Aldon and his family moved from Rome, Italy, to Musutafu, Japan, when he was three years old. His father’s parents were experiencing difficulties, so the family relocated to support them during that time.

  Aldon began attending a local kindergarten until he turned five. Among the children there was one boy, Fuyuto, who refused to accept the foreign boy into their group. Fuyuto was the first in the css to manifest a quirk, “Por Bear,” which quickly earned him everyone’s attention. The other kids flocked to him, eager to be his friend and imitating everything he did—including excluding Aldon from the group. Things weren’t too bad until Aldon became the st child in the css who hadn’t yet manifested a quirk, making him an easy target for Fuyuto’s mockery. When Aldon attempted to befriend this “amazing” kid, it resulted in a cw scratch across his face.

  The Pavus family considered addressing the incident with Fuyuto’s parents, but Aldon brushed it off, ughing and ciming it was just an accident that happened while they were pying. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it or create further problems.

  From that day on, Aldon fought against Fuyuto. He was confident that his quirk would eventually manifest. The doctor had never mentioned any abnormalities that would suggest he was quirkless—and he was right. Aldon’s quirk emerged when he was seven.

  It was both a fortunate and unfortunate day. During the winter holidays, Aldon was sitting in front of the family firepce, watching the fmes dance. It was as if something suddenly told him to just touch it, and Aldon did. It didn’t burn him; instead, he felt the heat seep into his body as if it were becoming part of him. Aldon was amazed. Could this be his quirk? What abilities would it bring? How strong was it? A torrent of questions filled his mind until an intense, unbearable pain shot through him. He yanked his hand back, screaming and crying, before colpsing into unconsciousness.

  He woke up in the hospital with his family by his bedside, all visibly relieved when their youngest finally opened his eyes. His mother and sister hugged him tightly, while his sister’s twin patted his head, remarking on how incredibly lucky Aldon was to have escaped death’s grasp that day.

  The doctor then expined everything. Aldon’s quirk had caused his body to develop an entirely new system of veins, which was why his quirk had taken longer to manifest. However, because Aldon was unaware of the effect while absorbing the fmes, these new veins became dangerously overfilled, eventually rupturing under the pressure and causing internal injuries.

  Since that day, Aldon has carried several burn scars on his organs, along with a surgical scar running down the center of his torso.

  One day, Aldon encountered Fuyuto and his group of friends outside. Eager to show them he’d already developed his quirk, Aldon stepped forward.

  “So you can absorb fmes? What’ll you do if there aren’t any fmes around, huh? You’re practically as useless as a quirkless person!” Fuyuto scoffed, ughing.

  “I’ll show you what a real quirk looks like!” Fuyuto sneered, his hands transforming into bear-like paws with sharp cws, his skin and hair changing color, and his teeth lengthening into fierce canines. “Get him!” he shouted, charging at Aldon with his friends following closely behind. Without a second thought, Aldon turned and started sprinting away.

  He ran and ran, not looking around or behind him, until he passed a few trees and bushes and collided with an unknown person, tackling them to the ground.

  “Oi! Get off me, damn it!” the boy groaned, clearly annoyed by the sudden attack. Aldon quickly shuffled back and began wiping his eyes, sniffling and tearing up. The emotional weight of the entire chase finally caught up to him—the realization that he would never earn Fuyuto's respect sank in. “I’m sorry,” Aldon mumbled, trying to hide his face.

  A silent "Hmph" escaped from the other boy, who stared down at him for a moment before turning away. “Stupid kid, interrupting my concentration,” he muttered as he walked off. After only a few steps, though, he paused, turned back, and extended a hand to the crying boy. “It’s fine... Get up... and stop crying... it’s annoying...” he grumbled, looking away from the crybaby.

  Aldon looked up, gazing at him for a moment. With a slight nod, he wiped his eyes, took the boy’s hand, and pulled himself to his feet.

  The other boy narrowed his eyes at Aldon, observing his every move—how he pushed his hair behind his ear, dusted off his clothes, fidgeted nervously, and kept his head lowered.

  “I’m Touya,” the boy said, prompting Aldon to look up and rex a bit. “Aldon…” he replied quickly, which earned an amused hum from Touya.

  “That doesn’t sound Japanese,” Touya noted. Aldon nodded. “I’m from Italy. My dad’s Japanese, though. We’ve been living here for a few years now,” Aldon expined, and Touya listened intently. It warmed Aldon’s heart; he had finally made a new friend, someone unaffected by that annoying bully’s influence.

  Since that day, Aldon continued visiting Touya at Sekoto Peak. At first, he showed up unannounced, but as they got to know each other better, they began pnning their meetings.

  Fear

  (Few months after meeting for the first time)

  Aldon was watching Touya practice with his fmes. Even after the incident of his quirk’s manifestation, fire never ceased to amaze him, though he hadn’t attempted to use his own quirk again.

  “Hey, Aldon, want to train with me? I think my ability’s a perfect match for yours, so you might as well make use of me instead of just sitting there,” Touya suddenly suggested.

  Fear was written all over Aldon’s face. “Huh?! N-no, I can’t… I mean… I don’t want to slow you down!” he quickly declined, visibly disappointing Touya, who scowled.

  “If I thought you’d slow me down, I wouldn’t have offered,” he said, stomping over to Aldon and sitting down in front of him.

  “Give me your hand,” Touya demanded.

  “W-what? No… I don’t know…” Aldon stammered nervously, shifting as if he might get up and escape. But Touya quickly grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers to keep him in pce.

  Aldon’s heart began to race, his eyes filled with tears, and his breathing grew heavier. Soon, fmes ignited around Touya’s hand, dancing gently over their joined fingers. Aldon flinched at the sudden warmth, wanting to pull away, but Touya’s firm grip kept him from doing so.

  “See? You’re fine. My fmes won’t hurt you, crybaby,” Touya said, maintaining steady eye contact. Aldon could see it—the confidence and determination in this boy’s bright blue eyes. It made him forget about the fmes entirely as he stared back.

  Sensing Aldon’s body rex, Touya hummed in satisfaction. “You said you might be able to manipute the fmes, right? So do it now!” Touya commanded.

  “But… but…” Aldon hesitated, flinching at the thought.

  “Just do it, damn it. I told you my fmes won’t hurt you. Trust me,” Touya scoffed, clearly unwilling to take no for an answer.

  Aldon looked down at their hands. Was it really okay? Could he trust Touya? What if he put too much pressure on his veins again? Would it be fatal this time? Aldon shook his head and took a deep breath; there was no reason to think like that! He focused on his hand, slowly opening his veins and allowing the fmes to crawl into his body. Though he trembled as the warmth filled him, nothing hurt. Aldon chuckled. He’d done it!

  He focused more intently on their hands, making the fmes flicker upward and shape themselves into tiny sparks resembling butterflies. They shone brightly, fluttering their fiery wings. As they separated from the main source, they flickered around the boys before fading away.

  Touya watched in awe. “See? I told you!” he grinned at Aldon. “I produce fmes, and you can absorb them. It’s like our quirks were made for each other! We should be hero partners in the future!”

  Aldon smiled and nodded. “Mmm!”

  Together(A year after meeting for the first time)

  Aldon and Touya were watching a video of All Might on Aldon’s phone when, suddenly, Touya scoffed. “I’ll be a better hero than him! I’ll be the best!” he procimed, standing up and firing a bst of fmes at a nearby rock. Puffing out his chest proudly like a prized rooster, he jumped onto the rock. “Pro Hero Touya! The number one hero of Japan… no… the whole world!” he boasted, making Aldon ugh at his words.

  The sound of Aldon’s ughter caught Touya’s attention, and he jumped down from the rock, extending his hand. “I’m Pro Hero Touya! And you will be my best sidekick,” he said with a genuine smile.

  Aldon took his hand and let Touya pull him up onto the rock with him. “We should start a hero agency together. Two fire boys!” Touya decred, and Aldon nodded with a smile. “I can’t say no to that.”

  Glowing Bug(Two years after meeting for the first time)

  Aldon had just arrived at Sekoto Peak. He wanted to get there as quickly as possible after his daily violin practice with his dad. He looked forward to seeing Touya again, and it didn’t matter that he was seeing him nearly every day now.

  As he approached, he heard the faint sound of sobbing and found Touya sitting on a rock, crying. His head was buried in his arms, knees pulled up close to him. “Touya?” Aldon asked softly. “Go away,” Touya mumbled in response, but Aldon couldn’t bring himself to leave his friend like this. He moved closer and sat down beside him, offering silent comfort.

  They sat quietly for a moment before Touya began sharing his troubles with his dad, Endeavor. Aldon stayed silent, listening intently and nodding as Touya rambled. When he finished, Touya started to sob again, and Aldon sighed. Had his friend been dealing with this for so long without him knowing? “I just want him to see me…” Touya whispered, still hiding his face.

  Aldon huffed and stood up, determined to cheer his friend up. “Touya, look! I came up with a new move! I got some fmes from my dad since it’s pretty sunny today… so… wanna see?!” he said cheerfully. Touya didn’t respond, but he did raise his head to watch.

  Aldon took off his shirt and focused for a moment. It didn’t take long before his entire body was enveloped in fmes. The move was still new to him, though, and it didn’t take much for Aldon to stumble back and fall on his rear, effectively extinguishing the fmes. He whined as he crawled back up to his knees; he’d really thought he could pull it off this time!

  Touya chuckled, making Aldon smile; at least he’d managed to cheer his friend up.

  “You looked cool… like that… bug… you know, the one that glows at night,” Touya remarked. “Firefly!” he quickly added, remembering the insect’s name.

  From that day on, “Firefly” became Touya’s favorite nickname for Aldon.

  Secret(Few years after meeting for the first time)

  Aldon’s and Touya’s friendship was blossoming more each day. When Aldon arrived home, his mom stopped him at the staircase immediately. “You were out quite te today, young man,” she remarked, walking over to her son and starting to wipe off his face. “Look at all this dirt! Were you rolling around in dust or something? You’d better go take a shower before your dad sees you like this,” she gently scolded him. His mom was never strict or harsh; she loved her children dearly and was always respectful and understanding.

  “You were with that boy again, right? You’re always so eager, rushing through lunch just so you can go out to meet him. You know, your sister used to do this too when she—” she continued until her daughter interrupted.

  “Mom! Are you seriously having this talk with him right now, using me as an example?” Yori, Aldon’s older sister, called down from the top of the stairs.

  “Yeah! Are we supposed to start guarding him now too, like we do with our sister?” Two voices chimed in almost in sync: Aldon’s older brothers, Yuki and Naoki.

  “Nobody asked you to guard me, you stupid brothers!” Yori shouted back.

  “Oh, hush, all of you! I know what I’m seeing, and it’s better to address it now,” their mom retorted, then turned back to Aldon with a kind smile. Her youngest son looked thoroughly confused.

  “You see, Aldon, there comes a time when you feel nice and happy just being around someone close to you. Your heart does a little skip whenever that someone does the simplest things, like smile. And that’s perfectly normal. You don’t have to feel this way only about a girl… a boy can make you feel like this, too,” she expined gently.

  “What are you talking about, Mom?” Aldon asked, blinking in confusion.

  “Well, maybe… you like this boy?” she ventured, trying to be a bit more direct. “Remember the movie we watched st week? When the boy and girl held hands and cuddled? I mean that kind of ‘like.’” Her words clearly struck a chord, as Aldon’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. He quickly turned and dashed upstairs into his room.

  His mom chuckled. “Young love…”

  Aldon tried his best to avoid everyone. He didn’t need them bringing up this “like” nonsense again. He kept grumbling, even in the shower. “Touya is my friend! Do I like him like that? No! That’s ridiculous! Just a friend, nothing more,” he mumbled, continuing his rant even on the way back to his room.

  His rambling was interrupted by a faint sound of something tapping on his window. Closing his door, he walked over to see what it was. Looking down, he saw Touya already climbing up. What was he doing here at this hour?

  Aldon opened the window, intending to scold him, but Touya took it as his cue to force his way inside.

  “Damn it, Touya. What are you doing here?” Aldon compined as Touya stretched and looked around. “Just got bored,” Touya replied casually, beginning to explore his friend’s room for the first time. He walked over to a corner where Aldon’s piano and violin were set up.

  “You know how to py these?” he asked, pressing a key on the piano.

  “Yeah. My dad’s had me practicing since I was six,” Aldon replied, watching as Touya moved toward the terrarium with his pet snake.

  “Whoa, you have a snake? You never mentioned him! Is he poisonous? What’s his name?” Touya excimed, staring at the green snake curled up on a branch, resting.

  Aldon sighed. “It’s venomous, not poisonous, and no… he isn’t. He’s the kind that squeezes his prey. His name is Apple.”

  Touya scoffed. “Apple… that’s an… interesting name.” Aldon could tell he was being teased and huffed. “Go ahead and ugh—I don’t care!” He looked away, crossing his arms, missing the moment when Touya casually stepped into his personal space and gazed directly at him.

  “I didn’t realize your hair got longer,” Touya noted suddenly, reaching out to touch a strand of Aldon’s hair.

  Aldon was suddenly on high alert. Too close! His brain sounded a red arm, and the memory of his mother’s talk came rushing back. His cheeks turned red, which Touya quickly noticed, reaching out to touch his forehead.

  “Firefly, are you sick? You look like you just got a fever,” Touya pointed out.

  Hearing those words and the nickname only made Aldon’s face turn redder. In a flustered attempt to protect himself—and his racing heart—he swatted Touya’s hand away and quickly stepped back. “Maybe! So you’d better stay back, or you’ll catch it too! I swear, I’m contagious!”

  Touya blinked, confused by his friend’s reaction, but chose not to press further. “I came to tell you I’m ready to show my abilities to my dad! Probably in a few days, once he’s free from his hero work… But I’ll tell you the results afterward! I’m sure he’ll be so proud of me and rethink who’s the strongest in the family,” Touya said cheerfully.

  Aldon smiled and nodded. “Oh… that reminds me. I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon to visit my grandparents in Italy for summer break. I was going to tell you tomorrow, but since you’re here, I’ll tell you now. I’ll be gone for about a week. But I’ll listen to all about it when I get back! I bet your dad will be happy to see your progress!” Aldon said, sharing a fist bump with Touya as they smiled at each other.

  Little did he know, this would be the st time he’d see his friend, his first love.