A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? But here we are with the next chapter of this story. Thank you to those who added it to their alerts and favorites and who reviewed. Please R&R, it helps the story keep going and going. I've got a new Dabi drabble waiting to be written, too. I hope you will all review this story. Today it's from ages 6-8 for Touya, Fuyumi's quirk will come and hell will be here for poor Touya in more than one form.
(Those actually interested in what a sort of heroic "Aiden" would do, check out the Dabi Drabble, although I warn you, it's non-canon, more crossover elements and wholesome, happy endings on how on earth he could actually redeem himself, and it won't be here for a while)
I don't care what canon says, Touya will have red hair for his whole life.
I also don't buy anything canon Endeavor says, he subjected his children to hell most of their life. His idea of a happy Touya was in his fucking head.
Aiden is a textbook narcissist and a special kind of evil known as the "hero narcissist", one who steps in to be a hero without asking if people actually need help.
Also, Aiden is absolutely the bad guy here. The devil within song fits him perfectly. Aiden's speech will become bold when he speaks when he is insane.
Black and Italic-Aiden's speech
italic: Touya's thoughts
But anyways, read and enjoy the fic. Also, expect more breaking from SI traditions as the fic goes on. Slight crossover with Re Zero, like blink and you'll miss it. you'll see what I mean. Someone is protecting Touya from the SHADOWS. This has been improvised based off my roleplays and I also rp re zero so one day my friend suggests hey what if "said character who can canonically bring people to other worlds did that to Aiden so he came here?" I said, brilliant, let's do it. You'll see her more in the side story.
Not that you'll be seeing her much. It's mostly bnha stuff here and is going to remain that way, it's much better imo, having a canon god like character drag an si there rather than some random god figure. I also did it off screen because I find those whole things rather annoying.
This has been a pretty intensive story for me, so please be patient. It requires a lot of thought. Please leave nice comments.
Next update should be around January 11 for Shouto's birth!
Chapter 3 Embers
It's concerning to her.
Rei Todoroki has seen much over her life, her brief but so eventful life. She is married rather young, and needless to say, she has lots of regrets about it. She wishes she had not been forced into marriage to this man-Endeavor, (she prefers to call him that now because the man she knew him as, Enji, is long gone, absorbed by his fantasies for power and control.
He is hurting her daily, as much as he can, through ignoring her, hitting her when she tells him he is abusing Touya, and even beating her. She feels so, so, so powerless.
She hears Touya complain day in and day out about the pain, and wishes she could do more than ice his wounds to stop the pain.
She sees how Fuyumi has stopped trying to please her father, even though she's nearing her dreadful fourth birthday. 'Please let it be ice, please let it be ice, please let it be ice', she whispers, because then he will not bother with subjecting her to the same training he subjects Touya to.
Touya's training is so bad his hair has turned a lighter shade of red and she can see white patches of hair at the side and on the tips of his hair. However, she thinks his hair is not turning white completely, because weeks have gone by and the white hair does not spread beyond its original place, but his hair is now a shade of not vermillion, but rather a spider lily red in color.
She hates seeing the wild look of fear on his face as he deals with his father.
He's even told her that he hates his reflection and seems resigned to the fact that he will never have his mother's hair. What can you do with a child like that, who hates himself so badly?
Truth be told, even she is starting to hate the red hair, she is starting to become afraid of him. When she looks at him, sees those blue eyes and that red hair, even though it's light red, she sees Enji. It's silly, it's so, so, so, silly, as Touya is just a child and he's just six and he needs her more than anything, but sometimes she flinches when she sees those blue eyes look at her. Part of her brain tells her to defend herself, and she can't stop the fear that rises every time he appears lately.
She wishes she could stop it and be a better mother.
She's been spending more time with Natsuo, simply so she doesn't have to stare at that red hair for long.
Rei knows that Touya needs her, but she winces when she sees his eyes filled with anger lately. No child should have that look in their eyes.
Touya's only six years old, dammit and already he looks like the world has stepped on him, over and over.
She knows what Enji is trying to do, he is trying to make his son be like him, make him as hate-filled and egotistical as possible. Somehow, Enji thinks that pounding the shit out of her son will somehow shape him into being a hero, but a cold, ruthless hero.
A hero in name only, obsessed with power and fame and looking good.
She hopes that when he gets older, he won't be like his father. She's seen how good he is with his sister and brother.
She's so, so, so, sorry for bringing them to live with this monster.
It's just that it's easier to look at Natsuo and Fuyumi these days, they don't have his hair or his eyes.
She's in the kitchen when it happens again.
"Mommy?"
She turns. "Yes, Tou-"
She freezes, for a second, she sees Enji there, glaring at her.
Oh no, he's here, what does he want.
She blinks, and Enji is gone, replaced with her small, six year old son, who is confused.
Oh right, silly her.
Enji isn't that short.
How dare she mix him up with his father.
The look in their eyes couldn't be more different.
Touya's blue eyes are always kind and gentle, while Enji's are nightmarish.
She prays Touya will never lose his innocence, though she doubts that more and more each day.
Oh lord, he shouldn't have to handle being both a mother and a father to their kids. He's being worked to the bone.
"Mommy, why won't you look at me anymore?"
Oh god, he's noticed it, hasn't he?
Tears pool up in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Touya. Lately, when I look at you, all I see is him. I know you're not him. It's just some days, I wish you looked more like me."
"But I'm smaller than Daddy."
"I know..."
"Does Daddy scare you?" His eyes are filled with hatred.
"Yes, Mommy is scared of Daddy." She hugs him as she says this.
"It's okay, Mommy, I'll protect you from him."
He should not have to be dealing with this.
"Touya?"
"Yes, mommy?"
God, how could she ever mistake him for Endeavor?
She's the worst mother ever.
"Touya, who told you to kill your father?"
He looks away from her.
Was it his tutors putting thoughts in his head, or was Touya thinking such things already?
What if her son becomes a villain?
She must admit, she can't see him as a hero.
He's probably not going to like heroes.
"Oh, it's just he hurts you, Mommy, that's why. Someone did tell me to go to the police and they didn't believe me."
She did not know of this, but if Enji found out...things could get bad.
Oh wait, she remembers, her mind is just slipping lately.
"Touya, who keeps telling you these things?" She asks.
As far as she knows, her son has no close friends. God, he needs a normal childhood.
Enji is just exhausting all of them.
"Um...my imaginary friend did."
Her son is six, shouldn't such a thing be a bit impossible now?
He already got his quirk, so this couldn't be a second quirk, could it? Could such a thing be possible?
It's true, she has noticed her son looking like he's talking to someone when no one is there.
"No, it's a good thing if I tell Mommy about you."
Is some enemy trying to fill her son's head with lies? Is this the work of some villain's quirk?
Her son shouldn't just trust a voice in his head.
"Touya, why don't you tell your imaginary friend goodbye? You're too old to have one."
Touya's eyes widen. "No, he's real. He helps me, he's my friend."
Oh god.
"Who is this? Is it a quirk?"
"No, mommy, it's not."
"What's his name?"
"Aiden."
Such a strange name.
"And does Aiden tell you things?"
"Yeah."
"What kinds of things?"
"A lotta things, but he doesn't like Daddy and I don't, either."
Whatever the case, she knows Enji should not be informed.
"Honey, please don't talk about Aiden with anyone other than me, okay?"
"Why?"
"Because it's not normal."
"Mommy, can't you make Father go away? I don't like him anymore." He's crying now, and the recent burns are visible.
She could do absolutely nothing.
What was she supposed to do?
What is she supposed to do?
"I'm so, so, so sorry."
At least she was able to get through today without shrieking at him.
In Touya's dreamscape
"Why did you tell your mother about me?"
"Because...I can't lie."
"You have to keep me a secret. Bad things could happen if your father found out."
"Like what?" Touya asks, confused.
"Well, you could be hospitalized. I don't think you want that, and neither do I, so keep my existence secret for my benefit, okay?"
"But I need to put my family first..."
Aiden-niisan seems...distant these days．
"Aiden-niisan, are you okay? You seem lonely." He asks, just to make sure his friend is okay.
"I'm fine," He says icily, "I've just been lonely, in case you haven't noticed or cared."
Touya's eyes widen, "I do care...I care a lot, it's just that Mommy needs help with Natsuo because he's a baby, and he's needy. I do want to play with you, it's just that Daddy makes me do so much now, and I get so scared. Please help me."
Aiden-niisan pats his head, but it feels less loving than it has been before.
"You won't forget about me, will you? Like I said, you gotta keep me secret."
Touya looks at him, confused, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I know everything, and I can help you by telling you secrets. Thing is, you can't tell anyone about how you know them, or else bad things could happen."
Touya hangs his head. "But Mommy got worried about me. I can't lie to her."
Aiden shoots him a sharp stare, "You shouldn't tell your mom too much, kid, or else she'll call you a liar, and that wouldn't be good."
"No, it wouldn't be." Touya admits.
Aiden stares at him. "I'm sorry, kid, I've been tired lately. I just wish...things were different. You shouldn't have to exist like this. Maybe you could run away."
"I can't run away, there's a lot of bad guys out there." Touya reasons.
"Maybe your mother could try filing for divorce."
"What's a divorce?" Touya asks.
"It's when a mother and father decide they don't need to be together and they leave."
"Lately, mommy is mistaking me for Daddy." Touya confesses, wondering if this "di-force" thing could make Daddy leave.
"Your mom is going through a lot from your father wearing her down."
"So he's making Mommy weak in the head?"
Aiden sighs. "Not necessarily the term I would use, but yes, he's terrorizing her and making her fear the color red, which is why she gets upset when she sees you."
They sit in silence in the mindscape, although Touya can't help but feel like Aiden is distancing himself from him, like he's disgusted by him.
"Aiden-niisan?" He asks timidly.
"Yes?"
"Do you...hate me?"
"No...I don't hate you, kid. It's just that I'm...lonely. So, so lonely."
"But I'm here now, in my dreams with you!"
"You're only here during the nighttime, and then you're not here, and I'm all alone. I wish I had a body of my own."
"Hey, mister, what if someone extracted you from my mind and gave you a body of your own?" Touya voices what will undoubtedly be the number one thing he should have never said, (as Dabi looks back on this moment and laughs).
Aiden looks at him and shakes his head, "Nah, not possible, kid, I'm dead, remember? I'm your angel. I'm not meant to be seen by anyone other than you."
"But you look like you wanted a body." Touya points out.
The shadows behind Aiden seem to intensify, somehow, rippling faintly.
He smiles nervously. "Try to live your life, okay, kid?"
"Aiden-niisan, how come you never tell me anything about yourself? Like about your parents?" Touya says, smiling brightly.
"There's a lot that you wouldn't understand." Aiden says.
"What about your mom and dad? Were they real good?" Touya looks at him, hoping to make some connection with the only friend he's ever had.
"They were good...they were real good."
"What about...how you got here?" Touya asks, looking at him intently.
Aiden looks confused. "I thought...shouldn't you know? You know, don't you wonder about why we're always here like this? Like there's something more to it? What about your fear of fire?"
Touya shakes his head, "I don't know what you're talking about."
He feels an anxiety stirring up within him.
Aiden suddenly grabs him by his shirt collar. "But you should know!"
He looks like he's about to cry.
"What are you doing, Aiden-niisan...put me down!" Touya yelps, all too used to this behavior from his father.
"It's necessary that you know, you can't just keep on pretending! You have to acknowledge it!"
"Acknowledge...what are you talking about, Aiden-niisan? You're scaring me."
The shadows in the mindscape intensify, streaming down into the water and swirling intensely.
"You have to know, it's essential! If you don't know, things will get worse! Your family will suffer!"
"I don't want to hurt them."
"You have to tell me, are you still afraid of fire?"
He nods.
"Do you have dreams about fire hurting you?"
Touya nods, as Aiden lets go.
"The thing is, kid, we're actually-"
There's a sound like wind rustling.
Touya tilts his head, knowing that Aiden's mouth is moving, but he can't hear anything he's saying, and then he can suddenly hear again.
"You get that?"
Touya shakes his head. "I couldn't hear you. It was like you were talking, but you were muted."
"Is something wrong with your ears?" He snapped, "You should know already that you and I-that this is a case of-"
Touya shook his head. "I couldn't hear you again. Is something wrong with me?"
Aiden frowns. "Something's not letting us connect. But I don't care, it's essential that you remember what you've been trying so hard to forget, that is that you are my re-"
This time, however, something does happen, to Aiden, at least.
Sound leaves first, then sight.
The water stops flowing, Touya stops moving.
Everything freezes, including Touya and Aiden.
He can't even open his mouth to say anything, he can't even scream.
A wiggling form appears near Aiden, a purplish-gray shadow, growing and twisting, until it forms into a purple hand of sorts.
He wants to scream, but he cannot do anything, as the shadowy hand advances on him and pierces itself through his form, and squeezing his soul hard. The unearthly pain washes over him, as he hears a voice whispering into his ear as everything returns to normal.
"Remember what?" Touya asks, "You look pale, mister."
The words hissed by the shadow enter Aiden's mind: "DO NOT TELL HIM NOW. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED."
"L-Let's just have you work on being the best hero you can be, okay, kid?"
Aiden-niisan looks like he's faking things again.
"Do you not like me, mister?"
"N-N-Not like you? Why wouldn't I?" Aiden looks like he's lying again.
"I feel bad that you're lonely, mister. I wish I could help you, mister." Touya says wistfully.
"I wish I could help you as well, like take you away from here."
"I can't leave, though. I have to look after Mommy and my siblings."
"Frankly, your mother isn't that good at her job. She's awful. Only come to me for advice, kid. You can't trust your parents, and you can't trust your siblings."
Aiden-niisan staggers and falls over, looking absolutely scared.
"Not again!" He cries.
"Are you okay?" Touya asks, seeing but not understanding why Aiden-nii is acting that way.
"I'm fine..." He mutters, though his eyes are flickering around.
"What do you mean, I can't trust my siblings?" Touya asks.
"Well, there's some things I know that could make things better or worse for your family."
"What do you mean?" Touya asks, feeling curious about this knowledge Aiden always brags about.
"Some bad things could happen to you if you don't listen to me and do as I say-"
Touya's eyes flash. "Now you sound like my dad! You're not telling me anything, you just yell."
"Wait, Touya...I'm just sick...I'm sick of being here all alone, of not having anything to call my own. I hate this..." Aiden starts to cry.
"I'm so sorry, Aiden-niisan, I didn't mean to say things like that, I'm so sorry." Touya tries to hug him, but Aiden slaps his hands away.
"Not now, kid. I need time to think."
"But, Aiden-niisan, you don't get to see anyone apart from me! If you deal with that all alone, won't you just feel worse? Please let me help make it better."
"Okay, just this once, kid. I'm usually too embarrassed to cry around others...but lately, I've been scared by thoughts of what I might have to do sometime in the future. I would have to do it, just to help you."
"You're scaring me, Aiden-nii."
"You'll understand, eventually, you'll remember that it's all for the greater good. Please just let me help you."
"You need help, too, don't you? Don't try to hide it from me, mister, you died, didn't you?" Touya asks, "Did you die in a fire?"
Aiden looks ecstatic. "Yes, that's it! What...What else do you remember?"
"You came from heaven to help me, didn't you?" Touya says, smiling.
At this, he goes silent.
"I'm sorry, kid, I just can't keep pampering you any longer. When you're older, I'll tell you everything you need to know."
"What do you mean? You can always just tell me." Touya says cheerfully. "Mommy says I'm a good listener."
Aiden tightens his fists. "Why the hell don't you freaking remember, kid? Stop with your excuses!"
Touya shakes. "Stop yelling, mister! You're scaring me!"
"It's okay, kid, it's not your fault, you don't know that this isn't real. You're just being played like a puppet on a string." Aiden says, reaching out to touch him, a warped smile on his face.
Touya runs, because he doesn't like this.
"Wait, Touya! It's not your fault you were tricked into thinking you actually existed! Come back!"
He leaves the mindscape, scared for what would not be the first time of Aiden.
Touya awakens in a cold sweat.
What the heck had that been?
Why had Aiden-niisan gotten such a scary look in his eyes?
"He looks just like father..." He mutters, quietly sobbing.
What had he meant by that, anyway?
'Tricked into thinking I exist? I'm real, I exist, this world is real. He's the one I should be wary of, he could be a bad guy's quirk. You were right, Mommy. Until...until he isn't so weird, I'll just ignore him.' He thinks.
Another idea hits his mind.
'If I just stopped talking to him for a while', He thinks, 'maybe Aiden would return to being himself. Maybe I've been bothering him."
He's going to ignore him from now on and act more like a grown up.
He's going to try to make friends his own age.
His mommy told him it wasn't healthy.
His daddy brings him a new friend named Keigo Takami, who has red wings growing out of his back, and he can fly! He's so nice, although his admiration of his father makes Touya wonder if he's supposed to be learning something from him.
He finds he likes being around Keigo, even though the place they go to is weird and the people are strange in how they address Keigo, calling him by the name of Hawks and separating them to make him work on his quirk control better.
"I can't believe you have Endeavor as your father! That must be nice!" Keigo chirps.
Touya shoots him a sharp stare.
"Did I say something bad?" Hawks asks.
"No, it's nothing-"
"Both of us are going to be heroes together, right?" Keigo says, going at a whirlwind pace about heroes.
Touya wishes he could believe as much as he did. "I-I guess so."
"What do you mean, guess? Heroes are awesome!"
Keigo launches into a huge rant of all the heroes that he knows of.
Keigo knows so, so, much.
Is this what having a real friend feels like?
He doesn't feel scared like he did with Aiden-niisan.
He knows Aiden is watching him, all the time.
Touya assumes that all friends are like that, that they watch what one is doing all the time.
"Sorry, Aiden-niisan, I didn't mean to make you feel upset."
"Too busy dealing with him to talk to me, are you?"
"Aiden-niisan," He says, alarmed.
"Nothing, go away, clearly you like talking to your "real" friend over me."
"No, I don't mean that at all, I uh...I uh made this for you..."
Aiden's eyes light up.
"For me? Oh wow, you finally remembered that I exist!"
"I don't understand, why are you being mean?"
"Why are you being mean? You're the one who's being mean, who hasn't taken time out of your day to acknowledge that I exist. You've just been too busy being with your friends. Couldn't even pay me a visit, could you?" His scathing words cut into him.
Tears run down Touya's face and he drops the thing he made Touya in the mindscape.
"I hate you!" He cries. "I don't understand, you're acting just like Daddy! Please don't be mean again."
Something flickers in Aiden's eyes.
"If you're older than me, you should be acting more mature! You shouldn't be mean, this is being a bully! Keigo told me about bullies!"
"Touya, do you really just not care about me at all? I thought I was number one in your life." Aiden whispers, "This is ridiculous, you should be putting me first!"
"Why are you so selfish?" Touya says, stepping back.
"Why can't you get it?" He cries, shaking Touya, before reeling back as a purple shadow smacks him into the wall, away from Touya.
Touya doesn't see anything there. "Aiden-niisan, are you okay?"
"You need to know, you need to understand exactly what's happening and what you need to do. There's someone that I need to tell you about...his name is All For One, he's a bad guy. Please avoid him."
"What does he do?"
"He hurts people-"
"Like you do to me?"
Aiden rolls his eyes.
"That's entirely different. Don't go near him, okay? Just make sure the plot doesn't go off track."
"I don't understand what you mean...Aiden-niisan, are you okay? You sound crazy."
Aiden throws things at him and is backhanded by a shadow again across the face, thrown into the wall, and the things pass harmlessly through Touya.
Aiden stares, wide-eyed.
"Why are you even here? You're worthless."
"Aiden-niisan!" Touya cries.
"Go away, leave me alone." He cries, watching as the purple shadows encircled Touya protectively, creating a force field he could not enter through.
Touya awoke from the dream, crying.
Three, nearly four-year old Fuyumi approaches him.
"Why is Touya-nii crying?" She asks.
"I had a nightmare."
"No more scawwy dreams, big brother!" Fuyumi cries, embracing him in a hug.
Touya lets the tears fall.
Who needs Aiden, anyway?
All he does is give vague advice, anyway.
He doesn't know why, but he feels afraid of Aiden now.
"Natsuo, stop grabbing my hair!"
Baby Natsuo is always there, walking more and babbling more each day.
Often, Fuyumi will bring the babe out to play with his eldest brother.
"Natsuo!"
Natsuo babbles and reaches his arms out.
He will talk soon, Touya thinks grimly.
Soon, Fuyumi gets her quirk and hopefully she will be thrown aside and not punished, too.
Fuyumi pulls a blanket on over her face and disappears.
"Where did she go?" Touya asks Natsuo.
Natsuo starts to cry, until Fuyumi removes the sheet from her head.
"Here I am, Natsuo!" She cries, "Fuyumi is right here!"
Baby Natsuo babbles as Fuyumi holds him.
"Touya-nii, he's pulling on my hair!"
Sure enough, the infant is trying to snack on Fuyumi's hair.
Rei enters and laughs upon seeing the infant trying to chew on Touya's spiky red hair.
His mother's laughter is a rare sight he doesn't think he will ever forget.
He'll never forget this moment, even if they might all be separate one day.
Natsuo turns a year old and Fuyumi turns four years old and gets her quirk.
"Mommy, look what I can do!"
Touya peeks out his door, in time to see literal snow come out of his sister's fingertips.
"I can make it cold, Mommy!" She cries.
"Mommy can do it as well, Fuyumi." Rei reassures.
"What's all the ruckus about?" Enji interrupts.
Everyone freezes.
"Look, Daddy, I got my quirk!"
"What can you do?" He says, looking eager.
"I can make it snow!" A few snowflakes drift out of her fingertips and onto the ground.
She is waiting for her father to acknowledge her as an equal.
But that will never happen.
Enji stares at her before he scoffs. "She's absolutely useless. I can't believe she's a failure, too."
Rei goes to comfort Fuyumi while she cries, confused as to why her daddy isn't happy.
Touya comforts her as well.
How could he do that to her?
All this time, Fuyumi was working so hard for her father to acknowledge her and that man just threw it away!
"Why doesn't he like me?" She cries.
"Because Daddy's a mean man."
He will never consider him his father.
He keeps hoping one of the great heroes on TV will call his father out for what he does, but no one did.
He'd tried writing a letter to All Might before about it, but his mother saw and tore the letter up, telling him not to do it.
While his control over his quirk is getting better thanks to the place Touya goes to, he still gets hurt by his quirk.
Sometimes, his fire isn't red, it's blue, but when it's blue, it hurts him. So often, it's red instead.
"Show me the blue fire." Endeavor commands.
Touya stumbles.
"You're a failure." He admonishes, "You're going without dinner tonight and I'll be teaching that woman some manners for spoiling you..."
A sudden rage goes through Touya and he shoots up, aiming a larger blue flame at his father.
A wide grin appears on his father's face as he deflects it.
"That's it, Touya, that's it, you are worthy of being my son. Now do it again."
He tries and this time his arm is burned.
"It hurts."
"Of course it will hurt, but you proved you could do it. You truly are my son."
He ignores Touya's cries of pain.
His father is back to calling him a failure again after his seventh birthday.
Shortly after Fuyumi's fourth birthday and her rejection by that man, Touya's seventh birthday arrives. More torture, more training, more beatings.
He doesn't like birthdays anymore.
His father yells, screams, throws fire at him, and tells him he is not fit to be his successor.
"I sure hope your sister's ice will be more useful than you, boy. Show me your flame."
"Dad, it hurts."
He can't seem to do it without hurting his body.
"I wanna go sleep, Dad, I'm tired."
"You will keep doing this until you learn it, boy. Do not act so weak. It's your mother's influence, isn't it?"
For his birthday, he gets more burns and more harsh training.
Touya dislikes his father more and more.
Every day, he wonders what it would be like if his father wasn't there anymore.
Would they be happy?
He wants to run away, but he has siblings that need him.
He wishes Mom didn't look at him like that.
Even though he's only seven, he feels much older.
'You are,' the voice of Aiden says.
"Get back up!" Enji hits Touya across the face.
"I don't want to do it anymore."
"Don't want to do what?" Endeavor growls.
"I don't wanna be like you. All you do is hurt everyone, I don't like you."
"I am your father, you will show me respect." His father growls.
"You're not a dad I can respect."
This earns him a beating.
As usual, Aiden says nothing while this happens.
He's more useless lately, Aiden is.
Touya vomits on the floor and Mommy appears.
"What are you doing to him?"
"Don't interfere, woman."
He hates that his father is treating her like this. He knows girls can be heroes, too.
"Don't hurt him anymore, he's only seven."
"Like it or not, he's only seven, seven years left for him to get into UA and be a hero, or be nothing but a failure. Are you okay with that?"
"He's our son, you should be proud no matter what he does."
"You are dismissed for now, Touya."
"We should have another child. I need a masterpiece." He often hears his father ramble, but nothing ever comes of it.
He hears them fighting again and his mommy comes back out, covered in bruises.
"It's okay, honey, I tripped."
He hates this place.
He wishes he could leave.
He sits in his bed, having constant nightmares about his father hurting him.
Aiden hasn't been doing much, he just ignores him and mutters to himself.
"Aiden-niisan." He calls.
"Yes, Touya? You finally remembered I exist?" He says, irritated.
"That mean man has just been hurting me a lot, that's why I didn't come play with you."
"He shouldn't hurt you like that. In fact, you shouldn't have to be here at all...why not run away?" He asks, a strange look in his eyes. "Why can't you get rid of him?"
"He's my father."
Aiden touches him oddly, touching his face.
"You are real, or else just a good simulation." He mutters, looking confused.
He comforts him, but it feels fake.
Aiden doesn't talk to him much after that.
Natsuo's first words are, predictably, the names of his siblings.
"Touya!" He cries.
His siblings also love Keigo when Keigo is allowed over to visit.
"Bird!" Natsuo cries, pointing at Keigo.
"My name is Keigo." Keigo sighs.
Touya laughs, "I think he sees you as bird only."
"Can you say Keigo?"
Natsuo takes one look at his wings and calls him a bird again.
"That's right, Natsuo, this is bird."
Keigo sighs. "Have you thought about what your hero name could be?"
Touya frowns, truthfully, he hasn't given it much thought.
"Maybe like, blue flames, because I have blue flames."
He swears he hears Aiden gag in his mind and wonders why he just did that.
"Pyro sounds cooler." Keigo says.
"Pyro?"
"A fancy word for fire."
Touya has to admit, thinking of a hero name is harder than it seems to be.
After Keigo leaves, Touya decides to get something to drink because he's so thirsty.
"Mom, can I get something to drink?"
Instantly, she jumps and stares at him, her eyes wide.
"Enji..." She mumbles, "Stay away from me!"
"Mom, it's just me!" He says.
Ice is shot out of her hands, straight at him, landing near him.
"Leave me alone, Enji!" She exclaims.
Touya knows he's grown a little bit taller, so why is this happening again?
"Enji, please leave me alone!"
"Stop it, it's Touya!" Fuyumi cries, shielding her brother.
"Fuyumi? G-Get away from her, Enji!" His mother cries.
"No, it's Touya-nii, not Daddy..."
Mom's eyes go normal again, then she looks at him and cries.
"I'm so sorry."
From now on, Touya keeps his head down when addressing his mother.
He knows it's not her fault and he doesn't blame her.
"I'm sorry, it's just your eyes, they look like him."
Touya eyes his reflection.
The same hair and eyes as his father.
He hates his reflection.
He hates the way he looks.
All it does is bring everyone misery.
How can he help his siblings?
How can he help his mother?
After all, he thought balefully, it wasn't like Aiden was helping.
He watched.
All he would do practically these days is watch.
He was so, so bored.
Who in the world thought a good afterlife for him would be being stuck inside the mind of a child?
"What a joke." He grumbles.
Aiden has withdrawn from Touya.
He doesn't really feel like listening to the ramblings of a "child" anymore.
Sure, it sucks being all alone, but it helps him go back over all the things he's seen and read, and helps him figure out what he should do.
How can he help Touya?
"Why won't he even acknowledge that we're one and the same? It's not right, it's not right, it's not right!"
He has to remember.
He has to accept his responsibilities.
"I have to save the kid from dying, after all. Touya Todoroki dies." He mutters.
But why hadn't the metaknowledge come to Touya?
Why hadn't he remembered anything from Aiden's life?
It pisses Aiden off, just thinking about it, and thinking of Touya now makes him angry.
Seeing him happily playing with his siblings makes him seethe.
That life which was denied him.
"After all, it's not like any of this is even real. It's all just some cruel joke playing out in front of me. Well, guess what?" He grumbles, watching the doll playing with his equally nonexistent siblings.
He's laughing, as if a doll can laugh.
He's the only real thing here.
"That's it, that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna lie back and watch, I'm not gonna talk to him anymore, just gonna lie back because he's a doll."
There was no point in him wasting his energy on a puppet, on a mere piece of wood covered with a cloth, which looked real, but wasn't.
"Sooner or later," He thought darkly, "I'll explain everything to him and then I'll be in control. I won't be ignored any longer."
He's sick and tired of being in here, after all.
It was true that he didn't talk to the puppet known as Touya Todoroki, but then again he didn't really have much to say to it.
Not to mention those annoying shadows that bothered him when he tried anything.
Who was this dedicated to protecting this puppet from what should be his body?
A cold chill ran down his spine again as a ghostly hand slapped him.
"Aiden-niisan, I made this for you."
Oh great, the doll was back again.
"Don't care."
"Aiden-niisan, I've been trying hard for you." The eight year old doll said.
Aiden takes the drawing the doll gives him and rips it up in front of it.
It's worth it just to see it cry.
A sharp, stabbing pain floods through his soul again and he collapses.
That annoying presence again, bothering him.
He seemed powerless against that thing, too.
"But I made that for you!"
Please, he wouldn't be deceived any longer.
"Go away, you're not real, anyway."
It stands there, continuing to be a mere simulacrum of a human.
"Leave me alone."
He'll bide his time and then he'll make the child a hero.
Heaven knows, it's not like the child is real, anyway. He's just a little puppet he has to use and then he'll be the one holding the reins.
It can do what it needs to do, but Aiden will be the real hero in the end, once he's rid of it. He'll be a true, true, true, true hero.
Aiden spends the rest of the night basking in his glory.