The Rose and The Flame : A Dabi x Reader Fanfiction

[Chapter 10]

You hated crowds of people; large and overwhelming crowds. If you didn't have at least a reasonable space, you'd felt as if you'd lose it. The Sports Festival was well underway—Todoroki in the middle of his match. You didn't doubt his power, though something seemed off before he started. His emotions suggested he was upset at god knows what, but you thought it best not to probe his head for the answers. You'd decided to step away from the action and retreat to the lobby hallway. Stopping on the second staircase—you leaned against the railing and took a breather.
"I've never been more ready for a day to be over in my life..."

"I couldn't agree more. You must be F/N" you took in the stature of the tall, muscular hero everyone was familiar with as All Might and gave a small shrug.

"Maybe I am. You need no introduction though. It's nice to finally meet you in person, although my hopes of talking with you during orientation was a bust"

"I'm sorry to have broken your expectations," his tone switched to a more serious one as you shifted your weight to one side. "Lucius' child, correct?"

"Unfortunately. You know him?"

"You could say we are very well acquainted. He and I were close until..."

"The accident? Call it what you want, I know better. I'm not here for publicity or to be seen. I just want some truth to this screwed up world" Clearly, you'd had enough talk for one day. You relieved your post and started down the stairs towards the arena.

"Then it would be too much to ask you to hear me out?" Halting in your tracks, you turned to face your superior. He had a way of getting your attention, you'd give him that much.

"Depends. What am I hearing?" He motioned for you to turn around and you did. Two men in crisp clean suits and dark shades stood posted in the hallway entrance to get back to the arena.

"If I didn't know how to rationalize, I'd wager they're here for you. Lucius isn't the only one who wants to keep the padlock on your quirk" Folding your arms, some part of you knew how right he was. The question was did your trust extend that far?

"Alright...so what am I supposed to do? Just rely on everything other than my quirk for this? You know that's not—"

"It's definitely possible. You said it yourself. If publicity isn't at all significant to you, then using your quirk shouldn't pose an issue. What are you afraid of?"

~~~~

"Drop her in again..." by now, you were shaking from the temperature of the solution you were being dumped into. A thin strip of cloth prevented you from getting any words out but kept most of the liquid trapped in your throat and nostrils. "Are you ready to cooperate, dear?" You remained silent; the man you hated so much pacing over to you to temporarily remove the barrier over your mouth. "It'll only take a second for you to agree to help us" You ejected a good amount of saliva—making sure it didn't miss his face.

"Go to hell" He merely wiped his face with a bright white handkerchief and tied your mouth once more.

"It's a shame. Such potential and beauty in that power of yours and yet...you still don't understand. Soon enough. Drop her again, 5 minutes this time"

~~~~

"One wrong move...and the military has my head on a silver platter"

"Then I guess you shouldn't make a mistake" All Might wasn't how you'd perceived. Sure he was courageous and brave on all the footage you'd seen, but a part of you expected him to be someone totally different behind the scenes and he wasn't. He was exactly how everyone; footage included, described him.

"Guess not" You turned to leave but something the hero said made you stop dead in your tracks.

"F/N...just breathe" Tucking a stray piece of your hair behind your ear, you nodded.

~~~~

Silence was great. It calmed you, gave you a soothing lullaby, it didn't make your head spin. But this silence was sickening. It was like you were talking to a brick wall and you were determined you definitely were. Your half and half friend had finished his match—with which he'd frozen almost the entirety of the arena with his quirk. You kept a few meters away in case he had another surge—one you didn't want to be caught up in.

"So....um, that match was pretty amazing. I didn't know you could do that with your powers"

"Neither did I" That starter was a bust so you tried a different approach.

"How're you feeling?"

"Fine." Yeah right.

"Okay" you knew you'd regret what you were about to do later and he'd probably hate you for it. Being you, it was crucial for you to know what was really going on in his head. Physically, you could feel it and it hurt; emotionally and naturally. But there was also a spark of anger and resentment in there—so you could guess who it belonged to. Todoroki stopped walking and turned to face you—catching onto what you were doing. "What happened before you went out there?"

"None of your business." That was cold, even for him.

"Bullshit. I swear if this is entirely about your father—"

"It's not important!" That was enough for you. You didn't take his tone towards you very well, so a little recoil was in order.

"YOU FROZE HALF OF THE WHOLE GODDAMN ARENA! I THINK THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!" Frustration apparent on his face, he sighed but still not wanting to burden you with his problems. And he definitely didn't want you to go down that road with Endeavor.

"I said I'm fine...just stop inserting yourself into my situation, alright?"

"I just want you to be a little more open with me from time to time. Is that too much to ask?"

"It is coming from you" You gave a sarcastic hand clap at his notion.

"Bravo, you shot me down. That what you wanted?"

"Y/N...."

"No, no honestly I'm done with this fucked up world and its people. Everything I've done since my mom died was based solely on the fact that I could try to be a guilt free human being, but since then I've gotten nowhere!" For the first time in years, you felt like crying and he noticed the shake in your voice.

"Hey...I didn't mean to—"

"Of course not. No one ever intends to...just do what you want. Obviously it's not my problem, right?"

"You children are interesting individuals" You knew that voice like the back of your hand. Seeing his face after a few years still didn't sit well with you. As he was making his way over to the two of you, Shouto pushed you behind him—in a sense of protection. "You've grown"

"Why are you here?"

"Everyone's watching the Sports Festival. I figured I'd get some front row seats myself" You and Shouto shared a look. You knew there was a hidden motive behind why he was here. "You can stop hiding the girl, I'm not here to hurt her"

"Funny. I remember you saying that when I was 9" You locked eyes with the very man who caused your suffering on behalf of your quirk. Officer in the military, Johess Raleigh.

"You have a match next, I expect you know the consequences of breaking your promise"

"I never made a—" Todoroki cut you off mid sentence and nodded silently in place of what you were going to say.

"She knows. If that's all you came to harass us about, then you can be on your way Mr. Raleigh" He smirked before turning to leave. "You ok?" You didn't want to admit how scared of Raleigh you were.  It resurfaced so many bad memories, however, it was almost time for your match.

"I'm fine...I'm gonna get going" There was nothing more you could say—and you took your leave.

"Be careful with your quirk, F/N...." that wasn't likely but you went with it.

"I will..."