UA added a new required class for our third year and I was going to admit, I was interesting. We spend most of the time focusing on physical quirks that we all forget about the mental quirks. Well, everyone except Shinsou since he had a mental quirk. He got transferred in at the end of first year and had kept up pretty well since. As everyone walked into the classroom for the first time, we were shocked.
Sitting tied up in a chair, as a barely conscious Dabi. His head was drooping and his hair fell forwards. He didn't look up at us but you could tell he knew we were there. He isn't deaf. Sitting at a desk is a completely masked woman in a stripped shirt and blue bell bottom pants. She waves us in and allows us some time to sit at our desks. Once she knows we're all there, she stood up.
"Welcome to mental quirks 101. I'm your teacher Ms. Piaga. My quirk is projection. By touching someone I can project their memories for others to see. Here we have a newly captured villain. Dabi was just arrested this morning and to receive a shorter sentence agreed to do this. He is currently drugged with a quirk nullifier and can't hurt you in the slightest bit. I am going to show you his memories to show the effects mental quirks have on people. However, I'm going to honor Dabi's wishes and not reveal his true name. Also, most faces will be blurred. Are you all ready?"
Yes' fill the room and Ms Piaga nods. She taps Dabi and he slowly raises his head. His eyes are bloodshot and his cheeks look more sunken in this close. He whispers something to her and she nods. He groans and holds out his arm for her to touch. She takes his arm and his head drops instantly. Obviously he's unconscious but the sight of that happening so quickly puts me on edge.
On the wall a bright light shows up and colors start to define themselves.
"This is his most heartfelt memory." She says. It sounds almost robotic when she says it. Like she's in some sort of trance.
The colors turn into shapes and we're soon watching the memory from a different perspective. So, we're not watching through Dabi's eyes. We were watching as if we were a another person in the room.
Dabi is pacing the floor and worry is etched onto his face. He's mumbling under his breath and we can't hear it. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and Dabi practically runs to open it. Standing there in the doorway is a bloodied and bruised Hawks. Dabi embraces him and they both sink to the ground.
"I thought you were dead." Dabi mumbles.
"Takes a lot more than Shigaraki to kill me."
"You can't just go out fighting people like that! You could get hurt even worse next time." Dabi's voice is still soft but you can hear the anger behind the words.
"I'm a hero remember? Save others before I save myself."
"You shouldn't have to do that Keigo. You shouldn't have to kill yourself to keep other safe. Who protects you?"
Hawks shrugs his shoulders.
"Nobody ever has. I was raised in the commission."
"I'll protect you."
"Dabi, you don't have to protect me."
"But I want to. You should always have someone to protect you."
Tears roll down Hawks' face and Dabi gently wipes them away. They sit there, tangled on the floor for a minute before the two inch closer together.
"I'm so glad I found you again." Hawks whispers pressing his forehead against his.
Ms Piaga ends the memory before anything else can happen. I'm grateful for that. It feel wrong to watch such a private memory. Once it finally sinks in what was happening between Dabi and Hawks, nobody speaks. A villain and hero. Together. The memory ends, it fades into another one.
"This is his earliest memory."
A small boy is laying on a hospital bed. His face is covered in an oxygen mask and his eyes are closed. He can't be more than 4 or 5 years old. Red hair is plastered to his forehead by sweat and the hair is burned at the ends. His eyes are weakly opening. The turquoise shining in the bright room.
"He's lucky to be alive ma'am. His body can't handle heat past his hands. Since he's always been such a sickly child, there's no way he'll live past ten years old. I'm so sorry. It would be best to prepare him. I'll keep this under wraps due to the status of your husband. Again, Im so sorry." A mans voice echos. A woman let's out a pained sob. The young Dabi pulls down the mask.
"Mommy? What's going on?" He asks.
"Nothing sweetheart. You're okay."
"Okay mommy. Where's daddy?"
"Daddy's working sweetheart. He'll be here soon."
"D-did I hurt him? My quirk is really bad!" He cries.
"No it's not. You're okay. Daddy's okay." A hand strokes his head and he relaxes.
"Love you mommy."
"Love you too sweetie." Lips touch his forehead and he closes his eyes.
This memory dissolves and once again, starts changing.
"This is one of his worst memories."
This memory takes place at night and the area is only lite up by a few lights scattered around. From the angle the memory is at you can only see a teenager with the same red hair as the young boy leaning on a counter. His arms are covered in bandages. They must be his scars.
"You aren't going back to UA next year."
"What? I've been in the support department for 2 years! I'm not taking the hero spot in this family."
"You can not attend UA. You'll take attention away from your brother."
"He's only 7 dad. I'll have a job before he's even eligible for UA."
"I said no!"
"You can't control my life anymore!"
"I can do whatever I want! It's not my fault your a failure!"
"I'm the failure?! I'm the failure?! Look at yourself! A power hungry man with no one to love him. At least I have a boy who loves me!"
Silence fills the room. Dabi pales. He knows he said the wrong thing.
"A boy?! A boy?! You can't even love right you disgrace!"
"I can love whoever I want dad. You can't control that."
"YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE!"
"CHECK MY DNA YOU PRICK!" Young Dabi yells.
"YOU ARE SUCH A DISGRACE!"
"YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE FUCKING CARED IF I DIED WHEN I WAS TEN! YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR PERFECT MASTERPIECE OF A KID! ANYTHING LESS YOU HATE!"
"I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!"
Dabi falls silent. He pulls on the corner of the bandages and his eyes glisten.
"Me too." He whispers. The man doesn't see to hear but suddenly a hand grabs Dabi's hair and smashes his face into the counter.
We all gasp and cringe at the crack heard when his face makes contact with the counter top.
The hand lets him go and Dabi slumps to the ground. A thick layer of blood covers his face and he spits out blood at his father.
"You bastard!" He curses.
His father gets closer and grabs him by his hair once again. His head is slammed into a cabinet from the force. He coughs a thick spray of blood and spit onto the mans face which enrages him.
This is to familiar. This is to familiar.
Another hand wraps around Dabi's throat and he gasps. Tears run down his face and makes paths in the blood.
"Stop! I'll be good! I promise! I won't go to UA anymore! I'll like girls! Please stop!" He screams. The memory pans to show more of the scene. Dabi is being held by his throat to a counter and the person holding him down is huge compared to his small frame.
"Shut up! What's your name?!"
"Tou-." He chokes out before he's cut off.
"Wrong!" The man presses harder on his throat and another sob rings through the air. "What's your name?!"
"I don't d-deserve one!"
He let's go of his throat and a burned handprint is left behind. Dabi whimpers and curls into the ground. He lays there are a while before a voice becomes audible.
"What happened to you?!" A girls frantic voice says.
"Dad..." He whispers. The girl nods before grabbing some cotton pads and hydrogen peroxide to clean the cuts on his face.
"You need to be more careful around him."
"It's not that easy."
"I know. I know."
She takes a cotton pad and presses it to one of the bigger cuts. Dabi grinds his teeth to hold back a scream.
"Sorry." She mumbles.
"It fine. I'm fine." He groans as she presses another cotton pad to a cut. When she finishes cleaning the wounds and puts away the cotton pads and hydrogen peroxide, she sits next to him on the ground. You still can't see her face.
"I'm so sorry he's like this to you."
"I deserve it." Dabi's voice sounds so broken and defeated when he speaks. His knees are pulled up to his chest and his arms are wrapped tightly around them.
"You don't deserve this. You never have and never will."
"You don't understand Yumi. You don't understand why he does this. You don't know what it's like to be his punching bag."
The girl now known as Yumi sighs.
"You accidentally told him didn't you?"
"I'm so fucking stupid Yumi."
"No you're not. You're in the support department at UA. You have to be smart for that."
"Not anymore. He's not letting me go back."
"What?! You're were the top student at the end of last year. You deserve to be in that class."
"Thanks Yumi."
The girl hugs him and white hair swings into his face.
Ms Piaga stops the projection and snaps out of her trance.
"I've stumbled across something and I need to call someone. Please give me a moment."
She practically runs over to her desk and grabs her phone. She dials a number and the whole class tries to listen in.
"Hi this is Haruna Piaga from UA. I'm calling to report an extreme case of child abuse." She pauses to let the other person speak. "This took place about 9 ago but because of the statues of the abuser I believe it is necessary to call in." Another pause. "Enji Todoroki abused his eldest son Touya Todoroki."
The class stops breathing and look at me. That red haired boy, was Touya. My older brother Touya. The girl Yumi, was Fuyumi. I turn to Dabi who's still knocked out in the chair. You can see a faint scar on his forehead where the biggest cut was in the memory. Oh my god. I try to hide my head from everyone but their eyes still burn into my skull. I see Ms Piaga put the phone down out of the corner of my eye and turn to look directly at her.
"Touya wasn't the only one." I say.
"What was that?" She asks.
"Touya wasn't the only one."
an - my state is starting a quarantine for the coronavirus and as much as i make jokes about it (i have a really dark sense of humor) i want to remind everyone to stay safe and healthy. i live in the northeast so it's not as bad was some other states which i'm grateful for. so bottom line, stay safe and make sure your staying healthy.
bye guys/girls/anybody in between.
✌︎︎ author