Purple Haze

2

"Toya-chan!" Izuku called, clearly excited to see the older boy at the park again

Toya watched as Izuku ran over to where he was perched on the swingset, the greenette soon joining him.

Just like the past couple of times the two had seen each other, Izuku started rambling about his day and school. Most of the time, Dabi allowed the mumbling to dissolve into background noise.

Maybe he should've paid a bit more attention as Izuku's next question seemed to come completely out of nowhere.

"How come you have burns under your eyes?" Came the innocent query.

Toya knew it was just Izuku being a curious five year old, but at the same time he could help but loathe that question.

"An unfortunate result of my quirk" the 11 year old gritted out through clenched teeth. Toya hated his quirk. All it has done is bring him endless pain and will probably continue to do so until he leaves the place for good.

"Oh, what does your quirk do?" Izuku asked quietly with concern.

Toya frowned at the tone. He didn't want anyone's pity, it was the last thing he needed from anybody.

Looking at the boy squarely, Toya was prepared to tell the boy exactly what he thought, but the look in his big green eyes stopped him short. His breath caught in his throat.

Tears had begun to well in the greenettes' eyes, genuine worry for Toya leaking through his features as Izuku stared at him patiently.

"Why?" Toya found himself asking. Why is Izuku crying?

"I don't want you to get hurt, especially by your own quirk. Maybe there's a way I can help it to not hurt you" Izuku managed to get out before his tears started to fall.

Toya was taken back by the look of genuine concern he was being given. Usually when people saw him, all Toya could see was the obligatory pity people put on themselves to give when they see someone less fortunate than them.

For some reason unknown to him, Toya felt he would probably be safe to open up even the tiniest bit to the five year old. Heaving a small sigh of defeat, Toya answered the boy.

"I have a fire quirk" the eleven year old mumbled just loud enough for Izuku to hear.

"A fire quirk?" Toya nodded as he looked down at the wood chips below the swings.

"Like Endeavor's quirk?" The green gasped, "That's amazing! It must be really powerful!" Izuku gushed, excited for his new friend.

Toya gritted his teeth at the mention of the hero. Scowling at the ground at the five year olds excited rambles.

"I guess" the older boy grumbled. Activating his quirk, Toya let the small blue flames engulf his fingers as he twirled them around for the greenette to see.

"Wow!" Izuku marveled, his green eyes glittering turquoise from the blue light.

"It's blue, that means it's really hot, right?"

"Probably? I haven't tried to measure how hot the fire is" Toya answered. The fire suddenly dies out as Toyas fingers tense shut, his hand shaking ever so slightly and the skin tinged red from the heat it was engulfed in.

"Oh no, are you okay?" Izuku fretted, jumping off from his swing and rushing the few steps it took to get the eleven year old.

"I-I'm fine" Toya stuttered as he tried to push through the burning pain in his stiff fingers.

Izuku frowned at the unnatural pigment on his friend's fingers.

Gently, Izuku reached out to tug lightly on Toya's pants.

"What are you doing?" Toya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Come with me, please? I want to help" Izuku pleaded, his eyes starting to tear up again.

Toya sighed. He didn't want the kid to start crying again and it wasn't like he had anything to lose by following him either. So, Toya slid off the seat of the swing before following the five year old.

—-

"Hey Zuzu, I see you've made a new friend" Inko smiled as she watched Izuku bounding over to her with a new friend in tow.

"Mhhmm!" Izuku hummed. "His name is Toya, but I call him Toya-chan, just like Kacchan!" Izuku introduced with a smile.

"Well, hello Toya. My name is Inko" Inko Midoriya smiled. Toya couldn't help but notice that it was the same smile Izuku gave him.

"He-Hello, m-ma'am" Toya stuttered nervously. Even though Inko seemed like a nice person, he didn't want to get comfortable with any adult, especially one he doesn't know.

"Oh please, call me Inko! Now what brings you two back from exploring?" The beta mother asked the two boys.

"Well, I was hoping you could help Toya-chan, he hurt his hand," Izuku explained as Inko turned her eyes to the white haired boy still looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact.

"Would it be alright if I looked at your hand? I work as a nurse at the local hospital so I might be able to help" Inko asked softly.

Toya thought about the offer for a moment. The only person who had helped him was his own mother. Somehow Inko reminded him a bit of her, the thought made his eyes misty as he remembered his own mother.

He knew he didn't have anything to lose by accepting her help, he might even gain a few things. A friend being one of them.

Slowly Toya looked up as he nodded at the woman who smiled gently in return.

"Alright, how about we head home then so I have everything I need to treat you" Inko said as she stood from her kneeling position.

"Are your parents with you? I should probably make sure it's okay with them before I take you home" Inko explained, looking for anyone who resembles the white haired eleven year old.

When she couldn't locate anyone herself and it didn't seem like Toya was going to help, a sad frown found its way onto her face.

"Toya, honey, where are your parents?" Inko asked gently as she kneeled down to be eye level with Toya.

Toya just shrugged his shoulders, refusing to meet the woman's green eyes. Realization settled into Inko as Toya continued to refuse her eyes.

"Alright, then" Inko breathed sadly as she stood up.

"Well, I guess that just means we can head home and make sure you're taken care of sooner!" Inko smiled as she tried to lighten the mood again.

She was determined to make sure Toya had a roof over his head, food to eat, clean clothes and anything else he needed. She wasn't about to let this poor boy suffer alone on the streets when there was something she could do about it.