Chapter Text
It wouldn’t take much to bring the heroes to him, it never did.
Whether or not the heroes he wanted would be the ones to report would be the bigger question, but since he had aired Enji’s dirty laundry all across Japan, it would be easy to assume who would be the first to answer the call. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t know it was him. Dabi’s quirk wasn’t subtle, which was fine, subtleness wasn’t one of Dabi’s strong suits.
Which is what led him to the heart of a slowly rebuilding Jaku City.
The destruction left from Shigaraki cut deep like scars across the city. His decay had become more powerful and the city had seen the worst effects of it. The hospital was still necessary for their operations to continue, but the rest of the city that had been spared had no such value to him. Perching atop the tallest remaining building, Dabi sent out a text just for good measure before tossing the burner phone off the side of the building and stretching out.
To: #2
t-minus 5 minutes, birdbrain
tick tock
He was certain that they wouldn’t send anything less than the best. Or maybe he thought too highly of himself, but that was a topic of introspection for another day, today wasn’t about him. Today was about Todoroki Enji paying for his crimes. It would be putting an end to this one way or another, preferably the death of little Shoto followed by Enji’s own. Giving the notice to Hawks was in his own selfish interest, he hadn’t had a chance to see him since their last encounter and he needed to visibly see the damage he had done. It shouldn’t have been shocking that he was a double agent, Dabi had never completely believed his lies anyways, but the sting of betrayal still cut deep. He didn’t form attachments to people and was furious at himself for even entertaining the idea for a second.
Might as well cut all ties now.
He didn’t let the full 5 minutes pass, he wasn’t one for playing fair. Closing his eyes and using his rage to fuel his quirk, Dabi released a torrent of blue flames down and around the city square. Screams from civilians reached his ears from below, the sound bringing a smile to his face and pulling at the stitches there. Fair skin began to char and burn along his body, the familiar smell filling his nostrils and bringing him an odd sense of comfort and control. This was his quirk, not his fathers, not his family’s, and not Shigaraki’s.
It didn’t take long for the heroes to close in, red flames visible in the distance flying in. Ice also made an appearance beside him. Good, he thought. He’d brought Shoto after all. Or more likely, Shoto had refused to stay away. That fucking hero complex. Dabi let his flames simmer down, the nearby structures that had been caught in the fire holding the blaze enough to keep up the effect while giving his body a minute to cool down. He wasn’t about to fail his mission in order to keep up appearances. A part of him had wished he brought along some more backup as the heroes filed into the square below but he knew they wouldn’t really pose a threat, not yet at least. Not with Endeavor there and trying to find any bit of Touya left in him. He wouldn’t find it. Besides, the one backup he had brought should be more than enough.
Relinquishing his high ground, he slid down to the street level, landing with a flurry of flames. Looking up, he was met with his executioning squad. Students from UA surrounded Shoto, likely thinking they could save him from his big bad brother. It was the same duo he had seen time and time again with shoto; the boy with the explosive temper and the one who All Might treated like a son, one day their luck would run out. A couple of smaller named heroes stood along the outskirts of the square, but he wasn’t concerned with the likes of them. Because right in the middle of the group stood Todoroki Enji. He was dressed in his hero costume but the flames that usually adorned his face were absent, the expression on his face was close to that of a man pleading for redemption. He shouted to the UA students and heroes that had shown up to go rescue civilians from the surrounding burning buildings. Good, this is a family matter. Leave us. Shockingly, he didn’t direct that same command to Shoto. After some hesitation, they left and started their search and rescue. He couldn’t care less if those people in the burning buildings lived or died, they were a distraction for the heroes, a means to an end. He had a job to do and he wouldn’t take his eyes off it for a second. When a car rolled up along the outskirts, however, his eyes did shift from his goal to lock onto a bandaged and wingless Hawks as he emerged from the driver's seat. His lips split into a cruel smile.
“Fly a little too close to the sun there, Icarus?” Were the first words to leave his lips, eyes burning with repressed flames.
Hawks said nothing, but clenched his jaw tight. He knew he would show up, it wasn’t like him to run away from the battle. The text was just a sure fire way to guilt him into showing his face, he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know about it then. Still, Dabi wished he would fall to the bait a little easier, to fall into their easy banter again. This was his fault. Hawks was the one who lied to him. He had to have known that Dabi would find out, confiding his weakness to him was a stupid move even for him. He shouldn’t have looked so surprised to face the consequences of his actions as his wings were burned from his back.
“I don’t know what I’d do without them. The feeling of freedom when I fly? There is nothing like it. Freedom was never something I got to experience growing up, and without the wings I -” He had grown silent and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, chuckling. “I would rather die than live without them to be honest. Is that a morbid thought to have?”
It was and Dabi had told him as much that night. But Hawks had given him the ammunition to ruin his life and then ruined his. He was an idiot for expecting anything else.
“C’mon now, Keigo. It’s not like you to be so quiet. Is this the time you choose to stop talking to me?” His smile morphed into a sneer as Hawks turned away from him and went to the passenger side of the car.
“Touya-” Enji started. Dabi snapped his attention back to his father with disdain.
“Now you choose to call me that? Do you look at me and see him now? Tell me, Enji. Tell me I’m your beloved son.”
“You are my son, you always will be. I have made mistakes, I know that. I am trying to atone, if you believe nothing else please believe that.” Enji took a step closer.
Dabi’s laugh was humorless. “You can keep looking deep, I promise you that you won’t find the Touya you’re looking for. He burned alive years ago. And you can say what you want, but I don’t believe a single thing you say. Your beloved Shoto would be wise to follow suit. Not that it’ll matter once I’m done with him.” Enji took a half step forward to place himself between Dabi and Shoto. The laugh that tore from his chest sounded nearly hysterical. “I am not your son to you, that much is obvious. You can say all the sweet words you’d like about how I’m still your son, you hate me with every bone in your body. But to be fair, you always did. Which is why I’ll enjoy this.”
Dabi held his left hand out and dropped it down hard, the signal more than enough to get his message across. His backup never revealed themself, but he didn’t need them to, in fact it was smarter that he didn’t. As long as he was hidden, his quirk would be the only card he needed to play. Shoto came sliding forward to the space in front of him, a forcefield sliding up and around them both. Enji shot forward as soon as Dabi’s hand closed around Shoto’s throat only to slam face first into the nearly invisible barrier. He looked frantic as he smashed his hands against the surface of it, the air rippling with an iridescent sheen at the contact but not relenting at all.
“Touya! Touya, please-” The begging was music to his ears, a smile spreading across his face without his volition. Here was the great and mighty number one hero begging on his knees before him. Shoto wrapped his hands around Dabi’s wrist, trying to loosen his grip with little success. Any ice he summoned was melted almost immediately and any flame he produced did nothing to stop Dabi. He was used to the constant feeling of being burned alive, it wouldn’t phase him now.
The few heroes that had hung back dispersed to the building behind him, searching for the quirk user who was obviously granting him the shield. He hoped they hid well enough, he didn’t want to rush this. He needed to drag it out and watch as Enji’s life crumbled before him.
“Touya, I know you. I know you don’t want this, you’re angry and I deserve that. Take it out on me, not on him. I am begging you- HAWKS!” The tears brimming his eyes only further widened Dabi’s smile but hearing him call for Hawks threw him for a loop. He looked to where Hawks stood by the car as the passenger door opened and Natsuo stepped out. His eyes were wide and already filled with tears.
“Touya? Touya please. Please stop this.” Natsuo pushed past Hawks and was held back by Enji as he tried to get closer. Dabi’s flames flickered, eyes locked on his brother. The brother he knew. The brother he spent his childhood with. His grip loosened enough for Shoto to shove his way off and back away. He didn’t take the opportunity to fight back but simply gave himself space and looked between his brothers as if this was the answer, the solution.
“Natsuo. It’s been awhile.” His words sounded empty even to his own ears. Natsuo took another step until he was also stuck at the invisible wall. Dabi knew he had a time limit, it wouldn’t take the heroes long to find his backup and put a stop to the shield. For some reason, though, he couldn’t bring himself to look away from Natsuo. Memories rose unbidden in his mind. Sleepovers in the common room when Touya couldn’t sleep. Playing games in the yard, kicking a ball around even though Natsuo was so bad at it. The summer they had a competition of who could catch more fireflies and Touya lost because he kept accidentally burning them. He cried, complaining that he should be able to better control his fire and Natsuo had made him a net so he could catch them without using his hands. He remembered the days laughing with him in the dining room and he remembered the nights crying to him when father would tell him he was useless. He also remembered Natsuo telling him to bother Fuyumi instead.
As expected the forcefield blinked out of existence. Useless. He had expected to get a little more time before his backup was found. But still, as the air lost its solidity, nobody moved. Natsuo reached out a hand to brush through the air in front of him, finding it offered no resistance.
“Touya, I thought you were dead.” His voice was watery, wavering with every word.
The words came out unprompted. “I might as well be.”
“Don’t say that. Please , you’re my brother. You’re still here so there is still hope!”
“Hope? Look around, Natsu. No matter what you think, we’re past hope-” Dabi said with a chuckle.
“That’s not true! Dad! Dad, please tell him. It doesn’t have to end this way, you can come home and you can be with the family again! We know we messed up, we know we failed you.” The tears started flowing more freely down Natsuo’s face but Dabi’s expression didn’t change. Natuso reached out to place a soothing cold hand on Dabi’s overheated skin. He flinched and looked down at the hand on his arm, knowing that touching him had to be hurting him. When he looked back up to meet his brother’s eyes, he could feel the wretched emotion rising. Warm blood started to trickle down under his eye and he watched Natsuo track the movements, more tears falling from his face.
“What way would you have it end, then?” He asked, genuine curiosity at what possible answer he could give.
Natsuo looked back to Enji as if seeking help. When he didn’t get it, he pursed his lips. “I- I don’t know. I just want you to come home.”
“Natsu. I don’t get to come home. I haven’t called that place home since dear old dad decided I was a failed creation and wasn’t worth the energy it took to look at me.” He felt the emotions rising, the heat in his body increasing. Natsuo tore his hand away as the flames started to take shape. Before he could take a step away, Dabi gripped both his arms and pulled him close, letting his flames engulf them both. “You shouldn’t get to go home either.” He could see the fear in Natsuo’s eyes, the reflection of a nightmare incarnate, blue eyes burning as flames licked along his skin. Natsuo's screams were echoed by Shoto's and Enji’s.
He was shouting now. “Dad decided I was a failure before I even had the chance to prove to him that I was worth something! All I wanted was to prove that I wasn’t useless. And then you and Fuyumi and Shoto all let him ignore me. You all gave up on me. He even sent mom away and no one did a single thing about it. All the deaths at my hand should be on all your consciences. THAT BLOOD WAS SPILLED BY THE TODOROKIS.”
“Todoroki Touya.”
A small voice brought him out of his rage, quiet and yet commanding all the attention in the square. The flames around them fell away as Dabi met Rei’s eyes across the way. Shoto grabbed Natuso away and rushed him away, tending to the burns already littering his body. Dabi didn’t care, he only had eyes for his mother as she walked towards him. Hawks was saying something to her about being careful but Enji let her walk before him as he fell back to his knees, the picture of surrender and resignation. Utterly pathetic. Rei repeated his name and his gaze slid back up to meet hers.
“Touya, sweetie. Your actions will not be forgiven easily, but neither will ours. You are not useless, and we should have worked harder to show you that we knew that. All of us. You are incredible, the things you could have accomplished if you only had the support of your family is a tragedy. Instead you led a life doing nearly unforgivable things. But your life is not over, and this doesn’t have to be the end. You may not be able to atone for the past, just as Enji cannot. But that doesn’t mean you cannot work to lead a better life going forward. Come home, Touya. Your family misses you. You are a Todoroki in all the best and worst ways. You’re ambitious, prideful and powerful. But you are more than that. You are the same boy who made me tea whenever I was tired, the same boy who taught his sister to play soccer and let her win just to see her smile. You are still the Touya who always knew how to make Natsuo’s favorite sashimi and wanted to protect Shoto even though you resented him for what you think he took from you. You are not a failure, you are a boy who was not given the love and attention he deserved. You were not hopeless then and you are not hopeless now.”
Dabi felt more trails of blood make their way down his cheeks, the droplets sizzling against burning skin. Rei stepped closer, bringing her hands up to cup his cheeks gently and brush the blood away as if they were tears. They were the closest he would ever get to them.
He wanted to push her away, to drown her in the flames that plagued his own body. He wanted her to experience all the pain he had. Except, she was also forsaken by her family. And yet here she was, looking after her children despite everything. Looking at Dabi like he was worth something to her, scars and all.
He found himself lowering his voice for just her to hear. “It doesn’t matter what choices I make here. Someone has to die, you have to know that. You’re not naive.”
“No, I am not.” She leaned in to whisper something to him, voice soft and calming. Suddenly, ice and fire met in full force and smoke filled the square, everyone shielding their eyes to keep them from burning.
“Mom!” Natsuo shouted into the fray, but no one was visible. When it finally died down, Rei was standing mostly unharmed alone in the square. Endeavor ran to his wife, clutching her close and checking for injuries. Shoto immediately looked around for Dabi, no longer visible.
“TOUYA!” He shouted angrily.
Rei had a sad smile painted on her features as she whispered. “He’s gone, Shoto.”
He looked at her, confusion written clear on his face.
“Todoroki-chan! Are you okay?” Midoriya came running up alongside him, Bakugo close behind. “We got all the civilians to safety. Where is Dabi?”
Shoto shook his head. “I don’t know.”
___
“It’s too late for Dabi, not for Touya. Come find me tonight. At the old bridge past the cherry blossom grove. I will not give up on you, Touya. Not this time. We will find a way out of this.”
Rei had whispered the words in his ear before releasing a torrent of ice to his fire, creating a cover of smoke. He found himself thinking back on her words. It could easily be a trap, but his mother owed nothing to the world of heroes. They had forsaken her as much as they had he. Besides, he was outnumbered in Jaku city and even if he managed to kill one of them, surely he would be killed as well. He had gone in knowing this and wasn’t deterred in the slightest. Yet seeing his mother and hearing her words had him questioning. Surely the heroes wouldn’t be keen on “forgive and forget” but he didn’t need to be accepted into society. He had no intention of a moral 180 so to speak, but maybe his family didn’t have to be the enemies. Maybe, there was another choice after all. It was nearly sunset when he rounded the corner and was met by another familiar face.
Takami Keigo stood facing him, hands in the pockets of his flight jacket, wings still noticeably missing.
“Thought I’d find you here.” His posture tense as if ready for a fight.
Dabi laughed easily. “Were you looking?”
“Yes.” The word was direct, leaving no room for doubt.
“Is that so?” His voice was dripping venom, still smarting over the last betrayal and fully expecting another.
“They don’t know I’m here, if that’s what you’re thinking. Rei-san does, but that’s it.”
The smile fell from his face now. “Why are you here?”
“I’m not going to apologize. I was doing my job. But that doesn’t mean I don’t-” He looked down, at his feet. “That doesn’t mean the route I took was the right one. Jin didn’t deserve to die, and neither do you.”
“You think I’m upset because of Twice? You clearly don’t know me.” He said with a scoff.
“Except I do. And I may be the only one who does.” Piercing gold eyes met his. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Dabi said nothing instead.
Hawks continued, bringing his hands out of his pockets and walking closer. He regarded him with a sense of familiarity that felt out of place. When he stopped just in front of Dabi and looked up, his expression was serious. “We both know you’ll never truly be off the hook, and no one in their right mind would trust you. But I think we both know if there is a way to stop Shigaraki Tomura, it has to be from the inside. I was never going to be that agent. You, on the other hand, can. You have been at his side from the start, you’re a lieutenant of the Paranormal Liberation Front. This can be your key to freedom. You don’t owe anything to him-”
“I don’t owe anything to you, either.” His eyes slid to the space the wings would usually fill on his back. Hawks had refused to apologize and so did Dabi.
“You don’t owe anything to anyone, so you should be free to make your own choices. But I saw your face when you were talking to Natsuo and Rei. You want a family back. It may never include Endeavor and that’s fine, but I know you miss your mom and brothers and sister. I’ve heard you say Natsuo’s name in your sleep. This is your way back to them. Please take it.” Hawks turned around to walk away without another word.
“Are you so confident of my answer?” He shouted to his back.
Hawks stopped and turned around. “No, actually. But I trust that when you have one, you know how to find me. You’ve done it before. You haven’t killed me by now, I don’t think you’ll start trying now.”
“Until next time, Keigo,” was all he left him with before he also turned and walked away. He had plenty of things to think over and not a lot of time to decide. His family had taken everything away from him but they could also give him something back. Shigaraki only wanted to take everything, he had said as much. His deepest desire was the decimation of everything and although Dabi had wanted to crumble the hero society, he hadn’t wanted to destroy the world. Not when there was any possibility of something more. His family and Keigo had shown him that possibility. He would take his family back from Enji, make them choose and leave him alone to watch his estranged loved ones leaving him in the dust. Another form of retribution it could be. Hawks had given him an option, an out, and although he didn’t think it’d be a seamless opportunity, it was a start. While the heroes would never agree to the plan, he trusted that Hawks would guide him through what he needed. And then when the larger threat of Shigaraki was taken care of, he knew he could convince Hawks to help him deal with the corrupted heroes. Despite his reputation as the golden boy of hero society, Dabi had seen too many dark thoughts in his eyes to believe anything but the truth. Keigo hated the Hero Association as much as just about any of the villains.
Nightfall would come in a few hours, but before he could meet his mother, he had other things to tend to. He had made it back to Deika city just in time, his destination looming ahead of him. The building itself was nondescript, but Dabi knew the horrors that resided inside. He was one of them. He made his way down the hall and to the room at the end. This was his one chance and he wasn’t going to ruin it by being careless and missing a meeting. Besides, what a way to start getting intel. Pushing open the door, he was greeted by the figure seated at the end of the conference room.
With a lazy smile, he took a seat. “Shigaraki, what’s the news?”
Shigaraki was sitting in his usual spot at the head of the table, no hands adorning his body or face. It was strange seeing all of his features on full display, the need for hiding no longer necessary as he was the Grand Commander of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Still, he often wore the hand on his face during meetings. That didn’t seem to be a concern right now, though, seeing as the other seats along the table were empty, lending an eerie silence to the room.
“Dabi. I heard you caused a bit of a scene in Jaku city.” Shigaraki’s voice was rough as he spoke, chin resting on his hand.
Dabi sat down in his seat anyway and swung around to face their leader. “I couldn’t help it, I got caught up in the family drama.”
“And yet no one is dead.” Suspicion laced his words.
Dabi scoffed. “They brought more help than I expected. I just focused on getting out of there.”
“They brought Hawks, I presume?” His red eyes were boring into Dabi’s own, looking for any loose thread of his story. It wasn’t exactly a secret he had a soft spot for the pro-hero when he was a double agent and Shigaraki was fully aware of that.
Dabi didn’t waver, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table in front of him. “They did. He’s seen better days.”
“Yet he is also not dead. Are you losing your touch?” The threat was clear enough. He didn’t fall for the bait.
“Listen, I care more about my own skin than anything else, I wasn’t about to risk doing something stupid for revenge only to get myself killed. Don’t act surprised, you knew this going in back when we were just the League. Don’t start losing faith in me now.” He lent an airy indifference to his voice, guard going fully up. He knew Shigaraki well enough to know he wasn’t messing around.
“Don’t give me a reason to.” He said, unamused as he sat up straighter. “And don’t bring my men to slaughter if you don’t have prior approval. ”
Dabi winced at that, Akihiro had proved useful with his force field quirk but Dabi hadn’t really expected the heroes to kill him. With the threat of Endeavor’s prized Shoto dying, he imagined they didn’t delay in putting a stop to his quirk. He wished he felt more guilty about the man’s death, but he really was just a means to an end, he was more concerned with incurring Shigaraki’s wrath at losing such a valuable asset on an unsanctioned mission.
“He agreed to come.” He tried uselessly.
Shigaraki leveled a glare at him. “I’d give him a stern talking to but seeing as he’s dead now, I don’t think it’d do much good.”
It wasn’t often that Shigaraki told jokes and it was never a good sign. Dabi dropped his feet back to the floor and leveled his gaze at the man before him. “What do you want me to do? Apologize?”
“Don’t be stupid, apologies are useless. I’m beginning to wonder if you are too.” Shigaraki stood from his seat and walked over to Dabi, putting one finger under his chin in a threat and lifted his face to look at him. Dabi didn’t flinch. Shigaraki no longer needed all five fingers to touch to decay, he didn’t even need to touch. If he wanted him dead, he would be dead by now. Still, his skin crawled under his touch knowing just how much power the man in front of him had.
“What do you want from me, then?” He asked, voice even.
His dead eyes were heavy as he watched him, the red of his irises the color of blood. This wasn’t the same Tomura he had joined forces with back when they were a rag tag group of villains trying to follow Stain’s ideology of cleansing the world of false heroes. This was a man who wanted to watch the world burn and would happily use anything and everything as tinder. This wasn’t a man, this was a monster. And Hawks was right, there wasn’t any other way to stop him. He knew his answer. He didn’t need to save the world, it didn’t deserve to be saved. But there were people who deserved to die.
And Shigaraki Tomura was one of them.