Ashes

New Apartment

Shoto woke up groggily as he heard the sound of something clattering to the ground, blinking away his dream as he looked up to see the starry night sky through the hole in the roof.

He shifted up, seeing Touya sitting down a few feet away from him. His arm stretched out as he picked up the med kit he dropped.

"Touya?"

Touya flinched as he turned to see his brother looking at him, the med kit in his hand feeling heavier as he moved to hide it.

"Hey Shoto, what are you doing awake? You should be sleeping."

Shoto narrowed his eyes at his brother, "You should be sleeping too Touya."

Shoto stiffened as he smelled the scent of charred smoke, the mix of burned meat and flesh mixing.

"Are you hurt?"

Touya looked away from his brother's gaze, "No, Shoto..."

This doesn't count as hurt.

Shoto frowned, silently standing up and taking the bandages from Touya, "I'll wrap you."

Touya looked at Shoto in surprise, sighing as he saw the determination in those tiny eyes of his.

He's stubborn sometimes...

He lifted his sleeves to show the burned flesh and bruised forearm from his first fight.

Shoto eyed the critically, taking the bandages and wrapping him up with expert precision.

Touya looked in slight awe as his brother bandaged him up neatly, "You're pretty good at this Shoto."

Probably better than me if I'm being honest...

Shoto nodded, speaking softly as he said, "I learned how to do it after mom left..."

Touya paused, his eyes downcast as he recalled how he had to do something similar. How he had to learn to wrap himself because he couldn't stand asking mom to heal him anymore. He didn't like how she looked at him when he did.

"Yeah..."

Shoto finished wrapping his arms, putting the bandages away as he asked in a quiet voice, "What happened?"

Touya flinched, sliding his hand to his pocket as he felt the money he earned from the fight.

"I got a job... they give me money if I fight for them. We'll be able to find an apartment tomorrow. That way we don't have to worry about anyone stumbling across this place by accident..."

He paused as he saw Shoto's downcast expression, "Hey, what's wrong Shoto? This is a good thing. You won't have to worry about the hole in the roof anymore. It'll be a lot-"

"It's not a good thing."

Touya paused at Shoto's stern expression, "You got hurt... That's not a good thing."

Touya gulped, picking at the bandages as he looked away from Shoto's glare, "It's not that bad Shoto... I didn't even get hurt because of the fight. I got hurt because..."

He paused as Shoto looked at him with a curious gaze, knowing that he would have to tell him eventually.

"My quirk burns me, Shoto. That's why I got hurt."

Shoto's eyes widened in understanding as he eyed the burns along Touya's face, "Then..."

Touya nodded, lighting a small blue flame in his hand as it danced around his fingers, "My fire became blue back on Sekoto's peak. It's too hot for my body to handle, so it burned me when it went haywire..."