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The Todoroki household had fallen silent for the night, being another means of escape from the harsh words and fists that tended to appear daily. All because of the man who ruled this household with an iron first, one that Shoto and Touya learned to fear. One that all four children and their mother feared, but it was impossible to stand up to Endeavor because of that fear when you are nothing, but a small child unable to defend themselves properly.
Shoto was just a small child who was desperate for the chance to play with his siblings, a small child who just wanted a normal childhood. A small child who wanted friends.
There was only one person who managed to gain his trust inside of the Todoroki household. An older brother who Shoto didn’t hesitate to turn to since he knew that going to their parents, Fuyumi, and Natsuo was impossible. Shoto couldn’t bring himself to open up to others despite their mother trying to defend him when their father went too far with his training. All for the sake of his ideals to defeat the number one hero who was looked up to by everyone who relied on him all across Japan. It was All Might who had the trust of the people after all because of all the amazing and good deeds that he had done since he first appeared as a hero, but that was a tale to share for another day.
The floorboards quietly creaked beneath Touya’s feet knowing that he had to be quiet to avoid being caught by anyone who might appear in the long hallway. This wasn’t the first time that Touya has walked down this hallway for the sake of the destination in mind. He wanted to make his younger brother smile after hearing the commotion that accorded inside of the training room he used to once stand in before the truth came out about his quirk. Touya was not allowed to use it anymore because of the burns that often appeared on his skin when he used his flames for a bit too long. It seemed that their father had been a bit too hard on Shoto for the last few days, it was the reason why he decided to see if he could get a smile to appear across his face. He could give Shoto a few hours of being a child without having to worry about the overbearing presence of their father, he just hoped that it would work.
Catching fireflies as Touya learned was a favorite game of his after showing him how to properly catch them the first time he brought him outside into the backyard. It seemed that the fireflies somehow really liked Shoto since he was unable to defeat him yet by playing a simple game of catch. He was hopefully somehow making things better for his little brother even though it would be impossible to escape from their father. It would be impossible to escape from his troublesome ideals.
Once he reached that familiar door, Touya quietly opened it before seeing that Shoto was already curled up in his bed with his back facing the door. Turquoise eyes glanced around for just a moment before entering the room, kneeling down by his brother’s bed. He gently placed his hand on his shoulder giving it a small shake
“Shoto, wake up.”
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“Shoto, wake up.”
A familiar hand resting against his shoulder with a small shake which slowly started to wake Shoto up from his slumber. It was Touya. Did he want something? Did he come to check on him after dealing with another day of training inside that room Shoto very much hated. It was a room that he dreaded visiting, but it was difficult trying to escape from that iron grip which held a tight grip on his wrist. One that often dragged him into that room despite his protests and the harsh words that were always thrown back at him. All because he didn’t want to train. All because he wanted a chance to play the game that his siblings were playing. A shift of his weight, mismatched eyes turned to glance at his older brother while he was trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes
“Touya...”
A small yawn escaped from him before Touya moved to help him sit up to help him wake up a bit more while whispering to keep them from getting caught.
“Come on, let’s go play your favorite game. The fireflies are out.”
The moment that Shoto heard the word fireflies, a smile moved to grace his lips which quickly helped shake away the lingering exhaustion that was there. It was true that he had spent some time training with their father again, but he was always quick to agree when it came to catching those pretty bugs. A game that had a habit of becoming a competition to see who would be able to catch the most as Shoto somehow always ended up winning. It seemed that the glowing bugs were easily attracted to him for unknown reasons, they liked him. Touya didn’t mind losing though because of the smile that was quick to appear across his younger brother’s face. It was just one small thing which most likely wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but for Shoto... He was able to forget the neverending burden that rested on his shoulders daily because of the ideals that their father had. Ideals that he didn’t hesitate to push onto his children even though it was only Shoto who had his attention. Shoto was the one who Endeavor decided was going to his masterpiece for the sake of defeating All Might which was easily an impossible dream. A dream that he didn’t hesitate to force onto Shoto since his youngest son was someone he thought would be able to carry his ideals beyond the limitations that the man managed to figure out for himself. Ideals that Shoto would eventually no longer carry once he became a student at U.A. High School which would allow him to cross paths with people who he would see as friends.
Touya grasped Shoto’s hand before peeking into the hallway to make sure that their father hadn’t gotten up. He knew that their siblings wouldn’t rat them out, but their father would be furious if he discovered them wandering the halls late at night. After he made sure that the cost was clear, he pressed a finger against his lips signaling to Shoto to be quiet before the two started to make their way down the hallway. It was a good thing that the room which belonged to their parents was a good distance away which made it easier to sneak outside when he wanted to bring that smile to Shoto’s face. He knew that chasing fireflies would help since those bugs always tended to cause him to giggle, especially if one decides to land on his nose. A laugh that he rarely gets to hear from his younger brother because of the iron fist from their father that continues to loom over their heads. A heavy burden that each child of the Todoroki family has to deal with.
Soon enough, the familiar dirt rested beneath their feet while Touya was quick to locate the hidden jars for the sake of catching fireflies. He knew that they needed to go a bit deeper into the nearby trees to find the very bugs that would soon be resting in the glass jars. He made sure to put the jars where they would be held hidden from their father’s eyes and of course their siblings since this was their little secret. This was a game that the brothers have been secretly playing for quite awhile after he figured out that Shoto enjoyed fireflies when one landed on his fingers one day. That was how the game started between the two to see who would be able to catch the most. A fun little competition to help forget the burden that rested heavily on their shoulders and the fear that existed within the walls. A competition that didn’t rely on them having to use their quirks, Touya had been forbidden to use his because of the many burns that continued to rest against his skin. He just wanted to make their father proud of him despite those warnings, he wanted to prove that he could be a hero who could surpass All Might.
A smile moved to grace his lips before handing one of the empty jars to Shoto
“Let’s see who can catch the most.”
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The brothers soon found themselves standing in the familiar spot while those glowing bugs were already floating in the air since they did come out of hiding. The lids had been removed from the jars before the game was on while a smile already moved to grace Shoto’s lips. The dual-quirk user was slowly starting to gather the green-colored bugs which started to build into a small group as the giggles escaped his lips. One that Touya was relieved to hear because of the difficult day that the both of them had to deal with once more while struggling to deal with those ideals. Ideals that the both of them were unable to escape from while Touya had been tossed aside since he wasn’t the perfect child that their father was looking for. That burden fell on Shoto’s shoulders after it was revealed that he was born with both quirks because of the features that he was born with. It was those features that separated him from his older siblings, but Touya was trying to cope with being unable to please the man who placed those ideals on him in the first place. It was supposed to be him who was going to defeat All Might, but their father didn’t want him to lose his power anymore. He didn’t want him to use those flames that he had been born with because of the burns that continued to appear across his skin when he decided to train. He just wanted a chance to prove himself, but their father wasn’t giving him the chance to do so.
Their father wanted nothing more, but to train Shoto into the perfect masterpiece that he was determined to shape into being. It was unknown if Shoto was going to become the person that their father wanted though. It was unknown what path the youngest son of the Todoroki family was going to take though. Only time would tell what was going to happen to this family and to the children who lived underneath the roof of this awful place. A truth that Touya was not going to see for himself because of the event that was going to come. An event that was going to change everything that each member of this troublesome family knew, an event that was going to separate them from one another.
With a clasp of the lid, Touya made sure that it was placed on tight to keep any of his fireflies from escaping before the brothers had a chance to compare how many they had caught. He had a feeling that Shoto most likely was going to win once again though, he always did when they placed this little game of their’s. He didn’t know why, but Shoto somehow always attracted a large amount of fireflies since they did have a habit of following them around. These glowing bugs liked his brother to where it looked like he was a Christmas tree that had been decorated by a ton of lights. Maybe his glittering ice would add a bit more color to the glow that each one of these fireflies tend to make when the darkness falls.
A smile graced his lips before he turned to face his brother who was catching a few more fireflies into the very jar that rested between his small hands.
“Shoto, let’s see how many we have caught, okay?”
Touya knew that these moments most likely weren’t going to last forever, but this was the only thing that he could do for now. This was the only thing that he could do to bring a smile to his younger brother’s face.