Rambles Express

Present Day Earlier in the day, he didn't miss his parents sitting in the back listening in to his court case this time around. He almost missed them seeing the amount of news reporters and journalists in the courtroom with their notepads ready to scribble notes. He didn't look at them, especially his mother, Rei. Touya was still dressed in his court outfit. A suit fitted to his body with quirk canceling restraints connected to his wrists on the table. He had a migraine from listening to his new lawyer, Miori who worked under Reika for years and was the only one Reika trusted to handle his case without judgement. He had seen that lawyer before in the meetings with Reika before the court proceedings started. He had assumed she was an assistant. Unknowingly, Reika was actually preparing Miori to take over if the public ever found out the connection between her and Touya. Miori and the opposing lawyer talk all day. It was basically foreign language to him, but he tried to follow along. There was also an intern from Reika's law office who always provided sparknotes version of the court proceedings afterwards so he could understand what was happening. Touya had been thinking of Sugar's pastries all week, looking forward to his traditional yap session with Mia Sugars over some pastries. Unfortunately, it had been canceled due to his lawyers requesting a meeting at the last minute. At least Mia still left the pastries for him. 

Touya was already in a foul mood after spending hours sitting in the most uncomfortable chair imaginable while looking forward to speaking with Mia. She was the only one who provided updates on everyone he knew what they were doing now. He could ask her anything related to you or the kids, because you gave her permission to tell him whatever he wanted to know. 

Today, he had actually worked up the courage to ask about you to only lose the opportunity, which pissed him off.

He was mindlessly munching on pastries and nonchalantly offering them pastries to his lawyers who each took one. He was quite surprised to see Reika present at their private meeting. "Before you start cursing us out. I personally believe you should have the plea deal being offered through the HPSC. You would still be within the rehabilitation program for the next 20 years, but you would be able to live among society after transition instead of being locked up in this same building for that double amount of time with only limited privileges." Reika said, causing Touya to slowly chew and narrow his eyes suspiciously at her.  He looked at the folder that was oddly thick being slid over to him as if it was a trap. "We don't trust them." Touya stared at her knowing the history between HPSC with Renji and (Y/N). "I don't either, but the fine print within the contract doesn't lie as long as you meet your side of the agreement. A lot of people have taken this plea deal." Reika says as if it is to ease his skepticism.

Touya swiped his hands against his clothes, before reaching out to open the folder to immediately be greeted by large colorful words across the flyer. Criminal to Hero Route Rehabilitation Program. Immediately Touya started to cackling into laughter, "This is fucking joke." However he quickly quieted down when he realized no one else was laughing to actually realize this is a real and legit document. "Are you fucking being serious right now?" Touya asked, looking at Reika who merely shrugged. "I am a war criminal, a murder." Touya points out the sheer insanity of this offer being given to him. "I am a part of the organization that dismantled the whole hero society." "You were given the offer, just the rest of the league. All of you have potential." Reika says before taking another bite of her pastry. 

"What is the real reason? Because this is batshit fucking crazy for the government to allow this shit. There has to be a catch." Touya asks bluntly. "In short, we are still facing a hero shortage after the war. There is still an enormous gap left to be filled. Many of the older generational heroes are retiring, because they can no longer keep up with the demand of the job. Other heroes have moved overseas to work. A lot of the heroes in training left the profession entirely due to trauma or personal reasons after graduating and found work in other fields. The statistics show there is a strong potential for a new generation of heroes but that would be a couple years from now. They need people in the streets now as quickly as possible." Miori explained, showing Touya the data on her tablet indicating that the amount of people who wanted to become heroes dropped significantly.

"So their brilliant idea was to rehabilitate criminals into heroes to fill that gap. That's what you are saying, right." Touya deadpanned at her. "It originally started with the petty to low profiles, before expanding to higher profile cases, but not everyone is being offered this plea deal. The real crazy bat shit psychopaths, they weren't given this, because that is just asking for a disaster. Everyone who gets offered this plea deal undergoes psychological evaluation before the final decision is made. " Touya quietly listened while reading through the flyer, before lifting it. It reveals the thick stack of papers that made up the contract. His eyes automatically landed on the salary causing him to freeze with his eyes widened, before letting out a low whistle. "Let me guess. The reason a lot of criminals accepted this plea deal was because of the salary. Bunch of money motivated bastards." Touya comments, staring at the enormous number. … That has to be close to his father's salary as the number two hero….. "Yes, but that isn't the official amount." Reika explained."The salary can increase depending on your abilities shown throughout the training program. You are already given a higher salary on paper due to showing your combat skill, and how powerful and effective you can be with your quirk… well when you want to be. When you are being reckless as if you were still a newbie and burning yourself alive." Reika says, raising an eyebrow at Touya who shot her a flat look before returning to the contract and continuing to read. "Techinallly, you would serve as a hero for 10 years and remain under supervision of another hero willing to take you under their wing. You will continue attending therapy twice a week until your therapist determines otherwise. You will be evaluated every year for the following 10 years to ensure you are mentally stable and capable of marking your own decisions without outside influence. Any other rehabilitation services, you will continue to receive it for the next 20 years beyond your service of 10 years. You will receive the traditional salary and vacation time as the hero would." 

Reika leans back on her chair watching Touya flip through several pages. "What is the catch? It sounds too easy." Reika gives him a disbelief look. "Being a hero isn't easy. You will also receive PR training which I know for damn fact that's where you are going to struggle the most with that damn mouth of yours." Touya deadpanned and clarified. "I mean what happens if I don't follow their rules. I know being a hero isn't easy. I lived with one." "If you violate the agreement, You will be sent back here and serve your original sentence for however many years you are supposed to have. You will be cut off from society again with limited visitation privileges. That is the original plea deal we are currently fighting for." Miori says. 

Touya glanced back down at the contract. "Am I going to wear a monitor or something?" "You will be wearing an ankle monitor most of the time. Once you have demonstrated that you can follow the law. It can be removed after 5 years or earlier. It heavily depends on your prohibition officer who will be the hero. You will also live with them for the next 5 years as well." Miori said. Touya couldn't help but be disgusted, yet uncomfortable knowing he will be watched that closely for 5 years which would be halfway of his sentence if he were to take this crazy plea deal. It made his skin crawl.

Yet… The offer was tempting. He can eat whatever his heart desires when he is out instead of hospital food that surprisingly tastes good, but no junk food or sweet treats. "Has anyone in the league taken this plea deal?" Touya asked, before getting a nod from Reika. He knows she couldn't tell him who. "Can I have some time to think about it? Because it sounds like the government is desperate to close that gap with criminals." Touya looks down at the document in complete disbelief, before looking at Reika His eyes lifted towards Reika. "It's hypothetical and outright fucking absurd."

"There have been a lot of changes within the system over the last five years."

Reika says, feeling the stare from him. " I agree with you about its hypocristal and its batshit crazy." "Yet it is also an alternative where you are still able to interact with the outside world, instead of spending decades locked away and trying to adjust to society afterwards." Reika says, glancing at the folder in front of him. "Read over it and think about it. Sleep on it. You have about a week before you'll need to make a decision if you are going to stay within this faculty or take the weirdest plea deal I've ever seen." Miori says before collecting her things to pack up. "Feel free to write on it. That's your copy if you have any questions or don't understand." Reika stands up before looking at Touya. "Before I forget. Your probation officer will be Shouto if you decide to go through with it." Touya didn't try to stop the groan that left from his lips. How wonderful ... being babysit by his younger brother…

____________________________________ Over the next couple days, Touya found himself reading through the thick contract which was pretty much indirectly exploitative in a lot of ways, yet he kept reading it whenever he was bored which was majorly of the time. He hasn't earned any additional privileges yet and his case is still ongoing. Aside from the television in the common room, he is still disconnected from the outside world. He kills time by doing his physical therapy exercises daily, and slowly introduces his body to other exercises when nurses aren't watching him. It irritated his soul to feel so weak and pathetic, but knew recovery was going to be slow. It is going to take time to be remotely close to the strength he had before. Most days, he sat at the desk in his room and he would scribble notes on the margin of the document at the sections where he would need to get more clarification on or questions. From what he had gathered while reading the contract….

Anyone who accepted the plea deal would receive the same privileges and benefits as a licensed hero. The person would get hazard pay depending on the level of case or mission given to them. The contract is a 10 year commitment but there are circumstances that allow for early termination. If they permanently lose their quirk, suffer life threatening injury, or become disabled due work related incidents. They would no longer be required to complete their sentence as a hero.  They would only need to continue their rehabilitation requirements such as attempting mandatory mandatory therapy sessions. For the first two to five years, the participants  would live with their assigned probation officer and wear a quirk-suppressing tracking device in the form of ankle to wrist bracelets depending on the user's quirk. With approval from their probation officer, they could temporarily remove the restraints for up to twenty four hours, but would need to remain in contact during that period of time. Yet, Touya is actually contemplating on taking it despite already believing this batshit crazy plea deal. He could have life outside of these walls as long as he stays out of trouble and just does his part of the job and goes home along meeting the requirements of participating in nonprofit organizations. He could perhaps… He could reconnect and amend his relationships with his rest of the family and apologize. He could be an active father…the thought alone was terrifying, but it's better than being a deadbeat father.  He could actually be there instead of relying on letters and phone calls, especially with Renji who recently started sending letters together with Seishiro. Some drawings that Touya has no clue what he is looking at, until he reads what you wrote in the back to explain what it is. Seisihiro already informed him that you were forced to tell little Renji the truth because he is going to find out through someone else or a parent being hateful towards him due to him being the son of a murder. It was better for him to find out by you than a classmate or someone else.  Supposedly, Renji is already having a hard time at school because of the news being public knowledge and actively being isolated by his classmates due to their parents not wanting their kids to be around him anymore. Touya can't imagine the hell you are experiencing and trying to take the blunt force of the hate instead of the kids. A couple kids tried to pick fights with Seishiro but he just ignored them because it always pissed them even more when he was not acknowledging their presence. Seishiro kinda enjoys it… cheeky brat from what he read from the letters. Seishiro definitely learned or inherited that, because you would ignore someone and pretend they don't exist if they are trying to pick a fight with you. Because you thought it was a waste of time and energy in your eyes. … Atleast, his oldest isn't impulsive like him from what he has seen and read…. Touya is aware that you have hired them multiple bodyguards after the news was publicized which is a smart move. 

He is more than aware that he has made a lot of enemies and victim's families hatred towards him…. He is more than aware. He knows you are surrounded by good people, but the thought of it doesn't ease his guilt. He should be doing something. He should be there and take it instead of you or the kids. Sometimes thinks he should have kept his mouth and died in that cold dark clinic, alone. It would have spared you a headache. But now, someone is handing him over a contract and implying that he could have life as long he follows the rules. _________________ Bonus Scene Seishiro attempted to help by using his quirk to knock Renji out of sheer panic because his little brother kept engulfing himself in flames while screaming for you. The fire extinguishers weren't doing shit. Renji was crying and panicking because he couldn't turn it off. His panic was only making it worse. The water from the shower is starting to stop working, seeing the water turning into a stream. Seishiro could feel the flames getting hotter. He heard you, you raced up the stairs with multiple fire cooling blankets while speaking to an operator on the phone.

How was he supposed to know his quirk would be a bad match for his brother's quirk? He had never experienced pain fromabsorbing energy from someone else before. The intensity of it was too much. It felt like his body was burning from the inside out. Within seconds of activating his quirk was enough to throw him into dangerous high fever. Everything went black for him before he collapsed onto the bathroom floor.  The sight of Seishiro unconscious only made things worse. Renji's flames grew larger from seeing his brother on the ground because of him. You immediately abandoned any thought of using your quirk on Renji. You have to work with what you had with a different type of fire extinguisher,  and soak the fire blanket wrapping it around him until help arrives. You could feel yourself getting burned, but you kept talking to Renji trying to calm him down. The more scared and panicked he was, the worse the flames became. His flames reacted the same way as Touya's, which is the worst possible outcome. The fear intensified as the little flames started burning through the specialized blankets as if they were ordinary blankets. You were forcing yourself to remain calm talking to Renji and responding whenever the operator spoke through the speaker from your phone.

10 years ago Touya doesn’t know what’s happening -- only that it’s either your mother and Renji, or the heroes, making the whole facility shake and knocking the power out. Kiki jumps at the opportunity to unlock the cage in the dark. It takes a group effort to pry open the metal door.

The quirk suppression is still in effect, but they can use a partial amount of their abilities. Better than nothing. The emergency lights flicker back on.

It ends up with Touya carrying you on his back while Hawks lead the way and Kiki stays behind him. It’s just the four of them taking this hallway, despite the bird. Another hero in training trying to voice reason. The other hero students didn’t trust his instincts and went the opposite direction.

Hawks use his feathers to move accordingly. It’s too quiet, but distant fighting echoes through the halls. The deeper they go, the cooler and creepier it becomes.

Touya’s quirk is slowly coming back. He manages to maintain a small flame on his index finger before readjusting you on his back, keeping one arm free and ready.

He doesn’t like how uneven your breathing has been for what feels like hours. Kiki was right. You’re getting worse. Dark, vein-like marks spread across your skin, and heavy bags form under your eyes. You’re getting sicker by the minute, and you haven’t woken up at all.

It’s unnerving… how lifeless you feel. Your arms occasionally hit his chest as he matches Hawks’ pace.

“Hawks, are you sure we’re going the right way?” Kiki asks.

“I believe so…”

Touya is about to snap back when he hears you whisper, letting the two continue bickering.

“Drakon, can you use your quirk?”

“Yeah.” “Be ready. When I tell you, throw a wave of flames, but start running the opposite direction. Whatever that thing is… it doesn’t look human.”

Touya doesn’t hesitate. He bolts in the opposite direction, leaving the two mid-argument as screams of horror echo through the dark hallways.

They turn just in time to see the empty space where Touya had been....already gone, nearly swallowed by the darkness.

They chase after him, making a sharp turn to the left, nearly colliding with the wall as another blood-curdling scream echoes from the direction Touya almost continued toward.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Kiki asks.

“No.”

“What do you mean no?!” Hawks snap from behind him.

“We’re running from whatever that thing is. He’s my eyes. I’m basically blind right now. The only thing I can do is recognize the shape of energy… feel it. And that thing doesn’t feel human.”

“It could be a mutant,” Hawks argues.

"It’s not. It’s something that doesn’t even remotely have traditional human or mutant anatomy,” you whispered, loud enough for the two to hear.

“Are we going to ignore that you just said you’re blind?” Hawks asks. He can’t see well either, and you’re resting your chin in the opposite direction of his on the taller teenager.

Silence settles over the three of them. Then you tap the left side of Touya’s chest, and he immediately takes the earliest possible left turn.

A silent message: none of them trust him with that kind of information—despite the fact that Touya doesn’t know the answer either. But it’s not the time or place to be asking those questions.

“Behind you!”

Without warning, Touya turns around, sending a large wave of blue flames forward as a barrier.

It reveals exactly what you said it wasn’t.

It isn’t human.

The head is split open, exposing its brain. Its limbs are stitched together from different bodies like a twisted stitched-together experiment. The smell of a corpse hits instantly, thick and suffocating.

The blue flames illuminate an inhuman smile stretched from ear to ear behind the fire. Something about it makes Touya’s instincts snap. He throws out larger waves of flame, the color shifting from red-orange to deep blue as he forces more power through, then immediately breaks into a run.

"Left!"

Touya threw flames to his left, hearing piercing screams as the creature was engulfed in fire. Just inches away from snatching them before it stepped back into the shadows. He kept moving, throwing flames at every corner on your command.

His heart felt like it was beating against his throat. He could hear it in his ears so loud. His body locked in a pure fight-or-flight response.

He nearly crashed into a wall when he realized it had stopped before the harsh realization hit that it was a dead end. He stared at it in disbelief, then immediately turned his body back around to see the creatures down the hallway, barely illuminated by his flames.

His flames were barely doing anything.

“How confident are you in a concentrated fire attack? Like a beam or something like that?” you yell over the monsters’ screeching.

“I don’t know,” he answers weakly, his eyes darting desperately as he searches for anything. Any option.

“I need a solid answer. Yes or no!” you shout back at him, your legs slipping from around his waist.

“Yes!”

Touya wasn’t prepared for you to suddenly drop your weight. He stops instinctively as your grip shifts. Your hand sliding from his shoulder to his back, mapping his posture through touch since you can’t see. Then both of your hands press firmly against him.

“Do you trust me?” you ask, peeking your head out from behind his back, forcing him to meet your gaze.

Touya makes eye contact with your null eyes and notices the black veins slowly creeping up your jaw. The flames around them illuminate the hallway, the heat in the facility rising.

“This isn’t going to work if you don’t trust me.”

Touya stares at you for a moment, then glances toward the creatures in the hallway.

“If we die, I’m haunting you in the afterlife. Forever.” 

Touya gets into position, completely ignoring Kiki and Hawks’ shock at how easily he accepted your reckless idea.

"Fine by me." you huff, pressing your hands firmly against his back as you adjust your stance. “Kiki, pull me off once more than one is taken down. Hawks, push them into a line for him." 

Hawks stare at all of them, confused, but it’s already clear Kiki has committed. She shifts from beside him to stand near you, hand hovering over your jacket, ready to pull you away.

“You guys are batshit crazy. Have you ever practiced a fusion attack?” Hawks asks, watching how naturally you all fall into position.

“No.”

The unison of “no” only makes Hawks panic even more.

“This can backfire so badly,” Hawks says, panicking as he lets out distressed, bird-like sounds.

“I don’t know about you, but I’d rather take my chances of being blown up or burned than being torn apart! So yeah, I’m going along with their suicidal plan!” Kiki retorts, glaring at Hawks to get it together.

“Try your best to aim for whatever counts as their head,” you say, trying to focus despite the pounding migraine behind your eyes and the dizzy spell hitting you as you stand on your own with barely any support. Your body feels like it’s screaming at you, but you force it down.

“Fire is useless against those things,” Touya states flatly.

“No one can erase the death touch,” you reply, pressing your palms firmly against his back and activating your quirk.

Touya clenches his teeth as the energy hits him. It isn’t the usual soft sensation he feels when you heal his wounds. The kind that feels like a cloud. This is different. Harsh. Brutal. It burns through him like fire being forced from the inside out.

"Now!" Kiki yells out.

Touya can’t help but cry out, forcing himself to push through the pain as he focuses everything on the target’s head. Beside him, Hawks aligns the creatures perfectly using his feathers, dragging them into position despite sacrificing several in the process.

The temperature in the room rises sharply. The once-blue flames morph into white fire as they tear through the hallway, collapsing parts of the ceiling while burning through the heads before the creatures can regenerate. Over his scream, you were screaming too, tears welling in your eyes as you pushed every last bit of your remaining energy into Touya, despite the feeling that your skull was splitting apart.

Then you break into a repeated chant, like a prayer. Slow at first, before deepening into something darker and more distorted. Nothing like your normal voice, becoming more desperate with every repetition. “Focus… focus…”

When Kiki sees the creatures still screeching and realizes none of them are still standing, she immediately pulls you off Touya’s back and yanks him backward, dragging him out of your reach. He staggers, nearly losing his balance.

Without hesitation, you run toward the headless creatures as they try to regenerate, slamming your hand onto whatever limb you can reach. Your quirk activates instantly, and you ignore the burning heat spreading across your skin.

Within the blink of an eye, the screeching stops.

Silence takes over as the bodies collapse inward, folding into themselves before dropping to the ground like empty shells. You move through them quickly, continuing down the hallway.

Kiki pulls both boys by the arms and follows your lead, clearing the pathway. Your body begins to glow faintly in the dark like a dim glow stick after the last body falls, before you stop and drop to your knees.

“(Nickname)?” Kiki asks hesitantly, watching you struggle to catch your breath.

“Still me… but that was close,” you cough out, forcing yourself upright again before waving them over.

“I have too much energy,” you say vaguely, slightly unsteady as you walk toward them.

You press your hand over Hawks’ face. He freezes instantly as his injuries begin to heal.

Then you do the same for Kiki, but more gently. Your hand resting on her arm as her bruises fade away.

Touya has his back turned, using his quirk to burn the corpses into ash. He watches the flames consume them, ignoring the vile, suffocating smell.

He only catches the sound of your footsteps behind him. Touya turns his head and sees no black veins, just your familiar eyes reflecting the firelight. Your body still carries a faint glow, soft and dim like a dying ember rather than something blinding. The flames illuminate your face as you turn to face him.

"You’re back to normal,” Touya says, carefully watching you.

“Yeah,” you murmur, staring at his busted face almost like you’re admiring it, which makes Touya feel strangely exposed. “Thank you for trusting me, Drakon.”

“Don’t start getting weird on me now,” Touya teases.

You let out a small huff of amusement. “You should get used to it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters. “Pain in my ass.”

But he doesn’t sound bothered when he says it. He watches as you turn away from him, your attention drifting toward the flames slowly dying out.

“You were going to lose control, weren’t you?” He asks quietly, studying your expression when it doesn’t shift even an inch.

“I was,” you admit. It was the detached calmness in your voice that caught him off guard.

“If things had gone bad…” you continue softly, “he would’ve been collateral damage. There wouldn’t have been another option.”

Touya’s eyes narrow slightly. Were you saying you would’ve killed Hawks?

“You could’ve just as-”

“Absolutely not!” you snap.

The sharpness in your voice comes out harsher than intended, your head snapping toward him fast enough to make Touya tense.

Your pupils are gone completely. Nothing but glowing white stares back at him.

“…Sorry,” you mutter after a second, your voice quieter now. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

Touya stays silent, watching your side profile until your pupils slowly return to normal.

Touya stays quiet for a second, watching your side profile for your pupil return like normal  before his gaze lowers to your hands. Your fingers are twitching. There’s a faint tremor running through your arms, barely noticeable beneath the glow still clinging to your skin.

A side effect.

Touya realizes he barely knows anything about your quirk. You never talk about it. Never brag about it. Hell, most of the time he forgets how dangerous it actually is until moments like this.

“You don’t gotta apologize,” Touya says finally, scratching lightly at the side of his neck. “We almost got ripped apart back there.”

The tension hangs between you for another second before he clicks his tongue.

“…Still.”

His eyes flick toward the ashes still burning before the flames finally die out, leaving the hallway darker save for the faint glow still clinging to your skin beside him. “We make a pretty good team.” You glance over to him, soft smiling. "That strangely sounds like a compliment." "…You looked creepy as hell. Glowing those shitty glow sticks” Touya says purposely, making you laugh.

"You just couldn't let it be." You say before handing out your hand. Touya stared back at your hand rather than your face.

"What are you doing?" Touya asks, knowing for darn fact what you are trying to do.

“Asking permission to touch you. As always,” you answer simply. “We can walk while I heal you. That busted lip and black eye can’t feel great.

“I’m fine,” Touya says automatically.

“I have too much energy,” you counter before he can brush you off further. “I need to get rid of it somehow.”

Touya clicks his tongue softly, eyes narrowing at your outstretched hand.

"Happy now? Doc." Touya says, but he reaches out and loosely takes your hand. You give him a soft squeeze and activate your quirk for him to feel the familiar energy. The soft cloud-like sensation that almost tickles. "Yeah"

Touya exhales through his nose and starts walking. He falls into step beside you without thinking, letting you drag that steady current of energy through him. It takes the edge off the pain he hadn’t fully admitted was there.

It doesn’t take long before you end up with Kiki again, immediately dragged into an argument with Hawks, who insists he knows where he’s going while clearly proving the opposite. According to him, this whole place is a damn maze.

Touya doesn’t bother stepping in. Not really.

After a few more back-and-forths, the three of them eventually agree on one thing. Follow the burn marks on the walls and ceiling from him and you, since that’s the only proof they’re not completely lost.

He doesn’t have the energy to argue. He just agrees with the two of you because it’s pretty clear the bird doesn’t know what he’s talking about anyway. 

All he can think about is a shower and sleep. _________________________________

The four of them continued through the hallways, finding no more creatures or guards in sight. The only destruction remained ceiling panels torn open, walls scorched and collapsed further down the facility.

Kiki lets out a low whistle. "That’s actually scary… seeing how far it went.”

It was unsettling. Like the damage stretched farther than any of them should’ve been able to reach.

“Remind me to never piss you two off at the same time,” she mutters under her breath. 

Then…

A familiar voice comes from further down the hallway. Golden eyes glow faintly in the dark.

Almost unsettling, the pupils slit-like in the dim light. Beside him stands another figure holding a flashlight.

“Brats?!”

“Why would you think they’d respond to tha-"  an unfamiliar voice starts, cutting through the quiet hallway.

“Old man!”   “Renji!”

“Because they are my brats,” Renji says casually.

He lets them get closer then immediately blinds them all with a sudden flash of light.

“Ah—!” everyone flinches at the brightness.

"Any injuries?” Renji asks flatly.

“No,” Kiki answers immediately.

Renji sweeps the light over them in a quick scan, his gaze lingering on your alert, before dropping to Touya, who is still half-turning away from the flashlight, trying to swat the flashlight out of his face.

“You’re overdoing it,” Renji says, unimpressed. “He’s fine.”

Only then do you release your quirk and let go of Touya’s hand.

Touya is still blinking away the black spots in his vision when he finally notices Renji properly. …wearing what looks like a hero costume that he has never seen before and a lower-ranked pro hero standing beside him.

He notices Renji's eyes narrow slightly, carefully looking him over. “Is something wrong?” the hero asks, uneasy.

Renji turns toward him with a smooth, practiced smile.

“It's nothing.”

The tone doesn’t match the look in his eyes at all. The snake mutant changes the subject immediately.

“I’m guessing the two of you are responsible for the white flames that tore through the other side of the facility… and for helping us locate the missing kids.”

The flashlight tilts upward, revealing more of the ceiling damage.

“Both of you separately are already dangerous,” Renji continues. “Something must’ve happened for you to take a gamble like that. Especially if Kiki didn’t stop you.”

Silence falls over the four of them. The two kids in question purposely look in opposite directions, avoiding eye contact and expecting a lecture.

No one expects Renji to suddenly step forward and ruffle both your hair and Touya’s in one rough motion, causing Touya to stiffen for a second at the unexpected touch before slowly relaxing.

“Good job.” Touya doesn’t realize the corner of his mouth lifts slightly. __________________________________ As Touya sits on the back of the ambulance with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, he’s left alone after being cleared of any injuries serious enough to need further medical attention.

Kiki and Hawks had already been pulled in different directions by investigators collecting testimonies.

Touya just watches from a distance. You move between the survivors and the paramedics. The other teenagers and even a middle schooler who somehow made it out of that hellhole alive. He has a moment to himself and lowers his guard because he’s too mentally drained to deal with anything else. He doesn’t even notice the heavy footsteps approaching beside the ambulance. 

"Are you the one responsible for those white flames that we saw and help locate everyone within that maze?" Touya freezes instantly, almost like a statue.

It had almost been six years since he last heard that voice in person. He hadn’t purposely sought out a video of him in years either, too busy occupying himself with other things. His eyes automatically drop to the ground, wanting to be anywhere else but here. Anywhere is better than this.

He hadn’t thought about him or his family in a long time… His throat starts closing up, something tight and wrong settling in his chest. The feeling only intensifies when his eyes land on those familiar boots.

The same ones he used to play with when he was little and didn’t know any better…

Back when his father had been someone else. Before he became this thing. A walking representation of obsession. “Yeah,” Touya forces out, though every instinct in him wants to run. His body won’t listen. He stays frozen, staring at the ground like a deer caught in headlights. "Hm. Seems like you still lack control over your flames. You weren’t what I expected for someone producing flames that powerful.” Touya’s body locks up even more. His dull nails dig into his palms as he fights to stop himself from trembling. He wasn’t ready to face him yet. He hadn’t even let himself think about him for years, only for the first words out of his father’s mouth to rip open old wounds all over again. 

“Boy, lift your head if you’re going to pretend to make eye contact. Haven’t your parents taught you that this behavior is rude?” Endeavor says again.

Touya slowly lifts his head, fighting every instinct telling him not to show fear, but his body refuses to cooperate. He can feel his temperature rising again, painfully familiar to that day in the forest.

He should have better control over his quirk…but he doesn’t even have the mental capacity to deal with his father right now.

“Have we met before?” Endeavor asks suddenly, eyes widening slightly as if something about Touya feels familiar.

It’s too much.

His breath hitched once, and twice. The weight of Endeavor’s stare drags him right back into the past. Back to being that little boy desperately trying to make his father listen to him. Trying to prove he was still worth looking at. Practically screaming for him not to give up on him.

His throat tightened painfully, closing in on itself while his chest felt unbearably heavy, like something was crushing down on him.

He couldn't fucking breathe. 

His mind wasn’t here anymore. It was stuck in the past. Reliving the forest incident and every moment Touya had tried to make his father understand him. Tried to stop him from pushing him aside and replacing him with his younger brother. Only to be ignored. Shoved away. Yelled at over and over again. 

His hands curled tighter in his lap, nails digging harder into his palms until he couldn’t even feel them anymore.

His body temperature kept rising alongside his uneven breathing, painfully similar to that time in the forest when he was completely alone. He couldn’t see anything except his father. Couldn’t think properly.

He saw the concern on Endeavor’s face as his hand reached toward him, but all Touya could think about was being struck in an attempt to stop him from using his quirk.

That little boy lost control back at Sekoto Peak.

“No! No!” The words escaped his mouth before he could process what he was doing. He shook his head violently, trying to make himself smaller.

A flicker of flame appeared on his shoulder, then another, burning through his clothes and starting to eat through the blanket. His whole body trembled, muscles tensing tightly.

The commotion immediately made everyone look over, halting everything they were doing.

Kiki was already running toward Touya the moment she saw the flames, clearly realizing he wasn’t in the right state.

“Drakon! Stop!”

Renji was already pulling a fire blanket from the fire truck, tearing open the packaging as he rushed toward him. His expression twisted in horror at the sight of Touya slowly being engulfed in flames while the Number Two Hero stood frozen in place, not moving.

Renji body-slammed into the hero to shove him out of the way, especially if he was going to stand there like an idiot. He immediately threw the fire blanket over Touya.

He didn’t even flinch at the burns on his hands as he aggressively patted Touya down, desperately trying to smother the flames. "Breathe! Drakon! Breathe!” Renji shouted in panic while Kiki launched herself forward and touched his ankle. The only part of his body hadn't been engulfed in flames yet. She deactivated his quirk.

You rushed past the flame hero and dropped down beside Touya, immediately trying to pull him out of the panic attack as you noticed Kiki beginning to remove her hand, risking his quirk flaring back up again.

You gently cupped Touya’s face, speaking softly while using the fire blanket to shield him from everyone else. Creating a narrow space, forcing his focus onto you, like a tunnel. "Hey, hey. Look at me" 

His pupils trembled, darting in every direction at once. You pulled the blanket tighter around him, blocking out everything else until his eyes finally locked onto yours.

“Focus on me,” you said, steady and patient. “There you go. Take a deep breath.”

“I can’t,” Touya choked out, gasping for air.

“Yes, you can,” you replied gently, keeping your voice calm. “I’ve got you. When have I not? Just copy me, okay? One breath.”

He tried, but it came out broken and uneven.

You softly caressed his cheek, wiping away his tears without judgment. Focusing on grounding him through touch, forcing his focus to stay in the present instead of spiraling away. “That’s good,” you murmured. “Again.”

You didn’t break eye contact as you guided him. “There you go. Take another deep breath for me. Just focus on me.”

His shoulders slowly began to drop as the breaths evened out. Your thumb brushed gently under his eye, steady and reassuring. His hands unclenched from his palms and gripped your jacket instead. “You’re safe. You’re here with us. You’re not there anymore,” you said softly.

You finally lowered your hands. Touya let out a shaky exhale, squeezing his eyes shut as the tension slowly left his body.

His forehead dipped forward until it rested against your stomach without thinking, his grip on your jacket tight but no longer frantic. Your hands moved to the back of his head, fingers threading gently through his hair beneath the blanket.

“You’re safe. I’ve got you,” you murmured again. “Renji’s here. Nothing’s going to happen to you, okay?”

His breathing stayed uneven, but he was calmer now. Still clinging to you, still trembling. You kept talking him through the attack, gradually guiding him into the ambulance instead of letting him collapse on the ground, giving him privacy inside the vehicle.

Renji was still there, adjusting the blanket around him like a ghost, watching as Touya climbed inside. The mutant used his size to shield him as he moved.

The wounds he never truly healed from had been ripped open again, dragging him straight back into a place he never fully left behind.

The ambulance doors closed, sealing him away from the outside. Giving him privacy, and space to focus on himself instead of everything around him.

___________________________________ Bonus Scene (This is through the perceptive of Renji. Touya is Drakon to his acknowledgment until further notice.) Minutes later, Renji and Pro Hero Endeavor got into a verbal argument away from the ambulance where Drakon was. It became heated so quickly that police officers and other heroes started stepping between them before things could escalate further. Renji wasn’t even trying to hide his fury. Veins bulged from his neck and forehead while his eyes narrowed into glowing slits. Fangs slowly grew past his lips, and the scales beneath his eyes spread further across his skin the angrier he became. He stood slightly taller than Enji, maintaining direct eye contact without backing down. Renji’s suspicions had already been growing from the bits and pieces Drakon would casually let slip here and there.

The theories he and Mia pieced together led them to believe Drakon came from a dysfunctional….possibly abusive family. Most likely an older sibling too, judging by the way he behaved around the friend group. The subtle flinching at sudden movements and loud noises despite pretending nothing was wrong. The constant tension in his body no matter how relaxed he tried to appear. Drakon’s face had almost completely healed, leaving behind only faint scars thanks to you healing him. And who knew how long you had been giving him energy down in that hellhole before everyone was finally found.

Renji had started searching into what exactly the boy was running from and why he refused to reveal his real name. It was obvious Drakon had no intention of ever returning to wherever he came from. Renji looked into missing person cases, abnormal deaths declared without bodies, and unsolved incidents.

Then he saw it. The moment the flashlight hit Drakon’s face properly inside the facility, Renji immediately recognized those eyes and certain features belonging to a particular top-ranking hero.

Renji was more than aware that one of that hero’s sons had supposedly died in a forest fire caused by his own quirk. The scars matched the aftermath of a fire quirk too powerful for the body to handle. A body slowly forced to build tolerance to temperatures it was never naturally meant to survive.

The boy would’ve been around Drakon’s age too.

Drakon also showed signs of coming from wealth. He knew things only rich families would know. The expensive chocolates you and Reika occasionally brought over? Drakon recognized the brand instantly without being told what they were.

Renji already knew the boy’s natural hair color wasn’t black either.

He had caught you multiple times with gloves on, holding a comb covered in black dye while Drakon sat quietly on a lower chair so you could reach his hair properly.

It was obvious the boy had come a long way, even if Drakon constantly insisted it still wasn’t enough.

Drakon always pretended his eyes didn’t light up like a child on Christmas whenever Renji complimented his new tricks or acknowledged improvements in his control. Renji had watched the slow progress in the boy’s self-confidence and self-worth.

It is slow progress, but progress nonetheless. All that boy ever wanted was to be seen and heard.

Images flashed through Renji’s mind: Drakon’s cocky smirks, shy mischievous grins, and the rare genuine laughs he managed to pull from the boy during the short time he had known him.

Renji had watched Drakon slowly come out of his shell, become more comfortable in his own skin, and try not to self-destruct every chance he got.

Renji knew damn well he wasn’t exactly the greatest influence himself, but that didn’t stop him from trying to teach the kid healthier habits.

Someone has to. Never in his life had Renji seen such pure fear and anxiety on that boy’s face.

That alone confirmed the old burn scars were connected to his quirk and tied deeply to his emotional and mental state.

Drakon had frozen like a deer in headlights while that hero hovered over him. Renji still didn’t know exactly what triggered the panic attack. The boy had never shown signs of having them before.

A boy Renji knew never froze at anything, always reacting with fight or flight depending on the situation and his fear response. It didn’t look like a fan meeting their idol or a kid feeling intimidated by a hero.

That look…that reaction… only confirmed one thing.

Drakon knew exactly who that hero was.

It was personal.

So Renji couldn’t stop himself from getting into an argument with the hero.

All Renji saw standing in front of him was an unequipped hero, a potential abuser, and possibly Drakon’s biological father. “You call yourself a hero? You just stood there and DID NOTHING while a kid was about to burn himself alive during a panic attack!” Renji spat, stepping forward after watching the hero dismiss Kiki before glaring down at her in an obvious intimidation tactic.

“In that condition, he was a danger to himself and everyone on site,” Endeavor stated without an ounce of emotion or empathy, as if merely stating a fact.

“Do you hear yourself? Those kids just went through something traumatic and we still don’t even know the full details yet, and you’re already blaming the kid.” Renji slowly stalked closer.

“You approached the victim while breaking protocol. You must’ve said something insensitive. Those kids barely made it out alive! That kid played the biggest role in locating everyone before they ended up like the others who died down there.”

The muscles around Renji’s eyes tightened.

“I’ll ask again,” Renji says coldly. “Why didn’t you react properly to the situation despite being a man with years of experience?” 

“I don’t need a lecture from someone who hasn’t been active in the field for years and lacks the proper training to handle situations like this,” Endeavor replied sharply. “You’re reacting emotionally—” “I may be an old man, but the number one rule is to adapt and react to the situation as a hero,” Renji cut in. “Maybe the kid lost control of his quirk, but no one comes out of a place like that mentally okay. You did not react accordingly, and his death would have been on your hands if his friend and I hadn’t intervened in time. That boy would have engulfed himself in flames and potentially burned himself to death.”

Renji’s expression didn’t change as he spoke, his tone flat and certain.

Endeavor’s expression hardened. “Watch your tone.”

“What I would have expected is a father to react instead of freezing up,” Renji continued coldly. “Especially a father who already lost one of his children to a forest fire connected to his own son’s quirk.”

Endeavor's flames reacted immediately at the mention of his dead son, Touya. “You failed your son when it came to teaching him control,” Renji pressed on. “You preach control, but did you ever actually teach your own child? Or would you have failed this boy the same way you failed your own blood?”

His eyes narrowed further. “You have no right to preach about control when you couldn’t even save your own son from your flames.”

Endeavor suddenly backhanded him across the face.

Renji’s head turned slightly with the impact but he didn’t move otherwise. Slowly, he turned back, half his face already covered in spreading scales, his gaze locked on Endeavor. “That’s called neglect,” Renji spat. “And neglect falls under abuse.”

The other side of his face hardened further as a dangerous, crooked smile formed.

“Tell me something, Endeavor,” he said quietly. 

“Does the Number Two Hero abuse his children?” Renji said with a slight tilt of his head, watching Endeavor's expression and body language closely. A subtle reaction. Something most people would miss, but not him.

It was the kind of pause the HSPC had drilled into him years ago: find the pressure point, push it, and wait for the truth to slip through.

The moment of silence stretched.

Nearby heroes exchanged uncertain glances, the implication beginning to spread through the group. It was subtle, but enough to become dangerous for a career.

“No,” Endeavor said sharply.

Renji’s smile vanished instantly, the shift in his expression almost unsettling in its suddenness.

That was all he needed.

He was already letting go of the consequences. Losing a hero license he hadn’t used in decades meant nothing. If the hero was smart, he would try to arrest him. Renji isn't afraid of prison as long. He gets a good hit on the hero. “That was a very delayed response,” Renji said slowly before throwing a punch. Endeavor blocked it with his metal braces, but the impact cracked and damaged them under Renji’s strength.

“Perhaps you should try picking on someone your own size instead of children who can’t fight back against a grown man.”

Within seconds, Renji shattered both metal braces of Endeavor's costume, and the fight escalated into a full physical exchange of brutal blows.

Renji wasn’t holding back despite his age or the burns spreading across his body. If anything, it only pushed him further. He pressed forward relentlessly, each strike harder than the last. Endeavor matched his force without hesitation, escalating his own attacks as well.

Nearby police officers and heroes attempted to intervene, but barely avoided being caught in the flames erupting between them. Renji’s claws moved rapidly through the heat, and he didn’t even flinch at the burns as he used them defensively, tearing through sections of Endeavor’s thick hero costume.

It was over before the backup heroes arrived from deeper within the facility investigation. When they reached the scene, they only saw Renji driving his fist into Endeavor’s face, while the other hand grabbed his costume and slammed him into the ground with his body weight.

The mutant watched the realization finally settle across Endeavor’s face. He couldn’t move.

Renji immediately took a couple of steps back and let instinct take over. He snapped his jaw a few times into the air to ease the ache building in his gums before spitting the deadly venom pooling around his fangs safely away from everyone nearby. …Usually, by now, his body would have already pushed him to bite his victim. Decades of doing that kind of work didn’t just disappear overnight, and those old instincts had suddenly resurfaced after being buried for so long. 

But instead, Renji knelt down and pulled out a small case containing a prepared syringe. Calmly, he uncapped it before stabbing it into Endeavor’s chest and injecting the anti-venom into his system to prevent the hero from dying. 

Renji could see the police officers’ hands hovering over their weapons.

“It’s anti-venom!” Renji barked sharply at them. “I doubt your children would mourn you for very long if you died,” Renji said flatly, staring directly into Endeavor’s eyes. “But killing you over suspicion alone isn’t my decision to make.” 

He tilted his head slightly before a sharp grin crept across his face.

“For someone ranked Number Two, your close combat is rather disappointing.”

A pause.

“At least All Might knew how to make a fight interesting.”

Renji pushed himself back to his feet and immediately raised his hands in surrender. Police officers rushed forward, quickly forcing him into cuffs without resistance.

As they restrained him, Renji glanced over toward you and Touya. The fire blanket completely covered the boy from head to toe while you kept a tight grip on his wrist, stopping him from rushing toward the scene.

For a moment, Renji’s expression softened as his pupils returned to normal, the slit shape fading instantly. Almost immediately after, his familiar cunning grin returned, as if trying to ease the tension in the air. 

“You two take care of each other, alright?”

“And don’t cause too much trouble, troublemaker.”

…………….

…………

………

……

…

..

.

As time went by, Renji’s case moved through court proceedings. He was assigned community service and ordered to attend anger management classes.

Unknown to Touya, Renji had already asked his most trusted allies to keep an eye on his “troublemaker brat.” Despite that, Touya had built his own reputation in those circles. Largely due to his connection to Renji and Mia Sugars.

In those streets, there was an unspoken rule: they protected their own.

Touya had already proven himself part of that world multiple times, especially during periods when officials were searching for runaway children tied to criminal networks.

He never confirmed anything. He never denied anything either.

He simply acted like he knew nothing. Only to quietly pass warnings to whoever was being targeted after officials left the pastry shop. Because of that and his connection to Renji and Mia Sugars. Touya became extremely difficult to trace. People feared crossing that line more than they feared the authorities themselves. No one wanted to make them an enemy; most knew they wouldn’t survive long enough to regret it. When undercover heroes and police began circling, trying to gather information about him, they found no solid leads.

Mia had already handled it. She erased his tracks, completely emptying Touya’s apartment and leaving no trace of his residence behind. She even terminated the lease under her own name, since she had signed it initially to secure it. By the time officials realized the connection, it was already too late.

At first, Touya was angry when he found out. But he didn’t question her. He knew she didn’t make drastic decisions without a solid reason. During that time, Touya spent more nights at your shared apartment with Kiki in a different city, as the three of you dealt with recurring night terrors from the laboratory.

There were periods when Mia told him not to come by for weeks. He didn’t argue. She still paid him as if he had worked. If she needed him, she simply left deliveries wherever he happened to be.

Meanwhile, the Number Two Hero, Endeavor, continued visiting the pastry shop, asking if she had seen a boy matching Touya’s middle-school appearance. “I apologize, but I solely run this shop by myself. I don’t have anyone matching the description you’re looking for.” Mia played the role of an innocent older woman who couldn’t possibly be involved in anything questionable. She always gave the same answer, firm but polite, as though she genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.

The hero continued visiting the pastry shop at different times and on different days. Sometimes he sent trusted sidekicks to search the surrounding area instead. The pattern continued for months.

Neither Renji nor Mia ever brought it up to Touya. They knew the boy had made it clear he had no intention of returning to the home he grew up in.

Out of respect, they chose to let him tell them on his own terms. If he ever chose to at all. When that time came, they would still be there to support him.

The two were well aware they were not perfect role models. But it didn’t stop them from trying to be better than what the world had made them, in whatever ways they could for him.

They had grown attached to the foul-mouthed, mischievous brat. _______________________________________________________

A/N: Please tell me your thoughts about this chapter, because there was a lot of editing and rewriting until I felt satisfied with it. I would really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts.

I’ve mentioned this before in earlier chapters, but this Touya in this story will be different compared to canon Touya when it comes to fighting style and how efficiently he uses his quirk. He has proper guidance on how to effectively use his quirk in a fight and apply strategy. He will be a more dangerous threat than he was in canon, being trained by a former HPSC assassin, the snake mutant Renji.

Both Mia and Renji have grown attached to him and are willing to do anything to keep him safe. It took a lot of time for Touya to open up, and they just want him to live his life the way he wants to. He is their “brat” in their eyes, and that is the main reason Touya has been safe within those streets after becoming familiar with them, aside from being Y/N’s friend.

Renji is a master at rage-baiting LOL and gets a thrill out of it. He really cares about Touya, which is why he purposely picked a fight to get his hands on Enji. Renji believes he is the reason Touya has his issues, because it must have stemmed from somewhere—unintentionally putting him on Endeavor’s radar because of his slip-up about “burning to death.” The curiosity and fear were eating Endeavor alive.

As the previous chapter implied, that is Seishiro’s origin from this kidnapping and hostage situation. Dr. Garaki had other plans, but those were destroyed when the heroes found the hideout. Dr. Garaki purposely released those prototype Nomu to ensure there were no survivors.

A dead body can’t tell the tale of what happened in there.

I’m really curious what you guys think made Touya snap and turn into the villain route. Feel free to comment below with the little lore I’ve given you. He was thriving!

The following chapters will be back in the present! Hopefully I showed the dynamic that Renji and Touya once had. What do you guys think of the dynamic between Remedy and Touya as it is developing?

As always, feel free to share your theories or predictions about what you think is going to happen in the next chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone who has commented on the previous chapters and for your kind words. Your comments seriously mean the world to me. 💖 I’m so grateful to know there are people who want to read more.

Your comments motivate me to keep working on chapters. Maybe it’s the fact that someone else wants to see this idea come to life—I will become Kirby: absorbing your comments and giving you chapters in return.