’It should’ve been me. I was supposed to die, not Tōya. Why did he yell at me to leave the flames? Why? Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. It had been years since her brother had died in a fire. They never recovered his body, assuming that the heat of his own flames had burnt him to ashes. She was tempted to let out a frustrated scream.

Why couldn’t it have been her? Now, she was forced to follow her father’s footsteps, much like Tōya had wanted to do. Enji had trained her harshly from a young age, yes, due to her strong ice manipulation, but she never wanted this. She never wanted to be a Pro Hero. She never wanted to be given to the Hero Public Safety Commission for “training.”

Yet here she was, twenty-three and a high-ranking Pro. The frustration of her job was eating away at her like mites to wood. Her hands were clenched so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. She should’ve been the one to hurt, the one to burn, the one to turn into ashes. Her brother never deserved that cruel, cruel fate.

Yet, he had screamed at her to run away from his out-of-control quirk. He had left her to live when she should’ve done something, anything, to help him. Her ice quirk had always been strong, so why hadn’t she protected him from the flames? She had watched with wide, teary eyes as the flames licked at his skin before he was engulfed entirely. She could still remember the fear in his eyes before he disappeared from sight.

With her nails digging into her palms, she let out a quiet grunt. She watched as the villain she was following tripped. Huffing, the woman stepped up to them and picked them up by the back of their shirt. She rolled her eyes before handing them over to the police.

There was a flapping of wings nearby and she closed her eyes for a moment. She didn’t want to seal with Keigo right now, but it appeared the universe had a different idea. There was a tap on her shoulder and she opened her eyes, frowning in slight annoyance as she met his gaze. This man never knew when to not bother her, did he?

“Your hands have blood on them,” he stated.