Trigger Warning:

- mention of domestic abuse

"Shouto, are you all right?" I hear my sister exclaim the moment I step through the door.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Sis."

"It's all over the news. A gang of villains attacked you and your classmates at the simulation joint. And they brought a creepy monster with them! Did they hurt you? Please tell me they didn't hurt you."

"Sis, I'm fine. They didn't land a scratch on me. Instead, I beat them at their own game. Froze the bunch of them."

She breathes a visible sigh of relief. "That's good. Natsuo is coming over tonight. He wants to check up on you. Make sure you're safe and ... that Dad hasn't been extreme with you."

"If there is one word to describe Endeavor, it's 'extreme.' Moderation isn't a word in his vocabulary," I grumble miserably.

"I know. But he wants to be a good big brother to you."

"I don't have a problem with that. But speaking of Endeavor, will Endeavor be dining with us tonight?"

"No, he was called for some hero work just an hour ago. He said it was regarding today's incident and that he won't be back tonight or tomorrow morning." Dammit! I had wanted to confront him tomorrow morning during training.

"Did he express any concern for his prodigal son when he found out about the incident?"

Fuyumi hesitates. "Shouto, ..."

She doesn't need to console me. I understand. "It's fine. After all, it would be out of character for Japan's Number Two hero to feel anything but anger and dominance toward someone. Even if it is his own son." Quickly dismissing myself, I stalk toward my bedroom.

I spend the next few hours completing my homework and studying for the upcoming science test. Just then, Natsuo arrives.

"Hey, Shouto!"

"Good to see you, Natsuo."

A few minutes later, Natsuo, Fuyumi, and I are sitting at the table, dining on katsudon pork cutlet bowls, plain rice with nori, miso-based soup, and yaki nasu. And because Natsuo has come after so many days, Fuyumi has prepared cream puffs as well. We make small talk for a while. Studies, hard classes, difficult professors, obnoxious children, dumb classmates, and the rest. Then Natsuo brings up the U.S.J. attack. "Are you all right, Shouto? You were safe, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I and a few of my classmates confronted the villains. We managed long enough for All Might to arrive."

"Is the monster thing true? Those villains brought some bioengineered creature to take down All Might?"

"That thing was hideous. Imagine a mad scientist made a cross between a bird and a human and gave it steroids. It was something straight out of a sci-fi movie."

"Damn. Did you fight that thing, too?"

"I froze its arm and leg. Decayed the whole limb structure, but the monster just regenerated it like it was nothing. One of my classmates punched the monster. He has a super-strength quirk, but it did absolutely nothing at all. It was like the abomination was made of rock or something."

Natsuo wants to ask me more, but Fuyumi's sullen face stops him from doing so. He changes the subject. "So, Shouto, did you make any friends?"

I wait a moment, considering just what I should and should not reveal. "Yeah, there's a girl. Hanada Selene. She's in the same class as I am. In fact, our seats are right next to each other. She walks with a cane, wears expensive, fashion-brand clothes, and decorates her hair with flowers, but she's a complete genius. A few days ago, the class had to participate in a mock battle trial. She challenged All Might and volunteered to be the villain. She ... she nearly won." I saw the last sentence with some wonder.

Natsuo's eyes widen so much they look like they're about to pop out of his skull any moment. "A girl with a cane went up against All Might? And almost won? Is this your lousy attempt at a story? If so, I'm not impressed. Tell me, in a battle between her and Dad, would she have a chance?"

There goes all the wonder I was feeling. "Why do you think I would lie about this? It's true. It was an intense battle, and All Might won, but he looked like a wreck at the end. Whereas Hanada-chan? She looked impeccable as always. And yes, she'd make a wonderful opponent for Dad" I realize that I just said "Hanada-chan." I should not have said that.

And curse my luck, Natsuo notices it. His eyelids droop halfway and he grins smugly. "Hanada-chan, huh? I don't remember you ever referring to anyone as kun or chan. It was always by their first name or something along the lines of 'Leave me alone. You're not worth my time.' This girl's special. Do you plan to ask her out on a date next?"

Sis is covering her mouth, admonishing Natuso but also trying to suppress a laugh, while I just sour further. "I wasn't rude. I didn't ignore anyone or give them the cold shoulder. Did I? But anyway, Hanada-chan is a friend. She's the first friend I've made."

The atmosphere in the dining room changes immediately. None of us say a thing. We're all remembering the same thing. Somehow, every travesty that occurs in our family always connects to Endeavor.

When I was five years old, I had started basic training with Endeavor and attended school. During these training sessions, he would force me to use both quirks - most of the time just the flame quirk - and hone my skills. Day and night, whenever there was time, I had to exert myself beyond the point of exhaustion.

I looked out the windows, watching my siblings play and have fun together, while Endeavor pulled my hand and dragged me away. He kept me isolated from my siblings, saying things like "I wasn't like them," "They're not nearly as special as me," and "It's for the best." He didn't stop there. The other person who was hurt just as much as I was my mom, the only person who advocated for me. Who pleaded with Endeavor to not push me so much and remember that I was a boy. A little, five-year-old boy. But he never listened. He pushed her away, sometimes verbally, sometimes physically. It left scars on my mind. Not long after, on my body. And thanks to the abuse at home, at school, I couldn't bring myself to say hello to anyone, let alone make friends with anyone.

I snap out of the memory. "She's a good person. Smart, witty, funny. I enjoy spending time with her. But she's going through a lot herself, even though she hides it. Her need for a cane is evidence enough."

"So you made friends with her because you sympathized with her? Someone in pain would understand your pain the best?" Natuso asks.

"... Yeah. When we had first met, I had only approached her solely to get information. But then I wanted to be her friend because she was suffering just like me. Not long after, I misused our friendship by following her. I even took flowers from her hair without her permission, just because I wanted to. It was selfish and cruel of me, but something in her just resonated with me. Even if that resonator was just pain." Not to mention that I underestimated her. My worst mistake yet. As I speak, I realize just how heartless I've been with her, even though I tried to be anything but heartless. I stare at the table, unable to meet my siblings' eyes. "And yet she treats me so much better. When we agreed to be friends, she gave me a daffodil and a yellow rose. At the welcome party, she stayed with me for as long as she could, so I wouldn't be bored. She had figured out herself that I was Endeavor's son, but she said she wouldn't talk about it unless I wanted to. And just recently, she invited me to eat lunch with her at her secret hideout." My next words are full of shame. "I'm despicable. I'm trying my best not to be like Endeavor, but I'm being just that. I'm not giving her the full respect and companionship she deserves." I hang my head down in shame and form a half-prayer gesture with my hands..

Natsuo doesn't say anything, but Fuyumi does. "Both of you have only recently become friends, right? You can make amends now. I know just how new friendships must be to you. So take my advice, Shouto. Treat her well. Just as you want someone to empathize with you, do the same to her. You said that she's in just as much, if not more, pain as you. She'll also want someone to care for her.

"You're not despicable, Shouto." She reaches over the table and places both hands on top of my own. I look up at her. "You never were. You never will be. You have me and Natsuo, who love you as you are. Mom and Dad love you, too, in their own way. And it's because we love you that we know you aren't like that. You don't show it much, but you have a lot of kindness in you. You care for us and want to stay connected to us. Give her some of that kindness, too."

I gulp in self-loathing and thankfulness. "Thanks, Sis," I whisper.

"Did you give her that lapis lazuli pendant?" she asks.

I totally forgot about that!

My silence is answer enough.

"Well, when you see her at school, give it to her. Start there."

My voice is thick with emotion.

"Okay, Sis."