Chapter Text
Dante liked life at the Academy for Gifted Children.
It was kind of funny having a name like that, "academy" is a fancier, more imposing word for "school" (something Dante had never been a fan of, since school was pretty annoying and boring), and yet he was basically the only student. When he’d set off on that bus after saying goodbye to Midoriya, he hadn't expected to end up in a place so... different.
Izuku was happy for him, judging by the letters they exchanged (letters, because phones were banned at the institute), and Dante was pretty satisfied, too.
Even before he reached his destination by bus, after the chaos and everything that he had done in Musutafu, a man with messy black hair and a white scarf, carrying a cane, had introduced himself as Aizawa Shota. He said he was a teacher at a new school about to open, and that Dante had been selected as one of the first students.
Dante’s immediate reaction was one of disbelief and he tried to shove the man away with his powers, but, to his horror, it simply didn't work. Aizawa placed a hand on the shoulder of a terrified Dante, who was shaking like a leaf, and said:
"What you are, I am too, and I want to take you to a place where this", Aizawa touched his chest, "won't be a problem."
Dante had asked if he was in trouble, but Aizawa reassured him that he wasn't, he just wanted to take him somewhere safe. How could Dante say no? He could have run off and tried to get back on the bus, however where was he even going? What was he going to do with his life?
He was still trembling as Aizawa led him to a car, where a skinny blond man was waiting for them. His name was Yagi Toshinori, though he told Dante he could call him All Might... Dante never actually called him that, though.
He’d sort of expected the place they were taking him to be a dump; it was a good thing he was wrong. It was a huge, isolated mansion surrounded by forest.
The teacher explained that the idea was to house people like them there and educate them so they could protect themselves and lead a semblance of a normal life. Dante opened the doors expecting to see other teenagers or even teachers... there was no one there except them. He looked at the black-haired man, who raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat and was told they were starting small.
Suspicion crept on Dante at first and barely left his "room" for the first few days, but neither Aizawa nor Toshinori forced him to do anything he didn't want to. The black-haired man would bring food and new clothes, while the blond one brought him desserts... strawberry sundaes. When he let slip that he liked the color red, his bedding and towel mysteriously turned red too.
Contrary to the popular belief he wasn't such a little shit that he couldn't appreciate the effort and that appreciation is what led him to start attending lessons with Aizawa. Sometimes he was terrified of using his powers, however with Aizawa nearby, he didn't have to worry. That was a good thing. Yagi’s power, or rather, his quirk, caused his body to double in size, packing on massive muscle and making his hair spike up.
That made Dante tease him, saying he looked like a Super Saiyan gone wrong, and even Aizawa had to cough to hide the fact that he was laughing at his colleague.
Over time, Aizawa slowly became "the old man" to him, and Dante gained a semblance of confidence when using his powers. Now he used them for silly things, like carrying books or grabbing a cartridge for Ebony or Ivory, which was actually quite useful. He even managed to knock down a few trees, real progress, though Shota asked him, please, not to do that again.
Telekinesis; that’s what Aizawa and Toshinori called it. Dante called it a problem to be solved, he still hated it, but at least it wasn't quite as terrifying anymore.
A different kind of day was approaching, and Dante had no idea just how much it would change his life.
It started like any other, and this time he was working with a rubik's cube; he could solve one really fast. It was a bit like how he used his power to pull the triggers on his guns, rapid-fire style, even though they were just standard .45 calibers his adoptive mother had made for him... Oh, the old lady, how he missed her.
"Done!" He stopped the stopwatch, which read 3.25 seconds. Dante clicked his tongue. "I did it faster yesterday." He held out his palm and let the cube drop into his hand.
"It's still a good time," an impressive time, actually, Aizawa noted mentally while paying attention to something else on his tablet.
Realization downed on Dante that the old man wasn't paying attention to him! The nerve! He stood up, marched over to the old man's back, and peered over his shoulder. "What are you reading, old man?"
Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him and pressed the tablet against his chest. "You'll find out soon enough."
"I don't like that answer..." Dante pouted, he couldn't even use his powers, since he could feel the old man's quirk blocking his mind. "Tell me. I swear I won't tell Toshinori."
"He already knows, kid." Aizawa forced himself to hide the small smile playing on his lips.
Dante let out a surprised gasp and placed a hand over his heart as if wounded. "So I’m the last to know! ...How mean of you..."
Shota shook his head and gave a defeated sigh. If he didn't tell him now, Dante would pester him until he wore him down. plus, it wasn't as if Aizawa wasn't going to involve him in the plan anyway. "Alright, alright."
Dante’s blue eyes lit up as Aizawa pulled the tablet from his chest and projected an image onto the table and it soon displayed a house and a holographic photo of a boy with half-white, half-red hair and heterochromatic blue and grey eyes.
"Who is that?" Dante asked; they looked to be about the same age.
"His name is Shoto Todoroki, he’s at this orphanage." Aizawa gestured to the sad, dilapidated building being projected. "He’s one of us, so I plan to bring him here in a few days." He looked at the albino boy. "You’re going to help."
"I am?" Dante asked, surprised, looking back at the boy's photo. "Finally, someone else?"
"Yes," Aizawa nodded; having another person Dante's age around would be good for the boy. "Tough please understand that this orphanage isn't a good place, Dante. That boy... wasn't as lucky as you in some aspects."
It was true that Dante had been somewhat lucky since after his mother and brother died (oh boy), he was automatically taken in by Nell Goldstein, a neighbor who had been close friends with his biological mother, Eva Alighieri.
She had cared for him until... a few months ago...
Dante shook his head; now wasn't the time for that. "Are they... hurting him?" Aizawa considered lying so Dante wouldn't feel bad, lying to the boy was not an option either.
He had promised to be completely honest with him. "That’s why we’re going to help him." He didn't go into the details of what was happening: that the boy was being used as a test subject and experimented on because of his quirk.
"Let's-" Dante moved to stand up, but Aizawa pressed his shoulder back down.
"Let's wait for Toshinori to get back for the States before we go, he arrives in two days."
"But they're hurting him, old man-"
"I understand your frustration, and I want nothing more than to go there right now, but we have to be smart about this, Dante," Aizawa said, placing a hand on the boy's head. "It’s going to be okay."
"But-"
"Just two days, Dante," he reassured the boy.
Two days seemed like a short time, enough to cook up some bureaucratic excuse and prepare in case force became necessary, but Shota Aizawa should have known, he really should have known that the moment he set a rule for Dante Alighieri, the boy would break it. It wasn't out of malice, it was simply who he was since rebellion was in his blood more ways than any of them could known.
Shota already knew the boy had a problematic memory, sometimes he couldn't recall entire days or even names, yet at other times, he could remember the nutritional content of a strawberry cereal he’d eaten two weeks prior.
It was hard to predict what would catch the boy's attention and stick in his memory, so you couldn't blame Aizawa for never imagining Dante would memorize the address of the orphanage. Nor did he expect Dante to take Ebony and Ivory, and Shota certainly didn't know Dante knew how to hotwire a motorcycle, let alone ride one. The old lady had taught him those things, she wanted him to be resourceful.
Just imagine the look on his face the next day when he found a note resting on top of Dante’s red blanket.
Dante thought about calling Midoriya for this, he’d definitely help. Though... he’d already disrupted the little bro’s life enough, and the kid didn't have time for this.
The bike probably didn't have enough gas for the whole trip, but that wasn't a problem since Dante would just use his telekinesis to keep it running.
He’d already asked the old man to teach him how to fly using his telekinesis (he knew it was possible), but the old man said he was still too young for that... soooo lame.
Heh.
He hoped the old man would forgive him for this stunt. It wasn't totally intentional, Dante just really hated being told what to do, and there was another kid out there suffering like he had. He wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully knowing that and doing nothing about it.
(Little did he know that, after some swearing, Aizawa would act the closest to a proud father he’d ever been, up to that point.)
Dante didn't know when he’d become so empathetic; he hadn't been that way since his parents died, and after the old lady... even less so. It was probably Izuku Midoriya’s fault.
That fucking nerd.
Yeah, it was all that weird nerd’s fault. Izuku wouldn't even believe what he was doing right now so he’d have to make sure to send a letter about it later.
Shoto Todoroki no longer knew what to expect from life, but he certainly didn't expect anything other than the miserable routine that had settled in since his parents died a few years back.
It was simple: he’d wake up, eat some bread, Dr. Garaki would take him to the room filled with needles and monitors, and then he’d go out at night to grab a bite to eat and sleep away from the other children.
That was it, every single day. All because of these damn powers he’d never asked for... contrary to Dr. Garaki’s surprise, Shoto didn't actually like the fact that he could wield ice and fire. Why would he? It wasn't as if he could control it that well.
The scar over his left eye was enough proof of that.
Things were so miserably monotonous for Shoto that when he heard a noise at the window, he thought he’d finally started hallucinating. He must have gone crazy, that was the only logical explanation.
The best course of action (or rather, the only thing he could do) was to ignore it.
The hallucination sadly got worse; it started to have a voice that said, "Hey! Hey! Look over here!" No, thank you, Mr. hallucination Todoroki wasn't going to look. He might be losing his sanity, sure, but he wasn't that far gone yet... though who was he kidding?
Even so, he wasn't going to do it.
Oh, great, now the hallucination had become physical and was somehow outside, banging on his window.
(No, Dante hadn't flown up there, he was just really good at climbing.)
"Open the window!" A male voice called out to Shoto, who promptly ignored it.
Todoroki simply pulled his blanket up to his chin and squeezed his eyes shut; if he ignored it long enough, it should pass. He already had enough problems without dealing with hallucinations too.
And even if it wasn't a hallucination (the tapping on the window was starting to chip away at his resolve), it was still better to ignore it. People showing up at windows in the middle of the night asking to be let in seemed like the sort of thing that could only come out of a really bad horror movie.
Then again, his life was one, so what was the point?
“Hey! I know you can hear me!” The voice insisted, and now Shoto heard a shrill sound, as if the guy at the window were scratching at the glass. “Seriously, this is kind of urgent!”
Todoroki just pulled the thin blanket over his face, if he pretended to be asleep long enough, maybe the thing would go away, sadly again that idea didn't last for long because the sound of breaking glass followed by a thump on the floor pretty much ruled that option out completely.
“Oh… damn… that hurt…”
With trembling hands, Shoto pulled the blanket away from his eyes and saw a boy with hair as white as the moon sitting on his bedroom floor, rubbing his forehead. He shook his head, and his bright blue eyes met Todoroki’s heterochromatic ones.
For reasons neither Dante nor Todoroki understood, once their gazes locked, neither could look away.
It was strange. Dante had to slap his cheek to regain his focus. “It seems I hit the jackpot. You,” he pointed at Shoto, “are coming with me.”
Todoroki’s eyes widened, however he stopped himself before refusing. Okay, so the window guy certainly wasn’t a hallucination, he could see that now that the window was broken, so it wasn't a hallucination. Still, he was a weird guy who had climbed through his window and was now… kidnapping him?
He probably should have been more bothered by that, in all fairness, it wasn't as if getting kidnapped from this place was a bad thing. If not for the bizarre approach, he wouldn't have even considered saying no for a split second.
Even if he died, at least it would not be there and that guy... yeah he wouldn’t mind dying by that other boy’s hands. “Okay,” he said, pushing back his thin blanket and sitting up in bed.
Dante’s eyes widened, stunned, to say the least. Nah, actually, "surprised" didn't even begin to cover how easy it had been. He’d expected resistance! Drama! Maybe a heated argument! He’d been prepared to knock the guy out and leave.
But no. He’d just accepted it like that... it was almost a letdown.
He narrowed his eyes at the other boy on the bed, and it was only when Shoto tilted his head, confused by Dante’s confusion (he accepted so what was the problem?), that he noticed the scar over his left eye. He shot up, as if jolted by an electric shock from the floor.
“Did the people here... do that to you?” He asked, taking a step forward.
Instinct took over Shoto as he covered the left side of his face with his hand. No, that was one of the few things he’d done to himself, because he hadn't known how to control his dumb powers, he didn't want to say that though, and he didn't want to lie either... so he simply remained quiet.
The other boy took that reaction as a yes and without him even noticing, the shards of glass on the floor began popping like popcorn. Todoroki’s eyes widened, and he was about to say something when the bedroom door was kicked open.
Two men in black uniforms and carrying batons burst in, they had heard the noise from the window and quickly identified an intruder in a red trench coat via the room's security cameras. One of them, wearing a helmet, was about to report the situation when an invisible force stopped him mid-motion.
The glass shards began exploding in rapid succession, and the baton was ripped from one guard's hand, striking him square in the face. The other guard, still frozen in place, was then hurled against the back wall with such extraordinary force that he smashed through three walls before coming to a halt in one of the bathrooms.
A shrill alarm began to blare and Dante rolled his eyes and drew Ivory.
Todoroki immediately stood up and followed the albino into the hallway, unfazed by the weapon, he wasn't about to miss this. That thing and that boy were the most exciting things that had ever happened in his life, he had to see how it played out.
Dante was actually having a bit of fun.
Not that he’d admit it out loud, especially not to the old man, who had likely already suffered a heart attack, but there was something truly cathartic about using his powers for something other than training drills, carrying things and cleanup duty after all these months. The guards fell like dominoes (one after another) as he advanced down the corridor with Ivory in his right hand and Ebony in his left, their triggers pulled with the aid of telekinesis, making them fire like automatic weapons.
It had been hard for the old lady to create something that could withstand him, but she had managed it before she was kidnapped, and...
Dante took out two guards with a single shot from Ebony. He didn’t like killing, he hated it, actually, however he wasn't exactly in a good place right then. And for all effects those people had helped torture a kid like him; they didn't deserve Dante's mercy.
“You’re really good at this,” Shoto’s surprisingly calm voice came from behind him.
Dante glanced over his shoulder with a crooked smile. “Heh, thanks.” He fired another shot, hitting a guard in the back. “Name’s Dante Alighieri, by the way.”
“Shoto Todoroki,” he introduced himself, and Todoroki noticed how the bullet corrected its own trajectory, and the speed... “What are you?”
Despite the chaos and their objective (which had shifted slightly in Dante’s mind to kill the orphanage director), the question seemed important, so important that the albino used his telekinesis to shove the last group of guards he could see through a window before turning to Shoto. “The same as you.”
He tried to take the other boy’s hand, but Shoto pulled away slightly. Dante frowned but didn't give up deciding to quickly grabbed Shoto’s wrist instead. “I’m here to get you out of here, like I said before.”
Todoroki felt a surge of panic when Dante grabbed his wrist. That panic subsided when he looked into those bright, determined blue eyes and as long as Dante didn't hold his hand, he figured everything would be okay.
“Alright.”
A genuine smile broke across Dante’s face just before the guards he’d shoved aside came back. He pointed Ivory at them again. “Stay close to me and don't do anything stupid.”
“I don't know how to do anything stupid,” Shoto replied, completely serious. “I never had the chance.”
“We’ll fix that soon!” Dante dealt with the guards before turning back to Todoroki. “The guy who did those things to you here... where is he?”
Todoroki rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought for a few seconds. "He has his lab in the basement where he keeps the other children there at night."
A shiver ran down Dante’s spine. "Do they have quirks too?"
Todoroki shook his head. "No, but he experiments on them anyway."
That made Dante's blood boil. It wasn't the first time and likely wouldn't be the last, that he’d seen someone treated like an object (he had been, briefly, himself), and every time it happened, something inside him wanted to blow everything around him to pieces.
"Where’s the entrance?"
Todoroki pointed downward, toward the stairs they were heading for. "There’s an elevator in the living room on the floor below us, behind a bookshelf."
Dante nodded and started moving, with Shoto following a little more slowly.
The lower level of the orphanage, a place that should have been for children to play and heal from what they’d endured before ending up there, was just as dismal as the small room where Dante had found Shoto. Everything looked old and rotted and even the bookshelf stood near a fireplace that seemed to be missing tiles.
"This one?" Dante asked.
Todoroki nodded, “It’s the red book, then the a-”
Dante didn’t wait for the code, he simply used telekinesis to rip the bookshelf off the wall, hurling it backward with a loud crash. It was exactly as Shoto had reported: an elevator door sat behind the shelf.
“…or you could do that,” Todoroki murmured, somewhat impressed.
Dante was mashing the call button repeatedly with superhuman speed. “Takes a while, huh?”
As if it could hear him and wanting to prove him wrong, the elevator opened with a ding. Dante stepped in without hesitation, and Todoroki followed, his heart pounding. He had always dreaded that elevator and the sensation of falling, knowing the pain that would follow; it was strange how different it felt this time.
Shoto didn't quite know what to make of it.
What he also didn't know was that it was okay not to know how to handle it all, Dante was there to deal with those things.
The elevator descended quietly, save for the occasional metallic creak. Dante had his hands in his red coat and was lightly tapping his left foot against the floor, while Shoto watched the numbers slowly count down.
“This place is a lot bigger than it looks like,” Dante remarked dryly.
“You have no idea,” Todoroki sighed.
When the elevator finally stopped, Dante didn't wait for the doors to open as he shoved them with telekinesis, blasting them outward to strike anyone waiting on the other side.
Dante’s instincts were spot-on since two armed guards were now sprawled on the floor.
If the place weren't so disgusting, conducting experiments on children, Dante might have actually been impressed, because it was massive. It was all white, looking like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. “Keep going,” Todoroki said, following close behind. “There’s a door at the end of the hall… that’s where he…”
Dante didn’t wait for the other boy to finish. He stepped over the guards he’d struck with the elevator door, making sure to stomp on them and moved forward.
The hallway was lined with doors, doors with small windows that Dante ignored, though Shoto didn’t. Shoto stopped in front of one, and Dante, frowning, stepped over to see what the other boy was looking at.
Dante should have kept walking, for inside the room was a child strapped to a chair, with IV lines, so many of them, running into her little arms. A little girl and she was blindfolded and gagged… she wasn’t even struggling anymore, having completely surrendered to her fate.
He took a step back, as if the sight inside that room had burned his something on him. Turning his head, he came face-to-face with another small window revealing the same kind of scene, only this time, it was a boy strapped to a bed.
It became impossible for him to even notice when he started hyperventilating, let alone when the air around him began to vibrate. Everywhere he turned his head, he saw another window with a child inside and it was too damn much.
And that was precisely why Aizawa had intended to wait for Toshinori’s return before coming here, he hadn’t wanted Dante to see something like this, the reason for Dante to go at all was so Shoto could interact with someone of his age.
Looking back on this moment from somewhere in the future, Dante still wouldn’t understand exactly what small thing caused the elastic band in his mind to snap right then. It might have been the sensation of his back hitting the wall, or perhaps seeing a little blond-haired boy in one of the rooms. He didn’t know.
All he knew was that one moment the hallway doors were standing intact, and the next, they were twisted and warped, as if someone were using a sledgehammer to force them open.
They were buckling in on themselves, some seemed to be melting even. The sound was deafening, metal and concrete cracking and glass shattering. Dante’s eyes were glowing, and his white hair floated as if he were underwater.
Todoroki was frozen in place, he seemed unable to do anything but watch the unfolding chaos. It was… satisfying, in some twisted way, however any satisfaction he felt vanished the moment he saw Dante clutching his own head.
This wasn't how Dante had used that power before- no, not at all. This was uncontrolled; it looked wrong and it looked like it was causing pain to the boy.
“Hey-” Todoroki instinctively reached out toward the albino but forced himself to stop. He couldn't touch Dante; what if he froze or burned him? What would he do? “Dante! Dante!” He called out, trying to get his attention. However, everything seemed too muffled.
It was as if someone were stuffing cotton balls into Dante’s brain, making everything feel sort of soft around the edges. It was too much… just too much.
“Dante!” Shoto tried again, louder and with a hint of desperation. “You need to stop!” He took another step forward but halted when the ground seemed to start shaking as well. It was getting worse.
The albino was already too far away to answer, so far that droplets of blood had begun to fall from his nose.
Shoto’s eyes widened; Dante wasn't listening and likely wouldn't be anytime soon. Yet, those wide eyes reminded him of something else. He looked down at his hands, which were trembling, not out of fear, though he was afraid, because something deep inside him was reacting to the unfolding events.
A survival instinct? A defensive reflex? What truly mattered was that the fire within him wanted to act, but how? He had never managed to control it, and he didn't want to hurt the other boy.
But if he did nothing, Dante would...
Shoto lifted his head to look at the other boy again. At some point, Dante had dropped to his knees, and the expression on his face was no longer one of anger or amusement. Dante’s blue eyes were still glowing, wide and fixed, his pupils constricted.
He looked afraid. The boy that had climbed through his window and killed the guards who used to torment him was terrified of what was happening around him.
And Shoto was afraid too, but right then, he decided that fear had already mattered too much and had taken too much from him. He wasn't going to let things go on like this. Todoroki didn't know exactly what he was thinking, it did not matter anyway because his body began to move on its own.
He ran straight to Dante and wrapped him in a tight hug. In that moment, the risk of burning or freezing him didn't matter.
Todoroki’s right hand was unnaturally cold, while his left was hot and that shock was exactly what Dante needed to clear the fog that had clouded his mind, causing him to gasp and blink. His white hair returned to behaving like normal hair, and his eyes stopped glowing, as if a candle had been blown out.
“Todoroki…?” Dante’s voice came out low and hoarse.
“Stay still.” Shoto didn’t let go of the hug. His body was trembling just as much as the albino’s, and Dante could still feel heat and cold spreading through him and it was so strange. “You need to stop, you’re going to end up hurting yourself.”
Dante swallowed hard, he was breaking into a cold sweat without even realizing it. He looked around at the ruined hallway and felt his stomach turn. “I- I did all of this?”
“Yes.” Todoroki wouldn’t lie to him.
Shoto pulled back slightly but kept his hands on Dante’s shoulders. The albino was pale, and blood was still trickling from his nose, forming a red streak on his upper lip.
“You stopped in the end and that’s what matters,” he finished.
Dante felt his cheeks heat up a little before he squirmed out of Shoto’s embrace. “Uhhh… thanks… I guess?” He wiped his sleeve under his nose and grimaced when he saw the bloodstain on his coat.
“Are you okay?” Todoroki asked, feeling a bit foolish for doing so; of course Dante wasn’t okay, he was having a nosebleed! His hands hovered in the air, half-expecting the albino to collapse at any moment.
“I’m great.” The look on Dante’s face wasn’t very convincing, and he wiped his sleeve across his nose again, making the stain worse. “Never been better. I’m doing wonderful-”
“Dante.”
The albino paused and looked impatiently at Shoto, ready to tell him he sounded like a worried mother fussing over a guy he didn’t even know, but the words died in his throat when he saw Shoto’s hands trembling.
“Yeah, alright…” he sighed deeply. “Maybe that was a lil’ bit too much, but I’ll manage.” He stood up and stretched his arms. “Can ya handle the kids while I see what’s over there?” Dante pointed to the door at the end of the hallway.
“No.” Shoto stood up quickly.
“Man-”
“You go with the kids, and I’ll go in there.” It was time for Todoroki to face another fear.
Dante’s eyes widened and he took a step closer to the other boy. “Look, I don’t think-”
“You have a nosebleed and can barely stay on your feet,” Shoto interrupted. “I spent too much time in that room and with that guy, I know what to expect.”
Dante would have loved to dispute that, but he couldn’t. He could feel his head spinning a bit and taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.
“Fine,” he finally conceded, albeit reluctantly. “If you take too long though, I’m coming after you.”
Shoto gave a small smile at that and nodded. “Deal.”
Then he turned and started walking toward the door at the end of the hallway. He could feel the fear in the back of his mind trying its hardest to claw its way to the surface and make him hide. Shoto took a deep breath, counted to three, and opened the door.
Dante stood in the hallway, watching the spot where Shoto had been before stepping through the doorway, then turned to the wrecked doors surrounding him, doors he had destroyed himself. The children were terrified: some were crying, while others looked completely catatonic. He took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face.
“Hey…” He walked toward a little girl on the left who had managed to break free. “It’s okay now. I’m going to get you out of here.”
The brown-haired girl looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and reached out to touch his white hair. “Are… are you an angel?”
Dante laughed, surprised and even flattered by the notion. “No, no… more like… the opposite, but I’m going to help you anyway.” He knelt down in front of her. “What’s your name?”
“A-Asami.”
“So, Asami,” Dante held out his hand, “can you help me get everyone upstairs?… Oh, damn- the elevator…”
“There’s-there’s a staircase!” the little girl quickly said, taking his hand with determination, even though her own was trembling. “I can help!”
The main laboratory was illuminated only by the glow of the active monitors. Dr. Garaki sat in a chair beside what looked like a dentist’s chair.
“Shoto,” he said, trying to sound calm, though Todoroki had spent enough time with the doctor to know when he was faking it, “what a surprise. You’ve brought visitors.”
He didn’t answer, but Garaki could see the boy’s right arm beginning to emit a freezing mist.
“You must be so confused, my boy.” Garaki stood up, he always stood tall whenever he wanted a child to feel small. After all, he was an adult, and he felt entitled to remind them of that fact whenever a child had a “fit of stubbornness” the problem is that he was never a really tall guy. “That boy… he must have filled your head with lies, but know that he’s lying, Shoto. Whatever he told you, he’s manipulating you. I’ve never lied to you. I want to help you! I want to find a cure-”
“Cure?” Todoroki’s voice was low. “A cure for what?”
“For what you are, clearly.” Garaki smiled. “What makes you different from those other children? How can I prevent more kids from ending up like you? That’s why I need to analyze the others too, to see the differences… I can-”
“You can’t do anything.” Todoroki took a step forward, and the floor around his feet began to freeze. “You aren’t going to do anything else.”
Garaki stepped back, his back hitting the tablet that held his monitors. “Shoto, let’s talk about this-”
“I don’t want to talk to you.” The ice spread faster, climbing the walls and finally destroying Garaki’s stupid computers. The doctor tried to run to the left, only for a wall of fire to block his path.
Garaki was trapped. On one side, the ice advanced, cracking the ground and creeping up the walls like crystals, on the other, the fire danced, so hot it made the surrounding air seem to shimmer. The doctor could only back away.
“Shoto, think about what you’re doing,” the man tried, though his voice trembled for the first time ever. “I’m the only person who can help you control it. Who can control this-”
“You can’t. I don’t want you to.” The ice and fire surged forward simultaneously, and the last sound to escape the doctor was a scream muffled by the roar of the embers.
That was satisfying, however the satisfaction was short-lived, as panic set in just as quickly. The fire raged on and the ice kept spreading; he didn't know what to do-how-?
Before he could spiral completely out of control, the ice began to melt and the fire started to die down.
“Did you know,” a voice came from behind him, “that ice and heat happen because particles are either vibrating too much or too little? If you force them to calm down or get more agitated, you can just...” Dante appeared with his arm outstretched and lowered it, causing the wall of ice to turn entirely into water. “The old man taught me that.”
“Who?” Shoto asked, panic giving way to relief and confusion. He paid no attention to the body sprawled out in front of them.
“The old man!” Dante said, as if Todoroki ought to know who that was. “The headmaster of the Academy for Gifted Children, he’s coming here to get us, and he called the police to handle the other kids- oh they’re upstairs, by the way.”
Aizawa had been furious (and worried) when Dante finally called from one of the orphanage’s phones. It was already morning, and he had already discovered that Dante was missing from his room.
Dante had found the phone in one of the rooms, which actually seemed to be an office, while Asami was helping the last of the children. He dialed the number the old man had insisted on helping him memorize (not that Dante had needed any help with that).
Aizawa answered on the first ring.
“Dante.” He already knew who it was, after all, Dante had left a note saying where he was.
“Hey, old man…” Dante tried to sound casual, but his voice was clearly hoarse and tired. “Can you… come here pick me up?”
Aizawa didn’t reply, he waited a few seconds to do so, likely deciding whether to be worried or angry first. “Dante, are you okay?” He decided on worried.
“Yeah, I am!” Dante replied a bit too quickly. “Never been better, actually. It was a really productive night, old man! You wouldn't believe it- I met people, and I think I even made a friend-”
“Dante,” Aizawa said, sounding skeptical.
“…I am a little tired,” he admitted, letting his head droop slightly, “and maybe my nose bled a bit, but I’m alive! And conscious! That’s good, right?”
Aizawa let out a deep sigh, and Dante could picture him pressing his thumb against his forehead or pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re at the orphanage, aren’t you?”
“Uh-huh.” Dante glanced at the door; none of the children were nearby, yet he still lowered his voice. “It’s worse than you said… the other kids- I think there are about fourteen of them. They don’t have quirks, but he was still doing things to them, old man.”
“Fourteen?” Aizawa’s voice shifted. “Are they all conscious?”
"Some of them, but others look like they are a little bit out of it..." Dante glanced at the door again. "I don't know."
"It's okay”, though it wasn't. Shota had to comfort the boy so he wouldn't get any more stressed, "I'll call the police, too. What about the man who ran the orphanage?"
"The boy you showed me wanted to go take care of him." And Dante had let him, of course he had. He wasn't about to stop someone from getting their revenge. "I'll go check on him."
"Dante-" Aizawa stopped himself; there was no point. He’d only known Dante Alighieri for three months, yet he already knew that saying "no" was useless. "Be careful." It was the least he could offer.
"Careful is my middle name, old man." Only if the first name was "not."
“He’s cool!” Dante was already upstairs with Todoroki, having found a towel to drape over his own shoulders and those of the smaller children.
“He seems decent from what you say,” Shoto conceded, “I just didn't understand why the other kids couldn't come with us.”
“Because they don't have powers like us, they aren't,” Dante began to whisper, leaning closer to the other boy, “they don’t have quirks.” He pulled back. “But they’ll be just fine. The old man will take care of it.”
Shoto watched Dante closely, the albino was sitting on the floor, a wet towel around his neck, surrounded by children snuggling up to him. The brown-haired girl was asleep on his shoulder, a little blond boy was on his lap using his coat as a blanket, and another child was clutching his coat.
“You’re really coming, aren't you?” Dante asked, drawing his attention back.
“Sure.” Shoto had decided that before all the chaos even began.
“That’s nice then.” Dante smiled at him, and Todoroki could see himself getting used to that.
Dante knew the exact moment the old man arrived, not by the headlights of a car outside or the sound of it, instead by the instant relief of the pressure in his skull, which made his shoulders drop by the impact of it. A good impact, so good that he even sighed.
Surprisingly Shoto felt it too. “Woah…” He looked down at his hands, that had stopped suddenly from trembling.
“It’s real nice, isn't it?” Dante asked, blinking slowly as the adrenaline finally began to fade.
“It’s… strange…” but for Todoroki, it wasn't a bad feeling at all.
Aizawa opened the orphanage door with a strike of his cane and his eyes soon widened in disbelief when he saw Dante sitting on the floor, surrounded by children clinging to him as if he were a floating door in a shipwreck.
He had seen too much in his life and now seeing that boy, whom he had found just months ago, trembling, confused, and wary, now surrounded by the children he had helped save... even though it had been part of a covert mission, Aizawa felt something new bloom in his chest.
Pride. He was so proud.
It was a feeling he hadn't expected to experience so soon, but few things ever happened quite how Aizawa Shota truly expected.
"Old man!" Dante waved his hands, unbothered by the suspicious looks from some of the children. "You came!"
Shota rolled his eyes and walked calmly toward the albino. Some of the children (those able to do so) regarded him with wary eyes, while others pressed themselves tighter against Dante.
"I told you I would," Aizawa said, kneeling down in front of him. His eyes scanned Dante’s face, the bloodstain still marking his skin and his pale complexion (paler than usual).
Dante cleared his throat. "This is Shoto Todoroki," he said, pointing to the boy sitting in front of him.
Shoto lifted his head, his shoulders tensing at the mention of his name and his mismatched eyes locked onto Aizawa’s instantly. He felt himself being studied for a few seconds.
"Shoto Todoroki," Aizawa said, there was something odd in his voice, "are you okay?"
The last person to ask Todoroki that had been his mother, right after he woke up in the hospital with his scar. Little did he know it would also be one of the last times he’d ever see Rei; she had taken the blame for his injury and been committed to a psychiatric hospital, while he was sent here.
Was he okay? Physically... sure, he hadn't suffered any attacks or undergone any kind of examination today.
"I am," Shoto said, opting for a practical answer.
Aizawa nodded, his shoulders dropping slightly, a sign of relief. "We’ll just wait a bit so the police is closer, and then we’ll leave." He looked back at Dante. "Any casualties?"
"A few guards," the albino replied, "and the owner of the orphanage downstairs... is that going to be a problem?"
"It all counts as self-defense... and with all the evidence, I don't think the police will give you any trouble," Aizawa said, noticing Shoto staring at him with wide eyes. "We’re getting out of here before the police can start asking uncomfortable questions anyway."
"Old man, you're scaring him," Dante said with a crooked smile. "He's been through enough already. Cut it out."
Aizawa turned to look at Dante, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not scaring anyone."
"Those dark circles under your eyes could scare just about anyone," Dante said, pointing at the teacher's face. "You look like a vampire..." says the albino with blue pale eyes.
Some of the children around the albino giggled, though others couldn't quite bring themselves to laugh yet. Asami, the little brown-haired girl, lifted her head from Dante’s shoulder and looked at Aizawa.
“Are you another angel with powers?” She asked sleepily. “The one he,” she pointed at Dante, “said was coming to help us?”
The old man looked visibly flustered by the statement, while Dante was having a laugh at his expense.
“I am…” Aizawa began, then decided to simplify it: “a responsible adult. You’re going somewhere safe, everyone here is.”
Asami seemed to consider this, but then shook her head. “You look more like a tired grandpa than an angel to be honest.” Now that was absurd, Aizawa was only thirty one.
Dante let out a even louder laugh, and even the corners of Shoto’s mouth turned up a little... Aizawa had to fight back a smile too, but that wasn't a battle he could afford to lose, Dante would tease him about it for the rest of his life.
“She nailed it…” Dante rested his chin on his hand. “Tired grandpa- I’m going to call you that now.”
“No, you’re not,” Aizawa shot back quickly before the idea could take root, though he wasn't actually annoyed, his tone made that obvious.
“Tired grandpa,” he whispered to Todoroki, who smiled back at him.
Aizawa sighed, even the albino’s whisper carried, and he knew the battle was already lost, though he had fought bravely. His phone chimed with a notification, and after checking it, he stood up. “Let’s go. You two- we have to get moving.”
He started walking toward the door but stopped after a few steps and turned to see Shoto helping Dante to his feet. “Can you walk?” Aizawa asked.
Dante narrowed his eyes. “Of course I can. I-” The instant he tried to pull away from Shoto, his legs gave out and had Todoroki not caught his arm before he fell... He definitely would have hit the ground.
“You can’t walk,” Shoto pointed out.
“I just tripped,” Dante (shamelessly) tried to lie.
“You almost face-planted.”
“Almost doesn’t really count, so what about it?” Dante argued.
Aizawa returned with an expression of exasperation and concern, both things that came easily when dealing with Dante Alighieri. He knelt in front of the boy, examining him.
“Your nose is bleeding again.” He pulled out a cloth, which Dante held against his nose; the lack of any comment or complaint was more worrying than the bleeding itself. He looked at Todoroki and held out the cane to him. “Take this, please, I’m going to carry him.” He didn’t even need the cane, he just liked using so he could have a weapon on his hands. It also made people less likely to fight him which was good since his quirk was pretty useless against people that didn’t have quirks.
“What?” Dante’s eyes widened. “No, no- old man, I don’t need- don’t take his stupid cane-” he said desperately to Shoto, who didn’t listen to his pleas.
Aizawa also ignored Dante’s fussing and slipped an arm under the boy’s knees and lifted him up as if he weighed nothing.
Dante blushed furiously out of embarrassment. “Put me down! I can fucking walk-!”
“You literally just nearly fell,” Aizawa reminded him, though that had been fifty times less humiliating than this.
“It was a stumble!”
“No, it wasn’t, I was there.” Todoroki walked with them to the door, cane in hand; before stepping outside, he glanced back at all the children.
He didn’t know them well, after all, he’d always had to stay apart from them, however that didn’t mean he didn’t want them to be okay.
“The police are just a few minutes away,” Aizawa said, not needing to turn around to know what was on Shoto’s mind. “They’ll be safe now.”
Todoroki nodded and gave the children a small wave. Asami responded with a faint smile and then he closed the door. He wished them well and that they could all be happy now.
A black SUV was waiting for them outside, and Aizawa had already placed Dante in the back seat. “Where did you leave the motorcycle?”
Dante was already blinking heavily, sleepiness rendering him nearly incoherent. “About two kilometers from here.” He mumbled.
“Well done,” Shota said with a smile, closing the door. He’d have Yagi go retrieve it later.
Todoroki approached, and the teacher opened the passenger door for him; before getting in, the boy handed the cane back. “Thanks,” he said and helped the other boy into the passenger seat before moving to the driver’s side.
The black SUV pulled away from the orphanage just minutes before the first blue and red police lights arrived, had they lingered any longer, it would have been a problem. He had been worried about cameras, but Todoroki reassured him that the security system monitors had all been destroyed along with Dr. Garaki.
The problem child was already practically unconscious in the back seat, his body was still trembling slightly, at least his nose seemed to have stopped bleeding. Todoroki, meanwhile, was sitting rigidly upright and had Aizawa not known the full story, he would have thought the boy came from a military academy.
"In the glove compartment," he broke the silence, "there's a folded blanket. Get it for him."
Todoroki hesitated before doing as asked. There was indeed a soft blanket in the glove compartment and he unfolded it carefully and draped it over Dante the best way he could.
Dante mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep and turned away. Shoto pulled his hands back, as if afraid of what he might cause again with them, and sat stiffly in the car once more. Aizawa watched the whole scene out of the corner of his eye but said nothing.
A few minutes later, Shoto looked at the man driving the car. "Do you... do this often? Help people like this?"
"No," Aizawa answered honestly, "but sometimes things like this happen." He didn’t mention that he was the first sometime after Dante and that Dante was totally planned while all this? Oh boy.
"I see..." In truth, Todoroki didn't quite understand. He looked back again, first at the albino, then at the horizon behind them. "Is he going to... the children-"
"They'll all be fine," Aizawa said with absolute certainty. "I alerted the authorities. They’ll receive medical and psychological care and be placed in foster homes as soon as possible. None of them will ever go back or end up in a place like that ever again," he glanced at the boy. "You have my word. And about him, he will be fine too.”
Todoroki nodded; he liked the answer, even though he had asked before. He just needed to be sure, and now that he was, he turned to look at the forest landscape passing by the car window. The drive to the Academy was a long one, about two hours, and Shota knew Dante wouldn't wake up before they arrived.
Shoto didn't seem inclined to talk, which was more than understandable. He had to be both physically and emotionally exhausted; still, Aizawa had a few things to ask first. "Do you need anything? Water? Food?" He hall all of this in the back.
Oh, Shoto probably needed a lot of things, but none of those things, so he shook his head.
Now, Shota had to broach the other, more difficult conversation: "Todoroki... do you know what it means to have a quirk?"
Todoroki had no idea how that conversation would change the course of his life.
The site of the Academy for Gifted Children was impressive. The mansion was majestic, situated in a clearing surrounded by dense forest. It was nearly lunchtime, yet Shoto could see soft lights glowing inside the building, which looked quite welcoming, a stark contrast to the dilapidated orphanage they had come from.
Aizawa turned off the engine and glanced at the back seat, where Dante, still exhausted, was curled up asleep; his blanket had been kicked slightly aside, but his breathing was calm and that was a good sign.
He then looked at Shoto, who seemed to be taking in the view.
"Welcome to your new home, Todoroki."
The boy said nothing, but his eyes seemed to soften a bit.
Aizawa got out of the car and opened the back door. Carefully, he placed one arm behind Dante’s back and the other under his knees. Carrying the albino was tricky, not only because his prosthetic leg creaked a bit under the added weight, but also because Dante was nearly six feet tall while Shota was around six feet, making for an awkward position. Still, it was easier than it should have been, as the boy was incredibly light, something that they planned to change with time.
Todoroki stepped out of the car as well, his eyes still fixed on the mansion's façade. "It's so big," he remarked in a flat and emotionless voice.
"Yeah, and it's mostly empty," Aizawa added, starting toward the entrance. "We're working on that." He climbed the steps to the entryway and opened the door with his side, careful not to accidentally bump Dante’s head.
The foyer was spacious and brightly lit, featuring two brown leather sofas facing each other and a coffee table set atop a patterned blue rug. Everything seemed to be made of wood, including the ceiling, the stairs, and the floor, except for a stone fireplace on the left. Beside it sat a thin, blond man in an armchair; he stood up immediately upon seeing them, his eyes widening when he spotted the unconscious Dante being carried by Aizawa.
Yagi had returned early from his trip to the United States after Aizawa had practically shouted at him over the phone, and it was a good thing he had!
"Shota! What happened?" He began, but stopped when he saw the boy with two-toned hair standing behind the other teacher.
Aizawa shook his head; the full explanation would have to wait a bit. "Toshinori, let me introduce you to Shoto Todoroki." He turned to Shoto. "Todoroki, this is my colleague, Yagi Toshinori."
Todoroki looked at the very tall, thin man, with his somewhat spiky blond hair and deep-set eyes, and gave a nod.
"Nice to meet you, Young Todoroki, you can call me All Might if you like," Yagi said in a gentle voice. "Make yourself at home." He turned to his colleague. "Shota, let me help with Young Dante." Normally he would like to call him young Alighieri, the boy however insisted on Yagi calling him by his first name.
Aizawa obliged, despite appearing to lack muscle, Yagi would likely find it easier to carry the boy to the upstairs bedroom since he was taller and if he had any difficulties he could use his muscular form. Toshinori held the boy as if he were made of glass. "Is he just sleeping?" He asked, examining the boy's face.
"Yes. Exhaustion from overexertion, he used his telekinesis too much," Aizawa said. "Please take him to the room while I grab a change of clothes for Todoroki."
"Of course, of course," Toshinori said, already moving toward the stairs. "I'll get a room ready for Young Todoroki, too."
It didn't take long to get everything sorted out. The clothes Aizawa fetched ended up being a bit too big, since Dante was taller than Todoroki, but that was something that could be dealt with tomorrow or the day after.
After setting up a room next to Dante's, it would be good for them to bond, after all, Toshinori went to the kitchen to prepare something for everyone to eat, preferably something simple that wouldn't upset anyone's stomach. Shoto sat on one of the kitchen stools, watching the blond man cook.
Aizawa tried to help a little but soon left, saying he needed to check on something in the office and would be right back.
Aizawa hadn't been entirely lying since he did stop by the office to see how the news was covering the orphanage situation. There was nothing truly problematic in the reports, which was a relief, but he didn't return to the kitchen right away, instead, he headed upstairs. He opened one of the bedroom’s doors carefully to avoid making noise and rolled his eyes when he saw the red blanket kicked to the side, (a small concession he had made for Dante a few months back). Dante’s room was simple yet comfortable, featuring gray walls, a desk, and a wardrobe matching the wood tone of the floors and the window which had a built-in bench and red curtains. There were a few bookshelves, and beside the bed stood a small table holding a photo of two women: one blonde wearing a red scarf, and another with gray hair and glasses.
After pulling Dante’s blanket up over his chest, Aizawa picked up the photo of the older woman, the one showing Nell Goldstein’s smiling face.
"Your son is a good kid, Goldstein," he murmured. He then put the photo back in its place and looked at Dante, who was sleeping with his mouth slightly open and his white hair spread across the pillow.
"You did something very brave today," he continued in a low voice, even knowing the boy couldn't hear him, "but also very stupid. We’re going to have to work on that." It was a relief to be dealing with the boy's lack of impulse control rather something involving his heart. It was far easier to teach things that had nothing to do with the heart.
He turned to leave, but paused briefly before closing the door. "Sleep well, kid."
When Aizawa returned downstairs, Toshinori and Todoroki were no longer in the kitchen, though the dirty dishes left behind confirmed a meal had indeed been eaten (Shoto had eaten very quickly! He’d been hungry).
The "T-Duo" was in the living room; Todoroki held a mug of hot chocolate, Toshinori had quickly whipped up for him, with both hands. The young man’s dual-colored eyes looked a bit more alert so the food had done him a world of good. "Your room is ready," Aizawa said, sitting on the sofa opposite him. "I can take you there if you'd like. Or Yagi can do it."
Todoroki shook his head. "I can wait a bit," he said. "Dante..." He looked at Shota and then at Yagi. "Is he really going to be fine?"
Aizawa nodded. "He is. He just needs to rest." He rested a hand on his chin. "Are you worried about him?" That was a good sign.
Shoto’s mismatched eyes shifted away from Aizawa’s and settled on the fireplace, the dancing flames were a bit unsettling, much like the flames Todoroki himself could create and the ones he had summoned to kill Garaki.
"He saved me," he said. "He didn't have to do that, but he did. I think worrying about him is the least I can do."
Yagi and Shota exchanged a pleased look; once again, it was a pretty good answer.
"He has a good heart," Toshinori said with a smile. "A bit impulsive, but definitely good."
"He’s stubborn," Aizawa added, and Yagi didn't correct him.
Todoroki saw no reason to doubt the two men's assessment, and his shoulders slumped a little more. "Can I stay here a bit longer? Just watching the fire?"
"Of course," Yagi replied. "For as long as you like."
It was curious, even to Shoto himself, that he wanted to watch the flames; he was afraid of them, yet he couldn't deny how fascinated he was... they were beautiful. Fire could be beautiful, at least, the fire in this hearth was beautiful and soothing. He wondered if his own could be, too.