You knew there was something familiar about Dabi.
To see the blue flames...to feel that heat against your face yet again...
You remembered the screams first. The bloodcurdling screams as entire families were cremated alive within their homes...the bright cerulean flames that ravished everything in sight...the scent of burnt human corpses stagnant in the air...how could you forget the young man in the center of it all?
How could you forget the man that singlehandedly burned your village to the ground?
The man with hands...he killed your parents. Their throats were cut...their bodies...his hands just made everything crumble away like ash. Dabi...the man who wielded blue flames...he burned everything in sight. You watched from the safety of the woods as a group of young villains entered the village and let loose as if it were some sort of test or playground...you couldn't do anything to stop them since your quirk was so pathetic at the time.
And now you were powerless yet again thanks to Rega's fucking quirk.
Life presented you with a sickening twist of fate. You were stuck in the woods, yet again frozen with watering eyes, as you watched Rega and Dabi walk towards a black portal that opened up. You needed to break this painful spell, to do ANYTHING just to get to Dabi. You tried to force your feet to move...just MOVE despite how much your chest burned and stabbed.
You started moving your feet forward, just one step...then another... Dabi was getting ready to enter the portal to leave you...to let you be powerless once again.
Despite the ice in your veins, you forced your lips to speak.
"DABI!" He turned towards your shout, watching as you raised a hand to point at him, your face contorted in rage and grief. You gritted your teeth with tears billowing down your face, your whole body feeling like the muscles were fighting glass shards. You spoke with a newfound hatred in your voice that resembled something no different than many of the villains you executed.
"I'm gonna really fuckin enjoy burning you alive."
He listened to your words for a moment...and smiled, exposing his perfectly white teeth.
"That doesn't sound very 'pro-hero' of you. Regardless...I can't wait, sweetheart." And with that, Dabi and Rega went through the portal, the whole thing disappearing entirely. You immediately were freed, falling to your knees as the pain from Rega's quirk vanished completely.
There was a new fire in your eyes...you were here playing hero...but thanks to Dabi you remembered the real reason why you were as trained at you were. You remembered why you needed so much money in the first place. Killing off a villain organization wasn't cheap.
You had a hit list of the people who destroyed your village...it was about time you started to cross some names off.
~~
After your face calmed down from the tears, you teleported back over the wall at UA. You knew Dabi and Rega were gone...you were just unsure why they even came in the first place. What was their purpose for just showing up, pissing you off, and leaving? The question only furthered your rage.
The first person you saw was Deku, the green-haired boy trying desperately to convince Katsuki to work with him. Katsuki smacked him away, telling him to fuck off and leaving the poor hero to nurse a bleeding nose. The rage inside bottled up, and you were ready to explode. You glared at Katsuki who noticed you were back just as your exam was about to start.
"Katsuki why the fuck are you hitting Midoriya?!" Katsuki froze and turned to you, noticing this intense anger radiating off of your body. He would never admit it but the bloodlust...it was terrifying and foreign even to him. His scarlet eyes went wide, immediately unclenching his fists.
"What the fuck happened to you babe? Why are you so angry?" He asked you. You turned away from him, unable to look him in the eyes while this rage filled you. You didn't even want to do this fucking test anymore...you just wanted to leave to chase after Dabi. If it wasn't for Todoroki's grade relying on your presence, you probably would have left. Your eyes trailed the ground, looking at a surprised Midoriya gripping his sore face with his gloved hands. You extended a hand out for him, trying to soften your expression but it turned into a grimace.
"Here...don't let Kacchan discourage you. Keep going Deku." His round emerald eyes looked into your expression before looking over Katsuki's shadowed face. Said explosion boy felt...rejected.
"Thanks (y/n). We will pass. We have to." You nodded your head, walking towards Katsuki who wasn't looking at you. Guilt made its home within your heart. It wasn't Katsuki's fault you were so angry...but just seeing him treat someone so pure and good that way...it really pissed you off. You yanked him towards you, pulling the two of you together until you hugged him so tight you could have cracked something.
"I... I'm sorry I'm taking my anger out on you. I shouldn't." You spoke quietly so only Katsuki could hear. He smiled softly for a moment, kissing the top of your head while wrapping his arms around you to return the embrace. He could feel you quaking...he knew something happened in the woods and he was definitely going to bring it up later.
"Yeah yeah, it's fine Extra. Go take your fucking test. But we're talkin later though." He pulled you off of him, noticing the lack of expression on your face. You simply nodded, turning away from Katsuki and Deku to head towards Todoroki who was waiting patiently for you at your exam field site entrance.
"Um...Kacchan?" Deku spoke with a wavering voice. Katsuki's scarlet eyes narrowed immediately at the sound of his voice.
"What do you want."
"I think...I think something happened to (y/n)." Katsuki sucked in his breath, noticing how red your cheeks were.
"Yeah...and I don't fucking like it."
~~
You stood at the front gate of your testing area with Shoto, the half and half boy looking at you in concern.
"Is everything alright?" You let out a cathartic sigh, trying to allow your rage to dissipate. You had to stay composed. As soon as the school day was over, you were going to head to the Hunter's Borough and go straight to work. Sure, you were stuck in this mission to stay at UA...and you did want to be a hero...but was that even possible while the people who murdered your friends and family were alive? Was it possible to become one if you were the reason they were dead? The villains were targeting you because of your quirk. They wanted to use it, to reform you like clay. If killing your family...leading you away from your friends was the way to do it, they would do it without hesitation.
This was just another trap to stray you away from your friends...from All Might...and you fell right into it.
"Living the dream. Let's get this fucking thing over with. " Your voice sounded like it was dragged through the mud, just so exhausted with life. Todoroki knew the doors to your exam would open any minute now, but felt he needed to soothe whatever was haunting you first.
"Take my hand (y/n)." You reluctantly placed your hand in his, the warmth of his fireside and the shade of Todoroki's cyan eye reminding you of Dabi. You blinked for a second, imagining it was Dabi standing next to you. His features...the eyes...the heat from the fire. The image flickered for only a second before going back to Shoto.
Endeavor...he had the same cyan eyes...didn't he?
The sound of a buzzer went off, announcing the start of you and Shoto's exam. You decided to place the thought in the back of your mind, filing it away for later. You will find out who he is...and you were going to hit Dabi hard before death.
You and Shoto were running, the environment you were tested in was a residential area. You needed to find the exit before Aizawa could get to you...or you had to put handcuffs on him. You were pissed enough that maybe fist fighting Aizawa would help let you loose for a bit. Looking up, you saw the various rooftops that were high enough and close enough together that you could probably run across them. The downside would be that Aizawa could easily see you up there.
"Whats the plan?" You asked your partner.
"I thought you had a plan?"
"My plan is to pass the fuckin test bro." Shoto exhaled in annoyance, activating his fire side to hold the flames constantly.
"We need to continuously activate our quirks to find out if he's near us. I'll keep my fire up and if it vanishes, then we know he's nearby." Shoto's idea wasn't bad, but Aizawa was a hero that mastered stealth just like you. He would never obviously give himself away like that, he would wait until the last second to activate his quirk. If he took out Todoroki's quirk before you saw him, then you'd know he was playing easy.
"The rooftops would allow us to teleport together quickly across the area. We could quickly get to the other side." He raised an eyebrow.
"Will you be able to teleport the both of us that much?"
"It's worth a shot. The downside is Eraserhead would definitely see us." Shoto thought about it for a moment as the two of you rounded a corner, the map seemingly endless.
"I think I'll take the chance. Let's do it (y/n)." You turned to Shoto as you eyed a house with pipes and a window ledge you could easly climb up.
"Would you be able to climb that?"
"I guess we'll find out." The two of you sprinted at this house, you swinging your body upwards with the grace and perfection of a professional gymnast. Shoto was much more clumsy, but still made it up relatively quick. You spotted the top exit far across the map, too far to teleport both you and Shoto without going blind. Both of you ran further, barely needing to jump with how dense the houses were. That was until you reached a break in the neighborhood, leading into an empty street.
"Shoto, take my hand, I'll teleport us across." He quickly grasped your hand and your eyes flickered red...just to go back to your normal color. You weren't moving.
"Shoto...he's here." Just as you finished speaking, a white cloth launched towards you. You did a back handspring to get away, tucking and rolling away as it continued to shoot at you. Aizawa wore his goggles, standing on the opposing roof before swinging on a telephone pole to get to you.
"Are you trying to run into me? Easy prey." Shoto and you both ducked away from the cloth, Shoto trying to use his ice to get away quickly. Aizawa shifted his quirk to Todoroki, the ice no longer forming. This left you able to teleport behind Aizawa, swinging a leg right towards his head. He quickly ducked down to sweep your feet, just to go right through them.
"Don't underestimate me, Sensei. I've fought people as strong as you before." Aizawa chuckled darkly, quickly wrapping Todoroki up and tying him to a telephone pole, throwing spikes on the ground underneath.
"Your partner has been captured but you could just teleport to the exit to safety. What will you do (y/n)? Imagine this is a real-life scenario. I'll kill Todoroki if you leave, but you'll live to see another day if you go. These are the choices a hero makes that a mercenary never would. I still have years more of experience than you in the field so don't think for a moment I couldn't erase you." You grit your teeth, remembering your anger from earlier.
I want to be a hero...I want to seek revenge...I want to save Todoroki...I want to just pass this fucking test...
Why do my choices have to matter so much? These are the rules and regulations heroes have to follow...I just want to follow my own way.
"I'm going to pass this test...and I'm going to do it my own way." You growled at your teacher, the latter grinning with sinister intent.
"Then come fight me 'hero'." Aizawa spoke. Shoto looked worried, his tie on the ropes sliding a bit towards the ground. He was going to fall on the spikes. You flickered behind Aizawa before he could erase your quirk, your speed greater than his. You wrapped the back of your knee around his neck, forcing his head down to the ground as you squeezed. Aizawa wasn't quick enough to avoid your forceful approach, his eyes were facing the ground.
"Shoto! Ice!" Icyhot used his newly freed quirk to expand the cloth and cover over the spikes to save himself. Aizawa became annoyed that he was having difficulty with you, your martial arts clearly much more skilled than his own. He used his back leg on the ground to finally successfully sweep your feet, the teacher rolling on top of you to hold your hands against your back. Your quirk was erased and the weight of Aizawa rendered you unable to move. You couldn't even flick your wrist to activate your cat claw blades.
You suddenly thanked the fireproofed cloth of your hero suit.
"Icyhot! Hit us with fire!" Todoroki hesitated, freezing in his spot as he made his way back on the roof. All he could picture was the way your face contorted in agony as he burned you at the sports festival. You barely turned your head to face him, a relaxed smile addressed to him that relieved all of his worries.
"It's alright. Trust me." Todoroki immediately shot a beam of fire towards you and Aizawa, your teacher quickly rolling the two of you away. This gave you the opportunity to get your quirk back, allowing your body to fall through the roof and into the empty home. You landed on your back, a solid grunt of pain coming from your lungs.
The door was open, revealing the stretched out cloth Aizawa used earlier on Todoroki resting on the ground. Running to grasp the cloth, you bundled it up in your arms and tested out how it works, the cloth activating on command to reach out to the telephone pole, only to let go when you wanted it to. You grinned, a plan in mind to finally get this fight over with.
"(Y/n)!" You heard Todoroki call your name, the boy most likely having his quirk erased. You swung yourself back onto the roof with the cloth, Aizawa with Todoroki in a headlock in a way that was clearly going to knock him out with a lack of air. For some reason, seeing Shoto's face contorted in pain like that...seeing him struggle for air...
The thought brought you back to your village...they suffered and you couldn't do anything.
Your eyes went into a scarlet red, you and Aizawa matching. He was busy erasing Todoroki's quirk or else he would have been burned. He didn't think you'd be back up so quick after the fall you had. You teleported to him, shoving his arm behind his back and contorting it so he was face down, forcing him to release Shoto with a grunt of pain. You pressed a foot on his back, burrowing him into the tiles of the roof. You attached the handcuffs to his contorted arm, the elder clearly in pain. He didn't think you were going to be so forceful.
A buzzer went off, signaling the end of the test. You and Shoto both passed, the half and half boy pulling you off of Aizawa. Your eyes were still scarlet as Aizawa stood up, cracking his back and moving around his sore arm. He looked over at you with an almost concerned expression.
"Hey." Your teacher spoke up to you, his bloodshot eyes desperately needing eyedrops. You couldn't look him in the eyes...you just wanted to leave. You wanted to go...you wanted to chase after Dabi.
A large hand on the top of your head paused your invasive thoughts, forcing you to look up. Aizawa's expression was...kind...as if he knew how chaotic you felt inside. It was like he sensed it.
"Great job and great communication to the both of you. Todoroki I'm especially impressed with how you caused minimal damage to the environment with your quirk. And (y/n)..." he paused, seeing how your eyes were still scarlet, ready to teleport you away at any second.
"You're smart and talented. I could feel your anger through the fight. Whatever is bothering you, keep in mind that staying true to this-" Aizawa pointed towards his heart. "-is how you avoid a villain getting to this-" he used the hand on the top of your head to gently poke your forehead.
"Villains will always try to play mind games with you. They want to rile you up, make you forget who you are. Letting them get to your head is sometimes just as bad if not worse than losing the fight. Be confident in yourself. You are one of the most capable and loving potential heroes out there. You said your name is Astral right? Then be just as bright and strong as what you were inspired by." You felt a lump grow in your throat, biting your lip and looking at your feet. Aizawa was a hero that was never talkative...until it meant saving someone.
You felt this rage and heartbreak inside of you...but as always, your beloved teacher would be there to save you.