As The Dust Settles (fem!Geten X Dabi)

Chapter 6: Touya

Dabi shut the door behind him, he noted the frost that coated his left hand as it held the doorknob. His eyes narrowed as he released his grip, examining it under the dim lantern light. The melting specks of ice glinted back at him. It looked like a crystal chandelier.

It looked to him - he thought - as he rubbed his hands against the walls, that the ice had come from him. How...?

The final moments of the fight replayed in his mind. His hands had sparked, but no flame would have ignited. Her hand was outstretched, coalescing tiny flakes of ice on his hands, most probably to extinguish his fire. And the frost had lingered on him until he decompressed.

Doesn't matter, don't think about it.

As usual, that command never worked. A face appeared in his mind: the brother he'd never met, and behind him, a fiery hand rested on the boy's shoulder...

Endeavour.

Look, father, he would have said, eyes shining with elation, were he still a little boy, I've done it.

Were he still a child, wanting to impress him, he would have been ecstatic to think that he could create ice.

But he wasn't a child. He wasn't Touya Todoroki anymore. He would never acknowledge the existence of a Touya ever again.

"If you're going to be trash by just being a fire-type, then at least be useful and be more powerful than me! You're worthless!"

The thought of making his father proud incensed him, igniting his hands unconsciously. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and his pace sped up. He wasn't sure where he was going. The restroom? His arms stung at the thought.

He found himself there a few seconds later, the tap running, but he grasped the sink tightly with his hands, looking in the mirror.

Biting his tongue, he placed his hands under the running tap. His agonising ritual only stoked his anger directed at so many people. In particular, her.

"Apocrypha..." He growled with fatigued conviction as his reflection gazed at him with tired eyes. It was late, after all, but it was more than that: he was tired of having to deal with her, tired of her insanity, tired of how she annoyed him into burning his own arms every time they fought.

Why are you doing this to me? Why am I doing this?

He could answer one of the questions. Because he hated her. He found her pathetic. She was a girl clearly brainwashed by this crazy army and their book. Even when they were defeated, her beliefs kept her going, kept her being a thorn in his side.

He thought it would be easier to kill her. It always was. The ashes in alleys told him that it was the faster, more efficient method, but she wasn't like them. He knew that she was stronger than them.

And maybe...just maybe, she was stronger than him as well.

Still, strength isn't everything, thought Dabi, was it, Sensei?

"No, Touya," His mentor replied, his battle-hardened eyes focused on Touya's small form. "Remember that there's always a stronger opponent, but that doesn't mean you will lose. You can run – there's nothing wrong about escaping when the foe is too difficult, or you can devise another way to win."

Dabi forced himself out of his memories with a pinch. He didn't want to think about the lessons he had learned from him. Looking at his reflection, he gave a rueful sigh. Maybe it was time to take his teacher's words to heart, given this strange situation he has found himself in now.

Aren't you looking to be the new Dabi? A voice taunted, the same voice that's been residing in his mind for the past few years, emerging from the mirror as he stared at it. That's why you named yourself after Sensei, no? Little Touya.

Shut up. That was not why. The other voice sounded less certain everytime he said it.

Really? Then let's take another trip down memory –

"No." Dabi tore himself from the mirror, exiting the toilet with a rush. He wanted sleep.

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Hi, I know this chapter is short. When I finish this story, this chapter is gonna be edited with the next chapter, most likely.