Chapter Text
It was a foolish mistake- but how could Touya have expected that for the first time in years, his father would actually be paying attention to what he was saying? Natsuo’s shouts and attempts to protect his older brother echoed like background noise in Touya’s ears. There was just a dull ringing, his nerves working through him from head to toe, making his stomach and throat clench up.
He heard Endeavor send Natsuo to his room, heard the screams of protest as he dragged the thirteen year old down the hall and shoved him in. Touya was frozen stiff in place. Before Endeavor could return to the living room, Shouto poked his head into the room. “What’s going on? Why’s Natsu-nii screaming?”
Shouto’s voice broke the hold of panic around Touya’s throat. “Shouto, you should go back—”
Endeavor, large man though he was, appeared noiselessly behind Shouto. “Go back to the training room, Shouto. I need to speak with your brother.”
The ten year old’s eyes narrowed, so subtly that if you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. Endeavor and Touya, though, both recognized the flare of defiance that rose up in the child. Quickly, Shouto positioned himself between his father and brother, facing the huge man with a hint of a glare in his normally stoic expression. “Leave Touya-nii alone. You’re just going to yell at him again.”
Endeavor raised his chin. Touya gulped, knowing what to expect. “Shouto, I’ll be fine, just listen—”
“Get in the training room. Now.”
The boy spread his arms wide. “No.”
In the blink of an eye, Endeavor had Shouto’s wrist grasped tightly in his hand, dragging the child out of the room and down the hall. “It hurts! Stop! You’re hurting me!” Shouto screamed, fear creeping into his voice.
“Father, just let him—” Touya started to say, grabbing for Endeavor’s other hand. His body had moved on its own, but his mind knew exactly what to expect. With little effort, Endeavor wrenched his arm away from the teen, following it with a quick slap that threw Touya into the wall. It hurt, but in the back of his mind, Touya chuckled to himself, glad that he wasn’t a villain. He’d seen his father’s hands send people flying through walls, even at such a close range.
Shouto had frozen up when he saw his brother get hit, allowing Endeavor to finish dragging him to the training room without resistance. He threw the boy in haphazardly, shut the door, and locked it. After a moment, Shouto was banging on the door, begging to be let out- to no avail.
Touya steadied himself as he watched his father throw his brother in the training room. It brought bad memories back to him, sitting like bile in the back of his throat. Without needing to be told, Touya went back to the living room to face his father. The teen was expecting to be chewed out quite thoroughly, probably even have some of his things taken away.
Though Endeavor was painfully consistent in his behaviors, he always seemed to switch things up when Touya was least expecting (or wanting) him to. “Repeat what you said to Natsuo,” Endeavor commanded, staring down at Touya.
The teen gulped, but tried to force his body language to relax. “It seems like you heard me well enough, given your reaction,” he said with a lightness in his tone that he didn’t truly feel.
Endeavor took a step closer, crowding into Touya’s space. There was still about a foot between them, but since the man was easily twice Touya’s size, such a distance didn’t mean much. “Repeat what you said,” Endeavor said again, his voice low.
Touya wanted with his whole heart to be able to puff out his chest, look his father in the eye, and scream it… but he couldn’t. Every memory of every disappointment, every time he pushed himself too far, only to be belittled or neglected- they weighed in his soul like a stone. “I told him that I’d broken up with my girlfriend,” the teen replied, taking a deep breath in an attempt to keep his tone even.
“And?”
“I t-told him that I thought I might be g-gay.” Touya’s voice was barely over a whisper now, and he hated how he tremored as he spoke. He couldn’t even keep eye contact with Endeavor, in spite of the rage he felt. He wondered off-hand if having his fire restrained for so long had affected his personality, too.
There was a pause. The man in front of him took a deep breath. Then– “Get out.”
Of all the things Touya had expected to hear, that wasn’t one of them. His surprise overwhelmed his nerves, and he met his father’s gaze in shock. “E-excuse me?”
“You’re leaving this house. Pack your things and get out.” Touya couldn’t tell if the angerless, droning tone was more, or less painful than fury would’ve been.
“But I– I haven’t even graduated high school!” the teen protested.
Endeavor crossed his arms. “You’re close enough. I can’t have you here, influencing your siblings. Such a…” the man sighed, sending the rippling guilt of disappointment to rattle through Touya’s chest. “Some things aren’t… becoming . I don’t need that kind of thing to reflect on my career, nor to affect Shouto’s future. Now go get packed.”
So many arguments pushed their way through Touya’s mind, but none of them reached his tongue. The numbness from before washed over him, and he found himself turning to do as he was told. “Can I at least say goodbye to everyone before I go?” he murmured.
Endeavor grunted an indiscernible reply, but it wasn’t a ‘no’, so Touya guessed at it being closer to ‘if you must’.
-
As Touya finished packing a suitcase and a backpack, he heard his mother and sister returning home. “Hey, can someone help with the bags?” Yumi called out, expecting either Natsu or Touya to come to their aid. Touya could hear the firm steps of his father approaching the pair, and hushed voices discussing something.
After a moment, Endeavor was at Touya’s doorway. “It’s time.”
Touya scowled at his father. “I’ve barely started!” he argued.
“We’ll have the rest of it shipped to wherever you end up,” his father stated. “Take the two bags to the door, then meet everyone in the living room.” Without waiting for his son’s response, Endeavor turned and walked away. As Touya hauled his bags to the front door, he heard his siblings all speak up at once– presumably, Endeavor had just told them that Touya was leaving.
Touya approached the living room. His siblings had all gone quiet, and he could now hear his mother, voice choked with tears. “No. No. I won’t allow this to happen. This is ridiculous!”
“Rei,” Endeavor replied, his tone indicating a warning.
“He is our son ! You can’t just–”
“Mom,” Touya interrupted, expression gentle in the midst of his pain. “It’s okay. I’ll go.” The woman broke down, sinking back into her chair as she sobbed into her hands. Touya knelt in front of her, reaching his arms around her shoulders tightly. “At least give it a couple days,” he whispered. “Maybe he’ll have cooled off enough to be convinced then.”
“But Touya… My baby… Where will you go?” She pulled away from him, looking into his eyes. Seeing the tears in his mother’s gray eyes made him feel like crying himself.
“I messaged a friend. I’ll be okay,” he assured her. Finally, he pulled away, Endeavor’s gaze weighing on the back of his neck.
He moved to Fuyumi. Tears were streaming down her face, though she wasn’t sobbing like their mother. “I don’t understand. I come back from grocery shopping and…? I don’t get why you have to leave,” she grumbled, grasping her brother in a tight hug.
“I know, Yumi,” Touya replied with a sigh. He rubbed her back gently before removing himself, moving to Natsuo.
“I’m sorry, Touya-nii,” Natsu sobbed out. It was unusual for the boy to cry these days, but clearly he felt guilty about the whole situation. “I shouldn’t have asked about your girlfriend, I shouldn’t have said anything… I’m sorry!” He wrapped his arms firmly around Touya’s torso, clinging to him.
Touya ruffled his hair. “It’s not your fault, dummy. It’ll be okay.” Gently, he flicked the younger boy’s forehead. “Listen. Don’t blame yourself,” Touya instructed.
Natsuo grimaced, backing into his chair and hugging his knees to his chest tightly.
Before Touya could react, Shouto had wound both his arms and legs around the teen, holding on so tightly it was almost painful. Touya frowned, seeing the bruises lining his brother’s arms. He pushed the boy back just enough to kneel in front of him– Shouto quickly took advantage of the new position to hold tightly around his brother’s shoulders. “Touya-nii, why do you have to go?” he mumbled. “Endeavor said it’s because you’re… gay? What does that mean?”
Touya bit the inside of his cheek. Sexuality wasn’t a topic that Shouto’s homeschooling had covered. “Ask Yumi about it later, sometime when Endeavor’s not home,” the teen whispered.
“I don’t want you to leave, Touya. I wanna go with you.” Shouto buried his face in his brother’s shoulder. To Touya’s surprise, he could feel tears soaking through his shirt.
“I know, Sho. It’ll be okay. Just keep your head down for now, okay?” Touya gave his brother a final squeeze before moving to stand up. Shouto didn’t let go.
“It’s time, Touya,” Endeavor said firmly.
“Y-yeah,” Touya muttered. He tried to pull his brother’s arms away, but Shouto might as well have been magnetized. The teen cast a nervous glance towards his father, noticing that Endeavor’s patience was waning. Pleadingly, he looked to his sister, who watched on in despair. Tearfully, Fuyumi nodded at Touya’s silent request, standing to pull Shouto from Touya.
“C’mon, Sho. You’ve gotta let him go.”
“I don’t understand!” Shouto protested. “Why does he have to go? Why can’t I go with him?”
Fuyumi finally wrenched the boy away, hugging him to herself as they both cried. Touya nodded to her, waved to his mother and brothers lifelessly, and left the room.
At the door, he paused, feeling his father’s presence behind him.
Touya bit back his childhood desire to deny anything that would disappoint his father, to turn around and beg his forgiveness. ‘I haven’t done anything wrong,’ he told himself firmly.
Even deeper within, an even younger Touya wanted to say goodbye to his daddy– to say he’d miss him, and couldn’t wait to see him again. To promise how much stronger and better he’d be next time his father saw him. ‘He doesn’t deserve that. He never did.’
Though he’d love to walk away without a word or even a glance to the hero, he had to make one request. Steeling himself, he turned back, staring into his father’s eyes. “Will you at least take these off, so I can protect myself?” He held up his wrists.
Endeavor eyed the quirk-canceling cuffs before reaching down with a huff to remove them. Touya shook his hands out, feeling a long-missed rush of warmth enter his body. With that, the teen turned, grabbed his bags, and left. Behind him, he heard the door shut firmly. Perhaps if it had been slammed, he would’ve chanced a look back, but the finality of the sound kept his focus honed on only what laid before him. The chilly air wisping around him breathed life into Touya’s chest. Within two minutes, the taxi he’d called arrived. Nervously, he gave the driver an address he’d never been to, to stay with a friend he’d never met in person.
-
“Hey Mompress,” a voice called to Atsuhiro, breaking his focus.
The man put his paintbrush down gently, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he turned around. “Tenko, really, how many times have I told you not to disturb me while I’m painting?”
The boy leaned against the doorway nonchalantly, most of his attention fixed on the gaming console in his hands. “I invited a friend to come stay with us for a while,” he replied without looking up.
“W-what?” Atsuhiro walked closer to Tenko, pushing his console down. The young teen glared up at his caretaker. “You did what?”
“I said I invited a friend to stay with us.”
Atsuhiro blinked. “Without even asking me?”
“I knew you’d be okay with it,” Tenko said with a shrug, pulling away to lean against the opposite end of the doorframe and freeing his console screen from Atsuhiro’s grasp.
“What ‘friend’, Tenko? You don’t have any friends!”
Tenko rolled his eyes. “He’s an online friend. His gamer tag is ‘Dabi’, he just turned eighteen and he got kicked out of his house, so I told him he could stay with us. We’ve got an extra room, after all.”
“Have you ever met this ‘Dabi’ in person? How do you know he’s not some creep trying to take advantage of you?” Atsuhiro argued.
Tenko glanced up, held up his hand, and wiggled his fingers- as though to say, ‘Really?’
“Okay, but–”
“His dad kicked him out for being gay,” Tenko interrupted. Atsuhiro’s protests died in his throat.
“I-I see…” There was a pause. “When is he coming?”
“Now,” Tenko responded, as unbothered as ever.
“Dammit, Tenko! I could’ve used some advance notice! I’ve gotta clean out the room!” Atsuhiro chided as he ran up the stairs.
“Just marble everything,” the teen called out, making himself comfortable on Atsuhiro’s painting stool.
-
Touya found himself in front of a… bar? Studio? Gallery? It wasn’t very clear what he was looking at. The sign in the door said ‘closed’, and the door was locked. Frowning, he shot Tomura a quick message.
He heard a few shouts back and forth further back in the building, before finally, the latch clicked and the door opened. An unfamiliar man met him with a flourishing bow. “Dabi, I presume? I apologize, Tenko didn’t bother to provide much detail besides your ‘gamer tag’.”
“Tenko… Is that Tomura?”
A younger teen poked his head around a doorway to the left as Touya stepped into the building. It certainly looked like a bar, but the sheer amount of art on the walls had him wondering. Further, there seemed to be a couple of rooms to the right and back of the building- perhaps it was also a gallery? “You can just call me Tomura, it’s fine.”
“Really, boys. ‘Tomura’ and ‘Dabi’? Isn’t that kind of edgy?” Atsuhiro questioned.
“Still better than ‘Mr. Compress’,” Tenko teased. “This is my guardian, Atsuhiro. You can call him Mompress- that’s what I call him.”
“Um–”
“Come, let me show you to your room, er…”
“Dabi,” Tomura answered.
“It’s Touya,” the older teen corrected. He hadn’t anticipated, well, any of this. He’d gamed with Tomura many times over several years, and voice chatted as well, so he knew the boy was younger. But he hadn’t expected him to be… so small. “H-How old are you, Ten-Tomura?”
“I’ll be fifteen in a couple months,” the boy answered, attention back on his game. “Why?”
“Just curious.” With a final, puzzled glance towards his friend, Touya followed Atsuhiro into the room on the left.
“You saw the bar, and the other rooms make up the gallery. And this,” the man said, spreading his arms dramatically, “is my studio! Now, come, the living area is up the stairs.”
The upstairs was more spacious than Touya had expected. While the rooms were smaller than what he was used to, he couldn’t complain. He was surprised he’d even get a room to himself.
Atsuhiro pointed out his own bedroom, Tenko’s bedroom, and the bathroom. Down the hall, there was a little kitchen/living room area. It was cozy, well-kept, and clean. The pleasant feeling of ‘home’ resonated in the space, something Touya was quite unused to.
“Go ahead and get unpacked, make yourself at home! Are you out of school, Touya?” Atsuhiro asked kindly.
“No, I graduate in a few months though,” Touya replied, reaching down to unpack his suitcase.
Atsuhiro frowned. “I’m sure today has been… a lot. Take your time getting comfortable. I’ll make some dinner. I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything.”
-
Touya finished unpacking, then laid back on the bed, studying the unfamiliar ceiling. The day’s events swirled in his mind.
“Hey.” Touya looked up to see Tomura in the doorway. Though he still had his console in his hands, his eyes were fixed on Touya.
Touya sat up on the bed, staring back at his friend. Clearly, Tomura took that as an invitation, because he waltzed over and sat himself on the bed, scooting so that his back was against the wall. With that, he broke his gaze from Touya, focusing back on his game in silence.
Blinking, Touya cleared his throat. “Um, thanks, by the way. I didn’t really have anyone else to ask,” he murmured.
“No prob,” Tomura replied lightly. “Families suck. Mompress says not always, but like… c’mon.”
Touya scooted over to lean against the wall next to Tomura. He started up a game on his phone. “Honestly, my family’s not bad. I get along with everyone except my father.”
Tomura laughed abruptly. “Yeah, it’s always the father, isn’t it?”
Touya glanced over uncomfortably, deciding not to open that can of worms right now. “How long have you been staying with, uh… ‘Mompress’?”
Tomura bit his lip in thought. “Mm, since I was like… five or something?”
There was a lull of silence between the teens as they played their games. It was a comfortable quiet, one that neither felt the need to fill.
-
After dinner, Tomura invited Touya to hang out in his room so he could switch from his console to his computer.
While the younger teen waited for his game to update, he spun in his chair to face Touya. The older boy was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against Tomura’s bed. “What’s your quirk?” Tomura asked, tilting his head.
“Fire,” Touya replied, eyes still on his own console in his hands.
“Ooh, fancy.” Tomura’s voice had a hint of sarcasm that Touya had grown used to over his years gaming with the boy. “Isn’t fire kinda rare, though?”
“It’s from my dad,” came the uninterested response.
Tomura snorted. “What, is your father Endeavor?” Touya was unable to school his expression quickly enough, and the younger teen noticed. “Wait, shit, really? You’re Endeavor’s kid?”
Atsuhiro happened to walk past the room as Tomura spoke, and he stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, did you say Endeavor ? As in, current number two hero in Japan?!” he asked incredulously.
‘Welp, the cat’s out of the bag,’ Touya thought to himself. “Yep. One and the same.”
Tomura faked a gag. “A hero, huh? No wonder he’s such a shitty dad.”
“He’s, um, not going to direct any sort of, uh, retribution our way, right?” Atsuhiro questioned nervously.
Touya scoffed. “No way. If anything, he’ll have his agency send you a ‘thank you’ card for helping get rid of his problem child. He’d rather have me housed somewhere than on the streets, potentially putting shame on his ‘good name’.”
Atsuhiro looked like he wanted to say something comforting, or put a hand on Touya’s shoulder. However, reading the teen’s irritable expression, the man chose to retreat, promising to bring the boys some hot chocolate.
The sound of buttons mashing filled the room. “So, can I see your quirk?” Tomura asked, swiveling in his chair once more.
“It’s just fire,” Touya replied halfheartedly. Still, he laid the console down on the bed. “To be honest, it’s… been a while.” He closed his eyes, coaxing the flames up, trying to control the output so he wouldn’t hurt himself or catch the bed on fire. Red hot flames sparked from his fingertips, then flaring up several inches into the air. “My flames are hotter than Endeavor’s, though,” Touya added, a touch of pride in his voice. All of a sudden, the flame jolted up off his hand, burning bigger and brighter than before. Touya stared, entranced, as he watched the fire change from orange to blue. Once it became fully blue, it burst out into a large fireball sizzling in his hand.
Both boys jumped in surprise, and Touya worked to force the flame back down. After a few nerve-wracking moments, the teen managed to wrestle the fire back down into his skin. It was hot, but he wasn’t burned, which he counted as a win.
“Does it always do that?” Tomura asked, red eyes fixed on Touya’s flameless hands.
“No, it’s never done that before,” Touya murmured. Neither of them returned to their games right away, just sitting and staring for a bit. “W-what about you then? What’s your quirk?”
Tomura smirked. “I’ll show you, but don’t say anything to Mompress. I’m not supposed to do it inside.”
Touya quirked an eyebrow, watching Tomura as he reached for an empty energy drink can. He picked it up gingerly, between his thumb and pointer finger. He looked over teasingly. “One,” he said, putting his middle finger on the can. “Two,” he added, curling his ring finger over the aluminum.
“What is this, a damn magic trick?” Touya asked, rolling his eyes.
“Ah ah ah,” Tomura tutted. “Three.” The moment his pinky finger tapped the surface of the can, it began to break down into infinitesimally small pieces, crumbling to dust so thin it dissipated into the air before it touched the ground. Touya couldn’t hide his shock, his eyes wide.
“Decay,” Tomura declared proudly.
“That’s… That’s kinda busted,” Touya admitted.
“Damn straight,” Tomura said, nodding, turning back in his chair to his computer. “Kinda fucked up my family a bit, but pretty sick otherwise.”
“Language, Tenko,” Atsuhiro scolded warmly as he stepped into the room, placing a mug of hot chocolate on the younger teen’s desk. “And what have I said about using your quirk inside?”
Before Tomura could respond, Touya cleared his throat. “That’s my bad. I asked him about it.”
Atsuhiro turned to the older boy, handing him the other hot chocolate mug with a smile. “All right, I guess I can let it slide this time.” Touya took a sip of the drink, wondering to himself about what Tomura had said before, about his family.
He could practically see the notification above the boy’s head: ‘Must gain relationship points to unlock lore’.
-
Time passed, things began to shift. As Touya had expected, his mother was not successful in convincing Endeavor to change his mind. Touya couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or not. He was comfortable and happy living with Atsuhiro and Tomura. He didn’t need to constantly walk on eggshells like he did in the Todoroki household, and he was allowed much more freedom than he ever had before.
After he graduated, Atsuhiro let Touya shadow his bartenders, eventually picking up the job for himself. He’d never been allowed to spend his money as he pleased, and he took to it with all the thrill one would expect. He dyed his hair black, got whatever piercings he desired, and even got tattoos from some of the artists he met through Atsuhiro’s studio.
He didn’t forget about his family, though. He felt guilty leaving his mother and siblings stuck in the house with Endeavor. He hadn’t always been able to protect them, but he knew his presence in the home had comforted them- all four relied on him and would go to him when things were stressful. Now, his only contact to the house was through Fuyumi, who was old enough to have her own phone unmonitored by their father. Natsuo was given only a flip phone with a handful of emergency contacts and limited text messages per month. And then there was Shouto, not only without means of communication, but also homeschooled and restricted to the house as much as possible. His mother didn’t message him either- probably too afraid that Endeavor would go through her messages and get angry. He couldn’t blame her for that.
One busy Saturday evening in June, Touya was bartending, getting flirted at by a handsome man who was a bit too old for him. Still, he was flattered by the attention. “No way!” someone a few seats down shouted. “All Might retired!”
The whole bar went quiet. Everyone grabbed for their phone, while Touya’s coworker flipped the TV above the bar to a news channel and turned up the volume. The story unfolded, revealing that All Might had bested his long-time nemesis All For One, but at grave injury to himself. While he did survive the battle, he was forced to sacrifice his power in order to do so. Thus, the legendary tale of All Might was fading into black.
Which meant that Endeavor was now the number one hero in Japan.