Chapter Text
Momo Yaoyorozu has known Todoroki Shouto, in some sense, for most of her life. She knows him in the ways that rich people always like knowing the pro-heroes. In the way that networking is always important. Her family is rich; his is powerful. That meant that they always intersected in some ways, even if those intersections were often a little frail. There was always something a little off with him. Usually, rich kids all seem a little fake but Shouto just seems wrong. He isn’t lying or bragging or being rude, he’s just a little off. He’s just a little far away, a little distant.
She remembers asking her parents once why, and they sprouted some words on the eccentricities of pro-heroes. Honesty her parents dislike most pro-heroes, and yet they associate heavily with them. Money is money and power is power and of course, they mix.
Her parents thusly didn’t understand her reason for wanting to be a pro-hero but U.A. offers one of the most prestigious educations. Even if Momo decides against continuing as a pro-hero, her rank in academics will allow her great mobility. So her parents are fine with it, if not a little annoyed. They had planned for her to go to some other prestigious school for the rich and powerful, so she can be like them instead of being like the pro-heroes they keep in their circles to gain them a leg in certain doors.
She isn’t surprised to see Shouto at the recommendation exam and even less to see that he’s passed. Shouto, like his father, is powerful. Shouto will make a good hero.
As the year goes on Shouto doesn’t reveal any secrets and he doesn’t start to make sense, he’s nice though and because of that Momo starts to like him. Even when he’s mean it often feels like it’s not because he dislikes her or the things she does but because he just doesn’t seem to understand that sometimes things are better left unsaid. They start to live in the dorms and he doesn’t really start to make sense but they are all spending so much time together that certain things about him start to come to light.
He has three siblings, and one of them is dead. He likes cold soba and he doesn’t like his dad. They are other things, lots of small other things. Like he likes tea and he doesn’t mind if people play their music loud and he never read manga before and sometimes he has a hard time sleeping. She learns of things about him through a sort of osmosis of information. It’s really the best way to gain information on anyone. One piece that she learns that she keeps coming back to is the fact that he doesn’t like his dad.
It’s not that out of place, his father is a pro-hero and Momo doesn’t think that that is very conducive to being a good father. But Shouto seems more than that, it doesn’t seem like he hates his father because his father is a pro-hero, he seems like he hates his father because his father has done something to him. She later learns of course that his father did do something to him, that his father did a lot to him. That his father destroyed him again and again and just now is Shouto putting himself back together again. Things about Shouto start to make sense and everything feels like it's crashing around Momo. She should have known, it was so clear and she never even knew. She should have paid more attention, she should have put the pieces together and she didn’t and now she has to figure out how to understand Shouto with this new information.
School has also changed. She knows that all of her classmates just like her are trying to figure out how they can grapple with all the things they’ve learned about how things sometimes are. Shouto is gone today which means that during the homeroom before Aizawa arrived people were talking and Momo hates it. She knows that it must be hard for them and she knows that they just like her have to figure it out but she hates it. She hates that this is how it is. She hates Midoriya because he knew and she knows that he knew and he told her so. He knew and he didn’t say a word and no matter how complicated it must have been she still hates him a little. She hates the fact that she is sixteen and she is asking herself how did the world get to this, how could heroism get to this. When Aizawa finally appears everyone stops talking and they all sit up a little.
“I know that the last few days have been difficult for most of you with the recent news and I just wanted to let you know that there are people that you can talk to if you need to better understand and sort through what has happened,” Aizawa says blandly and seriously from the front of the classroom. Bakugou makes a scoffing sound from his seat and Aizawa just raises an eyebrow at him.
“So you kicked out that Half and half bastard just so you could give us some shitty speech about reaching out if we're sad,” Bakugou says, annoyed and mocking but Aizawa just sighs.
“Todoroki is spending some time with his siblings and I took the opportunity to start a conversation that, yes, I would prefer to have without him here. He deserves space to work through what has happened and so do all of you. If any of you have anything you want to say you can.” Aizawa explains tiredly. No one talks, all of them questioning whether sharing their thoughts is worth it. Momo decides she doesn’t care.
“I should have known. I’ve known Shouto since we were six and there was always something off about him, about his family. I just thought that it was the fact that his dad was a pro-hero. But I feel like I’ve known my entire life that something was wrong and I just never looked hard enough.” It feels good for Momo to get it off her chest and yet she still feels guilty for sharing it. But then other people start to share and Momo feels less and less guilty. Kirishima talks about the fact that he used to love Endeavor and now he feels sick looking at the merchandise. Iida says that he wishes as class president he could do more for Shouto, to help him. Momo is glad she shared just for the fact that other people get to lift things off their chest. She knows that this is difficult for all of them and that makes her feel better even though she’ll never feel truly free of guilt. She’ll always wonder what would have happened if she had just looked a little deeper.
To say that the dinner didn’t go well is an understatement. Natsuo had gone out with the conspiracy theory of the century and Shouto can’t help but be a little jealous that he didn’t think of it first. It made sense, sometimes, and if they had all the pieces it would probably make more sense. He had said, trying his best to be gentle, that he thought that their dead brother Touya was now the supervillain Dabi and he had then stopped mostly because of the face that Fuyumi had made. The slightly betrayed face that she had made, at the thought of Touya being Dabi and Natsou even considering it.
Natuso had then explained it and, the fire, the eyes, the burns, the photos, and the odd texts he had gotten that he had responded to and then been blocked with just a swear in response. It was all piling on and then Shouto remembered something and pulled out his own phone. Telling Natsuo and Fuyumi that he too had gotten a strange text after what had happened, they both look at Fuyumi who just shrugs and tells them that she blocks every weird text she gets which she would recommend that Shouto and Natsuo do too. She’s right but in this case, the fact that Shouto hadn’t blocked him might do them good, he pulls up the text and is stunned to find that Touya/Dabi? hasn’t blocked him yet. He starts to write out a text when Fuyumi stops him. Even if he is Touya he would just immediately block Shouto if he texts him. He wanted to apologize for leaking everything that doesn’t mean that he wants to see them again.
Natsuo doesn't agree with this and he and Fuyumi start to argue, it isn’t very heated yet but Shouto can feel the burning just under the surface. He takes a screenshot of the number just to be safe and then he tucks his phone back in his pocket and watches Fuyumi and Natsuo argue while the reality of the situation starts to really set in. They’ve moved on from Touya and are now fighting about the things they normally fight about if you can really call them fights. They mostly just say words louder and louder, never even really reaching the level of yelling, just more and more raised voices. The fights, the real fights that Shouto can remember his mother and father or Touya and his father having were violent, screaming and yelling and throwing. They were destructive and they were world-ending. Fuyumi and Natuso seeming more like they’re fighting isn’t worlding but definitely dinner ending and that’s when he leaves as Fuyumi says that she’s giving him a ride home.
She apologizes in the car for how the dinner ended and Shouto just shrugs he hadn’t really cared, he hadn’t really been in the moment enough to care, but he doesn’t know how to explain that to Fuyumi. She’s concerned with him he can tell even in the daze he knows he’s in. She drops him off at the gate of U.A. and he stands outside clutching a shopping bag watching her car leave for a few moments trying to right himself before going inside. Despite it being a school night there are still quite a few people in the common rooms and when Izuku sees him he calls out to him.
“Shouto, you’re back, how was seeing your siblings.” Izuku is smiling but it seems a little off.
“Hmh it was fine.” He tries his best to sound convincing, but he’s pretty sure he’s failed as he sees how Kirishima turns to Izuku.
“So what did you guys do?” Kirishima asks after turning back to look at Shouto. Shouto when he goes to look at Kirishima glances a little to his left and he sees Bakugou and what he had learned at dinner starts to feel very real all of a sudden. Everything had just started to feel real and Shouto isn’t sure what Kirishima had asked him just a second ago because he’s too focused on keeping the ice from spreading over his face.
“Sorry, what did you ask?” His voice sounds weird, distant, and weak. Shouto can see Kirishima turn to Izuku for a second before turning back and asking again.
“What did you guys do?” He says now looking and sounding concerned.
“Oh nothing really we just walked around and then we saw a movie and then we went to dinner and-” Shouto’s throat starts to close as he tries to explain and not explain dinner and he knows that ice is spreading over his cheek. He knows that they are all looking at him with their concerned eyes and the little sad expression they make when they try to understand him.
I’m sorry I have something I need to do.” Shouto walks away and he tries not to imagine them and their expression pointed at his back. When he makes it to his room he realizes that he doesn't know what he’s doing and he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do.
That’s how Izuku finds him when he arrives at Shouto’s room to check on him. Shouto stands awkwardly in the middle of the room.
“Are you okay Shouto?” He says, rushing in and stopping when he sees Shouto just standing there.
“I think.” Shouto manages to get out.
“Did something happen when you were with your siblings?” Izuku asks and Shouto doesn’t know how to explain to him that of course something had happened but he can’t know because they aren’t certain and even if they were certain this is bigger than just him and that changes things it changes things so drastically that Shouto doesn’t know what to do and how to react.
Instead, he just nods.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Izuku asks leading Shouto to sit on the floor.
“I can’t,” Shouto explains sitting on the floor next to Izuku.
“Why Shouto?” Izuku is looking at him and Shouto just stares down at the tatami mats on the floor. There is ice on his face again.
“It’s complicated.” Is all Shouto ends up saying despite all the things he wants to say.
“I wish it wasn’t,” Izuku replies.
“I do too.”
Izuku sits with him for a bit longer but he can’t stay the night so after a while, he gets up and smiles at Shouto before leaving. After he leaves Shouto does his nightly routine and lays on his bed, trying both to sleep and to pretend like the day he’s had hadn’t happened. It doesn't work and really he just ends up not being able to sleep stuck in the daze he falls into often.
He wakes up at the time he always wakes up, around six, and goes about his morning routine. When he goes down to eat some breakfast, he sees Aizawa sitting on one of the couches in the common rooms. Aizawa stands up when he sees Shouto, and Shouto can feel his gut sinking.
“Shouto when you’re done with your breakfast some people are going to come to see you.” He stands for a second frozen in front of Aizawa before nodding and turning away. He eats his breakfast slowly spoonful after spoonful of cereal towards the end he takes too long and it’s soggy. He still eats it all, not wanting to waste food or see whoever Aizawa is talking about. It does end up taking him longer to eat his cereal; it also makes it a worse experience overall.
Aizawa is still sitting in the common room when Shouto walks in. He doesn’t say anything but he walks towards the door and Shouto follows him, they don’t talk it’s easier. They end up in one of the workrooms off the library, it’s because they have larger tables that people can talk at. Sitting at the table are four people, two of which Shouto is pretty sure are policemen. One of them he guesses is probably from the Department of Children and Family Services, DCFS. The other he isn’t sure about.
They, like Aizawa, stand up when they see Shouto. None of them are smiling which is probably because they don’t want to be here. The two police officers introduce themselves as Tamakawa Sansa and the other as Tsukauchi Naomasa. The latter explains that his quirk allows him to know if Shouto or anyone for that matter is telling the truth. It's definitely a helpful quirk for the job that he has. The other police officer’s quirk is pretty obvious so he doesn’t explain or say anything past what his name is. After the police introduce themselves a lady steps up and explains that she is Ishida Moe from the DCFS and that she's Shouto’s caseworker.
“I’m going to help figure out what is going to happen and things like where you’re going to live. Things like that. I also have to collect information on what happened to make a file for the DCFS” She explains.
The last person introduces himself as Kato Shinsuke as he explains that he’s a legal advisor that U.A. brought in to help Shouto understand how things are going to go legally.
Shouto can’t help but feel overwhelmed by all the people and all the talking. He knows that he’s going to have to explain it all to them and he can feel it in his bones, the fear, he’s scared of what will happen. But before he can really sort through all the information Aizawa starts to talk.
“Now we formatted this so that you can talk to both the police and DCFS at the same time and I can stay if you would like me to.” He explains and Shouto can tell that he’s trying his best to sound supportive.
“Don’t you have your class to teach?” Shouto asks not wanting to be a bother for Aizawa.
“It’s a study day and Present Mic is going to sub in for me. Even if you don’t want to be here for the interview I still have to wait outside until you're done. So it’s your choice.” That does in some ways change things for Shouto. He knows that he doesn’t really want to tell them anything and he doesn’t want Aizawa to know some of the things that have happened but he also doesn’t really think that they would surprise anyone after the videos were leaked.
“I think that I would prefer it if you were here.” Aizawa nods and sits down in one of the chairs, Shouto sits next to him. The table is set up so that the two chairs that he and Aizawa are sitting in face all four of the other people and Shouto is glad that he let Aizawa stay just so it feels less like an interrogation.
The police officer with the truth quirk starts off by asking him some simple questions, his name, age, his parents, and his siblings, he asks Shouto to list off his siblings and when Shouto says Touya, he asks if Touya is dead. Shouto knows that they aren’t asking him this because they too think that Touya Todoroki is Dabi at least he doesn’t think they do. They’re asking so they can ask how he died, and ask if his father was involved. But Shouto doesn’t know if he is going to get past the truth quirk. When he goes to say yes that Touya is dead he chokes up a little and is unable to. The officer seems sympathetic and says it’s fine that they don’t technically need the answer. He moves on. Shouto is so relieved that it almost makes up for the fact that he has to be here in the first place.
“Did your father have any involvement with your brother's death?” Tsukauchi asks.
“Kind of, If my father hadn’t done a lot of things then I think that Touya would still be here,” Shouto explains in a vague sort of way.
“What sort of things do you mean?” Tsukauchi says trying to get Shouto to elaborate a little.
“Hurt us.” Shouto finally says and he knows that they know but it still feels like he’s revealing something that should stay under wraps, it still feels like he’s doing something wrong.
“You’re saying that your Father hurt you.”
“Yes”
“Okay I’m going to show you a series of photos and you need to tell me if you recognize them.” The police officer pulls out a file and in the file are the photos Touya took to try to prove that they needed help. They hadn’t worked back then but here they are sitting in front of Shouto and the police. He reaches for the photos and the officers let him, he picks one up and realizes that these are the originals.
“My brother Touya took these. How did you get them?” Shouto thought that the originals were gone. He knows that the anonymous informant was probably Touya/Dabi but he still thought that the original photos were gone and only copies were released.
“On the same day that the photos and videos were leaked to the public, we received an envelope containing all the original photos and a hard drive with the videos on it,” Tsukauchi explains, folding the file back up once Shouto puts the photo down.
“Oh” is all Shouto says in response.
“So you can confirm that these are the real photos taken in your home by your brother?” Shouto is asked.
“Yes” He replies
“And why did your brother take these photos?” It’s an odd question in Shouto’s mind because they know why he took the photos. It's obvious and yet they’re still asking, they have to ask.
“He wanted to prove that he was hurting us,” Shouto explains, it’s vague, everything he says is vague. It’s on purpose in a way he knows that the police aren’t out to get him but still he feels the pounding of his heart at the thought of anyone knowing. He tries not to think about the fact that everyone knows.
“The ‘he’ you’re referring to is your father. Correct?”
“Yes”
“Now did your father ever know about these photos?”
“No Touya was really careful about hiding them.”
The officer hums a bit in response and then they move on. They ask some more questions about the pictures and how his father hurt them and how often Shouto answers their questions with a sort of detachedness that would be creepy if he cared. He is not horrified and he was never really able to be angry at what had happened to him. His siblings and his mother, thinking about them sometimes filled him with rage but when he thinks about himself it's almost like it’s not really real. It’s hard to really, really, truly say that what his father did to him was wrong. He understands in the theoretical sense that it was wrong but in reality, it was the life that Shouto led. It was his world and it still sometimes doesn’t click that the world wasn’t like this for everyone. He doesn’t even think about trying to explain this to the police; they are new to his life and are newly horrified about his world and then of course they ask about his scar.
“Now your file here says that your mother gave you that facial scar. Is that correct?” Shouto is taken aback by the question. Despite all the harm that his father had done, he hadn’t given him the scar but still, they have to confirm it all.
“Yes, that's correct.” He wants to explain it more, wants to make them understand that it was more complicated and yet he doesn’t. Mostly because he doesn’t want them to get more of him than he has to give them.
They ask him more about his mother and the quirk marriage and he mostly says that someone like his sister would be better suited for answering their question. They assure him that they will be talking to his sister and brother to get a clearer picture of the situation.
They ask a few more questions about his father mostly now about the present, when he stopped and why.
“He says he’s trying to make amends, make things right,” Shouto tells them.
“Do you believe him?”
“I think that he’s trying, I don’t know if it matters.” He doesn’t know if it matters. His father can’t undo what was done. He can’t make their family whole, he can’t make Shouto whole. They move on and at that point, the police are basically done. Now it’s time for the DCFS lady to take center stage. She’s mostly focused on custody and how that’s going to work.
“Now you have two main options, you can have a foster family that is long term, or you can have a more long term guardianship with U.A.” She lays out his options none of which sound bad and none of which sound good.
“What about my sister?” He thinks that Fuyumi would be a good guardian. She’s an adult and she has an apartment.
“Your sister is quite young and her involvement with the case is a little too close for comfort at the moment,” Ishida explains, smiling but sounding dismissive.
“My sister raised me,” Shouto argues. He doesn’t like how they’re framing this. How they are talking about his sister.
“Your sister was also an adult when you were in an abusive situation that never informed the correct authorities.” He wants to scoff. What would they have even done? He doesn’t scoff and he doesn’t ask that.
“It was more complicated than that.” Is what Shouto ends up saying.
“I’m not saying that it wasn’t, but the state would prefer someone that is not so involved.”
“My sister loves me.” Shouto is starting to get a little angry and even though you can barely tell it does add tension to the room. Everyone is tensing up a little and there is ice spread across his face.
“Todoroki-” Aizawa cuts in before anyone else can even think about talking.
“I know that this is a difficult situation and that you don’t like the light Miss. Ishida has framed your sister in but she isn’t an option at the moment so out of the two that you have which do you prefer?” He calmly and tiredly tries to make things a little easier. Shouto is glad that he’s there.
“I would prefer to stay in the U.A.”
Ishida explains a bit more about what that would actually entail. Most basically it would be the guardianship that U.A. already has but extended. In the simplest of terms, Aizawa would just be his guardian.
After she’s done talking everyone turns to the legal advisor Shinsuke. He starts to explain how the only option really is a plea deal would go but Shouto is already confused. He thought that he, one of his siblings, or his mother would have to charge his father for there to be anything happening. He asks Shinsuke this and he explains.
“Not necessarily, what your father did was a criminal charge, so it’s technically up to the state whether or not to charge him. In a case like this where they have a lot of information and they’re under a lot of pressure they might go ahead with it even if you, your siblings, or your mother, don’t want to press charges.” He explains it well and Shouto understands but he also doesn’t. He guesses that the public would have a say in whether or not his father would be tried but Shouto naively thought that maybe for once in his life he would have more of a say.
“Now what’s most likely going to happen is that they are going to strike up a plea agreement, where your father pleads guilty to a few or maybe even all of the charges and they give him a lighter or reduced sentence. It wouldn’t make sense for it to go to trial as your father has already publicly stated that he did abuse you and that he is trying to make up for it. He might get prison time or he might only get probation. He will also likely lose his parental rights to you.” Shinsuke finishes up his talk with Shouto, leaving him mostly understanding what is going to happen. It all still seems a bit distant like he’s someone else with someone else's very complicated life. All the talk of plea deals and trials seems to invade his mind and it’s all he can think about. He guesses he would prefer that his father took a deal just so he wouldn’t have to sit up there on the stand talking to so many people. Even just talking to four people has left Shouto feeling so distant from himself that it’s almost like he doesn’t exist. He can’t imagine what a jury would feel like.
Shouto is so lost in thought and maybe the haze that he doesn’t notice when it’s just him and Aizawa left in the room. They mostly are in silence for a while before Aizawa checks the time. Then he stands up and asks Shouto,
“Do you want to go to class? Aizawa asked.
“Sure,” Shouto responds mostly because recently he’s been missing too many days.
They walk quietly out of the room and suddenly Shouto feels the need to explain himself
“My sister loves me.” Shouto says without warning.
“I know.” Is how Aizawa responds.
“It’s just they made it sound-” Shouto is cut off by Aizawa, he sounds gentler than usual.
“You don’t have to explain yourself Todoroki, it’s okay I know.”
Shouto walks Todoroki all the way to the classroom. Shouto opens the door and tries not to feel exhausted at the thought of facing his classmates.