OBLIGATORY I DON'T OWN MY HERO ACADEMIA

Dabi wasn't sure when he ended up with the Midoriyas long-term, but he damn sure remembers the first time they met. It was two years ago now, he had been under a freeway overpass in Musutafu looking for a place to bunker down for the night. Musutafu was pretty famous for its warm summers and such, but what didn't often get publicized was how cold it could get in the fall- shelter was priority number one for someone like him. It wasn't pretty, not by a longshot, but he could have actually been sleeping in a dumpster and it would still be better than what was waiting for him back where he started. It didn't keep the elements out very well, so he was going to have to sacrifice another shirt. An old white one, at least it used to be, a lot like the one he was wearing now. It had since turned worn out and gray over the years, the nine long years since he had left home. He had long since been old enough to have a job, but his appearance scared off most… legitimate offers. Even in the age of Quirks where the average salary man could have a monstrous appearance, something about burn scars and stitches all over most of your body could still frighten people. He needed to find a source of consistent income soon though, mugging petty thieves and would-be villains only got you so far.

He laid his old shirt on the ground, a few feet away from his bag that carried the rest of his belongings, and ignited his quirk. He ignored the dull pain that came with the blue flames, and touched his hand to the garment. The dimly lit underpass had now come alive, the meager glow of distant streetlights drowned out by the bright azure glow of his Quirk. It seemed to be a night like any other to this point, a familiarity stretching back a decade now. It was, until a dark green car pulled to the side of the road not far from him. Dabi's muscles reflexively tensed, readying him for the inevitable fight. It had happened a couple times over the years, drunken assholes or ordinary sober dickwads who couldn't stand the sight of him and tried to start something. When a plump woman about his mother's age stepped out of the driver's side, he allowed himself to relax. She didn't seem to be looking for a fight, not with the way she was walking or by her facial expression. However, she did have a concerned frown on her face and that had left him confused.

"Excuse me, young man" she began softly, a tender type of tone he hadn't heard in almost a decade, "what could someone so young possibly be doing here on the streets alone?" Dabi almost scoffed, what did it look like? He was hardly here because he wanted to be. "Eh, got tired of comfortable beds and thought, hell- rocks and concrete are soft enough to sleep on right?" he said, bitter sarcasm flooding his tone. Instead of getting angry at him, like most had done before, that same concerned frown stayed firmly on her face. "Now that just won't do at all, would you like a place to stay? Maybe something to eat to go with it?"

That had really thrown Dabi for a loop. 'Excuse me?' he thought in disbelief, eyes widening. What… What kind of person just offers you a place in their home like that? No second thoughts just "Here, come on in- sleep in my beds and eat my food." He had heard about this happening sure, those rare kind souls who would take in a stray. He had even seen it on occasion in his life, but there was one key difference in those cases he had witnessed. "I'm a little old to be accepting handouts like that" he drawled. In all cases he'd seen, it had been kids taken in by adults who couldn't stand to see them on the street. Even some kids who had followed him around when he had been a bit younger had been taken in, that concept was familiar. It was typically easier for a person to take a chance on a kid with no future than a legal adult without any future. "Oh nonsense, you can't be too much older than my son" she said, waving him off. That had also thrown him for a loop, 'you're gonna invite a stranger into the home you live in with your son?' The idea was almost laughable to him. Both because of the hardened realism that had been beaten into him for the last nine years, and for what his home life had looked like before. "I really don't think-" "Then don't think." She said it like it was that easy. Like it was a simple task to just turn his brain off and ignore hard-wired instinct. He wasn't stupid; he hadn't had it as rough as he could have on his own. He knew the statistics- hell; he knew some of the people who had BECOME those statistics. That was always in the back of his mind, that he could die every day and to take every opportunity he got because he may not get another one. However, he had also learned over time to not hand out trust so easily. Those who trust too fast are those who end up dead, kind of an unspoken rule of the land.

And yet, something about this woman just felt… trustworthy to him. Maybe not with his life, he had never found anyone he could trust with his life, but maybe on this. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to have a place to sleep tonight and actual food in his stomach for once. Couldn't hurt right? Well, actually it could… "If you're serious about this, I should warn you I have a fire Quirk and while it doesn't misfire as much as it used to, that can still happen." That was the primary reason he couldn't live in homeless shelters or other places like that. Not every house came equipped with flame retardant everything and fire extinguishers everywhere. Fire Quirks are notoriously hard to control, after all. She once again waved him off, "Oh that won't be a problem at all." Again his eyes widened, the staples beneath them tugging at his skin. "My husband isn't around much these days- work overseas and such, but when he was we furnished our home with plenty of fireproof furniture and things. He had a 'Firebreather' Quirk that was pretty prone to misfiring." That was… convenient. Dabi still wasn't really sure what to make of this whole situation. Here he was, sitting on grimy pavement next to a burning shirt and a woman was offering him a way out. A place to stay and an actual meal, some level of security for at least tonight. Well placed trepidation aside, who was he- as a 20 year old street urchin, to pass that up? "What the hell, sure."

Izuku hadn't realized how late his mother was becoming until just a bit before she got home. That wasn't completely unusual, she sometimes got stuck in traffic and had to make detours and such- but two hours was a bit long for something like that. The Midoriya family was pretty famous amongst those who knew them for being neurotic, anxious, worrywarts- so it wasn't surprising when he started freaking out immediately. His first thought was to always assume the worst. That was just kinda how he was. It was a bad habit certainly, but also one that regretfully hadn't yet been wrong. The 14 year old had scoured the internet for anything that could have related to his mother being increasingly late. Car crashes, Villain attacks, bout of rare and contagious viruses at the hospital she worked at, anything that could stall her for a sizable length of time. Extreme yes, but in the walking example of Murphy's Law he called his life it wasn't too far-fetched really. The sound of the key entering his front door had been a sweet source of catharsis. She was okay! "Izuku honey, I'm home! And we have a guest!" she had called out, and Izuku's mind blanked. A guest? Who could that possibly be? It couldn't be Auntie Mitsuki; he had heard Kacchan growl to his 'buddies' that he couldn't 'hang out with their shitty asses tonight because the Old Hag is dragging the whole family to some kind of special dinner.'

Izuku hadn't really had much frame of reference to draw from at the time, but what he definitely was not expecting was a guy a few years older than him with purple blotches of skin. His mind immediately jumped to that being a part of his Quirk but he couldn't figure out how or why. 'It probably has something to do with his Quirk for sure, maybe some kind of emitter or transformation quirk that only works where those patches of skin are. Or maybe it's some kind of mutation Quirk, since they're not scattered randomly they either have to be part of the Quirk or side effects of it." "Izuku honey, you're mumbling again" his mom admonished, eyeing the guest out of the corner of her eye to make sure he wasn't offended. Izuku clamped his hands over his mouth, face flushing bright red in embarrassment. Luckily enough the guy didn't seem bothered by it, "You're actually not wrong, I have a flame based Quirk, the burns are where the fire comes from." Izuku sighed in relief, glad to have not rubbed someone the wrong way with his muttering habit again. "Nice to meet 'ya kid, name's Dabi" he said introducing himself with a laid back wave. Izuku felt like he had seen someone who looked like Dabi before, something in the vibrant teal of his eyes, but with the burns and stitches it was hard to tell. Izuku greeted him "I-it's nice to meet you, I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Now Izuku, I know that this might be a bit weird at first but Dabi might be staying here a while" his mother instructed. That was indeed very weird, and also completely out of left field. "Probably won't be here as long as you're thinkin'" Dabi said with a lazy roll of the eyes. "Probably will" his mother corrected with a hard stare. Okay seriously what was happening here? He knew his mom could be frightening when she was at her worst, short plumpness and good nature aside, but this guy was nearly six feet tall and confessed to having a fire quirk, and apparently one so strong he burned himself. And yet here he was, just about cowering before his barely over five foot mother. "Now both of you, get washed up- dinner will be ready in about an hour. Izuku honey, make sure Dabi gets settled in okay" she instructed. On the way to the guest room, just across the hall from his own, Dabi looked over and dropped the icebreaker. "So uh, your mom is kind of… stubborn" he said with a small smirk. For the first time in a depressingly long time, Izuku had a real bout of laughter. "Yeah, you have no idea" he said, not realizing how much this one change was going to affect his life going forward.

So here's this thing, it attacked my mind and wouldn't leave me alone. I love Dabi, his design is striking and his powers are visually pleasing and fun to play with. However what fascinates me most, if he does end up being revealed as Touya Todoroki, is the time period between when he would have to have left home and when we first see him in season 2. This is my take on one way that could have turned out, with added Midoriya family as I love Izuku and Inko as well. As for the plot I do plan on having it be more than "My Hero timeline but Dabi is on the good guy side." Not only that, but I plan on using Dabi and his unique point of view to give some insight on not only the positive but the negative aspects of the characters around him, even the ones that I love. So, until next time.