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For the past ten years, Todoroki Rei had developed a normal, daily routine.
It was as ‘normal’ as normal could get when she lived in the psych ward of a hospital, anyways. Even so, she deemed it ‘normal’ for her current living situation.
Each day would go something like this: wake up, eat breakfast, attend morning counseling, have some free time before lunch, eat lunch, interact with fellow patients, attend evening counseling, eat dinner, have a few hours of free time, then finally sleep. Rinse and repeat.
She would typically spend her free time writing letters to her children or reading the ones she received from them. Other times she would indulge in a book one of the nurses would carefully provide for her, since her doctor didn’t view it wise to allow her access to television yet. Not that she didn’t mind - books let her mind wander far more than any TV broadcast ever could.
Sometimes Rei’s pattern of normalcy would be wonderfully interrupted when one (or more!) of her children came to visit. Though it was often out of the blue, days like those were always Rei’s favorite. Nothing could ever spark as much love and joy in her heart as her kids could.
Even though her relatively simple day-to-day way of life may seem boring to others, she was content enough with it. Truthfully, it was far better than the feeling of chaos and uncertainty the Todoroki household held all those years ago.
Though Rei wished she could live alongside her children and see them more often, she was perfectly fine with how things were currently. She enjoyed the ‘normalcy’.
So when she heard a loud crash and frightened yelling in the hallway, she knew today would be far from ‘normal’.
Rei startlingly looks up from her book, and looks towards the door to her room. She can hear screaming and what sounds like physical fighting just a few doors down. Her heart starts to pound in her chest, and she gets the feeling this isn’t just some patient acting out.
The sounds grow closer, and the woman feels her face grow pale as she hears one of her nurses cry out in pain. Finally, Rei’s flight or fight response kicks in. She shoots up from her seat on the bed, causing the book she was reading to clatter to the floor. She hurriedly glances around her room, weighing her limited options.
She can’t try to escape to safety, as the nurses keep the keys to lock and unlock her door - and unfortunately, it was currently locked. Nor can she try to jump from her window - it was barred and specially designed to keep her in. She couldn’t even try and fight back if it came down to it; she had been taking medications that kept her quick dormant for years now - it was mandatory she take it to prevent her from hurting herself or others. Even if the medicine started to wear off, she was very out of practice with her quirk, and therefore wouldn’t be able to do much.
Could she hide? Her room was quite small, and had a perfect square-like shape. Perhaps she could… No - the cabinets were too small for her to fit in. Under her bed also wouldn’t work, as the sheets weren’t long enough to fully obscure her. She didn’t have a closet to take shelter in, either. No patients were given closets out of fear they may try to hang themselves in it.
Rei couldn’t escape, fight back, or hide.
What can I do? What can I do?
All she could do was pray that whoever was attacking the hospital would avoid her room.
As the pounding footsteps and terrified yelling crawl their way closer, Rei can only stand a few feet from the door. She doesn't even process her horrified shaking as she stares at it, hoping no one would barge through.
Suddenly, the loud sounds come to a stop in front of her door.
Rei holds her breath.
All is eerily silent, then -
BANG!
Rei jumps at the sudden pound on her door, and is momentarily paralyzed out of fear.
BANG!
She takes a step back, and the calves of her legs hit the bed frame. Her mind is racing with millions of possible scenarios.
Who is attacking this place? Why do they want to come into my room? What do they want with me? Do they want to hurt me? Do they want to kill me? Is it because I’m married to Enji?
Her heart is hammering in her chest so hard that she can hear it in her ears. Rei stands frozen in horror, and is unable to take her eyes off of the door.
BANG!
The door seems to have shuddered violently with that one.
BANG!
Rei’s palms feel sweaty as she tightly clenches her fists.
BANG!
A loud metal scrape accompanies the pounding, and Rei’s stomach drops as she realizes the lock is breaking.
BANG!
Rei squeezes her eyes shut, preparing for the end.
BANG!
She hopes her children know she will always love them.
BANG!
CRASH!
Rei hears the door violently break apart and fall to the floor. She refuses to open her eyes, afraid of what she might see.
If you’re here to kill me, just do it now.
“Fucking hurry up and grab her already!” A shrill voice demands.
“Shut the hell up and watch out for the police!” A different, gruffer voice shouts back.
Suddenly, Rei feels a gag wrap around her mouth. Before she even has time to open her eyes out of shock, a blindfold is harshly pulled around her. She’s pushed back onto the bed as one of her intruder’s wraps the blindfold tightly around her head in less than a second. Then, they bound her wrists and ankles together with rope just as quick.
Rei didn’t even have time to react to any of it. A speed quirk, perhaps?
“Make sure to tie that thing tight! Don’t want her screaming her head off and giving away our location,” A third, commanding voice says.
“Ugh, I know ,” The gruffer voice replies.
Rei finds herself frowning beneath the blindfold. Three people just to take care of her? It seemed rather excessive, given that she’s not intimidating in the slightest.
The realization dawns on her. Oh.
This is a hostage situation.
Her heart drops in her chest.
The shrill voice yells out again, sounding irritated, “For fucks sake, tie faster! The police will be here any minute!”
“Then quit screaming at us and tell our getaway driver we’re coming!” The owner of the commanding voice yells back. Then, they say in a more moderate tone, “Pick her up, we’re leaving. Let’s make this mission a full success.”
“Yeah, I know,” The gruffer voice responds. Then, Rei feels herself suddenly thrown over someone’s shoulder. She gasps in surprise, but the gag muffles it. The person carrying her then begins to quickly move.
“She won’t freeze me, right?” Her carrier asks.
A scoff is heard, before what Rei assumes to be leader of this operation states, “Not with how drugged up she is.”
“Oh yeah, hospital medication stuff.”
As soon as the words leave her captor’s mouth, Rei hears a different set of yelling come from further down the hallway. Police?
“Shit! Go!” The leader demands.
Though Rei can’t see a single thing, she can feel her captor’s running, and hear their shoes hitting the floor as they make a break for it. Rei debates on trying to squirm free, but she was uncertain of the extent her captor’s would go to keep her from moving, so she decided against it. Instead, she feels her body thrash out of its own accord, due to the hasty and uncaring movements of her carrier as the group runs down the hospital stairs. She’s sure to have bruises once this is over.
If I actually survive this, a voice in the back of her head reminds her.
Right. Though she’s certain this is a hostage situation, Rei can’t say for sure. She has no idea what her captor’s intentions are.
She’s pulled from her swarming concerns when she hears a door bust open. What she currently lacks in sight, her ears make up for. She can hear the sound of an engine running, as well as police sirens in the distance. What she assumes to be car doors are suddenly thrown open, and Rei feels herself quickly being thrusted inside.
Disoriented from having her ability to see and speak removed, as well as being harshly thrown into the back of a car, Rei barely makes out a new, fourth voice cackle wildly.
“Holy hell! You actually captured her! Haha!” Ah - this must be the getaway driver.
“Of fucking course we did! Now drive you idiot!” The leader yells.
“Hehe! This is gonna be good!” The driver giggles before hollering, “Hoooold on!” The car abruptly lurches forward and takes off.
Rei’s head smacks against some part of the car. She didn’t have any sort of seatbelt on, nor was she at all prepared for the sudden take off. Her head pounds, and she suddenly feels like passing out.
“Ah, fuck! We can’t let her get hurt yet!” A foggy voice cries. Rei is too disoriented to make out who it belongs too.
Yet…?
“Hand me a rag!” Someone else yells.
The rest of her captor’s conversation grows muffled, and Rei can’t stop herself from drifting into unconsciousness.
“... - camera recording?...”
“... yet… Make sure…”
“... Endeavor… heroes - …”
Voices that sound distant is what Rei awakens to first. Her head feels rather sore, but not to the point where it’s unbearable. Letting out a groggy groan, she slowly opens her eyes. She momentarily panics when she’s still greeted by darkness, but then it all comes rushing back to her.
Oh, yeah. The blindfold - right. She’d been kidnapped.
Surprisingly, her captors had opted to remove her gag, leaving Rei to guess they were either in some far-off location or in a sound-proof structure. Either way, no one would be able to hear her cries for help.
She wiggles around a bit, and she can feel she’s tied to a chair of sorts. It’s almost like right out of those old-time movies: the damsel in distress being tied down and blindfolded.
Fear begins to settle into her heart. What’s going to happen to me?
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Rei’s head snaps towards the direction of the voice. Although she now has the ability to speak again, she’s too scared to do so. Somewhere in her foggy brain, she recognizes the voice from earlier - the one who carried her.
“Hey there, Todoroki Rei,” Another voice - the supposed leader of this operation - says mockingly. Beneath the blindfold, Rei frowns at the tone. “Oh? Not gonna respond? And we were so polite as to take your gag off.”
A beat of silence.
“Come on, Todoroki Rei, don’t you want to know where you are?” The leader provokes.
The woman in question swallows harshly. After a few moments, she musters up the courage to inquire, “Fine then. Where am I?”
There’s the sound of multiple people chuckling, causing Rei’s heart to hammer away in her chest.
After the giggling ceases, the leader finally speaks, “Somewhere far, far away from the hospital.”
Obviously, Rei sarcastically thinks despite her current predicament. She gathers as much bravery as she has, and then decides to ask another question. “What do you want from me?”
“Your husband’s head,” is the simple reply.
Huh. Thought so.
“Not that we’re asking you to hand it over on a silver platter, though that would be quite nice,” the leader snarkily continues, “Rather, we’re going to use you to draw him out. If you behave and all goes well, we might let you live to tell the tale.”
Rei falls silent as she thinks. Truthfully, she couldn’t care less if these villains wanted to kill Enji. Maybe she’d feel a little guilty and sympathetic about it, but not enough for it to matter. There was no reason for her to care - not after everything he’s put her through. Even so, she’s not so sure she wants to risk her life by being caught up in this scheme.
And… she really didn’t want to see Enji again if he did come to rescue her.
Although she’s scared, Rei’s mind begins to run, thinking up ways for her to get out of this situation.
“I don’t think using me is… the best idea,” she starts with, cautiously testing the waters with the language she should use around these people, “Despite what you may think, me and h- Endeavor don’t have a good relationship.”
She doesn’t really want to go into detail, so she’s hoping it’s enough for the villains to understand.
“So? He should still come for you,” The leader counters.
Rei shakes her head, “Even though we’re married, he doesn’t… he doesn’t love me. Why do you think I live in a psychiatric hospital rather than at home with him?”
As soon as the admission leaves her mouth, the room falls deadly quiet. Rei begins to sweat nervously. Did she say too much? She doesn’t want these people knowing all about the traumas she was put through.
After a long pause, a different voice pipes up, “Christ, I knew Endeavor was a shitty dude since he’s a fucking hero and all, but this-”
“ Even if you and Endeavor don’t have - as you put it - a good relationship,” the leader interrupts, clearly unfazed over Rei’s confession, “he’ll still come for you as soon as he gets word of your disappearance. He’s the Number One Hero, he has to save his wife.”
Rei’s mouth twists into a frown. She couldn’t deny that they had a point. Enji cared more about his public image than anything.
She would know.
“It seems you understand now,” the leader proclaims, followed by the scrape of a chair, “let’s get this going already.”
As the villains shuffle around her, preparing for their plan, Rei’s mind begins to race. What could she do now? These people were clearly dead-set on carrying out their plan, and she didn’t even know how they were going to carry it out in the first place. She was obviously going to be used as bait, but to what extent? Would she be harmed in the process?
And… when Enji got here, what was she going to do? Would she get caught up in the inevitable fight?
God, she really didn’t want to face Enji again. She wasn’t ready.
She’s not sure if she’ll ever be ready.
And her children - did they know she was missing by now? Were they worried about her? She doesn’t want to cause them anymore stress.
All she could do was hope they were okay.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” a sudden, angered voice pulls Rei from her thoughts.
Though she can’t see, Rei can feel the tension quickly fill the room. Whoever this new person was, they seemed important.
A hero, perhaps…? But… that doesn’t seem likely right now.
“D-Dabi!” the leader stutters, clearly startled by the abrupt intrusion. “We, uh, are carrying out the plan?”
‘Dabi’? Was that this person’s name? It seems more like an alias, Rei thought. Ah, this must be a fellow villain.
“What plan?” ‘Dabi’ snarls, and Rei can tell he’s seething . It’s a rage she hasn’t met with for years - not after being placed in the hospital.
No one else dared to speak up, leaving the leader to stumble over their words, “Well, we, um - I mean, we came up with a plan to end the Number One Hero-”
“And how does that involve her ?” Dabi angrily interrupts once more, and Rei knows he’s referring to her.
The leader shakily replies, “U-um, well, she’s his wife, so we thought we would… we would, you know, use her as a hostage to draw him out and-”
“You kidnapped her? Do you not know how risky and idiotic this whole thing is?!” Dabi yells, causing Rei to flinch. “Then what would you do when Endeavor gets here? Do you not know how strong he is? And what if he doesn’t come alone like you hoped he would?”
“We can handle him if he’s alone! And w-we would make sure of it!”
“How?”
“We would kill her if he came with others,” the answer is simple enough, yet it causes the bomb within Dabi to explode.
“You would what?!” He screams, and Rei feels taken aback. Why did that, of all things, make him the angriest?
“Ah, D-Dabi…!” the leader yelps, clearly afraid of his superior. Rei hears the sound of a rough grabbing motion, and guesses Dabi has lifted the ‘leader’ by the shirt.
“You moron! Did you even run this plan through anyone who could actually approve it? Or did you act on your own?” Dabi growls.
“Uh…,” is the hesitant, frightened reply.
Rei’s anxiety begins to skyrocket. She really doesn’t want to be present for whatever is about to go down.
“You’re so fucking stupid! Do you not know the danger you just put everyone here in?! I should burn you to a crisp for this!” Dabi seethes, and Rei expects the worse. Instead, Dabi seems to falter, and Rei can feel a pair of eyes on her.
A beat of silence passes before Dabi seems to compose himself, though Rei can tell he’s still angry once he speaks, “...But despite your stupidity, I’m feeling generous today. Take this as a lesson, and don’t make this mistake again . Understand?”
“Y-yes Dabi,” the ‘leader’ squeaks. Rei hears the sound of Dabi letting them go, and there’s an uncomfortable shift in the room.
“Now leave, all of you. And don’t breathe a word of this to anyone , or you will face consequences,” Dabi commands after a few seconds of silence.
Awkward shuffling fills the space as the other villains begin to file out, yet a new voice hesitantly pipes up, “Um… sir, what about her?”
“I’ll handle her,” Dabi snaps, clearly trying to be intimidating to his subordinates. Though, strangely, Rei feels safe being in his hands now. She can’t quite place it, and she knows she’s never heard his voice before, but something about him seems… familiar.
Something about him seems warm .
But she knows she should still remain cautious.
“Now go, don’t make me say it again,” Dabi commands once more, causing the other villains to quickly flee the room.
After the retreating footsteps fade, silence fills the space between Rei and Dabi. She’s not sure if it’s wise to speak just yet, so she accompanies the silence instead.
And though she can’t say for sure, she gets the sense that Dabi feels… awkward about all of this.
The pause between them is long, but Dabi finally breaks it by speaking in a much quieter voice than before, “I’m… sorry about all of this.”
Beneath the blindfold, Rei blinks in surprise. She wasn’t expecting an apology from a supposed big bad villain. Hesitantly, she responds with, “Um… I guess it’s okay.”
She hears a tired sigh come from the man before he asks, “Are you hurt? Did they harm you at all?”
He sounds… concerned, much to Rei’s shock. Why is he seemingly so worried about her wellbeing?
“No, I’m fine,” she replies, not wanting to comment on the injury she received back in the getaway car. That whole thing was likely an accident, anyways. Besides, she didn’t want to start another scene between Dabi and his subordinates.
She just wants all of this to be over.
“Right - okay, good,” the villain replies. He then carefully says, “I’m going to remove the ropes from you now, okay?”
Rei blanches. Was he asking for permission? “Okay.”
As he approaches, Rei can’t help but tense up. Although her heart is assuring her Dabi’s friendly, her mind is a completely different story. She didn’t know what his intentions are - not really.
Yet as he begins to untie the knots binding her to the chair, his touch is surprisingly gentle. He works carefully, as if trying to avoid accidentally hurting her. It makes Rei’s heart swell with something she hasn’t felt in a long time.
There it is again. That strange sense of familiarity.
As the ropes loosen and fall to the floor, Rei begins to tenderly rub her wrist. She hadn’t realized how tight the knots were, yet she could now feel the soreness. She still had the blindfold on, but she was sure bruises were present.
Oh. Right. The blindfold.
Rei’s hands reach up to remove the fabric, but Dabi’s hands firmly stop her in her tracks. Rei freezes, and the apprehension builds within her.
“Sorry,” the villain says, almost guiltily. He slowly brings her hands back down before removing his own. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. I just think it’s best you keep the blindfold on for the time being.”
Rei almost wants to argue - and strangely, she feels like she could convince him if she tried - but she feels as if she isn’t in the position to do so. That, and she’s curious as to why he doesn't want her to see him.
Her hands fall to her lap as she asks, “Okay, but may I ask why?”
A beat of silence passes before Dabi answers her, “I’m pretty scary-looking. I don’t want to frighten you.”
Oh, it’s okay. I’m sure I’ve seen more horrendous things than what you may look like, is what she wants to say. Instead, she complies.
“Okay. What are you going to do with me?” Rei asks. What exactly is this man planning?
“I’m going to try and take you back to the hospital,” Dabi replies, “I would love to let you go right now, but I’m pretty sure you don’t know your way back from here… besides, ‘here’ is crawling with criminals, so it’s not a good idea to let you wander around alone.”
Rei frowns, taking in his words. The way he said it - it’s almost like he knows more about her than he’s letting on.
She doesn’t know why, but the way he’s been treating her bothers her - he’s hiding something from her, he knows something she doesn’t.
Unable to hold back anymore, she suddenly asks, “Why does my safety matter to you so much?”
The room falls quiet once more, and Rei wonders if Dabi is taken aback by her question. His silence seems to say so.
“...I don’t want a bunch of heroes coming after me or any of those idiots you met earlier,” the villain finally states, and it sounds like a lie.
Even though Rei feels as if it’s an excuse, she sighs and accepts it. “I see.”
Dabi says nothing for a few moments. When he finally speaks, his voice sounds oddly strained. “We should get moving. The longer you’re gone, the bigger the manhunt for you will be.”
Rei nods, still feeling bothered by his strange attitude towards her. “Okay.”
As she stands from the chair, her ankles suddenly roar with pain. She yelps, stumbling.
Before she hits the floor, a pair of arms catch her. Dabi’s hold on her is gentle and warm and oh so familiar - why is this so familiar?
Rei grabs the villain’s arms for support, and she can feel her legs trembling from the sudden pain.
“Are you okay?!” Dabi worriedly inquires.
Rei shakes her head, not wanting to stand any longer. She slips to the floor, and she can feel Dabi following after her. Rei grimaces as she says, “I… I didn’t realize how tightly they tied my ankles. It hurts to stand…”
She bites her lip, feeling guilty. “I don’t know if I can walk. I’m sorry.”
Dabi’s hold on her slightly tightens, and she hears him curse under his breath. His silence tells her he’s contemplating something.
“Okay, um,” the villain thinks aloud, his tone sounding rather sheepish, “...I’m going to carry you. Is that okay?”
Rei blinks, and wonders if he’ll throw her over his shoulder like that other villain did. Though, she gets the feeling that won’t be the case.
“...Yeah, that’s fine.”
Slowly and gently, his arms begin to move to hold her. One hand goes on the underside of her knees, while the other hand goes to support her back.
Oh. Princess style.
Dabi carefully rises, successfully carrying her in his arms. He awkwardly chokes out, “Good?”
Rei nods, wondering why this villain seems to be flustered. “Good… thank you.”
“Uh, yeah…,” he grumbles before he begins to move.
And so, with the weird tension between them, the two begin their odd trip together.
To say this entire predicament was awkward was a severe understatement.
Of all her wildest dreams and experiences, Rei never expected something quite like this: blindfolded, being carried by a villain ( like a princess, of all things! ), and with the status of now-a-free-hostage-but-not-technically.
She’s pretty sure this whole thing is beyond weird.
The silence between them has uncomfortably dragged on since they left whatever building Rei had originally been taken to. She gets the feeling this is probably weird for Dabi too. From what she understood, villains don’t typically carry around kidnapped victims in attempts to get them to safety - especially if said kidnapped victim is married to the Number One Hero.
Oddly, though, Rei doesn’t feel any fear. She knows she should. From what she’s been told, villains were liars and manipulators by nature, therefore Dabi could easily be taking her right to a death trap. She’s an easy target, and if any other villains were in his shoes, they’d likely tell her sweet lies before finishing her off out of the blue.
Yet she still isn’t afraid.
She can’t shake the feeling that he’s true to his word. Although she can’t see him, she can hear and feel his honesty. He seems nothing but sincere. Therefore, Rei isn’t afraid.
What she is afraid of, however, is what she might see when she’s returned to the hospital. More importantly, who she might see.
Enji surely knew of her disappearance by now, as well as her children. Though she’s completely fine with reuniting with her kids, she can’t say the same for her husband. She doesn’t want to see him - especially not anytime soon. What if he’s there? What if he tries to check on her to uphold his 'perfect image' status? She knows she won’t be able to handle it.
Rei shakes her head, trying to push the fear away. Thinking negative thoughts would only make her current situation worse.
She needs a distraction to stop her mind from going any further. Maybe she should try and talk to this Dabi person. She’s not even completely sure he’s willing to have a conversation with her, but she needs to try something to prevent herself from panicking over what may come once all of this is over.
Yeah. She should say something.
“I assume you usually don’t do things like this,” she goes with. For the past ten years, Rei hasn’t really spoken to anyone other than her children, as well as some hospital staff and certain patients. So, she’s certain she’s out of practice when it comes to socializing. Even so, she feels the need to try. Talking to Dabi was the only way she could truly distract herself for now.
She feels the villain slightly tense once the words leave her mouth, as if he weren’t expecting her to speak to him. He doesn’t say anything for a few moments, before slowly asking, “What do you mean?”
“Um,” Rei replies awkwardly. Nonetheless, she pushes forward, “This whole… thing. Having to yell at your colleagues for kidnapping a hostage you didn’t want, then having to return the hostage. I wouldn’t think you’d do something like this frequently.”
Dabi falls quiet once more, seemingly pondering her question. Rei almost expects him to stop answering her, so she’s surprised when he eventually says, “You’re right, I don’t. In fact, I’ve never done this before. Those idiots back there messed up so badly I’m treading into unfamiliar territory.”
Rei hums in acknowledgement, noting that though his words sound angry, he isn’t - not towards her, at least. The thought is oddly comforting. “Well… this is new for me too. I’ve never been kidnapped or held hostage before.”
Unless you count my marriage, is what she bites back.
“I would hope not,” Dabi replies, and Rei can detect the faintest hint of gentleness to his tone. There he goes again - acting strange towards her despite being a big scary villain. And that odd sense of familiarity. “I mean, you are the wife of the Number One Hero, after all. He should protect you.” He then quickly says, as if correcting himself.
Rei can’t stop the sigh that leaves her mouth. “He should.” is all she says.
A beat of silence passes, before Dabi murmurs, “I’m sorry.”
The woman blinks in surprise, “For what?”
“Bringing him up,” Dabi says, “I heard what you told those other idiots back there - about the relationship between you and him... and how it's not good. I shouldn’t have mentioned him like that.”
Rei feels a wave of shock wash over her. He sounded so… ashamed . Why was this man - someone she’s sure she’s never met before - so concerned about her wellbeing? This was starting to get confusing.
“That’s… okay,” she mumbles, unsure of what else to say.
“Shit,” Dabi curses under his breath, and then to Rei’s further surprise, he states, “We can talk about something else if you want.”
Again… this feeling of déjà vu. Everything about this… everything about Dabi… almost reminds her of…
She shakes her head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking like this.
Deciding to take up the villain’s offer to further distract herself, Rei asks, “Okay, um… do you have a quirk?” A simple, common enough question.
A pause, as if Dabi is hesitant to respond. He eventually mutters, “Yeah… it’s fire.”
“Oh, really? Small world.”
“Haha, yeah, I guess it’s more common than people think,” Dabi laughs, and Rei swears it sounds nervous.
“Do my questions bother you?” Rei asks before she can even think about it. For some reason she doesn’t understand, she doesn’t want to make this man uncomfortable.
“Huh? Why do you ask?”
“You just… sound like you don’t want to answer them. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Dabi says nothing for a few seconds, before declaring, “...Nah, it’s fine. It’s just like I said, I’m not used to this.”
Rei feels like there’s more to his answer, but she decides to not probe him further. She’s satisfied.
“Okay, good. Then… you probably know my quirk is ice-based. I haven’t been able to use it in years, though… but I assume you already knew that as well,” Rei says. No harm in revealing information the villain was likely already aware of.
“Uh, yeah,” Dabi admits, “it’s kind of hard to not know about you.”
She almost wants to push him to elaborate further, but ultimately decides against it. He’s probably just referring to her being a bit of a public figure, after all.
“Okay, another question,” Rei begins, “Does your family do what you do? At your, erm, organization?”
Turns out, getting to know Dabi a bit more was a good distraction. She can’t deny she’s curious, and she wants to know more about this villain.
Besides, she can’t shake how familiar this ( him ) is. If she doesn’t understand why she feels this way, Rei’s sure it will bother her for the rest of her life.
Dabi seems to answer her question easier this time, “No, at least those related by blood. They, uh, do their own thing.
“I do have fellow colleagues I consider family, though.”
Rei is taken aback by his confession. For such a seemingly terrifying villain, he definitely has a softer side to him. “I assume that doesn’t include any of those ‘idiots’ we met back there, though?” she jokes.
Dabi laughs, and it sounds genuine. “Yeah, definitely not those idiots back there.”
Rei giggles. “You know, despite how strange this is, it’s easy to talk to you.” she confesses.
She swears she can hear Dabi quietly gasp, though she doesn’t get time to reflect on it before he softly says, “Yeah? ...The same goes for you.”
Rei closes her eyes. Again, with this feeling.
He’s so much like...
“You kind of remind me of my son,” it slips out before she can even think about it. She can feel Dabi freeze at her words.
Rei suddenly feels nervous. That may have been crossing a line. Is he going to yell at me now?
Instead of reprimanding her, however, Dabi asks, “Uh… are you talking about that Shouto kid?”
And just like that, all of the nervousness Rei momentarily felt washes away. She doesn’t really know why, but there’s something about being in Dabi’s presence that comforts her. He’s oddly… tender with her, and Rei finds herself fine with it. If other villains are like him, then she’s sure society has the definition wrong.
“No, not Shouto,” Rei gently corrects, “I mean my firstborn. His name is Touya.”
Another pause, and then Dabi questions, “...I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him.” His tone is an odd mixture of anxiety and curiosity.
Rei sadly frowns at that, knowing exactly why Touya wasn’t well-known to the public. “Ah… well, he died a long time ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Rei assures, sending a small smile in what she assumes is Dabi’s direction, “You’re quite like him, though. He had a fire quirk like you, and I think you two share similar mannerisms, as well as a way of speaking. Talking to you brings back memories of him.”
Dabi hums in acknowledgement. Then, quietly, he hesitantly asks, “...Do you miss him?”
Rei closes her eyes. “Very much so. I think about him every day. I hope that, when I die, I’ll see him again. There’s so many things I want to tell him… and so many things I need to apologize for.”
Her eyes shoot back open, “Ah! Sorry, that was… kind of a lot.”
“No… it’s fine.” Dabi sounds oddly stunned; touched, even.
Rei doesn’t have time to dwell on his reaction, as a roaring yell suddenly fills the space around them.
“GET AWAY FROM HER!”
The woman jumps at the abrupt sound. Total dread begins to sink in, because she knows exactly who this terrifying roar belongs to.
Enji.
No, no, no, I don’t want to face him right now.
Out of reflex, she curls into Dabi, trying to find some way to defend herself. How ironic; she was seeking protection from a villain rather than the Number One Hero.
She can feel Dabi tense at the sight of Enji. Then, to her surprise, he holds her tighter.
The sound of stomping then fills her ears, and oh how it brings back horrendous memories.
“Don’t come any closer!” Dabi shouts, and Rei feels his hold on her shift. Then, she faintly feels fire coming from him, though it doesn’t reach her.
He’s using his quirk? Rei blinks, trying to figure the villain out. Even though he seems to be threatening Enji, she knows Dabi won’t hurt her. He’s planning something… something bigger, though she doesn’t know what.
She hears Enji stop in his tracks once Dabi activates his quirk. Then, he snarls, “Villain scum, what the hell are you doing with h- my wife?”
“Protecting her because you clearly can’t,” Dabi’s tone is just as venomous.
Rei trembles at the sound, because his voice sounds just like Touya’s did the day he died. It’s full of hurt and rage and-
She can’t let what happened to Touya happen to Dabi. He may not be her son, but she’ll be damned if she lets Enji harm anyone else who's just trying to protect her.
With newfound courage, Rei finds the strength to speak to her husband for the first time in ten years, “D-don’t hurt him. He actually saved me.”
She can feel eyes on her, but she pushes down the anxiety. She won’t fail again.
“Rei - he’s a wanted criminal! He’s a murderer! You can’t trust anything he says!” Enji screams at her, his voice still so loud and demanding. It causes her to tremble like a leaf, but she refuses to back down. Not anymore.
Dabi, however, beats her to it, “Oh, because she can trust anything you say? Even though you’ve tormented her all her life?”
Rei blinks in surprise, gaping in Dabi's general direction. There he goes again - acting like he knows more about her than he lets on.
She hears Enji growl in anger. She can practically hear his glare when he barks, “What do you know, villain ?”
“Enough to know I can’t trust you with her,” Dabi snaps, and suddenly everything grows hot. Beneath the blindfold, Rei can detect the faintest hints of azure.
Are… his flames blue?
She hardly has time to process the information, because suddenly Dabi is running while still carrying her. She clings to him, unsure of what his plans are. Even so, she does feel more safe with him than she does with Enji.
Dabi comes to an abrupt stop before gently setting her on the ground. His hands fly to grip her shoulders as he quickly tells her, “Go, find some heroes around here that aren’t shitty like Endeavor. There’s bound to be some close by if he’s here. They’ll get you to safety.”
He lets her go, but Rei quickly reaches a hand out to grasp his sleeve. “What about you?” she shakily asks.
Dabi is quiet for a moment. Then, he declares, “Don’t worry about me. Just get out of here.”
He tears himself from her grip, and she hears the sound of his footsteps take off.
Rei is frozen in place. Her mind is reeling with a million different possibilities that may soon take place. Should she escape? But then… what would happen after that? What would happen to her? What would happen to Dabi?
Smoke suddenly invades her nostrils, causing her to slightly cough. She hears the sound of yelling in the near distance, and she knows it belongs to Enji and Dabi. The flickering sound of flames begin to grow louder, and Rei realizes the two have started fighting.
Her heart drops in her chest as she thinks about how Dabi may die. She knows firsthand how strong her husband is, and though she hadn’t seen what the villain looked like, she could tell he was smaller and frailer compared to Enji. Not to mention both had fire quirks, though Dabi’s seemed to be blue, meaning it burned hotter.
It also meant he would burn up faster. He had such a slim chance for survival.
Like Touya.
Rei firmly shakes her head. No - she won’t run away anymore.
She rips off the blindfold and stands. Now finally able to see everything around her, she takes in the street before her and the surrounding buildings that have gone up in flames. Through the thick smoke, she can see the faintest hint of red and blue in the distance.
In the opposite direction, she hears sudden yelling. Turning her head, she stares through the smoke to see the silhouettes of a few figures attempting to wave her over.
Two different directions; one leading to the fight, the other to safety.
Her choice is easy.
She turns away from the individuals trying to call out to her, and begins to run towards the heart of the flames. It’s difficult to see through the smoke, but she arrives quickly. She sees her husband, still as intimidating as ever. She quickly looks away from him. He’s not who she’s worried about.
Rei looks towards Dabi for the very first time, and freezes.
Everything seems to slow down as she takes in his appearance. He’s got black hair, and painful-looking burn scars being held together by surgical staples.
He looks nothing like he used to - not since she last saw him. But when she sees his familiar turquoise eyes, she knows .
Rei draws in a shaky breath and closes her eyes. Oh. That makes a lot of sense now.
Her strange sense of familiarity while she was with him, his peculiar tenderness towards her, the countless similarities between him and her dead son-
Touya has been here all along.
Her eyes snap open when she hears Dabi’s pained gasp. He’s now kneeling on the ground and clutching his side. Blood is trickling from his scars, and Rei can see they’ve been forcefully ripped open by the strain of his staples.
Enji towers over him, one of his fists alight with orange flares. Rei quickly realizes the two haven't noticed her presence yet.
She feels a wave of adrenaline rush through her as she takes in the sight. It reminds her so much of the day Touya passed.
Her hands tightly clench into fists. She won’t let this happen again.
Rei runs forward just as Enji raises his fist, and she draws forth a power she hasn’t used in a long time. She jumps in front of Dabi - directly in front of the hero. She barely catches the look of surprise on his face before she throws her hands up.
Using everything she has, she summons a massive wall of ice, sending her husband flying back from the sheer force of it. The wall of ice grows tall and thick until it forms into a dome-like shape, safely trapping both Rei and Dabi inside.
Rei trembles, noticing patches of ice stuck to her skin. She feels so cold - to the point it’s uncomfortable and slightly painful. Exhaustion quickly overcomes her, as she hasn’t used power like that in decades.
She stumbles and falls back, unable to stand any longer. A pair of warm arms scrambles to catch her before she hits the ground.
Touya.
She gazes up at him, and sees concern swimming in his beautiful turquoise eyes. Heat begins to emit from him, melting the ice patches that plague her body.
“Frostbite,” she hears him mutter worriedly. His tone then sounds scolding as he says, “I thought I told you to get out of here.”
Rei shakes her head before giving the villain a small smile. “I won’t run away anymore, especially if my son is in danger.”
Dabi’s eyes widen at her words, and he stares down at her in utter shock. Rei reaches a hand up to gently cup his face and murmurs, “Touya.”
“Ah,” Dabi finally stumbles out. The surprise on his features melts into sheepishness as he lightly chuckles, “You, uh, figured it out, I take it?”
“Of course. Now I see why you didn’t want me to take that blindfold off,” Rei gently teases. Her voice sounds a little more sad as she asks, “But… why? Why didn’t you want me to know?”
Dabi slowly reaches a hand up to hold his mother’s. “I thought I was protecting you.” he mumbles.
Rei’s brow furrows. “Touya-”
A sudden slam on the ice surrounding them causes the two to jump. They glance towards the sound, and through the thick ice, they can see a slight tinge of burning orange.
“Damn,” Dabi grumbles, “They’ll break through the ice soon.”
Rei quickly sits up and holds her son by the shoulders, afraid he may try to run away again. She hurriedly says, “You should leave. If they catch you, who knows what they’ll do to you.” She gently runs a hand over one of his facial scars, dabbing away the blood. “...Especially in your current state.”
Dabi frowns, “But what about you ?”
His mother blinks, surprised. “Huh?”
“It’s just,” Dabi carefully looks toward the orange tint that’s slowly growing larger, “I’m worried about what he’ll do to you once he finds you.”
Rei shakes her head. “I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about you."
Dabi’s brow furrows as he stares at her. His voice remains firm as he states, “Yeah? Well, the opposite goes for me.”
Despite their situation, Rei can’t help but snicker. “Look at you - you’re still as stubborn as ever.” she gently teases.
Dabi gives her a tender smile. “I guess I am.”
The two fall into a comfortable silence, simply just holding each other. Neither wanted to leave the other, and both were unsure of what to do about the heroes surely closing in on them.
“You could come with me, if you want,” Dabi suddenly says, causing Rei to freeze. She slowly pulls away from him, and gazes up at him questioningly.
“Go with you?” she echoes.
“Yeah,” he confirms as he takes her hands in his, “I can’t promise the most luxurious life, but… I don’t want to leave you to deal with dear old dad.”
His mother stares down at their joined hands, contemplating his offer. She certainly didn’t want to face her husband any time soon, especially after the stunt she pulled to protect a wanted villain. She wouldn’t have to spend her 'normal' days back in the hospital, either.
But what about her other children? Would she see them again? Yet as she slowly raises her head to gaze at Touya, she knows that’s something they can figure out later.
Together.
Another slam lands on the ice. Both the mother and son know they’re quickly running out of time.
Touya pulls himself from Rei’s grasp, and stands. He looks down at her with a small smile, outstretching his hand. “What do you say, mom? Will you come with me?”
As she stares up at his broken and battered - yet hopeful - frame, the desire to protect him runs through her once more. Going with him will surely break her daily routine of ‘normalcy’, and she doesn’t know what the future holds with him.
Even so, Rei feels that if she can continue to stay by Touya's side, things will turn out just fine.
She gives him her own small smile. Of course. It’s my turn to protect you now.
Rei takes his hand, and the two disappear.