A SINGLE BLUE FLAME ;; T. DABI

afraid (3)

"What happened?"

Touya crossed his arms, his aqua blue eyes piercing right through me. Bandages hung off his arms as he moved. I was about to answer him before I looked up ,noticing he was wearing a fresh bandage on the lower part of his cheek that was damp with blood. Again? Dark bags carried under his eyes. When was the last time he properly slept?

I quickly raised my hand to cup his other cheek, tilting his chin to take a better look at the bandaged wound.  My fingertips trade along his jaw, gently tapping against the wet cotton. "Touya, when did this happen? It's the third time this week..." I recalled the other three times this had happened. It wasn't rare for this to occur. Still wrong nonetheless.

He swatted my hand away, sending me a cold glare. He held my wrist, giving me a disapproving stare. His lips tugged downwards, only reinforcing his disappointment.
"Don't change the subject (Y/N), I'm serious."

I didn't intend to change the subject but it would have been nice to avoid talking about it. I sighed and walked through the silver gate, heading straight to the swings. The park was our haven, our safe space. We would meet up often to spend time together and overall just talk about anything and everything . Even though it wasn't the same as before it was still something. I wasn't planning on letting go of our friendship any time soon.

Ever since he scared Hanako away and saved me we became close friends. We started seeing each other in the swing area and did nothing but play together for hours on end until it was night time.For some time, he began being absent to a lot of our meetings due to his strict training schedule. This was all because of his father. Touya wasn't just casually overpowered and strong. His great skill took time and effort. After we became close, I learned about how his father would make him train until a point of exhaustion. He had a twisted desire of wanting to shape him into the "perfect hero" when all he really did was wear his body down. Touya suffered greatly because of this. The overuse of his quirk would often backfire on him and let the fire eat away at his flesh, crafting the scars that he carried on with time. Greed was all his father was, putting his own personal aspirations before his own child, disposing of him the moment he didn't need of his assistance anymore. It made my blood curl and boil. When Touya was twelve all of this changed. I'm not quite sure yet if it was for the better or worse. Still to this day my heart aches from all the things he had gone through. I hated seeing my best friend suffer.

He became free to roam around the neighborhood on his own and had more free time to spend with me. I became suspicious of his sudden free schedule. I can still recall his broken expression the day he admitted the reason.

. . .

"Touya, you've been able to spend time with me more than usual. That's great and all! But.. why?" I questioned as I swung my legs to lightly impulse my figure on the swings. We impulse ourselves in the usual swings, admiring the gradient of the evening. He swung as well, hesitation clear on his face before he spoke.

He ran a hand through his ginger locks, a sigh escaping his lips.
"It's a long story (Y/N)"

"Well I'm here to listen." I replied , determination clear on my expression. Touya was my best friend and the only person who hadn't run away from me. I wanted to help him through his hardships too. He had always been there to lift me up in moments of sadness. He barely showed any weakness to me. I always wanted to peer open his door of insecurities and hidden emotions. I had the key. I just needed the courage to open the door.

His usual joy was missing today. His figure was hunched over and hung low. He stared off into space, sinking further into his own silence. I was surprised he chose to speak.
"My father dropped my training permanently, that's all."