Lost Bonds

Chapter 7: Fuyumi

Shoto's missing. The school has no idea what happened. He applied to go off campus, got permission, then never came back. He messaged one of his classmates at nine, he was fifteen minutes late to getting back at that point. He's not been heard from since. We can't track his phone in any way, his location is off. Natsuo and I are hysterical with fear. Our baby brother is gone. He's no where near defenceless, but that just makes it worse. Who could make a powerful UA student and the son of the Number One hero just vanish like that?

The media isn't helping. It's like the incident at Kamino all over again. UA is in serious trouble. Eraserhead, Principal Nezu, Present Mic, Midnight, Vlad King and all the other staff are putting their best efforts into finding him. But it won't be enough. An incredibly powerful villain must be behind it. Therefore, we need an incredibly powerful hero to find him. Top heroes like Hawks, Edgeshot and Ryugu are looking too. But Japan is looking towards one man to look for him. And he's not doing it. Dad is just laying in bed, barely moving.

He's been moved to a secret estate area we use to get away from publicity now and again. This time, it's so Dad can heal after the hospital fire, and in case all of us are targets. Natsuo doesn't like it, being stuck inside with all of us. Mum has had to stay in hospital, but no one knows which hospital she's in. We're as safe as can be. I'd have expected Dad to have done something to help, but he won't. He just stays there, silent. I've had to remind him to do basic daily things like eating and drinking. I'm worried. He's never like this. Not when Mum got ill, not when Shoto didn't get his liscene.

I guess he thinks he knows what's happened. He probably thinks Shoto ran away. He'd never do that, though. He wants to be a hero. It'd be counterproductive to his goal, to be better than Dad. Running would make him look bad, and he'd lose valuable training time. Also, he knows he'd be found eventually, since he has such a unique and well known appearance. He'd be asked why he ran, and would be forced to talk about Dad's past parenting methods. Shoto is smart, he knows Dad will lose his Number One status, his hero liscene, and will most likely face imprisonment. We've lost All Might, we can't lose Dad too.

But, even if Shoto didn't run, I'm scared we're losing him right now. I should talk to Dad. Whatever happened in the hospital has riled him up, and Shoto going missing has pushed him. That scarred villain, Dabi, is the most probable cause of the fire. And it started in Dad's room. Some faint dots start connecting in my mind, and the gears in my mind start whirring. I need to do some research. I get my laptop out and look for any information on this villain.

I barely find anything. But, I find enough. There is a psychologist that examines villains by looking at their actions, Quirk, anything they can to explain why they act as they do. They've examined Dabi, and came to the conclusion that he had some kind of trauma, possibly related to his scars, or why he has them. I was also able to find out a bit about his Quirk. Sites that it's been used at have been completely charred, everything turned to ashes. It's been compared to Dad's Prominence Burn, his Ultimate Move. He seems to have no limit to how much power he has, according to experts, and barely exherts himself when using his flames. But, he must have a physical limit for how long he can withstand the flames.

Dabi has some kind of trauma to do with his scars, probably from when he was younger. He has a powerful flame Quirk, with no visible limit. He also spoke to Dad before trying to kill him. Unless it's all a coincidence, there's only one person like that, that has reason to hurt the Number One hero. I walk into Dad's room, and open the curtains. He looks up at me, "I'm not hungry, I don't want to go out. You can leave me alone." I sigh, he's impossible sometimes. "This isn't about your health at the moment. What happened before the fire? I want every single detail." He looks up at me, he looks worn out, despite his refusal to get up.

"Why do you want to know?" I explain, "it could be a lead on what happened to Shoto. Don't be stubborn for once, I need to know." I get angry during this, which seems to surprise him. He gives in, "it was awful. He came in through the window, and started speaking as if we're just friends that hadn't seen each other in a while. First, he told me his true identity, confirming who I thought he is. Next, He asked about you, Natsuo and your mother. I noticed he left out Shoto, and thought he'd done something. He hadn't, but just started monolouging about how he'd turn Shoto completely against me."

I ask for more details, which he provides. "He said that Natsuo hates me the most, but doesn't have the power to act on his hated. Then, he talked about how Shoto has power, and the motive to turn on me. He wants to expose my mistreatment of you all, and bring society down. He doesn't care about whether Shoto does it willingly or not, just about revenge. He then ended by saying that your mother probably isn't the only insane one in the family, then 'repaid' me for everything by setting the wall on fire. He even pointed out how each of us are insane. You're trying to make us all one big happy family, Natsuo is full of hate, and Shoto has been completely ruined. It's obvious why I'd be seen as crazy."

I shudder, "We're you ever suspicious about Toya being alive?" He nods his head, "Not for years, though. Ever since 'Dabi' started his attack on Japan." I nod in agreement. I walk out the room, not before saying, "I'll get you some breakfast and tea." He doesn't respond, just lays down, looking defeated.

Word Count: 1068