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Life without regular training wasn’t as different as he had expected.
At first, he was afraid that without their usual training session, his dad wouldn’t spend time with him anymore, but that wasn’t the case at all. During that time, instead of training his quirk, they spent time doing other things he’d seen on TV, like watching movies together with Yumi and Mom, or playing board games, or sometimes his dad would play ball with him–-though neither of them were very good. He’d do the things his classmates had always talked about doing with their parents now.
He didn’t want to admit it, but he liked it. He liked not having to hurt anymore even if he was disappointed in himself that he couldn’t help his dad. Dad also gave him more hugs nowadays too. He’s not sure why, but he’s not going to complain.
Touya also got to see Yumi and Mom more too, now that he wasn’t in training for hours each day. He pouted when he thought about the fact that Yumi is as big as him already. She’s supposed to be younger!
But he’s secretly satisfied when he notices that Dad doesn’t spend as much time with Yumi as he does with him. He feels bad about the unfair thought immediately afterwards. It’s not my fault Dad likes spending time with me more! He only has so much time free! He thought furiously. But…maybe I can spend time with Yumi when Dad’s not there…make sure she doesn’t feel lonely like me those two weeks Dad didn’t want to train anymore.
He nodded to himself determinedly. He’ll be the best big brother ever so Yumi will never feel alone! He made his way to Yumi’s room, knocking on the door before opening it.
“Yumi?” He asked, sticking his head in. “What’re you doing?”
His sister turned around in surprise before answering, “I’m having a tea party!” She gestured to the dolls and stuffed animals around her small table. He didn’t understand why she was having a tea party with inanimate objects, but maybe that’s a thing girls did?
“Do you want another person?”
She blinked in bewilderment before a large beaming smile took over her face. “Yes!” She rushed over and tugged him in by the hand. Seating him at the table, she happily explained the story she had going in mind, as he nodded in incomprehension.
When they brought Natsuo home, he was almost afraid that they were planning to replace him. But nothing changed other than that he and Yumi now had an extra doll to play with. Sometimes they helped Mom watch the baby when she needed to do something, but life went on as usual.
When Natsuo’s ice quirk came in, he felt doubly reassured that Dad wasn’t trying to replace him.
It was interesting that Natsuo didn’t even bother trying to get Dad’s attention. Natsuo only wanted his attention. Natsuo constantly sought Touya out or would cling to him.
Is this what having a little brother was like? Touya wondered.
“No! I don’t want to!” The scream rang across the compound.
“Touya! Come back here!”
Sometimes, Touya knew he was behaving unreasonably. He knew that he was making his parents mad. He was afraid they would get rid of him, but the fear just made his anger worse and he ended up yelling even more.
In the corner of the closet he was hiding in, he let out a quiet sob. He didn’t know why he just couldn’t listen to his parents. He wanted to, but he just couldn’t. There was an itching, a clawing feeling that sent him into a panic.
When the closet door clicked open, Touya looked up, terrified. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He wailed, as warm arms reached for him and picked him up, cuddling him to a broad chest.
A sigh came from his dad. “Touya…what’s wrong?”
“A-are you getting r-rid of m-me, now?” He sniffled and wiped his nose.
“No, we’re not. I thought you wanted to go on this trip?”
“I do, I dooo!” He cried.
“Do you not want to go anymore?”
Touya peeked up through his tears. “B-but everyone’s already ready…”
“And we can still cancel it if you really don’t want to go.”
“A-and everyone stays home?”
“And everyone stays home.”
Touya wiped his eyes and shook his head. “N-no, w-we can go.”
Dad narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you sure? We can let everyone else go and I’ll stay home with you?”
Touya pushed his head against his dad’s shoulder and shook his head again, the strained, anxious feeling settling down. “N-no, it’s okay.” He looked up in determination. “I’ll go. So…so everyone can have fun.”
“Alright, if you’re sure, firefly.”
It was when Shouto was born that he was most afraid. Shouto came out looking half like Mom and half like Dad. He didn’t like what that implied. Would he have the perfect quirk that Dad wanted in a hero to beat All Might? But Dad promised him that they’d be a team in the future, him and Dad, not Shouto. He told himself.
Dad had been giving him more strategy lessons and mind games. He was particularly good at shogi, to his Dad’s surprise. They had also discussed giving him training with quirkless fighting for self-defense.
But what shook him the most had been when someone had knocked him out and snatched him off the streets when he was walking home from school, a month after Shouto had been born. He woke up in a cage with other crying kids around him, unsure of what had happened and panicked when he couldn’t feel his quirk.
When he angrily shouted, the kidnappers told him to shut up and that he’d never see his family again. They said they had jammers in the place and that no one would ever be able to find them. Besides, they said, they made sure to only take the ones that no one would miss. It made the kids around him cry harder, and a cold feeling settle in his stomach.
Did that mean they had been watching him and figured out that parents didn’t want him anymore? That Shouto was going to be his replacement? His parents had been a bit busier than usual, but he hadn’t thought anything of it.
They were all there for a long time, with some kids disappearing. Hope was hard to keep, and the cold feeling persisted until his dad busted down the place yelling for him. Touya watched in awe at Endeavor beating up his kidnappers for daring to take his son. Then, the first thing his dad did after the villains were defeated was come over to him and give him a hug, crying into his shoulder that he had been terrified he’d never see his baby boy again.
“I’m so proud of you for staying brave.”
Touya smiled happily as it finally sank in that he wasn’t going to be thrown away, even if he was weak, even if he couldn’t help his dad beat All Might.
Touya was here to stay.