Chapter Text
"I feel like this makeup is a bit much..." Rei sighed as she stared at herself through the front camera of her phone. "The wig is a little scratchy, too."
"You'll be fine, this is more about him than it is about us, remember?" Fuyumi tried to keep a smile on her face.
Rei nods, her eyes still focused on herself. Fuyumi had just spent 30 minutes in the hospital bathroom applying makeup on Rei's face to cover her facial scars. Shouto had even asked Yaoyorozu if she could use her quirk to make a wig that perfectly resembled Rei's hair before Dabi's flames had burned it.
"You just like you did before it all happened." Fuyumi's voice went soft.
A nurse knocks on the door, "Ms. Himura? He's been awake for quite a while, now. He keeps asking to speak to someone."
Rei's body jolts, and Fuyumi hugs her. "Good luck, mom."
Rei's palms felt clammy as she slid the door open. The sound of it brought back painful memories from her time at the hospital. She got closer to the bed, where a little boy with white hair was staring outside the window, fiddling with the thin blanket the hospital provided him with. Rei froze when he slowly turned his head around to face her. There was a small line of burned skin right on his lower eyelid, and the skin on his neck seemed rougher than the rest of his body.
"Mom?!" Touya gasped.
It didn't feel real, seeing her son back as a child right in front of her. It's been so long since she heard that high-pitched voice.
"Mom, I'm so sorry for all the horrible things I've said about Grandma and Grandpa selling you! I'm sorry for teasing Fuyumi, I'm sorry for keeping Natsuo up at night, and I'm so sorry for almost killing Shouto!" Touya practically jumped out of the bed, wincing at how sore his body was, and pulled Rei in for a tight hug. He sobs right into her chest.
To Rei, all the things he was crying about had happened over 10 years ago. These were just faint memories, things that no longer needed apologizing for. Her hand shook as she rested it on top of Touya's hair. It was just as soft as it was the last time she hugged him. Based on the photos she saw of Dabi, she was afraid his hair would've felt dry and rough.
Touya lifted his head up to get a better view of his mom, "I learned my lesson! I'll stop training for good! The fire burned me so badly, I never want to go through it again!"
Something inside Rei twisted painfully.
She had not prepared herself for this part. For hearing him repent for a fire that had ruined not just his body, but his entire life.
Her stomach lurched- violently.
She pulled away from him so quickly it startled him, rushing toward the nearest trash can. Her hands clutched the rim as she emptied her lunch in heaving waves.
“Mom?” Touya whispered, terrified. He hurried toward the door. “I’m getting a nurse!”
Rei raised a shaking hand, gesturing for him to stay put.
Touya froze. “Are you mad at-”
He stopped mid-sentence.
A mirror hung beside the trash can.
He stepped toward it.
Closer.
Closer.
Then he gasped.
The burnt lines under his eyes.
The rough skin on his neck.
He touched the burned skin. Gently at first, then frantically, as if rubbing hard enough would make it disappear.
“So- so that’s why you reacted like that…” His voice shook. “Because I look disgusting.”
Rei stumbled up from the trash, wiping her mouth. “No. Touya, absolutely not. Don’t ever talk about yourself that way.”
“But you- you threw up!” Touya choked, pointing at the trash. “I didn’t listen to Dad and now I look like a monster!”
It hadn’t been five minutes.
Five minutes and Rei already felt like she’d failed him all over again.
“Sweetheart,” she said softly, “you look just as adorable as you did before the fire. It’s not your appearance that made me sick.”
Touya’s shoulders loosened. Hope flickered. “Really?”
“Well… in a way, it is.”
He burst into tears again before she could finish.
Rei let out a breath, catching his trembling shoulders.
“Touya. Please. Sit with me. I need to tell you everything from the beginning.”
She guided him gently back to the bed. They sat on the edge, her arm wrapped around his much smaller frame. He leaned into her like a little kid. Like he hadn’t grown up into someone she barely recognized. Yet she could spot him in a crowd of people almost immediately.
Touya sat stiffly beside Rei, his small hands balled into trembling fists on top of his knees. His breathing was uneven, like every inhale scraped against something sharp inside his chest.
Rei rested a hand on his back, rubbing slow, steady circles. She wasn’t ready. She never would be. But the longer she waited, the more scared he looked.
“Touya,” she began softly, “you’ve… been gone for a long time.”
He stared at her blankly.
“A long time,” she repeated, gentler. “For about eleven years.”
Touya shook his head immediately, as if refusing the words could make them untrue. “No. No, I just- I just got hurt during training. Dad said to stop, but I didn’t. That’s it. That’s all that happened.”
Rei swallowed hard. “Sweetheart… you’re twenty-four.”
Touya blinked.
Then his whole body jerked, as if he’d been shoved.
“What?” His voice cracked. “I- I’m not twenty-four. I’m not even in high school yet! Look at me, I’m thirteen!” He shook harder. “I should still be thirteen. I don’t- I don’t understand.”
Rei clasped his hand, but he pulled away like her touch burned.
“You were in a coma,” she continued, keeping her voice soft even as her heart hammered. “For three years after Sekoto Peak.”
His breathing hitched.
“Then…” Rei’s chest tightened. “They say you became a villain.”
Touya stared at her like she’d spoken an entirely different language.
“That isn't possible. I can't be that.” He couldn’t say the word. It stuck in his throat. “I hurt people? Real people?”
Rei nodded slowly, her eyes filled with guilt.
“I wasn’t there,” she whispered. “I was still in the hospital after your father sent me away. I only know what I was told.”
Touya let out a shaky breath, one that dissolved halfway through into a panicked whimper. He pressed his palms against his temples, fingers digging into his skin as if trying to physically hold the memories in place.
“That doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. “None of this makes sense.”
“I know,” Rei murmured, reaching for him again.
He didn’t pull away this time. He was too overwhelmed to fight. Rei continues to tell him the things that she knows. She tells him about what his siblings have been up to and how All Might is no longer a hero. She wanted to get into specific details, but wasn't given the chance because Touya started hyperventilating again.
“All this happened in the past year? All Might lost his quirk? Dad became number one? Fuyumi- Fuyumi’s a teacher? Natsuo’s getting married?! But how? He was just telling me how gross girls are!” Touya's voice went quiet as he processed one more crucial bit of information. “Shouto made cold fire?”
One disbelief after another piled up, and Touya began rocking on the edge of the bed, his breath coming out in rapid bursts.
Rei wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to keep him from spiraling. He leaned into her shoulder, trembling.
“I’m still thirteen,” Touya whispered, voice cracking. “I’m supposed to be thirteen. Fuyumi should be in middle school. Natsuo should be doing homework. Dad should be-” He broke off, unable to finish.
He suddenly lurched off the bed, stumbling toward the door.
“Touya!” Rei called.
He yanked the door open before she could reach him.
Outside, Fuyumi sat in the waiting area. The outdated hero magazine slid off her lap the moment she looked up.
Their eyes met. And Touya gasped.
Her face was older. Her hair was styled differently. Those soft and round red streaks in her hair were longer and more defined. Her clothes looked like something a teacher would wear. And the scars- scars he had never seen, or so he thought- cut across skin he remembered being smooth and unblemished.
“Touya?” Fuyumi’s voice quivered. She stood slowly, hands out like approaching a frightened animal.
Touya shook his head violently, stepping back. “No. No, that’s not- that’s not her.”
Rei quickly grabbed him from behind and pulled him back into the room. Fuyumi followed and shut the door behind them, locking it to prevent Touya from running again.
“Let go!” Touya cried. His quirk flickered instinctively, just a tiny spark, and immediately his arm seized in a painful cramp. He cried out and cradled it to his chest, small body curling inward.
“Mom…” he rasped. “Please. Tell me the truth. What happened to Fuyumi’s face?”
Fuyumi exchanged a panicked look with Rei.
“You didn’t tell him?”
“He barely gave me a chance,” Rei whispered, brushing a sweat-damp strand of hair off Touya’s forehead. She kissed him gently there. “Are you sure you can handle knowing?”
“It’s okay,” Fuyumi said quietly, kneeling in front of him. She took his trembling hand, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles the same way she used to when they were kids, and the house felt like it was falling apart. “We don’t have to talk about that yet.”
Touya sniffled. “Mom said… Natsu’s getting married.”
Fuyumi forced a bright smile. “He is! Isn’t that exciting?”
Touya recognized that tone.
The one she used when their parents fought in the next room and she tried to keep Natsuo calm.
It made his stomach twist.
“Where’s Dad?” Touya whispered. “If I really turned into a villain… what did he do?”
Fuyumi needed to keep herself together. For Touya, for Rei, and for everyone else. She's been doing it for the past eleven years; she can keep going. She tilts her head to the side and smiles, "He did his very best."
Touya went pale, and Fuyumi quickly backtracked. "Oh my gosh, I made it sound like he died! He's still alive!"
Touya sighed in relief, but Rei slowly shook her head in disapproval.
"The doctors said it isn't best if he comes to see you now." Fuyumi explains, "You'll see him when we're home!"
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Touya was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened. He didn't like how much taller Fuyumi is now. He just started his growth spurt. He was sure that a month later, he could've finally been taller than her.
"Natsuo said he'll arrive later today." Fuyumi shows the text message to Rei, "When you see him and his fiancée, I want you to be as respectful as possible."
"Especially because they played a pretty big role in all of this," Rei added, lightly massaging Touya's shoulders now. "They found someone with a quirk that was able to heal your body. If it wasn't for them..."
Fuyumi hushes her.
"Will... will Shouto be here?" Touya asked. He was terrified to see Shouto. If Fuyumi had gotten taller, he didn't even want to know what Shouto looked like now. Especially if he was strong enough to make cold flames. Shouto was always the masterpiece, after all. He did the math in his head; his "youngest" brother should be 16 now, making him the new youngest. Great.
Rei responds, "The doctors recommend it, but we aren't so keen on that idea."
Touya gulps. Surprisingly, that's the best thing he's heard since waking up in this sterile hospital room.
"I'm scared shitless." Natsuo huffed as he stood outside the hospital door, clutching a neatly wrapped present like it weighed a hundred pounds. His palms were sweaty, his fingers twitching around the ribbon. "I can't do this. I really can't."
His fiancée placed a steady hand on his back. “You wanted your brother back, and you got him. You can’t just avoid this.”
Natsuo shook his head, staring down at the floor tiles. “Maybe I shouldn’t have hired that woman. Maybe I should’ve just let Touya go.” His voice cracked. “This is wrong. We can’t play God like this.”
Before she could reply,
“Is that Natsuo?”
The voice came from behind the slightly ajar door.
Natsuo’s heart dropped straight into his stomach. He froze. Completely frozen, he needed to double-check if he accidentally used his quirk on himself. Touya sounded the same, and Natsuo felt like he was 8 years old again. Waking up early in the morning with his brother right next to him.
The feelings were not mutual for Touya.
He didn’t feel nostalgic at all.
Why the hell did Natsuo sound like a grown man?!
“That can’t be him…” Touya whispered, tightening his tiny hand around Fuyumi’s. His fingers barely wrapped around hers now. It made the whole situation feel even more wrong. She used to hold onto him for comfort, and Natsuo would hold her.
Fuyumi swallowed hard and nodded, a hopeful smile tugging at her lips.
“No way. You’re lying,” Touya snapped. “And you used to always nag me about lying!”
He stuck his tongue out at her, childish and stubborn and very, very Touya.
Fuyumi let out a shaky laugh. She fought the sting in her eyes. That little spark of Touya’s old self was still there. It was enough to keep herself together. She nodded again and pointed toward the door.
It slid open, and instead of Natsuo, a thin woman with blonde hair and mouse-like ears stepped in.
“Hello, Touya,” she said in a gentle, delicate voice. She crouched down so they were eye-to-eye, smiling when he instantly ducked behind Fuyumi like she was a shield. “My name is Nezumi. I’m marrying your brother very soon… It’s so nice to finally meet you!”
Touya peeked out for half a second, nodded stiffly, then disappeared behind Fuyumi again.
“Where’s Natsu…?” he mumbled into her sweater, voice muffled.
Nezumi sighed dramatically and stood. “Your brother’s being a bit of an idiot,” she called over her shoulder. “He called you by your nickname! How can you still be out there refusing to come say hello?!”
Muffled protests followed from the hallway. Defensive, flustered, and then he finally stepped inside.
Touya flinched. Natsuo’s large frame, his broader shoulders, and his much shorter hair made him look like an entirely different species. Touya whimpered and shrank even further, his whole body pressed tightly against Fuyumi as Rei hovered behind him, trying (and failing) to comfort him without overwhelming him more.
“Nuh-uh,” Touya sobbed. “He’s too much of a brute to be Natsu!”
Nezumi bit her lip to hide her smile, and Fuyumi pressed a hand over her mouth to keep the laugh from escaping.
Natsuo’s face went bright pink as he clutched the wrapped box in his shaking hands.
“T-Touya, it really is me,” he said quickly. “I’ve always been too big for my age, remember?”
Touya slowly peeked out again, just one teary eye.
He studied Natsuo’s face like it was a puzzle he was supposed to solve, but didn’t have the right pieces for.
"What's in the box?" Touya asked softly.
Natsuo smirks and passes it to him, "You gotta check for yourself!"
Touya examined the box and shook it around a little. He stumbles backwards and plops onto his bed. Everyone else in the room idly watches as he rips the wrapping paper open. He stared at his present, slightly confused.
"...A Talking Hawks plushie?" Touya asked in a slightly displeased voice. "Who on Earth is Hawks?" He looks at the blond-haired hero on the box of the toy. He takes the doll out, and the first thing he notices is the tiny button on the doll's hand. He pressed it and yelped when it began to- you guessed it- talk.
"My name's Hawks!" It spoke up, "I wanna live in a world where heroes have too much time on their hands."
Touya began cackling; it was the first time he had a good laugh in a long time. "It's so stupid!" He presses the button again.
"They say I'm too fast for my own good!"
"I loooove fried chicken!"
"God, he's so corny!" Touya's laughter dies down as he puts the toy back in the box.
Fuyumi's eyes twitch. She grabs Natsuo by the wrist and drags him out of the room. Rei and Nezumi stare in confusion, but they stay by Touya's side.
"Are you insane?!" Fuyumi hisses, "You bought him a Hawks toy?! Out of all the heroes!"
"Well, I couldn't have bought him Endeavor or All Might!" Natsuo argued back.
“So you decided,” she said slowly, “that the best way to ease our traumatized, freshly de-aged, freshly-reborn-from-near-death, and freshly-informed-that-he-committed-felonies brother… was to hand him a talking stuffed version of a hero whose entire job was spying, hunting, and almost dying to stop him. The hero who killed one of his friends."
"Stop." Natsuo puts a hand up, "Do not mix our big brother up with Dabi. Jin Bubaigawara was Dabi's friend. Not Touya's."
Fuyumi was speechless hearing that. "Your reasoning is terrible."
"Maybe." Natsuo admitted, "But do you hear that?"
Behind the door, the muffled voice of the plush called out cheerfully:
“I loooove fried chicken!”
Followed by Touya’s delighted cackle.
Natsuo and Fuyumi both went silent.
“…He likes it,” Natsuo said weakly.
"I'll let this go. For now." Fuyumi glares at him and pulls him back into Touya's room.
"He really likes his gift!" Nezumi giggled
And it was true.
The sheer silliness of the doll was enough to distract Touya from the overwhelming reality of everything around him- his siblings’ scars, their new hairstyles, deeper voices, and grown-up bodies.
For a few minutes, he stopped thinking about the fact that he had supposedly become a villain or that he was chronologically twenty-four years old.
He hugged the Hawks plush tightly, grateful, truly, deeply grateful, that something so stupid had given him a few minutes of happiness.
“I can’t believe,” Touya yawned, eyes drooping, “you’re really nineteen.”
“I’m actually close to my twentieth birthday,” Natsuo laughed. “I’m… really happy you’ll be here this time. Since you weren’t here for my tenth.”
Fuyumi immediately pinched the back of his arm. Hard.
Natsuo forced himself not to yelp.
“What are you doing now?” Touya asked, blinking slowly.
“Um… I’m in college,” Natsuo said. “Studying medical welfare.”
Touya yawned again, longer this time.
Rei leaned in and gently pulled the blanket up to his chest. “It’s getting late. We should let him rest.”
“Right.” Natsuo stood up, Nezumi rising with him.
“Goodnight, guys,” Touya murmured, shifting under the blanket. “And… thank you for the gift. I love it.”
He hugged the Hawks plush even tighter.
Natsuo stuck his tongue out at Fuyumi on his way out, which earned him an exhausted groan.
“We’ll see you soon, Touya,” Fuyumi said softly. “Mom will be here with you all night.”
Touya gave a small smile as his siblings and future sister-in-law stepped out of the room. “Goodnight…”
Rei leaned over and kissed his forehead one more time, her hand lingering in his hair as his breathing evened out. Words can't describe how much she missed doing this.
Within minutes, Touya was fast asleep, curled around the silly Hawks plush like it was the only thing anchoring him in this unfamiliar new life.