EDIT: Finally added my AO3 notes!

Shouto - omg. I was only going to add a snippet more to his part and keep the other perspective on for the end. But Shouto ended up hogging this entire chapter.

That being said, I'm pretty proud of it.

Featuring my continuing abuse of commas and a lot of Todoroki drama


Earlier that day.

It's four in the morning and Shouto hasn't slept a wink. The lights of emergency vehicles are still flashing around him and the smell of smoke remains thick in the air, despite the fire marshals finally getting the blaze under control more than an hour ago.

All of his friends are already at the hospital - having been taken in order from most to least critical over the past couple hours. It's a long trip back to civilization and the emergency responders had had to triage, to a degree.

Since Shouto was relatively uninjured and hadn't inhaled much gas, he'd stayed behind to give his statement to the police directly. After all, he'd been the closest to one of the main incidents and had been one of the only ones to see the rest of the villains. Even Tokoyami hadn't caught everything, being caught in a marble at the time. With Shoji and Midoriya injured and Bakugou missing, Shouto had stepped up. It was the least he could do.

"Don't come, Deku."

Shouto closes his eyes and takes a steadying breath.

He'd often wondered how Midoriya could call Bakugou a friend with the way the blond treated him. Now he knew.

When it came down to it, Bakugou cared. The blond knew Midoriya would try something stupid to save his childhood friend. Like that sludge villain attack all over again. And his last words had been to warn Midoriya away.

Not last words, Shouto thinks stolidly. Nothing short of a nuclear apocalypse could kill Bakugou. Even then, I think he'd give the cockroaches a run for their money.

Shouto shakes his head and glances compulsively at his phone. It's five past four in the morning. Bakugou has been with the villains for almost three hours.

There's a muted but unforgiving weight pressing down on his sternum, knowing that Bakugou is facing down the entire League by himself and that he's there because Shouto was too slow.

The image of Bakugou's stiff features and the smirking villain at his back flashes behind his eyes again and Shouto swallows hard against the shame choking him. Like fingers around his throat. Like the fingers around Bakugou's throat.

He takes another cleansing breath. Trying to refocus on why he's still here, waiting.

"What a tragedy, little Todoroki Shouto."

He takes a sip of the water that the paramedic had handed him earlier, more for something to do than because he feels thirsty. To his left, his teacher is finally wrapping up his conversation with the police officers and Shouto can feel the tension begin to trickle out of his shoulders. Once he's able to talk to Aizawa, he'll catch his ride to the hospital.

"What a tragedy…"

That voice. That quirk.

"…little Todoroki Shouto."

It'd been dark. A lot had been happening. But Shouto couldn't shake how familiar the villain had been with him. How strongly he was reminded of Touya.

Shame curls in his stomach for a moment, dishonoring his brother's memory like that - like spitting on his grave, if there had been one. Not just words and a death certificate.

(After all, there has always been a part of Shouto that doubted his father's story. That Touya had lost control and had overheated to the point of heart failure.)

He takes another sip of water, bouncing his knee in agitation.

Part of him knows he's focusing on the villain because it helps him not focus on failing his classmate. Of the fear that had been in Bakugou's eyes. He'd never seen the guy so still or quiet before and it kind of makes him want to throw up.

Another part of him is really hoping Dabi is Touya in disguise. At least then Bakugou would have a fighting chance.

Another sip, swallowed down past a tight throat. Aizawa is thanking the officer's for their service.

Shouto rises, cutting into his teacher's path. "Sensei?"

Bloodshot eyes meet his and Shouto can say with confidence that a) the villains have made a terrible mistake and b) his teacher has never looked more angry. Odd, how that's a reassurance when coming from Aizawa.

"Thought you went to the hospital already," his sensei says sharply, scanning Shouto again for signs of injury.

"There's something else I needed to tell you," Shouto says bluntly. Aizawa gestures for him to fall in step.

"Tell me on the way to the hospital," he grunts, opening up the car door of an older black vehicle. Shouto barely hesitates before slipping into the passenger seat and buckling in.

"Who's car is this?" he asks, because he knows Aizawa rode the bus with them. His teacher rubs his eyes just this side of too hard and proceeds to shoot off a distracted text.

"Wild, Wild Pussycat's," he replies, starting the engine and pulling out onto the dirt road. "Tiger went with Mandalay and Pixie-Bob in the ambulance and asked me to bring it."

Shouto hums even as his own phone buzzes with another text from one of his siblings. Their group chat has been alight with Natsuo and Fuyumi's worry since they got the news two hours ago. He'd even talked with them both individually, trying to reassure them, but he must not have done a good enough job for them to still be fussing.

"You said you had something to tell me?" Aizawa prompts, weaving through the forest road a touch faster than was likely recommended. Shouto is briefly glad he hadn't inherited his father's carsickness.

"I think the guy with the flame quirk knew me," he says without preamble. "Personally, I mean. Not just from the Sports Festival." Because that probably would have been Aizawa's next suggestion, and Shouto knows - knows it's not just that.

"What makes you think that?" Aizawa asks after a beat. Not doubting. Just info gathering. Shouto sighs and relays the encounter with Dabi. The intensity of the taunt and the singling out that occurred. It's on the tip of his tongue to mention Touya, but he holds back, like he's been trained to.

Still, Aizawa doesn't miss much. It's quiet for a few minutes as they turn onto the highway before he asks, "What else is there?"

Shouto sighs, running a hand through his two-toned hair. It feels greasy from sweat.

I can do this. No need to reveal too much. Just, tell him about the blue flames.

"I - there's only one person I've ever known personally who has blue flames like that, other than my dad when he's putting his mind to it," Shouto admits slowly. "He supposedly died about seven years ago though, so I'm probably just…" He can't bring himself to finish the excuse.

"Supposedly?" Aizawa repeats, clearly asking for more. Shouto's phone buzzes again, and he takes it as an opportunity to briefly gather himself. This was harder than he'd thought it would be.

[Text from: Endeavor]

-Shouto - I have just heard the news. Call me back immediately.

Hmm, maybe talking would be easier.

"Someone told us he'd died from heart failure at fifteen," Shouto says with thinly veiled skepticism. "And we never saw his body." His own heart is pounding at revealing that much, especially with Endeavor's name lighting up his phone with another incoming call.

"Were you close to this person?" Aizawa asks, frown forming between his brows.

Shouto nods reluctantly. "He was my older brother."

Silence reigns for a beat. Shouto picks at a loose seam in the chair under him, refusing to look at his teacher.

"Your brother," Aizawa finally says when Shouto doesn't add anything. Internally, he's squirming. Sweat trickles down his spine. But he reminds himself why he chose to talk to his teacher.

If this information gets us closer to Bakugou, it'll be worth it.

His phone lights up again, and he tries not to question himself.

"Todoroki." It's a command, this time. More information - now.

Shouto takes another sip of water, idly noting the bottle's almost empty. Licking his lips, he turns his gaze out the windshield to collect his thoughts. Street lights flash by and, in the early hours of the morning, the highway is empty, adding an air of unreality to the situation. Perhaps it's that that lets him open his mouth.

"I - um." Not the greatest of starts. He clears his throat and tries again, "I don't remember much of him, honestly."

Aizawa doesn't say anything. Shouto fiddles with the bottle cap, rolling it in his fingers. His stress has made the edges melt.

He closes the cap into a fist, forcing his quirk down.

"He and Fuyumi, my older sister, were twins. Split down the middle on the quirks - he got fire, she got ice," Shouto says, the details coming easier. "I was… maybe seven or eight? When something happened. It's still not totally clear."

He trails off, thinking of that day. Touya had been doing his warmups in the training room, waiting for their father to get home. Endeavor was running behind because of a surprise villain attack just before his patrol ended.

Shouto remembered hoping that the villain would keep his father occupied long enough that they got to skip out on training. Especially since he'd been relegated to the sidelines due to a badly broken ankle that he'd gotten when slipping on his own ice.

Natsuo had laughed when it was clear Shouto would be fine after a few quirk-healing sessions, and Fuyumi had just sighed and told him to be more careful. Only Touya had understood the mixed blessing bad injuries were.

Because, on the one hand - no training. On the other - worse training after recovery.

Still, he was planning on enjoying it as best he could. It wasn't like he was trying to rub it in that Touya had training when he didn't, but how often could he just… roll around the mats of the training room without the terrifying knowledge that he might be eating them in a short while?

Touya had snagged him on one of his closer rolls, holding Shouto in a casual headlock as he continued his leg stretches. Shouto had been hollering and squirming and trying unsuccessfully to pinch his brother's arm for freedom when Endeavor walked in.

The speed with which Touya had released him was impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the black scowl on their father's face. Shouto swallowed when he saw the bandages wrapping his father's forearms and the stitched up cuts across his cheek and jaw. It was apparent Endeavor's last fight of the day had gone poorly.

Ignoring Touya, Todoroki Enji turned his glower on his youngest. "Shouto, you should not be here. Go and do your homework and stay off your leg until it is fully healed."

Endeavor's words might have indicated concern if not for the tone. His father was livid and was not pleased to see his "most promising child" goofing off, potentially delaying his return to training.

Unwilling to make the situation worse, Shouto had shot Touya a sympathetic look and awkwardly bowed to his father, grabbing his crutches from the floor. Touya had just given him a resigned smile and risen to meet their father's repressed anger.

It'd been less than an hour later that Shouto heard the sound of yelling from the training room. He felt his shoulders hunch, wondering if Touya was really dumb enough to get into another screaming match with their father when Enji had returned in such a bad mood. Still, with Fuyumi and Natsuo housed in the West wing of the house, he was the only one who could check on the situation. Maybe diffuse it with his "golden child" status, if he could.

His reluctance shifted to alarm when the yelling switched to screaming. He shot up from his desk, despite the pain it caused and snagged just one crutch, fitting it under his left arm to leave his ice arm free.

Hobbling out of his room, he barely caught the scene of his father kicking the shoji doors open, splinters and flaming rice paper scattering into the hall.

Gobsmacked, he watched Enji step through the wreckage with Touya hanging limp in his arms, angry red burns marks evident across his neck and darker, almost black burns across both forearms. His older brother was unconscious and even from the end of the hall, Shouto could tell his breathing was labored.

"Dad- ?!" He called, staggering forward. Endeavor shot him one quelling look and strode away, making for the garage.

Shouto stumbled after them, but only made it in time to see his father reversing out of the driveway, red tail lights cutting a blinding streak through the dark of the night.

It was the last time he'd seen his brother.

Two hours and forty seven minutes later, Endeavor returned alone, telling his children that Touya had pushed his flames too far again and that his weak body had failed him. The overwhelming heat of his quirk had caused his heart to fail.

"The doctor determined it was likely a defect from his mother's genes," Enji said, indifferent to the three tear-streaked faces in front of him. "These types of quirk related accidents happen all the time, and Touya should have known better. Take this as a lesson."

And he'd left it at that.

A death certificate had been registered the next day, and Enji made a brief statement to the police.

Other than that, nothing.

Looking back on it now, Shouto could guess that Endeavor's legal team had likely been heavily involved in order to keep the media out of it. It wouldn't surprise him if it'd been more shady than not. Evidence buried. Questions shut down at the source. Just like what had happened with their mother.

Shouto touched his face, tracing the rough edges of his scar.

He can't tell Aizawa everything. Why he thinks Dabi might be Touya and why he thinks Touya might be justified in going villain. Or at least, he can't say it all until it's confirmed one way or another. Because if it isn't Touya, then he's dumping out a bunch of old demons for no reason and shaking public support of heroes.

(And the therapist he'd spoken to after his brother's death had emphasized the needs of the many over the needs of the few. Why stir up the public over a quirk accident, after all?)

But if it was Touya under all those scars - and it would appear he got more, somewhere down the line - if it's true - then… then…

He needs to talk to Fuyumi about what could be said. She wasn't unemotionally involved, but she was the most rational about adult stuff.

And speaking of rational.

"Todoroki?" It doesn't sound like the first time his teacher has said his name. Shouto clears his throat sheepishly.

"Sorry, sensei," he mutters. "Not really easy to talk about." He hopes that's enough for Aizawa not to pry too deeply. Shouto would probably just spill the whole thing if he did.

"It's just - he called me 'little Shouto', when we were kids," he continues. "He had blue flames too. They used to burn him when he lost control, since he got my mother's lack of heat resistance." He pauses, hoping Aizawa takes the hint.

"The clone I fought seemed to have pretty good control," Aizawa counters, seeming to mull it over. "Would the burns be bad enough to give him those scars?"

Shouto grimaces, "Yeah. Definitely."

"Were they what caused his 'death'?" Aizawa asks, turning into the hospital parking lot.

"No," Shouto says solemnly.

And he's not thinking about the heart failure either. He's never let himself think about the shape the burns took on Touya's throat. Nor about the fact that his brother's flames never emanated from there naturally. His flames took a similar pattern to those of Endeavor's - who had flames around the eyes, across the jaw, back, upper chest, lower arms and legs.

Not the throat.

"So, you think he survived," Aizawa states wearily as he pulls into a parking spot.

Shouto swallows, "I think it's weird we never saw his body if he died of heart failure."

Aizawa is quiet for a moment, letting the car run even after he'd put it in park. Shouto feels bad for dumping all of this on his teacher after what was already a stressful night.

"I'll look into it," Aizawa finally sighs, rubbing his eyes in apparent exhaustion. "But we will be discussing this again after I check on the other students. Got it?"

Shouto nods mutely, feeling a weight come off his shoulders.

Aizawa worked with the police all the time - if anyone could find out if Touya was really dead, then it would be him. Then they could rule Touya out and Shouto could finally get some closure after seven years of uncertainty.

Or maybe, just maybe, if Touya wasn't dead…

If his older brother - who used to sit on him and make terrible puns and cook him dumplings and hold him when training got to be too much - was alive.

Well, maybe there was hope for Bakugou yet.


SHOOOOUTOOOOO!

I love this kid, honestly. Also, Aizawa snuck back in.

Just finished chapter 11, so I felt okay about posting this today, since I'll be out of town all weekend (going to fight some people! So excited!)

Let me know what y'all think of Shouto's perspective! As per usual, it's my first time writing any of the characters, and I am trying to keep them in character ^,^

I am slooooowly expanding on the backstories while also trying to keep the present stuff moving forward. But this is the first big chunk you guys get. I'd say this one - Touya getting burned in training - follows along pretty closely with the fanon so far. It's not 'til the next chapter that y'all see the major divergences lmao

By the way! Because I just finished writing Shigaraki's chapter and he's on the mind, do any of you guys keep up with the manga? I just read chapter 223 this morning and it. was. awesome. Shigaraki has become a certifiable badass omg

By, by the way, I know I mentioned grandson last chapter, but I also got to see MISSIO yesterday (it's been an Eventful Week) and I've had Twisted playing, like, all day. I think it's one of the most accurate songs for canon Dabi so far (and it fits his aesthetic sooo well).