#dabi x kotori

[mikunato]

Songbird

Masterlist

synopsis : Touya Todoroki and Kotori Ishida had known each other ever since they could remember. Time healed but time also tore apart the buried scars. As best friends, heroes in training and as pros, this is their journey — Dabi and Saphira's. Because together, they are unstoppable.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

[mikunato]

prev 02 | Songbird next

"And again, pro hero All Might saves the day. Do not leave your seats yet, ladies and gentlemen because our channel has successfully secured an exclusive interview with Japan's favorite Mr. All Might! Let us welcome..."

A yawn ripped out from her throat as she stretched her legs, wishing to bury herself further under the chabudai. The humidity of the summer was just starting to hit Masutafu and it pricked every inch of her skin.

A loud wail startled her awake. She craned her neck to find her mother scrubbing the dining table which squeaked as if its legs could give out at any second. "Hush, boy. I'll give you dinner soon", she cooed at the carrier strapped to her back. "Kotori, turn off the TV. That's enough screen time for you today."

Scratching the maddening itch on her back, she fell onto her back with a 'thunk'. "But moooom, All Might’s interview is on air!"

The woman sighed, discarding her apron onto the table and got herself a glass of water. "I'll record it for you. You can watch it later. It's time for bed."

Crossing her hands over her chest, Kotori tapped her feet against the ground. "It's too hot for sleeping. What happened to the table-fan? Is it not fixed yet?"

At this, her mother shot her a defeated look, rushing again to tend to her brother's cries. "You know how Itsuki needs all those expensive medication to help his with condition? Dear, we're not in the best financial situation right now and had to sell some items to afford all that. Your old books, clothes... Plus the fan won't even be necessary once the rain starts."

Kotori could only stare blankly. She wasn't an idiot, she understood these things. Her brother needed all the help they could get him but she was also a kid. She wished her parents could spend time with her more, pay a little more attention to her. Itsuki could be with them as well but all she yearned for was a little bit of affection.

Dejected, her sullen eyes trailed towards the light post flickering outside. "I understand."

A hand placed on her shoulder, her mother kissed her forehead, patting her cheek. "That's my girl. As for the heat, why don't you take a walk outside, hm?"

"Okay."

And that was precisely how Kotori found herself strolling the busy streets of the city, tailed by shadows and guided by the lampposts shining down upon her, mind buzzing from the cacophony of the nighttime bustle.

The sights of street food vendors greeted her, making her mouth water. For all the stress put on protecting the future generation, nobody seemed to mind a tween walking by herself. Sometimes she'd bump into a busy body, earning herself a sharp glare, other times shopkeepers would shoo her away with a dirty look.

Don't get her wrong, she knew she wasn't repulsive. It was that, she was just 'someone else's problem'. Nobody cared enough to bother. Padding through the cityscape, Kotori didn't realize when she had wound up in a familiar neighborhood or that a serene silence had befallen her surroundings.

The rusty swings creaked, making her head snap in that direction. A familiar figure stood beside the swingset, pulling the iron chains suspending the seat with a distracted air about him.

"Touya!" She called out, not wanting to give him a fright. But he didn't respond, merely lifting his head to fix his sunken eyes on her. "Touya?"

"Kotori...", he trailed off, dipping his head down again. "What're you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same thing, you know", she spat, a frown etched on her face, brows creased. She scanned him head to toe, trying to assess just what had made the spirited boy she knew so shifty when her gaze fell on his hands. "Are those burns?!"

From the tip of his fingers to the back of his palm, the skin was a gruesome purple, charred beyond what was salvageable. Taking his appendages into her own, she inspected the wounds, "Who did this to you?"

"Kotori", he repeated, tugging her by the oversized summer dress towards the foot of the slide. "I hurt them."

'Them'? Who did he mean by that? Touya wouldn't deliberately hurt someone. He could never! Right? Shaking her head, she blocked those thoughts from plaguing her mind. "Touya, h- how did you burn yourself?"

Taking a shaky breath, the silverette tried to suppress the tears that threatened to spill out. "Mama and Shoto... I hurt them. I don't deserve to be a hero, Kotori. I'm just...a bad guy."

Kotori's eyes grew wide, half trying to register the information dumped on her and half wanting to comfort her closest friend who was shivering, sobs raking his body ceaselessly.

Her fingers carded through his unruly tresses as she brought him closer to her, her eyes aflame with a strange sort of defiance. "Why did you hurt them, Touya?"

The boy looked up, eyes red and swollen. "It was a mistake! I never meant to hurt them. I- I swear."

Kotori smiled. "Then, how are you a bad guy? The villains we see on TV do bad things because they want to. Touya, you are nothing like them. Because you regret your actions. Villains don't do that."

But the throbbing pain just won't go away. He never should have charged at Shoto, his brother did nothing wrong. How was he supposed to be the No. 1 hero if he didn't hesitate to harm a little child, his own brother!

Then again, Touya never wanted to harm him. He didn't know why he felt so much anger and subconsciously, he had directed that rage towards Shoto and his quirk had acted on its own. Guilt crept up onto his conscience, vining around his heart like a poisonous serpent.

Sitting him down on the steps of the slide, Kotori sighed in relief, seeing his hysteria die down, even if it was by a fraction. "Touya, you can never do something bad by choice. You made a mistake and you can apologize it. We are allowed that much, aren't we?"

Touya sniffled quietly, his bottom lip quivering. Kotori never recalled seeing him so vulnerable. So human. His eyes, a bright azure glow, reminded her of the sky, stretching endlessly wide that they held the universe in them.

"But dad... he hates me, Kotori. I just wanted him to see that I can be his successor too. But all I am is a good-for-nothing monster! Will it be better if...if I just die?"

For a moment, her world paused, tears brimming her eyes. Why was it so unfair? They were only thirteen.

Touya wasn't bad for wanting his father's validation and she supposed she wasn't selfish to want a little bit of her mother's time. Damnit, weren't adults supposed to be the responsible ones?!

Gently cupping his face, Kotori urged him to look at her. "Stop saying that. You are not bad, you are not a monster. If not anything else, you are my Dabi. My favorite hero." Sitting next to him, she leaned her head onto his shoulder, curling up into his welcoming warmth. "I don't know about anyone else but I don't want to live in a world where Dabi doesn't exist."

Touya swore he froze right then and there, even if just for a split second. Whether it his mind being blank or his body refusing to cooperate, not a peep came out of him.

And there wasn't much said afterwards.

Because the comfort that came with the fact that even if the world was to be against him, there would always be that one person who was ready to defy the entire world for him was unparalleled.

It was strange. They were just little drops of water trying to make a difference in the vast ocean. They were all but a microscopic existence, merely drifting with the tide but they weren't insignificant, at least not to each other.

And for now, that's all that mattered.

"Hey...wanna get an ice pop?"

[mikunato]

01 | Songbird next

"Catch me if you can!"

The patches of snow melted under her feet as she struggled to catch up to the ombre haired boy. "Wait for me, Touya!"

Their dynamic was unexplainable but it was theirs to cherish and to despise. It was just how they worked — Touya always being one step ahead and Kotori following behind without any hesitation.

Huffing from the lack of oxygen from all the chasing in the paradise of ice, the curly haired pinkette plopped down on one of the slate covered benches. "You're always going too fast", she glared at the male who simply chuckled like a kid on Christmas eve.

"I'm not fast, you're just too slow", he teased, slumping down beside her as he threw and arm over her shoulder.

Kotori whined, shoving his side repeatedly, "Get off. You're heavy!"

"Rude", the Todoroki stuck a tongue out, already getting himself ready for another round of tag, pulling his best friend up by the hand. "Break time's over! Let's goooo."

"What? Already?" The girl exclaimed, letting herself be dragged towards a circle formed by all the neighborhood kids. The inking on her arms grumbled in protest; unfortunately for her, her body did not heat up nearly as quick as her companion's. "I'll sit this one out."

Coming to a halt, Touya rounded on her. "Nu-uh. You promised, Tori."

The shorter girl sighed, teeth clattering from the lack of mittens and the numerous holes on her sweater from tear and wear. Her family wasn't as well off as others residing in the area and most days it was tough for her mother to put three square meals on the table for the family. They couldn't afford such luxuries, she was told. "But it's so cold."

Peeking over his shoulder as if to make sure they weren't being observed, Touya leaned down to a hunch, prompting her to do the same. "Wanna see something cool?"

Awe sparkling in her ruby eyes, Kotori nodded eagerly. Touya held his hands out and she latched on, not yet knowing what he was up to but putting her trust in him. Soon, a strange warm sensation filled her. It was like one of her mother's home-cooked meals, filled with love and adoration. It made her feel fuzzy all over.

A massive grin threatened to split his face as Touya watched her eyes light up with joy. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Bursting into a fit of giggles, Kotori ignored the 'shh's from him, throwing her arms around his frame in a bear hug. "You got your quirk! Congratulations!"

"Keep your voice down!"

Taken aback by the rebuke, she tilted her head slightly. "Why?"

Pouting, Touya led them towards the recently abandoned swings. "Just because."

It took a moment but realization dawned on her. Squeezing his hand that snugly held hers, she kicked off the ground. "You didn't tell anybody yet, did you?"

His silence was answer enough.

Smiling, Kotori leaned towards his side, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. But Touya, now we can finally train to be pros! Our names will be at the top of Japan's Hero Billboard Chart!"

Catching onto her innuendo, Touya smirked, "Yeah. No. 1 hero Dabi and his sidekick, Saphira."

Kotori glared, "Hey! I'm nobody's sidekick!"

"Well you're still slow, Miss Snorlax!" Touya claimed and took off immediately.

"Get back here!"

[mikunato]

"𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐑 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 , 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐎𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆"

"𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄"

"𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐁𝐘𝐄"

🌸 name : mikkia | nickname : miku | me

18teen | bi | ace | rookie artist

youtube : mikkia-chan

🍨 masterlists :

songbird | dabi x oc

synopsis : Touya Todoroki and Kotori Ishida had known each other ever since they could remember. Time healed but time also tore apart the buried scars. As best friends, heroes in training and as pros, this is their journey — Dabi and Saphira's. Because together, they are unstoppable.

fandoms i write for : naruto/boruto | tokyo revengers | who made me a princess | demon slayer | my hero academia | darling in the franxx | bungou stray dogs | tokyo ghoul | fruits basket | horimiya × reader/oc and headcanons

things i avoid : explicit nsfw | incest | non-con

🍡 notes :

Hello tumblr! This is Miku or Mikkia. I am a diehard fan of anime / isekai manhwa and also listen to a bit of k-pop. You can dm me anytime and I will surely get back to you asap. I love making friends and would like to be yours too!

—miku <3