whole dying thing could get so complicated…