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No matter how much his mother tried to fix Touya’s hair, it wouldn’t cooperate with her. Tuffs of red hair stuck up on the side while other bits hung in his face. The more she struggled with it, the more anxious she became, muttering to herself under her breath as she swept it out of his eyes. Unable to do anything else with it, she moved on to fixing his tie and smoothing out any wrinkles that might be in his suit jacket and dress shirt. He didn’t know why she was so focused on him when Natsuo had jumped in a puddle right outside the studio.
“Fuyumi, can you find something to clean Natsuo’s shoes?” their mother asked while she once again tried to tackle his hair. Touya didn’t fight her. She’d been nervous all week, but nothing like this. The last time he could remember seeing her shake this bad was when she and their father took Natsuo to the quirk specialist to see why his quirk hadn’t manifested.
No one told them the news, but they didn’t have to when she came home crying, Natsuo locked himself in his room, and his father dragged a terrified Touya away from Fuyumi into the gym for the most brutal training session he’d suffered through so far.
The last thing his mother did was check the end of his sleeves. She fixed the cuffs first, making sure they were even, and then tugged on his jacket. It was a little longer in the sleeves than it should’ve been, reaching to the knuckle of his thumb, but it had to be in order to hide the bandages running all the way from his wrists to his elbows. No one could see those, just as he wore high socks underneath his dress slacks in order to cover the bandages there. His neck and face had been spared, but any obvious wounds were strictly forbidden.
Touya supposed he should consider himself lucky that his father hadn’t pushed his training so hard in the past few weeks. Endeavor wouldn’t want the public to know about his oldest son’s burns and injuries related to his training. Instead, he stuck to manueveres and techniques that would only damage areas that could easily be covered. Despite only being partially fire resistant and mainly ice resistant, he didn’t see a reason to stop his training until Shouto proved to have the correct quirk, but he couldn’t have the media hounding him about child abuse either.
Not that it was, of course. Ask any of them and they wouldn’t never throw that term around, not even Touya or their mother. Any distance they showed towards their father could be explained by the fact that the man was the Number Two Hero and insanely busy with his job and agency. He was gone from home a lot. Touya could stand for him to be gone a little more.
Finally giving up, his mother sighed and stood up straight. “I don’t know why I’m so worried. You look fine. You look good. My handsome boy.” She cupped his chin, tilting his head up to look her in the eyes when he tried to duck his head at her description. He didn’t feel handsome. Scrawny to the point where he looked younger than his age with his father’s features and covered in hidden burns and bandages, he felt terrible. “You are. Remember: chin up, don’t look at the ground, only answer questions if directly asked and if your father gives his consent, be vague and positive, smile .”
Touya nodded. Smile. He could do that. It wasn’t like he’d forgotten how. Besides, it would only be for thirty minutes and then this whole mess would be over. He could get through this. They all could.
Endeavor did not typically do interviews, but he agreed to one or two a year. He needed it for his image. The public liked the intimidating side of him - it directly clashed against All Might’s beaming personality that drove his father mad - but he’d taken some heat lately for being too cold. The fact that he had a large family could actually help him. While he wasn’t the only hero married with kids, he was the only one in the top ten to have children. It made him unique. He could capitalize on that. He could bank on this interview for years to come. The public would eat it up. Plus, they were curious.
That meant they all had to look absolutely perfect. Endeavor in his hero costume, looking powerful and strong, with his four, obedient children a perfect mix between him and his beautiful wife. Shouto had just turned one, which was even better. They looked like the classic, nuclear family. And while his mother didn’t want to admit it, there was extra pressure on Touya. He was the oldest son. There was a chance that more attention would be drawn to him.
Minutes before they were due on stage, his father swept into the room. He cut an incredible image in his hero costume, his flames strong as ever. His mother smiled tentatively at him, but he didn’t return the comforting gesture. When his eyes fell onto Touya, he stared back at his father blankly. The moment he looked away, Fuyumi anxiously squeezed his hand. He swore he could feel her skyrocketing heartbeat from his thumb on her wrist. Neither one of them were terribly outgoing, but his twin sister was shyer than him. She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose and tugged at Natsuo to keep him in line next to their mother, who held onto a thankfully sleeping Shouto.
Touya stared at his baby brother. Lucky little shit. He wished he could sleep through this entire thing.
As soon as they were ushered on stage, the air was stolen from Touya’s lungs. Everything felt rushed even though they were on a strict time table. Things had to go to schedule. That was hard to do with children involved, but everyone on set couldn’t help but remark at how polite Endeavor’s children were. Quiet, obedient, attentive. There wasn’t a rule they didn’t follow. Well, with the exception of Natsuo, whose energy was sometimes difficult to contain, but even he fell in line when their father was in sight.
Not a single person attributed it to them being afraid. Touya was just tired. He hadn’t slept well last night and lacked the energy to fight with his father about anything. Plus, he didn’t want to upset his mother. Sometimes, when he acted up, she wouldn’t look at him for a full day after. It hurt. He didn’t want that.
For most of the interview, his father was asked questions. It was, after all, about him at the end of the day. They were his family, but they were still no names and more like accessories. When asked of their names, he introduced them, each child except for Shouto waving. The man conducting the interview, Fujikawa Raizo, complimented all of them, teasing his father on how he’d managed to get three older children to dress well. Touya vaguely recognized him as a famous TV personality known for his in-depth interviews on heroes and their lives outside of work.
Luckily, in order to keep it a more personal affair, this was a private interview. There wasn’t an audience to face, but the large cameras and lights made Touya want to squirm. He had been worried they would be forced to stand and his knees would buckle from the pain in his legs, but they’d been given comfortable chairs to sit in. Their mother held Shouto while sitting in between Natsuo and Fuyumi to keep the former in line, which left Touya to sit next to their father. It was a seat of honor, meant for Endeavor’s successor.
It wasn’t meant for Touya.
“Four children,” Fujikawa said in awe. He whistled lowly. “How do you manage it on top of your work as a hero? As the Number Two Hero, you must be busy.”
His father did not flinch at the reminder of his second best position, instead sweeping a hand in his wife’s direction. “We’re fortunate that I provide enough money to allow Rei to be a stay-at-home mother. She is very active in their lives when I’m forced to work long hours away from home.”
“I’m very lucky,” his mother added in a delicate voice. “Growing up, my family wasn’t well off, so I didn’t see my mother very often. Being able to spend time with my children daily is a blessing I didn’t think I would have.”
Touya peered at his mother out of the corners of his eyes. She looked truly happy. In a modest, soft blue dress that complimented her wintery appearance, Todoroki Rei cut the image of the perfect wife. She was beautiful. Any man would’ve been lucky to call her his wife. There wasn’t a single hint of tears in her eyes or grief on her face. She looked happy, healthy, and hopeful. She even managed to give her husband a cool but adoring look.
It was a pretty good lie. Touya had never actually seen them spend time together like couples did in the movies. He might have only been eight, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew his parents didn’t love each other. His father had bought her from her family in order to gain control over her quirk. He barely even let her use it save to help deal with Touya’s wounds. She hadn’t been lying about her family. Although he’d never met his maternal grandparents, he knew she had grown up poor. She probably hadn’t thought she would be able to afford to be a stay-at-home mother. He wasn’t sure she wanted to be one either, but it wasn’t like she had a choice.
“And Touya is your oldest?”
Upon hearing his name, Touya startled out of his thoughts and turned back to face Fujikawa. He tried to put on a face that might mean something good. His father would not want him to wear the same blank, sullen expression that he did at home. He had to make his father content if not happy or proud. If he did, maybe he could get out of training for a few days or his father wouldn’t push him so hard. If he did anything to the contrary, he would regret it. His father had reminded him of that last night.
“If you do anything to embarrass me…”
No, Touya would not do that. He wouldn’t ruin his father’s image or smear it in any way. He would be a good son. He would listen. Sometimes, he was difficult at home if his father was mean to his mother, but for the most part, he tried to do his best. It was never good enough, but it was better than the nothing that Natsuo got, right?
“Yes, he is.” His father gave him a look, and Touya was out of his chair, hopping to his feet and edgily stepping closer to his father so he could lay one of his large hands on Touya’s small shoulder. He made sure his flames lessened slightly, so as to not ruin the suit jacket, but Touya could feel the heat from his father’s flames carressing his cheek and the back of his neck. It was hot and uncomfortable, but he didn’t flinch or try to move away. He stood very still, clearing his mind of everything.
Fujikawa bent over to get closer to his eye level. Even sitting down, he was taller than Touya. “I wouldn’t have guessed you were the oldest, but then again, your father is quite the towering figure. You have certainly got his hair and eyes, but you must take after your beautiful mother more.”
His father’s hand tightened on Touya’s shoulder. “He has an incredibly powerful quirk.”
And, as many people knew, some quirks could adversely affect one’s body. Of course, his father would never say that the reason Touya was so small was because his quirk didn’t fit him and actively ate away at him. He was a growing boy. He’d get there eventually, and if he didn’t… Well, he had Shouto, who he counted on more and more each day to have the right quirk.
“Oh?” Fujikawa raised a curious eyebrow. “Is it like yours then?”
His father squeezed his shoulder. “Go on. Show him.”
Lifting up his right hand, Touya carefully activated his quirk and allowed a small flame to flicker in the palm of his hand. It wasn’t nearly as large as he could produce, but he was inside a studio with expensive equipment and his family and was also wearing expensive clothes. It wasn’t always the size of a flame that showed off its strength but its control too. And Touya had been practicing very, very hard on being able to control his flames. That was what most of his lessons were about.
Pressing it a little further in hopes it might please his father, the flame flickered from red to orange until it turned white. Sweat beaded on Touya’s temple, but he ignored it, pouring all of his concentration into that one flame. It would’ve been easier to burn hotter if he allowed his flames to grow larger, but he only had to do this one thing. When the color and temperature stuck, he breathed out. A faint smile flickered across his face as he glanced back at his father.
There was an unreadable look on the man’s face, but he didn’t look displeased. Touya considered it an improvement.
On the other hand, Fujikawa bolted upright and clapped with delight. “Bravo! Such power from someone so young! Might you be wanting to follow in your father’s footsteps?”
After looking back to his father for confirmation, Touya nodded and spoke for the first time. “Yes, I want to be a hero like my father. He’s the best.”
“Your number one fan, I’m sure,” Fujikawa added before moving onto a different line of questions.
The smile didn’t leave Touya’s face, even if it no longer felt genuine. It was plastered on there for all the cameras to capture, the face of a child who wanted to make their very important father proud. No longer the focus, he returned to his seat, but his father kept a hand on him. It should’ve given him comfort that his father was acknowledging him, but dread rested in the pit of his stomach. Fuyumi took his hand again, anxious that she might get asked a question.
Everything was fine. He’d done well. He did what his father and mother asked of him. He was honest, wasn’t he? He was good.