Before Dabi led them to Shigaraki, Izuku had elected to take Dabi to see his mother, Rei Todoroki.
They stood outside her room for a short spell. Dabi stared at the name on the door in a trance, only entering after a nudge from Toga. As he opened the door and stepped in, they heard the woman inside gasp.
Izuku shut the door after Dabi entered, giving the mother and son duo privacy, waiting outside in the hallway with Toga.
Minutes later, Dabi stepped out. Izuku couldn't quite place the emotion on his face, but he felt like Dabi needed this.
"Shigaraki," Dabi stated, still not fully all there. "Let's go."
Izuku nodded, and the three set off in relative silence. Dabi seemed to be contemplating some pretty heavy things, and the other two gave him the space he probably needed to do so.
"Midoriya," Dabi finally spoke up, and Izuku nodded in acknowledgement. "She... She said to thank you."
"Your mother?" Izuku asked, taken aback a bit. Dabi nodded, and Izuku smiled warmly. "No problem, then."
They continued walking, still quiet, but much less tense, before Toga broke the silence again.
"What was up with Kurogiri?" she asked, remembering the villain spazzing out while Izuku was fighting Dabi. "Has that happened before?"
"Yes," he answered, and Izuku's eyebrows raised. "The boss has been up to some wild things."
"Wild things?" Izuku asked the villain, who just shrugged.
"I don't know. Rituals and shit. None of my business."
"None of your business?" Toga cut in. "He left you out to dry."
She was right. Kurogiri vanishing like that wasn't something he'd expected. The living warp gate lost control and flashed red from time to time, but he'd always returned to a stable state.
"It's never been that bad," Dabi admitted.
Izuku hummed, still very much intrigued.
"My turn to ask a question," Dabi said suddenly, and Izuku looked at him. "What did you mean by that, 'All Might definitely isn't perfect?'"
"He's not, no one is," Izuku replied simply. "Everyone makes mistakes."
"Yeah, but the way you said it," the villain said, not content with Izuku's answer. "There's more to it than that."
"He made a very bad mistake," Izuku said, his tone darkening ever so slightly. "You should know what I'm talking about."
"...Ah." Dabi realized what he meant. His expulsion from U.A. "Yeah, sorry about that."
"Don't mention it," Izuku said dryly.
***
Rei Todoroki was sitting by her window, staring out at the moon. The door opened.
Dabi wondered why she was still awake at this hour.
She turned to see her visitor and gasped in instant recognition.
Someone closed the door behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder. As he looked away, Rei got up from her spot and began to walk towards him.
He turned back and met her gaze.
"Touya," she said softly, and he wilted at out fragile her voice sounded. She stretched out a hand and felt the scars that lined his cheeks. Tears pooled in her eyes. She then embraced him, surprising him with a hug. Slowly, his arms wrapped around his mother.
