Dabi's POV
I once again found myself wandering the streets surrounding Kimi's apartment. The familiar back streets offered some form of comfort. Not only was it dark enough to hide my scars from passersby, not that there ever were many. But it also reminded me of her. I had watched her walk these streets to and from UA so much, that my subconscious now connected the two. I might not be able to feel Kimi, but I can trace the wet pavement that she stepped on ever day. I could smell the same cherry blossoms that lined her street.
As my mind wandered back to her I heard a distant shout of "I don't think so!" Followed by a large bang. The bang didn't worry me but the familiar voice made my heart race. That was definitely Kimi. I ran down the street, keeping close to the tree line to avoid being spotted and to use the leaves to cushion my heavy foot steps.
I watched her shoot a force field at a man's tongue that was wrapped tightly around her waist. He recoiled upon impact and left out muffled curses as Kimi made her escape. Anger consumed me and I felt my quirk activating under my skin, burning me from the inside. It courses through my veins as a crept towards this bastard who dared to lay a hand on my Kimi.
After rubbing at his tongue he started running after her and I knew I had to end this. It was dangerous to activate my quirk so close to her home but right now none of that matters.
"Hey Creep!" I call out in a gruff voice. He looked up at me, initially in anger before pure fear spread across his face. With a tremble,he called out to me in a feeble attempt to stop my approach.
"Hey buddy, I'm not looking for any trouble."
"Yeah? Well you're getting it. No one hurts my girl." I say preparing to torch this bastard. I watch him open his mouth before I extend my hand and his strangled cry echoes for a second through the silent street. I haven't used my quirk this openly in a while and driven by my anger, I felt the flames scorch the skin of my palm. I knew I would need to stitch myself back up again but the thoughts of what this man may have intended to do to Kimi played over in my head and kept my quirk going until he was no more than a pile of ash. I slowly de-activated my quirk, my heart pounding as I looked at the remains of the stranger on the wet tarmac. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest. The anger, the sadness, the jealousy I had been feeling these past few weeks had been released in a fiery inferno and left me in a calm state of serenity.
Upon releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding I heard a soft gasp to the right. The thought of releasing my quirk for a second time to 'remove' whoever saw me, made me excited. I hadn't let go like this in so long, and this was just what I needed. The fact that I got to kill someone who hurt my Kimi was just an added bonus.
My head snapped in the direction of the onlooker and I emitted my own gasp. There, a few feet away from me was Kimi. She was crouched down in the hallway of her apartment looking out through the tiny window. But her violet eyes managed to shine like stars under the small porch light above the doorway. It had been so long since I starred into those eyes. Years had passed and the richness of my memories seemed to make them fade. But here, standing before me, they were brighter than ever. They looked like a violet sunrise, with various shades of lilac, swirling like a storm around her wide pupils. My throat went dry. She knows. She knows it's me.
The lights in the upper windows started to go on. People must have heard that bastard's scream from earlier. Before the police could arrive and more importantly before Kimi could react I ran. I ran faster than ever before. My lungs and skin burning as my foot falls smacked hard against the wet concrete. The only thought running through my head... I fucked up.
Kimi's POV
My heart wouldn't stop racing, my pulse echoing through my head like a drum beat. This can't be happening. It can't be him. Maybe he had a similar quirk to Touya's, but I never saw Touya be able to cremate someone. He had blue flames but this was a whole other level. I suppose they could have been about the same height but, Touya would never kill someone ... right?
I tried to steady my breathing, my hands still shaking against the window frame. His eyes looked like Touya's. It was like looking at a ghost. A living memory. The familiar flutter in my stomach was gone but that shade of blue had been etched into my mind for years and I was almost certain it was him.
My thoughts were broken by sirens and flashes of blue and red lights. One of my neighbours must have called the police. My body and mind still felt numb as I pulled myself off the floor and made my way out of the hallway and into my own apartment. Peanut was sleeping peacefully in his cage and the familiar scent of books and air freshener surrounded me in a comforting blanket. It was so peaceful that the events of the past few minutes felt even less real as I made my way to my couch before flopping onto it in a heap.
I reached for my phone with shaking hands and dialed the only person I thought would understand and not be uncomfortable seeing me in this state.
"Hey Kimi, what's up?" Fuyumi's happy voice said through the phone.
"H-Hi Fuyumi, can you ... can you come over please?" I asked my voice sounding quiet but hopeful.
"Is everything okay?!" She asked quickly, taking note of the quiver in my voice.
"I ... I don't know." I say uncertain about how I was feeling. My head was still swimming with irrational thoughts of Touya.
"I'm on my way, just stay there okay?" She said calmly before hanging up. I tried to calm my racing heart but it was no use. Within seconds a loud knock could be heard from my door, causing me to jump up in alarm. That is way too quick to be Fuyumi.
I tiptoe over to the door and peek through the peep hole only to be met with the familiar face of the young police officer who had looked into my break-in case before. I open the door with shaking hands and try to smile but can feel my lips shake slightly at the forced movement.
"Hello, detective Matsuda. How can I help you?" I ask timidly. The detective gives me a small reassuring smile trying to put me at ease.
"Hello Miss Kita! We had a call about a disturbance in this area and have cordoned off the outside area. We just wanted to see if you seen or heard anything?" He asks taking in my shaking form before reaching out a comforting hand, which causes me to flinch slightly.
"Are you okay Miss Kita?" He asks looking at me in concern.
I don't know how to respond to that. Do I tell him what happened? What if that was Touya, he would be sent to prison if they found him! But what if it isn't Touya. No, it can't have been him. He wouldn't do that. If I say nothing this killer could do the same thing. But he saved my life. And he saw me but he let me go. Could it have been him? My mind swam with too many questions and I felt my legs almost give out beneath me. I need to tell him. It's the right thing to do.
"I- something happened." I mumble out biting my lip to stop it from shaking.
I took detective Matsuda through the events of the evening and he called up another of his colleagues to be present as I retold my account. He was as patient as ever and assured me that they would keep me updated on the situation.
"If he saw you, he was probably scared away by your neighbour's turning on their lights. Is there somewhere else you can stay in for the night? At a friend or family members? Given what you just said and the previous break in, we can organise to have the police watch your apartment but we would prefer you not to be here at least for the night." He said with a small nod from his colleague who had been taking notes throughout our talk.
"I have a friend coming over. She should be here soon... I'm sure she would let me stay with her for the night." I say having calmed down after speaking with the police.
Just as I say that police officers escort a very confused and worried looking Fuyumi to my door. Upon seeing me she bolts towards me and envelops me in a bone crushing hug.
"Oh my God, Kimi! I was so worried about you! When I got here the police told me I couldn't come through and you weren't answering your phone! And then the police said they were getting a statement from you, are you okay? What happened?!" She cried all in one breath as I watch the police officers looking on awkwardly.
"I'm fine, really. But, is it okay if I stay with you for the night? I'll explain everything later." I say feeling so much more at ease now that she's here.
"Of course! Let's get you a change of clothes and some things for Peanut." Peanut,who had somehow managed to sleep throughout this whole ordeal was lazily resting in his hammock, which spanned the length of his cage.
*** Time skip ***
The ride to the Todoroki household was spent re-telling the events of the evening to Fuyumi whose brows remained furrowed in worry.
"So, you think this guy might have been Touya?" She asked as we unpacked my things and set them up in her room. The house was quiet with Natsuo away at college, Endeavour out of town on hero business and Shoto sound asleep.
Peanut awoke only to eat and fall right back to sleep again, giving us plenty of time to change into comfy pyjamas and climb into Fuyumi's large pillow covered bed.
"I know it sounds crazy but his eyes. They were just like his. Maybe I'm just going mad, but I could have sworn it was him Fuyu." I said shifting closer to her as she pulled me in for a hug.
"This isn't the first time you though you saw Touya right? There was that time in the grocery store? And that other time when you first started working at UA?" She recalled as I hummed in agreement.
"So you think it was just someone who looked like him?" I asked. A part of me hoped I was wrong, I didn't want to think that Touya was capable of something so violent. But another part of me wished it was him, just so I could be assured he was still alive ... and maybe that he still thinks of me.
"I think our eyes can make us see things that aren't there because our minds wish they were." She replied squeezing me in a motherly manner.
"Will this ever stop Fuyu? I can't keep picturing him everywhere. I can't keep thinking he's going to walk back into my life. Sometimes I feel like a part of me left with him." I mumble feeling tears being to build in my eyes.
"Sweetie, sometimes ghosts from our past come back to haunt us. But that's okay because all that matters is not letting them ruin the present." She spoke softly running her fingers through my hair in a calming manner.
"How is it that you always know the right thing to say?" I ask with a smile despite the tears in my eyes.
"Because I'm amazing." She replied without missing a beat, causing us both to laugh.
We cuddled closer and eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep.