-x- Dabi -x-
Dabi was sleeping after a long day of school, then club, then work when Asahi rushed into the room without knocking, looked worried. "Run, Dabi," he hissed, gathering a backpack. Dabi was frightened immediately, and asked what was going on. "Endeavor found you, he's outside." Dabi gasped, and put his things into his backpack, his wallet, phone, Switch, and his current book.
He slung it over his back, but before he could jump out the window and flee, Enji's voice boomed out. "If you run away again I will put these kidnappers in jail!" Dabi froze, but Asahi insisted he leave. They'd be okay. Tears gathered in Dabi's eyes, and he left through the window. He flew away and far down the street before some something was shot off and he fell, landing hard on the pavement with a grunt.
He tried to fly away, but couldn't. Not because he couldn't use his quirk, he was frozen in fear. Quickly, he stood up and tried to limp away, feeling a broken bone. He felt his staples fade away, his skin back to normal but hair still dyed black. There were thundering steps behind him as he was grabbed by the wrist. There were no quirk cuffs on him… why was everything failing?! He was scared. He didn't want to go back!
"No! Let me go! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" he was causing a scene before Endeavor dragged him inside the helicopter. Nobody was brave enough to film once they came out from the racket. Dabi couldn't fly, he couldn't run. "Nooo!" he shouted, fearful. He saw Mei being put in handcuffs, and bit Enji's arm as hard as he could, drawing blood. "No, let them go!"
"As long as you don't run away again, I'll keep them out of jail. Do you understand me?" Enji said. Tears pricked in Dabi's eyes, and his face crumpled before he nodded. Mei was crying as Dabi was dragged into the helicopter. She cried out his name, still cuffed. Dabi's backpack was gone, still lying on the street.
While they were in the helicopter, Dabi was itching violently on his skin, not used to not having his staples, his thick and wrinkly burns that he'd made more and more realistic. "Knock it off," Enji snapped. Then his anger faded just slightly. "Why didn't you come back?"
"Are you fucking stupid?! Why do you think?! Do you realize what you just did! You sent me falling out of the fucking sky and then dragged me here with a threat!"
"You left your siblings behind." Dabi scowled at him. "Touya, why did you never tell me about your quirk?" Dabi hated that name.
"My name is Dabi now," Dabi gritted through his teeth. Enji looked annoyed, and repeated his question.
"You could have been such a strong hero. Instead you faked and lied." Dabi didn't find any need to respond, and ignored him. When the copter landed a few blocks away from the house, Dabi attempted to fly away as some bird, but a cuff was snapped onto his wrist. A quirk restraint. He was quirkless. His vision faded until all he could see was the cuff. Taking away his precious powers that made him feel safe and worthy.
He decided then and there he'd make Enji regret taking him back. He plopped down on the ground, sitting and refusing to get up and walk. Enji was stronger than him but Dabi slammed his foot into is crotch over and over before trying to crawl away and get up to run. He was grabbed by the scruff of his shirt, and started screaming for help again.
He was thrown over a shoulder and started ripping his shirt upwards and digging his fingernails into the skin and raking them to draw blood. But Enji didn't even flinch, and tears were pouring down Dabi's face, now. He was stuck for now. His dreams were snatched away and his cushy and loving new family was under threat if he struggled. But he would struggle. He wasn't selfless. Not enough to really sacrifice his freedom he'd finally secured.
When they go to the property, Natsuo and Fuyumi were there. Dabi sat down on the grass and cried, his siblings hurrying over. Natsuo got on his knees to hug him, but Dabi didn't react back. Fuyumi was crying, and hugged her sobbing brother from behind. "Enough of that," Enji snapped. Dabi saw Shoto standing by the front door, looking lost and not knowing what to do. He didn't know Dabi well.
"We'll get you out of here," Fuyumi whispered into his ear, making him look up in surprise his blue eyes pink and wet with tears. "We'll keep you free," she promised with a watery smile. Natsuo nodded with a straight face on. "Let's go inside and get you cleaned up, you're covered in dirt." Dabi nodded.
"Call me Dabi, now," he said quietly. Enji watched him with a glare, and Dabi swore that he would make Enji's life a living hell, quirkless or not. He was limping, and Fuyumi was angry at the broken leg. Not even Dabi's regeneration was working when it had when he was kidnapped and tortured. Not long later the on site doctor came and put Dabi in a cast.
He didn't ask how it happened and Dabi wasn't going to say since he'd never cared about their injuries before. He yanked at the quirk canceling bracelet, knowing he was now a prisoner. He hoped Mei wasn't in handcuffs anymore. Enji probably found him through the talent show video. He couldn't contact his friends most likely. He couldn't contact his job, it would be like he just stopped showing up.
When he went to his old room, he saw how fucking boring and lifeless it was. He hated the futon, the wooden walls and floor. He liked the carpet, where he could walk around barefoot, not haunted by the annoying scuffing sound of the itchy goddamn slippers. Shoto was peeking around the corner, watching him, looking uneasy.
Dabi pictured Hikari and Rika, who he had considered surrogate siblings. He'd treated Shoto poorly. "Come here, Shoto," Dabi said. He made to pick at his staples, but they weren't there anymore. His piercings would probably be taken away, but he'd fight tooth and nail to keep them. Shoto looked surprised but walked over.
He was six now, and still small and meek. He had faded bruises. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm sad."
"Why?"
"Because you're back and don't want to be here."
"Do you want to be here?" He shook his head. "Shoto, how did you get this mark on your face?"
"Mommy poured boiling water on me. Now she's at a hospital." Shoto's lip wobbled, and Dabi sighed. Rei was fucking useless to the end. Now it was up to Dabi. All up to him. He couldn't leave as easily, but when he did escape, he was exposing Enji for everything, even if he needed to stage it.
He already was forming plans to stage something. To transform into Endeavor and create clones that would in turn become his siblings. He'd create an illusion to show the Todoroki house, the training room, and show him utterly abusing Shoto. Yes, he'd ruin this fucker no matter what it took. Dabi pat Shoto's head, but gave no words of encouragement.
The first thing he did was go to the shed and grab a hammer, limping using his crutches, and slam it down on the quirk restraint as hard as he could, it was painful, but he didn't break his wrist and the thing wasn't damaged. Enji came up and grabbed him by the scruff. Dabi flailed around and was dragged up the stairs and into the training room.
"Why did you lie?!" he demanded.
"Go fuck yourself, you cunt," Dabi said hotly. The man was angry, and Dabi stood up. "What, gonna hit me like the old days? Oh, Touya's too weak! I bet you've been pissed the whole time I've been free, because I lied to you for eleven years. I bet that really got under your skin, Endeavor!" Dabi mocked, cackling spitefully. "I could have been you ultimate weapon, but now you can't even tell anyone or they'll know you didn't pay enough attention to your kid to see he had unlimited quirks!"
Enji stalked over and smacked him across the face so he fell onto the wood floor. He hissed at his cast leg being roughed up. "You will not speak to me that way!" He was kicked. "You are my son and I will do with you what I want! You are not leaving this house again! You will do online schooling and behave! And take those goddamn piercings out!"
"No!" Dabi shouted and stood to try and run, but the cast was bulky and stopped him. He was grabbed, and felt so damn weak and vulnerable. The helix piercings were yanked out and drew blood, making him cry out as all six were tossed to the floor. He was turned around and pinned down and large fingers ripped out his nostril piercing.
He screamed bloody murder and thrashed around to stop him from taking away the one in his mouth. He didn't know why he was so attached to that one, but it was yanked out, too, and then the "hero" picked them up and used his fire to melt them so they couldn't be put back in. Angry and hurt tears came from Dabi's eyes, bleeding from the ears and mouth. He stood up and hurried from the room, sobbing. Everything hurt, and he wasn't used to pain anymore. Natsuo opened his door and let him in. He was eleven years old now, and hugged his crying big brother.
Fuyumi came in with a first aid kit and helped clean off the small amount of blood and put some small bandages on them. There was nothing to do about the tongue wound, and the blood didn't flow for too long. "Why don't you h-hate me?" Dabi hiccuped.
"You were trying to take care of yourself. You had to help raise us and you hate it here. We were so scared for you, but then Keigo said you were okay. He told me not to tell anyone, but I told Fuyumi-"
"What?" Dabi asked.
Natsuo said, "Keigo - Hawks - he knew your new name. He said he saw you at a smoothie spot. I asked him and he wouldn't tell me so you could stay happy and safe, and made me promise not to tell dad. He said he thought you were happy and safe, and didn't want to ruin it," he explained in detail. "I called him, when dad was on his way to get you. He tried to catch up and save you but he couldn't make it. I said something mean. I said 'you promised everything would be okay'. I should call him again…"
Dabi was shocked. "He tortured me, Natsu."
"And he felt awful about it and paid the price. I… I forgave him." Dabi sighed, and pulled his good leg up to his chest.
"He apologized to me, too. I can't forgive him," Dabi said firmly.
Fuyumi smiled softly and said, "And that's fine, it's your choice and your feelings are valid."
"What the fuck happened to you guys?" Dabi asked in confusion at how mature both of them were acting. They went forward and Dabi slipped backwards.
"After you went missing, and then when mom was forced away, we kind of had to grow up…" Fuyumi sighed, looking at her fingers. Dabi awkwardly moved forward and hugged her and Natsuo to him together. Both started to cry, clinging to him, too, who'd been gone over seven months. Not a word of goodbye, and no way to know if he was safe or even alive.
Dabi said, "I'm getting all of us out, no matter what it takes," in a low voice, firm and determined. "I won't leave you to the dogs again. I'll figure something out." They both nodded, and so Dabi's plans began.
-x-
Online schooling sucked even if he did it with Fuyumi, which also sucked. She was kind of boring in a way. Dabi's old friends were much more entertaining. He missed them, he missed his foster family. But it was unlikely he'd return to them as long as he had Fuyumi and Natsuo with him, as well as Shoto. He'd probably find a home the fastest. Maybe they'd all be put in the same foster care, who knows? He wasn't sure. But he deeply missed Mei and Asahi. They were his parents, no matter if he had never wanted to admit it before.
Dabi did his work thoroughly, as he wanted to get into a good college and even now grades mattered. Going to school was much more fun, though. Everything in this house was boring. No video games, no fun backyard stuff, no books or art supplies. It wasn't even minimalistic, it was barren.
"So, you worked as a model and cheated out a bunch of other people?" Natsuo asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, I even lied about my age. It was gonna catch up to me eventually. I made a lot of money off of that. Not that I can even access it. Mei will probably keep the money safe for me to return later, though," Dabi said, sad at the end. His siblings avoided asking about the foster family, and Dabi was glad because they might be hurt that he'd bonded to those girls very much.
"And you had friends?" Shoto asked, like it was the most amazing thing in the world. After Dabi was dragged home, the three were pulled out of school so they couldn't tell anyone about what was going on at home.
"Yeah, I had three. We were all fucked up. We formed a band. I can play the guitar, now. I'm sure Enji found me from that video, though, so it wasn't good in the long run." He glared at his broken leg. No matter what he tried, he could not get the quirk bracelet off and didn't know if he could regrow limbs so he didn't plan on cutting his hand off to remove it.
"Will you sing for us?"
"Eh… if I get a guitar, too. I doubt Enji will buy me one. Especially after I trashed his weight room." He had knocked everything to bits and set the room on fire to ruin it all, not with a quirk but a blow torch. The floorboards were extremely damaged, he charred the walls and some of the equipment was ruined forever. He had it be a controlled burn with a fire extinguisher. Natsuo and Fuyumi tried using their ice to cover the flames but weren't too good. The fire extinguisher did most of the work. He missed his quirks so much.
Dabi got a heavy beating for that, but it was worth every fucking hit. It was clear Enji only wanted him around to assert power, Dabi was even more of handful than he was when he was Touya.
He wanted to fly, he wanted to swim. "Hey, will you take us flying some day?"
"Once we're out of here," Dabi said with a smile. Natsuo beamed.
"Even me?" little Shoto asked.
"Even you, kid."
Enji arrived home and Dabi cooked the meal with Fuyumi. They usually made Enji's food separately. Dabi had gone into his bathroom and got some very old laxative medicine, and he ground out sixteen pills and put them into his food. He couldn't wait for the next day. Enji ate every bit. He hoped the man realized what Dabi had done and grew even more fed up with him.
Dabi was sitting on the couch in the morning, his leg in a brace now, healing pretty quickly since it was a clean break, thankfully, when he heard thundering steps down the stairs. The man was livid. "Did you drug my food!?"
"What's the matter? Did you destroy your toilet or something?" Dabi asked with a wide, wicked grin. He looked much less creepy without his scars and the staples. Enji was seething. "I must have mixed up the salt with ground up pills. Whoopsie!" Dabi said brightly with an exaggerated shrug. Enji didn't know what to do anymore. It had only been a week of this and Dabi was a menace. He had no boundaries he wouldn't cross to make the man miserable. He didn't care if he was beaten.
He was leading up to the final act. It was risky but he couldn't see any other way to be freed from the property, and released from the quirk restraints and be forced into public.
Enji hurried back up the stairs, and Dabi snickered to himself. Maybe he should sprinkle some peanut crumbs into his food. His allergy wasn't that bad. But he was sure Enji would from now on not eat any food Dabi was involved with. When Natsuo came down for breakfast, oatmeal with fruit in it, he asked why his brother was grinning so wickedly.
"The laxative pills worked like a charm."
"Eww." But he snickered. "I talked to Hawks." His voice was suddenly very forlorn. Dabi rose a brow, curious. His dyed hair was becoming dark gray as the black faded. "He got hurt and he's gonna be in the hospital awhile."
"What happened to him?" Dabi had mixed feelings about the winged teen, as he was no longer a hero. He had kept Dabi's secret even from his younger brother. He had tried to save him somehow by getting there before Enji. He sent him an apology, he was the one behind getting the woman to save him from the HPSC building. He knew, logically, perhaps Hawks should be forgiven. Dabi's PTSD had gotten better lately, and he didn't have nightmares as much anymore.
Maybe he should forgive him after all. But Dabi wasn't ready to, and he wasn't going to lie to himself or Hawks and say he was ready to let it go and move on as best as he could from his solid grudge.
"There was a kid in a crosswalk but a car was coming after him. He flew forward to save her, but the car was too fast and the front of it slammed into his leg and he said it was shattered in seven places, and he slammed his head into the ground as well."
"Oh, ouch," Dabi couldn't help but say. Natsuo nodded sadly. He really liked Hawks, it seemed. It didn't feel like a betrayal anymore. It did at first. "Is it gonna be a long recovery?"
"Yeah," Natsuo said. "He said he'd be in there a few months to heal his leg and make sure his head is okay. He apologized for not being able to help us now. He puts way too much on his shoulders."
"That's what heroes do. And he was trained to be a hero. By awful people but still for being a hero. Heroes don't torture people," Dabi said bitterly.
"Dad does."
"Dad isn't a hero. He's never been a hero. He just wants praise and to be seen. I bet he's worried I'd outshine him and so that's part of why he's hiding me away." Natsuo nodded, but seemed really upset over Hawks. Dabi didn't forgive him, but he didn't actively wish harm on him, so at least he had that going for him. Baby steps.
-x-
Dabi was still weak compared to Enji so he was easily beaten. He wasn't allowed a phone, wasn't allowed anything that would make him happy or secure him contact to the outside world. It was amazing Natsuo was even able to make contact with Hawks. Still in the hospital, still very, very injured and unable to walk unassisted.
The more Natsuo talked to him, and the more bad news he got, the more Dabi started to feel pity. Hawks did not have any way to heal himself, he was stuck in this state. But Dabi might see him soon. He was in one of the best hospitals, and Dabi knew Enji would get Dabi the best care if not only to look good.
"Guys, make sure you stay out of the training room today," Dabi said at breakfast quietly. "And don't worry about me."
"What are you going to do?" Fuyumi asked in worry.
"The only thing I can think of. But I'll be okay, so don't worry too much. Pretend you had no idea, and don't panic. I'm gonna force Enji's hand," Dabi said firmly. He'd been tortured with a sensitivity upper, so this wouldn't be nearly as painful as that had been. When the other three got ready to start morning lessons, Dabi quickly and carefully removed a butcher knife from the knife rack, and put it in his waistband and walked up the stairs casually.
None of his siblings saw what he'd grabbed. This would go one or two ways. One: his quirk restraint was removed immediately, and Dabi would keep up the charade that he was mortally wounded by transforming himself into looking injured. Or two: he would be taken to the hospital still quirkless. Either way, it was going to be seen by the public why he was so desperate to get out that he purposely almost killed himself.
He could easily cut an arm or leg, but that wouldn't be enough. And he knew where to stab to not risk killing himself too quickly. He just needed to incite a panic. If Enji had ever been a hero or father, he would rush to save the teenager. He slid open the training room door, and took the knife out of his pants holding it behind his back. Enji was at his desk, the room having been newly refurbished to repair the damage Dabi had purposely done (and had fun doing).
"I told you not to come in-"
Before he could finish, Dabi took out the knife and drove it into his stomach three times and twisted the last. "Touya!" Enji screamed in shock and horror. Dabi yanked out the knife so he bled out. He stood there for a few seconds before he coughed blood as he'd punctured his stomach. He fell to his knees, and it hurt but not too bad. It was uncomfortable, yeah, but he wouldn't die. "Why did you do that?!"
Dabi was huffing, scrunching his face at the pain. He coughed and purposely hard enough to spray blood all over Enji's face. He called for an ambulance and hurried around the room looking for the key before he unlocked the cuff. Dabi felt his wounds heal but kept it looking like he had a hole in his stomach.
"Why aren't you healing?!" he cried out before he picked Dabi up, who was pale, purposely making himself look this way, how he'd practiced in the mirror, and ran down the stairs to meet the ambulance. His siblings shouted his name, and Enji didn't notice Dabi's hand giving them a thumbs up to show he was fine.
Dabi was loaded into the ambulance, the man entering after him. The EMTs were shocked to see Dabi stabbed so badly. He wasn't actively bleeding anymore, but there was enough to make it seem that way. He pretended to pass out and an oxygen mask was put on his face. They made it to the very hospital that Dabi expected, and wondered if he'd see Hawks.
He was hurried inside, and Enji was shoved out while Dabi was put in an operating room to see the damage. There were many doctor and surgeons inside, and Dabi grabbed the hand of the nearest one. "You have to help me," he said.
"We are, we will-"
"No. I-I'm okay. It will heal," he said, and slowly made his gut look back to normal. But he still lost a lot of blood. The room went quiet in silence. "You can't tell him. I did this so I could get out and - and get help." The operating door was locked, and Dabi was given a blood transfusion. He accepted it and took some deep breaths. "He abuses my family. My mom was abused by him so heavily she was forced into a mental hospital. He put a quirk restraint on my wrist so I couldn't leave the house and beat me while I couldn't heal." His wrist showed red and angry marks from the quirk restraint, and they weren't fake, those were real. "Please, help me and my siblings. I - I didn't know what else to do-"
"Touya, did you do this to yourself?" a nice woman asked, holding his hand.
"Yes. I couldn't think of anything else, I've tried everything. I tried making him so angry that he let me go but it didn't work. I ran away and he dragged me back and broke my leg. He threatened the people that took me in and said he'd throw them in jail if I didn't come back with him." The people in the room were livid, and a few people left to make some calls.
He tried to sit up, but was gently pushed back down. "Stay still until you're no longer so pale, alright?" one of the men said. They had their masks off now. Some had to leave to work on other surgeries but a few stayed in the room and a security guard came to protect him. When Enji found out about what Dabi had done, there was no going back from that.
Dabi wouldn't be surprised if he killed him himself, or tried to put him in a psych ward. Claim he was damaged from torture. But if the staff at the estate were forced to tell the truth, they could testify the domestic and child abuse.
This would be a media firestorm. Dabi's identity as the boy who was tortured would probably come out. They would also know he'd been missing, and he could say he was happy before he was forced home. Dabi may be a teen, but in the legal system he was still seen as a child. A child who stabbed himself to get his story out. Who risked his life to try and get help. It would tug on the emotions of everyone, and Enji would not only lose his children, but any credibility. If Hawks was treated so badly for what he'd done, Enji would be ripped apart.
Dabi couldn't wait to see it. Police came, and Enji shouted in confusion before banging on the operating door to ask how Touya was. Touya acted more nervous and scared than cocky and proud. "You won't be seeing him again anytime soon," a police officer said. There was even a hero there. Dabi could hear them telling Enji to calm down and come with them.
"Is he fine?"
"He'll be okay, but he needs to stay the night for observation." To keep him safe, most likely. He couldn't go home. Dabi was grinning inside. He hadn't actually lied about anything he said to the people he spoke to, he only faked with Enji. Fuck, this was gold. Absolute gold, and he couldn't wait to see it all over the news.
He desperately wanted to be Dabi again, to have his chosen body come back, but now wasn't the right time. "We'll be getting your siblings out tonight. Is there any family you can go to?" an officer asked him once Enji was gone, confused and angry, not understanding what happened. Idiot.
"My mom has parents, but they aren't involved and side with dad most of the time. My foster family he took me from would welcome us. I just need to call them." He was given a phone, and called Mei, knowing her number by heart. His heart beat rapidly, hoping she'd pick up and she wasn't in jail. But she did. "Mei!" he said in emotional relief.
"Dabi!" she cried back. "Oh, where are you? Are you alright? Are you safe?"
"It's a lot to explain but could you temporarily take in me and my siblings? We're being removed from the house for our safety."
"Absolutely, you are all welcome as soon as possible!" Dabi smiled in such relief and happiness. He got to see his foster family again. He couldn't wait! Back to his bedroom, his home. His friends!
-x- Keigo -x-
"Try not to push yourself, Takami-kun," Marisol said, his nurse right now. He couldn't think straight, and there was thick bandaging over his head. "It's okay to rest."
Keigo huffed, panting as he sat down on the bench in the physical therapy room. He didn't want to have to wait, he had to be able to walk. He couldn't spend months in here while Dabi was trapped, while his siblings were in hell as well. He didn't know how to help other than try and break them out somehow.
He'd been in the hospital for two weeks, and was frustrated with how slow he was healing. And being told he'd likely be unable to walk unassisted for months if not years. How pathetic he was. How weak. He could just imagine his handler looking down at him like he was dog shit on her shoe. Calling him a failure, a waste of time. He was wasting the time of nurses and doctors who should be helping others, more deserving of help. He was a waste of space.
"I have to be able to walk. I - my job is physical, I need to be able to move," Keigo lamented, grabbing his hair. Thankfully the brain fog had disappeared and his brain wasn't severely affected, no matter how hard the hit to the pavement it had been. "I can't be stuck like this for years," he said, finally crying.
His nurse sat next to him and rubbed his back between his droopy wings, reflecting his state of mind. Keigo looked outside to see a police car, right outside the window of the story below the one he was on. The hospital was huge and used for many things, so Keigo was getting the best care around. He just didn't know if they could do enough.
When Endeavor was put into the back of the car with his hands cuffed, Keigo's jaw dropped. "I - I need my phone," he said. "I need to check up on someone." She saw his panic and nodded, going to fetch his phone. He had a bunch of texts from Rumi, and Keigo didn't answer, not yet. Too ashamed and embarrassed by his blunder. There was no way he'd have ever made a good hero.
He called Natsuo, who answered. "I just saw Endeavor put in the back of a cop car. What happened?" Keigo asked, getting right to the point.
"T-Dabi got us out!" Keigo's face lit up for the first time since he got hurt weeks ago. Some good news! "He couldn't get off the property to get us help so he stabbed himself so dad had to take him to get treated, and then he told the doctors everything and now we're being taken away to go to Dabi's foster family!" Keigo heard Fuyumi sobbing in the background.
"Is Dabi okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. He has to stay overnight, though, for monitoring. It was awful, he was bleeding everywhere…" Natsuo muttered. "Now you don't need to feel bad anymore." Keigo would still feel bad for always failing to help them. But he was happy things worked out, with or without him. He could focus on healing now fully instead of worrying about the Todoroki children.
Natsuo needed to leave and pack some things, and was just in a fantastic mood. Keigo hung up, wondering how Dabi was doing. He hadn't actually met him since the Commission incident. What kind of guy was he, really? Natsuo bragged about how much of a good brother he was, and forgave him for leaving them as he was doing everything he could to get out to get help, and he succeeded. It was disgusting that he had to resort to stabbing himself to get the help they needed. But he was in a great mood, so happy they were out and going to someplace known to be kind.
Keigo did wonder how the kids would be cared for, as he doubted the foster family could permanently house four children when they must have others. Would Dabi return to living there full time or go somewhere else with his siblings? Well, whatever the answer, they were out of harm's way.
The next morning his phone was going off with alerts all about Endeavor's arrest for child abuse. It was a media fire storm, and Keigo was convinced that Dabi had known this would happen and planed accordingly. What sweet, sweet revenge this must be. Keigo had to work with physical therapy and pain treatment so he wasn't with his phone all day, but by the end, almost every news network had run a story on it.
Endeavor was currently in holding for the allegations against him. And all the people who knew but had said nothing, or were afraid to say nothing, were all speaking out. The keepers, maids and on site doctor from the Todoroki estate spilled everything about what they'd seen Endeavor do to both his wife and children.
There were interviews from the people who watched Dabi get taken away. Watched him fighting to flee only to have his quirk turned off and plummet to the ground. Crawling away with a broken leg only to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the prison house. Dabi's foster mother spoke out about the threats they received from Endeavor on Dabi though they were all using his birth name, not Dabi. Not his chosen identity, which was probably to give him some semblance of privacy.
He wasn't on the TV or in the news as Dabi with the scars and staples. He was Touya with the smooth skin and white hair. Like this, he could successfully move away from being Touya with his chosen identity and appearance.
When the public heard of Dabi being forced to wear a quirk restraint cuff in his own home, it struck a nerve bad, even for those who weren't especially moved by the child abuse allegations. Though there was hard evidence from medical records regarding mostly Rei, Dabi and Shoto. They were the most heavily abused of he family.
It was a shit storm and one that Keigo couldn't see Endeavor recovering from anytime soon. He wasn't a very likable hero in the first place, so hearing all of this… might not be that big of a surprise. That someone with his temperament and aggression turned his stress and anger towards his family at home, and they suffered in silence.
When Dabi got released, he was interviewed, his face blurred and voice changed, and explained that they had asked for help before, but that Endeavor's status made them not get the help they needed a long time ago.
"Why did you go so far to hurt yourself?"
"There was no other option. Not in my mind. I wanted to get my siblings and myself out as soon as possible. 15 years is too long. I hope my mom is at peace if she's seeing any of this." He was then ushered away into a car. Keigo was in a good mood, and did his best through the physical therapy. It was painful like always, a long, drawn out pain, whereas the punishments he'd endured were less drawn out, and more instant and very painful.
His wings were droopy, so he spent that night preening them. He'd rather do it at home, but the hospital was his place of residence. He was just lucky Rumi's girlfriend stepped up to cover his part of the rent and Orion wasn't firing him. It went without saying that Keigo could not continue that job unless he healed.
He had his own room, luckily, and those in the ward weren't noisy. There was a library area since this was the long term care patient ward, and so Keigo did have books to occupy his time other than on his phone or his laptop Rumi brought over. She was a saint. So he took extra special care of his wings, and wrapped them around himself, pulling his good leg up while looking at his damaged one with a sad, forlorn look.
He always thought he'd be fine as long as he had his wings. But having his leg like this showed he still needed them to live a quality life. He would lose his job and any future he might have other than arts or an office job. He didn't want to be a cripple at age 18. He was still so young. He felt emotionally old. He never really had the chance to act his age.
He bundled deeper into his thick, fluffy jacket he thrifted and modified himself, actually sewing it and not just using a scissor to cut. My choice, my life. It may be silly to others for his thrifted clothes to mean so much to him, but they were just always a reminder that he was making his own choices.
-x-
Keigo hid his hands in his face, humiliated that he tripped in the hallway. He wasn't wearing a gown, but he tripped in front of everyone and needed help to get up. He was sitting on one of the couches in the lounge area for the ward, hunched over with his hands to his face. He barely looked up when a boy came over. He had burns on his face.
"What's your problem?" he asked.
"I tripped in front of everyone," Keigo murmured.
"Why? Why's that a big deal?"
"My leg was shattered and I can't walk right with it."
"Why do you care what a bunch of strangers think?" the boy asked. He sat next to Keigo, a few inches away, and brought his knees up to sit cross legged. Keigo felt a rush of envy. He couldn't do that anymore.
"It's embarrassing. My body won't work right anymore." Fuck, he was going to cry. He hadn't ever truly cried in front of someone else. Not in a very, very long time.
"You can't fix it?" he asked, cocking his head. "Like with a quirk or surgery."
"Not any offered here. And I don't matter enough to anyone to have some quirk used on me." He internally winced at how whiny he sounded. The boy twisted his lips to one direction and then to the other.
"Won't it get better with time? And therapy, or whatever?"
"Maybe. But it will be a long time. It stopped me from doing something I felt was important. But those people ended up just fine without me, so I can't complain," Keigo said in a dry voice. He stood up and glared at the crutches before using them and walked away. His eyes stayed down and his face was still flushed.
When the woman who stayed in the room next to Keigo came out, she gave him a soft, sad smile. "We've all been there, Keigo-kun. Healing is a journey itself, there are highs and lows." Keigo nodded, but didn't say anything more and went back to his room to go on the computer before he had more physical therapy after his check up to see how the bone was healing. All the pins and needles in it made him wonder how it was ever going to heal.
-x-
"You know a lot of people have it worse than you do." The boy said. His name was Tendo, and Keigo didn't like him very much but he was the only person that really talked to him out of their free will. He said his mom was a cancer patient a few floors below but he liked this one because there were nice people.
Keigo said, "Just because others have it better doesn't mean it's not awful for me."
"That's true," he admitted. "You're the guy that hurt that kid, right? I saw on the news he fucked up Endeavor." Keigo was both upset and amused with the comment. Yes, he hurt Dabi but then he managed to single handedly take down the number two. He was up for trial in child abuse soon. Natsuo hadn't been talking to him lately, so Keigo worried that it was because he'd been unable to do anything. He was useless, and now there was no reason to have him around.
"I hurt him, yeah. Then I couldn't do anything to help them. I'm just happy they're okay, now."
"You don't sound very happy," Tendo pointed out.
"I am. I'm just not happy right now. I'm glad they got out, but I'm not in a happy mood."
"More bad news?"
"There's some infection inside the bone. It's not severe but it could get worse. I'm on meds for it, but they said I might lose the leg if anything goes wrong."
"That sucks, man." At least he sounded sympathetic. "At least you can still fly. You could get a wicked prosthetic."
"Maybe. I don't know, it's not like I have the money for something like that. Maybe they'd pity me cause I'm only 18."
"You act and sound like an old man losing his mojo." Keigo chuckled. "I wouldn't guess your 18 besides your height and baby face. Your whole demeanor is an old man reminiscing about his past, only you're mourning your future."
"Good point. I think it's worse for me than being an old man saying goodbye to his good years. He had his good years. Mine are being fucked with - sorry for swearing, I don't even know how old you are."
"Shit, fuck, ass, bitch."
"Alright, I guess swearing isn't an issue for you." Keigo was lightly amused. "How's your mom? You said she has cancer, how's she doing?"
"Fine. She'll be here awhile longer. She's not terminal, thankfully. Hopefully it stays that way." Keigo nodded. "Where's your family? Do they visit you?"
"I don't have any family. Only a boss, and a roommate, but she can't visit often."
"What a lonely life, man," Tendo said, sounding sympathetic. Keigo sighed. "Why don't you have more friends? Do you go to school? Don't colleges have parties and shit?"
"I don't go to school and I don't have friends because I'm not a very good person." Tendo rose his thicker brows at the admission. "All I've done is been a failure for people. Whether they like or don't like me, I've been a failure. And now, I'm a possible future amputee. I can't ever be a hero missing a whole fucking leg."
"Why do you want to be a hero after people hate you? Why would you want to serve them? I'd just tell 'em to fuck right off, get hit by a truck or killed by a villain, I don't give a shit." Keigo rose his brows and said nothing. "What? I'm just being honest."
"I guess being honest is a good trait. I've tried being honest lately, but I feel like at my heart I'm just a liar. I was raised to be a liar. I'm really trying to break free of that," Keigo said. "The one time I really came out with the whole truth, and I was hated for it."
"I mean, what you did was pretty shitty, even if you were groomed or whatever. What did it feel like to hurt him?"
"I blocked out what it felt like to have my hands covered in his blood." He looked down at them. "Sometimes I imagine it's still there. Caked under my fingernails. I only found out he wasn't what I was told. My handler said he was a terrorist, a murderer. I only checked later to see if he'd managed to sleep and found his file. They aged him up so it was easier, less morally wrong, to torture him. His file said he'd done nothing wrong. Even the day after I found out, I had to hurt him again. I knew the only way I could get him out was to not make myself look suspicious. So that night I asked my senpai if she could break him out. She did. We cleaned him up and put him in one of the academy uniforms.
"I never knew where my senpai took him, or where she went. I never talked about her in the expose because I didn't want her to be hated like me. She'd done far worse things than I did. But I cared about her, so I didn't throw her to the dogs. And she got him away safely. I only knew he was safe when I saw him at a smoothie place. He sounded okay, and he was with people that clearly cared about him, so I was happy for him. I am happy for him. He's free of all his abusers. He mended the relationship with his siblings and can be back at his foster home.
"I hope he's doing alright. I haven't talked to his little brother lately. He's so sweet, honestly. I can see why he doesn't want to talk to me anymore, I failed him again and again. I was only ever good to talk about his brother and now they're reunited. There's no more use for me," Keigo sighed.
Tendo watched him closely. Judging him. "You should have brought tea if you were going to throw a pity party." Keigo couldn't help but laugh at his painful bluntness. "You shouldn't take stuff so personal. I mean, yeah, people did hate you and all, and had a good reason, but what's stopping you from just tellin' them all fuck it? I mean before your injury and all. You could have flown to Korea or something. I'm sure foreigners would forget your face and wings much easier than we do."
"I don't know. This is my home, I love the country even if its people don't love me," Keigo said, picking at his plastic watch strap. "I've talked about myself so much, what about you? How old are you?"
"I'm eleven. My quirk is that I can create food. They don't taste the best, but they do have nutrition." He formed a donut. "Here, try it." Keigo took it and took a bite. "It's made of my skin and bones." Keigo started to choke and Tendo laughed. "Just kidding." Keigo gave him an annoyed look and the kid smiled widely. "Tastes weird, doesn't it?"
"A little salty even though it's glazed. Is there a reason?"
"I don't know. I don't really use it that much, to be honest. My friends got bored with it since I can only make a small variety of things. I can make water, too."
"Are you going to make a piss joke?"
"A joke is supposed to be funny. My reference was just going to be stupid. You stole it from me, jackass." Keigo chuckled, but finished the donut. Tendo's phone buzzed and he looked at it. "I gotta go. Oh, I guess I could have made some tea for your pity party. Well, bye Keigo," and Tendo walked off towards the elevator.
He was kind of a little shit but he was also easy to talk to. He didn't hide his thoughts and was blunt to a fault. Keigo could respect someone with no filter on purpose. He hoped Tendo's mom could leave soon, but would miss the little brat. Well, he wasn't too much shorter than Keigo, still stuck at 5'6.
-x-
"Why are you taking a photo of me?" Keigo asked. "I didn't even smile."
"You look fake as hell when you smile."
"Okay, then still why are you taking a photo of me?"
"I'll probably not see you again after today." Keigo's wings drooped. "When you get out of here, make friends your own age. You're last two friends were both kids. Weirdo." Keigo rolled his eyes. "I get it, you've been desperate and adults are jackasses."
"Your mom getting discharged?" Keigo asked. Tendo nodded. Keigo took his phone out, and snapped a photo of Tendo. "Don't make a 'joke' about taking photos of kids." Tendo huffed. "You were fun to talk to. I'll miss you."
"You have low standards if you enjoyed me insulting you."
"You're honest, and I like that. Even if you're very clearly a professional little shit." Tendo grinned proudly. "I hope I never see you again if that means your mother is better."
"Yeah. Hopefully you get out of here soon." Wishful thinking, but Tendo had started to be more positive the last few days. He had hope that Keigo didn't. Maybe because he wasn't the one in Keigo's shoes. The infection was getting worse and he was definitely needing vigorous treatment to stop it. "You shouldn't give up on being a hero."
Keigo's brows rose in surprise. It was something new to hear from the boy. "You should tell the world to fuck off and just do what you want, not some bullshit about feeling obligated. You wanted to help that kid because you wanted, not because you felt shitty about what you did to Touya. You don't need to make an excuse for everything about feeling the need to. Do shit cause you want to."
The teen smiled. "You have a way with words. You should try poetry."
"Nah, I'm more interesting in writing music. Edgy and depressing as fuck. Maybe I'll make a song about you. 'The Taste of Pessimism' maybe." He put his phone in his pocket. He stared at Keigo for a long moment. He walked forward and roughly grabbed Keigo's blond hair and kissed his forehead. "Feel better soon, Keigo." And he turned around and left.
Keigo was surprised. "Bye, Tendo," he sighed.
I'm so sick of waiting on the sun- Keigo's head snapped up when the music was cut off. A ringtone.
"I'm coming, shut up," Tendo's voice said. What a weird coincidence.
Suddenly a wave of complete nausea and exhaustion crashed over him. He passed out, and wouldn't wake up when everyone tried to. For hours. He woke suddenly and with no provocation. No sound, no touch. He jerked awake and sat up, feeling sick again. Oh god, was the infection finally getting there and he needed to be amputated?
He pulled his good leg up, and barely adjusted his left leg. Then he gasped, and slowly pulled the blankets off, and bent his leg. Where it would usually cause awful pain, he felt… nothing. And not like numb and dead. No pain. He lifted it up, and pulled the sweat pant leg up, and unwrapped the bindings. The skin was normal. There were no scars, no bruises. He noticed the steel pins and plating stuck against his leg in the wrappings.
He slammed his finger on the nurse call button he never used. Ayame came in. "Ayame, my leg is better!" Keigo wasn't one to lie, and had been pessimistic and depressed from the start. She looked at it, and was in shock and confusion, and immediately ordered an x-ray. When it was done, they were baffled that his bone was completely healed. There wasn't any damage, nothing. It was as good as new.
He stood up, and walked a few paces, tears of relief and happiness on his face. He skipped across the room then sprinted down the hall. He'd been in there for five weeks. What the hell happened? It had only been getting worse! Then he froze, and the smile on his face slipped off. Tendo was awfully suspicious about the goodbye. He kissed his head and then left.
The kid did not seem like the type to hug a stranger, let alone kiss them like he did. A healing kiss… like Recovery Girl. But Tendo didn't have a healing quirk, he could make food, he'd proven it to him, he's made a donut right in front of him. The way he talked… older than eleven, and wise. He knew a lot about the Dabi torture situation. He knew a lot about Keigo. He liked music. The ringtone.
He sprinted to the elevator and down to the floor that would have houses Tendo's mother. The woman was surprised when he skidded to a halt in front of the desk. "Did a woman with cancer get discharged today? One that was living here?"
"I- no. No, why do you ask?"
Keigo yanked his phone out and pulled up the photo of Tendo. "Did this boy come visit down here before?" he showed it to her.
"I'm sorry, I've never seen him before. Is everything alright?" Keigo nodded and turned around to walk back to the elevator. Dabi. Dabi was Tendo. He had multiple quirks, it wasn't odd to think he could change his appearance and voice completely. He must have used a healing quirk on him, when he kissed him. He'd been talking to the person he'd wanted to meet in person for so long the whole time.
A tear slid down his cheek. It wasn't a fair trade off. Why would Dabi have done such a thing? After what Keigo did to him. Maybe… maybe hearing Keigo's side without there being any reason for him to lie or try and make himself sound better convinced Dabi that he regret it. He was so emotional, and went to his bed to cry before he called Rumi and Orion. He'd be back soon.