After Toya Todoroki turned ten, things began to change at home. His father, CEO of Todoroki enterprises, now regarded him with these serious, expectant looks. Whenever he tried playing with his brother and sister, Enji would pull him aside and begin talking business without any prompting. He started giving Toya additional homework, on top of what he already received from school. It all came to a head on the eve of his eleventh birthday.

Toya got stirred from sleep at four in the morning.

"Wake up," his father demanded.

"I'm tired," Toya complained. "The sun isn't even up yet."

"A cold shower will wake you. So get up. Today we begin your training."

When he rolled over and refused, Enji Todoroki pulled his blanket off of him and tossed it on the floor. "I'm not asking."

"I'm not going," he snapped back with his eyes closed.

"Would you rather I woke up your sister?"

A sick feeling brewed in his stomach. Toya wasn't sure why but he got the sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to like his new "training." Whatever his father had in store for him...he would not subject Fuyumi to it.

He got out of bed.

~.~

"Dad...where are we going?" Toya asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Around the block," he answered.

"Why?"

"It's time I explained to you how crucial your role is as a Todoroki. And my firstborn son."

"Couldn't we have done that at home?"

Enji smirked. "I thought you might like to enjoy what our legacy has built. The very street we're walking on. The roads it leads to, that the good citizens of Happy Valley use to commute to work and return home. Todoroki Enterprises even paid for the construction of your school, back in your great grandfather's time. I thought it fitting to show you all our family has accomplished so the full weight of it hits you."

Toya wrinkled his nose. What does all of this have to do with me? And why did he need to talk about this at four in the morning?

As if to answer his unasked question, Enji continued. "One day, this will all be yours. You will take over the company after I retire. But to do that you need to be strong. You can't afford to show any weakness. There are people in this world that will try to exploit that weakness. Colleagues. Rivals. The Press. Sometimes even your own family.

"Is that why I'm...training? So I can get strong?"

"Exactly."

"But why do we have to do this so early?"

"Fatigue is another weakness you will learn to overcome," Enji explained.

Once they made it back to the Todoroki residence, Toya expected that they would walk back into the house. But instead, Enji led him to the backyard.

They walked deeper into the woods that surrounded their property. Toya expected there to be weight lifting equipment. A boxing ring. Punching bags. Maybe a track for running. But instead, was an empty clearing surrounded by pines.

Does he want me to climb up the trees?

He flinched as he suddenly heard a metallic clicking.

"How would you define weakness, Toya?" Enji asked as he began fiddling with a lighter.

He himself wasn't sure, but he knew it best to agree with his father if he wanted to get anywhere. "You said it's something others can exploit."

"Yes. If you were trying to get someone else to display weakness, how would you know you were successful?"

When he saw his parents argue, he knew Enji won when his mother began to cry. "I wouldn't do that," Toya admitted. "That's mean."

"No, it isn't. It's survival."

When he and his siblings were given chores by their mother, it always went by quicker when they split up the responsibility and worked together. When they played hide and seek, and tag, and countless other games, it was always more fun when played as a group. "People survive by sticking together. There's strength in numbers."

"That's very wise, Toya. Further evidence you're a worthy successor. But unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way. There are those that think strength comes from knocking out their competition, or anyone they feel is standing in their way."

"Then I'd talk to them and explain."

"What if they choose not to listen to you?"

"I'd listen to them first and try to see their side."

"Another wise answer. What if even after that, you couldn't come to an agreement?"

"I'm sure we'd be able to after we talked."

"What if they refuse to talk to you?"

"I'd propose a truce," he said without hesitation.

"A truce could become a stalemate and put a hold on progress. In a perfect world, your idealistic viewpoints would thrive. But our world is flawed. And the business world is even more cutthroat."

Enji walked up to Toya and pulled up the sleeve of his son's jacket, exposing his bare arm. "In a world like ours, there's only one way for those who oppose you to do what you say. You have to make them fear you. And to do that, you must show no fear yourself."

Toya yelped and backed away when he felt an uncomfortable heat sting the bottom of his arm. He covered it instinctually with his hand, breathing hard. When he looked back up at his father, he saw that the source had been the lighter he was fiddling with.

"You can't react that way once you're in control of the company," Enji said seriously. "But don't worry. I will train you not to submit to fear. Doubt. Stress. Fatigue. Pain. To luxuries you cannot afford."

I don't understand. He's going to hurt me on purpose?! How is that going to make me stronger?!

Tears sprung to his eyes as the burn began to blister.

"We will do this every day until you no longer react to the pain."

Toya stared at his father in horror. "No. I won't do it."

"Are you saying you refuse to succeed me when I retire?"

"No!" Toya answered. "I will! I want to make you proud - "

" - I am already very proud of you. When I asked you those questions, your answers were calm. Logical. Immediate. That's very good. You already set down the groundwork to be a good leader. All that's left is for you to build up a tolerance to pain and distress."

Enji tried to get near him with the lighter again but Toya backed up against a tree. "NO! I'll get strong in a different way!"

"What will you do if an enemy, far worse than me, has you backed into a corner, much like this? No matter what, you must come out on top. That's what it means to be a Todoroki."

"I'm sorry, dad," he sobbed. "I can't do it. I'll do anything else you want, but not this."

"You're giving up?"

"No," Toya answered. "I don't know...I don't want you to keep hurting me."

"This is mild in comparison to what you will face," Enji said. "Physical pain is temporary and easily remedied. But the pain that a lawsuit could inflict on you. Or a failed business venture. A poor investment. Think about the way it could devastate you. Your life. Your company. Your family. That is an injury that if inflicted can wound you forever. If you can't handle this, then you'll never have the strength to take my place."

"Please stop!"

"There's no other way."

"Dad!"

"A good leader must always remain calm. Hundreds of people look up to me. And someday, they'll look up to you. If you're afraid, it will make them afraid. But if you stand tall - "

" - This is crazy! I won't do it!" Toya exclaimed.

"Stop yelling, you'll scare your mother. Is that what you want? To upset her?"

Toya sank down to the ground as he continued to cry. I want to be strong, he thought. But I can't just let him keep burning me.

Something in Enji's eyes changed. "So I was wrong about you, Toya. You don't have what it takes. That's disappointing."

Enji continued to play with the lighter as he began walking back to the house.

Toya watched him in horror. "What are you doing?"

"You refuse to let me train you. If you won't take my place in the company, maybe your sister will."

"NO!" Toya growled, charging at his father and knocking the lighter out of his hand. "Leave her alone!"

Enji grabbed Toya by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. "The flame barely touched you and you're sniveling like a child. You're too weak to succeed me. Maybe Fuyumi won't be as disappointing."

"I'll do it!" he screamed. "I'll do the training!"

"Or maybe Natsuo - "

" - NO! I'll do it, I swear! Don't hurt them! PLEASE!"

"I'd bet even little Shoto would cry less than you." He threw Toya down into the fallen leaves.

Toya's heart fell in his stomach. "No."

Enji picked up his lighter and marched straight for the house without stopping.

"NO! STOP! I SAID I'LL DO IT!"

Everything after that happened so fast. Toya clung to Enji's leg, refusing to let go, no matter how many times he hit him over the head to get him off. Then he heard his mother's screams. A thud as she was tossed harshly to the floor. Shoto's voice coming from his crib.

"Daddy?"

And a cry as Enji held his lighter to the skin on Shoto's face.

It was only for a moment, but it was long enough that it would leave a scar. Toya placed himself between Shoto and the lighter, blocking his baby brother with his arm. Tears streamed down his face as the flame scorched his skin, but he didn't move. "I'll do your training under one condition."

"And what would that be?"

A dark look appeared in Toya's eyes that hadn't been there before. "I'm the only one that will train. No one else. Especially not Shoto."

Enji looked straight into Toya's eyes, as if he was scanning him with an internal lie detector. Whatever he saw, it must have satisfied him. "It's a deal."

As Shoto began to whimper with pain, he held his five-year-old brother in his arms and placed his cold hand against the burn on his face. "If you touch him again," he promised in a growl, "I'll kill you."

~.~

Either his mother didn't know about Enji's "training" or she feigned ignorance. Whatever the case, a seed of resentment had been planted in Toya that distanced him. He hated that she didn't try to stop Enji from hurting him on a daily basis before the sun even rose. Rei was his mother. She was supposed to be able to protect him from all harm. Not be protected by her son from getting harmed herself. But every morning he did his best not to scream or get upset. As much as he'd begun to hate her, what he hated more was the idea of making her cry.

His arms were always in pain because of the training, so he couldn't stand when people touched him. Toya stopped playing tag with Fuyumi and Natsuo, sparing himself the chance of them bumping one of his burns. He stopped hugging them, and flinched whenever they tried to do it themselves.

Since he was told not to show weakness, it meant censoring emotion altogether. It took him three years but finally, he'd perfected a flawless poker face. Because of his apparent indifference, his siblings thought he hated them. Or at the very least, had no interest in playing with them anymore. But every day he bore the excruciating pain of his father's flames so they wouldn't have to. His love for them was what got him through it all.

And one other method.

I don't give a fuck if this is cheating, he thought bitterly. When he got a razor for shaving his face, he began to use it for another purpose. It started out as giving himself little knicks and cuts. Ones that could easily have been mistaken for paper cuts or a cat scratch. But once he got braver, he began cutting himself deeper and deeper. Fire eventually burns nerves so badly that they can't process pain. But a cut made with a metal blade stung and hurt long after the incision was made.

If I can handle this, he thought. His stupid little lighter won't do shit to me.

He did it to be strong. Strong for his siblings. The sister he adored. The brother who knew him inside and out. Most of all, little Shoto, who'd just turned nine.

Once Toya was fourteen years old, Enji could hold the lighter to his skin for minutes at a time without eliciting so much as a flinch.

Enji smirked. "Finally. You're ready. Now our real work begins."

~.~

Fifteen-year-old Toya was a model pupil. He excelled at everything he did. Got high marks athletically. Did anything his father asked without question and without fault. When Enji went away on business trips, he'd been placed in charge as the official head of household, even above his mother. The days his father was away were the only times he felt he could breathe. Enji gave him paperwork to do, of course. Anything Enji's P.A. couldn't get to or didn't have the authority to look over. But he made sure to finish it quickly so he could steal a few moments with his siblings. Whether it was sneaking into Shoto's room to read him a bedtime story, or helping Fuyumi cook dinner. Eleven-year-old Natsuo had his heart set on pursuing football and going to college, so Toya made sure to help him practice.

But the second his father returned, Toya went back into "statue mode" as Natsuo called it. And back to business.

Unfortunately, his siblings paid a price for Toya's perfection. No matter what he endured for their sakes, Enji still found ways to make them suffer. He'd placed Toya on a pedestal, above every single one of them. He became the golden child. The standard. The example they were expected to live by.

"You received a poor exam score because you didn't apply yourself, Natsuo. Toya would've never disappointed me like this."

He did it to Fuyumi. "You cry everytime something upsets you. You need to have better control over your emotions, like Toya."

"Shoto, your tantrums are rebellion and I won't tolerate it. If you are to serve your brother one day in the company, you must learn how to take orders without complaint."

The more Toya tried to be perfect, the more his siblings got compared to him by their father. Toya clenched his fists as he stared at all the cuts and burns. He couldn't afford to be imperfect, or his siblings would be f0rced to pick up his slack. But the more perfect he was, the worse they were treated.

Either way, they suffered. And it's all my fault.

~.~

The next phase of Toya's "training" proved itself to be harder than the last. Enji spoke about it over dinner, where Toya had to remain composed and rational most of all.

"Toya's grown into a fine young man," he remarked. "Securing a bride won't be a problem in the slightest. You've inherited my good looks and your mother's agreeable temperament. You'll have your pick of women."

Throughout the "marriage" discussion, Toya remained even quieter than usual, continuing to eat his meal. For weeks, Enji had taken his silence as compliance. But in fact, it was rebellion.

To Rei's credit, she tried to step in more than once. "He's only fifteen. You and I weren't married until our mid-twenties. Toya has a couple more years before he needs to start thinking about - "

" - Securing my line of succession is no longer your concern," he snapped. "Do not interfere in matters you don't understand."

The old Toya would've scowled. You idiot. If anyone understood shit about producing offspring it would be the damn person who actually made them. You've got nerve talking to my mother that way.

But it wasn't in his capability to talk back to his father. Losing his temper was a loss of control, which he couldn't afford as Toya Todoroki.

"She's your wife!" Natsuo snapped. "How would she not understand when she - "

Toya saw Enji raising his hand before Natsuo even finished speaking. He stepped in the way and took the slap to his face without so much as a blink.

"Don't forget our arrangement," Toya reminded him coldly. "Or you'll lose your most prized possession."

~.~

"Why haven't you chosen a girl for marriage?" Enji asked one night.

Toya wore the poker face he'd learned to wear as default. "None of them interest me."

"That's what you said about the last batch of applications," he snapped.

He just barely held back the disdain in his voice. "I can reword my answer, if it's not to your liking. But the result will remain the same."

Enji pulled Toya out of his office chair by his shirt. "Is it because none of the women were your type or that women aren't your type?"

Toya froze, terrified. "I'll pick a candidate once I find one that interests me," he answered.

"I've seen your search history," Enji snapped. "I've decided we'll resume your training in the woods until you realize you like women."

~.~

By the time Toya was sixteen, he'd envisioned every way possible to kill himself. Some plans were simple. Acquiring a gun and sticking it in his mouth. Some were more elaborate and downright petty. Like weaving together a bunch of his father's ties to make a noose. That one made him smile to himself. He already knew what would be on the suicide note that went with that plan. You always say you love seeing me in a tie, don't you dad?

He thought about stealing his father's lighter and draining the fluid dry by smoking an entire pack of cigarettes at once and giving himself lung cancer. Setting the house on fire with it while he stood inside. Fire wasn't that painful anymore, anyway.

But the way it almost happened was with a razor. He'd started cutting himself to get stronger. Build up a pain tolerance. But even after his father stopped waking him up at four in the morning to take him into the woods, he'd continued to do it anyway. It was the only sort of release he allowed himself, besides using up the family's lotion stash while watching clips on pornhub.

The only thing that stopped him from going through with it were the faces of his siblings. He didn't want to see Fuyumi cry over him. He didn't want Natsuo blaming himself. Or Shoto growing up without him. He was too young to suffer something like a death in the family.

Toya thought he had it under control.

He didn't realize how bad it got until he was woken up by Fuyumi after passing out on his bedroom floor.

"TOYA!" she cried as tears streamed down her face.

His arm was caked with blood. The carpet was soaked in a puddle of it. He felt dizzy. As she sewed him up, he didn't complain. His threshold for pain dwarfed Texas. It was on a weekend that his father went away on business.

Shoto was eleven now. Fast asleep. Oblivious to the darkness surrounding his oldest brother, threatening to pull him down. But it was better that way.

Natsuo rushed into the room when he heard Fuyumi's wails of anguish. They sat on the floor, holding their brother, crying the tears he wasn't capable of shedding himself. Finally, after six years of protecting them, Fuyumi set him free with four of the most beautiful words he'd ever heard.

"You can't stay here."

~.~

They didn't have much time. Or much of a plan. Natsuo packed a bag for him while Fuyumi used her birthday money to buy him a one-way plane ticket to New York. She printed the ticket and stuffed it in his pocket. Toya cleaned himself up and re-bandaged his arm. Natsuo pumped new air into his bike tires so Toya could ride to Portland International. He hugged his brother and sister for what felt like forever.

But when the sun began to rise, they laid back down in their beds, feigning sleep so their mother wouldn't be suspicious.

There was one last thing Toya needed to do.

He snuck into Shoto's room, just as the sun was rising, and sat on the edge of his bed. He had a faded scar on the left side of his face from all those years ago. His hair was red, like his. The signature Todoroki hair color. Except for Natsuo and Fuyumi, who took after their mother and inherited her white-blonde hair.

Out of all of his siblings, Shoto was the most like him. Reserved. Guarded. Doomed to suffer in silence. Observing events around him and helpless to stop them from happening.

"You'll be okay," he whispered, gently brushing back his hair. "You've got Natsu and 'yumi. They'll look after you."

He hadn't meant to stir him from sleep, but it turned out he hadn't been sleeping at all.

"You're leaving," Shoto whispered. It wasn't a question.

Toya swallowed. "Yeah, Nugget. I'm going somewhere for a while."

"I'm not a nugget," he mumbled, annoyed.

Toya laughed softly. Shoto was the only one who could get him to laugh. "You were when you were born. All shriveled up and bumpy like a chicken nugget."

"You were only five when I was born, how would you know?"

"It's the oldest memory I have," he insisted. "I don't remember anything before that."

Shoto was quiet for a moment, pondering. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know," he lied.

"Will you ever come back?"

"Just to get you," he promised.

Shoto sat up and threw himself into Toya's arms, uncaring about the unwritten rule of "no hugging." To his surprise, Toya hugged him back in earnest, so tightly wrapped around him it felt as though Shoto were in his own personal cocoon.

"Take me with you," Shoto begged.

"Natsu and 'yumi need you here," Toya said, holding back tears. "You're strong. Stronger than me. Stronger than them - "

" - I don't want you to go," he whined, starting to cry.

Toya ground his teeth as a tear fell from his eye too. "I'm gonna make my own way in the world," he promised under his breath. "I'll earn my own money. Get my own place. The second I'm able to, I'll come back for you, and you'll live with me. It won't be as fancy as here, but - "

" - Do you promise?"

He didn't hesitate. "Yes. I promise, nugget. I promise."

"Toya," Natsu said fervently in the doorway. "Dad's back."

"What?" he said, going pale. "He wasn't supposed to be back until noon."

"I know, but he just pulled into the driveway. You have to go now."

"I'll leave out the back window," Toya said. "He won't see me if - "

" - But the bike - "

" - I'll call a cab," Toya said. "I'll take that path through the woods - "

" - Toya - " Shoto whined as a new round of tears began.

He hugged Shoto to him hard, one last time, and kissed the top of his head. "There's nothing I love more than you. Nothing."

"I love you too, onii-chan," he whispered.

"Natsu, take care of him," Toya commanded. "Don't let dad lay a finger - "

" - I won't, I won't, just go!"

"TOYA!" Shoto cried.

Shoto's pained cries weighed down every step, pulling him back like a gravitational force. But he fought through it, blocking them out. He snuck past his mother's room just as she began to wake and hopped up into the window sill before allowing himself to fall outside. Then he made a break for the woods.

For freedom.