Chapter Text
Shouto can tell immediately that something is wrong. It’s loud around him and he’s currently unable to see, feeling something soft over his head. He knows by the sounds around him that he’s not at home in his bed. He wriggles a little, until he sees a prick of light, using it to guide him out of the darkness.
His head pops out from under heavy cloth and Shouto just freezes. He’s sitting on the ground outside, somewhere he doesn’t recognize, and there’s people yelling, fighting all around him. He sees a boy covered in sparkling green lightning punching someone who looks like they might be part lizard. A blonde girl is throwing knives at a boy with lots of arms.
Someone screams, “Eri, no!” nearby him and Shouto is terrified.
He’s somehow woken up in the middle of a fight, and he looks down to see he’s wearing his pajamas, the ones Fuyumi had helped him put on before he went to bed. They’re soft and blue, and Shouto’s eyes fill with tears. Where was Fuyumi? What was he doing here? Why was he in the middle of this battle?
“Shit!” someone curses behind him, and Shouto’s head whips around. A teenage boy with yellow hair is staring down at him, looking totally shocked as he shouts, “Fuck, fuck! Shinsou, get Eri out of here! I’ll get Todoroki.”
“I’m on it!” a boy with purple hair calls, wrapping his arms around an unconscious girl who looks a few years older than Shouto. Shouto doesn’t know what’s happening, he doesn’t understand. How do these teenagers know his name?
“Hey, Todoroki,” the yellow-haired boy says, stepping closer with his hands out, “Do you remember me? It’s uh, Kaminari.”
Shouto’s shaking as he crawls backwards on his hands. There’s an explosion to his left, someone screaming the word “Die!” and Shouto clamps his hands over his ears. He’s scared, he’s so scared. He knows his father won’t help and momma and Touya are gone, but where was Fuyumi? Natsuo? How did he get out of the house? Where was he?
Shouto’s eyes fill with tears as he starts to panic, wriggling out of whatever he was stuck inside of. As he stands up and moves, he’s surprised to see he was trapped in a pile of clothing, which looks strangely like a hero costume. Shouto wonders where the hero is who it belonged to.
“Hey, it’s alright,” the boy, Kaminari says soothingly, both he and Shouto wincing as another explosion takes place to their left, “I know this is probably really scary, but I’m a hero student, okay? I’m here to help you Todoroki, I promise.”
Shouto doesn’t understand how this teenager knows his name. He’s so scared, completely terrified, and he just wants to be safe. He’s standing on shaky legs when a burst of blue flames surges to his right, and Shouto’s eyes widen.
He knows this quirk. Knows it intimately, because it belongs to his favorite person, the one who’s not around anymore. The one who burned on the mountain, who’s death made momma cry and Endeavor get angrier. He knows these flames. He sees them in his dreams.
Touya. Touya’s here.
“Nii-san!” Shouto screams, tears pouring out of his eyes, “Nii-san, where are you? I’m scared, Touya, please!”
Kaminari looks confused, like he’s unsure what to do, and the blue flames surge higher. There’s a sudden scream of pain from somewhere behind Shouto, and a tall, dark figure lands in between him and Kaminari.
He’s tall, with a long, black coat, and his body is covered in scars. His hair is black and spiky, and there’s blue flames swirling around his palms. It seems impossible, Shouto had seen Touya only a few weeks ago, and Touya was dead, after all, but it has to be Touya. It has to be.
His suspicions are confirmed when the person turns around and Shouto sees his eyes. He’s older looking, his face is as badly scarred as the rest of him, but his eyes are the unmistakable Todoroki blue. It’s him, it’s Touya.
“What the fuck,” Touya says, staring at Shouto like he’s seeing a ghost. Kaminari tries to move between them, but Touya’s flames surge, preventing him from getting close.
“Nii-san!” Shouto cries, his eyes filled with tears as he barrels into Touya’s legs. He sobs and shakes, scared because he doesn’t know what’s going on, but mostly relieved because his brother is here. Touya is here, Touya is alive. Shouto’s not alone in this scary place.
Shouto feels a warm hand on his back as Touya bends down, kneeling in front of him. The flames ebb down a little around him, so all the strange people around him can see Shouto standing there, sobbing as Touya touches his back.
“Natsu said you died,” Shouto hiccups, rubbing his eyes as he cries, “On the mountain. You got burned, Touya-nii?”
Touya sighs, reaching over to stroke Shouto’s hair. “Yeah, I got burned real bad, Shou. Did you miss me, bud?”
Shouto’s lower lip wobbles as he nods. “Y-Yeah, m-momma hurt me and father sent her away. I m-miss you Touya, please come home. It’s scary without you. I d-don’t want you to go away again.”
Touya just sighs, looking conflicted before he picks Shouto up, tucking him against his chest. Shouto can hear gasps of surprise and worried shouts around him, but it doesn’t matter. In Touya’s embrace, Shouto completely relaxes, resting his face against Touya’s chest. The crying stops, the fear ends.
Touya won’t let anyone hurt him. His brother is here, he has him held close, he’s safe. Touya will protect him, he won’t let Shouto be hurt or scared. Maybe Touya can even take him far away from here, away from his father.
“Todoroki!” one of the teeangers cries, sounding upset, “Put him down, Dabi! What are you doing?”
Shouto clings to Touya, pressing his face against him as he relaxes into the embrace. Touya’s always felt larger than life, the one that could stand up to their father and win. Touya protected their mom, he protected Shouto. When he died on the mountain, Shouto had been lost, confused. When momma burned Shouto’s eye, it made it worse. Shouto was scared, so terrified, but it all doesn’t matter now because Touya is here.
Touya rubs Shouto’s back, murmuring, “I’ve got you, Shou, don’t worry.”
Shouto knows, smiling against Touya’s chest. He could relax now. He was safe. He supposes it’s weird that Touya was this tall and older than he was a few weeks ago, but Shouto doesn’t question it.
“P-Put him down right now!” someone, a girl, calls behind him. Shouto winces. Who are these people and why do they want to take Shouto away from his brother?
“Would you really tear a little kid away from his brother?” Touya asks, his voice rumbling through his chest and into Shouto’s body, “You want to stay with me, right Shou? You want to stay with your nii-san?”
Shouto nods, not looking up from Touya’s chest. He feels safe, safer than he’s felt in weeks, safer than he’s felt when he got his quirk and his dad took him away from his siblings and his mom.
“Todoroki, come on!” someone shouts desperately, “Try and remember! You know us, Todoroki- Shouto, we’re your friends!”
Shouto peeks his face out, looking at the group of desperate teenagers staring at him. They’re all in hero costumes and Shouto doesn’t know what to make of them. They look truly panicked and Shouto doesn’t understand why. The group of other people, villains, Shouto is pretty sure, are staring at him and Touya too, wearing similar expressions of disbelief.
One man, covered in severed hands, is staring at Shouto like Christmas has come early, a maniacal grin on his face. Shouto doesn’t like it, so he turns back to the teenagers, all of whom look desperate, anxious expressions on their faces.
“Shouto, please,” one of them, a boy dressed in all green, says, his body still crackling with green lightning, “We’re your friends. That…that person isn’t who you think he is.”
Shouto doesn’t believe him. He knows Touya. This is Touya, he knows his brother better than anyone. He doesn’t know these weird kids, but he knows his family. He snuggles against Touya’s chest, putting a thumb in his mouth before remembering that his dad doesn’t like it when he does that. He grips onto Touya’s jacket instead.
“Sorry, Shou, this must be confusing as fuck,” Touya murmurs, “I promise, you’re alright. I’ll keep you safe, okay?”
Shouto nods, he trusts Touya. He relaxes into him again, looking out at all the strange people. He doesn’t understand what’s happening here, but he knows that as long as he stays with his brother, he’ll be safe.
“Shouto, come on!” one of the girls calls to him, sounding truly afraid, “Please, come with us, I promise, we’re your friends!”
Shouto doesn’t want to listen anymore. He wants to go home with Touya. He’s tired, his head hurts, and everything is too loud. It’s scary here, and he doesn’t like it.
“Touya, wanna go with you,” Shouto mumbles into Touya’s chest.
“Alright,” Dabi says soothingly, “We’re going to my place then, kid. I’m going to protect you now.”
Shouto sighs happily, relief flooding him in a way he’s never felt before. He’s going with Touya. He’s going away from here. He doesn’t have to go back to their terrifying house and doesn't have to go back with his father.
“Okay,” Shouto says happily, resting on his chest.
“Close your eyes, kiddo,” Touya says quietly. Shouto obliges, shutting his eyes and feeling the warmth of his brother’s arms around him. A cold feeling comes over him, he hears people screaming his name, and then there’s an odd sensation, like he’s being put in a cold shower.
He keeps his eyes closed, like Touya had asked him to, trusting his brother implicitly. He keeps them closed until Touya tells him gently that he can open them again.
“Well, welcome home, Shou,” Touya says quietly as Shouto looks around. He’s in what looks like a dark restaurant. There’s a man made of mist standing behind a long counter who is cleaning glasses. Shouto hesitates, and then waves at him. The misty man waves back.
Touya gently sets Shouto down and Shouto clings to his leg, looking around with curiosity, but not without fear. His eyes widen when spots other people standing around the room, some of which he had just seen in the fight.
“These are my friends,” Touya says calmly, making Shouto relax, “You don’t need to be afraid. I won’t let anybody hurt you.”
A girl in a school uniform giggles, getting uncomfortably close to Shouto’s face as she smiles and him, waggling her fingers.
“Hi, cutie!” she laughs, right up in Shouto’s face, “Aw, you sure a sweet little thing. Dabi, you didn’t tell us your brother used to be so cute!”
The words are nice, but Shouto finds the girl a little scary, turning to hide his face in Touya’s leg.
“Fuck off, Toga,” Touya sighs, bending down to pick Shouto up again, Shouto immediately feeling safer up high, “Kid has no idea what the fuck is going on, be nice.”
“Oh, we will be,” a new voice says, and Shouto turns to see a man with almost gray skin and red eyes staring at him with a manic expression. “Little Shouto Todoroki. This changes the game, adds in a new player. I like our odds.”
Shouto has no idea what the guy is talking about, looking at Touya in confusion. Touya just looks exasperated, sighing as he hitches Shouto up in his arms.
“Touya, why aren’t you dead?” Shouto asks quietly, and everyone goes silent.
“What kind of fucked question is that? I want to know, too!” A man yells from the corner.
Touya just sighs, moving to sit down at a table in the room with Shouto still in his arms. He looks tired, and Shouto just stares at his face, tracking his brother’s older jawline, and the painful looking scars. His body seems held together with metal staples, and it looks like it hurts a lot.
“Because I didn’t actually die,” Touya tells him, “I just got burned, really badly. Woke up in a hospital a year later fucked out of my head and burned to shit. Figured it was easier to stay dead after that.”
Shouto considers this, ignoring everyone else in the room as he talks to his brother. “But…it’s only been a few weeks, Touya-nii. Not a year.”
“You got hit by a quirk, Shou. You’re not actually a little kid. You’re sixteen,” Touya tells him. Shouto processes this for a moment. He supposes it makes sense, and Touya doesn’t lie. It would also explain why Touya looks so much older and all those teenagers knew who he was.
“Okay,” Shouto says, his eyes drooping closed. He’s very tired.
“Dabi, this isn’t a daycare,” a voice scoffs to their right, “We can’t watch over a little brat.”
Touya huffs, “Fuck off. Shou’s strong as shit, he could take you out with his pinky finger. Don’t forget who’s been training him, Spinner.”
Shouto winces. He doesn’t want to think about training. Doesn’t want to think about his father, of the horror of their home. If Shouto is really a teenager, then maybe just maybe he’s out of Endeavor’s clutches. But in Shouto’s mind, he’s a small child, and the last thing he remembers is his father beating him black and blue in training while Fuyumi iced his bruises.
Touya rubs Shouto’s back, hitting one of his sore spots from training. Shouto hisses, gripping Touya’s shirt.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Touya asks, voice concerned, “You didn’t get fucking hit in the fight, did you?”
Shouto shakes his head. Now that he’s more relaxed, he remembers just how much his body is aching from his last training session with his father. Endeavor had gone a little harder than usual, and he starts tearing up again, pressing his face back against Touya’s chest.
“Shou, I’m going to check under your shirt, alright?” Touya asks gently, and Shouto nods. Fuyumi does this too. Natsuo usually just runs away, he doesn’t like seeing Shouto’s bruises and cuts.
Touya very gently lifts up the back of Shouto’s shirt, hissing when he sees Shouto’s back. His skin is molten, so many bruises and burns it’s hard to see any of his skin at all.
“Fucking shit,” Touya snarls, “Shouto, did Endeavor do this?”
Shouto nods, trembling. Touya knows, Touya understands. Touya was trained by their father too. If Shouto is really sixteen, he’s not sure why the bruises from his training session would still be there. Maybe part of the quirk that turned him small? But to Shouto, the session was only last night, and everything still hurts.
“That bastard,” someone else snaps, “So, the number one hero is an abusive fuck? I guess we should have known. Dabi, why the hell didn’t you tell us? We could have gotten your brat brother out of their sooner-”
“He was safe at UA!” Touya snaps, keeping his arm around Shouto, “He was finally…fuck, he was finally safe. Dammit, Shou, I’m sorry. Where does it hurt, kid?”
The answer is everywhere but Shouto knows from experience with Fuyumi that his brother just wants to know where his injuries are. Shouto doesn’t feel like talking, he just tugs on the hem on his shirt. Touya seems to understand, very carefully taking off Shouto’s pajama shirt.
“Fuck,” a voice says, and Shouto just keeps his eyes focused on Touya. Touya’s face is drawn, his eyes haunted as he scans Shouto’s chest and back. Shouto knows it looks bad, because Fuyumi had cried more than usual when she had tried dressing his wounds.
“Kurogiri,” Touya suddenly says, “Do we have a first aid kit?”
Shouto turns his head to see the misty man behind the bar nod, reaching for a white box which he brings over to Touya.
“Here,” Kurogiri says, his form undulating and shifting as he passes the first aid kit to Touya. Touya says nothing, just opens the kit and begins to put some cooling cream on Shouto’s burns. Shouto closes his eyes, feeling exhausted down to his bones.
Touya quietly finishes what Fuyumi couldn’t the night before, and soon Shouto is nearly asleep. His body is sore and aching, but it feels a lot better now that Touya has fixed some of his injuries.
“Sleep, Shou,” Touya says, voice tight, laced with anger that Shouto can’t understand, “Rest. I’ve got you.”