Touya flailed his legs on the bed throwing away the covers that covered him. The bandages on his arms were making him uncomfortable. He snorted angrily and sat on the edge of the bed. He had been treated for his burns at home for a couple of days, he had not gone to school and he no longer trained with his father. He spent his days at home resting. He heard a slight knock on his door.
"Touya, are you awake? May I come in?", The calm voice of his mother from the other side of the door called out to him.
"Yes, come in"
Touya saw his mother enter his room with a warm smile on her face. Although her son could notice the fatigue that her body was holding in the last days.
"Good morning darling"
"Good morning," Touya replied, as he got up to drag a chair for his mother, before she did it.
"Touya be careful, you can get hurt," Rei said with a worried tone.
The white-haired kid did not respond and only left the chair in front of the bed for his mother to sit down. He then he went and sat across from her on the bed. Rei carried a brown bottle of salve that the doctor had sent to treat the boy's wounds at home. Every day they followed the same routine in the morning. His mother came to see him, she carefully applied the ointment and changed the bandages. She then helped Touya change clothes and brush his teeth.
"How do you feel today?"Rei asked her son as he extended his arms towards her.
"I'm fine, just a little sore"
"After breakfast I'll give you a painkiller to make you feel better"
Touya nodded and his mother began to remove the bandages from his arms, the boy's burns were exposed, they still maintained a reddish color, but they looked better than at the beginning of the treatment. He flinched when his mother began to gently apply the ointment to his burned skin. She watched him frown and press his lips tightly together, then turned his face to the side. Rei felt bad that her son had to go through this. It must have been very painful for her little boy, and yet he didn't cry or complain, he just held on in silence.
"Ready," his mother said when she finished putting new bandages on Touya's arms.
The boy jumped out of bed and watched his mother pull out some clean clothes from his closet. After helping her son take off his pajamas and brush his teeth, Rei walked him into the kitchen. Enji waited for them there while he read the newspaper and drank coffee.
His siblings Natsuo and Fuyumi they had already going to school from a while. These days Touya would get up later and watch them until they came home from school. He would eat breakfast with his mother and then lock himself in his room to read or listen to music. He was interested in the latter and wanted to learn to play the guitar, he let his mother know that she promised to buy him a guitar when he recovered so that he could attend music classes. He sometimes stared out of the window of his room that looked out onto the backyard of the house, while his headphones played the music he liked. He lost in his thought looking at his mother's garden, the clouds that strolled calmly through the blue skies and the cherry and Japanese maple trees that lined the entire margin of the property.
When his brothers came back Natsuo used to go straight to see him and Touya liked that as Natsuo told him animatedly about his day in kindergarten and his always lively aura made him felt happy. His mother made them sandwiches and they spent the afternoon watching movies or playing board games with Fuyumi. The doctor had told him that he won't try too hard and that he keep calm so now scrabble and monopoly were becoming favorites of the Todoroki brothers.
His father would go out after seeing him in the mornings and having breakfast with him and Rei. Touya didn't know what he was doing coming back to the agency if they gave him a month off because of his broken arm. But he thought it was very common for his father to work like a maniac and become obsessed with it. As long as he left him calm with training, it was enough for him.
Touya liked to look at his mother in the garden, he sometimes watched her from the veranda of the house. She turned to see him and greeted him with a smile. Her white hair gleamed when the sun hit them and the boy wondered if his hair looked the same when he ran in the sun.
"How are you feeling Touya?" The redhead asked when his son sat across from him at the table.
"Better" His mother placed a glass of milk in front of him and watched her go to the cupboard.
"Enji, are you going to the agency today too?" The woman asked, moving easily around the kitchen as she prepared breakfast.
Her husband put the cup on the table and raised his face to her.
"Yes, but I hope to be back before dinner", He got up to go help his wife reach for a can in the cupboard. She smiled at him when she watched him rise up beside her without much effort to reach for the can.
"Then it'll be just you and me Touya", the mother said as she kissed the cheek of her son.
These quiet mornings the boy was beginning to like a lot. He vaguely remembered times like this in the past when his sister wasn't born yet and he didn't feel like a punching bag every day. Memories came to his mind of his mother singing happily as she cooked and his father eating in front of him leisurely, only worried that his son would not choke on food or fall out of the high chair. Those days were good memories for Touya.
After breakfast Enji said goodbye to his wife and son and left home. Touya stayed with his mother.
"Last night your father brought something for you," Touya had his left cheek pressed against the table and was watching his mother put the dishes in the dishwasher.
"What did he bring?" He asked, raising his face a little, lazily.
"Because you're not going to see it, is in his study," Rei told him smiling.
"Okay," Touya said getting up.
On the way to his father's study the boy stopped in front of a mirror in the hallway that led to his parents' room. He looked at himself for a moment he looked like a silly mummy he thought as he frowned. A mocking smile crossed his face and he stretched his arms forward and walked imitating a mummy like the ones in the old movies he had seen with his sister. His childish laughter broke the silence of the Todoroki house and when he opened the study door it left. He could feel a slight light coming through a crack in the window curtains. The place was a bit untidy, which she found curious because his father was very orderly. He could also notice a smell of coffee and India ink that tickled his nose. He ran his index finger against his nose. Touya parted the curtains and turned to see next to his father's desk a case that he recognized as a guitar case. His eyes lit up with excitement and he almost ran to take it in his hands. He carefully put it on the desk and slowly opened it with a smile from ear to ear. Inside it found a black acoustic guitar with a red line on the side of it. Carefully removed the guitar, and held it delicately as he examined it. The tips of his fingers slid over the fine wood and he read his name on the back of the neck. He couldn't hold it against his body and play without hurting himself so he put it back in the case and brushed the strings gently causing a vibrating sound that pleased the boy.
"How about it?" His mother asked from the door.
"It's great", Touya replied, closing the case. "Thank you very much Mom"
"You must thank your father when he returns"
His mother came over to ruffle his hair and the boy nodded in response. Rei was happy to look at Touya smiling excitedly, it had been a long time since she had seen him like that and that comforted her heart. She always cared for all her children, but more for the older white haired kid who carried the weight of his father's ambitions on his shoulders. Her sweet boy never demanded anything and he was always attentive to she and his siblings. Even on the worst days when he wept in frustration, tired and overwhelmed by his father's wishes to surpass him and the country's number one hero. Seeing her son with a sincere face of happiness and excitement warmed her heart. Enji accepted that his son will drop out of training and was also aware of the damage he had caused. So the changes in Touya's life were changing everything around him as each day passed. Rei had told Enji that Touya wanted to learn to play the guitar and that she would support him. Her husband surprised her by bringing home a guitar for their son, promising to allow him to be happy with whatever he wanted to do.
Enji waited in his agency's meeting room for Sato Ookido, who would bring a prototype of the hero gear for Touya that day. He looked at the papers he had in front of him, smiled proudly as he observed a sketch of the hero costume he had fancifully designed for his eldest son. He knew that maybe he would never use it, not now that all he wanted was to keep him safe and sound, alive. The sketch was not far from the hero costume he wore long ago. But he had some devices to control the flames of his son as an extension of his body.
He heard a knock on the door and then watched his secretary walk in next to Sato.
"Sir, Ookido san is here", Sato stepped in front of the woman. And Enji rose to salute.
"Okay, Azami, thank you", The young woman nodded and left the boardroom.
"Enji san!" How are you?,The man with gray hair and reddish eyes greeted animatedly.
Sato Ookido had been an old childhood friend of Enji Todoroki, with a not very strong water quirk, so he decided to dedicate himself to the manufacture of hero equipment. Although they were polar opposites in his personalities and Enji was often exasperated by the way he talked about him nonstop, Sato was someone he appreciate. In whom he trusted a lot and was in charge of the team of heroes for his agency. Sato's company had quickly become famous for its good researchers and products.
"I'm fine", Enji said, pointing to the chair next to him at the long conference table.
"Great", Sato replied, placing an equipment box on the surface of table. He then he sat leaning back in the chair as if he had been running all morning and was very tired.
"Did you bring the equipment?" Enji sat staring at the box in front of him.
"Of course. It wasn't easy at all, but I think I made it. I hope to meet your expectations Enji san", he winked mischievously and Enji rolled his eyes. "Well, well, let's see what's in the box, open it"
Enji put his fingers on the latches on the box and pulled them open. His blue eyes fell on a pair of matte bars that looked like the levers used by thieves in cartoons. These had a handle like those of swords and were of a temperate black color. He took one and examined it carefully.
"What is this?" He asked worried that Sato would think his son was some kind of car thief or something.
"That! my dear friend is tempered glass"
Enji shook his head and looked at the man next to him.
"But he won't be able to contain the flames from him"
"My friend this tempered glass is the new wonder in Ookido Enterprise, capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1500 ° C, years of hard work have brought this baby into your hands today", He stood up with a brisk leap and took a of the bars. He waved it from side to side like a sword, then pointed it at Enji. "If your boy burns this baby I'll give you your money back"
"It's not about that," He rubbed the back of his neck. "It must be safe for Touya" he said with a worried tone that surprised his friend.
"Believe me Enji this will help your son to better master his quirk, it wouldn't give you anything that would be potentially dangerous for him. Try it yourself!" He encouraged him by giving him the other bar.
Enji grimaced, not quite sure, but accepted the bar and stepped out onto the balcony of the meeting room to use his flames. Sato kept a safe distance to not being hit by fire from his partner. Enji took off his jacket and shirt and tossed them to Sato.
"Let it out baby!" Sato yelled at him in an amused tone.
A small bulging vein appeared on the Por Hero's forehead and then he returned his attention to the bars in his hands. His hands clenched tightly on the handles of the bars and little by little he released his flames, sheathing the tempered glass with them. He soon had two rods that were burning wildly. He realized that his plaster remained intact by not coming into direct contact with the fire and thought of Touya's delicate skin.
"Make it stronger! That's nothing for my babies," Sato yelled cheerfully.
Enji sighed irritably. He then spread through the bar the most powerful fire that he could generate at that moment. He was surprised at the strength of the material and smiled. He made the flames disappear little by little and then Sato approached him.
"What do you think?"
"Okay we'll use them, but you should keep working on the rest"
"Sure boss," replied the man making a military salute, bringing his hand against the temple while he smiled. "Take your clothes or now what you will set ablaze will be the minds of the people"
Enji gave him a pat on the back that shook him causing his friend to laugh when he noticed his flushed face. Endeavor took the clothes from him and put them on quickly.
When he came home that afternoon, he didn't expect to find Touya waiting for him. Enji watched him sitting playing with his phone in the living room.
"Dad…" Touya said with doubt in his voice.
His father stared at him standing with the box containing the bars at his side.
"Are you okay? Where is your mother?"
"She's sleeping with Natsuo and Fuyumi" He stood up nervously holding the fabric of his shirt.
"Is something wrong Touya?"
"I just wanted..." He paused and raised his face looking straight into the eyes of his father. "Thanks, I liked the guitar."
Enji's heart filled with a pleasantly warm feeling, it was fatherly love, he thought.
"You must not thank me, your mother wants you to focus on things that you like. When you are better you can attend classes. Just promise to play a song for mom when you learn"
The boy nodded with a smile on his face and then his gaze focused on the black box his father carried with him.
"What is that?"
"It's another gift for you, but this one you will open until you get better"
The boy's face was filled with curiosity. His father flapped his hair which caused Touya a start.
"How about we order pizza for dinner?"
"Sounds good"
He started walking towards the kitchen with his son following him. Enji felt that like a dream, at last his Touya was taking steps towards him, however, he was worried that those steps would recede, walking them away later.