Chapter Text
Touya wasn't an idiot.
The village was bustling, and there was excitement among the commoners as they set up their flags and decorations, eeking and squeaking over the wonderful occasion.
Which was what, you may ask?
Judgment Day, obviously.
Every ten years the king would hear from the gods, and they would tell him who they wanted to be sacrificed for their judgment, and for many this was electrifying, an honourable way to die, and Touya had seen it happen before; in fact, he had read about the previous sacrifices to see what it took to be judged by the gods in hopes to one day be chosen himself and please his father, only to find a damning pattern. The previous sacrifices were villagers who would either openly show their disdain for the crown or people too weak to contribute to their society, and after coming to that realization, he just knew, he knew that there were no gods and he truly believed this whole thing was a front so his family would remain in control over the people, and after his youngest brother was born, his father grew cruel, not just to his other failed projects but to his mother as well, and her health had recently been declining, and her fear for the man she was forced to love was becoming increasingly less subtle to the public.
Touya wasn't an idiot.
This time, on this Judgment Day, he was going to lose his mother.
Or at least, that's what he believed was going to happen, his father had gotten into his head, telling him he 'focuses on the wrong details' and he should 'leave the ruling and the thinking to those who are good at it.' Yeah fucking right, the whole thing was off, and if it turned out he was right and whatever "God" chose his mother to be judged, he was going to be the one dead by the end, he may not get along with his family because he was born a little... different, but they didn't deserve to live without their mother, Touya was pretty much an adult, and his father made it known he wasn't going to be the heir to the throne despite being the oldest, and Touya knew whatever happened that day, he wasn't going to let a tyrant decide who gets to live or die, or whatever Gods who decided this was the way life worked, it was disgusting that they felt they had the right to play with human lives and get away with it, someone had to show them they don't always get their way, both for his father and whatever gods he claimed to speak to.
The air was warm with stringed instruments filling it with their melodies as the townspeople laughed and sang with joy. Almost every stall was busy as the fresh scent of newly baked desserts and hot meals were being sold from the second. Touya kept to the sidelines as he went down to have a look. He remembered the last year they did the decorations differently, the colours were a nice surprise. He'd always liked how blue shades looked next to golds. He continued walking around, keeping his head down so no one would make a fuss at his presence, when he spotted a familiar split-haired boy sneaking around.
"Shoto? What are you doing out here?" Touya asked out of curiosity because he couldn't remember his youngest brother showing an interest in anything at all, and the boy, to his credit, looked absolutely terrified as if he had been caught.
"Touya! Uhm..." He trailed off as he looked around for an excuse before pointing at his big brother. "What are you doing here?" He shot back, and Touya let out a huff of a laugh.
"Here to see the festivities, same as you," he replied, a small smile on his face upon discovering something new, something he would've considered precious if he didn't feel so much grief.
"Oh, well, are they to your liking? Mother says you've seen a Judgment Day before." Shoto inquired, his voice going quieter upon mentioning the matriarch of the family, and honestly, Touya didn't know how to respond. He didn't exactly want to dump his whole 'If Mom gets picked, I'll kill myself before they kill her' idea onto the kid and ruin the whole celebration for him, but it wasn't a celebration, this was a time to worry, which is what he wanted to say, but instead he just shrugged.
"The colours for the decorations they chose are nice." He hummed, looking around at the lapis and golden accents that had sprung up in every crevasse of the town. Shoto followed his gaze with a blank expression but nodded in agreement.
"I like the colour blue," he stated, but before they could continue their conversation, the streets were filled with the loud tantara of trumpets that echoed and blared in their ears. Touya took a deep breath before tugging on Shoto's sleeve.
"C'mon, it's time," he said, trying his best to at least sound cheerful, and thankfully it worked as Shoto walked ahead of him and they made their way back to the palace.
Upon entry, the two were separated and given traditional clothes to wear for Judgement day, Touya stared at his for a while, it was the palace colours of red and teal blue like his eyes, which he hated, so as soon as the servants left to let him change, he threw them in the fireplace of his room and skimmed through his wardrobe, if this was going to be his last day alive he wanted to at least make a statement, perhaps raid the jester's closet to show what a farce the whole thing was, when his eyes landed on a specially crafted piece that was gifted to him on his 18th birthday, it was all white with careful embroidery, and he took it out to look at it properly, he remembered what it was, funeral burial clothes, a white robe and pants to match, and he knew he had some white boots laying around somewhere, if this was his last day alive, this was the correct outfit to wear.
When Touya made his way to the hallway next to the room where the prayers would take place, his sister Fuyumi, who was dressed in the same colors he was supposed to be in, took a double take when she saw him.
"Touya, what on earth are you wearing? The ceremony starts in fifteen minutes!" She exclaimed in a hushed tone, and Touya just nodded with a 'yeah, I know' look on his face.
"I'm wearing clothes, snowflake, thanks for noticing," he grinned. Fuyumi shook her head with disappointment in her eyes. She then looked up and down the hallway before sighing when she saw the coast was clear.
"Look, Natsuo has a spare set, it may be a little baggy on you, but Father will be less angry with you. If you hurry, I could try and buy you some time," she whispered hurriedly as she tried to push him in the direction of their younger brother's room, but Touya held his ground, he was determined to make this statement, and this was the hill he was quite literally willing to die on.
"Yumi, relax, I know what I'm doing." He replied stubbornly, fixing his belt so it didn't sit so loosely. Fuyumi tried to argue but quickly stepped down when she spotted guards walking down the hall, and in the middle of them was the King, their father, and following close behind him was Shoto, and the both of them stopped to stare at Touya. His father looked him up and down with a mixture of shock and irritation.
"Touya," his father greeted in a frustrated tone, already getting angry.
"Father," Touya replied calmly, his eyes boring into the man's skull.
"Touya, what are you wearing?" Shoto quizzed, unaware of the mental warfare going on between the king and his oldest child.
"Don't worry, Shoto, Father knows, and I know, right, Father?" Touya asked as he gave him a look that conveyed, 'I'm onto you, and you're not getting away with it,' while his father looked at him back, unsure if he wanted to kill him on the spot or deal with his defiance later, instead, he opted to respond in a calm manner.
"I do, but we will discuss this later, Touya," he said, and Touya just couldn't help but smile from how things were going his way. He loved making his father miserable, but this was new, this was killing two birds with one stone, and Touya was ecstatic because he knew damn well they would not be having any conversation if his mother was being chosen, and he knew his father knew that too.
When his mother and brother arrived in the hallway, they too stared at Touya but didn't have the time to ask as they were all ushered out and onto the large balcony that overlooked the town square that was swarming with people who were overjoyed they could experience history, and Touya could see people's expressions when they saw what he was wearing, and the older folk who knew exactly what it was— it was such a joyous occasion.
"My people! Today is marked as the 20th Judgment Day of our kingdom, and it is a great honour to have been serving you all as your king and to be able to see four of those Judgment Days with you, and I want to thank everyone on behalf of the gods for working so hard to be noticed by them."
Touya slowly zoned out from the big speech, he'd heard it last time and as a child it made him excited, he was honoured to be part of the tradition, but now he just knew he was about to be part of the tradition, if they keep it going after this one that is, and as his Father kept talking, he did his best to be as annoying as possible as he fidgeted and faked a sneeze, Fuyumi, who caught on very quickly, nudged him with a scolding look in her eyes whilst keeping her signature smile on her face, and in return, Touya nudged her back but harder with a grin on his face, which made her step on his foot and he pinched her wrist, and he could just tell she was trying so hard not to give in and make a scene in front of everyone while he was actively riling her up, but fortunately she was saved when the end of the speech came and everyone had to bow to thank the Gods for being gracious to them, but Touya remained stood, he didn't believe in Gods, he didn't believe in anything besides the woman who held him with gentle hands when she was treated with violent ones, if Gods existed, they would've saved her from that, or protected her, or hell they would've killed him, but it didn't matter anymore, because he knew what was about to happen as he watched everyone rise and his father turn to walk inside, they locked eyes and for just a moment, Touya could see contempt in his eyes, and Touya returned the sentiment as he went to talk with the Gods.
A minute can feel like an eternity.
Many things can happen in a minute.
A war can start, a kingdom can be overthrown, a baby can be born, a fire can break out, and that's just to name a few, but for Touya, all it took was a minute to let fate decide if he would live or die, and as he and everyone else in the kingdom watched his father walk back onto the balcony with his head bowed, deep inside, he just knew.
"The gods have spoken to me and have chosen their sacrifice for this decade's Judgment Day." The man started, and Touya dug his nails so hard into his palm in suspense that he could feel the warm crimson pooling around his fingertips and dripping onto the floor slowly, "For this Judgment Day, the Gods have called for..." The king trailed off, and with an empty look in his eyes, he called out "Rei Himura," and Touya shoved his way to the very front of the balcony without hesitation to argue.
"This is false! Because the Gods spoke to me last night and they told me I was the one they wanted, that is why I am dressed the way I am, they have called to judge me and I am here to be sacrificed" he shouted so everyone could hear him, and the glorious sounds of murmuring and gossip was just too good he had to see the look on his Father's face at his sudden announcement, and the look of fury was glorious, meanwhile his siblings looked at him with shock, unable to process what had just happened, but he knew his Father would never argue, that would cause distrust and then the whole Judgement day falls apart, and the people love their traditions, and when he watched the look of realisation of that very fact wash over the King his smile grew wider as he grinned from ear to ear, because this was checkmate,
"This is true, I had meant to say Rei Himura's eldest child, Touya Todoroki." His father agreed begrudgingly, and everyone cheered when the miscommunication was cleared up. Touya won, and he knew it. Over his dead body were they going to kill his mother for a being that doesn't exist, literally over his dead body, but he shrugged as he was escorted off the balcony, and he whispered to his father,
"Better luck next decade, huh, Dad?" He chuckled, and the rage on his father's countenance was so incredibly satisfying.
As Touya was brought to the room where he was to enjoy a small meal before his death, he simply shook his head and took the bottle of wine that was provided. It wasn't the expensive one that father had at dinners but it was still well made and very nice quality, he poured some into his glass and sipped on it when the door burst open to reveal the man in question who was seething like an angry bull.
"What the hell is the matter with you?! How dare you change the outcome! You are a disgrace!" His father bellowed, but Touya remained seated as he drank his wine with a shit eating grin on his face.
"Isn't being a sacrifice to the gods an honourable death? Why so angry? It was going to be one of us from the start, but you knew that already, don't worry, I knew too" He hummed in amusement while watching the man who raised him crumble before him as he lost a sliver of the control he had.
"Touya you insolent, barbaric, impertinent, arrogant-!" The king yelled but was cut off as the door slowly opened to reveal the queen who timidly held two bowls of something Touya couldn't quite see, "Rei, come back later, I am in the middle of something" his father ordered, but before Rei could turn around, Touya stood up.
"No you aren't, you came here to threaten me about your secret, but I can assure you father I'll be taking it to the grave, as long as you come dance with me in hell that is" he stated with a laugh at the back of his throat, raising his glass of wine and taking another sip, and with nothing left to say, the king stormed out and Touya sat back down with a sigh as he poured more of the bottle into his glass, he then watched as his mother slowly walked over and placed two bowls in front of him, both of them being his childhood favourites that she used to make, the first bowl was snow with caramelised sugar as a syrup, and the other was chicken soba, he looked at his mother wide eyed that she would do this for him despite being the outcast of the family, he hadn't expected her to still feel this level of care for him, especially not after the stunt he just pulled.
"Is.. is soba still your favourite?" She asked, almost scared for his response as she stood in front of him, Touya stood and pulled out a chair for her which she had gracefully accepted and he seated himself with a nod as he began to eat.
"Always will be" he smiled softly, they sat in silence for a moment until he broke it, "I won't apologise" he stated, Rei looked at him and her face warmed at his words.
"I wouldn't expect one, not from you" she replied and watched him eat, "I am curious, how did you come to find out what your father was hiding?" She quizzed, and her tone made Touya frown as he realised his mother had also known.
"I did my research into previous people who were elected, I wanted to see what they did right so I could earn father's approval, only to be disappointed when it was just regular people who either had a distaste for him, or couldn't benefit him, then I saw how he was affecting you, and I just knew" he replied with honesty as he took a sip of his wine, offering some to his mother who politely declined, she had a glint in her eyes that could only be described as grief as she listened to him speak, a glassy sheen bubbling over as she tried to hold herself together.
"You were always more intelligent than you led on to be" his mother sniffled, a small smile creeping onto her lips, "You didn't have to do what you did, I already knew, he told me" she added as the tears could no longer be held at bay, Touya reached his hands over to grasp hers in his own and looked her in the eyes as his own eyes glossed over, turquoise met grey.
"It will be a cold day in hell before I let that bastard take anything good away from me, from them, Mom, you fought so hard to stay strong for all of us when he was breaking you piece by piece like you meant nothing, you're not done yet, they still need you there for them, I'll be ok, I promise, I made up my mind the second I put the pieces together, I've made my peace with it" Touya choked as he smiled at his mother, who still loved him despite not being like her other children, despite being different, despite being broken, she still loved him, "It's all going to be ok Mom, you're going to be alright" he reassured her gently, and watched as she sobbed at his words.
"Oh Touya!" She wailed and stood up to envelop him in her arms, and they remained like that for what felt like an eternity, and if there was a moment that Touya would replay over and over again in his limbo, this would be the first, and he let himself cry into her shoulder like a child, it wasn't her time, and it wouldn't be her time until mother nature herself said so. As his mother clung to him and he hugged her tightly, he wondered if this would be what death felt like, would it embrace him with open arms like his Mom? Would it soothe him if he was scared? Would it care if he wasn't ready yet? So many unknowns and yet he felt like this was the best decision he had ever made, because at least he saved someone he cared about, and in the end, it was entirely worth it.
It was the evening when the pit of flames had been set up and roared to life once more, Touya was walked up to it and he was gifted with jewels and fruits to help him please the gods with his offerings so his judgement wouldn't be so harsh, and once he was on that ledge, looking back at all those people who wished him good luck and cheered him on, he honestly hoped there was a god somewhere that could hear them, because the thought of countless voices yelling into nothingness was more painful than he cared to admit. Touya looked down into the blazing heat below as it called for him, beckoning for him to join the afterlife, he looked back one last time and raised his hand, and then lowered it into a theatrical bow he had seen performers do, because this was his final curtain, and the echoes of cheers and praises rang in his ear, he stood. He smiled. And he let gravity take him backwards to be engulfed into the inferno that greeted him with open arms and a warm embrace, even as the flames licked painfully at his skin and the smoke curled around him before making a home in his lungs, he prayed for whatever god that existed to please make his father be next so no one else had to suffer the same fate.
And then it was over.
"In all my years, I have never found someone quite like you mister" A voice echoed in front of his face which startled him and made him open his eyes, where he was greeted by a man with shoulder length white hair and light green eyes.
"Huh? Who are you? And where am I?" Touya demanded as he stood up, only to find there was no floor, or ceiling, or anything for that matter, he couldn't even tell which way was up or if he was even standing right now.
"Ah my apologies, you may call me Yoichi, I am a spiritual being of this world, and you are in what I like to call my 'Nothing.' It is where nothing exists and nothing is, was, or will be" The man explained and sat cross legged in front of him with an intrigued gaze, "I don't tend to mingle with mortals often, but you caught my attention Touya Todoroki, most people who martyr themselves usually believe in the metaphysical to be able to stomach their actions, but not you, very interesting" he continued, shuffling closer to get a better look at him.
"Wait wait wait, you're a God? Like... a real one?" Touya asked in disbelief, there was no way gods were actually real, this had to be some sort of post death dream before he reincarnates and starts all over again, right?
"I prefer the term 'Spiritual Being' but essentially, yes, I am an all-powerful being, but less about me, I want to talk about you Touya Todoroki" Yoichi hummed with a smile that made Touya's blood run cold as he concluded that maybe Judgment Day was actually a real thing and he had majorly screwed up because maybe, just maybe, he wasn't supposed to be there.
"Uhm... so Judgment Day isn't... y'know... a front so my Dad can keep power...?" Touya inquired nervously, how on earth had he gotten that wrong, he was so sure of it! Maybe his father was right about him in the end after all, but in response, Yoichi laughed, directly in his face, "Dude what the hell I'm serious!" He exclaimed.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry! It's just you seemed so sure and it was a shock to see you backtrack so fast, my apologies, but I am happy to tell you that Judgment Day isn't a thing, and you were right, and you stuck to what your heart told you and protected the person you loved most, I have to hand it to you Touya Todoroki, I am impressed, in all the 199 years your kingdom had done this ritual, I have never witnessed someone figure out it's true meaning and do something about it, you would be the first" Yoichi grinned with positivity that radiated so hard off of him Touya moved backwards slightly, in full honesty, Touya was extremely confused, was he about to be punished? Was this some kind of game where he won a race or something? The whole thing was confounding, and frankly, it was stressing him out, had he still been alive, his blood pressure would be skyrocketing right now.
"So why am I here? Touya asked, just about ready to get this over and done with, the tension didn't sit well with him. Yoichi beamed as he bounced on the balls of his heels while remaining seated as he was bursting with excitement.
"That's the fun part! See, divine beings are infrequent, and the earth has many things that need to be managed, so our all loving mother needs some help, that's where I come in, I choose mortals who I deem worthy of assisting her and serving her until the end of time, and that is where you come in, and I am not a being capable of evil so I will grant you a choice" Yoichi started and held one hand up to visually demonstrate the options for him, or himself, it wouldn't surprise Touya if that was the case. "Your first option, you serve our mother earth as a divine being for the rest of time, meaning you cannot die under any circumstances and you will not age any older physically" Yoichi offered and then held up his other hand, "Or you take a gamble and let fate decide where you go, that will include eternity of suffering, reincarnation, timeless limbo, the list goes on really, but the choice is yours," he said gently, and Touya really needed to think about it, because on one hand, for the rest of time? But then again he wasn't about to let fate decide between being reborn or continue where he left of previously and keep burning, and so he looked at the first hand that was raised.
"What God would I even be?" He questioned, unsure if he was making the right choice.
"Well, what God would you have been sacrificed to?" Yoichi posed, which made Touya think, he didn't know many of the Gods he was supposed to believe in, but there was one he believed would be there for him when it was eventually his time, real or not.
"The God of Death" Touya answered, and Yoichi nodded, his hair falling slightly over his face.
"Then when you reawaken, that is who you shall be" He stated and placed his hand over Touya's face gently and closed his eyes, "You will reawaken as Dabi, God of Death" he declared, and everything faded out and into silence.
On an island just off the coast, the townspeople were doing what they could to handle their famine, they had an awful winter with too many mouths to feed and too little to go around, then spring came and they had hoped for better results, only to find nothing would grow and they just couldn't seem to kill their livestock either, and the entire town was just enveloped in this never ending nightmare. That was until one day, near their shrine they had made to pay respects to the gods, they found a young man with ebony hair and clothed in white robes that were recognised as traditional burial clothes, and he had woken up with some gnarly looking bedhead but was welcomed nonetheless, many were sceptical of his arrival but when he walked over to the livestock and pet a cow, it had dropped dead on the spot, the young man flinched away thinking he had done something terribly wrong, but he was being praised left and right from the villagers who begged him to do it again, and so he did, and whilst he was in their village, many of their elderly had finally succumbed to their illnesses and mother nature regained its composure, almost everyone was swooning over the miracle man for his godly deeds and helping the village get back on its feet.
"Excuse me, but just who are you?" The chief of the village demanded, and the man turned to look at him with his hypnotising cerulean eyes.
"My name is Dabi, but you already knew that, didn't you?" The man answered, revealing himself to be The God of Death.
Oh how little Touya knew back then, his bow was not his last but it was for his opening act, because things had only just begun.