The ages for this chapter are the following:

Asami - 11
Fuyumi - 12
Touya - 13
Natsuo - 9
Shouto - 5

Chapter 22

The Todoroki Residence – 12 Years Ago – Age 11

Asami stopped showing at the Todoroki's residence. She was getting older, and Kenji figured she was old enough to stay at home while he continued his work for Endeavor. Kenji rarely came to the home himself, only meeting the hero bi-yearly instead of monthly as he did in the beginning. With his financials stabilizing, there was no real reason the advisor was needed as often as he was at the beginning of their partnership.

This change was devastating to Touya. He didn't like her. Far from it. He just wanted the chubby girl around so that she would distract Fuyumi from bothering him.

It had been almost a year since he saw the chunky girl and with their wedding anniversary coming up within a few months, he would hate to see the tradition forgotten this year. Because it would impede on Fuyumi's dreams, of course. He was doing this for her. Not because he liked it.

Touya finds himself thinking about her a lot and questions why she decided to stop coming around. He wonders if he did something bad that made her want to stop coming around. Maybe he was too mean to her and she didn't want to be around him anymore. Maybe she stopped coming around for the same reason that his father stopped training his Quirk.

Because I'm a failure.

Touya plays his computer game aimlessly in his room as he tries to keep his mind off of her. People grow apart as time moves forward, and she's clearly moved away from him. He figures this is something he can't change, and will just have to move on. Just as he's moved on from training his stupid weak body.

"Hey Touya!" he hears his name being called out by his younger brother. He glances over at the white-haired boy who hangs at the doorway of his bedroom. "We're going to the fair and mom told us that we need to bring you or we can't go."

"Not interested," Touya says as he turns back to his game.

"Come on," the young boy grumbles. "Fuyumi and I really wanna go!"

"Then go with Fuyumi."

"Didn't you hear? Mom said we can't go without you!" Natsuo whines childlike. He sees that his older brother is unconvinced and he decides to sweeten the deal. "Fuyumi said that she's gonna meet some of her friends there. Maybe your wifey will be there," he teases the boy.

Touya's body stiffens at the mention of her and he glances down at his brother who watches expectantly. The eldest tries not to appear overly eager when he says, "Fine, since mom's being all dumb about it, I'll go."

His brother smiles widely and he launches himself from the eldest's room as he runs to tell his sister they're going. Touya smiles to himself as he lifts himself from his chair, deciding what he will wear when he sees Fatty again.

Once he's dressed in a plain black shirt and black jeans, Touya waits for his siblings in the courtyard of the home. He crosses his arms over his chest as he leans against a support beam and aimlessly looks around the home. His eyes catch something in the corner of his peripheral and he notices young Shouto watching from the second story balcony.

He sneers at the young boy who watches him from above, wondering why he isn't practicing with that perfect Quirk of his. If it was up to him, Touya would be working his Quirk, day in and day out to become the best Pro Hero there ever was. He wouldn't be standing on the balcony looking down on his failure sibling.

"Let's go!" Natsuo shouts as Fuyumi eagerly comes running in behind him.

Touya pushes himself off the beam and follows behind the two excited siblings. He can't help but shoot one last look at his youngest sibling as the Masterpiece looks down on them all with a longing glare. Touya grits his teeth as he looks away from him. He has nothing to long for. Not when he's been granted everything.

Within thirty minutes, the three siblings are at the fair beyond the admissions booth. Touya warns them to not stray too far from him since he's responsible for them, and they agree before they separate in their own groups. Touya watches as Natsuo meets with some friends from school, while Fuyumi meets with two girls, and neither of them are Fatty. He tenses his jaw, hating Natsuo for lying to him to get him out here.

Of course she's not here. Why would she want to come see me?

Touya digs his hands into his pockets and slugs his shoulders down in disappointment as he saunters around the fair, kicking rocks and wallowing in self-pity. He hates it here and he wants to go home and play his game. He has no friends in school like Natsu and Fuyumi, and the last thing he wants to do is be here alone as a harsh reminder of that.

"Touya?" he hears his name being called and he lazily cranes his head towards the source of the voice.

His heart races so wildly in his chest that the beating can be felt in his throat, making him want to throw up. The purple-haired girl stands before him with a soft smile on her face that grows when their eyes reach one another.

His gaze drops from her eyes and crawls down her body, noticing that she's developed so much in the year that he hasn't seen her. She's no longer chubby, and in fact looks very athletic. She's wearing a tight pale pink dress that stops well above the knees and shows off her toned body. Her face is covered with makeup that makes her look much older than she really is, and her long purple hair is curled in large waves that frame her angular face.

His eyes fly back up to her face as she smiles to him. "It's been a long time," she laughs. "How're Fuyumi and Natsuo?"

He swallows hard, feeling his heart pounding in his throat as he tries to speak to her, but fears that if he does, his voice will crack in front of her.

"Are they here?" she asks him when she sees that he's not answering her as her eyes search the area for the other Todorokis.

"Yeah," his voice finally cracks.

She turns back to him with a smile on her lips. "You're not short anymore," she teases him as he now towers over her.

"You're not fat anymore," he croaks out defensively before he can talk himself out of it. This brings a pout to her lips and he instantly regrets his words to her, but can't find any to take them back or apologize.

"Yeah," she awkwardly scratches the back of her head as her lilac pools tear away from him to search for someone else to be around.

Of course she doesn't want to be around me. You're so stupid.

"Fuyumi!" the purple-haired girl excitedly calls out when her eyes land on his sister. She leaves Touya standing there like an idiot while she meets with his sister and embraces the girl in a tight hug as if their relationship hasn't deteriorated over the year.

He can hear the indistinct conversation between the two girls, but their words muffle in his hearing as he watches them. At some point Natsu joins them in their conversation and he notices the blush touching his brother's cheeks and nose as he speaks to the girl.

Touya feels his face and ears heating with jealousy as he watches the girl smile at his brother, seeing the dimples on her cheeks press to the surface of her face that never appear when she speaks with him.

He moves to join the group, feeling stupid as he hangs only feet away from them and not involved in their conversation.

"So, who are you here with?" Fuyumi asks her after she tells her that she's with other friends.

"I'm here with my boyfriend," the purple-haired girl responds and Touya's heart drops to the floor. His throat tightens up and he feels like he's been punched in the gut.

Of course.

"What?" Fuyumi shrieks, "I wanna meet him!"

The girls erupt in high pitch screams about where she met him, what he's like, how long they've been together, and other details that make Touya sick hearing. Fuyumi asks where he is and she informs her that he's getting them some cotton candy.

After a few moments of gossiping about the boy, a tall green-haired boy joins the group with a shit-eating grin placed lopsidedly on his face. She notices that he doesn't have cotton candy with him and he informs her that they were all out.

He introduces himself to the group as Haruto, and Touya can already tell that he doesn't like the boy.

They all decide to hang out as a group, and Touya finds himself being the only one here without someone. He wants to go home and bury himself in his video games. The last place he wants to be is here with Fatty and her stupid boyfriend.

They begin to play various carnival games together. They start with a throwing game that Fatty's terrible at, and relies on her boyfriend to compete in. He's alright, but he is not as good as Touya, who receives the highest score of the round.

He gathers his tickets and they move to another stand. Touya hangs in the back behind everyone where he watches the two lovebirds walking hand-in-hand with one another. He watches as she leans into him, laughing at him even when he says nothing to her, with her dimples pressing to her cheeks. Making a show of how 'funny' he is.

She throws her head back, with a breathy laugh pressing out of her throat as her lips curl up into a smile that takes over her face, stopping at her dimples that dig into her cheeks. She lowers her head and bites down on her lips to stop her laughter. She brings her shoulder to her chin, sheepishly shrugging behind it.

She turns her head over her shoulder, pulling her purple hair behind her ear as her lilac orbs land on his turquoise pools and she watches him carefully. Her eyes stay on him, dragging down to his lips then back to his eyes as her lips close into a grin. Their gaze lingers on one another and that's when it strikes Touya.

She's trying to make me jealous.

He purses his lips into a pout and looks away from her. How stupid is she to think that he'd be jealous that someone's dating that fatty? He doesn't see her like that. She's always been so damn annoying. Of course he's not jealous. Why would he be? She infuriates him. The way she looks at him, the way she smiles at him, the way he feels like he's going to throw up when he looks at her. She makes him sick and he hates that about her.

The next game stand they arrive at is a shooting game that Touya wins over everyone else again. He also wins the ring toss. And the strength tester. And the whack-a-mole. He dominates at all the games, making her roll her eyes as he collects more tickets than Haruto and her combined.

After a few hours of playing, Touya notices that between every game Haruto disappears, only to return a few minutes before they start their next game. He curiously watches to see where the boy heads off to between each game, but he never is able to track his movements without following him.

They decide to take a break from playing games and sit down for some dinner. Touya doesn't pay much attention to the conversations being spoken around him since no one directs their conversation to him. He hears something about how they want to ride the Ferris Wheel and the girls all swoon over having their first kiss at the top with a view of all of Japan.

He instead finds his mind muddled with thoughts of the stupid fatty sitting across from him. He thinks about the years they've spent together and getting to know one another. He thinks about how annoying she is when she laughs, and how stupid she looks when she chews on her lip when she's thinking, and how he hates when she says his name like he's taken away her breath. He hates that he thinks about their stupid wedding tradition and how the idea that it won't happen this year brings him anxiety.

He hates everything about her.

So why does it feel different than my feelings with dad?

Haruto whispers something in her ear that makes the soft smile on her lips drop and she looks at his red eyes. Touya catches him say that he'll be right back as he lifts from his seat and leaves the girl sitting on her own. She presses a fake smile to her face as she focuses her attentions on Fuyumi and the others.

Touya shakes his head and decides that he's had enough of the suspicion and chooses to investigate on his own where this guy is headed off to all the time.

The white-haired boy follows the green-haired boy at a close distance so not to rouse suspicion. The boy walks through the carnival until they reach the other side of the park. He continues to follow him closely, wondering what's bringing the boy this far away from the rest of the group, knowing that they passed plenty of bathrooms closer to everyone.

Finally, the boy reaches his intended target, and when Touya sees the green-haired boy snake his arm around a blue-haired girl to pull her in for a kiss on the lips, his heart drops in the pit of his stomach.

What a dick. Touya fumes, feeling his body rise in temperature as he thinks about scorching the stupid boy right here and right now. How could he do that to his Fatty? She doesn't deserve some stupid douchebag trying to date two girls at once as he juggles spending his time with both of them on the same day.

He shakes in fury, thinking about burning him here. That'll show him to never treat a girl like that. He takes a step towards the boy, preparing himself to use his Quirk against him, but stops when he thinks about what it means to be a hero.

He knows he's not allowed to use his Quirk in public. And he knows that a true hero would not start a fight, regardless of the circumstances. He needs to act as a hero would. Despite what his father may think, Touya will become a great hero—the best hero—and it starts here.

Touya turns away from the scumbag kid and heads back to the group. He overhears the girls talk about how they want to win enough tickets to get one of those stuffed animals that's as big as them. Touya looks at his tickets and knows that he is close enough to winning one of those plushies, and decides that he will dedicate the rest of his night to win one for her.

"We should go ride the Ferris Wheel!" one of Fuyumi's friends excitedly states.

"Wait, but where is Haruto?" Fatty asks, looking around for her scumbag boyfriend.

Touya glances over at her. His heart races as his ears grow hot at the idea that she's going to try to kiss this idiot at the top of the Ferris Wheel. He knows that he will have to do everything in his power to stop her from making that mistake.

The girls head towards the Ferris Wheel, despite her attempts to get them to wait for her boyfriend. They wait in line as her purple hair swings back and forth as she searches for him. Touya notices how long her hair has gotten, and he loves seeing the way it sways side to side in the wind as it brushes against the small of her back.

They are next in line and she frowns when her lilac eyes are unable to find the boy she's searching for.

Touya steps into the gondola of the Ferris Wheel, waiting for her to join him as she chews on her lip with furrowed brows. "Come on, Fatty! They need to start the ride," he calls out to her and she turns to him with a sneer on her face.

"I'm waiting for Haruto," she tells him.

He rolls his eyes at her, "Everyone's waiting on you. Just get in here!" he says grabbing her wrist, pulling her into the gondola and closing the door before she can leave.

"Touya! What the hell?" she snaps at him with her hands placed on her hips.

"Sit down, Fatty. You're not supposed to stand," he scowls at her.

"Would you stop calling me that!" she yells at him as she plants herself down in the chair across from him. "It's not nice!"

"It's a term of endearment," he presses.

"No, it's not, Touya! It's mean!" she grumbles as she laces her arms over her chest angrily. "Cutie, or Baby is a term of endearment."

"You're not a baby," he grumbles with a pout on his lips.

"And I'm not fat anymore!" she glares at him and he just returns with a chuckle. "Just call me by my name," she says with a rolling of her eyes.

He stares at her and she returns the stare, reading it and unlacing her arms with an incredulous look on her face. "Touya, do you not know what my name is?" she asks him with a scoff. He turns his head away from her. "Seriously?" she raises her voice. "I've known you for six years and you don't know my name?"

"What does it matter?" Touya scoffs at her. "You're my Fatty,"

"I'm not a fatty!" she snaps at him. "Ugh you're ruining everything!" she groans as she runs her fingers through her hair.

"What am I ruining?" he asks her.

"You're winning all the stupid tickets so Haruto can't win a giant plushie for me and you forced me into this stupid gondola with you when I wanted to be in it with him!"

"Why do you even like him? He sounds like a real dirtbag," he mumbles.

"Why do you care?" she sends right back at him and he doesn't have an answer for her. She rolls her eyes at his lack of response as his turquoise eyes look out the window.

From this vantage point, he sees the green-haired boy kissing the blue-haired girl on a bench a few stands away from the Ferris Wheel. He takes in a labored breath as he says, "He's cheating on you."

Her eyes glare daggers into him as she tightens her jaw at his accusation. "You're such an asshole, Touya," she spits out with a venomous tone.

He closes his eyes wishing the image away, but when he opens them, he's still there. "Look," he tells her.

She's hesitant at first, and he knows that she is worried about what she will see. She knows the idiot is cheating on her, but if she witnesses it in front of Touya, she won't be able to deny it any further than she already has.

After a moment of hesitating, she finally turns her head and her eyes catch the scene. Touya looks away from them and onto her to see the hurt look in her eyes. Her brows turn downwards, her lips tug into a frown, and her eyes begin to water at the edges.

She turns away from the two and bites her lip to stop it from quivering.

"He's an ass, forget about him," he says, hating seeing her like this, and needing to say something to her.

"It's so stupid," she says as she looks up at the roof of the gondola as a tear falls past her lashes, but she quickly swipes it away before it touches her cheek. She shakes her head slightly as she hugs her arms around her stomach.

Touya contemplates hugging her or saying something to her to make her feel better, but he's completely frozen at the sight of her crying in front of him.

"I just had this idea in my head," she begins with a sniff, "of getting on the gondola at sunset, when the clouds in the sky look like cotton candy, and having my first kiss up at the top with a view of all of Japan around me," she says with a shaking voice.

Touya blinks at her. "But you've already had your first kiss," he tells her in a matter-of-fact tone.

"No, I haven't," she furrows her brows at him.

"Yes, you have! I kissed you when we got married!" he challenges her.

"That doesn't count, Touya!" she snaps at him. "That was just a stupid game."

His shoulders slug downwards. It was never a game to me.

"I can't believe him," she murmurs under her breath. "He had to ruin everything."

Touya looks over at her, seeing how angry and tight her body is. He glances out the window to see the sun setting in the horizon as it paints the sky with blues and purple-pink clouds that do look like cotton candy. From here, they really can see all of Japan.

He turns to her, seeing the soft light paint her face in a way that he's never seen her in. He sees her lips moving but he can't hear a thing that she's saying because all he can focus on his how pretty she looks right now. He feels a lump building in his throat and his palms getting increasingly sweaty, but he knows that he has to make a move, or he will regret it for the rest of his life.

Touya stands up and moves towards her, rocking the gondola they're in. She glances up at him and before she can inquire in why he's standing, he takes her face into his hands and presses a kiss to her lips.

Her eyes widen in shock and her body stiffens at his action. For a moment she is frozen in surprise at the boy that never seemed to give her a second thought. But soon her body melts into his hold, and her lips move and meld against his.

He pulls away from her, sitting back in his seat as he is unable to look into her wide doe eyes. "There," he says with a sheepish sigh as he turns his head from her to hide the blush on his face. "Now stop complaining."

She scoffs at his response, but she doesn't argue with him because she knows that it meant as much to him as it did her. "Thanks, Touya," she smiles up at him.

He pouts his lips out in a display to show fake coolness as he turns from her to look at the perfect cotton candy skies. "Yeah whatever, Fatty," he says with a lazy wave of his hand.