"I should be heading back then," Todoroki mumbles, a polite nod sent your way as he stands up from where he had been kneeling beside Elijah in curiosity. Layla was of course still a heap of unconsciousness on the floor, but at least now the bleeding had stopped and her breathing was somewhat steady. "It'll only be a matter of time until father sends in a whole army to look for me." 

     You weren't sure if that was his attempts at comedy or he was being dead serious, reading the almost-always dead expression on his face not a talent of yours. So to play it safe you just flashed him a smile, nodding as he got back to the double doors you have all entered and exited from. "Have a good evening, Todoroki." Now it was his turn to nod as his response, before the doors open up for him.

     Exiting was a bloodied Dabi and a bored Shigaraki, the two bumping shoulders as they try and exit together in their little act of apparently asserting dominance to one another. It was a weird one, but you couldn't say for sure. 

     Todoroki pauses, letting the two exit before he made any sort of move towards the door. The two in turn separated, letting the dual colored male walk between them in passing. From where you stood, you couldn't see their expressions, and the thought of having some sort of weird interaction had your heart racing for some reason. Why did you care? They probably didn't even recognize each, much less have any reason to hold hostilities to one another.

     They might've been brothers by blood, but they were strangers by consequence. 

     "How the fuck are we going to get out of here?" Came the annoyed huff from the acting leader, hands in his pockets and a bruise forming by the side of his face. You tried not to comment on it, instead being left to wonder if Whitlock was even capable of throwing such a hit. You didn't know him obviously, but he didn't seem like the type.

     "Dr. Blue has access to one of the vans," Taneo suddenly chirps, the only one not turning to the sounds of it being Elijah, seeing as he didn't exactly understand the language. "She never mentioned it, but she had a document lying around that mentioned some of her privileges. I think she keeps the key in one of the inside pockets." He gestures to her coat, before you reached over and patted around. You flipped one side of it, seeing the outline of what you were looking for against the cloth. You went and grabbed it, confirming that it was in fact a car key. For which brand? You had no idea, you didn't have time to check before it was grabbed by Shigaraki that had a shit-eating grin. "Great, always wanted to destroy government property." 

     "You have a very boring bucket list," Compress scoffs, easily ducking his head before standing himself up. The two go disappear for a few moments to the lined up vans to your right, sighing as you turn to look at Dabi. He had a couple of cuts on his face, the new scars blending with the old. It was. . . a weird sight to see, but the bored expression on his face made you realize that he probably wasn't going to be dealing with those unless somebody forced him to. 

     So with a slight groan you pushed yourself up, one hand snagging the closed first-aid kit before rising to somewhat his level. He definitely had a lot more inches above you, raising a brow as you pointed to the bag with a different hand, then to him, then to the floor.

     A smirk broke out on his face, but he kept up an act, "Hmm?" He hummed, head tilting upwards in even more of an attempt to simply glance downwards. "Stop pretending to be an idiot, idiot." The grin on his face widens even more, tilting a head shamelessly as he still stood there with no attempts at listening whatsoever.

     . . .

     . . .

     . . .

     "Hmm??" Came another one, this time a lot more interested as your free hand trails up his torso. He had to admit that he had to take a few seconds to suck in a breath, mind racing at what the fuck was happening, especially because you were with other people out in the wide open and—

     The small yelp that escaped from him after he was dragged down was what cut his thoughts off before he could jump the gun. 

     "Got'cha!" Your voice came a little too loudly, but it didn't matter much as it seemed that whatever commotion was happening out here couldn't have been a lot worse than the one inside. The voices from the guests were starting to get a little louder, the silence that had been there replaced by the growing murmurs. Which meant that you could be loud every now and then, but it also meant that it was only a matter of time until someone came out and saw your group. 

     "I'm fine," The phoenix stubbornly grunts, trying to escape your advances of putting the little cotton ball on him but not really giving that much of an effort. "Yeah, and I'm the tooth fairy," You bit back sarcastically, clicking your tongue as he manages to evade once again. Deciding that you might as well be as stubborn as the fucker was, you held the cotton out like a weapon before lunging at him.

     It was an awkward position, and he resisted for a while, but you eventually got to cleaning his wounds.

     They weren't that much, and he was grunting every now and then from both that and the weight of having to support the two of you with only his elbows, but you eventually got to finishing up.

     "We found the car—oh," Compress appears from behind one of the nearest vans, an embarrassed look on his face before he thought about the possibilities of being able to make fun of Dabi for this for the rest of his life.

     . . .is what he would say, had the phoenix not been holding a smug look.

     You were placing some band-aids all over his face, muttering things under your breath like an angry grandma. (He didn't know why he made that connection, but he did.) It didn't really look like you had noticed the situation you had put the two of you in, focusing instead on dressing his wounds the man probably could care less about. "I'll leave you. . . to it, then," He shudders as a feeling of dirtiness washed over him, a certain icky-ness in watching Dabi look a little too satisfied in a position that should no doubt be kept away from the public. 

     "Come on, nerd," He instead addresses Elijah, who gladly nodded, before turning to the unconscious woman. Compress was about to make fun of him—or offer his help, he never really got to decide—for not being able to lift her, but he got humbled himself quite quickly as the usually fidgety scientist easily bent down and scooped her up.

     He grunted as he tried to find a way to adjust the weight properly, before nodding and following where the curly-haired man was now pointing to the second-to-the-last van. He obviously looked surprise, but tried his best not to show it as they passed by him. But as he looked on, still in denial that he was able to carry that weight, he had to wonder what looked so different. He knew that Elijah always had green eyes, but were they always that bright?

     Shaking it off he turns back to the two of you again, thankfully no longer on top of each other and acting at least civil enough for the man to not have to feel weird holding a conversation. Taneo was quickly following after Elijah, as calm and suave as ever while Compress sighs at the still-grinning Dabi. "Alright, get in the damn van before we decide to leave you." He walks off a moment later, not missing the click of the phoenix's tongue. 

     "Well, guess you heard him," His gaze lands back on you again, a cheeky look on his face but a tired one on yours. "Yeah duh." With a small—hopefully soft, you weren't paying attention—punch to his arm you went off, groaning in complaint about something. The phoenix wasn't all too sure, so he just chalked it up to you being tired and wanting to rest. He couldn't exactly blame you, the events of today feeling needlessly lengthened and it all felt like it just kept going and going. He, you—and everyone else too, he guessed, but in all honesty he didn't really care all that much. If not at all—definitely needed a distraction, he just didn't know what.

     Especially when his own mind was being distracted by the repeating image of the half-and-half that he walked so close with he practically brushed shoulders, another flashing image of his own home coming into mind.

     That kid was obviously Shoto, no doubt, he just didn't like the fact that his family was a lot closer to him than he ever wanted them to be.

     So with a huff and a mental promise to himself to try and get a smoke before the night ended, he followed everyone else and settled into the van, pushing away whatever memory that tried to crawl from the deepest depths of his brain. He locked those away for a reason, and he'd be damned if it came slithering back just because he walked past one of his siblings.

● ● ●

     The ironic thing was. . . Touya had never even met his youngest brother.

     The only memory he had ever recalled of him and interacted with was when he was still in their mother's stomach, having only spoken to the unformed fetus in a way that always made him feel silly. 

     "Mother, can he hear me?" Fuyumi's soft voice snapped the eldest out of his little quiet episode, a scowl still evident on his face as he looked up. Rei sat on the bed with a hand rested atop his little sister's own hand, the two feeling whatever there was that was inside her stomach, a small smile on her face, "Of course. He gets particularly excited whenever you start gushing about those silly soap operas you always like to watch." 

     "Th-They're not silly!" An embarrassed look flared on the girl's face, her free hand slapping against her eyes in an attempt to hide it. Rei's soft laughter echoed throughout the small clinic in their home, removing her hand to let it rest on Fuyumi's cheek. "Of course they aren't, I was just teasing you," Her soft gaze lands past her and onto the still-frowning Touya, a sigh from her lips as she once again has to witness having to see her eldest go through such. By God he was barely eight, it pained her heart to see him in such a state.

     "Touya," He looks up at her, eyes holding so much emotion she couldn't help but wonder how she was ever blessed enough to have given birth to a baby with a shade of blue eyes that beautiful. "Do you want to talk to Shoto?"

     The red-haired boy made no attempts at a response, sitting still for a few moments before letting himself up and making his way over. Her smile widens just a bit more, an arm happily extended to take his hand in hers.

     His mother's hand was cold as he limply let his small one land on them, slowly being guided closer to her white bed. She gave him a reassuring grip, before softly placing it on the surface of her stomach.

     It obviously curved, feeling a little uncomfortable as he immediately felt something bump at it from the inside. "My," Her voice grew just a little bit giddy, the three of them having to be careful if they didn't want to risk a run-in with either their father or Yvette. After-all, it was unreasonably late, the two being lucky enough to have been successful in sneaking out in the first place. "That was the fastest he has ever responded. You might be his favorite, Touya."

     A scoff came from his lips, but made no efforts to sass back.

     It went like that for a few more minutes, a peaceful silence in the room as his hand nimbly rested on her belly. The only change of pace was from when he felt the undeniable kick every now and then, his young mind wandering in the idea of having his little brother floating aimlessly inside his mom's stomach. Why did that idea seem so weird to him? He knew it was natural, and that he obviously had been in the same spot before. But as all kids do, it amazed and disgusted him.

      "Hey Shoto. . ." his voice was tiny, it was quite obvious that he didn't want anybody to hear. So being the saint she is Rei stayed silent, pretending that she had heard nothing. Touya was silently grateful, eyes glaring daggers through their stacked hands.

     Their first conversation—even if it was barely considered as one—as brothers. Who knew that that was the last time he was ever going to be that close to him?

     The next time Touya had ever seen him again was years later in a school event.

     Shoto was participating, awfully young, in an event that seemed awfully lackluster. It had been a few years in the street, a now fourteen year old gazing in boredom.

     Dabi had taken a seat somewhere right outside their school courtyard, the tree he had decided as his lookout not comfortable but enough. From where he sat he was covered safely in shrubbery, but the spaces in between the leaves had enough of a vantage point.

     The dual-colored boy stood out from the rest of his classmates, red and white hair sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of neutral colored heads. It was funny, really, how Dabi hadn't met Shoto yet, but he was already so sure that he was the poor unlikely schmuck their father was going to be taking advantage of next.

     In all his eight short years in that Godforsaken house it was obvious that Enji was constantly always looking for ways to get an heir that was a perfect mix of he and his wife in more ways than one. First he was a carbon copy of his father, which had worked out well at first until he started showing signs of not wanting to be.

     Fuyumi, who had come next seemed to be the answer. She was graceful, had poise, was always eager to help, and was more than responsible even from such a young age.

     Yet in the eyes of their father she was just as much of a failure.

     Natsuo had gotten the same treatment. It felt like that after Fuyumi, Enji was more-so looking forward to the possibilities of mixing red and white hair, so having his next son have all white had possibly disappointed him.

     Nonetheless it seemed he had gotten what he had wanted as soon as he was banished from his family.

     Shoto had just finished the little race they had set up, a lot closer to where Dabi was sitting with his blue eyes slowly landing to get a closer look.

     If he hadn't known better. . . he would've thought that he was just two halves of his parents placed perfectly together.

     From the strands of his hair that stuck to his forehead slicked with sweat, to the mismatched eyes that were aimed down at the ground—Shoto was the perfect combination Enji had been looking for in all his years as a failed parent.

     Dabi rolls his eyes as he sees his father somewhere in the crowd, a proud look on his face as some teacher announces Shoto as the victor. He had to admit that he was impressed, the short stack of a six year old managing to beat everyone else in his class and the few higher levels. If things were different he might've been the reason to help his baby brother win. After all, he was always the sporty type out of the three, if it was a normal household we would've been right beside his father cheering loudly for him.

     But alas that wasn't his life. Anything that might've even been remotely considered to be a source of happiness nothing but a series of 'what if's. 

     So with a huff he starts his descent down the tree, carefully avoiding prying eyes before jumping down to the disturbed dirt with a small thud. The fence around the school did little to avoid anybody tall enough from entering or escaping, but nothing inside it served enough use for the now white-haired boy to break in in the first place.

     He stood there in silence for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should be eating lunch today. His last meal was in the late hours of yesterday, and he no doubted that he could go on for a bit more without.

     The sounds of a pair of shoes stopping slowly in their tracks made Dabi raise a brow, eyes turning to his right to see who it was in boredom.

     Much to his surprise it was his brother.

     He stood in the same silence by a drinking fountain, the water continuing to spew out despite the drinker's mouth in no ways near it. Nothing but a chain-link fence separated the two, a silent agreement to not talk shared between the two in nothing but a gaze. There was a look of familiarity in Shoto, but a confused look overall. 

     Dabi didn't give him a chance to remember, instead turning on his dirty sneakers and leaving.

     The was the last time Dabi had ever seen his brother. 

     And even they were strangers.

note ; HI LMFAO SORRY FOR THE DELAY ELECTRICITY DIED LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS LIKE 2AM LMFAO A BITCH NEEDS SLEEP—
IT GOT DELAYED AGAIN TODAY BECAUSE ADHD WONT STOP ADHD'ING SO I BASICALLY KEPT GETTING SIDETRACKED BUT HEY ITS HERE NOW HAHAHAHAHAHAH