Mild-Mannered School Teacher/Adrenaline-Junkie Vigilante

by JajaLala

Summary:

Fuyumi Todoroki was stressed. She was always the peacekeeper, the ice-quirk user who calms the hot-headed members of her family. What was she supposed to do when she was frustrated, and couldn't calm herself down?

Go onto the streets and become a vigilante, of course.

Follow this mild-mannered school teacher/adrenaline-junkie vigilante as she befriends the mysterious Dabi, tries not to get caught by the persistent Miruko, and through it all struggles to keep her family together.

Notes:

So I haven't written a BNHA fic before, since I usually end up writing niches when I don't see enough content of my rare-pairs, and BNHA is fortunate to have a steady supply of fics that fulfill almost my every reading desire. However, recently I was reading One Day at the USJ, which is a Shouto-centered fic, but involves lots of his family, and the author (Wolfkeeper989) ended up writing Fuyumi fantastically. I ended up diving a bit into the tags for "BAMF Todoroki Fuyumi" and discovered..... barely anything?? Less than a page's worth of works?? I ended up reading this fic as well, which had a really strong characterization of the relationship and powers between Fuyumi and Dabi (as twins), which definitely inspired me as well.

So I read this fantastic content and was like.... what if there was more? Thus where this fic comes in.

Chapter 1: Morally-Justified Violence Might Actually Be A Decent Stress Reliever

Fuyumi's first act of vigilante justice was an accident.

It had been, to understate it, a bad day for Fuyumi. She started her morning late, and barely had any time at all to get dressed and get to work. She forgot to put on an extra layer, and so was shivering as she walked. The temperature wasn't even that chilly, most people she passed weren't wearing coats, but Fuyumi always ran cold. At the school she taught at, the second graders wanted to do anything but cooperate. They ran around screaming, and even her kindest pleas went unheard by the rambunctious children. Normally nap time was her break from the activity, but three children were resolute that they were not sleepy at all. Normally Fuyumi could talk a child down from their stubbornness long enough that they would start yawning and lie down 'Just because Ms. Todoroki wants me to! Not because I'm sleepy!' That usually did the trick, and everybody would be asleep in minutes. But when three whole children were convinced that nap time was a plot to strip them of their freedom and rights, they fed energy off of each other and Fuyumi couldn't keep them all down. And of course their complaints made it impossible for the other kids to sleep, so by the end of naptime nobody had gotten any rest at all, Fuyumi included.

With all children at their maximum crankiness level, things got a little off the rails. Some kids slept during storytime (which Fuyumi allowed, better than nothing after all) while others couldn't pay any attention. Some of them even started wandering to the playtime corner, completely ignoring Fuyumi's reading. Recess was even worse. One of the kids wanted to re-enact a scene from All Might's career, of All Might carrying dozens of people out of a burning building. The best way to re-enact this, of course, was to have their favorite teacher pick every single child up at the same time.

Now Fuyumi had been working on teaching communication skills to her students all year. And if they had been paying attention during any of her attempts to teach it, perhaps they would have kindly requested that Fuyumi participate in this heroic re-enactment. However, the kids communication skills were still, to put it kindly, a 'work-in-progress'.

And so all of them jumped on her at once without any warning.

Fuyumi wasn't weak by any means. Her family had their own private gym, and in the rare instances where Dad wasn't training Shouto there, she could sneak in and exercise a bit. Perhaps it was a bit silly, but Dad got her in the habit when she was younger, and if she went longer than a week without working out some of her energy she would begin to feel lethargic.

Trying to catch eight leaping children while another eight were leaping on her back, however, was a struggle even for her. She managed for a few seconds, muscles aching and screaming at the effort and legs shaking as the children shifted her center of balance everywhere, before collapsing on the playground.

Then she had to chastise the kids, and that just made them more upset. One of them, with a pufferfish-like spike-ejecting quirk, had even used it on her in his frustration. Fuyumi dodged the spikes with a sigh, blocking a few with hands encased in ice, before sending the kid to the principals office. She then had to excuse herself to the restroom to wash her hands in warm water so they wouldn't be numbed in ice forever. When she got back to the classroom, the kids had taken her absence as an opportunity to wreak chaos. Fuyumi had a lot to say to them after that. More than one kid left school crying.

And all of that was just the first part of her day.

She came home to the unfortunately familiar sound of Natsuo shouting at their Dad, something about Shouto's current training schedule being unsustainable for Shouto's health. Dad responded with curt remarks about how Natsuo hadn't even graduated from high school, so he wasn't qualified to make that call. Fuyumi had gone up to Shouto's room, assuming that Natuso's outburst had to be triggered by something.

Shouto was bandaged, with bruises peeking out between the white strips of cloth. She was relieved that Natsuo had at least treated them. Shouto watched her enter with furrowed brows, but asked to be left alone when Fuyumi tried to comfort him. She left his room with a sigh.

Natsuo and Dad were still yelling, now Natsuo was telling dad he should have let Shouto go to junior high school instead of homeschooling him, so he could have the chance to be a little less fucked up.

Oh Fuyumi definitely had to stop that yelling. She was right by Shouto's door, surely Shouto could hear it too. She made her way to her arguing family members, and discovered Dad had gone into 'Endeavor-mode', with flames erupting from his hair. That meant he was really mad.

Fuyumi physically stood between Dad and Natsuo, pleading with both of them to cooperate. Dad countered with some words about respect. Natsuo reacted by trying to get Fuyumi to take his side against Dad. Fuyumi agreed with Natsuo, but she didn't want to take sides, she wanted them to stop fighting for once. Dad expressed his anger by making his flames flare, filling the room with heat. That made Natsuo stumble back; he had been the recipient of enough burns that fear overwhelmed his anger.

Fuyumi never burned. Even when she had been younger, training with Touya and Dad, before they lost Touya and Shouto became Dad's new project, she hadn't been burned by either of their flames. If anything, the heat that filled the room dispelled her ever-present shiver and allowed her body to relax a bit. With the warmth giving her strength, she held her ground and pleaded with her father, reassuring him that Natsuo was just worried, she knew Dad was trying to do what he thought was best, and perhaps if everybody stopped yelling...

When the Endeavor flames began to recede, Natsuo took the chance to start complaining again, criticizing Dad with reckless abandon. Fuyumi had to take some very deep, calming breaths to not start yelling at Natsuo herself for interrupting her efforts when she had finally calmed Dad down. Now she had to calm Dad down again, and probably Natsuo too if he was going to be stubborn about it.

An hour later Natsuo left, slamming the door behind him. Fuyumi could finally go and cook dinner, no longer trapped as the mediator and protector preventing the fights from going too far or getting physical. As she cooked, Dad complained that dinner was late, and she had to bite her tongue to avoid snapping back that it was his fault. Snapping at him wouldn't solve anything. She took a deep breath. Helpful thoughts, Fuyumi.

Natsuo came back in time for dinner, eating silently with a pissed expression on his face. Dad was also silent. Shouto didn't say a word. A few attempts to start conversation yielded stilted, one-word answers, before Fuyumi gave up.

She wasn't sure what exactly had caused her family to all fall apart. But day-by-day, things cracked and faded, people died or got sick, and soon she was left with just a handful, all angry at each other and ready to break with any stress.

She wanted a happy family. She didn't understand why nobody else seemed to.

After dinner she retired to her room, laying down and stretching her aching muscles. She was still sore from the stunt those kids pulled, and needed to rest.

Then the yelling started again.

She put a pillow over her ears, trying to drown out the noise. She probably should have gone down there, once again being the mediator. But frustration bubbled in her gut, and she was certain that if she went down now, all she would do is add more shouting to the mix, and that wouldn't be helpful at all. She wanted to shout at them to stop yelling, to stop fighting, to stop tearing everything apart.

For once in her life, she just wanted to feel like anybody else in her family was trying to keep it together.

When the yelling got loud enough that even her pillow couldn't drown out the sound, Fuyumi got up. She took slow, quiet steps down to the front of the house. Dad was probably too distracted to listen, but old habits died hard. She slipped on her shoes, remembered her thickest coat and hat, and left as quietly as she could manage.

She wasn't going towards anything, just away from the house. She wandered aimlessly; so long as her body was moving she felt like she was doing something instead of being stuck frozen while her family collapsed.

It was dark out, and Fuyumi wasn't actually sure where she had walked to. There were few streetlamps, but Fuyumi was in the mood to brood in the darkness. Anger rose with every step she took. She was always the one who had to stay calm, the ice-quirk user who cooled down everybody else. What was she supposed to do when she became the angry one? Her feet were stomping on the streets, crushing some litter that blew by. It was only after she heard a scream that she realized she had perhaps walked into a bad neighborhood.

She was running towards the sound in an instant, passing by alleyways with squinted eyes to try and find the source. Not that she was looking to fight anybody, no she wasn't suited for that at all. She was just a mild-mannered school teacher. She had given up on being a hero a long time ago. She would just see what's going on, call the police (or perhaps Dad directly, then maybe he'd get a chance to work out his anger on criminals and give Natsuo a break), and get away from there.

When she finally found the source, her heart leaped into her throat. There was an elementary school girl, arms outstretched, standing in front of a little boy crouched on the ground. In front of them was a man dressed in black, knife in one hand and other hand extended to grab the girl and stop her screaming.

The police wouldn't get here in time. The time it would take to call Dad wasn't enough time. Fuyumi was the only other person around she could see.

She flung her hand out, and small quills of ice from her fingertips crossed the distance to prick the man's hand, aborting his attempt to grab the little girl. He jumped at the sudden interruption and turned to face Fuyumi. By then, Fuyumi had sprinted close enough to punch him in the face, years of being critiqued on her stance and form coming back to her in one-adrenaline fueled moment.

This man was much lighter than Endeavor.

He went flying back, head knocking on a stairwell with a loud clang before collapsing onto the ground.

Fuyumi stared at the man, knocked out, and the screaming finally stopped.

She turned to the little girl, who stared up at Fuyumi with stars in her eyes. When she spoke, Fuyumi saw there were gaps in her teeth, "Granny told me if I ever get in trouble, I have to keep screaming until someone comes to help me."

Fuyumi was still high on adrenaline, but got down to be eye-level with the child before responding, "You did great, I wouldn't have known someone was in trouble if you hadn't done so."

The girl preened, then turned to lift the little boy off the ground. He was trembling. "It's alright now, that man won't take you away, this lady saved us."

The boy sniffled. Now that Fuyumi had time to stop and look, she saw that he had horse ears and a long face. He must have had some sort of horse quirk or something. His response was a quiet, "Thanks."

Fuyumi nodded. "Do you guys live near here? I could walk you home."

"Yeah, we can walk by ourselves, though. Granny said my brother and I shouldn't let strangers know where we live."

With that, the little girl tugged her brother along down the street. Fuyumi wanted to walk after them, maybe tail behind just in case, but they entered a building almost immediately, so Fuyumi hoped that was their home.

She turned her attention back to the man she punched. She couldn't help but stare at her own fist, clenching and unclenching the weapon, marveling at how with just a little movement, a little force, she made the screaming stop.

And damn it was satisfying.

She could barely remember why she had been angry before. She had seen a problem, solved it in seconds, and now was basking in some well-deserved relief. It was a simple problem and a simple solution, unlike everything else in her life. She didn't have to plead and beg and crawl on the ground, at the mercy of people around her. It wasn't okay to hurt family, she had seen it happen more than enough times that the thought of doing it herself disgusted her. But when it came to hurting criminals... Well, technically, it was illegal, but...

Panic rose suddenly. This was illegal. She had used her quirk to help take him down, she had to get out of here. Before leaving, though, she made a quick phone call to the police, glancing at some street signs to tell them the location of a 'suspicious man with a knife passed out in an alley'.

Once she was far away enough that she couldn't be accused of being involved, Fuyumi looked up a map app to find her way home.

When she got back, she was exhausted, but at least nobody was arguing anymore. It was bed time for Dad, so the house was silent. Fuyumi tried to slip off her coat and shoes as quietly as possible, but the distant sound of Dad's door opening told Fuyumi that she hadn't been quiet enough.

He entered the foyer with arms crossed, but flames off. He was angry, but not furious. "Where were you?"

"Just out taking a walk." Fuyumi was not about to tell a pro hero she had just broken the law.

"Tell us where you are next time you stay out late," He spoke quickly before turning around, not allowing her any time to respond.

She sighed. It wasn't like she had gone out looking for trouble. But trying to defend herself was not helpful. Neither was moping about her Dad's emotional constipation. Helpful thoughts, Fuyumi.

So yes, that first spontaneous act of vigilante justice was an accident.

The second was not.

Chapter 2: Crazy Coincidence That You Have A Blue Fire Quirk Just Like My Dead Brother

Summary:

She wasn't going to deliberately break the law again.

She could take more walks though.

More walks in sketchier neighborhoods.

It took two weeks for it to happen again. There were other bad days, where Fuyumi left the house and all its broken pieces to put itself back together, telling herself she was just going for a walk to calm down.

When nothing happened on her walk, she didn't calm down.

She told herself that the first time she had gone out and had to rescue some kids was a crazy coincidence, and if fate wanted her to help someone else she would have to let fate decide that. She wasn't going to deliberately break the law again.

She could take more walks though.

More walks in sketchier neighborhoods.

She invested in some brass knuckles. Dad trusted her with his money, and it was a slim little thing. It fit perfectly, and was slim enough that her new thermal insulated gloves could fit over it.

It wasn't like she was planning anything. Any person walking through the neighborhoods she was walking through would invest in a little self-defense. Dad had taught her to wield a staff before, since her body couldn't handle her own quirk he thought it would be helpful to have a weapon. She hadn't used it in years, and the fancy little retractable staff had been gathering dust in the corner of an equipment closet.

It wasn't gathering dust anymore.

She practiced while the boys were out. It wasn't like she was trying to hide it, but she didn't want to worry them. And it would be complicated to explain.

It might also be complicated to explain the ski mask she bought, considering she had never skied a day in her life. But it kept her warm and hid her face. The shiny blue goggles were also very stylish, in her opinion. She didn't wear it out of course, that would be ridiculous. But she kept in buried in a pocket of her big, new jacket.

Yes, she already had a coat, but this jacket was sturdier, meant for function more than fashion, allowed more mobility, and it had more pockets! Pockets where she could hide the ski mask, the staff, and the darts.

The darts would be tricky to explain. Fuyumi was great at aiming, her Dad had expected her ice spikes to be a signature move and so trained her relentless on hitting targets from vast distances. Fuyumi didn't want to fight with her quirk though; it could be used to identify her, and the costs were pretty high for usage. The darts were the next-best-thing, functionally similar without compromising her identity or health. Dad had emphasized to Touya and her that they needed both ranged and close-combat moves. He thought they could work in perfect tandem, one jumping into combat while the other jumps back to support from a distance, allowing them to cycle endlessly to wear villains down. He always reminded them how weak they were, but told them that even if they couldn't tolerate their own quirks for long at least they could handle each others.

Fuyumi wondered if she'd still be doing this, going on long walks in dark run-down neighborhoods, if he had kept training her despite losing Touya. Maybe she could have gone to UA instead of becoming a teacher. Maybe she'd be out patrolling officially, with a license, if Dad hadn't given up on her once he lost her other half.

Not that she was patrolling or anything.

It was just such a shame that during these long walks, Fuyumi rarely saw any heroes. The further she got from the nice suburb the Todoroki's lived in, the less she saw of those reassuring heroes making their patrols. Children lived in these neighborhoods, but they didn't go out much.

Such a shame.

Two weeks after her very first walk, the one where she got to punch would-be kidnapper and have problems solved, she encountered another scene.

The neighborhood she wandered into felt near-abandoned. It was primarily worn-down industrial places, not much residential. The relative silence of it made the few sounds that echoed off of dilapidated walls easy for Fuyumi to hear.

She heard the clanking of chains, and voices with no words she could make out aside from swearing. She picked up her pace and approached the building where the sound was coming from. It appeared to be an old abandoned warehouse; broken glass windows had allowed the sound to escape easily. Before investigating any further, Fuyumi put on her ski mask. She had tied up her hair earlier, so it was easy to make sure all of it stayed in the mask. She came close to the walls, padding along and looking for an entrance with a little less sharp glass edges.

The voices inside were now more intelligible: "...let you leave our gang so easily?"

"I wasn't even a part of your gang in the first place. Not like I signed a contract."

Another voice, "You run our merchandise, you become part of the gang."

"And this is how you treat your members?" There was a metallic rattle. "Drug them, chain them, beat them up?"

The first voice shouted, "That's how we treat traitors!"

Fuyumi peaked her head over the sill of a window to get a better picture of the situation. Near a far wall was a guy in leather, with dark spiky hair and... some shiny piercings across his cheeks? The lighting was pretty low, Fuyumi couldn't make out too many features. She could see the little amount of light present reflected on his bindings, each wrist in a cuff with a chain looping around two pillars, forcing his arms to be spread and his torso unprotected. He was covered by a leather coat, but the drooping of the fabric made him seem scrawny and malnourished.

"You're gonna regret having messed with us!" Her eyes darted to the woman who just spoke.

She could only see the other people from behind, since they were all facing the chained man, but she could count three of them. A tall man, with spiked pink hair, bat full of nails in his hand. A large man with feathers all along his skin. Last, but not least, a short blue-skinned girl with white hair.

"I think you're the one who's gonna have regrets," The chained man said.

His legs were apparently free enough that he could kick out, and although the thugs surrounding him were far away enough that he couldn't kick them directly, a burst of blue flame made them scream and scatter.

A fire quirk.

"Respir!" The large man shouted, and with a nod the girl took a deep breath and blew.

There was a whoosh of air moving, and the fire was blown back into the guys face. He coughed at the onslaught and immediately stopped the flame.

The man with a bat got closer, swinging it menacingly as he spoke, "We know all your little tricks and we have ways to combat it. So stop resisting, it will only make your punishment last longer."

Fuyumi couldn't stand back anymore. She wasn't certain what was going on, but three people against one seemed like an unfair fight. Not to mention, if she had the option of fighting three people versus one who was incapacitated, she'd prefer a real fight.

The blue flame might have also biased her, considering it was the same color as Touya’s.

So she burst in, flinging a dart at the exposed neck of the man with the bat. He sputtered at the injury, turning in an instant to face whoever dared attack him.

The other two were surprised, long enough that Fuyumi was able to throw another two darts at them, getting the large mans chest (feathers peaking out of a v-neck shirt) and the woman's nose. The woman (Respir?) screamed at the injury, hands coming up to her face, while the bird man seemed unaffected. Maybe his feathers cushioned the blow.

Before Fuyumi could analyze any further, a bat swung towards her and she dodged by only a hair's breadth. She pulled out her staff and activated it, allowing it to open from both ends, one end reaching the floor while the other dug into the man's gut.

The man guffawed before backing up, and Respir cried out, "Ghad!"

So his name was Ghad. His face twisted into a snarl, raising the bat again and watching Fuyumi's staff to prevent any more tricks. She slapped the bat away as he tried to swing it against her again, redirecting its energy to empty space and forcing him off-balance. She was about to take the chance to punch him in the face when a screech caught her attention.

The bird man was making an ungodly shriek while running at Fuyumi, hands extended to reveal deadly talons. Fuyumi only had a moment to block the claws with her staff, preventing him from tearing out her face.

Unfortunately, holding him back took both hands, and Ghad was now behind her.

Fortune came in the form of fire, bursting from the chained man and blowing the bird man off of her. His feathers glowed, singed, and he began rolling on the ground in a panic.

Which gave Fuyumi time to once again face Ghad, dodging and re-directing the swings of his bat. With one particularly wide swing, Fuyumi dashed directly towards him, punching his nose with her reinforced fist.

That made him fall back, dropping his bat to clutch at his now-bleeding nose. Fuyumi took the opportunity to swing her staff against the side of his head, sending him to the ground. Pride swelled in her chest at the sight of her defeated combatant

The chill of wind made her turn back around to her other opponents. Respir was still bleeding from the dart in her nose, but apparently she had recovered in time to use her quirk against Fuyumi. Fuyumi dug the soles of her shoes into the ground, trying not to be blown away by the onslaught of wind.

Once again fire saved her, blowing directly at Respir, forcing Respir to turn and blow it away. This allowed Fuyumi to dash right up to her and thrust her staff into her stomach, bowling her over.

By now the bird man was standing again, feather fire put out, and Fuyumi frowned at one opponent being behind and one being in front. It was hard to defend both sides at once.

So she grabbed Respir's wrist, tugged her over her shoulder (she was an adult, but a small one, and much easier to carry than 16 children) and flung her against the bird man, sending both of them sprawling to the ground.

She was prepared to continue fighting, but as soon as they got up the feathered man grabbed Respir's hand and booked it, running out of the warehouse. She glanced at their abandoned friend (or gang member? Ally? Who knows), still unconscious on the ground.

"I didn't ask for your help."

The voice made her jump, but it was just the chained man she saved. "Do you want me to leave you chained up there, then?"

He grumbled. "Ghad probably has the keys."

She pawed through Ghads pockets before finding a set of keys. As she tried various ones on the ring, she looked more closely at the man, and had to hold back a look of disgust. The metallic sheen she thought were piercings were actually staples, holding together pink-ish, fresh skin with purple, dead, scarred flesh. That had to hurt. He did also have piercings, though. Not to mention piercing blue eyes, which surprised her for some reason she couldn't pinpoint. She found the right key on the third try, and the man rubbed at his wrists gingerly for a moment.

Then he grabbed the collar of Fuyumi's coat and slammed her against a wall. His body blew flames, an attempt at intimidation that might have worked better if Fuyumi was not already used to Dad doing the same thing.

"Who the hell are you? Who sent you? Why did you help me?"

His snarled questions gave Fuyumi a little trouble.

Like, specifically, who was she?

She couldn't say her actual name for sure. That was just asking for trouble. But despite her preparation in other ways, she hadn't actually thought up a vigilante name or anything. What was a good name? Something about ice? 'Elsa'? 'Icicle-woman'? 'Frozer'? She took a breath. No, she was planning to fight functionally quirkless, so using an ice theme would be silly. What was a cool name? 'V' for Vigilante? No, way too boring. Maybe she could use a name from a TV show or something? Who was cool and noble? Whose name could she...

He lifted her higher. "Well?"

"Leia," She choked out, "Call me Leia."

He didn't let go of her collar, but he did lower her with a raised eyebrow. "...Like from the classic movie series, Star Wars?"

Fuyumi blinked at his recognition. It was a famous series for its time, but better known by historical film buffs than anyone else. She only knew it because her mother was a fan. She had good memories of being curled up in a blanket with her, Touya, and Natsuo, watching the death star blow up. "Yeah."

"Weird name. Who sent you?"

"Uh, no one? I was just sort of wandering when I heard a commotion..."

His eyes narrowed. "Sure. What are you, some kind of vigilante?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed, excited that he had called her that.

He clicked his tongue, but let her go. "Well sorry to disappoint, but you probably should have left me alone."

"I'm just trying to help out in places where heroes and law enforcement haven't reached."

He snorted. "Well a good cop would of cuffed all of us, considering I got into this mess by running drugs for a gang."

She frowned. "That is technically illegal."

He watched her with lazy eyes, as though curious how she would react.

It was illegal, but it's not like he was hurting anyone, right? She didn't know why he would be desperate enough to do that sort of thing, maybe he was in a bad situation? Especially with those injuries, she imagined a lot of places would be too creeped out by his staples to hire him.

Maybe she wanted to make excuses for the sake of a fire quirk user. Even now, heat radiated off of him in excess. It reminded her of Touya when they would cuddle up together, his heat and her cold mixing together into the perfect comfortable temperature. She definitely had a bias when it came to fire quirks.

"Luckily I'm not a cop," She decided.

"So what? Something tells me you ain't just into this for 'the sake of justice' then."

Those words made Fuyumi pause. She was trying to be fair and just, and she wanted to help people, but truthfully... 'Saving people' gave her an excuse to do what she wanted. "Maybe I'm just big into fighting."

He clicked his tongue and started to walk away. "Then join a fighting ring or something, don't go helping folks who don't ask for it."

That made her straighten up. She scurried after him. "Wait, fighting rings?"

He appeared taken aback by her confusion. "Uh, yeah? Folks brawl each other, people make bets? I'm more of a bettor than a fighter myself."

"Where can I find one of them?" Fuyumi's voice had risen, excited, at the thought of a place where she could let loose and not have to go prowling the streets for a morally-justified fight.

He slowed down his pace, allowing her to walk alongside him more easily. "...You're actually interested?"

Fuyumi shrugged. "It took me two weeks to find this fight. If there's somewhere where I can just instantly go in and have it guaranteed..."

"Looking for fights? Geez, you trying to work out some sorta repressed shit?"

She thought about all of her anger and frustration, feeling useless while her family fell apart. She felt pretty useful when she saved this guy. "...Maybe."

"No shade, I'm hardly one to judge. Look, if you're really interested, then I'll do you a favor for helping me out there. Meet me next Saturday night, 8 P.M., and I'll take you to a place I know that does it. It's pretty low-key, and they do amateur nights."

Fuyumi stared at him. Was she really going to trust a sketchy dude who runs drugs? "Where should we meet?"

He glanced around. "This place is chill. By that street sign over there, 8 P.M. sharp. If you're late, I'll leave you."

The street sign said 'Tatooi Avenue'. Fuyumi repeated it a few times in her head, trying not to forget. "Alright."

He turned on his heel and began walking away.

"Wait!" Fuyumi called out.

He glanced back, irritated look on his face at his exit being interrupted.

"What's your name?" Fuyumi asked.

"Dabi."

Notes:

I'm normally not a fan of incorporating real-life media into fics, but I'm shit at names..... and when I realized star wars included a long-lost twin brother plot I was like: References: This is Poetic Cinema

Chapter 3: Who Needs Morally-Justified Violence When You Could Have A Consensual Brawl?

Summary:

"We got a few rules here at the Forge," He leaned in close, speaking to Fuyumi directly, "No killing, no weapons, and quirks only at my discretion."

"Works for me."

During storytime, Fuyumi read a story about a little boy who accumulated a wide variety of rare animals. The kids were pretty obsessed with animals, often playing games during recess where they pretended to be different creatures, so Fuyumi thought it was a good choice. Fuyumi was proven right when every child paid attention all the way to the very end.

Afterwards, there was still a little time before they had to move on to the next activity, so Fuyumi decided to engage them with some conversation. “Do any of you have pets?”

“I have a parrot!” Minami, a tiny boy with orange hair exclaimed. “His feathers-”

“Let’s use our hands so everyone has a chance to share,” Fuyumi corrected.

The more subdued kids in the circle seemed to appreciate her reinforcing the rule. Minami quickly raised his hand up in the air, eager to share. Although she hated to set a bad example, Minami was so energetic she wanted to let him share, so she called on him.

“My parrot has green feathers, and red feathers, and a super cool beak! He doesn’t talk like parrots do in movies though.”

“Very cool!” Fuyumi told him.

She then called on the next child, Kagome, “I have the cutest puppy! He’s the fluffiest, and he’s white, and Mommy calls him a demon but I love him anyway.”

Kana, one of Kagome’s close friends, shared, “My family has a turtle! I like to put him on his back because his legs wiggle, but my big sister said not to do that because he gets stuck and that makes him sad.”

Fuyumi held back a grimace. Kids didn’t always understand how their actions could hurt others, much less animals. “Your sister sounds smart for thinking about how the turtle feels.”

The rest of the time went by with other kids sharing their pets with the class. A few kids who didn’t have pets looked a little left out, so Fuyumi changed the question to “Which animal do you like the most?” And called on those children first.

---

The first thing Fuyumi noticed about the 'establishment': It smelled. It was like a whole class of teenage boys came together and dripped their sweat onto every surface. Then she noticed the lighting, dim everywhere except for a central ring, encased in a chain-link fence, where spotlights shone onto the dirt. The dirt floor was lowered into the ground, so everyone looking in could view the competitors from above.

Dabi pulled her through a throng of people, mostly men with torn jackets radiating the stench of the place, up to one man in particular seated behind a table. He wore a fedora and had an eye that didn't move, even as he glanced up at Dabi and Fuyumi.

"Dabi! To what do we owe the pleasure?" He drawled.

"Hey Lead, you got room for an amateur's debut?"

He grinned, showing off teeth, some made of gold, "I always got room, boy. This the fighter?"

Fuyumi straightened her posture at his scrutiny. Apparently this dude was her ticket to fighting; she didn't want to ruin her chance.

"We got a few rules here at the Forge," He leaned in close, speaking to Fuyumi directly, "No killing, no weapons, and quirks only at my discretion."

"Works for me." Fuyumi hesitated to give up her weapons, but so long as others didn't have weapons as well she thought she could deal.

"Okay then, few questions: Name?"

"Leia." Fuyumi was sticking with the spontaneous name, not like she had anything better.

"Quirk?"

"Quirkless," She lied.

Lead scoffed. "Your funeral, lady."

"So she's registered, then?" Dabi asked.

He nodded. "We'll post the match-ups in another 10 minutes. I'll try and put you up against another amateur, alright?"

"Thank you," Fuyumi politely responded.

Dabi rolled his eyes at her manners, then pulled her away. "You gonna fight in that bulky coat?"

She shook her head. She had invested in some athletic wear for this occasion, a dark, sturdy shirt that covered almost her entire body, along with thick leggings. When she shrugged off her coat, Dabi raised an eyebrow.

"It can get pretty hot under that spotlight, especially when working up a sweat. Most people go for tank tops and shorts."

"I think I'll be fine," Fuyumi responded, not specifying that her body ran cold enough that she hoped the spotlights would heat her up.

Dabi watched as she carefully removed her gloves and brass knuckles. They were technically a weapon, so she had to remove them. "Let's wrap your fist," He said suddenly.

"Huh?"

He pulled a roll of wrap out of his pocket and grabbed her hand. "If you wanna throw punches, you gotta be prepared so you don't dislocate shit."

Oh, that made sense. He rolled the white material through her fingers methodically. It reminded her a bit of the post-training treatment in her childhood, when she and Touya would bandage each other. A lump formed in her throat at the thought of Touya in heaven looking down and seeing her like this. They had planned to be heroes together, not to go looking for fights wherever they could find one. With a deep breath, she hardened her heart; she wasn't going to back out now just from a little reminder of her childhood.

As he wrapped up her hands, he tilted his chin towards a woman passing by, stout with a large red beard. “That’s Iron, she runs the place, so watch out not to mess with her.”

He pointed out a few other people he knew whenever they passed by. By the time he was done wrapping, the match-ups were posted. They approached a big poster with names scrawled in ugly handwriting and searched for 'Leia'.

She was the second match, against 'Galapago'.

She scanned the room, as if people would be wearing name tags. Dabi pulled her to the edge of the fencing, near an entrance. The doors were on opposite sides of the rink, with no stairs. A woman with green hair stood close to the fence, between the two entrances, with a microphone in hand. "Okaaaaay folks! As most of you know by now, I'm Copper, your delightful announcer for this evening! I'd like to remind all of you, no recording, no brawling outside of the ring, and please talk to Gold if you want to place bets!"

"Wait here," Dabi muttered to Fuyumi before walking through the crowd.

"But I'm sure you're all excited for our first match!"

Some cheers rose up. Fuyumi wasn't sure if she was supposed to cheer with them. As she introduced two combatants and started the match, Fuyumi eyes searched the crowd for Dabi. She spotted him talking to a man with blond hair, and witnessed him give the man some money.

The fight in the pit was intense, but clumsy. One of the competitors had a scissor quirk, but apparently had been banned from using it. The other one didn't have a quirk as far as Fuyumi could see, but he seemed to be faring better. They tussled and eventually were pretty much just rolling around on the ground, each one trying to get on top of the other. Fuyumi gulped when she saw some red mix into the dirt; she wasn't sure whose blood it was.

Finally, once the scissor-guy appeared securely pinned, the crowd burst into a unified chant: "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Winner!"

There was cheering, and the scissor guy was released. They left the cage; pinning someone down for five seconds counted as a win.

She glanced back at the blond and saw more money change hands. She wondered where Dabi was until a voice spoke up behind her, "You ready?"

She gulped. "I guess."

They got closer to the gate, which opened to allow her through.

"And a newbie, Leia! No quirk, but no fear! She's ready to throw down!"

From the other side, a large man stalked into the arena, thick with a hard, round shell on his back and head.

"Another newbie, Galapago! He's what folks might call a 'hard-head' due to his turtle quirk! Seems he's got defense in the bag with his shell!"

Fuyumi stared at the man. He was big.

But not as big as Endeavor.

When Copper called out the start of the match, Fuyumi was running instantly, aiming to clock him in the jaw. He tilted his head so his shell got in the way, and all Fuyumi got for her trouble was an aching wrist. She hissed in pain, shaking out her hand. There was shouting from the audience, and more commentary from Copper, but she was laser-focused on Galapago.

He raised a wide hand to slap her, but she ducked under his arm. He was off-balance for only a moment before spinning to face her again. As she dodged some further attacks, she thought hard.

He couldn't be invulnerable. Even turtles have weak points. She just needed to find a way to injure him enough that she could pin him, keep him immobilized for five seconds-

A plan came to her so suddenly that she forgot to dodge.

She went flying against a wall, spine stinging from the force, and her shoulder aching from the blow. That hurt a lot.

Didn't hurt as much as Endeavor's punches though. Her mind flashed to his teachings.

You're going to be a hero, so act like it! Get up!

She forced herself back up. Galapago was already coming towards her, ready to get in another blow. She was overwhelmed, but instead of running or calling out for a surrender, she waited for him to get close.

Don't cry, it won't make me go any easier on you.

She dove to the ground right beside him, sliding onto her back, feeling the skin there scrape even through her shirt.

Villains won't stop just because you're hurt, so I won't either!

Once she was barely behind him, she braced herself against the ground and kicked the back of his knees. He let out a surprised yelp, fell backwards, and would have landed on Fuyumi if she hadn't rolled away.

He landed on his back, just as Fuyumi hoped. It took the crowd a minute to realize what was happening, but when he started squirming and wiggling, trying to get back up, they started counting. "One!"

Galapago's face was red. "Two!"

He swung his arms, trying to gain momentum to swing off of his shell. "Three!"

It was clearly too heavy though, no matter what he did his center of gravity remained stubbornly planted. "Four!"

He kicked out his feet, desperate, but to no avail. "Five!"

Once there was cheering, and Copper announced the end of the match, Fuyumi's heart swelled. She felt like laughing and dancing, on top of the world. With a smile, she reached out her hand to help Galapago up.

He stared at her, brows furrowed, before grabbing the hand to get up. As soon as he was on his feet, he slapped her hand away. "Don't look down on me," He told her.

She raised her hands up in mock surrender, still in too good of a mood to let his bad attitude get to her. By the time she got out of the cage, Dabi was back at the blond guy, accepting a fat wad of cash. She approached him, smiling along the way at the people who cheered her on and shook her hand. She'd never had so many people excited to see her before.

Even Dabi had a smirk once he saw her. "Did good out there."

She beamed. "Thank you."

He handed back her coat and... her phone? Why did he take her phone out of its pocket? When he saw her aghast look, Dabi explained, "It kept buzzing. I was kind enough not to answer, but you should probably call your dad."

All of Fuyumi's elation came crashing down in an instant. The phone buzzed in her hand, the foreboding 'Dad' coming up on her screen. She was glad she didn't put a contact picture of him, because she didn't feel ready to see his face right now.

Hurriedly, she shrugged on a coat and started racing to the door. Just before she left, someone grabbed her shoulder. She held back an attack in time to see it was Lead, waving some cash in her face. "Hey, your winnings, don't you-"

"Give it to Dabi!" She exclaimed, shaking out of his grip and continuing her run.

Once she was outside, without the noise of an underground fighting-ring that could give her away, she finally responded to the call.

"Fuyumi? Where the hell are you?"

"I already told you I was at the Uso library-"

"There was a villain attack at the Uso library. You were not among the evacuees. Stop lying to me."

Her heart stopped. "...Maybe I wasn't at the Uso library."

"Where. Are. You."

Her mind raced for an explanation. He already knew she was lying, she couldn't stick with library. She needed an explanation she could conceivably have a reason to lie about. Her blood was rushing as much as it had during the fight.

"Fuyumi Todoroki."

"I was on a date!" She exclaimed, voice high-pitched and nervous.

Dad was quiet for a moment.

She was already texting for a car to come pick her up.

"You lied to me? About a date? You better be on your way home right now."

"Obviously."

"We are having a conversation when you get back."

She bit back some more sass and tried to be meek, hoping it would lessen his anger. "Yes, Dad."

Notes:

Next chapter: A chat with Enji Todoroki

Chapter 4: Fighting Rings And Vigilantism Are Valid Hobbies

Summary:

The Forge was brutal.

It was also fantastic.

Dad led her to the training room as soon as she got home. That was a bad sign. Her heart was already accelerating at the location, where she had too many memories of bruises and breaking. She hoped he was only taking her there so he could take out his anger on the punching bag and other objects rather than Fuyumi herself.

Once they were there, he turned around with his first question, "What's his quirk?"

Fuyumi didn't know where she would start on correcting him. The part where he prioritized quirks over everything else about a person? Or the 'his'?

She didn't want to start another fight though. She also didn't want to have to come up with more lies to keep track of, so she kept it simple. "He’s quirkless."

He threw a fist at a punching bag in the corner, creating a loud sound and making Fuyumi flinch. "A bad choice."

"Yes," She agreed, hoping that if she agreed he would stop.

He threw another punch at the bag, making the chain supporting it creak as it swung back and forth. "Clearly you don't understand, or you wouldn't be dating him in the first place."

She defaulted to apologizing, "Sorry. I won't date him anymore."

He stopped punching the bag, at least. But now all of his attention was focused squarely on her. "Why did you lie to me?"

"I don't know," She just wanted him to stop.

"That's not a real answer!"

He was shouting now. Fuyumi felt tears spring to her eyes. She was used to him shouting, but usually at Natsuo or Shouto. It had been a long time since he yelled directly at her. She found it hard to comprehend how Natsuo talked back to him like this.

"Come on, did I raise you to be so stupid that you can't answer a simple question? Why did you lie to me?"

She still didn't have a real answer, but if he was going to force one out of her... "Because I knew you would freak out!"

"I wouldn't be 'freaked out' if you hadn't lied to me!" Dad burst into flames. "Do you know how embarrassing it was to tell all of my pro-hero coworkers that my daughter was one of the civilians trapped in Osu? And to make them waste valuable time searching for her? Only to discover that she wasn't there in the first place?"

Fuyumi couldn't look him in the eyes. "Sorry."

"And why didn't you answer your phone for so long? I thought-" His flames faltered for a moment. "...There was a section that collapsed. We thought we had gotten everyone out before then, but..."

"I was trying to be polite and set my phone to silent," She countered.

He started punching the punching bag again, this time several hits in quick succession. "You will always keep your phone on when you go out like that from now on."

"It's not like I'm going to go on any more dates after this reaction," She muttered.

"Good."

Fuyumi didn't have a response to that. She just stood there, hands clenched, lips sealed shut, hoping that if she didn't respond he would get bored and let her go.

It worked. "We're done here. Go to your room."

"Yes, Dad."

She left with soft steps, still trying not to trigger anymore outbursts. Once the door to the training room shut behind her, the sound of more punching and whooshing of flames indicated she was unsuccessful, but at least she didn't have to be present anymore.

She stalked up to her room, wiping the tears already dripping down her face along the way. She shut her door softly, still not wanting to give Dad another excuse to yell at her, and burst into tears.

She hated that Dad could make her so weak. She was tough and strong, she literally beat up a man less than an hour ago, and yet a ten-minute conversation with her father left her sobbing on her pillow. She hadn't even told him the truth, and the thought of him discovering once again that she lied to him made her shudder.

A gentle knock at the door startled her out of her spiraling thoughts. There was only one person who it could be. "Come in."

Natsuo entered slowly, unsure expression on his face. Usually Fuyumi would comfort him after Dad fights, not the other way around. "Hey, 'Yumi," He spoke gently.

"Guess you heard some of that," She responded.

"Kinda hard not to, with his volume."

She scooted on the bed, and he took the invitation to sit down. He reached out for a hug, and she continued her crying into his shoulder.

"He's an unreasonable piece of shit," He told her, which only made her cry more.

After some time, Fuyumi was no longer actively sobbing, so she pulled back. "Sorry."

"You have zero things to be sorry for. He's the one who-"

"Can we not talk about him?" She interrupted, feeling a headache coming on at the thought of Natsuo using her as an another reason to fight with him, "I don't want to think about him anymore."

That made Natsuo go quiet for a minute. When he spoke again, his voice was more cheerful, almost teasing, "Then can you tell me about this boy ?"

Fuyumi almost laughed. "Nothing to tell."

"Come on, 'Yumi," He was definitely teasing now, "I'm curious, what kind of boy is good enough to attract my great big sister?"

Girls were good enough, but Fuyumi didn't think it'd be helpful to mention that. It's not like she was ever going to get a romance; she needed to be here for the family, and introducing someone new into the mess that was her life seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"You've never mentioned anyone before," Natsuo continued.

It's not like she'd gotten close to many people. She found a few girls cute in high school, but she barely kept up some friendships, so confessing to anyone was out of the question. Nowadays she didn't have many friends either, especially outside of her family. Some of the teachers she worked with were friendly, but... honestly Dabi was probably the closest thing she had to a friend outside of that, and he was literally a criminal who didn't even know her real name.

"'Yumi~!" He whined.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not dating him anymore."

Natsuo pouted. "What? Just because of..." He paused. "...You-know-who making an ass of himself about it? I could help you guys meet and stuff, I bet if you tried you could still get away with it." He gasped. "It could be like Romeo and Juliet!"

She felt warmed knowing Natsuo was on her side, but it really was a moot point considering there wasn't anybody in the first place. "Nah, actually the date was bad, so I don't want to see him again anyway."

Natsuo narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Do I need to beat someone up?"

Fuyumi held back a comment that she would do better at fighting than Natsuo. Instead, she laughed at him. "No need to pretend you're a big brother. He didn't do anything gross, our personalities just didn't mesh."

"...If you're certain. But I would totally beat someone up for you if you needed it."

She looked him up and down. "With your noodle arms?"

"Hey!" He frowned, "I can lift you up with these noodle arms!"

To demonstrate, he lifted her up off the bed. Fuyumi was sore, and he might have gripped a bruise a bit too tight, but she covered the yelp of pain as a sound of surprise, and started laughing at his attempt. "Put me down, Mr. Insecure."

He acquiesced, dropping her back onto the bed. They were both laughing now, at least. While he was standing, looking down at her, he noticed her outfit. "You wore that to the date?"

Black athletic-wear was perhaps not great first-date material, but Fuyumi wasn't about to admit that. "Black is a very fashionable color."

He scoffed, "Okay, but like..."

She turned away from him with a pout, "You wouldn't understand. This sort of fashion is very 'in' right now."

"I really don't understand," He muttered under his breath.

"Shouldn't you be going to bed?" Fuyumi changed the subject.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, gotta get my beauty sleep."

"Based on your appearance you've never gotten enough."

"Hey!"

She started pushing him out the door, ignoring his sputtered protests. "For real, though, get some sleep alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," He scratched the back of his neck, "You make sure you get lots of rest, too."

"Of course."

She closed the door behind him, and let out a breath. Time to get changed.

She peeled her shirt off very carefully, mindful of the scraping along her back. A glance in the mirror revealed that there was only a tiny bit of bleeding. In theory, she should clean it, but she was exhausted after dealing with Dad, so she just put on a clean shirt. She also noted a couple bruises, and summoned just a tiny bit of ice to the areas to cool them.

Natsuo probably could have helped, but she didn't want to worry him. She also didn't know how she would explain the injuries, so she would just have to suffer by herself.

Fortunately, she was tired enough that she fell asleep in minutes.

---

She went to the Forge next Saturday. And the next one. And the one after that. Unlike the first time, she didn't have to run home after the first fight, so she got to have multiple brawls each time.

Every time, Dabi was also there. At this point she was willing to call him a friend, although she would never dare say it to his face. He was rough around the edges (literally) but he helped her a lot, wrapping her hands and explaining a bunch of people and processes in the underground scene.

It probably helped that she made Dabi a lot of cash. Although she had lost a few fights, she ended up winning enough that he felt confident betting on her. She also had no need for the cash winnings, considering she had access to the bank account of the #2 Pro-Hero, so she continued to give all her winning money to Dabi. If Lead thought the arrangement was weird, he never commented on it. Lead was also fast becoming an almost-friend. He was at least friendly towards her, sometimes giving her tips about whoever she was about to compete against.

Every time she came she felt like she was making new allies. Folks congratulated her, hearty slaps on the backs and once even lifting her up in the air after she beat a particularly intimidating opponent. Her fellow competitors were a physical bunch, and although many of them got pissed off at her for beating them, the few competitors who could accept losing would usually greet her with hugs and good-natured ribbing the next time she saw them.

One of her fellow competitors, Magne, was friendly enough to tell her, "You're great, just the right amount of bloodlust." Fuyumi wasn't sure how she felt about someone telling her that, but she assumed it was meant as a compliment.

Her injuries were not ideal. She discovered that there was a healer in the Forge, Steel, who had a questionable amount of medical training and a quirk that could accelerate healing.

So long as you were able to tolerate the pain of the injury being multiplied during the process.

He did his work in a tiny room in the back, a re-purposed closet. It wasn't uncommon to hear a grown man weeping as Steel put a hand over his bleeding leg. When Fuyumi tried it, she cried just as much and swore she could never do it again.

She ended up doing it again. And again.

After all, she couldn't go home with visible injuries. She always healed stuff on her face, although she refused to take off the mask she would let Steel's hand slide under the fabric if she needed healing. Other injuries varied; if they would interfere with her job or be too obvious, she got them healed, but if it was possible to hurt just a bit for a week instead she would rather do that.

The Forge was brutal.

It was also fantastic.

Fighting was freeing. All the frustrations of work and family faded away so she could focus on the sweaty, intense task of winning. It was hard to feel powerless or useless when destroying a man twice her size and making bank for Dabi. She was most relaxed going home after a couple of fights, her bones aching and adrenaline coming down, leaving her in a dizzy, satisfied state as she laid down her head to sleep.

Even her mother noticed something had changed.

"You look like you're glowing," Mom said in the midst of a conversation, looking up at her from her bed, "What's got you so happy recently?"

Fuyumi smiled at her. "New hobby. I've been exercising more."

"Well that's lovely," Mom smiled back, "Keep it up. You deserve something that makes you happy."

Obviously Fuyumi couldn't tell her the details, she couldn't even tell Mom anything about Dad (her doctor recommended that topic be avoided unless Mom brought it up on her own), much less the violence she was exposing herself to every weekend. But her mother's praise made her feel like she must be doing something right.

The only thing that ever felt wrong was losing.

Fuyumi didn't picture herself as a prideful person, she was used to setting aside all her needs and desires for the sake of her family. But Leia, the quirkless fighter in the pits of the Forge, didn't fight for family. She was spoiled enough that she fought for herself, and she was allowed to be selfish. That meant she wanted to win every single fight.

Unfortunately, she did not win every single fight.

She was agile and quick-witted, but when it came to pure physical strength she lagged behind most of her competitors. It was not ideal in fights where weapons were not allowed to make up the difference. After her third loss, pinned down without the strength to fling off her opponent, all she could think was that she needed to become stronger.

Fuyumi approached Dad one day while he was in a good mood. "Could I use the gym we have?"

She had been using the gym for years, but always when nobody was there. Although people left the house for school and patrols, it wasn't enough time for Fuyumi to use the equipment every day. If she wanted to become stronger, she needed to have a consistent training schedule.

Dad looked perplexed at her request, "Use the gym?"

She had prepared many excuses, but looked at the ground as she listed them. "I just feel like I've been gaining a bit of weight recently-"

"You-"

"-and I know dieting is a thing, but the very best way to lose weight is a combination of changing diet and exercise-"

"It's-"

"-And besides, the health benefits of daily exercise are numerous, they say even just thirty minutes a day can expand your lifespan by-"

"Fuyumi."

Fuyumi looked up.

His expression was almost amused. "It's fine. Just don't get in the way when Shouto or I are training."

A grin broke out on her face. "Thanks Dad!"

She went to give him a hug, and he stiffened. She pulled back suddenly, remembering that this wasn't one of her Forge buddies who liked to get physical in their expressions of camaraderie. Dad didn't seem pissed, though, so she gave him another smile, just in case, and backed off.

So she was able to properly exercise whenever she wanted now (at least when Dad and Shouto weren't using the gym). She was relieved to be the primary cook for the family, since it meant she could prepare more protein for herself without arousing suspicion.

She did a lot of dodging suspicion. She always wore long sleeves, even in the summer, because of her constant chill, so it was easy to cover any injuries that weren't worth Steel's quirk. She allowed Dad to put a location tracking device on her cell phone, so he could always know where she was. Lead taught her a neat trick to deal with that: Give the phone to a cafe he knows, and reroute all calls and texts to a new burner phone. That way she would appear to be in the cafe, but could still answer if Dad called.

To be extra safe, she changed the contact info for everyone she knew. The few people she used pictures of in their contacts she changed to random images of flowers, puppies, and art. Full names ("Shouto Todoroki") got shortened and stripped of identifiable info ("Sho"). She didn't want Dabi or anyone else to see a picture or full name and end up with hints about her identity.

She was pretty invested in this 'hobby'.

And Dabi definitely enabled her.

"Are you still into that vigilante shit?" He asked one day after a grueling round (at least she won though).

"Sure," Fuyumi answered flippantly before chugging a water bottle. She hadn't encountered much crime since she started going to this fight club exclusively, but if she saw something going wrong with no heroes stepping in she would go for it. Morally justified violence.

"Then I've got some good info on a child trafficking ring that's been flying under the radar for awhile you might be interested in."

She choked on her water.

"Not interested?"

"No, I'm definitely interested," Fuyumi corrected once she recovered, "I was just a little shocked. That's disgusting."

He raised an eyebrow. "It happens. If you want to do something about it, meet me next Wednesday night at the Northern Piers."

She balked. "That's a school night!"

He stared at her. "Are... are you a high school student?"

"No!" She exclaimed, realizing she might be revealing too much of her identity (someone involved in schools...), "I'm an adult! I'm just used to thinking of weekdays as, uh, 'school nights'."

"...Sure."

"But I'll still meet you! Wednesday night, at the Northern Pier! You can count on me!"

Notes:

Me writing Natsuo: Fuyumi deserves at least one (1) mentally healthy, non-emotionally constipated family member who expresses love and affection openly.

Next chapter: Fuyumi and Dabi fight crime, save kids, and maybe get chased by a pro-hero at some point.

Chapter 5: You Can Burn People Alive In Front Of The Kids, But I Draw The Line At Swearing

Summary:

Fuyumi chuckled. "You know, I never took you for the type to like kids."

"I don't, they're annoying." He answered quickly, "But I really, really hate assholes who treat children like possessions."

Notes:

Current goal is to update every two days. I have a buffer for chapters, so fingers crossed I can keep it up.

Fuyumi was especially kind to her students that week. The thought that child trafficking was going on in their city... It left her with unease, and a desire to keep the kids she worked with close. During art time, she couldn't help but pace around the room.

"Look, Ms. Todoroki, I drew Carlina!" Axel, a child with headlights for eyes, exclaimed while showing off a drawing.

Fuyumi squinted at the image, but couldn't figure out what the mass of brown and orange was supposed to be. "How lovely! Who's Carlina?"

The little girl next to Axel, Sera, scoffed. "Uh, obviously the Animal Friend?"

"Animal Friend?" Fuyumi repeated, confused.

Several children around her gasped. "You don't know the Animal Friends?"

The kids stopped drawing in order to explain the reference. Apparently it was the hippest new show, where animals in a forest solved problems together with the power of friendship. Carlina was the owl friend, according to Sera: "He has good ideas, but he's a bit shy about sharing them."

Fuyumi profusely thanked the children for expanding her knowledge of media, and they puffed out their chests in pride. Deep down she did not care much for children's media, but it was clearly important to her kids so she made an effort to respect their interests.

That led to the rest of them showing off their drawings, lapping up the praises they deserved. These were the moments Fuyumi treasured as a teacher, when her room was filled with warmth and love.

She wished every child had the chance to be in such a positive environment.

---

Wednesday night came sooner than she expected. Dabi was there right on time, as was she.

Dabi explained the situation, "They're planning to take the kids onto a boat, where they can be shipped off to an island owned by one of these guys to be sorted and sold. They'll be transferred from a big truck onto a ship soon, according to my intel."

"Where do you get your intel?" Fuyumi asked, suddenly curious.

"In general? This is the same gang as the one that tried to force me to join, the Fukuron group. Ghad once mentioned that he helped to traffic kids. The specific when-and-where? Confidential source."

They went quiet at the sound of an engine puttering towards the docks. They were hidden behind a pile of crates, but Fuyumi didn't dare poke her head out yet to survey the scene.

There was no light shining around, suggesting the driver had kept the headlights off. Fuyumi frowned at that, wasn't it dangerous?

Dabi peeked out the edge of a crate before turning back to Fuyumi. "I'd like to strike now, before the ship gets here, but it could be hard to break into the truck if they lock the doors. If we wait for the ship, then we can strike while they're doing the transfer. That way most folks will be out in the open, including the kids."

"Can't you just melt the car?" Fuyumi asked.

"If we want to melt the kids too, yeah. Even if I try to focus on just one part, there's enough flammable shit in cars that fire will spread easy once it gets in."

Fuyumi chuckled. "You know, I never took you for the type to like kids."

"I don't, they're annoying." He answered quickly, "But I really, really hate assholes who treat children like possessions."

Before Fuyumi could ask more about his opinions, there was the sound of waves slapping aggressively against the docks, a few shouts from a distance, and a car door opening.

Fuyumi dared to look out at the scene, witnessing a ship coming to dock and a man from the truck walking to the pier to greet it.

"As soon as they open the back of the truck, we go out and wreck shit, alright?" Dabi told her.

She nodded.

They had to wait awhile. Apparently docking a ship was more complicated business than Fuyumi imagined, with occasional shouting of commands and rope tying galore. When they were finally secured, there was a distinct sound of a metallic door coming open from the truck.

"Showtime," Dabi murmured before running out.

Fuyumi was close behind. It was hard to see in the darkness, but her eyes had adjusted enough in the time spent waiting that she could aim a few darts at some men standing around. Three of them looked to be sailors, still standing close to the ship, while two of them seemed more city-like and were at the back of the truck, one of them reaching inside.

She saw Dabi fast approaching the truck group, so she aimed her darts at the sailors. She was especially proud of one shot that hit a sailor in the eye, perhaps now he'd get an eyepatch like a pirate.

As soon as they exclaimed in pain, Dabi flared, his flames almost blinding after the near-darkness they had been shrouded in. He rather simply grabbed one of the truck men and kept burning.

The other one shouted, "Close the door!" To the front of the truck.

Fuyumi frowned. That meant there was at least one other person in the truck who could drive away, especially if they got the door closed.

The metallic door started to go down, lowering over the contents. Fuyumi saw various children, shivering and tied together with ropes inside. They were smaller than most of her students. She wondered if they had school teachers worried about their absence.

She would not let them be taken away.

As the door was almost closed, Fuyumi grabbed the man not currently on fire and shoved him into the opening between the bottom and the door. The scream he made as the metal contraption tried to crush his rib cage filled Fuyumi with satisfaction.

"Open the door! Jesus fuck open the door!" He screamed out to his colleague, just as Fuyumi had hoped.

"Language," Fuyumi chastised on instinct, knowing that children were listening.

The door opened again, and Fuyumi flung the man onto the ground, hard, hoping that pain would keep him distracted. She glanced back at the sailors who were already untying the ropes from the dock, it seemed they prioritized their own safety over getting their cargo.

Feeling more secure, Fuyumi hopped into the truck and reached out to the kids. They stared up at her with terrified eyes, and she realized they probably had no clue what was happening or who the good guys were. "Hey, we're here to help, it'll be okay."

None of them looked reassured at all, and she saw eyes drift behind her, to where Dabi was burning a man alive.

The smell from that was probably not helpful in comforting them.

Fuyumi put on her best teacher voice and crouched down to get at their level. "You guys are really strong for getting through that, your bravery makes you all my heroes! Will you let me be your hero to get you to safety?"

Heroes had good PR. Fuyumi knew she wasn't technically a hero, but if co-opting their name could get these kids to trust her and move, then she was not averse to a little lying.

One of the kids cried. "I wanna go home!"

Fuyumi smiled at her, "We're going to get you all home. Come with me."

They began shuffling, struggling to move with the ropes. They not only had their hands bound, but every child's bindings was tied to another's, so none of them could move on their own. It seemed they were tied up in groups of four, so there was a little flexibility, but there were still five groups.

It was complicated to get them out of the truck, but there was just enough slack in the rope to get one kid down while the other sat on the edge. She calmly instructed them on how to sit so she could pick them up and put them down, reassuring them all the while about what a good job they were doing.

Dabi had finished with the first man, leaving a charred... body behind, which Fuyumi avoided looking at. He was now working on the second man. The kids looked at him with fear in their eyes. That wouldn't do, he was helping them. "That's my friend, he's very scary, but he wants to help all of you too. He's only hurting those men because they did bad things to you, he would never hurt you," Fuyumi reassured them.

That didn't seem to have a huge effect on their opinions, they still looked terrified, but to be fair it was hard to get over someone burning a person alive. Despite that, Fuyumi let out a sigh of relief, it seemed they were in the home stretch and the kids would be safe.

Then the truck moved. There was still a group of children inside. The door started closing.

Fuyumi didn't even think. She just jumped inside, sliding to get through the entrance, and tried to pull the last four kids towards the exit. Unfortunately, it slammed shut with all of them inside.

"Well this sure is a pickle," She commented calmly, not wanting the kids to see her panic.

It didn't seem to work, all of them got agitated.

"Let's start off with getting these ropes properly off you," She decided.

Earlier she was prioritizing getting kids off the truck, but if she was stuck in there with them she might as well make their situation better. With a pocketknife she had stored in her boot, she sliced off the ropes so the kids would have more mobility. Then she examined the inside of the truck. It was sparse, and didn't appear to have any weak points. She pulled out her staff and rammed the exit door, but it held fast.

The truck didn't seem to be moving too fast yet, and Fuyumi had a maybe-not-great idea.

"Hold on to each other," Fuyumi told the children, "It's about to get bumpy."

She crouched in a corner, and pulled off her gloves. She placed her hands down, focusing on the ice lurking beneath her skin. She pulled it forth, aiming for the biting cold to transfer through the metal...

The sudden stop and tilt of the truck told her she had successfully frozen a tire. She regretted not holding onto something as well, since she was sent rolling across the floor of the truck. She grimaced as she hit a wall, hip surely sporting a bruise.

Since she had used her own quirk, she wondered if any of the kids might have something useful. "What are your quirks?" She asked them as she got back up.

They mumbled, but Fuyumi was well-versed in translating kids mumble-speak to words. "Make plants pink", "Shoot CDs", "Control screws", "Fluffy hair".

"Control screws? Like how?" Fuyumi asked.

The kid in question wrung the bottom of her shirt. "Uh, I can make screws in a small area around me turn loose or tight."

Fuyumi smiled. "That's very cool! Can you show me by using your quirk on the door of this truck?"

"Um... I guess," The girl responded, still nervous.

She clenched her eyes shut, and there was a slight sound of screeching along the edges of the compartment. She opened her eyes and shrugged.

Fuyumi gave the exit a solid kick, and was pleased to see it break off the side. "Good job!" She praised the little girl.

She helped the kids out, glancing sideways at a man running away from the truck. Most likely that was the driver; she was glad he decided to run instead of fight.

Once the children were out, she surveyed her surroundings. She had passed by this area on the way to the pier, and she knew that there was a police station somewhere-

Sirens sounded.

Yes, in that direction.

She led the kids towards it, maintaining an upbeat demeanor by telling them all how proud she was of them, that they were going to the police who would help them, and soon they would all be safe at home.

Once they were right outside the police station, she crouched down again. "You guys go inside, okay? Tell the police people what happened and they'll help you."

"You're not coming with us?" The screw-quirk girl asked.

Fuyumi shook her head. "I need to go check on the other kids."

She also needed to not be caught by the police for vigilantism and illegal quirk use, but explaining the nuances of hero law to these kids right now would take more time than it was worth.

They started to go up the steps, but one grabbed her sleeve. "Wait."

She stopped to listen.

"Watch out for Carlina," The child told her.

She wasn't sure what to make of that, but the kid let go and ran up the steps, so she wasn't about to ask for clarification. She turned around, ready to return to the pier.

But as the children entered, the station door opened.

A short woman in a leotard, with big ears in her hair stood in the door, illuminated from behind by the interior lights. Fuyumi dimly recalled a bunny hero by the name of Miruko who had been steadily rising up the pro hero ranks.

"Hey, who are you?" Miruko asked with an aggressive glare.

Fuyumi was dressed pretty suspiciously; a ski mask was basically a bank robber's uniform. The only thing more suspicious would be someone who ran immediately upon seeing a pro-hero.

Fuyumi ran immediately upon seeing a pro-hero.

She couldn't help it, she got spooked. Fuyumi knew she was a criminal, technically, and she didn't feel confident enough to pretend she was wearing what she was wearing for fashion (only Natsuo would be unstylish enough to fall for that). Plus with the testimony of the kids, Miruko would quickly learn that Fuyumi was involved in something shady. She wasn't sure if the kids knew what her quirk was, since it was a too dark to see the ice on the tires when they left, but they probably suspected she did something to make the car stop. And with those witnesses, they could probably take her in for illegal quirk use.

So she was running, ignoring the shouts of the bunny-hero behind her telling her to stop. She dashed through various alleyways, making quick twists and turns to get Miruko off her tail.

She was surprised when soon she no longer heard the thump of Miruko's footsteps behind her. She looked around, but didn't see anyone. She must have lost her.

With a sigh of relief, she returned to the pier. She smelled the burnt flesh of the criminals before she saw Dabi. He was standing in front of the kids, hands on his hips, while they cried in a huddle.

"...Literally just need to get the fuck up, and walk your sorry asses-"

"Dabi!" Fuyumi exclaimed, "Language!"

His head jerked up at her voice, and his shoulders lowered as though releasing some tension. "Since when do you give a shit about language?"

"Since there are children around!"

The children, upon seeing Fuyumi, immediately ran to her, running behind her so she was between them in Dabi.

She sighed. She fought to escape the stress of home, but here was she standing in between an angry fire-quirk user and children, just as she did every time Dad and Natsuo argued.

"He's scary!" A child told Fuyumi.

Dabi flared. "I'll show you scary, you little runt-"

"Dabi!" Fuyumi exclaimed, trying to show the child she would be protective, "They're kids! Calm down, I'll deal with them and you can go home."

He scoffed, but let the flames die down.

Then his eyes widened, looking behind her, and the flames blew again. "You led a pro-hero to us?" He exclaimed.

Fuyumi flipped around only to be pounced on by Miruko. "I betchu thought you lost me, eh?"

Fuyumi was pinned to the ground, but she had thrown off opponents much larger in the fighting ring. With a little twist and force, Fuyumi spun Miruko so she was pinned instead.

Miruko laughed. "You got some spunk. But I'm gonna make you let go of these kids."

Miruko kicked Fuyumi square in the chest, and Fuyumi went flying. It was absurd, a single kick shouldn't be able to use that much force. Fuyumi slammed against the same pile of crates she and Dabi had hid behind before.

"Dumbass!" Dabi yelled, "Take the fucking brats, if you want them so bad!"

Fuyumi was in pain, but her teacher instincts could not be held back. "Again, language!"

Dabi ran to Fuyumi. "Get the fuck up, we're leaving."

Fuyumi was already back on her feet. "What about the-"

"Stop right there! I'm not gonna let you get away that easy!"

"You gonna leave all those kids in this dark, sketchy pier alone?" Dabi shouted back.

That made Miruko pause, long enough that Fuyumi and Dabi got a sprinting head start.

They continued running, even when they didn't hear steps behind them. Fuyumi was especially paranoid, since apparently she hadn't noticed before when Miruko had switched from chasing her to stalking her. Weren't bunnies supposed to be prey animals?

Dabi began coughing, so they slowed down. Fuyumi scanned the surrounding buildings cautiously, hoping that with more discretion she might be able to spot any lurking heroes.

The coughing got more intense. "You okay?" Fuyumi asked.

"Fucking fine," Dabi rasped out.

He coughed again. "Doesn't sound fine," Fuyumi muttered.

"It's just my-" This cough was lighter than the others. "-shitty quirk. Takes a bit out of me. Sometimes. Running doesn't help."

Fuyumi thought it took more than 'a bit' out of him considering he had to lean on the wall of a building for support. There was a pang in her heart as she recalled Touya, who also struggled with handling his quirk, easily getting sick from overheating. A wave of protectiveness washed over her; even though Dabi put up an aggressive front, he was vulnerable similarly to the way Touya was. She waited for him to catch his breath before she spoke again, "Want me to walk you home?"

He glared at her. "I'm not letting you know where I live. You could be a serial killer."

"I literally watched to you immolate two men in front of me. If anyone's the serial killer, it's you."

"Those guys deserved it."

Fuyumi frowned. "Murder is kind of..." She didn't want to judge, but the knowledge that Dabi had killed twisted her insides. Those men would never go home to their families again. Though, to be fair, they were in the process of selling kids so they would never see their families again either. Hmm.

"Don't think too hard about it," Dabi interrupted her, "Let's just go. After all, it's a 'school night', isn't it?"

Fuyumi almost jumped at the reminder. "You're right. You sure you can get home okay?"

Dabi rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

Just as they were about to depart, movement caught Fuyumi's eye. She stiffened, staring at a window sill, which caught Dabi's attention.

"What are you-" He followed her gaze, "Leia, that's just an owl."

Carlina. An owl friend. Kids weren't always great at articulating things, they could mix up what makes something an owl and what makes something specifically a Carlina, or they could forget what an owl was but remember the name Carlina.

She threw a dart at the owl, piercing an eye. It did not flinch, but sparks flew from the eye.

Dabi swore, "What the fuck are you-"

The owl spread its wings to take off, but Fuyumi threw another dart, knocking it off balance so it was sent careening to the ground. There was a clang as it landed, echoing in the alley. She approached it cautiously; its head was spinning around with an almost imperceptible whirr of a motor.

"What the fuck?" Dabi stepped on it with his boot, preventing it from trying to fly off again. "Do you know this thing?"

"One of the kids warned me about it," Fuyumi told him, "Maybe it's some sort of monitoring device?"

Dabi stomped on it, crushing the light metal beneath its feathery camouflage. "Won't bother us anymore."

Notes:

And the Fukuron group never bothered them again ;)
I'm excited to have gotten Miruko in here (finally!)

Fuyumi: I'm gonna fight quirkless. Never gonna use my quirk
Also Fuyumi, as soon as she's in a stressful situation: It doesn't count if no one can see it

Chapter 6: As If A Little Trauma Could Ever Stop Me

Summary:

She gasped. "You? Natsuo Todoroki? Finally have a date?"

"No need to be so shocked," He muttered.

Fuyumi went out a bit more. She still went to the Forge, but now she busted illegal activity as well. Dabi occasionally joined her, but for the most part he was just her information broker on crime. When she called him that to his face, he scoffed. "I'm just passing along info from an actual broker, as thanks for the cash I get from you at the Forge."

She wanted to know where his intel came from, but he changed the subject whenever she tried to dig. Oh well, she'd get him to spill eventually.

To help getting this information, they finally exchanged contact information. She kept his contact labeled a mysterious ‘D’. Dabi wasn't famous, but if Dad happened to read a crime report where his name somehow came up, Fuyumi didn't want to risk him seeing the same name on her phone.

Although the Forge made her feel alive there were also some… difficulties.

“Jesus, that looks broken,” Dabi commented, looking down at her arm.

She just finished with a fight. She had won, but barely. She wasn’t able to use the arm she was now cradling, since it hurt too much. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually broken. Dabi shrugged as she walked past him to go straight to Steel’s ‘office’. It was practically a closet, but it fit a bed for a patient, a chair for Steel, and a shelf or two of bandages and antiseptic for injuries people didn’t want to use Steel’s quirk on.

As she walked towards the office, arm aching, she started to feel a little sick. She felt similarly the last time she had gone; maybe she was allergic to something in there? As she approached the thin, rusted door, it burst open and a man walked out with his hands over his face. Most likely covering his tears. He wasn’t looking where he was going, and almost bumped into Fuyumi. Before he could, Dabi tugged her back. “Hey, watch it!”

Fuyumi was surprised to see Dabi act almost… protective. It wasn’t like him. “Cool off Dabi, he was out of it. Probably still recovering from the pain of Steel’s healing quirk.”

Dabi continued to glare at the retreating figure. “Well he’s got a quirk that can make people catch colds through skin contact, and that’s the last thing you need right now.”

She had definitely fought that guy before without getting sick, so it had to be more deliberate than just bumping into someone, but Fuyumi didn’t feel like arguing with Dabi. She left Dabi, focused on her injury, and entered the office.

As soon as she was inside the room, an overwhelming sense of dread crawled up her spine. All of her instincts told her she was going about to be in excruciating pain.

Which, to be fair, she was about to be.

She tried to force those instincts down, after all she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t go home with a broken arm. She had to go through with the pain, no matter how much her body was screaming at her.

When she saw Steel’s face, bushy white hair and beard, she burst into tears.

“Sorry, sorry,” She choked out, “I don’t know what’s come over me, you haven’t even started yet.”

As Steel approached to lead her onto the bed, her whole body was screaming at her to run and scream and get away, but she couldn’t. She had to stay. Her body started itching with pain, though he wasn’t touching her directly and so couldn’t be using his quirk on her. She was flashing through dozens of memories in this office, with this man, suffering.

Steel’s voice was amicable, but Fuyumi could barely hear his words over the screaming inside her own head. “Don’t worry, it happens sometimes. Probably a trauma response.”

Ah. That made sense. “Sorry,” Fuyumi repeated.

He said some more words, but Fuyumi was having trouble hearing. She could see his mouth moving, but her ears were filled with static. At some point he reached out to her and she flinched backwards, curling in on herself. She jostled her arm by accident, sending a real pain shooting from her injury, and all that remembered pain became heightened.

Dimly, she felt her back against a wall, and felt herself sliding down. She couldn’t focus on anything. She could barely breath. Or rather, she was breathing, fast, but her body couldn’t seem to calm down. She tried to focus on breathing for awhile, trying to get a hold on herself. She had heard of hyperventilation, but she hadn’t really experienced it before, was this what it was like? She recalled reading once that it was due to too much oxygen, so she forced herself to slow her breathing, even though it felt like she didn’t have enough air.

Eventually, she was able to look around the room again, even though her whole body was still buzzing with pain and fear. She discovered the room was empty, had Steel left?

The only door opened, and Dabi walked in, Steel following close behind.

Fuyumi tried to focus on Dabi, not ready to look Steel in the face in case it triggered a fresh round of… whatever this was. Dabi was safe, he wrapped up her hands, at least occasionally protective, he wouldn’t hurt her.

Dabi knelt down. “Steel said you were panicking or some shit, and needed ‘a comforting presence’, which is like, the opposite of me, but…”

Fuyumi nodded, but was scared to release any noise from her throat.

“Uh, okay,” Dabi was hesitant with his words, “Can you like… get up?”

Getting up. That was a thing Fuyumi ought to do. She slowly found her grip and started to rise on shaky legs. As she almost stumbled, Dabi caught her. His hands were warm, and she found herself finally relaxing into the heat. With the heat, the phantom pain started to recede. Once she was up, he led her gently to sit on the bed. He tried to pull away, but Fuyumi didn’t want to let go of the warmth, so she grabbed a hold of one of his hands using her uninjured arm.

He stared down at the point of contact. “Uh…”

Steel spoke, “Ask her if she still wants me to use my quirk.”

Fuyumi flinched at his voice. She had almost forgotten he was still in there. There was a fresh feeling of doom at the thought of the quirk, but she focused all her efforts on her single warmed hand.

Dabi repeated, “Do you still want-”

“Yes,” Fuyumi responded abruptly.

Steel and Dabi looked at each other.

“Sorry I… I lost a hold of myself there. But I can’t go home like this. Just fix the arm, and I’ll heal everything else over time.”

Steel grimaced. “I should warn you, if that’s a broken arm, my quirk will need some time to fully fix it, probably nearly a full minute. You’ll be feeling the pain the whole time.”

“Can Dabi stay with me?”

Dabi’s brows furrowed at that, but Steel seemed nonplussed. “Of course.”

Dabi didn’t object, so Fuyumi squeezed his hand. After a moment, he squeezed back. She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to see Steel’s face as he lowered his his palm over her arm.

The pain, as always, was excruciating. Less than a second after it started, she had regrets. But she always had regrets, every single time she told herself she would never do it again and then she would get over it. She just had to bear with it and get through it. She was strong, she was strong, she was strong. Dad would be disappointed to see her crying over a little quirk.

She was crying again. In her head, she had lasted twenty or thirty seconds before the tears hit, but time distorted when she was in this state. Every second felt like a full minute of endless suffering. She felt like she turned into nothing but a bundle of nerves on her arm, rendered kaput as they fired an endless signal of pain.

Then there was a shift in her other hand, and she was reminded of warmth that existed. She squeezed the other hand desperately, like it could relieve any of her pain. It didn’t, but it was at least a slight distraction. She felt like an hour had passed of continual suffering, and she had turned into a being of pure agony.

Then everything stopped.

She gulped a greedy breath, air filling her lungs as though she hadn’t breathed in a hundred years. She knew she had to have been breathing during the procedure, but she hadn’t felt it. She gravitated towards the only comfort she felt in the time, practically jumping towards Dabi and engulfing him in a hug.

She let out a sigh of relief as his body heat permeated her bones. It wasn’t until several seconds later, as she regained her mental bearings, that she realized he was completely stiff beneath her embrace.

Fuyumi pulled back, wiping the tears that had escaped her goggles to slide down her cheek. “Thanks, Dabi. And thank you, Steel.”

She didn’t turn around to look at Steel. Just in case.

“You’re welcome,” Steel’s voice wasn’t as bad, “But fair warning, usually reactions like that to my mere presence are an indication you need a break. Chronic use of my quirk seems to cause some trauma, so I’d be careful.”

Fuyumi and Dabi left the room. Dabi was eyeing her weirdly, and Fuyumi felt belatedly embarrassed that he saw her in that state. “Sorry,” She told him.

“It… happens,” He was frowning, “So you gonna take a break?”

“No.”

He stopped and grabbed her shoulder. “Leia…”

“I know what he said. I’ll just be careful.”

He face-palmed. “Just so you know, I’m literally never doing that again. Next time you want someone to hold your hand while you’re crying and putting yourself through hell, call Lead instead.”

“Lead isn’t comforting,” Fuyumi countered.

“And I’m the epitome of comfort?”

“You’re like…” She hesitated to tell him, but decided he deserved an explanation, “You’re warm."

That made him draw back with a confused expression. “…Warm.”

“Yeah,” Fuyumi continued, “Your body heat is really high. It’s like, a fireplace. Or a nice hug.”

“Never hug me again, by the way.”

“Noted. But that warmth is nice… and comforting.”

He snorted. “Well next time you pull that shit, grab a heating pad and hold it instead.”

---

Trying to avoid severe injuries after that was challenging, but there were other difficulties as well.

The newest difficulty was Miruko.

Miruko was kick in the gut stuffed into a tiny package. Fuyumi always sported at least one bruise from her devastating kicks. She was also harsh with her words.

"Those runts claimed you were helping them or some shit, so why are you slinking 'round like a criminal? Hiding around in the shadows ain't heroic at all; come out and fight me!"

Obviously Fuyumi continued to run. She didn't dare waste breath responding, considering it took everything she had just to keep ahead of the bunny hero.

"Get back here-!"

An explosion interrupted Miruko's call. Both her and Fuyumi instantly ran towards the sound, discovering a bank robbery in progress. It seemed the robbers thought if they blew open a hole in the side of the bank in the middle of the night, they'd have time to escape before the police or any heroes got there.

Fortunately Miruko and Fuyumi ended up on the scene. When Miruko slammed her foot on the ground and sent asphalt flying in order to stop their getaway car, Fuyumi gulped. Apparently Miruko was holding back whenever she kicked her.

Fuyumi remained on the outskirts, in the shadows and close to the wall of a nearby building. When one of the robbers aimed a gun at Miruko, Fuyumi aimed a dart directly at his wrist, making him drop the weapon. "I didn't ask for your help!" Miruko shouted in Fuyumi's general direction as she pounced on the man.

When police cars started pulling into the scene, and things looked under control, Fuyumi turned to make her exit.

However, she spotted movement in the corner of her eye. An owl.

She drew her darts quickly, hitting the bird twice before it fell. It landed on the street, still twitching. Fuyumi grimaced at the sight, were these things following her or something?

Well, this one wouldn't anymore. She stomped on it, twisting her foot to ruin the metal. It was delicate, light-weight enough to fly, so she gleefully dug her heel into the material until it was a mass of ruined metal and feathers.

After that, she found a dark alleyway to get changed out of her Leia disguise, eyes scanning for any more 'owls' the whole time. She had sewn the inner lining of her jacket so it was now reversible, making it possible to turn it inside out and have a blue jacket instead of Leia's typical black one. Combined with taking off the ski-mask, she didn't think anyone would recognize her as Leia.

Once at home, she was ready to go to bed and conk out, but Natsuo intercepted her. "Fuyumi, emergency!"

Fuyumi sighed. "Quiet down."

"Dad's out late on a patrol, so it's fine," He said, "My nice shirt is dirty from-"

Exhausted, not ready to process anything, Fuyumi gave another sigh. "Give me a minute to get changed and then I'll help you."

He patiently waited while she got into her pajamas, long sleeves and pants with little ice-cream cones all over it. Once changed, she went back downstairs where Natsuo was swinging around a nice light blue button-down covered in... mud?

"Natsu, what the hell did you do to that poor shirt?"

"It was for soccer!" He exclaimed, "Earlier this week, we had a thing where we took photos in fancy clothes, then played in those clothes, then- look, just trust me, it'll look great in the yearbook. It was a very important reason!"

"Uh-huh," Fuyumi deadpanned.

"The only problem is, I have a date tomorrow, and this is my best shirt, and-"

"Wait," Fuyumi's brain finally booted up, "You have a date?"

He avoided her eyes. "...Yeah."

She gasped. "You? Natsuo Todoroki? Finally have a date?"

"No need to be so shocked," He muttered.

"I'm not shocked! Okay maybe a little, but also excited! Who is it?"

"She's, um, on the volleyball team. You haven't met her."

"When did you ask her out?"

He puffed his chest. "She asked me out, actually."

Fuyumi gasped again. "Natsu, you womanizer!"

"I'm just that charming."

"Well," Fuyumi glanced down at the poor shirt, "Let's make sure you look like your charming self on that date tomorrow."

"Yeah!" Natsuo exclaimed, "How do I wash this?"

"You don't know how to wash a shirt?"

"You always do the laundry, Fuyumi."

She sighed. "Oh no, I'm an enabler."

"Pretty please help? I'll buy you that fancy tea you like?"

"I guess I've got to, then. But in that case, I'm going to show you how to do it, so next time you ruin your shirt you can deal with it on your own."

She prepared the necessary things as Natsuo sang her praises. Since it was just one shirt, she figured hand-washing would be fine. She filled the sink basin with hot water and dripped in some detergent, explaining to Natsuo all the while. When there was enough water, she rolled up her sleeves, put on some gloves, and dipped the shirt in.

Fuyumi explained, "So you see, just swish it around, wring it like this... Why don't you try it?"

Fuyumi turned to look at Natsuo, expecting to see his usual light-hearted face, and almost flinched when she saw his dark expression.

"...Natsu?"

"Where are those bruises from?"

Her arms were exposed. It was just one mild bruise an inch past her elbow, and another whose edge was barely peeking out from the bottom of her rolled-up sleeve. "Nothing," She responded quickly, taking off her gloves and rolling the sleeve back down.

Natsuo though, as usual, was stubborn. He grabbed the arm (a non-bruised section) and pulled the sleeve up, further revealing the dark bruise near her shoulder. "What the hell?"

Fuyumi pulled back, escaping his grip. "It's nothing."

His brows furrowed. "How long has this been going on?"

"There's nothing going on, Natsu, calm down."

His face was stricken. "Is Dad...?"

"No!" Fuyumi rushed to reassure him, "Absolutely not, I get why you'd think that, but it's completely unrelated."

He grabbed her hands. "'Yumi, you'd tell me if he did anything, right?"

"S-Sure."

"And you're not lying to me when you say this wasn't him?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't lie about that. Trust me."

"Then who-" His eyes widened. "Are you still dating that boy?"

That threw Fuyumi for a loop. "Huh?"

"You've been staying out late, coming home exhausted... And don't think I didn't hear you sneaking out in the middle of the night last Tuesday."

Fuyumi grimaced. She thought she had been quiet enough leaving for that drug bust, but it turns out not.

"You know... in my health class the other day, we talked about how sometimes people who grow up with, uh," Natsuo seemed to hesitate a moment, but forged on, "An abusive parent... Are likely to end up in abusive relationships as well. They learn a pattern and end up falling into those patterns more easily-"

"Dad's not-" Fuyumi faltered, "He's not like, abusive."

Natsuo's eyebrows were practically off his forehead. "What do you call his training? The yelling? The refusal to respect us as autonomous beings? He's burned me before, I know you've seen it. Not to mention everything he did to Mom and… and Touya. It's physical and emotional abuse, almost textbook examples."

"That's..." Fuyumi bit her lip. "I know he's intense, and has some anger issues... But he's our Dad, we can't be calling him stuff like that."

Natsuo sighed. "When are you going to stop making excuses for him?"

Fuyumi didn't like where this conversation was going, so she pressed her lips together and remained silent.

"Look... Can you at least tell me who did this to you? Was it a boyfriend?"

"There's no boyfriend. This was just me being clumsy in the classroom."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I... I got distracted, and missed some kids who decided to lie down on the ground as part of a game. I tripped over them, knocked my arm on the desk."

"Twice?"

"I fell again while trying to get up. Clumsy."

He didn't look like he believed her.

"Come on, Natsu, just... Trust me when I say it wasn't Dad, and it wasn't a boyfriend either."

He seemed conflicted, but when Fuyumi got this prickly he knew to back off. "...Fine."

She was relieved, but there was still tension in the room. She'd have to be extra careful from now on to hide things. For now, though, "Don't think this concern will get you out of washing the shirt yourself."

He cracked a smile at that, though it seemed forced. "Yeah, yeah, hand me the gloves."

Notes:

Fuyumi: "Yeah our dad does a bunch of abusive things and our mom is literally in the hospital because of him, but can we really call him abusive though???"
Natsuo: "Literally yes. Yes we can."
Fuyumi: "I can't hear you over my fantasy of a happy family."

Chapter 7: Why Are All These Pro-Heros Trying To Rescue Me Like It's Their Job Or Something?

Summary:

When the grocery store she was shopping at got attacked, she was maybe too excited.

Fuyumi texted Dabi to tell him she wouldn't be going to the Forge that Saturday. After her scare with Natsuo discovering the bruises, she decided to take some time off from fighting. Her body needed time to heal.

It left her a little jittery, her body accustomed to exerting itself to its limits at least once a week. Being chased by Miruko during the week had provided a similar adrenaline rush, but she couldn't really fight Miruko much in earnest. She always fought her to escape, not to win.

So when the grocery store she was shopping at got attacked, she was maybe too excited.

It was a small store, with only one register that was currently being held up at knife point. Or rather, scissor-point.

Oh it was the scissor man. Or, as he was called at the Forge: Snipper. He had shown up at the Forge once or twice since Fuyumi first saw him, but last time he'd ended up using his scissors on his opponent, and was kicked out for breaking the rules.

Now he had an accomplice who held open a bag as Snipper held his scissor hands up against the cashier's throat. The cashier was moving slowly, transferring money carefully to not jostle his throat against the blades, though Snipper shouted at him to hurry up. Crimes like these were preferably fast: Get in, get the money, and get out before any heroes or cops have time to get on the scene. They clearly weren't equipped to handle anyone interfering.

Fuyumi tried to calm herself. She was nearby, perusing some different seaweed brands by the entrance, but didn't have her mask or weapons, and this was a delicate situation. Any wrong move could slice the cashier's throat open.

But it was frustrating to see the bag grow bigger. This wasn't a big store; they probably would struggle to make up that kind of loss. If nobody interfered soon, the robbers would just get away and the store would be out of luck. Well, hopefully they had insurance, but crime insurance was expensive in this city.

So when they finally had emptied the drawer and started running out, Snipper's hands leaving the cashier, Fuyumi couldn't help but sweep her foot to leave a paper-thin trail of ice on their path. Just a tiny delay that would give the Pros more time to get here.

The effect was near instantaneous, Snipper slipping first and landing on his face before his accomplice fell on top of him. Fuyumi desperately wanted to jump on top of them, pin them down and maybe throw a couple of punches, but that would be too obvious of an interference so she held herself back.

She failed at holding back her laughter.

It's just... it was comical, seeing Snipper try to be a rugged, don't-mess-with-me type robber when last time she'd seen him he had still lost a battle even when he used his quirk. Now he guffawed at his own accomplice, making blames of ineptitude that Fuyumi had to laugh at.

"You think that's funny, bitch?"

Turns out laughter was distracting. Snipper had the chance to get up and aim his scissors at her throat now. She had to work very, very hard to restrain her continued laughter. He grabbed her arm, causing her to drop her basket of groceries. A head of lettuce rolled on the floor, unsanitarily. "If anyone tries shit, this woman gets it!"

With that, he began dragging Fuyumi out of the store, scissors at her throat. She almost held back a grin. Was he going to take her to an isolated secondary location? With no witnesses? She was practically vibrating at the thought.

Once they were in a far off alleyway, they finally stopped moving. "We're gonna let you go, and you're gonna wait here for ten minutes before moving, alright?" Snipper told her.

She nodded, trying to look scared.

He let her go, hand withdrawing from her neck, so she struck.

Knee in the crotch, always a goodie (banned at the Forge, tragically, after she used it a few too many times and Lead started getting complaints). He immediately doubled over, and his friend ran to restrain her. Him grabbing her arms was convenient, since it allowed her to duck under his body, shift him onto her back, and then fling him onto Snipper. When they collided together, he lost grip of her hands and she was free to move. She grabbed Snipper and flung him against the wall of the alley, hopefully causing enough head trauma for memory loss. Once she did the same to his accomplice and they looked suitably unconscious, she picked up the bag of money. She left the alleyway, intending to go right back to the store.

Instead she almost had a heart attack.

Miruko was hopping down the street. As soon as she spotted Fuyumi, she changed her trajectory to land right in front of her. Fuyumi's heart went a mile a minute. Did Miruko know? Fuyumi was in civilian-mode, but did she see all of that and suspect-

"White hair with red flecks..." Miruko murmured, as though repeating a description, "Are you the gal who got taken hostage by some thugs?"

Oh. That was why she was being followed. "Y-yes."

Miruko looked down at the bag. "They left the money with you?"

"Uh..." Fuyumi rushed for an explanation, "They dragged me here, but then someone came and beat them up for me, so I thought I'd return this bag."

"'Someone', huh? Describe 'em."

Fuyumi panicked. She couldn't describe an actual hero or Miruko might ask and figure out she's lying. And there was only one vigilante she knew well enough to describe, and who would definitely corroborate the story if confronted. "She had like, black clothing, and wore blue goggles?"

Miruko's face darkened. "Leia."

Fuyumi gulped.

Then Miruko went into the alley, slapping cuffs on both robbers before lifting both over her shoulders. It was an interesting sight, the petite hero carrying two grown men. Fuyumi had always admired her strong legs and thighs, but now she couldn't help but wonder how much Miruko could bench press.

"Come on, there are some cops back at the store who can take these guys. You just focus on carrying that bag, if anyone tries to take it I'll beat them up."

That was... reassuring? Fuyumi walked back with her, an unfamiliar feeling after being chased for so long. Like this, she could actually take a moment to look at Miruko. She wondered if she could move her big ears on their own. She stood straight and confident, eyebrows pinched with a determined grin. If Fuyumi wasn't used to being her prey, she probably would feel incredibly secure next to this mountain of a woman.

Once everything was taken care of, Miruko patted Fuyumi on the back. "Stay safe, lady."

With that, she leaped away, and Fuyumi had the chance to watch her going away for once.

---

Fuyumi was accustomed to chasing down trouble herself, not trouble coming directly to her.

Which is why she wasn't expecting a sneak attack from behind as she patrolled. In the ensuing scuffle, she hadn't had time to pull out any of her usual weaponry, and was disoriented from the suddenness of the attack. It was dizzying how quickly she ended up pinned, a stranger raising a dagger above her heart.

"The Fukuron send their regards," He said as he stabbed down.

She froze her chest, above her athletic shirt, under her jacket, creating a thick barrier. It turned out to be for naught, though, since just before his dagger reached her, he was flung to the side by seemingly nothing.

Fuyumi was confused, but took the opportunity to get up, scurrying backwards to put some distance between herself and her attacker. He was now pinned to the wall by... feathers?

"Oof, attempted murder? Not a good path to go down," A young male voice said.

Fuyumi's head flicked to see Hawks, the pro-hero, flying into the scene. He was quick enough that she barely registered his presence before he had the man cuffed. He used his feathers to send the man flying away, presumably to a police station or something?

She wasn't going to stick around to find out. She turned to run-

And was instantly lifted by feathers. "Hey, hey, slow down, I'm not here to hunt you. You're that gal Miruko is always chasing, right? I know lots of heroes disagree, but I think vigilantes are a blessing. Doing the work of a hero, for free? It lightens our burdens."

Fuyumi regretted freezing her chest. She was getting chillier the longer he talked. "Put me down."

The feathers pulled back and she began running again, only to gasp at the cold permeating her ribs. She punched at her own chest, trying to break up the ice so she could spread it away from her heart, but she had made it sturdy and thick enough to deflect a dagger, so her punches did nothing.

Maybe she could slide the whole thing out of her jacket, but Hawks was still right behind her- "You okay there?" He asked.

Fuyumi frowned at him. She wasn't about to sort of reveal her quirk to a pro-hero, who could search a quirk registry for suspects. "I'm fine, leave."

"Hey, hey, wait," He hovered around her, "You seem kinda sick, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sick of your presence," Her cruel words were weakened by her teeth-chattering. She wanted to run, but she wouldn't get far like this.

"Uh, you got a cold or something? If you need some help, I'm not gonna turn you in-"

"No. Leave."

"Can I at least fly you somewhere safe or something?

"I'm not going to share any locations with you."

"Fair enough. But I can't leave a woman alone, shivering on the ground like you are. I know a place that would-"

"She's not alone," Dabi's voice was a relief.

Knowing heat was so close, she gathered the strength to get up and stumble in his direction. He caught her and pulled her upright, glaring at Hawks the whole time.

"You her friend or something?" Hawks asked.

As they made conversation, Fuyumi saw a trash can right behind a corner. She walked in that direction as Dabi spoke, "Yeah, so back the fuck off."

Fuyumi almost stumbled again upon hearing Dabi admit they're friends. She rounded the corner and unzipped her jacket, leaning into the trashcan to let the hunk of ice slide out. "No need to go all guard dog on me, just trying to make sure she'd make it home okay."

With the ice disposed of, Fuyumi zipped her jacket back up and returned to Dabi's side, watching the staring contest between the two men with a front-row seat. "Well she'll be okay with me, so you can leave."

Hawks slid his eyes over to Fuyumi, as though searching for clues as to their relationship. Fuyumi took a step closer to Dabi and nodded, as though to say Yeah he's safe, I trust him.

Hawks shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to it, then."

With a lazy wave, he flew away. As soon as he was out of sight, Dabi turned to Fuyumi. He seemed startled by how close she was standing to him, and took a step back. She wished she could hug him and soak up all his heat, but she remembered he had expressly forbidden that before. Once Dabi established his comfortable speaking distance, he asked, "Did he do anything?"

"N-no, if anything he was helpful, got rid of some Fukuron dude who a-attacked me, but after that he j-just refused to leave me alone."

Dabi's eyes widened. "You're shivering."

She needed a cover. "I caught a cold."

"Ugh, fuck," Dabi grumbled, "And you went out while sick? You dumbass."

She wrapped her arms around herself, still struggling to make up body heat after having so much sucked away by her impromptu ice barrier. She avoided Dabi's eyes, knowing that when he called her a 'dumbass', it was sincere. "Whatever."

She was surprised when warmth enveloped her. An actual... hug? From Dabi? "Like you've said, I'm warm," He told her, "Don't think too much about it. Just trying to make sure you don't actually die from a cold."

Her shiver melted away in his arms. "...Thanks."

"Stop doing stupid shit."

It wouldn't have been stupid if Hawks hadn't suddenly appeared, but she understood Dabi's reaction to her cover story. "Yeah."

"...So the Fukuron attacked you?"

Fuyumi's brain caught up with the events that occurred, and now she had time to process. "Yeah, I guess an assassination attempt?"

Dabi's grip on her tightened. "Those fuckers are gonna pay."

Fuyumi laughed. "Honestly, I'm a little flattered they think so highly of me, that I'm important enough to get rid off."

"You've interfered with a lot of their plans."

"You've interfered, too, so watch your back, Dabi."

"Unlike you, I don't go out when I'm sick."

Fuyumi grumbled. After spending that conversation in the nice furnace that was Dabi's arms, She had mercy on him and took a step back. "I think I'm warm enough to make it home."

Dabi avoided her eyes. "Fucking good."

Apparently that was all Dabi needed as reassurance, since he immediately stalked away. Fuyumi also left, and as soon as she got home she drew up the hottest bath she could, soaking in the heat and keeping her perpetual coldness at bay.

She relaxed into the bath, thinking. Dabi was a rough kind of guy, but the more time she spent with him the more it became clear that he cared. She wished his personality could be as warm as his quirk, but... it was still nice.

She was a big sister. She took care of things. If Natsuo or Shouto got in trouble, she was the one who bailed them out (usually by cooling Dad's temper). It wasn't in her nature to let someone... protect her.

But when Dabi had shown up, she had felt relieved beyond words. He introduced her to the underground, and it felt like he knew everything. Maybe she was clinging onto him, like a duckling imprinting on the first creature it sees, but she felt like she could rely on him.

The last person she really relied on was Touya.

She wondered if Touya would be insulted if he knew she was starting to see a big brother in Dabi. Touya was only older than her by a few minutes, but he had been attached to the idea of being the 'big' brother. Fuyumi and him used to rely on each other, something she hadn't reciprocated for a long time. Fuyumi hated how her mind drew connections, linking their quirks as if to say This is the older brother Touya could have become.

She left her bath abruptly. She needed to go to bed and stop thinking such things. No one could take Touya's place. It was rude to his memory to treat Dabi as some sort of replacement. They were separate people.

...But perhaps she could imagine Dabi as an additional big brother.

Notes:

Dabi: "Just so you know I have zero emotional attachments and don't care about you AT ALL."
Also Dabi: "I'm ready to fight a pro-hero for you and also hug you after you've been in danger."

Next Chapter: A school field trip! And Fuyumi gets to meet a REAL information broker

Chapter 8: Wait A Second Other People Also Live A Double Life?

Summary:

Fuyumi's eyes widened. "You're Dabi's famous information broker?"

He spread his arms out. "The one and only Giran."

Notes:

Yo yo yo time to say hello to this MVP

Field trips. A blessing and a curse.

On one hand, the children loved them. A day where they didn't have to do any work or stay in the classroom all day? Incredible.

On the other hand, lots of work for Fuyumi.

Fortunately, parent volunteers were a thing, and Fuyumi felt especially blessed to hear that three parents were going to help her on the zoo field-trip today. That meant one adult for every four kids, a wonderful ratio.

She met them slightly before school; they came in early so Fuyumi could explain the trip and their responsibilities. There was Axel's father, Minami's mother, and... well, she wasn't here yet, but soon she would meet Sera's mother.

The door opened, and a familiar voice spoke, "Sorry I'm a little late..."

Fuyumi's head whirled around to see none other than the Forge’s favorite emcee, Copper.

She held back a gasp. What was Copper doing in her classroom? Especially with Sera by her feet, clinging onto her modest pencil skirt like she was... her... mother.

Copper was Sera's mother. Fuyumi felt ridiculous for not seeing it before, but to be fair Sera had pink hair where Copper had green. Normally she saw Copper's hair puffed out into a frizz, but right now it was pulled back into a neat little bun. Her makeup was also much more subdued, where Copper normally had thick eyeliner and expansive, shimmering eyeshadow, this woman wore close to nothing, looking to be just an average, every day mom.

"Are you Sera's teacher?" Copper asked Fuyumi.

Fuyumi snapped back to attention. She was still a teacher in the classroom, and Copper clearly hadn't recognized her, so she needed to pretend everything was normal. "Y-yes! I'm Ms. Todoroki, I'm so glad you could join us, Ms...?"

She wanted to say Copper, but held back. Copper told her, "I'm Artina Fina, glad to be here!"

Copper's real name was Artina. She was a mother. Fuyumi's mind was reeling. Even once everyone was at the zoo, children happily cooing at the various creatures, Fuyumi was still shook.

Fuyumi was careful to conceal her own identity, but she hadn't properly considered whether others at the Forge had a life outside of it. She didn't understand why Copper would be emceeing an illegal fighting ring on the weekends when she was a parent, but then again Copper would probably wonder the same thing about a school teacher getting into weekly brawls.

Was Lead a father? Did Iron have a family? Was Gold hiding his business from a loving wife and kids?

What about the people she fought? Both at the Forge, and in general? She had vaguely wondered about the families' of the people Dabi killed, but it hadn't really struck her until now exactly how involved in the community criminals could be.

Did Dabi have a family?

He was private, though most people in the underground were. Curiosity burned in Fuyumi's gut.

"We've been watching the seals for quite awhile, the children look a little... bored," Axel's father commented quietly to Fuyumi.

She snapped back to attention. She was on a field trip, she needed to focus on the kids right now.

She turned to the kids, "Alright, let's say 'Bye-bye seals'."

There was an obedient chorus of "Bye-bye seals," and they moved on to other animals.

---

On patrol that night, Fuyumi happened to run into Dabi by coincidence. She dropped out of the shadows she was slinking in to greet him. "Dabi! What are you doing out here?"

Dabi stared at her, aloof. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for trouble, as usual."

"Well I'm not, so scram."

Despite him telling her to leave, she continued to follow him and make conversation. She asked about how the Forge was last Saturday, but he gave minimal answers. Fuyumi didn't have the courage to ask Dabi about his background. After all, if she started asking then he might start asking back, and she had plenty to hide. It was polite in their business to let secrets lie.

"Yo Dabi!" An unfamiliar voice called out.

Fuyumi glanced at Dabi to see if it was anyone to be wary of. He just let out a sigh and turned to Fuyumi. "You should leave. He's a lot."

"Who is he?" She asked, glancing around until she saw the man approaching.

"Nobody important," Dabi told her, waving her away with a lazy flick of the wrist.

"Nobody important?" The man exclaimed, "Dabi, you wound me."

Now that he was closer Fuyumi could see more details. He had gray hair and tiny, round sunglasses. He seemed weathered, old from experience rather than time. His goatee was also a little sketchy.

"And who's this broad?" He asked, "You got a girlfriend?"

"No," Both Fuyumi and Dabi answered at the same time.

The man laughed. "Geez, defensive much?"

"If anything, she's more like an annoying little sister," Dabi muttered.

Fuyumi tried to hide her excitement at his words. "Hey, I'd be the big sister!" She defended, after all she had two younger brothers.

Dabi glared. "Definitely the little sister."

She wanted to continue arguing, but the man jumped in, "Aw, come now Dabi, introduce me to your dear little sister, then."

She saw Dabi's eye twitch, annoyed, but he held back his anger. Interesting, this man must be important. "Giran, this is Leia. Leia, Giran. Boom, introduced."

Giran's eyes widened. "Oh, she's that rich high schooler looking for fights you told me about?"

"I'm not a high schooler!" Fuyumi corrected, "Also, Dabi, why are you telling this dude stuff about me?"

Dabi started to respond, but Giran talked over him, "Because he wanted my help to find you some fights. He explained the situation to me, and I was kind enough to share some stuff he hopefully shared with you."

Fuyumi's eyes widened. "You're Dabi's famous information broker?"

He spread his arms out. "The one and only Giran."

Dabi grabbed Fuyumi's arm. "Come on, let's continue patrolling or whatever you're trying to do tonight."

Giran clicked his tongue. "Trying to get her away from me so fast? But we've only just met!"

Fuyumi agreed, "I have been dying to meet you, sir."

"Calling me 'sir'? Oh you're a sweet talker alright."

Dabi groaned.

"You know, I was heading to an office I've got a few blocks from here, why don't we sit and have a chat?"

"That sounds absolutely lovely!" Fuyumi responded.

Fuyumi followed Giran (and Dabi followed Fuyumi) to a sketchy little office stuffed in between a sandwich place and an out-of-business violin shop. It smelled like an ashtray in there.

Once inside, Giran pulled a pack from his drawer and reached out a cigarette. "Dabi, would you be a dear...?"

Dabi rolled his eyes, but let a tiny flame flicker at his fingertip to light Giran's cigarette.

"I've never seen Dabi so cooperative," Fuyumi commented.

Giran leaned in, "That's 'cause I give him what everybody wants: Money."

Fuyumi's eyes widened. Was this Dabi's... lover? Was this the secret 'family' he was hiding? "Like... like a sugar daddy?"

Giran burst into laughter. "You're ridiculous. I'm dying. Dabi, I can't believe you didn't introduce me to this riot before."

Dabi crossed his arms and sulked in his seat.

"No, but seriously," Giran wiped a tear from laughing, "I connect him with jobs and stuff, which lets him get money."

Fuyumi narrowed her eyes. "Did you connect him to that Fukuron gang that decided to beat him up after he refused to join?"

"Leia!" Dabi exclaimed.

"Sure did," Giran responded, taking a long draw from his cigarette, "But hey, all business is risky business. I warned him the Fukuron weren't too into 'temporary' runners, but he said the money was too good to refuse."

"You make me sound like an idiot," Dabi countered.

"Only 'cause you are," Giran responded cheerfully, "Besides, pretty much everything since then has been decent. Folks call me about their competitors, I promise to take care of them for a price, I send the money and the info onto Dabi who sends it on to you. Everybody wins!"

Fuyumi blinked. "Dabi didn't tell me you paid him."

Giran glanced at Dabi, "You don't pay her?"

Dabi groaned again. "Okay firstly, you don't always pay me. Remember that child trafficking ring? You literally made me pay you for the info. And secondly, we have an arrangement: I bring her fights, she brings me money."

"In the Forge, yeah, but I would have liked to know you were getting paid for my vigilante efforts."

Fuyumi wasn't quite mad. But there was a negative little twist in her gut knowing that he was being paid. She thought he helped her out and kept an eye on her at least partially out of friendship, not just for the money.

Giran glanced at a clock on the wall. "It has been lovely to meet you, Leia, but I've got a client coming to meet me in a little bit, so we gotta cut this short. Do you have a cell phone or something?"

"Oh for the love of-"

"Yes!" Fuyumi pulled out her cell phone and they exchanged contacts, Fuyumi labeling him as 'G'.

Dabi was pacing, and spoke with an impatient snark. "Yay, we're all friends. Let's go."

"Fine," Fuyumi turned to Dabi, "Alright, let's say 'Bye-bye Giran'."

"Bye-bye Giran."

Everyone continued moving as if everything was normal for one second.

And then they paused.

Dabi's face snapped up to look at Fuyumi, betrayed. Giran burst into another round of raucous laughter. Fuyumi flushed at her own mix-up.

"Holy- Holy-" Giran wheezed, "SHIT! That was fantastic, oh my god, 'Bye-bye Giran', from Dabi's god-forsaken mouth. I wish I had recorded that."

Dabi glared at Fuyumi. "The fuck was that?"

"The fuck did you respond?" Fuyumi asked, desperate enough to return the swear.

"I don't know! You had like, a teacher-voice or something that made me instinctively-" Dabi's eyes widened. "Oh my god you're a teacher."

Fuyumi sealed her lips.

Giran let out a low whistle. "Well that's my entertainment for the evening. Just for that, Leia, the first thing you ask me for is gonna have a generous discount."

Fuyumi barely had time to squeak a "Thank you" before Dabi pulled her out of the office.

Once they were outside, Dabi turned on her. "You're a teacher?"

"Tell me something about your personal life and I'll tell you about mine," Fuyumi countered, one half hoping he would get the hint and stop quizzing her while the other half hoped he would take the deal and share something about his life.

"I don't have a personal life," He countered.

"Everyone has a personal life."

"I thought you were a dumb high schooler, trying to prove something and work out some teenage angst, but you're actually a functional member of society?"

"Why are you freaking out about this?"

"I don't know!" He seemed to catch himself after admitting that. "Fuck, I just- Now I feel like a bad influence and shit."

"And you wouldn't have been a bad influence if I had been a teenager?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Teens are kind of crazy no matter what you do, so I figured it'd be fine?"

Fuyumi's glare made him lower his head.

"... You're right, we shouldn't be sharing personal info. I don't want to know anything else about your private life."

Fuyumi crossed her arms. "Seems kind of unfair that you get to know my civilian job while I don't get to know yours."

"You think anyone is hiring me with this face? I haven't got a civilian job, I've got my deals with Giran, the Forge, and whoever else will take me. As you may have noticed, I don't wear a mask."

She grumbled. "I guess."

He led out a long-suffering sigh. "I swear to god, you're literally an annoying little sister."

"I'd rather be mistaken for that than your girlfriend, at least."

He let out a breath of air, almost a laugh. "Sorry about the Giran stuff."

"Nothing to be sorry for. He was delightful."

His face darkened. "No, not for him, for the whole... You know, just taking all the money. If you want, I guess we could split it more..."

She frowned. "I would have preferred to known about it before, but... I don't need it. So go ahead and keep pocketing it. Just, in the future, tell me if you're getting paid. I like to know what I can hold over your head."

He rolled his eyes. "You can't hold it over my head if you're already benefiting, you adrenaline-junkie."

Fuyumi chuckled at that. "Whatever. I just like to know."

Dabi ended up following her for most the rest of the night, only stepping back when she went and nabbed a would-be burglar.

Afterwards, he was sure to tell her, "I wasn't paid to keep watch there."

She laughed. "Obviously."

He radiated warmth.

Notes:

I saw a Tumblr post some time ago where people shared ways in which their jobs bleed into their personal lives... Some teachers talked about using their teacher voice and words on adults by accident, and I'm like: Fuyumi needs to do this at least once to Dabi. Thus that whole scene was born

Chapter 9: Natsuo You Better Fucking Go To College Or I Will Beat You Up

Summary:

“Favorite hero?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, Leia, but I’m a villain. I don’t have a ‘favorite hero’.”

Fuyumi sighed. “Fine. Most hated hero?”

“Endeavor, one-hundred-percent.”

Notes:

Fun fact: All three Todoroki brothers show up in this chapter! Not all at the same time/place tho

Fuyumi sat against a wall while Dabi dabbed at some of her bite marks with antiseptic. Fuyumi thought it was useless, considering how unsanitary the whole Forge was, but Dabi seemed determined to give her the ‘proper’ treatment Steel recommended. “Can’t believe that fucker actually bit you,” He commented.

“Yeah, pretty desperate move.” It had been, since Fuyumi had pinned her opponent down, one hand against his shoulder, he had used the few seconds remaining to bite her arm. Instead of pulling back as he might have hoped, she had stayed through the pain, letting his teeth sink in so she could win the match.

In retrospect she probably should have pulled back. She was supposed to be a bit more cautious about getting hurt, considering Steel’s quirk was ‘emergency-use-only’ for now. She couldn’t even go into Steel’s office or get treated normally by him; instead they arranged for Dabi to administer treatment outside so she wouldn’t see Steel’s face and burst into tears again.

It had felt good to win, though, and to feel like she outlasted the pain of her opponent. She felt strong, even if the sting of antiseptic right now hurt.

“Jesus, stop flinching.”

“I can’t help that it stings!”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “You tolerated somebody biting you for five seconds, but you can’t hold still for a tiny sting?”

“I was distracted by winning, it pulled me through.”

“Well get distracted.”

“Distract me, then.”

Dabi scoffed. “With what? I’m kind of busy treating your injuries.”

“I don’t know, talk about something.” When Dabi didn’t start talking, Fuyumi decided to prompt him. “Favorite color?”

“Asking me questions? What a dumb game.” When Fuyumi pouted, he rolled his eyes again. “Blue.”

“Favorite season?”

“Winter.”

Opposite of Fuyumi, who loved the summer. “Favorite hero?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, Leia, but I’m a villain. I don’t have a ‘favorite hero’.”

Fuyumi sighed. “Fine. Most hated hero?”

“Endeavor, one-hundred-percent.”

Fuyumi stiffened.

“Damn it, didn’t I tell you to stop flinching?”

“H-how come Endeavor, specifically?”

Dabi finally pulled out some bandages, and began wrapping them around her arm. Dabi’s face darkened. “He’s a piece of shit.”

Now Fuyumi wasn’t going to outright say ‘that’s my Dad you’re talking about’, but maybe she could defend him a tiny bit. “He does a lot of good work, though, he’s a very effective hero.”

“That flaming pile of garbage doesn’t deserve to be called a hero.”

“Geez, it sounds personal.”

"It is.” Dabi did not elaborate.

Fuyumi’s eye wandered to Dabi’s burns. She had assumed, after seeing his quirk, that it was the result of his own fire, especially when she learned that he got sick from using it. “Did he…?”

Dabi finished tying the bandage and looked up at her. Could her own father have brutalized someone so severely? She knew he was harsh with people, both family and criminals, but she liked to imagine that he just captured criminals, not… severely burned and scarred them.

She chickened out of asking Dabi. “Thanks.”

He rolled his eyes. “If you’re really thankful, stop getting hurt so I don’t have to do this shit.”

---

Fuyumi was washing dishes (sleeves rolled down to keep her bitten arm covered), chatting with Natsuo as he dried them, making idle chatter.

"So how did that date with the volleyball girl turn out? You got a girlfriend now?

Natsuo groaned. "No, she actually decided she didn't want to start a relationship right before exams, especially since we're graduating soon."

"Speaking of, where are you thinking of going to college?"

"I'm not going to college," Natsuo responded.

Fuyumi laughed. "I know exams are tough, but don't joke around about that kind of thing. So where?"

"It's not a joke."

Fuyumi paused mid-swipe while scrubbing a bowl to look at Natsuo. He was avoiding her eyes, staring at the plate he was drying off with a dish towel. He didn't elaborate. Fuyumi was shocked, concerned, but primarily confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can't..." Natsuo chewed on his words a moment before articulating, "I can't just leave you and Shouto here. With Dad."

Ah. So that's what this was about. "Natsu..."

"I need to take care of you guys," Natsuo continued, still not looking at Fuyumi.

Fuyumi put a wet, sudsy hand on Natsuo's shoulder. He yelped at her getting him wet, and she gave a small laugh at the sight. "I'm the big sister, Natsuo, let me take care of it."

He used the dish towel to dry his shoulder as he pouted. "You're always taking care of us, though. Who's going to take care of you?"

Fuyumi's heart might have cracked a little at his thoughtfulness. "I've got big sister powers, so I don't need noodle-armed babies like you to protect me. I'll be fine."

"You say things are fine, but it's not like Dad never yells at you, not to mention those bruises-"

"Those bruises were completely unrelated to Dad," Fuyumi reminded him.

"But it made me realize that we're all stuck here, under his thumb. I can't abandon you guys, so I won't go to college, at least until Shouto graduates high school."

"Natsuo Todoroki," Fuyumi put on her stern voice, "You are going to college."

"But-"

"No buts. I know things in this family can be... stressful, but that's all the more reason that you should be able to leave. I know you're unhappy, and I know it can't be good for you to be arguing with Dad all the time. You need a break from him, and college is a perfect way to do that. Nobody is going to be made happy if you martyr yourself."

"It's not that simple!"

"Natsu, I refuse to let you throw your future away out of some misplaced sense of responsibility. At this age, the only thing I want you to be responsible for is your own happiness. Do you really think you'll be happier living in this house than being away at college?"

"But Shouto-"

"Will be going to UA next year, where he'll be separated from Dad most the day, and will still have me."

"And you-"

"I'm used to this family, and unlike you I don't trigger Dad's anger all the time."

Natsuo pursed his lips. "It's not like I do it on purpose..."

"Look, Natsu, please, promise me you'll go to college?"

He occupied himself with drying some more dishes for a minute, brows furrowed. Eventually, he responded, "Fine."

Fuyumi let out a sigh of relief.

"But I'm going to come home every single weekend! And if Dad does anything out of line, you better call me!"

"Sounds perfect," Fuyumi told him.

---

During dinner the next day, for once someone other than Fuyumi spoke up.

"I have a hero banquet on Friday," Dad told them, "Some sort of weird hero dinner conference thing the agency thinks I should go to."

Natsuo and Shouto continued chewing on their food. Fuyumi responded, "That's great!"

"And I'm supposed to bring a plus-one."

Her brothers became stiff.

"Fuyumi, go with me."

"Of course!" Fuyumi clapped her hands together, "I'm sure it'll be a fun time!"

Shouto visibly relaxed once the child was chosen, but Natsuo still wore a pensive expression. Fuyumi was a little surprised Dad didn't choose Shouto. After all, he was his protege, it would make sense to give him the networking opportunity.

Dad looked at Shouto's plate. "Shouto, have more of the meat, you need energy."

Shouto glared at Dad and did not move to take any more.

With a sigh, Dad reached over and dropped some more meat onto Shouto's plate. Shouto immediately put it back.

"Now that's just not sanitary," Fuyumi admonished, but was ignored as Dad and Shouto began their battle in earnest.

That was probably the kind of behavior Dad didn't want shown to his colleagues. Fuyumi realized she was the most obedient choice.

Natsuo joined the food drama. "Are you really going to micromanage the amount of meat he eats, Dad?"

"A balanced diet is important for a hero."

"But if you force someone to eat something they don't have the appetite for, that could make them sick."

"That's ridiculous. Then what will I do if he says he never wants to eat vegetables? Just let him eat junk food all the time?"

As their argument continued, Fuyumi watched Shouto. He still hadn't spoken at all this whole meal. She could barely imagine his voice. Between her work and his trainings, she pretty much only ever saw him at the dinner table. She knew Dad preferred things that way; he thought Fuyumi and Natsuo would be distracting. Or would grow even more defensive of him, Fuyumi thought as Natsuo's voice grew louder.

They continued arguing even as Shouto got up, put away his dishes, and went to his room. Fuyumi wondered whether he appreciated Natsuo's intervention or not. Fuyumi usually didn't.

Speaking of interventions, Fuyumi should probably butt in. She slipped into their argument, taking both and no sides, cooling off tempers, and bringing them down. There were some scoffs, rolled eyes, and shouts, but by the time the rest of them finished their meal nobody was shouting anymore.

Success.

Notes:

There's like, a single sentence on Natsuo's character sheet about how he felt guilty going off to college but Fuyumi persuaded him to go... And I was like "Yeah that seems like an important and necessary moment for this fic."

Next Chapter: A hero banquet, where Fuyumi meets a familiar face (or two) ;)

Chapter 10: Hot As Hell, Dressed Like A Nun

Summary:

She took the time to relax and glance around the room, noting some of the people milling about. Some of them looked rather plain, most likely guests like her, while others had skin made of wood, astronaut suits, bunny ears...

Fuyumi froze. Miruko was looking right at her.

Fuyumi walked arm-in-arm with Dad (He was in Endeavor mode, wearing a suit instead of his official costume but still releasing flames) into the hall. There were plenty of round tables with white tablecloths, where various heroes were already seated. Near the walls were also long buffet tables, with plenty variety in foods to satisfy any taste or diet. The space was large, with occasional pillars, and there seemed to be other rooms one could explore. Fuyumi eyed some curtains along the entrance to a veranda, that could be a good spot to go if she felt too crowded. Fortunately, despite the many heroes and their guests, the room was spacious enough that there was no danger of bumping into each other.

Endeavor chose their seat, two unoccupied chairs, by Burnin and some other side kicks in the Endeavor agency. Dad introduced Fuyumi to them, though Fuyumi recognized most of them from the news.

The dinner was downright pleasant; all the people around her were socially engaged and asked her plenty of questions, and when she asked questions they gave answers that were longer than one syllable. Dad was his usual reserved self, but the people around her almost made her forget his presence.

He wasn't easy to forget when All Might stood up to give a speech. The temperature around Endeavor increased enough that the side kick sitting on Endeavor's other side subtly shifted her chair away. Fuyumi stayed where she was, after all this heat was nothing compared to when he was really angry.

The end of the speech triggered some sort of release; people began leaving the tables and milling about, making conversations as they stood or moving to other rooms. Dad remained at the table, so Fuyumi stayed as well.

Up until Endeavor's PR director, a woman with two tight buns in her gray hair, came by. "Sir, when I recommended you come here, I was hoping you would network and improve relations with heroes outside your own agency."

Endeavor maintained his stoic frown. "I became a hero to win and save people, not to play tea party with a bunch of brown-nosers."

She pinched her forehead. "How many times do we have to go over this? Fostering good relations between other agencies allows us more freedom in working with them. In other words, it improves the efficacy of yourself and your agency when cooperation is necessary."

Endeavor looked almost the same as before, but Fuyumi could spot the slightest shift of his lips into a pout, of all things.

"Endeavor, if you don't go out there and make conversation with some heroes, I swear to you I'm gonna quit and claim to anyone who will listen that you wear All Might underwear."

That got a reaction. Endeavor stood up, letting out a grumpy "Fine." He reached over and pulled Fuyumi up by her arm. "Let's go, Fuyumi."

Fuyumi noticed the PR director flinch when he grabbed her. She wasn't sure if it was due to witnessing the force of the action or the fact that Endeavor's arm flames were still on, close to brushing against her dress. Well, the PR director probably didn't know Fuyumi coated most her clothes in a flame-retardant spray. She did the same to Natsuo and Shouto's clothing, just in case. The Todoroki family probably kept that company which produced the spray in business, with the amount they used.

Either way, Dad released her as soon as she started moving of her own will, following him across the hall towards a group of heroes. Fuyumi was a bit giddy with curiosity as to how Dad would start conversation, since she rarely got the chance to see him interact with peers. Her anticipation built as they reached the group of heroes.

Then Dad just stopped and stood there.

Fuyumi waited a minute, unsure if she was missing something, but Endeavor honestly seemed content to just... stand in the middle of a crowd of heroes. Was he trying to keep up his stoicism?

He eventually turned to her. "Fuyumi. How are you."

"I'm good! Good party, nice food," Fuyumi glanced around, "...How about you?"

"Good."

They were father and daughter, and he could barely have that stilted exchange with her, how was he supposed to talk to a bunch of non-family members? "Dad... are you just going to stand there or are you going to talk to people?"

He grimaced. "I don't do small talk."

"Didn't your PR director have some threats? You gonna ignore those?"

"I don't have anything to talk about."

Fuyumi put a hand against her chin, thinking. He honestly seemed hopeless, but maybe... "How about, 'Hello, insert-hero-here, how are you? Good, me too, say, have you met my favorite daughter?' then I can make a little conversation while you stand there and look engaged."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "This is why you're my favorite daughter."

She laughed, her heart swelling.

They used the spiel on several heroes: Ectoplasm, the Dragoon Hero Ryuku, and Present Mic, until someone interrupted their plot.

Hawks was bright and cheerful, and only seemed to grow more cheerful the closer he got to Endeavor. "Endeavor! Crazy seeing you at one of these things!"

Endeavor eyed the feathery hero with caution. "...It's good for PR."

Hawks chuckled at that, and then kept talking. Dad eventually did introduce Hawks and Fuyumi, but Hawks seemed dedicated to talking to Endeavor rather than his daughter. That was a relief. Even though Hawks had only interacted briefly with her Leia persona, she didn't want him to get to know both sides too well and start comparing. Fuyumi was surprised when she realized Endeavor and Hawks were having an actual conversation together without her having to step in.

She was relieved Hawks made the effort. She took the time to relax and glance around the room, noting some of the people milling about. Some of them looked rather plain, most likely guests like her, while others had skin made of wood, astronaut suits, bunny ears...

Fuyumi froze. Miruko was looking right at her.

She turned to run, then realized she was in an entire room full of pro heroes. She stopped. Did Miruko even recognize her? Maybe she just made eye contact by coincidence?

Fuyumi turned back towards Miruko, who was making a straight path right to Fuyumi. Her heart jumped in her throat. She was so dead. She was going to jail. Why didn't she and Dabi make a plan for if one of them went to jail? He'll never see her again and will probably think she's dead. Hell, Dad might actually kill her if he finds out she's a criminal. Maybe she could go to prison before Dad learns about it, so he can't get to her. Wait, no, Dad is Endeavor, the #2 hero, he could probably still access her no matter what prison she ended up in. Fuyumi was doomed.

"Hey! Aren'tchu that grocery store hostage?" Miruko asked loudly, snapping Fuyumi out of her thoughts.

Endeavor, behind her, seemed drawn out of his conversation by that comment, glancing over at Fuyumi with a confused expression. Understandable, considering she never mentioned the grocery-store robbery to him. And she wasn't about to have him chastise her for not telling him right here in front of all his colleagues.

She took some steps forward, separating from Dad. Fortunately, Hawks was still chatting away, keeping Endeavor pinned to his location. "No, you must be mistaking me for someone else," Fuyumi said loudly, hoping Dad would hear it, "But I'm a huge fan of yours! Want to chat outside?"

Outside of Endeavor's earshot, preferably. "No, I'm pretty certain it was you, that hair is kind of distinctive!" Fuyumi really hoped Endeavor wasn't listening, but based on his constipated expression he probably was.

Well, that was a later-Fuyumi problem. For now, she forced a smile on her face as she led Miruko towards the veranda.

Miruko was still talking as they went outside, "How are you holding up after being a hostage for those ruffians? 'Course you seemed okay after the fact, but hey! Sometimes trauma takes time before it hits!"

"Could you keep it down?" Fuyumi glanced around surreptitiously, trying to make sure no one from the Endeavor agency was in the immediate vicinity. "My dad doesn't know about that happening."

Miruko's eyes widened and a feral grin took over her face. "Ooh, hiding things from your family. You go, girl! Gotta rely on yourself, don'tcha know."

Fuyumi didn't like the way that sounded. "I- I'm not hiding it."

Miruko stared at her.

"Okay, yes, I'm hiding it, but only because I don't want him to worry or freak out about it."

"Ooh, your dad one of these heroes?" Miruko asked.

"Yeah, you know Endeavor?"

Miruko nodded. "Of course! Who doesn't? Your dad one of his sidekicks or somethin'?"

"No, Endeavor is my dad."

Miruko's jaw dropped. "You're shittin' me."

Fuyumi took a step back at that reaction. "...No?"

Miruko's lips curled in a predatorial grin. "Holy shit, I rescued Endeavor's daughter, he so owes me a favor. I'm gonna go ask him to-"

Miruko turned to go back inside, but Fuyumi grabbed her arm. "Wait, wait, wait, you can't tell him!" When that barely slowed Miruko down, Fuyumi added, "Plus, you didn't technically save me."

Finally Miruko stopped, then turned with eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, I'm just saying," Fuyumi raised her hands in surrender, like she was an absolutely-innocent non-responsible party in the whole business, "Technically it was that vigilante who knocked out the villains."

Miruko's nose twitched with irritation. Her angry mutter was the volume most people spoke at, "I swear, when I get my hands on that 'Leia' punk..."

Fuyumi decided she would rather change the topic than hear exactly what violence Miruko would like to inflict on her. "That's a lovely dress, by the way."

Miruko perked up at the compliment (Her ears also twitched, a strangely adorable movement). Her short dress was white with furred trim, indeed lovely. "Aw, thank you! Your dress looks hot as hell!"

Fuyumi blinked at that description. She looked down at herself, covered head-to-toe in a nice, loose blue dress. It was a turtleneck, so everything up to her chin, down her wrists, and then down to her ankles was covered. There was a slit in the side, but below the dress she had white tights on, protecting her legs (and hiding a big cut she got at the Forge last week which was still healing). Her shoes, though nice, were modest flats. Was this nun-like attire what Miruko found attractive? It was the opposite of Miruko's sleeveless attire and exposed, toned legs.

Miruko laughed, "You look confused as fuck! What I meant was that you must be hot under that dress!"

Fuyumi's heart sped up. Miruko was imagining what she looked like under the dress? She didn't want to disappoint, but it was mostly bruises. She was avoiding Steel's quirk, so most of her injuries were healing the natural way. Not that Miruko was ever going to see them. Unless she was trying to? Would Fuyumi be interested if Miruko was trying to get her out of this dress?

At Fuyumi's red face, Miruko finally started to fluster. She coughed before clarifying, "Damn, that was also ambiguous! I'm trying to say, you're wearing a lotta layers in this warm weather!"

"Oh," Fuyumi was relieved (and maybe just the teensiest bit disappointed), "I get cold very easily."

"Really?" Miruko grabbed Fuyumi's hand, "Wow, that is cold!"

She did run cold, but if Miruko kept this up Fuyumi might start to overheat. She gently pulled her hand back, making Miruko let go. "Aren't you cold in that dress?"

"Nope! If I get too cold, I just do jumping jacks until I feel warm again!"

To demonstrate, Miruko did a few jumping jacks. Fuyumi tried to keep her eyes off of Miruko's chest, so they gravitated towards the side of her dress. There was a slit in both sides so it didn't ride up even as she spread her legs, but Fuyumi was confused by how incredibly high the slits were. The edges of her underwear must rest above her hip-bone in order not to be visible.

When the jumping jacks stopped, Fuyumi forced herself to stop ogling by glancing around the room. A couple of people were eyeing Miruko with confused of judgemental expressions. It was pretty weird to start doing jumping jacks in the middle of a party.

"...I might be too hot now!" Miruko commented, "Just got my blood pumping!"

Fuyumi moved instinctually, used to Natsuo and friends in high school who used her as an air conditioner during summer, and put two hands on Miruko's exposed shoulders.

When she saw Miruko's wide eyes, she realized it was a bit forward. She started to pull her hands back, apology on her tongue, but Miruko grabbed them and forced them back, "Don't stop now, I just started to cool down!"

Fuyumi gulped as she maintained the pose, skin touching flushed skin. She looked around the room again. Did people think it was weird that some random civilian was touching Miruko like this? She didn't see anyone looking directly at them, but...

"Don't get all shy on me now," Miruko told her, "I don't give a shit what other people think."

Fuyumi kept looking around. "Maybe I care."

"You can't keep focusing on the people around you." Miruko used a single finger to redirect Fuyumi's chin, forcing Fuyumi to look directly at her. "You gotta ask yourself: What do you want?"

Fuyumi's mouth felt dry. What did she want?

"Rumi!" That was Hawks' voice.

Fuyumi immediately removed her hands from Miruko, aware that last time she saw Hawks, Endeavor was with him. When she finally removed her eyes from Miruko's, she saw that Endeavor was close behind.

Hawks came from behind Miruko and slung an arm over her shoulder. "What have you been up to? Playing nice?"

Fuyumi wondered what their relationship was. Miruko did not shove him off, so they had to be pretty familiar with each other. Miruko tilted her head only slightly to respond, "Having fun. How about you? Did you fan-gasm all over Endeavor?"

Hawks laughed, but his face grew red and he turned Miruko so she could clearly see behind him, where Endeavor stood with an intensely confused expression.

Miruko's laugh boomed, like she didn't care who heard. "Endeavor himself! I was just chatting with your daughter..." Miruko turned back to her, "Sorry, what was your name, again?"

"Fuyumi Todoroki," She told her, "It's been nice to meet you, Miruko."

"Please, that's just my hero name. Call me Rumi."

Hawks leaned in. "I came out here to tell you they're about to serve deserts in the main hall."

That made Miruko (No, Rumi) perk up. "The main event!"

"I thought the speech was the main event?" Fuyumi commented.

Rumi shook her head. "Not for me. You think I come to these things for the speeches?"

"Or to see your dear friend Hawks?" Hawks cut in.

"No! Obviously it's for the carrot cake! Once I clear out that cake, I'm hopping away! See you later, Fuyumi!"

Rumi practically leaped to get back inside.

Endeavor put a hand on Fuyumi's shoulder. "We're heading out."

"Aww, you're not going to stay?" Hawks whined, "You know some of us are going to a bar after this, you could join-"

"No. My daughter and I need to talk."

That made Fuyumi stiffen under his hand. So he had heard Rumi talk about the whole 'being-taken-hostage' thing.

At least he waited until they got home to address it. He kept Endeavor-mode on, letting his fire burn continuously. Normally it was off at home, unless he was mad. Fuyumi hoped he had just forgotten to turn it off, but chances were he was simmering.

As soon as they were in the door, he confronted her. "What was Miruko's talk about you being a hostage all about?"

Fuyumi bit her lip. "Uh..."

He glowered. "Fuyumi."

"I was maybe slightly used as a sort of hostage. It wasn't a big deal! Just a small-time grocery store robbery attempt..."

He guffawed. "Not a big deal?"

"It was hardly even a threat, just a dude with scissor hands, I was rescued pretty fast and it all turned out all right!"

"And you didn't think it was worth mentioning?"

"Honestly? No," Fuyumi forced herself to keep her voice down, "You're a pretty busy person, Dad, I thought it would be better not to make you worry."

"Well you thought wrong!" He was not quite shouting yet, but getting there, "Next time my daughter is a victim in any sort of crime, I want to know about it!"

"Fine!" Fuyumi crossed her arms.

"Fine!" Dad responded, throwing his hands up in the air and walking away.

Once he was out of earshot, Fuyumi started pacing. She had, more-or-less, 'kept her calm', but she felt jittery and angry.

She put on her Leia jacket and grabbed her vigilante things. She knew it was risky to go out without telling Dad right after a fight, but she couldn't bear to be in the house one minute longer, so after she got changed she escaped into the night.

Now that she had gone more places and talked to more underground folks, she had a much better grasp of where the crime centers in this city were. She headed to a particularly violent area as she stewed in her thoughts.

What gave Dad the right to demand she tell him everything? Once Touya died, he seemed pretty content to just leave Fuyumi to her own devices and spend all his time with Shouto. Fuyumi had contented herself with becoming a "side" child, not demanding attention and even helping out around the house so he could have more time to focus on his most-important son.

She had said she was his 'favorite daughter' as a joke tonight, but he repeated it again and again, and even though technically she was the only choice, she had legitimately felt special upon hearing it. It had been nice to feel like a central person in her father's life, for once. The whole night was nice up until Dad decided to be angry about another dumb thing. She thought about what Rumi asked: What did she want?

She wanted Dad to never be angry again. She wanted him to learn, like she did, how to shut feelings down and not demand anything from anyone. She wanted him to show any sort of affection ever aside from what she could pry out of him at a banquet through jokes.

All that time spent not fighting with Dad just made her more desperate for that elusive, happy family they lacked. He had been awkward, pouty, and fun to be around. She wanted him to be that way at home, instead of locked up in the gym with Shouto all the time, more like a trainer than a father. If only Natsuo and Shouto could see him, vulnerable when faced with social interaction, playing along with jokes, not being angry... Maybe they'd see why Fuyumi wanted everyone to get along.

But not even Dad was willing to put in the effort. Tears welled in her eyes, hidden behind her goggles. Instead, he took a wonderful evening and turned it into another excuse to yell at one of his children.

Finally, thankfully, Fuyumi heard a scream, and she was able to focus on anything other than the ache in her heart. As she brutalized a man who had been trying to accost a woman, she put her frustration into every punch, imagining that she was able to do something for once.

The woman ran away before Fuyumi could see if she was okay, but Fuyumi wasn't too concerned. She looked at the man she beat up, and was surprised at the amount of blood coming out of his mouth. One part of her was disgusted that she could hurt another human being so much, even if he had been attacking someone before.

The other part of her was satisfied with her work.

She decided to leave him on the ground. Even if she called the cops, she knew they avoided this neighborhood. The rats could deal with this criminal.

By the time she got home, she felt marginally better. Nothing was solved (nothing ever got solved) but at least she was too tired to be angry.

Notes:

Me starting this chapter: "All aboard the fluff train!!
Me ending this chapter: "...Fluff train stops at angst station.

ALSO if you enjoyed this chapter but think it needs 100% more smut, I would like to recommend Selfish by Starship_Phoenix. It's the first Miruko/Fuyumi fic I ever read, and inspired me to include that as a ship for this fic. The idea of Fuyumi meeting Miruko at a hero banquet while being Endeavor's plus-one was pulled directly from that fic, so again: If you want smut of those two, it's a fic I loved and highly recommend.

Chapter 11: I Can't Believe I Have To Say This But Don't Call Hits On People For My Sake Without Asking Me First

Summary:

Parent-teacher conferences. Oh boy.

Notes:

It turns out things mentioned several chapters ago become relevant again. #Foreshadowing?

Parent-teacher conferences. Oh boy.

Fuyumi had stopped a jewelry store robbery last night. She was strong. She could do this. In fact, she already knew some of the parents who volunteered during the field trip! Just regular ol’ parents, nothing to be scared of.

She did some deep breathing. Okay, so parents might be a tiny bit scarier than murderers and rapists, but only because she wasn’t allowed to punch them and they could complain to her boss. She just had to get through this, and then tonight she could go absolutely ham beating people up. If any parents start trouble, she can save the rage for a more appropriate outlet.

Not that she was expecting trouble. But just in case.

It turned out her nervousness was for nothing. The first few parents were delightful, happy to chat about their kids, and none of them secretly hoping to get their child’s teacher fired. As Minami’s parents left, she glanced down at her schedule for who was next.

She was relieved to read that Sera’s parents were next. She already knew her mother, Copper (or her civilian name, Artina). It was a little weird to see her outside of the Forge, but so long as Fuyumi kept things focused on Sera, and didn’t mention illegal underground fighting rings, she was sure she could keep her cover.

There was a knock at the door. That must be them. “Come in!”

Copper (Artina, Fuyumi reminded herself) came in first, smiling broadly. She was once again dressed like a reserved mother instead of the diva Copper persona. As she stepped into the classroom, a tall man with white hair stepped in behind her. It took Fuyumi a moment to recognize him, but when she did her heart stopped dead.

Steel.

Her brain screamed “panic!” and she felt pain throughout her body. Tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched them shut. She wasn’t in the Forge, she wasn’t in Steel’s office, he wasn’t about to use his quirk on her. She was fine, she was fine, she was fine.

“Uh, Ms. Todoroki?” Copper asked, “Are you alright?”

She tried to stumble through an explanation, “S-sorry- I just- I feel sick all of a sudden-”

Fuyumi burst into tears.

Steel looked at Copper, eyebrows high. Fuyumi stopped processing beyond that, vision blurring with tears and brain going static.

She dimly registered some voices, a door closing, and then a hand grabbing her own. It was warmer than Fuyumi’s hand, but not as warm as she would have preferred. A gentle, female voice spoke to her. “Hey, you with me? It’s alright, you’re safe.”

Slowly, she caught a hold on herself, panic fading into severe embarrassment. “Y-yes.”

“How do you feel?”

“Fine. Okay. Exhausted. I don’t know. I’m so sorry.”

Copper pat her hand. “It happens.”

Copper seemed content to wait for Fuyumi to feel better before asking ‘what the fuck’, so Fuyumi decided she ought to explain herself. “I’m sorry, I recognized you. And him.”

Her eyebrows raised. “That was our guess.”

“He- I know he’s fine, he’s a great person, I just- My body, when I see him, it remembers-”

“Hey, shh, shh, it’s fine,” Copper spoke softly, kindly, “You’re not the only person who’s ever gotten a little traumatized. Hell, when he’s used his quirk on me, I’ve had similar reactions, and I’m married to the guy.”

Fuyumi stared at her. “How did you get over it?”

She giggled. “Honestly? Overwrote those memories with better ones. Mostly of a sexual nature, so I don’t recommend you follow that exact path if you’re trying to get over it.”

Fuyumi’s eyes widened. “Y-yeah, okay, no I won’t do that. But I’m sorry to Steel, I mean, your husband, uh, Mr. Fina-” Fuyumi was still processing the fact they were married, she was certain nobody had mentioned it before.

Copper rolled her eyes. “You can call him Steel when it’s just us, that’s how you know him anyway.”

“I’m sorry, I keep thinking of you as Copper as well.”

“It’s fine, just don’t use it around other people,” Copper leaned in, “Though speaking of names, I must confess I’m not certain who you are.”

Fuyumi gulped. Nobody knew that Fuyumi Todoroki was Leia. But this couple would probably be able to guess after thinking long enough about it, and she kind of owed them after bursting into tears during a normal parent-teacher conference. “I’m… I’m Leia.”

Copper let out a low whistle. “…Leia is an elementary school teacher.”

“Yeah.”

“I can tell Steel, right? It’s going to blow his mind.”

“Of- of course, just please don’t tell anyone else. Like, anybody else at all, I’m keeping a secret identity for a reason.”

“Well obviously, we’ll take it to our grave!” Copper declared. “Don’t worry, we’re all friends here!”

“Thank you. And again, I apologize, I’m sure when you came for a parent-teacher conference you weren’t expecting… this.”

Copper laughed. “Hey, it’s a bit of excitement! Surprises like this keep me on my toes! And now I’ve learned something new about one of my favorite competitors!”

Fuyumi felt a little better from her words. Copper was a natural charmer. “As strange of a connection this is to make, I’m sure you’re also eager to hear about how Sera has been doing in school.”

“Oh absolutely! Tell me all the details, and I’ll update Steel after.”

---

The thrill of the chase would be more of a thrill if Fuyumi wasn't the one getting chased.

"I'm not lettin'ya get away this time!" Miruko exclaimed.

Miruko was fast, agile, and smart. Fuyumi couldn't keep running forever. Her best hope was to run through the sketchiest neighborhoods she knew of until Miruko got distracted by an actual crime going on.

At this point Miruko hadn't seen Fuyumi do all that much aside from helping fight crime, so it made sense for her to prioritize active crimes over running after a vigilante. Sometimes Fuyumi wondered why Miruko even bothered trying to catch her.

Then she'd glance back, see Miruko's feral grin, and realize Miruko was a hunter at heart.

So here Fuyumi was, darting between buildings as Miruko advanced on her, when she heard an unusual sound behind her. A yelp in Miruko's voice, and something slamming on the ground. It could have been a trick, but Fuyumi stopped dead to look behind and make sure everything was okay.

Apparently it wasn't, considering Miruko was flat on her face. A man (who was vaguely familiar, had Fuyumi seen him before?) ran away from the sight. Had he tripped Miruko?

Fuyumi had stopped, but she didn't approach, just in case. Miruko got back up, shouted "Rude!" to the retreating man, locked eyes on Fuyumi, crouched to leap and-

Sneezed.

It was adorable. Tiny, sweet, like a baby kitten. Never forgetting her manners, Fuyumi called out, "Bless you!"

"Fuck you!" Miruko returned as she crouched again and-

Sneezed. Again. And again.

"...Allergies?" Fuyumi asked hesitantly.

"I'm not-" Sneeze, "-allergic-" Sneeze, "-to anything! The fuck-" Sneeze, "-did you do?"

Fuyumi put a hand on her hip. "I didn't do anything!"

Miruko wrapped her arms around herself, as though cold. She sneezed again, and although it was still one of the cutest things Fuyumi had ever seen, it was getting kind of concerning at this point. "Who the fuck was that guy, then? An accomplice like that fire guy you hang out with?"

Fuyumi heard shuffling behind her, and was reminded that they were in a neighborhood with a high rate of on-the-street crimes. Since Miruko had stopped trying to chase her, she decided to walk closer. Miruko's face was starting to look red, especially her nose. Her eyes were puffy.

"...Are you sick?" Fuyumi asked hesitantly.

Miruko glared at her. "I was in perfect health this morning!"

Fuyumi could see a full body shiver course through Miruko.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? A sick pro-hero?"

Both Fuyumi and Miruko immediately turned to the voice, coming from a nasally man carrying a bat as he stepped from around the corner. Behind him were a group of other folks, clearly following him.

He glanced at Fuyumi. "And could that be Leia? Oh boy, this is my lucky day."

Miruko snarled at him, but her stance was wobbly. Leia stepped even closer to Miruko, adopting a defensive position. "Fuck off, I don't need protection," Miruko told her.

Fuyumi decided to ignore those words and focus on the man instead. "We're busy, scram."

"I know a lot of folks who'd appreciate me taking the bunny hero out of commission for awhile," He licked his lips, "And the Fukuron group has a pretty nice bounty on you, Leia. Dead or alive."

That was news to Fuyumi. Probably bad news, but she didn't want to process that right now. "If you know what's good for you, you'll back off right now," Fuyumi tried threatening.

No effect. Instead the man laughed and pointed his bat. "Get 'em, boys."

Thus a battle ensued. Fuyumi got some early hits in with her darts, but Miruko and her were soon surrounded on all sides. Fuyumi was able to clobber some folks, but she had to keep an eye on Miruko. Although Miruko was able to fight, she was much slower than usual, and wobbled more as the fight went on.

When only two or three men were left, Fuyumi had the opportunity to directly fight their leader, dodging his bat to eventually slam him into the ground. When the few remaining combatants saw their leader get crushed, they scurried away into the night.

Once Fuyumi had thrown the leader into a dumpster, she returned to Miruko, who stood amidst the downed opponents, lightly swaying. "Miruko?"

"Fuckin- dizzy..." Miruko barely got out the words before she fell.

Fuyumi dashed forward to catch her before she hit the pavement. Although Fuyumi found all bodies that weren't her own to be warm, Miruko might have been warmer than the average person usually was. She cradled Miruko, concerned by her sudden attack of sickness.

A groan from one of the men on the ground made Fuyumi panic. She wasn't sure what was going on with Miruko, but they at least needed to get out of here. She hoisted Miruko on her back, and was surprised at how light she was. As she left the area, aiming for slightly safer streets, Miruko spoke into her ear, "Don't need... your fucking help."

It was weird for Miruko to not yell any words, and Fuyumi was momentarily taken aback by the softness of her voice, despite the language. "Fine, where's your agency? I'll just take you there."

"Don't got no dumb agency," Miruko told her, "I work alone."

"Wha- Isn't that dangerous? As a pro-hero?" Fuyumi exclaimed.

"I ain't gon' let nobody take credit for my work."

There was a gunshot in the distance. Miruko's negative view of teamwork wasn't important at the moment, what was important was getting Miruko safe to ride out this sudden cold.

"Where's your address?"

"Fuck off."

"Would it kill you to cooperate? I'm trying to help you out here."

"Fuck help. I do shit solo."

"Well newsflash, we worked together to take down those guys, so would it kill you to trust me just a bit?"

Miruko sniffled. "...I coulda taken them."

Fuyumi was out of the epicenter of crime, and opened an app to call for a car. "Look, just give me an address to put in here, anywhere that you feel safe and isn't in the middle of murder-central, alright? Doesn't have to be your house or whatever."

Miruko grumbled, but willingly mumbled an address. Once they were in the car, Miruko leaned back in the seats, eyes closed, occasionally coughing or sneezing. Fuyumi was thankful the driver didn't ask questions about why a sick pro-hero was being escorted by a girl in a ski-mask. Maybe they assumed Fuyumi was another hero, since Miruko wasn't trying to call for help or expressing distress.

Though apparently Miruko was pretty averse to calling for help, Fuyumi guessed from her words. That made things a little difficult. The car stopped in front of a nice apartment complex, and they got out.

Fuyumi tried to help Miruko out, but Miruko slapped her hand away. "I'm fan-fucking-tastic!"

Miruko then preceded to tilt downwards, almost hitting the ground before Fuyumi scooped her up.

"Put! Me! Down!" Miruko screeched.

Fuyumi acquiesced, but kept one of Miruko's arms over her shoulder so she could stabilize her walk. That outburst seemed to have used most of Miruko's remaining energy, since she for once didn't complain about Fuyumi's assistance.

"I'm fifth floor," Miruko muttered once they entered, heading for the stairs.

Fuyumi wordlessly tugged her to the elevator instead. Miruko wore a pissed off expression, but didn't argue this time. Inside the elevator, she leaned as if dozing off.

What had happened to her? Did Fuyumi need to call a hospital or something? This seemed like a cold or the flu, but it hit very suddenly. Fuyumi wracked her brain for an explanation as Miruko unlocked her door, stumbling inside.

It was a small place, but at least there was a couch. Fuyumi lowered Miruko onto the couch. Miruko's eyes were closed, and Fuyumi wondered if she had actually fallen asleep while standing up.

Fuyumi put a hand on Miruko's forehead, trying to see if she had a fever, but obviously she felt hot. Normal foreheads felt hot to Fuyumi too. So Fuyumi withdrew her hand and decided to treat it like a cold, since all the other symptoms lined up.

She needed to wrap her up, nice and warm. But also hydrate her. And put a cold thing on her forehead. Maybe make something warm? She opened a few doors, looking for a closet that could have blankets, but first found a bathroom and bedroom. The last door she tried was a closet, but it mostly contained cleaning supplies.

She felt rude entering the bedroom, but it seemed that was where all the blankets were. She flicked on the lights, trying not to look too hard but unable to ignore some wrestling posters on the wall. Miruko must be a fan. She focused on the bed, fluffy with a gray blanket, and completely unmade. Jesus, it was a mess. Fuyumi tried to straighten it out a bit before folding the blanket to the side, allowing space to put a person down before covering them.

Transporting Miruko probably should have woken her up, but all she did was mumble something incoherent in her sleep. Once she was deposited in her bed, Fuyumi bundled Miruko up in the blankets.

Blanket, secured. Next up, cold thing on her forehead.

She went to the kitchen and opened up the freezer, looking for a cold pack. After digging through some frozen ready-made meals (she really hoped Miruko didn't eat those all the time), she found a cold pack and put it on Miruko's forehead.

She also filled up a glass of water, and left it by Miruko's bedside. She wasn't sure how long Miruko was going to sleep, but presumably she'd be dehydrated when she woke up.

As she cooked some oatmeal she found buried in the back of a cabinet, she once again tried to think what could have caused the sickness. Do bunnies sometimes get randomly sick? Did something trigger it? Miruko had been fine right up until she had fallen and... a man... ran away...

A quirk. Dabi had mentioned a quirk before, that could make somebody sick from skin contact.

She pulled out her phone and called 'D'.

He answered after three rings. "Emergency?"

"No. But important question. Do you remember that guy you said could make sick with his quirk?"

"Yes. Why are you asking? Did he finally make his move?"

Fuyumi's brow furroed. "'Make his move'?"

"I told him a few weeks ago that if he could take that hero hunting you all of the time out of commission, I'd pay him."

Fuyumi's jaw dropped. "Dabi! What the hell!"

"Just trying to be nice. Figured I'd save you some trouble by taking her out."

"Don't- I can't believe I have to say this- But don't put hits on people for my sake without asking me first whether I even want that!"

"You want to be caught by that bunny?"

"Obviously not! But I also don't want her left sick and weakened with villains about."

Dabi snorted. "What? You got the hots for your hero nemesis?"

Fuyumi bit her lip. Uh-oh.

"Wait, do you actually?"

"Look, just tell me how I'm supposed to cure the sickness."

"Wait, wait, can we go back to the part where you're into the scariest bunny on the planet?"

"Dabi have you seen her thighs?" Fuyumi whispered urgently, "Who the hell can look at those and not swoon at least a tiny bit?"

"Holy shit that was sort of a joke, but good to know you're into girls who can and want to beat you up."

Fuyumi groaned. "Just tell me the cure."

"There's no cure, since there's no disease. Technically, all the quirk does is send a person's immune system into overdrive, making it react as though they're infected by something. He told me it's incapacitating, but harmless. Not even contagious."

"So what am I supposed to do then?"

"Uh, leave her on the street? What was your plan, take her home and nurse her back to health?"

Fuyumi didn't have a good response to that.

"Oh no, don't tell me... Leia, where are you right now?"

"...I'm in her apartment kitchen. Making oatmeal."

"Goddamnit, Leia!"

"I couldn't just leave her on the street! There were villains around!"

"That's the fucking point. If you left her, then your whole 'being-chased' problem would've been solved."

"Dabi! I don't want her dead!"

"Obviously not, with those thighs I guess," Dabi sighed, "Look, I was just trying to help you out."

"Well that's very sweet," It really was, "But next time you do, ask me beforehand!"

He clicked his tongue. "Fine. Sorry this didn't work out, but the effects should clear up in a few hours. Make sure you get out of that apartment before she's well enough to catch you. I'm not bailing you out of jail."

That reminded her. "I'd bail you out of jail."

"...Leia."

"Seriously, if you ever need someone, call me. It's fine if you won't bail me out, I have other people in my civilian life I can call, but if you need someone-"

"We can talk about this later. You go deal with your hero-crush."

"Fine. Thank you for the info. Never do this again."

"Yeah, yeah."

He hung up, and by that time the oatmeal was ready.

She brought it into the bedroom, and was surprised to see Miruko sitting up. "What the fuck." Miruko said as a greeting.

"I've got oatmeal."

"I- I can see that," Miruko stared at the bowl with wary eyes, "Are you trying to drug me?"

"What? Obviously not." Fuyumi ate a spoonful of the oatmeal to demonstrate its safety. "I'm literally just trying to be nice."

Miruko glanced sideways at the glass Fuyumi left earlier. "Drink the water too."

Fuyumi obliged by taking a solid gulp of the water and returning it to the bedside table. Once secure in the knowledge that nothing was severely poisoned, Fuyumi chugged the water. Dehydrated, as Fuyumi suspected.

Once hydrated, Miruko accepted the oatmeal with narrowed eyes. "If this is some sort of trick, I want you to know that Hawks is explicitly required to avenge me, should I be taken down."

"I thought you work alone?"

Miruko frowned. "...Hawks and I don't work together. We're just friends with a vengeance pact."

Fuyumi shrugged in acceptance of the defense. "Should I call him? You'd probably prefer that he take care of you rather than-"

"No!" Miruko exclaimed, "He's on patrol! And I don't need someone to take care of me!"

"...You couldn't even walk straight."

"I feel a lot better after that nap." Miruko's nose twitched. "How long was I out?"

"I think about half an hour?"

"Well I'm back to perfect condition!" Miruko said, putting the bowl of oatmeal aside to stand up.

Once standing, she blinked several times. "Huh. Dizzy-"

That was all the warning Fuyumi got before she fell back onto the bed. Fuyumi barely snatched the bowl of oatmeal up in time, preventing it from spilling all over the hero.

Fuyumi giggled. "I see. Perfect condition means falling as soon as you stand up?"

"I stood up too fast," Miruko defended herself as she wrapped herself back up in blankets. "This is weird as shit."

"Being sick?"

"You. What the fuck are you even still doing here? I'll take you to jail."

"You don't seem to be in any condition to take anyone to jail right now."

"Fuck you."

"Is it that hard to let anyone help you?"

"Only the weak rely on others." Miruko's dramatic statement might have been more poignant if it wasn't immediately followed by a sneeze.

"Well I think it takes courage and strength to admit you can use help."

"Fuck you."

"Is that your default response to everything?"

"Only when weirdo vigilantes try to give me life advice."

Fuyumi rolled her eyes behind her goggles. "Sorry I'd rather have you accept help and not be dead than act all tough just to die on the street."

"I coulda taken those dudes."

"But I'm sure it was easier with me there."

"This whole shit's your fault. This all happened after that weird dude whacked me, and he wouldn't've had the chance if I weren't so focused on chasing you. I bet he had some sort of weird quirk that did this to me."

"Wow, you're smart, figured it out fast."

Miruko's eyes widened, and she backed up on the bed. "So this was a set up!"

"No! Well, yes, but not one I was aware of!"

Miruko glared at her, still as far away as possible in a defensive position.

"I called my friend just now, and he told me that he apparently ordered some guy with a sickness quirk to take you down? So you'd stop chasing me? But he didn't warn me about it!"

Miruko scoffed. "Weird fucking friend."

"Hey, at least we don't have a vengeance pact." Fuyumi paused. Wouldn't she want to take revenge if Dabi was killed? "Maybe we should get a vengeance pact."

"So all of this is your fault."

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Fuyumi admitted, "Albeit some of it is indirect, and I've kindly requested my friend not call any more hits on you."

"Well then, if you admit it's your fault, then you should take responsibility and refill my water!"

Fuyumi blinked. Was Miruko... asking for help? But phrasing it so it didn't sound like she needed help? She obliged the request (or demand, more like) and got some more water, taking a sip in front of Miruko before giving it to her.

"Also, you oughta make more oatmeal! You owe me!"

Well, whatever Miruko needed to think to allow herself to accept help. Fuyumi continued to take care of Miruko for another hour or so before Miruko kicked her out. She had become far more coherent by then, so Fuyumi felt okay leaving her on her own.

On her way home, she wondered what in life had made Miruko so stubbornly against being helped. Well, she doubted she'd ever learn, assuming Dabi complied with her wishes and didn't try to take down Miruko. She doubted she'd ever bond with Miruko again.

Notes:

Wow yes Fuyumi I'm sure you will never end up bonding with Miruko again in any way ever again ;)

What can I say? I'm weak for people being weak and needing to be taken care of by their nemesis.

Also:
Copper: "Yeah I used to also associate Steel with pain, but after hard work and determination I now associate him with orgasms."
Fuyumi: "Uh cool trick, I'm gay tho."

Chapter 12: We Need To Bond Or I Will Literally Turn To Murder

Summary:

Once she left this dorm, she wouldn't see Natsuo for at least a week. Fuyumi almost wanted to cry, but held back. It was just a week; he was going to visit every weekend. She was accustomed to seeing him every night, and he was one of the only living members of the Todoroki family capable of holding a conversation. It was going to be lonely.

Notes:

There's one brother left Fuyumi hasn't bonded with this fic... until now

Fuyumi picked up some boxes to bring to the dorm room Natsuo was occupying.

"Careful!" Natsuo exclaimed, "Those are heavy."

They weren't, but Fuyumi put one of the boxes back down to seem less suspicious. Natsuo took it, huffing and puffing as he brought it up the stairs behind Fuyumi.

Once they had moved pretty much everything in, Fuyumi looked around the room. "No roommate?"

"I guess he isn't here yet," Natsuo said with a shrug.

It was just Fuyumi and Natsuo in the room. Dad was on patrol, Shouto wasn't allowed to come (Dad's orders), and Mom obviously was stuck in the hospital. Fuyumi was pleased to discover Natsuo's choice in college was actually fairly close to the hospital, meaning he could visit Mom more easily. Although she was getting the best care money could buy, there's no way she wasn't a little lonely.

"Well... I guess this is it?" Fuyumi said hesitantly.

"Yeah, that's everything," Natsuo agreed.

Once she left this dorm, she wouldn't see Natsuo for at least a week. Fuyumi almost wanted to cry, but held back. It was just a week; he was going to visit every weekend. She was accustomed to seeing him every night, and he was one of the only living members of the Todoroki family capable of holding a conversation. It was going to be lonely. She opened up her arms, "I'm gonna miss you."

Natsuo returned the hug. "Me too."

"You better call once you're settled in."

"And you better call if... if anything happens."

Fuyumi pulled back. "Of course."

---

So maybe Natsuo was gone, but that didn't mean Fuyumi was going to be lonely in the Todoroki household. After all, she was starting to get along with Dad better. And Shouto existed. Fuyumi didn't get many chances to bond with Shouto, so maybe this was the catalyst needed to really get to know her youngest brother!

Dinner conversations were a bust. Although Fuyumi hated to admit it, Dad's mere presence seemed to keep an impenetrable lid on Shouto's thoughts and emotions. No matter what she asked, all she got were monosyllables and shrugs.

So she'd just have to try communicating with Shouto when Dad wasn't there. Easy-peasy!

She finally got a chance one evening when Dad was called out as emergency backup. He left Shouto in the middle of training, so Fuyumi brought a bottle of water over to him as he laid down on the training room floor. "Shouto! I brought some water, how was training?"

"Fine."

He accepted the water, chugging most of it down. Fuyumi waited for him to finish, to see if he would elaborate at all, but once he was done drinking he didn't say anything.

"...How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Okay."

He didn't look okay, collapsed on the floor, but it was okay for an Endeavor training session. At least he didn't seem to have visible injuries. "Sure is lucky that Dad got called in, so you get to stop early."

Shouto shrugged.

Fuyumi had assumed Shouto's inscrutable, non-communicative personality was a side effect of Dad's presence. She hadn't considered that maybe that was Shouto's actual, constant personality.

A few more attempts in the coming week made it clear that trying to have a conversation was always going to be a bust with Shouto. So maybe he was more into activities?

"Shouto, want to sneak out to the arcade?"

"No."

"How about going grocery shopping with me?"

"No."

"Such nice weather, we should go on a picnic!"

"No."

It seemed whenever and whatever Fuyumi suggested, Shouto was uninterested. Fuyumi didn't know what to do, she didn't have a good grasp on Shouto's interests, but she also couldn't engage him in conversation at all in order to learn. Was this punishment for leaving him alone for so long? She had made slight attempts to talk with him before, but Natsuo made the most effort in terms of arguing with Dad on his behalf. Fuyumi, the ever-obedient daughter, had overall tried not to get too close and 'distract' Shouto from his training, per Dad's orders. Would Shouto be more cooperative if Natsuo were trying to bond with him?

Her frustrations with the situation were coming out during her evening activities. Even Dabi commented, "Damn, you uh... you got something to work out?"

Fuyumi felt great, having just relieved her stress on a kidnapper. "I feel fantastic."

"Yeah, uh, you look pretty happy, but you kind of brutalized that woman? Like, I feel like once a person's unconscious, continuing to punch them is a little..."

Fuyumi rolled her eyes. "Where's this coming from? You literally murder people, Dabi, and you don't see me judging you."

"I'm not judging you!" Dabi rushed to respond, "Just... It's different from how you usually are."

That made Fuyumi think. Pre-Leia Fuyumi would probably be horrified at what she'd just done, but she had changed. "We all have our vices, Dabi, let me have mine."

He didn't comment after that.

But Fuyumi kept thinking about it. She was getting a lot of joy from stuff that some people might call 'needless violence'. It just felt good to be able to hurt people, and make them feel the consequences of their actions. She didn't need to put on the persona of a perfect little girl, playing nice while subtly trying to convince them that their actions were maybe, just maybe, wrong. All she had to do was punch them into submission, something she was getting better at with plenty of practice.

She was definitely sliding down a slope. But why should she force herself to hold back? After she'd been held back for so long in her family? She felt frozen, stuck in a character and stuck in time inside the Todoroki house, couldn't she just have this one thing where she was allowed to do whatever she wanted?

"Leia!" Dabi exclaimed, grabbing onto her arm.

They were on another job from Giran. Another inter-gang conflict, where one gang was willing to bring in outsiders like Leia and Dabi to help deal with some opposing gang members selling drugs on their turf. Fuyumi had been choking a man, trying to incapacitate him, when Dabi pulled her away. "What the hell, Dabi?"

"He's already unconscious, you keep that up and you'll kill him!" Dabi shouted, "People who can't breath die, genius!"

Oh. She twisted out of Dabi's grip, but left the man on the ground.

She knew Dabi had no qualms about killing people. She was glad he was aware of her own squeamishness with the idea. Or at least, had noticed in the past that she wasn't a fan of it. She wasn't exactly squeamish back there. She probably would have taken the killing in stride, justifying it to herself so she could keep going forward.

She took a deep breath. "Dabi, I think I need a break."

So for a whole week, she kept her ski mask and goggles buried in the back of her closet. No going to the Forge, no patrols, and no jobs from Giran. Instead, she visited Mom, got some cleaning done, and focused on her students. She reminded herself that there were good people in the world, and that not every bad person deserves to be choked to death in an alley.

It did make her feel better, to some extent. Morals felt a little clearer when she wasn't buried in the underbelly of the city. She didn't want to kill people, who might have families and other folks who cared about them. She had to keep some lines she won't cross, or else she'd be just like the people she was fighting.

Going from frequent fighting to nothing left her jittery and tense, but fortunately there was a gym in her house. She ended up spending every single day in there, late at night when she would normally be sneaking out, and random times during the day when Dad or Shouto weren't using it.

One day while she was doing bench-presses, Shouto entered. Ah, so it was time for his work-out. "I'll leave once I finish this set!" She told him cheerfully.

"Dad's out, I'm not training," He said quickly, "...Do you need a spotter?"

She didn't use a spotter, just kept the weights below her limits, but she wasn't going to say no to the first interaction Shouto's initiated with her. "Sure!"

He didn't say anything else, but his hands hovered below the bar. Fuyumi could barely hold back her excitement at Shouto willingly spending time with her. She didn't want to scare him off with conversation, though, so she decided to keep exercising.

"Since you're spotting me, let's add some more weight," Fuyumi decided.

Since she was always in the gym alone, she couldn't push herself too far. But with Shouto here, maybe she could really develop her limits. Shouto helped adding weights, adding the same amount she added to the opposite end, but still did not speak.

When she starting doing the reps, she felt the difference. While before she was able to speak to Shouto, now it would have been too much of a strain. She was huffing and puffing, feeling a delightful burn in her muscles at the exertion. It felt a little dangerous.

But she had a spotter.

After a few sets of that, she decided to take a break. After drinking some water, she spoke, "Thanks, Shouto! That was really helpful, I got to push my limits!"

"Your limit is higher than mine," Shouto commented.

Fuyumi looked at his face, trying to read what he was trying to say. Was he jealous? Curious? Just trying to make conversation for once? She couldn't tell. "Yeah, Dad focuses more on technique than pure muscle training for you. Plus, you're still a middle schooler."

"I'll be going to high school soon," He muttered.

It was true. Their first day was coming up next week. "Yeah, are you excited?" Finally a conversation!

"No," He answered simply. However, he went on, "Why are you training so much?"

That took Fuyumi off guard. Did he suspect something? "It's good for your health."

She wished she could read his blank expression. "Do you like it?"

"Y-yeah," Fuyumi dared to admit that much, "It's a good... stress-reliever."

"Why doesn't Dad train you instead?"

Ah. That question must have been Shouto's goal this whole conversation. "He did, for a whlie."

For once, Shouto showed an expression: Surprise. "He did?"

"I guess you were too young to remember that stuff, but he used to put me and Touya through hell." A thought dawned on Fuyumi. "...Do you remember Touya? I guess you were pretty young when he..."

"Yes, I remember him. At least a little," Shouto commented, "I don't remember you guys being trained."

She shrugged. "Well around the time we lost Touya, your quirk came in, and you were exactly what Dad was looking for, so..."

Shouto looked at the ground. "So he stopped training you because of me?"

Oof. That sounded kind of bad. "He was training Touya and I as a duo. If anything, it was losing Touya that made him stop, not you."

"Why couldn't he continue training you alone, though?"

"My body can't handle its own ice. When Touya and I worked together, we were able to balance each other out. I could use my ice, then he would use his fire to warm me up so I wouldn't get frostbite. I did the same for him, since he had the opposite issue." Fuyumi gave a sad smile. "I can't exactly train my ice anymore. I'd probably freeze myself to the floor and have no way to get out."

"I could melt it," Shouto offered.

Fuyumi's eyes widened. Was he actually offering...?

"If you want to," He added, eyes wary.

Fuyumi jumped up. "Absolutely! As long as you're fine with it?"

"So long as Dad's not home."

And so Fuyumi started training her ice in earnest. She wasn't planning to use it as Leia, but she figured it was better to have a trump card in her back pocket than nothing.

She expected Shouto to just be there to warm her up every now and then, but he ended up being even more valuable as a teacher. Half of his quirk was ice, continuously trained for a decade, so he had some stellar techniques and attacks to demonstrate. He was blunt with his feedback, unable to soften any criticism, but Fuyumi didn't care. If she could handle Endeavor yelling at her, she could handle some badly-phrased advice from Shouto.

Fuyumi almost laughed when she thought about the situation: An adult schoolteacher being taught by her youngest brother. Who would've thought? It wasn't her top choice in terms of bonding activities, but it worked. Shouto didn't do small-talk, he didn't like to go out, but he was more than comfortable with training as a form of social interaction. Fuyumi tried not to think too hard about whether that was fucked up or not.

Either way, her relationship with Shouto became stronger than ever. They had even had some mock battles, and although Shouto usually won it did help her work out some of her fighting energy. Strangely, Shouto didn't use the fire part of his quirk at all. He would become warm and melt ice, but he refused to catch on fire.

One time when he was warming her, sitting beside her with his warm side against her in an awkward side hug, she commented, "You can use your fire, you know. I don't burn, and it would be faster."

Shouto shook his head, and didn't elaborate why not.

When she went back to being Leia, she felt calmer than before. She had found another outlet, and reminded herself of the good in people. She was a vigilante, not just a criminal, and she refused to kill people.

Notes:

Next Chapter: Things get kind of gay

Chapter 13: She's The Boyfriend

Summary:

Dad's voice was clear over her phone. "What are you doing in the red light district?"

Fuyumi was in trouble.

Dad's voice was clear over her phone. "What are you doing in the red light district?"

Her non-burner phone. Since she was just swinging by to pick up some things for Giran, she figured the effort of setting up her whole 'leave-her-real-phone-at-the-cafe-and-connect-her-burner-phone' was a hassle that wasn't worth it. After all, what were the chances Dad was going to check her location on a Friday night?

"Fuyumi, answer me."

It was a bit hard to talk, since she was taking off her mask and flipping her jacket inside out in an alleyway. The inside was a pleasant blue instead of black, making her look distinctly different from Leia. As she fumbled with the fabrics, she tried to think of an alibi. She needed to clearly establish she wasn't doing any crimes, or soliciting the businesses here. But why else would she be in the red light district? She could claim a friend dragged her out here, but what friend? Or-

"Fuyumi Todoroki!"

"I'm on a date! A date!" That excuse had worked once before, it could work again.

"...With the same guy as before?"

Fuyumi walked back out of the alley, carrying a bag full of who-knows-what, onto the main street. Considering she was in the red-light district, she wanted to establish to her father that she wasn't selling herself on the streets to multiple men. "Yeah," she decided to answer.

She could hear the whoosh of his flames through the phone. "Don't move, and keep him there. I'm going to meet this boy or you're grounded for a month."

Fuyumi balked. "What? You can't-"

The phone beeped. He had hung on her, not allowing any argument or explanation. Classic Dad.

She glanced around the street, panicked. She was still carrying Giran's bag, full of most-likely-illegal materials (Fuyumi guessed cash or drugs, but she had agreed to not ask questions when Giran requested her help), about to see the number-two pro-hero, supposed to have a boyfriend on her arm or otherwise be grounded for a full month.

Fuyumi avoided swearing as a general rule, but she couldn't resist an emphatic "Fuck."

"Fuyumi?"

She jumped at the sound of Miruko behind her. She spun around and saw Miruko... in casual clothing? She almost didn't recognize her, wearing a modest shirt and pants instead of her usually hero leotard. "Miruko?"

Miruko laughed. "Please, I told you, call me Rumi! Especially when I'm dressed like this!"

"Right, Rumi," Fuyumi was still trying to get a hold of her panic. "What are you doing here?"

"Meeting Hawks for drinks! What are you doing, swearing in the middle of the street?"

Fuyumi's panic rose again, thinking about her predicament. "I- My dad, I'm- I lied to him, and now he's coming here- I don't know what to do-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, what's happening?"

Fuyumi took a deep breath. She couldn't explain why she was there, but she could explain enough. "My dad realized I was here, so he called, I told him I was on a date, but now he wants to meet my 'boyfriend', even though there actually isn't a boyfriend, but he said if he can't meet him then I'm grounded for a month- But I don't have a boyfriend to show him! I can't-"

"Wait, shh, shh," Rumi put a finger on Fuyumi's lips, "I have an idea."

Fuyumi froze under Rumi's finger. "...You do?"

"Let me just text Hawks that I'll be late!"

As Rumi contacted her friend, Fuyumi frowned. "You really don't need to, I'll... I'll figure out something, I don't want to cause any trouble-"

"Trouble?" Rumi exclaimed, "I'm a hero, my whole job is helping folks in trouble! Plus, I can't wait to see the look on Endeavor's face when I tell him-"

Rumi stopped when a wave of heat rolled down the street, heralding the arrival of the #2 Pro-Hero. A few shady characters bolted at his presence, but he wasn't invested in crime-fighting at the moment. Instead, his eyes locked onto Fuyumi's, and he marched forward. Fuyumi was rooted to her spot, fear locking her in place.

"Hey Endeavor!" Rumi's almost-oblivious, cheerful shout drew even Dad's attention.

Fuyumi almost sighed in relief when his murderous glare was redirected off of her. Dad squinted at Rumi. "...Miruko? Perfect. My daughter has been hiding her boyfriend from me." He looked around, noting that there were no men standing by Fuyumi. "It seems he was a coward and ran, did you see anyone with Fuyumi earlier? Some sort of scoundrel or ruffian who seduces girls in the dead of night?"

"Not at all!" Rumi exclaimed, "And we've been together all night!"

Endeavor's brow furrowed. "But Fuyumi said she was on a date."

Rumi beamed. "That's right!"

"Then where's the boyfriend?"

"I'm the boyfriend!"

Endeavor stared blankly. Like a computer that crashed and had to reboot, he didn't even blink. Slowly, he turned his head towards Fuyumi.

Fuyumi also shut down at Rumi's declaration. She wasn't planning to come out to Dad ever. She wasn't prepared for the hot superhero who chases her at night and tells her nice things in the day to tell her Dad they’re dating. So Fuyumi stared back at Dad, hesitant smile on her face as if to say 'surprise!'

Dad finally rebooted, blinked several times and glanced between the two woman, before repeating, "...She's the boyfriend."

Well, they had gotten this far, and Fuyumi wasn't about to tell Dad she was actually running illegal stuff for an underground broker. "Yeah."

Endeavor's flames burst and receded a few times. Fuyumi sighed when she saw it; that was him growing angry enough to flare, but then realizing he was in public and trying to put the lid on the fire. She admired that Rumi held her ground, not stepping back even though the heat at this distance was uncomfortable for most people.

"You're going to overheat if you keep doing that," Fuyumi told him.

"You-! With a-..." Endeavor took a step forward, flames now shooting hard. "What?"

He was actually going to overheat if he kept that up. Not to mention, as solid as Rumi was, there was sweat dripping down her forehead from the heat. The people around also seemed wary, most starting to evacuate the area.

"Dad. Overheating," Fuyumi reminded him.

When his flames continued, she took matters into her own hands. She reached out, arms passing through the fire, and activated her ice. All her ice turned immediately into steam, floating upwards and carried by the wind. She kept the ice going, though, trying to reduce his heat so he wouldn't burn himself up. She aimed to coat his shoulders and arms with the ice, though it immediately disappeared.

When the ice started dripping into water instead of steam, Fuyumi pulled back. Rumi immediately grabbed her from behind, tugging a hand and looking closely at it. "...You're not burned?"

Fuyumi shrugged. "Nope."

Dad coughed, glancing at Rumi. "Sorry you had to see that outburst. I was... surprised."

"That's an understatement!" Rumi commented.

Dad glared at her. "...So you're dating my daughter."

"Yup!"

"And taking her out to dates in the red-light district?"

"My favorite gay bar is near here! I thought she'd enjoy it as well, solidarity and all that good stuff!"

Dad took a step back, unprepared to be reminded exactly what he found shocking about their relationship.

Fuyumi gulped. Rumi was coming up with good lies, Fuyumi needed to do her part to sell the story. "I didn't want to tell you, since you might, uh, react like that." Okay that wasn't even a lie, that was just how Fuyumi felt about coming out to her dad.

"Fuyumi," Dad said, "We're leaving."

Fuyumi nodded, not wanting Rumi to see anything else.

As they parted, Rumi waved happily, "See you later, babe!"

Fuyumi flushed at the pet name, but returned the wave, ignoring Dad's uncomfortable side-eye at the display.

The whole way home, Fuyumi didn't want to speak first. She waited for Dad to start talking. What would he bring up first, the lying? Her sexuality? Her choice in partner? She didn't know.

"Don't talk to Shouto about your... you know," He told her.

That surprised her. Weird request, but manageable. "Okay."

"Go to bed."

She didn't know if that was good or bad, but she wasn't going to disobey. She scurried to her room, afraid of what he would do if she dawdled too long. Was he really going to leave it like that?

When nothing happened as she undressed and got ready for bed, she supposed he was at least going to leave it alone for tonight. Was he processing? Was he homophobic? Fuyumi wished she knew, but he rarely discussed those sorts of politics with them. Actually she could never remember him discussing such a thing.

She sent a text to Giran. How urgently do u need the stuff? I've got the bag, but there's a situation and I'd be safer laying low for a bit. It's true, Endeavor was on high alert and would probably notice if she sneaked out now.

As she stuffed the bag under her bed, she got a text back from him. I'd like it tonight, but I can adjust for a one-day delay if you need.

Alright, meet you tomorrow then.

Notes:

Can you tell I love fake-dating fics?
Tbh though the fake-dating aspect is not going to be much of a focus in this story. There will be other Miruko/Fuyumi shippy times, but this particular aspect is currently more of a one-chapter gag (/impetus to confront Fuyumi's sexuality) that might be later referenced rather than a new direction of the fic.

Chapter 14: I Don't Know How To Explain To You That Being Gay Isn't Contagious

Summary:

The next day, Dad was out of the house by the time Fuyumi woke up. She wasn't sure what that meant for her, but at least it meant she had time to spend with Shouto.

The next day, Dad was out of the house by the time Fuyumi woke up. She wasn't sure what that meant for her, but at least it meant she had time to spend with Shouto.

Natsuo also said he would be over in an hour, so Fuyumi decided to spend the one hour's worth of time training with Shouto. They were outside, in the inner garden, where both of them could create as much ice as they wanted without breaking the roof. Which was great, because their goal today was to go as tall as possible.

Shouto demonstrated how he forced his ice to manifest fully at a distance, letting it expand outwards from a small point on his body. It was a technique Fuyumi desperately emulated, since less contact with her body meant fewer body parts would be at risk of freezing.

After some practice, Fuyumi was surprised to discover that in terms of sheer volume, she seemed to make a lot more ice than Shouto. “Are you holding back the amount?” She asked him.

He shrugged. “A little.”

He melted both of their spires, and they did it again. And again. Shouto tried to get her to do some more delicate work, aiming to have ice expand some distance from her, but his explanations weren’t exactly clear.

“You have to… aim.”

“Aim how?” Fuyumi asked.

“Like… make a specific area your goal.”

Completely unhelpful, but Fuyumi tried again anyway. After some disastrous attempts, she shivered. “Can we take a warming break?”

He nodded and they sat down, Fuyumi taking a seat on Shouto’s left. He wrapped an arm around her, and activated the heat. Fuyumi was not only physically warm, but emotionally too. She spent so long trying not to get too close to Shouto, she probably hadn’t touched him in years until they started training together. Now they had an excuse to basically cuddle, even if they weren’t too emotionally close yet. It reminded her of post-training sessions with Touya, curled up together and regulating each other’s heat after a grueling day of Dad’s training.

The door sounded behind them, opening. Was Natsuo already here? That’s rather early, Fuyumi turned…

Dad.

Shouto and her jumped apart when they realized who had entered the garden. Fuyumi almost flinched at how cold she suddenly felt. Dad stood above them, glaring downwards. His face was twisted into disapproval. Fuyumi wasn’t sure whether it was residual from the night before, or related to Fuyumi getting too close to Shouto and potentially ‘distracting’ him from becoming a hero. Probably both.

“Fuyumi. We need to talk.”

He grabbed Fuyumi’s arm and pulled her up. Shouto watched them, eyes growing slightly wider in an expression Fuyumi had only recently learned to be concern on his face.

Dad looked over Fuyumi’s ice spire that they hadn’t melted yet. “Shouto, keep training. That looks sloppy.”

Shouto glared at Dad, fists clenched. He didn’t say anything. Fuyumi didn’t either, just followed as Dad pulled her along deeper into the house, into the training room. He finally let go of her once they were inside. She waited for him to speak, forcing the bubbling indignation beneath her skin down. Getting angry was not helpful when facing Dad, Natsuo proved that well enough.

“I don’t want you spending time with Shouto alone.”

“…Okay.”

“Especially considering your… recent proclivities.”

Fuyumi grimaced. “It’s not ‘recent’, Dad, it’s just how I am.”

“Regardless, I don’t want Shouto to be influenced by that sort of thing.”

“You think I’ll turn Shouto gay?” She guffawed.

He glared at her, and she immediately shut up. “If he’s going to have heirs of his own, he can’t be led down the wrong path.”

She stared at the ground, not capable of responding without shouting.

“You will not talk to him about such things. And you will not bring Miruko or any other woman into this house. Understand?”

She wanted to tear his throat out. She wanted to toss him to the ground and destroy him, like she did to criminals and to opponents at the Forge. She wanted to make him hurt the way he made her hurt.

But he was the #2 pro-hero. Fuyumi was well aware of the strength difference between them. Such attempts would be useless, or even actively detrimental if they ruined her ability to negotiate with him in the future.

So she swallowed down her pride. Helpful thoughts, Fuyumi. She could be obedient, she had been beyond trained to be obedient. Let him think he’s won. Shouto and her had been careless today, but they could keep training. They just had to be stealthy, and keep an eye out next time. Fuyumi wasn’t actually dating Miruko (she didn’t even have Miruko’s number), or any woman, so it’s not like she wanted to bring someone home.

“I said: Do you understand?” Dad repeated.

Fuyumi took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Dad left, heading towards the inner garden where they had left Shouto. Fuyumi turned to the punching bag Dad loved to use and swung her fist at it. She swung several times, probably destroying her fists by not using a proper punching glove. No matter how hard she punched, she couldn’t make it swing as far as Dad did when he was mad.

Frustrated, she cracked her knuckles as she stomped to her room. She could hear Dad shouting something to Shouto about not ‘holding back’ his powers, and she hoped he wasn’t being too harsh on him just because he was mad at Fuyumi.

In her room, she fell face down into her bed and screamed into her pillow. She felt useless, powerless, completely weak.

She needed to go out. It was the middle of the day, on a Saturday, she could get caught, but she couldn’t care less. Her body ached to hurt something, someone, anyone, just so long as she could make the world feel her hurt-

There was a gentle knock on her door.

Her fight deflated, guilt overtaking her. Natsuo couldn’t see her like that. “Come in,” She called out.

The door opened. “’Yumi?”

His face was pinched, glancing to the side as the sound of Endeavor shouting carried. Fuyumi took a deep breath. “We’re alright.”

“…That doesn’t sound alright…”

“I pissed Dad off. Multiple times.”

Natsuo’s eyes widened. “You sure you’re my sister? I thought you never pissed him off.”

At least Fuyumi could laugh at that. “I’m creative. I’ve found ways.”

He sat down on the bed, next to her. “What happened?”

“Dad found out that I…” Fuyumi faltered. She hadn’t talked to Natsuo about her sexuality before, and she wasn’t sure if it would be helpful to mention it now. He’d probably get angry about Dad’s reaction, shouting about it so Shouto would hear. Shouto wasn’t supposed to know. “…I’ve been getting closer to Shouto.”

Natsuo frowned. “I hate him.”

Fuyumi did too. “You shouldn’t say that about our Dad.”

“I’ll say what I want when he’s being such a colossal douchebag. Shouto’s still just a kid.”

“I don’t want to think about him,” Fuyumi switched the topic before Natsuo could build his anger, “How’s school?”

From there, they had a conversation, trying not to listen to the noise outside, but both relaxing once the racket stopped.

---

Giran welcomed her inside with a smile that night. “So you got in trouble, eh? What, a pro-hero catch you?”

“You could say that,” Fuyumi assented, tossing the bag in, “Nothing’s compromised though.”

“Good to hear. Stay safe out there, or as safe as a gal like you can be anyway.”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes beneath her goggles, but she appreciated the sentiment. “Sure, Giran. You too, don’t get mixed up in too much trouble.”

He chuckled. “It’s a little too late for me to avoid trouble.”

Fuyumi started to leave, ready to destroy people at the Forge, when Giran spoke up again.

“Say, you’re pretty loose with the law, right? How far are you willing to go?”

“How far?” Fuyumi frowned. “Why are you asking?”

“I’ve got a big job coming up. Well, big in that it requires a lot of people, individual roles ought to be pretty small. I don’t know if it’s your scene, but…”

“I’m trying to keep a no-kill policy,” Fuyumi told him, “And I’m not going to directly hurt civilians.”

He stared at her. “Never mind. Forget what I said, you’re a bit too straight-laced for this one.”

Fuyumi left with a feeling of unease. She enjoyed Giran’s company, but enjoying his company sometimes made her forget exactly how criminal he was. She was trying to keep her own morals, but she wasn’t exactly policing the morals of her companions. She was happy to beat up strangers who violated the law, but when it came to people who she knew and liked she was more apt to excuse them.

She could claim it was practical, that Giran provided information that made it worth letting him go, but she knew there was more than that. Friends were hard to find, and she was willing to let a lot slide to keep them. Dabi, someone she knew was a criminal and murderer, was evidence enough of that. Darkly, she wondered exactly how much she would be willing to let slide.

Before that train of thought depressed her too much, she got to the Forge. With some relief, she shed those worries to focus on the fights, exerting herself until she was too exhausted to have moral dilemmas.

Notes:

I'm changing the post schedule to every 3 days. I still have a buffer, but I'm approaching it and want to make sure that I don't end up butting up against it too soon.

Next Chapter: Fuyumi finds out what she's not willing to excuse

Chapter 15: Two Villains, Two Heroes, And A Vigilante Walk Into A Bar...

Summary:

Fuyumi called Giran in the early evening. Her anger was at its breaking point. "What do you know about the League of Villains?"

Fuyumi hadn’t even realized something had happened until after school. She kept her phone off while working, and it wasn’t until she was heading home that she took a peek. She opened her phone and was met with a perplexing text from Shouto:

The police said we should text our families to tell them we’re safe. I’m safe.

That was very sweet that Shouto would text her but also? What was going on? She texted back asking what happened before continuing on her way home, anxious with every step. He was safe, at least, apparently, but safe from what? Was there an accident on the way to school?

When she walked in the door and saw Shouto safely on the couch, watching television, she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She stepped over to him, listening closely to hear if Dad was in the house.

"He’s not home,” Shouto told her.

She nodded, and approached more boldly, taking a seat next to him as the news played. “What happened? What was that text about?”

Shouto gestured to the television. She focused on it, and her heart almost stopped. Villain Attack During UA Class 1-A Trip to USJ. She watched the new coverage with growing horror, hearing that communications had been blocked and children had been trapped with a huge number of villains. “Oh my god.”

Shouto didn’t react.

She hugged him. “I’m glad you’re safe. How are you feeling?”

He shrugged out of her hug. “I’m fine. Most the villains weren’t even strong.”

She continued watching, dread slowly transforming to anger. How dare these people attack such a vulnerable population? For what? Fame? She couldn’t help but imagine a dozen other scenarios where Shouto ended up not coming home.

The news eventually mentioned the group responsible, The League of Villains…

Time for Fuyumi to investigate.

---

Fuyumi called Giran in the early evening. Her anger was at its breaking point. "What do you know about the League of Villains?"

"Whoa, whoa, what do you want to know about those guys for?"

Fuyumi latched onto any info. "So you do know them."

"I confess to nothing. You sound a wee bit more murderous than you usually do."

"They attacked-" Shouto, "-a bunch of kids on a field trip. It's cruel."

"Aw you heard about their USJ attack?"

"I'm making the League of Villains my nemesis."

"Don't you already have those Fukuron folks? And that bunny hero?"

"My capacity for nemeses is infinite, especially when it comes to people who hurt children."

"Careful, your teacher is showing."

"Look, I just want info, Giran. Who are they, and where can I find them?"

Giran was quiet for a moment. "I can't give you that info."

"I'll give you literally anything. You want me to take someone out? I could go for some murder right now. Want me to get a pair of Endeavor's boxers? I bet there's some gross perverts who would pay good money for that. I'll literally give you my blood, if that's what you want, just tell me and I'll give it to you."

He tsked. "If you're serious about those boxers, I actually do have a connection that would like 'em, but let's save that for another job. Sorry, but there ain't nothing that could persuade me to tell you about the League of Villains."

"You can't be serious! After everything I've done for you?"

"Well here's some free info for your kind patronage: They're being backed by a huge figure in the underworld. Nobody wants to mess with him, so I ain't about to lead vigilantes into their hideout and end up dead. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave them alone, too."

"They attacked defenseless children Giran!"

"Heroes-in-training. Hardly defenseless. And I hear the attack was a bust, nobody killed."

"Well I'm not about to wait for them to succeed in killing them!"

"I'm sorry Leia but I can't share. Now I gotta go, no hard feelings?"

Fuyumi hung up on him, holding back a scream.

---

This was fine. Everything was fine. Fuyumi was fine, and Shouto was alive and well.

Fuyumi wished she had a fire quirk. She wanted to set things on fire. She wanted to locate this League of Villains and burn all of them to the ground. Since that was not currently an option with her current information, and she didn’t even know how to begin collecting info, she settled for working her feelings out at the Forge.

After flinging a few people against the walls of the fighting pit, she didn’t really feel better. She practically growled at everyone she passed. Even Dabi.

He sighed. “You know, Giran called me last night.”

“Giran’s dead to me,” Fuyumi informed him.

“Sure he is. He told me to, and I quote: ‘Calm your little sister down before she gets herself into deep shit’.”

Fuyumi crossed her arms. “He doesn’t know how deep I’m willing to go.”

Dabi gave a low whistle. “Okay, I’m gonna need you to take about ten steps away from angst-central right now.”

“I’m not angsty! I’m angry!”

“Look, I know you think beating people up curbs your anger, but right now all it’s seeming to do is make you angrier. Why don’t we try something different?”

“Like scour the underground for information on the League? Because Giran’s a little bitch who refuses to tell me anything about them?”

“You know how I know you’re fucked up? You start swearing.”

Fuyumi huffed. “I wouldn’t be ‘fucked up; if Giran would let me beat up the people I want to beat up.”

“You need a change of pace.” His eyes searched the crowd, and he called out, “Hey, Magne!”

Magne approached and looked between the two of them with her hands on her hips. “What’s up?”

Dabi responded, “Do you know any good gay bars around here?”

Magne stared at Dabi. “…How come?”

Fuyumi was also staring at Dabi. “Yeah, how come?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Dabi pointed to Fuyumi. “We’re going to get Leia here smashed, and maybe she can find a nice non-hero lady to have the hots for-”

“We agreed not to talk about that!” Fuyumi exclaimed.

Dabi put a hand on your shoulder. “We’re going to get you so drunk you won’t even remember what you’re angry about.”

“Drinking is bad for your liver,” Fuyumi countered.

Magne snorted. “You know what? I want to see where this goes. If you wanna bounce right now, I can take you to a good place.”

Fuyumi groaned. “I’m not going to drink my troubles away.’

“I try to do a nice thing for another human being, for once in my life, and you would discourage me?” Dabi implored.

“Last time you tried to be nice to me you almost killed Miruko.”

Dabi waved his hand. “I already apologized for that once, won’t do it again. It just means I need a second chance to do a nice thing for you. Like, for example, taking you out on the town to forget your troubles."

Fuyumi opened her mouth to object, but Magne jumped in, “Hell yeah, we’re going to drink till dawn!”

She was ready to argue with Dabi all night, but she didn’t know Magne as well. She wouldn’t want to be rude and disappoint her… “Fine.”

Dabi smirked at her surrender. “Magne, lead the way.”

---

“The Spritz” seemed nice enough. Fuyumi dimly recalled passing by it before when delivering some bag for Giran, though she had only noticed it due to the little fluorescent rainbow in the window. As far as bars went, it was definitely on the sketchier side, with cracked wooden tables and questionable hygiene in some corners. The bonus of that was that villains and other sketchy folks blended together, so no one looked twice at Fuyumi for wearing a ski mask and goggles. Magne greeted a few folks as she snagged them a table, something close to the door but not too far from the bar. After getting set up with drinks, they settled into their seats and chatted as they drank.

Magne swore Fuyumi had to try a ‘first-night-out-together’ tequila shot, whatever that was. Fuyumi chugged it down, and immediately coughed at the burn.

Dabi snorted at her reaction. “Damn, never done a shot before?”

Wordlessly, Fuyumi nodded.

Magne gasped. “Wait, never?”

Her throat recovered in time to respond, “I don’t go out much, at least, not like this.”

“We’re going to introduce you to a lot tonight.”

As Fuyumi sipped on a fruity mixed drink (which tasted leagues (fuck leagues though) better than the shot), the three of them made conversation. It was a bit strange to interact with Magne outside of the ring. Most of Fuyumi’s thoughts on her were about her quick thinking and adaptive fighting style. Magne won as much as she lost against Fuyumi, which frustrated Fuyumi, but also garnered respect. So it was strange to realize that her competitor had a whole side to her completely unrelated to fighting. She told some fun stories about other people at the bar, whispering entertaining anecdotes about the interpersonal drama going on. Fuyumi found herself giggling much more than she normally would have at the stories. She stared at the drink, nearly emptied. Maybe Dabi was right about drinking away her troubles.

At some point, Magne asked about how Dabi and her met. Fuyumi smirked as she told her, “I rescued him.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “You stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, as usual.”

They were close to finishing the full story when a familiar set of figures entered the bar. When Fuyumi froze mid-sentence, Magne and Dabi turned to see what had caught her attention.

Rumi was dressed casually, though her black romper and stilettos still made Fuyumi drool. Behind her waltzed Hawks, who wore a tight v-neck shirt. Rumi made eye contact with Fuyumi, and her eyes narrowed.

Dabi stood up, immediately putting himself between the two groups, glaring at the heroes.

Hawks stepped forward, hands up, easy smile in place, “Hey, hey now, we’re off the clock, no need to stress. We’re just here to relax, same as you, I’m sure.”

Magne seemed to gather what was going on and turned. “Dabi, chill, they’re regulars.”

Dabi scoffed. “In a bar like this?”

Hawks still had his smile on. “We have an understanding going on with the establishment.”

Rumi leaned forward. “That’s code for: Hawks fucked the owner and is trying to get through all the bartenders as well.”

Everyone laughed at that, and a bit of the tension seemed to dissipate. “Seriously, though,” Hawks took another step closer. “We’re here to play, not work. Mind if we join you guys?”

Dabi seemed taken aback by the request, but he didn’t immediately reject it, as Fuyumi would have expected. He first looked back at Fuyumi. She wasn’t sure if he was asking permission, so she just shrugged. He then looked at Rumi, who was looking at Hawks with suspicious eyes. Dabi then looked back at Fuyumi. He leaned back. “You know what? Sure, knock yourself out.”

With a grin, Hawks scooted into a chair, and Rumi followed, taking a seat next to Fuyumi. “Truce for tonight,” She told Fuyumi.

Fuyumi nodded. Hawks looked around the table. “I don’t believe I’ve been properly introduced to everyone. I’m Hawks.”

Fuyumi gestured over to Magne. “That’s Magne, I know her from, uh…” Hmm. Mentioning illegal fighting rings seemed like a no go here. “…activities.”

“Well that sounds completely not sketchy!” Hawks exclaimed, “And I’ve met this young man, but I still don’t know his name, Mr…?”

“Dabi,” Fuyumi told him.

Magne leaned forward. “I’ve seen you two around this bar before, it’s nice to finally chat.”

“Absolutely!” Rumi agreed, “Feel free to call me Usagiyama.”

After a fresh round of drinks, people started to loosen up.

Hawks pointed between Dabi and Fuyumi. “So what exactly are you two? Like… dating? Fucking?”

Fuyumi gagged. Dabi made a disgusted face before responding. “Uh, no, we’re at a fucking gay bar, genius, you figure it out.”

Hawks shrugged. “Could be a polyamorous bisexual couple, I don’t judge.”

“She’s my sister,” Dabi declared with the finality of a judge sharing a final verdict.

Fuyumi blinked at that. Was that going to be their cover from now on? She didn’t… mind exactly. It just made her maybe a bit too happy to hear that Dabi also felt they were kind of like family.

Magne looked between them with an amused expression. “I guess it’s hard to see the family resemblance when one of you is fully covered and the other’s made of mostly scar tissue.”

From there, more drinks filled the table until Fuyumi was floating, relaxed. Dabi, Hawks, and Magne got deeply invested in a conversation about some movie Fuyumi had never seen, so she focused on Rumi. She was watching the conversation, stirring her straw as she stared blankly. So perhaps she wasn’t interested either.

“Rumi?” Fuyumi asked, trying to catch her attention.

Rumi’s eyes snapped to Fuyumi. “I ne’er told you my given name.”

Whoops. Fuyumi bit her lip, her brain was a little groggy, and she was struggling to think of a cover. Probably too much time passed before Fuyumi replied, but maybe Rumi was drunk enough to not notice, “I can look things up on the internet. I wanted to know a bit about the hero who stalks me all the time.”

“Hey, I ain’t searching you up on the internet.”

“Only because there’s nothing there.”

“Wanna share your real name then?”

Fuyumi giggled. “I’m not drunk enough for that.”

Rumi pushed Fuyumi’s glass closer to her. “Maybe you should change that.”

Fuyumi took a large swig with that encouragement. Not that she intended to reveal her identity, but it was fun. Being drunk. Being with Rumi. She’d been to a bar once or twice with colleagues from work, but the energy was never like this. Messy, friendly, almost dangerous. She was literally drinking with someone who wanted to haul her off to jail; she ought to be tense and on guard. But instead she felt like giving Rumi whatever she wanted, so if Rumi wanted her to drink more she’d do so.

Anyway, Rumi wasn’t all bad. “You haven’t gotten sick since that time I was with you, have you?” Fuyumi asked her.

Rumi froze and glanced Hawks’ way. Hawks was still engaged in conversation, apparently debating some finer point of the film with Magne. Rumi leaned in close to Fuyumi, voice low to avoid being overheard. “Don’t snitch on me here, I didn’t tell H-A-W-K-S about it,” She told her, spelling out Hawks name.

Fuyumi frowned. “I thought you were friends?”

“Sure,” Rumi was very close, if Fuyumi weren’t wearing a mask, she might have felt Rumi’s breath as she spoke, “But last time things got risky for me in the field he got insufferable trying to get me to join his agency. No thank you, I ain’t gonna invite that sort of fussing again.”

“Why not? Hawks’ agency is really good, from what I’ve heard.”

“It’s not about whether it’s ‘good’ or not, it’s the principle of the thing,” Rumi insisted, “Agencies are just a fancy way for folks to steal credit and rely on others.”

Fuyumi glanced towards Dabi. “It’s not always bad to rely on others.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Rumi scoffed, pulling back and crossing her arms. “I’ve only had bad experiences with relying on others.”

Fuyumi was overcome with curiosity. Since Rumi moved away, Fuyumi leaned closer, barely holding back from sitting in her lap. She spoke with sparkling eyes, eager for any information, “Oh? Like what?”

Rumi’s eyebrows raised at their proximity, and her eyes darted down Fuyumi’s face and body. Fuyumi wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but eventually Rumi turned her head away. “I dunno, just shitty shit.”

Fuyumi felt bold. She wasn’t Endeavor’s meek daughter tonight, she was a vigilante practically on top of her hero nemesis. She grabbed Rumi’s chin and forced her to look at Fuyumi. “Come on, I’m curious and listening.”

“F-fine!” Rumi slapped Fuyumi’s hand away and shifted away in her seat, face red.

Fuyumi licked her lips seeing Rumi for once acting like a spooked bunny instead of a rabid animal.

“If you’re gonna be so insistent, here’s the short, short version: When I started out, I was in a shitty agency, where shitheads took credit for my work, and kept excusing it in the name of ‘teamwork’ or whatever. The whole agency got credit, even on missions that were one-hundred-percent me.”

Fuyumi leaned closer, delighting in how Rumi’s eyes darted everywhere, unsure where to look. “Not every agency is like that.”

“I’m not about to open myself up to be fucking- exploited, or whatever, again.”

Fuyumi did not have the greatest balance in this state, so she stabilized herself by putting a hand on Rumi’s armrest, boxing Rumi in. “So that’s it? You’re afraid of being vulnerable?”

“Are-” Rumi’s forehead crinkled. “…are you trying to seduce me?”

“Depends,” Fuyumi grinned, drunk enough to not be embarrassed, “Is it working?”

Rumi stood up abruptly, sending Fuyumi back into her own seat. She didn’t stay there long, however, as Rumi pulled her up by the arm. Rumi spoke to the other side of the table, “Leia’s too drunk, I’m walking her home!”

Magne raised an eyebrow. “…You know where she lives?”

Rumi kept a smile plastered on her face. “…Nope! Forget that! I’m too drunk, so Leia’s walking me home!”

Hawks laughed. “You’re going to let Leia know where you live?”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Leia already knows where she lives.”

Hawks’ brows furrowed. “What?” He turned to Rumi. “How does she-”

“Wow I’m so drunk!” Rumi declared, cutting him off and leaning dramatically on Fuyumi. “Leia, please, get me out of this stuffy bar!”

Dutiful as ever, Leia led Rumi out, ignoring a wink Dabi sent her way. She heard the start of Hawks interrogating Dabi about that last revelation, but the door of the bar closed before she could hear anything substantial. Rumi opened an app and called for a car. The whole time, the two of them were giggling as though getting away with some scandalous prank. Fuyumi had an arm around her to ‘support’ her, selling the story, but even though they were out of sight of the others, Rumi hadn’t pulled away, so Fuyumi kept her arm there.

It stayed around Rumi all the way up to her apartment. Rumi basically shoved Fuyumi in there, tossing her on the couch. Fuyumi opened her arms, inviting Rumi to pounce, and Rumi gladly took the opportunity.

Fuyumi squeaked at the sudden meeting of lips. Her hands scrambled for purchase as she toppled under Rumi’s weight, delectable thighs parting to trap Fuyumi. Not that Fuyumi wanted to escape. Quite the opposite, for once.

This was Fuyumi’s first kiss; she felt out of her depth but she held on with desperation, embracing the warmth and wetness of Rumi’s lips. She gasped when Rumi pulled back. Rumi’s voice was practically a purr as she spoke, “Relax, babe.”

Fuyumi melted under the pet name, and was basically a puddle on the floor when Rumi dove back in to continue the kiss. The longer they spent, the more comfortable Fuyumi became. She felt warm in a way very unlike what she was used to. It felt good.

Hands wandered, eliciting more warm sensations, before Rumi pulled back, red faced, hair messy. “Wanna take this to the bedroom?”

With a vigorous nod, Fuyumi got up and followed Rumi. Honestly, at that point, drunk on both alcohol and this novel sexual energy, Fuyumi would have followed Rumi straight to the police station.

In that bedroom, having one of the best nights of her life, Fuyumi completely forgot why she had been angry earlier that night.

Notes:

Hawks, telepathically: "Please Dabi, Rumi is so thirsty she chases this vigilante all the time instead of getting laid please let us sit with you so we can resolve this."
Dabi: "Yes, but only because Leia (who I will call 'my sister' only to prevent you suggesting gross stuff about us and not because I might actually care about her as though we're family) is thirsty too."
Magne: "IDK what's going on but I want to see it go down."

Chapter 16: I Deserve To Run Away From My Problems

Summary:

She pulled out her phone, filling the room with the harsh glow of her screen. On it, “Dad” was calling.

Uh-oh.

Fuyumi hadn’t come home last night.

Notes:

Just to clarify, the ski mask Fuyumi wears does have a mouth hole. It's awk to kiss, but possible.

Fuyumi woke up with a headache. Her body felt stiff, her arms were positioned strangely, surrounding something weirdly warm-

The events of the evening caught up to her brain. Someone who was warm. Specifically, the pro-hero who chased her almost every other time she’d seen her, also specifically the woman who had taken her home last night and-

She flushed at the memories of last night. They were good memories, fantastic memories, but in the morning her embarrassment was catching up to her sober-self. Reflexively, a hand went up to cover her heated face-

She wasn’t wearing her mask.

That fully woke her up. She paused all of her actions, but apparently her earlier shifting woke up her companion. Rumi started turning to face Fuyumi, (oh my goodness Fuyumi had been spooning Miruko) but Fuyumi urgently pressed her hands against Rumi’s eyes. “Don’t look!”

Rumi grumbled. “I can’t see shit, you pulled the shades down last night and made us fuck in the dark, now I can’t even turn in my own bed?”

Fuyumi looked around, it was pretty dark in the room, enough that she couldn’t make out any of the wrestling posters she knew were on the wall. She was still nervous, though. “D-don’t look at me anyway.”

Rumi groaned, but instead of turning away she buried herself in Fuyumi’s chest. Fuyumi realized that neither of them were wearing clothes. It made sense, considering the events of last night, but she felt a fresh flush of embarrassment, unsure what the protocol was in this sort of situation.

“Shh, it’s so early, let’s sleep a little longer,” Rumi mumbled against her, “Truce still stands until you leave.”

“Should I just never leave, then?” Fuyumi countered with a half-smile.

“I don’t want to live in the dark forever.”

Fuyumi looked around in vain, unable to locate anything. “Where is my mask, then?”

“Somewhere on the floor.”

Ignoring Rumi’s protests, Fuyumi slipped out of bed and ran her hand along the ground, searching for familiar fabric. She eventually found the mask, and slipped it on. As she searched for her other articles of clothing, she discovered her jacket was… buzzing?

She pulled out her phone, filling the room with the harsh glow of her screen. On it, “Dad” was calling.

Uh-oh.

Fuyumi hadn’t come home last night.

It stopped vibrating, having run out of time. A glance at notifications showed that there had been multiple calls. As Fuyumi rushed to adorn herself in clothing, it started vibrating again.

“Who the hell is calling you at this time in the morning?” Rumi asked, yawn soon following.

“It’s already nine,” Fuyumi returned, “And it’s family.”

“Is it that import-”

Fuyumi was already leaving the room, hitting the ‘answer call’ button as she sprinted out of the apartment. She didn’t want Rumi to hear this.

The vibrating stopped, and there was silence on the other end. Fuyumi wasn’t sure what to say. “Hi, Dad?”

“…Fuyumi? How are you answering this?”

“Um, with my phone? You called me, so I’m-”

“I have your phone in my hand right now.”

Fuyumi’s blood ran cold.

Dad’s voice was rapid-fire, frustration becoming more evident with every sentence. “Natsuo said you didn’t come home at all last night, so I agreed to check where you were. And your phone was in this strange cafe, but not you, and these owners have been frustratingly uncooperative in explaining why they have your phone instead of you, but a few threats got them to say some sort of weird tech stuff with ‘rerouting calls’ and told me to keep calling you, and at first I thought they were just stalling me, but it turns out you can answer me.”

Fuyumi gulped. How was she supposed to explain this? “Uh…”

“So you spent the entire night out? Without telling anyone? And arranging some sort of- Some sort of weird technological alibi with your phone? Why? Where have you been?”

Fuyumi’s mind raced. But she still had a headache, she was walking aimlessly through the streets, heart pumping, completely off balance. She still felt stiff, body aching to return to Rumi’s warm bed and forget everything about her family and her father. Could she even bear to go home?

“Were you with Miruko?”

“No!” Oh no he couldn’t think that. If he thought that, he might call Rumi, and then Rumi might start making connections. There were too many risks. Going home was too risky too, there were too many questions she couldn’t answer.

Dad started shouting, “Then where the hell have you been? Where are you right now?”

She couldn’t take this. “I’m running away!”

It was an impulse thought, but as soon as she voiced it, her brain started running through possible arrangements. She had her teacher’s salary that went into her own account. She could probably take some cash out of Dad’s credit card at an ATM before he cut her off.

Dad scoffed. “…What?”

“Uh… yeah, running away,” Fuyumi repeated, partially for herself.

“What? You can’t just run away.”

Dabi would take her in. Probably. Otherwise, she could get a hotel for tonight and find an apartment as soon as possible. She didn’t have civilian clothes, but she could swing by a thrift store or something. “Sorry. I’m running away.”

“You- You’re a child, I’ve given you plenty, you have no reason-”

Something in Fuyumi snapped. “Why don’t you reflect on your behavior, Dad, and then call me back?”

“Me?” He had the audacity to ask.

“Call me when you’re letting Shouto be his own person, not being angry all the time, and…” Well, she had just slept with a girl last night. “And ready to accept your lesbian daughter instead of shutting her up like you’ve always done.”

“What? You can’t-”

Fuyumi hung up on him. Her phone started vibrating again immediately, but she put it on silent.

She took a deep breath. She had never talked back to Dad like that before. The idea that she would never return home must have emboldened her; he had no power over her anymore.

Except he was the #2 pro-hero. And he knew where she worked. She wasn’t going to stop going to work. Her panic rose, but she forced herself to calm down. He wouldn’t try to make a scene in public, where his reputation could be tarnished.

How long could Fuyumi keep this up? She started to panic again. No way she could run away from home. That was insane. She should call Dad back, apologize, explain why she-

Well. She didn’t exactly have an explanation. And she didn’t have anything to apologize for.

First things first, secure somewhere to live. Dad was still calling, so she blocked his number. That quieted her phone long enough that she was able to find Dabi’s contact and call him.

She had to call him three times before he finally picked up. “The fuck do you want at the crack of dawn?”

“It’s past nine,” Fuyumi informed him, “Also, I’m running away from home. Can I crash at your place tonight?”

Dabi was quiet for a long while. “…It’s too early for this shit.”

“Pretty please?”

“Fuck, dude…” There was the sound of bed springs, and… another voice in the background, asking something? “…You’re actually running away?”

“Is someone with you?”

“No, the television is on,” He answered fast, “You getting abused or some shit?”

Fuyumi flashed to Natsuo’s words. It's physical and emotional abuse, almost textbook examples. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Wha- The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know! I don’t- He’s my Dad, I love him, and he can be great and fun, but also occasionally he uh…” Fuyumi bit her lip, “I don’t know how to describe it without sounding probably worse than it is.”

“Well fucking try.”

“I don’t know, he can be a little… harsh. He doesn’t do too much to me, anymore, but uh, I guess I have scars?” They weren’t even that big, just little things back when he used to train her and Touya. “But that was a long time ago, recently he’s actually been a lot better, although I guess he still treats-” my little brother “-other people the same way? Geez that kind of sounds like he hasn’t really changed, doesn’t it?”

“Leia…”

“He doesn’t hurt me anymore! Even when he’s angry! But I guess I just got kind of spooked, because I didn’t go home last night, and he called this morning sounding pretty angry, and I don’t really have a good explanation, and if I can’t explain to him I feel like he’s going to get more angry, and I don’t really want to find out how much he’s still willing to do to me?”

“Look, you-”

“Not that I think he’d hurt me again! Probably. Maybe. But like, he could ground me forever, and then I’d be on lockdown and wouldn’t be able to sneak out and fight crime or go to the Forge, and probably become an old spinster, since apparently he’s not a big fan of me being gay-”

“Leia!”

She stopped her rambling.

“Shit, geez, I’ve heard enough. Look, I… I’m not a charity home, but don’t go back to that prick. I’ll send you my address. Just give me, like, an hour or two to… clean up.”

Her heart swelled. “Thank you, Dabi.”

“Fuck, don’t thank me, it’s just basic fucking decency. Nobody deserves to be stuck with that shit.”

“Thanks anyway.”

“I don’t have a guest room, you’ll have to sleep on a couch.”

“That’s fine. I’ll take anything at this point. I’ll see you in a few hours, I need to buy some stuff anyway.”

“I don’t have a ton of space.”

“Yeah, I’ll pack light.”

“…Okay.”

“Thank you.”

Dabi hung up.

Fuyumi still clutched the phone like a lifeline. She received a text from him, and she stared at the address, memorizing it. Despite them becoming friends (or ‘siblings’, according to the cover Dabi gave Hawks last night), she’d never been to his place before. He was a private person. It made her treasure all the more the fact that he was willing to let her in there. It would probably be uncomfortable for him.

She changed into ‘civilian-mode’, inverting her jacket and taking off her ski mask, before going to an ATM and withdrawing a large sum of cash from Dad’s account. She was far away from Dabi’s place, so she wasn’t too worried about being traced. She used the cash at the stores she visited. She bought a large backpack first, where she could carry things. She went to a department store and got value packs of underwear and socks, as well as some basic toiletries.

As she browsed a clearance rack for dress or two she could wear to work tomorrow, her thoughts raced through regrets and fears. Wouldn’t this runaway business make Dad angrier? She should’ve gone straight home, and just been willing to take whatever punishment he doled out. Now if she ever went back, she’s certain she’d never see the light of day again. Not to mention, Shouto…

Fuyumi clutched the fabric of a dress, knuckles turning white. She had left Shouto alone there, to deal with Dad. Could she get in there and take Shouto away, too?

She let go of the clothing. No, firstly, Dabi apparently didn’t have enough space. She’d need an apartment first. Not to mention that even if Dad might be busy enough to not bother chasing after his useless daughter, he would definitely take the time to track his protege. There’s no way both of them could fully escape Dad’s reach.

Natsuo was at college, so he was probably safe enough. He was coming home every weekend, so he could keep an eye on Shouto, and Shouto was going to school on weekdays (though the attack he was a victim of during a school field trip made Fuyumi wonder about UA’s security…).

Was she running from her problems? Maybe. Did she deserve to? She decided yes. She wanted to, for once in her life, choose the option where she doesn’t have to deal with Dad’s anger. From now on, all her pain would be from her own choices and battles, not from somebody else’s overactive temper.

Her shoulders felt lighter. She wouldn’t have to tip-toe around the house anymore, afraid of triggering Dad’s ire. She wouldn’t have to choose between negotiating peace between the warring members of her family and burying her head under her pillow to drown out the shouting. She wouldn’t be trapped in a house, obedient, meek, for the rest of her life.

She was practically skipping on her way to Dabi’s apartment, barely remembering to stop and put on her Leia disguise. Her mood was only dampened by the dilapidated state of neighborhood he lived in. It was one of the places Fuyumi used to patrol through before she learned that most criminals were interested in areas that had any people or items of value. Here, the few people she passed were bundled up in mismatched fabrics, some coughing, sick. When she passed by a woman with a grotesquely disfigured face, she was reminded of Dabi’s burned skin.

The third floor of a rickety brick building hosted Dabi’s apartment. It had been two hours since she contacted him, so she knocked. The door creaked open, a single familiar blue eye peeking out from a crack, before fully opening to reveal Dabi.

He looked her up and down. “…You’re here.”

She nodded. “Can I come in?”

He stepped back, and she followed as he pointed out the different rooms. “Couch there is your bed, I guess. Kitchen right there, bathroom through there, and that’s my room,” He glared at her, “Don’t go in there.”

“I’m not that rude,” Fuyumi defended herself.

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going out, make yourself at home, I guess.”

He left, and Fuyumi took the opportunity to further examine the apartment (ignoring his room, of course). The kitchen was in a… not ideal state, counter sticky with who-knows-what, fridge practically empty aside from a take-out container or two, and freezer containing a few bags of chicken-nuggets.

Well, Dabi didn’t say she couldn’t revamp the kitchen.

She dug through the cabinets, finding a few cans, a bag of rice, and some basic cooking supplies. She made notes about what he didn’t have, and what Fuyumi would have vastly preferred. Her resultant list was long, but she was excited to face a familiar, easy to solve problem: Housework and cooking.

---

Dabi was, to understate it, surprised when he got home.

“Those counters… were not that color when I got the apartment.”

“You’d be surprised what a little elbow grease, chemicals, and paper towels can do.”

He stared at the table. “…I didn’t have noodles? Or peanuts? What-”

“I figured since you’re letting me live here, I might as well pay you back with food that has a bit more nutrition than frozen chicken nuggets.”

He glared. “Maybe I should charge you rent instead.”

“Counter-offer: Have some peanut noodles?”

He rolled his eyes but sat down and indulged. “…I suppose this can be rent for the week.”

Fuyumi puffed out her chest, proud. “The whole week? I can cook every day! Impossible to starve with me around!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ll get exhausted pretty quick, between your job, our night-time activities, and cooking.”

“Psh, I’ve been doing the cooking every day this whole time at home. I’m pretty used to it.”

His eyes widened. “…Well, don’t exhaust yourself and collapse on me.”

Fuyumi took a seat as he took another bite. As she served herself, he froze. She stared at him. “Everything okay? It doesn’t taste weird, does it?”

“There’s…” Several conflicted emotions crossed his face. “There’s slices of hard-boiled eggs in here.”

Fuyumi realized some people might find that unusual, but it’s the way Mom used to make peanut noodles, so she kept the habit. “Sorry, is that bad? I like it that way, but I guess it’s an uncommon addition.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s… it’s fine, it just surprised me.”

They finished their meal quietly.

Chapter 17: A Hot Shower Is A Lot to Ask For, Apparently

Summary:

Dabi, who was sitting on the couch to watch television, glanced up at her. “…Not gonna lie, it’s a bit of a mind-fuck to see you in anything other than your fighting outfit.”

The shirt was a sunny yellow and pants an agreeable gray. Pretty different from her black athletic-wear. “I’m keeping the mask, at least.”

Living with Dabi was an adjustment.

That first night, she waited fifteen minutes for the shower to heat up before accepting that it wasn’t heating at all. She put her mask back on and wrapped herself up in a towel before opening the door of the bathroom to complain, “Dabi! How long does it take for this water to heat up?”

Dabi shouted back, “I don’t have hot water.”

Fuyumi balked. “What do you mean, you don’t have hot water?”

“I don’t need it. It’d be a waste of money.”

“How do you shower?”

“I just shower in the normal water.”

She put a single hand into the stream, and even though Fuyumi knew she was sensitive to cold, she suspected the iciness of the water would be uncomfortable for anyone. “You’re okay with freezing to death?”

“Like you’ve said, I’m naturally warm. The cold water feels nice.”

She groaned and closed the door. She also turned off the shower. If she tried to wash up in that, she might actually get hypothermia. Instead she changed into her ‘pajamas’ (a comfy long-sleeve shirt and sweatpants she got at a thrift shop), kept her mask on, and went out to the living room.

Dabi, who was sitting on the couch to watch television, glanced up at her. “…Not gonna lie, it’s a bit of a mind-fuck to see you in anything other than your fighting outfit.”

The shirt was a sunny yellow and pants an agreeable gray. Pretty different from her black athletic-wear. “I’m keeping the mask, at least.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Damn, I’m helping you run away from home and I don’t even get to see your face?”

Fuyumi hadn’t forgotten Dabi’s opinion on Endeavor. She doubted he would bother to memorize the faces of Endeavor’s kids, but if he happened to see some family resemblance… she’d rather not find out his reaction. “Let me have at least a bit of privacy.”

“Does Miruko know your identity?”

The sudden subject change almost gave Fuyumi whiplash. “No? Why would she?”

He tapped his collar-bone and gave Fuyumi a significant look. “You got some hickeys right there.”

Fuyumi blushed at the reminder. Last night and this morning, warm in Rumi’s bed, felt horribly far away.

He snorted. “Did you fuck her with the mask on? Seems kinda-”

“We turned off the lights,” Fuyumi told him, “And pulled down the shades. Also, none of your business.”

He laughed into his hand. “You fucked your pro-hero nemesis.”

“’Nemesis’ is a strong word…” Fuyumi grumbled, although she had certainly used it before.

“I’m sure if you really tried, you could find a woman who wants to be with you without trying to haul you off to jail. Or is that some sort of kink of yours?”

Fuyumi buried her face in her hands. “Stop teasing. You’re the one who let me leave with her last night.”

“Are you kidding? I let her join the table specifically because you’re always waxing poetic about her thighs.”

“That was one time! One single comment, and you haven’t let it go since!”

He got up off the couch, still chuckling. “Your infatuation is pretty entertaining. When it was just you swooning over her, I thought it was kind of funny, but based on last night it seems to be mutual, which is even funnier. Is she still going to chase you after this?”

“Probably.”

Eventually Dabi got bored of teasing her and left the couch so she could sleep. That first night was a bit difficult, since Dabi’s spare blanket was significantly thinner than her blanket at home. She swore tomorrow she was going to buy a big quilt after work.

She also had to get a gym membership somewhere, both to exercise and to have a hot shower. She went to school feeling gross, so she wanted to shower as soon as possible. That would be the first thing she does after work, before the quilt.

However, that Monday, she was interrupted as soon as she left the school.

“’Yumi!” Natsuo’s voice carried across the playground.

He had been waiting right by the school entrance for her. Her eyes widened at his presence. “Natsu? Don’t you have class-”

He pulled her in for a hug, interrupting any further words she might have had. He squeezed her enough that she could barely pull in a breath. After giving him a minute to compose himself, she pried him off to look at him. His face was draped in concern, brows turned up as though afraid she would disappear if he let go of her. “You- You’re okay?”

“Of course,” Fuyumi told him, “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

He guffawed. “In class? After my sister just ran away from home? You could have been dead on the streets for all I knew!”

Fuyumi realized maybe she hadn’t exactly made an effort to reassure the rest of her family aside from Dad she was okay. “I guess I should have called you.”

“Doesn’t Dad have your phone? He came home yesterday holding it and swearing about how you decided to run away.”

She pulled out her burner phone. “That’s my phone with the tracking app on it. I have it set up to reroute all calls to this phone.”

“So I could have called you?” He asked with a disbelieving face.

“Honestly, yeah?”

He pouted. “You should have called me. I thought there was no way to contact you, that’s why I waited out here.”

Fuyumi sighed. “You should really go back to school…”

“This all happened because I left.” He averted his eyes. “I’m sorry I abandoned you and Shouto with that horrible, sorry excuse for a sperm donor-”

Fuyumi pinched his cheek. “It’s not your fault at all. This was just bound to happen at some point, the way I was going. Whether or not you stayed, I think things would still turn out like this.”

“Why did you leave?” He paused. “Well, it’s obvious why. But why now?”

Fuyumi crossed her arms. She couldn’t tell Natsuo the truth, at least not about sneaking out and beating people up at night. But she could at least explain that there was something new that had changed her relationship with Dad. She took a deep breath. “Do you promise not to tell Shouto?”

He leaned in. “…What? Why? Some sort of secret?”

“Y-yes, Dad recently found out that I…” Fuyumi gulped. She knew Natsuo loved her, but she wasn’t sure how he would react knowing Fuyumi had been hiding this for years. “I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned it before, but the truth is I’m gay.”

Natsuo’s eyes widened, but before Fuyumi could over-analyze his expression, he enveloped her in another hug. “I love you, ‘Yumi.”

She choked up. Just a bit. “Love you too, Natsu.”

“Fuck Dad. He doesn’t know anything. Shouto, Mom, and I are the only family you need. If you don’t want to tell them yet, that’s fine, I’ll respect that, but I’m going to tear Dad a new one for whatever he’s done in reaction to this.”

“Please don’t,” Fuyumi mumbled into this shoulder.

“If it was bad enough to make you run away… Am I supposed to just let that happen? To let him get away with abusing you, the only child of his who’s ever made an effort to forgive his bullshit and treat him better than he deserves?”

“He’ll just take out his anger towards me on you.”

Natsuo held her tighter rather than responding.

“I’m fine, Natsu. I’m safe, and you can call me whenever you want. I’ll even visit you at some point when I can make the time.”

“Where are you living now?”

“…I can’t tell you.”

Natsuo pulled back and glared at her. “Are you actually safe?”

“Yes, absolutely, I’m crashing with… with a friend.”

“Which friend? Can I meet them?”

Fuyumi avoided his eyes. “…No.”

“’Yumi-”

“Just trust me when I say I’m safe, okay? I have somewhere to live, you don’t need to worry.”

“Why don’t you let anybody worry about you?” He asked with pain in his eyes, “Am I that unreliable?”

That made her take a step back. “Come on, I’ve taken care of you and Shouto for this long, surely I can take care of myself for a little bit.”

His brows pinched together. “You don’t have to take care of yourself. I’m not a baby anymore, I’m an adult, I could- I have to be able to something for you.”

Fuyumi ruffled his hair, ignoring his disgruntled pout. “Something you can do for me is to go back to college, and get straight A’s. That would make me happy.”

He shifted in place, seeming conflicted, before settling with another hug. “Anything you need or want, just say the word and I’ll do whatever I can.”

She hugged him back. “Yeah, yeah.”

Notes:

Me every time I write Natsuo: Can we get Fuyumi some emotional support? Can we get Fuyumi some functional emotional support please?

Next chapter: Time to meet Rumi for the first time since Fuyumi sprinted out of her bedroom :)

Chapter 18: Blew Your Cover? Blow The Cover Of The Person Suspecting You To Distract Them

Summary:

Dabi raised an eyebrow when he came home and saw what was playing. “You really watching that drivel?”

“Everyone watches the UA Sports Festival.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Not me.”

Hypocritically, Dabi joined on the couch and watched the rest with her.

Fuyumi couldn’t really see Shouto in person (though she sent him some texts to tell him she could still be contacted over the phone), but she could watch him on the television.

Dabi raised an eyebrow when he came home and saw what was playing. “You really watching that drivel?”

“Everyone watches the UA Sports Festival.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Not me.”

Hypocritically, Dabi joined on the couch and watched the rest with her. They were starting a round with Shouto against the kid with tape-arms.

“Lot of class 1-A kids in the final round,” Fuyumi commented.

“You still not talking to Giran over that whole USJ thing?” Dabi asked.

Fuyumi bristled. She thought at Dabi, who was down to murder child traffickers, would at least understand why she disliked the League for attacking them. “Look at them, Dabi, they’re literally children.”

“Who chose heroics as a career path. Why are you getting so worked up about a couple teenagers experiencing what they signed up for?”

She pursed her lips. “Because Shouto is one of them, and I-”

Dabi’s head turned sharply, making Fuyumi stop. He stared at her. “…What kind of connection do you have to the Todoroki kid?”

“Uh…” Her heart thudded at the danger. Cover. She needed a cover. First, establish emotional distance. “…Someone asked me to look out for him.”

That made Dabi’s eyes narrow. “Who the hell? Certainly not his old man.”

Yeah, Dad wasn’t about to ask a vigilante to ‘watch over’ his son. Who could she claim? Who was close to Shouto? She was, but did she want Dabi paying attention to Fuyumi Todoroki? No, the better answer would be… “His, uh, brother. Asked me to”

“How the fuck do you know Natsuo?”

Fuyumi blinked. She hadn’t mentioned her brother’s name. “…How the fuck do you know Natsuo?”

Dabi’s suspicious expression was overtaken by dread, eyes widening as he backed up on the couch. “Uh…”

Endeavor was famous, but it’s not like any of his kids aside from Shouto were in the spotlight. He didn’t exactly invite the press to come in and interview his broken family every day. Fuyumi had pretty much never had trouble being recognized, though if someone knew her last name they sometimes made the connection to Enji Todoroki. She supposed if one dove into the web, one could maybe find mention of them, or pictures of them with Endeavor at rare PR events, but the effort one would need to expend for that…

Fuyumi gasped. “Oh.”

Dabi’s pupils were erratic, searching for an escape route as he started to get off the couch, as if to run, “I- I-…”

“You hate Endeavor so much you internet-stalked him?”

That made Dabi freeze. He stared at Fuyumi, almost disbelieving, before his face relaxed. “…Yes. That is exactly the case. I’m a total stalker. My hatred manifests as collecting information about his, uh, family. That is definitely why I know Natsuo.”

Fuyumi scoffed. “I can’t believe you! I knew you hated him, but isn’t stalking his family too far?”

Dabi coughed. “Uh, you’re right. I was just trying to research as much about him as possible. So I can uh… hate him more.”

She gulped. “Are you planning to use his family against him? Like hostages, or…”

“No!” Dabi rushed to assure her, “Absolutely not! I’m not trying to get innocent people involved with this.”

“Oh.”

They stared at each other in awkward silence. Fuyumi was relieved that she seemed to have diverted the conversation from her familiarity with the Todoroki’s. Hopefully her identity was still secure. Well, almost definitely secure. If Dabi suspected she was related to Endeavor, he would probably kick her out in an instant.

Or would he? She knew he hated him, but despite looking them up he didn’t seem to hate his family or anything. Surely Dabi would be able to separate his relationship with Fuyumi from his hatred for Endeavor?

Fuyumi didn’t want to find out. So she turned her head back to the screen, discovering one of the competitors at the mercy of a bunch of machines while a pink-haired girl raved about her inventions. Dabi seemed content to let the conversation go as well, leaving without a word to go to his room.

---

Fuyumi decided to take a break from patrol on the roof of an apartment building. Although it took some effort to climb up, she found the view from above to be satisfying and efficient. From up here, she could keep track of the streets and alleys, enough so that she’d been considering traveling by rooftop when possible. She had watched some videos on parkour, but she had hardly practiced. The gym she had gotten a membership for (both to exercise and shower with warm water) had a parkour section, maybe she should try that next-

A thump behind her made her spin and get into defensive position. Her brass knuckles were on, as usual, but she pulled out her staff as well.

All for naught, as it turned out the source of the sound was none other than a harmless bunny. “Rumi,” Fuyumi sighed with relief.

Rumi scoffed, eyebrows down and mouth in a frown. “You think you can call me that after ditching me last week?”

At Rumi’s hostile posture, Fuyumi reconsidered the ‘harmless bunny’ description. “Uh, sorry, it was an emergency.”

Dissatisfied, Rumi crossed her arms and looked away from Fuyumi. Although Rumi had claimed the chase would be back on as soon as Fuyumi left that apartment, Rumi seemed more interested in pouting than hunting at the moment, so Fuyumi dared to approach.

“Aww,” Fuyumi couldn’t help but tease, “Did you miss me that much?”

“Who said I missed you?” Rumi huffed, “I’m just insulted at how rudely you left. You know how chilly the bed was without you?”

Fuyumi had spent more than enough time in chilly beds to imagine. “Then I apologize for being so abrupt. I wished I could have slept in more.”

That softened Rumi’s expression, at least a little bit.

“It really was a wonderful night,” Fuyumi reassured her, stepping almost into arms length, “Thank you.”

Rumi didn’t seem prepared for sincerity, and her eyes went wide for a moment before she turned around.

Now Fuyumi was right behind Rumi. She outstretched her arms to hug her from behind, all too eager to make the hero blush. Unfortunately, Rumi grabbed one of her arms and flipped her over, slamming her back against the roof. Fuyumi’s back hurt, but Rumi’s face was red, so it was still a success.

“We shouldn’t do that sort of thing in public!” Rumi barked at her.

“So in private is okay?”

“Fuck you!” Rumi turned away again.

“You’re welcome to.”

This was a lot of fun. Fuyumi had never properly flirted with anyone before. Between work, home, and her limited gay options, she’d never had the chance to try it. Some time ago she was sure she’d never need to learn, resigned to a life spent trying to bring her family together, with no time or energy to bring someone new in.

But now she was almost completely free of those shackles. Sure, she still worried about her family, but not being around them forced her to focus on herself, and what she wanted. She wanted to have fun, to flirt, to fall in love.

Fuyumi, having just gotten up from being slammed onto the ground, took a step back. She was getting ahead of herself. This was a fun game, but it’s not like Rumi could ever know who Fuyumi really was. There were natural limitations to how deep they could get.

A scream pierced the night.

Both of them zeroed in on the sound, coming from several streets away. Rumi hopped off, powerful legs letting her leap across buildings. Fuyumi wasn’t quite ready for that, so she went down the side of the building the same way she’d gotten up and ran to the sound. It wasn’t the fastest method, but she knew Rumi would already be there, so whoever was in danger would probably be saved. Fuyumi was only following as possible backup, though Rumi would rebuff any direct attempts to help as usual.

As soon as she landed on the ground, however, something flew past her ear. She twisted towards the source, discovering a cloaked man with several daggers several yards away from her. She wasn’t close to the scream, so was this a far-off accomplice of the crime, or someone completely unrelated?

As he threw another dagger, Fuyumi decided she didn’t care. This one was aimed at her chest, deadly. So she side-stepped it and pulled some darts out with her non-staff hand, flinging them towards his eyes. Like Fuyumi, he was more than capable of dodging, throwing another dagger at the same time.

Fuyumi tried to get closer, but he backed up. Fuyumi did not have infinite darts. “Who are you? What do you want?”

He laughed as another dart whizzed past his face. “I’m a bounty hunter, take a wild guess.”

“The Fukuron bounty?” Fuyumi guessed.

“If you know any other bounties out for your head, I’d be thrilled to hear about it.”

Fuyumi took some steps back, passing by a large dumpster in the alley. Could she use that for cover?

He seemed content to maintain the same distance, taking steps forward to make up for her retreat. On the way, he bent over to pick up some daggers that had missed Fuyumi earlier. That gave Fuyumi an idea.

His next dagger, she slapped to the wall of a building mid-trajectory using her staff. It bounced against the wall, and she picked it up, eyes kept on him in case he attacked again. He pursed his lips when he saw her taking his weapon, but made no move. “This is a dead-end alley,” He warned her.

Fuyumi shrugged. “So?”

“I try to be polite. Considering it’s a ‘dead or alive’ bounty, if you’d prefer to be alive we could-”

Fuyumi was bored by his speech already, so she dashed towards him, dagger in one hand aimed at him. He snapped to attention, giving up the dialogue in order to pull out his own dagger to parry her attack. With a metallic clang, he successfully twisted the dagger out of her hand.

Fortunately, that wasn’t her true goal. He was laser-focused on his own dangerous weapon, and had ignored her other hand still holding her staff. She activated the staff so it expanded, digging into his gut. That caught him by surprise, and he backed up while clutching his stomach.

Imagining Rumi’s kicks, Fuyumi reared up and slammed her foot against his unguarded knees, making him buckle. He cursed as he went down, but had enough mind to swipe at her side with one of his blades. She hissed at the slice against her oblique, though she had enough layers that it didn’t get too deep.

She jumped back with haste, passing him so that he was no longer blocking the opening of the alley. Should she fight, or run? A palm against her side came away red.

As he got back up, she threw some more darts, this time hitting one of his hands as it came up. He shouted in pain, and Fuyumi decided that would be enough to deter him from chasing her for now. He had been throwing with that hand, so hopefully with it out of commission he’d want to rest for awhile.

She darted out of the alleyway, still running towards her original target in case Rumi was still there. Rumi was, but so were some police. Rumi was chatting amicably with some sort of cat-officer, probably giving a statement, so Fuyumi turned to leave, not eager to encounter law enforcement.

“Hey!” Rumi’s voice echoed in Fuyumi’s direction.

Fuyumi booked it, running as fast as her injury would allow. She kept a hand on the injury, trying to staunch the bleeding at least a little bit. Was it bad to be running while bleeding like this? Natsuo would probably know, he studied a lot of first aid. Either way, she needed to get to a safe and secure location without any cops tailing her.

Her path was interrupted by Rumi landing in front of her. “I thought we moved past the chasing phase!”

Fuyumi bit her lip. She had been slowed down enough that Rumi caught up with her. “You’re the one who said the truce was only for a night.”

“I didn’t give chase earlier, that was basically another truce!”

Fuyumi glance behind. “The police-”

“Will be getting the rest of my statement later. What happened to your side?”

She pulled the hand back, revealing the red liquid that now coated it.

Rumi let out a low whistle. “I leave you for one second...”

“Haha,” Fuyumi deadpanned, “I’m going home.”

Fuyumi started to continue her trek, but Rumi snatched her arm. “Do you live at a hospital?”

“W-what?” Fuyumi tried to shake her off to no avail. Rumi’s grip was steadfast. “Obviously not.”

Rumi pulled Fuyumi closer and picked her up like a sack of potatoes. “We’re going to a hospital.”

Fuyumi guffawed, both at how easily Rumi scooped her up (those arms) and at the suggestion of location. “I can’t go to a hospital!”

“Well you can’t go home like that!”

“Hospitals require names! And addresses! And probably exposed faces!”

“I’m not letting you bleed out in an alley!”

“I won’t- It’s not even that deep.”

Rumi poked it.

Fuyumi hissed, squirming in Rumi’s grip enough that Rumi had to put her down. Rumi kept an iron grip on Fuyumi’s arm, however, preventing any escape plans. “You’re not exactly tip-top condition.”

“Maybe if pro-heroes didn’t jostle me around I would be,” Fuyumi countered, “I’ll just head home, wrap it up, and sleep it off.”

Rumi shook her head. “You’re coming with me.”

“Hey! I told you, no hospitals!”

“I’m not taking you to a hospital,” Rumi told her with a wide grin, “I’m taking you to my apartment!”

Notes:

Fuyumi: "Oh no, does he suspect something?? I'm so sloppy, my cover is blown-"
Dabi: "Fuck fuck fuck, does she suspect something?? I'm so sloppy, my cover is blown-"
Neither of them: "Hey wait a second I should think more than two seconds about why you're acting suspicious."

Next chapter: Some tender love and care from a bunny

Chapter 19: A Bounty On Your Head Is What One Might Call "An Inconvenience"

Summary:

Her whole life, Fuyumi wore clothes that covered her body. Even in the hottest summer, long-sleeve shirts were a must. She would never wear a two-piece swimsuit, instead she preferred a pleasant red wetsuit. Her usual excuse was that she got cold easily, and that was certainly true. The secondary reason...

Rumi entered the living room with a plastic bin of first-aid supplies. With some hesitance, Fuyumi shed her coat and rolled up her athletic shirt to fully expose the wound. With one look at the blood spread everywhere, Rumi scurried to the bathroom and came back with a small towel in a bowl of water.

As she slowly washed the blood away, she asked Fuyumi, “So how did this happen?”

“Just a bounty-hunter,” Fuyumi told her.

“Who’s putting a bounty on your head?”

“Some gang whose plans I’ve ruined a few too many times.”

“And you’re just letting them harass you like this?”

“What, you think I can destroy an entire gang?”

“How big are they?”

That made Fuyumi pause. “…Now that I think about it, I don’t know.”

Rumi pouted. “I just think if someone is continually threatening your life, it makes sense to deal with that instead of waiting for them to find you.”

Fuyumi mulled that over as Rumi finished washing. Although Rumi gathered up some ointment from the her kit, instead of dabbing she just stared. “What?” Fuyumi asked.

Rumi startled a bit, as though drawn out of a thought. “You have a scar below that.”

There were scars from the trainings Dad used to put her through. She knew the scar Rumi was talking about, something that occurred when he was trying to train her reflexes. She was too slow to dodge a punch from him and was thrown back, crashing into a metal chair. One edge was sharp enough to tear through her shirt, leaving a brutal mark. It had faded with time, but there was still a distinct white line. They had stopped keeping those chairs in the training room after that.

Rumi’s eyes were still on it. “Was it from another criminal?”

“No.”

That made Rumi’s nose crinkle, but she didn’t pry. Instead, she pushed Fuyumi’s shirt up a little further. “There’s more under here.”

Fuyumi flushed. “Hey! I’d like to preserve a little modesty, please.”

Rumi laughed, loud and booming. “Babe, I’ve seen you in much less than this.”

“Not in the light though, not where you can actually see my skin.”

Despite Fuyumi’s arguments, she didn’t stop Rumi from running her fingers along various marks and bruises, covering the span of her ribs, abdomen, and even a few lower by her hips. She shivered at the delicate touch; it was as if Rumi was afraid poking too hard would cause all those faded injuries to burst back into life.

Her whole life, Fuyumi wore clothes that covered her body. Even in the hottest summer, long-sleeve shirts were a must. She would never wear a two-piece swimsuit, instead she preferred a pleasant red wetsuit. Her usual excuse was that she got cold easily, and that was certainly true. The secondary reason she didn’t tell anyone was that she didn’t want people questioning old scars and, as of the past year or so, new scars.

So sitting on Rumi’s couch, with her constantly hidden skin drawn out and exposed to the harsh lamplight, Fuyumi felt more naked than she ever had before. Even being literally naked in Rumi’s room last weekend hadn’t felt so raw, with the cover of alcohol and the dark preventing this unique form of intimacy.

“Is your whole body like this?” Rumi asked.

“Uh, I guess?”

Rumi started to pull at the shirt some more.

“Hey!” Fuyumi countered, pushing it back down.

Rumi pouted. “Please? I’m curious. You can keep the mask on?”

This was probably bad. Why was Rumi inviting so much intimacy between them? They couldn’t have a real relationship, not with the positions they were in with the law. Was this some sort of ploy of Rumi’s to get Fuyumi out of her clothes? Did Fuyumi want that?

She gulped. “F-fine, finish treating me first.”

Mindful of Fuyumi’s tone, Rumi stopped asking and dabbed some ointment. Once that was done, Rumi wrapped up Fuyumi’s midsection with gauze, hands working with surprisingly delicacy considering her rough nature.

Once it was done, Rumi leaned in again. “Take your shirt off?”

“Pervert,” Fuyumi muttered, but slowly removed her shirt.

“Hey! This is unrelated to my perversion at the moment! I’m honestly curious about your scars!”

Fuyumi was glad for the ski-mask, since that hid her blush. Why did Rumi care so much? What made Rumi think that all these injuries that had happened to Fuyumi were important? Or even worth her curiosity and care?

Once again, Rumi wordlessly traced the scars along Fuyumi’s body, though at least one was hidden by her sports bra. She wasn’t about to tell Rumi that, though. Rumi pointed at a scar on Fuyumi’s upper shoulder. “Where’s that from?”

Fuyumi hesitated before answering. She probably shouldn’t mention the Forge, lest Rumi get too curious and start investigating the illegal fighting ring. “Uh… a fight.”

Rumi snorted, rubbing Fuyumi’s shoulder gently, like the precursor to a massage. “Can’t give any more specifics? Another bounty-hunter?”

Fuyumi leaned into the warm hands against her. “No, it was a consensual sort of fight.”

The hands shifted, sliding along Fuyumi’s arms, circling a bruise on the upper arm. “What about this?”

“To be honest? Magne.”

Rumi gasped. “The woman we were drinking with? You guys got beef or something?”

Fuyumi laughed at the idea. “No, we just like to fight sometimes.”

Rumi narrowed her eyes. “Is ‘fighting’ some kinda code word for-”

“No!”

The hands slid back down Fuyumi’s body, gracing a light scar on Fuyumi’s hip bone. “What about that one?”

It was another training scar. Dad had been scary enough one day that Fuyumi had created a cocoon of ice to defend herself, but hadn’t been able to destroy it. She’d ended up scratching at the tight walls of her own prison, caught with her feet above the ground since she’d accidentally made some ice dig into her hips. Dad had left her to ‘wait out’ her tantrum, and she thought she was going to freeze to death.

She was fortunate Touya was still alive back then. He had discovered her state and melted the ice, chasing away the imminent frostbite that threatened her fingers and toes. He had also helped treat the resultant deep cuts on her hips.

Rumi poked at it, still waiting, and the pressure made Fuyumi flinch. “I’d, uh, rather not talk about that one.”

Rumi let it go and continued to explore. Fuyumi was caught between relaxation and embarrassment. Eventually, embarrassment won out and she got up, grabbing her shirt.

“Thank you,” Fuyumi told her, “For, uh, treating me and stuff.”

Rumi grabbed her hand. “Leaving so soon?”

“Uh…”

Rumi pulled her back down onto the couch. “Let me take care of you some more.”

As Rumi straddled her, Fuyumi realized exactly what kind of ‘care’ Rumi was interested in giving. Her heart pounded, and horniness won out over embarrassment. “Okay.”

---

When she got back to Dabi’s apartment the next morning, she was surprised to see him up. As soon as she opened the door, his head snapped to the entrance. He glanced her up and down, almost suspiciously.

“What are you doing up this early?” She asked.

“Insomnia,” He replied tersely, turning away, “I’m going to try to sleep again. Don’t disturb me.”

She let him go, and got ready for work.

After working at the school, she came home to find Dabi awake once again, reading on the couch, though noticeably disheveled like he had just gotten out of bed.

“I’ve been thinking…” Fuyumi started.

“Never a good idea,” Dabi commented, not looking up from his book.

“We should get rid of the Fukuron.”

He looked at her. “…What brought this on?”

“Well,” Fuyumi glanced away, recalling last night, “Rumi and I were, uh, talking…”

“Rumi is Miruko, right?” Dabi asked with a sly expression, “Is that what you were up to last night?”

Fuyumi coughed. “Yes and, uh, yes. So we were talking, and she mentioned it was kind of inconvenient that I have a bounty on my head.”

“An inconvenience,” He repeated, deadpan.

“Yeah. So I was thinking, why not just get rid of them? Destroy their base of operations, take down their leader, no more bounty?”

“And do you know who their leader is? Or where their base is?”

“I’ll bet Giran knows.”

“I thought Giran was a ‘little bitch’ who you were never going to talk to again.”

“But you can talk to him!” Fuyumi exclaimed.

Dabi snorted. “Uh, no thanks. I’m not an errand boy. Put on your big-girl pants and ask him yourself.”

She frowned. “Come on, just one little phone call.”

“You have his number.”

Fuyumi tried puppy-dog eyes until she realized she was wearing a mask and goggles. She brought her hands up in a little prayer. “Pretty please?”

Dabi glared. “You know what?”

He pulled out his phone and rang a number. Fuyumi glanced at the screen and saw it was Giran. She started to bounce with excitement, up until Giran picked up and Dabi hit speakerphone.

Giran’s voice rang. “Hey Dabi, what can I get for you?”

“I’ve got Leia here who wants to ask you something.”

Fuyumi balked. “Dabi! I thought you were gonna-”

“Leia? I ain’t heard from her in a while. Wasn’t she pissed at me?”

“Yes!” Fuyumi dove in, “I’m still mad at you for the League of Villains stuff, but you’re the best information broker I know so I’m temporarily forgiving you!”

Giran’s laughed. “You have the moral backbone of cooked spaghetti.”

“Do you know much about the Fukuron group? Like who runs it, and where from?”

“Depends on what you’ll give me for that info. As I can recall, last time you offered murder, Endeavor’s boxers, or your literal blood.”

Dabi whispered harshly, “Endeavor’s boxers?”

“I was being dramatic!” Fuyumi whispered back, dashing for a cover, “Saying a bunch of impossible things!”

“So? Do those offers still stand? Because those boxers could-”

“No underwear,” Fuyumi interrupted, wanting to get off that particular topic as soon as possible, “But I’ve got your favorite: Cold hard cash and favors.”

“You ought to come over for a visit. I’ll prep some info, you prep the cash, and we’ll discuss terms.”

“Alright, text me your availability.” Fuyumi sighed. “Love you, bye.”

“Love yo- Wait, no, you’re not gonna trick me like you do Dabi.”

“Hey!” Dabi exclaimed.

“Don’t love you, no hard feelings though. See you soon.”

Giran hung up.

Notes:

Next Chapter: Everything goes to shit

Chapter 20: It Sort Of Ruins The 'Loner-Who-Doesn't-Give-A-Shit' Shtick When You Take A Bullet For Me

Summary:

Dabi, hiding behind a neighboring building with Fuyumi, groaned. “This is a bad idea.”

“And yet you joined me,” Fuyumi reminded him.

“Only because the only worse idea would be you going by yourself.”

A group of thugs left the unassuming building, a car dealership with a rotting sign. The Fukuron made their biggest drug sales on Friday nights, so a decent amount of personnel were occupied across the city. However, the head honchos usually had a big meeting Fridays as well, so their target for the night would likely be in there.

Dabi, hiding behind a neighboring building with Fuyumi, groaned. “This is a bad idea.”

“And yet you joined me,” Fuyumi reminded him.

“Only because the only worse idea would be you going by yourself.”

Fuyumi ignored his sass and pulled out the map Giran had given her of the building. “So we’ll enter through the side window, sneak in, get into Shae’s office, nab her, and get her to the nearest police station.”

“Who’s Shae again?”

Fuyumi pulled out a picture (again, courtesy of Giran). “She runs the Fukuron. Brown hair and red eyes that can shoot lasers, so look out. Apparently she’s recently been trying to make deals with some Yakuza folks, and the cops got wind of her. There’s a warrant out for her arrest, so if we get her to the station they should be able to lock her up.”

“Psh, the Yakuza? They’re not a big deal anymore.”

“Regardless, be careful.”

“I ought to be saying that to you,” Dabi huffed.

There was a man standing guard outside, eyes peeled, so Fuyumi and Dabi had to sneak through shadows to reach the side of the building. Dabi hoisted Fuyumi up so she could peek into one of the windows. Seeing nobody inside, she gave Dabi a thumbs up. He delicately melted the glass of the window, creating a hole big enough for an arm to squeeze through and undo the lock on the other side.

Again, Dabi helped Fuyumi up so she could climb into the window, and once inside she pulled Dabi through as well. They landed on linoleum flooring, in a nondescript hallway. Fuyumi grinned. “Step one, done. Step two? Find Shae.”

---

Finding Shae turned out to be harder than she thought it would be.

Finding other members of the Fukuron? No difficulty at all.

As they ran down a hallway, followed by at least eight or nine gang members, Dabi growled, “I told you this was a bad idea!”

Fuyumi struggled forward. They had tried fighting the first few, but after reinforcements came in they were clearly outnumbered and had to retreat. “How was I supposed to guess a whole crew of them would be in that room?”

“We gotta abort. Break open a window.”

“We’re on the third floor!”

“And we might die otherwise! We’re way outnumbered, in their turf!”

Fuyumi huffed, but she knew he was right. She had gotten too eager and hadn’t planned this out well enough at all. After the two of them turned a corner, she grabbed a window frame and pried it open. Dabi stood guard, flame swirling in his palm, ready to attack anyone who attempted to interrupt them. Fuyumi got one leg out the window by the time their pursuers turned the corner.

The flames Dabi held made most of them pause, so Fuyumi continued her escape, looking around outside for any sort of good handholds so she wouldn’t have to fully drop.

One of the gang members shouted at another, “Wait, don’t use that gun! The boss said to save it for-”

Dabi jumped between Fuyumi and the gang, and a shot rang out.

Fuyumi pulled back from the window, heart stopping at the thought of what she might see.

Dabi was still standing, at least. A blossom of red was blooming along a shoulder, though, and he stumbled back. Fuyumi grabbed his non-shot arm and tugged him further down the hallway. There was no way he could climb out a window effectively with his arm shot like that, especially if he was in any state of shock. They’d have to find another way down, there had to be stairs or something-

Fuyumi wracked her brain as they continued running. She needed the map, but she didn’t have time to check it while running. Dabi was stumbling behind her, he had to be in shock or something. She needed a moment for them to catch their breath…

When they turned another corner, leading down a short hallway before turning again, she opened the nearest door and pulled Dabi inside with her.

She closed the door as quietly as she dared. The room seemed to be a small storage space, with a couple of boxes of who-knows-what. They at least made good seats, as evidenced by Dabi lowering himself on one and collapsing against a wall.

Fuyumi rushed over to him, pulling gauze from one of her pockets. “Did you take a bullet for me?”

He groaned. “’Course not, it was an accident. I just happened to be there at the time-”

Fuyumi tugged off his jacket. “Can you drop the loner act for one second? You probably saved my life.”

He hissed as Fuyumi pressed the gauze against the wound, but willingly held it in place as Fuyumi wrapped the bandages around his chest and shoulder. She wasn’t a doctor, she didn’t know how much it would help, but she figured stopping the bleeding was a good start before they did anything else.

Once that was done, she pulled out the map. “We have to find another way down, maybe break open another window-”

A blaring alarm broke Fuyumi’s thoughts. There was the sound of grinding metal, and a pleasant woman’s voice echoed through the building: “Intruder alert. Intruder alert.”

Fuyumi peeked out the door. “Shit.”

Dabi laughed. “It’s gotta be bad if you’re swearing?”

“The windows have all shuttered-”

There were footsteps approaching, so Fuyumi closed the door again. “Everyone is on high alert now.”

Dabi was sweating, but his expression was as blasé as ever. “How long do you think until they start checking closets?”

Fuyumi pored over the map, biting her lip so hard she drew blood. “There has to be a way out of this.”

He shook his head. “We’re in a fucking wasps nest. They tried to shoot you. We’re not making it out of here alive.”

She clenched the map in her hand. It was useless. None of the windows would work, all the exits would be guarded. “There- There has to be some way. Maybe if you use your fire-”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t? You just-”

“I mean I’ve been trying to use it.” He gestured with his hand, splaying it out as he usually did before producing fire, but nothing appeared. “There must have been something in those bullets. Since I got shot I haven’t been able to get a lick of flame.”

Fuyumi’s heart pounded. That was a huge loss in this situation. She couldn’t take on the Fukuron gang alone, not even with her quirk. If she tried too big of a move with her quirk, she’d freeze herself to death, especially without a fire-user to offset the costs. Dabi could maybe do a tiny bit of hand-to-hand, but he was also bleeding from his upper shoulder. Her breaths became fast as the reality dawned on her. There wasn’t a way out.

A wash of panic went over her. What was the last thing she said to Natsuo? Mom? Dad? Shouto? She was going to be just like Touya, another dead member of the Todoroki family. She choked. “W-we can’t die here.”

Dabi shrugged with his non-injured shoulder, as though he couldn’t give a shit. “Should have thought of that before attempting this godawful plan.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

He avoided her eyes. “You were going to go no matter what I did.”

She approached him. “You should have stayed home, then. Then you could have survived. You shouldn’t have…”

He snorted, still trying to play it casual. “What’s family for?”

That broke Fuyumi. She cried, hugging Dabi despite his objections in the past. She needed something, anything that she could hold onto during her last moments alive. How long did they have?

Dabi’s good arm wrapped around her. “Fuck, Leia, don’t- don’t cry, then I’ll…”

That did not stop Fuyumi’s tears. However, she did pull back to see that Dabi’s eyes were pained. When they made eye contact, he turned his face away again, as though scared of confronting the fact that he maybe gave a shit.

“I knew I was gonna die young,” Dabi told her, “Probably the only thing I regret is that I never got revenge on Endeavor.”

“I regret…” Fuyumi paused.

Wait.

Endeavor.

She patted at her pockets. She had her cell phone.

She pulled it out.

Dabi raised an eyebrow. “You gonna call the cops? I doubt they’re gonna come fast enough, if they even believe you or care enough to-”

“No. I might have a deus ex machina.” She frowned. “But you’re gonna have to become cool about a bunch of things really fast.”

Dabi laughed. “I literally don’t have my quirk, I kinda gotta be cool about things right now.”

Fuyumi unblocked Dad’s number. She hesitated a moment. Would he even respond? She had run away. What if he decided she was no daughter of his anymore, and refused to answer? What if he answered, but heard her plea and decided she deserved it for running away?

Dabi shifted, grimacing at his injury. Fuyumi took a deep breath. She had to at least try, otherwise they were going to die here. She hit the call button.

He picked up after two rings. “Fuyu-”

“Dad, hi, sorry to call so late, especially since you’re probably still mad about the whole, you know, running away thing.”

Dabi made a strangled sound behind her and whispered, “You’re calling your abusive shitbag father?”

“What? What’s going on, Fuyumi? Where are you?”

Fuyumi felt a fresh wave of tears wash over her. “I’m sorry, Dad, I can’t explain why, but it’s sort of an emergency, and I didn’t know who else to call-”

“Where. Are. You?”

Fuyumi told him the address of the building. “I’m hiding with a, uh, friend, inside a closet in the building, but these gang members are searching for us, I don’t know how long-”

“Stay there, I’m on my way. You hear me? Stay alive, I’m coming.”

Fuyumi choked on a sob as relief washed over her. She knew they weren’t in the clear, not yet, but hearing help was on the way was what she needed.

“I’m hanging up now, but I’m going to make a big entrance when I get there. You get out when you can, come find me, and I’ll protect you. Have you unblocked my number so I can call you if I need to?”

“Y-yes.”

“And you call me if you need to. I will see you soon.”

He hung up, and Fuyumi felt hope, fresh in her veins. They just needed to hang tight long enough for Dad to reach them. Thank god for heroes.

Dabi stared a raised eyebrow. “You think your shitty dad has the power to get us out of this? What is he, some big-name cop?”

Fuyumi shook her head. “You might not like the answer.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Well…”

There was shouting over the alarm, and a blast of heat so strong that they could feel it, even in the closet. Dabi’s eyes widened.

She needed to be in civilian mode so Dad would recognize her. Fuyumi inverted her coat, making it blue instead of black. Finally, as another wave of heat carried through, she removed her mask, letting her hair escape and turning to face Dabi.

Dabi stared at her, jaw slack.

“Sorry, the truth is my Dad is Endeavor.” He was still staring, uncomprehending, so she continued to explain, “I know how you feel about him, but please don’t hold it against me-”

“…’Yumi?”

His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. Fuyumi startled at the name. Had he dug so deep on the internet that he not only knew her name, but also that nickname? His face was contorted, showing the most expression she’d even seen from him. There was confusion, shock, but overwhelmingly horror at the revelation.

Fuyumi’s heart seized up. Was this it? He couldn’t separate Endeavor from his daughter? Would Dabi hate her from now on?

There were screams outside. Endeavor was making his way through the building; they should get out now. “I know you hate him, but he can help us, let’s get out of here and meet him-”

Dabi shook his head, still staring at her, one hand against his bullet wound. “I- I can’t face him. Not like this. Not with you.”

“Dabi,” She pleaded.

He shook his head again, fear on his face. Fuyumi didn’t think she’d ever seen him so afraid before. They thought they were going to die a few minutes ago, and he hadn’t looked half as distraught. What happened between Dabi and Endeavor? Why couldn’t he forgive Fuyumi for being his daughter?

“I’m not going to let you die here,” She told him, determined.

“I won’t die, shit,” He got up, pacing, “Shit, fuck, just… You can go meet him. He’s obviously got enough of the gang’s attention that I can sneak out.”

“What if you-”

“No. Fuck, just- Let me go, ‘Yumi, I can’t- I won’t… Look, I’ll live, you just go? Okay? I’m getting out of this.”

“Dabi-”

He pulled open the door and began running.

“Dabi!”

Dad’s voice echoed through the halls. “Fuyumi! Where are you?”

She watched Dabi go. Whatever problem he had with Endeavor, he clearly wasn’t going to confront it today. She knew where he lived, she could still see him at the Forge. They could talk through this later.

So she turned towards Dad’s voice, running towards the heat to get closer. “Dad!”

At the sound of her voice, a fresh wave of flames burst, eliciting more screams from the gang. Fuyumi ran towards all of it, eventually ending up on a raised platform. In the center of the room below her was Endeavor, along with some unconscious gang members, and one or two shaking in their boots along the side, too scared to even run.

The relief she felt at the sight of her father reminded her of her childhood, watching Endeavor on television. Those flames she associated with anger turned into a signal of heroics, something to instill fear in the hearts of criminals instead of children. As the newscaster would praise Dad’s work and talk about all the people he saved, Fuyumi began to understand why Dad wanted her and Touya to be heroes so much. They punished criminals and kept innocent people safe. Fuyumi used to stare at the television, dreaming of being the next Endeavor, before those dreams were folded up and put away with Touya’s death.

Now, staring at the #2 pro-hero in person, who rushed here from just one phone call, all that admiration rose up in her chest again. As soon as the two of them met eyes, Fuyumi ran towards him. She ignored the stairs along the side of the platform, just leaping off with the confidence that comes from jumping into the arms of one of the top pro-heroes in Japan.

He caught her, skin absolutely searing with heat. Fuyumi hugged him tightly, soaking up the flames. Engulfed, she felt beyond safe. She thought she was going to die earlier, surrounded by gang members. She had been terrified of them. But now she had Dad on her side.

And no one was more terrifying than Dad.

He hugged her back, grip tight. She had never felt more secure, more safe, more certain that her father would do anything to rescue her.

She registered shifting as he sent another wave of flames through the building, leaving gang members screaming. She felt a nauseous sense of joy at his anger, his anger on her behalf for once, causing him to lash out at those who hurt her.

He was a pro-hero, though. He had to have limits. Fuyumi pulled back from his chest just long enough to glance around and see there were no other pro-heroes. Had he come alone?

She had no doubt that he could kill every single member of this gang. He was beyond capable of that. But she was also aware that pro-heroes were not supposed to kill criminals unless it was unavoidable. She clung onto his hero suit and spoke to him, “Dad, take me home. I just want to go home.”

Dad glanced down at her, but did not say anything. He flashed some more fire at the gang, even as he exited the building. He continued to carry Fuyumi, flames flowing around her like the warmest embrace she’d ever had.

Once they were several blocks away from the building, Endeavor called up a taxi for them. To get in the taxi, he had to shut down his flames, and Fuyumi ached at the sudden invasion of cold.

“Sorry about your coat,” He muttered as he put her down in the car seat.

Fuyumi glanced down and realized there were some burnt holes in her coat. Although she had sprayed it with some of the flame-proofing spray she uses on all her clothes, there was only so much a spray could do against constant flame. It was a bit of a loss, but better than dying. Once Dad was in the taxi, he once again pulled her close, holding her as though letting go would mean she would run away again.

Fuyumi wasn’t about to stop him. He wasn’t exactly the affectionate type, so she was going to soak up every single hug he was willing to give her while he was afraid for her life. He didn’t let go even once they reached the house, opting to just carry Fuyumi out instead.

She felt so small in his arms. He could carry her with a single arm, not even breaking a sweat. Fuyumi wrapped her arms around his neck, soaking in his warmth even without the fire on. He carried her silently through the house up to her room. She bet Shouto was asleep by now.

He laid her gingerly on her bed, as though she were made of glass. Even though he let her go, he grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it. “Fuyumi.”

The attention was gratifying. She hadn’t known before if he would actually care. Even if he was terrible at expressing it most the time, even if he didn’t yet recognize how his actions hurt his kids, at least somewhere deep down he cared. She squeezed his hand back. “Thanks, Dad.”

He let out a long, shuddering sigh. “I’m sorry.”

Fuyumi was confused. He literally saved her life just now. “For what?”

“For making you run away. If I hadn’t, then all of this…” His face twisted, fears crossing his expression.

Fuyumi laughed softly. “Aw, come on Dad, it all turned out all right in the end. You pulled through where it counted.”

“Please, stay. I need to know you’re safe. When I got that phone call, I- I’ve never been so scared, Fuyumi.”

Would Fuyumi stay? Dad was giving her attention. Dad was showing he cared. It was the kind of thing she craved while living in this house, feeling like a secondary character in Dad and Shouto’s life. But that lacking attention wasn’t the core of why she ran away. She squeezed his hand again. “Let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll stay here at least tonight, for sure.”

He relaxed a smidgen. “Okay. Talk tomorrow.”

He pulled back slowly, as though still scared to leave her, but he at least made it to the door to leave.

“Dad?” Fuyumi called out.

He stopped, turning immediately at her beck and call.

Fuyumi’s heart warmed at the sight. “I love you.”

He froze for a moment at the words, but after a moments deliberation he was able to choke out, “I- I love you too, Fuyumi.”

He left, closing the door softly behind him.

Fuyumi changed out of her clothes into her pajamas (her proper pajamas, not the things she’d picked up in a rush after running away) and curled into her bed. It was much softer than Dabi’s couch, and once she turned on the heated blanket it was beyond cozy.

She sighed as she thought of Dabi. He was resourceful, and she had to trust that he made it out safely even without Endeavor or Fuyumi’s help. Tomorrow she would go to his apartment to check in on him, making sure he was still alive. He had to be alive.

Notes:

Whoops secrets revealed.

Fuyumi: "Wow clearly he hates me bc I'm Endeavor's daughter :'("
Dabi: "I already thought it was bad when I discovered I was a bad influence on a teacher instead of just a rebellious teenager, but now that I've discovered that I've been a horrible influence on my actual literal blood little sister I'm gonna freak the fuck out."

Also... I'm gonna be honest, when I write "Intruder Alert" the only thing that goes on in my head is the Sonic Adventure 2 audio of Eggman's first stage... like for real, deeply ingrained into my soul, that's exactly what I'm imagining (idk if that video link is a great walk-through or not, I only listened to the first couple of seconds which has that audio)

Next Chapter: A father-daughter negotiation.

Chapter 21: Welcome To Negotiation Station, Where Children Go To Figure Out If They Can Stay At Home Or If They Ought To Run Away Again

Summary:

“You seem to be mistaken about the terms of our negotiations. I wasn’t asking you what new rules you planned to impose on me so I could stay. I was asking what changes you would make so I wouldn’t leave again.”

Notes:

I know I technically changed my schedule to a new chapter every three days, but tomorrow I'm going to be pretty busy, so I decided to be a day early and post tonight instead. Next chapter will be on Sunday.

Fuyumi woke up more comfortable than she had in weeks. She stretched out lazily. She noticed some residual soreness from fighting the gang yesterday, but she hadn’t been severely injured. It was no worse than a typical post-Forge day. She dressed slowly, still waking up. It was Monday, so she needed to get ready for work. She found one of her favorite dresses, wore that with some of her nice tights, and felt more refreshed than she had in ages.

She left her room and discovered Dad and Shouto at the kitchen table, silently eating some toast and bacon. When Dad saw her, he stiffened up, as though uncertain what the social protocol was after rescuing his own daughter after she ran away from home. Last night he had held onto her like she was the most precious thing on Earth, but now in the light of day he didn’t seem to know how to interact.

Fuyumi didn’t know either.

So she focused on Shouto, who was staring at her. It had been awhile since she had seen him in person, it was nice to see him alive and well. He seemed perplexed. “You’re back?”

“I came back last night,” She told him, preparing some food for herself.

“…Okay.”

She wasn’t exactly expecting Shouto to cry and fall into her arms or anything, but she would have appreciated slightly more reaction at her return than a single word. It had been several weeks! She glanced at Dad, silently finishing his bacon. Was Shouto being quiet because Dad was around?

During their talk today, she was going to make some demands in regards to how close her and Shouto were allowed to be.

For now, people had work and school. They would talk later.

---

When Dad came home, she started the conversation, “Dad.”

“Fuyumi.”

No desperate pleas or hugs like last night. With the adrenaline of last night long worn off, Dad had returned to his usual awkward state. That was a bit sad, but made sense. Fuyumi would have to lead. She wanted to start this off on a good note. “Thanks for last night.”

“Anytime,” Dad responded, sincerely for once.

“Really,” Fuyumi insisted, recalling her thoughts last night before calling him, “Considering the whole running away thing, I wasn’t sure if you would…”

“Anytime,” He repeated with a more stern tone of voice.

Fuyumi waited for him to articulate more. Maybe on how much he cares about Fuyumi? Last night he had talked about being scared of losing her. Was he not scared enough to at least attempt expressing his feelings to make her stay? She sighed when she realized he didn’t have anything else to say.

Well, she might as well get into the meat of the issue. “I stayed here last night, but I don’t know if I should leave again.”

Dad stiffened. “Fuyumi. You saw how dangerous things could be. And yet you’re still-”

Only dangerous because I bit off more than I could chew, Fuyumi thought. “I survived quite awhile without you. I’ll just be more careful this time.”

His eyes narrowed. “How exactly did you end up in that situation?”

Uh-oh. Fuyumi came up with a cover on the spot “I… was traveling with a friend. He accidentally got me caught up with some business he had with the gang.”

“So you immediately fell in with ruffians?” Dad’s tone was turning less hesitant and more harsh. “I thought out of all my children, you were the most level-headed. I assumed you had a better plan when you left-”

“You don’t get to talk to me about being ‘level-headed’, Dad.” Fuyumi countered with a sharp tone of her own.

Dad seemed more surprised than insulted. He was accustomed to Fuyumi rolling over and accepting his terms in any fight. Once he recovered from the shock, he seemed to be trying to distract from the sassy comment by asking more questions, “So who is he? Where did you meet him? And what kind of ‘business’ was it that he got you caught up in?”

Time for Fuyumi to divert. “One of the reasons I ran away was a lack of privacy.”

Dad just stared at her, uncomprehending.

“You know how insulting it is to be an adult and have your dad literally tracking your phone? It was embarrassing as heck when you went to the red-light district and interrupted my and Miruko’s date.” Technically there wasn’t a date, but Dad didn’t know that. “I’m an adult. Sometimes I have things I want to keep private, even from my family.”

“I wouldn’t need to track you if you hadn’t lied to me about where you where-”

“And how well did that work, exactly? I ‘accepted’ the tracking app, but I just found more tricks to dodge it, like you noticed on the night I ran away.” Fuyumi crossed her arms. “Notice a pattern yet, Dad? Pressing harder won’t make me more honest, just trickier with my lies.”

Dad stood, flames sputtering. “Clearly I need to do more so that you won’t even think of lying to me.”

Fuyumi stood up and started walking away.

“Fuyumi? Don’t you dare walk away from me!”

Ignoring him, Fuyumi continued through the house to her room. Dad ended up stomping behind her, not letting her escape his complaints.

“After the stunts you’ve pulled, I ought to put a curfew on you! In fact, I don’t think you should go out at all aside from work!”

Fuyumi pulled out a large bag from her closet and began packing some clothes.

“You’re going to take your original phone back, and we’re going to find another tracking app that can’t be tricked by whatever you did with that extra phone!”

She carried on packing, grabbing an old photo frame from her desk, one of the few pictures that existed of their whole family together, including Mom and Touya. She wrapped it in her pajamas and stuffed it into the bag.

“No, if you’re going to be so insistent, maybe you should wear an unbreakable bracelet with a tracker that I can-” Dad seemed to finally register Fuyumi’s actions, “Wait, what are you doing?”

Not turning around, Fuyumi responded. “Running away again.”

“Fuyumi.” His voice was low, and his flames flared fully on,

“You seem to be mistaken about the terms of our negotiations. I wasn’t asking you what new rules you planned to impose on me so I could stay. I was asking what changes you would make so I wouldn’t leave again.”

He grabbed her wrist, making her flinch at memories of being flung in the training room many years ago. “I won’t let you. Or… or else.”

She swallowed down those fears. She was stronger now, and she knew somewhere deep down Dad had some sort of care for her. He had been scared to lose her. He said he loved her. She just had to draw it out, somehow. Her voice became acidic, trained from riling up opponents at the Forge. “Or else what? You’ll lock me up in a mental hospital like Mom?”

Dad let go of her like he’d been burned (ha). He avoided her eyes, fire dampening. “…That’s different. She’s not well.”

Fuyumi felt long-suppressed frustrations bubbling up. “And whose fault is that?”

Dad still wasn’t looking at her, eyes going distant as he recalled who-knows-what memories. “I can’t go back in time and change what I’ve done.”

Fuyumi’s heart clenched at his expression of regret. “But you can change now, Dad,” A tinge of desperation seeped through her voice, “If you keep doing things the same way you’ve always done them, the same things will happen again.”

He didn’t speak, flames sputtering in and out like he was trying to get a hold on his anger.

She didn’t want him to be angry, she needed to appeal to another emotion. “It hurts the whole family every time we lose someone. Not just us, but you too. I know you don’t like what happened to Mom and… and to Touya.” She struggled to say his name out loud, but Dad needed to hear this. “I know you love us, but the things you do, the way you behave… Keep that up, and I’ll be next on the list of family members leaving you.”

His hands covered his face, as if trying to hide his emotions.

Hiding was no good, Fuyumi needed to know. “Do you want to lose me, Dad?”

“No,” His voice was soft, “Of course not, Fuyumi, I’ve never- I didn’t want to lose any of you.”

She left her bag, half-packed, on her bed and approached him. She pulled back his hand so she could at least see part of his face. “So what will you do to keep me?”

His eyes finally met hers. “What do you want?”

---

When the two of them emerged from Fuyumi’s room, both exhausted from a long discussion, they discovered Shouto standing outside her door.

Dad startled at his presence, but sped past him, as though afraid of confronting Shouto after their talk. Part of which involved a ‘Fuyumi-gets-to-hang-out-with-Shouto-so-long-as-its-not-interrupting-training’ clause.

Not afraid of Dad interrupting them, Fuyumi gave Shouto a hug, relieved to feel him in her arms after being gone for so long.

Shouto shrugged out of her embrace. “I heard yelling.”

“Dad and I talked some things out,” Fuyumi told him, “I’m probably staying for good this time.”

“...Oh.”

Fuyumi knew Shouto wasn’t the most articulate person, but when given the space he sometimes shared. “Come inside?” She asked him.

He nodded and entered her room, eyeing the packed bag on the bed. Fuyumi chuckled at his still-confused expression. She started to unpack the bag, keeping an eye on Shouto but trying not to crowd him.

He watched her passively, standing awkwardly in the center of the room. “You can take a seat,” She told him.

He sat stiffly on the chair by her desk. When Fuyumi put the old family photo back on the desk, he stared at it. Shouto was only a baby in the picture, still swaddled in Mom’s arms.

“Dad and I talked,” Fuyumi told him, “He said we could hang out, so long as it doesn’t interfere with trainings.”

“Okay.”

Shouto didn’t say anything else. Why had he come into Fuyumi’s room, though? He had to be thinking of something. “Was there anything you wanted to talk about?”

He lowered his head a bit, as though weighed down by something. “You visit Mom, right?”

Fuyumi tried not to stiffen at the sensitive topic. Shouto hadn’t seen her in years, and she knew that there were some traumatic memories that caused that. “Yes, almost every week.”

“Can you tell me where she is?”

Fuyumi froze. Was this really happening? “Are… are you going to visit her?”

Shouto’s shoulders raised, curling in on himself. “Unless you think it’s a bad idea-”

“No!” Fuyumi exclaimed, “I think it’s great! I think she’d be glad to see you.”

Shouto gulped. “I hope so.”

“Wait just a moment.” Fuyumi wrote down the hospital address and Mom’s room number on a notepad. “This is where you can find her. Do you want me to go with you?”

He shook his head. “This is something I need to confront myself.”

Fuyumi smiled at her baby brother trying to be so mature. “Alright.”

He stood up. “Thank you.”

With that, he left. Fuyumi held back from squealing, in case Dad or Shouto heard and got worried about her. Things were looking up for the Todoroki family. If Mom and Shouto could mend their relationship, that was one step closer to the whole family she wanted. Dad was also making changes to keep Fuyumi with the family. Maybe they weren’t as broken as Fuyumi thought.

Notes:

Next Chapter: A search for Dabi

Chapter 22: Is He Dead Or Is He Petty? It Would Be Nice To Know

Summary:

Had Dabi not come home at all? Had he… had he escaped? There was no way he was…

Fuyumi slapped her own cheeks to get out of that train of thought. He couldn’t be. He was tough. Even if he had a bullet wound when she last saw him…

She slapped her cheeks again. She had to stop thinking that way.

Dabi wasn’t at his apartment.

Fuyumi searched very thoroughly. She had even entered his room, despite it being expressly forbidden. She found that there wasn’t much of interest in there, although she was disturbed to discover the blanket he had on his bed was the one he lent her before she got herself a cozy quilt for the couch. Had he given up his own blanket for her?

She would coo at him being soft if he were there to coo at. Instead, she was stuck pacing around the apartment, checking the fridge to see if any leftovers were eaten (they were not). Had Dabi not come home at all? Had he… had he escaped? There was no way he was…

Fuyumi slapped her own cheeks to get out of that train of thought. He couldn’t be. He was tough. Even if he had a bullet wound when she last saw him…

She slapped her cheeks again. She had to stop thinking that way. Instead, she pulled out her phone and tried calling him one more time. All her calls were going straight to voicemail, so at least she knew he survived long enough to block her.

After the beep, she left another message. Maybe it was fruitless, but she had to at last try. “Hi Dabi, it’s Leia, or… you know who I am now, I guess. I wish you’d call back and at least tell me if that you’re like, alive. I know you have beef with my Dad, but I’m not him. I thought we were close enough that you would understand that. Okay, call me back, bye.”

---

After two nights in a row of sneaking out to Dabi’s apartment and finding everything untouched, Fuyumi called Giran. “Have you heard from Dabi recently?”

“No? Should I have?”

Fuyumi’s heart sank. “I don’t know.”

“I heard the Fukuron group somehow had a pro-hero sicced on them. Was that part of your plan?”

“No- well, yes, it sort of ended up being my fault.”

“What, you got some blackmail on Endeavor or something? Because I would pay quite dearly for the ability to call him in to break up whatever gang I wanted…”

“Not for sale,” Fuyumi spoke quickly, not interested in Giran’s broker tangents right now, “Listen, Dabi got really hurt during the break-in, and he hasn’t come back home. He also isn’t answering my calls...”

Giran didn’t speak for a moment, but when he did it was slow and soft. “…If he was badly hurt and hasn’t contacted you, then I hate to break it to ya, kid, but that kinda sounds like he-”

“The thing is, some things came to light during the break-in, so there’s a good chance he’s avoiding me for a personal reason.”

“Personal reason? What kind of secret you holding onto that would break up you two? You guys are a pair, practically joined at the hip.”

“It’s private, I can’t explain, but it’s enough that he might avoid me.”

“…Well I’m sorry to hear it, but I ain’t got any news on Dabi.”

“If you get any, can you please contact me? Even just to say he’s alive?”

“Sure thing. Good luck out there.”

“Thank you.”

---

Dabi wasn’t at the Forge.

A few people asked Fuyumi where he was, like she would know. To be fair, normally she would have some idea, he had skipped before but usually sent her a text. She was increasingly frustrated after the fifth person asked her. Was it so hard for them to stop reminding her that he was unaccounted for?

Her matches were coming up. Normally around this time Dabi would be wrapping her fist. Fuyumi had learned to do it for herself before, but it was much easier to let Dabi take care of it. It was also a relaxing sort of pre-match ritual that always made her feel a little stronger.

Magne passed by and Fuyumi called out to her. “Magne!”

Magne paused on her path to face Fuyumi. “Leia!” She glanced left and right. “Where’s Dabi?”

Fuyumi stiffened. “I don’t know.”

“What’s up?”

“Could you…” Fuyumi reached out her wrappings, “Could you wrap my fists?”

Magne laughed. “I might be competing with you if you get far enough into the rounds. What if I sabotage you?”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes. “Come on, I know you wouldn’t. Besides, how would you even use this to sabotage someone?”

She shrugged. “Wrap it too tight to cut off circulation? Loose enough to slip off?”

“I think I’d notice. Just get over here.”

Magne acquiesced, taking the wrap and starting the process. Her hands were colder than Dabi’s usually were. Magne spoke, “Dabi usually does this, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Any idea why he’s not here tonight?”

Fuyumi gulped. “A couple.”

“Let’s hear ‘em.”

“He’s either dead or avoiding me.”

Magne froze with her hands in the air. “Just what kind of trouble have you guys gotten into? And why would Dabi avoid you of all people?”

“It’s complicated,” Fuyumi’s words started to tumble out of her, “But I don’t know if he’s okay, and it’s been almost a week, and he won’t answer my calls, but he could be angry enough at me that it’s just him being rude instead of like, dead in a ditch or whatever-”

“Hey, hey,” Magne put a hand on her shoulder, “Slow down.”

Fuyumi realized she was tearing up, and took in a deep breath. She needed to calm down, this wasn’t the time or place. “Sorry. I’m just worried is all.”

Magne was almost finished with Fuyumi’s wrapping. “I can tell.”

“Just… if you hear anything from him, or about him, can you tell me?”

Magne gave her a sad look. “Sure thing.”

Fuyumi thanked Magne for the wrapping and found a spot to wait for her first match. The battles were helpful; it was hard to think about the dozen ways Dabi could have died (Gang member caught him? Blood loss while running away? Fell out a window while trying to escape?) when she had to focus all her brainpower on winning.

She had almost forgotten her worries when it reached the end of the night. She got first place today, which was a definite mood-booster. As she went for the door to leave, someone grabbed her arm.

She held back an attack in time to see Lead, holding out a thick wad of cash. “Lot of winnings today,” He told her, looking a bit sad despite the good news.

Normally Dabi took her money. Lead was supposed to give it to Dabi. Fuyumi accepted the cash with hesitant fingers. Wherever Dabi was, did he have enough money to survive? He hadn’t come back to his apartment, leaving the leftovers in the fridge to rot. He hadn’t called Giran to get any jobs. She had doubts about whether he had any savings at all to fall back on.

“Thanks,” She told Lead quietly, stuffing the money in her jacket pocket.

---

She searched the area around the Fukuron base, looking in alleys and dumpsters for any sort of body. She ended up catching and beating up a purse-snatcher, but there was no sign of a familiar scarred body.

When she got home, she was drained emotionally. She couldn’t handle not knowing. She was caught between being ashamed that she wouldn’t trust him to survive, and feeling naive for believing he wouldn’t die.

The only thing that gave her hope was that her number was blocked on his phone. Blocking someone’s number seemed like a petty thing to do if one was at Death’s doorstep. He probably wouldn’t have bothered until he had at least escaped the Fukuron compound, and was somewhere safe. Of course, he could have blocked her number, decided to recover by taking a quick nap, kept bleeding, and never woken up again.

It was getting harder and harder to not imagine those nightmare scenarios.

---

Ten days since she last saw Dabi, Giran called her while she was getting changed to go out as Leia. “You can’t tell Dabi I told you this, but he’s alive.”

Fuyumi collapsed onto her bed. “Oh thank god.”

“For real, though, he explicitly told me not to tell you anything, but I’m trusting you anyway. I don’t know what happened, but I can tell you two usually have each other’s best interests at heart.”

“Thank you,” Fuyumi felt tears welling up in her eyes, “Thank you, thank you so much Giran.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Do… Do you know where he is?” Fuyumi wiped her eyes, “I want to see him. I need to see he’s alive.”

“Sorry Leia, but like I said, he explicitly said he didn’t want me to tell you anything about where he’s at or what he’s doing. He won’t say what happened between you two, but he seems dedicated to cutting off all contact.”

Fuyumi let out a shuddering sigh. She grabbed some tissues to blow her nose. “It’s complicated. I want to see him but… It’s good to at least know he’s alive. Thank you so much, Giran.”

After they said their goodbyes, Fuyumi stripped off her Leia jacket she had been putting on and just collapsed onto the bed. She wasn’t going to go out tonight, she was just going to bathe in the knowledge that Dabi was alive.

She would hunt him down later to confront him about ignoring her. For now, she was too relieved to get up.

Notes:

Next Chapter: Fuyumi eventually gets a bit more info

Chapter 23: Why Would He Join Literally The One Organization That I Hate With A Passion Of A Thousand Suns?

Summary:

A little boy who had been pretending to be All-Might last week was now standing in the center of a circle, red head-band tight across his forehead, holding up a stick like a knife. “The sinners and the corrupt and the… uh… bad heroes aren’t really real heroes! I’m gonna only let All Might himself kill me!”

Another student jumped in, tackling the first. “I am here!”

From there, the game continued, with ‘Stain’ lying on the ground and delivering a long soliloquy on how he only wanted to clean up the hero society. ‘All Might’ knelt beside him and held his hand as Stain ‘died.’

Fuyumi held herself back from jumping in there and asking what the fuck.

Fuyumi watched the news with a hand over her mouth, shocked at the scene.

The Hero-Killer, Stain, was tirading against the current hero system, bloody and shouting, holding attention the same way a car wreck holds attention: Horrific, but impossible to look away.

And all-too-close wa s Shouto and Endeavor. When Shouto told Fuyumi he was planning to intern under Dad, Fuyumi had been concerned at first. She had told him that if he wanted to work under someone else, she would talk to Dad for him. However, for some reason Shouto was determined to work under him, saying something about respecting him as a hero, even if not as a father.

Fuyumi wished she had tried to persuade Shouto more otherwise as she thought about how close he was to the Hero-Killer. Why were people just watching? He could strike out at any moment at her baby brother.

His speech stopped unexpectedly, and he collapsed. Fuyumi let out a breath, not quite relaxed but relieved that the immediate threat had passed.

---

Kids could be disturbing. They latched onto the strangest things, play-acting scenarios of adultery, medical dramas, or courtrooms on the playground.

Or pretending to be the Hero-Killer, Stain.

A little boy who had been pretending to be All-Might last week was now standing in the center of a circle, red head-band tight across his forehead, holding up a stick like a knife. “The sinners and the corrupt and the… uh… bad heroes aren’t really real heroes! I’m gonna only let All Might himself kill me!”

Another student jumped in, tackling the first. “I am here!”

From there, the game continued, with ‘Stain’ lying on the ground and delivering a long soliloquy on how he only wanted to clean up the hero society. ‘All Might’ knelt beside him and held his hand as Stain ‘died.’

Fuyumi held herself back from jumping in there and asking what the fuck.

So long as the children weren’t actually hurting each other, and all of them involved were happy with whatever game scenario they had, she tried to avoid intervening. She wanted to allow them as much creative freedom as she was able, but this was definitely on the boundary of what she could tolerate.

Stain was a villain. That should have been obvious by how many heroes he killed, not to mention his apparent connection to the League of Villains. But he was persuasive, even Fuyumi could admit that his will was a force to be reckoned with. It still hurt to discover that young, impressionable kids were being affected by his ideology. When was it acceptable for a teacher like Fuyumi to correct a child on such politics? Did the kid even understand what he was talking about? Would his parents be okay with her intervening in his beliefs?

She hoped it was just a case of a child acting out what they’d seen on television. She would let it go for now, hoping that it would fade away with the next big news story.

---

Fuyumi was surprised when she entered her mother’s room to discover another occupant (aside from Mom). “Natsuo?”

Natsuo’s head jerked around, interrupting whatever conversation he had with mom. When he registered Fuyumi’s face, he broke out into a smile. “Fuyumi! I haven’t seen you in ages!”

He jumped up and hugged her. Fuyumi laughed and hugged him back. “Only ‘cause you haven’t been over at the house in ages! What have you been doing with all your weekends?”

Mom smirked. “Did he not tell you about his girlfriend?”

Fuyumi pulled back, shocked. “His what?”

Natsuo groaned and turned to Mom. “She’s not my- We aren’t putting like, labels on it yet or whatever-”

“Natsuo since when have you had a girlfriend?” Fuyumi continued, flabbergasted.

He scratched the back of his neck, “Like I said, she’s not a girlfriend-”

“Yet,” Mom cut in.

“Mom!”

“Their first date was a few weeks ago,” Mom told Fuyumi, since Natsuo was too busy sputtering in embarrassment.

Fuyumi turned to Natsuo, “And you didn’t tell me?”

He crossed his arms. “Well, I mean- It’s casual, I didn’t want to get your hopes up or anything.”

“But she’s what you’ve been doing every weekend?”

He flushed. “Not doing doing!” He corrected, “But… I guess yeah, I’ve been hanging out with her.”

Fuyumi squealed and pulled Natsuo’s shoulders down so she could ruffle his hair. “Awww my baby brother finally has a girlfriend.”

“Like I said, she’s not my-”

“It warms my heart,” Mom shared.

Natsuo seemed to let go of the ‘not-girlfriend’ part after that. Instead he narrowed his eyes at Fuyumi. “Shouto is the baby brother.”

Mom’s eyes lit up when Shouto was mentioned. Fuyumi had to smile knowing that Shouto had started visiting Mom. Although Shouto didn’t tell Fuyumi much about what they talked about during his visits, he kept coming back and seemed relieved after most of them. Based on Mom’s reaction, they were helpful for her too.

Fuyumi ruffled Natsuo’s hair again. “I can have two baby brothers.”

“I’m legally an adult!”

Mom laughed. Fuyumi felt relieved that she seemed to be doing well today. She wondered whether maybe, soon…

She bit her lip as she entertained the thought. Mom had been in the hospital a long time. And she seemed to be doing a lot better. She could see Shouto without anything bad happening.

What would happen if she saw Dad?

She knew the doctors said Mom shouldn’t, but Fuyumi couldn’t help but hope, long-forgotten memories of a completed family surfacing in her brain. Natsuo and Dad were fighting less (though that might be related more to Natsuo being gone most the time), and Dad was making changes for Fuyumi.

As Mom continued to tease Natsuo, Fuyumi joined in. She knew she couldn’t rush this sort of thing, but her heart warmed with anticipation for a future that used to seem like only a dream.

---

Magne approached Fuyumi at the Forge, glancing left and right like cautious of something. “Magne?”

Magne leaned in. “You still looking for Dabi?”

Fuyumi straightened up immediately, heart pounding. “Always.”

“I might know something… but you have to promise to not be mad.”

Fuyumi scoffed. “I’m about as mad as I can be towards him for ignoring me over something that’s literally not in my control, but sure.”

Magne whispered into her ear. “He joined the League of Villains.”

Her heart stopped. “He what?” Fuyumi screeched.

Others in the Forge turned at the exclamation as Magne tried to shush her. Fuyumi glared at the people eyeing them until they turned away again, minding their own business.

“What do you mean he’s with the League? He knows how I feel about them.”

Magne grimaced. “After the whole Stain thing, it’s been getting a lot more popular. I guess Dabi recognizes the corruption in the current hero system.”

“Wait a second,” Fuyumi stared at Magne, “How do you know Dabi’s in there?”

Magne glanced away. “First, you have to promise not to be mad at me.”

“Did you join the League?” Fuyumi hissed.

“Again, only if you’re not about to attack me.”

Fuyumi clenched her fists, resisting the urge to throw a few punches and fling Magne across the room. “I’m completely calm.”

“You do not look completely calm.”

“I’m incredibly calm.”

“Leia, for real. They’re not just villains looking for destruction, they’re gonna clean up this society, like Stain.”

“Fuck Stain,” Fuyumi spat.

Magne crossed her arms. “Look, you wanted to know where Dabi is, I’m telling you out of the goodness of my heart. I didn’t ask for you to judge me about my choice of villain organizations.”

Fuyumi groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and holding back a scream of frustration. “I just- I can’t get over them attacking children.”

“Not children,” Magne insisted, “Privileged future heroes. They’re part of the system that churns out heroes who care more about image than helping the common folk like us.”

“I didn’t ask for your Stain love letter.”

Magne frowned. “I’m trying to do you a favor here. I know where Dabi is.”

That fact focused Fuyumi. “…You do?”

“Well, I know where the League meets up, and he’s there too. If you can promise to behave and not blow a gasket in their territory-”

“I’m perfectly calm!” Fuyumi insisted. She had spent so many years being calm, there was no way she could lose her cool the way Dad and Natsuo did all the time.

Magne raised an eyebrow. “Sure. Anyway, as I was saying, if you can maintain your ‘calm’, you might have an opportunity to meet him.”

Hope swelled in Fuyumi’s chest. “Really?”

Magne nodded. “I don’t know what exactly happened between you two, but I think it’s a damn shame. Anybody here could see you two care about each other, and I’m willing to bet among the two of you Dabi’s likely the emotionally constipated one for avoiding you. I tried to convince him to talk to you when I saw him, but he’s stubborn as hell, so I have no choice but to bring you to him.”

Fuyumi couldn’t help but hug Magne. “You’re a good friend, Magne.”

She snorted. “Then as a favor to your dear friend Magne, promise not to blow up anyone in the League or their hideout?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Notes:

Next Chapter: A chat with Dabi :)

Chapter 24: Anyone Else Have A Fear Of Turning Into Their Parents?

Summary:

The girl blinked at Fuyumi, pausing half a step out the door like she meant to leave up until being blocked by this random stranger on the doorstep. She turned back inside and shouted, “Shiggy, there’s someone out here!”

A slouched dude with greasy hair and a disembodied hand on his face approached the door. “Who told you to come here?”

“Uh…” Fuyumi was no snitch, so she completely ignored that, “I’m here for Dabi.”

Notes:

Fair warning, there is angst... and then more angst.

Deep breaths. Magne said this was the League’s base of operations, and that either Dabi would be there or someone would know how to contact him from there. Fuyumi wasn’t allowed to tell them Magne was her source, and Magne was staying away while Fuyumi made contact.

She stood in front of a rickety door in a run-down neighborhood, hand raised to knock. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She might get to finally see Dabi in person, alive and well again. Even if he was in the worst spot imaginable. Well, aside from death.

Her hand hesitated over the door. She should have told Dad where this was, asked him to go in fire blazing and tear down the League before it could get any bigger. But Dabi was in there, not to mention Magne made her promise not to fight them. She couldn’t turn her back on them, especially when she recalled Dabi literally taking a bullet for her. She might be more vigilante than villain, but at the very least she wasn’t gonna snitch on someone who cared that much about her. Maybe she could persuade Dabi to leave the League, convince Magne to do the same, and then she could tell Dad about the base.

Just when she hyped herself up enough to knock on the door, it opened before she could even touch it and Fuyumi was confronted by a blond high school girl.

The girl blinked at Fuyumi, pausing half a step out the door like she meant to leave up until being blocked by this random stranger on the doorstep. She turned back inside and shouted, “Shiggy, there’s someone out here!”

A slouched dude with greasy hair and a disembodied hand on his face approached the door. “Who told you to come here?”

“Uh…” Fuyumi was no snitch, so she completely ignored that, “I’m here for Dabi.”

The schoolgirl squealed. Fuyumi tried to memorize the uniform she was wearing, to see if she could look it up later and figure out which school this girl went to. Clearly the school was not keeping a good eye on its students. The girl had a wide, almost lecherous smile as she looked up at Fuyumi. “Ooh, his secret lover?”

Fuyumi gagged. “Uh, gross, no.”

The weird-as-hell hands guy leaned closer to her, and she assumed if she could see his face better he would be glaring. “Then why do you want to see him?”

“I…” Fuyumi scrambled her brain before coming up with the perfect excuse, “I’m his sister.”

The high school girl’s eyes widened, and her smile became a bit too big. “Ooh? Dabi has a family?”

“Yes,” Fuyumi rushed to explain, “He’s been avoiding me because of something ridiculous, and I just need to see him and talk to him, please-”

The guy raised a hand (his own, not the ones on his face) to stop Fuyumi’s babble. “Stop.”

Fuyumi waited, holding her breath. This dude could determine whether or not she got to see Dabi.

He scratched at his neck. Oof, whatever was going on there didn’t look good. He spoke, “You know what? I wanna see where this goes, maybe unlock a unique cutscene. Come in.”

The door opened fully and Fuyumi saw the contents of the room. There was a rickety bar, with a bartender who was made of black fuzzy smoke. Along the bar seats was a guy who looked like a lizard, many knives strapped to himself. He narrowed his eyes at Fuyumi, suspicious, but didn’t move to attack or anything. “Who’s she?” He asked, then faced Fuyumi squarely, “Are you a fan of Stain?”

“No, absolutely not,” Fuyumi responded with no hesitation.

The hands-man who let her in spoke, “You’re alright.” The tone was almost… relieved?

Fuyumi had to hold back a guffaw. Weren’t the League in the kahoots with Stain? Wouldn’t they normally like him?

The guy continued. “Have you ever considered joining the League?”

The high scholar behind Fuyumi bounced up and down. “Ooh! We could have sleepovers! You seem like you’d be good at those!”

“No thank you,” She said quickly, “I’m just here for Dabi.”

“A shame.” The dude went back to scratching his neck. “Kurogiri.”

The being of smoke tending the bar focused on the guy. “Yes?”

“Bring Dabi here.”

In an instant, a portal of inky smoke appeared in the center of the room. Dabi fell unceremoniously out of it, landing on his rear with a painful-sounding thud. As he got up, he was focused on the bartender, back facing Fuyumi. “What the fuck, Kurogiri?”

Fuyumi could only see his back, but her shoulders sagged in relief at his presence. He was standing up, and he used both arms to pick himself up off of the ground. He was clearly alive, able to use both arms, not dead in a ditch.

Since she was too busy gazing at Dabi, whole and alive, Toga spoke up to explain, “You never told us you had a sister!”

Dabi whirled around, panic on his face. Then anger. “What the fuck.”

He marched up to Fuyumi, grabbing the collar of her shirt and hoisting her up, much like he did the first time they met, trying to threaten her. Fuyumi almost yawned at the attempt, even at his familiar flames flaring. It was nice to see his fire worked again, meaning whatever the bullet had done to his quirk had been temporary.

“You can’t just tell people we’re related.”

Fuyumi pouted. Dabi was the one who started using that as a way to justify their closeness to other people. “Oh, so it’s fine for you to tell people we’re siblings, but not me?”

He lowered Fuyumi enough that her toes could still touch the ground. “That was before…” He lowered her even further; soon both feet were on the ground. “Before I knew…”

“About my dad?” Fuyumi challenged, “I’m not asking you to forgive him or whatever, but please stop deciding that because he’s my dad, that I’m a bad person too.”

“That’s- that’s not what I’m thinking,” Dabi defended himself, hold finally loosening.

The lizard-man at the bar whispered to the bartender, “Wouldn’t her dad also be his dad?”

The bartender leaned over to respond, “Some families are complicated, don’t be rude.”

Fuyumi continued, “And why the hell have you gone completely radio silent? After I watched you get shot on my behalf you just run away and block all my calls?”

One of the League members let out a low whistle at the info, but Fuyumi was focused on Dabi’s pinched face.

“You could have been dead for all I knew! Is it really that hard to answer the phone at least once?”

Dabi let go of her fully, stepping back. “Look, I realized some things. You don’t belong here, and you can’t continue hanging out with someone like me.”

“You can’t just drop me like that,” Fuyumi argued, “I’m well aware you’re a villain, but I don’t care. I…” She tried to calm herself down. Dabi was safe. He was not dead. It would be nice to keep things that way. “I can forgive you for all that.”

Dabi snorted. “Like you’ve forgiven Dad?”

She stiffened.

He turned away. “You make bad decisions, ‘Yum-” He coughed, “Leia, you have way too high of a tolerance for shitty people, me included. You need to learn that some people can’t be saved, and that you have to let them go.”

Fuyumi took a step forward, reaching out. “I don’t believe that.”

He glanced back at her, “Look at where chasing me has gotten you. Into the heart of the League of Villains, which I know you hate with a burning passion, surrounded by villains, and nothing to show for it. I’ve outgrown letting a silly vigilante looking for kicks follow my heel like a puppy. I’m done with you, I don’t care about you, and you should leave me alone and forget about me.”

That hurt a bit. Or a lot. Fuyumi could feel tears building up behind her goggles. “You don’t mean that.”

“Fuck off.”

The hands dude interjected, “So I can get rid of her, then?”

He stretched out one of his hands, reaching for Fuyumi’s face. Fuyumi stared dumbly at the approaching limb. Was he going to drag her by her face out of the compound? She raised up an arm of her own, intending to let him grab the arm instead and twist him around, flinging him to the ground.

Before that could happen though, a wall of blue flame appeared between the two of them, forcing both to back up. Fuyumi saw panic cross Dabi’s face before he took a deep breath and donned his usual aloof expression. “Don’t, Shigaraki. It’s not worth it” Dabi told the hands guy.

Shigaraki laughed. “Uh-huh. ‘It’s not worth it,’ sure.”

Dabi ignored him and walked to Fuyumi, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the door. “Don’t come back here.”

“Wait, Dabi-”

“I mean it,” He pushed her out.

She grabbed the door, preventing him from slamming it. “Dabi, just let me- let me say one thing.”

He glared at her, still holding the door.

Well, at least he was listening. “I’ll always be there for you. You have my number, and…” She thought about his internet-stalking abilities. “You know where I live, don’t you?”

A flicker of surprise crossed over his face. “…Yeah.”

She nodded. “Figured a stalker like you would know that much.”

He frowned and started pushing the door again.

Fuyumi pushed back as she continued, “So if you ever need anything at all, if you want to… leave the world of villainy, or even if you’re just hurt and don’t know where else to go, you can always come to me.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Really? You think I’ll go to you-know-whose house?”

“Or call me, or go to the apartment.”

He laughed. “I haven’t paid rent in quite awhile, it’s probably-”

“I’m paying rent.”

“What? Don’t do that, don’t waste your money on-”

“I was worried about you, and I thought keeping that was my best chance at seeing you again. Anyway, I used Forge money, which is kind of yours, speaking of…” Fuyumi dug into one of her pockets.

“Don’t.”

She ignored him and reached out some cash. “Please Dabi, I know I’m safe, but I have zero idea how you’re surviving. Just take it so I’ll have some peace of mind.”

Dabi continued to insist otherwise, but the girl from earlier plucked it out of Fuyumi’s hand. “You can’t say no to free money, Dabi!”

“Thank you,” Fuyumi told the girl before turning back to Dabi, “And Dabi, no matter what, please remember I’ll always be there for you.”

“This isn’t a dumb hallmark movie. I’ve killed people, Fuyumi, and I’m about to kill a lot more. I’m a bad person, and bad people don’t change.”

“Like you said, I’m great at forgiveness.”

He glared. “I did not phrase it that nicely. And there’s no way you can forgive everything.”

“Try me.”

He leaned in, whispering so no on else in the League would hear him. “What if we killed Shouto?”

Fuyumi froze. “Y-you…”

“No matter how nice you want to act, you shouldn’t forgive that,” He told her.

“Is that a hypothetical, or a threat?” She asked, afraid.

He shrugged. “Who knows? I’m part of the League now. He’s part of Class 1-A. You do the math.”

“Dabi, please, for me, promise you’ll do anything but that,” Fuyumi felt a sudden desperation seize her.

Unfortunately, the shock loosened her grip on the door, and Dabi slammed it shut. She stared at it, starting to shake with a mix of fear and anger. What gave Dabi the right to shut her out, after everything they’d been through? To throw away their entire friendship and throw his own life into the League? She pounded her fist against the door. “Dabi? Dabi!”

She didn’t get any response, but heard a girl’s giggle and some low voices speaking too quiet to make out. She tried the door, but it was locked.

Well, Dabi made his choice. She pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself in something like a hug, as though it could chase away the chill going down her spine. She wasn’t going to give up on Dabi, not ever, but there was nothing she could do if he refused to let her in.

Slowly, she walked away, barely registering the alleys and broken streetlamps she passed. She tried to focus on the positives: Dabi was alive. He was well, he had his quirk, he was somehow surviving without Forge money. Maybe he was part of the League of Villains now, but he had an out. If he ever changed his mind, Fuyumi hoped he would come to her. She made that as clear as possible.

Her hands, clinging to herself, tightened. She couldn’t make him do anything. It was all up to him. Once again, for the millionth time in her life, she felt helpless. It was like she was watching Shouto decide to intern for Endeavor. Or Natsuo start another fight with Dad instead of rolling over and backing down. Or Touya talking back during training…

She drew a shaky breath. She wanted to grab Dabi and force him into their old apartment, keeping him cloistered away from everyone and everything. Why couldn’t he see that she wanted the best for him? She had been so scared he was going to die, why would he risk that again? Did any of those League villains in that bar care about Dabi as much as Fuyumi did?

The sound of windows shattering broke Fuyumi out of her thoughts. She dashed towards the sound, discovering a store robbery in progress. There were two people involved.

Adrenaline, addictive and familiar, took over as she dragged them out of the store and enacted violence upon them. One of them was large and stony, practically turning into a boulder when Fuyumi tried to punch him, but she quickly figured out his eyes were vulnerable. A dash of satisfaction went through her when she jammed a dart deeply into his eye, causing a scream of pain.

With him wailing and blinded, she was able to destroy his accomplice, a tall woman with pointed ears and claws. She got some scratches on Fuyumi, though the Leia jacket and layers did well protecting her for the most part. After a couple of well-aimed punches and slamming the woman against a wall, the criminal seemed barely conscious.

The boulder guy gathered enough sense to grab his accomplice and start running. Fuyumi watched them go, debating on chasing. She wanted to hurt them even more, forcing them to submit to her power, but one thought, bubbling from the depths of her subconscious, stopped her.

Did Dad feel like this?

She stared at her hands, blood soaking into the dark fabric of her gloves. When Fuyumi ran away, did he also go out and brutalize criminals? Or did he take it out on Shouto? Did it fulfill the same desperate desire for control Fuyumi had?

Disgust roiled in her gut.

She decided to go right back home. If she stayed out in this mood, she might do something she would regret.

She sneaked back into the house, desperate to shed her disguise. Quietly, she rinsed her gloves. The blood wouldn’t be very noticeable on the dark fabric, but knowing it was there made her sick. She filled a bucket with cold water and dropped most her outfit into it, intending to soak it overnight.

She treated her wounds, wiping at them with no gentleness. She treated those people so roughly. She didn’t know why they were robbing the store. Were they desperate? Hungry? Who knew. Giran was right when he said Fuyumi had no moral backbone. She would rather attack petty thieves than the League of Villains, just because she had emotional attachment to someone in the League. She didn’t really care what those burglars were doing, what sorts of laws they were breaking, just that they were free punching bags for her to take her frustrations out on.

Once in her pajamas, she curled into bed, letting the warmth of her heated blanket envelop her. No matter how much she wrapped herself up, there was a cold terror that stayed deep in her chest.

She would think harder about her actions next time. She’d stop trying to control Dabi, like how Dad tried to control Fuyumi. She didn’t want to be Dad. As much as she loved him, she was deeply aware of how flawed he was.

He needed to change. And maybe Fuyumi did, too.

Notes:

Dabi: "I don't care about you AT ALL and never want to see you again goodbye."
Shigaraki: "Oh cool let me disintegrate her and then you'll never have to deal with her again."
Dabi: "...Uh-"

Next Chapter: After this chapter, we need some FLUFF. Please welcome the return of our favorite fluffy (bunny) hero

Chapter 25: Sorry I Forgot We Were Dating

Summary:

Fuyumi was, to understate it, surprised when she opened the front door of the Todoroki household and saw Rumi Usagiyama, dressed modestly and holding up a box with the local of a nearby bakery.

“Hi babe!” Rumi exclaimed, “I brought carrot cake!”

Notes:

Hey, remember how Rumi pretended to be Fuyumi's boyfriend??

....Yeah I can't stay away from the fake-dating trope for long

Fuyumi mixed the curry she was making for dinner slowly. Dad had told her that he had ‘a big appetite’ today, whatever that means, so she was making a little more than usual, and it was almost spilling over the edge of the pot. Fuyumi had a bit of leftover miso heating on another stove to serve as a side, and the rice cooker was almost done.

The doorbell went off. She lowered the heat on the curry before approaching the front of the house. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Perhaps a package?

Fuyumi was, to understate it, surprised when she opened the front door of the Todoroki household and saw Rumi Usagiyama, dressed modestly and holding up a box with the local of a nearby bakery.

“Hi babe!” Rumi exclaimed, “I brought carrot cake!”

Fuyumi accepted a box, still confused, as Rumi stepped inside.

“Hi, Endeavor!”

Dad, sitting on an armchair in the living room, in sight of the front door, nodded and put down the book he had been reading. “Hello, Ms. Usagiyama.”

“Please, call me Rumi!”

Fuyumi’s head went back and forth between the two. Why wasn’t Dad surprised?

Dad turned to Fuyumi. “How’s dinner going?”

“Uh…” Fuyumi was still off-balance. “Fine? It’s almost done, just have to set it up.”

“Set out an extra place for Rumi,” He told her.

“I’ll help you out!” Rumi exclaimed, hopping up and down.

Fuyumi let Rumi follow her into the kitchen, out of Dad’s earshot.

“Are you surprised?” Rumi asked, still bouncing.

Fuyumi turned off the stove and started getting out the tableware, passing them to Rumi so she could put them on the table. “Very.”

Rumi laughed, loud as usual. Even if Dad couldn’t hear their words, he certainly heard that laugh. “Your Dad invited me over. He said he wanted to ‘surprise’ you.”

“Surprise me? Why?”

Rumi grinned. “He still seems to be under the impression we’re dating.”

Realization dawned on Fuyumi. One half of her was awed that Dad was trying to do something so thoughtful for once in his life, especially considering his previous reaction. The other half was mortified. “Oh no I’m so sorry, I should have corrected him at some point, or pretended we broke up-”

Rumi patted Fuyumi’s shoulder. “No worries! I’m the one that suggested it in the first place!

Fuyumi nodded, still embarrassed by the situation. Was it rude that she enjoyed Rumi playing pretend like this? Maybe if Rumi knew Fuyumi’s true feelings, she wouldn’t be as eager to play the role. This was just a matter of a hero helping a civilian. Rumi didn’t know that her and Fuyumi had shared some… passionate nights together, which clouded Fuyumi’s judgment. Fuyumi carefully avoided touching her, aware that as far as Rumi knew, Fuyumi and Leia were two separate people.

“Especially considering…” Rumi trailed off, for once growing quiet.

That confused Fuyumi. “Considering what?”

“I didn’t realize your Dad was going to react the way he did.”

“The way he…?”

“Back then, when I first told him.”

Oh, when he freaked out at the discovery. Fuyumi gave a nervous laugh, that was a whole bucket of worms she didn’t want to get into. “Oh, yeah, he’s not always… great at accepting things.”

“Did I get you in trouble?”

Fuyumi bit her lip. Technically it did get her in some trouble, but… “Well, it was less trouble than it would have been had I not had a ‘boyfriend’ to show him.”

“And sorry if…” Rumi seemed conflicted. “If I outed you. Or misrepresented your sexuality.”

Fuyumi gulped. Was Rumi trying to determine whether she had a chance with Fuyumi? She tried to tamp down the speeding of her heart, wary expectation rising. Rumi might enjoy the challenge and chemistry of bedding a vigilante, but there was no way a pro-hero would be interested in a modest school teacher like Fuyumi. “You might have outed me.”

There was a spark of something unidentifiable in Rumi’s eyes before she pulled back to bow. “I’m sorry.”

Fuyumi’s hands flew up, as if trying to wipe away the sight of the pro-hero Miruko bowing down to her. “Oh my goodness, don’t even worry about it! You helped me out of some trouble, and even though it took my Dad a little bit to get used to it, it turned out alright in the end.”

Rumi rose at that, a smile on her face. “Well, if you insist.”

“Anyways, I guess you’ve been dragged into my troubles again for no good reason…”

“Hey, like I said, I’m a hero,” Rumi leaned in close, putting a hand on her shoulder “It’s my job to help people in trouble.”

Fuyumi stared into her eyes. Without Leia’s goggles in the way, Rumi’s eyes seemed redder than usual. And they looked into her eyes with a fierce, steady, intensity, as if Fuyumi just had to say the word, and Rumi would stay as long as Fuyumi desired her.

“Rumi…: Fuyumi started, voice soft.

Rumi’s laugh this time was low, quiet, just a chuckle, and the grip on Fuyumi’s shoulder, warm even through her sweater, tightened. “Yes, Fuyumi?”

“I-”

“Is dinner almost ready?” Shouto asked.

Fuyumi jumped at her baby brother’s voice. He was in the entryway of the kitchen, staring at the curry still on the stove. If he noticed the mood between Fuyumi and Rumi, he didn’t seem embarrassed at all from having interrupted. Rumi let go of Fuyumi’s shoulder.

Fuyumi coughed. “Y-yes. Go ahead and take a seat, I just need to finish setting things out…”

As she moved the food to the center of the table, she called for Dad to come join them as well.

“So this is your brother?” Rumi asked.

Shouto stared at Rumi.

“Yeah. Shouto, this is Rumi. Rumi, this is Shouto.”

Rumi nodded. “I saw you at the sports festival. Good job, you’ve got some guts!”

“Thanks,” Shouto responded quietly.

Once Dad came to the table, food was served and they chowed down.

“Fuyumi, this curry is absolute heaven!”

Fuyumi blushed at the compliment. Although the boys almost always finished what was on their plate, most of them didn’t give her such positive feedback verbally, aside from Natsuo. “Thank you.”

They made conversation for awhile (Rumi and Fuyumi, that is), which was a nice change from the quiet meals the Todoroki house normally had. Fuyumi almost combusted a few times when Rumi made flirtatious remarks, but she frosted the tips of her ears just enough to keep cool. Rumi even badgered Shouto enough that he said more than two words, sharing that his class was going to go on a training camp soon.

However, as the meal came close to an end there was a lull in the conversation.

Surprisingly, Shouto filled it. “So why is Rumi here?”

Dad looked at Fuyumi, face pinched with a tiny bit of confusion. Fuyumi grimaced. One of the terms of the ‘Fuyumi-will-stop-running-away-if-you-change-this’ discussion was that Fuyumi be allowed to tell Shouto that she’s a lesbian. However, despite having secured permission to share the news, she hadn’t actually gotten around to telling Shouto about it.

Shouto and her still primarily communicated through training, and her sexuality hadn’t seemed that relevant to bring up! It’s not like she was bringing home a girlfriend or anything… Well, up until now.

Fuyumi opened her mouth to mumble something, but Rumi beat her to the punch, “I’m dating your sister!”

Shouto blinked. “Oh.”

Fuyumi watched carefully for any other reaction. There was another moment as Shouto processed.

Then he turned to Fuyumi. “Is that why you keep blushing?”

Unfortunately, that question made Fuyumi blush, proving his point. “Shouto!”

Rumi let out a delighted cackle at the comment. Dad sat, stony and silent as usual. Fuyumi quickly changed the topic of conversation, pulling out the carrot cake and claiming it was desert time.

As they munched on the carrot cake, Fuyumi tried to keep down her flustered feelings. Such a question wouldn’t be so embarrassing if Rumi were actually her girlfriend. However, as things were, Rumi was both not her girlfriend and not aware of Fuyumi’s blossoming feelings. She didn’t want Rumi to notice and start getting… ideas. Not that she assumed Rumi would be interested in the meek little daughter of Endeavor. But Fuyumi could barely keep up with the occasional semi-anonymous hookup after stopping crime together, she wouldn’t be able to handle it if Rumi knew exactly where Fuyumi lived and made a habit of showing up for dinner.

Once everyone had finished their cake, Fuyumi pulled Rumi to the front door. Rumi went along willingly, giving Dad and Shouto a friendly wave as she left.

Fuyumi stepped out of the house with Rumi, closing the door behind them to provide some privacy. “Thank you for playing along, I really appreciate it,” Fuyumi told her with a bow.

Rumi pulled Fuyumi up from the bow. “Aw, come on! No need to be so formal! Honestly, if you wanna keep ‘dating’, I’d be happy to have another excuse to eat your cooking again!”

“Y-you’re too kind,” Fuyumi told her, frosting the back of her ears to prevent another full-fledged blush.

“No, seriously. Can we exchange numbers? Next time I can warn you if Endeavor is trying to make it a surprise.”

Was… was this flirting? That’s a thing, right? Where if you’re interested in someone you ask for their number? No, like Rumi said, it made sense if they wanted to keep up this charade to be able to contact each other. “Of course,” Fuyumi responded, pulling out her phone.

When Rumi put her number in, she saved herself as ‘Rumi’ with three heart emojis. Fuyumi stared at it before looking back up at Rumi for an explanation.

“Gotta keep up appearances, right?” Rumi told her.

Fuyumi nodded slowly. Despite the breeze passing by the porch, her face felt warm.

Rumi stepped back with a smirk. “Catch ya later?”

“Yeah.”

Rumi hopped away, and Fuyumi watched her with longing eyes. Should she have invited Rumi in? Brought her into her room and asked how far she wanted to go? Fuyumi held her phone with its new number close to her chest; a new point of contact between the two of them. Not that Rumi knew how many other points of contact they had.

Fuyumi went back inside and discovered Dad nearby the door, waiting for her. Shouto was nowhere to be found, probably having returned to his room.

“Fuyumi,” Dad started, “Was that okay?”

Fuyumi stared at him. “What?”

“Inviting Rumi.”

“Uh,” What was Dad trying to do? “I guess? I’m mostly confused why you invited her in the first place? And didn’t tell me?”

“I know when you first informed me about your… relationship, I wasn’t exactly receptive to it. Since we had that talk about… uh…” Dad averted his eyes. “A bunch of things, you talked about how I needed to make more of an, uh, effort in some domains.”

Fuyumi continued to stare.

Dad coughed. “I wanted to make it clear that whoever you date, I’d rather have her here with you than have you run away again.”

A smile came unbidden to Fuyumi’s face. “Dad…”

He looked back at her with pinched eyebrows, definitely uncomfortable with this level of emotional openness, but still making the effort. She could see him gulp, still uncertain.

“Thank you, Dad,” She gave him a quick hug, ignoring his stiffness and inability to bring his arms up to hug her back before she pulled back, “That’s very sweet of you to be making amends for your reaction. But also, maybe next time tell me if someone else is coming for dinner instead of making it a surprise?”

“…Alright.”

He didn’t say anything else, so Fuyumi left him to go to her own room, beaming the whole way. Dad was far from perfect, but knowing how much effort he was putting in, and seeing how much he’d changed warmed Fuyumi’s heart.

Dabi said bad people don’t change, but Dad was in his forties, someone who ought to be well-set in his ways, and yet was finding a way to change for the people he cared about.

It made hope bloom in Fuyumi’s chest, unfurling dozens of doubts and fears about the future of their family. It also reassured her in regards to Dabi, who seemed set on a bad path right now. Maybe one day he’d make the choice to escape villainy, and Fuyumi could be there to help him out of it.

Notes:

Next Chapter: Notice how I very subtly mentioned this chapter that Shouto's class is going to a training camp soon...

Chapter 26: Trying My Very Best To Not Be A Snitch (But Failing)

Summary:

Shouto’s brow furrowed as he recalled them. “One had a weird teeth quirk, but he should be restrained now. A weird one with a top hat, who took Bakugo. One rough man with blue fire. A weird guy in a tight black suit and tape…”

Fuyumi stopped listening after ‘rough man with blue fire’.

Dabi.

What was going on with UA’s security?

Not only had the training camp been attacked, but one of the students had been kidnapped. Fortunately not Shouto, thank goodness. She called him as soon as she saw the news, and he reassured her a thousand times that he wasn’t really injured, he was fine, and that he was heading home soon.

Fuyumi waited near the door, still sick with worry. How could this have happened? Why would the League try so hard to hurt children? Was Dabi a part of this?

As soon as the door opened, Fuyumi rushed to it, pulling Shouto in for a tight hug. He let her hug him for almost a full minute as she calmed down, reminding herself that Shouto was alive and well. He had survived the USJ attack, he had survived Stain, and he survived this as well. He was capable, much more capable than a kid his age ought to be. Hadn’t she seen it first hand, training with him? He was strong. As much as Fuyumi hated Dad’s training, at least Shouto had gotten home in one piece.

“Thank you for getting back home safe,” Fuyumi mumbled into his shoulder.

“…You’re welcome?” Shouto responded.

She pulled back, letting go of him. “And you’re okay?”

“Yeah.”

She tugged at his arm, leading him to the couch to sit down. As much as she wanted to send him to bed, there were a few things she wanted to know. “What happened?”

He shrugged. “We got attacked. I helped out where I could, fought a few people. And then Bakugo was…”

That was the kidnapped kid Fuyumi had seen on the news. But that’s not what she was interested in. “You fought the League?”

“Yeah.”

She gulped. “What were they like?”

“Like villains, I guess.”

“I mean…” Fuyumi ran a hand through her hair. “Characteristics. Distinctive features. If I were to be looking out for one…”

Shouto’s brow furrowed as he recalled them. “One had a weird teeth quirk, but he should be restrained now. A weird one with a top hat, who took Bakugo. One rough man with blue fire. A weird guy in a tight black suit and tape…”

Fuyumi stopped listening after ‘rough man with blue fire’.

Dabi.

She clenched her fists. “And you fought all of these villains?”

“Yeah? My classmates helped though.”

Fuyumi took a deep breath. “You probably want to shower and go to bed, right?”

He shrugged.

“Go ahead. I… I’m glad you’re safe.”

He nodded and left the room.

Fuyumi leaned back on the couch. Dabi had been there. Dabi had fought Shouto. Had he been fighting to kill? Did Shouto live because Dabi took Fuyumi’s pleas to heart, or was Shouto just skilled enough to evade the death threat? Fuyumi didn’t know. She was afraid of knowing.

But Dabi had made a threat. And now he seemed to be acting on that threat. He wasn’t just hanging out with the League in their bar; he had contributed to their plans directly, putting Shouto in danger. Kidnapping a kid.

They used to fight kidnappers together.

She wondered how she would feel if it had been Shouto in the League’s grasp instead of this Bakugo kid. The nausea that rose in her stomach was answer enough. She didn’t know how the Bakugo family could cope knowing their child was in the clutches of the League. If it were her, she’d be desperate for any information on the organization, anything that could bring the pros one step closer to bringing their boy back home.

Like the location of one of their bases.

Fuyumi sighed. She wasn’t a snitch. Snitches get stitches. But that could have been Shouto captured. Or Dabi could have killed Shouto. Dabi said she needed to stop forgiving people; he was practically begging her to throw him away and give up on him.

Chasing him down and trying to persuade him otherwise hadn’t worked. Maybe it was time to try giving him what he wants.

She brought out her phone and called Dad.

He answered after several rings. “What is it, Fuyumi? I’m a little busy, considering the whole League-”

“I have info on the League,” Fuyumi stated, short and to the point, “Can I come to the agency?”

“…Okay.”

---

She greeted Burnin pleasantly, and as welcoming as Burnin tried to be she also had to rush past. Hero business. Everyone in the agency was working overtime since the attack. Fuyumi greeted a few others as she passed them, but they had no time to stop and exchange pleasantries. That was fine, Fuyumi didn’t feel like she had time either.

She knocked on Endeavor’s door, and waited for him to respond before opening.

“Fuyumi, what the hell could you possibly have to tell me about the League?”

He was seated at his desk, papers scattered around like he had been searching for information.

Fuyumi stepped inside, taking a seat in front of the desk. “First, promise me you won’t ask where I got the info.”

“What does that mean?”

“I…” Fuyumi deliberated on how much she could tell him for a moment. “When I… ran away, I might have gotten caught up with some… what you might call ‘unsavory’ characters.”

His eyes were focused on her. “Like that gang.”

“Exactly! Now I can’t tell you exactly why I know this, but I happened to uh… learn the location of the League.”

He stared at her, face blank like he was processing.

She stared back.

He took a deep breath. “And you waited until now to share this because…?”

“Because various, private, reasons.”

His flames flared. “How did you get this info? Why did you get this info? Fuyumi, surely you weren’t thinking of joining-”

“Of course not!” Fuyumi interjected, “But I told you, I have my own reasons. I don’t know if it’s their main base, or just one location where they happened to be staying at when I met them-”

“You met them?”

“Just once!”

He groaned, hands over his face. “I can’t believe I thought you were my reasonable, level-headed child…”

“Look, do you want the info or not?”

“I’d like as much information on why you were in this situation in the first place.”

Fuyumi put her foot down. “Well you’re not getting it. Remember that stuff I said about privacy? I’m only sharing this info because I’m assuming you’ll respect my desire to keep some things private.”

He looked at her from between his fingers. She glared back, not backing down.

He slammed a fist down on his desk, creating a loud noise that made Fuyumi flinch. “Fine, yes I want to know. Where are they?”

---

With that info, the pros were able to make a move within a few days. Bakugo was recovered, and a serious villain was taken down. The fall of All Might… was not ideal, but at least Bakugo and All Might were alive.

When she thought of how the Bakugo family must feel, having their boy back home again, Fuyumi couldn’t regret her actions. At some point she had to let go of her uneasy vigilante-villain alliance and choose the side of heroics, even doing something as dishonorable as snitching. She made her choice.

…So why was she relieved to hear Dabi had escaped?

Chapter 27: Normally I'm Super Into Getting Pinned By You But You Seem Actually Pissed And Not Turned On So I'm Confused

Summary:

There was a moment of recognition, and within an instant Rumi had leaped all the way to Fuyumi, snarling. Fuyumi didn’t even have time to blink before she was shoved against the wall of a building, Rumi grabbing both of Fuyumi’s hands to leave her defenseless. “You!”

Fuyumi wriggled a bit in Rumi’s grip, but it was useless. Knowing that Rumi could pin her so easily would normally turn her on, but when she looked at Rumi’s face, the anger she saw soured that feeling immediately. She had forgotten that technically Rumi was a hero and Fuyumi an illegal vigilante. But that hadn’t stopped them before, what had changed?

“Uh, did our truce run out?”

Fuyumi’s evening had been fairly uneventful so far. One purse snatcher was tied to a lamp pole with a tip phoned in to the police to pick him up, but aside from that crime seemed to be on the low side tonight.

She yawned as she jumped a set of roofs that were less than a foot apart. Although the gym in the Fuyumi household was well equipped, it lacked a setup to practice parkour. The gym she had joined during her runaway stint had a nice setup though, and so she had been slowly learning. She wasn’t ready to do anything crazy yet, but it seemed like a valuable skill. When she saw a fire escape, she took the chance to practice going down the outside. The metal rattled as she descended, but she made it to the ground without incident.

There was almost nobody out here. She kicked around a can for a little while before depositing it into a recycling bin. Had there been a memo or something tonight telling all criminals to stay off the streets or something?

The sound of footsteps echoed down the street. Fuyumi scurried to the sound with soft steps. She scanned until she saw someone who wasn’t a criminal, but made her perk up all the same.

Rumi was marching by, in her hero getup, presumably on patrol. It was getting to be late, though, Maybe Fuyumi could persuade her to end patrol early…?

Any attempt at stealth was shed by Fuyumi as she stepped out of the shadows and waved. “Hey Rumi!”

Rumi’s head snapped towards Fuyumi. There was a moment of recognition, and within an instant Rumi had leaped all the way to Fuyumi, snarling. Fuyumi didn’t even have time to blink before she was shoved against the wall of a building, Rumi grabbing both of Fuyumi’s hands to leave her defenseless. “You!”

Fuyumi wriggled a bit in Rumi’s grip, but it was useless. Knowing that Rumi could pin her so easily would normally turn her on, but when she looked at Rumi’s face, the anger she saw soured that feeling immediately. She had forgotten that technically Rumi was a hero and Fuyumi an illegal vigilante. But that hadn’t stopped them before, what had changed?

“Uh, did our truce run out?” Fuyumi squirmed again, but Rumi pressed even harder.

“I don’t make truces with the League!”

Fuyumi guffawed. “What? What do they have to do with us?”

“Don’t play coy with me.” Rumi’s glare alone could have kept Fuyumi pinned. “I saw Dabi joined them.”

Fuyumi was still confused. “Yeah…?”

“And I know how tight you and your brother are. If he’s joined, you’re almost definitely part of it too!”

There was a moment of confusion at the ‘brother’ part, before Fuyumi recalled that cover was used in front of Rumi before. Indignation rose up in Fuyumi’s gut. “What? You’re ridiculous. We’re two separate people, and just so you know I hate the League!”

“Oh, sure!” Rumi rolled her eyes.

“I do! I can’t stand people who hurt children, there’s no way I would ally myself with the likes of them!”

“Of course you would say that when I’ve caught you.”

“It’s true!” Fuyumi insisted. “Obviously you haven’t seen me with them, right?”

Rumi squinted. “Maybe not, but I can’t imagine you and Dabi separating.”

Her gut clenched. “Well he didn’t feel the same way.”

Rumi continued to stare, fruitlessly searching Fuyumi’s masked face for something, before her eyes widened. “…Wait, are you serious?”

“He literally blocked me and refuses to talk to me anymore,” Fuyumi told her, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.

Rumi backed up, though she kept a grip on Fuyumi’s wrists. “You two were like peas in a pod! What happened?”

“He found out… a secret about me. One that he couldn’t forgive, I guess.” Fuyumi’s lip wobbled as she recalled how quickly and thoroughly he dropped her for something completely out of her control.

“What was the secret?”

Fuyumi huffed. “Well if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?”

That made Rumi snort, and she finally let go. “…You swear you’re not part of the League?”

“I swear,” Fuyumi reassured her, “Like I said, I’m against hurting kids. Even just knowing Dabi’s gone that far, I can’t believe…”

Fuyumi’s words faltered as she reflected. He tried to hurt Shouto. He kidnapped a teenager. All Might had fallen, and Dabi had directly contributed to his fall.

Rumi put a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Fuyumi took a deep breath, “I just… It’s hard for me to think about.”

“Well no wonder, you’ve sort of lost your brother.”

Fuyumi stiffened. She had lost a brother before, a long time ago. Rumi didn’t know Dabi wasn’t really Fuyumi’s brother, but they were close enough that the sentiment rang true.

“Look, Leia, it’s not exactly busy tonight, and a public street isn’t great for this kind of conversation,” Rumi’s voice softened, “If you want, I could end patrol early and we could talk about it at my apartment.”

Her heart pounded. She wasn’t sure if Rumi really wanted to emotionally support Leia or was trying to get into her pants, but Fuyumi was ready to accept either outcome. “I would like that.”

---

“…And he took a bullet for you?” Rumi gasped.

Fuyumi nodded, her cheek rubbing against Rumi’s thigh where her head was laying. Rumi was idly running her hand along Fuyumi’s arm and side, almost like petting a cat, and it was relaxing Fuyumi despite the tense subject. “Yeah, and for some reason after that his quirk stopped working, and we hid in a closet.”

Rumi glowered. “Sounds like a quirk-erasing bullet. Apparently the Shie Hassaikai have recently developed some, though the effects are only temporary.”

“Shie Hassaikai?”

“Yakuza.”

“Well, that makes sense, since the Fukuron had been dealing with Yakuza recently. Anyway, while we were in the closet, the alarms went off, and our exits were blocked. There were way too many for me to fight, much less with Dabi quirkless and bleeding. I thought we were going to die…”

Rumi stopped petting to squeeze Fuyumi’s arm.

“…But then I, uh… Did something, that revealed something, and we got out. After that, he started avoiding me.”

“Wait a second.” Rumi tugged Fuyumi up so Fuyumi had to face her. “You can’t just leave it at that. How did you escape?”

Fuyumi bit her lip. “I can’t tell you.”

“Are you hiding some sort of crazy quirk?”

“N-no, it was a different kind of secret. I can’t tell you.”

Rumi grabbed her wrists again, leaning over her on the couch they had been sitting. “I ought to arrest you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Rumi smirked. “An interrogation, at least.”

Rumi shifted so her legs were on either side of Fuyumi’s hips, fully pinning her. Fuyumi’s heart rate picked up. “Oh?”

“Betcha I could find a way to make you talk.”

Fuyumi smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”

---

Rumi certainly tried. In many creative, tempting ways. However, Fuyumi somehow found the strength to keep her mouth shut the entire night. Well, maybe she didn’t keep her mouth shut the whole time, but she was able to avoid confessing that she was Endeavor’s daughter. She said a great deal of other things, as Rumi was highly proficient at drawing sounds out of her at this point.

Before the dawn rose, Fuyumi tried to slip out of bed. She thought Rumi would be worn out enough by the evening’s… vigorous activities to stay asleep, but when shifted an arm darted out and grabbed her. “Leaving already?” Rumi mumbled out.

Fuyumi nodded, then realized it was completely dark and that Rumi couldn’t see her. “Yeah. I don’t want my family to wake up and discover I’m gone.”

Rumi pulled her closer to the bed. “Ah, so you live with your family?”

Slight slip of Fuyumi’s cover, but nothing disastrous. “As many people do.”

“And they don’t know about your night work?”

“No, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Fuyumi tried to pull out of Rumi’s grip again, but it was way too secure to escape. Rumi sat up to wrap her arms fully around Fuyumi’s waist, and Fuyumi had to repeat a mantra of I need to go home to avoid falling right back into bed and staying another few hours.

“Mmm, wait,” Rumi mumbled out against Fuyumi’s back, “Leave your number, at least.”

Fuyumi stiffened. “My number?”

“So we can contact each other. Much easier than stalking the streets for each other.”

That made Fuyumi chuckle. “Is that what you were doing last night?”

“I was technically patrolling.”

“And looking for me?”

“I can multitask.”

Fuyumi laughed and started to get up again, but Rumi pawed at her.

“Wait, your number.”

Fuyumi recalled how her civilian identity and Rumi had exchanged numbers. Although Fuyumi’s vigilante phone looked different from her civilian phone, they were still synced to each other. If Rumi tried to input anything, she’d see she was already in Fuyumi’s phone. And if Fuyumi gave her number, Rumi would see it’s the same as Fuyumi Todoroki’s. “I don’t have a phone,” Fuyumi lied.

“You literally left because your phone rang after our first night together.”

“Uh…” She gulped. “It’s, uh, private?”

“Come on, it’ll be easier. Swear I won’t share it with the cops.”

Fuyumi realized belatedly that maybe she should have been worried about that too. “Sorry.”

She shoved her way out of Rumi’s arms and fumbled around on the carpet for her mask.

Rumi groaned from the bed. “Leia~ How am I gonna make booty calls?”

“Isn’t it nice to keep this sort of thing as a coincidental surprise whenever we run into each other?” Fuyumi offered despite also wishing she could just call every night to get together instead of relying on fate.

“It’d be nice if I had your number.”

Fuyumi sweat as she put on her mask. Rumi had been asking for a lot of personal info tonight. How long could Fuyumi keep up her secret identity? “Go to any bar, I think most girls would be thrilled to give the pro-hero Miruko their number.”

“Have you been going to bars on other nights?” Rumi asked, voice a tiny bit sharper than usual.

Fuyumi put on some of her other clothes, relying on touch to tell her what was what. “I don’t have time to go to bars.”

“Me neither.”

“I’ve seen you in a bar.”

“I’ve seen you in a bar!”

“A one-time thing. Because Dabi…” Fuyumi’s voice weakened as she recalled the person she had been trying not to think about.

“And I only occasionally go out with Hawks, more to hang with him than go picking up ladies.”

“Then why did you pick me up that night?”

“You were the one who seduced me!”

Fuyumi was fully dressed now. “Fair enough.”

She opened the door to the hallway. “Wait.”

Fuyumi paused, hand still on the doorknob.

“Email?”

Email… Fuyumi had to make an account for Leia, but it could work. “What’s your email address?”

Notes:

Ruh-roh I'm at the end of my buffer... Gonna still try to maintain the 'every three days' schedule (and hopefully build up a buffer again) but fair warning there could be a delay.

Chapter 28: I've Noticed You Make A Habit Of Betraying People, But I'll Still Rescue You

Summary:

“What’s so urgent that you couldn’t wait to see me at the Forge on Saturday?”

Copper’s eyes were wide. “It’s Dabi. He’s been kidnapped.”

Fuyumi was doing the dishes Friday night when someone knocked on the door. Quick, hard, urgent knocks. What could they want?

“Dad, can you get that?” Fuyumi asked, arms deep in the filled sink basin.

A grunt was all the affirmative she heard before heavy footsteps made their way to the door. When it swung open, Endeavor asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m, uh- a friend of L- uh, Miss Todoroki?” The voice was familiar, but from where…?

Dad was gruff. “You mean Fuyumi?”

“Yes! I need to see her, it’s rather urgent, is she home?”

When Fuyumi realized who it was, the voice coming into sharp focus, she dropped the dish she was holding right back into the sink. Copper. What the hell was she doing, coming to Fuyumi’s house? Fuyumi stripped off her dishwashing gloves and ran to the door. “Artina! What in the world-”

Copper was disheveled, still in civilian mode with modest attire, looking more like a world-weary mother than the illegal fighting-ring emcee she was on the weekends. When she saw Fuyumi, the panic in her eyes did not lessen, and she seemed only more desperate to communicate. “I need to talk to you. In private.”

Dad crossed his arms and glared at her. “And who exactly are you?”

Before Copper could come up with an excuse, Fuyumi stepped in front of her father. “She’s the parent of one of my students. I’m sure it’s an emergency involving her child , so I’m going to go talk with her in my room.”

Fuyumi did not give Dad time to object to her decision, instead opting to grab Copper and pull her into her bedroom.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Fuyumi whirled to Copper. “How do you even know my address?”

“I had a friend hack into the school you work at. Your phone number listed there didn’t work, so I thought going to your address was my best bet for contacting you.”

Fuyumi should probably update that. Her phone had broken during her first year teaching, so she had gotten in replaced and ended up with a new number. She was a little concerned that someone was able to hack into the school system that easily, but she knew Copper was popular. Whoever she asked the favor from was probably talented in that domain. Fuyumi decided to focus on the more immediate issue. “What’s so urgent that you couldn’t wait to see me at the Forge on Saturday?”

Copper’s eyes were wide. “It’s Dabi. He’s been kidnapped.”

Fuyumi’s heart stopped.

Copper continued, “Apparently he betrayed the Shie Hassaikai, and the Yakuza decided to take revenge on him.”

Fuyumi’s heart started again, only to pound hard and fast, fear and anger mixing together in her veins.

“Lead saw it happen. He saw Dabi and tried to talk to him, tried to ask about… whatever happened between you two, since we haven’t seen him at the Forge in awhile, but all of a sudden there were dozens of guys surrounding him, and they- they must have drugged Dabi or something, because he collapsed and they took him away.” Copper clutched Fuyumi’s sleeve. “Lead would have stopped it if he could, but he’s not a fighter. I know you and Dabi had some sort of fight, but I’m also certain you would want to know. If there’s anyone who could and would go after him, it would be you. Lead contacted all of us who run the Forge, asking if we knew how to get into contact with you, but Steel and I were the only ones with any idea of where to find you.”

Fuyumi forced her panic into determination. Copper was telling her this because she knew that Fuyumi could do something about it. Would want to do something about it, regardless of the way Dabi had been acting recently.

She drew a deep breath. She needed the facts. With the facts she could make a plan, and with a plan she could take action. “When did this happen?”

“This afternoon, around 3pm. So he’s been gone for about six hours…”

A lot could happen in six hours. She forced herself to take another deep breath. “Do you know where the Hassaikai might be holding him?”

She shook her head. “Since their leader was taken down by some pro-heros recently, the whole organization has been pretty scattered. This must be the work of some members that escaped, but I don’t know where their new base would be.”

Fuyumi flicked open her cell phone and rang up her best information-broker.

“Giran, at your service.”

“If you were a leftover member of the Shie Hassaikai, where would you set up a base of operations?”

“Hmm… Weirdly specific, and normally I wouldn’t have such a nuanced grasp on a group, but I happened to be looking into those folks recently. I might have a hint of a location, but that’s valuable information.”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know… I was planning to share it with someone else once I confirmed its veracity, but if you’re really desperate…”

“I really am, again: What do you want?”

“You really shouldn’t admit out loud that you’re desperate when you’re haggling.”

“Do you still want Endeavor’s boxers?”

Copper, standing nearby, made a pinched expression of disgust at the mention.

There was a pregnant pause on the other end. “…Do you mean it?”

“Yeah I’ll get some to you next time we meet.”

“What, do you know his housekeeper or something? Gonna be honest, it’s a little weird…”

“You said you knew someone who would pay handsomely for them. Do you want it or not?”

“Alright, yes! Please bring them whenever you can.”

Fuyumi smirked. “Then tell me the location.”

---

It turned out there were a few possible locations, but Giran had honed in on one in particular. While some auxiliary bases seemed to shutter up and go into defense mode at the loss of their leader, this one in particular, stationed in the north of the city, was still seeing plenty of people going in and out. Fuyumi didn’t specify her criteria to Giran, but if there was one group likely to be making active moves of revenge, it was this one.

As she pressed herself against a wall, peeking around a corner at the entrance to a ramen shop (Hot as Phoenix Ramen, a sign said), she pondered on how Dabi seemed to have a knack for getting into this sort of predicament. She had basically met him this way, rescuing him after he betrayed a gang.

He had betrayed Fuyumi too.

She had her fingers crossed that he would also betray the League at some point. Until then, though, she wasn’t going to let him die. She stepped out from her corner. No one was outside the base, so she could scurry to the side of the shop. The alleyway between buildings was thin, but fortunately Fuyumi did not inherit her father’s build. She shimmied along, looking for any windows. Unfortunately, those that existed were boarded up. There was a back door, but that seemed like a risky entrance, considering she didn’t know what was on the other side.

She got to the end of the alley. There was another door to exit the shop, which opened just as she stepped out. She backtracked quickly into the alley, hearing some noise of unintelligible conversation escape out of that door. So that seemed like a busy entrance. None of her entrances looked good right now.

Fuyumi shifted slightly, shoulders brushing two buildings almost sandwiching each other. The alley was pretty tight. Maybe, if she pressed against the sides just right, and continued to shift her arms and legs upwards…

She made it up to the roof of the ramen shop. There were ventilation shafts. They seemed a little small, but maybe… She pried open the filter on one of them, ignoring the fragrance of noodles and broth that wafted up. Even if this shop was a front, apparently they did at least some cooking. If she went home smelling like this, she wouldn’t mind it too much.

Her head fit into the shaft. Nothing else did.

She pulled her head out, dissatisfied. Weren’t enemy bases supposed to have ventilation shafts large enough for a person to crawl through? That’s what movies told her. Clicking her tongue, she put the filter back. What was she supposed to do now?

She looked back down at the alley. There was a window on the second floor of this building. Its shades were down, so she didn’t know what was inside, but it was better than nothing. Ever so carefully, she began climbing back down, using the opposite wall to help keep herself up. Once she was right beside the window, she pressed her ear up against it. She didn’t hear anything from it, so hopefully there was nobody inside. She jiggled the window frame and discovered it was locked.

Fortunately, her protective gloves were for much more than the cold. They were thick and cut-resistant, so she backed up to the side and punched through the window with her brass knuckles.

Once her hand was in, she carefully pulled some shards down into the alley below to make a larger opening. Her hands pawed around until she found a lock, and she was able to unlock the window. With that taken care of, she was able to fully open the window and slip inside, shutter pushed aside as she entered.

The room she entered was nicer than she expected, with a desk, computer, and some succulents on a bookshelf. An office? There was even a couch to lounge upon. She took several steps inside, admiring the room. A large, classy vase held a giant bouquet of flowers.

Just as Fuyumi approached the door to leave, she heard voices from outside. Were they coming here? She glanced back at the mess she left, glass scattered on the nice blue carpet below the window.

The voices grew louder. Fuyumi wasn’t going to back out now and run away, not when they might have Dabi here. He was willing to die when Fuyumi got herself in danger with the Fukuron, so Fuyumi could handle a little danger in return. She grabbed the flower vase, carelessly letting the flowers and water fall out of it onto the floor. She positioned herself beside the door, raising the vase, just as the handle turned.

“…When we’ll strike and call for-”

She slammed the vase onto the head of the first person who walked through the door. A bit of a challenge, since he was taller than her, but with a little jump she gained even more momentum to smash. The resulting crash was loud as the porcelain shattered, the man below it letting out a loud cry of pain before collapsing.

There was a woman behind him.

She stared at Fuyumi with wide eyes for a moment, and Fuyumi took the opportunity to grab her by her lapels, pulling her into the room before slamming the door shut. She threw her onto the ground and pinned her. She struggled in Fuyumi’s grasp, but Fuyumi put a hand against her throat–A warning. “Where is Dabi?”

The woman coughed and raised an eyebrow. “You part of the League or something? Bothering to come rescue your own?”

So they at least knew Dabi was part of the League. They had intelligence on him. And she implied that Dabi was, indeed, kidnapped by them. “Where. Is. He?”

The woman continued to squirm, but at least one arm stayed down at her side. Was it injured? “Oh he’s perfectly fine.”

Fuyumi pressed her hand against the woman’s throat, tight enough that she gagged. “Answer the question. If you give no good information, I will get rid of you.”

She loosened her grip just enough for the woman to catch her breath. The woman coughed before responding. “You want to see him?”

“Obviously.”

The woman smirked. “You’ll be seeing him soon.”

Fuyumi didn’t have time to contemplate on how weird that sounded, as the door behind her opened again.

She spun around, hand going to her darts, but whoever entered nabbed her neck with a tranquilizer dart before she could throw one. Fuyumi stumbled, glancing back to see the woman had a cell phone in one hand before her vision blurred beyond recognition. She must have text ed someone while pretending to struggle . Fuyumi felt like a fool, but was unconscious before she could think about that for long.

Notes:

Next Chapter: Yes we will see Dabi, finally

Chapter 29: All These Hugs, Yet You Still Won't Give Up Villainy And Come Home

Summary:

The woman spoke, “Good, the less we waste of the drug, the better.”

Fuyumi looked down at herself, finally starting to register the things she was seeing in front of her. Ropes. So she was tied up to this chair. Could she make some sharp ice to slice apart the ropes? She kept it in the back of her mind, but at this moment she didn’t know enough about who these people were or where she was to guarantee an escape if she got out of the ropes.

“Why did you waste it on me then, you goddamn pieces of shit? I know for a fact you guys can’t manufacture much anymore.” Dabi’s voice made Fuyumi’s eyes go wide, and she twisted as much as she could to see the source.

Notes:

Lots of drama, but also lots of hugs :)
Also just a long chapter in general, you'll see why.

She woke up slowly, voices filtering through the fog or her brain.

“Does she have a quirk, Target?” The woman who Fuyumi had pinned asked out loud.

Fuyumi slowly opened her eyes, still feeling groggy. Her limbs were arranged strangely, hands behind her back, as she sat.

An unfamiliar male voice (Target?) spoke, “My intel says no. She registered quirkless at a fighting ring, and I haven’t heard rumors of her ever using one.”

When she tried to move her limbs, they stayed in place, though she wasn’t sure if that was an effect of the drugs or being tied up.

The woman spoke, “Good, the less we waste of the drug, the better.”

Fuyumi looked down at herself, finally starting to register the things she was seeing in front of her. Ropes. So she was tied up to this chair. Could she make some sharp ice to slice apart the ropes? She kept it in the back of her mind, but at this moment she didn’t know enough about who these people were or where she was to guarantee an escape if she got out of the ropes.

“Why did you waste it on me then, you goddamn pieces of shit? I know for a fact you guys can’t manufacture much anymore.” Dabi’s voice made Fuyumi’s eyes go wide, and she twisted as much as she could to see the source.

He was tied up in a chair as well, directly behind her so their backs were facing each other. He sported a black eye and a bleeding lip, but aside from that seemed to be whole and healthy.

The man, Target, looked at the woman. “May I, Lighter?”

Ah, so the woman’s name was Lighter. “Go for it.”

A violent crack resounded as Target punched Dabi. Fuyumi startled. “Dabi!”

All three of them turned to Fuyumi, as though just noticing she woke up. Dabi didn’t seem to be in pain, but his eyes were wide as they met hers. He immediately steeled himself, lids going down to appear as cool and collected as one could be with a second bruise blooming on their face.

“Aww.” Lighter smirked, beginning to walk around them, like a shark circling her prey. “It’s cute how much the League seems to care about each other.”

“I’m not part of the League,” Fuyumi clarified.

Target started whispering something into Lighter’s ear, much too quiet for Fuyumi to make out.

She looked around the room, looking for any way out, when her eyes caught a table, various items spread out on it, many which she recognized from her own pockets.

Including two cell phones.

One of them being her own. It was hard to tell which, they were both cheap and black. The other one must have been Dabi’s.

She squirmed in her restraints. She couldn’t feel the pressure of her cell phone in her pockets, nor most her other items such as her staff and first-aid kit. She stared at Dabi, trying to catch his attention before their captors finished whispering to each other.

He met her eyes with a glare, but when she flicked her chin towards the table, his glare softened into confusion. She mouthed: Call. Dad.

His eyes widened. He huffed, twisting his chin so he was no longer looking at her. Had he caught the plan Fuyumi was trying to communicate?

The whispering stopped, and someone grabbed Fuyumi’s chin, pulling her face away from Dabi. She stared up into the eyes of Lighter. Her eyes were orange. “You know something funny? We kidnapped Dabi both for revenge, and to pry some info out of him. But he hasn’t volunteered much info at all. It was pretty disappointing.”

“I’m not part of the League, I don’t know anything either,” Fuyumi informed her.

Target laughed. “We’re not trying to get info from you.”

Lighter made a finger gun with her hand, and a flame sputtered from her fingertip. Ah, so that’s where she got the name ‘Lighter’. “What do you think Dabi? Wouldn’t it be fun for you two to have matching burn scars?”

Fuyumi stayed calm. This woman didn’t know Fuyumi doesn’t burn. She prayed Dabi wouldn’t fall for it. No matter how much he stalked the Todoroki’s, her quirk was officially registered as one that produced ice, not that resisted burns. It didn’t exactly come up often in everyday life.

Dabi launched an insult at Fuyumi. “Go ahead, I don’t give a shit about a dumb rich bitch like her who’s always looking for trouble.”

Okay, it hurt a bit that he wasn’t at least a little concerned. Fuyumi scoffed. “You went looking for trouble, first!”

“Stop stalking me, you fucking weirdo. Go home and cry to your daddy about how I ditched you.”

Ah, so he caught on to what her plan was before. “You don’t mean that! If you’d stop being so stubborn, I could help you leave your life of crime. If you’re in debt-”

“I don’t want your shitty family money,” Dabi snarled.

Lighter’s grip on her chin tightened. “Oh?”

Dabi scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, she just does this dumb vigilante shit for fun. One time she got caught by the cops, but her daddy bailed her out almost immediately.”

A complete lie implying exactly what Fuyumi wanted. The woman turned off her flame. “Target? Grab her cell phone.”

Fuyumi watched as Target grabbed a cell phone from the table. As he turned it on, he asked, “Code?”

Fuyumi figured she ought to put up at least a little bit of resistance. Really sell the act. “Why the f-fuck should I tell you?”

Dabi groaned upon hearing her struggle to swear. Hey, it was hard to overcome the kind of training one got being surrounded by kids every weekday.

Lighter lit up her finger again, bringing it close to Fuyumi’s face. Fuyumi tried to look scared, but also stubborn, turning up her chin in defiance.

Apparently, the ‘looking scared’ part didn’t work. “Not afraid of fire, eh? Makes sense, considering who you’re friends with.”

“We’re not friends,” Dabi snapped.

“Really?” Lighter smirked. “Then she won’t mind if I…”

The lit finger moved away from Fuyumi, and approached Dabi’s face instead. Dabi’s delicate, barely-remaining healthy skin. Despite having a fire quirk, those burns on his body were proof enough that he was not invulnerable to heat.

Fuyumi gave up almost immediately. Even if she hadn’t wanted to, that threat would have gotten her to do quite a lot of things. “Wait! Wait! The code is 1206, please don’t- Don’t hurt him, please!”

Fuyumi had heard using a birthday as a password is not very secure, but she couldn’t help that it was easy to remember. Target tapped the screen and smiled when he got in. As he scrolled through the contacts, he drawled. “Ever wonder how much your father would be willing to pay to keep you safe?”

Fuyumi had to hold back a grin. Endeavor probably was rich enough to negotiate for a hostage, but he was also a pro-hero trained in such situations. He could find a way to get here and get this entire faction shut down.

Lighter looked over Target’s shoulder with a mocking smile. “Aww, you call him ‘Daddy’ on your phone? How cute.”

That made Fuyumi blink. She was pretty sure she stored him as ‘Dad’ on her phone. But the password worked, so that had to be her phone, right?

The phone began ringing, put on speakerphone. There was a click, and a distorted voice spoke, “I told you I needed a break, why are you-”

Fuyumi wasn’t sure who it was, but she was certain it wasn’t her Dad. Strangely, though, there was something familiar about the young, male voice. Before Fuyumi could figure out where she had heard it before, Lighter spoke, “We have your daughter.”

“Wh- Daughter? I don’t have a daughter?” There was a moment of muttering, “…Do I?”

Fuyumi glanced at Dabi, whose eyebrows were raised high on his forehead. He didn’t seem confused by the person at the other end. Wait… was this Dabi’s cell phone? Was this Dabi’s father?

Fuck it. Fuyumi shouted as loud as she could, “Hot as Pheonix Ramen! Dabi’s trapped! If we’re moved, follow the ice-”

Target slapped a hand over Fuyumi’s mouth before she could say anything else. Lighter hung up the phone abruptly. If that was Dabi’s father, hopefully he could call the police and direct them to their location.

“Shit, we need to move,” Lighter cussed, “Get the tranquilizer.”

Nope. If they were unconscious, they wouldn’t be able to help someone find them. Fuyumi had been able to give the hint of ‘ice’, she wasn’t about to lose one of their few advantages like this. Target dug in his pocket, presumably for the tranquilizer.

Time for the trump card.

Ice erupted from Fuyumi, slicing through ropes and shoving Target away, pinning him against a wall. Fuyumi was still not talented at precision, despite Shouto’s earnest attempts to train her, but what she lacked for in detail she made up in volume, absolutely engulfing both of their captors so they couldn’t move an inch. Fuyumi hoped they got frostbite.

She stood up, shaky legs. And shivering arms. The room was filled with ice, and shards cracked off of her arms and legs. She grabbed one and used it to cut Dabi’s ropes.

As soon as he was free, he wrapped his arms around her. “Shit, don’t freeze, ‘Yumi, don’t freeze-”

As much as Fuyumi wanted to bask in Dabi willingly hugging her, they didn’t have time. She also couldn’t help but note he was much colder than usual. Or rather, he was the temperature of an average person, rather than his usual excess of heat. “We have to get out of here.”

He nodded. “Is this actually a ramen shop?”

“That’s where I went to find you, I don’t actually know how far they carried me when I was unconscious, but hopefully we’re in the same building.”

Unfortunately, her spontaneous ice explosion had engulfed the table near Lighter that had her weapons and phone. There was no way she’d be able to break through that before freezing to death or being caught, so she decided to leave them.

There were no windows in this room, just a door that fortunately opened when she pulled at it. Even when they left the icy room, Dabi kept an arm around her, as though trying to warm her up. Fuyumi had mentioned to him before that she was sensitive to the cold, but had he already figured out that it was related to her powers?

Or maybe he was being sentimental for once. A girl can dream.

As they ran through the halls, trying to find an escape of any kind, Fuyumi grimaced. The walls and floors were metallic, and there wasn’t a single window. They broke into a few rooms, but all they found were boxes or weird medical labs they didn’t have time to investigate. This was a lot larger than the ramen shop she had been investigating.

Fuyumi stopped. “I think we’re underground.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Dabi responded, taking her pause as time run his hand up and down her arm, still trying to coax out some warmth.

“I really hope the ramen shop has a basement that we’re in right now, or your dad will have trouble finding us.”

Dabi choked. “My- my dad?”

“Yeah? Isn’t that who they called?”

Dabi tightened his grip on her. “Look, let’s just get out of here on our own. I don’t think the dude they called is gonna come for me.”

“Though since we’re on the topic, why do you have the same password as me?” Fuyumi commented, “That’s kind of a crazy coincidence-”

“They had to inject a bit of quirk suppressant into me every hour, so I think the effects don’t last much longer than an hour. If I can just get my fire working, the two of us will be able to get out of here with no problem.”

Fuyumi had a flashback to her childhood, playing with Touya. The two of them had felt unstoppable together, able to cover each other’s weaknesses and withstand each other’s strengths.

“They haven’t drugged me for awhile, at least half an hour or more before they brought you in, and you woke up after five or ten minutes-”

“Hey! Who are you two?” Someone down the hall shouted. A man had just turned a corner and spotted them. When neither of them had a quick response ready, the man pulled up a walkie-talkie and continued, “Guys, there’s someone-”

Fuyumi flung her hand out and let out ice spikes, aimed towards his hand. He yelped as the icicles dug into his flesh, making him drop the walkie-talkie. While the man was distracted by his injury, Dabi ran right up, grabbed his head, and smashed it against a wall.

Shouting echoed down the hall. Dabi glanced back at Fuyumi, who was jogging over. “Fuck, there’s more.”

Fuyumi grabbed Dabi’s wrist and pulled him the opposite way of the noise. “Let’s hope this direction has an exit.”

They carried on running, no longer bothering to check inside doors. Finally, they found a set of stairs at the end of a hallway. It spiraled upwards to a rickety door. The noise behind them was growing louder. “Thank goodness,” Fuyumi exhaled.

“Don’t thank anyone yet,” Dabi commented as the door at the top of the stairway opened.

Before the person who opened the door could understand what was happening, Fuyumi used her long-distance icicles move again, nabbing him in shoulder. He exclaimed, and another person popped their head in.

Uh oh.

First things first: Prevent the people behind them from getting closer. Fuyumi stomped behind Dabi, creating a thick ice wall that covered from the floor to the ceiling. She tried to use Shouto’s trick, letting it all emanate from just the tip of her feet instead of her whole body, but she still shivered at the effort. While she did that, Dabi had started running up the stairs, so Fuyumi followed close behind.

He briefly wrestled someone at the door, but was thrown back and down the stairs. Fuyumi barely caught him by the waist to prevent him from tumbling the whole way down, holding onto the rail with her other hand to prevent herself from falling as well. Dabi cursed and turned back towards their opponents, but they were coming down the stairs now.

Fuyumi made the executive decision to pull Dabi back. Trying to fight on stairs when their opponent was above them was fighting a losing battle. She dragged him until they reached the bottom of the stairs, then set up another ice wall.

That would keep them protected for at least a little bit. Fuyumi wasn’t sure how long, considering she heard something slamming against the ice. Pipes? Someone else’s quirk? She wasn’t sure, but for now the walls were holding. However, being between two huge blocks of ice was not ideal temperature-wise.

“Damn it, you fucking idiot,” Dabi chastised her as he hugged her again, “You want frostbite?”

She shivered in his embrace. “You said your quirk should be coming back soon, right?”

“I could have taken those guys even without it.”

“You literally fell down the stairs.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you had just left me the fuck alone. What do I have to do to get rid of you?”

“Leave the League?”

“I won’t.”

The ice walls shook, shards breaking at the edges as people on either end attacked it.

Fuyumi frowned. “You getting kidnapped by the Yakuza… it’s related to the League, right? That’s what Lighter and Target seemed to imply.”

“…Yeah. We ended up betraying them, helping pro-heroes to catch the Shie Hassaikai. We… had to take revenge.”

That kind of behavior from Dabi felt more familiar to Fuyumi, leaning towards vigilantism rather than villainy, but… it was still the League. She pursed her lips. “If you weren’t part of the League, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

He sighed. “It’s not that simple-”

“Why would you fight them? You could have just left them alone and not-”

“They killed Magne.”

Fuyumi froze in place. Literally, she frosted over in shock. Dabi scraped away some of the covering on her face and clothes idly, all too familiarly considering he had been ignoring her for months. She reeled as the frost was removed.

Had she heard that right?

“They… what?”

“You remember Magne, right?”

“Of course I remember her, she…” Fuyumi’s hands clenched Dabi’s shirt as she flashed back to the times she had spent together with Magne. Brawling at the Forge, getting drinks at her first gay bar, Magne helping to wrap her fists before fights…

She wracked her brain, trying to remember when she last saw Magne. She hadn’t been to the Forge in awhile, but Fuyumi had assumed that was because she was busy with League business. Especially since Kamino Ward happened, Magne would have had to lay low for awhile. She couldn’t be dead.

Dabi spoke quietly, “They killed her. Right in front of us.”

As the truth processed, a fire lit in Fuyumi’s veins. The ice walls around them were shaking, shrapnel falling from the ceiling, but instead of fear all she could feel was anger. It thrummed under her skin, hot and familiar, filling her with the urge to hurt and share her pain with anyone who had contributed to Magne’s death.

The wall behind them, to the hallway they had come from, collapsed.

Fuyumi spun out of Dabi’s arms, fueled with a new determination. She slammed her feet, ice erupting in deadly spikes from the ground. Several people were impaled, blood staining the pristine frozen water. A few people with pipes and bats as weapons whacked at the impromptu sculptures, shattering them.

No one could be left standing. Little darts of ice were too kind for these murderers, so she raised up her arm and created a spear, deadly sharp, before throwing it into someone’s shoulder. The victim cried out in pain, falling with the momentum of the weapon. Fuyumi continued her assault, ignoring how her limbs were growing stiffer by the minute.

Her cheeks hurt. When she had most of the people on the ground, she had time to breath and realize tears had frozen to her face.

Someone who she had downed earlier got up, so she blanketed him in ice. As soon as he was covered, she noticed her breath was visible, condensing in the cold. Someone else shifted, and she sent out another wave of ice, this time her arm was shaking.

There was still noise behind her. More enemies. The wall breaking down. She took in a shuddering breath, trying to ignore how dry the air felt. She registered that her fingers and toes were tingling, no longer able to feel.

“’Yumi, you can’t-”

Before Dabi could say anything else, the wall shattered, and a new wave of opponents came sprawling in. One had a gun, so Fuyumi prioritized encasing him entirely in ice. However, as the ice creeped up his body, Fuyumi’s chest felt so cold it hurt, and she could barely bring the ice to cover the gun before she had to stop.

Her hand, still unable to feel anything, came up to her chest, as though trying to make sure her heart was still beating underneath there. She couldn’t tell. All she could feel was cold, and all she could hear was the group of opponents advancing, shouting and swinging the weapons.

A blink almost glued her eyes shut with frozen tears. Frustration bubbled in her gut. She was so powerful, and yet so weak. She wanted to destroy this entire group, and take all of them to jail, but she was already puttering out. She had wrecked a whole crowd of them, but her damned quirk couldn’t last her long enough to survive another wave. No wonder Dad stopped her from being a hero, despite her power. In the end, the one she would hurt most would be herself.

One of the enemies reached her, carrying a rusted metal pipe high in the air. Fuyumi backed up, trying to dodge, but she couldn’t feel her feet, and she was sent stumbling to the ground.

She clenched her eyes shut. If she could feel her lips, she might have cried out at the injustice of them getting away with killing Magne and her. Unable to speak, she tried in vain to create another ice barrier, only creating more pain for herself in the process.

Then there was heat.

Her eyes opened, tears now flowing properly down her cheeks like water. She couldn’t see much aside from blue, blue flames filling her vision and surrounding her body.

Dabi.

Warmth permeated her bones, chasing away the deathly cold. Her extremities hurt, but it was the pain of returning feeling. She soaked in the fire, letting it warm her until she could move without issue.

Dabi was doing something in front of her, probably fighting, but she couldn’t see much through the flames. She took the time to breath properly, letting warm air into her lungs, rescuing her from the inside-out. Not even the smell of burnt flesh soured her joy at the heat. Her energy returned to her.

By the time she recovered, Dabi’s flames died down. In front of him were charred bodies, along with some people broken on the ground. Smoke escaped from his seams, sneaking past sutures that had grown red from heat. Dabi began to cough, smoke escaping his lungs as well.

Fuyumi didn’t need to think hard to know what to do. She grabbed Dabi and pulled him into a hug, accepting the searing heat that emanated from every inch of his skin. In that embrace, their bodies temperatures comingled, Dabi’s heat burning away Fuyumi’s cold, Fuyumi’s cold cooling down Dabi’s heat, until there was nothing left but pure temperance and balance: Perfect equilibrium.

It felt achingly familiar, even more so when Dabi deigned to raise up his arms and hug her back, clinging onto her like she was the cure to the pain of his quirk. She clung onto him the same way.

They were like puzzle pieces. It was like they had been built to coexist, to work together, to balance each other out. Fuyumi hadn’t felt that way since… since…

She pulled back suddenly, looking at Dabi’s face. For once, he seemed to have let go of that careless exterior, allowing naked relief to show. She stared into his eyes. His familiar, piercing blue eyes.

The realization was like a punch in the gut. She didn’t want to believe it, but the more she examined him, the more she couldn’t ignore it. Mom’s long, slender fingers. Natsuo’s spiky hair. Shouto’s small nose.

Dad’s blue eyes.

“Touya,” Fuyumi whispered, as though if she said it quietly enough the universe would excuse her for her crazy conspiracy theory.

Dabi’s eyes widened, and he let go of her.

“No way,” Fuyumi grabbed his wrist, “Don’t you dare run away now.”

“Fuck, ‘Yumi, I didn’t- You shouldn’t know-”

The nickname. The knowing where she lived. The knowing everything about her quirk. His reaction. His hate for Endeavor. It was like she had pulled a hopeless mess of threads on the floor and discovered that every single one led to the same point. “Touya,” She repeated, louder this time.

He flinched at the name. “Don’t call me that.”

“You’re-”

He abruptly tried to leave. Fuyumi was not letting go of him, so she was dragged along as he ran up the stairs. “We should get out of here.”

Fuyumi agreed with him on that point, but it was obvious he was using it as an excuse to evade, so as they ran she continued to badger him. “How?”

“God, you’re insufferable,” Dabi (No, Touya,) groaned.

“Well I’m sorry I just discovered my dead twin brother is alive and… and… I don’t know! Why didn’t you come back home? We grieved, Touya!” Her throat felt tight.

“Return to him?” He challenged.

Fuyumi knew exactly who he was talking about. “I know it was bad, but Dad’s changed! If you came back-”

“Bad. People. Don’t. Change.” He snarled, “How many times will I have to repeat it to get it through your thick skull?”

“You’re wrong, you haven’t seen him in years. He’s been doing his best to become a better father-”

“By creating another pet project? I’ve seen Shouto, a real piece of work. Perfect hero material, just like he always wanted.”

Dabi turned a corner, and paused in his run. Fuyumi was pulled along and discovered more people. As soon as they noticed the two of them, they started pulling out weapons.

“We can continue this discussion later,” Fuyumi decided.

And they descended into battle.

They had worked together before, but nothing like this. Fuyumi used her quirk freely, freezing opponents, creating ice weapons, making platforms and pillars without a care in the world. Meanwhile, Dabi made full use of his fire. Where he used to utilize it for intimidation and threats, pulling out the minimum flame needed to induce fear, he now spared no expense, letting the heat swirl around him.

And it was all made possible by each other. Every time Fuyumi felt a chill build in her bones, she only needed to lean back and there was an injection of heat from Dabi’s flames. Whenever Dabi started to falter, smoking, Fuyumi would coat him in ice and he would continue, refreshed.

At one point they were fighting literally back-to-back, completely invulnerable. Searing heat against her back gave her infinite resistance to her own ice. She had to assume the same of her cold on his fire. Both were watching each other’s back, no weaknesses left.

Was this what her and Touya could have been? If Dabi had come back, and continued training with her and Dad, could they have been doing this as pro-heroes? A new wave of grief washed over her as she imagined the missed chance.

When their enemies were incapacitated, Dabi hugged her again. She hugged him back, letting their temperatures fully balance each other out. She still couldn’t quite process that it wasn’t just Dabi who she was hugging, but Touya. Touya, who she thought she would never be able to hold again.

All too soon, Dabi stepped back from the hug, turning on his heel to run. Fuyumi grabbed his hand. “If you try to run again…”

He pouted and glared at her, shaking the held hand with disdain. “We’re not kindergartners.”

They carried on through the building. “I just- I’m really glad you’re alive, but I’m also super pissed that you thought it’d be better to just… let us all believe you’re dead than to come home.”

“To Endeavor?” He spat.

“To me,” Fuyumi countered, squeezing his hand and letting a bit of frost cover it, “To Mom, Natsuo, Shouto…”

Dabi didn’t respond to that. They found another set of stairs. Still no windows. Just how deep underground were they?

Fuyumi sighed. “I… I don’t understand it at all.”

“For the record, I didn’t freak out this bad when I learned the reckless vigilante I was working with was actually my schoolteacher little sister.”

“For the record, I wasn’t legally declared dead,” Fuyumi snapped, “Also, you ran away, blocked me on everything, and avoided me for weeks after you found out.”

He sputtered. “I wasn’t freaking out! I was, uh, trying to distance myself so you would stop getting involved in this shit!”

“Well newsflash, I’m not going to stop getting involved until you stop getting involved!”

“Hey, do you hear that?”

There was shouting, and another group of people appeared from around a corner. But this time, rather than running towards Fuyumi and Dabi, they seemed to be running from something…

Although the twins adopted a fighting stance, it turned out to be for naught. Every single person was hoisted by their clothes into the air, seemingly by nothing. Fuyumi squinted, and was able to see that it wasn’t nothing, but rather small, red… feathers?

“Yo, Dabi! Leia! Good to see you two alright!” Hawks exclaimed as he walked down the hallway.

Fuyumi stared at him. “…What are you doing here?”

Hawks laughed. “What do you mean? You guys called me .”

Fuyumi looked back at Dabi, who was resolutely avoiding her eyes. She looked back at Hawks, who was transporting people away through the air. She didn’t know where, but she had to assume he had some sort of plan. She looked back at Dabi, who was getting redder by the minute.

She finally blew up at him, “You have Hawks saved as ‘Daddy’ on your phone?”

Hawks let out a low whistle. “Oooh, did they think I was your actual father?”

Dabi mumbled something inaudible.

“I can’t believe you gave me shit for Miruko!” Fuyumi exclaimed, swears flowing naturally for once, “You were teasing me all like ‘I can’t believe you fell for a pro-hero,’ and it turns out you were fucking Hawks?”

“Unlike you, I don’t rave about Hawks’ thighs all the time.”

“Literally one time! A single time did I mention Miruko’s thighs, you refuse to let it go!” Fuyumi glared at Hawks, “How long has this been going on?”

Hawks had a shit-eating grin on his face, like he’d walked into the juiciest soap opera with a bag full of popcorn. “Well the first time was after we all went to that bar together, remember? Where you and Miruko-”

“That long?” Fuyumi exclaimed, turning back to Dabi.

“I mean, it’s not like we saw each other super frequently,” Dabi muttered.

“Just enough to call him ‘Daddy’ on your phone!”

Dabi crossed his arms. “You’re freaking out so much today.”

“It’s kind of hard not to! This is almost as bad as when you pretended to be dead for over a decade!”

That made Hawks’ smile falter, brow furrowing.

“Jeez, what do you want, an apology?”

“Maybe! It would have been nice if you at least left a note or something!”

“Leaving a note defeats the purpose of pretending to be dead!”

“What purpose? To make me feel like half of myself was ripped out and lost forever?”

“To get away from-” Dabi glanced at Hawks, “You-know-who.”

“And to get into villainy?”

“I’m just trying to show the world how corrupt the hero business is. Any society that hails Endeavor as a top-ten hero is clearly fucked up, as you should know.”

Fuyumi hated this. Dabi had been gone for so long, he didn’t know how Dad had changed. “You don’t-”

“Uh, guys?” Hawks interrupted, head tilted as though listening to something, “Not to be rude, but I think there are still people in the building, maybe we could continue this conversation outside?”

Both Fuyumi and Dabi groaned, but started walking, following Hawks on his way. “So how did this happen, anyway?”

“Dabi got kidnapped. I came to get him out,” Fuyumi explained.

“And then she got caught,” Dabi completed.

Hawks hummed, glancing between them. “Not to be a gossip, but Miruko told me Leia wasn’t working with Dabi anymore.”

“She shouldn’t be,” Dabi muttered.

“I’m not working with him, since he’s working with the League, but I’m not going to leave my brother to die!”

Dabi shoved her. “You can’t just say that to people!” He hissed.

She stuck her tongue out. “We’ve literally already told Hawks were related.”

“But we didn’t-” Dabi ran a hand through his hair, “That was before we knew about… you know.”

Hawks laughed. “Wow sounds like a lot of secrets. Care to share?”

Fuyumi looked at Dabi, Dabi was (clearly) much closer to Hawks than Fuyumi was, so she would trust him to decide how much he ought to know. Dabi coughed. “It ain’t a secret if other people know.”

As soon as they left the building, Fuyumi thought to reach out to grab Dabi’s hand again. However, this time Dabi anticipated that and started running before she could catch it. “Hey!” She exclaimed.

She wanted to chase after him, but she also wasn’t sure what it would accomplish. She could argue at him some more, but he seemed pretty resistant to reason. If it were as simple as saying “We’re long-lost twins, stop running away you idiot!” then he would have returned to them long ago when he first realized who Fuyumi really was.

Fuyumi was also a little exhausted at this point.

Hawks spoke, “Well now that he’s escaped, I’m gonna call some sidekicks to help me clean out this place. Were there more people deeper in the basement where you came from?”

Fuyumi flashed back to her behavior. There was… a lot. Her face darkened as she recalled the things she did, but her anger at Magne’s death made it so she didn’t quite feel regretful. “Yeah, call some ambulances. A bunch of them are encased in ice or impaled.”

Hawks stared at her. “Ice?”

“We had another friend,” Fuyumi decided to make at least a half-hearted attempt to cover, “With an ice quirk.”

“Is your friend okay? They’re not still down there, are they?”

“Yeah, they’re fine,” Fuyumi didn’t want to elaborate any more and leave Hawks with more questions, “I’m going home.”

With that, Fuyumi left.

Notes:

Yes I'm a DabiHawks shipper. Yes in chapter 16 when Fuyumi calls Dabi after the bar night and she's like "is someone there?" that someone was Hawks. Yes I really, really had to put at least a little bit of humor into this drama chapter.

Also you may all congratulate Fuyumi on finally getting a turn on the family brain cell. #Revelations. Jeezum it only took... ~70k for her to figure it out?? To be fair, he was legally dead. This fic is tagged slow burn for both the Miruko/Fuyumi romance and for the Fuyumi & Dabi discovery.

Next Chapter: Endeavor is the new #1 Pro-Hero.

Chapter 30: Bro It's Not Cool To Try To Kill Our Dad

Summary:

The two of them watched with mounting horror as Endeavor battled. He was battling a nomu, one much fiercer than previous ones, and barely holding on. His injuries and exhaustion just kept increasing, a horrible downward spiral Fuyumi was scared to see the end of. Even Natsuo, as much as he hated Dad, was trembling as he watched.

Notes:

I guess spoiler alert if you're anime only?? I feel like if you're reading a Fuyumi/Miruko fic you've probably read the manga (has Miruko even shown up in the anime yet??? I hear Hawks finally appeared for a very brief scene or something) but if somehow you don't know what happens after the cultural festival then spoiler alert. I don't get super detailed (bc that would be boring for everyone who's read the chapters), but I do summarize what happens in order to show Fuyumi's response to them.

Mom and Natsuo shared a laugh. Fuyumi laughed along, trying to blend in, though she wasn’t really paying attention.

Her head was too full of thoughts of Touya. Dabi. Whatever.

She couldn’t tell her family. Not now, not while Dabi was still a villain. She didn’t even know where to start. Hey, so as an illegal vigilante I ended up meeting this member of the League of Villains who’s our legally dead family member! She couldn’t imagine that going over well with anyone in the family. Maybe if she could reform him, at least a little bit, and convince him to reveal himself to the rest of the family, maybe…

Mom teased Natsuo about something and Fuyumi wondered how Dabi would fit in if he were there. He’d probably be sarcastic and joke around with Natsuo. She bet he would be gentler with Mom. She struggled to imagine how he’d interact with Shouto.

She didn’t want him to interact with Dad.

At least, not until he got his head out of his ass and stopped whatever revenge bug he’d caught. Fuyumi knew Dad had been what some might call ‘abusive’, but he’d changed so much since Dabi left. Dabi’s refusal to listen to Fuyumi’s explanations made her want to scream, but she couldn’t force him. The League was still in hiding, and although Fuyumi had expanded her search for the League beyond ‘ask-Giran-nicely’, she still didn’t know where they were holed up. And how could Dabi hold onto his grudge for so long? It’s not like he’d been interacting with Dad the past decade or so.

Unlike Fuyumi.

Fuyumi lived through the grief of losing Touya. She spent years walking on eggshells around Dad. She watched Mom breaking down every single day up until she was hospitalized. Despite all of that, Fuyumi could forgive Dad. Why couldn’t Dabi, who abandoned their family after the same abuses she had suffered in her childhood, also forgive him?

Why did he get to be angry? To be vengeful? To trample on Fuyumi’s dream of a happy family?

“’Yumi?”

Fuyumi snapped back to attention at her mother’s voice. “Yes?”

Natsuo let out an awkward chuckle. “You were looking a bit murderous there. Not a fan of worms?”

So they had been talking about worms? Fuyumi put on a smile. “Sorry, I zoned out for a second. What were you saying?”

---

They were in the car, getting a ride back to the house when they heard the news.

Natsuo got a text from one of his friends, asking Yo are you alright? Your pop is fighting p hard, so Fuyumi pulled out her tablet to check out the news.

The two of them watched with mounting horror as Endeavor battled. He was battling a nomu, one much fiercer than previous ones, and barely holding on. His injuries and exhaustion just kept increasing, a horrible downward spiral Fuyumi was scared to see the end of. Even Natsuo, as much as he hated Dad, was trembling as he watched.

She texted Miruko about it. Did you see Endeavor? Can you make sure he’s okay?

It was left on read.

Fuyumi was almost mad, but then Endeavor won, lifting a triumphant fist up into the air, and all she could think about was relief.

The relief was short-lived, as the one person she didn’t want to fight Endeavor showed up.

Dabi.

She was scared for all sorts of different reasons now. She hated that she couldn’t cheer for Dabi. They had fought side-by-side and back-to-back so recently, but now all she could do was pray Dad would capture him and throw him in jail, where Fuyumi could visit him and hopefully reform him some day.

Endeavor didn’t look like he was in any state to capture villains.

Hawks at least was still standing. Fuyumi watched Dabi create a swirling wall of blue flame around them with squinting eyes. Why would Dabi fight Hawks? To keep up appearance? But Hawks was also not in a good position to fight, almost completely devoid of feathers after the huge nomu battle. Surely Dabi wouldn’t kill Hawks… right? They were fuck-buddies, or lovers, or something that ought to at least warrant not killing each other.

Fuyumi’s heart stopped as Dabi raced forward, flame coming from his palm.

Her heart stayed still up until Miruko entered the scene, bringing salvation with her trusty stomp. Dabi was gone as quickly as he came, and Fuyumi was just left with more questions. Why had he bothered to come? Was he serious about killing his own father?

Natsuo was shaken up as well. The two of them leaned against each other, staring as the news carried on disseminating the fight and praising Endeavor for his heroics.

For now, Fuyumi sent a thank-you text to Rumi. She also sent a text to Dad, asking him to call her as soon as he could.

When she got home, she also composed a quick email as Leia, thanking Rumi for stepping in and preventing Dabi from hurting Endeavor or Hawks.

---

She thought this could be an opportunity to bring the family (or at least the family that was not in the hospital or villainy) closer together.

Shouto had even been excused from the dorms in order to come home, and Natsuo had stayed at home instead of returning to college for today. All so they could greet Dad together once he got out of the hospital and returned home.

It was not a nice greeting.

Shouto made passive-aggresive comments, and Natsuo went and started a fight. Another dumb fight after their Dad had almost died. Just like Touya (as far as Natsuo knew, anyway). She couldn’t understand his priorities. Wasn’t he as scared as she was, when they watched his fight together? How could he not set aside his feelings for even just one day to welcome Dad home?

But then Shouto ended up saying stuff that was… not forgiveness, but at least something implying a desire to move forward. And Dad apologized? To Fuyumi?

Fuyumi wasn’t sure whether this dinner together (though Dad didn’t even sit down to eat) was good or bad, but it seemed to move something forward at least. She went to bed that night with at least some hope in her head that they could become closer. Shouto seemed to be leaning towards it, at least, even if Natsuo was being stubborn about not forgiving Dad.

Afterwards, she went up to her room and called Dabi. The phone went straight to voice mail.

“Hi Dabi, I know I’m still blocked, but I… I saw the fight today, with the Nomu and Dad, and… and you. I know you hate him, but if you would give me a chance to explain… I don’t want you to kill him Dabi, please at least talk to me. Okay, bye.”

She doubted he would actually check his blocked voicemails, but one could hope.

Notes:

I really appreciate Horikoshi's approach to an abusive father, especially in regards to how all the children respond to his attempts to change. This fanfic is sort of skewed towards Fuyumi's response (forgiving her abuser) because it's from her POV, but I personally believe the other Todoroki's have valid responses as well.

Next Chapter: Features lonely Fuyumi

Chapter 31: You Don't Have To Be A Parent To Suffer From An Empty Nest

Summary:

It was quiet in the Todoroki house.

Notes:

Recently realized this fic is my longest so far on AO3. Previously my longest work ended at ~68k (A Chloé-centric Chloé/Marinette for the Miraculous Ladybug fandom where Chloé is Chat Noir), but somehow this fic ended up surpassing it. Whoops. Thanks for continuing to read this as it grows!
(P.S.: If you're wondering where my love of secret identity shenanigans comes from........ please note I came from the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, where secret identities made a love square out of two people. Might have had an influence on me.)

It was quiet in the Todoroki house.

Dad was out on patrols. Ever since becoming the official number one hero, he had gotten busier. Natsuo was off at college. Although he had promised to come home every weekend, since getting his girlfriend those visits were less frequent. Mom hadn’t been back in a long time. Shouto’s school had moved to a dorm system since Kamino ward, so he wasn’t here to help train her either. Touya… was not dead (she was still getting used to that fact), but he was part of the League, and completely uninterested in coming home.

She cleaned the house as soon as she got back from work, but there wasn’t much to clean up. With almost nobody in the house most the time, there was no chance for things to get messy.

A familiar, buzzing feeling built under her skin.

She decided to dust. Even if no one was there to make a mess, dust could accumulate. She went through everyone’s rooms, patting away any possible particles of dust.

That was done pretty quickly.

Maybe she could start dinner. It was early, and Dad wouldn’t be back until late, but she could prep something for him to heat up as soon as he got back!

She opened the fridge. There were leftovers in the fridge from yesterday’s meal, ready to be heated up. Since the number of people in the house had decreased, Fuyumi’s habit of cooking to serve a whole crew caused an excess of leftovers. She pushed away leftover’s from yesterday’s meal and discovered more leftovers from the day before that buried in the back of the fridge.

She cleaned up a mug and two plates that were in the sink. She recalled how Natsuo used to help, drying and putting away dishes after she washed them. There were so few dishes now that it wouldn’t have been worth having two people work on the chore. She was done in minutes.

With a sigh, she laid down on a couch in the living room and stared at the ceiling.

She still felt restless.

She went to lift some weights. Still, even after sweating for an hour, going through her usual sets and a few extra, she was still not tired.

A hot shower. The heat was nice, filling the bathroom with steam. She thought about how Dabi’s shower water had always been icy-cold. How had she not realized? Touya had preferred freezing showers as well.

Why hadn’t he come back? Fuyumi still wasn’t sure exactly how he had escaped. Technically, they hadn’t seen a body when he died, so she supposed it was possible, but she wasn’t sure of the logistics. He had supposedly ‘accidentally’ burned up a small shed, with himself inside. There was evidence his flames had burned hot enough to even melt bones, which checked out with the absurd strength of his fire quirk.

His shoes had been left outside the shed.

They still had a picture of him at the family altar. Fuyumi kept praying to it, but now she was praying Touya would come back instead of hoping he was at peace in the afterlife.

She scrubbed at her hair vigorously. Why was the universe teasing her? It gave her so many pieces of her family, even bringing one back from the dead, but it refused to let her put all those pieces together.

She punched the wall of the shower. None of it was in her control. She couldn’t force anyone else to forgive Dad. She wasn’t going to tell Natsuo or Shouto to leave school so she would stop being so lonely in the Todoroki house. She didn’t know how she would even begin explaining Dabi to the rest of the family.

After finishing cleaning herself, she turned the shower off. She dried herself off slowly, still contemplating. What was she without her family? She felt like she had nothing to fill her days with.

She spent so much of her life existing for her family. Carefully carving off parts of herself to make space for Dad’s explosive temper, reshaping her desires to fill the empty spaces that needed to be filled. Mom is gone, and no one else knows how to cook? The oldest daughter could take care of that. She grew to enjoy cooking eventually.

She had pushed Natsuo to go to college, to grow as his own person independent of Dad, but Fuyumi was a hypocrite. She had done some teacher training in her last year of high school, and after graduation she ramped up training so she could teach quickly. Then she had chosen to work at a school as close to home as possible.

All to stay with her family. It didn’t feel like anyone else was returning the favor.

Did she have any friends? Those from high school had slowly drifted away. There were friendly acquaintances at work, but it’s not like she wanted to hang out with them outside of work. As Leia, she was friendly with lots of outcasts, but it’s not like any of them really knew her, especially not as Fuyumi. What did she do for herself? She sometimes claimed ‘housework’ was her hobby, but deep down she knew that wasn’t really a hobby, just a necessity she had grown to love after having no other choice for so long.

At night she patrolled the streets as Leia, but that almost felt like a different person. That was a whole secret identity, which only included Dabi as family. She debated going out as Leia now, just to fill the time, but it was still only early evening. She went to her room and pulled out her phone. Maybe Giran had asked her for something. She had delivered a pair of Endeavor’s boxers yesterday (an easy steal as she did laundry for the whole house), but maybe he had another task for her.

Instead of Giran, there was a text from Rumi.

Hey, what’s up? >:3

Fuyumi stared at the phone, face heating up. Her heart swelled strangely, like it had been strangled just a moment ago and was suddenly released.

She didn’t know why a single text (with a weird emoji) was affecting her so much. Maybe it was just a welcome distraction from her spiraling thoughts. Maybe it was knowing at least one person was making an effort to be a part of her life. Maybe it was the fact that Rumi was someone outside her family, proof Fuyumi wasn’t completely dependent on them to give her civilian life meaning.

Fuyumi flopped onto her bed and typed back before she could overthink. About to make dinner, but most the family is out. Want to come over and help me eat it?

After sending it, Fuyumi immediately regretted it. Was that too forward? Rumi didn’t know they had slept together several times already. As far as Rumi knew, Fuyumi was just the strange daughter of Endeavor who was always lying to her father, dragging Rumi into her family drama. She started to type again, ready to write a dozen You don’t have to’s and It’s fine if you’re busy’s.

Before she could send anything else, though, she got a response: For real? ~(^`w‘^)~ I’m down

Fuyumi sat up abruptly at the quick response. She got dressed quickly, slightly nicer than she normally would wear around the house. She rushed downstairs to prepare a meal.

She went for something simple and small, not intending to add to the leftovers again. For a minute she considered doing peanut noodles. Then she remembered how Dabi had reacted when she made him that. There’s slices of hard-boiled eggs in here. Just like how Mom made them. No wonder he had seemed disturbed.

Instead, she settled for some simple fried rice. With extra carrots.

Notes:

Lol this was going to be one slightly long chapter, but I'm still writing the second half and decided it would work fine to divide at the point I end here.

Next Chapter: A date with Rumi

Chapter 32: Are You Ever So Horny You Forget To Hide Your Secret Identity?

Summary:

With a smile, Fuyumi reached out and put her hand on Rumi’s shoulder, ignoring the shiver her cold palm elicited. “Are you busy? Do you need to go already?”

“N-no,” Rumi blinked, as though surprised by her own stutter. She coughed before continuing, “I ain’t got patrol tonight! Very, very free!”

Fuyumi felt a little bit like she did at the Forge. Confident, powerful, in control. There could be a chance she was misreading the signals, but for this bunny she was willing to gamble.

Notes:

Me this entire chapter: Keep it rated T, keep it rated T... Keep it at least arguably close to T...
When I do explicit porn I prefer one-shots, but it's sometimes hard to hold back on my multi-chapters. I think I've successfully held back on this one though

The fried rice was a good choice, as evidenced by Rumi scarfing it down. “Fuyumi, this is delicious!”

Fuyumi smiled at the compliment. “I’m glad you like it.”

“For reals, thanks! This sure beats my usual dinners!”

Fuyumi vaguely recalled opening Rumi’s freezer and seeing far too many ready-made frozen meals. She leaned on her hand. Although Fuyumi was done with her meal, Rumi just served herself another bowl, so Fuyumi was happy to wait for her to fill up. “What is the schedule of a top-ten pro-hero like, anyway?”

“I don’t know about any other pro-heroes,” Rumi spoke between mouthfuls, “But mine is pretty nocturnal! I like late night patrols, and to keep my sleep schedule consistent I like to go out on my days off.”

Like when she went to that sketchy bar with Hawks, the night they first hooked up. “So I take it you’re not a morning person?”

“No way! I got thick curtains to keep the morning light out, so I can sleep in. Since I don’t work with an agency, I can choose my own hours anyways!”

For this meal, there were no leftovers. Without prompting, Rumi stood up and picked up her own dishes, snatching Fuyumi’s as she passed heading towards the kitchen.

Fuyumi got up quickly, “Oh don’t worry about that-”

“It’s the least I can do,” Rumi insisted, dumping the dishes in the sink and beginning to fill up a basin with hot water and soap.

Fuyumi went to the side and grabbed a dish towel. “At least let me dry, then.”

“Deal!”

Rumi was vigorous with her scrubbing, and Fuyumi wondered how many sponges and brushes she went through in a year. She passed a dish to Fuyumi, and their fingers brushed for just a moment.

Fuyumi gulped, frosting the back of her neck to stay cool. She focused on drying the dish now in her hand, trying not to look at Rumi. Internally, Fuyumi chastised herself for getting so excited from just a touch of the fingers. She put the dish away in time to receive another, and continued to do so until they were done.

When Rumi was no longer hovering over the sink, she turned to face Fuyumi fully, continuing to rave about the food. There was a bit of rice on the side of her mouth. Fuyumi giggled and wiped it away, letting her palm rest familiarly on Rumi’s cheek.

Rumi’s wide eyes made Fuyumi realize that was a bit much. Fuyumi had touched Rumi in much more intimate ways before, but always as Leia. Fuyumi pulled back quickly, taking the grain of rice with her. “There- there was some rice,” Fuyumi explained, resisting the urge to eat the offending food, instead flicking it into the trash, “Sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry!” Rumi declared, face a bit red, eyes averted.

Fuyumi recognized that look. It was the same behavior she’d seen when Leia had cornered Rumi in the bar, flirting boldly enough to turn Rumi into a jumpy bunny.

But that had always been in reaction to Leia, whom Rumi was into. Never for the mild-mannered daughter of Endeavor. What could Rumi possibly see in a boring teacher who didn’t seem to do anything more than housework with her free time? No hobbies, no friends, and no girlfriend?

Last time Rumi came over for dinner, she asked whether Fuyumi was actually gay or not. Had that question actually been a sign of interest?

To investigate, Fuyumi took a step closer. Rumi’s ears tilted back a smidgen, as though threatened, but she held her ground, ready for any challenge. Her cheeks were tinting pink at Fuyumi’s approach.

With a smile, Fuyumi reached out and put her hand on Rumi’s shoulder, ignoring the shiver her cold palm elicited. “Are you busy? Do you need to go already?”

“N-no,” Rumi blinked, as though surprised by her own stutter. She coughed before continuing, “I ain’t got patrol tonight! Very, very free!”

Fuyumi felt a little bit like she did at the Forge. Confident, powerful, in control. There could be a chance she was misreading the signals, but for this bunny she was willing to gamble.

Leia and Rumi always had sex in the dark. It meant Rumi couldn’t see Fuyumi, but it also meant Fuyumi couldn’t see Rumi. As delightful as every other sense was, Fuyumi was becoming increasingly tempted by the thought of seeing Rumi completely naked, exposed in the light. She wanted to see the expressions that came with every sigh, each open-mouthed moan, every desperate face she had to imagine under the cover of darkness. Leia couldn’t have that; the risk was too great. But Fuyumi…

“Want to watch a movie?” Fuyumi asked.

“Sure!” Rumi exclaimed, a bit too loud.

Fuyumi let her hand slip, sliding down Rumi’s arm, until it met her hand. She linked their fingers loosely and began to gently tug Rumi towards the living room. Rumi went uncharacteristically quiet, and a glance back as Fuyumi grabbed the remote revealed Rumi to be biting her lip.

Fuyumi let go of the hand, in case it was too much. Another glance back showed Rumi’s lip to now be out in a pout, and Fuyumi had to suppress a giggle. She settled onto the couch, and Rumi carefully chose to sit a medium distance away on the same couch.

She would close distance that soon enough.

“How do you feel about horror movies?” Fuyumi asked.

“Fine! Great! Love them!” Rumi’s brow furrowed. “...Do you love them?”

“There’s one I’ve been trying to watch, but I just get so scared when I watch them alone,” Fuyumi made up on the spot.

“We can watch that! That works!”

Fuyumi thanked Rumi profusely, and flicked through the horror options on her streaming service, pretty much choosing one at random. She had no clue what it was actually about beyond the title, but it didn’t seem like it’d be that bad. All Fuyumi had to do was seem jumpy and spooked enough that she could cling onto Rumi, increasing their physical contact.

Fuyumi basked in her own genius. She liked to think strategic thinking was one of her strengths. Despite being one of the smallest competitors at the Forge, with less muscles than most her competitors (despite training), a combination of technique and plotting could secure her victory most the time. And as brash and straight-forward as Rumi was, it appeared she got shy when young women came onto her. Fuyumi was excited to strike, taking advantage of the weakness. Flawless plan.

---

Flawed plan.

Fuyumi did not account for the fact that she’d never actually seen a proper horror movie before. It’s not like anyone else in her family were horror buffs, and her friends from middle- and high-school were usually much more interested in romantic comedies and action movies.

It turns out horror movies were horrifying.

The ‘physical contact’ part of the plan was working out, considering Fuyumi was clinging onto Rumi’s arm with a vise grip, but Fuyumi was way too scared to enjoy it or even begin to think about Rumi’s reaction.

Rumi snorted as Fuyumi jumped for the umpteenth time. “We don’t have to finish if you don’t-”

“I’m not a coward!” Fuyumi declared.

Almost immediately, a jump-scare sent Fuyumi turning away from the screen, burying herself into Rumi’s shoulder. Maybe she could just stay there for the rest of the movie. Would it be less scary if she didn’t see what was on the screen?

The sounds of a chainsaw and some screaming just conjured up horrifying images in Fuyumi’s brain instead of her eyes. This was the worst, Fuyumi regretted it so much, she shouldn’t have been so cocky-

The noise stopped.

Fuyumi held still for a few seconds, confused. Was this part of the movie? Were they going silent so that the next jump-scare would be extra impactful? Gulping, heart thudding with dread, Fuyumi slowly turned back to the screen to see what new horror awaited-

It was paused.

Rumi held the remote in the hand that Fuyumi was not squeezing to death. “You’re clearly not enjoying this, Fuyumi. Let’s stop.”

Fuyumi was beyond relieved, but she couldn’t help but feel frustrated from failing her plan. She looked up at Rumi with wet eyes. “But I’m enjoying spending time with you.”

“We don’t need to watch this drivel to spend time together. We can do literally anything else.”

Fuyumi couldn’t hold back from hugging Rumi. She was just too sweet right now.

Rumi laughed. “So what would you rather do?”

As much as Fuyumi hated to admit it, being on the edge of her seat for the hour or so they’d gotten through had exhausted her a bit. “Honestly, I could just collapse in bed right now.”

Rumi smirked. “With, or without me?”

Oh.

Oh.

That drew an immediate flush to Fuyumi’s face.

“Uh, your hair is… frosting?” Rumi commented, “Was that too forward? If you don’t-”

Fuyumi shook the ice out of her hair, embarrassed at her flustering. “With you! Please!”

Rumi stared a moment before a feral grin broke out on her face. Considering Fuyumi was practically in her lap, it was easy for Rumi to grab Fuyumi and hoist her up, bridal-carrying her. “Where’s your room?”

Fuyumi directed her, heart unable to keep calm. She might get heart problems at this rate. It hadn’t even had a chance to slow down after the movie, and already Rumi was putting it into overdrive again. Rumi tossed Fuyumi onto the bed, relying on the light from the hallway streaming in the open door.

Rumi closed the door, and Fuyumi heard footsteps approach the door. “Wait!”

The footsteps stopped. “Is this too fast? We can just-”

“Turn on the light?” Fuyumi asked quietly.

There was a moment of pause, and Rumi walked back by the door, fumbling for the light switch. Fuyumi let out a sigh of relief when light filled the room. Rumi laughed. “The movie scared you that much?”

I just want to actually see you naked for once, Fuyumi thought. “Yeah,” She responded instead.

Rumi pounced, and Fuyumi melted into the kisses. Fuyumi found the horror movie already being banished from her mind, much too distracted by Rumi’s lips to give it any more thought. She descended into the familiar warmth, letting the passion between them stave away her constant chill.

Things seemed to be moving slower than usual. Normally, Rumi would be tearing off Leia’s clothes at this point, but Fuyumi was willing to be patient this time. She would never say no to more time making out with Rumi.

Eventually, things heated up and Fuyumi’s hands were so far up Rumi’s shirt that there was no point in keeping it on anymore. Rumi stripped it off, and Fuyumi stopped her ministrations to stare.

Rumi was hot.

Fuyumi knew that. It was obvious. Miruko’s hero costume didn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, but knowing and seeing were two different things. But seeing so much bared was like a shot of oh-my-goodness-I’m-the-luckiest-woman-in-the-world

“Well? You gonna stare all night?” Rumi challenged.

Fuyumi laughed and flipped them over so she could pin Rumi between her legs and drink up the bare skin. Quickly, Fuyumi stripped Rumi’s bra and pants as well. Fuyumi was laser focused on the sight, mentally trying to memorize every inch of naked skin. There was a mole on her stomach. As she ran her hands along Rumi’s body, she watched her expressions change and face redden. Sometimes her nose twitched.

“No fair, I’m practically naked and you’re all too covered!" Rumi declared, tugging Fuyumi’s sweater away.

Fuyumi let Rumi strip her, still entranced by Rumi’s curves. Fuyumi didn’t think of herself as a particularly visual person–she preferred reading erotica over watching porn–but being unable to see ones sexual partner made her appreciate this exposure much more than she thought she would.

There were her famous thighs, bold hips, sensitive stomach, tempting bosom, freshly-hickied neck… Her eyes crawled up to Rumi’s face, and what she saw made Fuyumi pause.

Rumi’s brow was furrowed, confusion evident. That wasn’t the arousal Fuyumi had seen less than a minute ago. Fuyumi followed Rumi’s eyes to her own body, her own exposed torso and stomach covered in scars-

Uh oh.

This was bad. This was very bad. Fuyumi immediately backed up, grabbing her blanket and covering herself as quickly as she could. She stammered out an excuse, “Ah- sorry, I’m a little shy about my body-”

“Those scars are familiar,” Rumi said, voice no longer flirty and joking.

“You must be mistaken,” Fuyumi rushed her words, pulling the blanket higher to cover herself.

Rumi’s eyes flickered to where Fuyumi was holding the blanket. “Those arm scars too.”

Fuck, Fuyumi twisted the blanket to cover her arms as well. “Must be a crazy coincidence-”

Rumi glared. “Leia.”

Fuyumi flinched. “I don’t know who that is.”

Rumi pounced, pulling the blanket away and pinning Fuyumi down to look at her. A position Fuyumi was normally very, very into, but in this case she was more dreading Rumi’s realization than aroused.

“Fuck…” Rumi’s eyes traced over her body, lingering on the scar at her midsection Rumi had helped treat. “…Is it actually you?”

Fuyumi didn’t know how to answer. Was there even a tiny chance Rumi would believe it if Fuyumi played dumb? But if Fuyumi admitted it… How was she supposed to even begin to explain herself? “Can… can we just pretend you never saw this?"

Rumi balked. “You’re the one who wanted the lights on!”

“Because I wanted to see you for once.”

That made Rumi blink, and her grip loosened enough that Fuyumi could twist out of being pinned and sit up properly. Fuyumi wrapped the blanket around herself protectively, though Rumi seemed more than comfortable having this conversation almost completely naked.

Fuyumi buried her head in the blanket, trying not to look at Rumi. Newly-realized guilt rose up from her gut, telling her she didn’t deserve to look at Rumi after lying to her for so long.

“So you accidentally revealed your secret identity… because you were horny.”

Fuyumi flushed under the blanket. “Maybe.”

“How…” Rumi shifted on the bed, “Hold on, I’m still tryna figure this shit out. You’re Leia?”

Fuyumi sighed. There was no way she could lie her way out of this one. “…Yeah.”

Rumi tugged at the blanket, pulling it down to grab Fuyumi’s chin to look at her face. She tilted it left and right, peering with such closeness that Fuyumi had to frost her ears to keep from seeming too embarrassed by the attention. “Huh.”

Fuyumi gulped as Rumi continued to stare, eyes raking down her body.

Lips were on hers with a suddenness that made Fuyumi squeak. Fuyumi was pressed back into the bed, and only given a moments respite from the kiss when she pushed Rumi away to speak, “W-wait, aren’t you mad?”

“So mad!” Rumi licked her lips. “But I’m going to deal with that later. Right now… You’re not the only one who’s wanted to actually see the person they’re fucking.”

---

Several orgasms later and both of them were in a far more relaxed state for the conversation. Rumi was surprisingly receptive to the whole ‘I’m-secretly-a-vigilante’ thing and promised not to turn Fuyumi in to the cops. She did have questions, though.

“…So wait, is Dabi actually… Shouto?” Rumi asked.

“No!” Fuyumi exclaimed, “I have other brothers!”

“But he is your real brother?”

Fuyumi stiffened. She hadn’t told anyone the whole story. But… It would be nice. Being able to tell someone who wasn’t as emotionally involved as her family would be. “…Yes. But you can’t tell anyone!”

Rumi’s nose crinkled. “Is this some sort of big family secret? So Endeavor’s name won’t be dragged through the mud for having a villain for a son?”

“N-no, Dad doesn’t actually know. No one else in the family does.”

Rumi stared. “Endeavor doesn’t know.”

“Yeah.”

“... But you know.”

“I uh… I figured it out. After interacting with Dabi for while…”

“Wait, wait, hold up,” Rumi massaged her temples, “You didn’t know he was your brother at first?”

“Maybe I should start at the beginning…”

---

Having someone listen and get to know both of her sides felt like a weight off of her chest. Fuyumi couldn’t believe how light she felt, despite some of the somber topics she covered in explaining Dabi and her own vigilantism. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was, to be with a woman who would listen to and accept all of her, holding her hand and squeezing it as Fuyumi described her life. It was almost strange to have someone bear witness, to hear all the things Fuyumi has gone through and respond, “That’s so fucked up.”

“I’m not a big fan of my ‘dead’ twin brother being part of the League of Villains either.”

“But he’s also like, trying to kill your dad.” Rumi glanced at her. “Why?”

Fuyumi closed her eyes. It was past midnight, she had heard Dad come home and go to his room, probably to sleep. She wanted to sleep as well, there had been more than enough revelations for today. Her father’s questionable parenting style was something Fuyumi didn’t want to have to explain and excuse for another hour.

As Rumi wrapped an arm around Fuyumi comfortingly, protectively, Fuyumi also had doubts that Rumi would be able to hold back on confronting Endeavor if she learned how he treated his children. Unlike Fuyumi, Rumi wanted to face things head-on as soon as possible.

Fuyumi curled closer to Rumi. “It’s complicated, I don’t want to get into it tonight. Can we just sleep?”

Rumi pulled the blanket up and over them. “…Okay.”

Fuyumi thought that was the end of it, but a few minutes there was a squeeze around her midsection. “What?”

“We’re not fake girlfriends anymore, right?”

“Wha-” Fuyumi had almost forgotten that whole ruse. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

“Well it’d be kind of weird to say we’re ‘fake’ dating after everything we’ve done.”

Fuyumi laughed. “Let’s be real girlfriends then.”

Notes:

Not to project too hard, but I HATE horror movies. They're so scary!! Why do people want to get scared?? I'm very easily emotionally invested in media (I'll cry for even mediocre movies if there are parts the audience is supposed to cry) so when I watch a movie that's supposed to scare me I get legitimately terrified!! Even mildly scary, like when I binged the first season of Stranger Things?? I literally didn't sleep that night.
One time I was invited to a movie night at someone's dorm, and was told we were watching Midsommar but I didn't really know what the movie was about. I thought maybe it was an adaptation on A Midsummer Night's Dream or something funny like that. Then right before the movie I was chatting with some people about it and they were like "Haha no it's a horror movie." I literally said "I have to go." Then one of them was all like "Aw nah I'm sure it won't be that bad, it's more like a thriller than a true HORROR film!"
So I forced myself to try and get through it, but after literally less than a minute my heart was already racing. Nothing had even happened yet, but the anticipation was way too much for me. Internally I was like "I know I'm about to suffer this entire movie. Is it worth seeming like a normal person who can handle thrillers in front of these people if I'm going to be scared out of my mind during the movie (and likely afterwards)?". The answer is: No. So I literally got up, said "Sorry, I can't do this" and just walked out of the building and went home. Gotta take care of yourself first.
In conclusion, fuck horror movies.

Also congrats to the new official couple in this fic.

Chapter 33: I Still Have A Dozen Secrets, But My Girlfriend Is Not One Of Them

Summary:

The room was quiet aside from the sizzling of bacon.

Rumi opened her mouth to say something else, but Dad spoke suddenly, “Usagiyama.”

“What?”

Dad took a deep breath and put both hands, fingers interlocked, on the table. “Are you serious about my daughter?”

Notes:

Beep beep it's the morning-after breakfast with the father.

Dad was surprised to see Rumi the next morning.

“Usagiyama, I didn’t realize you were… around,” He commented when Fuyumi and Rumi entered the kitchen for breakfast.

Walking evenly, trying not to seem nervous or like she did anything wrong, Fuyumi got started on frying some bacon while Rumi strutted in and took a seat at the table. The coffeepot was going, Dad must have started it when he got up.

Rumi was wearing a modest wine-red, long-sleeve dress that went to the knees and was completely opposite of her usual bold style. Based on Dad’s narrowed eyes, he recognized the dress as one of Fuyumi’s.

Rumi chuckled. “Fuyumi invited me over last night!”

Fuyumi kept her eyes on the bacon sizzling, forcing herself to not look at Dad’s expression. All she could hear was a stoic voice, “I see.”

Was it okay that she let Rumi sleep over? Dad had been okay with Rumi visiting at least, but they didn’t discuss that particular boundary. She bit her lip as she got out plates for her and Rumi, also making some toast on the way. What was it they said? Better to ask for forgiveness than permission?

“Do you need any help, babe?” Rumi asked.

The pet name made Fuyumi almost drop her spatula. She wasn’t sure how to react when other people (other people being her father) were around. “No, I’m almost done, thank you.”

“As long as you’re sure!”

The room was quiet aside from the sizzling of bacon.

Rumi opened her mouth to say something else, but Dad spoke suddenly, “Usagiyama.”

“What?”

Dad took a deep breath and put both hands, fingers interlocked, on the table. “Are you serious about my daughter?”

Fuyumi whirled around from the stovetop to face him. “Dad!”

Before Fuyumi could further chastise her father for asking something so embarrassing, Rumi responded, “Of course!”

Dad glared. “She is my only daughter.”

Fuyumi hated where this was going already.

Rumi kicked her leg up on the table, cocky and confident, legs crossed to maintain at least a modicum of modesty. “And she’s my only girlfriend.”

“If you were to hurt her in any way…”

“I’m no villain, Endeavor.”

“I would just like to warn you ahead of time that if I learn of you mistreating her in any way…”

“The number one pro-hero? Making threats? Would the Hero Commission enjoy hearing about that?”

“I’m not speaking as a pro-hero, but as a father right now.”

Fuyumi took a deep breath. Her dad and girlfriend better not actually be starting a fight right now.

“Well I can assure you, I’m serious about dating your daughter. If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t even see me the morning after-"

Fuyumi slammed the plate of bacon on the table. “It would be nice if you two didn’t talk about me like I’m not in the room.”

The room went quiet at Fuyumi’s rare outburst. She carefully glared at Rumi first, for engaging her Dad’s ridiculous antics, and then even harder at Dad for starting the conversation.

Rumi opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak the sound of the front door opening echoed through the house. “I’m home!”

“Welcome back!” Fuyumi responded, perking up at Natsuo’s voice. “We’re in the kitchen!”

Good, Natsuo was here. A perfect excuse to divert the conversation to anything other than her new relationship.

Natsuo entered the kitchen, dropping his bag in the living room on the way. He had an easy smile on, but it faltered when he caught sight of Dad at the table. Then he saw Rumi, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “Uh… Who’s this?”

Wait. Fuyumi never told Natsuo about her relationship with Rumi. Not even when they were fake dating. Rumi had only shown up at the house once, during a weekday when Natsuo was at college.

“…And why’s she wearing the dress I got you for your 20th birthday?”

“I’m Rumi Usagiyama!” Rumi exclaimed, legs still up on the table, waving a hand casually. “Fuyumi’s girlfriend! You must be another one of her brothers!”

Natsuo’s jaw dropped, and he whirled to confront Fuyumi. “Your girlfriend?”

Fuyumi took a deep breath. “Natsu…”

“Uh-uh, you were so pissed when I didn’t tell you about a girl I had only gone one a few dates with, and you didn’t tell me when you got a girlfriend?”

“Well I wasn’t sure how serious we were-”

Dad frowned. “Not serious?”

Natsuo gaped and gestured at Rumi. “She’s wearing your clothes, eating breakfast with our dad on a Saturday morning! Seems pretty serious to me!”

Fuyumi took a piece of toast and stuffed it directly into Natsuo’s complaining mouth. “We can talk about this later, after Rumi leaves.”

“Oh don’t hold back on my account,” Rumi interjected, "Just throw in some popcorn, and I’d be set to listen to this whole conversation.”

Natsuo sputtered for a moment before properly biting a chunk off and chewing the toast, removing the rest with his hand. That occupied his mouth long enough that Fuyumi could speak, “Rumi, I apologize that my family has no manners.”

“She has her feet up on the table!” Natsuo exclaimed, mouth full.

“Swallow before you speak,” Fuyumi reminded him reflexively, “And yes, Rumi, please take your feet off the table.”

Rumi pouted, but did as asked. Eventually, everyone settled in and ate without any more confrontations. Natsuo hesitantly made small talk about college, pointedly never talking towards Dad.

Once Rumi was done eating, Fuyumi practically shoved her out the door. “That eager to get rid of me?” Rumi asked with a dramatically distraught expression.

Fuyumi rolled her eyes. “I need to get you out of here before my family embarrasses me any further.”

Once they were out the front door with some semblance of privacy, Rumi pulled her close. “Any other brothers I should know about?”

“No, that’s the last of them,” Fuyumi told her, marveling at the fact that yes, Rumi had actually met all of her brothers now. A year ago, she never thought Touya would meet her first girlfriend.

Rumi gave her a goodbye kiss, and Fuyumi smiled through it. They parted, Rumi walking away with her clothes from last night in a bag. Fuyumi watched her go before going back inside.

Dad at least had excused himself and gone somewhere else (probably his room or the gym), leaving Natsuo and her alone to talk. Natsuo was sitting on the couch in the living room, apparently waiting for her. “Fuyumi.”

Fuyumi sat down on one of the armchairs. “I know, Natsuo, but it was complicated.”

“Okay, answer me just one question.”

“What?”

Natsuo took a deep breath. “Now I don’t mean to imply that you have no… ‘game’, or whatever one might call it, and I think you’re a great catch, but I’m also confused as to how you, Fuyumi Todoroki, ended up dating Miruko, one of the top ten pro-heros.”

Fuyumi grimaced. How could she explain? It all happened as a vigilante. Well, there were one or two civilian moments… Actually a decent amount? “She rescued me from a grocery store villain attack.”

Natsuo frowned. “Wait, you were a victim in a villain attack? When? Did I miss this ‘cause I was at college?”

Wow yeah Fuyumi kept a lot of secrets from her family. “A while ago. A year? Half a year? Definitely before you went before college, so don’t worry-”

“Don’t worry?” Natsuo exclaimed, “We were in the same house, and I didn’t even know you were in an attack?”

There’s a lot you don’t know about the attacks I’m involved in. “I guess mentioning it just slipped my mind?”

“Wait,” Natsuo’s face flashed anger, “Were you dating her when you had those… those bruises? You said it wasn’t Dad or a boyfriend, but technically I didn’t ask if it was a girlfriend...”

Oh geez. That time Natsuo had noticed some bruises from the Forge and vigilantism. She kind of hoped he had forgotten about that. Fuyumi sighed. “Again, those were not the result of any sort of partner, and no, Rumi and I weren’t dating at the time.”

“So when did you start dating?”

She bit her lip, trying to devise a timeline without mentioning the Leia side. “Like I said, she rescued me, then… Do you remember that hero banquet I went to with Dad?”

“So she was there?”

“Yeah, and we chatted a bit…” She thought as quickly as possible, bending the truth into an approximation of a believable story, “She invited me out to a bar, which was in a bad part of town… that was the night Dad got really mad at me, remember? When I pissed him off?”

“You didn’t piss him off, he pisses himself off all on his own,” Natsuo stated with certainty.

“Well that was because I was out with Rumi, and he learned I was gay. I guess we sort of told him we were dating at the time to keep it simple for him, but Rumi and I weren’t actually an item at the time…”

“Is she who you stayed with when you ran away?”

“I saw her some while running away,” Fuyumi really didn’t want to answer questions about where she stayed during that time, so she changed the topic, “But it wasn’t until last night that we decided that we’re serious, and that we’re officially girlfriends.”

Natsuo narrowed his eyes at her. “I… guess it makes sense.”

Fuyumi shot him a beaming smile.

He cracked and let out a grin of his own. “So a congratulations is in order?”

Fuyumi laughed. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well congratulations anyway, she seems like a great catch.”

“Thank you.”

With that, the matter was fairly resolved. Fuyumi enjoyed Natsuo’s company the rest of the weekend, along with some adorable texts from Rumi. At the Forge, she felt like she was floating on cloud nine. There were still secrets she was keeping, but every day she ended up dropping more. Rumi knew about her secret identity and Dabi, and her family knew about Rumi.

As she laid down in bed that night and thought about it, she was surprised to realize Natsuo cared about her having been in a villain attack. She supposed it made sense; he didn’t know that she beat up criminals every week for fun. As far as he knew, she was his meek, kind, older sister. The whole grocery store fiasco hadn’t felt like a big deal at the time, compared to other stuff she was involved in.

Dad had freaked about it when he heard it happened, too.

She wondered if Shouto would be alarmed if she told him about it. She had panicked when Shouto’s class was involved in a villain attack, and Shouto was actively training to be a hero. She would have been distraught to discover he hid it from her, preventing her from worrying or fussing about it. Had Natsuo and Dad felt the same way?

She curled up beneath her electric blanket. From now on, if her civilian self got into danger again, she’d tell her family. It was the least she could do.

Notes:

Me: Ugh it's so hard to write... I know I need a schedule to keep my multichapter alive but sometimes I can't just force out words, you know? [For real tho if I don't stick to some sort of schedule I just write nothing, it's for the best.]
Also me: Bro 4/3 is Flower Shop + Tattoo Parlor AU day. Write a 5k no-quirks AU where Fuyumi is a tattoo artist and Miruko is a florist, it's no biggie. Throw a DabiHawks wedding in there too, why not.
AKA if you want more cute Miruko/Fuyumi shenanigans, I wrote this oneshot instead of working on this fic.

Next Chapter: As much as I love Miruko, it's been awhile since we've seen Dabi...

Chapter 34: You're Projecting Your Own Psychological Issues Onto Me, Even If You're Still Right

Summary:

She sighed. Dabi had abandoned this apartment just like he had abandoned their family. He had his League now, he wasn’t coming back.

The front door jiggled.

Notes:

Update schedule changing to around once a week bc I'm a hot mess and ran out of my buffer.

Winter had its good points. Fuyumi appreciated that once the whether cooled, all the people around her finally seemed to feel as cold as she was and would start turning on the heaters in buildings. She enjoyed sitting at a kotatsu, with whatever family members were available sitting around with her. And there was something to be said about looking outside, seeing the snow fall, and feeling protected from it all by a warm house, thick blanket, and hot chocolate.

It was hard to think about those good points while Fuyumi was bleeding in an alley in the middle of a snowstorm.

The person she had been fighting was knocked out cold (ha) now. She stuffed them in a dumpster, where they might be relatively insulated by the trash. Giran asked her to ‘take him out of commission’ for today, some sort of distraction to prevent this dude messing up someone else’s plans. Frankly, Fuyumi didn’t care what those plans were. She did wonder if they were still going through with whatever it was in this weather.

The fight took longer than she anticipated. When it started, it had been cold but there had only been a dense flurry. Now the snow was layering fast on the ground, and the streets grew dark as cars avoided going out onto the snowy roads.

She pressed a palm against the injury on her leg and hissed. The dude she fought turned out to have joints that could bend to reveal blade, and he used those against her. Although most her cuts were minimal or protected by her layers of clothing, he had successfully dug into her upper thigh, leaving pain and dripping blood. The red sprinkled the ground, but was quickly covered up by snow. It was not pretty. Fuyumi needed to get inside, get warm, and treat herself as soon as possible.

Home was an hour away at least on foot. More with it injured like this.

Even if she called for someone to pick her up, the roads were too dangerous. There was no way she could get home anytime soon.

She glanced around, squinting through the dense snowfall. This was near Dabi’s neighborhood.

Or at least where Dabi used to live. He left when he started avoiding Fuyumi. Though Fuyumi had visited multiple times trying to catch him, she always found the apartment exactly as she had left it. She threw out the perishable food she had made for him, but there was still plenty of cans and other things to eat.

There was also a first-aid kit.

She had her own first-aid materials in her pockets, and she pulled out some gauze while sitting in the alleyway. She quickly wrapped some of it around her leg, at least putting some pressure against the oozing wound. Hopefully that would last her long enough to get to the apartment.

She left the alley, face buffeted by the wind. She was glad her ski-mask and goggles covered her nose and eyes, but her lips felt like they were turning blue. Her teeth chattered as she stumbled along, making her way down the street.

By the time she was on the street of the apartment, the snow was so dense that she was blindly groping the buildings along the sidewalk to keep on her course. When she finally reached the building, she took a relieved gulp of air as soon as the door closed behind her. The main entrance wasn’t even warm, but now at least there was not snow completely surrounding her. She shook herself like a dog, letting the snowflakes fall to the ground.

She was shivering severely, almost dropping her keys as she struggled to open the door to the apartment. Once she was finally inside, she collapsed on the nearest soft surface, the couch.

As usual, the apartment wasn’t well heated, but it was better than outside. Fuyumi curled up into a ball on the couch, trying to coax her almost non-existent body heat out. She closed her eyes. She was so tired, even though her leg was the only serious injury, everything felt sluggish with cold. Perhaps if she just slept for a bit…

She pulled in a shuddering breath. Nope. That’s how people die of hypothermia. Fuyumi forced herself back up. Her injury was still bleeding, and it seemed getting warmer had triggered a renewed flow, dripping onto Dabi’s couch. That was fine. Everything was fine.

Fuyumi filled a pot with some water and began heating it on the stove. She never hated Dabi more for not bothering with hot water. Then again, Fuyumi’s been paying for the apartment for awhile now. Perhaps she should have arranged to get that back. But she had been holding the apartment for Dabi’s sake, and so had wanted to keep things the same as he had left it.

She looked around at the apartment. Back then, it had been a temporary haven while she was running away from Dad. She had cared for Dabi, yes, but she hadn’t known at the time that he was her ‘dead’ brother. She felt ashamed that she had let that time slip through her fingers so fast, not treasuring it more fully. Would that be the last good memories she would have of her brother? If she had known back then, could she have changed things and found a way to keep him?

She sighed. Dabi had abandoned this apartment just like he had abandoned their family. He had his League now, he wasn’t coming back.

The front door jiggled.

At least panic warmed her up a little. She grabbed a kitchen knife. There was no way it was Dabi, she had to assume it was a burglar or something. She crept to the front door, standing behind where it would open towards, and listened closely.

The door creaked open, and an unfamiliar voice spoke, “Hey, it’s not even locked. That’s convenient! That’s dangerous!”

There was more than one set of footsteps. So a crew of burglars? Fuyumi waited for the man, in some sort of full-body suit, to step fully over the threshold before she struck, grabbing the man and pulling her knife up to his throat. “Don’t move or I’ll slice his throat.”

Once she was in position to negotiate, she was able to see who else was trying to enter. She almost dropped her weapon when she saw who it was. There was a high school girl, the one who was part of the League, but what really caught her eye was the tall man behind her.

Dabi, staring at her like she was crazy.

The man in her arms squirmed, but she pressed the knife closer to throat. He yelped, “Wait, don’t kill me! Go ahead and cut off my head, if you can!”

Dabi glared. “Leia, drop him.”

The high school girl glanced between them. Despite her ally being taken hostage, she didn’t seem too distressed. Did she remember that Leia was Dabi’s sister? Was she used to her ally being in danger?

“Leia.”

Fuyumi glared back at him. “Will you promise to come home if I do?”

“It’s a snowstorm, and I can see you shivering from here,” Dabi rolled his eyes, “You’re in no condition to fight all three of us.”

“It’ll only be two if I take him out.”

“Oh? Did you finally give up that moral code against killing people?”

Fuyumi frowned, but Dabi was right in calling her bluff. She let him go. The man coughed as he was released, and Fuyumi got a better look at him. He was wearing a full body suit, to the point where even his face was covered. “Damn! Tight grip! Way too loose!”

The girl jumped towards Fuyumi, as if to attack, but Dabi grabbed the back of her shirt. “No, Toga, we don’t need to fight her.”

Toga pouted. “I want to see what’s under all those layers, though~!”

Dabi pushed his two allies fully inside, closing the door behind him. “Why are you even here, Leia?”

Fuyumi crossed her arms. “I pay for this place. I thought you abandoned it, why are you here?”

He looked her up and down, not answering.

“We got into a spot of trouble,” Toga piped up, “We were getting chased by some pros, but dodged them in the storm! Of course, we didn’t have time to go all the way back to our base, but Dabi said he knew a place nearby we could squat for a bit…”

“This place looks nice!” The man still recovering commented, “It’s a total shithole! Why didn’t we use this as a base instead of-”

Dabi slapped his hand over the man’s mouth. “Because, Twice, as you can see, it’s compromised. People outside of the League know about it.”

Fuyumi was too tired to fight with Dabi right now. She just let out an exasperated sigh and turned back to the kitchen. Hopefully the water was boiling by now.

Dabi grabbed her arm. She almost gasped at the warmth of his hand. If there weren’t League members here, would he have hugged her? “Wait, you didn’t answer why you’re here. You’re injured, why didn’t you go home? Did… you-know-who do this-”

“This injury has nothing to do with Dad,” Fuyumi snapped.

Did the League know about their father? Did Dabi trust them enough to tell them? He hadn’t trusted his own sister with the information.

Fuyumi turned away. “I was in a fight. The snowstorm ruined my ability to go home, so I came here instead. Happy?”

Dabi was so close, she could almost feel the heat rolling off of him. She ached to wrap him up in her arms, both for the sake of warming up, and to hold onto her ‘dead’ brother. But she didn’t know where they stood, especially with the League witnessing their interactions. Toga had heard they were related, but she wasn’t sure if Twice was told. Last time they’d been around the League, Dabi had shoved her out with harsh words. Would he do the same today?

But it’s not like he could send her out in the snowstorm.

“Aw, she’s cold!” Toga exclaimed, “See how she shivers?”

The girl’s tone of voice was a little disconcerting. Fuyumi felt a bit like she was being treated as some sort of novelty, a pet rabbit shivering in the snow. The pot was at a rolling boil now. Ignoring Toga, Fuyumi stripped her gloves off and shoved her hands into the boiling water.

That got a reaction from both Toga and Twice. Toga laughed, high and disbelieving, while Twice jumped forward to pull her arms out of the water. “Wait! I know it’s tempting when you’re cold, but you’ll burn your hands like that!”

Fuyumi twisted her arm out of his grip and kicked him away so he fell onto the ground. Was this one of the League members that attacked Shouto? How could he act like he cared about some random woman burning her hands off? Once he was out of the way, she put her hands back in the hot water, sighing in relief as the heat permeated her bones. If she had been alone, she would have taken off her mask and splashed her face too.

Twice was still making a scene on the ground. “Dabi! Toga! What is she doing? She’s crazy!”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about it, Twice, she doesn’t burn.”

Dabi walked away, going somewhere deeper in the apartment. That was fine. Fuyumi focused on the warmth in her hands, letting her blood pump through the heat and spread through her body. She curled over the pot, letting the steam waft around her shoulders and head.

“…Who are you?” Twice asked hesitantly.

Twice had gotten up now, and although he seemed uncomfortable at Fuyumi burying herself in an actively boiling pot of water, he made no move to try and stop her again. She stared at him, at his worried posture and wondered, once again, how someone in the League of Villains had something resembling a compassionate side.

“Leia,” She answered shortly, feeling uncomfortable the longer she thought about it.

Toga sat on the table. “You’re Dabi’s sister, right?”

Twice gasped. “Dabi has a family?”

“No,” Dabi walked back into the kitchen, carrying the first-aid kit from the bathroom, “Leia, sit down, you’re not doing your leg any favors standing around.”

Fuyumi huffed. “So you’ve decided to care about me for today?”

“Can we please not start this in front of company?” Dabi hissed.

Fuyumi pulled a chair from the table and took a seat as Dabi began to unpack the kit. “I just think it’s a little inconsistent how sometimes you kick me out and say you don’t care about me, and other times it seems like you’d rather die than lose me.”

“I don’t give a shit about you,” Dabi argued, throwing her two pills.

Painkillers. Of course Dabi didn’t bother to get her a glass of water or anything. She cupped her hand in the boiling water and brought it to her lips, slipping the pills in alongside. Once she swallowed, she frowned at Dabi. “You ran away after you learned we were related. Is our relation really enough to throw me out?”

He unwrapped her rushed gauze job with rough tugs. “Stop saying shit with these clowns around.”

“Do you need help with cleaning that?” Toga asked with a wide smile.

Fuyumi grabbed a washcloth and tossed it in the boiling water before dabbing at her wound, washing away mess of blood. “No thanks, we’ve got it.”

Once it was relatively clean, Dabi dabbed ointment at it, “This is deep enough for stitches.”

“Then do that, I know there’s materials in the kit.”

“There’s not-” Dabi looked closer at the contents. “Did you add stuff to this?”

Fuyumi shrugged. “Just in case someone stopped by needing medical care.”

He glared. “It’s gonna hurt.”

“It can’t hurt more than Steel’s quirk.”

“Steel’s quirk makes you cry like a little bitch. Are you going to cry now?”

Fuyumi scoffed. “No.”

 

---

She cried a little bit.

It was definitely a shitty suture job. Dabi was not cut out for medicine, and he would butcher any sort of sewing project. Great, that just meant Fuyumi would get another scar. It would blend in with the others. Now Dabi was carefully adding some antibacterial ointment to help prevent infection.

The two other League members had gotten bored of their impromptu stitching session, and had wandered to the living room. Twice called out to them, “Hey, there’s bloodstains on the couch!”

Dabi glared at Fuyumi, “Did you bleed on my couch?”

Toga’s voice rang out, “I think it looks nice!”

Dabi rolled his eyes and muttered, “Of course she would think that.”

“Dabi,” Fuyumi spoke softly, hoping to have at least a little privacy from the League.

He didn’t respond, instead keeping his eyes on the gauze he was now wrapping around her thigh.

“You clearly don’t hate me.”

He tightened the gauze, as though trying to cut off the circulation to her leg.

She kicked him, and he loosened. “I’m just saying, even if you hate him, I don’t see why you have to leave the rest of us behind.”

Dabi glanced at the living room, “Can we not talk about this while-”

“And when will we talk about it, then? Because you’re not exactly easy to get a hold of. Not like I can just call you up.”

“They-” Dabi took a deep breath, “The League… they don’t know anything. And I want to keep it that way.”

“Like how you wanted to keep me in the dark?”

Dabi glared. “As far as I’m concerned, your brother is dead.”

“Well he’s not.” Fuyumi felt a lump in her throat. “Not to me. I haven’t given up on him.”

He was done dressing the injury. He stood up, but Fuyumi grabbed his sleeve.

“You can pretend all you want, but it’s clear you still care about your sister. Otherwise you wouldn’t have helped with my injury.”

“I care about Leia,” He spat, “The time we spent allied together… You helped me, now I’m helping you as a favor. That’s the only reason I didn’t kill you as soon as I learned your true identity.”

Fuyumi shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”

“I’ve attacked Sho-” He paused glancing once again at the living room, “…You know who I’ve hurt before.”

“And Natsu?” Fuyumi challenged him, “If you saw him on the street, would you grab him and incinerate him? Just because of the way Dad treated you?”

“The way that piece of shit treated us," Dabi was whispering, ever conscious of their guests, but his tone was harsh, “This injury won’t exactly be your first scar.”

“You know what? You’re right,” Fuyumi stood up, “He did treat us both terribly. But you know who got a whole extra decade of Dad’s delightful parenting?”

Dabi closed his eyes. “’Yu-…Leia.”

“He hurt both of us, Dabi, but it’s not like he got to keep hurting you after you left. If anyone should be pissed at him, it’s me. So why are you being like this?”

“We were children. That sort of treatment at such a young age… it leaves a lot more than physical scars. We will never have a childhood, he took that away from us, and he’s never faced consequences."

“Well get over it!” Fuyumi was a bit too loud, she could tell by Dabi’s panicked glance towards the others, but she didn’t care, “We’re okay now! You’re out of there, and Dad has changed so I’m not in danger anymore. And what are you even saying about ‘more than physical scars’? I became a perfectly well-adjusted member of society, so you have no excuse to become a villain over it!”

Dabi stared at her, eyebrow raised. “…You think you’re a perfectly well-adjusted member of society?”

“I’m a responsible daughter, big sister, teacher, and not to mention I recently got a girlfriend.”

“Miruko?”

“Obviously.”

Dabi gestured to Fuyumi. “Do you think well-adjusted people run around the city beating people up? Or get involved in fighting rings?”

Fuyumi pursed her lips. “Everyone needs a hobby.”

“I’ve worked with you. I’ve seen how much you enjoy it. It’s a lot more than a hobby. In fact…” He leaned in. “…You might be the same as me.”

Fuyumi narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Does hurting people let you feel in control?”

Fuyumi froze.

“You like to act like you have a moral code, only attacking people criminals, but something as noble as justice isn’t what drives you, is it? No…” He clicked his tongue. “You jumped at the chance to join a fighting ring. That’s not stopping crime, that’s just you fulfilling your own selfish desire. But what is it you desire?”

“Stop it.”

“Do you want to show the world you’re tough? Do you want to hurt others the way you’ve been hurt? Do you want to feel like you’re finally in control of your own pain?”

Fuyumi spat, “I’m not like you.”

“No, you’re not like me.” He smirked. “I’m willing to admit it to myself.”

Fuyumi shoved him aside and marched to the living room. Toga and Twice, who had been curled up on the couch in some sort of whispered conference to each other, perked up at her approach. Fuyumi pointedly ignored them to go to the window. She pulled open the curtain, hoping to see the darkness of a clear sky.

The frame rattled at a gust of wind, and white flew past the window at a dizzying speed.

She let go of the curtain. There was no way they were leaving any time soon.

“The storm’s pretty bad, right? Nah, it’s nothing at all!” Twice exclaimed.

“Maybe we’ll be stuck here all night,” Toga commented, “We could have a slumber party!”

Fuyumi wanted to punch Toga in the face.

She took a deep breath. Helpful thoughts, Fuyumi. She wasn’t… whatever Dabi was implying. She didn’t want to punch people.

“Let’s play Truth or Dare!” Toga exclaimed, running into the kitchen to grab two more chairs for Dabi and Fuyumi to sit in the living room.

Okay so she did want to punch Toga’s creepy, unable-to-read-the-mood troublemaking face. But she wasn’t going to do it.

Another deep breath. This was a high schooler. Why was she involved in the League? What led her here? How would Fuyumi feel about her if this was one of her students, rather than a stranger?

It was working already. Fuyumi just needed to tap into some of that empathy she had for Dabi, for Dad. She didn’t want to hurt either of them, despite the horrible stuff they put her through, she could suppress this hate and get through the night with the League if she kept that mindset.

She graciously sat on the chair Toga offered. If Fuyumi didn’t know Toga had attacked Shouto, she would think that she’s very nice. Toga and Twice bickered amicably about the rules of the game, almost like a pair of friends. Maybe this behavior was Toga’s way of coping, trying to retain some normalcy in her villainous life.

…Had this girl ever known what it was like to be normal? Was that what was missing from her life? Maybe if Fuyumi could show her there was a better way to live… Toga was still just a teenager, if Fuyumi could get her out of the League now, then maybe…

Maybe Dabi could be persuaded to follow.

Fuyumi looked over at him. He was slouched, acting uninterested, but he took a seat on the chair Toga had offered him. He watched Toga and Twice with lazy eyes, and Fuyumi could almost see a hint of… fondness?

She steeled herself. She wanted Dabi to change his worldview, even a little, to accept the rest of the Todoroki family. Maybe she could lead by example by changing her worldview and accepting his ‘new’ family.

She clapped her hands together. “You know what? You’re right Toga, a game of Truth or Dare seems like a great way to pass the time!”

Toga’s face lit up, smile wide across her face. “I knew you’d be great at sleepovers!”

Dabi scoffed at Fuyumi. “Are you serious?”

Fuyumi sat primly. “I’m a very calm person who can put aside my anger for the sake of family.”

He snorted. “What fucking family?”

“Yours.”

His brow furrowed, like he wasn’t sure what she was implying but definitely didn’t like it.

“This is gonna be so fun! This will be a wreck!” Twice shouted.

Fuyumi was leaning towards the ‘wreck’ prediction, but she committed. She was going to bond with these villains no matter what.

Anything to get Dabi home.

Notes:

Fuyumi: "You think???? Being abused has??? Affected me????? In any way, shape, or form????? Ridiculous accusations, where is your evidence?"
Dabi: "Well there's the vigilantism. The Forge. General bouts of sadism. That time you almost choked a dude to death. You ran away from home out of fear of your own father. There was also that time when you stabbed a bajillion people with ice spikes-"
Fuyumi: "False. I'm about to suppress all of my rage (which I do not have because I do not have such sinful emotions like anger), sit down and have a perfectly calm and normal evening with a bunch of villains. Could a maladjusted person do that????? #Owned."
Dabi: "...Uh-"

Chapter 35: If My Brother Refuses To Talk To Me, I Guess I Have To Befriend His Allies Instead

Summary:

Dabi glared. “That’s stupid.”

“Come on!”

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes. “Truth, I guess, not like I get an option.

Twice leaned forward. “Who is ‘Natsu’?”

“I’ll go first!” Toga declared, “Leia, truth or dare?”

“Uh…” Neither option sounded appealing, but Leia figured she had a lot to hide. “Dare?”

“Sit on Twice’s lap for a round!”

Nope. Nope nope nope. No way was Fuyumi gonna do this.

“What the fuck Toga?” Dabi exclaimed.

Toga pouted. “I just wanted to make things more exciting! Heart-pounding!”

“I have a girlfriend,” Leia shared, “So I’d really rather not do those kinds of dares.”

Toga gasped. “Oh? Is she pretty? What’s she like? Can you describe, in detail, the last time she was injured?”

Dabi stepped in. “If we’re going to play this game, a general ground rule: No weird horny-teenager dares like that. Aside from you, Toga, the rest of us are too old for that. Not to mention gay, or related.”

“So you are related!” Twice exclaimed.

Dabi huffed. “Not like she was doing a good job of hiding it.”

“You started telling people first!”

“But at least I didn’t tell the League! You did that!”

“Guys,” Toga butted in, “If you’re really going to veto my fantastic heart-pounding dares, then I need help coming up with another good dare for Leia.”

“How about…” Dabi clicked his tongue. “I dare you to give up vigilantism and getting yourself into danger all the fucking time?”

Twice raised his hands, “Hey, let’s not use dares to argue with each other-”

“I got it!” Toga grinned. “Leia, I dare you to share an embarrassing story from Dabi’s childhood.”

Dabi scoffed. “That’s not a dare-”

“Like how when they first stopped including toys with the Crunchy Charms cereal he cried?”

Toga and Twice both had dropped jaws at that.

Dabi sputtered. “Wh- ‘Yu-, Leia! I don’t even remember that!”

“Well I do,” Fuyumi asserted, “You were upset you hadn’t collected the whole set of possible toys that I ended up giving you some of mine.”

Dabi turned to the others. “She’s lying.”

“Wow, it’s kind of crazy to imagine Dabi being a kid. He comes off as the kind of guy who just appeared in the world one day, fully grown,” Twice commented, “Who am I kidding? Everyone had to be a child once!”

Now that the ‘dare’ was taken care of, it was Fuyumi’s chance to get to know more of the League. “Toga, truth or dare.”

“Dare! Dare!”

Hmm. Fuyumi wanted to dig for information using Truth’s, so Toga asking for a dare threw a wrench in that plan. Thought maybe… “Let me see your phone contacts.”

Toga smiled and pulled out her phone. “Oh? You want to add me?”

“Don’t do it,” Dabi told her, “Leia just wants to dig for info.”

Toga gave her the phone anyway.

The contact list was rather small. The phone was clearly a burner of some sort, though it had a heart-shaped phone charm attached to it. Fuyumi looked for any parents in the phone, but all she saw were shortened names, many with emojis. She saw Dabi had little flames and an emoji with its tongue sticking out next to his name.

Not wanting to disappoint the teenager (and hoping she could use it later), Fuyumi put her phone number in and texted herself.

The phone was accepted back with a squeal. “This makes us friends!” She declared before turning to Twice to ask him which option he wanted.

“Dare! Dare!”

“Make a copy of Leia!”

“Toga, can you stop with these fucked up dares?” Dabi sighed, exasperated.

“Make… a copy?” Fuyumi asked.

“He can make a copy of a person, though he needs some time to measure them out first. The copy is exactly like them, including memories, but is unstable and destroyed with some pain.”

Having a copy of herself sounded more than weird. “I’m not sure that I want-”

“Copying people out of battle can get strange,” Twice commented, oddly quiet, “Getting rid of a copy requires hurting them.”

Toga looked at him a moment, something strange passing through her eyes, before she turned away with a smile pasted back on her face. “Then I dare you to get me some food!”

Twice guffawed. “Am I your servant? Anything for you, my queen!”

Twice scurried away into the kitchen. Leia was relieved that it was a harmless dare. Although she wanted to dig for more info on Toga, every time she chose her for the game, she gave Toga another opportunity for those weird dares.

When Twice came back (A bag of popcorn tossed to Toga), he pointed at Dabi. “Truth or dare!”

“Dare.”

“Nuh-uh!” Toga wagged her finger. “Weren’t you listening when Twice and I were discussing the rules? Once we do three of one type in a row, the fourth has to be something different!”

Fuyumi had not been listening. That was news to her.

Dabi glared. “That’s stupid.”

“Come on!”

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes. “Truth, I guess, not like I get an option."

Twice leaned forward. “Who is ‘Natsu’?”

Blue fire flared from Dabi, a flash of heat coating the room. He clenched his fist and almost snarled at Twice. “How the fuck do you know that name?”

Twice backed up, hands raised in surrender, “Hey! Hey! Let’s stay cool! I just overheard you and Leia discussing it-”

“You were listening to us? Ever heard of privacy?”

Toga giggled. “You guys weren’t really that quiet.”

Dabi was still on fire, but Twice spoke quietly to him. “Hey, come on dude, we’re not trying to look for weaknesses, we’re buddies! We care for you!”

Fuyumi raised an eyebrow at the strange sincerity of Twice’s statements. Both eyebrows raised when Dabi actually calmed down. Dabi’s fire went out and Twice crossed the distance, putting a hand on his shoulder. He let out a yelp, pulling his hand back when he touched the heat. He blew on the hand desperately and Dabi just rolled his eyes and let out a huff of laughter.

“You laugh, but you still haven’t answered the question!” Twice told him.

“He’s…” Dabi was quiet, definitely more relaxed than before but certainly still tense. “…He’s just a brother. Of ours.”

Fuyumi was just about ready to faint. Dabi? A.K.A. Touya Todoroki? Actually answering a question about his past? Willingly sharing sensitive information about his personal life? After he literally faked his death to escape it?

She eyed Twice carefully. He seemed like a bit of buffoon, to be honest, with strange vocal ticks. Had she underestimated him? Somehow, whatever experiences he had gone through with Dabi, it had been enough that Twice could coax this information out of him. Or was it a trick of Twice’s sincerity? Was Dabi weak to that?

No, Fuyumi had been truthful with him since their identities had been revealed, but he still wasn’t half as open as Dabi had just been with Twice.

An ugly feeling lodged itself in her gut. She had assumed that Dabi was so evasive, private, and emotionally stunted as a matter of protocol. Despite her meager results prying into his life, she thought anybody else wouldn’t have been able to make it half as far.

Twice could get that far.

It was idiotic, and she internally scolded herself for the dark, jealous thoughts that clouded her mind, but she couldn’t shake it off. Twice didn’t even know Dabi had a sister until tonight, so Fuyumi was probably further along just from knowing more or less Dabi’s whole childhood. But it’s not like Dabi willingly shared that with her, it was simply a natural consequence of being family. After seeing that exchange between the two of them, she could imagine one day (maybe not quite yet, but one day) Dabi telling Twice about his past. About his family. About why he left.

She needed to get a hold of herself. She couldn’t afford to hate Twice any more than she already did, especially if he (somehow?) had a grip on Dabi’s emotions and could open him up. She needed to focus. What did Twice have that she didn’t? Was it because he was a villain? Their shared ideals?

Fuyumi had been so caught up in her thoughts that she barely kept up with the next two rounds, where Dabi dared Toga to balance a remote on her nose (quickly failed) and Toga asked Twice who his crush was.

“You, of course!” Twice told Toga.

Fuyumi paid attention at the bold confession, but as she glanced around at the others it didn’t seem to be a revelation to them. They carried on as though Twice had simply commented on the weather. Toga and Twice didn’t seem quite like a couple, but it also didn’t seem like an unrequited or pining love. What kind of relationship, exactly, did these League members have to each other?

To Dabi?

“Leia?”

“Huh?” Fuyumi snapped back to attention.

“Truth or dare?” Twice asked.

“Oh, uh, dare?”

“Take off your mask!”

Dabi flared up again. “No.”

That kind of pissed Fuyumi off. Because honestly? He had already shared their mutual brother’s name. That was already compromising their identities. Not to mention, unlike Dabi, none of the other League members seemed to specifically have a hate-boner for Endeavor, so it was unlikely they were keeping track of any of his children aside from Shouto.

As Fuyumi thought about it harder, the idea of taking off her mask got less and less ridiculous. Especially when she wondered what she could gain from it: Trust from two people who Dabi was close to. One of whom she had the phone number of, so they could stay in contact. Twice seemed like a sensitive kind of guy who would be touched if Fuyumi demonstrated trust in him. Toga… she wasn’t sure about her, but Fuyumi hoped she would see it as a sign of goodwill as well.

She pulled the mask and goggles off in a quick motion, before Dabi could try to stop her.

That didn’t stop him from swearing. “Are you a fucking idiot? What sort of bullshit are you trying to pull here-”

“Ooh, you’re cute!” Toga exclaimed.

“Thank you,” Fuyumi commented shortly, keeping her eyes on Twice. Her heart was pounding. She was taking a huge risk right now, would it pay off?

Twice had his hands on his heart. “Whoa, not gonna lie, I didn’t think you were going to actually do it! Of course you would follow the rules of the game!”

He seemed at least a little impressed by the move. Dabi was still cussing her out, flames sputtering like Dad.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Toga, truth or dare?”

“Truth!” Toga exclaimed.

Perfect. An opportunity to get to know what her situation was. “Do you have a family?”

“The League is my family!”

Twice squealed happily.

“I- I meant biological.”

Her smile faltered. “…I guess. I have parents.”

“Do they know about you being in the League?”

Her mouth turned into a distinct frown, an unusual expression on her face as far as Fuyumi had seen. “That’s two questions.”

Hmm. So perhaps the parents were too sensitive of a subject for now. “Sorry.”

The game continued for another hour or so. However, it slowly morphed, people getting tired and not having the energy to do dares, until people were just asking each other questions, not even following the format anymore.

“So why were you guys even out?” Fuyumi asked, “Was it really so urgent that you couldn’t wait until after the snowstorm?”

“We were breaking into the house of some dude with underworld connections,” Toga explained, “We arranged to have him occupied for a certain period of time, so we didn’t want to waste that time.”

“What about you?” Dabi asked without looking at her, “You should know better than anyone not to get caught in a snowstorm.”

“Giran asked me to take care of some dude, keeping him occupied for the night. It took longer than I expected to take him out of commission.”

“Wait…” Twice sat up. “You know Giran?”

“You know, Giran was the one who said he would get our dude out of the picture for tonight,” Toga commented.

Fuyumi furrowed her brow, a sickening thought dawning on her. “Wait, so does that mean…”

Despite it being late at night, she was energized by a fresh wave of fury. She pulled out her phone and slammed through the contacts.

Giran picked up after three rings. “Yo Leia, it’s kinda late, what-”

“You didn’t tell me tonight’s mission involved helping the League!”

There was a moment of silence on the other end. “Uh…”

“You know how I feel about them!”

“I figured if you weren’t aware, then no harm, no foul, right? How did you figure out anyway?”

“I-” She glanced around at the League members, most looking at the interaction with amusement, “It’s a little complicated to explain.”

“Did it turn out fine?”

“Well I successfully stuffed him in a dumpster, but I had to walk injured through a snowstorm.”

“Glad to hear you survived! If there’s nothing else, I was trying to sleep…”

“You’re dead to me.”

“Sure, talk to you later.”

The phone clicked. Giran had hung up on her. She wished she knew where he lived so she could march over there and slam him onto the ground. He knew how she felt about the League, how could he think that it’s even remotely okay to have Fuyumi help them, even indirectly?

Dabi snorted. “You’ll be talking to him again in two weeks, tops.”

Fuyumi stood up. “Don’t underestimate me, this time I’m through with him!”

He rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

Fuyumi started to walk towards Dabi, anger rising. “Could you not be rude for about two seconds-”

“Guys, guys.” Twice stepped between them. “Let’s not fight when we’re stuck together for possibly the rest of the night.”

Fuyumi blinked at the familiar move. That was normally Fuyumi standing between two hot-headed family members trying to tear out each other’s throats. She took a step back, feeling suddenly cooled off.

“Sorry, Dabi. I didn’t mean to lose my cool. You don’t… You of all people don’t deserve to be spoken to like that.” She forced the words out from her mouth, determined to make something right after her slip-up.

He looked perplexed for a moment before his jaw dropped. “Are you just saying that because you’re afraid of being like him?”

She glared. “You should have become a psychologist instead of a villain.”

Dabi crossed his arms. “You’re not like him, you can’t be-”

Fuyumi got up and went to the window again. It was still snowing. “Maybe we should just go to bed.”

“Aw, but I wanted to play more!” Toga pouted.

“Yeah, let’s party till dawn! It’s bed time, gotta sleep!”

Dabi groaned. “’Yu-… Leia’s right. Hopefully the snow will be done in the morning and we can leave, and never see her again.”

“But we’re friends now!” Twice exclaimed, grabbing Fuyumi’s arm.

Hook, line, and sinker. It seems removing her mask paid off. She held herself back from shoving his hands away, despite the slimy feeling that accompanied knowing a League member was touching her. “Of course we are,” She reassured him.

Dabi glared. “Don’t-”

Toga grabbed her other arm. “I claim her for bedtime! Girls sleep in the bedroom, you boys can sleep out here. Right?”

Dabi simply shot a large burst of flame directly at Fuyumi. The flame brushed over her body harmlessly, while the two League members on the side were forced to step back. “No. One: That’s my bedroom. Two: I’m not gonna let you drain my sister of her blood while she’s sleeping, especially when she’s already lost plenty of blood today.”

Toga pursed her lips. “You never let me have any fun.”

Dabi grabbed Fuyumi and pulled her towards his room. “You two can share the couch, there’s a quilt on the back.”

Fuyumi let him drag her away; she was more than exhausted playing nice with League members. She could also admit the idea of sleeping by one of them was… not a comforting thought. She probably wouldn’t sleep the whole night.

Once they were in his room, he slammed the door shut. “What’s your game?”

“Game?” Fuyumi asked with the most innocent expression she could muster.

“I know you hate the League. Why did you play along with them? And take off your mask, like an idiot?”

“At least I didn’t tell them who our brother was.”

“That’s… That’s hardly at the same level as revealing your face. It’s just a nickname. There are plenty of people named Natsuo in Japan, they wouldn’t be able to find anything unless they went digging very deep, which they won’t-”

“Because you trust them?” Fuyumi challenged.

His eyes widened. “N-no.”

“What do they have that I don’t? Why do you let them in-”

“Why did you let them in? You kept your mask on when you were literally living in my apartment after we had known each other for months. And after one game of Truth or Dare with these clowns you’re showing them your face? I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, ‘Yumi, but I don’t like it.”

Fuyumi sighed. “I’m too tired to deal with these accusations. Can’t we just go to bed?”

He pursed his lips. “Fine.”

They laid down on his bed. Fortunately it was queen-size, so they were able to sleep with a bit of distance between them. The blanket was thin (and Dabi didn’t have a bedsheet, which Fuyumi silently judged), but Fuyumi was comforted by the heat emanating from Dabi’s skin. She wondered if he was cooled off by her as well.

She thought about their childhood, nights spent curled up together creating the temperature balance they couldn’t achieve on their own. This was very different, a decade of hiding and betrayal between them now. Fuyumi ached to close the distance and have her brother again, but it felt impossible. Touya didn’t want to exist anymore, and now there was just Dabi in his body.

She gulped. She couldn’t think like that. Dabi was still her brother. As much as he tried to cut ties with her, she had seen first-hand that he still cared for her. So what if that was because of their time spent together as Leia and Dabi instead of Fuyumi and Touya? She could work with it. She had to believe she could bring her family back together.

And now she had some new chess pieces on the board. Toga’s phone number, along with her and Twice’s trust. Dabi might refuse to let her contact him, but now she had options to keep in contact with someone close to him. As much as she hated the League for hurting children (and Shouto), she was desperate.

Dad was working on his issues. Mom was getting better. They were changing, so Fuyumi hoped she could get Dabi to change too.

 

---

 

She sneaked out early the next morning, before the sun had risen. She passed by Twice and Toga on the couch, Twice splayed out on the couch with Toga curled up and napping on top of his chest like a kitten. She snapped a quick cellphone picture. She sent it to Toga’s number, accompanied by the message: Fun night last night, let’s keep in touch!

Chapter 36: It's Only Stressful To Meet With A Villain If You're Trying to Hide The Meeting From A Pro-Hero At The Same Time

Summary:

She tapped her foot and checked her phone again. This is where Toga said they would meet, right?

“Fuyumi?”

Toga didn’t know Fuyumi’s name. Her head snapped to the source of the call.

Hawks.

Fuyumi learned a very important fact about Toga:

She was an incessant texter.

As a matter of professionalism, Fuyumi kept her phone on silent while teaching. That meant that when she opened it after school, she was confronted with a scene that went beyond double-texting, beyond even triple-texting:

47 messages.

Each message was short, some only an emoji, so it seemed Toga preferred to spam with many short messages than paragraph blocks at least . The first couple involved squealing about the photo Fuyumi had sent of Toga sleeping on top of Twice. Several messages were complete gibberish, like she had blindly tapped over her phone keyboard and sent it as a message.

Then the messages evolved into questions.

Did u sleep well? Dabi wasnt too mean, was he?

Hows your injuries?

Are you still bleeding?

Does your girlfriend know you’re injured?

Do you let her taste your blood?

Fuyumi grimaced at some of the weirder messages. She wasn’t sure if Toga really wanted an answer to all of them, as her later messages seemed like they were stream-of-consciousness, updates on how her day was.

We got out alright, btw!

Dabi is grumpy, but he’s always grumpy!

Twice says we should hang out again sometime!

It’s still cold out

We’re back at our normal base now!!

I wanna go out again, and maybe even go shopping, but we don’t have enough money ;(

She frowned at the mention of money. Did Dabi have enough? Was he malnourished in the League? Giran had given the impression that the League were backed up by a big figure, but that big figure was in Tartarus now. How was the League feeding themselves? Feeding Dabi?

Fuyumi texted back with hesitant fingers, Do you have enough money for food?

Toga texted back instantaneously: ;( ;( ;( ;( ;( ;(

Fuyumi was not especially hip when it came to text emojis. Were those sad faces with winking eyes? Were these the kinds of emojis kids used nowadays?

She asked for clarification, What does that mean?

It means we don’t, but we find ways ;)

Fuyumi bit her lip. She still wasn’t sure what that meant. Were they stealing? Robbing stores for money? Shoplifting from grocers? Dumpster-diving? Surviving off of scraps?

She gulped, and with wary fingers she sent a few more texts…

---

As she waited at the street corner, arms heavy with plastic bags, she couldn’t help but wonder how her life got to this point.

She was not helping the League. She was helping Dabi. If that meant maybe coincidentally helping out the League at the same time… Well, she loved her brother more than she hated the League.

She tapped her foot and checked her phone again. This is where Toga said they would meet, right?

“Fuyumi?”

Toga didn’t know Fuyumi’s name. Her head snapped to the source of the call.

Hawks.

He fluttered down from above, wings beating slowly. “Hey! Fuyumi, right? Fancy seeing you here, what’s up?”

A cold sweat broke out on Fuyumi’s skin. She couldn’t have Hawks here while she met with Toga, that would raise a lot of questions. She was unmasked because standing with a bunch of bags on a street corner was a little suspicious while wearing a mask, and Toga already knew her face anyway. She agreed to meet with Toga because she didn’t stand out too much; even if people knew her face, she could put her hair in a different hairstyle and most people wouldn’t look twice at a girl in a school uniform. Despite not standing out (the way a lizard-mutant quirk or a face covered in scars and staples would), any pro-hero worth their salt ought to have the faces of the League memorized by now. And Hawks was literally the number two hero now.

Hawks stared at her panicked face, “…Am I mistaken? You look like Fuyumi-”

“Yes! I mean, no! Uh, I am Fuyumi!” She rushed to make up for gawking at him, “Sorry, I’m not used to famous pro-heroes calling out to me!”

He smirked. “Really? I thought being the daughter of the number one hero and the girlfriend of another top-ten hero would cure you of being too starry-eyed by now."

Fuyumi hoped he was just joking around. There was no way he was actually suspicious… right? She forced out a short laugh, trying to seem casual. “Y-you know about Rumi and I?”

“Oh yes, she updated me ! We should hang out sometime, the three of us!”

“Sure,” Fuyumi acquiesced, “Anyway, you must be busy-”

“Not too busy,” He glanced down at Fuyumi’s arms, “Those bags must be heavy.”

They were, but Fuyumi hadn’t worked out today, so keeping them lifted up (and off the snowy ground) was part of her training for the day. Endurance for her arms. “Not at all, anyway, see you later-”

“Aw, in such a rush to get rid of me?”

Her mind was already running through scenarios. She knew Hawks had some ‘history’ with Dabi, but she also recalled Dabi trying to attack Hawks on national television. Were they still hooking up? If Hawks saw her meeting up with a League member, would he let it go for Dabi’s sake? For Leia’s?

She squeezed her eyes shut. Hawks didn’t know Fuyumi was Leia, and she wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t know Dabi was Fuyumi’s brother. She couldn’t explain the situation if he saw anything without compromising her identity. “Sorry, I’ve had a long day, I’m not up really up for conversation.”

Hawks nodded. “Oh no! Well I can’t leave an exhausted woman out here in the cold; Are you waiting for a ride or something? I bet I could fly you wherever you need to go if you’d like.”

“That’s quite alright,” Fuyumi glanced around, eyes searching for Toga and praying that Toga would not appear while she was talking to a pro-hero.

“I insist, if Endeavor knew I left his daughter out in the snow carrying so many bags all by herself-”

“I said,” Fuyumi snapped briefly, then reminded herself to cool down. She wasn’t angry. Just a little… frustrated by this turn of events. She coughed. “I wouldn’t want to impose. I’m more than fine. You ought to continue on your patrol.”

She looked around again. Toga better not show up right-

“Heyoo~!” A complete stranger called out across the street.

Fuyumi glanced at the person, but it wasn’t Toga. It was some random brunette, with flushed cheeks and a wide smile. Nonetheless, she seemed to be looking towards Fuyumi, so maybe she could pretend that was someone she was meeting. She just needed Hawks to leave already. “Gotta go, bye!” Fuyumi exclaimed, walking away from him and heading across the street.

Hawks grabbed her arm just before she stepped in front of a car. She was not on top of her game right now. “Whoa, hey there, no need to run, and who are you...” He faltered a moment, looking towards the girl. “…Is she a friend of yours?”

She hated how grabby Hawks was, even if he did technically prevent her from getting hit by a car. She twisted out of his grip. “Yes, she’s-” She needed time to think, but she didn’t have time, “I’m sorry, it’s private, I’d rather not get into it.”

He frowned. “What does that…?”

Fuyumi almost jumped when the stranger latched onto her arm. Fuyumi had been planning to use her as a distraction of some sort, but she was actually calling out to her? Now she was confused and even more out-of-sorts. Where was Toga? “Hey, sweetie!” The girl crooned, smile weirdly wide.

A weirdly familiar smile.

Fuyumi was supposed to be meeting Toga.

…Was this somehow Toga?

Before she could start to unpack how that worked (some sort of illusion quirk? Impressive makeup?) Hawks narrowed his eyes at the new girl on Fuyumi’s arm. “Wait a second…”

Fuyumi blanched. Of course a pro-hero would have the instinct to recognize Toga, even in whatever disguise this was. She was so going to jail. Even if she froze Hawks right now, he probably had some feathers hanging around nearby she couldn’t catch. And even if she escaped, he knew who she was. Could she claim she didn’t know who Toga was? Could she provide a distraction for at least Toga to escape-

His jaw dropped. “…Are you cheating on Rumi?”

All of Fuyumi’s thoughts grounded to a halt. Was she…?

Toga(?) pouted and leaned on Fuyumi’s shoulder. “I wish! But no, not yet.”

“And I’m not going to,” Fuyumi chastised the girl.

Hawks raised an eyebrow.

Fuyumi sighed. “Look, Hawks, I’ll explain later, but can please you just leave us for now?”

Hawks still seemed hesitant, but he backed off. “Alright, sorry to interrupt… whatever this is. Stay safe out there!”

With a relieved smile, Fuyumi waved him off, waiting until he flew past a few buildings before turning to the girl. “To-”

The girl slapped a hand over Fuyumi’s mouth. She raised a finger up to her lips and glanced around. Once Fuyumi nodded, agreeing to stay quiet (for whatever reason), the hand was removed and the girl opened up her phone.

Heyyyy!!!!! It’s Toga!! Good to see you!! Sorry to be so quiet, Dabi said Hawks can hear things with his feathers if they’re hanging around nearby.

“Oh,” Fuyumi said, thinking carefully before she said her next words. “…I have the, uh, stuff you need.”

Toga tsk’d her tongue, wagging her finger as well before pointing at her own phone.

Fuyumi bit her lip. Was that too much information to say out loud? She pulled out her phone and typed out a message:

Thanks for coming to pick up the groceries, sorry he saw me and stopped to talk.

Toga smiled. No problem!!!! I’m glad I got to chase him off!!!

That was dangerous, though, he could have caught you.

Awww, :3 are you worried about me?

Fuyumi was worried about Dabi not getting groceries. Maybe a little.

Toga cooed.

Fuyumi gulped down a slimy feeling crawling up her spine. Toga’s affection felt… dangerous. Like being prey, or under a microscope. She forced that feeling down. Toga was definitely younger than her, she needed to be put together. Can you carry all these bags back yourself?

Toga laughed. You trying to get our base location? I wish I could tell you ;) But Shiggy and the others say it’s private, NOBODY else gets to know, so I can’t :( You know how Dabi gets

Fuyumi was embarrassed to realize she hadn’t even been trying to get the base location. She legitimately wanted to make sure Toga could carry it all. Sorry, that wasn’t my intention. But you’ll be okay?

Toga pulled open one of the bags. Extra ok, seeing that you got the cookies I wanted!

“Okay, good,” Fuyumi dared to say, “Stay safe, okay?”

The bags were shuffled onto Toga’s arms. “Don’t worry! I’m sturdier than I look. Thanks for your help!”

Relief flowed sweetly through her veins as Toga frolicked away, arms weighed down with various groceries. Although Toga had told her the preferences of the League (leaning towards chips and sodas), Fuyumi had slipped in a couple more healthy snacks (she knew for a fact Dabi used to snack on baby carrots as a child, so there were two bags of those). It was hard, knowing that Dabi wasn’t necessarily being fed well every day.

She started back towards home, shoulders feeling lighter. Toga said she wouldn’t tell the League the exact source, so hopefully Dabi wouldn’t refuse to eat it because of his tantrum against his family. He might guess if he thinks long and hard about it, but she had to trust Toga would get him to eat something at least.

She thought back to how Toga thought Fuyumi had been smoothly trying to get the location of their new base. She legitimately hadn’t been trying to… but shouldn’t she have been? She might be in the perfect position to. Sure, her main priority was making sure Dabi was okay, but if she got closer to the League, she could potentially leak info back to Dad, and the pro-heroes might be able to do something about Shouto’s class being attacked all the time…

With a groan, she turned down an alley as a shortcut back home. That would mean turning against Dabi, against Touya. How was she supposed to choose between two of her brothers? Unlike a fight between Natsuo and Dad, these fights were not the kind of thing she could easily mediate.

A shift in the air from above made Fuyumi go into an alert stance. Was someone trying to attack her in the alley? Her hand went to her coat pocket. Even inverted (in blue civilian-mode rather than black Leia-mode), she had a few weapons in the available pockets. A can of pepper-spray was in her palm in an instant as her eyes scanned above to see-

Hawks. Again.

Fuyumi sighed, letting go of the pepper-spray in her pocket. “Hello again.”

He had an easy smile on as he landed on the ground. “Sorry to seem like a stalker-”

She twitched, “I did ask you to leave several times.”

His smile stayed on. “-But I’m very curious about some things.”

Fuyumi glanced around. Although she only saw one or two feathers floating in the alley, they were poised in the perfect position to pick her up if she tried to bolt. She also wasn’t sure how many others were hiding out of sight. She would be insulted that he felt the measure necessary with a civilian, but that insult was offset by the fact that she had actually considering running.

Still, this seemed excessive for a civilian. With a deep breath, she responded, “…Like?”

He stepped closer. “What Rumi’s girlfriend is doing meeting with a teenage girl, handing off bags.”

He still had that smile on, but the longer Fuyumi looked at it, the faker it looked. “Didn’t I say it was private?”

“Private things that affect my best friend’s love life are my business,” He countered, leaning forward, “Why shouldn’t I tell Rumi about this?”

Fuyumi held back a groan. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“Really? Because that girl literally clung onto you, and said some stuff about how you weren’t cheating on Rumi ‘yet’, so I can’t help but feel like there’s something going on.”

He was not letting this go. Fuyumi needed to give him some sort of excuse. She focused on the groceries. Those were the important part. It was hard to spin giving someone groceries into anything but a positive light. “I’m helping her out.”

He narrowed his eyes. “In what way?”

The lie began to come together in her head. “Perhaps Rumi hasn’t told you, but I’m a school teacher. One of my students has a family that’s struggling…” Fuyumi paused, pretending to be hesitant to share private information. “…financially.”

“She mentioned you teach gradeschoolers. That girl looked a lot older than a gradeschooler.”

“She happens to be the older sister of one of my students. Their parent is very busy with work, so unfortunately she has to take care of many aspects of the household,” Fuyumi carried on, getting more invested in the narrative, “We’ve met a few times and I promised to help her out, so I’m afraid she perhaps sees me as… someone she deeply admires. The occasional flirt is not appropriate, but I can assure I’ve never reciprocated or been interested. Today I was handing off groceries for the week. I wanted to do so privately, rather than have you ask questions about her situation and potentially embarrass her.”

Hawks stared at her. She held her ground, challenging him to find holes in her story. Surely he wouldn’t be rude enough to keep pushing after she shared that kind of private information about a family?

“Am I free to go now, pro-hero Hawks?” She asked, struggling to keep too much snark out of her voice, “Or do you need to interrogate a civilian doing some philanthropy further?”

“No,” Hawks backed up, “Sorry.”

Satisfied that he would let her go, she continued walking past him.

He reached out and grabbed her again. “Wait.”

She held back a snarl as she twisted out of the grip again. “You’ve made me very late going home already.”

His face at least seemed a little remorseful. “I’m really sorry. Like I said, Rumi’s my best friend, and I don’t know you super well, so when it seemed like something was going on… I’m sorry, I meddled too much, especially considering I’m a pro-hero and you’re just a civilian. Power imbalances aren’t cool.”

Fuyumi was tired of talking to Hawks already. The threat of her revealed identity put her on edge, no matter the subject. “You know what your problem is, Hawks?”

He tilted his head.

“You don’t know when to quit. If you’re really sorry, please stop talking to me and let me go home.”

“Do you want a ride-”

Fuyumi glared at him.

“Too much?”

“Goodbye, Hawks.”

Fortunately, he didn’t say anything else as she walked away.

Hopefully that interaction would discourage him from spending too much time with Fuyumi in the future. The less time the better—she wasn’t eager for him to start drawing connections between Endeavor’s civilian daughter and Dabi’s vigilante sister.

Once she was some distance from him, she let her tense shoulders relax. Fuyumi wasn’t used to being snappy at people, but she also wasn’t used to passing off supplies to a League member while the number-two pro-hero was hanging over her shoulder.

She needed a nice, long, warm bath.

Chapter 37: Sometimes You Try To Go On A Date With Your Girlfriend But End Up Awkwardly Drinking With Her Vengeance-Pact Best Friend Instead

Summary:

Fuyumi’s phone buzzed, and she checked it with a desperate hope that Rumi was telling her she was on her way. It was not, but Fuyumi was not disappointed.

 

Omg Dabi ate all of the carrots in like, 2 days!!!!

 

She smiled at the text from Toga, relieved to know that Dabi ate at least one vegetable.

Hawks stared at Fuyumi across the table, friendly smile set up on his face.

Fuyumi returned it with a forced smile of her own, idly stirring her drink.

How did she get here?

Rumi had agreed to a Friday date, then realized that she had already agreed to go for drinks with Hawks on that same day. So Rumi decided they could make it a ‘hang’, and told Fuyumi that they could still ‘end the night together’, just start it off with some time with Hawks.

“It’s a shame she got held up,” Hawks commented, glancing at his phone.

They were all three supposed to meet ten minutes ago. As soon as Fuyumi had seen Hawks and awkwardly gotten a table with him, Rumi sent them both a text about some surprise crime that meant she had to stop by the police station to provide some statements. Or something. Fuyumi wasn’t especially concerned about that, she was confident Rumi was more than capable of handling it. She was more worried about both hiding her mild annoyance with Hawks and maintaining her secret identity when they were both stuck at this table together. They tried small talk, but after discussing the weather, their uneventful days, and the tasty drinks, their smiles were both strained.

“…Sorry this bar is a little sketchy. I guess she wasn’t really considering how dangerous some places might feel to civilians.”

This bar was a step up from The Spritz, where Fuyumi had drunk with much the same company. At least this bar had everyone showing their faces, even if some of those faces were grizzled and glaring. “It’s alright, I’m being accompanied by two pro-heroes, after all. Feels quite safe.”

Or she would be accompanied by two if Rumi would finally show up. She forced herself to not groan out loud. She only agreed to this three-person hang-out because she thought Rumi would be a buffer between her and Hawks. She didn’t want to tell Rumi to cut Hawks out considering the two were close enough to have a vengeance pact, but Fuyumi would vastly prefer to not have to interact with a nosy pro-hero who was inches away from figuring out her secret identity.

Fuyumi’s phone buzzed, and she checked it with a desperate hope that Rumi was telling her she was on her way. It was not, but Fuyumi was not disappointed.

Omg Dabi ate all of the carrots in like, 2 days!!!!

She smiled at the text from Toga, relieved to know that Dabi ate at least one vegetable.

Although she tried not to ask after him too much, it had been a while since she had gotten a thorough update on Dabi’s status, so she texted back: How is he doing, by the way?

Fuyumi met with Toga several times, always in a different location, at a different time, and Toga with a different disguise. Fuyumi still didn’t know exactly where Toga got those disguises, especially one day when she showed up as a tall burly man. Clearly it went beyond make-up and a wig, but Fuyumi wasn’t sure whether Toga would tell her the truth even if she asked. It was safer to just pass the bags and not ask any questions.

Perhaps it would be more efficient to transfer some money, but Fuyumi didn’t want to directly contribute if they decided to buy weapons with her cash. She wouldn’t let them starve, but she didn’t want to make it easier for them to commit crimes.

Her phone buzzed with a response, but at that moment Hawks spoke, and she wasn’t rude enough to completely ignore him when he was making an effort to get along, “Sooo what do you do in your free time?”

Fuyumi took a sip of her drink before responding. “Cooking.”

He perked up at a possibly non-awkward conversation thread. “Oh that’s cool! What kind of things do you cook?”

“Whatever my family is willing to eat,” Fuyumi responded with another sip.

She wished she was drunk. She felt so stiff in everything she said, way too nervous to pass as a truly innocent civilian.

Although… She glanced around again. This was a ‘sketchy’ bar, as Hawks said. Maybe that’s why he made the comment earlier? Perhaps he thought Fuyumi was nervous being surrounded by people like the burly dude at the bar with his legs manspreading to the point where it touched the two stools beside him. Or the woman with several scars on her face, downing a shot of dark liquid, the tip of a dagger handle peaking out of a pocket of her leather jacket. Or the tall guy with spiked pink hair, snapping at his companion in the booth behind Hawks.

Fuyumi squinted past Hawks shoulder at the pink-haired guy. After hearing his voice, she couldn’t help feeling like she had seen him somewhere before. The Forge? She wracked her brain, but the only pink-haired competitor she could think of was a girl with some weird voice quirk. Certainly not this tall guy. No, if anything, he seemed like the kind of guy who would be in a gang proper or something. Had she fought him on the streets then?

She strained her ears to listen to the conversation, hoping for another hint.

“…Give it a rest already? The Fukuron was fucking wrecked dude-”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t be pissed at the people who destroyed it.”

“Endeavor?”

“No,” The pink-haired dude scoffed, “You think I’m the kind of idiot who would go after the top pro-hero?”

“Yeesh, then who, Ghad? I thought he destroyed the main compound.”

Fuyumi’s brain snapped to attention. Ghad. Her interaction with him had been brief, but he was one of the people who had chained Dabi up on the first day she ‘met’ Dabi. Beating Ghad and his fellow gang-members up had led to Fukuron’s vendetta against Leia and Dabi.

She hadn’t had to deal with any bounty-hunters since she sicced Endeavor on their main compound, so she assumed they weren’t an issue anymore. Even if a few people were still trying to keep the gang going, they had lost plenty of resources, especially plenty of people would have left after being attacked by a top pro-hero for their involvement in the gang.

“I swear once I get my hands on Leia and Dabi…” Ghad growled low.

“Fuyumi?” Hawks asked, tilting his head so he inadvertently blocked Fuyumi’s view of Ghad’s glowering face. “Are you even listening?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“I was asking about your family? I know about Endeavor and Shouto, but-”

Nope. Bad conversation there. “Hawks, I’m gonna be honest.”

He waited, patient.

“I have… a headache right now,” Fuyumi lied, “Can we just chill for a little bit until I get drunk enough to not feel it?”

He laughed. “Doesn’t drinking usually make headaches worse?”

Fuyumi glared at him.

He raised his hands up. “Okay, sorry. So no conversation?”

“I’d rather not,” Fuyumi admitted.

“I’m going to get another margarita then, and we can drink in companionable silence.” He stood up, made a zipping motion on his lips before throwing away the key, then walked away. Fuyumi could have cried in relief. As rude as it was to completely skip out on conversation, now she could focus on Ghad and not have to talk to Hawks.

“…even have enough money?” The man in the other booth asked Ghad.

“You think I’ve just been sitting around, twiddling my fingers?” Ghad asked, scoffing, “Of course I’ve been setting up new networks, gathering a couple folks.”

“Yeah but didn’t the Hounds of Hell take over your old drug territories?”

Ghad slammed a fist on the table. “Yes, they did, and once I’ve built the Fukuron back up, I’ll be taking those back.”

“So until then…?”

“I’m distributing a new drug on the market.”

His companion leaned in close, “A new drug?”

His voice was quiet, but with strained ears Fuyumi caught the response: “Trigger.”

She froze. There had been some big issues with trigger several years ago, but restrictions had tightened and it was relatively rare in Japan now.

The companion commented, “That’s not actually a new drug, dude.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, renewed, whatever. The point is, there’s not enough distribution for the demand, but I found a good supply line abroad. I just imported some today.”

His companion laughed. “’Imported’?”

“Smuggled, if you want to be an ass about it.”

Fuyumi gulped. The Fukuron still existed, and were becoming Trigger distributors? She didn’t like the sound of that.

Hawks came back with two drinks. He slid one to Fuyumi, who had almost finished her initial drink. She gave Hawks a suspicious glance, but he returned it with just a wide smile and didn’t say a word.

In a sign of good-will, she chugged the rest of her current glass and took a hesitant sip of the new one. The taste of pineapple put her in a slightly better mood; at least it was tasty. She was feeling the relaxing effects of alcohol, but she focused back on Ghad’s conversation before she got too comfortable.

“…Seriously rude, next time I’ll tear him a new one!”

“Hell yeah, you can’t let newbies like that walk all over you.”

The rest of their conversation seemed to be gossiping about new recruits in their gang. The conversation somehow ended up at good restaurants to take the recruits, and then they were raving about food.

“How’s your head?” Hawks asked, pulling Fuyumi out of her eaves-dropping.

She was fortunately drunk by now, her senses were just a tad slower as she re-focused on Hawks. “Much better. Thank you.”

“That’s a relief.” He grinned. “Especially since Rumi said she’s on her way.”

That perked Fuyumi up. “She did?”

Hawks nodded, holding up his phone to reveal a text from her.

Fuyumi let herself smile, already in a better mood at the thought of Rumi’s imminent arrival. Her phone had been vibrating occasionally, but she assumed it was just Toga going off as usual. She checked her phone, seeing several expected texts from Toga, as well as one from Rumi.

She tapped through the Toga texts, wanting to see what’s going on with Dabi.

Oh you know him, always trying to play Mr Mysterious

He keeps going out and coming back with some money. I ask him where he gets it, but he always tells me to not worry about it!!!!! I think he doesnt think im mature…. You think im mature, right?

Like I’ve killed people, I think thats very adult of me!!! Ive tasted the sweetest juices of pleasure ;)

Fuyumi had to hold back from visibly raising her eyebrows at the admission and further weird comments

Anyway Dabi keeps treating me like a kid…. Do you think he sees me as another little sister?

That was accompanied by a blushing face. Fuyumi frowned. She sure hoped he didn’t.

Then we could be sisters!!!!! I’ve always wanted a cool big sister like you <3 <3 <3

Well that was as good of an opportunity to dig as any. Fuyumi wanted to know Toga’s background, and potentially whether she had family she could contact. Fuyumi texted back: Do you have any siblings?

There was Big Sis Magne, but she’s not with us any more :’(

Fuyumi froze when she saw Magne’s name. Dabi shared what had happened to her, but Fuyumi had only thought about Magne in relation to herself and Dabi. Despite the whole League (not just Dabi) taking revenge for her, Fuyumi hadn’t really stopped to consider what kind of relationship Magne must have had with the other League members.

“You okay?” Hawks asked.

“Huh?” Fuyumi snapped up.

“You look like you’re about to burst into tears.”

Fuyumi took a deep breath. “I’m fine. Just… A comic I read updated, and it was a sad update.”

Her phone buzzed. She glanced back down.

Maybe O.O I can call YOU big sis??? ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

Fuyumi bit her lip before responding. She needed to keep whatever this relationship between her and Toga was, to maintain her connection to the League and Dabi. She texted back: Sure.

“Hawks! Fuyumi!”

Rumi’s voice made Fuyumi put her phone away, eager to pay attention to someone she could unabashedly love and adore. Someone who hadn’t committed murder and wasn’t part of a group of villains trying to kill her little brother and father. Someone who didn’t desperately want to be family, unlike Fuyumi’s actual blood brother who was in the same villain organization.

“Rumi!” Both Fuyumi and Hawks exclaimed at the same time.

“You two are in sync!” Rumi commented as she took a seat next to Fuyumi.

Fuyumi cringed at that, but was too happy at seeing Rumi to complain.

“How was the station?” Hawks asked.

Rumi rolled her eyes. “Oh you know, bureaucratic as usual.”

From there the conversation flowed easily. She was giggling at the silliest things Rumi said. When Rumi complained about her drink getting warm, Fuyumi gave it a tap to frost the glass. As a reward, Fuyumi got a peck on the forehead, and she felt like she couldn’t stop smiling. Having Rumi around did wonders for Fuyumi’s nerves.

Or maybe I’m just drunk, Fuyumi thought as she stood on unsteady feet to go to the bathroom.

After going, she took a moment to check her phone again. Predictably, there was a great deal of squealing and gibberish texted, along with several texts just saying: Big Sis Leia!!!!!!!!!!

Toga hadn’t texted in the past several minutes, so hopefully that meant she was done for now. Fuyumi put her phone on silent just in case, the regularly buzzing was distracting her from her lovely time with Rumi.

Once she returned to the table, she basically fell into Rumi’s arms. “Whoa, babe! Had enough to drink?”

“Probably,” Fuyumi admitted, nuzzling Rumi’s shoulder.

“I should probably walk you home,” Rumi commented, pushing Fuyumi away so their eyes could meet with a wink.

Fuyumi grinned. “My hero.”

They started to stand up, parting words half way through their mouths, when Hawks reached out a hand. “Wait.”

Fuyumi was in a markedly better mood, so she just gave him a dopey smile as Rumi waited for him to continue.

“Fuyumi, can we exchange contacts?”

That was probably harmless, right? Hawks was trying to be friendly, for Rumi’s sake. Fuyumi wanted to be friendly for Rumi’s sake, too. She pulled out her phone to open a new contact.

“You tryna make a move on my girl?” Rumi asked, barely holding back a laugh.

“I’m too gay for that,” Hawks responded with a snort, “Though if she has a twin brother, feel free to give me his number too.”

Fuyumi froze.

Rumi jostled her, and she focused back on the task at hand. Yeah. Contact info. She didn’t trust herself to type numbers in with much efficiency or accuracy, so she just handed her opened phone to Hawks. “You can put your info in.”

“Sure!”

As he typed, Rumi squeezed Fuyumi again. She appreciated the comfort.

“There!” Hawks seemed to finish, then squinted. “You just got a text from ‘T’, saying-”

“Thanks I’ll text you!” Fuyumi exclaimed, snatching the phone out of his hand.

He blinked at her, eyebrows furrowed. How much did he see? “…Sure.”

Fuyumi tried very hard to not look panicked as she left the bar with Rumi.

“Sorry he said that, I swear I didn’t tell him,” Rumi told her.

Fuyumi shook her head. “It’s fine.”

She was more concerned about whatever text Hawks might have seen from Toga. Her phone automatically showed the first part of a text on the top of her screen when someone texted. Did he read the contents? Were they incriminating? She opened her phone up.

New message from T:

Did you know Dabi has been taking odd jobs? I had to…

The rest of the text required one to click the notification, but that was already enough that Fuyumi knew she was screwed.

“Fuck.”

Notes:

Hawks the whole time: Fuck Rumi's girlfriend hates me..... I can't even charm my way out of it because she gets pissed off no matter what I talk about?? She literally didn't want to talk to me at all???? Rumi oh my god please come back this is so awkward I'm trying my best but nothing seems to work

Lol also did you forget Ghad? Bc tbh I did too. Had to go back to chapter 2 to remember what he looked like

Next Chapter: Rumi and Fuyumi discuss options

Chapter 38: There Are Better Places To Hook Up Than An Abandoned Building That's Falling Apart

Summary:

Regardless of whether Fuyumi had deterred Hawks from investigating or not, she knew she had to start making plans for when he might find out.

And Dabi should be involved in them.

Rumi spoke, “Okay, consider: We just come clean to Hawks about the whole Leia-Fuyumi thing. He’s a hero, but he isn’t a hard-ass who would throw an effective vigilante to jail. Probably.” Rumi frowned. “There was that one vigilante last year… but that was only because the Hero Commission got on his ass about it.”

Fuyumi groaned. Although she was happily nestled in Rumi’s bed, her present dilemma made it hard to enjoy her current position. “So what happens if the Hero Commission ever catches wind of me? Not to mention he knows Leia is Dabi’s sister, so he’ll learn Dabi is Endeavor’s son, and I’m certain Dabi hasn’t told anyone in his life about that.”

“So?”

“So I’m not about to tell Dabi’s secrets to everyone!”

“You told it to me,” Rumi noted.

“Only because you figured me out.”

“Well it seems like Hawks may have figured you out.”

Fuyumi groaned again, burying her face in Rumi’s shoulder. “Dabi is gonna be pissed if he knows I let his identity slip to his… booty-call, or whatever he and Hawks are.”

Rumi paused a moment. “…Booty-call?”

“Yeah?”

“I mean, they fucked like, once. I wouldn’t call that a booty-call.”

“Dabi has Hawks saved as ‘Daddy’ in his phone.”

Rumi stared. “No way.”

“Yes way.”

“How do you even know that?”

Fuyumi sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Well there’s no way they’re still fucking now that Dabi’s in the League.”

Fuyumi thought about how Hawks immediately responded to the distress call to rescue Dabi when they had been taken hostage. “Hopefully not.”

“Look, what about this,” Rumi sat up, waving her hands as she spoke, “We wait and see if Hawks even fully saw the message. After all, you snatched it out of his hands pretty quickly. He read the person who sent it… who sent it, again?”

“A mutual friend,” Fuyumi didn’t want to put Rumi in the position of hiding even more from her fellow pro-heroes than she already was for Fuyumi’s sake. It was better Rumi didn’t know the extent of Fuyumi’s contact with the League.

Rumi narrowed her eyes, but let it go. “Okay, so we wait and see if he asks anything that suggests he knows. Or confronts you. We leave the ball in his court.”

“And that’s helpful… how?”

“If he’s really suspicious, he’ll probably go digging. And digging leaves tracks. He’ll probably ask you some innocuous-seeming questions, trying to see if you react to them.”

“Like asking if I have twin brother?”

Rumi grimaced.

Then smiled.

Fuyumi gave her a hesitant look. “What are you thinking?”

“What if we stirred up some drama to distract him?”

“Like when you told my dad we were dating?”

“That worked out!” Rumi exclaimed, motioning to the two of them cuddled together.

“Fair enough. So what’s your plan?”

“You text him, and you bring up your ‘dead’ twin brother.”

Fuyumi gaped. “I’m not going to do that!”

“And you tell him: ‘Although you might have thought it was funny to suggest I have a twin brother, the fact that I do have one and that I mourn him every single day makes it seriously less funny to me’.”

“Rumi what!”

“You said you’ve been snapping at him, right? Hawks is like, the kind of guy who craves approval, people being mad at him is his kryptonite. You’re gonna make it so incredibly awkward between you two that he’ll never want to think about you again.”

“…Do you think it’ll actually work?”

“It’s worth a try!”

---

Fuyumi’s long, accusatory, and horribly awkward text was responded to the next morning. Hawks had plenty of apologies in his response, and seemed legitimately mortified that his joke had caused such pain. Fuyumi responded with a curt text saying that she would appreciate if he didn’t talk to her unless absolutely necessary. So hopefully Hawks would avoid her from now on.

Regardless of whether Fuyumi had deterred Hawks from investigating or not, she knew she had to start making plans for when he might find out.

And Dabi should be involved in them.

After all, if Fuyumi tells Dabi that their identities are at risk, he might be convinced to talk to Hawks and reveal things on his own terms. If he doesn’t want to do that, at least Dabi will be forewarned to avoid Hawks’s digging.

She tried calling Dabi, but she was still blocked. She tried texting Toga as well, but Toga said Dabi wasn’t willing to even talk about ‘Leia’, much less meet with her. Toga offered to tell Dabi whatever Fuyumi wanted to tell him, but she didn’t want Toga to get more information.

So she had to hunt him down.

Toga mentioned that Dabi had been possibly doing some jobs, in order to get money for the League. Normally Fuyumi would ask Giran what kind of odd jobs a League member could do for cash.

Unfortunately, she still wasn’t talking to Giran after he secretly had her help the League. Besides, he would know to steer Leia away from any job Dabi had taken, so she wouldn’t be able to find Dabi anyway.

Fortunately, she had a community of underground folks who she had mostly positive relations with: The Forge.

She spoke to Sapo, a burly man she had fought plenty (and only lost some of the time against). He was a good sport, and had the muscles to throw her several feet into the air. He had an affable manner that had plenty of folks gossiping to him about what was going on.

He also was constantly asking folks for money. Apparently despite his many talents, cash management was not among them. As such, he had a good ear to the ground when it came to get-rich-quick sorts of opportunities, though he at least had enough sense to know when something was too good to be true. He was the most likely to know of some actual underground work that might resemble what Dabi would be interested in.

He listened closely as Fuyumi described the kinds of jobs she was looking for. “Short jobs with big pay?”

“Yeah,” Fuyumi confirmed, “Even if it’s dangerous, or would require someone with a bunch of power.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is this for you? Because I know you might be doing great here at the Forge, but a ring like this is a controlled environment with rules and stuff. This sort of thing-”

“Not for me, no,” Fuyumi corrected him, “I have a friend. He’s got some serious firepower, but doesn’t know what to do with it.”

He fixed her with another raised eyebrow. “I thought Dabi was with the League now?”

Fuyumi flushed under her mask. “Who said this was about Dabi?”

He shrugged. “Well, if I was Dabi looking for a sidejob from the League…”

---

Fuyumi’s first stop on the ‘Find-Dabi-and-tell-him-his-identity-is-in-danger’ tour was a small-time gang of villains.

It turned out, according to Sapo, this gang often met at The Spritz, so Fuyumi returned there to try and find them.

She noticed a group matching Sapo’s description and listened in on their conversation for awhile. Sapo said they were looking for help out with a big bank robbery, someone with a big name and power to back them up and strike fear into the hearts of the civilians. Dabi would fit neatly into that box, but the conversation Fuyumi eavesdropped on implied that they still hadn’t found someone to work with them, so they were a bust for now.

The second group she looked for didn’t have a main base or patterns that Sapo knew of, and after some fruitless attempts at information gathering Fuyumi was tempted to call Giran about them. To maintain her Giran boycott though, Fuyumi decided to try out the third group first.

They were a larger organization, but always in the market for bodyguards. By having clear shifts and cash payments in return, someone with a tough reputation could spend a night or two per a week guarding some of their merchandise and securely gain some money.

As Fuyumi peaked into one of their warehouses, she saw a familiar leather jacket.

Bingo.

Rather than confront Dabi in the middle of his job, she decided to stake-out the area. She waited on the rooftops, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for anyone going in or out.

It took several boring hours (and several folks she didn’t care for entering and leaving the building), but eventually Dabi left. She stalked him, hopping across rooftops as quietly as she dared (thanks parkour workshops from the community gym).

She was considering when best to ‘drop-in’ on him, when he abruptly turned into an abandoned storefront.

Fuyumi almost missed it when she blinked. He really had gone into a building that was almost falling apart. Why? Was that where the League was?

Feeling tense, Fuyumi moved to the building beside it and hung off the roof, finding an opened window to hop into. She landed softly, ears alert for where Dabi might be.

There were enough holes between floors and walls that Fuyumi could hear when voices spoke downstairs.

She didn’t hear Dabi at first, though.

“You’re late,” Hawks voice echoed up through the rotting building.

Fuyumi laid down by a hole to get a better view of what was going on. Why was Hawks here? Why was he meeting Dabi? She wondered if they were still… together, but hopefully if that was the case they wouldn’t be meeting in such an unsanitary place. Surely Hawks had a private residence he could smuggle Dabi into?

“You’re an early bird,” Dabi responded.

Fuyumi had to hold back a gag at the pun.

Hawks seemed about as amused as she was. “Cut the shit, Dabi. I just want to share the info and go.”

Dabi clicked his tongue as he came closer. “Such a rush. Last time it seemed you didn’t want to leave.”

There was a thud as Dabi pressed a hand against the wall beside Hawks. Fuyumi’s eyes widened at how close the two were. Hawks backed up against the same wall, but didn’t make a run for it or attack with any of his many available feathers. However, when Dabi leaned his face in close enough for a kiss, Hawks blocked it with his palm and pushed Dabi away.

“I have a conference tomorrow, I need my beauty sleep.”

“Aw, you going to go on television and tell all the citizens not to worry?”

“Pretty much.”

Dabi grabbed Hawks chin, and this time Hawks didn’t push him away. “How do you think the media would react if they knew their perfect prodigy, the young starling Hawks was working with the League?”

Fuyumi had to hold back a gasp. This was beyond a sexual rendezvous with a villain. Hawks was a traitor?

“I don’t intend to let them find out until it’s too late for anyone to do anything about it,” Hawks countered with an exasperated tone, “Now can I please tell you my intel and go?”

“I like it when you beg.”

“Dabi-”

Fuyumi had to shut her eyes when Dabi initiated a kiss. She really didn’t want to see her brother making out with the dude who annoyed her, but she wanted to know what the heck was going on in regards to Hawks working with the League. There were the wet sounds of a sloppy makeout, and Fuyumi almost considered jumping down and confessing that she was watching just to make them stop.

Fortunately, before she had to resort to that, Hawks pushed Dabi off again. This time, Hawks also took several steps away from the wall, as though trying not to get boxed in again. “We don’t have time for this,” Hawks told him.

“Correction: You don’t have time for this,” Dabi replied.

“Look, you wanted to know what the Hero Commission knows about the League, right? How close they are to finding you?”

“Sure.”

“Well tell that lizard-friend of yours not to go out so much. They caught some tapes of him at the mall, shopping for games. He had a disguise on, but scales are hard to hide. They only caught it after the fact, but now they’ve told the security guards to phone next time they see him so they can stalk him back to your base.”

“Damnnit, Spinner,” Dabi grumbled, “I’ll tell him.”

“They’re also trying to develop a method to figure out when Toga is disguised as someone. There’s still research being done, but they don’t know enough about her quirk at the moment to make a surefire test.”

“And they won’t know about it. You’re not about to ask, are you?”

“Obviously not,” Hawks responded with a scoff, “But I want to warn you that there’s new protocols at most agencies, prisons, and stations requiring various passwords to try and protect themselves against her disguises.”

“We’ll keep that in mind. Is that everything?”

“Yup. Have a good night, I’m gonna-”

Dabi grabbed Hawks. “Wait.”

Hawks sighed, but didn’t move. “Dabi… We can’t keep doing this.”

“You’re so tense tonight, don’t you deserve to do something to relax?”

“I- I shouldn’t.”

Dabi tugged Hawks into his arms. “Let me take care of you, Hawks.”

Fuyumi really didn’t like where this was going.

“Dabi…” Hawks’s wings twitched as Dabi began kissing his neck.

Yeah, no, Fuyumi was not staying for this. It sounded like the ‘business’ portion of their meeting was done, and the rest of their interaction was about to be very personal. As much as she wanted to talk to Dabi, she wasn’t willing to sit through him fucking Hawks to do so.

Since they were so absorbed in each other, it was easy for Fuyumi to sneak back out the window and land quietly on the ground, getting away from that disaster as soon as possible.

Once she had some distance, she had a minute to catch her breath and reflect on the Hawks situation. She walked home slowly, thoughts racing through her head.

Hawks was working with the League.

Hawks, the number two pro-hero, was working with the League.

Also he was still fucking her brother.

Fuyumi’s mind was reeling. Yeah she was annoyed by Hawks sometimes, but she still had trusted him as a pro-hero. What could have led him to villainy? Would Rumi know?

Fuyumi almost tripped on her walk. How was she supposed to tell Rumi about this? Could she tell Rumi about it? It seemed like a pretty glaring security threat for all heroes.

Then again, Fuyumi herself was also working with the League, so how could she judge Hawks?

She almost slapped herself. Of course it was different! She wasn’t providing them classified information! Just food. And to be fair, she hadn’t told heroes about their original base up until the whole Kamino incident… And her exchanges with Toga were not being mined for all the possible hints she could be getting about their new base location. Fuyumi assumed Toga’s phone was protected from being tracked, but it’s not like Fuyumi had even tried.

So maybe Fuyumi was not a paragon when it came to League interaction.

She still wasn’t over Hawks’s betrayal, though. She felt like she had stumbled on the secret of a lifetime.

…Yeah, she had, hadn’t she?

The kind of secret Hawks would do anything to keep secret.

She reached home. She climbed back into her room with a slightly clearer head. Hawks maybe knew something about her identity. But when it came to secrets, she knew something that was far more potentially damaging to Hawks than it was to her.

By the time she was curled up beneath her covers, she felt more confident about the future. She had leverage over Hawks that she could use to protect herself.

…Though it’d be nice if she could actually contact Dabi and tell him his identity was in danger.

Notes:

Can you tell I ship DabiHawks?

Chapter 39: You're Wrong, But That's The Perfect Cover

Summary:

Hawks was in her house.

Fuyumi was still struggling to get in contact with Dabi. Unfortunately, working at a school meant that she had to be awake in the morning, so she couldn’t go out late more than once or twice during the workweek without turning into an incomprehensible zombie. But she also wasn’t sure what Dabi’s schedule was like at his security gig. Would he go there at the same time each time? Same day of the week? Although Fuyumi had visited the warehouse twice since she first saw Dabi, she wasn’t able to find him again.

As she made her way home from work, she thought a nap sounded nice. She had stayed up way too late the night before trying to see if Dabi would take another shift at the warehouse. The stake-out was fruitless, and all she got for her trouble was a nasty case of sleep deprivation. At least the kids today were cooperative, reducing her possible stresses.

She yawned as she opened the front door. Yeah, a nap would be perfect. She might even sleep long enough that she could go out again tonight, stake out the warehouse… Maybe she’d pass by Rumi, or would have a chance to beat up some criminals…

Those plans were crushed as soon as she opened the door.

Hawks was in her house.

He sat on the couch, arm extended over the back of a seat all too casually. At least he had the sense to look mortified and froze when Fuyumi opened the door.

Fuyumi instinctively summoned a bit of sharp ice to her hand. If Hawks was here to try and catch her, she was going to put up a hell of a fight at least.

He hadn’t moved yet though. Or at least, not his body. Fuyumi’s eyes darted around while being careful not to face her body away from Hawks. Although he had his large billowing wings on his back, who knew what stray feathers were lurking around ready to ambush Fuyumi?

…Was he here to ambush Fuyumi? It seemed premature to invade someone’s house based on a single text , and just sitting on their couch wasn’t exactly a great ambush procedure. Hawks ought to know better. “…Why are you here?”

Hawks laughed, high and awkward. “Sorry! I just ended up on a patrol with Endeavor, and he had to swing by here to grab something, so I asked if I could use your bathroom, so-”

Fuyumi raised a hand to shut him up, and he did so. “Okay.”

She could hear shuffling upstairs, the heavy steps of her father she had sensitized herself to long ago in order to keep track of him. The sound came from his room, unhurried. She could believe the story.

Surreptitiously, she palmed the ice she had summoned to keep it away from Hawks view and made her way to the kitchen. She ran the hot water of the sink, letting go of the ice to melt in the basin and heating up her hand.

Unfortunately, the sound of the sink covered up the sound of footsteps behind her, so she wasn’t aware Hawks had joined her in the kitchen until he spoke. “So, uh-”

Fuyumi jumped, alarmed. She held back from summoning more ice. He wasn’t attacking her. There wasn’t even a guarantee he had figured out her identity. Maybe from Hawks point of view she really was a completely innocent civilian who he was trying to be nice to.

Hawks continued speaking as Fuyumi turned off the sink, “I know you don’t like talking to me, but I have something sort of important to talk about.”

That didn’t sound good. Divert, divert, divert. “If this is about Rumi, I assure you I’m treating her well and-”

“No,” Hawks looked into Fuyumi’s eyes, “This is about Leia.”

Oh no.

He knew.

Dabi was going to be pissed.

Could Fuyumi play dumb? Unlike the situation with Rumi, Hawks didn’t have proof. The best he had was maybe having seen that text from Toga. “Who’s Leia?”

He sighed. “Look, I’m about 90% that you-”

“I don’t think you should accuse someone of things when there’s a 10% chance you’re wrong,” Fuyumi butted in.

He blinked at her. Oof, maybe that was too defensive. “Ooookay, but you definitely know Dabi.”

“You have no proof,” Fuyumi argued.

His eyes narrowed. “As a pro-hero, if I suspect someone is in contact with the League, I could have their cell phone seized and searched. Unless you want to show me your phone right now-”

“And as the daughter of the number-one hero, who is in this house right now,” Fuyumi argued, “I could scream right now and tell my dad that you’re working with the League.”

That threw him off kilter. He backed up, wings unfurling defensively. “As if he would believe such a lie-”

“I know,” Fuyumi clarified, “It’s no lie, you’re working for the League.”

That triggered something, and Fuyumi felt a sharp feather at her throat. “How do you know that?”

I stalked Dabi and accidentally saw you two make out and then talk about it. Yeah Fuyumi was not going to tell the truth here. “You going to hurt Endeavor’s daughter? In his house? You’ll never get away with it.”

He backed the feather up a smidge, so it wasn’t pressing at her throat. “You cannot know that information.”

“And I wish you didn’t know my secrets either, but here we are.”

“Look I-” Hawks groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not trying to, like, attack you.”

Fuyumi pointedly glared down at the feather by her throat.

He pulled it back. Hawks was more frazzled than Fuyumi had ever seen him. “I’m just- If you know, why haven’t you told anyone?”

She felt a complicated web of emotions and justifications regarding that, but she decided to go for the quickest and simplest response for now, “For Dabi’s sake.”

“Look, can you promise to keep it a secret?”

“Depends on if you can promise to keep my secrets,” She countered.

“Well good news, I wasn’t planning to tell your dad about your friends.”

That threw Fuyumi off-kilter. Wasn’t Hawks supposed to be accusing her of being a vigilante? “…My friends?”

“I’m certain you know Dabi,” Hawks told her with pinched brows, “And I’m banking on you knowing Leia as well.”

Fuyumi blinked. That… was not the worst cover. She turned away, feeling a little more in control now that she knew she still had some security. So long as she played her cards right, she might be able to get out of this without revealing anyone’s identity. “So what if I do?”

Hawks’s voice almost cracked, “You do?”

Fuyumi turned back to him to glare. He was getting a little too energetic after confronting her so rudely.

He backed up. “Look, I just need to give Leia a message. I tried asking Dabi, but he refused to contact her.”

Fuyumi crossed her arms. “What’s the message?”

“Do you promise you’ll tell her?”

Fuyumi was curious, but wanted to maintain a little distance. “If it’s important enough to share with her.”

“I assure you, it is.”

She couldn’t help but question what could be so important. “Alright then, what’s so important that you would ignore my request to avoid talking to me?”

He leaned in, as though afraid Endeavor might appear and overhear it. Fuyumi knew he wouldn’t, as she hadn’t heard the creaks of the stairs that always sounded when he went down them. She would have plenty of warning to shut down the conversation before he heard anything. “There’s someone from the Fukuron group trying to take revenge on her and Dabi. Big dude, with pink hair-”

“Ghad?” Fuyumi asked.

Hawks stared at her. “…You know his name?”

Cover, cover, cover. “Leia’s mentioned him before.”

“…How do you and Leia know each other?”

“She… rescued me,” Fuyumi then thought to add, “She and Dabi both.”

Hawks seemed surprised to hear Dabi and ‘rescue’ in the same sentence, based on his wide eyes.

Fuyumi refocused. “Hey, this isn’t an interrogation, I’m not going to get into the whole story. What’s your message?”

“Right,” Hawks took a deep breath before continuing, “The message. Well, at least it sounds like Leia knows who he is. But can you tell her that he’s trying to restart the Fukuron by dealing trigger? He might have the resources to actually take revenge if his plans work out, so she needs to keep an eye out-”

Wait a second… “Are you just telling me about the stuff Ghad was talking about when we were at that bar?”

Hawks gaped at her. “…You eavesdropped on them too?”

“Yeah, they said both Dabi and Leia’s name. You think I’d ignore someone talking about how much they want to take revenge on my friends?”

“…Did you really have a headache?”

Fuyumi leaned back on a counter. What did she have to lose at this point? Hawks seemed to be legitimately buying her cover. “Nope.”

He mumbled something to himself before taking a deep breath. “So have you already told Leia?”

“Unless you dug up something other than what you overheard.”

“I tried, but it was hard without a name. Ghad…” Hawks looked thoughtful for a moment, as though thinking through all the things he could search up with a name.

A thought occurred to Fuyumi. “You told Dabi, right?”

“He was literally the first person I called that night, though he was pretty dismissive about it.”

She sighed, relieved. “Good, good.”

“If I learn anything else… can I contact you to tell Leia?”

“So long as that’s the only reason you contact me.”

He nodded. “Deal.”

“And I want to know one more thing.”

He waited, patient.

“Why are you working with the League?”

He drew a sharp breath. “It’s… complicated.”

Fuyumi’s voice grew sharp. “They hurt children, Hawks.”

“They’re not perfect… but…” Hawks had his brows furrowed, and his voice was hesitant, “They- they have potential. If I’m part of it, I could alter their tactics to be more effective with less collateral damage.”

“For what purpose, though?”

Hawks grimaced. “The… the system of pro-heroes isn’t sustainable. It needs a change.”

“How could you have gotten so far in heroics, if secretly you want to tear the whole system down? It just doesn’t make sense-”

Hawks opened his mouth to respond, but there were footsteps on the stairs.

“Dad’s coming,” Fuyumi whispered, “I’m telling you about my day.”

Hawks startled at the abrupt conversation change, but quickly caught on. He played along as Fuyumi recounted some details of what she taught her students today. The conversation was completely civil by the time Endeavor passed the kitchen.

“Hawks, I see you’ve met my daughter, Fuyumi.”

Hawks smiled wide. Fuyumi found it hard to believe they were in such a tense conversation less than a minute ago; the way he leaned back with his hands in his pockets made her believe he had spent the whole time just lazing on the couch. “Yes!”

“I found the documents. Let’s go.”

Dad walked away, not looking behind, assuming Hawks would follow. And Hawks did, of course, follow obediently.

But not without a glance backwards and a wave to Fuyumi. Fuyumi returned the wave without a smile.

When the front door shut, Fuyumi collapsed on a kitchen chair. She did not have the energy to process all of that. Somehow Hawks believed that Fuyumi was just a friend of both Leia and Dabi. Honestly that was the best cover she could hope for considering the slip-ups she’d had.

She couldn’t decide if Hawks was an ally or not. He was looking out for Leia, apparently, trying to warn her of danger. He was definitely looking out for Dabi. But he was working for the League.

Apparently he had some notion that their overall goal was appealing, even if he didn’t agree with all their methods. It was at least a relief to hear he didn’t agree with them attacking children… but he was still cooperating with people who did those horrible things.

….Fuyumi was also cooperating with people who did those horrible things.

She walked with heavy legs to her bedroom. She was not going out tonight. She was going to take a nice, long nap. Then she was going to wake up for dinner, have some relaxing tea, maybe a long, hot bath, and go back to bed. After that confrontation, she deserved to sleep for a dozen years.

At least she didn’t need to find Dabi as urgently. She should probably tell him what her new cover is when she gets the chance, but for now she didn’t think his identity was in immediate danger.

She practically fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.

Notes:

Hawks internally: "How the FUCK does she know I'm working with the League????? Do I fess up that I'm a double agent?? But they say you need to fool your friends to fool your foes.... and isn't she sort of working with the League too?? Would she tell Dabi if I told her I'm a double agent? Wait but what if she snitched on me to ENDEAVOR any day that I work for the League and my cover ends up blown anyway-"

BTW I finally decided to get a fandom tumblr: Jajalala. It's very new, and mostly I'm planning to post anime and maybe some fanfic meme things.

tbh I have a personal tumblr (bojanus) but my family and friends follow me on there, and they don't know I write fanfic. I didn't want to connect bojanus -> jajalala directly (tho jajalala -> bojanus is fine) bc my family does NOT need to see the smut I write sometimes on AO3. Recently there have been a lot of memes and things I've wanted to reblog/respond to on tumblr but feel iffy doing bc they would imply I write fanfic (which again, prefer IRL people do not know about). So I finally bit the bullet and made a sideblog specifically for fandom/fanfic, so I can meme to my heart's content. There's not much there yet, but feel free to follow!

Chapter 40: I Accidentally Adopted A Little Sister

Summary:

She pulled back from her phone with some irritation at being interrupted when she just got Shouto into something resembling a talkative mood. That irritation disappeared when she saw who was calling her.

Notes:

Anyone here watch She-ra season 5??? No spoilers, but HOLY SHIT it was great. I cried several times.
Also lol, after it dropped all my She-ra fics had a kudos spike (including my Scorpia/Perfuma fic that I wrote after literally the first season when they had like, ZERO interaction. Season 5 had some sweet interactions so I'm <3 <3 <3)
Anyway back to bnha

Shouto always responded to her texts. Fuyumi appreciated that he was so prompt and willing to communicate with her.

It was just a little disappointing that all the texts were one word responses.

She sighed as she looked at her phone. She knew he wasn’t angry at her or anything, that was just how he was. Although their time training (before he was moved into the UA dorms) had allowed them to become closer, Shouto was still not particularly skilled in the art of conversation. And considering that he hadn’t been allowed friends for most of his life, he was even less experienced in the art of having a conversation over text.

What she would give for Shouto to share just a tiny bit more. Natsuo kept her up-to-date about his life, Rumi sent sweet texts, and Toga sent her more than enough. It’d be nice if Shouto took a page out of their books.

It was the weekend. Natsuo (despite previously promising to come home every weekend) was not at home. Dad was on some surprise mission. Rumi said she was busy. Even Toga hadn’t texted in several hours, leaving Fuyumi on read. Fuyumi hated to admit the uncharacteristic silence from the teenager was concerning, but she shook that feeling away. Toga was probably just busy, and didn’t have time to text back. And Toga was more than capable of taking care of herself if anything happened. She was part of the League, after all.

So she stared at Shouto’s contact in her phone. He was probably free… right?

She hit the “Call” button before she could overthink it.

Several rings and he responded, “...Fuyumi?”

“Hi Shouto! Are you busy?”

“No.”

No elaboration. This conversation would be like pulling teeth, but Fuyumi was bored enough to try. “Just wanted to call and see how you’re doing. What are you up to?”

“I’m-” There was some sound from the other end, other voices? “Sorry, Sero just dropped off a manga.”

Fuyumi perked up. A person who was lending Shouto manga? It sounded suspiciously close to a friend, but she tried not to sound overeager as she asked, “Sero?”

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward silence. Fuyumi struggled against her own social instincts, screaming that Shouto didn’t want to talk about anything and wanted to be left alone. She knew him better now, he wasn’t purposefully halting conversations-- he just hadn’t learned how to have them. “Tell me about him.”

“He’s nice. We share manga.”

Was this a friendship or an exchange? “Do you guys talk about it afterwards?”

“Yeah.”

Fuyumi bit her lip. Was Sero the only one Shouto got along with? “Who else do you talk to?”

“Midoriya. Ochako. Yaoyorozu, Iida. Though they tend to talk to me, not the other way around.”

Although she didn’t know any of the names, it was a relief to hear several. “Do you guys hang out?”

“Yeah.”

Again, no elaboration. “How so?”

“Studying. Eating.”

Hmm, hang outs by some degree of necessity. Surely much easier for Shouto to understand, considering he’d never been allowed to go out and just have fun in his life. However… he wasn’t under this roof anymore. Dad wasn’t always watching him. He had never learned how to do something without a defined purpose. “Would you say they’re your friends?”

His voice sounded slightly bashful when he responded, “...I guess, yeah.”

Fuyumi grinned. “You should invite them out somewhere?”

His confusion was palpable over the phone. “Invite… them out?”

“Yeah! That’s what friends do, sometimes. A way to get closer and have fun. UA lets you guys go off-campus, right?”

“With permission.”

“You could all go to a movie. Or karaoke!”

“…Maybe.”

It might be a big step for Shouto, so she shouldn’t put too much pressure on it. Just get him thinking about it, at least. “What else is going on?”

The conversation moved on to a bare itinerary of his past week, with occasional attempts from Fuyumi to dig deeper. She reveled the rare moments where he spontaneously shared details, one time even letting out a soft chuckle as he recounted how one of his classmates electrocuted himself (it sounded like it was part of his quirk, so Fuyumi tried not to sound too alarmed in response).

As Shouto was about to recount a practical where he pretended to be a villain, Fuyumi’s phone made a strange beeping sound. “Hold on, Shouto, someone else is trying to call me.”

She pulled back from her phone with some irritation at being interrupted when she just got Shouto into something resembling a talkative mood. That irritation disappeared when she saw who was calling her.

T is calling…

Toga never called. Her texts were incessant, but she had never called before.

“Shouto, I gotta answer this. Talk again soon?”

“Sure, bye.”

She hung up on him and answered Toga as soon as she could, while rushing to her closet to pull out her Leia coat. “Toga?”

“Big Sis Leia? Do you have some clothes I can borrow?”

Fuyumi paused from zipping up her coat. Exactly what kind of emergency was this? “Uh, I think so? Why?”

Rather than explain, Toga just continued, “Can you bring an outfit or two to the place where we had that sleepover?”

Toga’s voice was strange. Fuyumi had mostly heard Toga while she was in a fun, energetic, psychotic mood. This was more subdued, to the point, tired.

She still wasn’t sure why Toga needed it, but she doubted she would get an answer over the phone, not while Toga was in this sort of mood. “Yeah, I can do that. Are you at the apartment right now?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

After hanging up, Fuyumi gathered up a few outfits she didn’t care much for. She and Toga were about the same height, so it would probably fit. She stuffed the clothes into a bag and felt her mask in her pocket. She’d put it on in an alley once she had a little distance from her house. She hurried to the door-

And bumped straight into Dad.

Even at home, no longer in hero-mode, Dad was bigger and sturdier, not moving an inch while Fuyumi bounced back. Before she could fall on her butt, Dad instinctively grabbed her arm to keep her upright. She stiffened in his hold, then forced herself to relax. She wasn’t a kid anymore, Dad wasn’t about to throw her across the gym to teach her how to land when thrown.

It was easier to relax once he fully let go, confusion in his face rather than anger or the fierce determination he used to wear when training them. “Fuyumi? Why are you in such a rush?”

He was blocking the door. But she didn’t need to worry, there was no way her Dad was actually suspicious of her. “I- I’m late for a date with Rumi,” The lie spilled easily, “Did you just get home?”

He nodded and began taking off his coat. “Just another fruitless attempt to track the League,” He said, hanging his coat on the hook before glancing back at Fuyumi and seeming to realize that she wasn’t a pro-hero privy to classified info, “…Nothing for you to worry about.”

Fuyumi gulped, realizing she knew exactly where one of the League members were. She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of state Toga was in, but she seemed to be disheartened. The fact that she was calling Fuyumi instead of a League member suggested that the rest of the League was occupied or unavailable, leaving Toga alone.

She just had to open her mouth and tell Dad what was going on. She could probably get him to do something without revealing her own cards too much. He had accepted her information on the location of the League before, and at her insistence of privacy he hadn’t forced her to share why she knew secrets about a villain organization.

At her word, she could get several pro-heroes sicced on Toga. A few pro-heroes could take her down while she was alone, especially if she thought she was safe and let down her guard. Since she trusted Fuyumi.

Fuyumi held her breath a moment. Toga called her a big sister. Toga didn’t know Fuyumi was the daughter of the number one pro-hero. Toga was relying on Fuyumi to help her out of whatever situation she was currently in.

Dad stared at her. “Fuyumi?”

She blinked, breathing again. Had he noticed her reaction? If he pushed, asking if she knew something, she didn’t know how she would respond. Toga was a part of the League, she killed people. Toga was also her connection to Dabi. Fuyumi also still didn’t know what had led to Toga joining the League. Were her circumstances like Dabi? Could she be forgiven for her crimes? Could Fuyumi live with betraying Toga’s trust?

Dad reached out a hand. To hit her? Ruffle her hair? Pat her shoulder? She couldn’t say for sure, but as tense as she was, she flinched at the motion. He paused, then aborted his reach, letting his arm hang harmlessly at his side. “Have fun on your date.”

She remembered the excuse she had given him for her urgent run towards the door. “T-thanks!”

She hurried out, heart still pounding.

---

Her mask was on when she went to the apartment. Even if Toga had seen her face, no one else in this neighborhood should. She entered the apartment, noting that the door was unlocked. Had Dabi given Toga a key? Or had she picked the lock?

She entered hesitantly, hearing the sound of a shower. “Toga?”

Toga appeared from the hallway, naked and covered in blood.

Fuyumi instinctively covered her eyes, then realized that mortality was maybe more important than modesty. She should have come here sooner, she didn’t realize Toga was injured. She ran up to Toga and asked, “What happened? Where are you hurt?”

Toga looked at her with a little chuckle, softer than usual but not as forlorn as she had been on the phone. “It’s not my blood, silly.”

There was a moment of confusion. Then relief. Then dawning realization, disgust rising in her throat. “Toga… what did you do?”

Toga pursed her lips. “I was stressed. I wanted to have a little fun. Is it that bad to flirt?”

“Did- did you kill someone?” Fuyumi’s breath was fast, worried. Was the body in this apartment? Fuyumi saw a pile of bloodied clothes in the open door of the bathroom, but just clothes. “Do we need to hide a body?”

Toga shook her head, sighing. “I got caught and had to run before I took too much blood.”

Fuyumi still wasn’t sure what was going on, but she would prefer to have the conversation with everyone covered. She dug a towel out of a closet and threw it to Toga with her bag. “Finish your shower and get changed.”

Toga didn’t even comment, just accepted the items and closed the bathroom door behind her.

Fuyumi went back to the living room and collapsed on the couch, pointedly avoiding the fresh bloodstains. She took off her mask, since Toga had seen her face before anyway. She took some deep breaths, trying to cope with the fact that Toga had just… attacked someone? In broad daylight?

She focused on what questions she had to ask first. Like why Toga had called Fuyumi instead of the many League members for help. Only Dabi and Twice had been to the apartment before, but it wouldn’t be too complicated to send someone else the address.

Was… was Toga trying to leave the League? A flutter of hope rang in Fuyumi’s chest. If that was the case, what persuaded her? And could Dabi be persuaded the same way?

The bathroom door opened, but the shower was still going. “Big Sis Leia? How long does the shower take to heat up?”

Oops. Fuyumi should have thought of that. “This apartment doesn’t have hot water.”

The door closed again. Was Toga going to give up on showering now? But she really needed to wipe that blood off if she didn’t want to get the cops called on her wherever she went…

Fuyumi went to the kitchen and started heating some hot water on the stove. Maybe Toga could use a warm cloth to wipe herself down instead.

Before it even started boiling, Toga left the bathroom, hair wet and shivering in one of Fuyumi’s old sweaters and a loose pair of jeans. Fuyumi practically had a heart attack knowing someone actually tried to shower in that freezing water, how was Toga still standing right now? She could see her shaking from the cold.

Fuyumi was not as warm as Dabi was, but she turned off the stove, crossed the distance and wrapped Toga up in an embrace, knowing that maintaining body warmth was more important than a pretense of distance at the moment.

She wasn’t sure if Toga realized it was just for the heat, as she hugged back and buried herself in Fuyumi’s chest. Fuyumi was about to shove her away when she felt a sob.

Oof.

Slowly, she guided Toga to the couch (aiming for a spot with minimal stains) and wrapped the quilt there around the two of them, trying to create a cocoon of warmth. Toga continued to cry.

Fuyumi tried to count her blessings. Toga wasn’t injured. Toga was being vulnerable… maybe she had even separated from the League.

When Toga’s cries softened, Fuyumi asked, “What happened?”

Toga sniffed. “I made Dabi mad, and he got all pissy and kicked me out.”

Fuyumi stiffened. She wanted to know what made Dabi mad, but she also wanted to know how he thought kicking out a teenage girl with the police after her was okay in any way, shape, or form. “He what?”

“He was so mean,” Toga recounted.

“Wait, so are you out of the League, then? Everyone else just agreed with him?”

Toga laughed, strangely quiet. “Don’t be silly. Dabi can’t actually kick someone out just like that just because they annoyed him.”

“So why are you here?”

She pursed her lips. “He was rude. If he wants me gone, I’m going to stay gone until he finds me and apologizes.”

Fuyumi sort of understood, but there were still a lot of questions. “…So where does the dude you almost murdered fit into all of this?”

“Well I wanted a distraction, and he was just so cute… He looked even cuter when his blood was flowing along the alley, but I left all my vials to collect the blood with the League. I had to bite his neck and suck up his blood right there in the alley, like an animal!”

Fuyumi tried to hold back an expression of disgust. She had gathered that Toga had some strange obsession with blood. She hadn’t been aware that included drinking. Was this her hobby?

“With that, I was able to disguise long enough to get here, but then I ran out of time.”

Wait. Blood drinking? Disguises? “Toga… what exactly is your quirk?”

“Did I never tell you? Oops!” Toga giggled, “I can turn into people if I drink their blood.”

Fuyumi thought back on all the disguises Toga had ‘worn’ when meeting her before. That meant everyone she met was someone Toga had taken blood from? Some of them might even have been dead, considering the casual way Toga seemed to treat potential murder.

Before Fuyumi could be sick, she tried asking more questions, “So what made Dabi mad?”

Toga looked away. “Well…”

The shy behavior was a little strange. Toga was normally very open.

“Dabi was talking to Twice, and Twice suggested that we recruit… you…” Toga glanced up at Fuyumi, face red, “And Dabi got a little riled up. He said all sorts of things, but he also was so~ protective,” She met Fuyumi’s eyes now, smile widening, “Like saying he didn’t want you to get caught up in the League, and that all of us ought to leave you alone and not involve you any further…”

Fuyumi didn’t know what to do with that information.

“And he was pretending to be mean about it, but you know how he is. I could practically smell the fear on him, it was so sweet.” Toga’s smile revealed her canines. “He loves you so~ much, even if he won’t admit it. I couldn’t help but be a little jealous.”

It was nice to hear that Dabi loved her, but she had some doubts about Toga’s ability to really determine that.

“I don’t have an older brother who loves me so much. So I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to be Big Sis Leia? She’s so loved, and she loves her brother so much… So I turned into you, and tried to give Dabi a nice, big hug.”

Fuyumi felt her heart-rate spike at the thought. No wonder Dabi was angry, he didn’t like physical contact outside of necessity, and his relationship with the Todorokis was… complicated. There was something else that concerned her, though. “Wait, you transformed into me?”

“Mmhmm, Dabi was real mad.” Toga pouted. “It was a lovely reaction. He normally hides all his emotions, so getting him so angry, to the point of telling me to get the hell out… he must love you a lot. I love that. What a good feeling.”

“Wait, but you need someone’s blood to turn into them, right?” Fuyumi was still stuck on this point, “When did you get my blood?”

Toga winked. “It was from this very couch we’re sitting on!”

It was a pretty bloody couch, at this point.

“It wasn’t much, and it was hard to squeeze out, but I hid it in a vial for a perfect moment.” Toga sighed. “I was only able to be you for less than a minute, there was so little. But it was long enough for Dabi to get mad. And he said such mean things, I decided I’m going to stay away until he comes and apologizes.”

“Wh-what did he say?” Fuyumi tried not to shake, still disturbed at the thought of Toga wearing her body like a costume.

“He told me I was gross. He said I was weird. That I was not normal, and he knows I hate that.”

“Being.. not normal?”

Toga nodded, leaning into the crook of Fuyumi’s shoulder. “I’m the most normal girl there is.”

Fuyumi held back from screaming and shoving Toga away as she cuddled closer. Toga was clearly desperate for affection right now; Fuyumi didn’t want to withhold that and end up as a pile of blood.

Did Toga understand what a normal girl is? Perhaps she was raised on the streets, unable to learn what true affection was. Did someone abuse her as a child, twisting her perception of love? “Toga… what was your childhood like?”

Toga stiffened. Was that too on the nose? When they had first met and Fuyumi asked about Toga’s parents, that had garnered a glare from the girl. They were closer now, though. Toga had cried on her, opened up a little bit. Could Fuyumi fully open her up, and find out what made her so deranged? Could she figure out what sort of trauma would lead to a girl like this?

“It was… stifling,” Toga settled on after thinking for a minute, “I wasn’t normal.”

“Did… did people bully you? Call you weird?” Bullying could affect someone terribly.

Toga shook her head. “No.”

“Then how were you not normal?”

“I- I couldn’t love. Not in the way the people around me wanted.”

Fuyumi waited for her to articulate.

“It’s so strict, what people around me wanted me to be. I was playing a mask, pretending to be someone who didn’t have normal urges and desires.”

“N-normal urges and desires?” Fuyumi briefly worried about the sex ed of the country.

“I just want to be close to the people I love. To be the people I love.”

She still wasn’t sure what Toga was trying to say.

“Everyone around me was satisfied with things like… like kissing. I wanted more, but when I tried to love in my normal way… everyone acted like I was the weird one.”

“How do you love?”

“I need blood,” Toga told her, a strange sense of desperation in her voice, “Would you tell someone they can’t kiss? Then why do other people tell me I can’t drink the blood of those I love?”

Fuyumi didn’t know what to say. This didn’t sound like Toga was abused. This was just… Toga being fundamentally different. Built to love atypically, not that Toga seemed to see it that way.

“That’s why I like the League,” Toga’s voice calmed as she moved on to a happier topic, “They let me drink all the blood I want, they accept that’s who I am. With them, I’m gonna create a society where I can be free to do what I love.”

“…Which is drinking people’s blood.”

Toga nodded, chin bumping into Fuyumi’s collarbone. Fuyumi was suddenly aware of how close Toga’s mouth was to her neck. She tried not to outwardly show panic as she analyzed the information. Toga wanted to be treated like a normal girl. That’s how the League had gotten its talons into her, telling her that with their help she would get to live a lifestyle where she’s treated normally.

Fuyumi had a clearer image of what would be needed to pull Toga out of there. She needed to start with showing Toga that Fuyumi believed she was normal, no matter how much Fuyumi’s instincts were screaming to shove her away from her throat and run away.

Unfortunately Fuyumi didn’t have any words at the moment. So she tried to treat Toga like a little sibling, like she would treat Natsuo when he would cry after a bad fight with Dad. She used her arm wrapped around Toga’s shoulder to pat her head, attempting to express affection and trust, to tell Toga that, even if Fuyumi didn’t understand what those urges felt like, she wasn’t going to drop her because of them.

Toga hummed, curling closer to Fuyumi. Her mouth was still disturbingly close to Fuyumi’s throat, but she didn’t feel the prick of teeth against her skin. Fuyumi took slow, deep breaths. Don’t panic, don’t show her you’re afraid. She’s relying on you to show her she’s normal, she needs to trust you.

After what felt like far too long to be stuck in that precarious position, Fuyumi felt Toga’s breathing slow. A glance down revealed Toga’s eyes to be closed. Sleeping?

Fuyumi shifted, and Toga leaned mindlessly. It seemed she was tired out by the fight, then.

Carefully, cautiously, Fuyumi wrapped Toga up in the quilt like a burrito and lifted her up. She knew (from experience) that the couch was not an ideal sleeping spot, especially not with so much blood.

Well, Toga might not mind that. But Fuyumi didn’t want Toga to dirty her clothes by shifting into the wet stains. So Fuyumi cradled Toga, surprisingly light, and carried her to the bedroom. Once setting the girl on the mattress, still wrapped in the quilt, Fuyumi also pulled Dabi’s blanket over her. The blanket was honestly terrible, but combined with the quilt hopefully Toga wouldn’t get too cold.

Fuyumi tiptoed to the kitchen and double-checked that there was stuff to eat. She stored a decent amount of snacks and shelf-stable foods when she returned home, since she didn’t want anything to go bad, but she also didn’t want Toga to wake up hungry without anything ready to eat.

There was still the pot of water on the stove. She turned the burner back on and waited for it to boil as she pulled out a package of pasta…

---

She left the plate of pasta and a bowl of heated marinara sauce (she wasn’t sure if Toga liked it or not) on the table covered with saran wrap.

Before she left, she texted Toga: Pasta is on the table, microwave-safe plate if you need to heat it up. Stay safe, text or call if you need anything.

Notes:

Next Chapter: Fuyumi really do be on that phone

Chapter 41: Maybe You Could Love People Without Killing Them?

Summary:

Fuyumi sighed. “Toga, you need to eat your veggies too.”

Toga pouted. “They’re not tasty though.”

“A balanced diet will make you healthier, stronger, and more capable of achieving your dreams.”

“I don’t see how a little broccoli and carrots will do all of that,” Toga insisted.

Notes:

Me @ Myself: You said you were going on a once a week schedule, your buffer is low
Also Me: I'm bored tho so...... post now??

Fuyumi ended up coming back to the apartment the next day to check on Toga.

She also might have brought along some leftovers from dinner the night before, just in case Toga wanted something with a little more nutrition than pasta.

Toga tore into the chicken gleefully, ignoring the vegetables beside it.

Fuyumi sighed. “Toga, you need to eat your veggies too.”

Toga pouted. “They’re not tasty though.”

“A balanced diet will make you healthier, stronger, and more capable of achieving your dreams.”

“I don’t see how a little broccoli and carrots will do all of that,” Toga insisted.

If Toga didn’t care about her health, maybe Fuyumi should change tactics…

Fuyumi let out a loud sigh and turned away slightly, letting her shoulders drop. “It- it’s fine,” Fuyumi spoke quietly, “I was excited to share my home cooking with you, see how you like my stir fry, but I guess we can just throw all of my hard work into the trash…”

“Hey!” Toga countered, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t eat any of it!”

Fuyumi straightened up, putting a small smile on her face, “So you’ll eat it?”

Toga eyes the dish warily. “…A little bit. Wouldn’t want to waste it.”

Fuyumi clapped her hands together. “I knew I could count on you!”

Toga’s lips wobbled into a smile at the praise. That was soon replaced by chewing as she forced down some of the vegetables. “…This isn’t half bad.”

“Of course not, I cook quite well, if I say so myself,” Fuyumi boasted.

“…Mmm,” Toga agreed, eating a little more.

Like this, taking little bites and kicking her legs out as she sat, Toga seemed more like a teenage girl than villain. It was hard to believe that she was capable of the twisted things the League were up to.

“You know…” Fuyumi started.

Toga perked up, eyes on Fuyumi even as she chewed.

“About your… love…” Fuyumi struggled to phrase it, “…Do you have to kill people for it?”

Toga continued to kick her legs out under the table. She swallowed a big bite before responding. “I like a lot of blood. People are pretty when there’s blood all over them.”

“I thought you liked to drink it?”

“Drink it, see it, touch it,” Toga had a lecherous look on her face, “They’re all good.”

“S-so,” Fuyumi coughed, forcing her voice into something steady, “What if you found someone willing to be a steady supply?”

“Most people resist getting stabbed,” Toga admitted with a sigh.

“But what if someone was willing to just… give you their blood?” Fuyumi tried to think of phrasing Toga would feel partial to, “As a sign of their love for you?”

Toga stared at Fuyumi. “Like going steady?”

Not the words Fuyumi would use, but whatever made sense to Toga. “Yeah, I guess. Like if they donated a bit of blood over time, you could have a steady supply and wouldn’t have to endanger yourself hunting people down.”

Toga laughed. “And where’s this cutie that would be willing to get drained constantly?”

“There’s all sorts of couples where one person has unique needs!” Fuyumi pulled out her phone, opening a bookmarked page on her web browser before showing it to Toga. “For example, here’s a guy whose touch causes pain, but he found a masochist and they work really well together! And…” She scrolled down a bit. “There’s also a woman who can’t sleep unless she ‘steals’ sleep from other people, and she talks here about how her husband willingly lets her leech sleep from him a lot of the time so she can rest-”

Toga snatched the phone out of Fuyumi’s hand, using her fingers to continue scrolling the threads before going up to the top of the screen. Toga read aloud, “’Need advice: Friend wants relationship, but her quirk might hurt those she loves. I don’t want to share too many details, but does anyone have any advice or know folks in a similar situation who have found a way to have fulfilling relationships even if-”

Fuyumi snatched the phone back. “That- I just coincidentally saw it while scrolling the web-”

“I saw it was posted last night,” Toga commented.

Fuyumi put her phone back into her pocket. “The point is, if blood is part of how you love, then even someone without the exact same urge might be willing to share their blood in order to express their love. You don’t have to kill-”

“Big Sis Fuyumi,” Toga interrupted.

Fuyumi shut up, not sure how Toga felt about Fuyumi posting about her on the internet.

Toga stood up. The vegetables were gone. She stepped towards Fuyumi, smile wide but unclear. Fuyumi wasn’t sure if she was actually seeing her as a big sister or as prey. It took all of Fuyumi’s willpower to not flinch as Toga stretched out a hand and patted Fuyumi on the head.

“It’s cute that you care enough to ask people on the internet.”

Toga turned away then, clearing the dish.

Fuyumi wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad response. Before she could dig any further, her phone rang. It was Rumi. “Sorry, I should take this-”

Toga waved her away, not looking back at her.

“Hey babe, have you decided where to get lunch yet?”

“Y-yeah, I was thinking the new noodle place downtown.”

“Ooh, the one next to the smoke shop?”

“Yeah, that sound good?”

“Perfect, see you soon!”

Rumi hung up.

Fuyumi turned back to Toga. “Sorry, I gotta go, I have-”

“-A date,” Toga completed, smirking, “You love~ her.”

Fuyumi was used to Toga’s speech enough to at least not blush at those words. She just nodded. “I’ll be back again tonight.”

Toga waved as she left. “See you then.”

---

One day with Toga turned into two days. Turned into three days.

Toga at least seemed to trust Fuyumi pretty deeply now. Fuyumi got more details about her life, even the name of Toga’s old middle school. Although the media did not release the identity of minors involved in crimes, there was one a few years ago that stood out and sounded exactly like Toga’s style.

Fuyumi found herself self-consciously rubbing her throat whenever she thought about how close she’d allowed Toga to get to her. Getting close was dangerous, the greater Toga’s love the greater the temptation to take Fuyumi’s blood.

But Fuyumi wanted Toga to trust her, to know that if she left the League, there would be someone who would support her.

Maybe if Toga left, Dabi would see that he could, too.

Fuyumi washed some dishes in the sink, trying not to think too hard about it. She just needed to take things one step at a time.

Her phone buzzed. She considered leaving it until she was done washing the dishes, but she wouldn’t want to miss an emergency, so she stripped off a glove to open up her notifications.

What faced her was a message from someone she never thought she’d hear from again.

Dabi.

Did Toga tell you where she went?

Well. That didn’t sound like an emergency. Fuyumi calmed herself and focused on at least finishing the dishes before freaking out.

Once everything was on the drying rack, Fuyumi refocused on the phone. She was certain Dabi had blocked her. Had he finally unblocked her?

For Toga’s sake?

She breathed through the jealousy that roiled in her gut at the thought. Toga said Dabi loved her, and Fuyumi had to believe that deep down he did, but it was hard to believe when he would only unblock her for the sake of someone else.

Well, she had things she needed to address with Dabi anyway. She hit the “call” button.

“Dabi-”

“Do you know where she is?”

Rude. “Yeah.”

“And she’s okay?”

“Yeah. And-”

The phone clicked.

He had hung up on her.

Annoyed, Fuyumi hit “call” again. And again. And again.

She almost screamed. Knowing that Dad was in the house was the only thing that stopped her.

She put the phone down, taking some deep, calming breaths. So what if Dabi cared more about a villainous teenage girl than his own flesh and blood sister? She was fine. Baby steps. Dabi had contacted her, even if it wasn’t to reconnect or anything she really hoped for.

Her heart stuttered when her phone rang. She snatched it back up, hope soaring once again.

Only to drop when she saw it was only Hawks.

She answered anyway.

“Fuyumi, are you alone?”

“Yeah,” Fuyumi responded, since Dad had gone to his room after dinner.

“Can you pass on a message to Leia?”

“Can you text it to me?”

“Not to be rude, but I’m not keen on leaving written evidence of my connection with Leia or… you know.”

Fuyumi sighed. “Fine. What’s the message?”

“I’ve been investigating that Ghad dude. That’s definitely not his real name, but some of my underworld contacts know him and had some info on his latest business venture.”

“The trigger?”

“Yeah, I’ve at least figured out what strain he’s working with.”

Fuyumi’s brow furrowed. “Strain?”

“There are various kinds. Some are a more mild power-up, which usually only have the side effect of addiction. Then there are more severe varieties, but they tend to bring some bad side effects…”

“Like what?”

“Quirks can be forcibly activated, kept on, and people often lose cognitive ability. Which is ideal for spreading chaos, since normal citizens can get injected to wreak havoc while the culprit slips away.”

That sounded bad. “So which kind is Ghad distributing?”

“Sounds like the severe one. There’s actually already decent supply lines in Japan for the mild version if you know where to look. The more intense cocktails were cracked down on years ago after some big incidents, so he’s right that there’s a vacuum.”

“And no one’s cracked down on Ghad yet?”

“Well, no.”

“Even though you’re a pro-hero who knows about it?” Fuyumi questioned.

He paused a moment before responding. “There are various… difficulties with me pursuing the case. Especially since Ghad technically doesn’t have the supplies yet, and it’s possible he could be getting scammed.”

“Scammed?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time an enterprising drug supplier gets promised some rare product only to receive duds after money’s been exchanged.”

Fuyumi had never given that much thought before.

“Anyway, I won’t get into it, but my hands are kind of full at the moment. I’m only even investigating because he’s a risk to Dabi, who uh… you know.”

Fuyumi wasn’t sure if he was referring to the fact that Dabi was part of the League (which Hawks was also working for) or the fact that he and Dabi were some unclear flavor of lovers. She frankly didn’t care. “ Well thanks for leaving a message for Leia anyway.”

“I might as well, right? Not like Dabi’s going to.”

She bristled at the reminder. “Is that everything?”

“Yup. Tell Leia to watch out and take care of herself.”

“Alright, bye-”

“You take care of yourself, too.”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes even though Hawks couldn’t see it over the phone. “I’m not a vigilante, Ghad doesn’t even know who I am.”

“Then why were you at Hot as Phoenix Ramen?”

Fuyumi’s blood froze. Did Hawks actually know something for once? “…What do you mean?”

“Leia told me she had a friend with an ice quirk that helped them out… that was you, right?”

Fuyumi didn’t know how to respond.

“Look, clearly you’re not defenseless considering the uh… state I found those gang members in. But you also seem to have a powerful quirk, like Dabi, and if either of you was drugged with trigger, the consequences-”

“Ghad doesn’t know who I am,” Fuyumi repeated, “I am not a target, so don’t worry.”

She decided to neither confirm nor deny the assertion that she was involved in rescuing Dabi at Phoenix Ramen. Before Hawks could make any more accusations, she hung up the phone.

Once again, she was taking deep calming breaths in the kitchen. Slowly, she put away some dishes.

Everything was fine. Hawks had seen her ice at its most deadly potential, which put a wrench in her ‘completely-innocent-civilian’ charade, but he also still thought Leia and Fuyumi were separate people. Ghad might become a new druglord with a vendetta against Leia and Dabi, but Hawks said Ghad might not even get genuine trigger. Dabi was still in the League and ignoring her, but Toga was out of there at the moment and giving Fuyumi an opportunity to slowly draw her out. And if she could pull Toga out, that was one step closer to getting Dabi out as well.

Once the dishes were all put away, she felt optimistic. Toga trusted her, and without being around the League everyday, every time Fuyumi visited brought Toga was closer and closer to leaving. She just had to keep it up, and before she knew it she was sure she could persuade Toga to leave.

---

It only took a week for Toga to go back to the League.

Fuyumi was informed by text: Dabi apologized, so I went back! Don’t bother coming to the apartment for me!!! Thnx for all ur help <3 <3 <3

Notes:

Fuyumi on the relationship advice subreddit: "My friend [17F] maims and/or kills those she loves. How can I [23F] convince her that she doesn't have to join a League of Villains in order to fulfill her desires? And maybe persuade her to not kill people? Btw she hates being considered abnormal so please don't say she's weird."

Next Chapter: Notice how I keep bringing up trigger :)

Chapter 42: These Family Fights Are Getting Way Too Fatal For My Tastes

Summary:

Hawks is calling…

 

Hawks knew she didn’t like him, he wouldn’t call unless it was important. She picked up immediately. “Hawks? What’s going on?”

 

“Can you tell Leia to get to the location I’m about to text you?”

Fuyumi carefully put another carton of eggs into her basket and went to checkout. Dad said he wasn’t planning to come home until late, so Fuyumi hadn’t bothered to make a real dinner tonight. There were leftovers from yesterday, anyway, but they were out of a few things. So her post-dinner time when she would normally take a bath or relax was spent grocery shopping instead.

She looked outside as she paid for her items. It was already dark outside. After paying, she lifted her two bags with one hand while checking her phone with the other.

Hawks is calling…

Hawks knew she didn’t like him, he wouldn’t call unless it was important. She picked up immediately. “Hawks? What’s going on?”

“Can you tell Leia to get to the location I’m about to text you?”

“Why?”

“I found Ghad. Or rather, one of my contacts spotted him, but I’m out of town. Can you tell Leia his location so she can take care of it? I don’t know if she wants to beat him up or stalk him, but I bet she’d like the info.”

“…Why not have Dabi deal with it?” Fuyumi had to ask, considering Ghad was gunning for both Dabi and Leia, and Hawks presumably was better able to contact Dabi.

“Who said I haven’t?”

So Dabi might be there too? “Okay, I’ll send it to her…”

---

She dropped her grocery bags off in an alley while she inverted her jacket and pulled out her mask, going into Leia-mode. It was unfortunate to lose her groceries, but she didn’t want to lose track of Ghad by wasting time taking it all home.

Now she was running. Fortunately it wasn’t too far from the grocery store she had been at, but she was still sweating from the run by the time she made it to the location Hawks sent her. She slowed down as she got there, trying to blend in with other folks out and about at this time.

Normally when she went out as Leia, it was in the late evening. Most streets were not crowded, and those that were contained a specific kind of crowd. Right now the street was moderately busy, people who worked overtime going home or people going out to drink. Mostly civilians. Luckily most seemed occupied with getting to their location or chatting with their friends, letting a non-descript woman with a mask pass by without comment. For all they knew she was someone with a strange quirk that made it hard to show her face, so no one was sounding any alarms. She counted her blessings that Leia was not a famous vigilante.

She kept her eyes peeled, scanning continuously for that shock of pink hair Ghad had. The number of people out distracted her. There was someone with a giraffe quirk towering above their companions, a kid with a broccoli-looking mess for hair, someone with their hair half-red and half-white-

Fuyumi blinked, focusing on him.

Shouto.

He was conversing with the broccoli-head, and there were a couple other teenagers that seemed to be traveling the same way. Fuyumi’s adrenaline kicked up, aware that Ghad was close to her baby brother.

Not that Ghad knew their connection. Shouto was safe from him. She forced herself to look away, leaving him to hang out with his friends and be a kid for once.

She was looking for pink hair… pink hair… blue fire…

She gasped at a flicker of blue fire coming out of an alley up ahead. She ran, passing by Shouto who was far too engrossed in his conversation to realize the random stranger rushing past was his gentle big sister. She skidded around the corner into the alley.

There, she was behind Dabi, who had his hands lit in a show of force against a cowering Ghad. Was he going to burn this man alive in this alley right now? With so many around? Including hero students from U.A. nearby?

“Dabi!” She called out, out of breath.

He flinched, turning to see her. “Why are you-”

That moment of distraction was all Ghad needed to lift up a gun and fire.

Fuyumi didn’t even think to scream, just jumped forward to try and push Dabi out of the way.

They tumbled onto the ground, and Ghad took a few steps back. Fuyumi hovered protectively over Dabi, trying to scan him for injuries but also not willing to let Ghad out of her sight in case he shot again or tried something.

Ghad laughed. “I’d shoot you too, but considering you’re quirkless it’d be a waste.”

Fuyumi stiffened. “What does that mean?”

Dabi was radiating heat, enough that Fuyumi could feel it through her thick coat.

“Just testing out a new strain of trigger. I know better than to stick around, have fun dealing with that fireball!”

With those parting words, Ghad ran out of the alleyway.

Fuyumi focused back on Dabi as he groaned, eyes fluttering. “You fucking- distraction-”

Now that she looked closer, she could see that Dabi wasn’t hit by a bullet, but a dart that stuck out of his neck. She ripped it out, hoping that would help.

Fuyumi gulped, realizing just how dire the situation could be for someone whose quirk destroyed their body. “Dabi? Dabi? Stay with me, don’t use your quirk.”

“Back-” Dabi coughed, smoke coming out of his mouth, “Back off.”

Fuyumi acquiesced, giving him some space as he sat up, eyes darting around erratically and blinking fast. “…Dabi?”

“I- fuck…” He squeezed his eyes shut, “I can’t… ‘Yumi. Get out of here.”

“No!” Fuyumi exclaimed, “I need to make sure you’ll be okay!”

Dabi glared. “Get. Out.”

Fuyumi reached for him.

He shoved her away, hands searing, out of the alley. Fuyumi stumbled backwards, still staring at her brother. According to Hawks, Ghad most likely had a strong strain of trigger. She wasn’t sure how long Dabi would be cognitive, but it seemed like he was losing his mind more every second. She hated that at this moment, when she should be worried sick, she couldn’t help but love that he was using his last moments of consciousness to tell her to get away, to get safe. It was just like Dabi, never showing his true feelings until an emergency forced his hand.

Then, as she stared at his worried, pained face, it twisted.

For a moment, she thought the trigger had taken over. But no, his eyes were steady and clear, as though he needed to keep them open as long as possible to fully communicate his rage. And she was shocked that he would ever look at her with such clear hatred, until she realized he wasn’t looking at her. He raised his palm, aiming past her right shoulder, fire already building along his arms.

She turned and saw Shouto behind her, passing with his friends, a gentle smile on his face as he spoke with them.

She darted right, and with a stomp she created a thick, gigantic icewall behind her, protecting Shouto as much as she could from the blast.

The blast hit her dead-on, hot and fierce. Around her, there was the sound of alarmed people shouting and screaming at the sudden fight, but it was drowned out in the whoosh of fire surrounding her. It pressed against her, pushing her back until she was stuck against her own wall.

Her giant ice wall was already melting under the onslaught, but it had stayed up long enough that the people behind it had time to get prepared and run. She tried calling out, “Dabi! Stop!”

He didn’t respond.

Although she was heat-resistant, this flame was even hotter than Endeavor’s, and its continuity right against her made her feel overheated for once in her life. She ducked down, letting the flames finish off what was left of her wall, while she caught her breath on the ground where he wasn’t actively sending his fire.

That gave her a moment to look up and see the state Dabi was in.

It was hard to see him, coated in blue flames that poured out from every surface, but he was on fire, eyes wide and unseeing, lashing out and burning everything in his path. His flames were stifled in the alleyway, whose walls were already turning black, so he took steps forward. Once out in the main street, his flames billowed out even further, creating a whirling spiral of fire that left people screaming in its wake.

Fortunately, waves of ice appeared over civilians, protecting them from the flames. Those had to be from Shouto, forced to act like a hero when he was just a kid trying to hang out with his friends.

Fuyumi felt sick as she recalled Dabi’s reaction to Shouto. He had turned on his own brother in an instant, determined to burn Shouto alive. How could he do that?

How could Fuyumi let him go, so many times, knowing he was willing to kill their baby brother?

She grimaced, standing, sweating under the heat around her. She wasn’t far from Dabi now, and the heat was actually uncomfortable, almost painful. She was glad Shouto was protecting the civilians, using his ice on all the flames escaping.

She took a step closer to Dabi, whose eyes were focused on nothing, just standing like a human torch. And his skin, those rare sections of delicate, healthy skin, began to curl.

She almost threw up. He was burning, once again, losing himself in flames, in hatred, in a fire so oppressive that even Fuyumi, who loved the heat, was sweating.

It would kill him.

Fuyumi could clearly see, without Dabi being cognizant enough to realize he was burning himself up, he would just keep the fire going until there was nothing but ashes for Fuyumi to collect. She was going to lose Touya again.

Tears escaped her eyelids, only to turn into steam that made her goggles foggy.

And then there was ice around her, protecting her from the fire.

She didn’t turn around. She could barely see through the goggles, and she already knew who it was. Shouto shouted, “Ma’am, get out of there!”

She choked on more tears. Shouto was trying so hard to be a hero. He was doing his best to save every single innocent person here, even the strange woman standing in the flames like they didn’t hurt her at all.

But he wasn’t trying to save Dabi.

“Are you in shock?” Shouto grabbed her arm. “Ma’am, come with me, I’ll get you to safety-”

She twisted out of his grip and ran, leaving his enclave and running into the heart of the inferno. Shouto called after her, but she let out another icewall behind her, blocking him off from her.

As the heat grew hotter and hotter, she called upon her ice. She was accustomed to holding back for so long, to prevent herself from freezing from even a little usage.

She was not going to freeze here.

So she let ice emanate from her core, surrounding her, making a shield so she could get closer to Dabi. To Touya, fighting against his own quirk like he’s always had to.

Her ice kept melting, disappearing fast, but she replenished it continuously, letting her quirk run at full capacity for once, not afraid of frostbite when surrounded by fire on all sides.

She could barely see Dabi, but there was a pillar of blue flame in the vague shape of a human body that had to be him. He was hovering now, flames expelling from his feet like he couldn’t leave a single limb unscathed. Even with all her ice she was warm, unable to cool down in the presence of such overwhelming fire.

She stretched out her arms and aimed her ice towards Dabi.

It turned to steam even before reaching him. She forced herself to create more. If she could just cool down the area near him, get close enough…

Steam filled her vision, continuously created by her ice attempting to cool Dabi down. She stepped closer, forcing more ice out of herself than she ever had before. She reached out, trying to remember where she last saw his arms.

Her hands grasped something solid, something that was so hot it stung as she gripped it. She concentrated ice on her palms, running them along until she figured out that she had Dabi’s arm.

She had seen Dabi use flame plenty. Although he had all sorts of tricks, his flames were almost always concentrated out of his palm.

She slid her hand down, still letting out ice that disappeared as fast as she produced it, until she found his hand. She grabbed it, bringing forth as much ice as she possibly could to cool him down, to prevent him from burning away.

Her other hand reached out and found his other palm, equally hot and painful. She hissed through the pain. Fire had never hurt her before.

She couldn’t imagine how it must feel to Dabi.

So she drew out all of her ice, focusing on his palms while periodically coating the rest of his body as well. Again and again, everything she drew out turned into steam. She hoped it was at least taking away some of the heat, protecting him as much as she could.

It still wasn’t enough.

He didn’t seem inclined to stop. He at least wasn’t fighting Fuyumi, standing like a beacon as she held his hands, but his fire was continuous, unstoppable, doped up on trigger to the point even Fuyumi’s absurd amounts of ice couldn’t keep it at bay.

Her hands hurt terribly, she was getting tired from using her quirk for so long, and she didn’t know how long she could keep this up. She didn’t even know if it was enough to keep him from turning into a corpse.

“Ma’am! You need to get away from there!”

From behind her, she felt cool air. Or at least, cooler than it had been before. She turned towards Shouto, even though she couldn’t see him, to shout: “Use your ice on him! Surround us in it!”

She couldn’t see Shouto’s reaction to the command, but apparently he trusted this insane stranger enough to comply. Fuyumi felt the heat dampen at least a little, with her power and Shouto’s combined they were better equipped to fight against Dabi’s fire.

It even got to a point where water dripped around them, landing on the ground instead of turning directly into steam. Despite her exhaustion, that emboldened Fuyumi, keeping her standing and holding on instead of falling to her knees. They were so close, water pooling beneath them, even as it boiled-

Dabi stopped.

It was sudden, and Fuyumi was pulled down as he collapsed onto the ground. Almost immediately they were surrounded in ice, now holding form when there wasn’t a constant fire around them.

The air was still hot, thick with steam, but Dabi was not actively on fire, and Fuyumi cried in relief. She ran a hand under her goggles, wiping her eyes and goggles so she could finally see again.

She held onto him tightly, still letting out ice to counter his inflamed body. He looked terrible, previously-healthy skin red and blistering at parts, eyes closed in unconsciousness. She counted her blessings; he must have fainted from the pain, finally shutting down his quirk. She clung onto him, not ready to let go, carefully listening for his slow, shuddering breaths. Touya was alive alive alive-

The ice cocoon that they had been held in melted away, this time by a different flame.

Fuyumi jerked her head up to see Shouto, sweating and staring, uncertain at the scene.

Fuyumi’s first instinct was to run, escaping with Dabi, so used to hiding him and the League from the pro-heroes around her that she felt compelled to protect him from the law.

But as glad as she was to have Dabi alive, she was also glad to have Shouto alive.

If she let Dabi escape again, who knew what would happen the next time he saw Shouto?

“Ma’am? Are you okay?” Shouto asked, uncertain.

Shouto was a good kid. Dabi hadn’t gotten to know him. Dabi didn’t have any mercy for him.

“I’m fine,” Fuyumi assured him.

She stood up, still holding onto Dabi. More heroes were running towards them. If she was going to escape with Dabi, this was the time to do it.

Shouto was still looking at her, confused.

She passed Dabi over to him, loathing letting go of him when he was in such a delicate state. “Keep him cool, and please,” Fuyumi’s voice cracked, “Get him to a hospital. He needs treatment.”

Shouto’s brows furrowed, still very confused, but he nodded. “We will.”

“Thank you.”

Once Dabi was securely in his little brother’s arms, she ran.

She heard a pro-hero shout out after her, but she was quick and well-trained in escaping those from being chased by Miruko. Besides, they had more important things to worry about, like injured civilians and a League member left defenseless.

Once she was sure there was no one following her, she leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath.

Dabi was going to prison. There was no way he wasn’t. Even if they put him in a villain hospital first, he had to pay for his crimes. Fuyumi signed over his prison sentence when she left him in that charred street with Shouto.

Would Toga or the rest of the League forgive her? What about Hawks, working for the League? Was he capable of breaking him out?

Fuyumi’s head was swimming. It all happened far too fast. And as much as she hated the idea of Dabi in chains, she hated the idea of having to create another shrine in the house for a dead brother even more.

She took a deep breath. Everything was okay. Dabi would get treated, and then he would be in prison. For once, he’d be easy for Fuyumi to find and contact.

She was going to make sure Dabi could have visitors.

Notes:

Uh whoops Dabi's going to jail (after the hospital of course). Don't worry, Fuyumi is not letting him go, there will be some quality family bonding time once Dabi is able to, ya know, open his eyes and talk again.

Next Chapter: Fuyumi has feelings, and an appearance from our favorite ESB (Emotional Support Brother) Natsuo

Chapter 43: Gonna Need Some Aloe Vera For Those Burns

Summary:

She had seen these sorts of injuries numerous times. On Dad, Touya, Natsuo, Shouto… Mom… But never on herself.

They were… burned?

Notes:

I forgot to mention when on the chapter when it actually happened, but this fic is over 100k words... thanks all y'all who have stuck with it for so long

She glanced around to make sure no one was around, and ducked into an alley to take off her mask. She flinched at how much her hands hurt from just pulling her mask off.

Once the mask was tucked in her pocket, she started to invert her jacket. Again, an action as simple as unzipping her jacket hurt her fingertips. Had the flames made them more sensitive?

Once she was back in Fuyumi-mode, an innocent civilian, she stared at her hands.

They were red.

She stared some more, unbelieving.

She had seen these sorts of injuries numerous times. On Dad, Touya, Natsuo, Shouto… Mom… But never on herself.

They were… burned?

She poked at the injury, still unsure. She hissed at the pain.

She had never burned before. Did it always hurt this bad? She flexed her fingers and cringed at how the stretch across her skin hurt. This wasn’t even a severe burn, as far as she could tell. Was this what the rest of her family felt their whole lives?

She couldn’t imagine how Dabi must feel.

She barely stopped herself from clenching her fists at the thought. She took a couple of deep breaths. There was nothing she could do for other people’s burns right now. She released Dabi to a hospital, she had to trust that medical care would be able to prevent him from becoming even more scarred.

She made her way home, avoiding touching anything with her hands. It was a strange sensation, knowing that she had encountered something too hot for her own body for once.

Opening the door to her house hurt, but she pushed through so she could get inside and wash her hands under cool water. She had seen her siblings do the same thing after they got burned, so it must help. Fuyumi was not supposed to ice their burns directly, she didn’t know the exact science behind it, but Dad told her at one point that shocking the injury with something as cold as direct ice was bad for circulation or something. As she let the water run over the injury, she debated her next moves.

She needed to get Dad to allow her to visit Dabi. Even if he was a villain, Fuyumi didn’t want to give up on him. She wasn’t going to let him languish in solitary confinement forever. Especially if maybe, by being forced to talk things out, he could be persuaded towards some sort of rehabilitation program…

Of course that was dependent on her being able to persuade Endeavor. Or Rumi. Or Hawks. She wasn’t sure how high-ranked a pro-hero had to be to convince police to allow a villain to have civilian visitors, but she was willing to milk every connection she had for the opportunity to talk to Dabi again. Though if that required she tell her father that his first son became a villain instead of dying…

She got bored of the water, so she shut off the tap and pulled out a first-aid kit from the cabinet. Fortunately the Todoroki household had plenty of burn cream, so she lathered her hands with it. She moved terribly delicately, hands still hurting at every motion, but she had to treat herself.

Once that was done, she pulled out her phone and called Rumi. There was no way she was going to text effectively with her current hands.

Rumi answered. “Fuyumi, I saw the news! That had to be you, right? In that inferno?”

“Yeah,” Fuyumi admitted, “Listen, babe, can I ask a favor?”

“…You want access to the villain hospital.”

“I just need to know he’s okay.”

“They usually don’t take visitors, but I’ll see if I can get a report about his state and estimated recovery time.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you. Are you okay?”

Fuyumi looked at her hands. She wasn’t holding the phone, opting to put it on the dining room table and talking over speakerphone instead. “Yeah. Just a little… rattled.”

“Well no wonder!” Rumi exclaimed, “Even for Dabi, that was intense!”

“It was trigger,” Fuyumi explained.

“It was? Well that explains a lot!”

“Can you get that in the report, somehow? I- people should know he wasn’t trying to hurt people.”

“Not at that exact moment he wasn’t, no, but generally-”

“Rumi.” Fuyumi sighed. “Please?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find the investigative team and pass on the info.”

“Thank you.”

“For real, are you okay? I can come over-”

“N-no, that’s alright. I’m fine, really.”

“…Okay then. I’ll text you when I figure out the hospital stuff.”

After they said their goodbyes, Fuyumi let Rumi hang up first. Fuyumi was still staring at her own hands. She didn’t want anyone to see her hands like this. It felt too vulnerable, weak… like failure.

 

Touya collapsed on the ground, coughing hard enough to cry, tears sizzling as they hit his clenched fists. Fuyumi reached out her hand to cool him, but Dad grabbed her shoulder and tugged her back. “No. He needs to build up a tolerance.”

Touya eventually stopped coughing, standing up on shaky legs as Dad shouted at him. Fuyumi shivered, scared and cold, helpless to stop anything. Touya was supposed to be able to use his fire without hurting himself at some point, Fuyumi couldn’t cool him off all the time. She just had to watch him suffer.

Dad grabbed Touya’s wrist, pulling his palm up. Fuyumi could see the skin was much too red, shiny with a fresh burn. “Why do you insist on failing every opportunity I give you? You’ll never get anywhere in heroics if you don’t toughen up!”

Fuyumi stayed as still and silent as possible. It was best not to attract Dad’s attention, or he might start thinking about how to toughen up Fuyumi’s skin too. Luckily he was occupied with shouting at Touya, ranting about how he was useless, had learned nothing, was just a failure…

 

Fuyumi shook her head. It was useless to think about the past. That was all over now. Those memories felt like a distant nightmare, now that Touya was ‘dead’ and Dad hadn’t trained her in many years.

She focused back on her hands. It would be… embarrassing if someone saw the burns. She wrapped up the hands carefully in gauze. It might be hard to explain bandages all over hands. What kind of excuse could she-

The front door opened and her heart went into overdrive.

Heavy steps, the weight of her father.

She hurriedly packed away the first aid kit before he passed by the dining room.

“Fuyumi?”

She hid her hands behind her back. Guilt rolled over her, intense and unfamiliar despite her usual web of lies. This felt different. This wasn’t hiding vigilantism, it was hiding a newly-found weakness.

“How are you?”

Fuyumi forced herself to answer as casually as possible. “Fine. How are you?”

His lips quirked up into a small smile. “Great. Guess who was caught?”

Touya. “Dabi?”

His eyebrows rose. “How did you-”

“I was just watching the news,” Fuyumi rushed to explain, resisting the urge to wave her hands around.

“So you saw Shouto’s good work during the fight?”

Fuyumi wouldn’t have called it a fight, it was more like a natural disaster. “Very heroic.”

“I wasn’t there, but I heard some good reports. Even if I wasn’t directly responsible for bringing Dabi in… this is good for all pro-heroes.”

Fuyumi wanted Dad to just go already. “Yeah.”

Dad stood for a moment, just looking at Fuyumi. Did he suspect something? She gulped and tried to steady her breathing. She reminded herself that Dad was just another human being, not the omniscient, all-powerful tyrant she used to cower under. He couldn’t know the connection between Leia and Fuyumi. How would he know?

He smiled. “Sleep well, Fuyumi. The world is a little safer today.”

“Good night,” Fuyumi returned, adrenaline still pumping as he continued to his room.

She jumped when her phone buzzed. Fortunately it was just a lengthy text from Rumi, updating Fuyumi on Dabi’s situation. Apparently he was not in a great state, but with some healing quirks and treatment it would be possible to move him into a jail within a week. Unfortunately his current state was too delicate for visitors. Regrettable, but Fuyumi also didn’t know if she wanted to give doctors and nurses something to talk about by visiting.

She typed out a response using her knuckles, which were not burned like her fingertips: Thnx

She pocketed her phone and made her way to her room. She was exhausted, and needed a nice long sleep. Luckily it was the weekend, so she wouldn’t have to work with her injured hands. Hopefully, once she woke up, the burns would be gone and she wouldn’t have to hide them for long. After all, if she was so resistant to burns (resistant, not invulnerable, as she learned today), maybe that meant she would recover quickly from them as well, right?

---

The next day, unwrapping her bandages revealed white, bubbling blisters.

Gross.

They peppered her fingers and palms, one particularly large one on the mound of her left thumb. She poked at them again, marveling at the strange phenomenon. She had always wondered what they felt like. She had the overwhelming urge to pop them, but her siblings had been warned away from that behavior enough times that she knew it would be bad for recovery to do so.

Instead, she sneaked downstairs, tip-toeing in case Dad was still sleeping, and brought the burn cream up to her room. She slathered it on once again, desperately hoping that it would make the blisters disappear.

Obviously, they did not.

She heard her Dad shifting in his room, footsteps making minuscule creaks that she could diagnose as him getting ready to go downstairs. Normally she didn’t pay it too much mind.

She couldn’t think of anything else right now.

She couldn’t let Dad see. There was the practical reason: She wouldn’t be able to explain how she got the burns without revealing she was involved in Dabi’s capture, and potentially confessing to her vigilantism. Dad was at least somewhat aware of her natural resistance to heat, so he knew this wasn’t the kind of injury Fuyumi could get from grabbing the stove top. Fuyumi couldn’t think of any viable excuses.

Another part of her was still reeling at the fact that she was capable of being burned.

It’s not like she had ever attempted it before, but as she grew up she recognized it as a natural side effect of her quirk. Where a fiery grip from Endeavor could leave a ring of red on Touya’s wrist, on Fuyumi’s wrist there was never a mark. Although Dad’s physical training scared her, she had never been afraid of his fire. That’s how she was able to stand between him and her little brothers; no matter how much he let out his flames to express his anger, that fire had never actually hurt her.

As Dad’s footsteps descended the stairs, she realized she was unconsciously holding her breath. She forced herself to breath. Why was she acting like a child again? Dad wasn’t going to hurt her. He hadn’t for years, and he’d changed since then. It’s not like he was going to march into her room, grab her, look at her weak, burned hands and tell her she failed at the one good thing her quirk was good at-

She slowed her rapidly increasing breath. That was ridiculous. Fuyumi shouldn’t be scared. It was just… strange to realize she had vulnerability. What if she burned all the time now? Who’s to say if the next time Dad lost his temper, one of his flame bursts wouldn’t sear her now?

Hadn’t Natsuo always been living with that fear?

Fuyumi hated the train of thought but couldn’t stop herself from going down it. Natsuo had been burned before by Dad’s fire before, he had felt the pain now on Fuyumi’s palm, and despite that he kept arguing with him.

She couldn’t imagine where he got the courage. As she stared at her hands, she realized they were shaking. She dropped them (palm-up) on her lap and closed her eyes. Downstairs, she heard the front door open and close; apparently Dad was going out to do something.

She had to stop being so pessimistic. This was a very unusual circumstance, with Dabi’s flames (which were hotter than Endeavor’s) doped up on trigger and directly against her skin. She was probably fine, Dad’s fire probably wouldn’t suddenly start actually hurting now, and it probably wouldn’t even matter because Dad was working on his temper. He wouldn’t blow up at her like he used to when she couldn’t throw a proper punch.

One deep breath. Two deep breaths. This was fine. She just could not show anyone her hands for however long this… mistake remained.

That was easy. Dad had left the house. Shouto was in the dorms, and considering how infrequently Natsuo actually came home, chances were he would be on a date with his girlfriend this weekend. She made her way downstairs.

She could get a quick breakfast. She probably shouldn’t cook anything, but since she and Dad were the only ones in the house, she didn’t cook every day anymore anyway. Dad probably wouldn’t notice if she went a couple days without making anything fresh.

Slowly, she dug through the pantry, knocking things aside with her knuckles, in order to get to some soft buns. She pulled one out and ripped the package open with her teeth, and clumsily took the bun out. At least it was soft, so it didn’t press to hard on the injured pads of her fingers. She chowed down on it, eventually ‘holding’ it by balancing it on the back of her hand.

Just when she had settled into a decent eating routine, the front door opened. “I’m home!” Natsuo’s voice called out.

Fuyumi dropped the bun on the table and scrambled her brain for a cover. Maybe she could run upstairs and look for some gloves-

“Hey ‘Yumi, is it just you in the house?” Natsuo entered the kitchen.

She ducked her hands behind her back. “Yeah. Dad left earlier.”

He grabbed a glass from a cabinet and filled it with water. “Awesome.”

“No girlfriend this weekend?” Fuyumi asked, wishing he was anywhere else.

“She’s busy, and I know I haven’t been coming around as often as I said I would…”

“That’s fine!” Fuyumi had to stop herself from bringing her hands up in a placating motion. “Of course it’s lovely to see you, but you’ve got your own life! Girlfriends are great!”

He smirked before opening the fridge. “You would know.”

Fuyumi took the opportunity to pass by Natsuo while his face scanned the contents of the fridge. Hopefully his hungry stomach would keep him occupied while Fuyumi ran upstairs and found some gloves or something.

As she started to exit the kitchen, hands shifted in front of her since her back now faced Natsuo, he called out, “Wait.”

She froze, and glanced back.

He held her partially eaten bun in his hand. “Don’t forget your food.”

She was about to putter out an excuse about coming back for it in a minute, but before she could say a word he threw the bun towards her. Instinctively, she tried to catch it, but despite the softness of the bun it hurt when it hit her delicate injuries. She hissed at the pain and dropped the bun before snapping at Natsuo. “Don’t throw food at people!”

He took a step back, surprised at the uncharacteristic outburst. “Uh, sorry.” He glanced at her hands.

She pulled the back, clenching them into loose fists to cover as much as possible, and turned away. “Those who throw food get to clean it up.”

She needed to get out of here. She needed to cover up her weakness before Natsuo starts to suspect-

He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. “Wait, ‘Yumi.”

Her instinct was to throw him over her shoulder and make a run for it, but this was Natsuo. She wouldn’t ever raise a hand against him, even if her hands were in a state capable of it. So she just froze under his plea, hands still loosely kept in a fist.

She let him turn her towards him. “Is something going on?”

“I’m just a little cranky. Slept badly last night.” She moved her hands behind her back.

Unfortunately that movement attracted his attention. He squinted, suspicious. Fuyumi wished he were a little less observant and concerned about his family members at this exact moment. “…can I see your hands?”

“No.”

“’Yumi.”

His voice wasn’t angry, just concerned. It was that concern permeating both his voice and his pained expression that made Fuyumi surrender and present her hands to him. She didn’t know what words to use, so she relied on him to just see and understand.

He stared at her palms, uncomprehending for a minute. His mouth opened, then closed. Then opened again. “Are those… burns?”

“Yeah,” Fuyumi’s voice came out quieter than she intended.

A fury dawned on his face. “Did Dad-”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“’Yumi, are you trying to protect him or something?”

She huffed. “No, can you stop assuming every time I get hurt that it’s Dad? Dad hasn’t hurt me in almost a decade-”

“But he used to-”

“That’s over! He’s changed, things are different now!”

“Then how do you explain those burns? You’ve literally never burned before, someone would have had to make a concentrated effort. And what flame-user do we know with violent tendencies?”

“Dad’s not the only flame-user I know,” Fuyumi countered before thinking too hard about the implications.

Natsuo’s eyebrows pinched together. “…What does that mean?”

Fuyumi looked away.

“If I didn’t know you were dating Miruko, I’d be concerned you’re in an abusive relationship. Is it a friend?”

“S-sort of,” Fuyumi choked out. Our brother.

Natsuo tugged her to the living room, forcing her to sit down on the couch while he took a seat beside her. She felt like she was being treated like an all-too-breakable piece of glass, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. “’Yumi, who did this to you?”

Fuyumi never felt so weak. It wasn’t Natsuo’s job to protect her. Half of her was relieved she had someone looking out for her for once, while the other half was ashamed her little brother thought she needed help. “It’s complicated.”

“Well I have time to listen.”

There was no good explanation without getting into the whole ‘our-dead-brother-is-Dabi’ business. But could she really burden Natsuo with that knowledge? Maybe she should wait until she had a chance to visit Dabi. Her mind was racing. Didn’t Natsuo deserve to know, though? Especially at this point, now that he had the opportunity to potentially visit. Of course, there was also Shouto…

Natsuo pulled her into a hug. “Isn’t there anything I can do?”

Fuyumi sighed into his shoulder. “Natsu…”

“I’m not a child you need to protect from Dad anymore. Whatever is going on, I’m here for you. You’ve done so much for me, please give a chance to return the favor for once.”

Oof. Fuyumi teared up at those words. “You’re still a baby in my mind.”

“I’m taller than you.”

She pulled back, giving a small laugh in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. “Rude.”

He smiled at the banter, but his eyebrows were still pinched together. “For real though, what’s going on?”

She couldn’t keep this secret from the rest of the family forever. It was about time the boys get to know their big brother too. She took a deep breath. “I… I’ll tell you, but I need you to do one thing first.”

He straightened his back. “Anything.”

“Can you get Shouto here?”

He blinked. “…Shouto? What does he have to do with it?”

“He just… this whole situation, I think you both need to hear it. I can call the school and allow you to pick him from the dorms, can you do that?”

“Yes, absolutely!” Natsuo stood up, “Are we doing this now?”

She nodded. “No sense in waiting.”

“And then you’ll explain what’s actually going on?”

“Promise.”

Notes:

Sorry lol but it's gonna be at least another few chapters until we see Dabi again :( Gotta address some other drama/fallout first.

Next Chapter: The (legally alive) Todoroki siblings have a chat

Chapter 44: I Bet You're Wondering Why I've Gathered You All Here Today

Summary:

“You guys should sit down.”

Shouto acquiesced with a lightly furrowed brow. “What’s going on? Natsuo told me there was an emergency, but also not an ‘emergency-emergency’? Is…” He frowned. “Is Mom okay?”

Natsuo gasped. “Oh geez no, she’s fine.”

“Dad’s fine, too,” Fuyumi told him in case he was worried.

Both Shouto and Natsuo rolled their eyes at that.

Notes:

Are you currently enjoying this fic? Do you love "Fuyumi hunts down her villainous brother" and character studies? Then PLEASE go read Building Back Up by girrsah. It's basically the EXACT kind of fic I was craving when I started writing this one.... tbh if I had read it back in January then I might not even have started this fic bc my desire may have been sated. For real though, it has both Fuyumi AND Dabi POV, some great Dabi & League interactions, and of course vigilante Fuyumi.

While Natsuo fetched Shouto, Fuyumi sat back on the couch and watched the news.

Capturing a League member was big news, fortunately, so it was easy to find a station reporting on the events of yesterday. Fuyumi watched closely at the footage they presented, looking to see how much of her identity was compromised.

Fortunately, none of the footage seemed to have caught the beginning of the event, most recording only after there was a decent amount of flames or steam to obscure what was actually going on. Lots of footage focused on the people around the perimeter of the disaster, running from danger.

There was also plenty of footage showing Shouto, running and sliding on ice to try and control the flames. There were other students from UA contributing in other ways, mostly evacuating civilians.

One particularly long clip focused on Shouto as he spotted something in the fire and dove in, creating a cocoon of ice around-

Oh. That was Leia.

It was strange to see herself from the outside in her secret identity. She had her distinctive blue goggles and the black coat, but she had been so rushed at the time she hadn’t even bothered to put on gloves. She was also wearing jeans and modest shoes rather than her usual Leia-ensemble black athletic-wear. She felt disconnected from the figure on the screen, who recklessly jumped out of Shouto’s safe ice shell and dove back into the fire. A new ice wall appeared in front of Shouto, and Fuyumi was confused for a moment until she remembered she had done that. Fortunately, the newscasters didn’t comment on it, probably assuming Shouto was protecting himself from another blast of heat.

Even though she knew how it ended, the way the newscasters talked about the mysterious figure made her nervous anyway. “Reckless-” “-dangerous-” “-borderline suicidal, going into-”

It was a relief when the flames stopped, but there was still plenty of steam preventing good images. There were some blurry figures, and if Fuyumi really squinted she could guess at the time when she passed Dabi over to Shouto. The image didn’t clear up until Shouto was delivering Dabi to the paramedics, Leia long-gone from the scene.

She had never been so relieved that Leia wasn’t famous. There was some fervent discussion among newscasters about who the person must be, and some disturbingly close guesses at her quirk.

“-immunity to harm, perhaps some protective quirk, or a fireproof quirk.”

She wasn’t registered in the quirk database with a fireproof quirk, just ice. She hadn’t realized her own immunity until some time spent watching other people get burned while she did not, and she had never seen a point in updating the quirk registry for something so inconsequential. She thanked her past self for that a million times now.

There was also debate as to what the figure was trying to do. There was a split between those claiming her to be another League member, possibly a new one, trying to reign Dabi in from a trigger rampage, while others were convinced she was just a concerned vigilante trying to stop Dabi by any means necessary.

She was happy to let them keep debating; she wasn’t planning to get any more involved or give them anything like a name. If she left it long enough, people would lose interest soon enough-

Her phone rang.

She clumsily pulled it out, blanching when she saw the caller.

T is calling…

She was dreading what she might hear, but she had to answer it, putting it on speakerphone so she wouldn’t have to hold it up to her ear. “Hey, Toga…”

“What the fuck did you do to Dabi?”

“I didn’t-”

“Now he’s in jail, and it’s all your fault!” Her voice was high-pitched, angry and betrayed.

“Toga, please-”

“What are we supposed to do, huh? He was our friend, our family, and you-”

“Toga!” Fuyumi exclaimed, she had to correct her before she got in too deep, “Listen to me.”

“Why the fuck should I?”

“Someone got him with trigger, he was hurting himself, I had to stop him.”

“And you left him there? With those pro-heroes?”

“He needed treatment!”

“We would have taken care of him!”

“He needed a hospital-”

“We trusted you and you let him get taken away-”

The front door opened. Fuyumi never regretted speakerphone so much. “I’m sorry, I gotta go, I did what I had to, goodbye.”

“-You what? You’re dead to me! Don’t you dare hang up on me-”

Fuyumi hung up on her, jumping up to greet Natsuo and Shouto. “Shouto! It’s good to see you!”

Natsuo glanced at Fuyumi’s phone on the coffee table, which was ringing again. “Uh, who was that?”

“Nobody,” Fuyumi lied.

It was still ringing, so Fuyumi put her phone on silent. While she was at it, she turned off the television as well. Shouto watched her motions, done gingerly with the knuckles of her fingers, with hesitant interest.

Natsuo didn’t know when to let go. “Was it the person who-?”

“No,” Fuyumi cut him off, “You guys should sit down.”

Shouto acquiesced with a lightly furrowed brow. “What’s going on? Natsuo told me there was an emergency, but also not an ‘emergency-emergency’? Is…” He frowned. “Is Mom okay?”

Natsuo gasped. “Oh geez no, she’s fine.”

“Dad’s fine, too,” Fuyumi told him in case he was worried.

Both Shouto and Natsuo rolled their eyes at that.

Fuyumi huffed. “Nobody is in danger.”

“Except,” Natsuo corrected, turning to Shouto, “Your sister.”

“I’m fine,” Fuyumi groaned.

He crossed his arms. “Are you? Are you really?”

“Will you let me explain what’s going on? Or will you keep interrupting me?”

Natsuo sighed and leaned back into the couch. Shouto sat up straight, face still pinched with concern. “…So what’s going on?”

Fuyumi took a deep breath. They deserved to know what had happened to their brother. She wasn’t sure where to even begin. Her vigilantism? Did she even want to tell them about that? Was it possible to explain the situation without it? She didn’t have a game plan, so she just dove in to the one detail that was relevant to this family. “You guys remember Touya, right?”

Natsuo’s jaw dropped. “Wha- Obviously? What the hell does he have to do with this?”

Shouto simply nodded.

“And you know how he died?”

Both of them looked very uncomfortable with where this conversation went. “’Yumi, why are you bringing this up?”

“Well I have reason to believe that he didn’t actually die.”

They stared at her.

“…What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Natsuo eventually said.

She would walk them through it. Step by step. “What was Touya’s quirk?”

“Blue flames? Can you back up to the part where-”

“And what’s Dabi’s quirk?”

This time Shouto spoke, “…Blue flames.”

Shouto’s face maintained a stoic confusion, but there was a clear moment on Natsuo’s face when the implication dawned on him.

Natsuo scoffed out loud. “’Yumi, you can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious.”

“Dabi? Isn’t he one of those League of Villains people?”

“And our brother.”

That made Shouto’s head snap up. “…Huh?”

Natsuo stood up. “There’s plenty of people with fire quirks, just because he shares a flame color doesn’t mean he’s the same person, especially when that person is dead-”

“He has dad’s eyes,” Fuyumi insisted, “I know it’s him.”

“Has the stress of this family finally gotten to you? Is denying Touya’s-” Natsuo swallowed. “D-death some sort of weird delayed coping mechanism?”

Fuyumi wanted to clench her fists at Natsuo’s reaction. He didn’t trust that she knew what she was talking about. “This isn’t denial!”

Natsuo rolled his eyes. “So what? He has a quirk similar to our dead brother, I don’t think that warrants this guessing game.”

“Natsu, I’ve talked to him, this isn’t a guess, I know for a fact that Dabi is our brother.”

Shouto jumped in at that. “You’ve talked to Dabi?”

Natsuo scoffed. “You better say that you meant talking to Touya in your dreams or something, because if you’ve been talking to someone from the League-”

“Yes, I’ve talked to Dabi!” Fuyumi snapped.

Natsuo’s eyes widened. “…Are you joking?”

Shouto looked far too serious, going into investigative mode like a pro-hero. “You’ve contacted the League?”

“I hung out with him before he joined the League,” Fuyumi clarified, “I’m not involved in their business.” Not much, anyway.

Natsuo took a deep breath. “So if you’ve been ‘hanging out’ with Dabi… Is he the fire-user who did that to your hands?”

Shouto leaned forward, not having been told about her injury. Automatically, Fuyumi turned her hands over so her palms couldn’t be seen. “…Maybe.”

“If you’re going to tell us something this insane at least give us certain answers instead of ‘maybe’s,” Natsuo said.

Fuyumi sighed. “Fine, yes, Dabi did that, but it wasn’t on purpose!”

There was a moment of silence, where her brothers just stared at her. This isn’t how she wanted this to go, she wanted them to be happy in spite of him being a villain, to be relieved that their brother was alive. Instead, they didn’t believe her, and all they were hearing were bad things about Dabi.

She opened her mouth to try and explain, but was interrupted when Natsuo let out a gasp. “Oh no, ‘Yumi, last year- those bruises, that you kept saying weren’t from Dad or a boyfriend-”

“Bruises?” Shouto asked.

“-Those were from Dabi, right?” Natsuo bent down now, crouched in front of where Fuyumi was seated to meet her eyes.

“No!” Fuyumi exclaimed, “I told you those were just accidents!”

“And how am I supposed to trust that?” Natsuo stood up now, frowning. “You’ve always hidden your stress, ‘Yumi, acting like it’s no big deal to take over the household, cooking and cleaning and looking after us when mom had to leave.” Natsuo’s tone became raw, “That was way too much responsibility to pin on a teenager, and you never asked us for help. You never complained to us even once about how unfair it is!”

Fuyumi couldn’t respond, surprised Natsuo had noticed.

The lack of response just let him get more enraged, voice building as he continued, “It wasn’t normal! What you went through, what we went through wasn’t normal! But you keep acting like it’s just how families are supposed to be, taking on everything and getting hurt without letting us worry about you! So how am I supposed to trust you to say if things are okay? When you keep pretending our family is okay? When you keep pretending you getting hurt is okay?”

Fuyumi swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat. “Natsu…”

“You literally ran away from home and didn’t think to even text me about it! You didn’t think I would want to help you? You didn’t even tell me where-” He paused. “Wait… were you staying with Dabi? Is that why you refused to let me see where you lived?”

She hated that the way Natsuo phrased it, staying with Dabi sounded like a betrayal, but she had a chance to explain his good side at least. “Dabi helped me in a lot of ways. He didn’t have a lot of space, but he let me sleep on his couch.”

Shouto’s eyebrows were high on his forehead. Understandable, considering probably all his interactions with Dabi involved Dabi trying to kill him.

“Do you even hear yourself?” Natsuo asked, “You’re saying a villain just offered you his couch with no ulterior motives?”

“We were friends at that point, we had…” Fuyumi really didn’t want to get into the whole fighting-rings-on-the-weekend or vigilantism when Natsuo was already this shocked about her spending time with Dabi. “…We had hung out before, in various places.”

Natsuo seemed ready to tirade again, but Shouto spoke softly, “Fuyumi…”

Both siblings turned to listen to Shouto, who had been rather quiet for most of the conversation.

“You’re the daughter of a top pro-hero, it’s possible that Dabi could have investigated… Touya…” Shouto said his brother’s name awkwardly, not used to saying it out loud, “…and maybe took advantage of your grief to get close to you?”

Despite his incendiary words, Shouto’s quiet voice made Fuyumi respond in a similarly calm tone despite her rage. “That’s impossible. He didn’t know who I was for months, as soon as he learned we were related he ran away and blocked me on everything.”

“How the hell did you hang out without him knowing who you were?”

“I wore, uh,” Fuyumi really didn’t want to get into this tonight, but if she had to in order to convince them… “A mask.”

Natsuo grimaced. “Please tell me this wasn’t a weird sex party thing-”

“Don’t say stuff like that it front of Shouto!” She chastised him, waving as if she could wipe away that gross thought, “And no, I was just wearing a mask to do some… stuff.”

Shouto’s eyes followed Fuyumi’s hands.

Natsuo crossed his arms. “Stuff like?”

Shouto cut in, “That was you yesterday, wasn’t it?”

That made her pause.

Natsuo looked between them. “Huh?”

“There was ice, right before it started. My classmates thought I had great reflexes, but I know it wasn’t me. It happened again later, when a woman I was trying to save ran straight into the fire, and an ice wall that wasn’t mine suddenly appeared to block me.”

It would be ridiculous to deny it at this point. “…Yeah.”

Natsuo waved. “Uh, hello? What’s this about?”

“Dabi’s capture, I… I’m the one who went into the fire for him.”

Natsuo guffawed. “That weird masked figure in the news?”

“That’s how my hands got burnt- He wasn’t trying to hurt me, but he was doped up on trigger and I was trying to cool him down.”

Natsuo buried his face in his hands. “I don’t believe this. Fuyumi, how many secrets do you have?”

“Can we focus back on the Dabi-is-Touya issue?” Fuyumi asked.

“Or can we address the fact that you’ve been running around in a mask? What are you, some sort of vigilante?”

There was nothing non-incriminating Fuyumi could say to that.

Her silence was confession enough. Natsuo groaned. “Don’t tell me you actually...”

“Vigilantism is illegal,” Shouto helpfully piped up.

“I’m well aware of that,” She told him, “I just…”

Although Fuyumi was aware fighting crime and joining fighting rings at night was not the most normal thing, her brothers’ reactions made her feel like perhaps she had become desensitized to how wild such actions were. After all, Rumi had taken the whole thing in stride. However, Rumi had at least known Leia beforehand. And unlike her brothers, Rumi hadn’t been partially raised by the pacifistic, peaceful older sister Fuyumi.

“Where did this come from?” Natsuo exclaimed, “How long has this been going on?”

Before Natsuo could freak out again, Fuyumi stood up. She had to take control of this conversation, it was going everywhere at once. “Natsuo, sit down.”

He let out an indignant sound, but flopped onto a seat. She was glad that he at least was still listening to her, she felt embarrassed about how many threads this conversation had gone through. “I’m going to start at the beginning, and you guys are going to listen, alright?”

Shouto gave a determined nod. Natsuo narrowed his eyes. “You’ll actually tell us everything for once?”

She glanced away. “Everything I can tell you.”

Telling them about Hawks working with the League… it wouldn’t do any good, especially for Shouto who was training to be a pro-hero. They also didn’t need to know she was in contact with Toga.

Natsuo sighed. “Okay, fine. Tell us what’s been going on.”

“Well, it all started last year when I got stressed and went for a walk…”

---

“So all those times I heard you sneaking in and out of the house late at night… You were out fighting crime.”

“I mean, sometimes I was just getting a nice workout at the fighting ring-”

“Which is illegal,” Shouto added.

Fuyumi sighed. “Anyway, the whole point of this story is to say: I know Dabi, I’ve spent plenty of time with him, and I’m certain beyond a doubt based on his behavior and our conversations and him literally telling me to my face: He is Touya, he faked his death to escape… you know.”

They knew.

There was still clear doubt in Natsuo’s face. “And you think Touya would just abandon us forever?”

Although Fuyumi hated that he still didn’t believe her, she could relate to the sentiment. “I said the same thing.”

The room grew quiet, as no one knew what to say.

Natsuo opened his mouth to say something else, but at that moment the front door opened.

Dad entered the house, only to pause when his gaze scanned the living room and saw all of his (known-to-be-alive) children. He blinked at them. “…Shouto? I didn’t know you were coming to visit.”

“I wasn’t,” Shouto responded quickly, standing up and tugging on Natsuo’s sleeve, “Natsuo was about to take me home.”

Natsuo caught on fast, getting up as well and heading out. “Yeah, gotta go.”

They rushed out the door before Dad had even taken off his shoes. He watched them go with a pinched expression. Eventually, he shrugged out of his shoes and approached Fuyumi, still sitting on the couch.

He asked, “What’s going on?”

She kept her hands resolutely palm-down on her lap while responding. “Dad, you trust me, right?”

“…Yes,” He eventually answered, probably running over their conversations about ‘I-need-you-to-trust-me-so-I-can-have-a-private-life-and-won’t-run-away-again’ in his head.

She needed to tell him. If she wanted their family to have any chance of getting back together, everyone needed to know what was going on. Especially if one family member had the ability to give the others visitation rights to an imprisoned villain from a notorious villain group.

“Can you sit down? I have something to talk to you about…”

Notes:

Natsuo: "I care about you!!!! I want to know what's going on in your life!!!! I want to support you!!!!!!!"
Fuyumi: Does not compute

Fuyumi acting like Dabi being Touya is obvious when it took her ~70k words to figure it out.

Next Chapter: A chat with Dad goes in an unexpected direction

Chapter 45: I Was Prepared For A Hard Conversation, But Not This One

Summary:

“Dad, please don’t ask me how I know this, but Dabi is…” She took a deep breath, “He’s Touya.”

Notes:

Chapter today is a little short, but my buffer is back up so continue to expect updates every 2-3 days instead of weekly.

“Remember how I happened to know the location of the League of Villains that one time?”

Dad grimaced. “Don’t tell me, once again…?”

“No,” Fuyumi clarified quickly, “But back then, you trusted me, used that knowledge in investigating, and allowed me to keep private my reasons for knowing that information. That kind of response and respect made me happy you’re my father.”

Dad shifted in his seat on the couch, seeming uncertain what to do with the compliment.

“That’s why I want to trust you with some more information that I can’t disclose the source of.”

When it came to her brothers, the vigilantism talk was unavoidable. She knew Natsuo would never reveal the information or betray her, and he was in no position where he needed to. Shouto was a hero student, but not a full-fledged pro-hero yet. However when it came to Dad, despite him being her father, Endeavor was the number one pro-hero. Although she wanted to believe his family would be more important than his heroism, she wasn’t about to carelessly gamble on that with her life.

So she would once again rely on his trust in her. “Dad, please don’t ask me how I know this, but Dabi is…” She took a deep breath, “He’s Touya.”

Dad’s brow furrowed, and he didn’t speak for a minute. Fuyumi patiently waited for him to process the information. Unlike Natsuo and Shouto, perhaps he would believe her.

Eventually, he broke the silence with a soft voice. “Touya’s death must have been hard on you.”

She wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“If you’re seeing him in… other people, that’s something we can look into. Your mother has an excellent team of doctors, I know some who specialize in grief counseling-”

“This isn’t a delusion from grief!” Fuyumi exclaimed.

“Surely you can see why I would doubt that a League member is my dead son.”

“They have the same quirk,” Fuyumi tried to explain.

But like Natsuo, Dad maintained his doubt. “They’re similar, but elemental quirks like fire aren't uncommon.”

She took a deep breath. She had already argued about this with Natsuo, she was tired of it. “Look, Dad, I was right about the location of the League, wasn’t I?”

His face was pinched, but he nodded.

“There are some things I just know, and Dabi’s true identity is one of those things. Please trust me.”

He buried his face in his hands. “You said to ‘please don’t ask how you know this’, but I very much want to ask how you ‘know’ this.”

She decided to ignore the implicit question. “Get a DNA test done if you’re still in doubt. If it reveals that Dabi is not related to us, then I’ll apologize and tell you whatever you want to know.”

Dad tilted his head. “Wait… Did you specifically wait to share this information until he was captured?”

That was her Dad, sharp when it came to investigations. Although Fuyumi wanted to hide as much information as possible, she didn’t want to lie about something as important as this. “…Yes.”

He sucked in a deep breath. “How long have you suspected this connection?”

“If the DNA test says we’re not related, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

He covered his face again, making a noise something like a growl. “This is unbelievable.”

Fuyumi stayed quiet, letting him process, keeping her palms hidden.

“What do you think happened? He didn’t die in the burned-up shed, woke up with amnesia or something and decided to become a villain?”

“No,” Fuyumi couldn’t help but correct him, “He faked his death to escape.”

“Escape what?” Dad asked with a snarl.

Fuyumi held her breath, afraid of responding. It was already hard enough breaking the news of Dabi’s identity to their Dad. Having to tell her Dad that he’s the reason Dabi became who he is…

As she watched, Dad’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Before she could see anything else, his hands came up to cover his face and he turned away, ashamed.

So he realized then.

Dad hunched over, like a puppet with its strings cut, face still hidden as he processed the implications. Fuyumi just sat, patient, resisting the urge to clench her fists.

Slowly, he sat back up. His back straightened out, and he faced Fuyumi squarely. He was taller than her, even with both of them sitting down, so she looked up at him. It was a familiar feeling, looking up at her giant, infallible father.

What wasn’t familiar were the words that then came out of his mouth. “Fuyumi, I’m sorry.”

She froze at those words, sounding strange and alien coming out of Dad’s mouth. She stared at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “…What for?”

“I…” He frowned, ruminating on his words, “I know it was a long time ago, but I never apologized for my behavior back then.”

Her heart rate picked up. Was Dad really bringing that up now? Like he said, it was a long time ago. Things were different now. “It’s fine, that’s over now-”

“It’s not fine,” Dad insisted, “The way I treated you and Touya, I try not to think about those times…”

I try not to think about them either, Fuyumi thought.

“…Because I know that my behavior wasn’t… appropriate.”

Fuyumi reeled. Was this really happening right now? Dad was admitting he was wrong? “W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m your father, and yet to you and Touya… In retrospect, running away would be an understandable response to the training I put you two through.”

“It’s over now,” Fuyumi told him, wishing he would just let it go.

“That doesn’t change that it happened.”

Fuyumi didn’t know how she was supposed to respond. She wished she was anywhere else right now. She started this conversation expecting Dad to become uncomfortable, not expecting this curveball that left her squirming in her seat with uncertainty.

“I hate to admit it, but I assumed I could sweep it all under the rug and never confront those mistakes.”

So sweep it under the rug, Fuyumi thought, though her mouth couldn’t form the words.

“It was easy, considering how you turned out. I could imagine there was no way I raised you incorrectly when you became such an outstanding adult.”

Her heart was a mess, still deeply confused by the behavior but also swelling at the praise she had never received before.

“Of course, there’s been this recent rebellious streak that makes me question how ‘okay’ you really are…”

“I turned out fine!” Fuyumi interrupted, desperate to maintain the compliment he gave her, “Really!”

His eyes met hers, sad and open. “There’s so much I don’t know about you. You and Touya had a training regimen instead of a childhood, and after Touya died, the only thing you and Natsuo got from me was neglect. It’s no wonder you hide so much of your life from me now.”

Fuyumi hated that she couldn’t argue with that. She turned her head away from him, unable to look at her regretful father a moment longer. It was all too strange, bringing up a swirl of emotions impossible to untangle.

“Fuyumi.”

She gulped and turned back towards him.

He had gotten up, only to get on his knees and bow down, prostrating himself before her.

She squawked, unable to compute, “Dad! That- that’s unnecessary!”

“I apologize for the cruel way I’ve treated you, my daughter.”

“It’s fine! I forgive you!” Fuyumi exclaimed, struggling to reconcile her bowing father now with her memories of Dad looming over her, “Please just get up! This is too strange!”

He at least lifted his head, though he stayed on his knees to talk to her. “I can’t go into the past and change what I’ve done, but I at least want to treat you better from here on out.”

She could feel her face twitch, unsure what expression to make. “I know you’ve been trying, I don’t really need your apologies.”

“Nonetheless, you deserve them.”

She didn’t have a response for that. “Well apology accepted, so can you please get off the floor?”

He finally listened to her and stood up. Somehow, unlike usual, Fuyumi didn’t feel small under his gaze. Too many unexpected things had happened over the course of this conversation.

He seemed softer than she remembered as he spoke again. “I still don’t know whether it’s safe to ignore how you get the suspicious information you’ve obtained and the dangerous situations you get into… but after everything I’ve done, trusting you is one of the few things I can think of to make up for my failure as a father.”

“You’re not a failure of a father,” Fuyumi’s voice came out quieter than she intended, “Not to me.”

She didn’t look up at him, but after a moment of silence a hand ruffled her hair. It was unusually affectionate; physical contact with Dad that wasn’t to hurt her or to pull her along somewhere . “I’ll get that DNA test and investigate Dabi. If you’re right… we can face that once it’s confirmed.”

“Thank you.”

That was all Fuyumi could say. She wasn’t sure whether it was for the promised DNA test or for the apology.

Notes:

Neither of these Todoroki's can process a compliment from each other:
Fuyumi: "I'm happy you're my father."
Endeavor, internally: That's Impossible For A Lot Of Reasons
Also...
Endeavor: "You grew into an outstanding adult."
Fuyumi, internally: What The Fuck Is Going On

Next Chapter: After those dumpsterfire conversations, Fuyumi gets some FLUFF (of both the literal and figurative kind)

Chapter 46: It Was Going To Be The Cutest, Most Romantic Shit, If It Weren’t Foiled By The Fact That I Don’t Know How To Make An Omelette

Summary:

Monday morning, she slept in. She didn’t set her alarm. Just curled up under her heated blanket and stayed there, hoping when she woke up her hand would be healed, her family would believe her, and Dabi would happily reform himself to rejoin the family.

A girl could dream.

Unfortunately, all dreams must come to an end, and she was awoken Monday morning to the smell of something burning.

Notes:

I have a very broad outline of the ending now, so I've put down the current final chapter estimate in the number of chapters. It might vary by one or two chapters depending on what happens when I actually get down to writing it out, but there's a decent estimate now.

It was a long weekend.

Her hands were a little better, but Natsuo had spent most of the weekend helping her with even the most basic tasks. It turns out suddenly being unable to use her hands made eating, dressing, and most chores painful or even impossible. Even though it was getting better every day, she was not going to try and contain a bunch of kids with the burns in their current state. She decided to take Monday off at least.

Aside from the burns, she had a wreck of a weekend. Putting her brother in jail, trying to convince her other family members that Dabi was related to them, and not to mention the weird interaction with Dad… The eventful weekend left her exhausted.

So Monday morning, she slept in. She didn’t set her alarm. Just curled up under her heated blanket and stayed there, hoping when she woke up her hand would be healed, her family would believe her, and Dabi would happily reform himself to rejoin the family.

A girl could dream.

Unfortunately, all dreams must come to an end, and she was awoken Monday morning to the smell of something burning.

That made her snap fully awake. She could at least comfort herself with the knowledge that she couldn’t smell any burnt flesh (thanks Dabi for the many examples). This scent was sharp, tangy, and strangely unfamiliar despite having lived with three different fire-users in her life.

She left her room, following the trail with dread building in her stomach. What could be going on? She didn’t think of her Dad or brother’s as having distinct fire signatures, but there was something about this scent that felt foreign. She also knew intellectually no one aside from herself should be in the Todoroki house at this time of day. Natsuo went back to college last night, Shouto was in the U.A. dorms, and Dad usually worked around now.

The smell led her downstairs, into the kitchen, where Rumi held a smoking pan.

Rumi smiled as she scraped at the charred food(?) with a spatula. “Hey Fuyumi! Did you just wake up?”

Fuyumi stared at the scene as Rumi turned the heat off on the stove, still trying to pry something black and smoky out of the pan.

Rumi glanced down at the wreckage as well before letting out a laugh. “Surprised? I’m cooking you breakfast!”

As lovely as the thought was, Fuyumi’s brain was still trying to catch up to what was going on. “You’re in my house.”

Rumi finally gave up and put the pan down. She approached Fuyumi slowly. “Natsuo called me yesterday, something about you being injured and needing help, which he couldn’t do today due to classes.”

There was no way Natsuo had Rumi’s number. Had she left her phone unoccupied yesterday? Possibly, she had been distracted watching television at some point, not to mention when she took a shower.

Rumi’s hand stretched out, touching Fuyumi’s upper arm before sliding down to her wrist and pulling up an injured hand. “Kind of wild, considering when I called you a few days ago you insisted you were ‘fine’, not a single mention of these nasty burns.”

Fuyumi gulped, thrown off her rhythm by the unexpected guest. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

She let Rumi reach out and grab her other wrist as well, letting her see the full extent of the injuries. The blisters had gone down, but it was still obviously injured.

Before Rumi could say anything, Fuyumi changed the subject, nodding to the pan. “What is that supposed to be?”

“…An omelette!”

“…”

“It was going to be the cutest, most romantic shit, if it weren’t foiled by the fact that I don’t know how to make an omelette!”

With a sigh, Fuyumi slipped out of Rumi’s grip and reached out for the pan.

Rumi jumped to block her. “Nuh-uh! You’re not doing anything with those hands!”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes. “Babe, it’s not a big deal, they’re close to healed by now-”

“Nope!” Rumi exclaimed, “I’m gonna be your hands for today, if there’s anything you want done, then you say the word!”

Suppressing another sigh, Fuyumi directed Rumi to scrape away the remains of her attempt and soak what was still stuck in the sink. Then, with a different pan, Fuyumi carefully explained the steps to making an omelette, working hard to resist the urge to just grab the things and do it herself.

“I’m sorry,” Fuyumi found herself saying, “I swear when my hands are better, I’ll never need anything like this again-”

A finger pressed against her lips before Fuyumi could continue. She blinked at Rumi, confused by the action. Rumi clicked her tongue. “I can do this even after your hands recover.”

Fuyumi raised an eyebrow. “I try not to be rude, but your first attempt was unrecognizable. It’s fine, I’m great at cooking, just let me take care of it.”

Rumi harrumphed. “Just ‘cause you’re great at it doesn’t mean you have to do it all the time. What kind of wife-” Rumi’s face grew bright red, “Or- I mean- girlfriend would I be if I made you cook all the time? After today, I’ll be able to make at least one thing for you.”

Although Rumi seemed eager to brush past the slip-up in language, Fuyumi couldn’t help but laser in on it. “You thinking about getting married?”

“No!” It was cute how red Rumi’s face could get. “I mean, yes? Eventually? Not right now!” Rumi had her eyes focused on slipping the first omelette from the pan onto a plate. “You’re still young, and we’ve only been dating for a bit, I’m not seriously- I mean, not that I’m not serious-”

“Thinking about getting married to me?” Fuyumi asked with wide eyes.

As confident and dedicated as Rumi was, when it came to matters of love it was easy to turn her into flustered mess, and Fuyumi was not above giving into that temptation. Rumi tried so hard to seem unaffected, pouring more of the omelette mixture in the pan to make another one while avoiding Fuyumi’s eyes. She delighted at Rumi’s sputtered responses,“This isn’t a marriage proposal! It was just a slip of the tongue, an idle thought, like if I ever- or if we ever- not that we have to, it’s fine if this is casual, I can be casual! So casual! But if you wanted someone to make you breakfast in the morning, I mean, shouldn’t I learn how to do that? Just in case?”

Fuyumi couldn’t grab Rumi with her hands the way they were, so she came close to Rumi from behind and leaned her chin on her shoulder. She spoke in a quiet voice, aware of Rumi’s sensitive ears. “You’ve been thinking about us?”

Rumi shivered at the close contact. “I dunno. When you’ve cooked for me, I liked that a lot.”

“I like cooking for you too,” Fuyumi assured her, “So don’t worry about learning, I can take care of you.”

That somehow was the wrong thing to say, since it made Rumi shrug her off and turn to face her. “That’s not the point.”

The mood was shifting away from flirting, and Fuyumi was hesitant to let it go. “Babe, are you trying to be stubborn?”

“No!” Rumi stubbornly insisted, “I’m trying to tell you that I want to take care of you!”

“I didn’t say you can’t.”

She pouted. “Then why did I have to hear from your little brother that you needed help?”

Ah. So that’s what this was about. Fuyumi pointed at the pan. “Don’t forget about cooking.”

Rumi turned to adjust the omelette in the pan, shifting the liquid so it would cook more evenly. “Don’t try to change the subject. I literally asked if you were okay, and you didn’t even mention your burns.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Even if you don’t think it’s a big deal, you ought to rely on me.”

“What happened to Miss ‘relying-on-others-is-weak’ Miruko?”

Rumi flushed. Rather than respond, she plated another serving of omelette. After turning off the stove and setting aside the pan, Rumi brought the plates to the kitchen table. As Fuyumi took a seat, Rumi brought over some cutlery. Fuyumi was about to pick up her fork and knife when Rumi snatched them away and began to cut the food in front of Fuyumi.

“Uhh…” Fuyumi wasn’t sure why she was digging into Fuyumi’s plate when there was another plate of food in front of Rumi’s seat.

She realized when Rumi lifted up a bite-sized portion on the fork and held it an inch from Fuyumi’s mouth.

Fuyumi blanched. “I’m not a child!”

Despite the protest, Rumi held her hand steady, waiting for Fuyumi to give in.

“I can at least feed myself!” Fuyumi insisted.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to,” Rumi finally spoke.

“I’m not so fragile that I can’t hold a fork.”

“Of course not!” Rumi’s eyes were fierce. “You’re strong as fuck! I’m sure if you tried, you could do everything you’d normally do, even at the expense of your hands. But I’m strong as fuck too, and I want to help!”

Fuyumi sighed. “Rumi…”

“I’ve said relying on others is weak, and I stand by that! But when it comes to you, I don’t mind being weak! I’m weak for you, Fuyumi, so please be weak for me too!” Rumi’s voice was certain, unwavering. “Be spoiled! Call me whenever you’re tired, and I’ll drop everything to take care of you, because I know you’ll do the same for me! You’ve already done the same for me, even before we dated, taking care of a sick pro-hero who had done nothing but chased you from the moment she saw you!”

Fuyumi was growing red in the face. “W-where is this coming from?”

“This is coming from you seeming convinced that nobody wants to worry about you! Haven’t you worried about me before? Why won’t you let me do the same for you?”

Fuyumi didn’t have a good response to that. She just sat, staring at the offered food, still processing Rumi’s desperate pleas.

Rumi seemed to calm down a bit at the silence. She rubbed the back of her head, glancing away. “Look, you know how Hawks and I have our like, revenge-pact thing?”

“Do you want us to have a revenge-pact, too?”

“No,” Rumi stared her down, “We’ll have a take-care-of-each-other pact.”

Fuyumi blinked at her.

“Promise me you’ll tell me when you’re hurting so I can take care of you, and I’ll do the same. We’re both strong-ass fuckers, but so long as we both promise to let down our guards, we can be weak with each other, okay?”

This was weird. This wasn’t how Fuyumi operated. She was comfortable in her role as a semi-mother-figure in the Todoroki family, taking care of them and navigating their fights. She was used to setting aside her feelings and struggles, only letting them out while patrolling the streets or fighting in the ring, far away from anyone she knew in her civilian life. Her burdens were her own to bear. She couldn’t fathom that Rumi actively wanted to take on those burdens.

But a small, spoiled, neglected part of her ached for it.

She took the offered bite into her mouth, still too embarrassed to look Rumi in the eye while she chewed and swallowed. When she glanced back though, Rumi was cutting another piece with a satisfied expression.

“…I thought you weren’t trying to propose to me,” Fuyumi mumbled.

Rumi’s cutting stuttered at the accusation. “That wasn’t a-!” She coughed. “It was a pact! A pact!”

“A pact to ‘take care of each other’.” Fuyumi snorted. “Put it down as a first-draft for marriage vows.”

Rumi brought up another piece of food. “Well do you accept?”

“Accept what?” Fuyumi asked before taking another bite.

“The pact.”

Fuyumi swallowed. “…Yeah.”

---

They spent the whole day together, and Fuyumi felt weirdly pampered by the attention. She tried to brush Rumi away a few more times, still not convinced Rumi was really going to waste away the whole day being a set of hands for her, but Rumi stayed steady and insisted that she wasn’t interested in letting Fuyumi take care of things on her own.

The two of them ended up talking for a long time. Fuyumi talked through everything that was going on: The mixed feelings about Dabi, her brother’s refusal to believe Dabi was Touya, Dad’s… apology.

She tried to skim the explanation about what Dad was apologizing for, but Rumi was angry on her behalf anyway. It took a lot of promises to persuade Rumi not to confront Endeavor about such a sensitive topic, helped at least a little bit by the fact that he apologized to her.

“Why did it surprise you?” Rumi asked after she had calmed down from making threats against Endeavor.

They were now together on Fuyumi’s bed, chatting as they cuddled.

“I don’t know,” Fuyumi responded instinctively before forcing herself to think harder about it, “He’s not the apologizing type.”

“…You don’t sound happy that he apologized.”

That might be it. “I guess I’m not.”

“Why not?”

She curled into Rumi’s side. “It’s uncomfortable.”

Rumi ran a hand down her back, soft and comforting.

“I don’t like to think about the past. There’s a lot of… bad memories.”

Rumi’s fingers traced one of Fuyumi’s various scars.

“It’d be easier if we could just forget all of it happened. Dad is learning slowly, but he’s made progress. I don’t want to be trapped with a memory of him from the past when there’s a better version of him here in the present.”

It was strange to speak all these thoughts aloud. Whenever she tried to talk about this sort of thing with Natsuo, she’d usually get interrupted around now by a rant about what a terrible father Dad was.

“I’m not an idiot, I know he’s a bad father. But despite it all, I know he’s doing his best.” Tears filled her eyes. “In his head, his actions makes sense. He wanted the best for us. I can’t fault him for doing his best.”

“It doesn’t sound like he had the best priorities…” Rumi commented.

“I know he didn’t. But now his priorities are changing, he’s more lenient, he’s trying to be a better dad, he’s started to pay attention to me…” She struggled to figure out what was wrong with the situation. “I didn’t expect him to change.”

Rumi stayed quiet, letting Fuyumi ruminate on that point.

“I was ready to accept him the way he was, slowly changing for the better. I don’t want him to think that I wouldn’t love him just because he hadn’t apologized. It was weird to hear him talk like I was holding all these things against him, when the truth is I made peace with his…” Fuyumi hesitated on the word, but decided it needed to be said, “…abuse a long time ago.”

“Do you not like that he’s changing?”

“I should like it,” Fuyumi clarified, “And I’m certain I will like it, once I get used to it.”

“But you don’t like it now?”

She sighed. “It’s confusing right now. There are times when he moves forward, but there are also times when he moves back. It was easier to predict things out when he just stayed in one place.”

Fuyumi grew quiet after making that point. Rumi seemed content to let it trail off at that, letting Fuyumi process as long as she needed. Fuyumi sighed into her shoulder, cuddling closer to her.

Downstairs, the front door opened.

“Speak of the devil…” Rumi mumbled.

“He’s back from work,” Fuyumi explained, “We can just stay up here, he won’t come bother us.”

Fuyumi was right that he was getting harder to predict, because pretty soon there was a knock on her door. “Fuyumi?”

Rumi sat up straight, uncertain what to do. Well, at least they were both dressed. Fuyumi sat up as well, trying to look presentable. “What?” She called to him.

He opened the door. “I got the results back and-”

Dad paused when he saw Rumi was in the room as well. Fuyumi wondered a moment what he meant by ‘results’ until she recalled what they had discussed the other day aside from his apology. She told him, “Rumi knows the situation with Dabi. The whole situation.”

He hesitated, but pressed on at Fuyumi’s urging. “You were right.” His face was stoic, but his eyes pained. “Dabi, he’s… It’s just like you said, he’s really Touya.”

Notes:

Next Chapter: Fuyumi gets stabbed (Don't worry tho)

(I swear one day we'll get to visit Dabi in jail, just not next chapter)

Chapter 47: A Surpise Spontaneous Blood Donation

Summary:

This wasn’t how she wanted the reveal to go at all. Most of the family didn’t believe it in the first place, and even after being convinced most of them were more confused than anything. Why couldn’t they be relieved? Why couldn’t they just collapse into a big group hug, happy that their dead brother was back from the dead, regardless of his criminal status?

The phone call with Natsuo was… difficult, to say the least.

“Am I really supposed to believe Touya turned into a villain?”

“Dad literally got a DNA test, what else do you need for me to prove it to you?”

There was grumbling on the other end. “Fine, whatever, I guess we’re related to a villain. Woohoo.”

Fuyumi sighed. “This weekend… Dad and I have set up a visit at the prison-”

“You want me to visit him?” Natsuo asked incredulously.

She bit her lip. “Don’t you miss Touya?”

“He doesn’t go by Touya anymore,” Natsuo responded, pointedly not saying he didn’t miss him, “He abandoned us. I’ll do him the favor of letting him cut ties with us.”

“It’s more complicated than that-”

“Look,” Natsuo interrupted, “I have an exam tomorrow and need to study. I’ll talk to you later.”

He was clearly evading, but Fuyumi didn’t expect pushing him to help right now. “Fine. Love you.”

“Love you too, bye.”

She hung up and took a deep breath.

This wasn’t how she wanted the reveal to go at all. Most of the family didn’t believe it in the first place, and even after being convinced most of them were more confused than anything. Why couldn’t they be relieved? Why couldn’t they just collapse into a big group hug, happy that their dead brother was back from the dead, regardless of his criminal status?

Well, it was understandable for Dad to have mixed feelings considering he was the primary cause of Dabi running away. Dad was more than ready to throw his weight around to secure visitation rights for the rest of the family, but Fuyumi and he decided it was better that he not visit Dabi for now.

Shouto was young when Touya died left, so Fuyumi could understand he might not have as many memories of him. Combined with the much more recent memories of Dabi trying to kill Shouto and the rest of his class, Fuyumi could very easily understand Shouto’s hesitation towards welcoming Dabi right back into the family.

But Natsuo? Natsuo loved Touya, as much as he loved Fuyumi. He had been inconsolable at the funeral. It didn’t make sense to her that he wasn’t as thrilled as Fuyumi was to discover their older brother was alive.

She expected him to be her ally in pulling Dabi out of villainy. Would she have to do everything herself?

She went to her room and pulled on her Leia outfit. The sun had gone down, and although the Forge wasn’t open on weekdays, she could patrol the streets for awhile and distract herself.

As she sneaked out, she tried to not think about how Natsuo had dutifully studied first aid to try and help Touya and Fuyumi. Technically Natsuo was bigger than both her and Dabi now, but back then he’d been so small. It was adorable how he tried to wrap both of them in bandages, and mispronounced the name of the burn cream he’d slather on Touya. When Natsuo went to bed, the two of them sometimes had to rewrap the bandages around each other, but neither wanted Natsuo to stop.

She hopped across some close-together rooftops, utilizing the parkour skills she had been practicing at the gym. It gave her great sight on the streets below, and it was hard to think about old memories when trying not to fall onto pavement and break her neck.

A thud in the distance caught her attention.

She pivoted towards it, running across the rooftops to get there quickly and to have a good view once she found the location.

Eventually, she was peeking into an alley where a familiar figure was being cornered by several large men.

Toga.

The men were slowly advancing towards her, making some gross threats while waving some clubs and knives. Fuyumi kept an eye on the situation, but she was pretty certain Toga was not the one in danger here. They advanced closer, full of openings, guard down for a little high-schooler.

She was proven right when one of the men fell back, blood spurting from a slash across his chest. The two others got into a more alert stance at Toga’s attack, but they were still too slow. Toga made short work of them.

Toga was quick to murder, no mistake about it. Fuyumi had assumed she had killed before, but it was different seeing it up close. No hesitation, just quick, instinctive swipes with her knives and there were bodies in the alley.

As much as she was anti-murder, Fuyumi knew where to pick her battles, and jumping down to defend three men who tried to accost a high school girl was not the hill she was going to die on.

Fuyumi sat down on the roof, out of view of that alley. She would wait for Toga to finish up and leave the area before continuing her patrol. Although Toga had spammed her with phone calls the day after Dabi had been taken into custody, she hadn’t made any attempts to contact Fuyumi since then.

She hoped Toga found another way to get groceries.

Of course she must have. Toga could disguise as anyone, she’d probably collect some of the blood in this alley now and use it later to go grocery shopping. It didn’t sound like the League was in a great financial state last time she checked, but with Dabi gone they had one less mouth to feed.

Things got quiet, and Fuyumi wondered if Toga had left already. She was about to get up and take a peek when a blade pressed against her throat.

She aborted all movement, knowing exactly who had sneaked up behind her.

Toga’s voice was acidic. “Leia.”

Not ‘Big Sis Leia’, just ‘Leia’. Understandable. “Hey Toga,” Fuyumi responded softly, not wanting to press her neck closer to the edge.

The fact that Fuyumi wasn’t dead right now was a good sign. If Toga really wanted Fuyumi dead, she would be dead already. It meant Toga might still be attached to her.

Toga spoke sharply, “Were you trying to infiltrate the League? Is that why you approached us?”

Toga wanted trust. Fuyumi decided to give her the truth, “I approached you guys because I care about Dabi.”

“You sent him to jail,” Toga responded, pressing the blade so it slightly breached Fuyumi’s skin.

“Well he refused to answer my calls, so I figured I’d keep him in one place,” Fuyumi joked, trying to create a less murderous mood.

“Don’t try to act cute,” Toga snapped, voice shaking, “You took one of our own.”

“He’s my brother, too.”

Toga didn’t speak for a moment, but it must have been the right thing to say. The blade was pulled away. “I fucking hate you.”

“I don’t hate you,” Fuyumi responded instinctively.

“I would kill you if I didn’t know how much Dabi loves you.”

“I appreciate the mercy.”

Fuyumi still didn’t make any movements, not wanting to spook Toga.

Toga tapped her foot. “…Why was he taking trigger?”

“He was shot with a dose.” Fuyumi was relieved Toga seemed amendable to hearing her side of the story now.

“By who?”

“Someone from the Fukuron, named Ghad,” She told her, happy to give Toga any name to redirect her anger onto, “Dabi and I kind of wrecked his gang in the past, so he was taking revenge.”

“Ghad… from the Fukuron…” Toga repeated, as though trying out the names on her tongue.

There was silence, but Toga hadn’t walked away yet so Fuyumi stayed in place. Fuyumi heard once that when you ran from certain predators that activated a hunting instinct, so it was better to hold your ground and wait for them to leave. She couldn’t remember which animals that applied to, but she suspected Toga was one of them.

Toga was now facing her, glaring. “…You really don’t hate me?”

As murderous and evil as Toga was, Fuyumi was unfortunately well-versed in forgiving the unforgivable. “Of course not.”

Toga pursed her lips. “Prove it.”

“…How?” Fuyumi didn’t like the direction this conversation was going, but she wasn’t ready to give up on Toga yet.

“I want your blood.”

Fuyumi stopped breathing for a moment.

That was way too dangerous. She knew Toga could disguise herself as Fuyumi. She wasn’t sure if Toga had figured out who ‘Leia’ really was, but if she ever figured it out, then she could endanger everyone in the Todoroki family.

Toga leaned in. It was hard to see in the dark, but her face seemed red. “Didn’t you suggest consensually taking blood from those I love instead of just killing?”

“I- I did suggest that,” Fuyumi had to admit.

“Don’t you love me?”

Fuyumi gulped. “I care about you.”

Toga brought her knife closer. “Enough to satisfy my craving?”

“Were the three men down there,” She tilted her chin towards the alley, “Not enough?”

“They weren’t cute at all,” Toga responded with a whine, “You’re very cute. Not to mention you share blood with Dabi, who never let me take his blood. I miss him. Won’t you give me something to remember him by?”

She was very uncomfortable. Should she cut ties now before she ended up any deeper in the League? Could she bear to abandon a girl who society had colossally failed? Was it even possible to say no right now without being killed on the spot?

Toga pouted. “Or was our whole relationship a lie? You never cared about me, you just used me to get to Dabi-”

“No!” Fuyumi countered quickly, mind still whirling, “I mean, I’ll admit that at first I just wanted to get to know his friends, but you- You’re your own person, I want to help you, I want to see you thrive.”

Toga’s smile was wide, like a cat playing with its prey. “So you’ll let me take your blood?”

Fuyumi had fallen into a trap, but she didn’t see any escape. “…Just a bit.”

In an instant, Toga pulled out a large syringe, stabbing Fuyumi’s thigh before she could even shout in surprise. It stung.

“C-could have given me a little warning.” Fuyumi stammered out, a little shocked to see the syringe filling up with her blood.

Toga wasn’t looking at Fuyumi, she was entranced by the vial of red.. “Surprise gets the blood pumping.”

Fuyumi felt a little faint, and she wasn’t sure if it was the blood loss or the shock. She regretted a lot of things. She wasn’t an expert on medicine, but during blood donations she had seen people getting a small syringe in their inner arm. Not the monstrosity Toga wielded directly into the flesh of her thigh. Did Toga even know how to do this without killing someone? That needle probably wasn’t even clean.

“T-toga, I feel dizzy-” Fuyumi warned her.

Toga rolled her eyes, but pulled the syringe out. Fuyumi’s leg was still bleeding, so she pulled out some gauze from one of her pockets and began to wrap it. Toga had somehow stabbed through her pants, but at least the dark color of the fabric made the blood stains less obvious.

Toga was smiling at her new vial of blood. She stared at it while she spoke, “I guess you do love me, Big Sis Leia!”

Although the blood seemed to re-establish some trust, Fuyumi needed to make sure their relationship didn’t turn exclusively into blood donations. “Do- do you or the League need groceries still?” Her voice felt weak, “I can still deliver, if you’ll let me.”

Toga’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes dimmed a little at the distraction from her shiny new blood. “I’ll ask Shiggy about it. Text you later?”

Fuyumi nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Okay, bye! You’re my new favorite!” Toga exclaimed before running off.

Fuyumi watched her go with a sinking feeling. Dabi wasn’t in the League anymore, but she was still getting herself caught up in their business. Was it so bad that she didn’t want to abandon a teenager?

As she recalled all the risks of Toga having her blood, she reflected that it was probably really, really bad. She wanted to believe Toga legitimately trusted her, but after this encounter she mostly felt taken advantage of. She wished she could talk to Dabi about it, he knew Toga well enough to know what to do. Currently the visits were going to be supervised, so there was no way she could bring this up during them. She wanted to think of ways to maintain a little more privacy during the visits, but her head was still swimming from the sudden confrontation.

She sluggishly made her way home. She would need to drink a lot of fluids and sleep well tonight if she wanted to go to work tomorrow.

---

“Dad, one of the League members can disguise herself as other people, right?”

Dad paused in his meal, letting the tofu in his chopsticks hang in the air. “…Yes.”

“Maybe we should come up with a code or something, just in case-”

“Fuyumi,” Dad narrowed his eyes, “Did something happen?”

“Do you not want to make a code with me?” Fuyumi asked, dodging the question.

He frowned. “Do you know how her disguise works?”

“Regardless of how it works, I’d feel more secure if we could come up with a plan to establish it’s really us, long before either of us are really in danger.”

He sighed. “If you really want. What kind of code do you suggest?”

“When we see each other, can you ask me what the last thing I cooked for you is?”

Fuyumi came up with it last night, while worrying about the catastrophes Toga could create using her blood. She wanted a code that could be changed regularly and wasn’t too obvious.

He nodded. “Then if you get suspicious of me, you can ask me what my favorite part of the meal was.”

“…I don’t know that,” Fuyumi commented.

Although Dad usually finished everything on his plate, he wasn’t a man of many words.

He glowered for a moment before responding. “My favorite part of today’s meal is the tofu.” He emphasized it by taking a big bite. “I’ll tell you each time.”

Fuyumi knew it was a small thing, but the promise of praise had her perking up. Small blessings from her mistakes.

Their newly established code left Fuyumi with one less thing to worry about. As Dad chewed thoughtfully, she knew that bringing up such security made him more suspicious of her, but it was better than Toga potentially assassinating Endeavor while pretending to be his daughter.

She would set up codes with Natsuo and Shouto next time she saw them. Better safe than sorry.

Notes:

Me every time I write Toga: What The Fuck Dude

Next Chapter: We FINALLY see Dabi again.

Chapter 48: Don't Pretend You Don't Have A Tragic Backstory When We Were Literally There For It

Summary:

This officer opened a door. “He’s inside.”

Fuyumi and Shouto entered, hearts hammering.

The chairs at the police station were uncomfortable, hard plastic. Fuyumi sat patiently, though, waiting for the officer that would accompany her and Shouto.

“What am I supposed to say?” Shouto asked her.

Fuyumi shrugged. “Whatever makes sense to you. I know you and Touya didn’t get much time to know each other… but that just makes this an opportunity to get to know him.”

Shouto went quiet after that, face pinched.

To be honest, Fuyumi hadn’t expected Shouto to jump on board the ‘Let’s-visit-Touya/Dabi’ train as fast as he did, considering Dabi had tried to kill him multiple times. Dad was not visiting for obvious reasons, and although they had consulted Mom’s doctor, they decided it was better to not tell her the situation until Dabi made clear signs of reformation.

Natsuo’s refusal to visit was frustrating, though. Fuyumi would have jumped at the chance to talk to her dead brother, even if he was a villain, but Natsuo was still struggling with mixed feelings about the situation.

She couldn’t force Natsuo to come here until he was ready, but she could at least accompany Shouto as he confronted his oldest brother.

She twiddled her fingers, now recovered from their burns, as she waited. She wasn’t sure how Dabi was going to react. She didn’t know how much he’d remember of the trigger incident, but he had made clear many times that he didn’t want to talk to Fuyumi. Now that he was trapped in prison with no one from the League to talk to, would he finally be willing to have a conversation with her?

“Fuyumi and Shouto Todoroki?” An officer spoke to them.

“Yes, that’s us!” Fuyumi got up.

“Follow me.”

Dad’s position was a blessing. His fingers pulling strings at the prison was the only way two civilians could have a visit with a member of the League of Villains. Dad and Fuyumi decided it was better to keep Dabi’s connection to the Todoroki’s private for now, so there were only a few officers, sworn to secrecy, permitted to supervise the visits.

This officer opened a door. “He’s inside.”

Fuyumi and Shouto entered, hearts hammering.

Dabi was alive, with no new burn scars visible (unless there were some hiding under his prison uniform). That was the first thing Fuyumi noticed, and it made her breath a sigh of relief.

He was cuffed directly to the chair, presumably quirk-suppressing cuffs. The chair itself seemed heavy, metal, unbreakable. There was a table between him and the two seats set out for Fuyumi and Shouto, keeping a distance between them. One wall was mirrored, but it didn’t take a genius to know that it was a one-way mirror so they could be watched in case Dabi tried something.

Or I might try something, Fuyumi thought as she noted he seemed a little skinnier than she had last seen him. She hoped that was a side effect of whatever treatment he had gotten to recover from his trigger outburst, and not nutritional neglect.

He was glaring daggers at her, but at this point she was more than used to his hateful glares. She sensed Shouto shrink back at his expression, though, so she grabbed Shouto’s hand and pulled him forward into a seat.

She took her own seat and put her hands on the table. “Nice to see you, Dabi.”

Dabi continued to glare.

Shouto didn’t say anything.

She sighed. As one of the few Todoroki family members capable of holding a conversation, she had to start this one.

“…Dabi, you remember Shouto-”

“Why the fuck is he here?” Dabi snapped, “What kind of game are you trying to play?”

“I’ve informed the rest of the family we’re related.”

His jaw dropped. “You what?”

Fuyumi clicked her tongue. “I thought it was about time they get to know what’s really going on.”

He glanced to the mirror. “You know they’re listening to everything we’re saying, right?”

“Actually, we’re being recorded, for later review. Dad set up a few people with non-disclosure agreements to supervise these visits and to check the audio tapes if anything suspicious occurs.”

He scoffed, disbelieving. “You told that piece of shit-?”

“Yes, because that was the quickest way to secure visitation rights.”

He pursed his lips. “So you’re spilling all my secrets now?”

“I’m letting other family members get a chance to know you, a privilege that I’ve been keeping to myself for far too long.”

“Maybe I ought to spill some of your secrets in return,” He glanced at the mirror again, “Did you tell them everything about you?”

Fuyumi’s heart thudded. Although Shouto at least broadly knew about her vigilantism, she kept details of her involvement with the League (supplying groceries, texting Toga, etcetera) locked up tight. And although the officers watching them (as well as those that would potentially listen to the recordings) signed NDA’s, she suspected they were supposed to report suspected criminal activity if it came up in the recordings. “Dabi, you shouldn’t-”

“Shouldn’t what?” He smirked, happy to have the upper-hand now, “Tell them about how we met? How you learned who I am? Or should I mention the people you’ve sent to the hospital-”

“Touya,” Shouto interrupted.

That turned Dabi’s mood immediately sour again. He snarled at Shouto, “Don’t call me that.”

“Dabi, then,” Shouto conceded, “Why are you a villain?”

“You trying to bond with me or some shit? Trying to uncover a misunderstood youth with a tragic backstory? Sorry to disappoint, but it’s not that complicated, I want to wreck shit and kill heroes.”

Fuyumi deadpanned. “Dabi, both of us already know your tragic backstory.”

“Doesn’t mean you know me,” Dabi countered.

“I want to know you,” Shouto spoke suddenly, slow and even, as though he had been thinking long and hard on the words and only just figured out how to say them out loud, “You’re a villain, one of the worst, so of course I don’t understand you… But I want to.”

“Well I don’t want you to,” Dabi said, “I’m not here so you can check off ‘try to empathize with a villain’ on your heroism bingo card.”

Shouto ignored the taunt. “I was young when you left, I didn’t get to know you very well. But I think we have a lot in common.”

“We really don’t.”

“You’re one of the few people who can relate exactly to what my childhood was like.”

Fuyumi couldn’t help but comment, “You’re still a child, Shouto.”

Dabi snorted. “There’s a world of difference between our childhoods.”

“Like what?”

“You succeeded at being what he wanted you to be.”

Those words hung in the air. Fuyumi held her breath, not sure what to think. Shouto was frowning, eyebrows pinched together.

Dabi continued. “’Yumi and I were too weak to become his vision of the perfect hero. You’re the designer-baby who gets to carry on his legacy,” Dabi spoke sharply with a mocking expression, “Aren’t you lucky?”

Fuyumi opened her mouth to reprimand Dabi for his careless words, but Shouto responded first.

“I will not carry on his legacy.”

Although the confusion in Dabi’s face was fleeting, Fuyumi noted it before he put on his usual aloof persona. “So going to U.A., the top hero-training school in the country, was a decision made entirely by you? Not at all affected by being deliberately molded your entire life to become a pro-hero?”

“I will become a pro-hero,” Shouto asserted, “But it will be for my own reasons, not his.”

Dabi scoffed. “So you’re riding on Endeavor’s coattails for fun?”

“I can’t change the fact that I’m related to him, or that he contributed to who I am today, but I will take advantage of the opportunities it gives me.” Shouto’s face was serious.

Dabi sneered. “Like that fancy quirk of yours? It only took him four tries to get it right. You properly inherited his quirk, and the ability to withstand it better than any of us.”

“It is not his quirk. For awhile, I believed it was, and I refused to use it for awhile, but a friend showed me that it’s not his, it’s mine. I won’t live in his shadow.”

“You refused to use your quirk?” Dabi’s nose crinkled.

“Well, the fire part of it,” Shouto clarified, “I wanted to show Dad that I could become a hero without using his quirk. But it’s not like I have two quirks in my body… It’s one big quirk with two aspects, it’s inherently different from Endeavor’s flames.”

Dabi shifted in his seat and leaned back, avoiding Shouto’s eyes. “That’s some pretty convoluted logic.”

“You of all people should be able to understand why I’m trying to separate myself from Endeavor.”

The anger Dabi expressed earlier seemed to have faded, taken over by an attempt at apathy as he rolled his eyes. “You know the easiest way to separate yourself from him? Fake your own death and run away.”

Shouto opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then put a hand on his chin, thinking.

Fuyumi guffawed. “Shouto, no! You are not allowed to fake your own death!”

“But he has a point,” Shouto mumbled, “It clearly worked for him, so…”

Dabi laughed while Fuyumi insisted otherwise, “You wouldn’t be able to work as a pro-hero without legal documentation, and you wouldn’t want to do something illegal like vigilantism, right?”

Dabi laughed loud enough to snort. “That’s rich, coming from you, ‘ Yumi.”

Shouto sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

Dabi leaned in. “If you ask your sister nicely, I bet she could introduce you to someone who’d forge any documents you need.”

Shouto perked up, glancing at her.

Fuyumi shook her head. “Who?”

“Are you forgetting about your favorite information broker?” Dabi asked, “Or are you still not talking to him?”

Oh, Giran. Fuyumi didn’t know he could get forged documents, but she wasn’t surprised. “I am not introducing Shouto to him.”

“Wait, can you actually?” Shouto asked.

“No!” She exclaimed, “You are absolutely forbidden from faking your death! My poor heart can only take so much!”

Shouto’s lower lip jutted out, the slightest movement that could be interpreted as a pout. It reminded her of Dad.

Fuyumi also turned to Dabi, “And you are forbidden from planting these sorts of ideas in Shouto’s head!”

Dabi smirked. “If I had known he was this corruptible before, I would have tried to recruit him instead of killing him.”

“I’m not… corruptible…” Shouto responded with a troubled expression.

“Honestly it’s a shock to discover the prodigy with the perfect quirk doesn’t have Endeavor’s ideals beaten into him.”

“Dabi!” Fuyumi exclaimed, insulted.

“No, he’s got a point,” Shouto defended him.

“His training is the kind of shit meant to break a person, so he can remold them into whatever he wants,” Dabi commented as if he were talking about the weather rather than the abuse they’d all suffered, “Clearly it didn’t work for me, but I always thought that after practicing with ‘Yumi and me he’d have learned the perfect regimen to create his ideal hero.”

Fuyumi crinkled her nose. “Are you implying that he successfully ‘remolded’ me?”

Dabi raised an eyebrow. “That’s exactly what I’m implying, miss ‘he’s changed’.”

She clenched her fists. “You haven’t talked to him in years, you don’t get to act like you know whether he’s still a bad parent or not.”

“He’s pretty bad,” Shouto piped up.

Fuyumi glared at Shouto’s interruption. He shrugged.

“Even his favorite kid hates him,” Dabi pointed out.

Fuyumi didn’t like this. She did like that Shouto and Dabi somehow, some way, part way through this conversation started getting along, but she didn’t like that it meant them joining forces to bully her about Dad. “He’s doing his best to change.”

“Classic abuse tactic: He tells you he’ll change, and you keep believing it’ll be different this time,” Dabi drawled, “Remember when you were desperate enough to escape him that you ran away from home? And yet you ended up going right back to the person who literally scarred you.”

Shouto glanced at her. “Scarred?”

“Unlike you and me, Fuyumi doesn’t have fun facial scars to show off. Ever notice how she never wears short sleeves or crop tops though?” He turned to her. “Do you still have that big scar on your hip? From when he left you to die in your own ice?”

“He didn’t understand my limits at that time,” Fuyumi argued, “He wasn’t trying to kill me.”

Dabi leaned towards Shouto, speaking as if Fuyumi wasn’t in the room. “Here’s how you identify an abuse victim: No matter what evidence you present, she makes excuses for her abuser.”

“I’m not the only ‘abuse victim’ in this room,” Fuyumi snapped.

“Sorry, let me correct myself: A delusional abuse victim.”

Fuyumi stood up, fists shaking. “I can’t believe you’re acting like faking your own death and turning to villainy is a better response to abuse than just forgiving someone for their mistakes.”

“When it lasts over 20 years I don’t think you can simply brush it off as ‘mistakes’.”

“You weren’t even there for half of it,” Fuyumi countered.

“Shouto is evidence enough that he’s still the same hero-ranking obsessed megalomaniac.”

“He’s not!” Fuyumi exclaimed, “You would see that if you’d give him a chance!”

Beside her, Shouto backed up at her loud voice. Dabi remained apathetic, unimpressed by her outburst. Her face was hot, blood rushing forth with an emotion she could only identify as anger.

She took a step back. “I- I’m going to wait outside.”

She marched out of the room, and had enough emotional strength to not slam the door behind her. She didn’t want to fight with her family, so instead she found a seat and curled in on herself, arms trembling.

Getting Dabi to forgive Dad wasn’t even her goal. She had just been happy with the opportunity to talk to him again, with nobody kidnapped or in mortal danger, but that had to get twisted by the mess that their family was.

Dad’s behavior had changed… hadn’t he? Just because she was an ‘abuse victim’, did that mean she couldn’t ever trust her own opinions again? Was she supposed to listen to the words of someone who had left the Todoroki house and never looked back over her own life experiences?

She wiped at her eyes, not fully crying but definitely tearing up with frustration.

She was so stuck in her own head that she didn’t even notice Shouto until he tapped on her shoulder.

The contact made her jerk to attention, surprised. Shouto pulled back his hand, raising both up in surrender. He just looked at her, face uncertain.

Were her tears still visible? Embarrassed, she wiped at her eyes again, trying to clear her face. Shouto didn’t need to see her like this, he already had enough on his plate. “You didn’t have to come out here. If you wanted to talk to Dabi longer…”

“We, uh, talked enough for today.” Shouto bit his lip. “I think.”

“I don’t want to ruin your reunion.”

Shouto let out a breath that might have been a small laugh. “I think you overestimate how much emotional attachment I’d have to someone who disappeared and then tried to kill me.”

Fuyumi kicked out her feet. “You were getting along, though.”

Shouto nodded. “…Yeah.”

“…Do you want to go back?”

“Another day,” Shouto decided, “Don’t want to overdo it.”

Knowing that Shouto wanted to visit again was one blessing from this visit. She was reminded of Shouto asking for the first time to visit Mom, nervous but trying to face his past. She wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted out of these visits, but he was keeping the lines of communication open with their brother, and she could appreciate that. Even if Dabi was steadfastly against ever talking with Dad again, if Dabi and Shouto could bond, that would bring Fuyumi one step closer to her dream of a whole family.

“He has changed,” Shouto spoke suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Dad,” He clarified, “I still don’t… forgive him, or whatever, but I can see he’s not as bad as he used to be.”

A tight ball of anxiety unwound at Shouto’s admission.

She nodded. “Thank you.”

Notes:

Dabi this chapter: This kid..... is not a mini-Endeavor??? Huh?? Even though he's exactly what Endeavor wanted???? What's going on? Do I actually have an adorable little brother who isn't Natsuo??

Fuyumi this chapter: Dabi plz stop being such a rudeass bitch to me I literally just came to see you and make sure you're okay and all u do is antagonize me!!!!

Shouto this chapter: ...Should I fake my own death?

- - -

Next Chapter: Fuyumi really needs advice... and maybe has a law or two broken to get it.

Chapter 49: I Definitely Fucked Up, But Can You Tell Me Exactly How Fucked I Am?

Summary:

“I’m trying to articulate what a huge mistake I might have made.”

“Befriending Toga?” Dabi snorted. “Yeah that’s a mistake alright.”

“No, specifically I let her take my blood.”

Dabi was already glaring when she entered the visitation room.

Fuyumi opened up with, “I need your advice.”

He rolled his eyes. “Want advice on how to end up in prison?”

“No, about interacting with the League,” She clarified as she sat down.

He stiffened and looked towards the one-way mirror. “What are you saying?”

“I told you last time: They can’t hear what we’re saying. Our conversations are being recorded, and will be reviewed later if anything suspicious occurs.”

He didn’t let down his guard. “You’ve mentioned that, but you still shouldn’t say anything you don’t want on the record.”

Fuyumi couldn’t help but tease him a bit. “I’m a vigilante that goes by Leia. I’ve been contacting Toga from the League-”

His eyes bugged out. “’Yumi,” He hissed, “Are you an idiot?”

“-And I asked Hawks to wipe this recording after we’re done talking,” She finished with a smirk.

He let out a loud sigh, closing his eyes.

Then his brow crinkled. “Wait, Hawks? How did you ask him to do that without being insanely suspicious?”

Fuyumi shrugged. “I mean, he’s working for you guys, so I just told him it was League business.”

He narrowed his eyes. “…What makes you think Hawks is working for the League?”

“Stop trying to act shady, Dabi, I figured it out awhile back.”

Dabi scoffed. “Do you actually believe he’s a traitor?”

Fuyumi tilted her head. “Uh, yeah? I’ve confronted him, he admitted it.”

“You-!” Dabi’s eyes bugged out briefly, then he squeezed them shut and took a deep breath. “For future reference, please do not confront possible traitors-slash-double-agents in the future who are more than capable of killing you off for knowing too much.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not an idiot, I knew he couldn’t do anything because I’m Endeavor’s daughter.” She paused. “And what do you mean, ‘double-agent’?”

“It’s obvious he’s a double agent,” Dabi told her.

She bristled. “What?”

“As in he’s trying to infiltrate us by pretending to side with us, so he can gather info for the heroes. Seriously, you think the number two pro-hero would willingly join us?”

That… had not occurred to Fuyumi. “If you’re so sure, why did you let him in anyway?”

He smirked. “It’s fun. And we can ask him to do quite a bit by saying ‘If you do this we’ll trust you more.’ The scraps of intel we feed him are more than worth the crazy shit we can persuade him to do.” He gave Fuyumi a hard stare. “Like asking him to erase tapes in a secure prison like this.”

Fuyumi frowned at the stuff Dabi was telling her. She had easily believed Hawks was a villain, but now Dabi was telling her he definitely wasn’t. Everything was up in the air as to whether or not she could trust him, both as a hero and as a villainous accomplice. Although she wasn’t going to just take Dabi’s word for it, she did believe out of the whole League, Dabi had the best grasp on what Hawks really stood for.

Rather than dwell on that, she decided it’d be best to change the subject. “Well, either way, he was happy to do a favor for the sake of his boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” He averted his eyes. “Anyway, it’s more like a favor for you than me, considering you’re asking me for advice.”

“Actually, I have a treat for you,” Fuyumi told him with a smile, “Messages from your dear League.”

His eyes widened, but his expression was wary. “…What?”

She nodded. “Toga and I have been texting, and I told her we’d be having an ‘off-the-record’ chat today where I could pass on any messages they wanted me to.”

“You’re still in contact with Toga?” He asked, flabbergasted, “I thought she would drop you after you put me in prison.”

“That’s going to be the subject of the advice I need, but let’s start with something cheerier!” Fuyumi pulled out her phone. “Someone named ‘Spinner’ says: ‘Hi Dabi, sorry to hear your dumb ass got caught…’”

---

The messages were a mixture of sweet and… uh… weird phrases that were hopefully inside jokes. There were vague updates on their status, but nothing that could be used to locate the League or guess if they were planning a prison break. Obviously Toga didn’t fully trust Leia, but some comforting(?) words from Dabi’s friends were better than nothing. Dabi just sat through Fuyumi reading out the messages with a sullen expression.

“’…And getting plenty of blood, so it’s all good over here! Love, Toga’,” Fuyumi finished.

He glared at her.

“Wasn’t that nice?” Fuyumi exclaimed, “Do you want me to pass a message back to them?”

“Yeah, tell them ‘Don’t trust that bitch Leia, she’ll throw you in prison, harass you with your family, and pull stupid stunts like this when she gets bored’.”

She nodded. “So I’ll tell them: ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m getting some quality family bonding time, thank you for your kind messages’.”

He rolled his eyes. “What are you really here for? You said something about advice?”

Fuyumi sighed. She supposed she had to get to the crux of the issue at some point. “…I might have gotten in too deep.”

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that.”

“Toga stopped talking to me after you ended up… here…” She faltered as Dabi glared at her, but she had to continue, “But we had a confrontation of sorts, and I don’t know if I f-fucked up or not.”

“You don’t have to force yourself to swear,” Dabi commented, “Just ‘cause you’re talking to me.”

“I’m trying to articulate what a huge mistake I might have made.”

“Befriending Toga?” Dabi snorted. “Yeah that’s a mistake alright.”

“No, specifically I let her take my blood.”

That threw Dabi off. His mouth opened, and he stared at her a minute.

She bit her lip and glanced away, knowing he was probably holding back some colorful language for her sake.

“You-?” He exclaimed, “Are you an idiot? Toga could turn into Fuyumi Todoroki whenever she wants now!”

“I know!” Fuyumi whined, “But she was all like, ‘If you care about me you’ll let me take your blood’, what was I supposed to say? That I don’t care about her?”

“Yes!” Dabi exclaimed.

“That’d be a lie, though!”

Dabi closed his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. “’Yumi?”

“…Yeah?”

“Do you have a single person you care about that hasn’t abused or murdered someone?”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes. “It’s not like every person-”

“Dad. Toga. Me. Giran.”

“I’ve never witnessed Giran directly killing or abusing someone, so he doesn’t count,” Fuyumi countered, “Anyway, there’s also Natsuo, Shouto, and Rumi.”

He sighed. “Whatever. So Toga has your blood? What do you expect me to do about it while I’m in jail?”

“I need information,” Fuyumi refocused on her main goal, “Does she know about our connection to Endeavor?”

“Unlike some people,” Dabi told her with a glare, “The League respects when one of our members wants privacy, so last time I saw them they were unaware of the connection.”

She smiled. “That’s a relief.”

“Not so fast, as I said: Last time I saw them they were unaware. Now that I’m in jail and you contributed to that, they might have decided to investigate and found out.”

She stiffened. “How am I supposed to tell?”

“Well if Dad gets assassinated by someone who looks like you, that’ll be a good hint.”

“Not funny!”

He laughed anyway. “For real though, they have enough clues to investigate at least a little bit. They know we have a brother nicknamed Natsu and they know your face. They might not get it from that, but if they pool their braincells together and ask Giran for help they might get somewhere.”

That was a surprise. “Giran knows who I am?”

“Giran spent a lot of time with us, he may have picked up more clues, and aside from that he knows people who could maybe get a face-search done. Especially if they have lots of clear images of your face, which Toga can easily provide now.”

Fuyumi groaned. “I knew it. I fucked up.”

“Should have thought of that before letting Toga take your blood.”

“She had a knife and said she loved me!” She argued.

Dabi grimaced. “Please take a class on functional relationships.”

“You’re one to talk, she’s your friend too!”

“Yeah, but I know better than to become her blood bank.”

She sighed. “Do you think she’ll trust me more? Because I was willing to share?”

“Gonna be honest, the rest of the League has enough self-preservation instincts to not offer up our blood outside of necessity for tactical maneuvers.” He shrugged. “So I don’t know, I haven’t seen a move like that play out with Toga before. If you survive, you can tell me how it works out.”

“Great,” Fuyumi mumbled, “Just great.”

---

Fuyumi went home, disheartened by her conversation with Dabi. She was hoping he could give her something certain, but she was still anxious about Toga having her blood.

Once inside, she heard pacing from Dad’s room. As she went towards her own room, the sound of his voice came through the hallway.

Was someone over? She tiptoed by his door, keeping ears alert in case he decided to leave the room and she had to dart into the nearest open door. She only heard Dad’s voice, and as she got closer she was able to make out more words.

“…Of course I know the costs…And yes… Yes I’m-...-things aren’t that simple!”

His rising voice made a shot of adrenaline pump through her, but she reminded herself that he was not talking to her. Considering she didn’t hear another voice, he must be on the phone.

“…At least a little longer?… I don’t want to tell them they can’t-…” Her ear was pressed to the door, but she couldn’t catch everything. “-After so long. Can’t you make it part of sort of rehab program or something? We can’t-…” Based on the sound of his footsteps, he faced away from the door briefly. “…-in Tartarus! There’s no visitation setup there.”

She took in a sharp breath. Was this about Dabi?

“…Keep it going, and try to figure something… …-I don’t want to tell them they can’t see their own brother just because-…” He made a frustrated sound. “You’ve talked at great length about the security concerns, I’m well aware...”

His pacing brought him close to the door, so Fuyumi had to retreat. She slipped into her own room, quietly closing the door behind herself before she heard Dad’s door open. She pressed her ears against the wood of her door, but all that she heard was a grumpy farewell and Dad’s footsteps heading towards the kitchen.

She sat on her bed, head swimming. Tartarus? That had to be about Dabi. And security concerns? Fuyumi wasn’t an expert, but Dabi’s current prison seemed pretty secure to her, otherwise the League would have plucked him out by now.

Her phone buzzed. She checked it and saw Hawks message, The deed is done!

…Maybe not perfectly secure. But the number-two pro-hero being able to erase a tape was different from breaking someone out.

She sent a thank you text, and tried not to think too hard about the conversation she overheard. It sounded like Dad was fighting for their sake, she would trust in his abilities.

For now, anyway.

Notes:

Next Chapter: An awkward dinner

Chapter 50: A Rare Circumstance Where Two Family Members Who Only Ever Fight Finally Agree On A Plan

Summary:

“Actually, I have something to talk to you guys about…” Dad closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “I talked to your mother’s doctor today. She’s doing well.”

Both Fuyumi and Natsuo stiffened. They didn’t talk about Mom, not with Dad.

Notes:

This chapter is a bit short, but necessary.
Fair warning there are sort-of spoilers for a manga chapter the anime hasn't adapted yet (it occurs during the Bakugo+Shouto+Midoriya winter internship arc). It's only slight spoilers bc there's not really plot stuff from it, but the conversation Endeavor has with his children is sort of adapted into this fic.

Although Natsuo refused to talk to Dabi, he was at least still coming home some weekends in spite of Dad’s presence.

Fuyumi scooped out some more rice for herself as Natsuo pointedly refused to start a conversation with Dad at the dinner table. An attempt to ask Natsuo about college yielded curt answers.

So Fuyumi aimed for Dad instead. “What about you, Dad? What have you been up to.”

“Actually, I have something to talk to you guys about…” Dad closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “I talked to your mother’s doctor today. She’s doing well.”

Both Fuyumi and Natsuo stiffened. They didn’t talk about Mom, not with Dad.

Fuyumi forced on a smile. “That’s good news.”

“The doctor says it might be time she get released soon.”

Fuyumi heart swelled. Mother had been doing well as far as she could tell during her visits, but if she was out of the hospital…

That dream of a happy, complete family never seemed closer. Dad atoning for his actions? Touya back from the dead? And now Mom recovering?

Natsuo slammed his hands on the table. “She can’t come back here!”

Why couldn’t Natsuo make an effort to celebrate the good news? “Natsu,” Fuyumi snapped at him.

“No, I won’t be quiet about this!” Natsuo exclaimed, “Bringing her back to the person who sent her to the hospital in the first place? There’s no way the doctor approved that!”

“Things will be different! She can come back, we can be a family again!” Fuyumi turned to her father, “Right, Dad?”

Dad’s face was stiff. “Actually, Natsuo’s right.”

Fuyumi froze. What was going on? Natsuo seemed similarly thrown off-balance, mouth opened in a half-formed rebuttal that died in his throat when Dad agreed with him.

Dad continued, “She can leave the hospital, but she needs her own space. I’ve grown more aware in recent years that my presence is not conducive to a happy family.”

“Dad, that’s not true! If we all work together-”

“That’s the understatement of the fucking year!” Natsuo exclaimed.

Dad turned to Natsuo. “You’ve been working hard for Fuyumi’s sake, haven’t you?”

Natsuo froze.

“You could just stay at college, away from us, but you always come back. Still, I’m not narcissistic enough to believe you actually want to build a relationship with me after everything I’ve done.”

“Touya left us because of you,” Natsuo snarled, “Even if he didn’t actually die, we lost him because of you.”

Fuyumi’s stress was off the charts at this conversation. Dad at least hadn’t released his fire yet, but every instinct of hers was shouting to de-escalate before it got to that point. “Dad wasn’t trying to-”

Dad shook his head. “No, it’s my fault. I’m sorry, Natsuo, it was never my intention to shut any of you out of my life, but…”

Natsuo had tears in his eyes now. “I’m not like Fuyumi, who can accept anything. I will never forgive you.”

“It’s alright if you never forgive me.”

Those words shocked Natsuo enough that he didn’t even respond, just stared, not understanding.

“I’m not doing this for your forgiveness, I just want to atone for the ways I’ve hurt all of you.”

“What can you even do?” Natsuo challenged him.

Dad turned to Fuyumi. “I know you’ve always wanted a happy family, but I don’t think you’ll get that with me around.”

Fuyumi couldn’t keep track of this conversation. “Dad, no.”

“I’m going to buy a house, somewhere near where Fuyumi works. Near your college too, Natsuo. There, you guys can welcome your mother home.”

Fuyumi’s mouth was dry. She didn’t know how to react to the idea. She hated that Dad couldn’t see himself in their happy family.

“Shouto can be there, and maybe…” Dad pursed his lips, “After rehabilitation, there’s a chance that Touya, too…”

Fuyumi hated even more the way her heart pounded at the idea. The impossible barriers in their family coming together were all inextricably related to Dad. As much as she loved Dad, she could admit that any interaction with him and any other member of the family was filled with stress. She had hoped they could all work through it together, step-by-step. She was ready to put in the monumental effort it would take to build those relationships.

But none of her brothers wanted to. Her mother was almost definitely better off not taking that risk. And now Dad was waving the temptation in her face, a family where none of that work had to happen. Just like cutting the rot off of a piece of meat.

She swallowed hard. “But what about you, Dad?”

She and Dad had finally started bonding. He trusted her, she trusted him. She had gotten to know him better recently, she wanted to stay in his life, she wasn’t ready to throw that out.

“I’ll remain here,” He told her.

Fuyumi gaped.

She turned to Natsuo, hoping that he would tell her that the idea was crazy. Literally just getting rid of their Dad? It was too simple and too absurd to actually work.

Natsuo avoided both their eyes. It seemed something Dad said struck a nerve, because his usual anger had deflated. “Do whatever.”

So Natsuo agreed. No matter how hard Fuyumi fought, she’d never get the perfectly whole family she wanted, not if no one else was willing to put in that effort.

She could have something though. Dad was trying to give her something.

She turned back to Dad. “I- I’m still going to visit you,” Her words got garbled on an unexpected sob, “Even if you’re not there, I’m not leaving you.”

He smiled softly. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I want to,” Fuyumi affirmed, “Even if no one else will.”

The dinner grew quiet after that. No yelling. The only other words spoken were a quiet “My favorite today was the miso,” from Dad as he left.

After Dad went upstairs to go to bed, Natsuo lingered downstairs with Fuyumi.

“Fuyumi…”

“It makes sense,” She admitted, “I know- I just…”

He hugged her. She cried into his shoulder.

“I wanted him to be there, too.”

He let her cry for awhile, rubbing her back like she used to do for him after he’d fight with Dad.

Once she’d calmed down, he pulled back to face her. “This might be a weird time to say this, but I think… I think I’m ready to visit Touya.”

She had to smile at that. She wiped away her tears. “We can tell him the good news together."

Notes:

I'm personally a fan of families splitting up. Divorce/separation gets a bad rep, but there are situations where it's for the best. My parents got divorced when I was a preteen and it was the best decision they could have made for our family; it reduced a ton of fighting and stress, and I actually got closer to my non-custody parent as a result.

I think that's part of why I really appreciate Horikoshi's handling of the Endeavor-redemption. Endeavor recognizes that he is the main source of stress in the family, and him deciding to live separately is a willing choice he makes because he knows everyone will live a better life without his regular presence. It shows a growth where he's learned to prioritize the needs of his family members and is conscientious of how he's contributed to the splintering of the Todoroki's. I also just generally appreciate that Horikoshi is allowing a non-normative family structure to exist in his story and showing that separation can be a very good choice for certain families.

Next Chapter: Natsuo finally visits his older brother.

Chapter 51: If You Can't Go On A Family Vacation, The Next-Best-Thing Is A Guilt Trip

Summary:

Fuyumi had been in Dabi’s spot before, getting interrogated by their little brother. Natsuo seemed to have a unique talent for telling people off and making them feel guilty as hell.

Notes:

We get a peek of Natsuo trauma :) (But just a peek)

Fuyumi opened the door to the visitation room.

She was familiar with Dabi’s glare and pursed lips by now. He always made a show of disapproval when she came to visit, as if that would stop her at this point. Today started no differently than usual.

Then Natsuo walked in behind her.

Dabi squinted a moment, as though confused, before his eyes widened. The pissed-off expression he wore slid off his face to reveal surprise underneath, eyes darting around as though trying to make sure what he was seeing was the case. Fuyumi couldn’t blame him, considering Natsuo had pointedly not visited before despite the opportunities.

Quickly though, Dabi schooled his face into something more familiar, looking towards the wall with lidded eyes as though he couldn’t care less who was in front of him.

The two non-prisoner Todoroki’s took their seats. Fuyumi chanced a glance at Natsuo, and saw the conflict that had kept him away from these visits for so long obvious in his face. He grimaced, eyebrows pinched together, and leaned forward as though searching Dabi for any hint of Touya.

She waited for Natsuo to make the first move. She knew Dabi wouldn’t respond unless prodded, and she wasn’t going to rush Natsuo when he had initiated this visit.

“…Is it really you, Touya?”

Dabi flinched. “I go by Dabi,” He corrected, still refusing to look directly at Natsuo.

Natsuo frowned. “I hate this.”

No response from Dabi.

“Fuyumi kept insisting that a villain was our dead big brother. I told her that was ridiculous, but she kept coming up with more evidence. That our dear, kind, protective, helpful, considerate-”

“Stop it,” Dabi whispered.

“-dependable brother decided to fake his own death and leave us forever. Even now, staring at you in the face, I still don’t want to believe it. But…” Natsuo gulped. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”

Despite the restraints, Dabi had the space to shrug.

“Look at me,” Natsuo demanded.

Dabi finally met his eyes with a glare. “Why? Are you expecting an apology? From a villain like me?” He gave a mocking laugh. “Good luck with that.”

“I want to know why,” Natsuo intoned, “Because none of this makes sense. The big brother I knew wouldn’t hurt us like this.”

Dabi sealed his lips, looking away again.

Fuyumi had been in Dabi’s spot before, getting interrogated by their little brother. Natsuo seemed to have a unique talent for telling people off and making them feel guilty as hell.

“He wouldn’t have abandoned us,” Natsuo insisted.

Dabi’s throat moved with a hard swallow, but he maintained his stoic silence.

“Especially with that monster,” Natsuo continued.

Fuyumi held back on any defenses. This wasn’t about Dad today.

“My earliest memories are of you and ‘Yumi screaming while Mom tried to cover my ears. I was unable to stop the abuse, but I heard and saw the brutality he called ‘training’. And you, as one of those trained, were deeply aware of exactly how much he could hurt his children.”

Fuyumi was starting to feel as uncomfortable as Dabi looked, being forced to not only relive the worst parts of their childhood, but also being made aware of how their little sibling was helpless and traumatized by those times.

“And despite knowing that, you decided to abandon us? With him?” Natsuo seethed, “Did you even think about what was going to happen to ‘Yumi, trapped in that house with him?”

Being mentioned made Fuyumi open her mouth, reflexively wanting to dismiss it with a ‘We were both kids’ or ‘I wasn’t his responsibility’…

But Dabi snapped before she could speak. “What do you think would have happened if I stayed, huh? That he would have stopped training us all on his own, just because he had a perfect-quirk golden child? If anything, he just got more frustrated with us for not being like Shouto. You treated our wounds, you saw them getting worse.”

“We needed your support!” Natsuo shouted.

Dabi continued, like a dam had burst after holding back for most the conversation. “He was going to keep pushing ‘Yumi and I ‘til one of us dropped dead!” He snarled, “I was proactive enough to make it me instead of her. ”

That shocked Natsuo enough that he didn’t respond. It shocked Fuyumi, too, unaware of Dabi’s thought process in leaving. He had become so tight-lipped after she learned his identity, she hardly had the chance to pry.

Their silence made Dabi pause too, catching his breath. “I mean-” Although he had faced them for that revelation, he looked away again. “Fuck, I was just- ‘Yumi got to go to a normal high school, became a teacher and shit. You think any of that would have happened if I had stayed?”

Fuyumi could feel herself tearing up. “Dabi…”

He glanced at her. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“You shouldn’t have…” Fuyumi tried not to cry. “You were a kid, too. You shouldn’t have had to give up your life for mine.”

“You make me sound like a fucking martyr,” Dabi grumbled.

“Well how else are we supposed to interpret that?” Natsuo exclaimed, finally recovered from the confession.

“I also wanted to get out of that shit hole anyway. Ending our ‘hero-duo’ farce and making his training worthless was just a bonus.”

Natsuo had lost most of his steam, though he was still angry. “But you didn’t have to become a villain.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “There aren’t a ton of legal opportunities for a teenage street rat without a legal identity. Plus it means I get to take justice into my own hands.”

Fuyumi didn’t like this direction. “Dabi…”

“Child abusers don’t go to jail, especially not those in the heroics system,” Dabi argued, “I won’t let him get away with it, he will face consequences.”

Natsuo wasn’t looking at Fuyumi. “I can… understand that thinking.”

Fuyumi gasped. “Natsuo!”

“What?” Natsuo challenged her, “He’s right! If he wasn’t, we’d be visiting our dad in jail and our brother wouldn’t have had to run away and end up here instead.”

She hated that Natsuo was defending Dabi’s murder attempts on their father, so she just grimaced and didn’t speak.

“Oh, no response?” Dabi smirked.

“I’m not going to get into this right now,” Fuyumi tried to speak evenly, “I would rather talk about your habit of pushing us away for our sake without ever communicating with us.”

Natsuo mumbled, “Like you’re one to talk, ‘Yumi.”

“Huh?”

“You decided that instead of, I don’t know, asking me to help out around the house or something, you ought to relieve your stress by sneaking out at night and-”

“Did you forget these meetings are recorded?” Dabi interrupted.

“Oh.” Natsuo blinked. “Long story short: ‘Yumi’s a hypocrite.”

She hated the accusation because Natsuo was kind of (very) correct. “At least I didn’t fake my death.”

“That’s a low bar,” Natsuo responded.

“Which not everyone in this room passes!” She reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah, shit on me, not like I can get up and defend myself.”

Fuyumi frowned at Dabi. “Violence is never the answer.”

“Hypocrite!” Both Dabi and Natsuo spoke at the same time.

They both paused and blinked at each other.

Although Fuyumi was happy that Dabi was starting to get along with another brother, she was a little concerned that, for the second time, it involved them ganging up on her.

At least they moved on from there easily, rather than continuing those accusations. By the time the visit ended, the conversation had moved on to light teasing and Natsuo sharing a little of what he was up to nowadays.

As they left, Natsuo was standing straighter, looking much lighter than when they had entered.

She knocked his shoulder. “Are you glad you came?”

He startled, as though lost in thought. “…I guess?”

“You guess?”

“I still think faking his death was a terrible decision… but I can understand it.”

Natsuo glanced down at Fuyumi, biting his lip. She knew he was thinking about Dabi confessing to running away for her sake. Fuyumi herself was still reeling from the information.

“Still,” Natsuo focused forward on where they were walking, “It’s unfair that Dad gets to walk free while Dabi’s stuck in jail.”

“Dabi’s a villain, he needs to do his time,” Fuyumi defended, though her heart wasn’t quite in it.

Natsuo rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Fuyumi watched his eyes widen and his mouth snap shut.

She followed his eyes and saw… Dad?

They were outside the prison now, but still on the front steps. “Dad?” Fuyumi asked, “What are you doing here? Are you visiting-”

“No,” Dad clarified quickly, “…Unless he asked for me?”

Fuyumi and Dad had agreed he shouldn’t visit Dabi, but Fuyumi also promised to tell Dad if Dabi expressed an interest in talking to him. “No, he hasn’t,” She told him.

He nodded. “Then I’m just here to organize some things.”

Fuyumi recalled that phone conversation she overheard. “…Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Dad was too quick to answer, “Don’t worry about it.”

That only made Fuyumi worry more, but he continued walking, passing them, effectively ending the conversation.

“…What the hell?” Natsuo mumbled.

“Having a League member available for visitation is something that requires a lot of paperwork,” Fuyumi tried to reassure him, “He’s probably just doing more of that.”

Natsuo raised an eyebrow, but let it go for now. Fuyumi hoped she was right.

Notes:

Dabi: "I am naught but an irredeemable, evil villain nobody should love me I've never done anything good for anyone in my life ever I am EVIL. Do NOT try to understand me, please drop me from your life, I do not care about any of my family members."
Natsuo: "You faked your death and ran away from home so Fuyumi would have the chance at something like a normal life? Functionally giving up your life for hers?"
Fuyumi: "Dabi I'm the queen of self-sacrifice but even I think that's extreme."
Dabi: "Uh no I'm totally selfish I don't give a shit. Just to check though Fuyumi you went to high school and became a teacher, right? And weren't forced to continue training?"
Fuyumi: "Are you capable of NOT being tsundere for like, five seconds???"

Next Chapter: Everything is resolved and everyone is happy :) (Just don't pay attention to Endeavor's tense contact with the prison so far, or that there's still at least 3 chapters left of this story)

Chapter 52: Natsuo's Thirst For Crime Is Awoken

Summary:

She ached to reach across the table bolted to the floor and hug Dabi but… there were some things she had to accept. Dabi was in prison. It was hard to be kept apart, but Dad was already trying to set up some sort of rehabilitation program, so there was an inkling of hope for the future. And in the meantime, they could have family visits like this, with all her brothers in the same room chatting about whatever they wanted.

It wasn’t perfect, but Fuyumi could cope.

...

Or not.

Four Todoroki’s, sitting around a table, happily chatting.

Well, ‘happily’ might be pushing it, considering Dabi’s aversion to any smile that’s not a mocking smirk and Shouto’s general stoicism, but the mood was better than a dinner with Dad.

Yes they were technically in a prison, Dabi was cuffed and restrained, there was a one-way mirror where people were watching them, and their conversations were being recorded, but Fuyumi couldn’t be happier.

“…A new house, where Mom can go once she leaves the hospital,” Natsuo finished explaining the new plan for the family.

Dabi raised an eyebrow at that. “Glad she won’t have to be near the shitstain, at least.”

So the various monikers the rest of her family decided to use instead of ‘Dad’ were not ideal, but she wasn’t about to argue when opinions were 3-on-1.

They carried on discussing, Natsuo especially excited about the new living arrangements. Fuyumi was glad he decided to start visiting Dabi. When he wasn’t guilt-tripping people he was great at conversation. As lovely as Dabi and Shouto were, they were prone to sitting back and loathed to spontaneously share anything. With both Fuyumi and Natsuo in the room, they could get a conversational flow going and pull their two anti-social brothers along.

This was as close to her dream as she could dare to reach for. Even if Touya was alive, he was a villain, so there was a limit as to how much they could do together. She begrudgingly was beginning to accept that the ideal family should not always have Dad in it. Even if she was certainly going to visit him when they lived separately, the free way in which Natsuo and Shouto spoke here was in stark contrast to the way they minced their words when Dad was around.

She ached to reach across the table bolted to the floor and hug Dabi but… there were some things she had to accept. Dabi was in prison. It was hard to be kept apart, but Dad was already trying to set up some sort of rehabilitation program, so there was an inkling of hope for the future. And in the meantime, they could have family visits like this, with all her brothers in the same room chatting about whatever they wanted.

It wasn’t perfect, but Fuyumi could cope.

 

---

 

Or not.

“-Bastards, all of you! I am the number one pro-hero-”

Dad was shouting at an officer, who stared him down. “We have broken protocol long enough. There have already been two security breaches at this facility, I don’t intend to allow another.”

Fuyumi and her brothers (minus Dabi) had just left the visitation room, only to overhear this conversation from an office. They all were silent, apparently all in agreement that this was important to hear.

“That sounds like a failure on you and your subordinates, you need to improve security around here.”

“We need to move him to a more secure location,” The officer insisted, “A place such as Tartarus, where we don’t have liabilities due to visitors.”

“Since when have my children been liabilities to your security?” Endeavor challenged him.

“Since one of the tape recordings which your family agreed to was mysteriously wiped, and there was a break-in attempt by what appeared to be Fuyumi Todoroki.”

Fuyumi stiffened, and her brothers looked at her. She had a sinking certainty as to who that really was.

“How dare you accuse my daughter-”

“We only know it wasn’t her because she’s normally meticulous about scheduling these visits, and that person showed up out-of-the-blue acting like she was allowed to waltz in and see Dabi without an appointment.”

Dad paused. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting that there is a League member capable of disguises who knows that our prison contains one of her partners in crime.”

Dad was thrown off-kilter by the knowledge, but tried to regain control of the conversation. “Well why didn’t you catch her?”

“We were not prepared, and by the time we expressed suspicions she made a quick escape. I can assure you we made the utmost effort to catch her, but we don’t have the kind of personnel or security that another facility such as, say, Tartarus does.”

Dad moved from angry to a tone of voice that almost sounded like pleading. “My children need this.”

“And we need to protect the public. I’ve been made aware of your complicated situation, but I’ve talked to the Hero Commission and received their blessing to move Dabi.”

Dad was quiet for a moment, and Fuyumi’s heart dropped. She didn’t know any more justification he could use to talk his way out of this.

Apparently Dad couldn’t think of one either. “Give us one week. Just one more week, so they can say their goodbyes.”

“Fine. We’ll start the transfer paperwork, and after a week we’ll finally have him in a properly secured location.”

Sensing the end of the conversation, Fuyumi shoved at her brothers to move, walking away so they weren’t close to the door and obviously eavesdropping.

They were still close enough that Dad caught sight of them when he left the office. His eyes widened, and a look of shame crossed his face. “…If you guys have the time, I have to talk to you about something…”

 

---

 

They were nearly silent as Dad described the situation.

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t keep him here forever, but this is for the sake of protecting society. I will do my utmost best to navigate some sort of communication, even if he’s in Tartarus, but most likely that will involve letters rather than these in-person visits. You guys have a week to… to say your goodbyes.”

Her brothers beside her stayed silent, so Fuyumi responded in her most diplomatic tone. “Thank you, Dad, for giving us as much time as you did. We’ll treasure this time you’ve bought us.”

He nodded. “I’m glad you understand.” He glanced at his watch. “I need to go on patrol, but call if you need anything.”

“Of course.”

He left. Natsuo and Shouto were still silent.

They made their way home. Shouto normally would go on the train to go right back to U.A., but it seemed he didn’t want to separate from them quite yet. Fuyumi was a little thankful, she was feeling a bit… clingy after the news.

Injustice burned in her heart, but she fought it down. It was true, it was unfair to society that they were keeping Dabi in an easy position for a prison-break just so they could keep their family a little closer together. Beneath the injustice was also a distinct guilt with knowing she was almost directly responsible for the security breaches that got the prison to revoke their privileges. She had asked Hawks to wipe that tape, and willingly given Toga her blood. Because she was greedy enough to want to speak freely to her brother and to maintain her relationship with a criminal, she lost what little blessings she had.

By the time they were home, Fuyumi was thoroughly frustrated with the situation. She was losing her brother again, it was her fault, and there was nothing she could do about it.

As soon as the door closed behind the three of them, Natsuo grabbed both Fuyumi and Shouto by the arm. "We’re going to do a prison break.”

That ridiculous idea was enough to shock Fuyumi out of her slump. She stared at Natsuo. “…What?”

Natsuo narrowed his eyes on her. “Considering the sketchy shit you’ve been up to this past year, you must have some idea as to how to break someone out of prison.”

Fuyumi frowned. She’d never done a prison break, but she had some ideas as to how to get there. Giran would probably have some advice. She wouldn’t involve Rumi, since she wouldn’t want to get her involved in directly breaking the law, and Hawks with his uncertain loyalties was too risky at the moment, but she could probably get into Dad’s computer and find floor plans and the like for the building, or even the identities of the people guarding Dabi. That’s not to mention the fact that Fuyumi could contact the whole League via Toga, they would definitely be down to help out and -

“You’re thinking about it, that means you do know how,” Natsuo interrupted her train of thought.

“No I wasn’t,” Fuyumi lied, “We shouldn’t. He is a criminal.”

“Dad’s a criminal, and he gets to walk free,” Natsuo argued.

Shouto spoke up, “I want to break Dabi out, too.”

Fuyumi gaped. “Shouto, you’re a future pro-hero, you can’t break the law!”

He shrugged. “Technically I’ve already illegally used my quirk on a criminal. What’s another crime?”

“You what?” Fuyumi exclaimed, “When was this?”

“When I was interning under Endeavor in Hosu. We ended up keeping it under wraps, so I wouldn’t get charged.”

“Literally everyone else in this family has committed a crime except me,” Natsuo whined, “At this point, I’m feeling left out!”

“That’s not a good reason to break a criminal out of prison!” Fuyumi told him, still reeling that her sweet law-abiding brother was suddenly thirsting for anarchy.

Shouto spoke in a thoughtful, almost dreamy tone, “It’d be nice… If Dabi could visit Mom…”

Fuyumi grimaced. It would be nice. Shouto knew Fuyumi would find it nice. Natsuo smirked, seeing her struggle internally at that comment.

She put her face in her hands. “…You guys are serious?”

“One-hundred percent,” Natsuo affirmed, while Shouto gave a serious nod.

She groaned. This was ridiculous. She wasn’t even sure if they could pull it off. “Fine.”

Natsuo cheered.

“Give me a bit of time to get into contact with…” The League. “…Some people. We’ll get him out before the week is up.”

Notes:

Next Chapter: Fuyumi has a meeting

Chapter 53: Need A Hand? How About Several Disembodied Hands?

Summary:

Hands-dude took a few steps back, and the others around him followed his lead. “Come under the bridge,” He told her.

“So no one can see us?” Fuyumi asked, though she complied at the same time.

“Obviously.” He watched her closely. “You came alone?”

Fuyumi made her way into the woods, following the river. The coordinates Toga gave her were outside the city, somewhere deep in the forest.

She eventually spotted the likely meeting place: A bridge, allowing cars to pass over a river. Beneath it, she saw some shadowy figures she suspected to be who she was meeting.

She approached with her hands up. Obviously she still had her usual weapons in her pockets (not to mention her quirk) but she wanted to start off this meeting with a show of peace.

As she got closer, she got a better sight of the members involved. She recognized Toga near the front, cheerfully waving at her. Behind her was a greasy-looking teenager with disembodied hands on his body. Although Twice’s body suit was dark and blended in with the shadows, he bounced up to stand beside Toga once they caught sight of her, so she recognized him. There was a glint of light from another person, blades reflecting light onto green skin. She frowned at one of the members already having a weapon out, but at this point she wasn’t going to turn away. There was another tall person in the back, but she couldn’t make out his features.

Most people there (Fuyumi included) were tense, shoulders raised, aside from Toga and Twice. Twice called out, “Hey, Leia! Over here!” He twisted his body a bit. “Actually, go away!”

“We’ve been waiting!” Toga shouted to her.

Fuyumi accepted that as an allowance of her approach, so she continued, hands still raised, until she was within talking distance.

Hands-dude took a few steps back, and the others around him followed his lead. “Come under the bridge,” He told her.

“So no one can see us?” Fuyumi asked, though she complied at the same time.

“Obviously.” He watched her closely. “You came alone?”

“Yeah, but just so you know I set up a message to be sent with my location if I don’t turn it off in the next hour.” She had it scheduled to go to Endeavor, and Miruko.

“If we want to kill you, we’ll be done in faster than an hour.”

A chill went up her spine. These were murderers.

“Come on, Shiggy! Don’t scare her, she’s cute!” Toga butted in, spinning on her heels.

Fuyumi decided to dive into the offer before she got spooked again. “We have the same goal, if we work together we can be stronger together.”

“You know what happened to the last group we worked with?” Someone new, with scales for skin, stepped up, “We destroyed their gang, their quirks, and their limbs.”

“I’ve taken down a gang or two myself,” Fuyumi countered.

Shiggy scoffed. “Is that a threat?”

“No, I’m trying to find common ground with you.”

He backed up a bit at her admission, but after a pause forged on ahead. “So what can you offer us?”

“I can offer valuable intel on the prison where Dabi is being kept, as well as additional personnel to help break him out. I have floor plans, guard schedules, employee identities, and know the exact cell he’s being held. I also, as Toga may have told you, currently have visitation rights, and although I’d prefer a plan that didn’t abuse that privilege to avoid me getting caught, I’d be willing to utilize it if it’s the only option.”

It had been a stressful few days collecting all the information. She initially got information from breaking into Dad’s work computer, and then from there collected more information through some sketchy connections Giran provided. Now it was all collected into a neat pdf that she had ready to send on her phone… assuming the League complied with her demands.

Shiggy crossed his arms. “And why are you approaching us now? He’s been imprisoned for awhile.”

“Because he’s being moved to Tartarus in a few days.”

Everyone straightened up at that. Even Toga’s smile faded.

Fuyumi took a deep breath. “You care about him, don’t you, Shiggy?”

For some reason, the villains reacted strangely to that, glancing towards Shiggy with barely concealed laughter. Shiggy himself looked completely unamused. “’Shiggy’?”

“Yeah, that’s your name, right?”

“My name is Shigaraki.”

She grimaced, realizing her mistake. “Sorry, Toga always calls you that, so I just assumed…”

The other League members were definitely laughing now, ignoring the glare Shigaraki sent them.

He settled on glaring at Fuyumi, who did not find the idea of having disrespected the leader of a villain organization as funny as the others did. “You do not get to call me Shiggy.”

“Maybe we should’ve done introductions first?” The tall person in the back cut in.

Shigaraki sighed, but stepped to the side. “Fine, knock yourselves out if you want to play nice.”

The stranger stepped forward, offering a hand out, “Call me Mr. Compress, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She took the hand, shaking it, “Nice to meet you-”

The hand fell off.

She gasped, still holding onto the disembodied hand that slipped out of the sleeve of his trenchcoat. She had gotten stronger this year, but not strong enough to rip off someone’s hand by accident! “Wh- oh my- that-” She sputtered, “I didn’t mean to do that!”

Mr. Compress only laughed in response, and another hand popped out of the sleeve. “You fell for the classic fake-hand trick!”

At his genial response, she relaxed enough to examine the hand. It was just a prop. She breathed out a sigh. “Oh thank goodness, I was worried I somehow actually took off your hand.”

He shook his head. “My other arm can be removed, but this one is flesh and bone!”

She wanted to ask, but thought it might be rude. Anyways, the hand was plucked from her grasp, and she idly wondered if that’s how Mr. Compress introduced himself to everyone. Before she could wonder too much, the guy with lizard characteristics stepped forward. “I’m Spinner.”

He did not offer his hand to shake, and frankly Fuyumi might not trust another handshake, so she just returned it with a nod. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you know us,” Twice exclaimed, gesturing to himself and Toga, “The coolest members: Twice and Toga!”

“Boom, you know everyone now,” Shigaraki told her, “So it’s about time you introduce yourself to us.”

“I’m Leia-”

“Your real name,” Shigaraki corrected.

She pursed her lips. “How do you know that’s not my real name?”

Toga bounced on the heels of her feet. “When I talked to the prison staff as you, they called me ‘Miss Todoroki’.”

She stiffened. As Dabi suspected, they had figured it out.

“We’ve also seen you enter the prison while accompanied by Shouto Todoroki,” Spinner piped up.

At this point, she couldn’t counter, so she might as well tell them the truth. She took off her mask. “…Alright, you got me, I’m Fuyumi Todoroki.”

Shigaraki removed the hand on his face, allowing Fuyumi to see his smirk. “So why is someone related to Endeavor trying to free a villain?”

“Do you know about my connection with Dabi?” She glanced at Toga and Twice, who were most aware of their relation.

“You’re his sister,” Shigaraki confirmed he knew.

She had to probe. The League now knew information they hadn’t when Dabi had first joined. Although they seemed interested enough in freeing Dabi to talk to her, she had to make sure the League would welcome him back rather than lashing out at him. “…You know that means he’s related to Endeavor too.”

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. “He never told us about it because he’s rebuilt his life separate from Endeavor. He chose to be our teammate, not that scum’s son."

Relieved to hear they weren’t going to discriminate against Dabi for being related to a pro-hero, she explained, “He faked his death a long time ago to escape our father, but in the process he cut off his connection to the rest of the family as well. I’ve been trying to rebuild the connection by visiting him in prison, but that won’t be possible if he’s sent to Tartarus. I’d rather cooperate with the League than lose him forever.” She took a deep breath. “I already lost him once when he died, I’m not going to let it happen again.”

“So you’d really help us for nothing in return?” Shigaraki asked with narrowed eyes.

“Not for nothing,” Fuyumi corrected.

He huffed. “Of course. So what are your demands in return for your information and manpower? Money? Information?”

She leaned forward, deadly serious. “I have a single demand: Make Dabi visit me once a week.”

The League members blinked at her.

“…Are you serious?” Shigaraki asked.

Fuyumi nodded. “He’s been avoiding me, and trying to hunt him down is a serious time-waster, not to mention it gets me caught up in your business,” Like when she discovered Hawks was working with them, “If he would just visit occasionally, I won’t have to chase down the League anymore.”

Shigaraki’s brows crinkled. The other members glanced at each other, not sure what to make of the demand.

Finally, Shigrakai made a decision. “…Once a year.”

“Once a week,” She insisted.

“Once a month.”

“Twice a month.”

“Deal.” Shigaraki stretched out his hand to shake.

She had been pranked once already but… Mr. Compress seemed like a showy guy, while Shigaraki was just dangerous. She couldn’t imagine how he could make a handshake dangerous though, so she extended her own hand. “Deal.”

As they shook, for some reason he kept his pinkie finger out. Was that supposed to be classy or something? She didn’t comment, not wanting to be rude and jeopardize the deal.

She pulled out her phone. “I’m sending Toga a pdf of the information, and delaying my automatic message to the heroes for another hour so we can discuss plans.”

“Toga, watch her,” Shigaraki demanded.

Toga happily rested her chin on Fuyumi’s shoulder, watching her do what she said she would.

Once that was taken care of, Shigaraki took charge again. “To plan this fully, we should explain our quirks so you know what’s possible.”

She already knew Toga and Twice’s quirk. Spinner having some lizard abilities made sense, Mr. Compress’s ability to turn people and things into marbles made less sense, but she rolled with it. She was doing alright up until they got to Shigaraki’s quirk.

“And my power,” Shigaraki grabbed an empty can someone had discarded beneath the bridge, “Decay: If I touch something with all five fingers, it disintegrates.”

The can turned into dust in front of her eyes.

Fuyumi could have died.

She could have died multiple times.

She recalled when she first chased Dabi into a League base, and Shigaraki had tried to grab her, only being held back by Dabi’s flames at the last moment. And just now she had willingly shaken his deadly hand. One twitch of the pinkie and her hand would have been gone.

“And your quirk?” Spinner asked.

That panic could wait for later. “I can produce a lot of ice, but I suffer quickly from the cold, so I don’t use it much. As my vigilante persona, I almost always fight quirkless to protect my stamina and my identity.”

Shigaraki grimaced. “Hmm, high-power moves with an HP cost.”

“I guess?”

The members had slowly shifted position, until they were practically in a circle as everyone considered the information. Toga shared the info to the others, so many of them were reviewing and making comments. Fuyumi realized she was part of the circle too.

Huh.

Rather than dwell on her temporary inclusion/alliance with the League, she focused on the plot they were building together.

“So when should we strike?” Spinner asked as the details came together.

“I’d prefer anytime outside of regular school hours,” Fuyumi told them.

Mr. Compress stared at her. “…Are you in high school?”

“No!” Fuyumi figured that they knew her name at this point, knowing her workplace was just a quick google away, so she admitted the truth, “I’m a teacher.”

“…I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.”

They ended up deciding on a time outside of regular school hours.

The meeting was long enough that she had to delay her message to the pro-heroes another two times, and by the time they dispersed it was already dark out.

Once she was back in civilization, she disabled the message. She was relieved the League was willing to cooperate with her.

There were only a few days left, but together, they could get Dabi out.

She was ready.

Notes:

Woot woot coming near the end.... there might be an epilogue chapter as well, once I write it I'll see whether it's long enough to warrant it's own chapter or if it'd be better to tack it on the end of the next chapter.

Next Chapter: #CrimeTime

Chapter 54: Crime Time Is Family Time

Summary:

He groaned, but started the car. “Fine. Whatever. This is fine, I’m a Todoroki, I can become a criminal at the drop of a hat.”

Notes:

Natsuo's first foray into crime :)

“…So this break out is actually happening?” Natsuo asked.

“Yeah,” Fuyumi confirmed, “Take this mask.”

She threw it at him. He fumbled with it as he spoke, “Wait, like right now?”

“I texted ‘Come out, it’s showtime,’ didn’t I?”

He glanced around at his campus, biting his lip. Fuyumi had waited several minutes for him to leave his dorm room, and she was kind of eager to get started already. Dabi was supposed to be moved tomorrow, and the plans to break him out were just barely finalized a few minutes ago on a tense phone call with Toga, where Fuyumi finally convinced the League to let Natsuo in on the plan. They didn’t have time for him to decide he didn’t want to break the law all of a sudden.

So to prevent dawdling, Fuyumi grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the street. He followed along, though he kept speaking, “When you texted this morning to ask ‘are you busy today’, I thought maybe we would have a phone call this afternoon to discuss what we’re going to do, not that we were about to actually go through with it! What am I even supposed to do?”

They stopped in front of a big van. “You can drive this, right?”

He gaped. “…Did you steal a car?”

“No!” She exclaimed, “Obviously not, I just asked someone for a favor, and they got me this lovely van with fake plates.”

“…Who exactly?”

“Just get in the driver’s seat. We’ll get you a little practice driving on our way to the prison. You used to rent vans like this to go on trips with your soccer buddies, right?”

He scoffed but got in the front seat. “Like, one summer. Am I gonna have to out-drive cops?”

“Maybe!”

He groaned, but started the car. “Fine. Whatever. This is fine, I’m a Todoroki, I can become a criminal at the drop of a hat.”

“Perfect, we need to be at this address…”

---

“This is an abandoned warehouse.”

“No, this is where we’re meeting our allies. I’ve texted one of them to come out, they should be here shortly.”

“Who are these ‘allies’ again?”

Fuyumi grimaced. “First, promise not to get mad?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m a little frustrated that you only decided to loop me into this prison break at the last minute, but there’s no way I would be mad at you, no matter what-”

The side door of the van slammed open. Toga’s voice was cheerful, “All aboard the save-Dabi van!”

Natsuo looked back at her. “A high school girl?” His eyes narrowed as the rest of the League filed in behind her.

He whirled on Fuyumi. “You’re allied with the League?”

“You said you wouldn’t be mad,” Fuyumi reminded him.

“’Yumi! Are you crazy?”

Mr. Compress snorted. “Terribly rude.”

Fuyumi put a hand on Natsuo’s shoulder. “Come on, Natsu, they also want to get Dabi out, so they’re honestly the perfect allies for this situation.”

“How did you even contact them?” Natsuo was still reeling.

Toga leaned over Fuyumi’s headrest and hugged her from behind. “We’re best~ friends~!”

“Various connections,” Fuyumi responded vaguely, “Anyway, you need to drive.”

Natsuo grumbled, but obliged, and the purr of the engine almost drowned the snickering of the criminals behind them.

“Anyway,” Fuyumi turned to the League, “As I mentioned in our discussions, this is my and Dabi’s dear little brother, Natsuo.”

The brother in question made an offended sound, though he kept his eyes on the road. “Are you literally trying to introduce me to the League of Villains right now?”

Fuyumi ignored his complaints and instead introduced each of the League members to him.

Unfortunately, Natsuo decided to take an attitude with a group of serial killers. After Fuyumi introduced him to Shigaraki (not ‘Shiggy’), Natsuo snarked, “Great to meet you, did you also try to kill our baby brother?”

“Unsuccessfully,” Shigaraki responded with a deadpan.

Natsuo made a squawking noise, offended. “’Unsuccessfully’? Is that all you have to say for yourself?”

Spinner frowned. “Sorry dude, but he’s part of the system that churns out insincere heroes…”

“He’s also Dabi’s baby brother!” Natsuo insisted, “Were you guys seriously okay with killing the family of a fellow member?”

“Dabi was one-hundred percent into killing both Shouto and Endeavor,” Mr. Compress piped in.

Natsuo glanced over at Fuyumi, so she clarified, “He may have expressed interest in the past, but,” She directed the next part to the League, “In prison, he’s gotten a chance to get to know Shouto better, so I think when you guys get a chance to talk to Dabi, you should discuss whether he still has those goals.”

Shigraki glowered. “Endeavor’s still on the table though, right?”

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Natsuo responded quickly.

“Natsu!” Fuyumi exclaimed.

He shrugged. “What? Dad can protect himself.”

“You shouldn’t encourage it!”

Toga whined, “Are we there yet?”

“Ten minutes out,” Fuyumi told her with a glance to the GPS.

“Longest ten minutes of my life, chauffeuring around a bunch of murderers,” Natsuo grumbled.

“Less ‘chauffeur’, more ‘getaway driver’,” Spinner commented.

“Please don’t remind me.”

Fuyumi frowned. “Look, Natsu, if you really don’t want to, we can adjust the plan. I think Spinner might be able to drive…?”

“Grand Theft Auto and real life driving are basically the same,” Spinner confirmed.

“No!” Natsuo rushed to respond, “I can’t let you break our brother out without me!”

Did this count as a fun family outing? Technically, Fuyumi didn’t tell Shouto anything in case it would jeopardize his future as a hero. The League were also pretty non-enthused at the idea of working with a hero-in-training, so Fuyumi decided it would be safer to keep him out of it.

Her phone buzzed. Who would call during such a tense time? She pulled out her phone…

Sho is calling…

She let it go, letting it finish vibrating. She probably shouldn’t talk to him this exact minute, she could call him back.

“Who’s calling?” Toga asked, peering over her shoulder.

“No one,” Fuyumi lied as the buzzes ran out.

Then started again.

She really didn’t want to… but what if it was an emergency or something? She answered, “Shouto?”

Natsuo balked. “You’re talking to him right now?”

“Hi Fuyumi, Dabi is getting moved tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just want to make sure that you have a plan or something?”

“A plan?” Fuyumi’s voice squeaked.

“To break him out. You’re not telling me because I’m a student, aren’t you?”

“Look, Shouto…” Fuyumi wasn’t sure what to say.

“I can guess. But you do have a plan, right? He won’t be stuck in Tartarus forever, right?” Although Shouto was generally calm, Fuyumi could hear the edges of anxiety creep in his voice over the phone.

“I can’t tell you the details… but Dabi will not be going to Tartarus,” She reassured him.

“…Okay.”

“Thanks for calling, but I need to go now.”

Shouto was quiet for a moment. “Good luck.”

Fuyumi smiled. “Thanks, bye.”

Once she hung up, she turned to face the rest of the van.

“Shouto told us ‘Good luck’,” She told them.

"Aw, that’s sweet!” Twice exclaimed.

Natsuo was slowing down, finding a good area to park that was inconspicuous but also close to the prison. “I notice you didn’t mention working with the League.”

“We can tell him the details afterwards if he’s curious,” Fuyumi told him.

The car slowed to a stop. Natsuo took a deep breath. “Well, I guess it’s time to crime.”

---

Fuyumi approached the front desk. “Hello! I’m here to visit-”

The receptionist, well-used to her by now, responded fast, “I know. Identification?”

They went through the usual process, making sure Fuyumi was who she said she was and confirming her appointment. Fuyumi glanced at her watch, trying not to hold her breath as time passed. Once done with checking her driver’s license and scanning her for any weapons, the receptionist waved her along.

Once inside the prison, security was notably more lax. Getting into the prison was the biggest challenge, but Fuyumi had a completely innocent reason to be there. Once inside, there were one of two security cameras by the entrance and in the actual visitation area, but the hallway was notably insecure, including a bathroom.

She slipped into the women’s restroom and pulled out several marbles. She checked her watch again: one minute left. She took a few deep breaths, amping herself up. After all of this was done, she might be able to hug her twin again. She peeked outside the bathroom, making sure no one else was about to come in.

The marbles were so unassuming, it was no wonder they slipped right through the search. She debated whether she should line them up or something so they would have space. Before she made a decision, time ran out.

With a poof, the marbles in her hands became the League, almost exploding out from Fuyumi’s hands and creating a dangerous mass of people, some appearing mid-air.

She caught Shigaraki as he fell, earning an unamused glare from him and snickers from the other members. He was lighter than a class of second graders. “Put me down,” He snarled.

Fuyumi acquiesced, and he patted himself down as he spoke. “Do we have a full party?”

“Yup!” Toga confirmed, looking around.

Spinner nodded. “Looks like it.”

“Aside from Dabi,” Twice commented.

Mr. Compress was much less enthused, rubbing his forehead and groaning. “Marbling myself is always so weird…”

Fuyumi couldn’t help a pang of sympathy at his headache. Apparently marbling himself was a strange process, and he had to do so while trying to keep track of the time so that everyone would be released when Fuyumi had them in the bathroom.

Spinner put a hand on his back. “Are you still good to take out the cameras?”

Mr. Compress coughed and straightened up his back. “Of course!”

“I can take Big Sister Leia hostage, right?” Toga crooned, slipping out a dagger.

“Only if we need to,” Shigaraki reminded her, then turned to Fuyumi, “You ready to roll?”

Fuyumi nodded. “Sorry I’ll be resisting if there are witnesses.”

Mr. Compress bowed. “Then let’s start the show.”

---

Acting like everything was normal wasn’t too difficult when just talking with the guards, but once she was in the visitation room, it was a challenge to try small-talk with Dabi without telling him what was about to happen.

Although the League was planning to take out all the cameras they came across so there would be less evidence of Fuyumi’s involvement, they couldn’t guarantee that they would have time to destroy the tapes of their conversations as well, so Fuyumi didn’t want to reveal anything at all to Dabi.

That meant Dabi was completely unaware of his imminent prison break.

He was a little more irritable than usual today, “Wow, my last day here and you’re the only one who could bear to show up and say goodbye?”

Fuyumi had to hold back from screaming I didn’t want Shouto involved in the prison break and Natsuo is literally waiting for you outside. Instead, she made a show of furrowing her eyebrows and tearing up. “I’m sorry, Dabi, they have school, and they saw you the other day, so I think-”

“Don’t apologize,” He snapped, “I wasn’t expecting anything.”

She sighed. “It’s okay if you’re disappointed.”

He scoffed. “It’s fine. I’m just gonna be stuck in Tartarus for the rest of my life, not like I wanted to see them for one last time or some sappy shit like-”

There was the sound of something slamming against the one-way mirror. Dabi flinched, eyes flickering to the source, and Fuyumi had to force herself to not smile.

Although it was muffled, some more slams clearly demonstrated something was going on. Dabi narrowed his eyes at Fuyumi. “What. Did. You. Do?”

Fuyumi blinked at him innocently. “I don’t know what you’re saying, I just came to visit-”

The mirror disintegrated.

Toga jumped through the resultant hole, pressing a knife against Fuyumi’s throat before she had a chance to blink. In contrast, Shigaraki strolled leisurely into the room, approaching Dabi.

Dabi was staring, mouth gaping, at the scene. Behind Shigaraki, Mr. Compress bounced into the room, using his walking stick to stab the camera in the room. There was still noise in the other room, most likely Spinner and Twice keeping watch or fighting if there was anyone left.

Shigaraki pressed his full palm against Dabi’s restraints as he spoke, “Ready to come home?”

Dabi still seemed too gobsmacked to speak, so he just mutely nodded.

Mr. Compress turned to Fuyumi and winked, the signal that all the cameras had been taken out. She pushed Toga off and inverted her coat, then pulled out her mask. Time for Leia-mode.

Dabi stood and flexed his freed body, letting out some flickers of flame. He glanced around at his comrades, still seeming in shock at the turn of events.

Alarms started blaring above them, and Spinner ran in, Twice following close behind. “One of them got away, reinforcements are coming.”

Dabi recovered enough from his shock to speak. “Let’s fucking blow this joint, then.”

Shigaraki smiled wide, lips cracking, and put a hand against one of the other walls. The whole group followed as he plowed through the building; no need for doors when you can just disintegrate a path to the street.

They had to fight a couple of guards and fend off a pro-hero. The pro-hero was quickly subdued when Fuyumi threw Mr. Compress at him, and Mr. Compress was able to turn him into a marble. They left that marble in the wreckage; he could release it once they had escaped.

Once they were out in the street, Dabi’s eyes flickered. “Where to now, boss?”

Shigaraki pointed to the van with tinted windows, whose engine was already on. “Our getaway car.”

As they hurried to the vehicle, Dabi looked around at the group. “Wait a second, the whole League is here. Who’s driving?”

Spinner flung the side door open, and Natsuo turned his head just enough to see Dabi. “Hey bro! You ready to go?”

Dabi froze, and Fuyumi had to drag him into the car so they could close the door behind them. Natsuo accelerated fast, and the whole group in the back was jostled around as he sped down several streets.

Mr. Compress crawled over the cupholders to get into the front seat, where he could give Natsuo directions.

Meanwhile, since they had a moment to breath, Fuyumi wrapped Dabi up in a hug. He was comfortably warm, and she internally celebrated the fact that they were no longer forced to talk across a table while watched by guards.

Dabi shifted as though about to shove her off, but Toga and Twice jumped on them as well, creating a giant group hug. Although Fuyumi was a little squished, she couldn’t bear to part from Dabi yet, still marveling at the fact that he was out and alive.

Dabi was able to wheeze out, “Geez, give me a break, will you? I’ve had more than enough of being restrained recently.”

The three of them reluctantly parted, still sticking close even as they gave him space to breath. Twice was crying. “We missed you!”

Dabi laughed softly at that. “Fucking saps.”

Spinner was sitting awkwardly nearby, holding onto the car seat as Natsuo spun them around sharp corners. His eyes kept flicking up and down Dabi, as though making sure he was really there and really alright. Fuyumi could relate. “…It is a relief to see you again,” Spinner eventually said.

Even Shigaraki wanted in on the reunion, ruffling Dabi’s hair briefly (with a pinkie raised) before Dabi swatted it away. “For real Dabi, shit’s easier when you’re around.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

Natsuo parked the car behind an abandoned retail store that only had one other car in the parking lot. They had fled fast, so there were no immediate pursuers behind them, but they couldn’t afford to waste time, so everyone jumped out of the car.

Dabi followed along as they all went to the other car, Natsuo hopping in the driver’s seat again. This was another van, but of a different make and color and with different plates. They peeled out of the parking lot, but drove much more sedately on the main roads, trying to blend in with regular traffic.

The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and Dabi kept glancing to the driver’s seat. Rather than distract Natsuo, though, he spoke to Fuyumi. “So you got the one normal Todoroki involved in crime?”

Natsuo still heard them, though, “I just wanted to be included for once!”

Fuyumi pouted. “You’re one to talk, Dabi, considering I got involved in crimes due to your influence.”

“That’s why I tried to cut you off as soon as I realized who you were.”

“Don’t you dare fucking cut me out again, or I’m taking you back to jail.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

“Also you’re visiting us twice a month, at the new house.”

He snorted. “You can’t make me.”

“I can, though,” Shigaraki cut in, smirking.

Dabi whirled to face him. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“For my help in the prison break, we did a little negotiation…” Fuyumi told him.

Shigaraki nodded. “I agreed to making you visit, so she’d help today and also stop poking her nose around in our business in the future.”

Dabi scoffed, glaring at Fuyumi. “I can’t believe you went behind my back to make my fucking boss take your side.”

Shigaraki shrugged. “At first she wanted weekly, but I fought for you dude.”

Dabi crossed his arms and pouted.

The car slowed down. They were now in a relatively isolated strip of road, surrounded by woods. Natsuo parked along the shoulder, and people started to leave the car.

As soon as Dabi exited, he was hit by another big hug from Natsuo. Natsuo was only a little taller, but he was much broader, so Dabi was basically surrounded by him, and looked smaller and frailer than Fuyumi was used to. Dabi also seemed confused by the situation, as he just stood there and made no move to shove his brother away. Natsuo held onto him, knuckles turning white.

Despite the tight grip, Natsuo’s voice was soft, almost cracking. “You better visit.”

Dabi didn’t respond, and Fuyumi couldn’t see his expression behind Natsuo’s shoulder. However, his hands came up, hugging Natsuo back.

Natsuo didn’t let go until Dabi let out a weak, “Yeah, I will.”

Mr. Compress put a hand on Dabi’s shoulder. “Are you good to go, or do you want a little longer-”

“Let’s go,” Dabi confirmed, turning away from his siblings.

Natsuo and Fuyumi watched the League leave. They didn’t know exactly where the League was going, since they didn’t want the siblings to know where their base was, but they at least weren’t in prison.

Natsuo took a deep breath. “Do you think he’ll actually visit?”

Fuyumi laughed, patting Natsuo. “Don’t worry. If he doesn’t, I can hunt him down again.”

He returned the laugh. “Ready to go home?”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

---

---

---

 

Fuyumi ate with gusto, watching Dad chew his meal as well.

No one else was at the table.

“Thank you for coming to visit,” Dad said.

She smiled. “It’s my pleasure!”

As they ate, she updated him on her life.

“…And Rumi wants to celebrate our anniversary, but we haven’t decided on anything concrete yet…”

He listened, nodding along. When the meal was done, he got up and started taking the dishes to the sink. “By the way, the stew was my favorite.”

Fuyumi beamed.

When she left the house, she shared a quick hug with Dad. He was usually quite stiff when they did so, but he always hugged her back.

She made her way to the other house.

---

She opened the door. “I’m home!”

Natsuo’s voice echoed down the hall. “Fuyumi? Get in here! I’m trying to prove a point.”

His voice was playful, and she followed it to the living room.

There, on the couches and the wide coffee table, was the rest of her family. It was the weekend, so Natsuo and Shouto had opted to come and visit.

Mom was there, it was her house after all. She sat on the couch with a cozy blanket over her shoulders.

Beside her was Dabi.

Every time she walked into a scene like this, she had a moment of incongruity. Touya had died. Dabi had been a sketchy dude who introduced her to fighting rings and vigilantism. Now he was her brother.

Mom had taken the news surprisingly well, welcoming Dabi back home with open arms. Dabi was also surprisingly cooperative, at least when Mom was in the room. When she finished taking a sip of her teacup, she idly put it in Dabi’s hand so he could keep it warm while she spoke, “Natsuo, I think Fuyumi will agree with me.”

“On what?” Fuyumi asked as she took a seat.

Shouto sighed. “Something about worms.”

Shouto didn’t always visit, but he tried to do so during the rare Dabi visitation days. Since Dabi had ‘gotten out’, there had not been a direct attack on the 1-A class from the League.

Natsuo had a serious voice. “Worms aren’t cute, right?”

Fuyumi opened her mouth to speak, but Dabi interjected, “You didn’t give her the context!”

“Context?” Fuyumi really wasn’t sure what kind of conversation she just walked into.

“The worm makes soil healthy and fertile,” Mom cut in, “You can’t properly judge the worm without thinking about it’s valuable role in the garden ecosystem.”

Natsuo crossed his arms. “They’re ugly! You agree, right Fuyumi?”

Fuyumi already felt herself tensing at the possibility of an argument. Avert, avert, de-escalate. “Well…”

“Don’t pressure her,” Shouto told Natsuo.

“But we need a tie-breaker,” Natsuo whined, “Since Mom and Dabi seem convinced that a weird wriggly creature is somehow made cute by pooping soil.”

That phrasing eased some of Fuyumi’s tenseness, and she let out a laugh. Mom grabbed her teacup from Dabi’s hand, taking another sip.

Dabi nodded sagely. “Cuteness isn’t just physical, you gotta account for the behavior and role.”

Fuyumi coughed to announce her verdict. “I’ll say they don’t look particularly cute…”

Natsuo cheered.

“…But I wouldn’t want to be rude to such hardworking members of society by calling them ugly.”

Natsuo groaned. “Come on, make a decision!”

“I think that’s fine,” Shouto said.

“I think we’ve talked about worms more than enough today,” Mom cut in, “Fuyumi, how was your day?”

Fuyumi smiled, and the conversation moved on.

She never imagined last year that she’d have this. Her family around a table, having stupid conversations and laughing. And as much as she hated Dad’s absence here, she recognized it was that absence that made this much possible. A home where the arguments were over something as inconsequential as the cuteness of worms, and didn’t immediately devolve into shouting and violence.

All she had wanted was for Dad and her little brothers to get along, and maybe for Mom to come back to the house. She had convinced herself that was the only way to get a perfect family again, and that somehow things would get solved if everyone forced themselves into that vision.

This reality, though different from that desperate version of a perfect family, was somehow better.

If she told her closeted self a year ago that she’d end up introducing her girlfriend to Mom, in a house of Mom’s own, she would have laughed in disbelief. If she told herself she’d get another chance to bond with Touya, she would have cried. If she told herself that Dad would actually change, and recognize his own faults enough to make hard decisions that benefit others in the family, she would have waved that off as impossible.

But it was all real, and she couldn’t be more thankful.

Notes:

The end!

Thank you to everyone who read this all the way to the end, and a BIG thank you to those that have been following along as it updated. Those of you who commented on p much every chapter: I'm too easily flustered to respond to every comment, but I 100% read every single one and delight upon seeing the same names commenting every chapter (and also thrilled when those names show up kudos/commenting on my other works).

This turned into a bit of a behemoth, I didn't expect when I started this in January that I'd be writing a fic over 100k, but uh.... half a year later, I somehow ended up with this. The Todoroki's are an interesting family to write, and I'm a sucker for a good rare-pair like Fuyumi/Miruko, so it was a delightful experience. This was my first My Hero Academia work, and I couldn't be more appreciative of the active, enthusiastic, friendly fandom that's interacted with this fic.

So once again, thank you for reading! It's been a delight!

Chapter 55: Epilogue - What's Worse: Being Taken Hostage, Or Being Late To Your One-Year Anniversary Dinner?

Summary:

She looked at the clock, fortunately in her field of vision, and grimaced when she saw it was already the time her and Rumi had made reservations.

Notes:

A lot of commenters on the last chapter mentioned they missed Miruko. At first I was like "Didn't we have her pretty recently?" and then one of the commenters (Kodrin) mentioned we last saw her in chapter 46 and I was like "WAIT WAS IT ACTUALLY THAT MANY CHAPTERS AGO?"

You guys are right. There wasn't enough Fuyumi/Miruko. So I decided to write a surprise epilogue as a remedy.

There's a "plot", but the real goal is to fluff it up in here.

Although Fuyumi had cut down on her vigilantism, there were occasions she wished she was constantly dressed as Leia and ready to throw down with any two-bit criminal who dared to interfere with her.

Like now, being taken hostage on her way to her anniversary dinner with Miruko.

She sighed, but held still to prevent the claw pressing at he throat from cutting into it. Which wasn’t too easy, considering how the villain trembled, clearly stressed. Fuyumi would bet this was maybe the first or second crime this person had ever committed.

All Fuyumi had wanted to do was take a shortcut to the restaurant. She thought cutting through the mall, hurrying through this music store, she’d be able to get to the restaurant right on time.

She tried to hold back another sigh, barely paying attention as claw-dude’s accomplice shoveled cash from the register into his bag. She had waffled between two different dresses for way too long before deciding on the one she was wearing now, and the delay had made her rushed, leading to this situation. She vowed to plan things out better next time.

She bit her lip. She hoped there would be a next time. It’d be nice to have a two-year anniversary, three-year anniversary, maybe one day a ten-year-

“Don’t try shit, or I’ll tear out her throat!” Claws-dude shouted at a pro-hero who appeared.

Said hero, some sort of bouncy mouse-eared woman, froze at the threat, eyes darting around to observe the situation. Fuyumi frowned, displeased at the knowledge that her presence made this pro-hero’s job harder. Dad would be disappointed in her-

No, She reminded herself, Dad cares about me. He would want me to cooperate in whatever way necessary to guarantee my safety.

The thought was nice, but she was still a hostage.

She knew she could create enough ice in a quick enough time to expel the claws from her throat. Her stamina wasn’t great, but she could at least get a few bursts of ice to get herself out of being a hostage. Using her hands to escape would require shifting around, something that would telegraph her moves and could trigger the claws-dude to make good on his threat. Her quirk, however, fast and unexpected, could get her out of this situation.

She glanced around the store for maybe the twelfth time since getting herself in this situation. Although many of the customers fled at the first sign of trouble, there were still a few who milled about, apparently curious or recording the robbery on their phones.

AKA there were plenty of witnesses.

Her hair and face, distinctly Todoroki Fuyumi, was clearly visible to every citizen recording the incident and the hero who was now trying to negotiate with the criminals. Quirk use was technically illegal, especially against other people. While she was not opposed to doing illegal things, she wasn’t eager to do so with witnesses and risk getting in trouble with the authorities for unauthorized quirk use.

She looked at the clock, fortunately in her field of vision, and grimaced when she saw it was already the time her and Rumi had made reservations. Now she was definitely going to be late, but she was stuck waiting for the pro-heroes to figure out how to deal with the situation. Once again, she wished that she had just dressed up as Leia and bounded across the rooftops to the restaurant. At least then she’d be able to beat up any would-be abductors without being recognized.

Fortunately there was a sudden movement, and Fuyumi was released. She turned and discovered that another pro-hero had sneaked up behind the criminals while the mouse hero had been distracting them, and the criminals were taken out quickly.

Although the threat was neutralized, Fuyumi had to stay so her statement on the crime could be taken. She sent a quick text to Rumi: Got caught up in a robbery, I’m ok but will be late.

She then messaged the boys (Natsuo and Shouto) and Dad: I’m ok, but fair warning in case you see it online or something: I got taken hostage for a robbery, but it was resolved quickly and I’m fine.

Although she almost immediately got a response from Natsuo, she didn’t have time to read it before her phone was buzzing with an incoming call. Rumi <3<3<3 is calling…

She answered it, “Hey babe.”

“What do you mean ‘caught up in a robbery’?”

She bit her lip. “I’ll explain when I get to the restaurant. Do you mind waiting? I need to give my statement before I go…”

“Should I come and walk you the rest of the way? Where are you?”

“That’s alright, I’m pretty close by, in the mall. You go ahead and order me something tasty, alright?”

“…You swear you’re okay? Not just saying that so I won’t worry?”

Fuyumi laughed. “I swear, I don’t have a scratch on me.”

"How do you feel though?”

Fuyumi rolled her eyes, but was grinning at Rumi’s concern. “It was a pretty clumsy robbery attempt, it didn’t even get my adrenaline pumping. I’m just sad to delay our dinner.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’ll be there soon. Love you!”

“Love you too.”

 

---

Although she responded to a few texts from her family while walking to the restaurant, she was walking fast and trying not to trip over her own feet while texting, so eventually she just told them she was busy on her date and pocketed her phone.

She hurried inside, immediately scanning the restaurant for Rumi’s white ears.

They made for a great landmark, and she was able to beeline to a table in the corner. As soon as Rumi saw her, she hopped out of her seat and pulled Fuyumi into a quick embrace, dropping a peck on the lips as she pulled away. Fuyumi admired Rumi’s outfit, a sleek silver dress with a tight choker and arms exposed to show off her biceps. Her thighs were covered, but Fuyumi expected to see those later tonight.

Rumi eyed Fuyumi up and down as they took their seats, probably looking for injuries rather than admiring the outfit she had labored over before getting here. Fuyumi leaned in to speak, “If you’re really worried, you can examine my body closely later tonight to make sure I’m okay.”

Although Rumi could flirt, she was easily flustered when taken by surprise, and her cheeks reddened. She puffed her cheeks a moment, pouting, before deciding on a response, “You better bet I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Fuyumi licked her lips. “I’m banking on it.”

Rumi took a deep breath, probably trying to calm herself down, before changing the subject slightly. “So what exactly happened, anyway?”

“Well…”

 

---

Fuyumi finished explaining by the time their meals arrived.

Rumi laughed. “How do you get yourself in trouble so much?”

“To be fair, this is only the second time I’ve been in a hostage situation as Fuyumi Todoroki.” She didn’t need to detail the first time at the grocery store, after all Rumi was there and ‘rescued’ her.

Rumi leaned on her hands. She seemed to be debating something, biting her lip, but that was rather unlike Rumi. Normally she wasn’t afraid to say exactly what she thought.

So Fuyumi continued speaking while Rumi organized whatever she was trying to say, “Honestly, the most frustrating part is just being unable to do anything. I’m supposed to be an innocent civilian after all. It was hard to stay still when I knew my quirk could have gotten me out of the situation. I’ve dealt with worse danger as Leia, after all, I know what I’m doing, but…”

Rumi spoke abruptly. "You’re a fucking danger magnet.”

Fuyumi frowned. “…You saying I need a bodyguard or something?” Then she grinned, thinking of a tease. “I know you want to follow me everywhere, but you have your own work to do, you can’t be protecting me all the time.”

Rumi shook her head, then began digging through her bag. “I wasn’t planning to give you your gift until we finished dinner, but…”

Fuyumi gaped. “Gift? Babe, I thought you said we shouldn’t- I didn’t prepare anything for you, just the reservation here-"

“I know, I know, but I had this thought…” Rumi pulled out some sheets of paper. “…And I thought you’d appreciate it, and after this incident I think you really need it.”

Fuyumi was confused how some pieces of paper could help her until Rumi passed them over the table and she could read the title.

Adult Provisional Hero License Recommendation for Fuyumi Todoroki.

Fuyumi stared a minute, not quite comprehending. “Rumi… What?”

Rumi shifted in her seat, ears twitching. “Like you said, I can’t protect you all the time, and frankly I know you can protect yourself for the most part. But even if you can, right now you’re not allowed to, so I figured…”

Fuyumi was awed at how much Rumi had thought about this. She had been noticing her frustration and trying to solve it in her own way. Fuyumi thought back to dreams in her childhood. She was satisfied with being a teacher, but somehow this slip of paper was making those early dreams rear up again with a vengeance. When Touya ‘died’, she thought she’d never be able to help people the way Endeavor did, as a hero… but Rumi was offering her an opportunity.

"...Technically my recommendation doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the license, you need to go through an exam and shit, but I know you can pass. And then you’ll be able to at least use your quirk in situations where there isn’t a pro-hero present, I know it’s not perfect but-”

“It’s perfect,” Fuyumi insisted, feeling herself tear up, “You believe in me enough to recommend me?”

Rumi smirked. “I mean, you’ve saved me, that tells me you’ve got at least some talent.”

“I love you,” Fuyumi blubbered.

“Shit.” Rumi got up, looking alarmed. “Babe, I swear I wasn’t tryna make you cry-”

“Too late,” Fuyumi told her while wiping at her eyes.

Rumi hurried over to her side, not content to sit across the table while Fuyumi made a mess of her makeup in the middle of a restaurant. “Fuck, I should have waited after all.”

Fuyumi laughed. “You’re great, this is great, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Rumi responded while wiping at Fuyumi’s wet cheeks.

Fuyumi hugged her, ignoring the concerned looks from couples at a few other tables. Rumi rubbed at her back as she calmed down.

She eventually recovered enough to continue dinner, although she occasionally would remember that Rumi believed she could be a hero, not just a vigilante playing on her own terms but someone who was capable of being trusted with a provisional license, and she would tear up again. It somehow didn’t feel real, being recognized for her ability. She knew she was capable, but that side was hidden under a mask in the nighttime. She never thought she’d be allowed to show her competence as anything other than a vigilante… But Rumi was giving her the chance. Her heart was beyond full.

---

When they went to Rumi’s apartment for the night, they celebrated in a much more private way. Rumi confirmed very thoroughly that Fuyumi was not injured anywhere during the attempted robbery.

Afterwards, as they were trying to sleep, Fuyumi grumbled, “I can’t believe you made me cry in the middle of the restaurant.”

Rumi tugged her closer, though it was hard to get closer than their already-tangled limbs, and kissed her forehead. “Sorry, but it was very cute.”

Fuyumi headbutted Rumi’s chin, pouting. “Just you wait, next year I’m going to make you cry.”

“How are ya gonna do that?” Rumi asked with amusement in her voice.

“I don’t know.” She hummed, thinking. “Would you cry if I proposed to you?”

Rumi stiffened and went silent.

Was that a good sign? Or a bad sign? Fuyumi pinched Rumi’s waist. “Is that a yes?”

“T-that-” Rumi coughed. “I don’t know- You can’t just drop something like that on me!”

Fuyumi grinned, pleased to hear she surprised Rumi enough to make her stutter. Although they had turned off the lights to go to sleep, she had seen Rumi’s embarrassed face often enough to imagine it easily.

“I don’t know if I would cry even though I’d be- I’d be feeling a lot of things. Obviously! If you did something like p-propose, who wouldn’t? But now that you’ve said that, I have some time to prepare myself. I’ll get mentally prepared and shit, and be ready to face you next year, so I won’t cry!”

Fuyumi clicked her tongue. “That’s no good, I want to surprise you. It’ll have to be before our next anniversary, then, when you least expect it."

“Fuyumi!” She exclaimed in a chastising tone.

Fuyumi giggled and pressed a finger to Rumi’s lips. “Shh, I’m trying to sleep.”

Rumi pushed her and pinned her down. “You don’t sound very tired, considering how you’re tryna rile me up.”

Fuyumi smirked. “You could tell?”

She got a kiss instead of a verbal response. She returned the kiss with fervor; Rumi wasn’t the only one who got riled up from their talk.

Once they had worked out all their energy, they attempted to sleep in earnest.

Fuyumi hadn’t brought up the proposal too seriously, but the more she thought about it the more appealing it was. Although she hoped to stay close to Mom and the rest of her family, she couldn’t deny her desire to see Rumi every day. She felt herself blush at the thought of not only living with Rumi, but maybe even one day raising children with her. Fuyumi had a great blueprint of how to not raise kids from Dad, so all she had to do was the opposite of him. They would get all the love and support she wished she’d gotten in her childhood.

A snore from Rumi reminded her that they were still just girlfriends, and they weren’t quite there yet. She let out a soft laugh, reminding herself to go one step at a time. Proposal first. She wouldn’t rush into it, but it was worth thinking about.

She nuzzled closer to Rumi and finally drifted off to sleep, still imagining the beautiful future they could build.

Notes:

The end (for real this time)

Thank you for reading!