Pain. There was always pain, but if there was one sensation Dabi had learned to get used to, it was pain. The pain as his own Quirk scorched a body unsuitable to handle the too-hot blue flames. The pain as the staples along his cheeks, his arms, his chest, his eye sockets stretched and dug into burnt, scarred flesh- and into the remaining healthy flesh as well. The pain of his familial memories that drove him to insanity- to villainy in the first place and continued to do so. I thought about it so much I went crazy.
Dabi was very much used to pain of all kinds, and his involvement with the League of Villains finally allowed him to give others a taste of what pain had to offer.
Their mission for tonight was simple but important for the League's ambitions: little Toga Himiko and he were to abduct the horned girl from the U.A. dorms, with the help of Ujiko of course. She was the source, as Tomura had so eloquently put it, for bullets that permanently erased Quirks. Why the shriveled idiot couldn't invest in a molecular scientist to just clone her cells, Dabi would never know. But, if he knew Tomura well enough (and unfortunately at this point, he did), then his guess would be to deliver another blow the hero's morale and the faith the public had put in them.
An attack on the dorms meant to protect the students from, well, villain attacks? How deliciously evil. Steal a girl originally held hostage by the Yakuza and harvest her cells as they had? Icing on the cake. Create a black market with bullets that erased Quirks and bullets that returned them? That icing has garnish now. Dabi felt the staples pull at his cheeks as a Cheshire-grin spread across his lips. There were certainly quite a few people, so-called heroes- and villains alike, that would be utterly and completely lost without the Quirks they had identified with their entire lives. Toga seemed to share his crazed delight, giggling into her hands- or maybe she was just fucking crazy and heard voices. Dabi really didn't care at this point. He tilted his head in the direction of his lunatic partner, eyelids drooped lazily and sporting his sharp grin.
"Ready for some good new-fashioned kidnapping, little girl?"
Toga blanched, her tongue sticking out in disgust. "Ugh! Let's just get the nasty part over with. Ujiko! Hurry up and-"
She never got to finish her sentence- not that Dabi was complaining. It was rare to get Toga to shut the fuck up for a change, and even more satisfying as the black sludge of Ujiko poured from her mouth smelling like sewage and looking like blackened vomit. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the sludge erupted from Dabi's own mouth like a tarpit geyser, but his taste buds had been singed long, long ago and he knew the sensation was relatively dulled for him in comparison. He absently wondered as his vision went black with sludge when the last time he would have been as repulsed by Ujiko as little Toga had.
When Dabi was released from Ujiko's… whatever the fuck it was, he had expected to arrive during the dark of midnight in the horned child's room. Ujiko's Quirk was based on the location of the individual- it naturally made sense to warp to the child when she was supposed to be in bed. Dabi somehow felt the burnt, dead flesh under his eye twitch and pull at the staples as he realized very quickly that they did not, in fact warp to horned child's room. Rather than that, here they were in the common room of the 1A dorms where she apparently was involved in a fucking midnight board game of all things with the curly-haired greenette brat with the freckles that Tomura despised as much as Toga was enamored.
Dabi was sure his expression matched the shell-shocked looks Izuku Midoriya and Eri gave him and his partner, although the awkward silence lasted all of the half-second it took for Toga to squeal loudly "Izuku-kun!" (fucking really, Toga?!) and throw herself on top of the poor boy. Oh well, at least her fanaticism would provide a good distraction. Or inadvertently call for backup, if the hurried sound of footsteps coming from the hallways were any indication. Shit.
With a quick flick of his wrists, Dabi blasted the hallways with his Cremation Quirk, creating a barrier for the students who weren't death-by-fire-proof. The little horned girl tried to run as Midoriya did his best to kick Toga off him and avoid being shanked to her liking, but Dabi was faster and latched onto Eri's wrist with unyielding strength. But before he could call for Ujiko to get them the fuck out of there, a bright light from the little girl's horn erupted and he felt himself burn like he had never burned before. But wait… that's not true- there was one time… oh shit!
Three things happened within the timespan of a few seconds: Ujiko spewed from Toga's mouth, teleporting her off of Izuku and away from the chaos in the 1A dorm common room, Erasurehead's Quirk ended the light shining from Eri's horn, and Dabi's clothes crumbled from the ground- the villain erased from existence.
Ice coated the hallways of the 1A dorm hallways, courtesy of Shoto Todoroki's Quirk. The charred paint glistened in obsidian black from beneath the frosted layer, a clear reminder of what had transpired only minutes ago. The entirety of class 1A bordered the perimeter of the common room, every student quiet with all eyes trained on Eri as she clung to Shota Aizawa. The homeroom teacher of 1A rubbed soothing circles on the frightened child's back, staring absently at the pile of ruffled clothes that had once belonged to the villain Dabi- a haunting reminder of just exactly what Eri's power was capable of if left unchecked. Aizawa lifted his seemingly bored gaze to meet the eyes of his students.
"I'm glad you were all rational tonight. You handled the situation quickly and efficiently, and Eri-chan's safety, as well as your own, has been reestablished. This will serve as an important lesson and will hopefully reinforce the faith the public and your parents have put in U.A. regarding the safety of the dorm living. The police are on their way to investigate. With the exception of Midoriya, who directly encountered the villains, and Todoroki who extinguished the flames, you may all return to your rooms or choose to stay and give your statements now rather than in the morning."
"S-sensei!" Kirishima pointed a shaky finger down at the pile of clothes in front of Eraser Head, drawing everyone's attention. "There's something there!"
Eyes flashing red and hair flying up as his Quirk activated, Aizawa placed Eri behind him before carefully approaching the articles Dabi had left behind. They were raising and falling in a slow rhythm- something was breathing.
A quick yank of the long coat the villain had worn garnered a shocked gasp from most of the class as they stared in shock at a young child with spiky crimson hair sleeping naked under the cloak. Aizawa felt the warning signs of a headache coming on as his eye twitched. He really wasn't paid enough for this shit.
"And so this child is the product of Eri's Quirk going haywire on the villain Dabi?" Naomasa reiterated. This was certainly the first case of its kind- how does one go about dealing with a villain-turned-child?
Aizawa nodded in confirmation, eyes drifting back to the sleeping child-version of said villain curled on the couch in the midst of his own crime scene. He shifted a bit, revealing the ironic pink peace sign Momo Yaoyorozu had added as a personal touch to the turquoise onesie she had produced to conceal the child's modesty. Naomasa couldn't help but smile; Dabi as a child was disarmingly adorable. There's an assortment of adults present: Naomasa and Samsa from the police force and the entirety of the U.A. faculty. Eri and the students of Class 1A, minus Midoriya and Todoroki, had returned to bed after the heroes and police had arrived to assess the situation.
"Her Quirk rewinds the time of whatever living thing she comes into contact with," Nezu mused, head tilted in contemplation. "He'll have to stand trial for all the crimes he's committed eventually." The principle of U.A. turned toward Izuku Midoriya. "Midoriya, you've experienced young Eri-chan's Quirk personally. How long will the effects remain in place?"
"They're permanent," Midoriya said, all eyes suddenly on him. A light blush dusted his freckled cheeks and he averted his gaze from the adults. "Eri-chan used her Quirk on me when we faced against Overhaul. I continuously broke my bones to give her power something to 'rewind'. If the changes weren't permanent, then…"
Aizawa huffed at this detail. Problem child indeed, Naomasa mused, and from the looks of All Might's slack-jawed expression, the retired hero was probably at his wit's end when it came to Midoriya's self-destructive behavior. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who in the room was asked, Midoriya never got a chance to finish after trailing off mid-sentence. A squeaky yawn interrupted whatever form of investigation was occurring, and all eyes were on the red-headed child rubbing his eyes tiredly on the couch. Disarmingly adorable…
Turquoise eyes blinked owlishly at the assembly in front of him and Dabi squeaked, pressing himself against the back of the couch as if to hide. Midoriya rushed forward before anyone could stop him, crouching down to the cowering boy to meet him at eye level.
"Hey now, don't be afraid. These are the heroes and police," Midoriya cooed. The faculty looked ready to reprimand him- because now matter how cute he was now, Dabi was still a villain- when the child visibly relaxed.
"W-where… where am I?" Dabi asked, shy and hesitant. Naomasa took the opportunity to join Midoriya and kneeled in front of the child. He handed Dabi his police badge, smiling a bit when he fiddled with the metal in his hands with a small look of child-like wonder.
"You're in the dorms built for first year students at U.A.; you were hit by a very strange and unique Quirk." Naomasa supplied. Dabi's eyes widened a bit.
"U.A." He gasped, causing everyone in the room to tense a bit. "Father said I would have gone there if… but I'm not…" He trailed off before looking down at the badge in his tiny hands with sad eyes. Midoriya- bless him and his mother hen nature- gently grasped Dabi's tiny hands in his own. The child looked at the teenager with watery eyes, the older boy prompting him to continue with a small nod.
"I wasn't perfect."
The answer was barely above a whisper, but it may as well have been shouted for how silent the room was in that moment. Naomasa's eyebrows raised halfway to his hairline- his lie-detection Quirk indicated that Dabi was telling the truth. The silence was interrupted by the crunching sound of glass- no, ice Naomasa noted, as frosty flakes crunched in the clenched fist of Shoto Todoroki, a dark and fierce scowl on the normally stoic boy's face. Dabi's answer must have struck something personal with the boy, but there were more pressing issues. The detective pushed down the natural curiosity he felt about Todoroki's reaction to address the child directly in front of him.
"Let's play a game, Dabi." Naomasa suggested. The child, realizing he was the one the detective was speaking to, tilted his head curiously. "It's called an answer for an answer. I ask a question, and you answer the question. Then you get to ask me a question, and I'll answer. Does that sound like something you can play?"
He nodded his head, prompting the detective to continue. "Why were the League of Villains after Eri-chan tonight?"
Dabi blinked owlishly before giving the detective an incredulous look. It was the most he had looked like his older-self since waking up. "I… I don't know what you're asking me. What's a league of villains?" With his Quirk confirming that the child was being truthful, that response certainly answered an unasked question- Dabi's memory, no his existence beyond his current age was gone. And if Midoriya's testimony was accurate, it could very well be gone forever. What a truly dangerous Quirk Eri-chan had.
Realizing Dabi was awaiting an answer of his own, Naomasa decided to clarify. "The League of Villains are a criminal organization bent on destroying the current hero society." Dabi nodded even if he still looked confused, signaling it was once again Naomasa's turn for a question. "What is the last thing you remember, Dabi?"
The child suddenly turned red and looked ashamed. "Mother sent me to bed because I went into the same room as her without my hood on." He wrung his little hands together nervously. "She doesn't like the way I look." Another truth- a sobering one at that and the detective felt his jaw clench angrily. A scoff from Nemura Kayama, aka the R-rated hero Midnight interrupted whatever response Naomasa had been planning in rebuttal to that particularly horrifying tidbit of information.
"Then she has poor taste," Midnight said casually. Another truth- dammit Nemura, not now! She sent the boy a wink, "With such beautiful features, I'm sure you'll leave a trail of broken hearts in your wake once you grow up."
The group collectively deadpanned at the teacher's flirty attempt at boosting Dabi's self-esteem, and the poor child could only cover his turquoise eyes with tiny hands, face flamed red. "Is it my turn now?" He groaned in embarrassment, eyes peeking from between his fingers. Naomasa nodded in confirmation.
"Why do you keep calling me Dabi?"
The child's question, asked in innocence brought a heavy silence to the room. Yagi Toshinori, formerly All Might was the one to break the silence. "Is he telling the truth, Tsukauchi? Are his memories- his existence beyond this age really gone?"
"They are," The detective confirmed, reaching above turquoise eyes brimming with unasked questions to ruffle the scarlet hair. He felt his heart squeeze a little as the kid flinched initially before relaxing into the feeling of Naomasa's fingers playing with the crimson strands. "Dabi is… was a name we knew you by. Can you tell us your real name?"
The redheaded child grinned. "I'm Touya!"
Shoto Todoroki choked on his own spit, but before Tsukauchi could comment, Nezu clasped his paws in front of him with a smile.
"Well then I think the most practical solution would be to find any living family members and see if we can come to a solution. If this change is permanent, then little Touya's time has been reversed to a point long before his involvement with the League. There's no sense in holding a child accountable to anything he hasn't done, and he will need protection in case the League decides to come after him. Do you all agree?"
Murmurs of unanimous agreement sounded throughout the room, and the fuzzy white mammal principle stepped forward between Midoriya and Naomasa, smiling as Touya's hands came down to pet him between the ears. He gently removed the child's probing hands, holding them in his paws and smiling up at him sitting on the couch. "My name is Principle Nezu, little Touya. I don't have a family name, but I'm also not human! Can you tell us your family name?"
Touya smiled wide as any child would to a talking animal. "It's Todoroki!"
Touya's smile faltered as he was met with eerie silence, with every member in the room wearing matching horrified expressions as if they slowly processed the implications of Dabi's origins.
"SHIT."
Naomasa- and everyone else in the room turned rigidly towards the English profanity, but it wasn't the former number one hero that it came from. Shoto Todoroki stared with wide, wet eyes at Touya, teeth clenched and his left hand clutching the scar on the left side of his face.
A single tear hit the floor before hell broke loose.
