….
High above, the press helicopter circling the battlefield shook violently from the extreme thermal updrafts.
The reporter slammed her headset against her ear, her voice cutting through the live broadcast to millions across the nation–
"Are you seeing this?! Kamino Ward has been completely transformed in less than three seconds! U.A. instructor 'Blue Sun' has ice and superheated blue flames from a single source! Look at those thermal readings. The entire grid is going haywire! He's isolated the Villain and the top heroes inside a colossal fortress of solid frost! Don't look away, folks... you're witnessing history unfold live!"
Miles away, within the stark white walls of Central General Hospital, the silence of the intensive care unit had completely shattered.
In Dabi's recently vacated room, the members of his reformed agency, the Revengers, crowded around the small wall-mounted television as the air remained thick with the scent of melted glass from where Dabi had blasted through the window frame.
Twice whimpered, clutching his head as his split personality aggressively argued with itself–
"He said the reception on the hospital cable was trash! Total garbage! He's going to clear the whole map! Boss, you're a complete lunatic! Kill them all!"
Stain stood motionless beside the frost-covered, shattered window frame, one hand resting on the hilt of his katana as he completely ignored Twice's manic rambling, his piercing, fanatical gaze fixed on the live broadcast.
The colossal walls of ice rising across the screen weren't merely a display of overwhelming power, and they carried a message that needed no words.
"Guess he never had any intention of negotiating with the rot of this era." Stain murmured, his voice low, raspy, and deathly cold. "He is here for one purpose alone... to purge it."
Further down the same hospital wing, a completely different storm was brewing inside a quiet psychiatric recovery room.
Just a day prior, the door to this room had been slammed open in a frantic hurry.
The sudden news had brought Natsuo and Fuyumi rushing to their mother's side.
Rei Todoroki sat propped up in her hospital bed.
As her mental health steadily improved, Fuyumi had convinced the staff to install a small television to keep her company, and the doctors had even confirmed that, if her recovery continued at its current pace, she could be discharged within a month.
Fuyumi had planned to use that peaceful transition to gently tell her the truth:
Toya was alive.
And the two little girls she met are his adopted daughters.
She had simply been waiting for the right moment.
The world, however, had other plans.
Shoto's kidnapping at the forest training camp dominated every major news network, followed by Endeavor's deployment and the explosive revelation that the U.A. instructor known as 'Blue Sun' was actually 'Toya Todoroki', the eldest son everyone believed had died on Sekoto Peak.
Before Fuyumi or Natsuo could even reach the hospital to shield her from the news, Rei had already seen the broadcast, and she hadn't spoken a single word since.
Now the three of them sat in silence, their eyes fixed on the flickering television as Touya stood at the center of the battlefield, cloaked in brilliant blue flames and absolute frost.
Though no one spoke, the same desperate prayer echoed through all three hearts.
'Please... let Toya and Shoto survive.'
Then the screen erupted.
With two flawlessly executed movements, Dabi completely reshaped Kamino Ward, sweeping aside every obstacle and rewriting the battlefield itself.
Natsuo nearly sprang from his chair, gripping the armrests until his knuckles turned white.
He wanted to shout, laugh, and scream in sheer disbelief.
He had never imagined his older brother possessed such overwhelming power.
In truth, none of them had, as this was the first time anyone aside from Shoto in the Todoroki family had witnessed Toya use his Quirk.
Rei's eyes widened as a single tear slipped down her cheek, yet her face remained perfectly still, frozen between shock, relief, and indescribable pride.
Beside her, Fuyumi and Natsuo wore the same trembling expression because one undeniable truth had settled over them.
Toya and Shoto were safe.
The wall of ice had severed them from the devil's reach.
More importantly, the figure standing at the heart of the battlefield no longer resembled a tragedy or the ghost of a forgotten past.
He looked like a–
Hero.
The very hero the eldest son of their family had dreamed of becoming since childhood.
Watching him now, commanding both blue fire and ice, they finally understood.
Toya had conquered the ashes.
For one brief, precious moment, a warmth the family hadn't felt in over a decade quietly returned to their hearts, and they couldn't have been happier for the man he had become.
….
Back to the secure U.A. staff quarters–
Eri and Toga sat curled together on a sofa, their tear-stained cheeks glowing in the blue light of the television as Nezu and Recovery Girl quietly flanked them on either side.
Only minutes earlier, the girls had watched in sheer terror as their mother, Rumi, battled the monster on screen before being brutally hurled through a concrete pillar, but the instant their dad appeared on the live broadcast, the panic gripping the room vanished.
Rubbing their eyes, they instinctively leaned against one another as an overwhelming sense of safety washed over them.
He was here, and that alone was enough to wash away every trace of fear.
Their dad would save them, just as he already had by sweeping Rumi and the students safely beyond the battlefield's with his very first steps.
Eri sniffled, her small fingers tightly bunching up the sleeve of Toga's oversized sweater.
She rubbed her damp eyes with her other fist, her tiny shoulders finally relaxing from their terrified posture.
"Himiko-nee..." Eri whispered, her voice still small and shaky, but filled with an undeniable spark of awe. "Dad is really on the TV."
Toga let out a long, ragged breath, shifting her weight to wrap her arm securely around Eri's shoulders and pulling her closer into her side.
She used her free hand to gently swipe a stray tear off Eri's flushed cheek, a soft, relieved smile returning to her face as her sharp, cat-like eyes remained glued to the blue flames on the screen.
"See? I told you, Eri-chan." Toga murmured softly, her usual chaotic tone softening into something deeply warm and sisterly. "The second Dad shows up, the bad guys don't get to win anymore. He would never let anyone touch Mama or his student."
Eri nodded quickly, leaning her head against Toga's shoulder.
She watched the massive spires of absolute-zero ice cleanly isolate Rumi from the danger zone, her eyes shining with absolute adoration.
"The ice looks pretty…."
"Yeah." Toga giggled softly, a faint, proud smirk pulling at her lips. "Though he's totally wearing his hospital gown out there. When he gets back, we're definitely going to have to make him a proper hero cape so he stops ruining his clothes."
Eri let out a tiny, genuine giggle. "A blue one with sparkles."
Toga agreed, as they both settled back into the cushions. "We will make him wear it every single day."
In the background, the quiet debate between Nezu and Recovery Girl over whether they should turn off the television, or how the girls had managed to turn it on in the first place, came to an abrupt halt.
Principal Nezu's paws were frozen against his vest, his beady black eyes locked onto Dabi's silhouette.
A violent, thrilling shiver traveled straight down the principal's spine, causing the fur along his neck to stand completely on end.
Even through the occasional distortion of a live broadcast, his raw, hyper-evolved animal instincts were screaming at him with absolute clarity.
This was no longer just a powerful Quirk user, as the overwhelming presence Dabi radiated transcended the bounds of any ordinary hero.
Toya Todoroki… might be the strongest hero humanity has ever produced.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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