Natsuo glared at Shoto. "Thanks a lot," he said in a sour voice. Shoto picked at his food, not making eye contact. His eye was still bandaged. He wasn't blind in it, but he couldn't cry from it anymore. They all said it was a miracle he wasn't blind, but the burn left a scar and damaged tear ducts.

"Natsuo," Fuyumi scolded her older brother. "It's not Shoto's fault," she said in an angry voice. It didn't help, Natsuo still glared at him, blaming him for the family's misfortune.

"Everything's gone to shit since he was attacked! Touya's dead, mom is gone, Endeavor's even more abusive!" Shoto stood up, and threw the rest of his dinner in the trash before rinsing the plates and putting them in the empty dishwasher. He headed to his room, head down, silent. But before he got there, of course he passed the training room, and was told he had to work on his quirk now that he was fed.

Shoto just didn't have the spirit to say no. And being hit felt nice, a relief, because he did deserve it. He was the downfall of his family. Everything did go wrong after his attack. He was responsible for it all. There was nobody in his life to talk to. He couldn't tell anyone in public because they wouldn't believe him and he'd just get punished.

To not leave marks, he was force fed blood after every training lesson, because he didn't have the spirit or will power to fully resist anymore. So, he'd heal and leave no trace, no proof. Because Endeavor now knew that he'd out him the first chance he got. And Shoto had also hurt him. There had been a big lump on the pro heroes' head after he was hit by the metal bottle.

Nothing much happened from it in the long run. It was as if he'd never done it. He almost wished he'd been punished, because it would have shown he had gained something from it. But it was almost like it never happened. His moment of anger/bravery had all been for nothing, and only made it seem he was unstable and couldn't be believed.

After training, Shoto was given his blood to drink and rejuvinate. It seemed like a useful tool for Endeavor's training, even if he banned everything else having to do with it. He picked and chose what parts of Shoto he was willing to accept.

When bed time came for them all, Shoto was still up and watching TV almost on mute from the lowest volume, since he could hear just fine. Whenever he heard Endeavor coming, he turned the volume up so it was clear he wasn't using a sense that he literally could not dim or get rid of. His senses of smell and sound were there to stay.

That's what the teacher he used to visit said. He didn't go and see her anymore, Fuyumi just had to take over with research on how to "deal with him". So he turned up the volume when the father came to the kitchen and got some water.

"Don't stay up late." If Shoto's mother had said it, her voice would have been kind and caring. His was just barking out an order. The boy didn't respond but for a nod he clearly saw, or he would have yelled at him to answer. When the man left to go to his room, Shoto took his books and art supplies to his mother's room, where he stayed a lot because it still smelled like her.

It relaxed him, but brought the guilt back more and more. None of them knew the hospital name, location or phone number, so the kids had no way to contact Rei. Shoto wanted to apologize, and show her that his eye was okay. There was a nasty burn scar, but it could be worse. But he was sure the hospital would be closed at night anyways.

He'd have to go in the sun. Which was what they were doing the next day. Endeavor took work off for some reason, and ate breakfast, while Shoto was eating in the hallway so nobody saw like he was ordered not to. Once he was done and brought his plate to the sink, washing it with soap and rubbing alcohol, he sat down at the table when he got that look.

"You're going out in public today," he said firmly. Shoto felt himself suddenly get cold. "If you're ever returning to school, you need to be fine around other people." The boy was not happy at this, but was too meek and broken to protest. So he was told to get dressed in appropriate clothes, which were pants, boots, gloves, and a long sleeved shirt. A face mask, glasses and baseball hat were put on, his face still lathered with layers of stinky sunscreen.

They were going on a walk, not driving anywhere. But as new people passed him on the street, he started to wander off after them, as some smelled really good. Endeavor grabbed his arm, yanking him back.

"You will not wander off. The first time you did that didn't turn out very good, did it?" he asked in spite. Shoto's cheeks went red in shame and embarrassment, and he just nodded. It would be easier if he could hold someone's hand, to ground him, but he'd never actually held his father's hand before. He realized that just then.

He kept his nose plugged most of the time, even though Endeavor kept taking his hand away. He didn't have his flaming facial hair on, and was wearing a hat and normal clothes so he wouldn't be seen being cruel to his son. The sun didn't burn him much, only the tops of his cheeks, between his face mask and sunglasses. And even then, it wasn't too bad. Not as bad as it had been, which was a good thing for once.

When they got back, Shoto had looked longingly at some candy, but now wasn't allowed any sweets since mom was gone and her kindness went away, too. Everyone's kindness disappeared when she went away for hurting Shoto. He was sad on the way back, head down, his emotions masking the discomfort and pain of being around so many people.

If it was this hard outside, he didn't want to know how it felt to be in a more concentrated space. Like a crowded car or train or plane. Not that Endeavor would take him traveling when he wanted to hide him away, at least for now. Shoto was not something to show off. At least, not yet. He wasn't useful enough or competent with his quirk.

When they got back, he was exhausted, mentally and physically. "Time to train." He wasn't surprised by this one bit, and changed into comfy clothes, and went to train, get injured, and heal with blood. After that, he slept, and then went downstairs to work on his homework on the laptop.

The boy didn't understand, and wished his mom was there to help, wiping his eyes that could still produce tears. So he bit the bullet, and went to find and ask Fuyumi for help. She was kind to him and helped him on the hard math. He'd been smarter before, but mom had told him stress affected cognitive skills - how you think, and if you're smart.

Endeavor saw it as a weakness, and was annoyed by it, as Shoto wasn't getting very high scores anymore. He lost everything useful about himself in his eyes. Well, besides being able to heal, but that was merely a convenience. Which just gave more reason Endeavor could be very rough and brutal. It was like he took out his anger at All Might on his son. It had been Touya before. He missed him a lot. Would his oldest brother have been on his side?

Would mom have gone away if he had been there? He did miss him, even though they'd only had a short time of true bonding.

-x-

It was dark out, and everyone was asleep right now. Shoto was carrying one of his mom's leftover bras since it smelled like her strongly. It was stuffed in his pocket of his sweatshirt. He easily climbed over the wall that surrounded the large property, and followed the traces of his mother's scent.

He had a bottle of blood in his small backpack that also had some pictures he'd drawn, and a few of his mom's favorite books. She might be bored. Of course Shoto knew he'd be in very big trouble for leaving, but he wanted to see her. He was tired of this life and wanted to see his mom, be hugged by her.

The boy did not blame her one bit. He walked along the sidewalk and it started to rain. He didn't have an umbrella, and it was very cold. He shivered, but kept walking. Shoto made sure to be aware of his surroundings in case bad guys were around, which he'd scare off with his ice. It took an hour of walking to get to the hospital.

Walking into the building, he was soaked, both colors of his hair plastered to his face from the rain. It was midnight, but he'd managed to get inside, which was good. "Excuse me? I'm here to see my mom," Shoto said to the surprised worker. She asked him if he'd come alone, and then took off her coat and gave it to him.

It wasn't enough, but was better than nothing. "Dad's at home," Shoto replied. "I'm here to see mom." His words were punctuated with shivers and clacking teeth. He didn't have bandages over his eye anymore, the burn scar very noticeable, but no longer bubbly and injured. It was just there. Shoto hated seeing it in the mirror, but there wasn't much he could do to get rid of it.

"What's your name?" she asked, and lead him to the comfy chairs in the corner.

"Shoto. My mom's name is Rei." The worker looked uncomfortable when she turned him down. "Why?! She isn't crazy! Dad just made that up!" he protested angrily. He came all this way to see his mom, and he did it knowing he'd be severely punished for it. Never get to go outside again without supervision or something stupid like that.

"She needs time to herself for now. And if she sees your burn, how do you think she'd feel? It's not long after that happened, and she's still distressed." Shoto didn't realize he was being guilt tripped. And it worked, he did feel bad for wanting to bother her. "Why don't you start with sending letters?" she said.

Shoto didn't know if that would work, or if Endeavor would read through them or maybe not even let them be sent. Shoto stood up, miserable and near tears, and gave her the jacket back. He started to walk back home before she stopped him. "I can't let you walk back to your house alone, Shoto." She sounded firm, but in a way, apologetic.

"Dad will just get angry."

"You ran away for the night from your home. It makes sense he'd be a bit angry." The boy didn't bother telling her he'd probably be beaten. His stomach rumbled. He'd missed his night time drink. But she didn't know. Shoto's eyes were still not a bright red and noticeable. But they were both the same color now. He didn't have either of his parents' eyes.

So, the woman got no information from Shoto, and instead looked through Rei's file to find her husband's phone number. When she turned away, Shoto darted out of the building, the nice but annoying lady shouting after him. But he was out in the rain and darkness, so even if she could follow, it wouldn't last long if he kept running with visibility obscured by the pouring water.

He had nowhere to go but home. And he went another way, the not busy way, and moped the whole way home, arms crossed tightly in the cold. He was shivering violently, his stomach cramping badly, throat burning. Picking up the pace, he wanted to get there faster to drink some blood.

It was just lucky nobody was around to make him thirsty. Though the smells of things were fading. It was a miracle he'd made his way there and actually arrived where he aimed. He'd left his mother's bra at the hospital, no longer needing it. When he turned the corner down a specific street, a car came driving after him, and stopped beside him.

He knew the car, and the man in the driver's seat. He put the car in park, and ran to Shoto. He prepared himself for yelling and hitting since it was dark and noisy out, but he was shocked he got a hug. A tight one. Endeavor's body temperature was always warm, so it warmed Shoto up a bit. He waited for the explosion, but it didn't come yet. Not in public.

Endeavor took his hand and lead him to the car, Shoto going willingly, not being dragged. He clipped himself in the booster seat, and opened the window. He didn't like car rides. "There's a blood bottle in the bag beside you." He said it without looking through the mirror. Shoto quickly dug through the bag and got the bottle. It was a metal canteen.

Turning as close to around as possible, to not show off the ugly process, he drank the whole thing, his pain and discomfort fading back into background noise.

"What time did you leave?" Ah, the interrogation began. The hug was a one time thing after all. Not that he expected any different.

"11:30," Shoto replied honestly. It had given him plenty of time until sunrise. "I got to the hospital at 12:30." He didn't bother complaining about not being allowed to see his own mom because it was Endeavor who put her there. He was responsible for her breakdown and injuring Shoto. If only the blood hadn't been locked away, the burn would have healed, and they could have kept the whole thing an unfortunate secret.

So even if Endeavor wasn't the one to mentally damage her, him restricting access to what Shoto literally needed to live was bad enough. When they got home, the gates opened and the car entered. Usually they had drivers for them, with Endeavor not usually driving even when he was no longer at work.

When they got there, Shoto unbuckled himself, went inside ahead of the father, and locked himself in Rei's old room, crying into the pillow, hugging the blankets to his chest. He didn't even change out of his wet clothes. It didn't matter. He wasn't bothered, and when he woke, Endeavor was at work. He expected a lot more punishment, but it wasn't by the pro hero. His siblings got angry.

"How could you do that to us?! Touya only died a couple weeks ago and you up and disappear, too?!" Fuyumi asked angrily. Shoto never got shouted at from her, so it was unsettling. Natsuo looked sour, too, but said nothing. Did they actually care about him anymore? Their anger… did it show care? He couldn't tell.

He said, "Dad hugged me." It wasn't on topic, and he didn't answer her demand. "When he found me on my way home."

Fuyumi faltered, and Natsuo looked shocked. "He was just upset his second tool would die, too," Natsuo said, sounding irritated. "He also put locks on every door leading to outside. You won't be going anywhere anytime soon." The youngest's shoulders slumped. Indeed, when he went to the paper wall into the back, he saw the frames had been replaced with heavy wood, the paper slots smaller to not fit a fist.

He experimentally tugged on the doors, but they didn't open. Checking windows, he saw they were all locked too, and needed a key. He was trapped at night. But it wasn't like he could go and was unafraid outside during the day. His siblings left for school, and Shoto wondered when he'd return. There was less than a week left of this year. He would be taking the tests at home with a camera watching so he didn't cheat.

When he got thirsty, wanting just a few sips, he went to the kitchen to see if there was any left for him now. If the stock had been refilled. When he opened the second fridge used for blood alone, he was shocked to see dozens of bottles that were never there. Brows furrowed, he went upstairs into Endeavor's room and saw the chained up safe was empty and open a crack.

Had he actually scared Endeavor? That he would end up like Touya, and be dead and gone forever? It could be the same, the same type of death, if he was caught in the sun without proper protection. Not like putting any on last night before he left. It would have been washed off in the downpour.

He felt hope! That maybe things could change, and a scare would drive the father to treat them better. He was happy to drink when he wanted. And having access to it made him drink less in short periods of time. Like when mom was there and reminded him of when he had to "refuel."

But, that was not reality, and it came crashing down the next day, when Shoto was hit again for using his vampire senses to dodge the attacks in the training instead of trying to fight back. He was struck on the face, on the other side than his burn. Nothing changed, after all, besides him being locked inside at all times.

It made him disappointed and sad, but not especially surprised or hurt. Shoto didn't have enough faith in his father for being a good person to expect a change in behavior. Shoto couldn't leave now, so he wouldn't end up like Touya, and could be "trained" and not risk him running off. Life returned to how it was two days ago.

Fuyumi did seem disappointed with it, that nothing changed. Natsuo hated Endeavor, and any new kind of treatment wouldn't change his feelings, as he blamed the father for his older brother's demise.

-x-

"Happy birthday to me," Shoto said quietly, lighting his single cupcake's candle on fire with a match. He was in Rei's bedroom, her scent fading quickly now, and sitting on the bed. He blew out the candle, not sure what to choose to wish for, since he had many. Not be a vampire, to have his mom back, for his siblings to love him, for his father to stop abusing him.

There were too many to choose from, so he summed it up a bit. "I wish for my life to get better," and he blew it out. He ate the frosting first and then the moist cake of it. Fuyumi bought it for Shoto. Both of his siblings hated him, and with good reason. After he ran out of blood and came out from a training session, having thrown everything up when he was punched in the stomach too hard, he'd ended up biting Natsuo's arm.

He hadn't drunken any blood, but he did bite. Then he got actually beaten for it. He just needed blood, he didn't do it because he was angry. Now, he was pretty much exiled from the family room. It was what Endeavor wanted. He didn't want Shoto focused on his other siblings. But he felt kind of empty, and hopeless. Wasn't sure if he'd get to go to school in a month. After all, he'd attacked his own brother, how would he handle a full room of human kids? Crowds were awful, and Shoto had been kept on a leash with a muzzle, which was awful and embarrassing. He hated it.

Now that Fuyumi and Natsuo wanted nothing to do with him, Shoto started to make his own food. He did alright if he followed the special recipes Rei had made in the cookbook. Then he would eat dinner or another meal if he was awake in front of Touya's shrine in one of the empty rooms that just had never had a purpose.

Shoto didn't speak, as he didn't know what to say. He just felt like he wasn't alone. Both of them had been abused, while the other two hadn't. They were verbally abused sometimes but mostly left alone, while Touya and Shoto had been beaten physically. Endeavor refused to call his training abuse. It was just making him stronger.

He didn't feel stronger when he came out feeling sick and hurting. Slowly, he was losing his desire to be a hero. It was terrible. He just wanted to go see his mom again, maybe ask if he could live there, too. A little room would be better than being with his hateful family.

Wiping his eyes, he threw away the wrapper for the now-eaten cupcake, and looked out the window. They weren't locked anymore, they were just only able to open a little so he couldn't get out.

But that night, as he waited and waited for someone to just wish him happy birthday, he decided he wanted to go off on his own again. So, when night fell, Shoto didn't go the same way as before, since Endeavor had posted cameras outside the house, mostly to be able to know if Shoto had left.

This time, he got on the roof, quietly getting a ladder from the storage room that they used when he ceiling lights had broken. He got a screw, too, and unscrewed the single skylight. This would be the last time it was around. He pushed it up and off the roof, and then put it back in place. The ladder would give away its use, though.

He made sure not to be on anyone's bedroom before he sprinted across the very tip of the roof, and launched himself off of the edge of it, for once using his vampire strength, which he was supposed to be practicing, but was instead barred from ever letting on what he was. When he jumped, from that spot of the house, he was able to make it to the wall of the property and over it.

Landing hard on his legs, he was glad it wasn't raining, and he wasn't too cold. The boy didn't bother to walk. He had long sleeved clothes on, sunblock, blood bottles, the whole shebang in his backpack. So he ran off and away from the house, using regular speed. He went as far as he could, not planning on returning anytime soon.

His child mind was sure he would manage to stay hidden this time. He ended up running into a busy area, and the scent of blood was not strong since it was night time and nobody was around, all of the shops closed for the night but for a gas station near the edge of the shopping center.

He happily gazed through windows at the things he would never have. All the toys and figurines. There were a lot of All Might figures and posters, but Shoto only saw a single Endeavor figure, and it was a stuffed doll. The man was not well liked by anybody. Not his family or fellow heroes.

It would be nice to have money, but he wasn't a thief, and wouldn't have stolen any money. He only took things that belonged to him. He walked around for a long time, down empty streets, only dotted with fast moving cars with bright headlights. But he stayed on the sidewalk, and nobody bothered him.

Once the sun was rising, Shoto went under an eave for a library, waiting for it to open. He sat right against the window, already having lathered his face in sunscreen, dealing with the stink. The library didn't open on time, and Shoto found that the sign where he hadn't looked stated it was closed on Sundays.

So, he was stuck there or he'd brave the sunlight. He decided to be brave, and the vampire stepped into the sun. He'd put on three layers of sunscreen all over his face, so it didn't burn much, not enough to nearly be painful. It didn't even hurt to the touch like a normal sunburn. He was fine! And overjoyed that he was in the sunlight. During the day time, he was outside!

But then a problem came when he was walking through the park. Lots of people ran up behind him. Hundreds of people. And they were all sweating and had clearly been running for awhile. Shoto immediately darted into the bushes and off the paved path through the park. He ran deep inside until he didn't smell people anymore.

It had hurt! His throat was complaining loudly and aggressively, so he drank one of the blood bottles to try and stop the pain. It did fade, and he was glad he still had six left, which weighed down his backpack. But being a vampire, something heavy wasn't that hard. He never used it, hiding it, even purposely doing a bad job on the weight machines that he was much too small to use at home.

He was rounding the corner when some thug came running past. He was a bad guy, and was wearing bad clothing. When he ran past, shoving the frozen Shoto aside, he stuck his leg out, and the guy tried to kick, but Shoto had ice in the inside of his pants, and the guy broke a leg. The ice on his leg was thin, but had been strong.

He looked up when another person came over. He froze again, but this time, in awe. It was All Might! He was just as tall as Endeavor, but much more muscular. And he had his smile, not the second place's perpetual frown. Touya had called it "resting bitch face" once. That was three months ago.

"Aha! Did you stop this man?" he asked Shoto brightly.

"Mmhmm," Shoto nodded.

The criminal was writhing from his broken shin, holding it to his chest, the bag of money laying beside him, slightly open and showing the bills inside. "Impressive!" All Might praised. He took the criminal, zip tied his hands behind his back and carried him over his shoulder. "Would you like to come with me and we can get you out of the sun? There's a very nice ice cream stand nearby!"

Shoto was being offered ice cream by All Might? There was no way he'd give a pass on that! He hurried next to All Might, looking at him with bright eyes. "What is your name?" All Might asked. The criminal trapped over his shoulder was crying pathetically.

"Shoto," he replied. "Um, how'd you know? About the-the sun?"

"I can just tell by the way you're dressed. Though I do wonder where your family is with you out and about like this." Of course the boy wouldn't admit he'd run away for the time being, because then he'd be returned and get in extreme trouble. This time he didn't care if anyone worried over him. He just didn't care, and didn't think they would either.

Shoto lied, and said, "They let me go by myself. So I get used to people on my own." All Might didn't lose his frown. "Um, All Might? Does your face ever hurt? Cause you're always smiling." He'd always wondered.

"Ha ha ha!" the number one hero said. "It does cramp, but I must smile as the Symbol of Peace! As you deal with pain, I do as well. But I won't compare my trivial one to yours." Shoto cocked his head. "Vampires have painful cravings and can be harmed by the sun."

"Oh, yeah. But it's okay if I have blood and not near a lot of people at once!"

"That's good to hear!" Shoto went with him and waited under a tree when he returned the criminal to the police. Then he went back to Shoto, and walked with him to the ice cream cart. He bought him a large chocolate ice cream cone, and Shoto was overjoyed to have it. And he kept it nice and cold in his right hand from his quirk. "Is that your quirk? Ice?" He was smart. Shoto nodded.

He couldn't help but brag about having two quirks. This made All Might's posture turn a bit stiff. "How old are you, Young Shoto?" He gave his age: eight years old now. "How did you get two quirks? That's quite some news!"

Shoto huffed, and said, "My dad married my mom so they could make a kid with both quirks, me. Fire and ice, but I only use the fire sometimes." All Might must know of Endeavor, there was no chance he didn't, and so Shoto wasn't going to risk anything by telling the number one hero who he was.

Not because he wanted to preserve Endeavor's status, but it would devolve into a lot of prying and stuff, and would just cause a mess. Besides, didn't he deserve that treatment? Being a monster and making his mom go to the hospital. Attacking Natsuo, not stopping Touya that day. All Might looked down at him, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking or feeling with his ever present smile and shadowed eyes. "What would you like to do, Young Shoto? There are many paths even for the strongest quirks."

"I used to wanna be a hero… but stuff happened and now I can't, even though my dad wants me to," he mumbled, pouting before returning to his ice cream. All Might put a hand on his head.

"You can be anything you want. Being a vampire should have no affect on what you wish to do. Look where you are! You're outside, in the sun! There are definitely accommodations in place, so there's no reason to not be a hero, even if it's not the type your family would want. But your life is your choice. Family helps shape it, but you are your own person."

Shoto had wide eyes, trying to take in everything he said. "I can be a nice hero?"

"Hah, I don't see why not?! You can be a friendly open one, like me, or a more private, closed off hero like Endeavor." He definitely didn't know Shoto was Endeavor's kid. Did the public even know he had kids? Did anyone know about Touya? Or was he just erased from history like his body was turned to ash?

The vampire boy ate the rest of his ice cream, and smiled. All Might was right, Shoto didn't have to be what Endeavor wanted. "I'm gonna go home now. Thanks for talking to me, it made me happy," he said with a thankful grin, and bowed before he ran off, back the way he thought home was.