Look I know it sounds weird but I want to have some fun this year with my writing.
The biting wind howled like a tormented beast, mirroring the storm raging within Elsa. Or rather, within him. He, once known as Dabi, the scarred villain, was now forced to inhabit the pale, ethereal form of the Snow Queen. He glared at the young girl across from him, her red and white hair a stark reminder of the icy inferno that had been his curse. Anna, or Shoto, whatever he was calling him these days, stood with arms crossed, a mirror of his own frustration.
Shoto (Anna): "Are you going to keep scowling, Elsa? We've been in this…castle…for hours. You haven't even tried to make a blanket."
Dabi (Elsa): "As if you're being helpful, Princess. You're practically vibrating with the urge to 'play' in the snow. This is ridiculous, you know. Absolutely ridiculous!"
Their powers, once distinct and defined, had now apparently swapped, leaving them in a twisted parody of themselves. Dabi was stuck with the elegant, albeit frosty, power of ice manipulation, while Shoto, inexplicably, was blessed, or rather cursed, with the fiery, volatile temperamental magic he had always hated.
The memory of their last battle was a blur, a cacophony of ice against fire, a desperate clash that somehow triggered this…switch. He'd been trying to burn through Shoto's ice, a familiar foe he had been hell bent on defeating but it felt different this time and then, the world went black. Now, he was stuck in a realm of endless snow, forced to wear dresses and be called "Elsa". A realm of endless torment.
Shoto (Anna): "It's not my fault you keep trying to turn everything into a skating rink! I'm just trying to see if I can at least make a small fire to keep us warm." He held out his hand, a small flicker of flame illuminating his worried face.
Dabi scoffed, a plume of frost escaping his lips. "I don't need a fire, you imbecile! This is my domain now, not some pathetic little campfire!"
This had been their back and forth all day. They had been arguing since they had woken up in this realm. He couldn't help but feel like Shoto was enjoying this, being on the other side of the spectrum. The audacity of this boy, always getting the better side of life. The day wore on filled with arguments and frustrated screams.
Later, as the artificial sun cast long shadows across the snowy courtyard, Dabi slammed his hand against a frost-covered pillar, his voice edged with a manic fury.
Dabi (Elsa): "Everything was always about you! You had everything! The training, the praise, the attention! Enji gave you everything! Even now, you get this! You're the cheerful, beloved princess while I'm stuck being the lonely ice freak! It's always been like that! It's not fair!"
Shoto, standing a few feet away, was taken aback. His eyes, a mixed shade of his usual dual nature, were wide with confusion. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Dabi turned on him, his eyes blazing with a pain that transcended the familiar rage. "You wouldn't understand! You were always his favorite! He molded you into exactly what he wanted! He had no use for me! He…he gave everything to you!"
He turned away, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind him, the sound echoing through the silent palace. He leaned against the cool wood, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Moments later, a tentative knock sounded. Shoto pushed the door open, his gaze soft like never before. "Elsa? What's wrong?"
Dabi didn't respond, his face buried in his hands. Shoto pushed closer, his voice gentle. "Please tell me. You've been acting so… strange all day."
Dabi finally lifted his head, his eyes, usually cold and calculating, now filled with a raw vulnerability. "Enji… our father… he… he gave you everything because… because he never wanted me."
Shoto blinked, his face scrunched up in confusion. "He… what? Our father? What are you talking about?"
Dabi took a deep breath, the weight of the past settling upon him like a mountain of ice. "I… I'm not… I'm not actually 'Dabi'. I'm Touya. Your older brother. The one they said...the one they said was dead."
The revelation hung in the air, heavy and thick as a blizzard. Shoto's eyes widened, his mouth agape as the pieces finally began to fall into place. His brother… Touya… the one he had been told had perished in that horrible accident years ago… was Dabi. Was Elsa.
"Y-you're… you're Touya?" Shoto stammered, disbelief etched on every line of his face. "But… but they said… the fire, the accident…"
Dabi nodded, a wry, bitter smile twisting his lips. "That fire? That wasn't an accident. That was Enji giving up on me. He threw me away like I was garbage."
Shoto was still processing the shock, a mixture of disbelief and confusion swirling within him.
"And… and you were… Dabi?" he whispered, the name tasting like ash in his mouth.
Dabi nodded again, his gaze falling to the ground. "I was. Before…before this, whatever this is," he gestured around at the icy room, "I was the villain. I was trying to make him pay for what he did to me."
Shoto reached out, hesitantly placing a hand on Dabi's arm. The touch made him flinch slightly, surprised by the warmth of them despite their cold exteriors. "But...why? All the pain...the destruction..."
Dabi looked up, his eyes filled with a pain that Shoto had never seen before. "It doesn't matter now. Does it? I just wanted him to see that his perfect creation was something better than what he threw away. It was a stupid plan. I just wanted him to look at me with something other than disgust."
For the first time since they had arrived in this strange realm, they were not arguing. They were not enemies. They were two brothers, lost in a world that didn't understand them. In a realm of cold, they found a flicker of warmth in the shared pain of their past. The icy walls of the castle seemed to recede, replaced with a fragile understanding that had been long overdue. The night was long and the two talked for what felt like hours. They opened up parts of their lives to each other that they never thought would ever be shared. Finally, they fell asleep on the ground close to one another seeking warmth in a world that had always been cold to them.