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Izuku felt horribly out of place as he approached the high-rise, modern-looking apartment building located right in the middle of its own park. He knew that Todoroki-kun had grown up somewhat wealthy (though perhaps not quite as wealthy as Yaoyorozu-san or Aoyama-kun, but he had never asked his former classmates about it, of course), considering Endeavour’s former status as a pro hero. Izuku had been to his friend’s family home during their work studies, a property had been bought or built by Endeavour’s money, a far cry from Izuku’s childhood home, the apartment that his mum had been renting until recently. He had no doubts that someone like the retired Number One would’ve prepared some funds for his children for the time after they graduated high school.
Todoroki-kun had also started his hero career immediately after leaving UA, still working on his own without an agency, something he apparently remained unsure about. Izuku didn’t envy his friend for his apparent wealth, knowing that the hero Shouto was humble and not someone who ever bragged about his origins or current income.
But there was no doubt that the two of them had come from different worlds and that they were used to different lifestyles. That wasn’t going to change anytime. Izuku had started his own teacher training after graduating, learning how to guide his future students alongside his former sensei at UA. He did get paid, but it probably wasn’t anywhere near what Todoroki-kun would make as a pro hero who’d already garnered a lot of popularity following his official debut.
Izuku, however, was content with where he was currently at and where he was headed in the future. He’d been able to relocate his mum to a new apartment, thanks to Hawks and his involvement as the new head of the HPSC. The retired Number Two had fought for Izuku and all the other high schoolers that had put their lives on the line, allowing students who had contributed to the war’s outcome to be compensated in some way, resulting in something of a make-a-wish program for those teenagers whose families weren’t as financially secure as the pro heroes who had done their share of fighting during that final conflict. His salary allowed him to rent a quaint apartment in Kagurazaka.
Keeping in touch with his friends wasn’t all that difficult since they still had their “Class A” group chat and all methods of modern communication available, but finding the time to actually meet was a little tricky at times. Almost everyone had become a pro hero, most his former classmates working for established agencies or staying solo, running on extremely diverse schedules. He’d finally managed to talk Shouto into agreeing to a night out in Tokyo, going out for dinner, going to see a movie, going for a walk, giving them a chance to catch up after a few months of occasional messaging. Izuku didn’t blame his friend for his lacking availability or general lack of chattiness, knowing that he wasn’t a sociable person, knowing that he was someone who worked very hard and got lost in his hero work. He hadn’t pried about Endeavour, but Todoroki-kun occasionally mentioned his family and his conflicted feelings about them.
They had only met up twice since their graduation almost a year ago. Izuku remembered how something had been different about Todoroki-kun on that day, especially after they’d gathered in front of their classroom to have their final homeroom with Aizawa-sensei. His friend had looked unusually happy, seemingly unable to stop himself from smiling, which had surprised Izuku a little bit. Not that Shouto didn’t smile or didn’t show his feelings in general, but his expression had been different that day. He’d figured that Kacchan had known something about it, which had baffled Izuku since the two weren’t exactly close friends, but he hadn’t been able to convince his childhood friend to spill the beans on what exactly had gone down.
Todoroki-kun had enlightened him a few months later when they met for tea (or coffee) at a kissaten that Uraraka-san had recommended to him. It turned out that Dabi (Touya, not Dabi – right?) had been at the graduation after having spent some two years on the brink of death in a private hospital that the public hadn’t known about. That knowledge had made Izuku feel a little uneasy, thinking about a murderer roaming UA’s halls, thinking about Todoroki-kun’s elation on that day. But apparently UA had agreed to tolerate Dabi’s presence and had put security measures in place.
Izuku knew that Todoroki-kun had gone to visit his dying brother a lot during their last two years at UA, but his friend hadn’t talked about it all that much. Izuku had left the topic alone, not wanting to overstep and appear nosy despite his burning curiosity.
It seemed that Dabi had made a near miraculous recovery and had subsequently been placed under the police’s and commission’s authority. He’d been granted certain freedoms, provided that he follow the rules of the new villain re-socialisation programme that the two authorities had developed after the war - yet another thing that Hawks had been a vocal advocate for.
The programme placed great emphasis on giving former villains the benefit of the doubt, allowing them varying degrees of autonomy and freedom, the details of which would be decided on a case-by-case basis. Participants would have to attend therapy sessions, some might have to see quirk counsellors and others would have to contribute to society by partaking in community service. Any failure to comply with the rules would result in immediate restrictions or incarceration.
The thing that baffled Izuku about Dabi’s case was the fact that he wasn’t someone who had committed minor crimes like Gentle. The Blueflame user hadn’t been some sort of public nuisance who could ultimately be considered harmless. He’d admitted to at least thirty cases of murder on public TV (and Izuku had no doubt that many more had been killed by his fire), he’d tried to suicide bomb an entire city full of evacuees, he’d caused countless injuries and insurmountable amounts of property damage, not to mention the mental scarring that he’d left on thousands, maybe tens of thousands of civilians and heroes during the war.
It might’ve been Endeavour’s influence and wealth that had allowed someone like that to enjoy the benefits of a programme that was (or was supposed to be) aimed at a different calibre of criminal. Izuku didn’t know how to feel about that possibility, but he didn’t want to bring it up with his friend, knowing that it would be a very sensitive topic.
He was under the impression that Todoroki-kun was very conflicted when it came to his brother’s past actions and current state. The young hero had told him that “Touya-nii” always followed whatever the authorities demanded of him, that he spent a lot of time at his brother’s place, but that he hadn’t made any effort to socialise outside of his family. The former villain hadn’t even made any effort to find himself a hobby, apparently he didn’t even consume any media (he wasn’t allowed online access under any circumstances, but he seemingly ignored all traditional options as well). It also appeared that he had no plans to finish his education (it was public knowledge that Endeavour’s oldest son had all but killed himself at the age of thirteen, that he’d received some sort of care from Garaki in what had been masked as an orphanage and that he’d gone down the path of insanity and crime afterwards after recovering at the age of sixteen), something that the programme wasn’t forcing upon him either for some reason.
Todoroki-kun had explained that Dabi wasn’t allowed to volunteer or work a regular job for a number of reasons. His identity would be hard to conceal (his current status wasn’t known the public), his health remained very unstable and the authorities seemed generally unwilling to take the steps to integrate him back into society in that way.
All For One was dead, Shigaraki was dead, Himiko Toga was dead, Twice was dead, Mr. Compress had refused to partake in the re-socialisation programme, Spinner had done the same, but Dabi was now allowed to roam around somewhat freely, at least around Tokyo, living in a tiny apartment in Akasaka, not too far from Todoroki-kun. He spent his days doing mostly nothing, spending a lot of time at his brother’s place, his life funded by the public (or perhaps Endeavour, Izuku wasn’t sure).
What a bizarre outcome.
Izuku pulled off his gloves before pressing his hands against the glass doors at the bottom of the tower, relieved to escape the cold February air. Todoroki-kun had messaged him yesterday, telling him to “just show some ID to the concierge” and they’d let him enter the elevator.
He fumbled for his wallet as he made his way towards the reception desk. This place looked incredibly expensive. He’d never been to a residential building with a concierge.
Ugh, he felt so out of place.
He approached the counter, smiling nervously at the elegantly dressed woman seated behind it.
Maybe he should’ve found some more expensive clothes to wear. He hadn’t thought this through.
“Uhm, good evening. I’m here to see Todoroki Shouto.”
“Midoriya Izuku? Your Individual Number Card, please.”
Izuku slid the plastic card across the desk, feeling reminded of that time he’d left the country with All Might to see Melissa and her father on I-Island. He hadn’t been on a commercial aircraft since then, but these kinds of identity checks made him feel a little nostalgic for that eventful trip.
The woman placed the card back on the counter after having put it under some sort of scanning device.
“Todorki-san expects you, Midoriya-san. You’ll find the elevators over there. 20th floor.”
Izuku picked up the plastic card, bowing low enough to keep his forehead from hitting the polished wooden surface of the reception desk.
“Thank you very much!”
He made his way over to the elevators, feeling a little nervous. He’d never been to Todoroki-kun’s apartment. They had either hung out at the dorms or gone to public spaces after those work studies all those years ago. Izuku had been grateful; he wouldn’t say this to his friend’s face, but he really didn’t want to go back to the Todoroki family home, especially not with a permanently injured Endeavour still living there. It would feel like intruding, but it also didn’t seem like Shouto’s home to Izuku either. His friend had been very eager to move into his own apartment after graduating and leaving the dorms.
He entered the elevator, feeling a little overwhelmed by all those buttons. He found the “20” and pressed, startled by the immediate upwards movement. This thing would probably go very fast. What did it say on that big button at the top? “Rooftop garden 45F”? Maybe he’d ask Todoroki-kun to show him that rooftop. The view was probably incredible.
Bing.
Wow, that had been very fast indeed.
The doors slid open. Izuku stepped out of the elevator, curiously looking left and right. There were some signs pointing towards the different apartment numbers.
He didn’t actually remember the number. Oops.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking the LINE messages from Todoroki-kun.
There. Apartment No. 2032.
Izuku put his phone away and scanned the signs for the number, determining that he’d have to turn left. The corridor ended in a glass front, allowing him an unobstructed view of the surrounding area. He was sure that the “view fee” would constitute half of the rent in places like these.
He’d made it to his destination, scrutinising the little golden plate that read “2032”. There was no nameplate, which he didn’t find surprising.
Izuku let his index finger hover over the doorbell. He hoped that his friend hadn’t texted him the wrong number, otherwise this would be very awkward.
He pressed the little golden button.
Silence.
Hmm.
Maybe he’d misread the message text.
He pulled out his phone again, tapping the message bubble icon on his home screen when he heard the door open in front of him.
“Midoriya?”
Izuku raised his gaze to see his friend holding the door to his expensive apartment.
His appearance was...a little unusual. The usually put-together hero looked slightly dishevelled, his hair somewhat unkempt, wearing a white t-shirt, blue sweatpants and grey slippers with… cat whisker prints?
“Hi, Todoroki-kun. Uh, sorry if I’m late, this place is bigger than I thought.“
Shouto blinked at him, a small frown creeping onto his face.
“Oh. I didn’t think about that. I should’ve gone downstairs to pick you up. Sorry.”
Izuku waved his hands in front of him.
“Ah, no, it’s fine! I found your apartment almost immediately, don’t worry about it.”
The frown on his friend’s face dissolved into a small, relieved smile.
“Good. Want to come in?”
“Yeah!”
Izuku stepped into the genkan as Todoroki-kun moved aside to close the door behind him. He fumbled with his scarf for a bit before managing to untangle himself, feeling very curious about his friend’s living space. He could see the big window front from here – was that a balcony?
“Sorry, I need a few minutes before we can leave. You can wear those slippers, they’re for guests. Ah, do you have a face mask?”
Izuku was still distracted by the view from what he’d assume to be the living room.
“Uh, I think so? Why?”
Todoroki-kun took his coat off his hands, hanging it next to the other jackets in what looked to be an expensive wall closet.
“It’s better for Touya-nii if you wear one. His immune system is still pretty weak.”
Oh.
Oh.
Dabi was here.
Izuku looked down at the genkan, spotting a pair of shoes that Todoroki-kun probably wouldn’t wear.
Black combat boots.
Well.
This just got a lot more… interesting.
“Midoriya?”
Right, Todoroki-kun had asked him to wear a face mask.
“Ah, sorry! Yeah, of course.”
He fumbled to find the mask in his pockets; he usually wore it when the trains got a little busy.
“Thanks, I’ll be right back.”
And then Todoroki-kun walked away, leaving Izuku to stand in the genkan with a crumpled face mask in his hands.
He heard the sound of a door opening and closing softly.
Hmm.
Well.
He considered staying here, thinking that it’d greatly increase his chances of avoiding the former villain. He wondered if Dabi would seek him out or if the man even knew that Izuku was here. Did this apartment have several bedrooms? Maybe Dabi would be in the guest room, allowing Izuku to stay clear of him.
Yeah, he could stay right here or hope that Dabi would be in another room.
But.
Midoriya Izuku was no coward.
He was also dying of curiosity. Hearing about the Blueflame user and his new, supposedly reformed life was one thing, but seeing the man would be something completely different.
He thought about Shigaraki. Izuku had wanted to save him so badly, had wanted to tear away All For One’s corruption, had wanted to reach out to that scared little boy he’d seen inside the white-haired villain.
What would Shigaraki look like now if he’d taken Izuku’s hand? What if Shigaraki were alive today, what if he’d also been allowed to join the re-socialisation programme, what if he’d also be allowed to live in an apartment on his own? Would he call himself Shimura Tenko again?
What would someone like that be like, what would someone like that spend his time on? What would his personality be like? What would his attitude towards heroes and this scarred, yet undoubtedly changed society be like?
Dabi wasn’t Shigaraki, but Izuku still needed to know.
He put on the face mask, kicked off his shoes and stepped onto the shikidai, arranging his shoes so that they’d point towards the exit. He put on the slippers, feeling slightly disappointed by the lack of cat whisker prints.
He heard a sound. Was that… paper? Maybe a page being turned?
His heart beat a little faster. He doubted that Todoroki-kun would be reading something right now since he was probably getting ready for their movie night.
No turning back now.
Izuku shuffled across the smooth, wooden surface of the short corridor. He wondered if he should say something to make his presence known, but he had no doubt that Dabi knew that he was there already.
He resisted the urge to grip the wall and peek around the corner of what seemed to be the combined kitchen and living room.
He took a quiet breath and stepped around it instead.
The expensive-looking kitchen was sparsely furnished. Its centre piece was the dinner table placed in front of the ceiling-to-floor windows. This one resembled a bar counter with long-legged chairs on both sides, allowing those seated at it to either take in the view outside or look at the living room area behind Izuku instead.
It seemed like Dabi had chosen the latter.
He took in the man’s appearance at lightning speed, suddenly feeling like he’d stepped into some alternate reality.
Black sweatpants, black t-shirt, grey slippers with… cat whisker prints? Pale skin on his arms, burned hands and elbows, slim silver staples between the mismatched patches. Pale skin on his neck, the lower jaw seemed somewhat disfigured, the same burned skin, the same pattern of staples below the cheekbones and on the chin, seemingly holding the man’s face together, exposed teeth, somewhat reminiscent of Honenuki-kun from class B, albeit a lot more gruesome with the visible, damaged jaw muscles. The upper half of the face seemed to have mostly recovered, although Izuku asked himself where all that skin had come from. He’d learned a little bit about skin grafts after his own arm had ended up miscoloured due to his injuries, but he’d refused the surgery. That’s why he knew that you could only use your own skin for grafts. Maybe this one was artificial? Three metal studs on the right side of the nose, several metal rings on the burned ears. Four on each? White hair, blue eyes.
Staring directly at him.
Oops.
Dabi was resting his head in his left hand, elbows placed on the counter, right hand splayed on top of some magazine. He didn’t move, his unblinking gaze fixed onto Izuku.
He could never forget those eyes. Fire. Smoke. Kacchan. Gigantomachia. Shigaraki. Dabi’s rambling. Todoroki-kun almost getting burned alive as Endeavour was frozen in front of his sons.
“Midoriya Izuku.”
Izuku failed to suppress a shudder. That voice.
He swallowed hard.
“Dabi.”
One grey eyebrow shot up.
Silence.
They stared each other down.
Izuku still felt nervous, but he didn’t think that Todoroki-kun’s brother would attack him in his apartment. It would jeopardise the man’s freedom entirely, probably permanently. There was no way that the authorities would let him go anywhere without a suppressor bracelet anyway. Izuku didn’t see one on his wrists, maybe an ankle bracelet? Yet he still felt his heart beat a little faster than it should. He couldn’t stop thinking about those moments on the battlefield, where it had been life or death, where blue flames burned terrifyingly hot, the smell of smoke and burned flesh too much to bear.
But here Dabi was, no blue flames in sight, sitting at his brother’s expensive designer kitchen bar counter, wearing grey whisker slippers, flipping through a magazine about…?
“What’re you reading?”
That piercing gaze left his for the first time since Izuku had entered this room, sliding down to the magazine under his burned hand.
“Cats and homes. 400 ideas for living comfortably with cats.”
Izuku felt his face scrunch up. That was… unexpected.
“Do you have a cat?”
Blue eyes flicked back up to meet his.
“No.”
“Oh. Uh, do you want to adopt a cat?”
Dabi blinked slowly, leaning his head a little more into his left hand.
“No.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Silence.
They stared each other down.
“You’re the brat that killed Shigaraki.”
Ah. Maybe Dabi wasn’t interested in telling him more about that cat magazine.
Fine, no need to be civil then.
“You’re the man that admitted to killing thirty innocent people on national TV.”
One grey eyebrow shot up.
“You also tried to kill Todoroki-kun, your own brother.”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Dabi had started drumming the fingers of his right hand against the surface of the cat magazine.
“You tried to suicide bomb an entire city with evacuees.”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
“You also lost to Todoroki-kun. Twice.”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Dabi’s near-skeletal visage pulled itself into a sneer – or at least that’s what it looked like to Izuku. It was a little hard to tell with his lower face like this.
“Heard you lost your powers after killing that handsy weirdo. Guess you can’t play hero anymore, hmm? Too bad for you, Deku.”
How did Todoroki-kun put up with someone like this? Maybe Izuku didn’t understand because he didn’t have any siblings. Some people would probably call him crazy for being friends with Kacchan, but Kacchan had never killed anyone. This was… this was something else entirely.
“Aren’t you sad about Shigaraki and your friends from the League?”
The sneer disappeared as Dabi looked like he’d swallowed a tablespoon of wasabi.
“Those loons were never my friends. Pulverise them all, I don’t give a shit.”
Izuku thought of Uraraka-san and how upset she’d been about Toga Himiko’s death. He thought about Todoroki-kun, his bright eyes and gentle smile on their graduation day after he’d apparently met his brother in their school. Were their feelings wasted on people like this? Had someone like this, someone who’d gotten a second chance at life, funded by the public, not changed at all after almost a year of supposed rehabilitation?
“Did you ever apologise to the victims’ families?”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Dabi’s face was back to neutral, his gaze locked onto Izuku’s. That glare reminded him of the way Todoroki-kun had looked at the sports festival long ago, before he’d told him about his home life.
“What’s it to you? Were they friends of yours?”
Izuku clenched his teeth.
“No. But they were innocent people that you murdered. The least you can do is apologise.”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
“How ‘bout you mind your own business, Midoriya Izuku.”
“Do you feel no remorse at all?”
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Silence.
They stared each other down.
“I really don’t know why Todoroki-kun puts up with you.”
The drumming fingers froze in their movement.
Dabi lowered his left arm, sitting up straight, narrowing his piercing blue eyes.
“Leave my brother out of this.”
Ah. So that hit a nerve.
“Todoroki-kun is my friend. He cares a lot about you, he really wants to help you and do better. I don’t understand why he’d go so far for someone like you, but I know that he wants to help people because he’s kind and strong. I’m starting to think that you don’t deserve someone like Todoroki-kun.”
He watched calmly as Dabi clenched his fists.
“You don’t know shit about my family. You don’t know shit about Shouto.”
Izuku was starting to feel indignant. This came from someone who had ignored his brother’s existence for years, only to show up as a villain and do his best to kill him.
“I know that he went to see you at least once a week for two years when he thought that you were dying. I know that because he always looked really sad the next day, but he said that he really wanted you to live, that he didn’t want to give up hope. I know that he’s willing to forgive you, even though you killed so many people, even though you tried to kill him and your father. I know that Todoroki-kun is kind and strong, because I’ve known him for many years, because he’s my friend.”
All emotion drained from Dabi’s face. He unclenched his fists, crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward slightly.
“Is that so?”
Talking to a brick wall would be more productive than this. Izuku wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but he still felt disappointed.
“Touya-nii.”
He jumped a little bit at the sound of Shouto’s voice, but he quickly returned his attention to the former villain in front of him. All the nonchalance was gone from Dabi’s expression, his head whipping around to face his brother, eyes wide, arms unfolding, hands moving to grip the edge of the counter.
Izuku cast a quick glance towards the younger Todoroki.
His friend had gotten dressed, his bi-coloured hair no longer unkempt, but he did not look happy. Izuku hadn’t seen that cold anger on the familiar mismatched face in a very long time.
“Don’t be rude to my friends.”
Izuku turned his attention back to Dabi. The former villain seemed to catch himself a little, frowning at his brother’s words, but he didn’t reply.
“Midoriya, let’s go.”
Now that got a reaction out of Dabi again. He sat up straight, eyes widening, mouth opening slightly. He looked… scared?
“Where’re you going, Shouto?”
Izuku observed his friend. Todoroki-kun wasn’t looking at his brother, moving towards the corridor that lead towards the genkan instead.
“Out. I’ll be back late. Maybe you should leave in the meantime, Touya-nii.”
He wondered if Dabi would break his fingers with the way he was gripping that counter by now. The former villain paid no attention to him, their previous conversation seemingly forgotten as the man kept staring at his brother, swallowing hard.
Izuku decided to follow his friend, quickly turning around that corner to get out of Dabi’s line of sight. The young hero was already putting on his coat while sliding into his shoes.
“Ah, Todoroki-kun, I’m sorry. Uhm, are you okay?”
His friend let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair after he’d pushed it through his coat sleeve.
“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. I- I don’t know why he’s like that.”
Shouto turned to face Izuku, a strained smile on his face.
“Let’s go, yeah?”
“Okay!”
Izuku wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he was sure that he heard a quiet “Fuck” from inside the apartment before the front door closed with a soft click.