Taste of Poison Paradise

Interlude: "How" is Never as Important as "Why," Right?

Hell is not a nice place. Well, that was to be expected, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a punishment.

Through the haze of pain, Douma can see other former-demons around him. Kokushibou, Akaza and his wife, and even Daki and Gyuutarou.

Time blurs when you're in hell. Centuries pass, and he's still burning and burning—and rightfully so, he knows now. The flames, millions of millions of times more painful than Shinobu's final poison and such a significant juxtaposition from the frost he surrounded himself with, sear into his body the entire time.

Well, not quite. The flames stop sometimes, but that's only because you'd get used to the pain if it didn't. You couldn't have the victims getting used to the pain. Oh no no no.

It is during one of these "breaks" where it happens. One moment, he's in the afterlife, the next moment, a bright white light overtakes his vision.

Himura Douma is born into a world where humans have evolved.

No sooner is he born that memories assault his mind. He wails, and his mother rushes to comfort him. He wails and wails, unable to be placated. His young mind did not yet understand what he was seeing, but he wails anyway.

A boy with red hair and a girl with hair white as Douma's but with red streaks peek over the side of the hospital bed. Their father had forbidden any contact with their extended family, but their mother insisted on supporting her sister-in-law during her labor.

Throughout the first year of his life, Douma can't go one night without waking up his parents with his crying. He starts getting used to the dreams after a while, but it would be years until he really understands them.

And the blood. There is so much blood. He can smell the scent, taste the coppery taste. His nausea becomes constant and it's hard to keep any food down. His parents fret over him, saying that he's underweight.

He eventually realizes what he did in his past life. He killed, manipulated, and ate people—and thought nothing of it. Disgust and guilt slam into him, and it nearly devours him whole, like he did to all of those poor humans.

It gets worse when his quirk arrives: Cryokinesis, just like his Blood Demon Art. The control over the fractals comes too easily and leaves a sour taste on his tongue. He refuses to use it, for he is consumed with guilt and disgust whenever he does.

Only now, at the ripe age of four, does he understand that this is a new way of torture. Forcing him to really feel the guilt he should have felt. Oh, and he feels it.

The only time the feeling goes away is when Cousin Touya visits. The universe gives him a break so that he can be tortured again afterwards, of course, but he takes what he can of these breaks.

He makes the mistake of using his quirk in the Flame Hero's presence. Once Endeavor finds out about Douma's mastery of ice, he brings Douma around more to train with Touya. Training with Touya is wonderful, even if it still reminds him of his past. Touya's scalding flames complement his frigid ice and they dream of being heroes together.

Eventually, Endeavor forces Douma's mother to let Douma move in with the Todoroki family. He bids her a tearful goodbye as Endeavor clutches tightly onto his wrist. Auntie Rei tries to soothe him, but it doesn't work very well.

The silver lining, though, is that he gets to see Touya more often. And Fuyumi and Natsuo too, but he's closest with Touya. He has come to regard them all as siblings.

Endeavor trains Touya the most and only drags Douma out to spar with Touya. The rest of the time, he entertains Fuyumi and Natsuo. They share a version of Auntie Rei's quirk, Frost. He teaches them how to make figurines and sculptures out of their ice, and teaches them how to command the snow.