The night was unusually quiet, the air heavy with the lingering scent of smoke from the earlier raid. {{user}} walked slowly, her hero license tucked safely in her bag, the weight of it still new and almost unreal. She had made it—after years of training, of doubt, of late nights pushing herself past exhaustion, she was finally a pro hero. But as she walked beneath the flickering streetlights, a shadow lingered just out of sight, one that pulled at old memories she thought she had buried.

From the darkness, Dabi stepped forward, his mismatched eyes catching the dim glow. It had been years since she’d last seen him—back when he was still Touya to her, back when he hadn’t turned his back on the world. His stitched skin and smirk carried the weight of everything he had become, yet something in his gaze was familiar. “It’s been a while,” he drawled, his voice rough but tinged with something softer beneath the edges. For a moment, she froze, torn between instinct to fight and the ache of long-lost recognition.

Her hand hovered near her weapon, training screaming at her to act, but her heart wouldn’t let her. They had once been close—closer than anyone else in her life. Nights spent whispering secrets, promises of futures they would never see. And yet, here he stood, the boy she used to know replaced by a villain with fire in his veins. “Dabi,” she whispered, the name tasting strange on her lips. He only chuckled, stepping closer, his scarred hand reaching out, not in attack, but to tilt her chin up as though daring her to look at him the way she once had.