Archive of Our Own

Fuyumi was born. Two parents looked at their two children, a newborn and a one-year-old. The family was not made out of love, but out of a single goal. Yet, somehow, with two exhausted parents staring at two cheery children, there was some form of love present.

Fuyumi was three. Her big brother Touya was sitting beside her, complaining. He wasn’t much older than her, but he got treated as if he was.

She didn’t know much yet, despite being nearly four. She knew that the heat made her dizzy and sweaty and that the cold was nice but made her nose run. She had decided she liked the cold better, and for that, she liked the side of the couch closer to the air conditioner. That always seemed to annoy Touya, which often made her cry. She didn't want to annoy anyone.

She knew he had a flame quirk, similar to their fathers, and that it hurt him every time he used it. She didn’t know why, only that it was one of the few concurrent things she had grown to dislike. That day, Touya was annoyed at her for telling him of her dislike, but her mother had told her plenty of times that being honest was a good thing. Even so, her words made her big brother cry, and she had to question her mother's words as her own eyes welled with tears.

After what felt like years to the toddlers, her mother walked in, rushing to Touya's side. Fuyumi looked at her toys and willed her eyes to stop watering. She'd been the one to make Touya cry, so in her mind, it made sense for her mother to prioritize him. She still wanted attention anyways, and that only made her cry more.

Eventually, after Touya had calmed down and was talking quietly to their mother, her father walked in and patted her back. She didn’t know how to word things well enough yet to explain, so she simply sat and cried until she felt tired. She wished her mother had comforted her, too.

Her mom cooked dinner, as she always did. Fuyumi loved her mother's cooking more than anything, and it was always cut into perfectly bite-sized pieces. Touya was talking excitedly about something, but she was focused on her food. She listened to him, but she didn't know why he talked so much when he could have been eating.

She was about to voice her question, but forgot that she was supposed to swallow first. She began to cough, putting tears in her eyes even if she didn’t feel like crying-- for once. Her mom patted her back lightly while she reached for her water like her dad told her to.

She had just been about to grab the water, but suddenly her hand was stuck. She wasn’t coughing anymore, but the table had gone completely silent. Even Touya's babbling had stopped. Her hand hurt, and she realized it was because it was cold. That didn’t make sense, because they were inside and not in the snow, and despite her constant colder temperature, her hands were never that cold.

There was something keeping her from moving her fingers or the cup, but her dad reached over, holding his hands over the cup. Touya looked upset. Her mom said something about a quirk, but it didn't reach her ears, not as she whined from the pain blooming over her now freed hand.

They didn't even finish up dinner, meaning she never got to eat the rest of her delicious food. Her dad scooped her away and warmed her hands up, thankfully getting rid of the pain.

The ordeal reminded her of the first day Touya had set a soccer ball on fire.

“Did I get my quirk?” she asked.

Her pronunciation wasn’t right, but she was none the wiser. All she knew was that Touya’s quirk hurt him, and there had been ice around her hand, and it had hurt a whole lot. She didn’t know why her dad's quirk didn’t hurt him, too, if it hurt for her and her brother. It didn't make sense for everyone's quirks to hurt them.

“Yes, you did,” her mom said, and Fuyumi relaxed at the sight of her.

Her eyes caught on Touya trailing behind their mother, a pout on his face. He usually got a lot more attention, but because she got her quirk she was getting the attention. She wondered if there was a way her parents could split it between them so they were both happy, but that was probably difficult.

“And we have to go to the doctors now,” her mom continued, picking her up off of the counter where her hands were still being warmed.

Fuyumi nodded. Whenever she got older she went to the doctors, and getting her quirk meant getting older. Touya was treated a lot more grown-up than her despite only being a year older, so it made sense. Perhaps she'd be treated older now that she had her quirk, too.

Touya stayed back while her mom brought her into the car, and soon enough she was sitting on the uncomfortable doctor's table while being asked questions. She liked when she was asked questions because she was good at answering them. But when they asked about her quirk she didn’t know what to say, and her eyes began to sting, per usual.

Her mom dealt with most of it, and they explained to her that her quirk hurt her. It didn’t make much sense to her at the time, but she knew that she didn’t want to use her quirk because of that. Touya still used his even when it hurt him, but he was older than her. That meant he had to know better-- right?

“Will I have to use it when I’m older?” she sniffed.

Her mom had smiled softly, reassuring her in a tone that left no room for doubt.

(Fuyumi had believed her, as any three-year-old would believe their mother. She had yet to learn all of the reasons for that specific truth being emphasized upon.)

They left the doctors, earning her a lollipop. She’d smiled and gone home, showing Touya her lollipop when she saw him. He still wasn’t happy.

That night when she’d been put down for bed she heard voices. She often did, as their walls were rather thin. But that night it was loud, despite coming from across the house. Her parents were arguing about something. Shouting and yelling, even.

It made her throat feel tight and her eyes burn, but she never left her room to tell her parents. They were arguing, and for the first time in her life, she was too scared to do anything.

The next morning she noticed that Touya’s hair was yet again whitening. It was nearly halfway white, which she found worth notable. When she pointed it out he had gotten excited and agreed that it was cool, and she smiled at the fact that he wasn't in a bad mood anymore.

The next few weeks she had several quirk outbursts, but her father helped her to control it. She still didn’t use her quirk willingly, because it hurt her and she didn’t want to hurt herself. That meant that to make sure she didn’t hurt herself she couldn’t have random quirk outbursts, and she had to learn how to keep it locked up.

She didn’t know it yet, but it was the day of the last quirk outburst she'd ever have when her parents sat her and Touya down on the couch. They told her something which made Fuyumi smile larger than ever all the while Touya’s face fell.

They were going to have a new sibling!

Touya was immediately unhappy. She wished he was as excited as her. She was still a little kid, but she loved babies whenever she saw them, and she couldn't wait to be older and be able to babysit. Now, she didn't have to wait to be older!

Her joy was thwarted when Touya stormed out, her dad following him and talking about quirks and his burns. Her mom distracted her by talking to her about the future sibling, and Fuyumi was excited to hear about it.

Eight months later her parents brought home the cutest baby she had ever seen. She was four now, and he was zero. She had a baby brother, named Natsuo, and she loved him more than anything in the whole world.

His hair was all white, just like her mom's. He was apparently really big for a newborn, but he looked like any other baby to her. She just wanted to hold him and stare at him all day.

Touya didn’t want to go near him at first, still angry about something Fuyumi didn’t understand. Except, it was hard to deny the pull of an adorable baby when he stared at him, so he ended up cooing over him with Fuyumi a lot.

Fuyumi smelled her mom cooking and picked up her brother despite his large size and her rather small one. She wanted to watch her mom cook, so she ran excitedly in while Touya helped her avoid dropping her brother.

(Perhaps it was such a good day because she was only a child and couldn’t tell otherwise.)

Fuyumi was six. Her youngest brother was nearly three. Her oldest brother was seven.

Her favorite things to do were to spend time with her brothers and watch her mom cook. Sometimes she got to do both, but that meant splitting her attention which she apparently wasn’t good at. Touya was too busy to take care of Natsuo most of the time, so when her mom cooked she had to watch him.

She didn’t mind, but she did miss watching her mom cook. Sometimes, if her dad got home early or Touya wasn’t off being angry somewhere, she got to cook, too.

On those days she’d pull up a stool from the bathroom and watch her mom go through the steps of cooking, sometimes she’d even get to do something herself. She loved making and preparing food, nearly half as much as she loved her brothers.

Touya was a lot more distant than he once was. Fuyumi missed him, but if she ever tried to tell him he’d only scoff. He still played with her after school, but he trained too much. Even when he wasn’t allowed to, he made Fuyumi swear to never tell their parents when she saw him with a new self inflicted burn or bruise.

That didn’t feel right, but it was Touya. She trusted him. She didn’t think what he was doing was right, but he was sad. She didn’t want to make him more sad, and then she’d cause more fights than there already were.

He loved Natsuo, she could tell. He’d taken to calling him Natsu, which she followed as he was big brother Touya. It was easier for her to say and made sentences with his name easier, so it stuck.

Natsuo was three, which meant he was very entertaining. He napped a lot, which wasn’t fun, but when he was awake he was always doing something. He was apparently still a really big kid for a three year old, which meant they didn’t have to be as cautious.

Touya still got annoyed when he had to watch Natsuo, but he always ended up having fun. Fuyumi didn’t exactly understand why he was always so negligent to watch him.

She knew why he was so angry all of the time. After years of trying to piece together his angry shouting, he explained it one day. She now knew of the hero All Might. For some reason, their dad wanted to beat him, but he couldn’t. Touya was born to beat All Might. Fuyumi was born to support him, which was why she didn't have to use her quirk, even though Touya did.

She didn’t think that was fair, because what if Touya didn’t want to? Why did he have to use his quirk and hurt himself with it just to beat someone they’d never even met? Touya said that Natsuo was born to surpass All Might instead, so their parents were waiting everyday for him to get a quirk.

Touya didn’t want him to get one, because he wanted to be the one to beat All Might. Fuyumi didn’t want Natsuo to get one because their quirks always seemed to hurt themselves, and she didn’t want him to have to hurt himself too. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t know why she was born to just support her brother, but it was better than having to use her quirk which hurt her so much. Except, it wasn't fair for them. She'd never wish to use the quirk that was so painful, but it never made sense in her head as to why they had to suffer but she was never asked to.

She wanted to ask why they had to beat All Might, but Touya just seemed to believe it completely, and he told her she wouldn’t understand. She didn’t think that was fair because she wasn’t that much younger than him, and she already did a lot. She helped her mom with the dishes, the laundry, and she helped her clean. Touya always told her she was too young or too girly to understand, but she did more than him and did it without even having to be asked.

They were taught to use manners, and she made careful sure that she used them correctly. She never spoke with food in her mouth and always looked people in the eyes when talking to them. Since Touya, and eventually Natsuo, had to be heroes, she did everything else she could to be helpful.

Not a lot of things made sense to her, and she wasn’t as good at asking questions as she was at answering them. So instead she played with Touya, she took care of Natsu, and she watched her mom cook. It was much easier than worrying about things, and she didn’t want to do that, so she didn’t.

(She always did.)

She would go to school, but she always looked forward to coming home. She didn’t hate it there like some of the other kids, but she liked being with her brothers more. She wasn’t the best at making friends because she always refused to stay at school for longer than she was supposed to so she could get home first, and she didn’t want to have sleepovers because if Touya got upset or hurt then she had to help him.

When her mom caught onto her way of thinking, she sent Fuyumi to a sleepover. It was fun, but strange. The other girl didn’t do any chores, and she only argued with her siblings. Her parents were really happy, and Fuyumi couldn't help but compare, even if that was bad-- it was the first time she realized that maybe their family really was different, and more than just having Endeavor for a father.

She was happy when she got to go home and spend time with her brothers. Though, that had been the first time she had to wonder if something was off. She always knew that her dad was a famous hero, which made their life a bit different. But, no one else’s brothers hurt themselves. She was sure their parents probably argued, because everyone fought sometimes.

But other families didn’t want to beat a big hero for some mysterious reason. Was every hero family like that? She was curious, but she wouldn’t ask. She didn’t have a reason, but it felt like it might make her mother upset. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

So instead she asked Touya. Natsuo was down for a nap, and their mom was somewhere else. She had a feeling Touya would leave to go secretly train soon, which she hated, so she blurted her question without thinking. She asked why their family was different than others, despite the obvious reasons. It wasn't just the obvious reasons that separated them from others, there were more that she couldn't figure out.

He’d only looked at her, a look in his eyes that she couldn’t explain at the time (She’d see it again in the face of a villain one day). He took a moment before answering, as if really thinking about his answer. That meant he’d give a good, honest answer.

“Because they don’t actually care about us, they just want to beat All Might.”

Then, he’d stood up and left, leaving her alone in the family room. There was some special episode about heroes on the television, and when she turned her head she saw the hero All Might. He had a big smile on his face, and he looked happy. It changed then, and her dad was there. He wasn’t smiling.

She didn’t agree with Touya. He wasn’t that much older than her, and he didn’t pay enough attention in school to be that much smarter. Her mom loved them, she said it all of the time. Her dad didn’t say it, but he had to love them, because parents always loved their kids. She didn’t know why he wanted Touya to beat All Might, but she knew that they had to love them. There was no way that they didn't.

She stopped thinking about it, instead focusing on the hero special. It talked about all that they did, and how they were the ones doing good things. Someone who didn’t love their own kids wouldn’t be a hero, because heroes were good people. So Touya was wrong, she was sure of it.

Soon enough, it was time for dinner. She pulled herself up and walked to the kitchen, leaving behind her cup of water. Her footsteps padded loudly throughout the house, certainly heard from behind the walls she passed. When she got to the kitchen, she saw that the stove was on with a pot of water boiling, but no one was there.

It looked like a lot of cooking supplies were laid out already. She peered around the other doorways, looking for anyone.

She knew it was irresponsible to leave the stove on without supervision, and she didn’t think her mom would want her to turn it off. So she ran out of the kitchen, grabbing a stool as quickly as possible and setting it back in the kitchen. She began to go through the actions that her mom did to make dinner.

She got pretty far, though nearly burned herself on the pot several times. It wasn’t until she was searching for measuring spoons that her mom walked back into the kitchen, Natsu on her hip and a rather tired look on her face.

“Fuyumi, what are you doing?”

Fuyumi turned around, her eyes widening at the fear of getting in trouble. Instead her mother was smiling at her, setting Natsu down and looking over what she had done.

She wasn’t sure what to say, so instead she watched silently as her mom took a bite of the food in the pot. She had a playful smile on her face, despite the exhaustion beneath her eyes.

“I wanted to cook,” she mumbled, not sure if she was in trouble or not.

Natsuo began laughing at something, which made a small smile creep over Fuyumi’s face. It was impossible not to smile, despite possibly being in trouble. Her mom didn’t look absolutely disgusted with the food, or angry at her at all.

“You did good,” Fuyumi’s face lit up, “but you added way too many spices.”

Her mom laughed, and she did too. She thought she added a good amount, after watching her mom do it enough times. Natsuo was still laughing, even if he had no idea what was happening. Fuyumi’s mom put her arm around her, pulling her into a halfway hug while she was still standing on the stool. She got to watch her mom finish cooking, despite there not being much more to complete.

Soon enough they were sitting down, and Fuyumi had never been so excited for dinner. She wanted to see everybody’s reactions to what she cooked, despite not doing it all herself. It was the most she had ever done, and her mom tried to fix whatever mistakes she made.

It took until she had already excitedly bit into her food before she noticed how upset her dad looked. Touya had clearly noticed, squinting at him obnoxiously as if it’d get the answer out. Natsuo was also eating, and Fuyumi turned her attention to him to see if he noticed the change in food.

He was a three year old, so he did not. Now that she’d sat down, her mother didn’t look in the best of moods either. Her fingers were tapping anxiously on the table, something Touya had already been aware of. Fuyumi didn’t know what was happening.

“Fuyumi cooked and prepared most of this meal,” her mom said, and suddenly Fuyumi forgot about the dullness at the table.

Her dad only grunted, which caused her smile to drop slightly. But, Touya paused chewing for a moment to turn to her, wrinkling his face. She smiled, though keeping her mouth shut while she chewed.

“Seriously?”

She nodded.

“It tastes weird.”

She stuck her chin up at him, finishing what she was chewing and gasping at him. She thought it tasted good, and he had just been eating it before he found out.

“You were just eating it!”

“Only because it’s food! Mom cooks better.”

“Well, I’m still learning, so fine!”

“I think it tastes very good,” her mom said from across the table.

Her dad hadn’t said anything about it, but he was eating how he always did. That meant it tasted good, at least. She was slightly disappointed with the reaction.

“It tastes the same,” Natsuo said, his portions cut up smaller by their mom.

Fuyumi’s face brightened once again, because her moms cooking was incredible. If her picky baby brother thought it tasted the same, then surely it was good.

They continued through dinner, though their parents were still awfully quiet and tense. Touya talked about school, and Natsuo talked about whatever he wanted. Fuyumi joined in with them whenever she felt suit.

Touya had finished and was about to stand, but their mom told him to wait. Fuyumi had been about to clean up her plate for when she was excused, but she paused as Touya slowly sat back down.

“You’re going to have another little sibling.”

Her mother had said it slowly that day, watching as Touya’s face fell. Fuyumi smiled widely, looking at Natsuo. He was growing up, old enough to play with them now, but another baby would be fun.

Except she knew why Touya hadn’t been happy about Natsu originally, and she watched as his expression went grave at the news of their next little sibling. He began to shout, and their father shouted back. All Fuyumi could do was lift her hands to her ears and think about their next baby sibling.

She watched as Touya’s water fell on its side when someone hit the table, and Touya stood up and stomped away, leaving his plate and spilling cup. Her father got up, but he walked the opposite way, both of their steps echoing through the house.

When Fuyumi pulled her hands off of her ears and picked up the spilling water, she turned to where her mom had been seated. Except, her mom had also stood up, sniffling as she walked slowly away. Fuyumi wanted to hug her, but she was already gone by the time Fuyumi stopped the water from dripping onto the floor. She cleaned up the whole table and took Natsu back to his room. He didn’t seem very phased by what happened, even though Fuyumi wanted to throw a tantrum. The moment she left his room and made sure he would actually sleep, she went straight to her own room.

She was going to have another little sibling. Maybe even a sister! She was excited, just like she always was for another sibling.

Her tummy hurt, but she didn’t want to get up and tell her mom. Touya was her big brother, he’d never scare her. People who loved her wouldn't scare her. But, being so close to her father shouting had been rather scary.

She started to cry, alone in her room while the house sat silently as if in limbo, waiting for the next big burst of shouting. She hated when any of them fought, or when Touya yelled. It hurt her ears. She supposed that she understood why he was so upset, considering he wanted to be the one to beat All Might.

He was still training himself to surpass the number one hero, and he wanted their parents to be proud of him; he’d told her as such. A new little sibling meant they had given up on him, just like they had when they told them about Natsuo.

But he ended up loving Natsu, so she hoped he’d do the same for their next little sibling. Fuyumi wiped at her tears, trying to stop crying before someone heard. She wasn’t sure if anyone was listening. She heard the voices of her parents arguing, something that wasn’t unusual. It was even more painful to know the cause.

She fell asleep without brushing her teeth or getting into her pajamas, still thinking about her family and how happy it would turn out once their new sibling was born and Touya stopped hurting himself with his quirk.

Fuyumi was seven when Shouto Todoroki was brought home, crying rather loudly. She was just as excited as she was when Natsu was brought home. She momentarily forgot about Touya, standing behind them in the hallway.

Shouto’s hair was half red and half white, just like Touya’s had been for a bit, unlike his newly nearly all white hair. Fuyumi thought it was really cool, and her dad said it was good. She ignored that, instead standing on her toes to look at her newest baby brother. She tried to pull Natsu up to see too, but she was too weak.

They didn’t see Touya the rest of the day, but Fuyumi and her mom taught Natsuo how to use a bottle to feed their new baby brother.

Days passed, and Fuyumi didn’t stop fawning over Shouto. She loved taking care of her baby brother just as much as she still loved taking care of Natsu. Touya clearly didn’t hate him, but he certainly didn’t want to be near the dual haired child very much. Apparently his hair was promising that he could surpass All Might, which made her older brother even angrier.

It had been a particularly strange day. Fuyumi went to school, and then came home excitedly to see Shouto. Touya was somewhere else, but he’d been wandering off before walking home a lot more since Shouto was born. She had a feeling he was training, which was never a good thing.

Even so, she walked home as quickly as she could and found Natsu playing outside. She pulled her hands further into her sleeves, feeling the cold weather begin to affect them. She could see her breath in front of her, and she couldn’t imagine why Natsu was choosing to play outside. She'd grabbed him and pulled him inside, going to the kitchen where she found their mom. She was with Shouto, and Fuyumi dropped her bag quickly to run up and see him.

Hours must have passed, and their mom stayed with them the whole time. That wasn’t very common anymore, but Fuyumi didn’t say anything and simply had fun.

Until they heard the front door shut, and suddenly a collection of panicked shouts was heard from across the house. Their mom instantly got up, holding Shouto. Fuyumi knew it wasn’t smart to follow, but she did anyways, her concern for Touya surpassing any unsaid rules she had to follow.

She clung onto her mom, holding onto Natsu, who had followed her as well. Much to all of their dismay, Touya looked unwell. He had a slightly manic look in his eye (one Fuyumi would become familiar with), and he was arguing with their father. Except, it wasn’t the same type of arguing as usual.

Fuyumi knew he just wanted them to be proud of him, somehow. She knew that was why he kept training even if he hurt himself. She knew that no matter what she could do, she could never help any of them-- not with her weak consitution. It was why she had begun to cry.

He was using his quirk, and suddenly there were a lot of flames around him. He lashed out towards Shouto. Fuyumi wouldn’t remember exactly what happened, only that she grabbed onto Natsu while her mother tried to protect their brother.

She also knew that a week later they were told not to go near Shouto, with no sign of that rule ever being lifted. She knew that her mom didn’t get to spend much time with them anymore since she had to take care of Shouto, and that suddenly they had a caretaker, who happened to be a stranger.

Suddenly they were no longer a family who spent any time together and did actually familial things. It didn’t make sense to her, and she didn’t know what to tell Natsuo. No one told the two of them anything.

Fuyumi was twelve.

She was cooking dinner, as she had the past two nights. She didn’t exactly mind, it was fun to cook, and nothing would ever change that. She had a lot of homework to do, and not enough time to do it, but cooking dinner was more important for the family. Besides, no one ever checked to make sure she was sleeping when she had to do her homework after she was supposed to go to bed.

It had also been her decision to cook dinner. She had kindly told their caretaker that she could go home, because it was the polite thing to do.  Fuyumi wasn’t sure why, but she was tired of the elderly woman. She was very polite and kind, and Fuyumi supposedly had more patience than most people her age, but it ran very thin with that woman. Perhaps because she tried to act like a parent, which she was not. Their own mother was busy with important things.

Even so, she used her manners and played as any child should. Even if she also rushed to help with every chore possible and make dinner and manage her own homework. Fuyumi wasn’t going to complain about it, she chose to be helpful, and she took some weight off of her mothers shoulders by doing it. Except, she was twelve, and she also had other problems to worry about.

She shook her head, going through the actions to make dinner that she knew well. Before long she was prepping it, and Touya and Natsuo were sitting with her.

Their mom ate with them for awhile, but she hadn’t been feeling well and was going to bed a lot earlier lately. Their dad stopped eating with them when Shouto was separated from them, so the three of them ate alone.

Touya always got up to eat early, and then Natsu followed him, so there was always that portion of dinner where she finished and cleaned up alone. She missed their family dinners a lot, but she couldn’t even remember the happier ones very well. Even so, she missed them and would until they came back. Because eventually her mother would be happy again and they’d be allowed near Shouto and their dad would acknowledge their existence. She knew it. At some point, it had become the best daydream, and the thing that she always dared to wish for.

She finished cleaning up and went to her room to start her homework. It wasn’t long before she got distracted when she heard Touya and Natsu playing, and she took a break to go join them. It was late, and it wasn’t long before booming footsteps echoing across the house pushed them all to run to their own rooms.

Before she got to her own room, however, she passed the closed door of a hopefully sleeping Shouto. When he was younger she’d sneak into his room just to see him, because she couldn’t stand not being allowed to see her baby brother who she adored so much.

She peered around the corner of the hall, checking that no one was coming. She hoped that her mother wouldn’t get mad if she saw her, but her father certainly would. That was why she slowly opened the door and ducked in, discovering Shouto sitting on the ground with only a nightlight as light.

He looked up at her and blinked, his hair getting long enough to fall over his eyes. He needed a haircut, but she wouldn’t dare cut it herself like how she did her own. She didn’t want anyone to notice she'd seen him.

“Why are you up?” she asked kindly, sitting down on the ground beside him.

He was a small kid, unlike Natsu. She was short for her age, but not particularly small. Natsu was four years younger than her, yet people assumed he was her older brother, always guessing Touya to be even younger than her.

She pushed Shouto's hair out of his two-toned eyes, smiling at him. He was shy, which she supposed was fair as he didn’t get to talk to any other kids much. He wasn’t usually awake when she came to see him, but there had been a few circumstances that she hoped he remembered.

“Couldn’t sleep. You’re not supposed to be in here.”

She widened her eyes, a playful smile on her face. She wasn’t one to break the rules, but it wasn’t fair to be kept away from her baby brother. Not when he was so adorable.

“That’s okay,” she laughed slightly, “and how’d you end up on the floor?”

“The blanket hurt my arm.”

She didn’t understand, turning her head to the side. Even in the darkness she saw when he lifted his arm, a bandage on it. In an instant her eyes welled up, but she blinked the tears away and pushed his hair back out of his eyes again.

“Well, that’s also okay.”

“Dinner was really good.”

She smiled, “How’d you know I made it?”

“Your cooking is better.”

A much larger smile broke out on her face, as it always did when related to cooking. She couldn’t resist it, and she saw how the smile spread to him. It was small, but the grim look disappeared off of his face and was replaced by a smile.

“Thanks, I love hearing that.”

Footsteps boomed from down the hall, causing both of their heads to turn quickly. She frowned, though her heart sped up at the fear of getting caught. She turned, spreading her arms, picking up Shouto to lift him into his bed. It wasn’t necessary, he was also nearly too heavy for her, but she did it anyways.

“Goodnight Sho,” she said, making sure his arm was above his blanket when she pulled it up for him.

“Night.”

She opened the door carefully, sticking her head out before darting out, shutting it silently. Her footsteps padded silently down the hallway, something she had learned carefully to do. She hoped Shouto was able to fall asleep, and she hoped that her mom would notice if his arm still hurt so that she could help him, since Fuyumi couldn't.

Then she was back in her own room, doing her own homework. It was difficult, and she wished that she could ask Touya. He didn’t do well in school, and he didn’t put in much effort, either. He had already learned everything she was doing, but she didn’t know if he would be any help. She doubted that he wanted to help, anyways.

She drew a small snowflake in the corner of her page, only the light of her small desk lamp giving her any way to see. The snowflake was lopsided and she ended up giving up before she could finish, scribbling it out in a brief frustration.

She wondered if her mom would be able to help. Except, her mom was tired and she didn’t want to disturb her. Their caretaker probably wouldn’t even let her go ask, and that woman knew nothing of math to help Fuyumi.

Instead she stayed up for hours until she finally understood it and had answers that she could only hope to be correct. She looked at the clock, yawning before turning off her desk lamp. In the pitch darkness of her room she stretched her arms up, yawning a second time before walking to lay down.

It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, her eyes hurting. They had been hurting a lot lately, especially when she was in class. She sat in the back, and no one could ever see from the back. She always had to be moved up to the front, because she couldn’t see from the middle rows either. She wondered if the other students just dealt with being unable to see the board, because they didn’t pay much attention in the first place.

The next day she went to school, and then she came home to a waiting caretaker. She wasn’t sure where Touya was, but he always had to come home right after school or else he got in trouble. She would never tell him, as much as it frustrated him, but she was glad that rule was there to keep him from burning himself as much.

Natsu was already home, standing outside bouncing a random ball. The moment he saw her he threw it over to her, and she tried to grab it, though she horribly misjudged where it would end up. She was already dropping her backpack when it flew past her shoulder, turning and running after it before it went into the street.

It was cold out, but she didn’t need a jacket. It wasn’t so cold that it hurt yet, and it was better than getting sweaty in a heavy jacket. She didn’t bother telling Natsu to put one on, because she knew that he felt the same.

“Let’s grab Touya and play a game!” Natsu shouted once she ran back over with the ball.

She nodded, tossing her bag inside and following him. They quickly told the caretaker where they were going before running to grab Touya, who was on the computer doing something. He agreed to play, and it wasn’t long before the three of them were playing outside under supervision.

Everything felt slightly wrong. Touya was making Natsu laugh, which was always good, but Touya didn’t seem to be having fun. With the caretaker hovering over them and Fuyumi beginning to stress about her vision, or lack thereof, her smile was falling more than it was supposed to.

It didn’t help when she glanced to the windows of their house and saw Shouto, just before he was pulled past the view of the window. He was going to the training room, just like he always seemed to be. She wished he could be there to play with them.

Time passed and she was walking to make dinner, when she saw her mom instead. She was making dinner already. Fuyumi loved cooking, but she loved her moms food more. Eating her food was somewhat of a luxury, and it made a day ten times better. There was something about how she cooked that Fuyumi adored, and wished she could do herself.

“Hi mom! Are you making dinner?”

Her mom turned around, and Fuyumi noticed how tired she looked. She always looked that way, but Fuyumi never failed to notice. There was a small smile that had appeared on her face, but Fuyumi could see through it. She looked enough like her mother that she could see the truth in her smile as easily as she could her own.

“Yep.”

They ended up having an actual conversation, and Fuyumi truly enjoyed it. Her mom didn’t eat dinner with them, but she set the table for the three older kids before leaving. Fuyumi wasn’t sure what the occasion was, but it was very nice of her and left her feeling hopeful.

Touya never showed up for dinner that day. Or the day after that, or the one after that. He ate at some point, because his plate would appear in the sink, but never with her and Natsu.

In the next few weeks their household tone seemed to shift again. Arguing was a typically normal thing, but it became an expectation. Fuyumi and Natsu began to try to finish up dinner as quickly as they could, going to hang out in one of their own rooms before they heard shouting from across the house. Sometimes they heard Shouto shouting, and that always managed to break Fuyumi’s heart. It all did, though. She didn’t know why their family was messed up, and she desperately wanted to be able to fix it.

She could fix other things. She could fix her grades, and when a dish broke she could clean it up. She could put a bandaid on if her brothers got hurt, and she always made sure not to anger anybody. But for some reason their family just didn’t work.

She knew why, if she truly went digging. But if she did that then she never found a way to fix it, so she didn’t. She hated how messed up their family was, and that they couldn’t be a normal, happy family.

It was a single winter evening, on a Sunday. Fuyumi was watching a popular movie from school, despite her lack of friends to talk about it with. It gave her something to talk about if she did have to speak to people. It wasn’t the most entertaining thing, she thought a lot of it was melodramatic. Though, that was how most movies were.

She gave up on the boring movie and went to find Natsu instead, finding him in the kitchen snacking on something. She ended up joining him for a snack, sitting on the counter while she made fun of the movie to him.

At one point they both heard a door slam, and not long after their mom breezed past the open kitchen doorway. She was crying. Fuyumi was tempted to go after her, but she didn’t want Natsu to be left alone. She stopped eating and hopped off of the counter, suggesting to watch tv.

It worked well enough, and it wasn’t long before they were both watching the hero special of the day. It was colorful and lively, clearly an older one. They both grew stiff whenever Endeavor came up, but the other parts were entertaining.

Then, it ended (Fuyumi would soon wish she had stayed watching that hero special forever). A news segment came on, and before she could change the channel, she heard the horrifying tale of a forest set aflame. Everything inside of her froze at the sight, especially when she heard someone shouting.

She felt Natsu tense beside her, and they were both sitting up and panicked at what they saw and heard. Their father was shouting, but the camera didn't catch him on the screen. Despite that, her and Natsu could recognize his shouts anywhere.

The fires in front of the camera were blue.

Touya hadn’t sat down for dinner with them in weeks, but he didn’t even come home that day. He never would.

Natsuo cried for what felt like years. Their mom was nowhere to be found. Fuyumi thought she heard Shouto crying once.

She only felt numb. She didn’t know why she wasn’t crying and screaming that her big brother was dead. Huge amounts of guilt were created by that problem, but it never allowed her to cry. Touya was gone, and she’d never see him again. He argued a lot and she always had to be careful about what she said, but he was still big brother Touya. He would joke with her, and he told her things that no one else would. He never lied, either, even if she didn’t always believe what he said.

Fuyumi missed her big brother so, so much. Except she never cried over it, and she could only walk around and act like everything was okay. She never got excited or happy anymore, even when people said her cooking was good or she got to see a baby.

She didn’t tell Natsu how she felt, because he was dealing with enough. He was heartbroken, and she was trying desperately to keep him afloat without drowning herself.

She acted like everything was okay. When people at school talked about that huge fire disaster, she would agree that it was crazy and then continue her work. Anyone that was anything like a friend to her, she managed to push away, not that she had many of those in the first place. She had to get home and take care of Natsu everyday, she had to make sure he was alright.

Seven months later they lost their mom, too. She didn’t die, but as she was taken away as a sobbing mess, Fuyumi knew she wasn’t coming back for awhile. She still didn’t cry, and she hadn’t cried since Touya died.

Shouto was taken to the hospital, screaming in pain. Fuyumi wondered how much pain Touya was in when he died. Shouto wasn’t dying, but the energy in the house had shifted once again.

Touya was gone forever, and their mom was gone for the foreseeable future. Any attention their dad had given Fuyumi and Natsuo before was gone, as he focused all of his energy on Shouto.

Fuyumi and Natsu may as well have been alone.

Fuyumi was fifteen.

She glanced around the hall awkwardly, as if she hadn’t gotten home early just to be alone in the house. She slowly opened the door of her fathers office, wincing as if he would teleport right over to reprimand her.

Instead of getting in trouble, the door opened to a dark, empty room. She set her flashlight and torn pieces of notebook paper into one hand, closing the other silently with the other. She turned the light on, making an important mental note to remember to turn it off.

She sifted through the scattered papers on the desk, making sure to not misplace them whatsoever. Her heart was pounding in her chest, it was terrifying to sneak around and do things she wasn’t supposed to. She always made careful sure to follow the rules, which made intentionally breaking them so much more scary.

Finally, she found a paper over the printer with exactly what she needed. She set her empty piece of notebook paper on top of it and stuck the flashlight in her mouth, pulling a pencil out of her pocket.

Then, she copied the signature down of her father and the number two hero so that she could forge it for school papers.

The moment she finished tracing it she snuck out of the office, making sure to turn off the light and that she didn’t move anything around too drastically. She stepped back down the hall to her own room, hearing the front door open with what was probably Natsu. Her assumption was confirmed when she didn’t hear the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the house.

Once in her own room, she turned on her desk lamp and traced the signature onto a school form. Natsu would have an identical form, and they both needed it signed by a parent. She was tired of working herself up to be able to ask her father for a mandatory signature for a school paper every time they needed it, so she simply got it herself. It was terrifying, and she was sure it was illegal, but it was for the sake of convenience.

She tried to mimic the signature a few more times without tracing, because she knew that she had to throw the notebook paper away soon. She couldn’t let someone find an obvious traced signature. Anytime the school called she already pretended to be her mom, so she was accustomed to lying to them. She just didn't want to be caught, and she had no idea what she’d do if it happened.

Their caretaker had thrown out her back months prior. She had been the one to call or sign for any school things, and now she was gone. With her absence, Fuyumi also began to make dinner for them all of the time and had to take over all of the chores. She was also dealing with her homework, which was unnecessarily difficult, and taking care of Natsu as much as he’d let her.

And she still felt numb. She was used to it, however. Whenever Natsu picked a fight with their father, she would keep a calm face and pull him away to the best of her ability. She didn’t start crying every time she heard her father shout, and she didn’t want to cry every time Shouto ignored her.

She still hated the lack of external feelings she experienced, and it never failed to cause insurmountable guilt within her. She ignored it in favor of doing the more important things, those of which took up her whole day. There were much more important things than her flimsy teenage feelings.

Such as the paper of notes she saw across from her. She’d written them down quickly when she was on the phone with a hospital, taking note of everything important so there was no surprises. She just wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to go through with it yet.

Getting to the correct hospital was half an hour train ride, and she imagined that she’d be there for about two hours if she included paperwork they’d probably make her sign. She’d end up staying up extremely late to complete homework if she did go all the way up there, since it would take up her homework time.

She just missed her mom.

She wanted to go to see her, and from what she gathered from a very long and confusing phone call, she was allowed to. She wouldn’t even have to ask her father.

She just wasn’t sure what she’d say. She had no idea how her mother was doing, and it wasn’t just exhaustion that put her in there. Fuyumi had grown up, and she learned how to ask questions, but that was her mother. She felt as if going to see her mom would send her back to being six and having know idea what was going on.

She was beyond that. She knew what happened in her day to day life, and she learned to keep calm when she was unsure of something. Someone at school had called her a control freak for her actions, but if it kept her aware of everything going on, then she could live with the fact of being controlling. Going to see her mom was like throwing herself off of a pier with no plan on how to save herself. Except, it was her mom, and she missed her more than she could ever say.

Perhaps her mom would notice how apathetic she was. It could make her worry, and put her into an even worse state than she might have already been in. It terrified Fuyumi, and she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it.

She knew the idea would never leave her mind. She knew that eventually she had to call back and make an appointment, then schedule her day around it and tell Natsu. She’d been teaching him to cook, so maybe he could even cook dinner for a day. His food was always rather rich, which she didn’t mind and she hoped that no one else did.

Shouto never talked to them. After Touya died she stopped visiting him, she was never sure if she could think of something to say. It only increased the cavern between them. He had to speak to her sometimes, to ask her about laundry or to cut his hair. Yet, him and Natsu never spoke.

Fuyumi sat in the family room, thinking about her mom. She hated being cooped up in her own room, so whenever not many others were home she’d take the chance to go anywhere else. As usual, Natsu walked in and sat beside her. She felt when the cushion dropped and then evened out after a moment.

She opened her eyes, pushing her glasses up her nose. She sat up so she could see her brother in front of her, and he sat staring at the empty television. He had soccer everyday except for Wednesdays, and it happened to be a Wednesday.

“I need that paper thing signed for school,” he said, annoyance in his voice.

“I’ll take care of it, just give it to me.”

A backpack was tossed to her side of the couch, and she opened it to find nothing but a mess of papers and folders with no sense of order within it.

“I have no idea where the paper is,” she deadpanned, tossing his bag back to him so he could get it out for her.

“It’s right in the center!”

“I’m not even trying to look,” she laughed.

He sighed, though she heard a moment of rustling and suddenly a folded paper was being tossed at her. She had no idea how a folded paper was in the center, but it worked, and she slipped it into her pocket. She didn’t want to tell Natsu that she was forging their dads signature, she didn’t need him thinking that was a normal thing to do. No one else would take that lightly.

“It’s for soccer and stuff, so why do you need that type of paper signed too if you don’t do anything?”

“I think I’m gonna try to intern or get a part time job at the elementary school.”

“Huh?” he sat up quickly.

“What?” she asked genuinely, not sure if it was a bad idea or not.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, just on the days you have soccer hopefully. I like taking care of kids, and even if I just intern and don’t make money the experience will be good on resume’s and stuff.”

“Oh, cool. Are you even old enough?”

“My teachers said I am,” she bit her cheek nervously, “Is that okay?”

She hadn’t been sure what she expected him to say. She was tired of being in the house all of the time, and she needed something to do other than chores. She loved kids, and if she could take care of them while it also was productive for her future, then that was something she wanted to do. She’d only be home a little after her brothers, anyways.

“I don’t care, you just won’t be home super late, right?”

“Of course not! It’d just be a few hours after school, I looked into it already.”

“Ok, than yeah, do it.”

“I have to get permission from the teachers down there, first.”

“Oh, come on.”

She laughed, hearing the front door open once again. They both grew quieter, listening for the sound of footsteps despite knowing who it was. Quiet footsteps padded down the hall, stopping in the kitchen before continuing. Shouto had gotten home.

Working at the elementary school would mean working where Shouto went. He left right when school ended, so she’d never see him, but she’d still get to talk to his teachers and see where he went to school. It was one out of a dozen of reasons for her to try to get a job or internship there.

“Do you have laundry?” she asked after a small while of them both laying on the couch in comfortable silence.

“Yeah, in my room.”

“Can you put it in the laundry room please?”

She dragged out the last syllable of the word, hoping he would listen. He didn’t like to listen that often, but she heard him get up and go to grab it after a moment. She supposed that she had to be productive, but she was tired. She was often tired, however, and she always pulled herself off of the couch anyways.

While she waited for Natsu to grab his laundry she headed to her own room, unfolding the paper and attempting to freehand the signature. It was slightly wobbly, and didn’t look quite right, but the school wouldn’t notice. She’d have to wait to give it to him, but she was glad to get it over with. She stuck it in a drawer, making sure that she would remember which one.

She wondered what Shouto was doing. She didn’t think that eight year olds got too much homework. No one else was home, but she wasn’t sure what she would ever say if she tried to drag him to play with Natsu. She gave up on the idea, looking once again at the paper of notes from the phone call.

She had a little bit of time before she had to start dinner. The laundry wouldn’t turn to ash if she waited slightly longer to start it, and her phone was sitting idly on her desk.

Her fingers tapped nervously for a moment, before she gave in and sat down, picking up the phone and dialing the hospital. Her heart was beating quickly, and she wondered nervously what they’d say.

Then, it stopped ringing and someone picked up. She heard the polite greeting, and she responded accordingly. It didn't take long to make the appointment. She would have to sign a whole lot of paperwork when she went in, and there was a chance she’d be turned away, but they let her make it anyways.

She sank out of her chair and onto the ground, falling onto her back. Anxiousness was spreading within her like a poison. She was already beginning to regret wanting to go see her mom, but despite nervousness she was looking forward to it. She had absolutely no idea what would await her when she did see her, but she would actually see her. For the first time in years, she’d see her mom.

She once again forced herself up. She found that Natsu had put his laundry where she’d asked, and she began on that. It wasn’t long before she was starting and finishing dinner, setting the table for two and leaving the rest to be served on its own for the other two household members.

Natsu was already sitting when she came back with napkins, and she smiled lightly at him. She had to ask, or tell, him that she was going to see their mom. She didn’t know what to expect, and if it was bad then she didn’t want him to see that. She hated lying to him, and she was terrible at it, but she figured that she might have to, at least a little.

He talked about soccer and things at school, apparently some of his friends from class were also doing soccer. That was a good thing. Fuyumi was fine with socializing, she just didn’t have any actual friends. How could she, when she couldn’t tell the truth of how messed up her life was? It was embarrassing, and not something people should know.

“Next Wednesday I think you might need to cook dinner,” she told him.

“Why?”

“I’m gonna be out for a bit, right after school. Just for a few hours I hope.”

“Are you going to the elementary school?”

“No,” she said slowly.

“Then where are you going?” he wrinkled his nose.

“I’m going to the hospital, the one mom is at.”

She said it quietly, and once the words left her mouth silence grew around the room quickly. She looked at him, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn’t look upset, just surprised.

“You’re seeing her?”

She nodded.

“Can I come?”

She shook her head, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, I have no idea what to expect or what kind of state she’s in. Also, if both of us want to go they might ask for parental consent and I don’t even know if we’d be allowed to. So, I’m just gonna go to see how things are. If it’s good I’ll see if you could come, if I’m even allowed in.”

He was silent for awhile, “Okay.”

“Really?”

“I dunno if I’m ready for that,” he laughed softly.

She laughed too, “Yeah me neither, honestly.”

“Just, say hi for me, or something.”

“Of course.”

Dinner went on normally after that, despite the unusual serious conversation. They tended not to talk about their mom, or Touya, or the horrid state of their family. Sometimes when Natsu got upset they’d have a serious conversation, but he had been doing that less and less.

Fuyumi didn’t mind staying away from such topics, but there was always guilt surrounding them. She didn’t want to forget Touya, or her mom, or how happy their family once was. But talking about it only seemed to make things worse. Her guilt at being unable to do anything, even as a small child, was something that never ended.

If she had told her parents Touya was sneaking off to train, perhaps things wouldn’t have ended up how they had. Perhaps they’d be having happy family dinners and they could have all let go of the idea of beating All Might.

And, she was still failing. Every single day that she saw Shouto with a new bruise or injury her heart crumbled a bit more, because she was still the useless six year old with a weak resolve who couldn't help her brothers at all. It was all to beat All Might. She'd lost hope in that, and if it did happen it'd never be worth the costs. She just wished everyone else would realize that, too.

That was a dream which was far too hopeful. It was too late for anyone to give up that idea, considering it was the reason any of them were there. It still never clicked why her father was so set on that idea, it just simply was how things were. She hated being unsure of things, so she figured out everything she could in the wreck that was their family.

Except now she was horrified to see her mom, and she had no idea what would happen. It was unsettling, and she had no clue how she’d get through the next week with that concept sitting upon her shoulders.

Just as she’d assumed, the next seven days went by painfully slow. It was getting hard to focus in school when all she could think about was her mothers exhaustion filled face.

She wasn’t accustomed to being so worried about something. She wasn’t used to being so emotional, either. For a long time she had felt like a walking zombie, just going through her day to day actions and trying to feel normal.

Yet, the night before she would go to see her mom, something strange happened. She was laying down, unable to sleep due to stress. She didn’t think that her mom would want her to be so worried about visiting her, but she had no idea how her mom would be thinking. So, Fuyumi cried.

When she was a little girl she cried a lot, even as she got older. Yet after Touya died she had been unable to, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had. She didn’t exactly like it. Tears simply bubbled up because she missed her mom so much, but she was terrified to see her.

She wasn’t supposed to be scared to see her mom. It was her mother, the woman who she loved so much and who she hoped loved her. Yet she was crying in the middle of the night out of nerves.

Instead of sitting in her own misery, Fuyumi made use out of the extra time awake, even if her eyes kept tearing up even once the hiccups had faded. She folded their laundry, did any remaining dishes, and checked all of her homework answers. By the time she had finished her eyes were falling shut, and she finally fell asleep, despite her mangled thoughts.

The school day went by painfully slow. She tried to focus and take her notes, making her way through the classes. At lunch she sat outside, the cool weather driving a lot of people inside and leaving it quiet and peaceful. Her nerves were higher than ever, but she managed to act normally.

When the day finally ended, she walked to the train. A lot of people were there, and she could hear all of their conversations. Her fingers tapped rhythmically on her leg, aware of the fact that she was a young girl alone on the train.

It frustrated her. She did everything in their house, and took care of her brothers as much as she could, and she took care of all of her own needs. She was only fifteen, and she knew that none of those things made her an adult suddenly, but it was frustrating that she had to act like one at home yet didn’t get any privileges from it. She took care of things at home willingly, and she wouldn’t stop because she got no reward.

She simply couldn’t stand that the moment she left her house she was just a teenage girl, despite having to do things that adults had to do. She was sitting on the train and trying to do her homework, despite stress built up about seeing her mom for the first time in years.

Fuyumi was good at taking care of herself. When she looked up from her worksheet for a moment there was a woman hugging her daughter, who had previously been crying. Fuyumi had no idea what their life was like, and it wasn’t right to assume. The girl looked to be about ten, maybe slightly younger.

She shook her head to herself. She was beyond complaining about the unfairness of their life and how they grew up. Instead, she focused on her next math problem. She had to be as productive as she could since she was losing so much time to go visit her mom.

Then the train stopped. She put away her stuff and got off, walking down the sidewalk. It was much busier there than she was accustomed to, with a lot of working people hurrying down the sidewalk. They were all distracted, talking on the phone or sighing exasperatedly at a red light. She was simply trying to keep her head down and not draw any attention, as if anyone was noticing the random teenager on the sidewalk.

And suddenly she saw the hospital come into view. It felt like her heart stopped, but no one else was stopping around her. Everyone else was going about their day, and she was still walking forward towards the entrance, but inside her was a mess of emotions and panic.

She continued walking however, going through the doors and up to the front desk. She introduced herself, recognition flickering through the receptionists eyes from her phone call registration. A woman walking by paused to look at Fuyumi, and she turned to see why. There was no clear explanation, but the woman had a slightly surprised look on her face. She walked up to the receptionist and handed her something, whispering something as well.

Fuyumi’s nerves only grew. She was handed a clipboard with a lot of papers to sign and read through. She smiled, though it was tense and those people likely saw right through it.

She sat down as far away from others as she could, though she noticed that the specific woman was still looking at her every few moments. Perhaps it was because she was one of the youngest people there, considering that it looked like everyone else was an adult. That was the only reason she could think of, flipping through and reading the papers.

She only had to check some boxes and sign her name a lot, otherwise it was simply a lot to read. She made sure to read and take in everything correctly, not wanting to miss anything. She was nervous, but within that nervousness was still excitement to see her mom again.

After bringing the papers up to the desk and being given some sort of lanyard, she was pointed to a door. The woman who had kept staring at her was waiting with a friendly smile on her face. Fuyumi swallowed, trying to keep still as she walked over.

“Hello, I’m your mothers psychiatrist,” she said, pushing the doors open and leading them to an elevator.

“Oh,” Fuyumi said in surprise, “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Apologies if you noticed me staring, it surprised me how much you look like your mother.”

After so much time had passed it was easy for Fuyumi to forget that fact. She was older, and had grown into her features even more. When she took off her glasses she could see the similarities clearly, and it wasn’t surprising that someone who was familiar with her mom could notice.

She laughed tersely, “Oh it’s okay, I forget about that a lot.”

“You’re nervous?”

“A little bit.”

“I understand, but you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was alright. She’ll be happy to see you.”

Fuyumi opened her mouth to answer politely, before closing it as the woman’s words registered in her mind. Her mom would be happy to see her. The last time Fuyumi had seen her she was a mess after hurting Shouto, and Fuyumi had stood and watched heartlessly. Yet somehow her mom would be happy to see her. It made her feel light and happy, suppressing some of her nerves all the while creating a dozen new worries.

“That’s good.”

“Yes, but on that note. There are some topics that you have to avoid when speaking to her, as you should’ve read in the papers you signed.”

She nodded, “I saw that, but it didn’t list any of the topics.”

“Of course, it’s patient specific. For your case, avoid mentioning obvious upsetting topics, like your older brother or the incident with your baby brother. Other than that just avoid mentioning your father and heroes in general.”

That made sense, and she hadn’t wanted to bring those up anyways. She wasn’t sure she could handle speaking about any of that in any way other than when Natsu got upset about it and she worked to comfort him.

It was slightly unsettling to realize that this stranger knew everything about their family. She probably knew even more than Fuyumi, considering that she always assumed her mom knew more than she did as a child. The woman knew every painful thing that Fuyumi worked hard to keep hidden from everyone else.

“Alright, I don’t like talking about those things either so that shouldn’t be hard,” she was honest.

“I’m glad. And, here we are.”

Fuyumi looked up and saw a door, and on the wall beside it was labelled ‘Todoroki’. Her heart stopped for the second time that day and she realized it was her moms room, and that she was actually seeing her mom. She missed her so much.

“You’ve got about an hour, so I’ll come knock whenever that is up.”

“Thank you,” she said, managing to keep her voice steady.

To her surprise, the woman squeezed her shoulder. It was comforting, and allowed her to relax slightly.

“Relax, it’ll be okay, I promise.”

She opened the door for Fuyumi, before stepping away and down the hall. Fuyumi stepped in, and sure enough her mom was sitting there, right beside the small window. She turned to face her, and it was hard not to recognize the exhaustion that she was familiar with.

“Hi,” was all she could say, thought it came out much quieter than intended while tears welled in her eyes.

She shut the door behind her, turning to actually face her mom for the first time in way too long.

Fuyumi was eighteen.

She was in the kitchen, several books and notebooks spread across the counters while she cooked. She had college entrance exams in just a few weeks, and she had spent months studying everything possible so she could pass.

She was always a busy person, managing their household and herself, along with her brother and anything else thrown her way. Yet, she’d spent as much time as possible studying for weeks. The house had grown increasingly dirty, and she had Natsu doing all of their laundry. She’d have had him making dinner, too, if he wasn't worried that their father would complain.

Her dad had also noticed the strangeness in the house, which was surprising. It never clicked in her head how much she did, she was simply accustomed to it. It also didn’t help that when attempting to keep up household duties, she brought any supplies to study she could with her, which led to books and notes being scattered around the house quite often.

Shouto had given her quite a few strange looks. Natsuo was sick of it, and his complaining was beyond irritating. Fuyumi was tired of it too, she wanted to go back to having at least a little free time, but she had to pass the entrance exams.

She pushed her hair out of her face, as it managed to consistently fall back every time she moved from cooking. Hair ties were in her room, and she couldn’t leave the stove unattended. She was also in the middle of a paragraph that she’d read about ten times already, but she had to finish it anyways.

A lot of it was her own messy notes, scribbled in class or from the textbooks that she couldn’t take home. It also had her staying at school later than usual, trying to copy anything she thought was important.

Fuyumi was very tired. She heard the silent footsteps of Natsu walking into the kitchen, and sighed automatically. Anytime he walked in he was usually complaining, and she seemed to have infinite patience with everyone except for Natsu. She was typically patient with him, too, but everything was stacking up rather high.

“Relax, I’m just wondering when dinner is ready. Kinda late.”

“Yeah, sorry, started later than I meant to and should have made something that takes less time.”

She turned to find he was already gone. It did not help that he was also fourteen, and even more emotional than he was on a normal day. She looked up in annoyance, before focusing back on the paragraph she was on.

It wasn’t long before the door opened and she heard booming footsteps, finally beginning to put her focus on dinner to finish it quickly. She almost always finished before her dad got home, but it seemed she had really not been thinking correctly that day. She didn’t think anyone could blame her, she had gone to see her mom, and she would never cancel an appointment with her.

It was the only day of the entire week that she didn’t have work at the elementary school, so there was no way to reschedule unless she waited until after entrance exams, which she was not doing. So, the rest of the house could have dinner a little later than usual and she’d be up late managing her own homework and studying.

She was in the process of setting the table for her and Natsu when her dad walked by, peering into the kitchen. She didn’t turn around, despite knowing he was there. It was only a moment before footsteps continued down the hall and she turned around to see an empty doorway, free for her to walk through with two plates.

She grabbed Natsu, setting the table before they both sat down. She knew that he was also busy with school and his own exams, and she was trying to get him to study and keep up with it all. She also had to make sure that she kept up with it all, which was a whole different problem.

They made simple conversation, but neither of them really wanted to talk. He was full of hormones and her mind was focused on different things, so soon enough they were both cleaning the table and going opposite ways.

She had been sitting in her room when someone knocked on her door. She already knew it was Natsu, because there was no one else that it would be.

“Yeah?” she asked, instead of getting up.

As usual she had all of her notes and books scattered about, and she was taking a practice test on her computer. She was already in her pajamas, despite knowing that she wasn’t going to bed for awhile.

Natsu walked in and sat right across from her. He had gotten considerably taller than her in the past few months, and people were back to assuming he was older than her. She raised an eyebrow at him, randomly walking in and picking up one of her notebooks. He didn’t look like he understood at all what he was looking at.

“So, are you like, moving out when you go to college?”

A lot made sense suddenly. He hadn’t really been speaking to her, but she assumed it was just him being grumpy considering that was the new normal. She had been too focused on her own studies to notice anything largely off.

She had given that topic a lot of thought, so she had an easy, quick answer for him.

“Of course not,” she nearly laughed.

“Huh?” he seemed surprised.

“Who would make dinner and take care of you guys if I did? There are colleges close by, I’m hoping I get into them. Besides, I’d probably have to get a different job since while I enjoy mine, it doesn’t pay well enough to support my own place.”

He looked absolutely surprised. She wasn’t sure why he was so shocked, she didn’t plan to leave him or Shouto alone as long as she could manage. She hadn’t told her dad yet, but she did make him dinner everyday so she couldn’t imagine he’d be upset about her staying in the house.

“Don’t you wanna like, leave, though?”

“Who cares about that, I’m not leaving you or Shouto alone.”

“Yumi, you can literally get out of here. Do it.”

She raised her eyebrows, shocked with the turn of conversation. Based on how he had asked she assumed he didn’t want her to, considering they were the ones who took care of each other in the house. If one of them disappeared, the other would be alone.

“No? I’ve thought about this enough Natsu, it’s just easier and more practical this way.”

“Are you crazy? Screw that, leave.”

“Did I do something?”

He looked awfully frustrated, “No, obviously not. I wish I was eighteen and able to leave, this house sucks. You’re not stupid.”

She sighed and nodded her head once in understanding. She agreed with him, and she certainly saw the logic in what he was saying. Except, she wasn’t going to leave her brothers, she was certain of that. Nothing outweighed them.

“Well, thanks, but, I’m staying. Really. At least until you move out, I’m not leaving you all alone. I’d like to do the same for Shouto, hopefully.”

“You can literally get out, and you’re not.”

“I know that.”

“That’s so stupid.”

She sighed again, “If it makes you feel better I’ll be a lot busier, having to go further to get to school and I’m going to increase my work hours.”

“Still stupid.”

“Okay, well, my apologies. I’ll keep making you dinner and make sure nothing too crazy happens here.”

He stood up, and she already felt guilty for being so rude. She truly understood where he was coming from, and she sympathized. She did want to leave, the concept of walking through halls she could call her own and not listen for booming footsteps and hear phantom shouts was like a dream-- except that wasn’t important. What she wanted wasn’t as important as everyone always made it out to be. Her brother’s well-being mattered a lot.

“Thanks,” she heard him mutter before he walked out.

Despite stress and everything else going on, she smiled slightly. Before she could even get back to work the door burst open again and Natsu was back.

“How’s mom?”

Fuyumi smiled slightly wider, “She was alright. A bit of a tough day I think, I’m glad I saw her.”

“Cool, good. I get to see her once I’m fifteen, remember.”

Then he was gone, the door shut for the night. A small breathy laugh escaped her, and she finally got back to focusing. She remembered the agreement they had made, without speaking to the hospital at all. She was familiar with the staff at the hospital and they didn’t seem to dislike her, so she was sure that soon she could ask to have Natsu visit. It was his mom, too, not just Fuyumi’s.

She pulled some papers out of her backpack, looking at the colorful drawing on the top. One of the kids at the elementary school had made it for her as a gift, and she’d carefully put it back into her bag. What had started as an after school internship turned into her part time job, and she didn’t want to have to leave it. However, the closest college was already further than she liked.

It was all a lot for her to try to comprehend. She wasn’t used to change, and graduating was a pretty major change. She was also an adult, and had to get used to begin treated like one. She’d been acting grown up since she was twelve, but she wasn’t used to people outside of her home acknowledging that in any way other than calling her mature for her age.

A yawn escaped her, despite the hours she still had left to study. It was a self-made schedule, and she was going to respect it. She reached for her cup of water, going to take a sip only to find it empty. Exhaustion bubbled up within her, but she stood anyways to refill her glass.

She walked into the kitchen to find her dad already there, eating dinner from the pot. He barely acknowledged her, other than a single look when she first walked in. She filled her cup quickly, regretting getting up at all. Yet, an idea came into her head and impulsiveness got the best of her.

“Um, I’m gonna keep living here for the first bit of college I think, that’s okay, I assume? I’ll keep making dinner and stuff so,” she trailed off, hovering in the doorway.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She hurried out of the kitchen as quickly as possible. Speaking to her father was strange, considering they only spoke for important things. It was awkward, and she was happy to have left as quickly as she could. It was still an important question that she needed to confirm, and she was happy to have it over with, but nevertheless it was still awkward.

Once back in her room she studied for a few more hours, before falling asleep without cleaning up anything. It made the morning especially fun, hurrying to gather all of her things off of the floor and get ready, especially with exhaustion still clinging to her from her short amount of sleep.

The day was filled with talk of exams and colleges, and a few people leaned over to ask her what she wanted to do. She’d known the answer for awhile, because she loved kids and she never particularly minded school. Being a teacher was ideal, and after interning and working at the elementary school she knew that it was what she wanted to do.

Her teachers had agreed that it was right for her, though she hadn’t been too worried. Most of her teachers liked her, despite her lack of socialization. It meant that she didn’t talk much in class, and she always got her work in on time or early. Early in the year they’d always be concerned about her lack of friends, but once they saw how it wasn’t going to change they left it alone.

The schooldays began to blur together in a mix of rigorous studying and trying to keep up with final assignments. Her college entrance exams finally arrived, and she got the day off of school for it. She had to wake up even earlier than usual to get on the train to go all the way down there before the sun had even truly rose.

The trains were empty, which was convenient for her at least. She sat down, looking over her notes and studying materials one last time.

Five hours later she was sitting at home, sprawled across the couch for a nap. She had work in a couple of hours, and Natsu would be home soon enough, but she was exhausted. She’d been drifting in and out of sleep for what felt like ages.

Her exam had been difficult, but her studying had hopefully paid off. She felt alright about it, but she was never one to be overconfident about test scores. She was simply happy that she didn’t have to study every moment of the day anymore. She still had regular end of year exams coming up, which meant more studying, but not such rigorous studying anymore.

At some point she heard the front door open, and she knew it was Natsu. She didn’t budge from her napping spot, eventually hearing his backpack as he walked past. She also heard how he back-stepped when he saw her sleeping in the living room.

“How was your exam?” he asked blankly.

“Exhausting.”

“Cool,” and suddenly he was gone.

She continued to attempt to sleep, until eventually her phone beeped and she knew that she had work.

And then two months passed, and suddenly she was finished with high school. It was surreal, finishing up classes with people she was familiar with but didn’t truly know at all.

She didn’t plan to go to her actual graduation, but Natsu wanted her to. She wasn’t sure why, and it meant she wouldn’t be able to cook dinner. He practically yelled at her when she said that, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She agreed to go, only so she could take him and he could see the high school he’d attend the next school year. She considered introducing him to some of her favorite teachers, maybe he’d end up in their classes eventually.

That was how her and Natsu ended up lying to everyone there about their parents being unable to attend, and how her formal shoes truly made her feet ache. She stood in a crowd of students who she wasn’t friendly with, and the only people she could familiarly speak to were teachers.

They ended up going to some place for dinner, since it was already too late for her to start cooking. It was a small place. Natsu nearly ran into a poor woman, her kid looking absolutely shocked. Fuyumi waved at him while Natsu apologized profusely, noting that he was about Shouto’s age. He had wild green hair that needed a haircut, and he was smiling widely despite nearly being plowed into.

It wasn’t long before they were back in a dark, silent house. Fuyumi walked down the hall in front, while Natsuo talked excitedly about the high school and what he was looking forward to. She had no idea what to expect from college, but she was certainly terrified.

She was thankful she had studied so much, because she did excellent on her entrance exams and was officially accepted into it for the next school year. It was enough to put a smile on her face every time she thought about it, even when her dad walked past them in the hall.

The look that Natsuo gave him was enough to drill holes through the wall, but Fuyumi set her arms on his shoulders to lead him past. She was a bit jealous of all of the kids at graduation with both of their parents there, but now she had a picture of her and Natsu to show her mom. They may not have had the happy family all of those other kids had (and it may have crushed her heart), but she had a mom to visit soon and she was going to college. It all meant a lot to her, no matter the circumstances.

She smiled politely at her dad, even if he didn’t even bat an eye once she pulled Natsu away. He only seemed irritated, not even noticing their formal attire for a graduation.

That night Fuyumi hung up her backpack and finally threw away her notebooks and textbooks, finished with high school. She was nervous, but she was ready, all things considered.

Fuyumi was twenty-two.

She stood in front of a blackboard, drawing a simple math problem on the board. Her students— a class of second graders, were watching. Some of them looked beyond confused, while others wrote down what she was doing on their worksheets for examples later on, just as she’d taught them.

A small smile was on her face. She was looking forward to getting home, though it was killing her to be at work. At that moment UA’s sports festival was going on, and her baby brother was competing against a bunch of competitive and serious hero students.

She knew he was capable, she’d heard enough training sessions to be sure of it. Though, worry never failed to bloom in her. Especially after the attack on the USJ, which was enough to give her a heart attack. He had stoically assured her that he could take care of it, but that was not the best type of reassurance. She'd have preferred to be told that the heroes could take care of it, not the fifteen year old students.

And then they hosted their sports festival anyways, and she couldn’t even be there to watch it. She would be home in time for the individual student battles, but she had no idea how the rest was going.

When the day finally ended she was practically running out of the building, saying a hurried bye to her coworkers and ushering her students out as quickly as possible. The train ride home could not have possibly taken longer, and when she finally ran in to the living room there was an individual fight going on.

She texted Natsu to ask what he knew about what happened, and it wasn’t hard to find the students still competing online. Shouto was still in, although she wasn’t surprised at that. On the broadcast in that moment was some electric quirk and some vine quirk, but she wasn’t concerned about that.

She waited until she saw Shouto. He came onto screen, and she instantly paid attention to it. She had several different sets of papers to grade, but her baby brother was in the sports festival and that took precedence. Natsuo told her that he was watching, despite being in lectures and her protests to that.

It was a lot of things that looked way too intense for high school kids. And then, Shouto was faced against a green haired kid. He was also in class A, which meant they probably knew each other. Shouto didn’t talk to her, but she had a feeling he wasn’t very social, anyways.

It looked like a normal fight at first. A lot of moves that Fuyumi’s eyes couldn’t keep up with, and she was just terrified Shouto would be badly hurt. That was, until orange flames lit up the broadcast.

The breath had never been knocked out of her so quickly. She couldn’t exactly say why, but tears fell quickly out of her eyes. She knew that Shouto didn’t use his fire, not since their mother had been sent away. So, seeing him use it on the screen, as if the green haired kid had told him to, it was enough to make her cry.

When Shouto showed up a day later she couldn’t resist hugging him. He’d won third place, but that didn’t mean anything to her. He had used his flames. So, when he stiffly hugged her back, she was sure that it meant as much as she had initially assumed.

“Hey, um, do you know if I could visit mom?”

Shouto looked unfazed when she cried once again. It felt as if, for a moment, they were working towards a happy family. They always had a long way to go, but this was the most forward progress they’d made since he was born. It was huge.

“Of course!” she shouted in his face, hugging him again.

He walked away then, as she was used to. Except, flickers of hope were burning bright within her. It was anything but normal, but it was good. It was actually really, really good.

The next time she visited her mom, she looked happier than Fuyumi had seen her since she was a child. Her good mood spread to Fuyumi instantly, and it made for the most lively conversation in awhile. Full of excitement and true joy.

Things were going actually good.

And then, just a couple of months later, shortly after the terrifying UA summer camp attack, her dad thanked her for dinner. She had been walking down the hall with her laundry basket, and suddenly he said it. She had turned quickly, an embarrassingly rude look on her face. She had to look around to ensure he was actually talking to her.

She’d nodded and answered politely, as she had been taught to do as a child. The next day when she went to sit down alone for dinner, her dad was there. She didn’t know if the universe was playing some sick game on her or she’d truly lost her mind.

When he asked how her day was, she had to ask what was happening. Then, she learned something that absolutely blew her mind. For whatever reason, she didn’t care, her father was trying to improve. For some reason.

Fuyumi was careful not to burst into tears at the kitchen table during the first actual conversation with her father in years. It was slightly awkward, but once she got talking about her students she didn’t stop until she was cleaning up the table. Instead of cleaning up the table herself, her dad did it.

Her world had been flipped upside down, but in the best way possible. From then on out she didn’t eat dinner alone most days, which Natsuo found frustrating and she didn’t mind. Natsuo wasn’t on board with everything, and she completely understand. She got on board with it herself rather quickly.

Being around her dad was intimidating, and she wasn’t used to it, which made it scary. Though, if he was putting in actual effort, she could believe things could improve. She’d never force Natsu to forgive him, not after everything, but she wanted to get him to hear things out and try. They had an actual chance for a happy-- certainly not normal-- but even so a happy family.

If she truly thought about it she got upset at her dads actions. It made the concept of eating normal dinners with him feel sickening, knowing he had been the one to create their family out of a selfish goal and it was that goal that tore it apart, and then he left her and Natsu all alone once it was all said and done. Yet, the prospect of a happy family was far too tempting.

So, she tried her absolute best for it. Shouto began to write their mom letters, visiting her whenever he got off school. They were busier lately, and she had a feeling it was the villain threat.

Shouto moved into dorms at UA due to that, too, and she no longer needed to stay in their house. She was looking at apartments, specifically ones her mom could also live in when she got released from the hospital. It never seemed like a possibility, but she was doing so much better after Shouto and her made up.

Fuyumi was watching her family slowly fix itself and she couldn’t believe it. She had wanted such a thing for so long, even if she’d stopped daring to dream for it. Things weren’t perfect, dinners still didn’t go particularly well. A villain threat was growing everyday, but she was almost unaware of it. It was why when she heard from the news that her dad and brother were with two of Shouto’s friends, she invited them over for dinner.

Her love for cooking never faded, and she didn’t get to make anything for many people anymore. Shouto had told her a bit about his friends, and she knew about Midoriya from the sports festival. Bakugou seemed friendly from what she’d heard, and she was also aware that he was the one who was kidnapped at their summer camp. Just thinking of how horrid it was that anyone could do that made her horribly upset.

So, she told her dad to bring them over for dinner. She practically begged Natsu to come over, and once he found out that Shouto’s friends were coming, he finally gave in. It meant that it wouldn’t just be their family, and they could tell from the news that they seemed like nice kids.

It was a rather awkward meal, but they got a conversation going. Except, things could never go quite well in their family. She was used to that, but seeing things get better and getting her hopes up only to see it fail repeatedly was rather upsetting. Natsu got up just minutes after they’d sat down, and she could feel how the energy in the room changed.

She tried not to feel too upset. Natsuo had come, just like he’d said. That was better than not showing up at all. She tried to keep the conversation going, and Midoriya was polite enough to go along with it. Shouto was good at ignoring the mess that was their family.

When Bakugou shouted about their improperness for talking about trivial familial topics with guests over, guilt pooled over. It was hard not to talk about when it was happening around them. Bakugou was rather loud, but he was clearly a fan of the food. She never matured out of loving compliments on her cooking.

Much to her surprise, Midoriya gave his two cents on the situation. Which meant that he actually knew about the situation, which was shocking. She proceeded to overspill, something she wasn’t prone to doing. She never really spoke about their family to anyone, but these kids already knew enough about it. She talked about Touya, because she noticed her father had been visiting his shrine, too, leaving him fresh in her mind.

Hours later she found out that her brother had been taken as a hostage for a villain, and her heart dropped out of her chest for the tenth time that year. Apparently Shouto and his friends had saved him, but she was only concerned that he was okay. Worrying about one brother being attacked by villains was enough, she wasn’t used to worrying about two.

That night she was able to relax, and she found that the excitement of the day had left her exhausted. She was never accustomed to a sudden break in her routine, but it was nice. Natsu had seemed slightly different, and she couldn’t help but think it wasn’t just because he had been kidnapped by a villain.

Shouto’s friends were nice. He seemed particularly close with Midoriya, in a way closer than simple friends, and she couldn't help but smile at it. Bakugou was loud and blunt, but he had good intentions and enjoyed her cooking. She still felt guilty for getting those kids wrapped up in their family drama, but she should have known it’d happen with the nature of their family.

Overall, it was a spectacular day.

Fuyumi was twenty-three the day that the hero’s disappeared.

She wasn’t even aware of that fact, considering she was in class. Her students were all acting normal, and she wasn’t looking at her phone. She was in the middle of an explanation of a math problem when her coworker, the front office lady, ran in.

“You have to look at the news.”

Considering she was in the middle of class, she didn’t think anything was that important. But, in case it had anything to do with Shouto or her dad, she obliged. She was pushed down the hall rather hurriedly, and she was sat to face the news in the staff room.

What faced her was a broadcast of the flame villain, one of the ones who had attacked Shouto and his classmates. What she did not expect to hear, in alarmingly familiar words, was something that sounded an awful lot like her family's story.

It didn’t take long for it to click in her head. One of the other teachers said that the heroes and villains were at war, and this cut off the live feed. Yet, this live feed was something more terrifying than anything else imaginable.

The flame villain, Dabi, mentioned Shouto. Mentioned her mom, though calling her his own mom, too. A lot of bad things said about Endeavor, and the hero society. Something about Hawks, but she had already stopped listening. She grabbed the remote herself and rewinded it, dropping the remote when she heard a certain set of words.

She was terrified. It was impossible. Her big brother, Touya, died. He died to his own quirk, and the dead didn’t come back. She mourned him, she took care of Natsu when he mourned, and he was dead.

Yet, as the broadcast flickered back to the normal news and she took one last look at the villain sitting there, she saw a horrible familiarity in his angry bright blue eyes.

Her entire world shattered. Touya wouldn’t kidnap a kid, or attack Shouto. He had every right to hate their dad, but he wouldn’t try to kill him.

Fuyumi couldn’t breath.

On the actual news feed, all it showed was a whole lot of dust. But, through it, blue flame stretched up. Touya. Touya was down there, fighting her dad. Possibly Shouto.

He’d never kill Shouto. He hadn’t meant to lash out as a kid, and he wasn’t a murderer. Except he had called himself one, directly to the camera. Her coworkers were backed up away from the chair she had sat herself at, as if she was someone to be scared of. The weight of that initial action hadn't set in yet, not when the room was spinning and her stomach felt ready to empty itself.

She shuddered, “Can I get a substitute?”

One of them nodded, and she walked out, trying her best to keep upright. She had to get out, then she could panic. Because Touya was dead. Touya was not a villain.

She grabbed her purse from her classroom, not acknowledging the students questioning her. She walked out the front door of the building as quickly as possible, choking on air and her own tears.

Her phone rang from her purse, and she leaned on a wall to keep herself upright. It didn’t make sense, but it did, it made a lot of sense. Blue flames, a hatred for Endeavor, a lot of anger from an unfair childhood. Except, they weren’t murderers. They’d never be murderers, it was impossible.

The news said otherwise.

She dug her phone out of her purse, unable to keep her hand steady. She picked up without checking the caller ID.

“Did you see the news?” Natsuo practically breathed the moment she answered.

She tried to gather herself to have a steady voice before answering, “Yes.”

Her hand was shaking, causing her phone to keep moving away from her ear. Natsu didn’t answer at first, and she could hear him walking. Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that he should be in class, but all she could think was that Touya was out there attacking their baby brother.

“Is it real?” he asked quietly.

She shut her eyes. She tasted salt, and it was only then that she realized she was crying. It felt like she was thirteen again, when Natsu would cry for hours on end because Touya was gone. He’d ask her empty questions then, like if it’d be okay or if they’d ever see him again. She never had an answer then.

“I think so.”

She heard more shuffling from the phone, and the automated voice of a train station in the background. She leaned off of the wall, trying to ensure she had herself steady. Once she was sure, she walked down the sidewalk and to the train station.

“I’m coming home before trains get all clogged up if there’s a whole battle going on right now.”

His voice was unsteady and he sounded out of breath, and she sympathized completely. He had a good point, and she was happy that at least one of them was thinking straight.

“Ill see you soon, stay safe, we’ll talk about this at home,” she rushed to say as she ran into the train station herself, focusing on the single goal of getting home.

It felt like an eternity before Natsuo came through the door and joined her in the family room, staring at the blurry footage on the tv of the fight going on. All she could clearly see was blue flames stretching up through the endless dust, and it was enough to have her crying.

Touya was down there, causing so much pain. He’d killed, and hurt, and destroyed so many people. Not as a hero, not because someone forced him to. He had.

She couldn’t process it, and when Natsu finally walked in she stood and hugged him tightly. The news didn’t have anything useful, anyways.

“What the hell,” he whispered.

She could only shake her head, pulling away and sitting back down. She hadn’t mourned over his death for nothing. He wouldn’t be a murderer. He was a good person, he went through a lot of bad things but he was good deep down, she knew that.

The news said much differently, and she couldn’t take it. She was absolutely speechless, and unsure of what was happening.

The next two days passed in a blur. A huge villain wrecked havoc among the country, destroying thousands of peoples homes and buildings. The roads and train stations were either too busy or shut down, so they were stuck alone in the house.

Natsu’s classes had been cancelled, and her school closed for the next few days. She was told not to come back for the entire week, and had no idea what the implications of that were.

Touya’s broadcast had also gotten to her mom, who they couldn’t visit due to the inability to travel. Fuyumi’s phone was constantly being pinged by people who were her friends, questioning her about the truth of Touya’s broadcast.

Her dad and Shouto were alive, though both were horribly injured, by Touya. When she’d gotten that call she collapsed onto the closest surface, unable to process it.

Touya was Dabi, the supervillain who killed and kidnapped and hurt. Her big brother Touya, who used to pretend he didn’t notice the difference between her cooking and someone else’s. He was a good big brother.

He tried to kill Shouto. Shouto, who had gone through nearly just what he had and was a good person. He once kidnapped Shouto’s friend, a good kid who was trying to become a hero. He nearly killed countless heroes, and had killed many heroes. He attempted to kill their father many times.

She couldn’t process it.

It wasn’t just that. He had also told the entire world their story, out of a selfish ambition to ruin their dad. Told everyone the horror of their childhood, ones which her and Natsu kept carefully hidden from everyone they could manage to.

Now, both of their phones were blowing up with people asking the truth and how they never told them, asking other selfish things for their own cruel entertainment. Fuyumi did not want to explain everything that she kept locked away to people who were terrified of her now because of a brother she thought was dead.

It didn’t help with the multiple emails she’d already gotten from her students parents. People were worried about themselves first, but the fact that she was already got emails was worrying for her entire job. A job which she loved, more than almost anything.

It was too much to handle. Natsu was in the same situation as her, and they were both trapped inside the house with nothing to do but watch the news and pray that Touya didn’t hurt more people.

The deaths were in-numerous. Those who did survive the havoc wrecked across the country were displaced in many possible ways. Thousands of homes and jobs lost, and they didn’t even know the total amount of lives. Apparently dozens of heroes had already begun to resign, and it had been only two days.

She hadn’t payed much attention to the messes of society. She’d been focused on their family, one which was slowly getting better. It was dozens of times better than it had been ever a year prior, and she had been overjoyed.

And then their previously dead brother told the entire world of everything they kept hidden, and it was all for naught. They had no idea where things were going anymore. It was as if they were little kids again, alone with just each other while horrors happened around them.

When they finally got to see their mom, or when they were finally allowed to get to the hospital as family of the heroes, it didn’t improve. Fuyumi was happy to be able to see Shouto, and the biggest surprise of all was seeing her mom.

She was released from the hospital. There was no chance she was anywhere near okay, and things were worse in the world than ever. Yet, they let her out to see Shouto, and trusted Fuyumi to make sure that she was okay. Fuyumi wasn’t even okay herself, but no one asked that before they got into the car that would drive them to the hospital Shouto was at.

Fuyumi kept her composure, even when the reporters outside of the hospital wouldn’t go away. Their faces were never open to the public, but family of the injured were the only ones allowed inside and it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

She kept her composure when she finally saw Shouto, and when he saw their mom out of the hospital. The other students looked exhausted and worn out, and Fuyumi could only imagine. She had put on nice clothes before leaving, in an attempt to try to look put together while she broke down on the inside.

Then came the moment they went to see their dad. Fuyumi was worried about her mom, but she seemed to be doing better than any of them. Fuyumi knew a lot about keeping up false appearances, but that wasn’t what her mom was doing, she could tell.

It was rather surprising to see their dad crying. He said a proper apology, only about twenty years too late. Her mom walked forward and shocked them all, being braver than any of them as she spoke to their dad.

It was a rather unsettling day. Fuyumi had no idea what was happening, and unexpected things were coming out everywhere. They all said their part in the conversation, one between all of them. The only one missing was Touya, but they’d assumed he was dead for years, anyways.

It was a week later when she was fired from her job, considered as a safety hazard for students, despite being a model teacher. Natsuo lost nearly all of his friends, and Shouto and her father had a too-heavy burden put on them. Their mom came home with them, to a home that had never been kind to any of them.

Touya was out there somewhere, wreaking havoc or planning to do so. He went through what they all had, but he turned into a villain for that. Fuyumi couldn’t blame him for being angry, but she could very well blame him for trying to kill Shouto and essentially ruining her and Natsuo’s lives.

Fuyumi wasn’t one to get angry. With reminders of the most painful thing she could remember everywhere she looked, she did what she always had and tried to take care of her family.

Except, they were taking care of each other. None of them could do it on their own, they’d tried that in the past and it was miserable. Society was a mess, it seemed as if the world was falling apart.

At twenty-three years of age, Fuyumi Todoroki, jobless, living at home, was watching a broadcast of her murderous and very much not-dead brother. Her father and brother were off doing rigorous hero work. Her other brother was beside her, along with her precious mother.

It was a mess, and their family always had been. It was still a horrific mess, and nothing was fixed. Fixing their family had been put on hold, and she didn’t know if it was even possible anymore.

Even if it wasn’t everyone, Fuyumi would never let go of her hopes for wanting a happy family. It simply wasn’t possible for her, despite all the times she'd been denied a happy family in the past.