obstinate / todobaku

fall

It's weird, Shouto knows, but the way Kasai conducts himself is almost akin to a human ; his aura of confidence in his fluid movements.

He is out on the balcony, for it's sunrise, and the snow is light and fluffy. He sneaks a glance inside and sees Kasai lying on the couch, his breathing deep and ragged.

Todoroki frowns, but realizes that he forgot to change the wolf's bandages.
He facepalms, ( then feels very old-school and nerdy after he does so ) and walks inside, immediately missing the crisp, fresh air.

The warm heat inside the cabin envelops his body, swirling around it like the light hug of a ghost.

When he is in the middle of changing Kasai's bandages, he feels the wolf shift slightly, opening his ruby-red eyes.

"Shh," Todoroki softly whispers, "just go back to sleep, okay?" He ruffles the fur of the cream-colored wolf's head gently, lulling the wolf back to deep slumber.

It's a nice, undisturbed, quiet morning.

~

Shouto is about to cook, but as he picks up the frying pan he remembers the catastrophe that happened the last time he tried to make bacon.
So he puts down the pan and decides to head out to get some McDonald's, or something that doesn't require him cooking anything.

"It'll just be a quick run," he reminds himself, "Kasai won't mind too much."

He walks out the door rather quickly, heading towards the city lights.
The snow falls around his face, decorating it like little pom-poms.

He wears a hat to cover his hair, gloves to hide his magic inducing hands, and a ski mask to shield away his mismatched eyes.
He doesn't cover them because he's cold, he's hiding them because he doesn't want to be recognized.

~

He grabs the McDonald's and dashes out the door, hearing the faint sound of the bell jingling, signaling he was out of the building.

He hears his boots crunch on the snowy pavement. It falls into a rhythm, sounding a lot like Ka-sai, Ka-sai.

Ka-sai, Ka-sai, the footprints echo in his mind as he walks, tightly gripping the greasy fast food bags. He reaches his cabin soon enough.
Opening the heavy door, he steps inside, and is immediately bombarded with blonde fur.

"What?!" He helps, clearly surprised, and he drops the food on accident.
"Kasai? Kasai? Calm down!"

The wolf begrudgingly obeys, but his glare does not waver, and he chooses to sit directly in front of Shouto as he demands an explanation.
If you told Shouto he would be stammering an apology to a bossy wolf in the future, he would most certainly laugh at you.

But it's happening now.

Needless to say, Kasai got almost all of the food.

~

Todoroki is not asleep at midnight. He's watching the (his) wolf, unconsciously petting his fur gently, and he, without thinking, leans in to the soft warmth.

His eyelids are growing heavy, and he struggles to keep them wide open. But soon, he gives in and closes his bicolored eyes, and dozes off.

His dream is one to remember.

There's barking. Howls. He sees -- no, he feels, it burns -- the touch of fire, licking at his skin. The flames die down, revealing a stale warehouse.

It gives him an eerie feeling.

There's a voice in the background, and he looks down and there's shackles on his hands and feet. He's chained to the ground.
"Why are you only standing there, Todoroki?!" He faintly hears someone yell.

"Can't you see? The chains?"

"They're not there."

And he looks, horrified, and realizes that person was right. He tries to pick up his foot, but he can't move it. There's a barrier.

More howls. More fire.

But then he can see. He can see his own body -- like he's a bystander -- wither away to ashes. But even so, the flames grow stronger.

He looks above, and sees a strange man he doesn't recognize.
"Save me, please," he, as a bystander, pleads.

As soon as the strange man opens his mouth, however, he's grabbed by the person who confined him in invisible shackles.

"You," he seethes.

"Me?" The man questions, "how do you know me? You're merely a bystander."

He looks down, but he sees his shoes. "What do you mean? I'm Todo--"

Then all he sees is red.

Shouto wakes up, startled, panting, and horrified. Flashing images and snapshots of his dream circle around in his head, not daring to go away. He takes deep breaths, and looks towards Kasai worriedly, almost out of instinct.

"You're alive," he murmurs in gratitude.

He swears he can hear his wolf say, "of course, asshole. Why wouldn't I be?"

~

The next day, and the next, the wizard sleeps next to his wolf, and everyday, he gets the same nightmare on repeat.

This day, he pulls an all nighter.

The clock ticks faintly in the background, and the only source of light is emitting from his phone. His thumb accidentally clicks on something, and as soon as he looks at it, his face is pulled into a deep frown.

Endeavor, the great wizard, is looking for a shapeshifter! Rewards that can rival that of a kings are given to those who find it!

And his father's at it again.