A Dragon's Heart // Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Chapter 31: I'm Sorry

A Few Weeks Later

Dabi and I scouted the city in search of new potential recruits, both of us wearing disguises. We passed numerous missing posters, each one with my face on them.

"Hey, how's your stab wound?" Dabi finally broke the silence.

"Huh? How'd you know about it?" I quipped, my arms wrapping around myself for comfort. My mind flickered back to the time Toga stabbed me with a knife. When I woke up, the wound was already wrapped with bandages. I always assumed I had done it myself, but now...

I glanced at Dabi, who, through the makeup and blond wig, was barely recognizable. "Can we talk about how you are rocking that blond wig?" I chuckled.

"We don't talk about it," he whined.

We entered a busy shopping mall. Faceless bodies surrounded us, and I wondered how my class was doing. They were probably having their Provisional Licensing Exam, or was that a few weeks ago? I honestly couldn't remember. Pain stung my heart. I missed Todoroki, but I couldn't go back – not yet.

"Hey," I stopped, my nostrils catching the familiar scent of smoke. "Can you smell that?" I asked Dabi. He paused to give me an annoyed look.

"Stop being crazy. It's probably noth—"

Dabi was cut off by the sound of alarms – fire alarms. The noise grated painfully against my ears, and I quickly slid in my earbuds to lessen the sound. The mall erupted into a shrill panic as people hurried towards the exit. Soon, police and heroes arrived to help with the evacuation.

"Come on, I can fly us both out," I offered. "Unless you want to get caught by the cops."

"What did you have in mind?" Dabi asked.

"Let's go to the roof. The entrance is over here." I began to walk before Dabi grabbed my wrist.

"But that's right next to the fire," he whined.

I looked the tall guy up and down. "Don't tell me you're scared of a bit of fire? You literally have a fire quirk. Shut up and get over it," I sighed. Dabi's fingers let go of me, and his electric blue eyes peered at the ground in silence. It was as if he was trying to apologize but was too proud to say it. We began to make our way towards the roof staircase. As we got closer, the smell of smoke grew thicker with each step. I could hear fire faintly crackling around us but had no idea where it was. It was hard to believe all this fire caused so much smoke.

We were halfway up the stairs to the exit when I heard faint whimpers in the distance. My heart quickened for a reason I didn't understand, causing me to halt.

"What's wrong?" Dabi asked.

"Ugh, nothing. I'll meet you up there. I think I forgot something," I lied before hardening my joints. With my newfound strength, I jumped high into the air towards the faint noise. I couldn't understand why I felt such a strong need to find the source of the noise. It wasn't long until I found Midoriya's limp body. He wore his hero costume, but his aqua hood had slid off his face. His body convulsed horridly, as if he were gasping for air. Fiery red flames circled menacingly around him, inching closer. My heart shattered, but I swallowed the pain down. I picked up Midoriya's unconscious body and carried him to safety. I took him far from the flames and close to the exit where everyone was evacuating. I felt him stir within my arms as he woke up. His green orbs bored into me.

"Amara? Is that you?" he choked. I felt my body freeze at the sound of his voice, reminding me of everything I left behind. And I hated it.

"Why did you leave?" he asked.

"Because I wanted to," I lied.

"Todoroki and the rest of us miss you."

"I don't care. See you never." I began to leave, but Midoriya gripped my wrist tightly.