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“Todoroki? As in Todoroki like Endeavor?”
Natsuo didn’t bother hiding the frustrated sigh that slipped from him upon his roommate’s greeting. He had never lived in such confined quarters before, used to the space that his father’s wealth allowed him. Before, he’d lived in a home large enough for him to barely even see his father and youngest brother despite being under the same roof. Now, he was stuck in a room with barely enough room for two people and a communal bathroom he had to share with god knew how many teenagers.
He’d love it, if not for the first words out of his roommate’s mouth.
Still, Natsuo couldn’t begrudge him for it, not when he wouldn’t be the only one to bring up his hero father. He had a feeling that he was going to spend the next few years dodging this same question. He’d gone to school with the same kids from primary through high school, but now he was far away for college and no one knew him except for his name.
“Ah, yeah.” Natsuo rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his suitcase on his bed. It was nothing like his mattress at home. This was so...modern, cheap, and generic. The thought unsettled him. He wasn’t used to considering himself as spoiled, but damn if that wasn’t such a rich kid reaction. The idea that he might miss home even a little stung. He didn’t regret leaving. (He didn’t .) This was where he belonged. “He’s my father.”
“Oh wow!” his roommate exclaimed, eyes shining bright with excitement. “It must be so awesome to have a hero for a dad, especially the Number Two Hero!”
Ha, yeah, awesome.
Natsuo wouldn’t know. Endeavor was his father in blood and name but not much else. He never wished him happy birthday, came to his school events, or had dinner with him. They didn’t play catch in the backyard when he had the time or whatever else sons did with their dads. He wasn’t sure. Most of the ideas he had about fathers and sons came from movies and television shows. He used to spend nights agonizing over why his father wouldn’t do stuff like that with him – why he wasn’t good enough for an ounce of his father’s attention.
After Touya’s multiple hospital visits until he disappeared, his mother’s institutionalization after her breakdown, and Shouto’s harsh training that turned him away from using half of his quirk, Natsuo was starting to realize that being ignored by his father was the best thing to happen to him. Unlike everyone else, even Fuyumi who stayed home to take care of Shouto, Natsuo was the only one in his family who was able to live his own life. He’d offered to stay home, but Fuyumi told him to go. She told him to make something of himself. Be his own person. He’d regret it if he didn’t – and she was right – but… Maybe he did regret not being there too.
It didn’t matter much in the end. He still couldn’t get away from his old man completely. He could always pretend to not be related to him – he doesn’t have Endeavor’s distinctive quirk, after all – but they looked too alike. He might have his mother’s hair and eyes, but he had his father’s build and looks. He used to be afraid that their mother would confuse him one day with her abusive husband, but no, Touya always took the brunt of that pain since he had their father’s hair, eyes, and fire quirk.
Natsuo cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s cool. He’s pretty busy though so, you know.”
“Oh, yeah, I bet. He’s been like the Number Two your whole life, right?”
“Yup.” And plenty of years before that too. It was best not to mention his rank unless you wanted to be glared at like you were a piece a shit. Natsuo made the mistake once and got a taste of the attention Touya received near daily. He never did it again. It took him weeks before he got near a fire, even a candle.
His roommate whistled. “He must have made bank.” Totally. It wasn’t worth it, but there was no sense in telling that to his new pal. No one understood how little Natsuo cared about money. Then again, he was the one who was mentally complaining about his cheap bed a few minutes ago. “What are you doing here? You could’ve got your own apartment off-campus!”
Natsuo managed a smile. “I didn’t want to live off his money.” He got in through a scholarship, so the less money he needed from his father in order to survive, the better. He wasn’t delusional enough to think he’d make it the first year alone. Fuyumi would send him money for stuff like food and toiletries, but that money came from their father. He’d have to accept that before he got a part-time job or something. “I wanna pave my own way and not rely on him.”
“No way!” the other boy laughed. “If I had a dad as rich as yours, I wouldn’t even be in college.”
“My dad’s kind of a hardass, so college was a no-brainer.” If Endeavor had given a shit about him, that was. Natsuo liked to imagine that his father wanted to make sure his other kids weren’t total losers or embarrassments at least. Getting a full-ride had been really important and special to him – Fuyumi had cried – but their old man hadn’t said shit. He knew Fuyumi told him, but he didn’t say a word, not even good riddance. Shouto was his only concern, his pride, his legacy.
Natsuo could become the world’s greatest surgeon, and it still wouldn’t be enough to get his father to say that he was proud of him. Goddamn asshole.
“Oh, yeah, you’re totally right,” his roommate said, slowly coming down from his high. “Endeavor seems like the kind of dad that would expect a lot out of you.”
Yeah, and if you didn’t meet those expectations, you were given the boot. It took a long time for Natsuo to realize the difference between his father’s attention and the love he should’ve given them. It shouldn’t have, considering how rough and depressed Touya always looked, but being ignored all the time had been hard. Once upon a time, his father had expected something out of him – and then it turned out he didn’t have the right quirk and nothing was expected of him at all.
His roommate sighed. “I kinda wish my dad was like that.”
Natsuo snorted. “No, you don’t.”
He’d said as much the same to Touya a few times. Sniveling like a baby, licking his neglected wounds, desperate for any sign of affection even if it was being dragged into training. His father had married their mother for her quirk, hadn’t he? Then why did he ignore Natsuo when he inherited a similar one?
“I wish Dad paid me attention to me,” he’d cried.
Touya had huffed out a laugh and managed, “No, you don’t.”
Natsuo didn’t – he swore he didn’t – but it was hard not to feel that old urge again as he watched his as yet nameless roommate drop on his bed and run his hands through his hair.
“Maybe not,” his roommate admitted. “Something would be nice though, you know. I’m the only one in my family to go to college in generations. I thought that’d be something, but…”
“Hey, don’t let it get you down,” Natsuo said, fighting the urge to put a hand on the guy’s shoulder. That would be weird probably. They didn’t know each other well. He felt a little bad for thinking the guy was a dumbass right off the bat. It sounded like they had way more in common than he initially realized. “I’m not doing what my dad expected of me either.”
His roommate perked up. “No doubt. Your dad probably wanted you to become a hero.” He wasn’t wrong. That was the reason why Endeavor had kids to begin with. It wasn’t because he wanted to be a father; he needed a successor to complete his legacy. “What are you here for anyway?”
“I’m gonna become a doctor.”
“Oh, man,” his roommate laughed. “My dad is gonna love you. I need to step up my game if my mom manages to convince him to visit.”
Natsuo laughed and sat down across from him on his bed. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he originally thought it was going to be. Maybe going away for college was a good thing. Maybe he could go to bed without any regrets resting on his mind. This was his decision, his life, his choice. He’d made his bed – and he would lie in it happily if it meant it was his own.