My Hero Academia rightfully belongs to Kōhei Horikoshi. The only thing that belongs to me is my character.

I'm sorry for the delay for this chapter. I won't bother you with the details, I just had a hard time with it, writing it and rewriting it, but hopefully it's still enjoyable.

I'm happy that at least until now the story is still good enough for people to enjoy reading. I know I'm gonna sound like a broken record but I'm really grateful for the love you've given this story and I hope I don't disappoint.

Warnings: I don't think there's any besides the ones from the previous chapters. Endeatrash's bad parenting and description of child/wife abuse. And I think a bit more of violence than before in two particular sections. If it bothers you, please proceed with caution or skip ahead the parts that you feel like you can't read. Don't force yourselves.

Also, a few headcanons that I personally like were added and the introduction of a new character. Hope you enjoy!

.

MY siblings used to ask about my nightmares.

And at those times, I wasn't sure of how to explain them. How could I explain contents that not even I understood? I didn't know the people that would show up in them, screaming at me and then weeping and I couldn't comprehend the guilt I felt whenever those unknown people would appear. And sometimes, those same people would strangle me or do something that would eventually lead to my death and I'd think, are they people I knew from Before? Were they people that lead to my death or something? I never found out the true reason of why I kept dying in the most horrific ways and why I felt so, so guilty whenever they'd spat in my face, like they were blaming me for something I didn't know.

They changed eventually, but the people's faces stayed in the back of my mind like they were haunting me.

And it was normal for nightmares to change, I suppose. There was no reason for those other people to torment me when I had a new torturor, a new devil in the shape of the man that brought me into this life.

And now, I was facing that very same nightmare.

My father's eyes were narrowed and his arms were crossed over his chest, like he was running some sort of examination on me which, given the situation, is not completely untrue. In my nightmares, he usually has this same posture, eyeing me like I'm a bug while I'm screaming and screaming. I'm not screaming now (yet) but I could fill my body trembling. If it's with fear or something else, I didn't know.

Enji was as terrifying now as he was in the show, at least from what I remember. But he was just a drawing Before. He couldn't physically hurt me. He wasn't real, just some character that someone created for a story.

But now he's real.

Very, very much real.

This is a man who could kill me with one single hit if he wanted. He could tower over me easily, his mere presence crushing me down.

And he's my father.

"Again."

And with my shaking legs, I stood up and crouched into some sort of defensive position that felt awkward and uneven. A breath was breathed in and in a second, with a speed I couldn't possibly catch with my eyes, he was standing right there in front of me, fist coated in bright flames and absolute fear brought me down to the floor where I attempted to roll away but the grip on the back of my shirt was the response I needed to the question of whether or not I was finally able to dodge him.

I was thrown across the dōjō mercilessly.

My vision blurred with the pain but I forced myself to stand up again because I knew what was coming next. Despite stumbling a bit, my left foot stomped hard on the floor and ice crystallized to stop the inferno that was coming my way.

It wouldn't be able to handle it, I knew it, so I quickly stepped aside as the ice shattered and sent another wave of white towards him.

Which he obliterated with his flames in a second with a loud roar.

"Fire, girl!" he spat from where he stood, eyeing my form with a glare, "I told you before, no ice! Fire!"

I sucked in a breath, not bothering to reply. Father never wanted one anyways.

Using my fire was tricky as I couldn't use it for a long time until it began burning away at my own skin of my right arm which made me rely heavily on ice instead and the damn bastard knew it. He knew the fire hurt my arm, just like he knew it hurt Tōya whenever he used it and still . . . he was trying to force me to use it.

I tried using it the first couple of sessions. And the glee it gave him to see blue clash against orange and red. Didn't matter that at the end of those days I'd have my arm so numb and burned that I couldn't even move it properly.

Then again, by the end of those sessions, my body would also be utterly destroyed.

"You're," a shadow appeared over me and I didn't have time to retaliate, to do anything, when a fist, thankfully not covered in fire, made its way home into my stomach, "distracted!"

My body hit the floor and I was left coughing and spitting out the rest of my breakfast, teary eyes squeezed shut. And apparently not satisfied, a foot hit me on my side and I was kicked away across the tatami.

Everything burned as I lay there trying to control my breathing, eyes shut. My insides, my body, everything. There was a pain in my chest which made me think that maybe a rib was broken but I could still breathe fine so it was probably not as bad as that.

"Look at you, so weak!" he barked, voice echoing throughout the room, "You won't even be able to get to his feet like that, girl!"

The ceiling blurred but I quickly blinked the tears away. I can't be crying. I can't. I'm doing this for a reason, a purpose.

Remember, Yuna, you're going through this for Shōto.

It's for him. So he doesn't suffer as he did originally, so he can get a somewhat decent childhood without the beatings. Because it rather be me getting roughed up like this than him. It's for him, was the only thought in my head as I pushed myself to my feet, trembling body going automatically to my defensive stance again, breathing in and out and narrowing my eyes on Father's form.

It's to keep him safe.

Blue came alive on my arm and the grin that spread across his face at the sight was nearly villainous. The flames crossed the space between us but it was quickly overwhelmed by his own flames that didn't stop in their path towards me. I threw myself to the floor, the flames nearly catching the back of my shirt but I couldn't even think if there was any damage because there was another kick sent my way and in a second, a wall of ice came up between the two of us, catching his foot in it.

I didn't even mean to make it. It was purely by instinct but he didn't know that which, from the yell Father gave, made him mad.

"No," the white wall shone orange and yellow before it broke and a hand reached out between flames and grabbed onto the collar of my shirt when I didn't have time to dodge, "Ice!"

And to the floor I went again, coughing and gagging on my own spit. Frostbite was already starting to cover the left side of my face which meant that I reached my current limit of Quirk usage. The temperature of my right arm rose to establish a balance with the rest of my body's low ass temperature and through that, stupidly might I add, I tried to make another wall to block the incoming flaming fist.

Keyword being tried which is why it was stupid of me.

The ice didn't manifest and the fist made something twist in the wrong way inside and I was sprawled across the floor, just coughing and dry heaving as there was no contents left in my stomach. It hurts hurts hurts

"Enji, stop!"

Mother?

Hands - cold but warm and soft and kind - touched my back and began rubbing it gently but it just hurt. There was just pain and cold. So much cold. Why was it so cold?

"She's just five years old!" Mother was saying, hands gently moving to my shoulders but no matter what, it just hurt, "You can't expect her to—"

"To what? Learn how to fight properly and stop making stupid mistakes that only make her look inexperienced and weak?"

"She's just five—" Mother tried again but even I knew that it would be useless.

"She's old enough!" Father roared and I flinched along with her, "If she learned properly with the training I'm giving her, it'd be no time until she's strong enough to beat that damn fool!" There was a deafening pause and I didn't know if I should be sacred or- "But perhaps, I thought too highly of her."

I froze at his words. What?

"Rei! Leave her be and get me Shōto! I knew I should've started with the boy, instead of the girl—"

"No," I rasped, my voice not recognizable to my own ears but I know that he heard me because he stopped whatever he was saying. My palms ached against the tatami but I pushed myself up, even as I trembled and trembled, "Not Shōto. You said it'd be me, not him!"

I know he replied with something but I couldn't hear him with my frantic heartbeat in my ears. He was thinking of getting Shōto and training him instead? No. No, I refuse. When he accepted to train me, I thought he'd gotten what he wanted and that he'd let my twin alone. I wasn't good enough for his eyes, was it? I wasn't good enough in the sessions so he was going to bring my brother into this instead?

Not. Happening.

Over my dead body.

"I can do this," I said, my throat dry and shaking Mother's hands, her soft and kind kind kind hands, away. I took a step forward towards Father, keeping my trembling legs from giving away, "I can do it. Leave Shōto out of this. It's me you're training right now and I'll be the one . . ."

Keep Shōto safe keep Shōtosafekeepshotosafe

". . . I'll be the one to beat All Might, like you want. I'll do it."

I took a deep breath, positioned my aching and bruised body and got ready.

And the next thing I know, he was rushing at me, fire over his fist.

Again, the word echoed.

I winced when Mother brought a cold cloth to my chin where a bruise was expanding.

Father had already left which left us alone. I didn't say anything and neither did she but I could see her hands shaking when she was doing her best to patch me up, her eyes wavering. Mother is used to trying to keep up a front, to make us all think she's fine and doesn't need anything but we all knew better.

She was crumbling. They both were, her and my older brother.

Tōya was growing more and more unstable and angry, that very anger leading him to using his Quirk without meaning to in times of agitation and fights and in those times, Mother would flinch and stare through her oldest son like she couldn't quite see him. She wasn't. She was seeing him instead and that would make her tremble and curl into herself as if she was making herself tinier.

I remember the first time I ever looked into my mother's eyes. Normally, no one would be able to remember such a thing but I like the fact that I'm an exception to this because the love in the bright gray eyes that looked at me when I first came into this world is unforgettable. Her eyes were so full of life at the time, filled with warmth.

But now, they were vacant. Lifeless, filled with terror instead of warmth.

And I hated that my mother was brought down to such a state because of the very man she had been forced to marry.

This isn't what a family is supposed to be. Not that I can remember what my family was like Before but I knew this wasn't it. Family is the way the five of us and Mother would have fun and smile and laugh when he wasn't around but shouldn't it be all of us? Shouldn't it be the parents as in the both of them and us? But no, because with Endeavor as a father, it would never be like that.

Family is the way, that I can recall from my memories from Before, Midoriya Inko treats her only son and loves him. Family is the way that, in the future, Class 1-A is gonna treat each other, friendly and looking out for each other.

Family isn't supposed to hurt, to be broken like this.

Mother pressed her cold hand, coated with a thin layer of ice, against the burn on my right arm and unable to stop it, a flinch went through my spine and she immediately pulled her hands away.

"I'm fine," I tried to reassure her because I was. I was fine, "It doesn't hurt that much. I'm used to it by now."

It was supposed to be a small joke, as it wasn't my first training session, but I should've kept my mouth shut because it had the opposite effect. Mother's hands fell onto her lap and that's when I noticed how badly she was shaking and the tears that were dropping down onto the floor. My throat closed. I didn't know what to say to comfort her. I tried to and it didn't work. What could I possibly do to make her feel better?

There's only one thing, something whispered in the back of my mind and I agreed completely.

Ignoring the small and scattered spikes of pain that spread all over my body, I wrapped my small arms around my mother's shoulders and I let her weep.

And that's when Tōya appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

He hesitantly stepped inside, his movements cautious and slow as to not startle Mother but she turned her head to look at him and he froze midstep.

"I . . ." my brother opened and closed his mouth, as if he was unsure he should talk. I could see his fists curled tightly from where I was as he kept going, his voice soft and low, "I can finish that, mom. I'm done with my lessons for today and . . ."

Fear, not for myself but for him, surfaced at those words because what if He found out that he were speaking, "What about . . ."

It was subtle but I swore I could feel Mother flinch. I squeezed my arms a little more around her.

"It's fine," he assured me, although his eyes remained on our mother's still form, "He left. I think there was an emergency at the agency."

Mother's shaking stopped so I reluctantly moved my arms back and her eyes met my own. Cold hands came up to my face and it looked like she was engraving my bruised and brunt face into her memory. A beat passed and she stood up, pressed a kiss to my head and left the bathroom, pressing a small hand to my older brother's shoulder and she was gone.

"She's getting worse," was the first thing that left my mouth and I wasn't sure if he even was listening to me with the way he was glaring down at the ground. But when his eyes shot up to meet mine, I knew he was, "Even I can see it. She's slowly cracking and there's nothing we can do to stop it. She's . . ."

Terrified. Mentally broken. On the brink of snapping and if she does, it won't be either of us that will get hurt, it'll be Shōto and he'll be scarred forever.

". . . breaking," I finished.

Tōya doesn't say anything as he stepped closer and sat on the same seat Mother had been before. The cloth is lifted and back on my face.

"When did you become so grown up, eh shrimp?" he asked and I can't help the snort of laughter that escapes because of it.

The irony of the question is absurd. I don't know how old I was when I died Before but I suppose I couldn't be that young so technically speaking, I'd be like in my twenties by now? Maybe younger? Oh God, older than him and Fuyumi maybe?

Not that it matters anyways. But I still find it funny that it's my older brother that's asking it.

"Maybe I'm the older sibling, not you or 'Yumi-nee," I said in the same teasing way he asked his question and I couldn't duck away from the hand to came up to hit the back of my head, "Come on, I'm injured!"

For his part, Tōya just looked unimpressed with one of his eyebrows raised and my lips twitched into an smile.

He helped me dealing with the huge ass bruise in the area of my ribs and with my burns but explained that, as some of them were made by my flames, those would leave marks. I already had figured that out, of course. They wouldn't be that noticeable but they'd be there, scattered over my right arm. Tōya has them covered, his legs and arms, with bandages but there was a time he didn't so I can still remember the slightly fading scars on them.

One more thing for me to have in common with him, I suppose.

By the time my brother finished wrapping my bruised stomach and back in bandages, I was sleepy and yawning every five minutes.

I just felt so tired.

When the training session finished, despite the pain, I had been fine, filled with energy even. But now, it was like it was all gone. My eyes could barely be kept open, yawns here and there and my body just felt sluggish. I couldn't even see straight. Everything was blurring together and my eyes slipped close for a small while before I suddenly realized I was falling asleep and jolted myself awake.

"Yuna, you alright?" Tōya's blurry face appeared in front of me and I rubbed my eyes to try and clear my vision but a yawn interrupted me and there was a sigh, "Okay, you're gonna fall asleep on the edge of the bathtub at this rate and fall over. Come on."

I yawned again, wiping any tears that escaped and that's when my stomach decided to alert us of its emptiness, "I'nd't eat anything, Tōya-nii."

"Food isn't ready yet so you can sleep a bit."

A small hum of acknowledgement left me and there were hands helping me up and I yawned again, letting my eyes slip close.

It didn't take long for us to get to my room, the separate room from my twin brother because Father is an asshole and made us sleep in different rooms; the room that was devoid of anything because I didn't have anything other than my books and notebooks. Pushing the door open, Tōya helped me to my futon and lying down, I melted completely against the pillow.

"We'll call you when the food's ready so just . . ."

Everything else my older brother said drifted away as I slowly lost consciousness to a very welcomed sleep.

.

THE moment that his tutor said he was free to go, Shōto picked all his things and was gone in a second.

If the man said anything about his behavior, he didn't listen nor did he care. He just focused on going through the house's large hallways as fast as possible because during his lesson he had heard His thundering footsteps and the way the front door had opened and slammed closed, which meant that He was gone, probably on a mission or to his agency for something, so the training session was over which meant Yuna was done for the day.

Which meant he could actually see his twin today and maybe hang out with her.

Ever since his sister started her training with Him, he had been adamant in the fact that that's all she was permitted to do, training and her tutoring lessons; which meant that she wouldn't be able to be with neither him, nor Natsuo nor Fuyumi or Tōya. Mother was the exception because she was allowed to watch the training sessions but other than her, Yuna wasn't allowed to talk to any of them. During meals was always a hard time because he could see his sister but not talk to her or anything. And she had argued and protested, Shōto remembered vividly on the day their Quirks had manifested but He wouldn't budge.

"Spending time with them would be a waste of time," He had said, his eyes narrowed down at four of them, hand curled tightly around Yuna's wrist, "Time that could be used effectively in your training."

End of story, no matter the protests of his wife and children. That very same day, He had grabbed onto his twin's arm and dragged her away, no matter how much Shōto and his siblings tried to stop him. They were no match to Him.

But Yuna would find ways to come and see him. The two of them were no longer sharing rooms and had one for each of them but at night, after He was already asleep, she'd slip into Shōto's own room and lay down with him with his futon and they'd just talk. They couldn't do any noise so they'd refrain from saying anything that would make the other laugh but they'd talk about anything they could think of and honestly, he would get so happy whenever his twin showed up.

Shōto hated Him even more because if it wasn't for him, he wouldn't be separated from his sister and they wouldn't have to meet up in secret with the fear of being caught and having to face His wrath.

"Oh, Shō!"

Fuyumi came out of the kitchen just when he was passing and through the door, he could see their mom by the oven, probably taking care of their food. She turned to face him as well at the sound of his older sister's voice but when her gray eyes met his gray and blue ones, she quickly turned away back to the food. He felt his chest squeeze painfully when she turned away. Normally, his mom would greet him as well after his tutoring session.

In a fleeting thought, he wondered if he did something to her before he left and felt anger begin to rise.

". . . and the food is almost ready so— Shō, are you listening?"

The boy snapped back into reality and met his sister's concerned gaze. "Sorry, nee-san."

She sighed but nevertheless reached out to ruffle his hair, making him frown. He didn't like it when she and Natsuo messed his hair up, "I was just saying that food is almost ready and that Yuna is sleeping in her room so it's better if you don't go see her right now."

Disappointment curled around his chest. "But I want to see her."

His older sister's eyes shifted in a way that he didn't quite understand and she knealt down to his eye level, "I know you do and so do I but she was tired. I'm sure she'd ask you to let her sleep if she were here."

The boy looked down to his bare feet. He understood, he really did but . . .

"God, 'Yumi, let him go see her." Shōto turned and there was Tōya walking towards them, hands in his pockets. His older brother, the moment he was close, put his hand on his dual colored hair and also decided to mess it up, "He won't give up."

Shōto frowned and fixed the mess on his head. What was with his siblings and their fixation with his hair?

"But . . ."

"When it was me," Tōya interjected before Fuyumi could finish and the younger boy saw his older brother giving their sister this look that he didn't quite understand, "You did the same thing, remember? You, and then Natsu too, wouldn't leave my side, no matter how Mom would try to keep you away."

There was a small pause where his sister was contemplating what she was just told and in the end, she just sighed, probably knowing she was outnumbered. And that Tōya was right, Shōto could tell.

"Go ahead, Shō," his sister told him, patting his shoulder, "We'll call you in a bit to eat."

The boy nodded and looked at his brother, who only gave him a small, barely there smile and a nod. Now happier than before, he quickly made his way to the wing where the bedrooms were. He passed his own, then his siblings' and the one where his mother slept alone in and finally reached his destination. The boy raised his hand but paused. If his sister was asleep, then it's better to not knock but he didn't feel good in just breaking her privacy like this.

I'll apologize.

The knob was turned and the door was opened to reveal a room very much like his own. Tatami flooring, a wardrobe and small desk in the left corner. Like himself and their siblings, Yuna didn't have any decorations or toys because He took them all away when he decided that none of his children were gonna be proper children.

Shōto stepped inside, closing the door as gently as he could behind him but his sister had always been a lighter sleeper than he was so it didn't surprise him when her sleepy voice reached his ears.

"Shō?"

His sister was sitting up on the futon, curly hair an even mess then it usually is and hand rubbing her half open eyes. The first thing he noticed was the purple and ugly bruise on her chin that made his blood boil. It was the only bruise, she had one other above her eye that was also swollen and purple and it just made him feel sick. Her right arm didn't look any better, the burns all over it and the dark bruises on her shoulder blades. He didn't even wasn't to think about the ones that he knew were scattered all over her body.

But despite all that, Yuna was still smiling at him.

Smiling like she didn't look beaten to a pulp, like she didn't look like death.

"He hurt you again."

It wasn't a question. Yuna's smile faded a bit and he already the words that were gonna leave her as he made his way next to her, "It's fine. I'm okay."

"You're not," Shōto threw back, frowning.

Yuna didn't say anything to that and she laid back down, him doing the same when he reached her side. They faced each other. It was strange to share a futon after having their own rooms but it was also comforting to be able to do it again, since they've been doing it every single day since they started sleeping in futons. Until that fateful day, of course.

"I am fine," his sister reassured him, reaching how to take his warm left hand in her own left one, "It hurts, yes but all of this," this beating, his brain supplied but he didn't say outloud and Yuna continued, "happening to me is better than the alternative; it happening to you."

He frowned again. Why would it be better? She was hurting. And because she was hurting, Shōto himself was hurting even if he wasn't going the same things she was and so was Fuyumi and Natsuo, he could see it whenever they talked about his twin. Tōya was too, always feeling responsible for not being able to stop Him. Mom was hurting too, maybe more than any of them. Although most days she couldn't look him in the face, the younger boy would watch her anyways and he could see her growing even worse than before. She'd flinch at almost any sound and touch and wouldn't smile as much as she did when they were all younger.

And even so, she'd still try to go up against Him to try and help Yuna but it always ended up with her on the ground, bruised and shaking.

And if He had taken them both at the same time, then maybe it wouldn't be this bad. Yes, He wouldn't let them have any contact with their siblings but they'd find ways around that and do it anyways. And besides, they'd be together. They'd have each other as support. Yuna wouldn't be alone dealing with Him as she is.

And she's saying that it's better that it's happening to her and not to him? It's not better.

It's just as horrible.

"Why can't I train along with you?" he asked, frown fading. Shōto sounded like he was pleading with her and he supposed that in some way he was. He wanted her to understand, "If I was there too, maybe it wouldn't be this bad. Maybe—"

"No," his sister's reply came so fast and forceful that he immediately stopped talking. Her eyes - Mom's eyes, the ones that wouldn't even look at him - met his and she squeezed his hand gently, "No," she repeated, gentler this time, "It's just . . . I don't . . ." Yuna squeezed her eyes shut, hesitating for a second, before she continued, "You're the one he really wants to train, you know?"

"Don't say that! It's—"

She shook her head, lips forming a small, bitter smile and Shōto wondered with a heavy heart if that bitterness was towards him, "We may have both fire and ice but yours is definitely more . . . developed. I mean, my fire is only on my right arm while yours is your whole left side. So, if Father were to choose between us, he'd pick you. Hell, he even asked Mother to grab you during today's training."

The boy froze at that, mismatched eyes widening.

"But he should've known I would never let him put you through this."

But I don't want you going through this too, it's what he thought but didn't say outloud. Why couldn't she understand? Why is she the one that has to suffer for Shōto's sake?

"Why is it that you get to do something like that for me but when I want to do it for you, you won't let me?"

Yuna paused, as if unsure of what to say and then her right hand came up in a awkward angle to touch his left cheek, her eyes staring at it with this intense look that he didn't know how to describe. And then she smiles again, "Because it rather be me going through it than you."

"You're just repeating what you said," he complained and there's a huff of laughter that his sister released before she pulled her hand away, "Why can't I do that for you?"

"Because I will never," she began firmly, eyes meeting his, "Ever let you be beaten and broken down just for that damn selfish desire of his. And if to achieve that, I need to be beaten and broken down instead? Then so be it. I've been getting ready for it since I was young."

Getting ready for it since she was young? What? "What do you mean by that?" Shōto asked, frown reappearing at full force again.

But Yuna was already shaking her head, smiling and poking his right cheek, "Don't worry about it, Shō. Just . . . trust me when I say, I'm fine. I can do it. Don't worry about me."

I'm fine, she said.

"Besides, isn't Tōya-nii teaching you . . ."

Yuna herself said that she was fine even though it was clear she wasn't, much like Mom would in those earlier years whenever any of them or their siblings would ask about her bruises.

". . . sure he's not as brutal as . . ."

I'm fine, she had said with a smile on her face as if everything that was happening was the best alternative.

". . . and— Shō, are you okay?"

He snapped back into the conversation to find his twin looking concerned. After a small nod and an apology, Yuna continued asking him about his training sessions with Tōya.

It wasn't training, per say. His older brother was just teaching him some self defense that he had learned from Him but he wasn't as brutal and some Quirk exercises so Shōto would be able to start controlling his ice and fire. Nothing else because they could only do that when He wasn't home so it wasn't that frequent.

Yuna paused every once in a while, giving him a concerned look as if she couldn't believe him when he said he was fine and if they're playing that game, then Shōto didn't believe her either.

.

WINTER came and with it, the Hero Billboard Chart.

It was an event that I didn't bother concerning myself with because I didn't really care about it. Ranking heroes always left a bad taste in my mouth. Every hero is necessary and good is some way. It's not about one saving more people or handling more villains' cases than others. It's about saving people. It's about being people's support against bad people. It should never be competing with each other about how many people and villains you beat.

It should be about protecting the people and the country.

I've always thought that hero society was corrupted to the point of it being ridiculous. Starting with this damn event of glorifying things that should be done without expecting any sort of reward, it being fame or money and ending with Qurikless discrimination. Heroes nowadays were focused more on being famous across the country, rather than the real purpose they should be focusing on: protecting the country.

Maybe that's why because All Might has been Number One for so long. His charismatic personality, smile and the way he tries so hard to save and help everyone because he wants to and not because he'll be rewarded in the end makes him the perfect embodiment of what the hero society should be.

But nevertheless, in a turn of events that even I didn't expect, as the family of the Number Two Hero, we were invited to go and since he has appearances to keep up (because I don't think there's any other reason he'd take all of us to such a public place), Father told us the night before that we'd all be going.

And boy, how awful it was being in such a place.

Father's hand was placed on Mother's lower back, the closest he has ever been to her without it being him hitting her and she looked frozen, a small polite smile on her lips and hands interlocked in front of the white dress that matched her hair. Despite how tired and lifeless she'd been looking these last couple of weeks, it didn't show on her perfectly put on makeup, bruises once purple and ugly now covered expertly with concealer.

Me and my siblings were behind them, Fuyumi and Tōya side by side, arms linked and ahead of us. Nastuo was on Shōto's right side, while I was holding my twin's left hand. Eyes were on us so we were quiet and polite smiles were plastered on our faces, any evidence of my older brother's scars and bruises as well as my own covered like Mother's.

To everyone else, we looked a perfectly, normal family.

If only they knew.

The event in itself went as expected. Father ended up as Number Two once again, with All Might beating him once again and claiming his rightful place as Number One. As it should be, if you ask me. I know that there's something int he future, something that happens that I can't quite remember, that changes their placing and leaves Father with the place he always wanted but until then, hopefully whatever that is never happens and All Might keeps his place as the Symbol of Peace.

At least until someone has the decency to think and decide to end this ranking bullshit in the future.

After the whole event and in the after party (because apparently those were a thing), Father approached me and Shōto, declaring a, "Yuna, Shōto, with me," and we had no choice but to leave our mother and siblings behind, casting them a small glance, in our table and follow him.

As we trailed behind him, we remained together the whole time and doing our best to ignore the way the people that Father would talk to looked at us, keeping our rehearsed polite smiles on our faces whenever they turned the conversation towards us.

This was obviously Father's way to show us off to the other Pros, like we're some pieces of meat and no one would question it. Every person he'd talk to would smile and happily talk to him. Whenever they questioned about us, Father would pull us forward and basically state, not in as many words but with the same meaning, "My masterpieces."

Fuck off, it's what I wish I could tell him in response but alas, that's not possible.

". . . are your youngest children, I believe?"

Shōto's elbow hit me in the ribs and I jolted back into the conversation, lips stretching into the - fakefakefake - polite smile that I've been using the whole night. The man Father was speaking with was not as tall as him but he definitely looked friendlier with his kind smile. Beside him was a slightly shorter woman with long hair locked in a perfect bun that was as black as his, who also had a warm smile on her face.

"Yes," Father put a hand on my twin's shoulder as he was the closest to him, a smile that almost looked proud but I could see underneath that it was just smug and greedy, "Shōto and Yuna."

We bowed in unison.

The man's smile widened and it was only when he put an hand out to his side that I noticed a small girl that looked about our age beside the woman. He beckoned the child forward which she immediately did, bowing respectfully at Father.

"This is my only daughter, Momo," he said and something clicked in my mind as he did.

The name was familiar, way to familiar. It rang in my head over and over but for the hell of it, I couldn't remember why.

Noticing the way - I don't like it - both my father and her father were looking at us and with an enormous need to get away, I quickly turned my polite smile at the girl and grabbed her hand, lying about being hungry and pulling her and my brother away from the adults. As I took each step away from them, my smile fell slowly into a straight line. I didn't like the way they were looking at us, like . . . they expected something that I'm not quite sure what.

"Sorry about that," I said, the moment we got to a table as away from them as we could and released her hand.

Shōto took his hand back as well, a small scowl that looked more like a pout on his lips as he complained, "You could've just asked me to follow. Did you need to grab me like that?"

I gave him an unapologetic glance, "Yes."

His scowl slash pout deepened and he proceeded to turn away from me towards the food, ignoring me.

Fondly, I rolled my eyes and it suddenly hit me that the girl was indeed still with us so I quickly gave her my attention, "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to pull you like that."

She - Momo. Her name is Momo - quickly shook her head, "No, it's alright, Todoroki-san."

My nose wrinkled in distaste at the name. I'm still not used to people associating that name with me. It feels weird.

"You shouldn't forgive her that easily, Yaoyorozu-san," my brother decided to add, finally turning to me again with his narrowed eyes.

I stuck my tongue out to him and as if he was debating with himself for a second, Shōto paused and then did the same.

Goddammit, he needed to stop being adorable.

There was a giggle and we both turned towards Momo, who was trying to hide the sounds behind her hand. We stared at her. She quickly tried to stop. We were still staring, not amused and eventually she broke and giggled again. I couldn't help smiling in response and even Shōto looked more relaxed.

Yaoyorozu Momo. The familiarity was still there. It was hard going through the memories that I could still remember but I still tried my best to do it.

Yaoyorozu Momo.

Yaoyorozu Momo.

Then it suddenly came back to me.

Isn't that the name of one of Shōto's future classmates? One of the others who gets in Yūei through recommendations? I don't quite remember what her Quirk was but I'm pretty sure she was a supporting character throughout the whole thing. But it was never said that she and Shōto knew each other, was it? I can't use my fuzzy memories as reliable information source because I don't remember everything. But I'm almost hundred percent sure that they didn't know each other before getting into the school.

So why was this happening right now?

"So what's your Quirk, Momo-chan?" I asked, realizing a second later with a wince how unpolite it is to call her with her first name, "I'm sorry! Is that okay? Or should I call you Yayorozu-san? You can call me Yuna."

"You can call me Momo, Yuna-san," she assured me, before going back to the main question, "My Quirk is Creation. I can materialize different objects, from anypart of my body. It uses my body's fat in a molecular level to create things, which means that I have to ingest a lot of food to use it. I'm able to help my parents' a lot with it!"

I definitely didn't remember that but it sounded fascinating. Definitely more fascinating than fire and ice, but then again it could be just my own perspective. For one second, I tried imagining how I'd be if I needed up as Momo's twin instead. Would I have the same Quirk? Maybe a weird mutation that would be similar? The family situation would definitely be better, but then again . . .

I wouldn't be Mother's daughter or Tōya and Fuyumi and Natsuo's sister.

I wouldn't be Shōto's twin.

The previous thoughts and questions vanished immediately. No matter how hard it got living it, I'm actually quite happy with the family I have.

"My Quirk is fire and ice," I told her, hands twisting in my dress' fabric, "But it's weird. Most of my body can produce ice and all of it is heavily resistant to it, but my right arm produces flames. But they hurt."

Momo put her hand below her chin, looking quite curious, "Only your right arm produces flames? And why do they hurt?"

"Like I said, my whole body is resistant to ice, only ice," I explained as gentle as I could, "And since the flames that my arm produce are way hotter than normal ones, they hurt my skin and muscle."

"Interesting," she said, reaching out for said arm, pausing to see if I let her and continued with my nod, "I think it was genetics that led to that sort of mutation but from all the books I've read, there haven't been that many mutations to that level! It's really cool!" Momo turned to Shōto with her bright eyes, "What about yours?"

My brother looked at me first, like he was making sure that he could answer and swallowed the bits of food before replying, "I have ice and fire as well. My right side can create ice and my left fire."

If possible, Momo's eyes brightened even more as her smile grew bigger, "Twins with the same Quirk?" she whispered to herself, although it wasn't that low because we could hear her just fine, "I've read that it's common for twins to develop their Quirks at the same time and they'll end up sharing similarities in their abilities, but I don't think I've ever read about twins that have the same Quirk!"

She's reminding me of a certain boy with a big love for Quirks and heroes, I thought, smiling to myself, not being able to help it.

"It's not the same same though," I corrected her, "His is definitely much better than mine."

"Don't mind her," Shōto told Momo, giving me an unimpressed look, "She's always downgrading her own Quirk below mine."

"It's true!"

"It's not," he retorted back. I rolled my eyes and saw that Momo was just looking between us, like she wasn't quite sure what to do, but she looked vaguely amused at our bickering, "Our Quirks are pretty much the same. We have both elements."

"That doesn't make them the same!"

"To the bastard they are."

Beside us, Momo gasped out a, "Shōto-san, you shouldn't say that!"

Sighing, I stopped myself from rolling my eyes again, "The bastard waited for so long to have both elements in one Quirk. Of course he'd be greedy to think that they're the same!"

"Yuna-san!"

"Sorry for arguing in front of you, Momo," I apologized, while my brother's pout just turned even more prominent as he mumbled, "It wasn't an argument and I was winning."

"It's not that!" She sounded scandalized, eyes wide and looking around afraid someone had heard us but we were alone in this table, "You just said b-bas . . . You just called Endeavor-san a bad word!"

Oh, that. For a moment, I had utterly forgotten that the three of us were five years old and we were plainly badmouthing the Number Two Hero.

Well then.

I blinked at her. Shōto also seemed to be blinking at her. We looked at each other before we turned back to her, saying in deadpan voices and complete unison, "That's because he is."

The poor girl looked like she was about to faint, "But he's your father!"

"Momo," my twin started, giving her the best poker face he could muster, "We all know that our father isn't exactly the nicest person."

"B-but still," Momo insisted, gesturing with her hands, "He's the Number Two Hero! He saved and protected a lot of people!"

"Not the people inside his own home," I whispered to myself, hoping that maybe she wouldn't hear but apparently Momo has amazing hearing because she still managed to catch that, turning to me with wide eyes, in shock. I winced, trying to think of something, "I didn't mean— What I meant was—"

"Yuna, Shōto."

And that was the bastard's voice. Father was moving towards us, with Momo's parents behind his tall form and I could also see Mother and our siblings a little bit behind them.

"We're leaving," he announced and that was it.

We were able to say a quick goodbye to Momo and she promised us vigorously that she'd call and keep contact with us, when her parents announced that it'd be a good thing for us, the children, to stay in touch. Father didn't agree right away and if his scowl wasn't answer enough, I thought he'd refuse but Momo's father persisted and mentioned something that I didn't quite catch. It was about something they had talked about.

Weirdly enough, it made Father agree.

"You two looked like you were having fun," Fuyumi said with a smile, one arm around my shoulders and the other around Shōto's. Father was ahead with Mother so he didn't even notice us, "Did you make a friend?"

I nodded with a smile, "Mm, her name is Momo. She was really nice."

On the right of us, beside my brother, Natsuo laughed and ruffled the dual hair, making a complete mess, "Did you like her too, Shō?"

And it made me giggle how Shōto was more concerned about his messed up hair, than the teasing question itself, "Stop that, Natsu-nii!"

And because he was beside me, Tōya noticed my giggling and proceeded to do the same, "You get the same treatment, shrimp."

"Tōya-nii! Stop that!"

I never even noticed the way Mother had turned her head to look at all of us for a second, tried to smile at the way her children were messing with each other but ended up just facing forward again, trembling with her husband's hand on her back.

We got home late afternoon and luckily, even though he was obviously pissed that All Might had taken the Number One spot again, Father never called me for a training session and just retreated by himself into one of the other training room's we had, one of the empty ones, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

I never even cared about it. It just meant that I could spend it with my siblings.

I got to spend a few hours with them and I've made a friend. Surprisingly, it turned out to be an amazing day.

December passed. Then came January and we turned six.

Like he had agreed, Father allowed Momo to come visit us but it was only for a couple of hours at best and it was like once every two weeks, because he still wanted to focus on the training. But nevertheless, me, Shōto and Momo became somewhat of resembling childhood friends. She was a very sweet girl and much like us, she didn't have that many friends as she was home schooled too but she told us that her parents would put her in middle school so she'd be able to interact with other kids before she could go to high school.

And also, much like us, she wanted to go to Yūei and become a hero, which I knew she would succeed.

It was weird at first, having a friend that wasn't my siblings. Throughout this entire life, I didn't have any contact whatsoever with other kids so this was a welcoming change.

My training sessions continued and so did Shōto's secret lessons with our older brother. Fuyumi was finally allowed to enter a middle school like she wanted because she had a dream to go to college and become a teacher, as she was never interested in becoming a hero, along with Tōya, who honestly wasn't that interested in studies but more in helping out every single one of us but he would go anyways. Natsuo started to want the same, I believe. He also wanted to go to an actual school, although he hasn't quite decided what he wanted to be in the future. Not a hero, definitely, he had joked but we reprimended him and told him that he'd be a great a hero if he wanted, the first Qurikless hero but he honestly didn't share our interests in the career.

Mother . . . stayed in her room, most days. Not everyday, but much more than I liked. She wouldn't answer to any of our callings and in those particular bad days, our oldest siblings would have to handle the prospect of feeding us. We'd try to help but we were too young, they'd tell us and handled it alone. It made me hurt, knowing that our mother was behind a closed door and not wanting to see any of us, leaving us like this but I didn't blame her. I never did. If this rest if what she needed to maybe stay sane, then we'd give it to her. But still, I missed her.

It wasn't until a few months after our sixth birthday that I learned that some things just can't be avoided.

"Stand up."

Inhaling sharply, I did and lowered myself into my defense stance, ignoring the way my body was screaming. Father remained unfazed, narrowed eyes focused on me and arms crossed, his fiery mustache the only fire in sight.

Rushing forward to face him head on, I tried not to think about the space where Mother usually stands, watching my training sessions.

Trying to ignore how empty it was.

Where is she?

Was she in her room? I ducked to avoid a punch to the face and rolled away when a foot came up towards me. No, I remember seeing her in the kitchen, making us breakfast. She hadn't looked particularly bad, maybe a little bit more tired than usual, but her eyebags had seemed much darker than any other day and she hadn't said much. I wondered if she got any sleep.

I have a bad feeling about this. I tried not to think of what her absence could mean, of the things she could do while I'm here, in training and no way out. Of what she could do to Shōto and I'd have no way to try to stop it from happening and help him, because I'm stuck in this place, training relentlessly and without pause and—

An hand grabbed the back of my neck and before I could even try to break free, I was suddenly on the floor, wheezing and coughing with a new bruise probably forming on my back.

"Distracted!" The word was roared at me and the same hand from before grabbed me by the shirt and held me up in the air, forcing me to meet narrowed turquoise eyes, "That was laughable! Disgraceful! How do you expect to get to Number One like that?"

I kept my mouth shut and shut my eyes, knowing what would happen next. A yelp left my lips and I was back on the floor, rolling a couple of times before quickly getting up on my shaky legs.

Goddammit. I lowered myself into my defensive stance—

"Dad!"

Fuyumi appeared in the doorway, looking panicked and tearful and my stomach dropped ten feet at the sight of her because why does she look like that what—

"I-It's mom! She—"

No.

It couldn't be, right? We were six. Wasn't that too soon?

I was on my feet before I could even think of doing it, my body on autopilot and injuries and pain somehow completely forgotten and I rushed out of the damn dōjō, frost in my wake after my older sister. There were heavy footsteps behind us so I figured that Father was following us but I didn't focus on him.

It can't be.

Right? There's a chance that it's just something small. Maybe Mother just fell! Or hurt herself! There's plenty of thousands of things that could've happened and it not being the hot water incident.

Right? Right.

I tried to ignore how I sounded like I was just trying to convince myself.

Fuyumi lead us towards the kitchen, my heart sank even more and as I hesitantly stepped inside, it all came crashing down on me.

A kettle was lying on the side completely forgotten as Mother sat on the floor, gray eyes wide in terror and tearfilled, as she looked at her hands like she couldn't quite see them. Natsuo was beside her but I wasn't sure she even noticed his presence. She looked frozen, horrified, scared. Hollow.

I tried to step towards her her, a small, "Mother . . ." leaving my lips, to tell her that it wasn't her fault - because it wasn't it wasn't her fault it was all his his his - but then I looked to the side and saw Tōya trying to calm down my sobbing and whimpering twin brother, who had his right frost covered hand on the left side of his face and I was moving.

My whispered, "Shōto," was completely destroyed by Father screaming in outrage, "What have you done?" as I quickly reached my twin's side, kneeling down beside my older brother, who stood up and left our side, and touched Shōto's hand, the warm one that he wasn't holding to his face.

"Yuna," he said, between sobs, squeezing my hand so tightly that I winced but didn't mention because it can't possibly compare to the pain of your face being burned, "I-it hurts . . . it's hurting so bad! M-Mom— S-She said that—"

"She didn't mean it, Shō," I quickly said, trying to ease things. Need to calm him down, "She was hurting and—"

"What have you done, Rei?!"

"She said— S-She said m-my left side—"

"It's not," I interrupted, sounding harsher than I meant and the way he flinched made me hurthurthurt. He's hurting my twin brother is hurting and I can't— "It's not, Shō. It's not ugly and you are most definitely not like him. Breathe," I added, when I noticed his breathing getting out of control, "Focus on my voice. It's okay, you need to breathe, Shōto. Breathe in, out. In, out."

I did some examples and it took a him a few tries, because of his sobbing, for his breathing to go back to normal and even out.

"Can I see?"

Shōto flinched, shook his head quickly and curled even more into himself, his right hand still covering the left side of his face.

"Shō," Fuyumi appeared at my side, looking much more composed, compared to my shaking arms and tearfilled eyes. Our older sister reached out and touched his right wrist, "You need to let us see, so we can see what we can do to ease the pain. Please."

I could feel Father's looking figure behind us and Shōto could see him too with the way his gray eye widened looking up, but he still managed to gulp down a breath and slowly, he took his hand away and my chest squeezed painfully.

The once pale skin surrounding his turquoise eye was now a dark, almost the color of blood, red. It was patchy and blotchy and uneven as it sorrounded the eye and from what I could see, below his bangs, his eyebrow was gone. But the thing that caught me by even more off guard was how glassy his left eye looked. The turquoise that once was the same as our father's had a now this white sheen to it and I sucked in an harsh breath at what it could mean and the way Fuyumi gasped, I could tell she was thinking the same.

"Shōto," our sister uttered softly, her hands falling onto her lap.

"I can't see," my brother said, his tearfilled eyes, one glassy and the other normal, moving between us rapidly and I couldn't do anything as he repeated, "I c-can't see! 'Yumi-nee, I-I can't see a-anything through my left eye!"

With a roar, Father turned around and stalked towards the still collapsed for of Mother, who, at my twin's cries, seemed to break down in tears and mumbled to herself over and over, what have I done? My father reached out—

"Don't—"

— and grabbed Mother by her arms and with steam rising from every inch of his body, a sign that usually means he's about to lose it, and dragged her off the kitchen. Natsuo fell over, trembling and moved across the floor towards where we were.

"Dad! What are you doing?"

"Stop!"

The tall form of the Number Two Hero all but shoved his eldest son as he appeared in the doorway and disappeared from view.

I . . . I don't know what to do. Shōto was hurting. Mother was hurting and was being taken away and I wouldn't see her for years. All my siblings are hurting and I'm what?

I don't—

It wasn't supposed to be like this. This wasn't supposed to happen. I knew this was coming and still— I was foolish to . . . No, I was stupid enough to let it happen anyways. What was the point of me knowing, remembering this, and not being able to stop this?

It's my fault.

It's all my fault. My fault myfaultmyfault—

Shōto was whimpering in pain and partially blind, Fuyumi and Tōya using any burn creams and bandages they could to first aid the burn or do anything they could, Natsuo wasn't crying but he looked scared out of his mind and me . . .

I just stood there, kneeling beside all of them, tears dried and completely and utterly numb.

By next morning, Mother was gone and all traces of her in the house disappeared, like she was never there.

My brother came back home, bandages over the left side of his face, with no mother to ask why she did what she did.

Days turned into weeks, monthsand throughout all that, through the training and the loneliness we all felt without Mother there, the one person that I thought wouldn't be in our life because he shouldn't be was still there, taking care of all of us.

Everyday I couldn't help but wonder, why is Tōya still here?

No one could answer.

So, first of all, I need to address something. I'm not good with fighting scenes like at all. I'm not used to writing those, so the training session scenes may seem a bit . . . bad and I apologize for that. I'm sure I'll improve as I go through with this story. It's one of my goals.

Shōto's POV was the main thing I wanted to add early in this huge ass chapter (holy shit, it's at 12k words. Yikes) because he was the only sibling I didn't do a POV of (ironic when my OC is literally his twin) so I wanted to show you what goes in this little boy's head and how slightly different he is from canon!Shōto. Since he hasn't been through the excruciating and exhausting training with his father and hasn't been separated from his siblings, he's a little bit different but overall still the same, I think? I hope I did him justice. It's the first time I'm writing him, after all.

The Hero Billboard Chart was something I wanted to add because I wanted to show what Yuna thought of the whole thing and also I needed a place to introduce Momo. And I thought, why not in this event where Pro Heroes get together? My headcanon of why she's there with her parents is that her family is rich and I like to think that they'd be able to get VIP like tickets to attend it. Also, I like to think that her family is a well known family in the country because of like their jobs and such and the whole talk between Endetrash and Momo's father will be revealed later in the story. (unless, much like Hori, I forget that subplot)

I love Momo, which is another reason why I wanted to add her and I always had an headcanon that, in Canon, they both knew each other as children. I just like that idea. And I love Momo a lot and she deserves the world.

Now, the reasons why the hot water event had to happen: Rei's already decaying mental state, Shōto himself and it was a hit to Yuna's confidence. Rei's mind has been growing worse and worse throughout the chapters and I knew I couldn't avoid this scene because it's such an impactful and important moment. It's what leads her to getting help, although it wasn't her that went to search for it and also because the scar is part of who Shōto is. I asked my best friend if I had the scar happening or not and she encouraged me to keep it and I do understand now that it's a needed thing to happen. Taking away Shōto's scar would be like taking away Zuko's scar. It's part of his character, it's part of who Shōto is and it felt wrong to take it away. It's not a good thing, of course not but it's what lead him to become who he is right now in the manga and anime.

It also because a huge hit on Yuna because since she realized where and who she was, the only thing she wanted to save her family. To help them and keep Shōto's trauma from manifesting. She was confident that her albeit a bit small knowledge of what was to come would make it so that those bad things would happen. She somewhat managed that by taking the training herself, which indeed lessened the trauma on her brother, but it wouldn't be realistic if she had also been able to keep the hot water event from happening. And also because what I mentioned above. The scar is an important part of who Shōto is.

And now into, Shōto's partial blindness. So, it's not confirmed or maybe it is and I haven't been paying attention but it's not said if the injury to his face ever led to consequences to his vision, but I always kept the headcanon of him maybe seeing badly through his left eye or even complete blindness in it, which is why I put it here. I feel like there should've been something else beside the scar, like he took scalding water to the face and he was left with only a scar? Yes, his left side can withstand high temperatures but he also had Rei freezing his face with her Quirk and I know that changes of temperature that quick always cause damage. Therefore the partial blindness. Will it stop him from becoming who is now in the manga? No, of course not. It'll just be a bit more challenging, that's all.

Just one small thing. As I wrote this before the theory being confirmed, this Tōya will probably end up very different of canon!Tōya. We still don't know much of his backstory, except the snippets in the latest chapter and already from those, I can see he's very much different from his canon counterpart, so I feel like I should say it. And those differences in his character will most likely eventually lead to different turn of events. But that's really ahead in the story, so it's not something to be focused right now.

I hope you guys enjoyed, despite the self indulgent headcanons I added to this piece and it's enormous length and I'll do my best to improve as I go.

Until next time!

P.S: I realized that her Quirk still doesn't have a name and I definitely didn't want to call it 75% Cold-25% Hot lmao. I have no clue what to call it. Quimera? Ice and Flame Arm? Lmao, I don't have a clue. If you guys have any ideas, I'd like to hear them. Help me out please.