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The older boy glanced nervously over his shoulder. "Why are you asking me?"
Shouto stood on his tiptoes and tried to see what his brother was doing. "You never do anything with me."
"I'm not really supposed to talk to you..."
"C'mon," he whined, "it'll be fun! I've done it with 'Yumi and Ryou before."
"Shouto, it's the middle of winter–"
"We have ice quirks! We can go exploring and we won't get cold! Please?"
He couldn't say no to those pleading mismatched eyes and he sighed. "One adventure. But we won't go far and we won't tell anyone what we're doing."
"Of course! It's a secret mission and we're the heroes that have to stop the villains!"
"...Go get your coat. And keep your voice down!"
He laughed and raced ahead, almost disappearing amongst the trees save for his red hair. Sosuke leaned against a tree and tried to catch his breath. "How are you so in shape?" he wheezed. "I know dad's been training you but jeez!"
"C'mon slowpoke, there's a frozen waterfall at the edge of the woods!"
"Shouto, wait up! Shouldn't we head back? I know we can follow our footprints back but we've gone pretty far."
"No way! You have to see the waterfall."
He raced off again and Sosuke had no choice but to give chase. He had a bad feeling about the whole adventure.
The other boy finally slowed down and he grabbed him, slinging him over one shoulder. "That's far enough."
"Sosuke, please! It's right over there!"
True to his brother's word, he could see a break in the trees. Just how far had they come?
He put him down and Shouto grabbed him, pulling him forward. He gasped as he saw the waterfall in question. It wasn't anything extravagant but it was beautiful in its own way.
Then he saw the doll in the middle of the ice. "Isn't that one of Fuyumi's?"
"The villain!" Shouto cried. "We have to stop her before she freezes everything else!"
He lunged for the ice and Sosuke barely grabbed him in time. "Hey!"
"Hmm?"
"I don't care about the mission! You're gonna fall through the ice and freeze to death!"
"But the villain–"
"None of it's real, Shouto. What is real is that freezing water. Only the surface is frozen. Can't you hear it moving underneath?"
He laughed again. "Of course! That's why I bought you! You have to use your quirk and make a path for me."
"Absolutely not. This wasn't part of the plan."
"You're not playing right! 'Yumi always plays it this way!"
"Are you telling me you've come out here with her and done this?!"
"In the spring and stuff."
He ran a hand through his hair. "It's a miracle one of you hasn't died yet. C'mon, we're going back."
"No way! We have to stop the villain!"
"Shouto, I'm not playing anymore. We're going back right now."
"No!" He ran out onto the ice and Sosuke nearly screamed. It grew thicker with every hit of his right foot but he could see a web of cracks from his left. His quirk. Fire and ice.
"Shouto, turn back! It's too dangerous!"
The boy stuck his tongue out and grabbed the doll. Soon it was encased in ice and he started back. "Told you I could do it."
Sosuke let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as his brother made it back safely. "Give me that," he said, snatching the doll. "We'll thaw it and give it to Fuyumi later."
"You're no fun," Shouto huffed. "You don't play right."
"You're so dense sometimes. That wasn't a game!"
"Was too, and I won."
"Was not."
"Was too!"
"Was not!" he snapped, giving his brother a shove.
Shouto stumbled backwards and Sosuke gasped as he stepped onto the ice.
"It's just a few steps. Be very careful and you'll be fine."
The cracks began to spread and Shouto tentatively took a step forward. The ice thickened around him. And another. It thinned again.
"One more step and I've got you."
They weren't paying attention to which foot and suddenly he found himself underwater.
"Shouto!" he screamed. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know how deep it was. If he used his quirk then his brother would be trapped!
He got on his stomach and inched towards the hole, praying it would support him. He reached down and nearly froze as the temperature registered. He's going to die if I don't do something.
His hand brushed something and he grabbed it, pulling it up. It was the hood of Shouto's coat and the boy came with it. Sosuke thickened the ice around them and dragged themselves off before facing his brother again.
He was coughing up water and he began to panic. He was so cold to the touch and there was a very bloody cut on his leg. He must've scratched it on the ice as he fell in or I pulled him out. I knew this would happen!
"Shouto, can you hear me? Please open your eyes!"
"Sosuke," he mumbled.
"Oh thank God! Listen, you're hurt pretty bad. I... I can't carry you all the way back. I have to go get Dad." He fought back tears as the realization hit him. Their father was going to be livid and he was going to be punished.
"Don't go," he said weakly.
"I'm sorry. I can't do anything else. I'll be back as soon as I can!"
Then he was gone and Shouto found himself sitting against a tree and shivering uncontrollably.
He wondered when it had gotten so cold. He tried to summon some fire with his quirk but couldn't concentrate enough. He was too tired. He hoped Sosuke would come back soon. He wanted to go home and give Fuyumi her doll and sleep.
Slowly his eyes closed and he found himself nodding off.
He could hear footsteps in the snow and he jolted awake, shivering again. "H-Hello?"
He couldn't see anyone in the– No, there was someone! "Over h-here!" he called. "Help p-please!"
They looked familiar as they drew closer. He tried to get up as he realized who it was but fell back against the tree again. "M-Mommy!"
His mother smiled sadly as she sat next to him. "Oh Shouto... how do you always wind up in trouble?"
"I'm sorry," he whined. "I just wanted to play!"
"Your brother was right. This was dangerous."
"I know, but I... I just wanted to play with him. He n-never does anything with me."
"I'm sure if you ask him he'll find another way. Promise me you won't do this again."
"I p-promise."
She gently combed her fingers through his hair. "That's my boy."
"Why don't you come home?" he asked quietly. "I miss you. Everyone does."
She smiled again. "I know, but you're doing okay without me."
"No I'm not! Daddy keeps training me but I'm no good at fighting. I want you to come home and tell him to stop."
"Oh Shouto, you have to stand up to him yourself. I know it's scary but you can do it. I believe in you."
He almost didn't hear the approaching footsteps.
"There he is!" Sosuke yelled. "He's over here!"
Shouto could barely keep his eyes open as his father picked him up. He tried to reach out to his mother but she just continued to smile. "Mommy," he whimpered.
"Your mother hasn't been here for you in years," Enji grumbled. "Stop wasting time waiting for her."
He dropped his arm and Sosuke took his hand as they walked back. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was her trailing behind them, carrying Fuyumi's doll. Only two sets of footprints followed them.
He didn't want to open his eyes. The light was too bright and there were too many people talking.
"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"
"Quiet, Ryou."
"But what if he doesn't?"
"I said be quiet."
"But–!"
"Ryou, we're already not supposed to be in here! If you get me in trouble again I swear I'll freeze you to a chair somewhere!"
His eyes fluttered open and the three of them gasped.
"Shouto!"
"What... happened?"
He groaned and tried to sit up, falling back as he caught sight Sosuke. He had fresh bandages around his head and even covering one of his eyes.
"The adventure didn't end well," he mumbled. "S'not your fault. I shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place."
"But you got hurt because–"
"Because I was stupid. No other reason. How's your leg?"
He tried to wiggle it under all the blankets. "Hurts."
He laughed a bit. "I was so scared you were gonna... I mean, that we'd lose you and..." He bit his knuckle to stop himself from crying. "Promise me you won't do something like that again."
"I promise..."
Fuyumi lead him out of the room and Ryou jumped up on the bed.
"You're kinda stupid, huh?"
He scowled at the older boy. "You're only saying that 'cause you didn't have fun on our adventure."
"Whatever you say, Shouto. We're just glad you're not dead or Dad would've killed all of us."
"I almost did, I think. Mom saved me."
"Yeah right. She's still stuck in that crummy hospital. You must've imagined her or something. Pretty sure hallucinations can happen if you get hypothermia."
"She was there!"
"Don't get yourself so worked up." He grabbed something off the nightstand and twirled it. "Why'd you have this anyway? It's not even yours."
"Hey, that's–!"
It was the doll. He was positive he'd dropped it in the snow. How was it back in the house?
"Sosuke," he called.
The boy was there in an instant.
"Did you go back out and get Fuyumi's doll?"
"As if he'd let me out of the house after that. You probably had it with you when we brought you back."
He knew he didn't but kept quiet. He remembered their mother carrying it but there was no way Sosuke would believe him. What mattered was Shouto knew it wasn't a dream.