….

  "His real name isn't Dabi Torino." Gran Torino continued. "It's Toya Todoroki. Endeavor's eldest son. The one who supposedly died three years ago at Sekoto Peak."

  Rumi's eyes went wide. "What?"

  He told them everything.

  A father so obsessed with creating the perfect hero that he had pushed his son until the boy's own quirk consumed him.

  Three years in a coma, waking up in a facility run by vilins and then escaping.

  Colpsing on Gran Torino's doorstep with nowhere else to go.

  By the time he finished, Rumi had tears streaming down her face.

  She was angry - furious - but heartbroken too.

  It all made sense now.

  Why he pushed himself so hard.

  Why he never gave up no matter how many times she knocked him down.

  Why he had accepted her internship offer when better Heroes had made offers.

  He hadn't been training to become strong.

  He had been training to stay alive.

  The Water Hose couple stood frozen, hands over their mouths.

  The boy who had saved them - their son from watching them die - had been just a child himself when his own father had broken him.

  And now he was dying because he had used what little life he had left to protect them.

  The weight of that realization was crushing.

  Just then a nurse arrived. "The doctor said If you want to see him, you can go in now."

  Nobody moved at first.

  Then Rumi stood abruptly and walked toward the ICU without a word.

  Her face was set, but her hands were shaking.

  The Water Hose couple exchanged a gnce, then followed with Kota between them.

  ….

  Inside the ICU, Dabi y motionless on the hospital bed.

  However, the second phase of System [Evolution] is still in process, and the clear sign of that is the occasional malfunction of medical monitors in the room.

  The doctors saw it as a slow sign of the end - cardiac dysrhythmia and neurological shutdown.

  In reality, his body was a cocoon.

  The [SUPER SOLDIER] protocol was forcibly overwriting his DNA.

  His failing, cancerous marrow was being incinerated by a controlled internal heat, repced by a dense, hyper-efficient regenerative tissue.

  His skin wasn't just rotting…. it was molting. Beneath the purple, creepy scars, a new, resilient dermis was forming - one capable of containing the nuclear furnace of a 100% mastered Sun Breath.

  ….

  Anyway, for outsiders his condition is just becoming worse and worse–

  –as most of his body is covered in bandages that are stained with bck blood.

  Each spike on the monitor seemed to dim, the line threatening to go ft with every passing minute.

  He was unconscious, and had been since the ambunce ride.

  The paramedics had said it was a miracle he had made it to the hospital at all.

  Only, if they could have a chance to see his system panel, he would have seen something terrifying:

  ===

  | EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 2%

  | LIFE SPAN: [RE-CALCULATING...]

  ===

  The percentage was climbing, gradually.

  If it could finish before his body gave out completely, he would survive.

  That was a very big if.

  ….

  Outside, only Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, and Toshinori remained.

  "Idiot." Gran Torino muttered, his voice thick.

  Recovery Girl gripped her cane tighter, saying nothing.

  Toshinori, who had stood in silence through all of it, finally spoke. "Maybe I can save him."

  Both of them went very still as their heads snapped.

  "What are you–" Gran Torino started, then stopped, realization dawned. "You're thinking of One For All."

  Recovery Girl's eyes widened behind her gsses. "Toshinori, are you certain?"

  For a moment, Gran Torino felt a spark of hope.

  One For All could strengthen the user's body, give them power beyond human limits. If anyone could survive with organs that are damaged, it would be someone with that quirk.

  Gran Torino's eyes were hard. "Don't do this because you feel guilty, Toshinori. That's not a good enough reason to make that kid your successor."

  "I am not doing it out of guilt." Toshinori said firmly. "I am doing it because he is worthy."

  That stopped Gran Torino cold.

  "What?"

  Toshinori's hollow eyes were steady. "I have watched him for two years - heard about him from you, saw him at the Sports Festival, and today I saw the aftermath of what he was willing to sacrifice."

  He gestured toward the ICU. "That boy is worthy of One For All - not because he's dying, and not out of pity, but because he possesses the heart of a true hero."

  "Why are you bringing this up now?" Recovery Girl asked pointedly. "If you thought he was worthy, why wait until he's dying?"

  Toshinori was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed. "Because I was wrong about him. When I first met him in the hospital, I asked why he wanted to be a Hero. He couldn't answer. I thought he didn't have a real reason - that he was just looking for a purpose without understanding what Heroism meant."

  He looked at the ICU doors.

  "But today he proved me wrong. He didn't fight Muscur for glory, or recognition, or to prove anything to his father. He fought because people needed help - and he was there. That's what a hero is: not someone with all the answers, but someone who steps forward when it matters most."

  Gran Torino rubbed his face with both hands. "No. It's too risky. We don't know how it would react with his damaged body. Also what if he dies after inheriting the One For All?

  "Thats would completely put your successor position at risk? And even if it worked. We would be putting an enormous burden on his shoulders. He has already been through hell."

  "I understand the risk!" Toshinori's voice rose, then immediately fell again, softer. "I understand. But Master... that boy deserves a chance to live. To really live, not just survive day to day waiting for his body to give out. If One For All can give him that chance, then isn't it worth trying?"

  Gran Torino looked at Recovery Girl. "Chiyo?"

  She was quiet for a long moment, her medical mind running through scenarios. "Medically speaking, it's the worst idea I have heard in fifty years of practice." she said bluntly. "One For All will put enormous strain on his body. If his organs are already shutting down, the sudden influx of power could kill him in minutes."

  "But?" Gran Torino prompted, because he could hear the 'but' in her voice.

  "But..." Recovery Girl sighed. "He is… lost either way. If there is even a five percent chance this works, it's better than the zero percent chance he has now."

  Silence fell.

  They were actually considering this.

  Gran Torino looked around at all of them. At Recovery Girl's grim acceptance. At Toshinori's determination.

  Then he thought about the kid. About Toya, who had shown up on his doorstep asking for taiyaki. Who had trained until he colpsed every single day. Who had never once compined about his condition. Who had saved an entire street full of people despite knowing it would probably kill him.

  What would that kid want?

  The answer was obvious.

  He would want to live.

  "Fine." Gran Torino said heavily. "We try it. But Toshinori… if this means you lose One For All, that's on you. Understand?"

  "I understand." Toshinori said. "And I accept that responsibility."

  Recovery Girl nodded. "Then we should go in now. The longer we wait, the less chance this has of working."

  They started toward the ICU, but Gran Torino held up a hand.

  ….

  At the same time–

  Rumi had already entered the ventilzer. She walked to his bedside and stood there, looking down at him. At the burns she had seen a hundred times during training.

  "Hey, Patchwork…." she said quietly. Her tough-girl voice was gone. This was just Rumi, scared and sad and trying to hold it together. "I, uh. I'm not good at this. The emotional stuff. You know that."

  She pulled up a chair and sat down heavily.

  "I am sorry I pushed you so hard. If I had known…. well, you probably wouldn't have wanted me to know. You are stubborn like that." She ughed, but it came out wrong.

  The Water Hose couple came next, with Kota between them.

  Kota stepped forward. His small hand reached out and touched Dabi's bandaged arm.

  "You are a real Hero." the four-year-old said seriously. "The best hero. Better than my mama and papa. Better than anyone."

  When Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, and All Might entered, Gran Torino cleared his throat gently.

  "We need everyone to step outside for a moment." he said, keeping his tone light despite everything.

  All eyes turned to them.

  "It's not certain." he continued carefully. "But Recovery Girl has proposed a method that might save Dabi."

  "For real?!" Rumi's head snapped up.

  Recovery Girl gave a small nod. "There are no guarantees. But there is a chance."

  That was enough.

  Hope - fragile, dangerous - flickered across every face in the room.

  The Water Hose couple exchanged a look, then guided Kota toward the door with soft reassurances.

  Rumi hesitated, she leaned down close to Dabi's ear, her voice barely above a whisper.

  "I was going to grant your wish on graduation day, you know." she said, her voice already splintering at the edges. "But you had to end up here instead."

  She swallowed, but it didn't steady her. It only made the next words rougher.

  "So you better make it back alive… idiot." The st word cracked, thinner than she intended.

  She turned quickly, taking a single step toward the door.

  Something tugged at her wrist.

  Rumi froze.

  Slowly, she looked down.

  Dabi's hand - wrapped in blood-stained bandages - had weakly closed around her.

  His grip was faint, trembling.

  His eyes were barely open, narrow slivers of blue visible beneath swollen lids.

  "Are…" The word was almost soundless. She had to lean in to catch it. "Are you really going to let me… touch your bunny ears?"

  "..."

  Utter silence, everyone stared.

  Rumi's mouth opened, closed.

  Her ears - the ones she was notoriously protective of, the ones she had threatened to break bones over when people tried to touch them without permission - twitched slightly.

  Then, despite everything, tears and the fear and the certainty of death hanging over them all, she let out a choked ugh.

  "You absolute moron…." she whispered, but she was smiling. "Yeah. Yeah, you can touch them. When you wake up properly, you idiot."

  "Promise?"

  "I promise, Patchwork. Now go back to sleep and let them save your stupid life."

  His hand loosened, fell back to the bed.

  .

  ….

  [To be continued…]

  ★─────??★??─────★

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