Shouto Todoroki hated his father. He hated him for the hours of training he was forced to endure everyday to prepare him to take over his place as number one hero some day. He hated the burn scar over his left eye his old man had driven his mother to give him. Now, after entering the room to find a chained and frightened boy about his age, hatred wasn't a strong enough word.
Shouto had walked into the training room that evening expecting another beating. His father had steadily been getting more severe during these training sessions, but it had really picked up recently now that Endeavor's number one ranking had become a normal.
And how that had been a surprise to an eight year old Shouto. To see his father's quirk miraculously upgrade and help him take the number one spot out from All Might. Japan had been at a standstill when Endeavor had been announced as number one, which was quickly followed by a riot from citizens and a field day for the media. All Might had been quick to make a speech about how "It isn't the ranking of the hero that matters, but that there are an abundance of strong heroes who can protect Japan."
Shouto silently disagreed with All Might. Afterall, his father had beat into him that nothing is worth it if you aren't number one.
Following that day, Endeavor had held the number one spot for six long and peaceful years for Japan. And six long and painful years for Shouto. But, also six years of suspicions.
Because Endeavor had been acting weirdly, and the youngest Todoroki had noticed.
It had started with the support item the flaming hero had added to his costume. Shouto had been lectured on how support items were a weakness, and how those who used them weren't worth being number one. Those lectures had quickly stopped the minute the arm braces, which were said to help Endeavor maintain a larger fire power for longer, were added. Next came the shorter yet harsher training sessions. Followed by the disappearances. When Shouto had just manifested his quirk, Endeavor used to train him for three hours at a time, but now that the hero was number one, he would only train Shouto for an hour a day and then disappear down the stairs and not be back up for three hours. Shouto had never dared follow the man, but it hadn't stopped him from watching and noticing the signs that could give him a clues as to what Endeavor was doing.
There was the faint fragrance of blood and smoke Endeavor always smelled like when he came back from wherever those stairs led. There was the excited gleam in his eye which spoke of satisfied greed or the angry gleam which spoke pain and the need for more.
So yes, Shouto had been suspicious of his father for a while now. He just hadn't realised how big of a secret his father had been keeping.
That was, until Shouto had walked into the training room.
The last thing he'd expected was the green haired teen looking up at him with fear and confusion. Shouto did a once over of the boy. He was skinny and pale with green eyes that shined of intelligence and freckles that covered every inch of skin that wasn't scared. And the scars. There seemed to be more of those than there were freckles. The scars littered his skin. Shouto noticed how some looked medical and others looked similar to the one over his left eye.
"Shouto. It's time to start increasing your training." Those words sent a shiver up his spine. Shouto knew he shouldn't speak, but his common sense was all but forgotten while staring into frightened green eyes.
" What? " The word came out more sharply than he'd intended, causing the green haired boy to flinch and shirk further into the corner.
"It is time for you to learn the secret to being number one. This will help you crush everyone at UA and then, when you're completed, take my spot as number one."
What was happening? Secret? Was Shouto Right? Had his father been hiding something? Did this have to do with the mysterious disappearances?
Endeavor turned to lock the door they had entered from, unaware of Shouto's roaring mind hiding behind a blank face. The green haired boy noticed it; Shouto's fear and uncertainty. He could see the same fear and understanding reflected back at him from where he stood.
"Now Shouto, here before you sits the key to my success. It is a secret I know you will keep ." The threat in those words was missed by no one. Endeavor's hand dropped from his shoulder as he walked over to the boy in the corner. Shouto did not, could not, move.
Endeavor spoke as he pulled the boy up to a standing position by the chain attached to his neck. "This is mine, which I am permitting you to use. Today I will show you what to do and I expect you to do it."
"Now, boy," Endeavor addressed the teen he still held in a tight grasp, "use your quirk on me." The boy winced in the tight grip, but nodded minutely.
The boy began to glow a faint green. Shouto watched, transfixed, as the pale light radiated around Endeavor and almost seemed to soak into the man's skin. Endeavors' flames burst into a brilliant blue and the room grew stiflingly hot. Shouto felt his fear spike with the flames' heat. What the hell was happening!? Endeavor laughed a vicious boom that would frighten even the bravest of heroes.
A hiss of pain brought Shouto's attention back to the boy. Said teen was still being held by Endeavor as his flames burned away the oxygen in the room as well as the boy's arm. Shouto did not think; his feet just moved. One moment he was watching his father's flames be amplified to frightening levels, and the next he was separating the boy from the burning man using his ice to douse the heat of his father. Steam filled the room covering Shouto and the boy from the view of Endeavor for a few precious seconds.
" Take this," Shouto whispered quickly using his right side to create a chuck of ice and handing it to the boy. The boy stared up at him in shock and something kin to gratitude. Though the boy could not speak through the muzzle he was wearing, he thought he heard something along the lines of 'thank you'.
"SHOUTO!" The dual hired boy flinched at the tone. Shouto turned to his father to see the man seething. On the plus, Endeavor's flames were his standard orage once again.
"Sorry, father," Shouto stated firmly. Endeavor narrowed his eyes at the teen, daring him to speak further. Shouto did not.
After a moment of tense silence in which neither Todoroki broke eye contact, Endeavor finally began to speak.
"As you can see, this boy here has the power to amplify another persons' quirk. I have been working with a specialist to use this power to easily boost another hero's quirk while on the field. " Shouto couldn't breathe. What had his father done to be able to use this boy's quirk without him being present? "We have been using this method for years now, and I want you to use it during your time at UA."
"What method?" Shouto voiced aloud, his tone as cold as the ice he could create. He regretted the question as soon as he had asked it as Endeavor moved toward the teen who had been sitting stock still in the corner, the chain curled around him.
Shouto watched in growing horror as Endeavor pulled out a small knife, which he hadn't even known the flaming man owned, and sliced it across the already burned forearm of the trembling teen. The greenete didn't even flinch, but his eyes did grow duller, as if this was a normal for him. Shouto feared the implications of that thought process. Endeavor then swiped his finger over the wound with the growing crimson of the boy's blood, and quickly stuck it in his mouth.
Suddenly, the room burst into light as his flames were once again amplified. The light quickly faded out. Everything came to a screeching halt as Shouto put two and two together.
It all made sense now. The way Endeavor always smelled of smoke and blood. The way he had been able to become number one seemingly overnight with a quirk that miraculously mutated. The reason why Shouto didn't have to train for as long anymore.
It was all this boy. This boy whose quirk Endeavor used for his own gain. This boy who Shouto had never even seen or heard of before because his father could be arrested for so many illegal things if he was found out. This boy who Endeavor expected Shouto to use for himself.
This boy whose blood was being taken and used to amplify a quirk.