You embraced Nozomi's slowly fading warmth in your arms, letting the warmth soak into you and encase your cold form.
A few tears escaped your eyes, but you didn't let your lover see them as you kept a firm yet gentle grip on him.
"[Name]." Nozomi's slightly raspy voice entered your ears, making you hum softly in response.
"Wake up."
Your eyes widened in surprise. What did he mean by wake up? You were awake-no... you had died. You couldn't wake up. You remembered dying in that fire, the weight of Touya's body pressing against your figure, as the smoke slowly filled your lungs and deprived you of oxygen.
Then... What did he mean?
"Nozomi, what are you talking-" You were cut off by your lover grabbing onto your face firmly, a grim look on his face, "[Name], we don't have time to talk. You need to wake up! Wake up.... and help Touya."
"Touya... What? How do you know-" This time, the one to cut you off was a bright shining light. It started off small, soft and glowing warmly. But before long, that warm light burned brighter and burst through the void you were in with your lover.
You watched how Nozomi faded away in front of your own eyes upon the light shining on him, but before you could even cry out, you were pulled out of there.
————
Your eyes snapped open in horror, tears still dripping down your cheeks.
[Brother Name], Nozomi... There were right in front of me just now...
You breathed heavily as if you just woke up from a God awful nightmare. But despite your confusion, your instincts and training kicked in and you quickly assessed your situation.
You had several tubes attached to you. IVs and an oxygen mask placed on your face, that was what was aiding you in breathing. A soft blanket was strewn all over you, tucking you in bed. The room around you looked like someone had made it for a 4 year old, not that far from your age.
No... wait, what? You're twenty!
Where's Nozomi? He... He died, didn't he? That day he finally came to terms with your death, Nozomi had died...
What happened to [Brother Name] after that? He had lost not just you but also Nozomi in such a small timespan, you can only imagine how miserable he must have been. He must have been in so much pain, your poor brother...
Suddenly, you groaned as a flood of memories came rushing in... The war, All for One... Your reincarnation, Shoto, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo... Your new parents, Heroes, Villains...
The onslaught of sudden memories had you feeling as if your head was going to split into two. With shaky arms, you pushed the soft blanket on top of you, to the side and lifted your body off of the plush soft bed, "Where... even am I?"
Ugh... Your back is covered in sweat.
Touya... That was the last thing you remember. The fire, and your new brother, Touya.
Where... is Touya?!
You mustered up all the strength in your arms to push yourself up even more. Turning your body to side, you slid down the bed and almost fell on the floor if it wasn't for your hold on the side drawer.
On the wall above your bed, you saw a plethora of get-well-soon cards and drawings that looked like a bunch of children made them. Many of them had cute looking scribblings on them that wrote:
♡ GET WELL SOON, LITTLE SLEEPING BEAUTY! ♡
You stared at the cards stuck to the walls a little longer. Did Fuyumi do that? Knowing her, she'd definitely be the only one to do that. Natsuo would definitely draw you something, same with Shoto. Well, the latter would just get you an ungodly amount of hero stickers and then cry a river.
With newfound hope, you used the walls for support to walk to the doorway. Your body felt like jelly and you had no idea how long you had been asleep. Still, you focused on finding someone to talk to before you started caring about details like that.
You just needed to know first, if Touya was okay?
With that thought in mind, you slowly made your way outside the small, child-like room and walked into a colorful hallway. Again, the walls were what helped support you and you slowly but steadily made your way along the ends of the hallway.
The moment you did reach the end, you were met with a large room, seemingly a living room that looked like it was something out of a daycare and a bunch of kids, all of varying ages sat at a table whilst chatting amongst themselves.
You didn't recognize anyone.
Yet, the moment you entered the place, everyone turned to you and their faces broke out into a look of happiness, "Ah!! You're awake, little sleeping beauty!" One of the girls spoke up, she looked a bit older than. Perhaps 13-14? You weren't too sure and you were too taken by shock to care.
"What...?" You looked at her in shock, your eyes drifting everyone in the room. Why were they all acting like they knew who you were? You've never seen these kids in your entire life.
One of the older girls, with black hair walked up to you and helped you stand properly by letting you lean against her for support. But you immediately pushed her away in fear.
Who the hell are these people?!
You were just about to fall back when a hand grabbed onto your waist and hoisted you up in its arms, "Woah! Easy there, little missy!" A friendly sounding voice spoke up and you tilted your head slightly to look at who was holding onto you.
It was a man, with a sunflower as a face. It must have been his quirk as he peered at you with a sweet smile, "You sure are a lively one, especially since you woke up from that loooong nap! Well, two years to be more exact!"
Two years?!
Your eyes widened in shock, but you decided to think about your coma later and focus more on the guy currently holding you.
You began to squirm in his arms, and he ultimately put you down after you looked close to sliding out of his arms yourself.
"Where... Where is my brother?!" You sneered at him, making the man crouch down to your level and smile kindly, "Oh, don't worry! Your big brother is sleeping too, just like you were! But he'll wake up soon enough, I'm sure of it!" He cheered while another girl with light pink hair smiled kindly at you too.
"Don't worry, sleeping beauty! Until your big brother wakes up, you can count on us to take care of you."
"Where am I? Where are my parents? What's going on?!" You hurled a number of questions at the only adult present, the sunflower man and he just gave you a smile, "Oh, don't worry about the details. All that matters is you're safe here! After all, you'll be staying here from now on. Your very own place under the sun! It might seem scary but everyone here is your new family now, you'll grow to love everyone! I'm sure of it-"
"I said... where am I?" You repeated, in a much more chilling tone but one of the girls stepped up and frowned at you in a disapproving manner, "Hey now, you shouldn't talk to Mr. Sun like that! He's the one who's been taking care of all of us!"
"Now, now, Sumika... She's still scared, so it's completely normal!"
You swear if no one answers your questions, you are going to kill everyone in this goddamn room.
"My family, where are they?"
"You really want to know?"
Seeing you unwavering, 'Mr. Sun' heaved a sigh before looking at you with a pitiful expression, "Your father left you and your brother to burn in that fire. If it wasn't for that man, you wouldn't have even survived. So that's why, you should just learn to embrace everyone here. After all, we'll never leave you, unlike your actual family."
What the fuck is this creep on about? Of course, that's obvious! You know Enji would never save you nor Touya, not in million years. It's not like he could, even if he wanted to. His quirk's biggest drawback is literally the fact that he can't cool down when exposed to extremely high temperatures and risks burning to death, why the hell would he jump to his own death?
But like hell are you just gonna start living here and treat everyone here as family just because you've got a piece of shit-dad.
And yet, you kept these thoughts to yourself. You knew better than to act out in such a place where you cannot protect yourself, as frustrating as it is.
You're in no condition to fight, you don't know where Touya is and how his condition is like, you can barely stand up straight and these people are clearly outnumbering you.
The best course of action would be... to act as a normal child would, upon finding out all this information.
With that, you let your eyes fill up with tears and let out soft sniffles, making a few of the girls look at you in pity, "N-No... Dad wouldn't have left me and big brother... He wouldn't have.... No matter how much he must have hated us, this is just... too much!" You peered up at Sunflower Guy with your eyes watering.
The black haired girl moved to your side and pulled you into a side hug, "I'll never see Shoto? Or-Or, Fuyumi-nee, or Natsuo-nii or Mom?" The older male simply gave you a sweet smile as he pat your head gently.
"They all abandoned you too, why would you want to see them? If they really cared for you, then they would have been searching for you and your brother, right? But they never did... That's why, staying here is the best for you, little miss sleeping beauty."
The other girls nodded and agreed to what the Sunflower Guy had said and you just looked at him with a really pained look. Thankfully, your acting fooled him and he didn't suspect you. He just requested one of the girls to lead you to your room so you could rest.
The black haired girl, who introduced herself as Hanako, smiled kindly at you as she led you to your room, while keeping a firm hold on you, as to prevent you from collapsing, "I'm so happy you woke up, sleeping beauty! Now, we can all play together!" She then turned to you, "What's your name, by the way?"
"[Name]..." Her face scrunched up in disgust at your name, "Ugh... That's a shame." Her reaction certainly took you by surprise. You were sure that you were perceived in a positive way in this timeline, as [Last Name][Name]. But after seeing her action, you're not so sure...
"Why?" You couldn't help but question, and she just gave you an apologetic smile, "Your parents must have named you after [Last Name][Name], right? She's that damn wench who fought against Master." Your eyes widened in horror.
Master? You've only ever fought one person as [Last Name][Name], who's fight has been documented...
Did she mean... All for One?!
"M-Master?" She just smiled at your fearful tone, "Yes, he's the one who saved both you and your brother. He saved me too... Yet, the world paints him in a bad light, unlike those heroes who didn't do anything for us. Isn't that wrong? Master told us that [Last Name][Name] was just like those 'heroes'... Saving those who sang her praises and killing anyone who tried to go against her."
What...? You did what? Killing those who went against you?! That's a very twisted way to describe that you killed literal criminals.
You killed people who were murderers, rapists, or people who created chaos just to watch the world burn.
You never killed them because they went against you. You killer them because they went against humanity and were a threat to everyone else.
Well, whatever. Your main concern right now is whoever this 'Master' is. There's no way it's All for One, you recall killing him yourself. Perhaps, it's his descendent? That seems plausible...
But... What if he was also reincarnated like you? No, there's no way... The only reason why you were reincarnated was because of Nozomi's last wish. There's no way All for One also had a quirk that could grant him wishes. He would have already used it for the wrong by now, if he did.
Still, you didn't bother saying anything about it as she continued to guide you through the hallway you came through, to back to your room, "Um... Hanako-san?" You started hesitantly and she turned to you in question, "Can I see my brother?" The ravenette girl blinked before tilting her head in confusion.
"Your brother's still in a coma-"
"Yes, I know. But I still want to check up on him." She seemed a bit hesitant but seeing the pleading look you were giving her, she ultimately decided to give in and finally led you in a different direction of your room, "Alright, but you need to rest after this, okay? You're still tired and you have yet to eat anything!"
Mindlessly nodding along with whatever she was saying, you mostly tuned it out and focused more on the area around you. You began to slowly make a mental map of this place, knowing damn well that it would help you more if you did.
She weaved through the halls until she finally came across a room which had a piece of paper stuck on the door with childish scribbling: Mr. Sleepy Head.
She opened the door with one hand while holding onto your arm to stabilize you, with another hand. You peered in and had your breathing hitched when you came across who was lying in the bed.
Touya.
His face had a few burn scars, mostly on his cheeks. While his arms had a bunch of burn marks and abrasions. While he wasn't in as bad of a condition as you thought he would be, it was still pretty bad. You breathed in sharply, keeping your eyes fixed on his unconscious form, "Doc says that your quirk is what saved him. He would have died if he was left there for even a minute longer."
You heard what she had said but made no effort of reacting to her statement. Hanako, seeing how you kept staring at Touya with sorrow shining in your eyes, decided to let you be and gave you some space to actually spend some time with him.
You grabbed onto his arm, that was hooked up to several IVs, and felt the skin around the burns.
Charred and abrased.
Well, at least you're both matching when it comes to scars...
"Wake up already, you idiotic brother..." You whispered as you closed your eyes in pain. While you were glad that Touya got to live, you're still in grief that he's stuck in this state.
If only you had gotten back your previous control of your quirk, you would have saved Touya... You could have taken him out of here and brought him into a more proper hospital, than whatever the fuck this place is.
"We should get going, you need rest." Hanako's voice was soft. Like she actually pitied you for whatever you poor siblings had to go through.
You just nodded and let go of his hand gingerly, lingering your fingers on his burned arm a little longer. Almost like you were afraid that if you didn't feel the warmth of his hand, his body would forever turn cold.
"Come on, let's go." She patted your shoulder with a small smile while you leaned against her for support.
As you reached the room you recalled waking up in, she let you sit down on the bed before covering you with the blanket and gifting you a kind smile, "I'll bring you something super yummy to eat, okay? After that, we'll talk about changing your name! You deserve a cuter name, not that trash your parents cursed you with."
You bit your tongue from lashing out on her. Everyone here seems to be getting on your last nerves and you swear that while it's not the kids' fault, you don't even want to put up with these brainwashed brats.
If the person leading them is who you're desperately hoping it's not, you will just kill yourself. You're not about to go through that whole shit show all over again. You have enough trauma from the war to last you not just one but both of your lifetimes (not to mention, the addition emotional baggage the Todoroki family gifted you).
But honestly, you doubt it. There's no way that bastard is alive. No quirk in history could ever save him from the damage you had done to him.
"Get some rest, sleeping beauty." Hanako pat your head before finally taking her leave. Meanwhile, you grit your teeth the moment she was out of sight.
This is bad.
You are in unknown territory with no way to protect yourself as you are almost entirely incapacitated. Not only that, but they also have Touya's life in their hands. And with how you're unable to protect yourself, you doubt you'll be able to put up much of a fight if they tried to hurt Touya.
Your only way to survive right now is to gather information. You need to know just what is going and then figure out a plan on how to get both you and Touya, out of here. Until then, you need to act as normal as you can be and pretend like you aren't a threat. It would be beneficial if you could befriend an older kid or someone who could give you more inside information of this place.
But, if they have knowledge about your quirk, then it's probable that they figured out what it is.
And if they know what it is, it's only a matter of time before they come to a conspiracy theory that you're one of your past self's descendants.
But, it's good that you were born in the Todoroki family, since both Rei's and Enji's quirks are something that can explain your quirk.
Actually... now that you think about it, this is too big of a coincidence that you were reborn in a family with a very similar quirk make-up as yours. You wonder what's that all about?
God.... All this thinking after waking up from a two year coma is making you so damn tired.
If two years have really past since the fire at Sekoto Peak, there's no doubt that the Todoroki family must definitely think you both have died. If that's the case, then there's no doubt that you'll have to do everything yourself if you plan on getting out of here, alive and in one piece.
There's already a lot of red flags in this place that's making your danger senses go haywire.
Firstly, the fact that they've been trying to actively coax you and manipulate you into believing that your family hates you and Touya, and that they don't want you.
Secondly, they are keeping you and Touya in this place, which isn't even a hospital of any sort. Hanako mentioned a person called Doc, which you are going to assume is the reason why you're alive. If that guy is capable enough to save both you and Touya, who were almost on the verge of death, either this guy's doing this out of the kindness of his own heart, or perhaps... this is a lot more ominous than you can imagine.
Thirdly, Hanako's disgust and reaction towards you, as [Last Name][Name]. Not many people would perceive you in a bad light during the current era, unless they were villains or people being brought up by villains. Which brings you to your next point, the 'Master' that Hanako mentioned.
She said that your past self had fought that Master. And your past self had never fought anyone of such great authority other than All for One, one that they would be referred to as Master by several kids.
There's definitely something going on, and you know it's not good.
Still, you decide that for now, resting and focusing on getting back in good health is your main priority. Next would be, training your quirk in secret. Since you regained your quirk just minutes before you were burned and went in a coma, you still haven't tested the absolute limits your quirk has been reset to.
Last thing you remembered, was that you could only extinguish the fire in a two-meter distance from you. You doubt that range would have increased without any training but it never hurt anyone to check.
With your mental checklist made for things you needed to do in the following days, a sigh escaped your lips as you pondered over what course of actions you need to further take.
For now, this is enough. Just act normal, don't draw any attention, get in touch with someone who can provide you with some good information, train your quirk and keep Touya safe.
Considering all that you've accomplished in your past life, it shouldn't be that hard, right? Well, even if it is... you're not going to let Touya get hurt anymore.
Even if it means killing people all over again.