Chapter Text
Dabi lasted almost a whole year in that condition, shocking everyone including Endeavor. And in that year his family visited often, but no matter how often they asked, he never said anything about his life on the street. He would also play dead at times just to get Endeavor to shut up. Even in his last days of pain, he just wanted to annoy Enji in any way possible.
It wasn’t until the day died, the family was told first thing in the morning, as he died in his sleep the night prior, then an announcement at noon to the public; that everyone found who Dabi/Touya really was. At most Endeavor expected few “good riddance” from the civilians, and there were a few.
Almost half the high schools and middle schools had to close down with the amount of students who just walked out of class. Even Natsuo noticed some of the freshmen in college, just straight up left. There were no riots or problems, the just left and headed home. Especially those connected to the poorer family, hetero-morph family or just connected to villains. Not that anyone really made the connection at first.
It got even stranger later that evening, when many households and businesses suddenly had the same picture in their windows. It was a simple one of an old anime character, Totoro, with blue flames coming off him.
Fuyumi was home with her father, when her mother called her, Shoto was at her house and they also had Natsuo on the line.
“Fuyumi, are you watching the news?” Rei asked.
“No,” Fuyumi said. “Father’s watching wrestling.”
“Of course he’s acting like everything is normal today,” Natsuo said.
“Fuyumi put the news on,” Rei said. “Both you and Enji need to see this.”
“Oh okay,” Fuyumi said, going over to the living room. “I’m sorry father, mother and everyone is saying we need to see the news.” Enji looked confused, but put it on.
“If you are just turning in,” The reporter said. “We are covering the strange, mourning? Over the former League of Villain member Dabi, also eldest son of former pro-hero Endeavor. Blue flaming Totoro’s are being seen in many windows.”
The news showed several towns with poorer neighborhoods all with this same image in the window. Suddenly the screen shifted to one of the largest hetero-morph advocacy agencies, helmed by a lizard man named Satoshi Ito. This building also didn’t just have it in the Flaming Totoro in the window, Mr. Ito was out front with his wife and two children putting a much larger one up in the yard.
“Mr. Ito! Mr. Ito!” An on site reporter said, rushing over with a microphone. “Can you explain what’s going on?” That's when they realized the Ito children were crying. Mr. and Mrs. Ito also looked sad. Mr. Ito looked at his wife, who just ushered their children away.
“Mine and other agencies will closed for the few days,” Mr. Ito said. “Our emergency numbers will still work. But the offices will be closed.” He moved to leave.
“Is this about Dabi?” The reporter asked. Mr. Ito took a breath trying to remain calm.
“That is not the name my family, and many others, knew him by,” Mr. Ito said. “But Yes.” Then he walked off, without saying anything else.
“What’s going on?” Shoto asked.
“I’m calling Keigo,” Enji said. He wheeled himself out of the room and called Keigo from the hall.
“Hey big guy what’s up?” Keigo asked, answering shortly.
“Have you been seeing the news?” Enji asked.
“Yes,” Keigo said.
“Do you know anything?” Enji asked.
“Not really,” Keigo said. “I’m having my assistant reach out. There were a few times when I was still undercover, Toga would call Dabi “Totoro” but that’s all. I never understood.”
“Will you be at the funeral tomorrow?” Enji asked.
“Yes,” Keigo said. The two former hero's hung up.
***
The next day was very somber for all of the Todorki’s. Natsuo was going, even though Enji would be there, but everyone understood he would not be speaking to him. It was awkward for them as well, seeing as they had done this once before, just this time Rei was there.
Keigo showed up in a black suit, and just nodded at them, before looking at the new tombstone. He had his own reasons for mourning, not that he could tell anyone.
“Did you find anything else?” Enji asked.
“I talked to Mr. Ito,” Keigo said, not taking his eyes off the tombstone. “He wouldn’t tell me anything. Just asked when the funeral was.”
“The Ito’s are here,” Shoto said, “With some others.” They all looked up to the graveyard entrance to see a large group of people, most children, and several Shinto priests.
“What’s going on now?” Enji asked.
“I am sorry for the intrusion,” Mr. Ito said. “The children insisted.” Everyone looked confused.
“Excuse me,” A priest said, standing next to Rei, looking at her. “Are you Ms. Rei Himura? Totoro’s mother?”
“Himura was my maiden name,” Rei said. “But yes, Touya’s my son.” The priest pulled out an envelope labeled for her.
“Totoro left this with me shortly before joining the League,” The priest said. “He asked me to give it to you if something happened to you. Though he was also worried his father wouldn’t let you have it.” Rei took the rather thick envelope.
“Thank you,” Rei said, not sure what would be in it.
Gina Ito, squatted down in her black dress, and placed a little Totoro plush on Touya’s grave. The Todorokis were all still very confused. A teen bug boy placed one of those two soba keychains down. Goroichi Ito placed a blue phoenix plush keychain. Another teen boy, though, placed a copy of Sleeping Beauty.
“Shinji!” The others said.
“What?” Shinji said. “Totoro-nii would understand.”
“You?!” Enji asked, glaring at an old old lady with a cane. “You threw eggs at my agency a year after Touya died the first time.”
“Oh look you remember,” The old lady said. “If I knew then what I know now about you. I would have done worse. Flaming trash can of a person.” Natsuo laughed at this.
“Crazy old coot,” Enji said.
“Why did you throw eggs?” Shoto asked. She looked at Shoto and got a calmer face.
“My grandson has been kidnapped a few months prior,” The old lady said. Then looked at Shinji. “No hero would help me. Because my deceased husband used to be a villain. I went to the flaming trash can here, because everyone knew he had children. I thought I could appeal to him on that level for help. He wouldn’t even see me.”
“Well you got him back,” Enji said. “Someone helped you.” All the children, the Ito’s and the old lady all looked at Touya’s grave.
“Did nii-san help you?” Natsuo asked.
“Totoro brought all our children home,” Mr. Ito said.
“What?” Rei asked.
“Totoro-nii was in the same lab as us,” Gina said, in her quiet voice. “He slept for a long time.” She also seemed younger than she looked. “Totoro-nii saved us.”
“He would never tell us his real name,” Mrs. Ito said. “Just said to call him Totoro. All the children here” They looked around there were at least 20 just standing in the background, “And many others were once kidnapped and placed in labs to be experimented on. No hero would help them. Because of their status in life. Then randomly one day a white haired teen was bringing them home.”
“Totoro-nii found out about the other labs,” Goroichi said. “And went to deal with them too.”
“What do you mean by slept a lot?” Rei asked.
“Sleeping Beauty was in a three year coma,” Shinji said. “The doctor did a little weird stuff to him. And always said his father broke him, he would laugh about it.” Natsuo glared at Enji.
“Weird stuff?” Keigo asked.
“The doctors experimented on Totoro-nii just like he did to us,” Goroichi said. “He even took his jaw bone.”
“When Totoro-nii woke up,” Gina said. “He cried a lot for his mom.”
Rei started to tear up, and looked at the envelope. She wanted to wait till she got home to read, but she kept wondering. When she opened the envelope, the first thing she noticed was the red stains like Touya had been crying while writing this.
Dear Ma,
I can see you as I write this, I’m on the roof across from the hospital. It upsets me so much that he still keeps you in there. I’m up here a lot, keeping an eye on you. I wish I could properly visit you, but then he’d know I am alive. I can’t have that. I really will die then.
I miss you most of all, I used to think it was Natsuo, but no it’s you. I don’t believe you want to see, after everything, I don’t blame you. I was a horrible kid, and the way I yelled at you. It eats me up everyday ma, all these years later, all I want to do is apologize. But I know I don’t deserve to see you.
It’s been ten years, you might be wondering why I am suddenly writing to you. My life is about to change completely. And no I am not going to be a parent, I know I used to talk about marrying that baby red bird and the two of us having children. But it is far too late for that. I made a friend a little while ago, more like an annoying little sister. She’s also a runaway, both of her parents were like him in some ways, so she had to leave.
Her name is Himiko, I actually think you’d like her, she can be really sweet at times. She wants to run off and join this League of Villain things, led by the same weirdo who is bothering little Shoto’s class. She won't listen to me and is going to go either way. I can’t let her go alone, she’s barely seventeen, I just can’t.
I know this will change me, a lot. As much as I hate him and want to kill him, I have actually been avoiding things related to doing such a thing. I know it will mess me up, way more than I already am. But I just can’t let her go alone.
I just wanted to apologize for what’s about to come. I know I will most likely end up hurting little Shoto, I have spent years trying to separate him from Enji. But doing this will make it near impossible. I don’t know what I will end up doing, and I just wanted to say I am sorry, ma. I love you and I am sorry.
Your Totoro
Rei fell to her knees crying, Shoto and Natsuo went over to her.
“Mom, what's wrong?” Natsuo asked. Rei just handed him the letter. Natsuo read and started crying too. He should have known, his big brother would just be bad for no reason. He looked inside the envelope. “There’s a smaller note in here for Shoto.”
“Huh?” Shoto said, and took the paper.
Hey little peppermint head, long time no see. By the time you see this, you may hate me forever. I wanted to apologize for not being a better big brother. After my three year coma, I went home. Just to find you and Enji in the dojo. You looked so tiny, all bruised and burned. Still bigger than me at that age, but I remember what it’s like to have those bruises and burns.
I just left you behind that day, knowing far to well what that man is capable of. I kept telling myself it was just because I never felt anything for you at that moment. But the truth is, a truth I never really planned on admitting, I was afraid of him. Enji never wanted me around once you came, never important, and then he just buried me. I was so scared, I thought he would just bury me to keep me away. I still think that.
The letter was very short, Shoto staring at it. He barely had any memories of Touya when he was very little. But reading this, he could hear Touya-nii's voice calling him “Peppermint head” when he would treat his burns from days of training. There was a time his oldest sibling loved him, and he had thought that ended. But now he wondered.
“Touya-nii thought you would kill him,” Shoto said, looking at Enji. “If you knew he was alive.”
“What?” Fuyumi asked. “Why would he think that?”
“I can see it,” Natsuo said. “He always called nii-san a problem and defective.”
Keigo, and the other new guest just looked at Enji too. Dabi had talked to Hawks a little about his painful past, when they were well together. But even after learning Dabi was Endeavor's child, his brain just had a hard time comprehending it. Maybe if he had gotten over his stupid hero worship of Endeavor, maybe he could have kept his Dabi.
They all stayed a little long, in silence, then before leaving the children gathered around in three circles, and surprised the Todorokis. They all had a jar with them and each released a blue butterfly up in the sky.
“They planned that themselves,” Mrs. Ito said, to Rei. “It was important to them.” Rei just smiled at the children.
On the way out, Rei talked to Mrs. Ito and the grandma, making plans to have tea. Rei wanted to know more about her oldest, then she talked to Keigo. Toga’s family had abandoned her, and was buried in a generic grave, so Rei was asking Keigo if she could be moved to be next to Touya. Keigo said he would see what he could do.
“A word Hawks-san?” The priest said. Stopping Keigo from getting into his car.
“Ah, Keigo is fine,” Keigo said.
“Keigo-san,” The priest said. “Totoro visited me shortly before the final part of the war. He gave me this for you.” He handed a small thin envelope to Keigo, then bowed and left.
Keigo looked at it strangely, and climbed in the backseat and told his driver to go. As the car moved, he opened it. It was a simple stationary card with a red cardinal and bluejay on it. Inside were simple words that made Keigo spend the rest of the evenking crying.
Birdie,
I’m sorry.
I will always love you.