Release
Anger, a low simmering hate for everyone and everything around him filled Touya. It was easy to be angry, easy to hate. His 'father' was an abusive bastard, his mother hidden away with a brother he had never even met, his siblings helpless, and his body couldn't handle his quirk. Not that that stopped his 'father' from demanding more and more out of him, dragging him off to train day after day. It had been suffocating, failing day after day, suffering under his 'father's' abuses, feeling his body weakening. He was dying, being killed more like it, being slowly eaten away by his own quirk and his 'father's' mad drive.
He had almost cracked under the pressure when his 'father' had driven his mother out of the compound. That night had terrified his brother and sister, but it hadn't scared him. He felt envy for his mother and brother; they were getting out, getting away. They wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. And then 'father' came home and glared at him like he had somehow failed yet again, but in an even more disappointing fashion than usual.
The next day though, oh the day after, he spent every minute of it wrapped up in knots, just waiting until his 'father' came to drag him to the dojo for abuse. But he didn't. Touya had barely been able to sleep that night, waiting for his 'father' to march in and wake him up so he could punish him for not being ready to 'train'. But then it was the next morning and he hadn't. His 'father' didn't even notice his exhaustion, leaving right after breakfast. A relief, since it allowed him to crawl into bed. He woke to darkness and silence. He felt a frisson of terror, half expecting his 'father' to be right there, just waiting for him, but… silence.
He was free of his 'father' for seven days before the absence of his usual brutal training was explained. Oh how he wished his mother had cheated. It would have galled his 'father' more than anything in the universe, and maybe he would have been able to find a real parent. But he wasn't that lucky. Instead, he was dragged to training after opening his mouth. Still, he couldn't help smiling to himself when he was finally sent back to his room to rest and recover.
Training resumed in earnest after that, punctuated by the occasional brutal sessions where he played his part as his 'father's' punching bag. The child from the other house was brought to live with them, but his mother didn't return. Lucky her. 'Training' intensified, and he felt the same suffocating pressure building inside him. He wasn't sure how long it would take his 'father' to break him, but it was coming.
Except it didn't. Instead the child from the other house disappeared and another child, his brother, was brought home. Red hair on one side, white on the other, one eye gray the other blue, and a quirk that produced both fire and ice. It was like he was a fusion of his 'father' and his mother, though, with all the tears, he thought it might gall his dad to know he took more after his mom.
Without warning, his training had ended. His 'father' showed no more interest him than he showed Fuyumi or Natsuo. He was just a failure in his 'father's' eyes and was spared no more thought than his fellow failures. He spent most of that first week blessed week of freedom in bed, letting aches and pains that had built up fade away. Fuyumi brought him meals, but he could see a growing misery in her eyes.
It wasn't until he saw his 'father' dragging their new brother to train that he saw why.
His brother was resisting like he had at first, but differently. Oh, he was still trying to squirm out of 'father's' grasp like he had, but he was also crying, begging, and that was only making their 'father' angrier. Out of morbid curiosity he followed, his stomach squeezing as the door to the training room slammed shut. He waited, unsure why he was waiting or what he was waiting for, the training room was soundproofed.
He turned and found Fuyumi and Natsuo behind him, looking both caught and scared. Had they been following him or 'father'? Or maybe they had followed their new brother's wailing? After a second they moved to join him at the door, saying nothing. He wasn't sure what they were here for, what they expected, but part of him wondered if they had done this for him. He was about to ask when he learned that the training room's soundproofing wasn't as total as their 'father' believed.
Author's notes: For perhaps the first time this story, someone got lucky. That week was a lifesaver. Perhaps Touya can put his new lease on life to work.