Chapter Text
The entire family was under the same roof again for the first time since the war. And even back then, they were barely together. Natsuo kept his distance from everyone else in the hospital room, Touya in the incubator, while Enji spent most of the time talking to him.
“It’s not that I didn’t know he’d come, obviously,” Natsuo murmured to Fuyumi, voice lowered. “I just want to know why he’s still here.”
“I can hear you,” Enji thought, keeping his gaze fixed firmly ahead while grumbling to himself.
Everyone except Keigo and Enji was sitting on the couch. Keigo was busy taking the broken scooter out to the backyard. Enji was still frozen, desperately asking either Shouto or Touya to thaw him out. To Touya, it was a little humorous how casually the others ignored him.
Rei had his leg propped up while Shouto held a first aid kit. Once she was done disinfecting Touya's wound and placing a bandage, she leaned back and placed her hands in her lap.
"What will your next steps be? Have you made a decision?"
Touya opens his mouth to say something, but he realizes he doesn't know what to say. Or what he was supposed to say.
He tilts his head, looking over at the back of Enji's wheelchair, then back at his mom.
"I don't think I understand."
Fuyumi leans in to clarify for Rei,
"How are you going to move forward with Dad? Do you want to keep seeing him?"
"Maybe even... live with him?" Natsuo added, his reply was hoarse.
Touya could tell that the thought of him moving away upset him.
Lucky for Natsuo, there wasn't much to worry about. And he is just about to find out.
"I want to stay here." Touya was sure of his decision.
Enji had suddenly gone quiet, no longer asking for his fire-wielding kids to help him from Rei's ice.
Natsuo, Fuyumi, and Rei were all equally shocked to hear this (a bit of happiness runs through Natsu's spine).
Shouto, on the other hand, showed no emotion. He knew exactly where Touya was coming from when making such a self-assured decision.
Touya stood up from the sofa, limping from the discomfort in his knee. He hesitantly brings his hand towards the lumps of ice covering the back wheel. His hands sparkle at first, hinting that he would just freeze Enji some more. Touya's fingers slowly curl back into a fist. Enji looks over his shoulder, his breath hitches when he sees how close his son was.
Touya slowly opens up his hand, taking in a deep breath. The temperature in his chest drops as it increases in his hand; the rest of the family can see the sparkles shining off from beneath his shirt.
Shouto leans forward in his seat, watching how Touya's fire and ice activate at the same time. Almost like Touya didn't have much of a choice. Small blue flames hover above the ice, slowly melting it away as Enji manages to relax into his seat. Relieved to finally be freed.
Touya stared at his father for a while, questioning his own actions before pushing his chair over to the others on the sofa.
"It would make sense if Dad were actually here for this conversation."
Fuyumi perks up, her body swaying a little as she smiles at Enji.
"Yup, it's a decision we should discuss as a family."
Natsuo gave Enji a nasty glare, practically saying, "You're not welcome here." Shouto and Rei were hesitant but managed to keep themselves calm.
Touya sat right between Rei and Natsuo.
"Ever since Shouto and I spoke... I've been thinking about all the possibilities. What would have happened if I came home and saw Shouto playing in the backyard instead of training?"
Enji kept his eyes down as he felt the intensity of Natsuo's hateful glare on him.
"Or what if you were noticed by one of us?" Fuyumi asked, looking at Natsuo. It snapped him out of his glaring.
"I don't want to focus too much on what if's," Touya shrugs. "But I'm certain. I don't want to live with you, Dad."
Enji gives him a nod.
"I can respect that."
"But, I still want you in my life." Touya tried to sound happy, "I want to visit you every now and then!"
Rei reaches her hand out,
"Do you want me to accompany you?"
Touya shook his head, his eyes still on Enji.
"I want it to be just us."
Natsuo couldn't be any more opposed to this. Fine, Touya still wants to see him. But alone?
He needed to keep it to himself. This was Touya's decision alone, and the only person who could really forbid him from seeing Enji one-on-one was Rei.
But by the looks of it, she supports Touya.
He began to feel weird on the inside. Talking about living arrangements and the past simply made him uncomfortable.
"I want to work on the scooter now... where's Hawks?" He asks.
Keigo, Shouto, and Natsuo were working on the scooter while Touya was looking at the instructions, telling them where each piece went outloud.
Natsuo was irritated by how awful Touya was at giving instructions.
"This is your fault, Hawks."
Keigo let out a squack,
"What did I do?!"
Shouto pulled at some grass and crushed it in his hand.
"No one told you to make a death trap. Especially one that's impossible to put together."
Fuyumi and Rei laughed at their struggles. Touya was walking around them in circles, pointing at random screws and pieces, shouting out the wrong steps that did not show on the paper he was holding. Natsuo tried to pull the instructions away from him, and he got a slap on the head in return.
Rei pats Fuyumi,
"You should join them. They're having fun."
Fuyumi looks over to where Hawks and Shouto were sitting.
Keigo didn't appear to be enjoying himself at all. Not being able to understand a 13-year-old made him feel dumb.
Natsuo started chasing Touya for the instructions pamphlet. Touya was laughing at the top of his lungs as he ran around a tree, waiting for Natsuo to trip over the roots.
Fuyumi finally went over to the others and sat down between Keigo and Shouto.
"Touya, that's enough!"
He stopped running and stood next to Natsuo, who was face down in the grass.
"Get up, already!"
Fuyumi was the only person who understood what Touya was saying.
Only because she was used to him making simple tasks difficult when they were small.
Even though all the pieces had been put together, the handle was just beyond repair. They all felt like their time had been wasted; the past thirty minutes could've been spent doing something productive.
Except for Touya and Shouto.
Touya got to relive a few of his memories, being chased by his siblings and making them unnecessarily confused just for the fun of it.
Shouto got to make new memories that Enji prevented him from making.
It was fun working with his siblings (and Keigo) to fix something that had been broken. Even if it turned out to be pointless.
They both kept those feelings to themselves.
Touya pretended to be devastated by the state of the handle. While Shouto acted annoyed and tired.
"I can see if I could get in a new handle for you." Keigo stood up and ruffled the hair on Touya's head. "I should get going now!"
The Todoroki siblings all sat together on the grass, waving goodbye as Keigo got further and further away.
He approached Enji and Rei, who were standing at the door without saying anything. They had been watching their kids spend time together with their friend.
Keigo stops right in front of Enji.
"Hey, I should help you get back home."
Enji let out a deep sigh, bringing his hand up to the controller box of his electric wheelchair.
"Let me know when Touya wants to come see me. He can take all the time he needs."
Rei watches as Enji starts to follow behind Keigo, but without thinking, she goes up to both of them.
"Enji, you should stay."
Keigo whistled,
"I've had enough Todoroki drama for today. Bye, Endeavor!"
He ran down the hall, but then hid behind a door. Peeking out to stare at them, curious to know what'll happen next.
The siblings started laughing in the backyard; one of them must've said something funny to get a reaction like that.
"Do you hear that?" Rei whispered, and the laughter transitioned into light giggles. "When's the last time you heard them this happy?"
Enji wasn't entirely sure if he was understanding Rei's offer correctly.
She only wanted him to stay for the kids.
If it were only up to her, he would've been out of the house five minutes after entering.
Enji answers Rei's question,
"Before Natsuo was born."
He was more than ashamed to admit it.
"Natsuo wouldn't want me here."
"Mom! Dad!" Touya shouted from the backyard, "I came up with a good joke, it even made Shouto laugh! I didn't know he could do that!"
Natsuo laughed even harder at the sudden insult thrown at their youngest sibling.
Shouto's face turned red from embarrassment, but Fuyumi gave him a pat for emotional support.
When Natsuo stopped laughing, he stared right at Enji, loathing his father's presence.
"Suck it up," Natsuo told himself, "Just for a bit."
He shrugs at Enji, showing that he won't care if he came out to the backyard or not.
Rei got behind the wheelchair and escorted him back outside with their kids.
"This is stupid," Touya's voice was muffled behind a scarf again.
It was the next day, and Natsuo and Fuyumi were in the front seats of the car.
Shouto was in the back with Touya. They all had weird disguises on as well.
While Natsuo and Fuyumi just covered their faces while wearing hats, Shouto's disguise stood out to Touya.
He had a blackish-blue wig with a few white strands at the bangs. He was wearing a white button-up shirt, a black vest with a matching pair of pants, and a small gold necklace.
[IM DESCRIBING HIS SEASON 3 DISGUISE AAAGH]
He looked like an eyesore to Touya.
"What the hell are you wearing?" He sputtered.
Shouto turned red again. Was Touya embarrassing him on purpose?
"My disguise... a friend of mine bought it for me when you-"
He did not want to mention Dabi.
"Sorry, my tongue slipped. She bought me this for Halloween."
"I want a disguise that doesn't suffocate me." Touya pressed his forehead against the window, "I'm in a car with tinted windows! Why can't I sit comfortably?!"
Before he knew it, the four of them were in a huge furniture store.
"Oh my God..." Touya and Shouto whispered at the same time.
Fuyumi smiled down at him,
"We're getting stuff for your room, remember?"
Natsuo was already walking to the bed section.
"Choose whatever catches your eye! We'll check if it's in the budget!"
Touya runs to both of them,
"Let's choose a bed first!"
Natsuo holds Touya back by his shoulders.
"Fuyumi and I will worry about the beds. We know the right measurements and-"
Touya blocks out everything Natsuo says. His voice transforms from regular human speech to wahh wahh wahh (Think: Adults in Charlie Brown). The mini lecture Natsuo was giving him was slowly turning his brain into mush.
"So that's why you'll be with Shouto!" Natsuo drags him back to their younger brother.
"What?!" Touya nearly shrieked, "But I wanna be with-"
Natsuo began nagging, but his voice sounded like an adult from Charlie Brown again. Wahh wahh wahh.
"Fine!" Touya huffs and turns to Shouto, "I'm your responsibility today."
Fuyumi waves to them as she and Natsuo walk back to all the beds that were on display. Touya had his arms crossed, pouting as his siblings left him behind with the weird half-and-half guy in a costume. He had a huge list of insults prepared for Shouto, but he already had enough problems to deal with. Getting in trouble for bullying will not be one of the problems.
"There's a retail store next door." Shouto says, "Wanna look for decorations? Maybe stuff to hang up on your wall?"
There was nothing better for Touya to do.
"Are we even allowed to leave?"
Shouto looks around to see if Natsuo or Fuyumi is around.
"If we're quick, they might not notice."
Touya started to laugh,
"Since when were you the type to sneak behind your family?! Isn't that my thing?"
Shouto snickers at the comment, and the two of them begin to speed-walk out of the store. Constantly turning back to make sure their siblings didn't catch them.
"Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I snuck out in these clothes!"
Touya exaggerated a gasp,
"I feel like there are cool stories you aren't telling me."
Touya insisted on sitting inside the shopping cart while Shouto pushed him around. His arms dangled from the side while he had his legs kicked up. Kids and adults alike gave them weird glances as Touya threw anything he could reach into the cart. Shouto was unfazed, just letting him do whatever he pleased.
"Look over there!" Touya points to a large sign near the back of the store, "Vintage heroes!"
Shouto squints at the sign, which looks oddly suspicious.
Touya makes fanfare noises with his lips pursed together.
Shouto pushed the cart into the vintage heroes section, the wheels clicking loudly due to its poor quality. Even the shelves were old. All the merchandise belonged to a different time, before either of them was born.
Touya leaned over the edge of the cart, squinting. “Why do they look like that?” he asked. “They’re all… weird.”
He jumps out of the cart to get a better look.
“They’re old,” Shouto said blankly. "Midoriya might like something from here..."
Touya hummed, eyes flicking from box to box, until he suddenly froze.
“Hey.” He pointed sharply at one of the displays. “That guy.”
Shouto followed his finger. Inside the case stood a broad-shouldered hero figurine with spiky red hair. The nameplate beneath the glass read Crimson Riot.
"You know, my friend Kirishima loves this guy. He dyed his hair red to be like him."
Touya scoffed, holding the figure in his hands.
"Lame."
He laughed,
"Guess what? His hero name is Red Riot."
"He needs to be original!" Touya complained.
There were multiple, smaller signs. Each one listed a random decade between the past 10-40 years.
Shouto thought it was odd. 10 years? That didn't feel vintage.
One of the decades displayed the decade Touya and Fuyumi were born into, and he quickly ran over when he saw toys that were familiar to him.
Touya picks up a box and begins laughing to himself. Curious, Shouto followed the noise and peeks over.
"What's funny?" Shouto asks.
It seemed to be an old Endeavor action figure.
The more Touya looked at it, the harder he laughed. He nearly cried from how much air he was losing.
"I remember when this first came out!" He passed it over to Shouto.
The figure was, well, it was really ugly. Endeavor's eyes weren't even the correct color; they were red instead of blue.
He had two left hands, and his flames were painted with a pale orange color.
"Dad was sooo mad!" Touya wheezed, "Because the figures looked so bootlegged, it was quickly discontinued! I don't like seeing Dad angry, but Fuyumi and I thought it was hilarious back then!"
Shouto barely smiled as Touya placed the toy back where he found it, still giggling at his own memories.
"Shouto, I'm getting hungry." Touya pats his stomach, "Let's pay for all this junk and get some food."
"I want to buy the shopping cart," Shouto said, no emotion on his face.
Touya had thrown 63 items inside, and all 63 had been scanned.
Enji's credit card rests in Shouto's palm.
The cashier stares at him,
"Sir, they arent for sale-"
"We really, really, really want the cart," Touya begged, clasping his hands together. "Please?"
Shouto passes the card, and the cashier reads the name on it.
TODOROKI ENJI
She slowly looks back up and stares at Shouto.
He looks familiar.
Wait- he is familiar!
She gasped to herself,
"Of course! Um..."
She had to step into the manager's office. Most likely explaining the situation.
The two brothers didn't know what was being said, but the manager didn't seem to care too much because when the cashier came back-
"It's ¥35,000." She says with a smile.
"You told me your favorite food was soba," Shouto explains as the waitress places their food in front of them.
Touya didn’t hesitate. Once he pulled his disguise off, he grabbed his chopsticks and lifted a clump of noodles, dunking them straight into the sauce.
“I love it.”
He slurped loudly, shoulders relaxing almost immediately. “Cold soba’s way better than hot. It’s refreshing.”
This normally would've posed as a problem. Touya is out in the open, no disguise. But they were the only two in the restaurant.
On top of that, Shouto offered to pay extra just for a private section.
Shouto sat back silently as he watched the boy devour his food.
This is what he always wanted. To sit down and have a chat with him over some cold soba.
But why was it so hard for him to talk about something that had nothing to do with their past?
Seems like Touya knew what to talk about.
"Am I going to go back to school?"
It caught him off guard.
Nobody even mentioned Touya's schooling.
"I'm not sure..." Shouto was honest, "Do you want to go back?"
Touya places his chopsticks down.
"I dunno... isn't my identity still hidden away from the world?"
He could sense how much Shouto was struggling to give him a straight answer.
"It's fine." Touya shrugs, "I'll ask Mom about it."
Shouto sighs and begins to eat.
"I'm sorry."
His phone buzzes.
Keigo: Hey, your dad said to stop using his credit card so much
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