Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Last night. I wasn’t ready for this night. He was going to be at this ball. With all the intel we had gathered over the past two weeks, I was terrified. Today the red dress hugged my curves making me want to hurl. Dabi walked behind me, now in a blood-red tuxedo. The color made my heart stop. It fit his body perfectly, allowing for my goosebumps to form. The way he tightened his tie made me want to kiss him. I stopped myself. We spared each other a gaze then left the tall hotel. Calico had stopped coming to the parties. It irritated me. He was the only person I would talk to, and he was the only one I felt like I could talk to without catching feelings for him. Once I arrived, Kehori Menzaru stood in the middle of the ballroom and toasted all the people in the room.

Instantly after everyone finished eating dinner, bodies moved to the dance floor and waltzed with each other. The Blue Danube echoed throughout the room, making me shiver. This disgusted me, but I couldn’t stand there and do nothing. A hand gently touched my hip, swaying me gently.

“Don’t panic. It’s just me.” A voice spoke.

Who was this? Oh, right? Dabi. My chest rose and fell faster, not knowing what to do. We followed what the others did. The second we faced each other, he grinned, making me look away. He eased some hair out of my eyes, tucking it behind my ear. I rolled my eyes and looked around at the surrounding people. A couple stared back at me. Dabi cleared his throat. Then he stopped. A hand reached out towards me that wasn’t his. The man bowed. I looked at Dabi who nodded to me, beginning to walk away.

“Please, allow me to treat you to a dance.” His voice. Something as disturbing as nails on a chalk board. The urge to puke stands high, but I pushed it down, allowing him to take my hand. His hand found my waist, making me shiver. Of all people, Kehori wanted to dance with me. We danced together for a while until he brought his face close to mine.

“You seem lost. Almost as lost as I am in your eyes.” He chuckled and gently touched my cheek.

That’s when I realized. . . we were the only ones left on the ballroom floor. He slowly backed up and bowed, so I curtseyed in response. Dabi walked over to me and took my arm. He spun me and mumbled in my ear.

“How do you feel about making a scene?” He smirked, making me do the same.

“That sounds like fun.”

The words hardly escaped my lips when the room went black, and the blue flames filled the room. We laughed at each other and looked at Kehori. Just like the blade I used to impale Endeavor, it shot into his heart, sticking into the ground with his corpse hanging off the edge. We continued to dance while everyone’s screams filled the air. We snuck out of the exit and returned to the hotel room. I plopped down on the floor and laughed. Dabi pulled his tie off, chuckling.

"You know. . .That was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.” He breathes out, trying to calm himself.

I lifted my hands into the air and laughed, saying it was what I did best. I eyed the jacket he threw onto the floor. He continued watching me as my hand touched the outside, giving me a feeling, I can’t explain. He stood and smacked the back of my head, telling me not to think too hard on what we did. Pushing him away, I watched as he smiled the slightest bit, disappearing into his room. The night felt as if it was a lullaby, bringing me to an easy sleep. That was, until I had a nightmare.

The tears poured down my face while my screams increased with volume. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear him, telling me to breathe. Bright lights and a heat wave caused my body to seize. My eyes opened and Dabi was there, wiping my tears. Only now did I realize what I was yelling. Toya. In my dream, he was standing there with a smile. My mind brought me back to all the times when we were together. It scared me. Then he walked away. It felt like there was a fire in my throat. Dabi held a cup to my lips, allowing me to drink.

I could finally breathe, and I felt okay mostly. Dabi was holding me in his lap with my legs hanging off of his left leg and my face buried into his chest. His hand stroked my back while I hiccupped. He rested his head on the top of mine. A chuckle left my mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’m so pathetic.” My arm wiped my eyes.

Dabi shook his head, “You just scared the shit out of me. If it makes you feel better though, we can talk about it? I mean, you kind of just screamed a random guy's name and I’m curious now.” He tried his best to avoid eye contact with me; I didn’t blame him.

“Well, you don’t know who I am. That’s what is the most confusing thing,” I said, as I crawled out of his lap and got comfortable in front of him.

Air left my lungs, making me want to puke. The second my eyes closed to turn off my Quirk, I regretted it. I was me again. Aiko Oshima. The girl from hell.

“I’m. . . This. You know the story about Aiko Oshima, right? The one that ‘went crazy’. Yeah, that’s me.”

His eyes looked into mine. Before he could say anything, I continued, “I had a best friend, and I had a life that was pretty much set for me. I was happy with my life and who was in it, but that one person, Endeavor, had a unique plan. When I was about two months old, my parents died, so I had no one to take care of me. The heroes took me in, all taking responsibility for me. They were my people. They were my family. Then, when he figured out that I wouldn’t have a Quirk, Endeavor trained me to become a hero. With no hesitation or second thought, I accepted because I wanted to become a great hero like the surrounding people. After a month, my curiosity got the best of me, and I ventured up to the very top of a peak. This is when I met Toya. . .”

⛶

A boy with fiery red hair threw punches into the air, like he was fighting his shadow. Then he began to kick and duck, acting like he was in a battle. My eyes grew wide, amazed. Then, like the idiot I am, my hand slipped off the giant boulder, causing me to roll forward. Dirt in my eyes and both of my legs getting chewed up, the world felt like it was spinning. That’s when he walked over, interrogating me. I repeatedly apologized, begging him not to yell at me. He stopped and scoffed. He also then realized who I was and called me his father’s new pet. I looked up to him with a tilted head. Pet? When you’re in a world of italics, you can switch back to block letters, which has the same effect as the reverse—rather than using bold type to offset words of thought.

Crossing his arms, the boy said, “You are being trained by my father. I can’t believe he could just throw me out like that.” So, is he the eldest son Mr. Endeavor was talking about?

“I have an amazing idea!” I screamed, jumping to my feet. This caught his attention. “I could teach you everything he teaches me, and you teach me everything you know. You pat my back, I pat yours! Or however it goes. That doesn’t matter! I could use a friend that isn’t an adult.” With some thorough thinking, he finally nodded, holding out his hand.

For months, we would meet at that peak after my training sessions with Endeavor. It took us an entire week to tell each other our names, this always made me laugh when I thought back to that moment. Toya Todoroki. I love that name.

When Christmas rolled around, I was a little scared to meet up with him. Mainly because I thought he would not be there, instead he would be with his family for the holiday. Nope. He was there, waiting with a giant smile. I ran over and hugged him tightly. Toya handed me a box with my name scribbled on the top. I took it with a questioning look. We sat, and I unwrapped it. A note —  which I didn’t read until I was alone, because that’s what he instructed— two silver katanas sat in the box with our names engraved on them.

“When they are by themselves, they’re strong, but bring them together and they’re even stronger. That’s like us.” He laughed and blushed wildly.

I hugged him tightly, knowing I had a loyal friend. After that, we would each practice with one. That was until about a year later when I disappeared for a few months. Endeavor had told me to charge him with my full power. I did so, hoping I could at least land a hit on him. But I didn’t even have a Quirk then. He knew that too. He had found out Toya and I had gotten close, and this angered him. So, he hurt me. That’s how I earned the disgusting burn on the right side of my face, sliding onto my shoulder and a bit of my chest. Because of the burn, I had lost vision in my right eye. I was terrified to go back. What if he feared me? What if he didn’t know who I was? Maybe it was for the best.

The second I stepped onto that peak I felt like I was going to hurl. When the wind caused my hair to move from my face, my pulse grew. He walked closer to me, and I backed up. Almost like a remote is rewinding us. He would walk forward; I would step back. We did this then he yelled at me.

“What are you hiding, Aiko? You leave for months and then you come back, and you won’t even let me come close to you? Did I do something?” His voice was deeper than before, and he was taller too. Tears filled my eyes as I walked closer to him. I rested my forehead on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

“I missed you so much.” Hiccups followed my every breath; all he did was pat my back. You can’t really do much when your best friend is crying at you, and you do not know why. His hand gently touched the brand-new scar that traced my face. Toya didn’t speak for a while, and I wasn’t really planning on talking either. Eventually, I looked up at him and smiled.

“A villain attack. I thought that a stupid, Quirkless, weakling like me could help stop a villain. I can’t be a hero if I’m too weak to take a single attack. Maybe there is something wrong with me. I think he’s right. I shouldn't be alive.  Like the rest of my family, I should be dead. Toya, I’m scared.”

My tears burned my skin worse than the fire that Endeavor burned me with. Of course, I would not tell him the truth but I also kind of was. Endeavor felt like a villain that showed me how weak I really am. Toya hugged me tightly. He stopped and held my face in both hands, tears in his eyes. This was the only time I saw him cry.

I can always hear those words he said to me. . . ‘You are not, and have never been, a weakling. You’ve grown and learned. Sure, maybe sometimes you don’t make the smartest decisions, but you always fix the problems in the end. I can count on you to make me laugh and make sure that my father doesn’t ruin my day. You, Aiko, are the reason I want to get up every day and make sure that you laugh too. I want to see you happy every day. When you cry or say that you’re scared, it’s okay. When you cry, it’s okay. You are going to have days when you cry and days when you’re scared. That’s normal. That’s okay! You are perfect. I am so glad that you are who you are. I love you, Aiko. You’re my best friend and I couldn’t ask for a better person to fill that role.’