Free Beer!

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Now that I got your attention there is no Free Beer but there is a new chapter and new announcement for the upcoming Book Two Chapter 6. Around Chapter 6 and Beyond, I would be following the script that Op Taipan has left me with. However, due to our key strengths when it comes to writing and editing. The Chapters would be shorter than before, due to the fact that I am the new author.

Before we start, a little reminder that Toya Todoroki isn't the firstborn child based on the design of Op Taipan. He is around 13, but his hair is still Red.

Now please enjoy.

The Original work is by Op Taipan.

火

BOOK TWO:

FIRE

CHAPTER FOUR:

A NEW FRIEND

"What I am about to teach you today is probably the most important lesson you will ever learn."

After that single sentence was uttered by Iroh, the entire park seemed to have gone silent. That deafening, non-existent, static ringing filled both children's ears at the same time, almost driving them mad by being there but as the same time not being real.

Izuku had to remind himself that wasn't the case. The glade was already rather quite to begin with; as was expected in the middle of winter.

Massive, gray clouds, their shape abstract and height low hung ominously in the sky above the park, moving slowly with the gentle wind. The sun peeked through a hole in the clouds, its rays creating a spotlight that would've fried their scruffs any other season. Izuku and Jirou were sat at its epicenter, but there was no warmth to be had from it. It was superficial, a fake, providing no real difference to be had.

The cold breeze whistled overhead, carrying with it fallen leaves that wafted gently in the air, dancing almost elegantly as they rubbed against the frozen grass or the bark of a tree. It clashed against their heads, ruffling their hair back and forth. Their cheeks and noses were bright red from the increased blood flow. But the rest of their bodies were snug and warm, protected by thick winter coats that didn't allow the wind to penetrate.

Before the two children, stood the looming figure of Iroh like an imposing statue. The man's expression was stern and grim; and he seemed to be staring straight at the children's souls as he continued talking.

"It is a lost art, ancient, transcending the boundaries of both nations and cultures. It is something that is almost impossible to master, each facet is as deep as the ocean and their varieties are twice as vast. You might think you know of it, or even have to gall to proclaim yourselves adept. But its modern form is nothing but a sham, a pale imitation of the real thing."

Iroh's gaze turned fully onto Izuku, and the boy felt its weight set square on his shoulder.

He squirmed.

"I trust you brought the equipment I requested, Izuku."

Izuku nodded in reverence, "Y-yes sensei." The boy stuttered, but didn't lisp, despite the prominent gap still in his mouth. He extended a shaking hand and plunged it into the backpack at his feet. From his yellow, oversized, All-Might bag, he pulled out a similarly colored grocery bag by the handles. The contents twitched and clattered against each other as the bag swayed in the wind. The air was filled with the sound of clanking metal and glass.

"Good." Iroh affirmed before he brought a hand behind his back. "Then today, I shall teach you…" He brought his hands back in front of him so fast, it almost caused the children whiplash. They stared wide-eyed at the instrument Iroh held as he boomed out:

"…How to make tea!"

The natural line that was Iroh's mouth up until now was gone, replaced by a wide, goofy grin. In his hands, Iroh held an ethereal blue pot like it was the holy grail. It had a spout, an indigo swirl on either side of a similarly colored lid, and a wooden handle tied together by string. A spirit-kettle.

"Don't hype us up so much and then say that with such a face!" Jirou spluttered.

The dopey smile did not leave Iroh's face despite the callout. In fact, the man appeared to have completely ignored Jirou, as he put his focus on materializing other ethereal blue utensils out of thin air. First came a table, then a tablecloth, followed by the kettle, a tap of water, and a bundle of different leaves; all arranged by shape and color (That appeared to be various shades of blue to Jirou's eyes).

"B-but sensei!" Izuku coughed up, somehow breathless. He stumbled up to his feet with a clumsy jump, an almost panicked look on his face. "What about Firebending practice?" He asked urgently. "I still haven't made any progress. Now's not the time to make tea!" He argued, antsy energy spreading across his body as he began to bounce in place.

Jirou watched Izuku. He was anxious, energy building at the ball of his feet with nowhere to go but downwards. His fists were at his side, clenched; and his eyes glimmered with resolve.

Iroh was as good-natured as ever as he answered Izuku back, his nonsensical smile still in place. "Quite the contrary, young Avatar, now is the perfect time to make tea." He refuted, holding up one finger, "You have been working tirelessly for weeks now without stopping. That is not good. I thought you would take the days I do not train you off, but it came to my attention you kept practicing without me."

Izuku recoiled, "How do you know that?"

"Oh. I have my ways." Iroh waved the question off. "But that is not important right now. What is, is for you to take a break? The time is already past due for you to stop and unwind yourself."

Izuku wanted to protest. To argue he wasn't tired and still go on, but he knew arguing wouldn't lead him anywhere. He wasn't good with debates. Much less so against someone like Iroh, who spat out more wisdom than Kacchan did actually spit whenever he got angry.

"Fine." He muttered, resigned.

Iroh nodded in approval. "Good. I hope in the future you will take days off more readily. You should, at the very least, take one day a week for yourself." He then turned to Jirou, a slight playfulness etching in his voice. "Kyoka, I trust you to keep an eye on him and make sure he does rest when I am not around."

Jirou saluted him with two fingers.

Iroh chuckled but stopped when he noticed Izuku's shoulders were still slumped, as if disappointed or ashamed. His brows were scrunched, a deep crease formed between them. But his eyes were unfocused, staring at nowhere in particular.

The old man's features softened. "There is nothing wrong with taking a break, Izuku. Sometimes you even need it. The best way to solve a problem you are struggling with is to let it go and return to it rejuvenated and with a new perspective."

The boy's eyes returned to focus. He looked up at Iroh, eyes shimmering, and gave a strong nod.

"Oh…I get it…" Jirou hummed, slamming a fist onto her palm, "We are making tea to help Izuku relax, then. So he can come back to training all refreshed and with a better mindset?"

"Ah, yes, that too…" Iroh's face froze for a second in an eager smile before he cut his bearings and put his 'teacher face' back on. "I mean yes."

The purple-headed girl raised a skeptical brow. 'There's an ulterior motive here...'

The wind tugged at Touya's crimson hair as he walked through the bustling street, it bobbed his messy tufts up and down, left, and right, pushing his uneven bangs further up his head and exposed his forehead. It tried to assault him, to press hard against his face and crawl its way deep into his thin coat mercilessly. Yet Touya could not be bothered by it any less. The cold never really bothered him much. It was something he usually attributed to his fire quirk with a loud, prideful, shout and a puffed chest.

Now though, he just walked quietly, hands in his pocket as he idly counted his steps.

Sneaking out of the house wasn't too hard. Touya has been doing it long before he caught his father's attention. If anything, now it was easier. The nannies didn't pay as much attention to him now that he was with Endeavor most of the time. And with the hero gone to work, it was a matter of child's play. All it took was a well-timed sprint through the front gate when no one was looking, and he had to liberty to do as he pleased.

Usually, he'd go to an arcade or something, there was no shortage of things to do when you had his allowance, but he found he wasn't in the mood today. 'Not that I could go to the arcade even if I wanted to…' he winced, taking out his hands from his pockets and examining the bright pinks splotches that speckled the usually pearly skin.

For now, though, he found just walking to be enough. He was content with stuffing his stinging hands back into his pockets and just watching the city role by him.

His feet led him into a shopping district, bustling with the activity one would expect from a weekend. It was loud; but not unbearable. A perpetual background noise rang against his ears, a meddle of hurried footsteps, hushed conversations, the occasional revving of a car's engine among other sounds.

He walked past a greengrocer, resupplying his cabbages on a rack. On the other side of the street was a vacant shop, on its dirty glass window was posted a sign that read: 'for sale'.

'I don't recognize any of this stuff… just how long have I been walking for?' Touya hummed to himself as he left the district behind, 'Tatooine shopping district?' He read the sign at the street's entrance, 'Yep. Definitely haven't been here before…'

Touya took a sharp left, followed by a right at a T-junction, followed by another turn left into a side street. The pre-teen had no destination in mind. He kept taking random turns, treading through side streets and alleys without a care. He was undoubtedly walking around in circles through a cluster of blocks. A couple of times he found himself back at the shopping district.

Emerging from yet another alleyway, he found himself in a main street. He didn't think he went here before. Surely, he would remember the park that stretched across the other side of the road.

With nowhere better to go, Touya crossed the streets swiftly and entered the park. The transition was almost seamless. There was no fence. One moment he was on a paved sidewalk, the next his shoes crushed overgrown grass. He craned his neck upwards, glancing above. He was under a canopy, woven together by interlocking gray and brown branches. At spring, Touya was sure it would've looked like a screen of green. Now though, with all the deciduous trees that made this part of the park, it was more akin to an abstract macrame.

He was in the shade. No thanks to the perforated canopy, but the thick veil of gray clouds above. He grimaced, 'It might rain soon… it would suck to be caught in it.'. Still, Touya made no effort turning back.

He took in a breath, his eyes shut. The air was crisp and cool, with a strong undertone of healthy, fertile dirt alongside rotten leaves. It almost smelled like the gardens at home, but more natural. Without the hint of processed wood and man-made fertilizer. His lips craned upwards.

His legs led him deeper, crushing fallen leaves and branches in nonchalance as he deviated from the treaded path. The noise of the city behind him faded, overtaken by the sound of his footsteps, the chirping of birds, and the faint conversation in the distance with what sounded like two children.

"…has a point you know… you've been at it nonstop since your dad left…" One voice said, a girl, with a twitch of concern.

"I know…" Another voice, this time that of a young boy, whined in exasperation. "But I just hate doing nothing. It feels like I'm wasting time…"

"…I get it…I'm like that too when I don't play something for too long" The girl spoke again. "…But you can do other stuff, too. And, if I'm honest, it gets boring not doing anything when I'm not in the mood to make music and you're still at it."

"What?! I'm so sorry!" The boy shouted in alarm, loud enough for Touya to hear without issue.

The kid went on a short tangent, but Touya blocked whatever they said out. It wasn't his business, so he wouldn't eavesdrop. Besides, they returned to a normal volume rather quickly, no reason to crane his ears.

Still, he made no special effort to move away from their general direction either.

If he'll bump into them, so be it. He'll just pass by them.

The flora at his feet became thicker as he went, bushes grew denser and taller, and the trees' variety slowly shifted away from the deciduous kind and more towards the ever-green spectrum. He began to squeeze his way through, walking slowly and trying his best to swivel around obstacles. He had to brush aside pointy branches and leaves away to continue forward. They pocked and stabbed at his face and arms, leaving white scruff marks on both skin and cloth.

A branch poked him in the eye and almost took it out.

"Shit!" Touya grunted and held a hand over his socket. A barely stifled barrage of curses left his mouth as he stumbled in the undergrowth.

He burst out of the bushes, leaves stuck in his hair and tear-filled eyes held in his hands. The two voices stopped talking, and after the branches behind him stopped rustling, Touya found himself in relative silence. Rubbing his face clean of tears, he raised his hands to dust off his hair, slowly blinking his eyes open.

Touya was in front of two children, a boy and a girl, nestled in the middle of a secluded glade. The kids stared at him with mouths agape, frozen in place like statutes.

The boy was pouring the girl a cup of tea. But his attention was elsewhere, and the light-green liquid overflowed and spilled out of the paper cup. The girl ignored the tea that spilled on her hands.

But something was wrong. The two kids weren't completely frozen, they weren't just looking at him. It was hard to notice, but both the kids' pupils darted frantically in their sockets, one moment pointed at him, the next at something to their left Touya didn't see.

Confused, Touya followed their gaze to a spot previously outside his peripheral.

That's when he saw it.

There, resting under the veil of an oak tree, was one, massive, monster; its chest rhythmically rising and falling. Touya slowly blinked at the beast, struggling to process what he was seeing.

Thick, short, brown fur. Impossibly muscular frame, with thick legs and broad shoulders. Naked, pink, tail, that swished slowly and randomly, occasionally batting the ground and sending out a small tremor. Dark, glistening, claws; each dwarfing his own minuscule torso.

A guttural groan broke its way through the creature's mouth, and Touya felt his intestines drop. The sound was low and loud, rattling the redhead's ribcage as it passed through and leaving it frozen and shattered.

There was a beat. Touya stared petrified at the slumbering beast, heart hammering in his chest. His legs trembled beneath him, the weight of his terror proving to be too much to bear.

He screamed. Loud, and high pitched, and way more feminine than he would ever confess to.

He turned to bolt, swiveling so fast he became nauseous. But before he made it to the tree line, something small and heavy tackled him from behind. Arms wrapped around his waist and Touya found his face intimately close to the ground.

It was the boy. The hedge headed hooligan pressed Touya against the ground, his fingernails digging deep into the fabric of his coat and refusing to let go.

"What are you doing?!" The pre-teen demanded with an indecorous shout. He struggled against the child's iron grip, trying to role over the boy and force his hold loose.

Miraculously, the kid didn't budge. Frustrated, Touya tried batting him away with clumsy slaps.

"Let me go!"

"No!" The boy hollered, "I won't let you!"

Touya's eyes became bloodshot. "Are you trying to kill me?!" He hissed, trying to elbow the little green menace off him. It felt like hitting rocks. The child didn't even flinch.

Touya tried to get up, stopping abusing his own elbows in favor of pushing himself away from the ground. The kid began to get up as well, his hands climbing up his shirt like a ladder. He felt the child's hands, sweaty, and sticky, and gross, clinging to his face.

Touya scrambled to his feet with a jumpstart, bringing his hands up over the child's. The kid's little digests poked and prodded at his features chaotically, and Touya's intervention wasn't helping himself any bit. Finger wrestled each other for dominance over his face.

Damn the consequences for the battlefield.

Touya's right eye was poked by his own fingernail. The child was tugging at his lower lip. Someone's finger was up his nose.

The battle raged, and through some miracle, Touya managed to find the child's wrists, and pull up. The good news, Touya drove the prodding fingers off his face. The bad news, they were now pulling his hair.

Hard.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Touya yowled, still gripping the greenette's wrists and trying to pry him off.

Touya tried to run.

The kid was thrashing, and shifting, and kicking at Touya's back. He had a fistful of hair in each hand, using them to steer the pre-teen in a style very reminiscent to a Pixar movie. Touya's head was jerked, his body following its tilt as the kid steered him in circles around the glade. Left. Right. Right. Left. He pulled upwards, and Touya yowled.

He had enough. He took a deep breath and tried to think of a new approach. He pressed his fingers in the spaces between the child's, sandwiching them between the boy's palms and his own hair.

Then, he jerked them upwards, locking the child hands with his own for good measure.

He held the kid's hands triumphantly above his head. He had done it. He planned on shooting a cheesy one-liner before letting his hands go, something along the lines off 'Seems like you couldn't get a grip', but they both were slicked with sweat, and before he could try to hold tighter, they slipped against each other.

The kid's hands slipped, and for a blissful moment Touya reveled in the knowledge, and sadistic but justified euphoria, that the menace was flailing his arms helplessly in the air behind him as he fell.

Then, he felt them warp around his neck, and he regrated every life choice he ever made.

The gravity hit him like a truck, almost making just how hard it felt to be smacked by the kid's falling forearms a second note. The weight bent his back backwards; to a degree his spine ached, and his vertebrae popped. But he stayed standing.

If you consider the limbo position 'standing'.

He winced as his back straightened 'I'm gonna feel that tomorrow'. He tried to grip the child's forearms, which were cold, and rough, and hard for some reason. But he gave up that endeavor quickly when he got no results.

Desperate, he tried his best to ignore the child dangling from his neck behind him and made a straight dash in a random direction.

To be fair, it wasn't his greatest plan. Honestly, it wasn't much of a plan at all. But it was something that might get him the hell out of this place.

And at this point, he'll take it.

He made a couple of large strides without issue, and the hope he might actually get out of there began to bloom deep in his chest. But then, it wilted before it got the chance to properly blossom.

His legs hit something, thin and stiff and somewhat hard. He was tripped, falling to the ground, and eating dirt once again.

The kid finally let go. The momentum of Touya's crash launching him a bit forward before he too, kissed the ground.

Pushing himself off the ground with a groan, dizzy and dazed, Touya titled his neck to look behind him.

The girl, the one with the purple hair, was standing there so that he was to her right. She looked at him over her shoulder, the most unimpressed expression imaginable on her face. As if she knew he tried to snort his milkshake when he was three or something, but that was impossible. She didn't know him.

Not to mention nobody could ever know. Everyone that did were blackma-sworn to secrecy.

Touya didn't know why -that's a lie he did know- that look on her face straight up pissed him off. She stood right where he was sure he lost his balance, one of her legs extended in front of her.

The sound of rustling leaves shifted his still somewhat stunned attention back to the kid who rode him. The boy was getting up with a moan of his own, spitting up some dirt and wiping his mouth with a sleeve. It was the first time Touya got a good look at him. Big eyes, freckles, baby-like cheeks, and solid stone wrapped around his arms from wrists to shoulders. That explained Touya's newly bruised elbows, along some other things, but he didn't linger on that detail.

He had other things to worry about.

His fear momentarily forgotten, Touya felt his blood boil. Jumping to his feet, he stomped his way to the boy and stood in his face, practically joining foreheads with him.

The kid took a step back, clearly uncomfortable with the proximity. But Touya was too worked up to care. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He screamed, straight into the other boy's face.

The runt's head shot back faster than a whiplash. His hands were at his sides, shot halfway upwards as if his first instinct were to raise them up in an attempt of placation.

Touya didn't pay any attention to that. He was too busy jabbing his fingers in the boy's glistening eyes to care. "You just jump on my back like some monkey! Poke me in the eye! Shove my own finger up my nose!-" He didn't miss the way the girl's lips pulled in disgust in his peripheral. "-Then, you pull on my hair! Ride me like a steed! And almost choke me! What am I?! A freaking horse?!"

Almost as abruptly as he got in the greenette's face, Touya swiveled, hair swishing and teeth grinding, and turned an accusing finger at the other person, the girl; her face remaining a frozen blasé. "And you!" He barked, spit flying out of his mouth. "You just stand there! Watching without a care, and then you trip me!" His arms waved uncontrollably in the air; his feet stomped the ground. He was too worked up to care he looked like a child throwing a tantrum. Well, he was a child throwing a tantrum. But he had one thing to say to the two lunatics; and the urge to say it overpowered any other rational thought.

"Are you two crazy?!" He demanded, holding hedge-head by the scruff of his shirt. He threw his other arm to the side, gesturing to where the giant was supposed to be asleep. "Or are you trying to get us eaten by the mons-"

Touya froze.

He felt something new. Hot, and moist, and stinky air being blown at his nape like a small gust; accompanied by a low, gruff, huff. He turned his head, slowly, to face the source.

His heart stopped beating.

He stared at his own terrified reflection, his visage mirrored in the two, giant, unseeing, milky white eyes. Those eyes blinked slowly, almost owlishly, but Touya could still feel himself being their sole focus. The creature brought its head closer, taking a single step that rattled the ground Touya was rooted to in fear. Its' whiskers, long and white, poked Touya's face like numerous tiny knives and he could feel the air around him growing slightly cooler as the beast took short intakes of breath through its snout.

It was sniffing Touya; examining him as if to determine if he's a worthwhile meal. And when those empty eyes shifted from curious to a grimace and a snarl escaped the beast's mouth; he felt his heart drop to his stomach.

Touya couldn't stop himself.

He screamed.

Behind him, as his scream only intensified in volume, the two children shared a look. They're going to be here for a while.

Calming the intruding redhead, as it was, proved to be a far more difficult task than Jirou sighed up for; what with all the thrashing, yelling, creative-name-calling, and cursing.

It was so bad she had to stop for a second and remind herself that a reaction like that was at the very least apt, considering the circumstances. One simply does not see a giant truck-sized Badger monster every day, after all. And wasn't that little tidbit terrifying. Her life had become so outlandish she thought that. She. Was. Actually. Taking. It. For. Granted.

She blamed Midoriya.

Speaking off, the greenette himself wasn't really being helpful. The redhead's shouting and ire had overwhelmed him, and the boy remained frozen and with a look on his face as if he had just kicked a puppy by accident.

You'd think having Bakugou as a classmate would grant you some immunity to shouting children, but apparently not. At least not in Midroiya's case.

He was eventually shaken out of it when the newcomer began to scream. But instead of trying to calm him down, Midoriya started to apologize profusely; managing a rapid fire of six SPS (Sorrys Per Second) seemingly without taking a single breath.

She knew he was taking breathing exercises from Iroh, but damn.

He just wouldn't stop. His words were becoming garbled one over the other as he bowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness.

The redhead continued screaming, though, not paying any mind to Midoriya's mumbo jumbo. Jirou could actually hear them both. She was almost impressed.

Thankfully, unlike Midoriya, Jirou was more difficult to phase, and she still had her head on her shoulders. And so, it up to her to do something and get the ball rolling.

Again.

She sighed heavily, pulling on her earlobes, before dropping them and striding towards Midoriya menacingly. Her eyes glinted with something fierce, jacks almost slithering in the air.

She'd lied if she said she wasn't smirking somewhat.

One beating jack in his ear later saw him shushed and snapped up of his apology high. Now at least he could be useful and help her calm the redhead down.

Her part, specifically, included giving him the same treatment and watching him writhe for a second before he flopped down. Then, before he could get up and go on another tangent- this time directed at her- she pointed out to him Chima wasn't interested in him anymore.

The Badgermole had already returned to napping. He was slumped beneath the shade of a tree, ignoring the three children whilst sleepily scratching his ear with a paw.

That got the newcomer to quite down somewhat, at least he stopped screaming. Though, saying he completely calmed down was a stretch. In place of primal panic came confusion and a demand for answers. The one at the top of the list being, and she quotes: 'Why the fuck there's a truck-sized furball in a public park?!'.

Jirou didn't think she'd ever seen Midoriya that offended before.

Still, Jirou couldn't really hold it against him. And she supposes that her and Midoriya do owe him an explanation at the very least. They did just shave a decade or so off the redhead's lifespan.

Not to mention they needed to get the redhead to keep Chima's existence to himself.

That's where Midoriya came in, he was better at that stuff.

The three of them sat down together in a circle, Midoriya practically shoving a cup of tea into the redhead's hands, and they started talking. They didn't tell him everything, obviously. If they even told him half of the full story, or anyone for that matter, they were pretty sure they'd be in an asylum within the week.

Instead, the focus was on Chima. Midoriya was not above omitting details and sugar-coating facts. Time and time again he iterated how Chima would never hurt a fly (Lie. if you just so much as touched a strand of hair on Midoriya's head you were screwed); how he always avoided people and how him finding them here was a one-time fluke (True). He even gone so far as to mention the abuse the Badgermole suffered at the hands of humans, pointing to the lengthy, pink scar on his paw. A matching set to one of his own. Of course, he didn't tell the redhead about that, nor about his encounter with the poachers.

Jirou had to give it to him, Midoriya was an expert in amassing sympathy points.

She wasn't entirely sure how the newcomer took it all in, though. He just sat there, eyes wide and lips pressed thin as he listened.

After the story was done, silence loomed over them. Nobody talked as the redhead was digesting, his eyes distant as she and Midoriya impatiently awaited his reaction. Eventually, after seemingly an eternity, the redhead spoke.

"I see." He murmured, quietly; staring at his reflection in the cup he had yet drank from. "You keep him here because he can't be at your home -obviously-, and you hide him because if people found out they'd take him away… At least that explains why you two assaulted me." He huffed, rubbing one of his elbows tenderly; the fabric of the coat over them was rubbed and soiled.

"Though you could've been gentler about it. Or, I don't know, not charge me and talk to me like adults instead?"

Jirou rolled her eyes at him. "First off, we're not adults, so don't come here expecting us to act like ones." She said, deliberately looking at Midoriya with a side glance. "Secondly, you tried to run away, you wouldn't've listened to us, so we had to stop you."

The rea head didn't seem too fond of the retort. He huffed in vexation, narrowing his eyes at her and pressing his lips. If anything, it was more of a childish pout then a real glare.

A response was evidently forming on the redhead's tongue, clearly a snarky one at that. But before he could put it into words, Midoriya got in the way. Being the unconfrontational ball of innocence and good intentions that he was, the greenette got between her and the redhead, blocking each other from their vision.

"I-i-in any c-case." He stammered, his hands raised defensively, "Thank you for listening to us. We don't want Chima to be hurt again. So can you please not tell anyone about him? We are just trying to protect him." Midoriya begged, rising from a low bow to give the redhead a pleading look, his eyes almost comically sparkling and his smile wobbly for good measure.

There was a beat of silence. The redhead didn't say anything, his expression was unreadable from her vantage behind Midoriya's shoulder. The greenette shook in his spot, hands clasped together in prayer as his gaze was locked on the newcomer like a hawk. A green, freckled, desperate, hawk.

The red head let out one big sigh with an almost exaggerated huff. "What the hell? This isn't even my business to begin with." He scratched his nape, feigning disinterest, "Fine. I won't tell anybody."

A weight eerily similar to Chima's left Jirou's shoulders as they sagged with a relieved heave. Midoriya took the news even better. Jirou didn't need to see his face to know what it was like. A wide, toothy, smile lit up the boy's face. His eyes shimmed with unshed, relieved tears. "Thank you! Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you so much!" He practically squealed, bouncing on the balls of his feet jubilantly.

Jirou knew that if they hadn't just met the him, Midoriya would've probably hugged him until he choked.

"Don't mention it." The redhead waved off Midoriya's gratitude, opting instead to finally try his tea. By now, the tea was more than likely lukewarm, but the redhead didn't seem to care as he used a single hand to bring to cup to his lips. He froze at the first sip. And Midoriya let out a silent gasp, thinking he didn't like it.

Jirou was sure she imagined it, but for a second, she thought she saw the redhead's eye shimmer. Then, his lips etched slightly upwards, and, at once, the redhead titled his head back and downed the entire cup, now holding it with two hands with care. "That's some good tea."

Midoriya's beamed at the complement, his freckled cheeks flushed. "Thanks!" He chirped, plunging his hand into a plastic bag at his feet and rummaging there for something. "I also brought some cookies!" He exclaimed as he pulled the aforementioned sweets out, "You want some?"

The redhead, as every person who's offered sweets ought to do, agreed without second thought. "Don't mind if I do!" He said, almost straight-faced, as he plucked a confectionery out of Midoriya's hand in a remarkable showmanship of etiquette.

Jirou rolled her eyes but took a cookie for herself anyways. They each got a tea refill, and the snack time that was cut short by the redhead earlier resumed.

All three failed to notice the clouds above them darkening. The wind got stronger, and the humidity increased substantially as a strong scent of ozone filled the air.

The fist droplet, small and light, fell on Midoriya's nose. He wrinkled it. He craned his head up to the sky and saw the hoary clouds looming above. Then, a second droplet came. It landed in Jirou's teacup, dripping into the green liquid with a splash, sending ripples. More and more droplets came, hitting them indiscriminately.

Behind the redhead, Chima woke with a groan. He let out a low whine when he realize what was happening.

"Rain?! Aww… Now?! I don't want to get my hair all wet!" Midoriya's tone was oddly reminiscent to his pet. He shielded his head with his yellow backpack, before he remembered he had one of his notebooks inside and instead protected it with his body.

"Quick! To the cave!" He shouted, taking in his arms everything he could carry before bolting it.

The redhead, his flimsy defense against the rain only his arms, looked confused. Impatiently, Jirou took his hand and practically dragged him after her. Behind them, the foot stomps of Chima thundered loudly.

The thought of the redhead running away in terror from a chasing Chima flashed in her mind. She snickered to herself, not caring for the look she got from the kid she dragged behind her.

They all entered the grotto, panting, hair drenched, and clothes stained with water. Outside, the drizzle had evolved into a downpour. A constant roar was coming from the outside, as if they were at the feet of a waterfall.

Midoriya and Jirou both unanimously and unceremoniously dropped their drenched belongings on the cold rock floor, flopping besides them with a groan.

A moment later, and Chima also entered, drenched from head to tail as well. His fur was dripping, sagging downwards, and obscuring his milky eyes. The Badgermole shook himself violently to dry up, spraying water everywhere. Particularly at the kids.

"Gah!" The redhead sputtered, spitting out repeatedly, "It's in my mouth! I have fur water in my mouth!"

Jirou winced in sympathy, "Yeah, Chima's a bit of a hazard if he gets wet. Sorry about that."

Next to her Midoriya was busy squeezing the water out of his hair as if it was a wet rag. It was at time like these that she pitied her curly-haired friend.

"Could've told me that sooner…" The redhead huffed, though there was no venom in his voice.

The trio quickly situated themselves, putting their backpacks to the side to dry up and staying clear of Chima's danger zone. They sat down on some rock benches Midoriya had made earlier, examining whether and which of their snacks were either still edible or soggy junk.

Midoriya peered through the cave's mouth, looking at the rain that kept violently pouring down. "Man, that came out of nowhere." He said, more to fill the air then anything. Silence soon loomed over the three when no one said any follow up, and unsatisfied with the quiet, Midoriya tried again. "What do we do now?"

Jirou snorted, "Well, I know what we won't do: get out of here." She deadpanned, pointing with her thumb to the outside. "This rain isn't letting up anytime soon…" She said to Midoriya, stopping to talk. A second paused loomed over them, interrupted only by the sound of rain and of Jirou's foot tapping the ground.

She couldn't take it for long.

"I don't suppose you have ways to kill the time, do you?"

"Well…" Midoriya hummed, rummaging deeper in his backpack. He pulled out a deflated soccer ball, a wrinkled deck of cards, and his relatively dry Firebending notebook; where he had earlier written the rules to an ancient board game Iroh had taught him. "I got some stuff, plus we still have enough tea and snacks to last us all day." He said as he sloshed the metallic thermos full of hot water.

He then averted his gaze towards the redhead, who until now sat silently, looking outside at the rain. "You don't have any place to go right?" Midoriya asked, before stopping himself with a short gasp. "Ah! I-I mean, I'm sure you do but you are stuck here in the rain, right? I mean, I sure wouldn't want to go outside in the rain without an umbrella, but maybe you're not like that! I don't want to assume anything but-"

Jirou cleared her throat to snap Midoriya back to earth, he was beginning to freak the redhead out.

He flushed. "W-what I'm trying to say is, why not join us? At least until the rain stops? It will be fun! What do you say?"

The redhead recoiled a bit, obviously not used to Midoriya's rambles. "Hmm… Sure." He said, looking at the greenette a bit cautiously.

Midoriya beamed. "Awesome! Thank you for joining us, -!" He paused mid-sentence when he found he didn't have the word he wanted to say. It wasn't even on the tip of his tongue; he didn't know it all.

Appalled, Midoriya bowed his head in a perfect ninety degrees with one, swift, motion. "I'm so sorry!" He prostrated, not even lifting his head to look at the redhead's face in shame. "I was so rude! I didn't ask you your name!"

"We didn't give him hour names, either." Jirou pointed out curtly.

"Ah! You're right!" Midoriya shot back up, flustered. "I'm Midoriya Izuku."

"Jirou Kyoka." She said, much calmer than her friend. "What's yours?"

For a couple of seconds, the redhead said nothing. His gaze was focused at nowhere, his internal thoughts lost on both kids. Jirou began to think he might not have heard her, but before she got the chance to ask again, he spoke.

"You can call me Dabi."

Fuyumi was worried sick.

It was already well over sundown, Shoto was already tucked in, and father was to return home at any moment. And yet, there was not a single sigh of her younger brother, Touya.

The redhead had vanished into thin air hours earlier. That and on itself wasn't uncommon, but it was well past the point he should be home. The ticking of her clock began to drive her crazy as she paced the house's foyer, checking outside through the window like clockwork.

It was dark outside. Clouds loomed in the air, obscuring the moonlight and the stars and tinted with the yellow of the city ambiance. The temperature had dropped below the freezing point a while ago. And, while the downpour stopped, the puddles it created had stayed and were more than likely frozen over.

Fuyumi was nearing her breaking point, her anxiety slowly bubbling up to the surface.

Just as she was about to burst, the sound of the creaking sliding door being opened brought her heart crushing down. It followed by a voice in a higher pitch than she was expecting.

"I'm home!" It was Touya, and upon the revelation Fuyumi heaved a sigh of relief. He was a mess, clothes soaked, and boots covered in mud. His footsteps were heavy, wet and squelching, leaving stains on the wooden floor of the Genkan [2].

Immediately, Fuyumi's relief was replaced by a righteous fury. "Where have you been?!" She practically demanded, hands on her hips and staring him down from her perch on the step.

"Sorry." Touya chuckled with a bashful smile, "Got caught up in the rain."

"I can see that." She retorted coolly, scowling at the muddy footprints he left on the floor in distaste. "What did you even do?"

Her brother was audacious enough to only give her a mysterious smile, "Let's just say I met a couple interesting people."

Fuyumi was not amused. She pursed her lips together and pointed at the mess he made.

"Clean that up."

Touya wasn't sure what possessed him to come back.

He wasn't planning to. After he left the park the previous day, trudging through mud and puddles, not once had the thought of coming back crossed his mind. Sure, the two kids were nice, and he'd lie if he said they weren't an interesting bunch. You couldn't get much more interesting than having a monster as a pet.

But, at the same time, it wasn't like he actively seeked them out in the first place. Their meeting was accidental, and nothing more. He had no obligations to come back, just as much as they hadn't to accommodate him should he return.

He even went so far as to give them a fake name, or an alias to be accurate. Though that wasn't necessarily a special treatment. He gave a fake name to every stranger he met.

It was better that way.

But, as he laid awake in bed that night, his thoughts wouldn't drift away. Flashes, and memories of the kids and the monster, Chima they called him, repeatedly popped in his mind. He tried to excuse it as just them being the owners of a truck sized badger and call it a day, but there was something beyond that. And that knowledge kept him stirring in his sheets.

Frustrated, he buried his face in a pillow and forced himself to think about something else, like the approaching finals.

Needless to say, he didn't sleep well that night.

And yet, the very next day, when Touya found himself loitering outside after school -because no way in hell was he going home unless he had to- with nothing better to do, that's when the urge struck him.

It took him a while to get back there, he wasn't familiar with that part of the city and his school was even further away than his house. By the time he got there, the sun had gone significantly down, kissing the park's treetops, and painting the sky a warm orange.

The kids, Midoriya and Jirou were there, despite the puddles and water droplets clinging to the grass blades like a koala bear to a Eucalyptus tree.

They have yet to notice him. Jirou was sitting on a dry boulder Touya was sure wasn't there the day before. She was scribbling something down on a violet notebook; rhythmically tapping her pen on paper and swinging her feet back and forth in the air.

Midoriya was at the boulder's feet, performing a rather elaborate feat of choreography. He stood with a raised right fist, pivoted one-eighty on the matching leg, then raised his opposite leg in an arc that reached his head as he pivoted right back into position and slammed his raised foot to the ground.

As soon as he was done with the routine, he repeated it.

Despite the cold, his face was sleeked with sweat that slowly dripped lower down, either blown away by his swiveling around or slipping into his coat. He breathed heavily, exhales coming out in foggy puffs and his bright red boots were covered with mud.

It appeared he had been at it for a while.

Touys stepped forward and into the clearing, the sound of his footsteps scrunching leaves drawing in the kids' attention. " Oh!" Midoriya called, genuinely surprised, and for a moment, a tinge fearful. Then, he recognized him.

"Dabi, you're here!", he cheered brightly. Behind him, Jirou raised her hand in what seemed as a less enthusiastic wave, but was not lesser. She still didn't look away from her notebook.

Touya waved back, striding towards to two. "What's up? Was I interrupting something? You looked really focused on your…" He paused for a second, holding his chin, trying to hide a smirk. "…I want to say dance routine?"

"What?!" Midoriya spluttered, "No! I was training!"

"Training?" The redhead parroted. He didn't think that was what he was doing, despite it seeming obvious in hindsight. Even if his movement looked more like something from a Kong Fu flick than MMA. Maybe it was his reluctance to even think about the T word that stopped him.

Touya frowned.

"I assume for being a hero?" He couldn't help conjuring up the picture of his younger brother in his mind. Stoic, cold, scarred, and bruised. He felt a chill. "Aren't you a bit young for that?" He asked, brow raised, but with genuine concern.

Midoriya grinned back at him, so bright and happy, and the line of thought Touya strung up snapped. "Nah! The earlier the better, right?" The smile the boy beamed at him was too infectious. Touya found himself nodding along to Midoriya's reasoning like a dumb sheep. And, seemingly oblivious to his manipulation, the greenette chirped, "Now, don't mind me, I'll be getting right back it!"

Just like that, Midoriya turned away from him. As if he wasn't there. The kid got into a stance again, feet apart and fist extended. He pivots, prepared to throw a kick.

Then, the beeping started.

Midoriya startled mid kick and stumbled to the ground. Mud splashed everywhere, and now the boy looks like he was dipped in chocolate.

Touya may or may not have laughed his ass off.

"Hey!" Jirou calls, ignoring Touya, and frowning at Midoriya; though more admonishingly than nastily. She taps a finger against her beeping watch repeatedly. "Isn't it about time for your break?"

Midoriya, who was busy whipping his face, freezes. "Already?!" He asks incredulously.

"Yep," Jirou deadpans, popping the P. "already been more than an hour."

"Wow." Midoriya murmurs, his face scrunched, "I didn't notice." Then he grins sheepishly, rubbing his nape bashfully and smearing mud all over his hair, "Guess I was really into it."

Jirou huffs. "Just clean up and take the stupid break, mud boy."

Midoriya nods at her before turning to Touya, his sudden movement sending mud with his momentum. "You might want to step back." He warns, and Touya doesn't hesitate to do so, wiping a smidge of saturated soil off his face.

The boy brought his forearms to his torso, held them in place for a second, before thrusting them downwards. The mud was shed off his body like dead skin off a snake, pooling on the ground with a wet sound.

"All done!"

Touya hummed. 'Isn't that useful…'

Now dry and clean, Midoriya climbed on the large boulder Jirou was sitting on and grabbed his backpack. He pulled out a water bottle and took in gulps of water.

By his side, Jirou closed her notebook with a snap and put it in her backpack. She pulled out a small, red, rectangular packet. She lifts her head, looking at Touya. "You wanna join?" Jirou asks as she take the cards out of the packet, beginning to shuffle them expertly. She smirks at him, taunting. "Or are you afraid I'm gonna kick your butt like yesterday?"

Touya was many things. A hot head, a mommy's boy, and the undefeated Street Fighters 3 player in every arcade in Musutafu. But something he wasn't, was a man who'd let that taunt slide.

"Dream on!" He declared, his grin challenging, before jumping on the boulder himself and sitting across from Jirou.

The cards were handed, and the Uno game was on.

Touya played dirty, or, more precisely, aggressively. He would drop any penalty card the moment he got it. Skips, draws, and wildcards were thrown down by him at a rate that would've convinced Jirou he was cheating had she not shuffled the cards herself.

But he was a bit over eager. And it was easy for Jirou to just change to game's order to have him target Midoriya instead.

Midoriya. Poor, naïve Midoriya was the worst player by far, even without Touya forcing him to draw four cards every third turn. For any card he played, he drew two, refusing to part with them. "I'm waiting for the right moment!" He defended when both Touya and Jirou scrutinized his playstyle. But by the time his moment had come, he had about twenty-five cards whilst his opponents were on their last.

He was left completely in the dust.

The kid may be able to throw an impressive kick, but he was anything but at the Uno table.

Not that Midoriya seemed to mind much. He would laugh just as loudly as Touya and Jirou whenever they pulled a double 'wild draw four' on him. And on the one time his waiting around did pay off, both Jirou and Touya had to concede that was the day's most spectacular victory.

It was fun.

But, somewhere along the road, between incredulous shouts and triumphant cries, Touya's throat dried up. It was nothing if not inconvenient at first, and he disregarded it. But as time ticked, the uncomfortableness grew, his throat was starting to itch, to the point it was hard to talk.

He was sure he was making faces, and it was only a matter of time until someone would notice. Midoriya did rather quickly, catching him grimacing and holding his throat.

Midoriya made a face, his features drooping. "Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah, just thirsty." Touya waved the question off, though he swallowed again after that and winced. He wouldn't mind a cup of water, but he didn't bring any with him, and no way in hell was he using Midoriya or Jirou's bottles. Then, he remembered, and got a smidge hopeful. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have some tea like yesterday, do you?"

Midoriya shook his head in denial, and Touya's face drooped. He put a hand in his backpack and took out a metallic thermos. "Sorry. I still have water in the thermos but it's not hot, we can't make tea with it." He quickly added. "Oh! But you're welcome to drink it anyways!"

'He doesn't have hot water?' Touya ponders for a minute, and then asks, "Wait. That's the only problem?"

Midoriya shrugged, "I mean, yes. I still have all the leaves and sugar and honey from yesterday."

Touya grinned "Say no more."

"What?-"

The redhead plucked the thermos out of Midoriya's hands without even asking, tearing away the lid and throwing it to the side. Before the greenette could shout out a protest, Touya snickered and lit his palm ablaze, the flame billowing to life with a whoosh.

Jirou froze. Midoriya recoiled and flinched. Both watched silently as the small fire danced on Touya's palm in stupefaction.

Touya put his flaming palm over the open lid and held it there for a few seconds. After he pushed his hand away, vapor began to waft out of the thermos. "There you go." He said, handing Midoriya the thermos back.

Midoriya accepted the flask back with shaking hands, his eyes sparkling. "That's your quirk? So cool!"

"Also explains why Chima isn't fond of you," Jirou added offhandedly, "he doesn't like fire quirk users."

Touya deflated for a moment, before turning his head over his shoulder and to the cave he knew the beast currently occupied. Loud snores came from within the hill.

Mdiroiya catches his line of sight. "Don't worry about it," He tried to soothe him, hands held in the air as if he had no idea what to do with them, "he'll come around. He was like this with my dad too. It took a while, but he's over it. Trust me! It's only a matter of time until he jumps on you and licks you like a popsicle too!"

Touya forced on a smile, the traumatizing image of a tongue the size of his body coming closer to his face haunting him. "Oh…" He says unintelligently, "…that's great."

Jirou snorted.

Now with hot water in supply, it didn't take long for Midoriya to start brewing. He warned them it might not be as good as yesterday. He didn't have all the equipment he had, and the leaves weren't as fresh. But neither Touya nor Jirou cared about it that much.

The tea was swiftly done. Midoriya poured each of them a cup before raising his own in the air. "Cheers!" He called.

Jirou raised a brow, "Cheers? For what? Today's nothing special."

"A-ah…" Midoriya stammered, "Oh! I know! Let's do a cheer for Dabi! He's our new friend!"

Touya coughed. Jirou winced, "That's so cringey…"

"Eh?" Midoriya's shoulder sagged in disappointment.

Touya took pity on him. "L-let's-Let's just give him his cheers." He gritted out, face as red as his hair.

Three cups clanked together, their owners muttering out subdued "Cheers…".

There was an awkward silence after that. They sat there for a moment, cradling their cups and saying nothing. Jirou coughed. Midoriya scratched his nose. Touya brought the cup to his lips. He took a sip.

Midoriya was right, the taste wasn't quite like what it was yesterday. It was still good, don't get him wrong, but it was still not as great. But still, a smile still broke out on his face. Next to him, both Jirou and Midoriya began to snicker, and he found it hard not to join them.

He took another sip, and the warmth of the beverage blossomed inside him. With the heat within him, however, a noticed something else. Now, the cold air around him was more pronounced. It was familiar, it was nice. Like what he felt when his mother used to caress his cheek.

A third sip.

Touya smiled wistfully.

This tea was the closest thing he had to his mother's in a while.

Inko was used to receiving calls in unexpected hours. She almost anticipated it at this point. Neither she nor Hisashi were known for thinking things through on the fly. Not once had they called one another one a whim while the other was sleeping. It was even more common recently, since Hisashi's schedule went haywire in the company's chaos.

Which was why seeing his face on her screen as he called her during dinner, at the most convenient of times for her, struck her as odd. Even foreboding.

She accepted the call and pressed the phone to her hear. She had a bad feeling. Izuku didn't need to hear whatever this was.

"I-I-Inko" Hisashi's voice choked out before she got the chance to say 'hello'. It was shaky; as if the man had screamed himself hoarse or hadn't drank for days.

Inko's grip on the phone tightened. "Hisashi? Are you alright?" She asked urgently, the hand holding the phone trembling, "You sound-"

Hisashi cut her off. "Please. Listen. I-" He paused, and she could hear his tongue building up moisture again in his mouth. "… I got fired from work."

Inko froze, holding a firm hand over her mouth.

"I'm coming home."

"Mom?" a voice called, slow and high pitched. Inko turned, and saw her son, still sitting in his chair, his meal and utensils forgotten on the table. He looked worried, his lower lip was pressed inwards, and she just caught the pearly shine of his teeth peeking through a gap in the mouth. He was biting his lip.

She'd know; she wasn't above it herself.

Inko put a hand on the microphone, trying to hide how her stomached churned and heart pounded loudly with a wobbly smile.

"Yes sweetie?"

Her son didn't buy her act. "Is it dad? Is everything alright?"

No. Everything wasn't right. Everything was wrong. But her boy didn't need to know that. "Y-y-yes… Everything's fine."

She lied.

Toya Todoroki

Quirk: Hellfire

Description: Touya can generate red fire from any part of his body at will. He has a minimal control over the fire's shape, though he can't conjure complex shapes, and can only guide fire towards and away from him.

Appearance: Touya has a fairly round face and unruly crimson hair that is unkept and is spiked with various tufts. It usually falls over his turquoise eyes, making him a bit off-putting to those who don't know his actual personality. He is rather short and skinny, due to being born prematurely.

Affiliation: N/A

Alias: Dabi.

Age: 12.

Birthday: January 18th.

Height: 139.3 cm.

Likes: Rei Todoroki, green tea.

Dislike: Fish.

Tidbit:

Dabi is his gamertag. He's really into FPS games.

[1] - I know Touya is older canonically. It's called artistic license.