Spoiler warning!

Stop reading this fanfiction if you don't want a potential CANON plot point revealed. I'm not going to say what it is, but you'll eventually find out! It has everything to do with the Todoroki family.

I edited my work to remove the prologue chapter, because it was setting off my actual chapter count. Happy reading.

Prologue

Todoroki Teiko grew up in the middle of nowhere. Their mother and father had only married because of their strong quirks, the former's being control of earth, and the latter the ability to manipulate fire. As a result, the Todoroki home was a place their peers avoided. It was a rare day when all four of the hot tempered kin were settled. More often than not, there was some sort of fight or shouting match. Their parents slept in separate rooms. Teiko and her mother in one, while Enji and their father got the smaller cubicles of bedrooms to themselves.

Enji and Teiko were encouraged to fight one another, so they'd develop a better sense of their quirks. From the start, they were told they'd be heroes. Teiko was favored even more for having two abilities. She inherited both pyrokinesis and terrakinesis. They told her she was special and that she had a destiny for greatness. So of course, Teiko went the farthest possible route from the path set for her. She was accepted to UA, but turned it down to attend an agricultural school.

As for Enji, he took his acceptance with both hands. Though he hadn't succeeded in his home life, he had his biggest rival out of the way. His path was clear for him to become the number one hero.

Neither of them were particularly distraught when they were called to identify their parents' bodies. Enji was only fifteen. Teiko had been twenty. The hunks of mangled flesh and splintered bone before them looked nothing like a human, let alone their tormenters. The authorities wound up having to use dental records to confirm their identities. Neither child attended their funeral. As the eldest, Teiko inherited their plot of land. She looked out at the modest fields they'd used for training, the forest that bordered their home, and saw a good place to farm. She churned the soil and began a new chapter.

Though her childhood had taught her to be hard, her boarding school made her adjust her ways. She woke up to the fact that very few siblings had ever locked each other out of the house. Or worse, tried to set each other on fire. She became careful in what she said and learned to keep everyone at ease with her quick wit and a smile.

I

Spoiler warning!

Seriously, stop reading this fanfiction if you don't want potential CANON plot points revealed.

Some details will be changed from the canon series, but I aim to make these to make these relatively minute. Primarily, Shoto is going to be a part of his family. If you don't like it, then bye Felicia!

Teiko was forty-one years old when she first met her niece and nephews. Enji called to say his wife had gone crazy and poured boiling water on their youngest, Shoto. At Enji's insistence that Rei wouldn't be getting better anytime soon, Teiko sold her farm and moved into city limits for the first time in her life. There's so much, she thought to herself as she studied the hundreds of street lights, closed in buildings, and seemingly infinite streets and sidewalks. She got lost twice on her way to find the house.

Enji gathered the kids together and sat them like ducks in a row. They sat at the front door and waited for an aunt they never met. In their own way, all were curious. Shoto bounced in his place, naïve and excited to have an adult other than their father in the home. Toya, Fuyumi, and Natsuo were far more wary. If the new person in their house was anything like their father, they were screwed. It had only been Rei's sweetness that made the hell of a home bearable. No matter how large it was, they never seemed able to escape Enji's proverbial wrath.

The five of them stiffened when heard a noise outside the door, their eyes filled with trepidation. They watched her silhouette lean over and slip off its shoes. Teiko entered without knocking. Years of hard labor had made the 178 cm woman strong and physically fit. The shade of her hair, eyes, skin, and even the shape of her face mirrored her brother's. Her physique was capable, though not nearly as hardened with muscle. Slung across her shoulder was a modestly stuffed duffel bag. "Wow, Enji, your arms are as thick as tree trunks." She greeted her sibling first.

"That's what it takes to be a pro," he responded at once, his voice thick with arrogance. While Fuyumi was able to roll with their father's ego, Toya and Natsuo had to fight harder to suppress their rage. Instead of pursuing the conversation, he chose to introduce his children. "This is Toya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and my crowning achievement, Shoto." He said as his finger pointed to each in turn. As he did, she set down her luggage beside the front door. "This is your aunt, Teiko. She'll be helping the nanny look after you while I work."

Fuyumi and Shoto gave small bows and Natsuo slightly inclined his head, but Toya's spine remained rigid. Teiko dropped down to her knees, which caused her long ponytail of hair to slip over her left shoulder and dangle past her collarbone. She looked at the kids from their level, her eyes serious, but nowhere near as cold as their father's. "I'm not here to replace your mother," she said simply. "I am here if any of you want to talk or receive guidance in any way." She caught that her words were too heavy for young Shoto to understand. "I'm also a pretty good storyteller, if you ever want a distraction," she added for his benefit.

"That's what TVs are for," Natsuo declared as snobbishly as he could. He was determined not to like anything that had to do with his father.

"That's true," she agreed readily enough. Natsuo tilted his head, a bit more interested. The fact that she hadn't held her opinion as doctrine made her just a smidge more endearing. "But none of them include stories of how I kicked your papa's ass growing up."

To hear an adult swear so casually was so alien to them that the siblings laughed. Even Shoto, who knew the word was basically forbidden, giggled. Teiko broke the ice as smoothly as she'd hoped. Enji glowered in the corner. "Don't swear around them," he demanded. "You're not in the middle of nowhere anymore, Teiko. If they start cussing like hicks, you're out of here."

"Fine. I trashed your booty. Is that really any better?" She countered.

Enji sighed. Almost at once, he regretted his decision to pull the bumpkin from her shack. He headed for the door, but stopped just before he left. "Call if there are any problems," he said to Fuyumi. Even at twelve, she was the most rational and compassionate of his brood. The sole daughter nodded in return and Endeavor left.

Just like that, the four of them were left with a total stranger.

Toya wanted nothing to do with her. He stood and walked up the stairs to their training room. He turned on a radio in the corner and began to work his way through practices. The heavy bass of his song rumbled into the house below.

Natsuo considered joining him, but was interested in what Teiko had to say. "Exactly what are those stories?" He pressed.

Fuyumi gently nudged the white haired boy in his ribs. "That's rude to ask," she declared with a frown far too mature for her age.

"What? She's the one who offered!" Natsuo countered loudly.

Oh great, we have another yeller. Thanks for passing that trait on, Enji. "I'll tell some at dinnertime," she promised. "I'm sure Toya wants to hear them." She rose and offered her hands to Fuyumi and Natsuo. The former accepted the grasp easily enough, though the latter paused before taking her palm. Both were pulled not only to their feet, but lifted up off the ground. Fuyumi laughed in surprise and Natsuo clung on tighter. "I won't drop you," she promised.

"It's not dropping I'm worried about," the boy declared with a thick voice. He was clearly straining from the strength of his hold.

"Or throw you," Teiko added. "Unless one of you whippersnappers challenges me to a fight, I'll never harm you."

All three of the youngsters dropped their eyes. Wait… he can't be. She had to ask. "Is Enji…?"

She let the silence finish her inquiry as she lowered them back to the ground. An awkward pause filled the room. Fuyumi felt it her place to clear the air. "He's never hit me. But everyone else...yeah," she finished quietly.

"Everyone else?" Teiko sought to clarify. The anger that sparked in her eyes was so reminiscent of their father that both the little bodies clinging to her arms winced reflexively. The farmer set them down, her lips creased in a severe frown. "Rei, too?"

Fuyumi wouldn't rat him out. Though he was a prick, he was still the man who raised her. She felt it was her duty to remain quiet. Shoto was too young to have such reservations. "Yeah," the quiet boy said. "He hit Mom, too." The youngest was still upset at losing his mother. Maybe she can put Dad in a hospital and bring Mom back.

Teiko forced herself to find some calm thought in the storm of her mind. They were all fed, clean, and dressed. That was several steps up from how she and Enji were raised. The woman drew in a quiet breath and released a long, near-silent sigh. "He's hit you both for the last time," she directed her words to the brothers. "Don't worry about that anymore." What a mess. It's a miracle they're not all avoiding me. Only Shoto seems physically injured, and I know that wasn't Enji's doing.

It was a Monday, so the three oldest kids were supposed to head off to school. Fuyumi and Natsuo got themselves ready and headed off to their shared middle school. Toya made no signs of exiting the room. His songs continued to play and Teiko could hear the falls of his feet as he moved about. She'd never had kids before and wasn't quite sure she wanted to tackle the problems that came with the teen, so she addressed Shoto. "What do you normally do while they're gone?"

The dual toned boy had bandages still wrapped around his left eye. She didn't know how much he could do when so damaged. "Well," he began, "Mom and I watched lots of TV. If Dad was home, then I'd have to train," the second sentence was muttered like it was a secret.

"Those are things you did with your mom and dad. What should you do with your aunt?" Teiko saw the excitement in his eyes.

"Do I get to pick?"

"As long as it's legal," she clarified with a grin. While they talked, the door opened, but she made herself not look. Giving the eldest son any attention might spook him away. The beats boomed louder and choice rap lyrics echoed through the house.

"Can we go to the park so I can play with other kids?"

With all the freedom in the world, he chose something simple. Teiko wondered if he wasn't allowed to go out. "Is it illegal?" Maybe most six year olds had such small ideas. It could have been perfectly normal.

"Uh….I don't think so." He paused to think. "….no?" Shoto stared at his aunt and wondered if she was trying to trick him.

"Nope, it's not," she confirmed. "Let's go."

Toya slipped back into the room and turned off the deafening screaming and strode down the hall until he'd rejoined them on their level. The fourteen year old had enough sweat on him to plaster his red hair to his head. A white towel curled lazily from his neck, each end covered the tips of his collarbones. He didn't say a word, but joined Teiko and Shoto in sliding their shoes on.

Teiko had no idea where to go. "Which way is the park?" She asked Shoto, leaving her statement open if Toya wanted to lead. "Uh, I don't know," Shoto mumbled. "I've never been there before."

"It's this way." Toya set off with purpose.

Their destination was only two blocks away. Other mothers sat and watched as their tots climbed on the jungle gyms. Some tykes were too young to have manifest their quirks, while others were all too happy to show off. Shoto froze the slide and slid down with an extra burst of speed.

Teiko sat on a bench and Toya leaned on a tree a couple meters away. The farmer treated Toya like any wild animal. She didn't look at him or speak to him. In the end, the trick always worked. She didn't give him any reasons to run. A natural curiosity drove him to try for conversation. "You know I'm supposed to be in school, right?"

Has he been waiting for me to yell at him? "I can sign a note that says your grandma died." She said with a rather indifferent shrug. Toya couldn't help but stand a bit straighter.

"Did she?"

"Brutally," Teiko confirmed. Her laidback tone was as shocking as it was endearing to the young man.

"…did you do it?"

Teiko didn't look, as she had her eyes on Shoto, but her laugh showed him she was listening. "I don't do hero or villain work. I just grew the food."

"So you're quirkless," Toya said, his tone dismissive. Suddenly, if she'd lost any appeal to him.

"I am?" she made sure to sound concerned, as if she'd missed something.

He didn't like feeling like a fool. It took him a minute of silence before he answered. "Then what are your quirks?"

"I'll tell you at dinner, as well as any stories you and your siblings want to know. It's important to eat as a family."

Toya crossed his arms and glared at the ground. He was frustrated that he'd have to wait. With his father, there was always a sort of instant-gratification. He'd ask something. If it was refused, there was instant punishment. Nobody ever had to wait for anything under his type of parenting. "I don't trust you with my little brother."

Finally, she shifted her head to peer in his general direction, but not at him. "Your brothers and sister told me what your home life has been like. Your dad has hit you for the last time. I'll be having a talk with him, after dinner, and setting a few rules."

"What if he doesn't like what you say? What if he decides to beat you up?"

"Then keep the little ones back and watch closely."

Toya snorted. "He's the number two hero. You can't be that arrogant to think you can beat him."

"Sure I can. It's a family trait."

For anyone that read my other work, Toshinori's Todoroki, yup, this is the same Teiko! This time I'm operating under the assumption that she never met All Might. She never had to become a tragic lesson for the hero about pride, and she can live on. Now she gets to share her lessons for the Todoroki clan! Like it, hate it, somewhere in-between, leave some reviews for me. I'm writing this no matter what anyone thinks, but it still is nice to hear some feedback.

Ages in Manga/Show: Teiko, 51. Enji, 46. Rei, 45 (guess). Chizome Akaguro, 31. Toya, 24 (guess). Fuyumi, 22. Natsuo, 19. Shoto, 15.

Fanfiction Ages: Teiko, 41. Enji, 36. Rei, 35 (guess). Chizome Akaguro, 21. Toya, 14 (guess). Fuyumi, 12. Natsuo, 9. Shoto, 5.