The faint sound of cars honking and the bustle of the street outside wakes me. I open my eyes, glancing around my dimly lit room. Touya has his arm around me as we lay naked under the bedsheets. I'm laying with my back facing him, his face behind my head. I recall our drunk night of love making and can't help but blush. I try to sneak out of his grasp but he quickly pulls me back in.
"Stay…" he grumbles.
I blink a few times and just lay there with him. His hand reaches mine, intertwining our fingers. The clock on my nightstand reads 10:34am.
"Time to get up…" I say.
"What's the rush?" Touya grumbles.
"Don't you have villain stuff to do?"
"The League can kiss my ass."
"Ah, yes, very villain-like."
Touya can't help but chuckle a bit. He pulls me closer to him, burying his face into my hair.
"I can stay like this all day…" he says.
I smile as I hold his hand close to my face.
"Do you remember when we first met?" I ask.
"Yeah…" Touya replies.
Touya and his father are riding in the back of a limousine this morning.
"So are you gonna train me or not?" Touya exclaims.
"You know why I can't," Enji reminds him.
"It's only some burns…" Touya grumbles.
"It's for your own good."
Touya crosses his arms and Enji sighs.
"Today I'm taking you to meet someone," Enji says.
Touya just turns his gaze out the window, still upset that his father doesn't want to train him. They finally arrive at the gates of a facility. The guards grant the limousine access and open the black gates for them to drive in. Touya peers out the tinted window and sees the massive facility, many guards standing by.
"Whoa…" Touya is in awe. "Where are we?"
"The Hero Public Safety Commission," his father replies. "This is a building of theirs, also used as a training facility."
"Cool!" Touya grins.
After parking, Enji and Touya make their way inside where some guards escort them to an office. Inside, an older woman sits at a desk, looking through some files.
"Enji," she looks up.
"How is she doing?" Enji asks.
"She's been losing control every so often since her quirk manifested a few months ago."
"Has she shown signs of improvement?"
"Very little so far...I'm hoping this plan of yours works. Otherwise this girl will be deemed too dangerous."
"She hasn't interacted with any children since she's been with you these four years. I'm sure introducing Touya to her would help put her at ease."
"Just please don't put her in any distress. It triggers her quirk. I don't want another incident like last week."
"We'll be careful," Enji nods.
The President signals the guards.
"Take them to her," she instructs. "I'm busy with meetings this morning and won't be able to observe. Please notify me of your observations."
"I will," Enji nods.
The guards escort Touya and his father out of the office, walking down a hall.
"So why are we here again?" Touya asks.
"We're here to help someone," Enji replies. "She's a year younger than you. Her quirk manifested shortly after she turned four a few months ago in December."
The guards open the doors to an atrium. It's fairly vast, almost like a resort with rows of hedges, plants and trees. The guards stop by some tall hedges and turn to Enji and Touya.
"We'll stop here," a guard tells Enji. "The guards tend to be a trigger for her. She knows you better so you should be fine on your own."
"Thanks," Enji replies. "Come on," he nudges Touya.
Touya nods and follows after his father. They make their way around some tall hedges toward a fountain surrounded by a pond. There's a bench some yards away where I'm sitting by myself, my back to them.
"Wait here…" Enji tells Touya.
I'm staring at the fountain as it spews water, making ripples in the pond. I hear someone approaching which makes me nervous. To my surprise, it's someone familiar.
"Hi, Mr. Todoroki," I shyly beam up.
"Hello," Enji gives me a soft smile. "How are you today?"
"I'm okay. Haven't had any incidents yet this week!"
"That's good. You're making progress it seems."
I give him a shy smile.
"There's someone I want you to meet," Enji says.
"Hm?" I raise a brow.
Enji waves someone over. I turn and see a boy running over to us. I become a little nervous as I scoot away on the bench.
"It's alright," Enji reassures. "This is my son."
"Your...son?" I'm in awe.
"Hi!" Touya exclaims. "I'm Touya! My dad is Endeavour, the Flame Hero!"
His high energy makes me a bit anxious. I see the resemblance in the spiky crimson hair and turquoise eyes. His hair seems to be fading into white, though. I turn my worried gaze up to Enji and he gives me a comforting smile.
"I'm Akira," I nervously say.
"I hear you've manifested your quirk!" Touya says. "Let me show you mine!"
Touya holds his fist up, bright flames flaring from his forearm up. I stare in awe at the pretty flames, reaching my hand out to grab his hand.
"I'm burning you!" Touya can't get me to let go.
"No you're not," I reassure him.
Enji observes as Touya sees that my hand isn't burning while I hold it. Touya stares in awe while I'm entertained by his flames.
"Your skin…" Touya questions. "You're not...burnt."
"It's my quirk," I reply. "It makes me fireproof."
"What's your quirk?"
"Um...Um…" I nervously rub my hands together. "What's it called again, Mr. Todoroki?"
"Nuclear energy," Enji kindly reminds me.
"What's that?" Touya asks.
I hold up my glowing hand and aim at a statue that's inside the pond. A ray of golden energy blasts from my hand with strong recoil, destroying the statue.
"Sorry…" I'm nervous. "I can't control it well yet, so I'm training here."
"That's your quirk?" Touya quietly says as he stares at the destroyed statue.
I fidget my fingers, my shoulders hunching, nervous that I've scared him. Everyone at this facility seems scared of me because of my quirk. I start to feel a bit of panic as I figure I'll be punished.
"It's awesome!" Touya exclaims with a jump.
"Huh?" I'm surprised at his reaction.
"That was so cool!" he grins.
"You're...not scared?"
"No way! I think it's really cool!"
I blink at him a few times, looking up at Enji. He looks pleased that I'm getting along well with Touya.
"How long have you been here?" Touya asks.
"I've been at this place since I got my quirk," I reply. "But I've been with the Commission since I was born."
"Really? That's a long time. Don't you have a family?"
I shake my head.
"No family…" Touya wonders. "Doesn't that make you sad?"
I give him a shrug. Touya stares at me in awe with his lidded eyes.
"We can train to control our quirks together!" Touya suggests. "And we'll become friends!"
"Friends?" My brows slowly rise.
"Yup!" Touya nods excitedly. "Right, dad?"
I glance up at Enji and he nods. I'm now more at ease, having made my first friend. A soft small smile spreads across my face too.
I smile to myself after recalling when we first met.
"You scared the hell outta me when you first touched my flames," Touya says.
"I did," I giggle.
"You were so lonely before then, weren't you?"
"I was…You were six, right?"
"Yeah I had just turned six in January."
"You were smaller for your age...I thought you were the same age as me."
"You'd always mess with me when it came to rough housing for it."
"It was training," I joke.
"Uh huh. Right."
Touya and I laugh a bit.
"I'm glad I was able to be there for you…" he says.
"And it was because of your dad," I reply.
Touya becomes quiet at the mention of his father.
"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have experienced the little bit of childhood I had," I continue. "I wouldn't have had you or your family...I would've stayed alone."
"You had that feathery bastard eventually."
"Even so...I'm grateful for what your father did for me. I don't think I would've been the same person I am today...I would've been colder, without emotions...But you and your family prevented that...Even if it didn't last long."
"That still doesn't change what he did."
My heart sinks at how Touya resents his father when he used to have so much love for him. It's true. The damage Enji did to Touya and his family was devastating - all because he became consumed in his ambition, especially after Shoto was born.
"What're you thinking about?" Touya asks.
"I just wonder…" I reply. "How things would've turned out if you hadn't disappeared."
Touya thinks for a moment then holds me closer. I smile sorrowfully, wishing things could go back to the way they were.
"I know you must've gone through a lot…" I continue. "But you still haven't told me where you were this whole time...and why you didn't show up sooner."
"It's...really a long story…" Touya hesitates.
Touya stays quiet. I figure he finds it difficult to recall the trauma.
"It's alright," I kiss his hand. "You can tell me when you're ready."
"But I will say that I've been watching you…" he finally says.
"You've been watching me?" I'm confused.
"When you were housed with the Commission, I wasn't able to get close to you…So I laid low. Until you finally left them and moved out on your own. That's when I was able to keep a closer eye on you… I followed you almost every night that I could when you left work...to make sure you got home safely."
"So for almost a year, you watched me from afar?"
"Yeah…"
"You stalker," I tease.
Touya lightly laughs with me as he brings me closer to him. I can't help but feel loved as I think of him having watched over me this whole time.
"If I could've, I would've revealed myself to you sooner…" Touya continues. "But...I couldn't let you see me like this...with my skin…I was afraid you'd be horrified."
Touya leans his forehead against the back of my head.
"I'm...relieved that you still love me…" he admits.
"That'll never change…" I reassure him.
Touya keeps his head close to mine. I think that a part of him still feels unworthy to be loved by me.
"I'm just so happy that you're alive…" I hold his hand close to my face.
A tear drops from my eye on Touya's hand which he responds by gently pressing his head against mine and kisses the back of my shoulder.
It's late in the evening now. Touya and I finished dinner together and are now watching television in my living room. I'm sitting close to Touya on the white sofa. The lights are off as we watch a horror movie. I reach for my phone and open my text messages. Keigo hasn't responded to the text I sent him this morning for his birthday. I know he's busy but that always makes me worry. My attention returns to the television screen. The woman on screen cautiously approaches a doorway as ominous music plays. She trembles as she's scared to find out what's inside the room. Suddenly the woman screams with a jolt as a masked man pounces her from behind. At the same time, Touya grabs my shoulders and causes me to flinch and let out a small shriek.
"Touya!" I hit him with a pillow.
"I couldn't resist," Touya chuckles as he blocks my hit.
"You've got some nerve," I pout.
Touya takes the pillow and pulls me into him. I lean on him as we continue to watch the movie.
"I gotta admit," he says. "You're pretty cute when you get scared."
"Shut up," I scoff with a laugh.
Touya lightly chuckles as he pats my arm gently. We continue to watch the movie. After some time, Touya lets out an annoyed sigh and I turn to him in wonder.
"Is something wrong?" I ask.
"It just pisses me off…" Touya replies. "That I can't take you out."
"What do you mean?" I raise a brow.
"I'm so recognizable that I can't take you places...to enjoy my time with you. Instead, we gotta be cooped up here…I'm sorry I can't be a better boyfriend."
I stare up at him for a moment and let out a small smile.
"You don't have to spoil me," I say. "Although a night out at the movies or something would be nice, I'm grateful that you're here with me. That alone is enough."
Touya stares down at my warm smile.
"And you called yourself my boyfriend," I snicker. "How sweet of you," I tease. "A little too sweet for Dabi of the League of Villains, don't ya think?"
"Yeah, yeah," Touya has a faint blush as he turns away.
"Oh! And is that a blush I see?" I sit up and peer toward his face. "Let me see!"
I straddle his thighs as I try to reach for his face. Touya catches my wrists and keeps me from touching him.
"Let me see that blushing face of yours!" I laugh.
"No," he keeps turning his face away.
We keep bantering playfully. Touya then pulls me into his face and begins to kiss me while still holding my wrists.
"Keeping my eyes closed with kisses, huh?" I smile between kisses.
"Mm-hm," Touya keeps kissing me.
Touya lets go of my wrists and places his hands on my hips as we continue to make out. Just then, his phone goes off in his pocket. He ignores it and continues to kiss me.
"Aren't you gonna answer it?" I pull away.
Touya stops and pulls his phone out. After staring at it for a moment, he tosses it aside on the couch and returns his attention to me.
"Won't you get in trouble?" I'm worried.
"It's fine," Touya replies. "My time now is with you."
I stare into Touya's eyes. Despite his reassurance, I still worry that he'll get into trouble and face repercussions. He sees I'm still not convinced and plants a kiss on my mouth. His hands massage my sides as we make out. He then lays me down on the couch and climbs on top of me as his phone continues going off.