A.N. - I hope everyone reading this is staying safe and well! This chapter is a little shorter than usual, sorry, but I hope you still enjoy!

I'm only a crack
in this castle of glass
hardly anything left
for you to see
(for you to see)
"Castle of Glass", Linkin Park

Todoroki Natsuo sat in his dorm room, mindlessly scrolling through his phone. The time read 11:30pm. Though he had an exam in his 8:30 class tomorrow morning, he didn't feel tired enough to sleep. Fuyumi would probably chide him for staring at a screen before bed, but thankfully she wasn't here to see him.

Scritch.

Natsuo looked up at the sound, staring out his tiny window. The lights of the city stared back at him, creating a glare. Frowning, he went back to his phone.

Scritch.

There it was again. Like something rubbing against the concrete walls of the building. But...Natsuo was on the fourth floor.

Scrit -

Natsuo flung open the window, a sudden urge coming over him. He stuck his head out and looked around. The campus was quiet, though a few students walked on the sidewalk down below him. The cool night air was relaxing on Natsuo's face. But he still wanted to know what was making that noise. It hadn't disturbed his sleep, but it was aggravating all the same.

A lot of things were aggravating to him these days.

Natsuo turned his head to the left. His gray eyes widened as a dark figure ducked around the corner. The thin edge that ran along the outside of the building was just barely big enough for someone's toes - so it was possible for a person to creep along there, but difficult.

Natsuo shuddered, chilled by something other than the night air or his ice Quirk. Somebody was sneaking around his dorm room at night - but oddly enough, he wasn't afraid.

Because...because if it was...

Natsuo took a deep breath, then cried, "Wait!"

There was a pause, then a sliver of a person came back into view around the corner. Natsuo continued, voice shaky,

"If...if that's you, then...if it's you, nii-san...then...then please stay!"

Silence stretched between them. But just when Natsuo was scolding himself for a fool, the figure began moving towards him. Natsuo scrambled back from the window, waiting with bated breath. The person's cautious footsteps made the Scritch, Scritch sound again, but Natsuo didn't mind it anymore.

Finally the figure reached the window. They perched on the sill, hunched over, half in and half out. A gray hood covered their head. Slowly, deliberately, they reached up and put the hood back. Bright blue eyes and a wicked grin met Natsuo's gaze.

Relief and revulsion warred inside Natsuo as Touya stepped inside his room and stood up straight. He glanced around curiously. Natuso's dorm was small, capable of holding only a bed, a dresser, and a desk.

"Well, look at you, Natsu-kun. So grown up." He turned to Natsuo. "How'd you know it was me?"

"You...you visited Shouto and - and even Fuyumi-nee-san, sorta, so...so I thought...maybe..." Natuso trailed off. A lamp on Natsuo's desk cast a shadow over Touya, but it was still enough to see the dark, burned bits of skin that covered the villain's chest, neck, and face. The image of his brother's broken body, from his expose video, was seared onto Natsuo's brain. Seeing it in person, even covered up with a T-shirt and black jacket, was worse.

"You asked me to stay," Touya said, pulling Natsuo from his thoughts. "Don't you have anything to say?"

Natsuo blinked. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Finally, "Well...well don't you have something to say? Why - why are you here?"

Touya shrugged. He put his hands in his pockets and smiled lazily at Natsuo. "Just wanted to see you, little brother." He tilted his head. "Is that alright?"

Natsuo swallowed. Was it alright? Part of him wanted to say yes of course I've wanted to see you too. Touya was his brother, his dead brother who had come back to life. Why wouldn't he want to see him?

But...

But he wasn't just Touya-nii-san anymore. He was also Dabi, a member of the League of Villains. An admitted murderer. Even if everything he'd said in his public video was a lie - it wasn't and you know that, Natsuo - Dabi had still fought against the heroes in the PLF war. Japan had been nearly destroyed from that. And he had also tried to kill Shouto.

He had tried to kill Natsuo, too.

Shouto sat in his hospital bed, wrapped head to toe in bandages. His classmates had left the Todoroki siblings alone for a while. Looking away from Natsuo and Fuyumi, Shouto had whispered, his voice raspy from burns and smoke inhalation,

"He sent the Nomu that hurt you, nii-san. He didn't care if you lived or died."

Natsuo shook his head, trying to dislodge the memories. "I don't know," he croaked.

Touya nodded slowly, accepting that. His smile had faded and now he simply stared at Natsuo. Natsuo fidgeted in place, not meeting Touya's eyes. His skin felt warm, and he had never liked that, never liked the heat, not like Touya had. Heat was fire and scars and crying brothers, a father's hateful eyes when he deigned to look Natsuo at all -

He sucked in a deep breath. Get a grip, he told himself. Finally he raised his head, facing Touya.

"I...I do have something to say," he told him. At Touya's nod, he licked his lips and began, "I...look, I get why you're - so upset." What an understatement. "I - I understand why you hate the old man, I do! And everything you want to do to him...you're justified. I believe that. I do."

Touya remained silent. Waiting for more. Natsuo swallowed, throat dry. And then suddenly all his words came rushing out, tripping over themselves to leave his mouth,

"But...but what about the rest of us? Me, Fuyumi-nee-san - and okaa-san! How could you do that to us? The whole world knows about us now! And - and maybe it's good thing that they'll hold Endeavor accountable and the heroes like him, but - we're hounded all the time. By the news, tabloid reporters, people who hate us because they can't bear the thought of the Number One Hero being - being what he is.

"And - and Shouto doesn't deserve any of this either! You - you hurt him the most, I think." The picture of a mummified Shouto flashed into his head again. "You might think he's just Endeavor's tool, but that's not true! He's - a good person, and a good hero, and trying his best. He's better than Endeavor. And...even if he wasn't, he's a victim, too. You - you two should understand each other the best, right? Out of everyone?"

Natsuo finished and then gasped, as if coming up from underwater. His body was even hotter now, which he hated. His cheeks felt warm and his heart was pounding.

Touya had listened to his rant wordlessly, head now tilted the other way. And then he took a step forward, towards Natsuo.

Natsuo couldn't help it - he moved backward. The back of his knees brushed the edge of his bed. Touya kept coming, until he was right in front Natsuo, practically nose to nose. The burn scars and staples were even uglier up close. Natsuo felt like crying at the sight.

"You're right, Natsu-kun," Touya whispered, warm breath filling Natsuo's nostrils with the smell of char and, oddly enough, something sweet. "That's all true, what you said. So then, can you tell me, Natsu-kun..."

Suddenly Touya slammed his hands against the wall on either side of Natsuo. Startled, Natsuo fell down onto his bed, staring up at his brother, mouth agape. Touya's face was twisted in anger, eyes narrowed to slits.

"Tell me why the hell Shouto keeps refusing me?! Keeps siding with him? If he's supposed to be the same as me, then why doesn't he understand?"

Natsuo closed and opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Touya didn't seem to care, as he continued,

"And, okay, maybe I jumped the gun a little at the battlefield, maybe I didn't need to do the whole slash-and-burn thing with Shouto. Do you think that's why he won't join me? Is he upset about that? I guess that makes sense. Hope he doesn't expect an apology first, though, 'cuz he sure as hell ain't getting one. I'm done being beholden to anyone, I don't regret anything I've done..."

It was like they were eight- and thirteen-years-old all over again. Touya spitting poison about his problems with Shouto and their father, unconcerned about Natsuo's wants or needs. Natsuo's fingers dug into his sheets, knuckles going white.

Except now, it was a thousand times worse.

"Ehh, Natsu-kun. Are you listening?"

Natsuo's gaze snapped to Touya, who was staring at him intensely. He leaned down, putting their faces a hair's breadth apart again. Natsuo's heart was trying to leap out of his chest now. For a moment, he wondered if this was how Shouto felt on the battlefield, trapped in their brother's fiery embrace.

Of course not, you idiot, his mind berated. Shouto was burning alive then.

"Nii-san," Natsuo whispered. "Nii-san, please." What was he pleading for? He didn't know. He just had to say something.

And then suddenly Touya's face changed. His features smoothed out, and the intensity in his eyes died. He leaned back, and his mouth twisted into a grin.

"Ahhh, did I scare you, Natsu-kun? Gotta little carried away there, huh." He patted Natsuo's cheek lightly. "Sorry, little brother."

Natsuo watched with wide eyes as Touya stepped away from his bed, arms dropping to his sides. He smiled at Natsuo, as if he hadn't just been ranting and raving a moment ago.

When Natsuo got his breathing under control again, he said, "Nii-san - Touya-nii, why don't you let me help you? Tell me - tell what to do. We can - we can make things work, somehow."

Touya laughed. "Ah, Natsu-kun, I'm touched! You still care about me after all this time! How nice! Maybe I'm glad you're still alive after all." Then he shook his head. "But you can't help me, little brother. You're a failure, just like me. Remember?"

He held up a hand, then; a burst of blue fire appeared in his palm. "Well, maybe not just like me."

Pain twisted inside Natsuo's chest. "Touya-nii -"

"Thanks for the invite, little brother," Touya said, cutting him off. "But I think it's time I take my leave."

Natsuo could do nothing but stare as Touya moved towards the window. He hopped up on the window sill again, pausing for a moment. He chuckled to himself, then leapt off into the dark below.

Natsuo rushed forward, strangely alarmed, thrusting his head out the window. He looked around but could see nothing in the dark. After a while he sighed and pulled himself back into his room. With all that Touya had suffered through and planned for, there was no way he was going to hurt himself falling from Natsuo's dorm room.

A sudden ping startled him. He spun around, eyes searching his room, before he realized it was just a phone notification. He walked over to his bed and picked up the device. Plastered across the top of his screen was a helpful reminder about his anatomy test tomorrow.

Natuso stared at his phone for a long time. Then, with a strangled cry, he threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a resounding crack - broken, no doubt. But Natsuo paid no attention. He flung himself onto his bed, buried his head into his pillow, and sobbed.