(Todoroki POV – Hospital Room)
I freeze, Mother's question hanging in the air.
My throat tightens, not knowing if I should tell her.
'If Kata is wrong, telling her would reopen the wound and hurt her again.' I think heavily. 'But if he's right… she deserves to know.'
I clench my jaw, and let out a breath.
'I trust him.'
"Yes." I say quietly. "Toya's alive. Kata says he's certain he found him."
For a second, she doesn't react.
Then her eyes widen, her breath pausing.
"Alive…?" she whispers. "B-but… where is he? Is he hurt? How do you know it's really him?" Her voice rises with each question, hands trembling as she grips the bedsheets.
"I don't know." I admit, forcing myself to stay steady. "Kata says he's found him. He's… confident it's really Toya."
Her gaze shakes.
"C-can we see him?" She asks, hope and terror tangled together. "Can we meet him?"
I swallow, then lift the phone back to my ear.
"Kata…" I say. "Is it possible for us to meet him?"
"That's why I called." He replies immediately. "If you send me your location, I can come quickly. But…" He sighs. "He's become a villain. You should prepare yourselves mentally."
My stomach drops as the words echo sharply in my mind.
"…I understand." I say, even though I don't. "I'll send the location. Please come as soon as you can."
"I'll be there soon." Kata says, before hanging up.
I lower my phone slowly.
Mother is watching me, searching my face for answers I don't know how to give.
"He said he'll be here soon." I tell her. "But he also said Toya—"
Before I can finish, the air shifts as Kata suddenly appears out of nowhere.
Mother gasps, stepping in front of me instinctively.
"Who are you?!" She demands, voice tight with anxiety.
"That's Kata." I say quickly, calming her down. "He's the friend I was talking to."
Kata inclines his head politely, hands relaxed at his sides.
"Good evening, Mrs. Todoroki." He says calmly. "My name is Kata Okada. I'm Shoto's friend, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
The courtesy feels surreal in the charged silence.
Mother hesitates, then nods faintly.
"It's… nice to meet you." she says, before her composure cracks. "You said you met Toya."
Kata looks at me, asking if he should proceed, and I nod.
"Mother…" I say gently, guiding her back to the bed. "Before that… there's something you need to hear."
I sit beside her, heart pounding.
"Kata," I add quietly, meeting his gaze. "Please explain everything."
Fear and hope intertwine, as we await his explanation.
(Kata POV – Hospital Room)
'Even if you ask… how much are you actually prepared to hear? I think as I watch them, the mother and son duo filled with grim determination.
In the end, I decide to be honest and direct.
"Toya…" I say quietly. "Now goes by Dabi. He's a villain I found with the League of Villains when I raided their hideout."
Rei stiffens.
"That can't be true." She says immediately, shaking her head. Then continues more firmly. "Where is he? I want to see him."
"He's here." I lift the invisibility, and Dabi appears beside me, forced to his knees and fully restrained by my quirk.
Rei gasps, her hands flying to her mouth as her knees nearly buckle.
Despite the burns, scars, and all the years that have passed.
She doesn't fail to recognize her own child.
"Oh god…" She whispers.
She steps forward slowly, as if afraid any sudden movements sound make him vanish. Then she lowers herself in front of him and wraps her arms around him.
"I'm so glad you're alive…" Her voice cracks, but even as tears pool on her eyes, she refuses to cry. She holds herself together through will alone.
Dabi doesn't move… or rather, can't.
I keep him restrained, mainly for her sake. If I didn't, this reunion would be ruined as Dabi attacks her.
Even now, his eyes remain cold and detached.
Shoto notices, and so do I.
I'm almost certain Rei does too. But even then, she doesn't pull away.
After a few seconds, she lets him go but stays close.
"I want to speak to him." She says calmly, her gaze directed at me. It carries steadfast resolve.
"Wouldn't you prefer the rest of your family be here for that?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
"They've already suffered heavily over Toya's death." She says softly.
'She already knows how this will probably end.' I realise. 'And still, she chooses to try.'
Deep inside, I can't help but admire her.
'Is this what a real mother is like?' I wonder, but don't dwell on it.
I allow Dabi to speak, and he exhales sharply.
"Damn." He mutters, looking at me with a mocking grin. "If you're gonna kidnap me and tie me up, at least buy me dinner first."
I roll my eyes, and ignore him.
He clicks his tongue, annoyed by my lack of reaction.
"T-Toya…" Rei says gently, and he finally looks at her.
She smiles faintly, lifting her hand to his face. Her touch is careful, expression filled with gentle warmth and hurt and her fingers graze his burnt skin.
"You've grown." She says softly. "I've missed you so much…"
Her words ache with pain for all the hears she didn't get to see. They carry regret for failing to be by his side, and guilt for all the pain he's had to endure. And finally… a deep sadness for what he's become.
Dabi scoffs.
"Funny." He says with a mocking grin. "You haven't changed much."
Rei flinches.
"Guess me dying didn't really change anything, huh?" He chuckles.
Shoto's fists tighten.
They feel the accusation hidden in his words.
The family stayed damaged.
The abuse continued.
Everyone replaced him… and simply moved on.
His death was meaningless.
And now…
They sit facing each other.
A mother who never stopped loving him…
A son who never felt loved…
And between them—
Years of absence, unanswered questions, and pain continue to burn fiercely, like the flames that tore them apart.
(Rei POV – Hospital Room)
'It hurts.'
Every word Toya speaks digs into wounds that never fully healed.
Every time I look at him, I see echoes of the boy he once was. Of the child who used to smile up at me and talk passionately about his dream of becoming a hero.
But now…
I see only hatred.
My fingers trace his skin, now rough after being burnt purple from a quirk that hurts him. A quirk I let be used to define his worth… because of expectations I let be forced upon at a young age.
'This is my fault.'
"Too stunned to answer?" Toya scoffs.
His voice is light. Almost playful.
My chest tightens.
"That's… not true." I say quietly. "Your death hurt us. The damage it caused… we still haven't healed from it." My voice trembles. "How can you say it meant nothing? We loved you."
I look down before my tears overflow and spill.
"So many things changed…" I whisper.
He laughs.
Loud, sharp, and amused.
"Changed?" He repeats. "Sure. Let's say something changed." His grin twists. "But nothing that changed actually mattered."
His voice rises.
"You know what I saw?" He continues. "Dad pretended I never existed. Natsuo and Fuyumi moving just the same. You went insane and got locked in this dump. But it wasn't because of me."
His eyes flick to Shoto.
"And Dad replaced me with his masterpiece."
Shoto stiffens.
Toya looks back at me.
"So tell me, Mom… what exactly changed?" My breath stutters. "Everything's the same. Only difference is, I was replaced."
"That's not what happened." I say. "We were grieving. We didn't know how to go on. No one forgot you."
"So what?" He sneers. "You want me to feel bad for you?"
His laughter bursts out again.
"I burned to death and you didn't know what to do with yourselves. That's soooo tragic." His grin widens. "How pathetic."
"Stop…" I whisper.
"Spare me your excuses." Toya says, rolling his eyes. "You all wished you could forget me and move on."
My hands clench in my lap.
"I'm glad you didn't." He says suddenly. "I'm glad you suffered."
The words hit harder than his shouting.
His laughter is ugly. Joyful.
"Shut up!" Shoto snaps.
His voice shakes as he speaks. "What do you know? Everyone was suffering. That doesn't mean we wanted you gone. No one wanted you dead!"
Toya doesn't flinch.
"Is that so?" He asks lightly. "Then why did you become Dad's little puppet?"
Shoto freezes.
"You even joined his agency and trained under him. What were you trying to do?" Toya asks in amusement. "Become a hero, just like him?"
The room feels smaller.
"You think you're different from me?" Toya continues. "You're just a tool in his quest to surpass All Might."
His eyes gleam.
"Me, Natsuo, Fuyumi… we're all failures!" Toya announces. "And you?"
He looks Shoto directly in the eyes, leaning forward slightly. "You're a tool that has yet to break… to fail… and be cast away like the rest of us."
He turns back to me.
"If Shoto becomes a failure too, he wouldn't hesitate to throw him away just like me, right?" Toya grins maliciously. "He'd just make another one… isn't that right, Mom?"
My breath leaves me because…
'He's right…' A small voice in my mind echoes.
My body trembles. The fear of that happening… of being forced to once again doom another child to this fate… it comes back, haunting me.
And the worst part…
Toya knows it. He knows how deeply it would hurt me…
And he's enjoying it.
*********
A/N: Hello Everyone... How are you all? If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or power stones. It really helps the book out.
Yeah... This chapter even affected the A/N😭. NGL, I was enjoying it till Kata's POV, since emotions were high and there was a lot of drama. I have plans for the chapter, but normally go with the flow, and as you can see, this was not part of the plan😭😭😭
Even I think Dabi went too far💀, since the last thing he says is basically like targetting SA against his mom (which, for my own piece of mind, I'll assume it wasn't at the time the kids were conceived😭😭😭).
To be honest, Dabi being redeemed... After this... I think most of y'all probably are changing your minds. But, his redemption was never gonna be quick, of even at all. He's got quite a lot of hate.
I actually struggled to choose whose POV to show, between Dabi and Rei, and ultimately, I think David's POV is best somewhere else, plus it didn't fit with the chapters more gentle atmosphere🫠.
Don't know about y'all, but I'm gonna need to recover. Dabi is a menace😭, and he serves to get burnt in Hellfire after this, but we'll see.
And this is all before Endeavour shows up😭. The drama will only get worse😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭.
You can also read 10 chapters ahead and support me at Patreon.com/AMV_WEAKLY
But anyway... That's all I've got to say🫠. I hope you enjoyed (really, I do😭), and have a wonderful rest of your day/night 🫠.