"Where's Dabi?"
Shigaraki leaned in close to Overhaul's face. Whatever answer the broken man gave, Shigaraki wanted to be the first to hear the news. "Destroyed, Eri destroyed him."
An icy hand constricted his chest, "impossible." Dabi wouldn't let himself be killed that easily. Yet when Toga informed Compress of the plan, she mentioned Dabi had gone to face Overhaul, and they hadn't seen the fire user since. Shigaraki felt a pit of dread grow. Dabi might have a terrible track record when it comes to keeping in contact. Still, it also wasn't like him to face this amount of risk and not report in.
Dabi never stuck his neck out unless he was absolutely sure he could walk away. The bastard had too much stubborn determination to accomplish those mystery goals of his. Like a cockroach, one prone to self-combustion, but also impossible to get rid of.
Overhaul's eyes, glazed in a defocused bronze, didn't quite meet Shigaraki's "ask Touya Todoroki."
The smile on his face slipped as his mind whirred in a flurry of thoughts. Images blurred together, knitting together the final pieces of a puzzle. Oh. Oh, everything made so much sense now. The refusal to give a name, the big brother tendencies and a strange random assortment of skills, the raging anger towards society for allowing hero corruption, and the undeniable sense of betrayal are geared towards the hatred of one hero in particular. Endeavour.
Suddenly the flinching at unexpected raised hands and single-minded resolve to bring down the number one hero revealed itself. Shigaraki had watched Endeavour's behaviour during the Sport's Festival, heard the booming voice like ringing thunder and observed how that fire and ice kid tensed. Now that he thought about it, Shigaraki could see the resemblance in the response; Dabi reacted similarly if someone slammed a door without him noticing.
It would also explain Dabi's unusual love for the cold, and the League had learnt to just roll with it when they found Dabi huddling by the freezer or taking an hour-long ice shower at three in the morning. Shigaraki didn't know much about quirk science, but if Dabi somehow got a different aspect of an ice quirk with a fire quirk, it would give a horrifying new element to the scars that riddle Dabi's body. Disappointing to learn even heroes liked to play with genetics, too bad they never had to deal with the consequences.
But, without the surname, Shigaraki wouldn't have recognized the name Touya. Dabi wasn't much older than him, three to five years max and Shigaraki should have known if a son of Endeavour went missing. That wasn't the type of story someone could cover up easily, and knowing Dabi he wouldn't have gone quietly, the flashy asshole couldn't resist a show. Even for the number two hero, it would be difficult unless higher-level players were also behind the erasure of Touya Todoroki. And that also meant that there was a small sliver of a chance that Overhaul had learnt it from an alive source.
Dabi had a lot of explaining to do, and once Shigaraki found him, there would be hell to pay. Or at least a week of no complaints about actually doing things for the League.
In the distance, the growing sound of police sirens cut off his thoughts. Before this all started, Shigaraki had already imagined how this would end. However, learning this bit of information just solidified his need for revenge. "Well then, all the more reason," and Shigaraki placed all five deadly fingers on the ex-Yakuza leader's arm, just below the burnt area. Felt oddly symbolic that both Decay and Cremation worked together to destroy Overhaul.
Leaving the screaming man on the ground for the heroes to deal with later, Shigaraki stepped over the puddle of melted tires. The flames from Clone Dabi still lapping up the police car. Despite being weaker than the original, the fire held power to dissolve metal easily, and Shigaraki was pretty sure he overheard Dabi mention to Compress that the flames killed that annoying sand hero.
The publicity served to spread the League's mission and allowed the heroes to set up countermeasures against them. Snatch had been proof of that. Flexible sand avoided nimble fingers, and the high melting point also created a durable shield against blue fire. Damn, they would have to start watching out for that.
If this whole ordeal had taught Shigaraki anything, was that more than powerful quirks or money, information held more value. Shigaraki winced, even if that meant breaking the deal he made with Dabi about allowing the fire user to keep his secrets.
"Compress sit in the front with Spinner. I need to talk to Dabi." The magician gave a small bow but lingered a moment longer. Shigaraki felt the copper eyes on him without seeing 's disappointed look. Compress hadn't been pleased with Shigaraki's decision not to search for Dabi before going after Overhaul. One of the few times, the Mister questioned his decisions, and Shigaraki knew that he would receive a scolding from the older man when they arrived back at the hideout. Just another thing he had to look forward to.
Shigaraki watched the clone settle gingerly in the back of the stolen truck. The plan had been for the two Dabis to fill each other in after the side quest. Dabi had a shit health bar, and keeping the original Dabi alive was hard enough. They would have to tape the clone to a wall to keep him from disappearing. How much damage could the clone even take? It would be a pain to replace him now since clone Dabi apparently made strides in his recruiting. Shit. This was turning into a major level.
As soon as the doors shut and he felt the whirling thrum of the engine, Shigaraki wasted no time getting to the point. There was little reason to try and play mind games with Dabi, Shigaraki only had one shot to prove his theory. "I know about Touya."
Shigaraki honed red eyes on Dabi's face, ready to catch any change in his expression. He had long thought about what might happen if Shigaraki found out about Dabi's backstory. And what could happen if Shigaraki confronted Dabi about his past before the fire user willing told him. Shigaraki expected the two likeliest outcomes to be: one him being incinerated or two for Dabi to try and make a run for it. Out of all the things, Shigaraki did not expect Dabi to start laughing. The sound lacked the usual snark and rang with a hint of something feral. Like Shigaraki had missed the punch line of his own joke.
"It's a good name, isn't it."
Shigaraki waited for Dabi's unhinged laughter to fade into raspy breaths. "Overhaul claims the original you got destroyed in the fight, and I should ask Touya Todoroki. I think we have now confirmed that's you."
Dabi's head tilted back against the side of the truck, keeping watch on Shigaraki with a guarded side-eye. A cornered dog waiting to be hit. "At your service."
"Dabi, stop being a dramatic bastard." Shigaraki sighed. "I'm not going to decay you if that's what you're waiting for." Annoyance laced his words as he snapped back against Dabi's silent apprehensions.
Truthfully Shigaraki hadn't even considered it. For better or for worse, Dabi was a member of his League. Each member of the League was free to come and go as they pleased, and if anyone of them intended to leave, Shigaraki wasn't going to hold them against their wills or under the threat of death. That would just be counterproductive and highly hypocritical of their goals. But without a clear letter of resignation, Shigaraki refused to allow Dabi to just sign out of the game.
Dabi raised his hands in a shrug "can you blame me?"
No, he can't. And that was the problem. Dabi had proved himself to Shigaraki by kidnapping Bakugou and even in his role with Overhaul, but Shigaraki had done nothing to prove himself to Dabi. So far, all of Shigaraki's plans had ended in failure, inflicting heavy losses for the League. Looming doubt crept into the corners of his mind.
"The time has become necessary. I need to know Dabi."
"What's there to know? Touya was a stupid kid who stopped thinking for himself and died because of it." Dabi gestured at himself. "I'm just the husk that's left of him." Dabi's grin didn't meet his eyes, and there was an air of resignation about him, a candle on the verge of snuffing out.
"Is it possible that the original you told Overhaul about Touya?"
Dabi shook his head. "I haven't told anybody, too risky." Dabi's expression never changed, but Shigaraki's gut told him there was more to that sentence. Even confronted with the truth, something kept Dabi from telling Shigaraki, and he was beginning to believe that maybe the web of mystery wasn't entirely voluntary.
"How many people know?"
"Two at least, imagine my surprise when you weren't one of them." With Dabi's sharp smile, Shigaraki felt as if he had just stepped into a pit of vipers. Any wrong move now could be disastrous, for Dabi, for him, the whole League was at risk. While All for One knew everything about Shigaraki, there were still many things that he was not allowed to know about his master. He wouldn't be surprised to learn that there had been other children that his master had trained to become the next successor. That would explain why his master's amusement and encouragement for Shigaraki to permit Dabi in the League.
The grandson of a hero and the son of the current number one, what a team.
"Assuming you're still alive, where would you be?" Shigaraki levelled Dabi an even stare over the hand perched on his bent up knee. It would not be safe for them to continue this conversation, not when his master's ears might be on them. Later, he would get more from Dabi.
"Assuming," Dabi said, leaning back into the truck, "that is the question, isn't it."
~●~Aizawa rolled a staple between his thumb and forefinger, watching as the paramedics rushed around the unconscious white-haired boy. Burns laced up the boy's arms, and while the fight between his problem children and Hassaikai leader put out most of the flames, the soft glow of melted cement spoke of the raging storm of fire that had previously occurred in the bunker. Not many fire quirks had the power needed to wreck this kind of havoc in such a short amount of time. And with the League involvements confirmed by the presence of Himiko Toga and Jin Bubaigawara, it was entirely possible a third member had been present. But no one mentioned seeing the patchwork villain, Dabi.
"Your worry has you distracted, Eraser." Unsolicited, the fire user's words from their meeting during the summer unnervingly echoed in his mind.
Sending in their only long-distance fighter was a risky move that Aizawa didn't see even Shigaraki making, but then again, with Bubaigawara on the scene, the flames might have been created by a clone. However, the reports of Bubaigawara wearing Dabi's signature jacket added another layer of complexity into the mix. The whole situation screamed that Dabi had been in the Hassaikai hideout. And after years of working in the underground, Aizawa had learnt to trust his gut instinct.
Though that still didn't explain the unknown boy. The police and heroes only discovered evidence of Eri. Could the Hassaikai have involved more children in their plans? Anything was possible at the moment, and those variables left a sour taste in his mouth.
"Eraser, look at this." Detective Tsukauchi approached with a clear evidence bag in hand. "We found a mix of remains in the bunker. Did you see anybody else down there?"
"No, but Mirio mentioned a fight going on before we got there."
The detective gave a solemn nod, "poor kids, and I hate to think that they had to see whatever caused this." Tsukauchi held the bag out to him, and Aizawa saw the apparent remains of a burnt lower jaw bone. "I'll have this DNA tested, but that could take several weeks. With everything that's going on, the labs have been flooded with what we are pretty sure is Dabi's handiwork. Our best bet will be trying to get some answers from the two kids we rescued."
"I appreciate the work you're doing, Tsukauchi, but I won't let the Commission or Police question Eri or the other kid until they are ready." Aizawa didn't want to imagine what those two had gone through under the Hasaikai, and he wouldn't cause them more distress by being interrogated for crimes done against them.
"This is why I respect you, Eraserhead, and good work out there today. I'd hate to think about what would have happened if you hadn't been here. I'll do my best from this end, but I might not be able to do much." Tsukauchi stared long and hard at the bag before steeling Aizawa a resigned look. "The Commission has been down our necks for information on Eri once they found out about the quirk erasing bullets."
Giving a quick nod of goodbye, the detective left, and Aizawa walked to the ambulances, hoping in the one with Eri and the boy. Out of the way of the paramedics, Aizawa settled into the passenger seat. Until they knew more about their quirks, they had decided that Aizawa should stay near them. It wasn't uncommon for children to lose control of their quirks, and unpredictable ones like Eri or unknown ones like the boy's could be particularly dangerous, so just in case Aizawa was asked to stay nearby. Breathing a heavy sigh, this is where Aizawa wished their side had a cloning quirk. How useful it would be being in two places at once. Maybe then Aizawa could spend more time napping with his cats.
"How are they?"
The paramedic placing an oxygen mask over the boy's face answered, "Both are unconscious. We can't tell the reason behind the girl, but from what we're told, it's mostly likely quirk exhaustion." Without pausing, the same paramedic inserted an IV into the boy's arm, "but this one has severe burns. Normally, you can't tell the degree so early, but I've seen enough to know some of these will be third degree or worse in some areas" the man pointed to the darker spots on the boy's arm, and Aizawa felt his stomach curl unpleasantly at the sight of skin that resembled flaking charcoal. "I don't envy him. Recovery, even with healing quirks, will take a while."
Aizawa examined the unconscious boy and the angry red patches that ran up his arms. Ash strained white hair and delicate features marked by burns that licked up against the underside of his jaw. Still, there was something familiar about the boy, old memories that remain stubbornly at the edges of his mind. He was sure that he had seen this face somewhere before, but Aizawa couldn't remember from where. Hopefully, the DNA tests from the labs would bring up the boy's identity, and for now, they just needed to wait, and Aizawa curled into the window of the ambulance, closing his eyes for some needed sleep.
In the days that passed, Aizawa hardly had a moment of rest. While he didn't begrudge the festivities —and he wouldn't have traded his class's smiles for anything— but between the school festival, ensuring that Eri settled in UA, helping the detectives research, and hospital visits, he barely had time to keep up with class 1A's school work.
And yet, despite the best efforts of Aizawa and the police, they still weren't any closer to finding out the identity of the unknown boy from the Hassaikai. Early on, the decision had been made to keep the boy unconscious, and the doctors did not want to cause more pain than necessary while the boy's burns slowly healed. Though healing quirks had been used, burns were notoriously tricky to heal, and even Recovery Girl hesitated to use her quirk on him in case his body didn't have the necessary reserved energy. And the doctors feared some permanent damage and scarring, especially on his arms. No, as desperate as they were, Aizawa firmly put his foot down when the Hero Commission wanted to go against the doctors' medical advice. If or until they found a next of kin, both Eri and the boy remained under UA's guardianship, and he would protect either child from any preventable suffering.
The boy aside, throughout all the chaos, Eri had met the new environment with bravery he hadn't expected and adapted to UA better than Aizawa had hoped. Determined, Eri faced the challenges of dealing with his problem class, and with Mirio guarding her, began to learn the joys and wonders the Hassaikai denied her. Seeing Eri freely smile proved everything they went through to save her had been worth it.
However, her happiness didn't erase her trauma. More often than not, Aizawa found himself gently holding Eri, still shaking from the nightmares the plagued the young girl, and the new ritual in their house included Hizashi finding them curled beneath a mountain of blankets, midnight snacks littered around them, and the leftovers of a movie playing in the background. But slowly, as time started moving forward, Eri grew to trust them more and more, and the bad days became fewer and fewer.
But that didn't mean Aizawa still didn't make mistakes, and the one time he tried to ask Eri about the boy, he saw the exact moment she closed herself off from the world.
"I can't tell you." Eri curled a wrist to her chest, a sign Aizawa recognized early on that meant the situation was too much for Eri. Gently he crouched down to meet Eri at eye level and reached a hand to ruffle her hair softly.
"I won't force you, and I won't let anyone hurt either of you. Is it ok if you tell me why?" Aizawa would tell her as many times as she needed to hear it, he would protect her always, and someday he hoped Eri would believe him.
"He gave me an apple." Still unsure, Eri refused to meet his eyes "I already ruined his life. Please, he was so kind I don't want to cause more trouble."
He stopped pushing Eri further and took her out for ice cream immediately following the question. Despite the shy smiles and delight at the treat, Aizawa saw the tightness that clung to Eri's tiny shoulders. Eri didn't bring the boy up again, almost as if afraid any mention would condemn them with some unknown punishment. The boy meant something to her, and it brought him some comfort to know that Eri had someone who cared for her, but the new information didn't give them anything that could be used for identification.
"Eraser" Aizawa answered his hero phone that he chose to neglect for the better part of the afternoon. The harassment from the Hero Commission had reached the point where their calls began to interrupt his classes. For the sake of his students, the phone had to be muted.
"Oh thank god." The resignation in Tsukauchi's voice was audible. "We got the DNA results back."
"Oh so who is he?"
Another sigh "that's the thing whatever was on those results has caused the Commission to take over the case. We can't legally do anything more because of a previous contract." Even over the phone, Aizawa could picture the detective pinching the bridge of his nose.
All the hard work since the raid on the Hassaikai, gone in a single afternoon. If Aizawa had to question, the results likely showed a relation to a hero since the Hero Commission deemed anything that could be linked to the personal identity of a Hero as of the highest confidence. There would be little they could do if that were the case.
"Worse, they plan to wake the kid the day after tomorrow—"
"UA still has custody" Aizawa interrupted. "Why haven't we been informed."
"I don't know, you've dealt with the Commission, and you know how the higher-ups are. Once that Classified sticker is placed, it's like pulling teeth to get even the smallest amount of information. Even telling you this much could cost me my job."
"I know, and I appreciate it."
"Try to be there when they wake up—" the phone went dead silent.
"Tsukauchi, are you still there?"
In the background, Aizawa could a sudden flurry of raised voices "Eraser get to the TV quickly it's Endeavour."
Without hesitation, Aizawa bolted to the common room. Whatever was about to happen; he hoped Todoroki wouldn't have to watch it alone.
~ ~Shitty information broker, Giran had been of absolutely no help in finding anything out about Touya Todoroki. Every thread came up in a dead-end, and the only thing they could get was a birth and death day which was no help. He needed to get the contact of Dabi's UA informant. With any luck, since the hero brats took part in the raid, they would know something that the media hadn't disclosed yet. Rumours spread in schools like that, right?
But making matters worse, much like the real Dabi, clone-Dabi had run off the second Spinner parked the van, saying something about meeting with his recruit. Two weeks ago, the fucking bastard. If it weren't for Twice's reassurance that clone Dabi was still out there, Shigaraki would have been convinced the asshole died.
Breathing a heavy sigh, Shigaraki opened the door to their latest hideout. Ever since they defeated the Hassaikai, it seemed without their fire user, and the atmosphere had been icy, to say the least. Between Toga's despondency and Twice crying over that ragged coat, he never appeared to let go of; even Spinner was more distant as of late, not as willing to play a round of video games anymore. But out of all of their responses, Shigaraki hated the constant disappointment he met from . He never thought the older man and Dabi had been particularly close, well as the saying goes you never miss something until you lose it.
Still, it took a sullen conversation with Spinner for Shigaraki to understand.
"I think he saw Dabi as something of a son or brother. Anyways I think he is madder at himself. Don't let it get to you."
Spinner's empty words did little to make the situation better, and if anything, just made Shigaraki feel ten times worse. Out of all of the League, Shigaraki had the most responsibility in its members' well-being, his job to keep them alive.
For the first time since they got back from the raid, the entire League huddled around the shitty TV they found in a dumpster. So far, the longest appliance they owned, and Dabi had actually started a betting pool on how long it would last. Longer than Dabi, apparently.
"Where's Clone-bi"
"On TV" Toga's eyes didn't leave the screen as she answered.
Sure enough, the telltale blue fire lit up the TV screen. Oh, you have got to be kidding Shigaraki had never wanted to murder Dabi more than in that moment. Here Shigaraki had been doing everything in his power to find the original while not revealing Dabi's true identity, and the bastard had some nerve to prance on live TV and confront Endeavour.
His father, with a similar fire quirk, flaunting vague suggestive information.
It really made Shigaraki wonder how, himself included, never noticed the connection. Dabi wasn't exactly subtle.
The news camera gave a wide-angle shot of the scene, and Shigaraki noticed the charred silhouette of a nomu. He had heard that was cooking up something in his lab, a new breed of destructive creatures. This must have been a prototype; when had Dabi gotten his hands on it?
"Just keep doing your thing and don't go dying on me, kay?" Shigaraki watched as Dabi taunted Endeavour "Todoroki Enji."
"Look at him go/ I saw nothing." Twice sniffed from his spot on the couch, using Dabi's coat to dab at his eyes. Meanwhile, Spinner looked as if he was trying his best not to laugh.
Those final words marked the end of his self-control as Shigaraki stormed up to the TV and disintegrated it in a fit of anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Twice hand Toga a small pile of bills.
"What was that for?" Belatedly, Shigaraki noticed one of Spinner's shabby consoles connected to the now pile of ash. Just another thing he would have to make up.
"When I get my hands on that idiot, I'll —"
"Do nothing but welcome him back," Mr. Compress's oddly cool voice answered from the other side of the room.
Shigaraki stilled at the tone, one that he knew started as a disappointed warning but grew into anger. The room's sudden stillness and look of worried surprise from the other members add to the tension. None of them had ever heard , who could brush jokes off with a smile and come back from insults with a spring in his step, speak like that. This was new and uncharted territory. And Shigaraki didn't like it.
"I think it was just a saying, Mister," Toga spoke up, but her attempt to defend him lacked its usual teasing glow.
"Forgive me, little Toga. I have been in a terrible mood as of late." With a bow and a tip of his hat, left, slamming the door in his wake.
Shigaraki watched as the remaining members, unsure of what just happened, turned to look at him. Early in the creation of the League, Shigaraki established a clear boundary as their boss. However, as time moved on and the League members started to trust him, the dynamics changed to 'friend with authority.' Never before had any one of them gave him such a brush off, especially , who before tried to set an example for the younger members that Shigaraki deserved some respect for his leadership position.
This had been a major setback. Magne's death shook them to their cores, but it seemed Dabi's disappearance was the earthquake that threatened to break their group. Compress's apathy stung, but he guessed he should have seen it coming with Dabi being the first to take the League into a fight. And so far, the only one to finish a battle without casualties. Who would have thought the member that was around the least had such a big impact on them. And if Shigaraki was honest with himself, he also felt the emptiness. Things need to change. The way things were going at the moment, Shigaraki wouldn't be surprised at a mutiny.
Maybe it was time for an appointment with a specific Doctor.
~●~Walking in the privately secured hospital wing hallway, customarily reserved for injured heroes in the top twenty, the floor currently only housed Endeavour and the kid. Aizawa scanned the room numbers looking for 587 where the boy had been moved to after the Commission took over his care. Despite the chaos surrounding the aftermath of Endeavour's fight with the nomu, the Commission had stubbornly refused to change the date of waking up the boy. Without knowing the exact time the Commission planned to wake the poor kid up, Aizawa stationed himself for a long day waiting at the hospital. Already, on his sixth coffee, Aizawa had been on the phone all morning with detective Tsukauchi trying to figure out more information.
"Another thing Eraser, the other remains' DNA results came in."
"Did the commission take those as well?"
"No, but they did solve several missing cold cases. Kind of ironic if you think about it." the detective paused "Eraser, they were all fire quirk users, with files on them going as far backs as ten years ago. Whatever the Hassaikai was doing, it's been in the works for a while."
"It's not uncommon for large organizations like the Hassaikai to use quirks, like fire ones, to help cover up their crimes."
"Ya but none of the members we interviewed mentioned anything about having other fire users. We only found two Hassaikai members with weak fire quirks, both accounted for, and one of them mentioned that when a disposer was needed, Overhaul and the previous Boss would call in someone by the name of Kasō, which we can't find any on."
"And has Overhaul said anything?"
"Not a word, for anything. The doctors in Tartarus say he has gone into an extreme state of mental shock, and they don't know when he will snap out of it." Tsukauchi breathed a heavy sigh before continuing. "We are no closer to solving this. Every time we take a step forward, it feels like we take two back."
"No, you don't understand I can't be here."
Yelling from down the hallway cut off any prospect of conversation, "I've got to go Tsukauchi, I think the kid's awake."
Two nurses rushed past him, and Aizawa heard one of them shout for someone to bring in a relaxant. Noises and alarms that Aizawa didn't know the purpose of spilt into the hallway.
"What is all this noise, Eraser?" Endeavour, still hooked up to his IV, emerged from his room, looking less than pleased about being disturbed.
"I think the kid is awake."
Endeavour huffed, "and I don't see why there should be this much commotion— "
"I'm not weak. I need to get home before I fall behind."
Endeavour stiffened beside Aizawa and quickened his pace beside him. Moving with a newfound purpose, the injured man strode towards the room, taking one step for every three of Aizawa's.
"I'm fine. Leave me alone. I need to get back."
As soon as Aizawa entered the room, an intense wave of heat washed over him making the room spin alarmingly as Aizawa braced himself against the lightheadedness. Nearly five nurses and a doctor struggle to keep the boy down without possibly injuring him further. A feral look coupled with steam flowing from the boy's body in angry clouds, it was no wonder someone called for a tranquillizer.
"Dad?" The boy's face transformed with surprise, familiar blue eyes staring at Endeavour. At the same time, his body tensed as if expecting an attack or preparing to deliver one; Aizawa couldn't tell.
Painfully reminded of a beaten dog hoping for affection but anticipating a hit. Watching the contradiction, Aizawa didn't register Endeavour moving, swifter than a heavily injured person should have, he pulled the boy in a tight embrace. "Touya," a name escaped like a hushed prayer.
Touya's mouth fell open, airy words rushing a quiet "burning me," before falling back into unconsciousness. A nearby nurse standing awkwardly holding an empty syringe.
"I'm sorry, but we needed him to calm down before he hurt himself." The nurse remained still, shaking slightly before addressing Endeavour directly. "Please sir, you need to let him go. You are going to reopen wounds for the both of you."
For several critical seconds passed as it seemed like Endeavour would ignore the nurse, frozen against his son. But at last, the huge man let go. It was the most unnerved Aizawa had ever seen him, almost like Endeavour had come face to face with a ghost. Gingerly a hand moved to brush a lock away from the boy's face, but stalled at the last moment as Endeavour turned a furious gaze at Aizawa and the doctors.
It took a minute before Endeavour regained his composure. An angry fire lit his eyes. "Does anyone care to tell me why my son is here?"
"He was found in the base of the Shie Hassaikai-"
"Impossible, stop these lies, Eraser." Endeavour interrupted, "My son is dead, the foolish boy burnt himself along with nearly the entirety of Sekoto peak, trying to train himself to be a hero."
"That might have been the case, but the Hassaikai exploited Eri's quirk that allows her to rewind an individual timeline. Also at the scene were the other remains of missing people with fire quirks. Is it possible some of Touya's remains could have been stolen?"
"Impossible, the only thing we found was a section of his lower jaw bone. The flames were so hot everything else was turned to ash." Endeavour spoke in a melancholy pride, as if the last show of destructive power was a missed opportunity and not losing a son.
"At the site, several other remains of missing people with fire quirks were found. We think the Hassaikai needed them to remove evidence." Aizawa repeated himself.
"That still doesn't change the fact Touya has been dead for nearly ten years, Eraser. I've been updated on the situation with Eri, and the girl isn't any older than eight. Touya was dead before she was even born."
The callous words rubbed Aizawa the wrong way, and he felt a heavy stone of pity for Touya drop in his stomach. So young and lost too soon, only to come back amongst a veil of mystery.
"I think it would be best if Touya stayed under the watch of UA for the time being." If this conversation with Endeavour showed Aizawa anything, Touya learning how to master his quirk was more than just becoming a hero, but necessary for his survival.
"Touya's always been weak, Eraser. His quirk is defective, unfortunately, he inherited the wrong characteristics from me and my wife. Touya has no business being at UA. He will stay with his family"
"You can't be there all the time, Endeavour, and from what I understand, your daughter also lives with you. But she works full time, who would watch Touya when on one is home." Aizawa fought to maintain eye contact "he needs time to adjust to these major changes surrounded by people. If you leave Touya alone again, well, history has a nasty way of repeating itself."
"Are you doubting my care for my children, Eraser?" A flicker of flames threatened to show itself, as Endeavour's temper rose. Determined not to back down, Aizawa continued.
"Touya died under your care. Face it Endeavour, Touya needs to learn how to use his quirk safely. UA can keep an eye on full-time. You can't while you are the number one hero. Unless you plan on retiring?"
"Don't be foolish." Endeavour pause, the unbandaged eye still watching Touya "We have tried sending him away before. It's cruel, don't you think, making him watch the other kids become heroes."
"No crueller than letting him burn to death, again."
Neither of the two backed down, but eventually, Aizawa saw the moment Endeavour gave in.
"Very well, have it your way, Eraser. But if the boy gets injured or carried away, that will be on you." Endeavour stood to leave, "I want to be informed of any changes in my son's condition, and I plan to leave with him when I am discharged."
~ ~Touya felt the sting of the needle the second before he was suddenly enveloped in his father's arms. Endeavour's constant boiling heat rolling off in waves, threatening to wake the dragons sleeping beneath Touya's skin. Too hot, the sudden warmth causing a risk of activating Touya's quirk. "You're burning me," and just as quickly as he woke up, Touya felt sleep pull him back into unconsciousness.
The next time Touya woke up, the room felt empty. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up that his dad would be here.
"You're awake."
Touya turned to the sound of the new voice he didn't recognize. Not feeling like answering just yet, Touya just hummed in affirmation. It took nearly all his willpower just to open his eyes, the light too bright for comfort.
"My name is Shouta Aizawa, I'm a teacher at UA."
"I'm Touya Todoroki." His mouth felt as if it were made from cotton and uncomfortably dry. He hated waking up from the anesthetic. Touya wondered how much trouble he would be in this time for using his quirk without permission and landing himself in the hospital.
"Good, I will let the nurse know." The man dressed all in the same shade of grungy black entered his field of vision, gingerly placing a glass of water into Touya's hand. "Before I do, is there anything you would like to tell me you don't want Endeavour to know."
Where to start, there was so much Touya wanted to say, the heavyweight of secrets constantly sitting on his chest. Instead, he plastered one of the small fake smiles Rei taught him for dealing with uncomfortable questions. "No sir."
Aizawa left, presumably to get the nurse and his father.
Carefully Touya began to take into account why he might be in the hospital. He hadn't been training especially hard, not with Rei teetering and Fuyumi pleading with him to stay close to home in case something happened while Endeavour was at work. And the burns he got last week were healing without needing to go to see a doctor. For the most part, Touya had learnt over the years which injuries couldn't be healed at home. Touya was lucky enough that his quirk doctor was willing to patch him up, without telling Endeavour. No, Touya would never have been able to train as much as he did without the help of Dr. Garaki, he really owed the old man a lot. He wondered what had gone wrong this time, Touya had gotten so much better at controlling his quirk. And the last time he had gone to train something really interesting happened with his fire, which Touya couldn't wait to show Endeavour. He had made progress so why was he in the hospital?
But as the drugs wore off, the memory of that girl and weirdo in the bird mask started to come back. Touya's breath hitched as he remembered that empty sensation, the feeling of coming up for air after holding your breath for too long underwater, coupled with foreign electricity. It all had just been so wrong, a consequence for a crime Touya didn't know he committed. He had activated his quirk immediately afterward, in part to return a feeling, any feeling. The flames an old friend that wiped out the eerie darkness, as Touya felt himself pulled back in a body that for once in his life, felt too cold. Later, Touya used the same fire to protect the girl the villain called Eri. After the stone arm crashed into him, Touya didn't remember much else; he just hoped Eri had gotten out too.
Touya's arms tingled an oddly numb prickling feeling, spreading the level of hurt unevenly across his body. In some areas, a throbbing, where the light bedsheet's slightest movement threatened a new burst of a sharp jabbing pain, in others only a hollow emptiness. And Touya knew which scared him more.
Pain indicated feeling, and the nothingness was way worse. Ever since he learnt that his quirk was harming him, nerve damage had been amongst his greatest fears. Something about not being able to feel anything always scared him. Heroes needed to feel things and to understand others' pain was what made heroes able to help people in need, or at least that's what Rei taught him.
The sound of the door opening, signalling the UA teacher had returned, broke Touya's train of thought.
"Wow what happened to your face." Endeavour stood in the door, equally swathed in bandages. "Gross, nasty injury you got, looks like it hurt."
Endeavour gave him a look Touya knew meant he would be in trouble later, but with other people around, he would be safe for a while at least. Pushing aside later worries Touya grinned at his father's annoyance. The old practice of getting Endeavour's attention by being the household's biggest pest, more an unconscious reaction now.
He wondered who could have injured his father so heavily. Whoever it was, they must have been a really powerful villain to get Endeavour in a state in which he needed the hospital. Curiously, Endeavour looked just as surprised to see Touya.
"Are you really Touya?"
"Who else would I be?" Touya looked at Endeavour confused at what his dad meant. There was only one person Touya could be, his son.
"Tell me something only Touya would know."
"Um," Touya had to pause and think, trying but failing miserably to brush off the sharp sting that his dad had to question his identity. "We used to play shogi in the evenings."
"Too vague, shogi is a popular game, many families play in the evening."
"What do you want me to say?" Touya felt panic rise to close his throat, tears hanging on the edge. There were other people in the room. If he misspoke, Touya would get himself and his dad in trouble. "Do you want me to tell you about how you asked if I dyed my hair when I was six? Or how when I got my quirk, you took me for mochi because that's what your parents did when you got your quirk. Or how yesterday you slammed the door in my face because I could never be as good as S—"
"That's enough." His dad didn't apologize for his doubt, but Touya hadn't really expected one.
"Touya, what I am about to tell you will come as a shock." Aizawa leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets while watching Touya intensely. "You were in an accident." That much was obvious, and if that's what they wanted to call what happened an accident, he could play along. But the fear in Eri's eyes hadn't been caused by any accident. Just like his burns on his arms were always an 'accident.'
"You were in a fire. We aren't sure exactly what happened afterwards, but a large amount of time has passed since Sekoto." Sekoto? But it had been over a week since he had been there last. Fuyumi had begged him to stay closer to home since mom started acting weird around Shouto.
"How long?"
"Touya," his father's voice snapped him back, "control yourself, what's the last thing you remember?" Endeavour's large hand patted out the smoking sheet. Touya didn't even realize he had activated his quirk.
"Apologies" despite the tremor in his hands, Touya was proud that his voice didn't falter, nothing his father hated more than mumbling "I was helping Fuyumi with dinner since" Touya pause to look at Endeavour a fit of old anger rising "mom was busy with you and Shouto."
The temperature in the room skyrocketed, whether from his quirk or his father's Touya didn't know.
"Then it's been over ten years." Touya's heart did an odd little jump, and the monitor made some alarming noises. Ten years. He had been gone for ten years. He would have been twenty-five, Fuyumi and Natsuo would be all grown up, even Shouto would be older than him now. It wasn't fair, and Touya sensed a deep-seated injustice, he had been robbed of his own experiences.
"Where was I?" Why didn't Endeavour come to save him? Ten years should have been enough time to find him if Touya had gone missing. Endeavour was the number two hero for a reason. With a higher amount of arrests than All Might, Endeavour was the better hero. And his father. Why hadn't they found him, did they look?
"Dead"
"How?" Touya turned to look at his father, but Endeavour refused to meet his eyes. 'Please just look at me' if thoughts could scream the room would be flooded in anguished cries. At that moment his mind was like cardboard, soaking in the information and losing its structure all at once. But Touya pushed it all down, he would not let Endeavour see how weak he truly was.
"You tried to learn Prominence Burn when I specifically told you that your body couldn't handle that type of heat."
Only one thought buzzed in his mind. "Did I? Was I able to do it?"
"No."
Endeavour's single word, a stone-cold hammer to his chest.
Oh, Touya's world came into a new clarity. Not even the mighty Endeavour could save someone from being dead. Touya had always known it would be his quirk that killed him. Never questioned it really, the knowledge lurking in the back of his mind, whispering weakness into every move he tried to make. However, Touya had thought he was smart enough, knew his body well enough, to survive past the age of fifteen. A laugh bubbled out before he could stop it. At the same time, tears dripped freely. So he really had lost the race against Shouto.
"Touya." Aizawa moved closer from his place on the wall, a flowered handkerchief in hand. "I'm sorry for not being able to save you earlier, but honestly, we didn't even know you were with the Hassaikai until afterwards. I hope you can forgive us for not being there for you when you needed a hero."
Touya quickly wiped his eyes "Thanks, and I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting that."
The concerned look on Aizawa's face didn't change "no one is expecting you to be fine receiving news like this. We can offer you counselling to help you process this. And for the time being, it has been decided that you should stay at UA for your safety."
"UA? I applied before I died" the word tasted like ash in his mouth "is there any chance I could resume my studies?" if there was a new hope at becoming a hero, Touya was determined to seize it.
"No." Endeavour cut in, "that's still a path that is not open to you, Touya."
Touya had to stop himself from wincing at the words. This wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time Touya heard his father say that. But Endeavour was told he could never surpass All Might, that didn't stop his dad from trying and Touya was determined to not do any less. Just being at UA meant he could learn from watching. Touya would practice whatever he learnt later, in private.
"Perhaps, if you can prove to us that you can use your quirk without hurting yourself."
The corners of his mouth twitched up in a grin, even as Endeavour sent a scowl at Aizawa. He was starting to like this teacher from UA. "Then when can I leave."
"The same time as me, since security is an issue at the moment, you will stay at home while I'm in recovery and return with Shouto to UA on Monday."
Despite the burns on his cheeks, Touya never thought he smiled wider. Now it was Endeavour's turn to watch him.
