He could no longer feel the child's temperature.
That was all, then.
Yet, when he tried to move her away, he noticed she was holding onto his hoodie.
"Eri?"
She cuddled closer to him and let out little whimpers in response.
It didn't make sense. If the kid had a fever as high as it seemed, the last thing she should want was to cling to a human heater like him. The only explanation was that it wasn't a regular fever. So, maybe there was something he could do.
He was a wannabe vigilante, after all; he couldn't let her die if he could avoid it.
Whatever she had, heat seemed to help, so he took out his jacket and wrapped her in it. He didn't need two layers anyway, his defective body and fire quirk would make sure he didn't get hypothermia. Was that it? Was the fever just her body trying to keep her warm? Or did she have a temperature quirk too?
That would be a nightmare.
Still, he rose to his feet cradling the little girl in his arms. She was too light, which made him realize she had to be starving and dehydrated too. Relatable.
"I'll get us food and water from the konbini, but you have to be awake to have some," he told the kid in hopes of making her react.
Her grip tightened and Touya internally sighed in relief as he pulled his hood back up.
The streets were full of heroes now, searching for him. There were more of them than he expected and he betted the yakuza had something to do with it, but he did have the child now, so in the worst case scenario, he could trade her for being left alone.
Then again, he was on his way to become a vigilante, and vigilantes and villains were the same in the eyes of the law.
The trip to the store had been nice. He only bought a bottle of water and a cup of yakisoba, but the employee took pity on them and added an extra of each and disposable chopsticks for free.
"I'd have to throw them away soon, anyway" was the chosen excuse.
Touya wondered if it was good karma for helping Eri. Maybe he would keep her if she kept bringing him good luck.
However, he still needed to get her some warmed clothes like he first intended. He couldn't be carrying her around all the time just so she wouldn't get cold. Besides, she probably wouldn't want to be held by him more than necessary once she was awake. He should get 'home' soon so he could drop her off.
Yet, even telling himself that, he took a detour through the main street to check if his accidental rescue was of public knowledge yet. There was a big screen on the wall of a tall building broadcasting the news and, to his surprise, an awful bunch of people were staring at it in shock. The broadcast's headline made him join them.
Number 2 hero rejuvenated
It was a routine for him to watch his father, so of course he had noticed the lack of news about him. It looked like they were trying to hide this.
"At the beginning of the week, pro-hero Endeavor was attacked while investigating a violent kidnapping. As eyewitnesses and Endeavor himself reported, the attacker was the kidnapped child, who fled before she could be taken into custody."
Next, they showed his now twenty-something father denying the press any comment about his current predicament. It didn't matter though, Touya couldn't take his eyes off the screen. His father was his age! And he looked so much like Natsu-kun that it hurt!
"Our main hypothesis is that the kidnapper forced the situation. He was described as a young adult with a fire quirk and covered in scars," a man labeled as 'detective of quirk related crimes' explained.
Of course it was all his fault! Of course! There was no way he would do the 'right thing'! Not even if it was for the wrong reasons! He was in hysterics.
"The child's quirk seems to be of long duration or permanent," the detective continued. "We are hoping to obtain more information when we find her, so we can get Endeavor back to normal as soon as possible."
Yeah, no. That was NOT happening. That was why she was mistreated, wasn't it? Her quirk had so much potential! Too much! She could turn anyone into a helpless baby no matter how powerful they were! She was a weapon for the yakuza and the key to bring Endeavor back to his prime, so like hell he was letting the child go!
Guess it is a kidnapping now, he thought as he turned away from the screen. Sorry, you'll be stuck with me from now on, little Eri.
He didn't bother listening to the rest of the broadcast. Instead he walked away trying to look as unsuspicious as he could, while readjusting the jacket to better cover the girl's hair. After all, if the media knew it was the kidnapped kid, then the police and heroes had her description too and they wouldn't take long to disclose it and call for public assistance.
Taking care of a brat was a real pain, even more since he lived in the streets; but, with her, he wouldn't have to worry about heroes or yakuza and his revenge would be much easier, so it was worth it.
Besides, she wouldn't be a weapon or puppet to him, he'd make her his ally. Even if it didn't seem like it, he was not a monster like their tormentors; he was just a villain in the making.
He didn't go back 'home', it's location was just too inconvenient now that the whole world was on the lookout for them. His new pick was an abandoned house on the outskirts that had some proper bedrooms and a kitchen. So far, the best place he had found in a while.
He tucked the still asleep child in one of the beds and headed to the kitchen to start boiling water for the food. All services were cut off, but that had never been a problem with his quirk. All he had to do was hold a pot filled with bottle water from the bottom, heat up his palms and be thankful he didn't feel the burning of the hot metal.
"Mister?"
The kid's footsteps had been so quiet he hadn't heard them over the sound of boiling water, so he got startled and a bit of the pot's contents spilled on the floor.
"Do that again and you may end up like someone I know," he told her as he poured the water in the two instant food cups and closed them.
"Sorry."
She made herself as small as possible, fearing punishment, which was ironic seeing how she was wrapping herself tighter in his jacket. He fighted the need to frown as he walked up to her and crouched.
"Let me make this one thing clear, Eri: I would never hurt you. Not intentionally at least. I was just telling you to be careful."
She nodded, muttering another sorry. It was starting to bother him more than it should.
"Are you feeling better? You had a fever," he said as he helped her slide her arms into the sleeves.
The girl looked away and drew a hand to her horn. It was way smaller than the first time they met, but he was so focused on her state that he hadn't noticed. He guessed the horn size reflected how much power she had accumulated, so after using it it was practically like a bump. The fever must have been a side effect or the result of overusing it, since she seemed to be fine now.
"Well, anyways," he announced as he got up and pointed to the cups, "I'm making yakisoba. And if you want water there is a fountain nearby, we can go fill the bottles while it cooks."
"I can do that."
Touya chuckled, "Do you want to go back to the yakuza that bad?"
He regretted saying that as soon as he saw the color drain from the kid's face.
"No," she replied in a quiet panicked voice. "No, please. I… I went to the police like you said, but they wanted to send me back, so ran and then… The hero… He had fire so I thought he would be kind like you, but…"
"But he was not."
Eri nodded as she rubbed her burned wrist. He couldn't really blame her; she had the right train of thought, but she was wrong about him being kind.
"He said I was throwing a tantrum and asked about you," she continued as she started tearing up. "He didn't believe me when I said I didn't know where you were."
"So he tried to take you by force and you used your quirk to escape from him," he concluded with anger seeping into his voice.
"Sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Please, don't leave me…"
'Please, don't leave me'? What a heartache she was, begging for such a lame thing.
"I won't. Stop crying."
"But I hurt someone."
"Same here, remember?"
Realization hit and the little girl quickly nodded before starting to wipe her tears away. Good, sobbing brats were the worst.
"Besides, I hate that guy," he rambled. "If anything, it's a shame he didn't go so far back he can't keep being a hero. That would be hilarious."
"I didn't make him disappear?" she asked tentatively.
"No. That's something you can do?"
She hummed, looking down, "I'm sorry I have this quirk. I don't want to… hurt people."
"That's fine, I will deal with that."
At least, until she realized how cruel reality was for children like her and like him: kids raised as weapons or brought into the world with no other purpose than to be used for their quirks.
He was glad that the growl of Eri's stomach snapped him out of his maddening thoughts.
"You can start eating, I'll go for the water," he said, handing her a cup of yakisoba. "Do you know how to use chopsticks?"
She hummed as she sat down at the table; but, after taking off the lid, she just stared at the food.
"You don't seem too sure."
"I'm sorry, it's just…" She looked down. "I keep bringing you problems."
"Stop apologizing, brat. I chose to do all that, I brought this onto myself."
No lie there, he did bring all this onto himself. However, it wasn't nearly as bad as Eri thought it was, he just knew she wouldn't believe that. Bad thoughts could live in your head if the words that caused them were repeated to you enough times.
The child seemed to accept his answer and started eating, so he decided to do what he said he'd do and headed out.
The vague notion that she could take the chance to run away crossed his mind but it wasn't like she had somewhere to run to. She needed him for survival. That's why she didn't want him to leave.
Please, don't leave me.
Shut up, kid, he huffed.
He did a quick work of the bottles and then checked around for clothes that could fit Eri better than his worn-out and probably burnt jacket. He found nothing.
Come to think of it, she needed a bigger change of look than new clothes. Both of them did really, but there was nothing he could do about his more prominent features besides covering them. With any luck, the vigilante life would provide him with something for that.
It hadn't been more than five minutes when he arrived back at the house. However, the little girl was anxiously looking out a broken window, waiting for him.
"I'm back, see?"
She kept staring at him. Her eyes seemed so sad still, yet a little light of… something shone in them as she nodded.
He gave her one of the bottles and went for his delicious food. The child just sat in front of him and stared the whole time he was eating. It didn't bother him all that much, but he wondered what that was about.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
It looked like that was all the encouragement she needed.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours, even though you saved me."
I didn't save you. I was being selfish, he didn't say.
Back to her implied question, he went by Dabi in his odd jobs and whenever he needed to give a name, yet… Maybe he should leave that as his vigilante name? His debut was a cremation after all and, if Giran had told the yakuza, they would be looking for 'Dabi' sooner or later.
"I don't use my name anymore. Just keep calling me mister or something like that."
After all, the same word (oniisan) could mean 'older brother' and if they thought he was her brother, it was less likely they would suspect he was holding her against her will. Besides, as much as he hated it, their similar hair color would add to the lie.
"Then, mister?" He hummed in acknowledgment. "I'm cold."
He extended his hand and created a flame from his palm as if offering it to her. The little girl seemed a bit disappointed, yet she held her hands near it without voicing her actual feelings.
Speak up, child. You will never get what you want if you don't, he reprimanded her.
Yet, he kept it to himself and played dumb. That should get his point across.
However, acting as a heater was not how he wanted to spend the rest of the day. Had he known this would happen, he would have got some wood for a little campfire instead of wasting his time searching in the trash, but he could still improvise.
Looking around, he found some bricks he could use to limit its spread. He briefly considered using the cups as fuel but abandoned that idea when he remembered that the smoke from burning plastic was toxic—as in, more than the regular one—; Touya had experienced it firsthand. He could deal with it now, but kids were fragile.
His mind evoked the image of Eri's uncovered arm. It was obvious his father had given her the burn and burned her bandage away in the process, but the cuts were both old and recent. How old could she be? Five? What had they done to her?
Just one more reason to hate this rotten society.
He put out the fire, seeing how it started to react to his emotions. Eri made a questioning sound, yet she quickly caught up on his bad mood and went back to freeze mode.
"It's not at you," he said, wishing the anger in his voice didn't make it sound so fake. "Anyways, take off your bandages, we are burning them."
The child looked at him in a mix of fear and bewilderment, "But I need them."
"As dirty as they are, they do more harm than good."
She still didn't seem too convinced. Really, what else did she want from him? He was trying to sound as unthreatening as he could!
"I'll get you some new ones along with some clothes, but your scars have healed enough, it'll be fine."
She looked like she was going to cry again, yet there were no tears in her eyes. Touya frowned, now truly understanding her hesitation.
"Eri,"—he reached out but stopped himself midway there—"you've seen me, right? I've got more scars than healthy skin, you don't have to hide them from me. Besides, you still have the jacket to cover them if you want."
"I can keep it?"
She shouldn't sound so surprised.
"Of course, didn't you say you were cold?"
"But it's yours."
He laughed internally. No, it was not. Nothing he had was his anymore.
"Take it as a present."
She doubted, yet she ended up nodding in acceptance. Touya grabbed the bricks and placed them forming a square on the floor before waiting patiently for Eri to leave her bandages there. She was struggling, but it was something she had to do herself.
When it was all ready, he ignited the fabric with a touch of his finger. It was a small, weak flame, so it would last longer, but in spite of its size, his fire was as ravenous as always. The way the white of the bandages turned into black before disappearing was like a beautiful painting in his eyes; the cracking of the flames as they made their way through the cloth was music to his ears.
The kid didn't seem to find it as captivating as he did, though. She just enjoyed the heat. Maybe he could show her…
"Check this."
Touya covered the flame with a cup and waited a few seconds before taking it off. The flame had turned golden, but it gradually turned purple and not much later went back to blue on its own.
"Oh."
"Now you."
She copied the process carefully with her cup. It was as if her childish features dimmed with the yellow light and lit up with the blue light.
"It's pretty," Eri acknowledged softly.
The girl's face had a weird expression: her eyes were smiling, yet her lips were tightly pressed in what almost seemed like a pout. He raised an eyebrow at this.
She was such a heartache.
This whole chapter is me saying "Touya, no!" and him going "Touya, yes!". It's going to be a common trend in the story, won't it?
Also, I did an absurd amount of research for this chapter to get an idea of how Touya could have lived in the streets for so long, my conclusion was that his quirk is very convenient XD
I'd like to point out that there is symbolism in a lot of things, like the place they live in or the act of Eri taking off her bandages.
Finally, fire is to Touya what blood is to Toga, change my mind!
Disclaimer: My Hero Academia and its characters are property of Kōhei Horikoshi and Studio Bones.
