After a while, the sobs subsided. Shoto, feeling strangely lighter, wiped his eyes. Dabi stood up. "Come on," he said, offering a hand. "Let's go back."
Shoto hesitated, but he took Dabi's hand, and together, they walked back to the training grounds.
The reaction was immediate and dramatic. The pro heroes gasped, Aizawa's eyes narrowed, and the students of Class 1-A stood frozen, their faces a mixture of shock and fear.
"Shoto! Get away from that monster!" Endeavor roared, his face contorted with rage.
"He isn't a monster," Shoto snapped back, surprising himself with the strength of his conviction. He stood his ground, his eyes locked on his father's.
Dabi smirked, stepping forward. "Listen, old man," he said, his voice laced with steel, "you can abuse me, fight me, do whatever you want, but leave my brother out of it."
"He isn't your brother!" Endeavor retorted, his voice dripping with venom.
"Last time I checked," Dabi said, his smirk widening, "my name was Touya Todoroki before I 'died'."
Endeavor fell silent, his face turning an alarming shade of red. He stared at Dabi, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and fury. "You're no son of mine," he finally spat out, his voice trembling with rage.
Dabi laughed, a hollow, mirthless sound. "Fine by me. But leave Shoto alone. He's a great person, and he'll be a better hero than you ever will be." He stepped closer to Endeavor, his eyes burning with intensity. "You hear me?"
Endeavor rolled his eyes and stormed off, his departure leaving a palpable void in the air. Dabi turned back to Shoto and pulled him into a brief, awkward hug.
"I gotta go, okay?" he whispered, his voice softer now.
"Are you coming back?" Shoto mumbled, his voice barely audible.
Dabi smiled, a genuine, unguarded smile that transformed his face. He nodded. "Yeah, eventually." And with that, he was engulfed in flames and warped away, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.
Aizawa, after a moment of stunned silence, declared the training session over. The students, still reeling from the events, slowly made their way back to the dorms.
Shoto, walking alongside Midoriya and Iida, felt a strange mix of emotions swirling within him. He was confused, conflicted, and scared, but beneath it all, there was a flicker of hope. He had seen a glimpse of his brother, the brother he thought he had lost forever.
When Shoto got back to his dorm room, he saw a friend request on his Instagram account. He recognized the username instantly – Dabi's. He hesitated for a moment, then accepted it. A small grin spread across his face. He knew he had his brother back in his life, even if he was a villain. The path ahead would be complicated, dangerous, and uncertain, but for the first time in a long time, Shoto felt a sense of purpose, a reason to keep fighting. He knew, deep down, that he wasn't alone.