After that incident in the park with the villains, the pro heroes figured that they needed to tighten the security even more to ensure the students safety. Wherever the students were going, there had to be a pro hero around.
Today was 31st December and everyone was back with their respective families. Of course the pro heroes ensured that all the students reached their homes safely before heading to their own.
Shouto was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. It was exactly 2 weeks ago when the villains attacked them on their run. Thinking back to that day made all his questions pop in his head. He wanted answers but he couldn't ask his mother and definitely not Endeavor, which left him with his siblings. He figured that he had to ask his siblings while Endeavor was still out and there was no better timing. Shouto got up from his bed and headed to his brother, Natsuo's room.
"Natsuo-nii, can i ask you and Fuyumi-nee something?"
"Huh? Of course." Natsuo said as he got up from his chair and walked towards Shouto. "Anything for my kid brother." He said as he ruffled Shouto's hair a little.
Shouto gently pushed his brothers hand away, he wasn't a kid anymore. They both made their way towards the kitchen where their older sister, Fuyumi, was preparing lunch.
"Fuyumi-nee, Shouto has something he wants to ask us." Natsuo voiced out from the corridor.
"Hold on, let's have lunch first. Food is ready!" Fuyumi appeared from the kitchen holding soba in her hands. It was rare for Shouto to be home due to the new arrangement where they had to live in the dorms, so Fuyumi decided that it would be a good idea to have their youngest brother's favorite food. Placing the plates on the table where Shouto and Natsuo sat, they began their meal.
Food tasted much better when with people you care and love. Shouto has eaten many kinds of soba from many shops and chefs but the best soba he has ever eaten was soba made by his sister. Although soba is known to be a cold dish, it filled his heart with warmth knowing that it was made with love by his sister. After devouring the delicious dinner, all three siblings washed their plates and went back to the living room with some tea.
"So Shouto, what was it that you wanted to ask us? Need help with your homework?" Natsuo asked.
"No Natsuo-nii, er..." Shouto started without looking at his siblings.
"There's no need to rush Shouto, ask us when you're ready." Shouto looked up to see Fuyumi smiling at him. Natsuo was also next to her, smiling at him.
Shouto smiled back and looked at both his siblings. "Fuyumi-nee, Natsuo-nii, what do you remember about Toya-nii?"
After asking that question, he saw both his siblings' smiles drop alittle and some sadness could be seen in their eyes.
Fuyumi took a deep breath and asked slowly, "Toya-nii? Why the sudden question?"
"Er... I just wanted to know about my oldest brother. I hardly have any memories of him..." Shouto said looking downwards.
"Shouto, did anything happen?" Natsuo asked. When Shouto looked at him, his normal easygoing attitude was replaced with a serious one. Everyone knew that Natsuo only became serious when it involved sensitive family topics.
"No, nothing happened." 'I can't tell them that I was attacked by a villain who ended up crying and mentioning things that only people in the Todoroki household would know and the possibility that it was Toya-nii' Shouto thought to himself.
"Well, Toya-nii was a really kind brother, he would always take care of you and Natsuo while playing, making sure the both of you are safe." Fuyumi started with a sad smile on her face.
"Toya-nii was an amazing brother. Everytime you came out of the dojo crying, I would be of no help trying to calm you down. But Toya-nii always somehow managed to make you feel better. Toya-nii would also try to make me feel better whenever I'm feeling down." Natsuo continued.
Shouto couldn't remember much of anything they said, he was 5 years old after all.
Fuyumi continued. "Everything seemed to be fine, everyday was the same routine with Shouto going to train with Endeavor, Natsuo and Toya-nii playing after finishing their homework and me helping mom with the household chores. But everything changed one day. Natsuo and Toya-nii were at school with me, you, mom and Endeavor at home. Mom was on the phone with grandmother and you had just finished training with Endevaor. You came into the kitchen looking for something to drink. During that time, mom was at her limit with all the domestic abuse and ill-treatment that all of us received. I don't know what mom was talking about with grandmother but when you appeared at the door of the kitchen, mom seemed to have snapped after seeing your left side as it resembled Endeavor. Well, you remember the rest."
Indeed he remembered it, he remembered intense pain on the left side of his face, he remember seeing his mom crying and trying to heal the burn with her ice powers. When it didn't seem like it was working, mom, Fuyumi-nee and Endevor brought him to the hospital.
"You were at the hospital and you were too young and hurt so we never told you this next part. When Toya-nii and I returned home, Toya-nii fought with Endeavor after finding out that all of us where in the hospital. He must have assumed the worst as he did not hesitate to attack Endeavor. Of course at that time we were young and we had little control over our powers so he was overwhelmed by Endeavor. After losing, I rushed to Toya-nii making sure he wasn't hurt too badly. But Endeavor said horrible words to him and Toya-nii gently pushed me away before leaving the house, never contacting us again. Till today, none of us know if he's even alive or how he's doing." Natsuo continued with a frown on his face.
At this point, Fuyumi had started tearing up and Shouto was just shocked. He never knew what happened, all he knew was that Toya-nii disappeared. After hearing everything, Shouto felt that it was only right to tell his siblings about his weird encounter with Dabi.
After telling them the whole incident, Fuyumi and Natsuo sat there with shock written all over their face.
"Shouto. Are you sure those are the words he said?" Natsuo broke the silence. With Shouto nodding as a sign of conformation.
Fuyumi and Natsuo looked at each other. "If he did say everything that Shuoto told us, it is highly likely that Dabi is Toya-nii." Fuyumi said deep in thought. "Yeah. Only Todoroki's know what's going on in our household. But Toya-nii as a villain?" Natsuo mentioned while pinching his temples, also deep in thought. "I don't think Dabi is a true villain. There were many times where he could have gotten rid of me or captured me if he wanted. But he didn't. There were also times where he seemed relief to see me safe and where he would talk in a softer tone. A tone that doesn't belong to a villain." Shouto added on.
The three siblings sat there deep in thought and they finally came to a conclusion. "If Dabi is really Toya-nii... We have to get him back!" Fuyumi started. "Villain or not Toya-nii is our brother and our sibling bond runs deeper than anything!" Natsuo seconded. "Then it's settled. We're getting our oldest brother back!" Shouto ended.
They all looked at each other and decided that they needed to come up with a plan without Endeavor finding out. If Endeavor found out, everything would be lost and they may really lose their oldest brother. But this time, it could be for good.