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Just because he wasn’t close to Touya didn’t mean that Natsuo liked to see him hurt. Natsuo might only be seven-years-old, but he wasn’t afraid to do what was right. His father might be a hero to everyone else, but he wasn’t a hero at home. He couldn’t remember a time when he looked up to his dad. His first few memories were after his quirk manifested when he was four. An ice quirk was nothing compared to his dad’s fire, so his dad wasn’t interested in trying to actually be one to him.
These days, Natsuo didn’t mind being ignored, especially when he noticed how heavily their dad’s attention weighed on Touya. It made him extra nervous for Shouto, whose quirk would probably manifest soon. They could always hope that he was quirkless, but the even split of his hair and eyes told them all it wasn’t true. Natsuo was seven, but he wasn’t stupid. He saw the way their dad greedily watched for signs of Shouto’s quirk to appear, even though he was only three. Touya’s quirk appeared when he was three, so it could be the same for Shouto.
They all knew it was only a matter of time before Shouto was taken under their dad’s wing. Natsuo wondered what would happen to Touya after that. Their dad wasn’t happy with him much. Maybe he would start ignoring Touya too, which seemed to be happening more. Instead of training him every day, there were days when he was left completely alone and even allowed to play with them.
Natsuo loved the times he was able to play with his big brother. They were far and few in between and Touya was usually tired, but either Natsuo pestered him or Fuyumi asked him until he joined in. He was pretty awkward and weird sometimes, but he was funny and said rude things that made him laugh because Fuyumi would gasp and be so shocked.
It had been a while since Touya had last played with them. Their dad had been particularly hard on him, which usually meant he was too tired or hurt to come out of his room even if he got a break. Natsuo had spent at least five minutes knocking on Touya’s door yesterday, but he hadn’t answered. He might not have even been awake. Natsuo just wanted his brother.
He was only seven and he wasn’t strong and he wasn’t a hero, but he knew the difference between right and wrong. And their dad hurting Touya was wrong.
Natsuo was walking down the hallway to the kitchen where he heard an explosion rattle from the dojo. He wasn’t allowed to go in there because it was for training only. Their dad had very strict rules about it. Loud noises from there weren’t strange since both their dad and Touya had strong fire quirks, so Natsuo didn’t think much of it even if he was curious. Usually, he did something else to try to ignore what was going on, but he got curious when he heard shouting.
The door was shoved open so hard that it nearly broke, and Touya bolted out of the room with a trail of smoke following him. Natsuo had never seen him run so fast, not even for a game of tag. He took a step forward to chase after him (maybe he was done training) when their dad stomped out after him and snatched Touya by the back of his neck. Touya yelped, wildly jerking away from him, but their dad only held onto him tighter.
“Don’t you dare run away!”
“Let go of me!”
“We’re not done here!”
“I don’t want to train anymore!”
“Boy–”
Natsuo had seen Touya use his quirk multiple times. His flames were different from their dad’s. They were brighter and stronger, but they hurt him too if he wasn’t careful. Natsuo was sensitive to fire as well because of his quirk, but it was weird that Touya was too since he could create fire. He’d seen Touya use his quirk but only a few times to fight when he peeked in on his training.
When Touya lashed out with his hands, Natsuo knew he was going to activate his quirk against their dad. He shouldn’t do that. If he hurt their dad, even if it was on accident, he’d get in big trouble. Maybe he would never be allowed to play with them again.
Since he didn’t get training, Natsuo very rarely used his quirk. Their dad didn’t think it was important and not strong. It was strong though – he knew it was – so when he activated it now, he gave it everything he had. Unlike their mom, he couldn’t create ice, but he could control it. He could feel his quirk tugging on it, pulling him in two, and then explosions from the kitchen and inside the dojo rattled the house. He hadn’t even realized there was ice in the dojo until he activated his quirk and felt it.
The ice pelted their father. It wasn’t much – ice melted, after all – but the sudden onslaught of hail caught him off guard. His distraction enabled Touya to pull out of his grip, stumbling on his feet, and for Natsuo to rush forward and catch him so he didn’t crash face-first into the wall. By the time the ice was taken care of, melted at their feet, Natsuo had turned to shield Touya, standing in between them. He was only seven, but he was as tall as Touya despite being younger and a little heavier too.
Their dad growled irritably. “Natsuo–”
“Stop it!” Natsuo cried out, trying to keep himself from trembling under the full weight of his dad’s glare. He’d never felt it like this before – never been under his dad’s laser beam hot focus. “You’re being mean to Touya!”
“This doesn’t concern you.”
Tears burned in Natsuo’s eyes. “You’re being mean, and that’s not what a hero should do!”
“Get out of the way–”
“No! I won’t let you hurt him!”
“Let go of me, Natsuo.”
Touya’s cold voice cut through Natsuo’s mind, severing the fear, determination, and anger running through him. When he turned to look at his brother, he was met with cold fiery blue eyes so much like their dad’s. Just like their dad’s. His hands began to burn, Touya’s quirk sweltering hot and barely in control under his skin, and he had to pull away to keep from getting hurt.
Natsuo blinked innocently. “What…?”
“Get out of here,” Touya told him in a flat voice.
“But–”
“I said get out!” Touya screamed. “I don’t want you here! Go!” He pointed viciously down the hall, the mere gesture making Natsuo flinch. “This has nothing to do with you!”
Natsuo didn’t understand. He’d simply been trying to protect his big brother. Someone should since he took the brunt of their dad’s attention alone. Their mom tried to stop him every now and then and sometimes she did extra, little things for Touya to make him feel better, but they weren’t close. More often than not, they kept their distance from each other. Natsuo couldn’t understand why Touya didn’t just go up and hug their mom whenever he stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched her make dinner. It was obvious he wanted to, but he never did.
He was trying to protect Touya, who was scared of being hurt – he was trying to do what a hero would do, even if their dad wasn’t – and now… Touya was angry with him? He had raised his voice to both him and Fuyumi before, but he always apologized quickly after. He didn’t mean it. He was tired. He was hungry. He was mad at their dad. He wasn’t angry with them. But now his face was red and flooded with anger and something that looked like when Natsuo tripped and scraped his knee at school in front of everyone.
“I…” Natsuo’s lip wobbled. He was only a kid, neglected by his father and desperate for his big brother, who was now yelling at him for doing something good. He wanted to be a good brother too. “I was only trying to help…”
“I don’t need your help, Natsuo!” Touya snapped, white flames flickering at his fingertips. “Go away!”
Before Natsuo could plead with him any further, one of his dad’s large hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away. He didn’t even fight, allowing himself to be pushed down the hallway. He stumbled but caught himself, turning to look at his brother one last time. Touya had his face turned away, his arms hanging limp at his side. He looked tired, but even worse, he looked smaller than ever before. Without a word or looking back at him, Touya shuffled into the training room like a robot.
His dad turned to glower at him. “I’ll deal with you later. Don’t think I’ll forget your insolent behavior.”
Natsuo flinched and bowed his head in acknowledgment, dropping his gaze to his feet. He knew better than to talk back now and listened to the sounds of his father’s thundering footsteps and the training room door slamming shut. Tears slipped from his eyes and splashed on the hardwood floor, but he didn’t cry or say a word. What was done was done. He’d tried to be good – he tried to do what was right – and it burned him in the end. Maybe Touya would apologize later; maybe he wouldn’t. Natsuo didn’t care. He turned on his heels and ran to his room. He didn’t care at all.