Enji knew he wasn't loved by many, not by the majority of the public, not by his children, nor his wife, hell he wasn't loved by his parents, yet there was always one person steadfast in his life that stuck around despite the fact they could've left a long time ago. Though Enji believed there were moments he stuck around for the sole purpose of driving Enji insane, but the rest of the time Enji could safely point to the only other reason, family.
Mondo, his childish not any longer 'kid' brother, still clung to the idea that the likes family and blood were meant for softer stuff like love and acceptance, and no matter what Enji did, he couldn't shake the young man out of his life, for the younger man's own good of course…
If there was a nuisance in his life, well Enji hardly ever had any trouble disposing said nuisance, be it by intimidation, money, or simply strong arming said irritant, but not Mondo.
If Enji glared with literal flames in his eyes at the younger man, Mondo would simply smile in return as if nothing was wrong, and if he tried to remove his younger brother from his life with force, Japan's third ranked hero would let his mask of semi-incompetent's slip and would soundly bring Enji to a draw.
Much to flame hero's cringe.
The years of trailing behind All-Might spot, and from knowing his younger brother better than anyone else, he knew his brother was holding back in their bouts. Well it's obvious now, when you compare their exhibition fights against the few recordings out there where his brother has lost his ever-calm patients against whatever villain of the week managed to push his button.
But what truly clued Enji in that his brother was intentionally holding himself back when the younger man was anger beyond anything Enji had ever seen from the water based hero, where Mondo's mask slipped, where the one and only time he raised a hand against Rei.
Enji is fearless as any hero worth their salt should be, but one of the few times he felt a shiver of fear, was the onslaught his furious brother sent his way.
Mondo extinguished even his hottest flames with just the water in the air around them, show casing a control over the liquid he never knew the younger man to possess. Mondo for intent and purposes took away Enji Quirk, making the older of the two, feel powerless, something only two others have done before, when he and his brother were green pups.
After waking up in the hospital, Enji was once again privy to a Mondo lacking a smile he usually displayed, the younger of the men didn't stay for long, but just long enough to impart a single sentence, one that struck Enji worse than he ever thought it would, 'If you ever act like mother again, I will end you.' He warned with a flat voice, not evening bothering to wait for a reply or acknowledgement the younger brother stood up and walked out of the private room.
His words made Enji remember the agreement they made, the two brothers had made an accord on the eve of their parents funeral.
To never mention said parents.
'Let this day be last time we ever give any power over us.'
So when Mondo dared to accuse Enji of becoming their mother, to dare compare the likes of that cruel bat to him, he felt a new level of anger, a blinding calm, and if it weren't for casts around his limbs he would've chased down the younger man, and show him he would not allow their last bout to change the pecking order.
The senior Todoroki's siblings are polar opposites.
It didn't take for the whole world to point that for Enji to acknowledge, no, he had enough reminders. The brothers went through the same abuse and pressure as each other, just a fifteen-year gap between them, but for all the pain and strife Mondo went through it made him kind, while Enji…
Enji managed to anger the normally kinder one to such an extent, it reminded him that the brothers accord was twofold, to never mention their parents, and the unsaid.
To never become them.
While Enji knows he is not loved by many, and he was fine with that, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love those around him, and while his goal of usurping All Might and now his brother takes precedence, he refuses to lash out like the wretched monsters that sired him and his brother, he would become the best without becoming like them.
Or his name will.
And he knew now if he did stumble at that particular hurdle that he would be sorely reminded.
Speaking off right now Mondo was pushing his limits, his ever present smile on his face, and tension from years back long forgotten by the younger man.
"Enji. Enji. Enji. Enji. Enji. Enji. Enji. En. En. En. En. En. En."
"WHAT!?" The flames around Enji lashed out as the fire themed hero sent a murderous glare, but the younger of the two took no mind to the gaze in fact his smile widened as if he took pleasure at knowing he had gotten under his skin.
"I'm taking the kids out."
"Good." Enji gritted out glaring a hole into his head, "Leave."
"Cool, let's go kiddo." Before anyone could react, Mondo swooped into the training room and scooped the bewildered perfect half and half teen in his arms and blitzed out of the door.
"Leave Shoto behind, you damned fool!" Enji screamed out as he charged after his brother and son.
Mondo POV - Later
As I entered my home, I noticed a pair of shoes that were laying there haphazardly near my front door.
The smell of freshly cooked food wafted in the air, the odour grew richer as I neared the kitchen, "Hey kiddo, didn't know you coming over today." I greeted my oldest nephew.
The boy hummed as his mouth was full, he stood up, but I waved him back down as I washed my hands and plated the food before sitting next to him.
"I couldn't quite focus back at the school dorms," He said after he swallowed, "I was hoping if I could…" He trailed off as I gave him a flat look.
"You're always welcome here. This is your home." I reminded him for the umpteenth time.
He started to poke at his food with a small smile, but it slowly melded away into a frown, "Is it?"
I let out a sigh as I met his eyes, for as long as he's lived with me I've always pushed him to at least attempt to repair his relationship with his parents not for their sakes but for his, hate like that tended to fester, "I promise I won't push for as long as you're here, but answer me this, when was the last time you went over there?"
A small sneer made its way onto his face as he looked away from me his fist balled against the table, "You know why I can't."
"I know." I motioned for him to take a calming breath, off the things he could've inherited from his folks, he had to get Enji temper, "I'll never force you to do something you don't want to Toya, but what about, Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shoto."
I didn't miss the way his eyes blurred in moment of anger at the mention of his youngest brother.
Tension with Enji and his eldest were rocky at best. Of course, I was there to immediate it all, but there's so much I could do before I was essentially getting in the way of Toya's dream of being like his father, well the delusional image of his father, which said man burned to a cinders when Shoto's quirk came around.
Toya idolised the man, and my brother for all intents and purposes threw away the love his eldest held for him in exchange for his foolish dreams of putting our family name at the top.
And when Toya was benched from his using his quirk and the youngest Shoto was able to take his father's training, my eldest nephew appeared at my doorstep, wisps of his fiery quirk harming the boy, tears unshed in his eyes, and bag slung over his shoulder.
Enji broke Toya's spirit, but not beyond reproach, not enough so that he couldn't ask for help, from someone who would gladly give.
I arranged it with his parents but Toya officially ended up in my care, and with his dream shattered and his sharp mind not being forced to endure training that was doing more harm than good, Toya excelled in his studies.
His dream of wanting to help people never truly died, thus his aspiration of wanting to become a doctor took root, and that's been his mindset for years.
To help those in pain.
My pride for boy has never diminished, but when he told me his new focus on life, I couldn't stop beaming that day.
Though I wished he would lighten up just a smidge, and maybe reach out to his siblings more, especially to the youngest, who he's unintentionally or intentionally, I'm not quite sure, been blaming for his relationship with their father on.
"They miss you."
"Not all of them." He grumbled into his food.
"Don't let your anger consume you, nephew. Not like your father and I have done."
He actually let out a small laugh, "What do you mean, you? Dad I get," He gave me a wry grin, "but you…"
I don't know why but I heard the voice of my mother echo in my mind, 'Water is patient, but never calm, not under the surface.'
'For those that I love, I'll be whatever they need me to be. You old hag.'
I heard the sounds of my window being 'picked' before sliding open, followed by the soft footfall against the wooden floor of my bedroom.
My arm that was slung over the pillow against my side tensed as I kept my eyes closed, my quirk on the ready to pull water vapour out of the air, to enclose around the guest that let themselves in, only for me to quickly relax as I smelt the familiar smell of gun-oil and pine.
I let out a sigh, adjust the second pillow back its position next to mine, and while I did that I heard the sound of a bag followed by clothes hitting the floor.
Her scent invaded my space as I felt her callous hands adjust her bare body against my own, using her hands to wrap my arms around her bare waist.
Her lips found mine as she pressed a soft kiss on them.
"You've got to stop licking your lips, you're only drying them out faster." I said still keeping my eyes closed.
She let out a huff, "What? You're not happy to see me?"
I opened my eyes, and waited for my vision to clear so I could give her a flat stare properly, "I'm always happy to see you, Kaina." Brushing a mixed lock of her dark blue and pink hair behind her ear, "But most people either give a heads up or at the very least enter through the front door."
"Oh?" I didn't like the way she said that, "And who are these people, that let themselves in?"
Well if she wants to play this game, "Well let see, there's Mirko, Midnight-"
She flipped me on my back, straddling my waist with her an arm pressed against my neck, ordinarily she would've teased me for naming fellow heroes, and prodded and probed, but this was something else. The anger in her eyes, the guilt, the pain. Something sadly not unfamiliar in whatever our 'relationship' is.
I reached forward once again, but I cupped the side of her face. I could've asked a few things, 'How was the mission?'
'What was the mission?'
'Villains too dangerous to let live or crooked heroes?'
Instead all I did was lean up and press our foreheads together.
"Let's run away. Forget our jobs, and the bastards that push the papers, safe behind a desk." I let out a chuckle but I knew the deep sated hatred she had for the corps that ran the hero agencies, "You, me, a beach house, sunny weather, ocean breeze." She leaned in close to my ear, "Me in a bikini."
"Kaina." I cocked an eyebrow, "You're your naked, right now."
She let out a scoff, "I mean, that's the only thing I'll be wearing. Ever."
I let out a hearty chuckle, but the thought was undeniably a great one, "I'll give you that." I really tried to ignore the stabbing pain I felt as she closed her eyes in disappointment, "But you know why I can't."
She raised a hand up and stared off to the side, "Mondo, Enji's keeper." She said with a dramatic flair.
The sound me of exhaling, caused her to crack a smile, "It's not just Enji." I reasoned, "It's-"
"Toya is a young man, a fine young man who you raised." With some help from her, "Have faith that you raised him not to need you any more."
My face scrunched as I tried to hold back my anger, knowing she was just hurting at the moment, "We all need people to lean on. Forgive me for always wanting to be there for my nephew." I shook the off the frustration I was feeling, Kaina knows how much the boy, man, means to me, after all she's been in and out in my life since I've been raising the Toya.
"He's twenty-three, he's going to become a doctor." She reasoned with a bite to her words.
"It's not just him, it's Shoto."
She rolled her eyes, at the mention of my youngest nephew, "Of course."
"He's going to UA. It's been confirmed."
"Oh…" The bite was still there.
"Yeah, worst thing is, he's doing it because of Enji."
Kaina let out a scoff, "Did you know the sky is blue? Come on Mon, your bastard brother has his family on a leash. He probably tells the kids to take a leak as well." I ignored her emphasis on his.
"Kaina, why did you become a hero?" She looked at me in confusion, as she knew full well, I knew why, "Why did I become one? Why did people like All Might, or Hawk, or whoever else? We had a reason, maybe they weren't altruistic, but we had a reason." I let out a deep sigh, "But Shoto is going through the motions, and that…" I let out deep sigh.
This time she brought out heads together, "Yeah, I get it." She clicked her teeth in annoyance nonetheless, "Why can't it be simple for us?"
"Because, before either of us existed, some bastard, somewhere penned down our ruin of a relationship."
Kaina snorted before pulling us down, "Let's just sleep. We'll deal with whatever garbage life has to throw at us one day at a time."
"Morning uncle." Toya greeted with a lazy smile, "Aunty."
"Brat." Kaina nodded with a wide yawn ambling behind me clad in my clothes, "Didn't know you were here." She mumbled as she went to pour herself some coffee that only she and Toya drank.
"Didn't hear you come in. Did you sneak into again?" He replied with an easy grin.
"Sneak in? This is my home, no sneaking required." She said without any heat, ignoring the fact she did break in through my bedroom window. She did have a place of her own, a cozy if not shubby three-bedroom one floor home and a garden, it was nice if not a little clinical, though that's probably because she spent more time here than anywhere else.
Nonetheless I hid a smile behind my mug, "You both came unannounced, never giving this poor soul any consideration." I said feigning despair, and I was happy that instead of feeling a modicum of guilt the pair instead rolled their eyes, there was a time the two would've felt a sense of misguided fault even if I was clearly messing around.
The pair were strangely alike in some regards, both having a martyr like complex.
"Oh, sorry. I should've called." Fuyumi's voice said in the entry of the kitchen, a plastic bag in her one of hands and a set of keys in the other.
A bright smile appeared on my face, as I didn't so much as walk as I glided over to her, bringing her into a strong hug, "You are always welcome to come whenever, sweetheart." I pulled away and tugged at her left cheek, "Never be sorry." I tried to say earnestly but I couldn't help the chuckle as she pushed me away with a huff, yet a hidden smile on her face as she tried to hide the happiness she was feeling.
It made me equal parts happy and angry, the anger stemming to my brother, I loved the boys equally, sure the situation with Toya was different since he's technically my son by law, adoption and all the nasty business with him 'running away', but my three nephews were only one very miniscule step away from their sister in terms of endearment.
I loved my brother, but the times I wanted to smash his head against the wall tended to amplify whenever Fuyumi was neglected.
"Starting to feel like we're unwanted now." Toya said not so softly.
"Girl is going to have a hard time finding a boy tough enough." Kaina mumbled and the back of my teeth grinded at the thought of boys younger or older sniffing around my niece.
Toya brought me out of my murderous thoughts as he took a tentative glance around his sister, he sagged in relief when he saw no one else behind her, an action that Kaina copied.
How did I let this happen? How did I let my nephew fear interacting with his parents and youngest brother? How I did let the woman in my life, hate interacting with my brother and sister-in-law? Well, I suppose I could answer that one by the way Fuyumi warily staring at her, as if she didn't know how to interact or even greet her.
Its all my fault. I've been so focused on being the healing balm for them I never stopped to consider just straight up trying to fix this mess.
Well, no more.
A/N - Published 2023/08/27