Dabi

Reincarnated as a cat

A/N: Someone here on wattpad asked for the "Dabi gets reincarnated as a cat thing" that I've done for other characters. There's also the reader version somewhere in this book too

You always knew Dabi was most likely going to die before you. His body simply wouldn't hold up for much longer, especially with all the stress he'd put himself under during the last year or so. So when he stumbled to your apartment, smelling like some sort of burnt death and falling to his hands and knees, you thought you were ready to handle it.

"Dabi!" you gasped, kneeling down next to him.

He was hot to the touch, so hot that you almost burned your hand when you placed it on his back. He looked like he was quite literally coming unstapled.

"What happened? You're-you're falling apart" you were panicking.

"It hurts" he growled, as he collapsed to the floor.

That was something you'd never heard from him before, not like this anyway. Sure he had complained about the occasional headache or things like that, but you had never actually heard it in his voice like this. He sounded like he was in agony.

"What can I do!? Tell me what to do, please!"

Dabi wasn't moving, he was just laying there.

"Nononononono" you muttered as you checked his pulse.

This couldn't be happening, not yet. You weren't ready, you weren't ready to say goodbye. YOu thought you'd been prepared because you knew this was coming someday, but knowing it did nothing. It felt like even though you had known this was going to happen, it didn't help at all. You felt like you couldn't process the situation in front of you.

When you finally came to your senses, it was already too late, Dabi was gone. He wasn't moving or breathing anymore.

The next few months were hell. You were questioned by the police multiple times on why exactly a wanted villain had died on your carpet. You had to come up with a story, a totally bullshit story, but it was probably easier for the police to believe it was a break in, rather than that you'd been involved with Dabi.

His family paid for the funeral, which you couldn't attend, because it would've aroused too much suspicion. You kept hearing people basically cheering for the news that Dabi was dead. "Another villain gone" said the news article. You had to bite your cheek not to start screaming out of frustration. You knew what he had done, but he had never been anything but good to you, normal ups and downs included.

A few weeks after the funeral, you visited his grave. You weren't able to bring yourself to do it before. You didn't want to take a chance with running into his family members at the cemetery.

"Todoroki Touya" the gravestone read.

You'd known his real name, you'd even used it on rare occasions, but it was a whole different thing to see it on a headstone. He had always been Dabi to you. The name he'd chosen for himself, the name he'd introduced himself to you when you met him and the name that now felt painful to even think about.

You'd brought flowers, and as you placed them next to the headstone, you heard the pitter patter of feet getting closer. It was probably an animal of some sort, the footsteps were so light. As you turned to look, you saw it was white cat with strikingly blue eyes.

You almost started crying again, just almost. It was like a cat version of Dabi, who would not have appreciated the thought at all.

The little thing was just staring at you with a grumpy look on its furry face. If cats could feel displeased, this was the expression one would no doubt take on to show it

"Are you alone too?" you asked the cat as you knelt down to offer your hand to it.

The cat looked at your hand and then back into your eyes. It seemed to weigh its options for a moment, but decided to slowly walk towards you.

Dabi had never exactly been fond of animals, but the ones he had disliked the least had been cats. It's not like he would stop to pet them on the street and he'd never wanted one, but he would let them keep him company if one happened to come along.

The cat pushed its head into the palm of your hand and started purring. You scratched under its chin and the cat started looking a little less displeased than before.

"I miss him so much" you sniffled, still petting the cat.

The cat opened its eyes to look at you after you spoke. It still looked grumpy, but also somewhat understanding, like it knew what you were going through. You petted its head before deciding to leave. You couldn't linger, you couldn't be seen there.

"I need to go now buddy, you should go home too" you said as you stood up and started walking away.

The cat yowled very loudly as you turned your back to it, and when you looked back, it was walking towards you, like it wanted to follow you. You took a few more steps and the cat protested again, now walking next to you.

"You're a loud little fella" you gave the cat a small smile.

The whole way home, the cat walked next to you, hissing at every passerby who walked too close to you. It also kept meowing, demanding your attention constantly.

When you got to the door of your apartment, the cat just waltzed in and made its way to your couch. It curled up on the corner of your couch and closed its eyes.

You missed him so much, you really did. You knew the grief wasn't going to go away for a while, but maybe your tiny roommate would give you something else to think about.

That night you fell asleep with the cat next to you on the bed. Some of the warmth that you'd lost since Dabi's passing, seemed to have been brought back by your little friend. You missed him, so, so much, and while you knew you were always going to miss him, the pain wouldn't last forever.