No Time To Die (Dabi X Reader)

We Were A Pair

I stand at the entrance of the arena, the palms of my hands sweating like crazy. Every year I have managed to avoid stepping inside this place. There are too many bad memories. This is the source of all of my troubles, this is where it all went wrong for me.

I suck in a deep breath and head inside. The other teachers and heroes are already here, getting it ready for the next part. The preliminary event has gone and been, now the students are going into the next event. This is where I am needed along with the fighting section of the festival.

"Hey, Flare!" Someone calls from behind me. I look back over my shoulder to see Cementoss walking toward me. "Good to see you back in this arena."

I manage a fake smile at the comment. "I guess it's good to be back."

"Good to hear. I need you to weld a few metal bars together." He says.

I give off a small sigh. "That's not exactly how my quirk works. I will probably be more successful in melting them into a lump of metal."

He nods his head. "I was unaware of how hot your plasma burnt. My bad. I will get someone else to do that."

I give him the same fake smile again. "That's okay, easy mistake."

He walks away and I quickly slink away out the back where the students are. They are loud as always, excited for the next event.

I stop outside and listen to them and for a moment I am reminded of what they are feeling. The joy, the pressure, the thrill.

I sit in the waiting room, my knee can't stop bouncing as I stare down at the picture in my hands. My fight is up next but my mind is not at the festival right now.

The picture is small and has faded a little with age. Touya has his arm around my shoulder, it looks like he has me in a headlock. There is a huge smile on his face and I have a matching one. A rare moment in time where he wasn't training.

"I'll make you proud, Touya. This is all for you." I say quietly. "I'll become the number one hero."

A classmate puts her head through the door. "(y/n), they are ready for you." She smiles.

I nod and place the picture in my pocket. I straighten out my uniform, I need to look good to be recruited. 

"Miss (l/n)," A boy says.

I snap from my daze and look at none other than Shoto Todoroki. After Touya's death, I lost contact with the family. 

"Shoto, just call me (f/n). We've known each other for a long time." I say.

He gives a small nod. "Why did you stop coming around? Fuyumi was worried about you." 

I look down at the ground. "I couldn't face you guys after losing Touya."

"Touya and you were close, weren't you?" He asks. 

"Very close."

"Were you his girlfriend?" Shoto asks out of the blue.

I peer up at him and shake my head. "Your brother and I were only friends, just really good friends," I explain.

"Natsuo must've been lying to me. He said that Touya loved you."

I give off a small laugh. "Natsuo was always teasing us. I wouldn't think about too much." I explain. "I better get going. Good luck."

"Thank you." He gives a small nod before walking off.

My phone starts ringing in my pocket as I start to walk back toward the arena stage. Dabi's name appears. A heavy sigh leaves me as I decline the call. The light almost blinds me as I step outside.

Cementoss waves me over. Midnight stands next to him. I go and join them as the first two students get ready for their fight. 

"I guess I won't be needed for this fight," I comment, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the wall.

"The Todoroki boy is up next, you will be needed then." Midnight says.

I zone out for most of the fight but I can't seem to take my eyes off the arena. I can't help but think about that day. The palms of my hands are sweaty just thinking about it.

I shouldn't be here.

Midoyira wins his match. Next up is Shoto and another student from 1-A. This poor boy has no idea what's coming his way. 

My attention fully turns to the match that's about to begin. My phone chimes. I check it. Dabi sent me a message.

I can see you.

I sigh, knowing that there are cameras all around the arena and I give off a shiver. Everything here is documented on live TV for everyone to see. 

Didn't think you would be the one to watch this kind of thing. Your brother is up now.

No reply. I give a satisfied smile and put my phone away. Midnight is eyeing me up.

"Boyfriend?"

I shake my head. "No."

"You know Mic told us about the man at your place yesterday." 

I groan. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's focus on the kids."

She leans down. "Oh, come on. Tell me about him."

Before I can change the subject, a large wall of ice suddenly erupts from Shoto. The crowd goes silent.

My mouth falls open and I stare at the glacier in front of me. This is the extent of Endeavors training. The extent he put Touya through before abandoning him.

Touya could've been this powerful.

My chest tightens at the thought. A camera zooms up on me and I quickly look away from it. Midnight motions towards the glacier and I quickly move out of the view of the camera. 

I place my bare hands on the freezing ice wall and focus my plasma through both hands. The ice starts to melt away but this is going to take a lot of my energy to do this. I don't use my quirk to this extent anymore.

My phone chimes in my pocket, I glance around the arena and realize none of the attention is on me. I deactivate my quirk in one hand so I can safely retrieve my phone. 

You look hot!

I roll my eyes at the pun before sending a quick middle finger back to him. I catch myself smiling at the message. I shake my head as I stuff my phone back into my pocket. I go back to melting the glacier that Shoto created.

My phone chimes once again and I choose to ignore it this time. By the time I've finished melting the ice away, most of my energy is drained. 

I stumble backward, catching myself before I trip. Midnight raises an eyebrow at me.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

I give a small nod. "I just need to sit down for a moment. Call me if you need me." I mumble walking off.