Ohmytheon notes: This is a Fun Chapter. We've had a lot of emotionally taxing and serious chapters as of late. This one is admittedly a little more of the cracky side. (Hey, we said Crack Treated Seriously - but it's still crack sometimes. lmao) I also like the idea of Touya just being a dumb teenager. Like climbing out of a window and doing stupid stuff with friends (even if he finds it hard to believe that they are, in fact, his friends). For the last scene, I looked up actual meals for this and did like quarter-assed research. While I stretched maybe a few things (like where a certain dish is served in Japan), just know that I suffered some for this chapter. The videos I watched... I'll never forget that - and neither will the characters. So yeah, have some fun with this one before we get into some really emotional, serious stuff again and shit hits the fan. The song for this chapter is "Forgive the Children We Once Were" by Delta Rae.
For love, for dreams in the night
For days to come when we'd be all right
I can't remember why I did the things I did
I was just a kid
Touya opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. Despite the darkness that filled the room, he didn't feel the desire to go back to sleep, for it had been replaced by raw confusion. He supposed he should be grateful since there were definitely worse ways to feel after nightmares, but even that was overshadowed by his befuddlement.
Some people said thought that dreams were symbolic. What did having a nightmare about being eaten by an elephant-sized version of Kouta's rabbit mean? More importantly, if he went back to sleep, would he have more dreams like that?
With a groan, he rubbed his hand against his eyes before blinking a few times. Now that he'd been awake for a moment, he could see it wasn't as dark as he'd initially thought. A slow glance at the window revealed the first rays of dusky sunlight spilling into the room. Even if he went back to sleep, it would only be for a few hours at most. It wasn't worth taking the risk of his subconscious producing more freaky shit. Even so, he laid in bed for a few more minutes before climbing out.
After getting dressed, he automatically began heading for the door. He made it a few steps before he remembered to stop and move toward his nightstand instead. There sat the cell-phone he had been given to, quote, "maintain socialization over break". It made perfect sense in theory. That didn't make hearing Aizawa say those words in his bored tone and deadpan expression any less bizarre. Touya's hand hesitated over the phone for a moment before he went ahead and pocketed it. Although he couldn't think of a reason why he might need it over the next several hours, it was probably a good idea to get into the habit of having it on hand.
He stepped out of his room and began walking without any particular destination in mind. That was probably something he should change. Trying to explain why he was aimlessly wandering around the dorms at a stupidly early hour didn't sound like fun. Rounding up enough energy to make a conscious decision (his second in only a few minutes), he turned the corner that would lead him into the kitchen.
The first thing he saw when he entered the kitchen was Kaminari, cheese in hand, poking at a sideways toaster.
Touya squinted and blinked a few times.
Nope, he wasn't so tired that he was imagining things. That was still happening. "What are you doing?" he cautiously asked.
Kaminari jumped and let out a little yelp. "Geez, you scared me, dude!" He waved a hand for him to come over, careless of the fact that Touya had already begun to approach. "I had a great idea and had to get up and try it out. You're just in time to see!"
"Yeah?" Touya blearily glanced between Kaminari and the toaster. Now that he was closer, he could see that the toaster, despite being laid on its side, was plugged in and had a plate with two pieces of bread covered in slices of cheese beside it. He didn't see anything particularly incredible at work here. Maybe he was just too tired to connect the dots.
"Yeah!" Kaminari hurried over to the refrigerator and shoved the cheese cube he had been holding back inside. He was practically vibrating in excitement as he ran back to him. "I've made… a grilled cheese sandwich maker!" He accompanied his statement with a dramatic flourish of his hands at the toaster.
Touya furrowed his brows. "Don't you just… grill a cheese sandwich?"
"Normally, but this is much easier." The devious way his classmate chuckled was somewhat concerning. "Watch and learn."
With that, Kaminari put the cheese-covered bread in the toaster, cheeseless side down, and pulled the level. The pair of them stared at the toaster for around half a minute before something occurred to Touya. Ignoring Kaminari's sounds of confusion, he walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a plate, which he proceeded to place on the ground beneath the toaster. "In case it falls," he explained. The toaster was placed precariously close to the edge of the counter.
Kaminari nodded. "Good idea."
Touya nodded in return. His gaze was directed at the toaster, but not truly focused on it. If asked, he wouldn't be able to describe the machine's appearance in detail. His mind was a haze of the desire to go back to sleep and lingering rabbit-fueled unease, unable to form any coherent thoughts as he waited for the pop of the toaster to cut through the static and force him back to some form of genuine awareness.
It wasn't the toaster, but Kaminari's excited (how was he so excited this early in the morning? About anything?) voice piping up out of the blue worked just as well. "Hey, you have a phone now, right? Or an e-mail? Something?" He reached out to grab his arm as he spoke, a new urgency shining in his eyes.
The questions were simple enough that he was able to easily process them. That didn't stop his confusion over why Kaminari was asking him. Why did it matter if he had access to some sort of communication? Just because Aizawa was encouraging him to interact didn't mean anyone would actually want to. His classmates were just doing this for Shouto's sake and to be good people, right? That obligation was null and void over spring break.
"Yes," Touya slowly said, brows furrowing as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Kaminari snatched the cellphone out of his hand with a speed befitting his quirk. Touya blinked. As his excitable classmate poked at his screen, it distantly occurred to him that this was a flagrant violation of privacy, but any agitation he felt was overshadowed by the question that had been dogging him for the past several days.
Were they friends? Genuinely friends, not just for Shouto's sake or out of a sense of heroic obligation?
"I'm gonna put my info in your phone, then I'll text myself to get your number," Kaminari happily chattered, completely unaware of Touya's internal conflict. " Then I'll send it to Mina and everyone else so you don't have to, since I know you're not great at the whole communication thing."
"You don't have to do this," Touya hesitantly piped up.
Kaminari looked up from the phone to blink at him uncomprehendingly. Some of the energy seemed to drain out of him as he reached a conclusion. The gleam in his eyes flickered and the edges of his smile began to turn down. It kind of made him feel like he'd stabbed a puppy. "Oh, I mean, I won't if you don't want me t-"
"That's not what I meant! It's just…" Touya took a deep breath as he tried to pull his thoughts together. Whether he was trying to be more open or not, he really should have waited for a time when he was more prepared to express his feelings to say something. Then again, if he tried that, there was a chance that the time would never come and he'd end up sitting on it forever. "I know that you're trying to make me feel welcome, and Aizawa wants you to treat me like a normal student, and you don't want to upset Shouto. And that's...great. But school's almost over for the year, so it's…not really gonna be your problem anymore. You don't have to try and stay in touch or act like you… You've done plenty already. Spend break doing what you want to do."
An expression that could almost be described as stern manifested Kaminari's face. It looked incredibly out of place there. However, the way he went entirely still felt a little more unsettling. "Dude," he slowly said, "you know you're not a chore, right? And that I'm not just trying to be nice?"
Touya's brain chose that moment to stop functioning. He blinked once. Apparently, that was neither the response Kaminari wanted nor was he willing to give him more time to say something. He set the phone down on the counter, threw his hands up, and let out a frustrated noise that was somewhere between a whine and a wail.
"Dude. Why didn't you say something earlier!? I'm not trying to insult your brother or anything - I like him - but we aren't really pals either. I don't hang out with you for him or school. You're fun and I'm going to miss you."
"...Oh."
He really didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't necessarily the bad sort of not knowing how to respond. There was a lump in his throat and shock had chased all solid thoughts from his reeling mind, but behind all that, some part of him couldn't help but be pleased. The way Kaminari said it left no room for doubt. He was his friend. Actually, genuinely his friend. His friend and not Shouto's.
A pang of guilt hit him at the thought. It was absolutely petty of Touya to be happy to learn that Kaminari felt closer to him than his brother and that he had never really been friends with him in the first place. It was petty and unwarranted and he knew it. Yet that was not enough to stop a small, genuine smile from tugging at his lips. If he stopped to think about it, for all that he tried to listen to Aizawa, unless it was absolutely detrimental, Kaminari wasn't the sort to take school very seriously, not to the point of going above and beyond as he assumed he had been. For some godforsaken reason, he actually enjoyed spending time with Touya and thought he was fun.
(While he knew that he was supposed to make friends, there was a part of him that was tempted to avoid it, should it even prove possible. His circumstances meant that even the best scenario could only end badly. It was cruel to whoever would be foolish enough to grow attached to him. Even so…)
After a few seconds, once he was able to force his vocal cords to comply, Touya offered an unintentionally stilted, "Thanks."
Kaminari groaned and shook his head. "You really don't have to thank me for that."
"Well, I am." Touya shrugged and pulled his lips in a mild smirk, hoping to dissipate the awkward and emotional air he could feel forming. It was marred by what he said next. "You're…a good friend."
Despite attempting to keep his voice casual, he couldn't stop those words from holding a certain weight. They felt weird to say, but not necessarily in a bad way, just...unfamiliar. He'd never really had friends before. It had always been just Fuyumi and Natsuo and the classmates he tolerated to get through the day. This was different.
However, judging from the pleased smirk on his face, before Kaminari could tease him, the toaster dinged, signaling that the grilled cheese was done. The two boys had approximately one second to react, turning in the direction of the toaster and letting out simultaneous yelps as the sandwich launched itself like a rocket at them. Touya dove to the left while Kaminari dropped the ground to avoid getting hit. There was a sound that was between a splat and a thud and then silence in the wake of disaster.
"Holy shit," Touya muttered as he pulled himself to his feet.
"That was unexpected," Kaminari agreed, staying in his crouched position.
Both of them turned their heads to assess the damage and Touya's eyes widened in mortification. The once-promising grilled cheese had crashed into an unsuspecting Shouto, who looked more confused than insulted as the cheese slid from his shirt and plopped onto the ground at his feet. He blinked, staring down at the food, and finally managed, "You threw a cheese sandwich at me."
"Technically, the toaster threw a sandwich at you?" Touya countered. Shouto furrowed his brow. He didn't look like he was awake enough yet to decide how he felt about what he'd just witnessed. Most people would probably assume that Shouto was a morning person, especially after so many very early training sessions, but just like Touya, he liked to sleep in. "Yeah, it was a stupid idea, now that I think about it."
"What were you doing?" Shouto asked.
"Trying to make a grilled cheese in the toaster," Kaminari explained. "I thought it would save a few steps and time."
"You didn't think about what would happen when it was done cooking?" Shouto questioned.
Touya waved a hand at the empty plate he had placed on the ground. "We didn't think it would eject the sandwich at warp speed." He shouldn't have thought it would simply pop out, but he hadn't really been thinking. On the other hand, Kaminari kind of looked like he hadn't slept at all. Maybe he wasn't energetic so much as slaphappy and somewhat delirious. "And it did sound sort of...efficient. It was good in theory."
"Not so much in practice," Kaminari added, finally standing upright, "but it was worth a shot. You never know something won't work until you try!"
Before Shouto could point out the large flaws in their logic, Sero and Mina walked into the room, both of them wearing anxious expressions. Sero was chuckling nervously and averted his eyes when they landed on Touya. The look on his face was almost regretful.
"What's going on?" Kaminari asked.
Mina glanced briefly at Sero before turning her attention to Touya instead. "Kirishima is trying to help Bakugou fix his hair again." Wait, again? How many times had Bakugou tried to get his hair back to normal? "So far, uh, nothing has worked and Bakugou-" She sighed. "He's in a mood. I'd probably lie low for a few hours while he chills. They've gone through four bottles of dye."
Touya couldn't help but be a little concerned. He had known the pink dye they had accidentally used for the prank was very strong, but he hadn't expected it to be this resistant. Shouldn't stronger or the same brand of dye work? His thought process on the grilled cheese toaster experiment had definitely been poor, but that made sense. Even worse, he had kind of thought they were over this, but having his mom comment on his hair must've set Bakugou off again.
"What kind of dye did you all use?" Sero asked somewhat frantically.
"Uh, well, we meant to get the temporary dye," Touya said, thinking back on the box Mina had bought, "but the Best Jeanist permanent brand was in the box instead."
Sero pulled his phone out and did a quick search on his phone. In a matter of seconds, his face went from troubled to horrified as he stared down at his screen. "Oh shit."
"What?" Touya demanded, now decidedly alarmed. "What's it say?"
Sero cleared his throat and read the description of the dye in a shaky voice: "For people who want to commit to their hair color. This quirk-enhanced formula seeps into the hair follicles so it grows with the color. Depending on the individual's hair chemistry, this will last from three months to, in rare cases, nearly a year. Notice: Once Best Jeanist Brand has been used, hair cannot be re-colored, including by other Best Jeanist Brand hair dyes, so make sure you're ready to sew the color into your life." He lifted his head to lock eyes with Touya, who could only stare back in dimmed horror. "Apparently for like .001% of the population, it can be permanent. Forever."
Groaning inwardly, Touya tugged on his hair. "Well fuck."
"We can't be that unlucky," Mina offered in a tone that was not as hopeful as she probably wanted.
"Have you met me?" Touya asked, waving a hand at himself. "I'm pretty sure my entire life has been defined by shit luck, so let's not jinx ourselves."
At that moment, there was the crashing sound of a door being kicked open. Bakugou's voice could be heard from the bathrooms, screaming, "What the fuck is up with this shit?"
Kaminari stepped forward and put a hand on Shouto's shoulder, a solemn expression on his face. "I wouldn't wash that shirt if I were you. It might be a reminder of your last memory with Touya."
"Hey!" Touya exclaimed. Kaminari shrugged. Shouto looked up at him, a warning look in his eyes. Maybe it would be a good idea to cool it in his room for a while. "I guess I've got…stuff…I can do before our last day."
Touya wouldn't say that he ran to the stairs when he heard stomping, but he knew better than to be in the room when Bakugou and Kirishima arrived. He felt kind of bad leaving Mina behind to take the brunt of his anger, but he knew that Bakugou wouldn't do anything to her. What was it that he had said in class? Sometimes running away was the best option. It might not be the only one, but confrontation wasn't always the answer. He didn't want to get into another argument or fight so soon after the last one. It was best to avoid it altogether.
School came to an end almost as abruptly as waking up five years younger in a warehouse felt like it had. Most students left as soon as classes were over, but Shouto hung behind until the next day. Touya could tell that he was trying to figure out if he wanted to stay behind or not, since going home wasn't a bucket of fun, but Touya insisted that he leave. There was still Fuyumi at home to consider. He didn't like the idea of her being alone with their dad, even if he was…better.
It went without saying that Touya would stay on campus at UA. Not only was he under their watch, but there was absolutely no way he was going to sleep under the same roof as his father. Even if he wanted to, which was a laughable concept at best, the authorities probably wouldn't have allowed it. Remaining on campus suited him fine. Sure, it meant that he was alone, but it was actually kind of nice. Not that living with twenty other very nosy kids was awful, but he needed a break after everything. He couldn't get that in the crowded dorms.
(Maybe he even needed a break from Shouto. It sounded awful, but it wasn't like he was up for any big brother of the year awards anyway. He still felt like he had to keep his guard up around his brother, like he had to pretend that everything was great and he was perfectly content. Logically, he knew that Shouto didn't expect that of him. His brain did not care about logic.)
Besides, it wasn't like he was cut off from everyone. The phone Aizawa had supplied him with meant that he could remain in contact with Shouto and the others. Kaminari kept his word, giving his number to other people in the class, and even added him to a group chat. He didn't make a lot of additions to it, seeing as how Bakugou was in it too, but the lightning-fast roasts and jokes were entertaining. They were a hell of a lot more interesting than the hero homework he read through.
On top of his classmates, Shouto was able to give his number to Fuyumi and Natsuo. No one specifically said that their father would not have access to it, but Shouto had pointed out that he'd only recently let Fuyumi give his number to him. So far, Touya had not texted them. Fuyumi had sent him a message about seeing him on spring break (he didn't want to burst her bubble and mention his staying on campus) and Natsuo had jokingly messaged congratulations on making it through his first year at UA (again), but that was it. Every time he picked up his phone, his thumb would hover over their contacts and then he would set it aside.
He should have known that Fuyumi would be the one to reach out to him. It was always her and it probably always would be (even if he was getting better). However, he hadn't anticipated her reasoning.
At first, when his ringing phone startled him out of his nap, Touya hadn't known what it was. He'd been in that hazy in between of reality and the dream world, where everything sort of mixed together, and his brain had tried to stick the ringtone in his dream. It didn't work. When he finally realized what was happening, he rolled out of bed and quickly grabbed his phone, answering it with a rough, "Hello?" without checking the caller ID.
"Touya-" It was Fuyumi. She cut herself off, but before he could respond, she asked, "Were you sleeping?"
"Uh…" Touya looked back at his bed. The blanket was messed up and there were papers strewn all around it. He had been studying, but he must've fallen asleep. School breaks always threw him off. Without a schedule, he messed up his routine without fail and lost track of time. "Yeah."
"It's two in the afternoon," Fuyumi stressed. "Don't tell me you just woke up."
Touya scoffed. "Give me some credit. I was just taking a break."
Fuyumi sighed. "Of course. I'm sorry. You've been working really hard."
It was hard not to wince. He'd made her feel guilty. He could hear it in her voice. That was the last thing he wanted to do and it wounded him a little. "Ah, shit, Fuyumi. I'm being an ass, like usual, and lazy. You know how I am when I'm given the chance to sleep."
"You'd sleep all day if you were allowed," Fuyumi replied in a lightly teasing voice, like she was testing the waters. Things were especially weird between them. What was a twin called when their twin was no longer the same age as them? They were very slowly figuring it out, but moments like these helped.
"Aizawa would kick my ass if I did that," Touya joked. Well, it was kind of a joke. Their father had hated it when he took to falling asleep in random places throughout the day. It made him look weak. Aizawa might kick his ass, but it would be in the context of an actual lesson. He needed it if he was going to get any better. It wasn't like before, when he had to sneak in naps throughout the day because training with his quirk ate away at all his energy.
One of the first things Touya had done after being relinquished from his father's training was sleep all day. No longer important, his father didn't drag him out of bed at the ass crack of dawn to train before his tutor showed up. He didn't start at Fuyumi's school right away. That week he had barely got out of bed, sleeping in for as long as possible, and only dragging himself out when absolutely necessary. He had forgotten what it was like to sleep, especially pain-free. He didn't even touch his quirk that week. It was like a big sigh. He knew he would have to wake up from that foggy dream eventually, but it had been nice to live in it for a little while, blocking everything and everyone out.
"Speaking of Eraserhead, there's actually a specific reason why I'm calling," Fuyumi stated, sounding a little firmer. It was hard to tell over the phone, but it made him think of the voice she would use whenever she told Natsuo or Shouto to do something at home. Uh oh, that wasn't a good sign. What did it have to do with Aizawa?
"Yeah?" Touya prompted warily.
"I spoke with him today and we both agreed that you should spend some time off campus during break," Fuyumi continued, "especially since you're staying there on your own." She took a deep breath. "So we're having dinner and don't argue with me on this, Touya. It's important."
Touya pressed two fingers against his temple. "Fuyumi, I already made it clear that I don't want to be anywhere near-"
"It's not with father," Fuyumi cut in. "I know…" He could picture her fiddling with her glasses but decided not to call hero out on it. "I know you can't be around him right now. It's not good for you. To be honest, as much as I've been fighting for us to be a family, I don't know if I could stomach him being near you right now."
Oh, well, that was a relief. Shouto had told him how she had tried to get them all to have dinner before (their mom not included) and so far Natsuo had been resistant to the idea. She and Shouto had eaten with him on multiple occasions since they still lived at home, but Natsuo, however much he said their dad was trying to change, was still bitter about the neglect. She'd stopped pushing it in the past month, if only because they had all needed time to adjust to Touya's.. .reappearance.
"It won't even be at home," Fuyumi added. "I know you're wary about coming back here."
Wary was a bit of an understatement. Touya didn't want to step foot in that place again. He knew without a doubt that Fuyumi would want to do some sort of family dinner there someday (their father not included), but she was being very careful about bringing it up and Touya wasn't about to say anything until she did. It pissed him off that she was still living there even though Shouto was at the dorms and she knew it, so it was best if neither of them said anything about that for now.
"So we're going out to eat?" Touya thought about it. The last place he had eaten out at had been the mall food court. Before that, at least in his memory, his dining out experiences had been relegated to fast food since he couldn't afford much more. Besides, it wasn't like he wanted to eat at a sit-down restaurant by himself. Considering Dabi's appearance, he probably hadn't frequented restaurants much either. "Who with? Just Shouto and Natsuo?"
"Ah, actually…" Now Fuyumi sounded nervous, maybe even a little guilty again. Oh no. He knew that tone too. It usually meant she was going to force him to do something he didn't like. Back when they were kids, she would needle him with that same tone. He always fought her, but most of the time, with only a few exceptions, he would eventually cave. Doing her hair had been one of her more frequent requests. He knew this one was going to be a lot bigger than that.
Even worse, he couldn't argue, not after what he'd done to her.
Touya plopped down on his bed and leaned forward to rest his forehead in his hand. "What now?"
"When we were at the school, after you all left and we continued our discussion with your teachers, the parents and I ended up talking for a little while longer," Fuyumi slowly explained.
He took a deep breath and grumbled, "Sounds like a blast with that group."
If it had anything to do with the incident, he knew it wasn't going to be good. What could she have possibly spoken with them longer about? Especially after Monoma's mother had insulted her. Shouto had been fired up about that for the rest of the day. He'd never experienced that kind of dismissal before. He and Fuyumi had when they were younger and trying to take care of their siblings. There was nothing like getting told he was too young to buy medicine when Natsuo had been sick and their dad was been gone for forty-eight hours dealing with some huge villain attack. It hadn't helped that he had been so small for his age for the longest time.
"Well, we kept coming back to the fact that a lot of this - maybe almost everything - came down to a severe lack of communication," Fuyumi continued. She was gaining steam, but she still sounded like she was a second away from hastily defending herself if he raised his voice. He didn't. "If the UA staff had been open with your situation to Class B from the start, the fight probably wouldn't have happened. If they had tried to speak with Bakugou more about how he felt concerning your place in the class or he understood you better, then maybe-"
"No," Touya interrupted, "there would've been no reasoning with him. There's fighting and that's the only way to get through to him. You've gotta beat him at his own game."
"If he had been more open about how he felt-"
Touya let out a caustic laugh. "He was pretty open about that when he blew me out of a window."
"Yes, but none of you really know each other," Fuyumi insisted, firm in her ways now. He could argue with her all he wanted, but she wasn't going to budge. And people said he was the stubborn twin. He was the one that would give in to her. It was just other people he didn't move for. "So much has happened because of a breakdown in communications, misunderstandings that could've been easily avoided, or because...because we don't talk." The moment she sniffed on the other end, he knew he was completely fucked. He knew she wasn't doing it on purpose or trying to manipulate him, but damn was she good. "If we had just talked, if I'd pressed you more, if I had-"
"No, Fuyumi," Touya interrupted, "that's not on you." He laid back on his bed, his legs dangling over the side so that feet grazed the floor, and stared up at the ceiling. "You did everything you could. I blocked you out. I cut you off from that part of me. I didn't want to communicate."
He would be better about it now, even if it meant doing whatever stupid thing Fuyumi had concocted. The old him would've dug in his heels and told her that he was too busy and it was a waste of time. De-aged Touya with a better support system would accept that maybe this would be good for him and it was important to her.
"So, what's the thing about dinner then?" Touya asked flatly.
"We thought - well, Bakugou's mother came up with the idea and she's...harder to argue with than Dad, I think - we thought maybe it would be a good idea to all have a dinner so we could clear up the air," Fuyumi said. He put a hand back over his face and grimaced deeply. It was even worse than he'd expected. "To be honest, even though the UA staff and I vouched for you, the parents of the other students are understandably still leery."
Touya snorted, the sound muffled by his palm. "No shit. I pulled quite a few stunts as Dabi apparently."
"They just want to get to know you a little more - or at least talk with you - and then they'll be fine, I think."
"Get to know me?" Touya pulled his hand away and shot upright. "Fuyumi, you know me. I'm not that great. In fact, even putting Dabi aside, I know for a fact that I'm not likable. I'm an asshole. I don't like being fake nice. I don't like being put on the spot or under a scope. I don't like-"
People who thought they knew everything. They didn't know shit about him and, if he had it his way, they would continue to know the same amount. Unfortunately for him, Fuyumi wanted this. Unlike him, she cared about whether or not people liked him. She used to nudge him to make friends when he finally started attending middle school with her (he didn't) and ask him if he had made friends at UA (he hadn't). She probably hated the fact that his future as a villain tainted him completely.
They didn't know him the way she did. They didn't know that there were moments when he could be good. Little moments where he braided her hair, played baseball with Natsuo, helped Shouto with his wounds, protected their mother, told grand stories with her to make Natsuo smile, ate everything she attempted to cook or bake without complaint, helped clean up the training room. He was fine with people not knowing those little things about him. But maybe that was the point. If he never showed his vulnerable side, no one would ever trust him. Could Fuyumi, at this point?
"You're only kind of an asshole and half the time it's on purpose," Fuyumi told him. Okay, maybe he did go a little further with the attitude than necessary so people would stay away from him. He had tried that in the beginning, but these Class A kids were relentless. "Shouto said you actually made friends outside of his group, which I think is great! You were always such a loner before."
"For good reason," Touya interjected.
"Really? Do you really think so after everything?" Fuyumi asked him. No, she had a point. Not having friends had probably done more to damage than protect him in the end. Had he been friends with the other League members as Dabi? It was a weird thought (were villains capable of having friends?), but so far he hadn't recovered any memories involving them. "I was worried you might lean on Shouto and just sort of act like you were friends with the same people as him to put in less of an effort."
That had been his plan. She knew him far too well. And he'd still managed to trick her.
"Well, you know heroes," Touya said. "They're so stubborn and never give up."
"I'm just glad you gave them a chance," Fuyumi told him, notably ignoring his remark about heroes, "even if it made you uncomfortable."
Touya pinched the bridge of his nose. "So what time is this dinner?"
"It's at seven, so be ready by 6:30. Eraserhead said that he would take you so don't make him wait." Fuyumi had always been one for promptness. Granted, all of them had been. Endeavor waited for no one, certainly not his failed concepts. "And wear something nice! We're going to a nice restaurant, so please do not wear something ridiculous or like...training clothes. Shouto said you got nice clothes from the mall."
Maybe you should tell Aizawa that, Touya thought, remembering the bag of clothes Aizawa had given him. He still didn't think they were that bad, but Present Mic had literally thrown them all away. Was he going to dinner with them? Would he just wear his hero costume like he always seemed to? Something else? The idea of seeing Aizawa in normal clothes confused him enough to keep him from bickering.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Touya mumbled. "I still think this is a terrible idea."
"It'll be fine," Fuyumi insisted.
"Is it just gonna be the parents or-?"
"Everyone will be there," Fuyumi answered. "Apparently Bakugou threw more of a fit than you, so thank you for not fighting with me on this."
Touya gave a hollow cheer. "I finally beat him at something." He paused as one last thought crossed his mind. "Uh, I don't exactly have a lot of funds, especially after that trip to the mall, but I feel bad about you spending money on me."
"Don't worry about it," Fuyumi told him. "I'm borrowing one of dad's credit cards."
He had expected her to insist that it was fine again, not say that, and he nearly choked on his tongue. "Alright, sis. He must have really pissed you off."
"It's the least he can do," Fuyumi replied, a little embarrassed. Yeah, Touya might've stolen money from their dad a handful of times while they had been growing up, but Fuyumi had always been the one teetering behind him, a ball of anxiety telling him it was a bad idea. She probably hadn't taken his card so much as asked for it without giving him a full explanation - she was the good one - but it was still entertaining. He had worked hard not to depend on his father's money while at UA, but this felt like a good form of payback. "I'll see you later. Take a shower! Nice clothes! Comb your hair!"
"Geez, you act like I don't take care of myself at all and just walk around in my pajamas," Touya grumbled. He was half-tempted to show up in a very casual outfit or at least have some dirt on his face just to tease her, but Aizawa would probably force him to turn right back around and change. Actually, on second thought, he probably wouldn't even notice a problem. "I'll see you."
He hung up the phone and stared down at it. He did not want to do this. It was not going to be fun. He really wanted to go back to sleep.
But he would grin and bear it for Fuyumi. She deserved that much. He'd even watch himself and make sure he wasn't an asshole on purpose. Judging by what he had seen of her at the meeting, Bakugou's mom was a force to be reckoned with, but she couldn't be any worse than the great Enji Todoroki. His dad seemed okay. Midoriya's mom seemed nice, maybe too nice, but also a little tougher than she looked. Kind of like her son. Monoma's parents had been as annoying as him, but also protective and worried about their son.
"This is going to suck," Touya said to no one.
Upon his arrival at the restaurant, Fuyumi hugged him tightly and then fretted over his choice of clothes. They were okay, she conceded, but not nice enough for the chosen restaurant. She didn't ream him out too much, if only because her gaze moved over to Aizawa. He could see the thought in her eyes: it could have been worse. Luckily, she came prepared, having told Shouto to bring an extra set of clothes with him. It wasn't like Touya hadn't worn his clothes before.
After awkwardly changing in the restroom, Touya stepped out and made eye contact with a very relieved Fuyumi. He got why she was worrying so much. She wanted to make the best impression possible, which was made even more clear when she fixed his tie, muttering, "And, of course, Bakugou's parents are in the fashion industry. Her quirk actually gives her flawless skin that makes her look years younger. You didn't dress like a gremlin, thank everything, but she's highly critical and I'll eat my shoe if she tries to look down on us."
"Even if she did, it wouldn't matter," Touya said, peering down at her. At least he was still taller than her. There had been a time when people hadn't been able to believe they were the same age. (They weren't anymore.) Fuyumi fixed his collar over the tie. "You're the hardest working person I know. Who cares what they think?"
Fuyumi's eyes flickered to his and then back down. "I care."
"Why?" Touya asked. "We never did before."
"Yeah, we did," Fuyumi replied flatly, "or we would've told people what was happening instead of covering for him time and time again." It was a low blow, but it was also the truth. She was the same, but she was different too. Stronger, firmer. That was what five years did to a person. "I'm tired, Touya. I'm tired of pretending, faking smiles, acting like everything is great. No family is perfect. I don't want to act like we are anymore. I just want to be a normal family, even if it's for one night."
"But…"
She took a deep breath. "But it was like those parents knew something was wrong and we were broken and it really irritated me. Instead of condescension, it was pity and I hate that."
Touya smirked. "Agreed."
"They don't know you like I do and maybe- maybe I don't know you like I thought I did." Fuyumi began to worry at her bottom lip. She was wearing a pale shade of lipstick. It was going to wear off if she kept that up. "You're my brother and I still think you have a good heart, no matter what happened or what you did." She stood up straight. "So we're going to go in there, show them we're a family, and they can move on from their judgmental behavior."
"Did you give Shouto this talk too?" Touya asked.
"She did," Shouto confirmed, walking up behind her.
Fuyumi put her hands on her hips. "I'm the big sister. It's my job." A weird look flashed across Touya's face and she deflated some. He hadn't meant for it to slip out, but he couldn't help it. She had acted a little like this when they were growing up, but never this much. He was always there to take charge if she was too anxious. "Sorry, I'm not trying to boss you around like you're, well-"
"I'm sixteen," Touya replied, pocketing his hands, "and you know damn well all teenage boys are idiots, especially your brother." He inclined his head toward the restaurant. "Now let's get this over with. I can't believe I'd rather be studying, but I'm not turning down free food." She smiled at him, relieved that he wasn't angry. "I'm warning you right now though: I'm going to order a lot of shit. I'm starving."
Fuyumi laughed as she followed him into the restaurant. "As always. I wouldn't have it any other way."
Shouto and Aizawa trailed behind them. He couldn't be sure how much Aizawa had heard, but it made him feel awkward either way. What didn't when it came to his family issues? He might as well get used to it. He was pretty sure the pro hero had checked the perimeter and the restaurant, but since he hadn't said anything, he must be satisfied with the results. Touya paused when they reached the host stand so Fuyumi could take over. He saw her tense when they found out that they weren't the first to arrive, despite showing up early, but Shouto put a hand on her shoulder and she relaxed.
They walked through the restaurant, following a host. With so many people in the party, the table was easy to recognize. The adults all looked pleased to be there while the students appeared to range from perturbed to confused. Bakugou was sulking in his seat, arms crossed and slumped, despite his mother muttering furiously at him to straighten up and his father shrugging. Monoma appeared bored, running a finger around the lip of his glass of water, his parents wearing matching fake smiles. At least Midoriya waved them over cheerfully while his mother stood up to hug Fuyumi.
And then there was Uraraka, sitting with her parents, picking at her dress, and looking so all-around flummoxed that Touya almost burst into laughter. "Don't laugh at me!" she told him, smacking him on the arm when he moved to sit down. He almost thought she might float him to the ceiling, but she'd only hit him with four fingers. "Bakugou's mom apparently called my parents to ask them to come to dinner." She fiddled with one of the many forks. "I didn't even know we were coming here until today."
"You and me both," Touya replied.
"I think they sprung it on us last second so we couldn't come up with any excuses," Midoriya pointed out. Across from him, Bakugou snorted, but he didn't say Midoriya was wrong either. There was no doubt in Touya's mind that his parents hadn't told him until earlier that day. He definitely wouldn't be there otherwise. The fact that they'd wrestled him into a very nice outfit made it even more apparent. His hair was still a mess.
"At least your sister picked a nice place," Monoma said mildly. It was a nice restaurant. His father often had business luncheons and dinners here. He wasn't exactly good at them - he had assistants and sidekicks for that - but it was a good place to conduct interviews outside of the agency and discuss options. It was expensive, too.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Touya could see Uraraka looking around anxiously. Unlike Bakugou's and Monoma's parents, hers weren't as good at hiding how they felt. They looked like really honest, hard-working people. He was one of the last people to comment on someone's outfit and thought they looked nice anyway, but they were obviously not wearing designer clothes. It wouldn't be necessary for them to worry about money since he figured Fuyumi planned on paying for them.
Touya leaned over. "Don't worry about it so much."
"Why is there so much silverware for one meal?" Uraraka asked quietly. "That's so much cleaning." She picked at her pink dress. "I don't know which fork to use for what."
"If it'll make you feel better, I'll use my spoon for everything," Touya told her.
"I was just going to pick one at random," Midoriya added. Uraraka smiled at them and relaxed in her seat. She still didn't look entirely comfortable, but she wasn't internally stressing out either.
Fuyumi settled in her seat. "Thanks for suggesting this. I'm glad everyone was able to make it on such short notice, but I really thought it was a good idea." Ah, it was her adult voice, the one she used when she had to take over at home, except now she really was an adult. It was proper, courteous, and steady.
"Of course," Bakugou's mom responded smoothly. "I know Midoriya since he and Katsuki grew up together and they've been friends since they were toddlers." Now that was interesting, considering what they were like at UA. Even now, they sat apart from each other, but at the mention of their past, the two boys glanced at each other before Bakugou quickly looked away again. "However, he's lived with his other classmates for a year and I hardly even know their names." She settled a disapproving look on her son. "I'd only know their nicknames if it wasn't for things like the Sports Festival."
"You don't need to know my business," Bakugou mumbled irritably.
A knowing smile found its way onto Fuyumi's face. Touya didn't like it. "Not very forthcoming, is he?" Nope, he definitely didn't like it, especially since Bakugou's comment sounded an awful lot like something he had thought multiple times.
"Gods no!" Bakugou's mother exclaimed. "Getting anything out of him about school besides a smart remark is almost impossible."
"Shouto and Touya have always been like that," Fuyumi said fondly. "Shouto's just not used to sharing how he feels about things" - Midoriya actually snickered and Shouto sent him a flat, unamused look - "and Touya likes to pretend that everything is okay so people don't worry or think about him."
Midoriya's mom sighed. "Izuku pretty much tells me everything - he's always been open with how he feels - but he understates a lot of things." Probably so he wouldn't worry his mom, who seemed to be on the nervous side. "How many times have you broken a bone this year?"
"Only a few times," Midoriya mumbled, his cheeks turning red.
"Neito is generally honest," his father said, "but I do feel like he omits things."
Monoma pulled his hand away from the glass and carefully admitted, "I only don't talk about what you don't ask about." He had the grace to look a little ashamed of his behavior. It wasn't exactly lying, but at the same time, it was. Touya understood that way of thinking very well. What Fuyumi didn't know about wouldn't upset her, and if she didn't know to ask, then she wasn't worried. "I tell you most of the important things."
"We must be lucky," Uraraka's mother said.
"She calls almost daily to tell us about her time at UA," her father added. He reached over and ruffled her hair playfully, which made her blush. "She does like to try to give everything a positive spin. Remember when she tried to tell us that attack on the USJ was a good lesson? I almost had a heart attack."
That was the first attack on UA, the one Dabi hadn't been involved in, which was a relief. That was one thing they couldn't blame him for. Touya could only hope that the Summer Camping Trip wouldn't be brought up, but he wasn't about to hold his breath. Even if the others were too polite, he had a feeling that Bakugou's mom was sharp and blunt enough not to care if it made things awkward. She wanted to know more about him? Dabi kidnapping her son was most likely the top priority.
Touya wished he could help her - he really did - but he had no fucking clue why he would've agreed to kidnap someone as temperamental as Bakugou.
Bakugou's mom looked at him, a hard glint in her red eyes. It was happening. She was going to bring up Dabi. Why else were they here? Who was Fuyumi kidding? They didn't want to know about him; they wanted to know about the villain their kids were stuck with. Touya locked gazes with Aizawa, who had spent the first few minutes at the table on his phone. He didn't want to look like he was mentally begging his teacher to spare him - maybe say it wasn't appropriate to talk about in public - but then the waiter appeared and the moment came to an abrupt end.
It was hard not to visibly sink in his seat, but Touya limited himself to dropping his gaze to the table after ordering his drink. Fuyumi put in a few appetizers as well, taking command on the table. The others might've arrived first, but she had been the one to make the reservation and this was her way of trying to fix things. The last thing he wanted to do was get in the middle of a power play between his sister and Bakugou's mom, but he felt like there was one happening. He could tell she was still anxious. That meeting must have gotten her really worked up.
Beside him, Shouto shifted in his eyes and the two of them glanced at each other. He could sense it too. This was going to be even more fun than he thought.
"Oh, I meant to say earlier when we got here," Monoma said, leaning forward and dropping a somehow idle but sharp gaze on Bakugou. "Your hair really compliments your outfit."
Bakugou shot forward. "I'll fucking-"
"Katsuki," his mother reprimanded sharply, "I won't tolerate you acting like an animal in this restaurant." He sneered at her, but dropped back into his seat. She eyed him for a moment longer and then looked away. At least she gave him a warning. If Touya had given his father that look, he would've been smacked in the mouth. Maybe not in public, but certainly later. "It's no wonder you keep getting into fights."
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask," Bakugou's father spoke up thoughtfully. His voice was so soft that it caught Touya off guard. He'd spoken at the meeting a little, but it still took him back. In a way, it kind of reminded him of the stark differences between his parents, but Bakugou's mother looked at her husband fondly. He'd never seen either of his parents each other anything close to that look before. "Why did you dye your hair? When your mother asked you about it, you refused to give an answer, but it is an...unusual color choice."
Before Bakugou could once again refuse to answer or snarl that it was none of their business, a noise from Touya's right interrupted him. Everyone turned their attention from Bakugou to Uraraka, who had her hands over her mouth and was trying desperately to keep herself from bursting into laughter. A few seats over, Midoriya was going through a similar struggle, his face slowly turning pink as he tried to contain himself. Bakugou glared furiously at them, the demand to keep their mouths shut glaringly obvious in his eyes, but that only seemed to make things worse.
Noticing their issues and coming to certain conclusions, Monoma leaned forward, now very alert, and an easy grin slid onto his face. "Were youpranked , Bakugou?" When Bakugou grit his teeth even harder, to the point where it looked kind of painful, Monoma sat upright, a look of pure delight on his face. Others had most likely been trying to figure out why he would dye his hair such an obnoxious pink. Most probably assumed he had lost a bet or it was a dare. "Who would dare do such a thing to you?"
Who indeed?
Touya kept silent and very still, trying to look as innocent as possible, but Bakugou's eyes betrayed both of them when they flickered in his direction. It was only for a moment, but Monoma was quick on the uptake and had been paying close attention.
"You?" Monoma exclaimed, glee in his voice. For the first time, he actually looked kind of happy that Touya was in the same room as him. "You dyed his hair? What on earth possessed you to do that? I'm not complaining, but I thought you'd want to keep the lowest profile possible. Pranking this arrogant twit would only make things worse."
Fuyumi looked both flabbergasted and horrified. "Touya!" She sounded kind of betrayed. He'd never played a prank before in his life. Besides becoming a villain, it was one of the last things she would've expected from him, even though she knew he had a sense of humor, even if it was a dark one. "I thought you were behaving!"
"It wasn't my idea!" Touya jumped in to say. Everyone was looking at him, but he couldn't tell if anyone was mad. Midoriya and Uraraka were still trying not to laugh and Monoma looked happy. Bakugou's aura was getting steadily more murderous by the second. "It was Mina's." The adults just stared at him. "She's, uh, one of the girls in Class A and friends with Bakugou. She wanted to play a prank on him and she needed a guy, but none of their friends would help her."
"You mean they weren't brave enough," Monoma put in.
He wasn't necessarily wrong, but Touya didn't want to word it that way as he knew Monoma was trying to get in a dig on Class A. "She said it would be fun and - I don't know - I'd never played a prank before. I'd seen teenagers do it in movies, so I just thought…"
"You never played a prank before?" Midoriya's mom asked curiously.
"Ever?" Uraraka's mom added.
Touya shook his head. "It wasn't-" He glanced at Fuyumi, who still looked a little shocked by the revelation. It was slowly dimming in the face of the reality that getting to know him would mean, well, getting to know him. Which wasn't all that pleasant. "We grew up in a… strict household. I wouldn't say pranks were forbidden, but they were, uh, frowned upon."
"It was considered frivolous activity," Fuyumi added carefully. "A waste of time."
"Our dad is kind of a jackass," Shouto finished before taking a sip of his water. Fuyumi coughed next to him, but he only shrugged in response. Monoma's dad actually choked on his water and then looked at his wife, both of them looking scandalized. Of course, their father was the number one hero, so hearing anyone talk speak so frankly of him, even with Endeavor's notably gruff and standoffish behavior to the public, was unheard of. It was even more shocking when coming from one of his children.
Uraraka's dad pointed and announced, "Look, the appetizers are arriving."
"Fantastic," Touya muttered, "I'm starving. Plus, if my mouth is full, Fuyumi can't make me talk."
"That's a good idea." Uraraka's mouth was practically watering when the plates of food were set on the tables. Still, even after forgoing the silverware and picking up a pair of chopsticks, she hesitated.
"Eat as much as you like," Fuyumi said, as if sensing her hesitation even though she wasn't looking in Uraraka's direction. She was smart enough to know people might be uneasy to eat too much food someone else ordered. She smiled brightly at them. "If we need more to share, I can always order more."
Monoma's mom smiled back at her. "I don't mean to sound rude, but…" She looked at Bakugou's parents and then back to Fuyumi. "Didn't you say you were a preschool teacher?"
Was this woman really asking Fuyumi if she could afford to pay for the food?
However, instead of getting mad, Fuyumi's smile only broadened. "Well, I spoke with our father about the incident and then the idea of this dinner." That was at least partially a lie. She hadn't told their father the entire truth about fight and he knew damn well she wouldn't have told him about the dinner in case he tried to shove his way in like he did with everything else. "Regrettably, he could not attend, as he's very busy. I'm sure you all can understand that. He didn't get to the number two spot so young and hold it for so long by not working very hard." Touya wouldn't have been able to keep himself from laughing or snorting if he hadn't shoved a large amount of food in his mouth. "He told me to take one of his business cards in order to extend his gratitude for your understanding of this crazy mess."
On her other side, Shouto had gone incredibly still, his face as blank as possible. Touya had the feeling that it was taking everything in him not to react to Fuyumi's blatant lies and hidden insults toward their father. He hadn't been invited to the dinner and he had definitely not told her to use one of his cards to show "gratitude," seeing as how he was one of the people not in agreement with UA's decision.
(Touya couldn't think about the conversation he'd overheard between Aizawa and his father. It left him feeling too confused, anxious, and - as usual - angry. However, he accidentally caught eyes with Aizawa. It was impossible to tell, but he got the feeling that the pro hero knew he'd overheard more than he had let on and was thinking about it now.)
As everyone began to fix plates for themselves, the waiter went around to take everyone's orders. There weren't any proper descriptions of the meals (or prices) on the menu, but he knew what most of them were. However, he hadn't bothered to look at it for long, so when it was his time, he picked at random, hoping they were as expensive as they sounded. True to his word, he ordered more multiple meals, ignoring the surprised looks from the others. This place was nice, so it would at least be good food.
All he could do was mutter, "My quirk burns through me so I have to eat a lot," and leave it at that. It was the truth and he was hungry as hell, but he also didn't want to admit that he wanted to blow his dad's money for once.
"So," Bakugou's mom started once the waiter left to put in their order, fixing herself a side plate. "Besides pranking my son - and you did a fine job, because that stuff will not come out if it is what I think it is - what else do you do at UA, Touya?"
Being directly addressed nearly made Touya choke on his food. He swallowed it down and then picked up his water to chug half of it. So much for his plan to just keep eating so he wouldn't have to talk. "Well, er, they put me in the Hero Course - you already knew that though - but I was in Gen Studies before, so I've got a lot of catching up to do since everyone is way ahead of me. I only trained when I was younger, but I'm still behind."
"You trained when you were younger?" Uraraka's mom asked. "Like in middle school?"
"Uh, yeah, middle school," Touya lied. It had been more like elementary school age, but no one needed to know that. Both of his siblings continued to eat, like nothing was amiss, and listen silently, giving him the floor to speak. He thought his brother was holding his chopsticks tensely, but Fuyumi must have told him not to jump in unless it was absolutely necessary. For this dinner to go well and properly, Touya had to be the one to talk.
"So you would be ready for UA?" Midoriya's mom questioned. She had such an innocent look on her face that Touya felt kind of bad stretching the truth. She was a good person who wanted to see the good in people. "Izuku told me your brother got in on recommendations."
Touya pushed his food around his plate with his chopsticks. "Yeah, our dad has some pretty high expectations, you know, being so high-ranked and all."
"Why weren't you in the Hero Course to begin with then?" Bakugou's mom asked.
"I, ah-" Touya didn't know why he looked at Aizawa (maybe to get permission that it was okay not to tell the total truth?), after a moment he cleared his throat and continued, "I was his first son, but I didn't want to get in on his name. Not that Shouto did! He's got an incredible quirk. I saw the clips from the Sports Festival. Uh, congrats on that win, by the way, Bakugou." Judging by the snort of derision from Bakugou, that was the wrong thing to say. Whatever. He didn't care. "I wanted to prove that I had what it took to get in on my own, so I applied under my mom's maiden name and went into Gen Studies first."
Uraraka's father frowned. "It sounds like you made it harder for yourself than necessary."
"I don't know, maybe," Touya replied. "Every struggle is necessary if you're going to make it to the top. There's no sense in things being easy. That wouldn't make the number one spot worth anything."
For some reason, he locked eyes with Bakugou again, but there was no murderous glare or sneer on his face. It was more of a look of suspicion, which made Touya almost narrow his eyes in response. Why the hell was he giving him that look now? Asshole. Okay, so he was kind of lying, but Bakugou didn't know that and it at least sounded like he was really being open for once. None of these people needed to know his sob story. He became a villain. They knew that. There would be no understanding it. Who he was now wasn't that person, so he couldn't even give them the answers they wanted.
"So a lot of extra training, hm?" Bakugou's mom said, pulling the conversation back on track.
"Yeah - and actually, Uraraka and Midoriya have been helping me out," Touya piped up, looking over to them. By now, they had calmed down and had been listening as well.
Uraraka's father peered at her, a soft smile on his face. "Oh?"
"It's really not much," Uraraka said.
"I'm not that great at hand-to-hand combat, but she's taught me a lot, along with Midoriya and Mina," Touya added. Maybe if he put the attention on the others, they would stop paying attention to him. He wasn't exactly throwing them under the bus, but they could handle the spotlight better than him.
"It's the least we can do," Midoriya added.
Monoma propped his chin on his arm. "So you're helping him get stronger? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
It was the first time someone touched upon his status as a villain thus far. Touya tried not to react, but it was hard. He was almost positive others had thought the same thing. Teaching him how to use his quirk better, how to fight, how heroes worked in society - it could potentially backfire on them. Of course, if he was thrown directly in prison after turning back into Dabi, maybe they could assess whether his second time around at UA had helped him become a better person. It was a massive gamble.
"It's a calculated risk," Aizawa finally put in, not looking up from his phone, "but one we're willing to take."
Touya thought of the cellphone in his pocket. He wished he could get on it and zone out for a while. If the other adults thought he was being rude, they didn't say anything. He looked like he was reading through something important and no one was about to question a pro hero on his behavior. For all they knew, he was doing work on his phone, so it was safest to simply leave him alone. He had planned on staying in the car, but Fuyumi had insisted. She wanted to properly thank him for his help.
"Besides, he's only a little above a limp noodle right now when it comes to fighting," Bakugou said. "Last time we actually fought, he did more running away than anything else. I'd actually prefer him to put up something of a fight so I can get some satisfaction out of kicking his ass. A three-year-old can do better."
"Of course I was trying to avoid a fight then," Touya shot back. "You were hellbent on revenge and blew me out of a freaking window. I'd been there for like three days. You didn't get any satisfaction out of that?"
Bakugou grinned. "Okay, maybe a little."
His mother stared down at him. "You blew him out of a window?"
"What?" Bakugou shrugged. "It was for class, wasn't it?"
Aizawa sighed and looked up from his phone. "That wasn't the exact lesson, but it was a part of a training lesson for the hero course. It was being taught by All Might while I supervised it." He fixed a look on Bakugou. "They were supposed to be practicing using their quirks in restrained manners in close quarters."
"Not my fault he's got a face that's just asking to be hit," Bakugou said.
"It's not my fault you've got a piss poor attitude," Touya countered.
"Calm down, you two," Monoma sighed, watching them go at each other. "You're both winners when it comes to being obnoxious and overrated."
"Stay out of it!" Touya and Bakugou snapped at the same time, averting their gazes to glare at him. Monoma didn't even flinch. He merely made a bored, noncommittal noise, as if completely unaffected, but there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Both boys sunk back in their seats, irritated with themselves for being on the same page. In retrospect, it wasn't actually a bad thing, but neither of them liked it.
Bakugou's mother actually smirked. "It's good to see you two getting along so well."
The look on Bakugou's face was so insulted that Midoriya chuckled. "We are not getting along."
"Is that...common for hero classes?" Monoma's father asked, his attention back on Aizawa.
"Your children are in a course designed to teach them how to be pro heroes in the real world," Aizawa pointed out in a no-nonsense tone. "It is an incredibly dangerous job and future they're working toward. Quite frankly, it would be a disservice to them and negligent if we didn't put them through extremely serious and tough scenarios similar to what they will face later on. Would you rather us leave them unprepared?"
Aizawa looked at all of the parents, who were looking at him with mostly guarded expressions. Parents encouraged and entertained their child's dream of becoming a pro hero, but very few of them considered the actual dangers posed by becoming one. They weren't safe and never would be again. In order to become heroes - and when they were one - their kids would have to repeatedly put themselves in danger. UA was a high school, but it was also a hero school, and that meant putting its students through the wringer. They could make light of things and protect its students, but it had to push the boundaries of a normal school.
The easiest example was the Sports Festival. It was a fun event for everyone, but, if someone thought about it long enough, it was insanely dangerous. What parent didn't watch those one-on-one fights with a little trepidation? Not everyone was Endeavor, who thought the best training ended in his kids' puking their guts out and crying in exhaustion on the floor. He would have been mad if UA's hero course wasn't dangerous as hell. The teachers could never make it as realistic as the real world, but they had to try. Villains weren't going to pull punches simply because they were interning or had just graduated or had families of their own.
"It's okay," Monoma said, sounding serious for once. "This is what we signed up for."
His mother looked at Touya, who couldn't help but look away. "Well, we didn't sign up for-"
"All of it," he interrupted, not unkindly. It was still his mom, after all. He smiled at her. For a moment, Touya didn't see some arrogant little prick, but a kid, a son. With a quirk like his, there was no doubt in Touya's mind that most people hadn't thought hero work was a possibility for Monoma. He was only as good as the quirks around him and his own clever thinking. He hadn't known the extent of Touya's quirk, but he did now. He knew the truth.
"Yes, but you get hurt so often," Midoriya's mom said.
"And it seems like you're in danger every other week," Uraraka's father added.
"We're going to be in danger even more after we graduate," Midoriya pointed out gently. "I'd rather learn those lessons in school before getting out there."
"Plus," Uraraka piped up brightly, "it's not like we didn't get hurt before UA. How many of us got hurt playing with our quirks when we were younger?" The students nodded their head, Touya included. Getting hurt by his quirk was pretty standard for him growing up, considering his lack of fire resistance, but it still took him back when the others agreed. It was definitely not to his extent, but they all had accidents. "Remember when I floated to the top of my favorite tree at the park and couldn't get down?"
Her mother rubbed her face. "Oh, gods, it was awful. You tried to float yourself down, but got sick and dropped almost ten feet. Your father and I were freaking out so much."
"Neito used to copy as many quirks as possible and use them at random," his father stated, shaking his head. "We never knew what was going to happen. It could be absolutely anything . Half the time he hurt himself or destroyed something."
Monoma casually shrugged. "It was the quickest way to learn how to use other quirks as my own."
"Oh, so you've been a dumbass since birth," Bakugou quipped.
"You're not one to talk," his mother jumped in, scolding him like he was a toddler. "Once you figured out you could make large explosions, you wanted to be a rocket."
His father groaned. "When he wanted to fly for the first time."
"He was six and jumped off the roof!" his mother exclaimed. "The little shit nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Touya routinely started kitchen fires on accident," Fuyumi said with a laugh. "We still have a scorch mark on the ceiling."
"Shouto froze the koi pond - during summer," Touya pointed out. "He cried for like three hours after melting the ice and finding out the fish had died."
Fuyumi slapped him on the arm while Bakugou guffawed. Even the other students were smiling. "That's because you said dinner was ready. It upset him!" she scolded.
"Who doesn't like fried fish?" Touya snorted before popping some food into his mouth and giving her a lazy smirk. She did not appreciate that one bit. Hey, she said that she wanted to be a normal family.
Shouto picked up his food a little more viciously with the chopsticks, his cheeks a little pink, and muttered, "We couldn't give them a proper funeral if we ate them," without looking up.
"Maybe I was lucky," Midoriya's mom said quietly. "Izuku never hurt himself with his quirk since it didn't manifest until he was nearly in high school." If he hadn't been paying attention, Touya might've missed the strange look that passed between Midoriya and Bakugou, but he had been looking at Midoriya and not his mom. It was out of place, but he had no clue what it might've meant and was too caught up in his own head to figure it out. It must have had something to do with their childhood. "Of course, now he's breaking bones every other week, so I guess he's catching up with all those missed opportunities."
"Huh." Bakugou's mom picked up her glass of wine and took a sip from it. "I guess all kids do stupid things."
Bakugou folded his arms across his chest. "They wear stupid things too. You should've seen the first outfit he wore after getting clothes. It was worse than what Deku wears sometimes."
Aizawa paused with his chopsticks mid-air. "What was wrong with the clothes he was given?"
The parents looked at each other. The students looked at each other. Aizawa was wearing a nice shirt and suit jacket and bright teal slacks. Now, Touya was no fashion expert, but he had been surprised that someone whose hero costume consisted of black and gray would wear such brightly colored clothes.
"Noth-nothing was wrong with them!" Midoriya insisted nervously.
"They just weren't his...style," Shouto added.
Monoma sighed dramatically. "You Class A kids have all the fun." He glanced around the table. "Does anyone have pictures?" No one moved to pull out their phones, but the looks Midoriya and Uraraka gave each other gave them away and he grinned. Fuyumi was shaking her head. After everything she had done to make sure he looked good tonight, she hadn't been able to save him when they were younger. "Oh well, Class B is more mature."
"How boring," Touya drawled.
Unlike Bakugou, Monoma wasn't as easy to goad. He simply smiled back in that condescending manner and sat back in his seat, looking knowing and smug. It put Touya on edge, but somehow he knew that despite it feeling like there was a threat hanging in the air, he knew Monoma wouldn't actually do anything out of turn. He definitely knew how to rile people up with only a few words, but then Bakugou was always quick to argue and Shouto was surprisingly easy to irritate.
Any arguments they might've had were interrupted by the arrival of their dinner. Touya tried to think back to what he had ordered as plates began to be placed on the table, but he hadn't been paying much attention and couldn't remember. Everything looked good and there was a shit ton of it. Apparently, he had ordered two crab dishes, one which seemed to include an entire giant boiled crab staring back at him. That was going to be a mess. Oh well, food was food. He would eat it regardless. He always did.
Or at least, he thought he would. Then what looked like an alien was set in front of him.
Touya violently shoved his chair away from the table, glasses and plates clattering, and demanded in a voice far too high-pitched for his taste, "What the fuck is that?"
The waiter hesitated before replying, "You ordered-"
"I ordered that?" Touya repeated, staring in terror at the monstrosity.
Uraraka had scooted her chair away as well. "Is it alive?" It sounded like her voice was only a little higher than his. When the thing started to move its gross tentacles, she almost shrieked, jumping in her chair. A few other people at the table did as well. "Oh my god, it's moving!"
"Kill it!" Bakugou shouted, looking nowhere near helping.
Shouto looked it with mild interest. "Maybe I should use the fire half of my quirk. We can have fried squid."
"I...I think it's dead?" Midoriya said weakly. His mom didn't look so sure, her eyes wide and her face pale.
"Oh, I've heard that's a delicacy, but I've never had the stomach to try it," Bakugou's mom stated as she began to eat her food. How was she eating with that thing at the table? No one else was moving. Monoma's parents looked like they were shocked into silence and every trace of boredom had been erased from his face as he sat upright.
Touya shook his head. "Take it back. I'm not eating it. Take it back!"
Fuyumi put a hand over her face. "This is so embarrassing. You're acting rude."
"It's moving !" Touya pointed out indignantly. "How am I supposed to eat that thing while it's moving? Should I stab it to hold it down? I'm not eating it! No one would-"
Aizawa set his phone down on the table and focused on the squid thing. "You're not going to eat it?"
"Of course not!" Touya exclaimed. "It doesn't even look like it's from this planet! It-"
"No sense in wasting food," Aizawa interrupted in his low, tired voice. Without missing a beat, he picked up his chopsticks, reached over to pluck the wiggling creature between the two sticks, and shoved it into his mouth like it was fucking nothing. Touya felt like he'd been punched in the gut with his motion sickness as he watched the tentacles squirm from his mouth until he finally swallowed it practically whole. Everyone gawked in a mixture of horror, shock, and confusion (and maybe a little awe) as Aizawa set his chopsticks down and picked up his water to take a few gulps. Sitting next to him, even Shouto looked queasy.
Finally, Touya managed, "Okay, I already knew not to mess with you, but remind me never to piss you off, because that was utterly terrifying."
"What the fuck," Bakugou croaked hoarsely.
Uraraka had a hand over her mouth while her father said in a stunned tone, "Well, that was...entertaining. Who knew we would get dinner and a show?"
"Dad," Uraraka stressed in embarrassment.
Midoriya's mom cleared her throat. "Waste not, right?"
Fuyumi pulled her hand away from her face and turned the waiter, who looked equally shocked. "We're good now, thank you. Sorry about...that." She was going to tip extra for the trouble. He just knew it. The smile on her face was so forced; he wasn't sure how it didn't hurt her to wear it. "So, uh, who's ready to eat?"
Touya gazed at the three remaining massive plates of food in front of him. He had been hungry. He had been planning on eating every last bite of it, no matter what anyone said. Now his stomach did a flip just thinking about taking a bite. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the image of those wiggling tentacles an beady black eyes. After taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and grabbed a leg from the large crab, breaking it off from the main body with a loud, ugly snap.
"Might as well dig in," Touya said decisively.
Fuyumi gave him a grateful look, the smile sofer and genuine now. He hadn't wanted to be at this dinner and he didn't want to be around everyone, but, in a way, she was kind of right. This did feel like something a normal family would do, despite the weird and shitty circumstances. Going out for dinner with (mostly) friends, talking about themselves, swapping stories about their past, maybe even making jokes. It was normal.
Touya wasn't going to kid himself into thinking the other adults saw it that way, but it didn't matter. Fuyumi looked happy and, when it came down to it, he had and would put himself through some stupid, embarrassing shit to make her smile. He would sit through this dinner, join in on the conversation, and fake it if he had to. In the end, it didn't feel as bad as he thought it would. She deserved that and so did Shouto.
"Hey, Midoriya, can you pass the soy?" Touya asked, pointing at the bottle in front of him.
"Oh yeah, sure," Midoriya responded, reaching over to grab it and pass it to Uraraka to give to him. Just that was enough to make Fuyumi smile more.
This was what a big brother did.
Mistystarshine notes: Have a fluffy chapter! Consider it a preemptive apology for the next 'arc'. It's only going to be four chapters long (five, counting this one), but if at least one of them doesn't hit hard, then we're doing something wrong. As for this chapter specifically, I don't have much to say. There was a little angst mingled in with it, but that's nothing unusual for this fic. The parts I contributed to this chapter, both via plotting and actual writing, were pure nonsense. Mostly. It felt important that Touya have it confirmed to him that he as friends who weren't close to Shouto first and aren't his friend because of him. The Kaminari scene may have gotten a little heavy for a moment as a result.
And then the cheese happened.
It's a small spoiler, but since I know you're dying to know: good news for Bakugou! He is not in the 0.001% and isn't going to have pink hair for the rest of his life! (Although Lanni and I may have joked about him being left with pale pink roots.) It is, however, going to last for about a year, so you all have that to look forward to.
Also, I'm sorry if it felt like the fic updated more slowly than usual! I just started college and was super slow on the betaing. And for those still curious about last chapter's notes, I did not make it to the grocery store in time. But all the nice reviews made it worth it!