Chapter Text
The night was dark, the only light coming from the streetlamps lining the roadside. Even that measly bit of light couldn’t reach into the back alleys, casting harsh shadows over the worst of mankind. Smugglers and drug dealers ran rampant, preying on the downtrodden masses. Killers and muggers hid away in the inky black, waiting for their next victim to pass.
Hiding alongside the various crooks and criminals was a figure shrouded in black. A dark trench coat billowing behind him as he stared down a villain in a back alley. The figure’s grin widened as the villain raised his hands, prepared for a fight. They stood in their silent staredown for a minute at the most, but eventually, the villain started to advance on the figure.
The figure showed no sign of fear at the villain’s advance, in fact, he made no attempt to defend himself, keeping still as his opponent stalks closer. When only an inch between them remains, a flame erupts from his hands, casting his face in a ghastly blue light. The flame spread across his forearms, lighting up the alleyway as they dance across his skin.
The villain steps back, away from the flames, trying to escape from the man who controls them. It’s no use, the man follows the villain further and further into the alleyway. It wasn’t long before they reached the end of the rope, the back of the alley. The villain jumped as his back hit the back wall, turning his wide eyes back to the flaming figure. The man stepped closer and closer, taking great delight in watching the other squirm. The man reaches his hand out, the flames growing brighter as they get closer to the villain’s throat. Right as his fingers are about to wrap around the villain’s neck, an icy chill permeates the air, a harsh contrast to the overbearing heat just a few seconds ago.
Sparkling ice descended the wall, crawling closer and closer to the villain before starting to make its way up his leg, covering him in a thin sheen of sparkling crystals. Then, all at once, the frost started to expand, covering the villain in thick sheets of glittering ice. The blue flames sputter and die out as the man watches his opponent get encased in his icy prison.
Just behind him, another figure drops from the fire escape above, their eyes piercing through the darkness of the alleyway. Blue and grey bore into his soul, eyes practically glowing in the low light. The man narrows his eyes at the newcomer, watching as they stand up. A hood covered their head, but they were unmistakable.
“Oh come on!” The man in the trench coat yelled, throwing his hands up. “That was my capture.” The other person didn’t respond, just pulled their hood down further over his face. The trench coat man continued to complain. “Really Sho? Don’t you have other people’s work to interrupt? There are so many other criminals for you to ice over with your stupid quirk, there’s no reason to steal mine.”
The hooded man huffed, looking up at the other. “You know we’re not supposed to use our real names when we’re working Dabi. ” Dabi frowns, stalking closer to the other before throwing an arm over the other’s shoulders.
“Oh don’t be like that Sho-” the hooded figure instantly whips their head around to glare at Dabi, shrugging the arm off his shoulders in the process. Noticing the other’s glare, Dabi’s grin widens. He throws his hands up in a lazy surrender. “Fine, fine. Entropy.”
Entropy finally pulls off their hood, revealing a head of snow-white hair. Dabi follows, taking off his trenchcoat and folding it over his arm. He watches as the other unclasps his cloak, folding it up and placing it over his arm in a fashion very similar to Dabi. Once the cloak is fully off, Dabi speaks up again. “Can I finally call you Shouto again, or do I still have to call you that silly undercover name?”
Shouto scoffs, “yours isn’t any better Touya.” Touya smiles at his brother, watching as he starts to walk out of the alleyway. Touya risks one last look back at the criminal they had caught earlier, a mugger who mostly preyed on the prostitutes around the area. Touya repressed a snort, in a few hours some poor police officer will find both him and his outstanding warrant, Shouto’s ice should hold him until then.
Touya follows Shouto out of the alley, letting his brother lead the way back to their shitty apartment. It’s an old shabby building in the seedy part of town, but it’s been their home ever since they had run away from him. It’s relatively cheap and doesn’t get any attention from people outside their little community so it was a great place to hide out at first, and then they just never left.
The two talk in hushed whispers as they walk down the street, mostly about their patrols, but also a little bit of straight-up brotherly banter from time to time. Shouto would always stop talking when he thought someone was paying just a bit too much attention to them, meaning the conversation stopped and started over and over. It’s probably for the best, they were keeping a big secret and Shouto was just trying to protect, not just it, but them as well. If anyone were to find out they were Dabi and Entropy…
Dabi was a name that he had come up with five years ago when the two of them had just run away. An alternate identity that he would give to anyone that asked. Eventually, they could scrounge up enough cash to pay someone for fake identities, but even then, the name Dabi stayed fresh in his mind. A month later and Dabi was reborn, this time not as a scared teenager, but a vigilante with flaming blue hands. Only a year later he was joined by another. Entropy, a cloaked figure with two powerful quirks. They go out almost every night, finding criminals and taking them down so that hopefully the police can arrest them later. It was a way for them to use the years they spent training under a harsh hand into something beneficial for both of them. A way for them to make something of their lives.
What had started as one man and his brother taking down villains in the dead of night eventually grew. People passed on their own sightings of Dabi and Entropy, which made its way to the police. They were finally able to put a name to the two who had been illegally apprehending villains for them, and soon enough, they had their own warrants for arrest.
Honestly, Touya wouldn’t mind if he were to be caught. He had already done so much for his community, and their little corner of Japan was already so much better because of it. He’s not planning on going much farther in life anyway, he’s not really made to be a desk jockey. If worst comes to worst, he would be willing to give himself up.
But then there was Shouto. If Dabi were to be arrested, Shouto would be left without his brother, or worse, he could be sent back to their father. He would never let that happen, he swore it to himself five years ago. Shouto will never be sent back to Endeavor, not over his dead body. His younger brother had such a bright future before him, and Touya will never let it be stamped out, especially not by their good for nothing old man.
It didn’t take too long for them to reach their apartment. Standing out front was their landlord Mrs. Suzuki. She’s a kind older woman who lives above them, and every once and a while Shouto will visit her for tea. Touya greeted her as they walked in, hoping Shouto is socially aware enough to do the same. He isn’t. Instead, his brother crouches down to speak to the cat hiding behind her leg.
Touya just rolls his eyes, pulling Shouto up from the ground and into the building. He loves his brother but sometimes he wonders why he is the way he is. If he hadn't grown up in the same house he would have questioned the kid’s upbringing. Luckily, their apartment is located on the first floor so it was relatively easy to drag Shouto through the door and into their small living room. He threw Shouto onto the couch and stalks into the kitchen.
From the room over it’s easy to hear Shouto shuffling around their living room, and waited a few seconds for the sound of their bedroom door closing. The apartment wasn’t big by any means, hell they only had one bedroom that they shared, but it was all they needed. A small kitchen to make meals in and an equally small bedroom they both sleep in. Plus, they have a bathroom with a built-in shower, a luxury they didn’t have when they were living on the streets.
Honestly, they had never thought they would get this far when they left their childhood home all those years ago. They expected to be found out in the first week and dragged back to their father, but against all odds, they stayed in hiding. Now, five years later, they were no longer Todoroki Touya and Todoroki Shouto, but just Touya and Shouto, upstanding members of their community and part-time vigilantes.
Touya is sure to wait for a few minutes before joining Shouto in the bedroom. He carefully opens the door, wincing at the creaking it made. Luckily, it didn’t seem like Shouto noticed the noise, still curled up on his futon. Touya quietly walked over to the bed, carefully stepping over Shouto’s sleeping body. He doesn’t even bother changing out of his day clothes, just falling onto his bed as is. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light.
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The next morning, Touya was awakened by a sleepy Shouto nudging his shoulder. The soft rays of morning light were shining in their small window, illuminating the room in its orange glow. The sun had clearly just come up, a quick glance at the time confirmed it. Touya stretched his limbs, trying to force the tiredness out of his body.
The floor is cold, even to his socked feet. The fall air is all the more chilling as he pulls off his shirt to get dressed. He reaches tiredly for one of his nice shirts, one of the shirts that he wears to work. He pulls it on, then does the same with his pants, making sure not to aggravate any of the burn scars that cover his arms and torso. It’s a byproduct of his quirk, his flames burn bright but use his own body as fuel.
It’s okay though, he’s no stranger to burns. He grew up in a house run by a megalomaniac with a fire quirk after all. Better by his own hands than Endeavor’s. Shouto too has his fair share of injuries. Cuts and bruises from bad landings on concrete and gravel, small burns from mishaps with his quirk, and most notably, the angry red scald around his left eye. Neither brother talked about that one.
Dabi stepped out of the bedroom, freshly changed, to find Shouto already in the kitchen with breakfast. They ate quickly, dropping their plates in the sink before leaving their apartment. They walked through the streets past the slums and into a nicer part of the city. A few more blocks and they reached their destination, a small tattoo shop nestled on the outskirts of a growing city.
When they had first run away, Touya had a problem finding a stable job with the meager identification they had at the time. Luckily, he had eventually come across this small tattoo shop. It was owned by an American man and his girlfriend and they were so in need of other staff that they barely took a passing glance at his ID.
Touya liked working in the shop, he was in charge of manning the front desk and it was pretty easy all things considered. His boss was nice and paid well. He even offered to do a few piercings for free when he had first applied, an offer Touya gladly took. He and his girlfriend lived in a small apartment above the shop and were nice enough to allow Shouto to stay up there while Touya worked.
The girlfriend was a year younger and taking classes online for her degree. She would do her classes and was happy to let Shouto sit in on her lectures as long as he stayed quiet. Shouto, by his own admission, didn’t completely understand everything that was going on, but he tried his best to follow along. He doesn’t get any sort of formal education, but hopefully, he’ll retain enough to be a functional human being.
Touya fiddles with the papers at the front desk as the computer boots up. He glances up, making sure that Shouto was situated, it looks as if he was already headed for the stairs. Touya smiled at his brother’s retreating back. This really was the best outcome, he thought, and there's no way in hell they’re ever going back.