Guild Master here again, again.

All capitalization errors have been fixed on the main site!

Those who found it difficult to read with the error can now enjoy the content without it getting in the way.

If you wish to get ahead of the content here on Fanfiction, go visit my site. A friend had been kind enough to finance the project as I started my creative ventures and the extra traffic would really help us out. It's all free and chapters already done exist there for you to read.

Check it out.

Guildmastersden and then .com

The world found itself in a strange situation after the situation regarding the Paranormal Liberation Front.

Many were now aware of the affairs of the world that were now involved with the Emergency Security Department. What used to be background activities of the ESD were now front and center of the public eye.

All of the public were nervous about their well being and saw results in only one sanctioned part of public protection. Only the ESD were the ones who were so diligent in providing the public with the security they once sought from the heroes that defended them. Hearing that the ESD kept the heroes from failing their task instilled a deep insecurity that heroes weren't even capable of being appropriate public protectors.

One incident had Best Jeanest, a hero who was perceived to be missing in action, apprehending a group of villains that were all too eager to take advantage of the current chaos. As he rendered the villains to the proper authorities, his eyes could easily pick out those in the crowd who wanted the ESD to be present for the arrest. These people were finicky in the ways of who were the designated protectors of modern society.

There was an attack on Shinjuku that led a local hero to respond to the attack. His arrival to the scene made him out to be the late responder as the ESD were already establishing control on the current scene.

"Wash! Thank you for your services! We feel indebted to your arrival."

"Bullshit! He came when it was most convenient! What the hell did he do to help?!"

Civilians who were upset at the late arrival of the hero were all kept at a safe distance from the hero by the ESD themselves. These people never took pride in the work they did to help the public. It even fell upon the ESD to protect heroes from the public outcry that put the heroes at odds and ends from what the ESD did as a division.

One hero that had years of experience in the field resigned in light of recent events that compromised what he felt were appropriate challenges. His press conference had many ESD publicists calm the public opinion on the hero's abrupt retirement. This then led into the question of what the heroes of current society had to offer if even government funded protection had to cover the asses of said heroes. An indignity that the people of the country wanted answered for in light of the near failure of heroes in general.

A hero who was in the brunt of the public eye, still couldn't believe what he saw after such crushing defeat at the hands of just one individual. This defeat changed so much of what he thought what a hero was meant to be.

Several Days Ago

Lying on the ground after being beaten into submission put Endeavor in a compromising position. His role as the number one hero of the country demanded that he get back up and fight.

That will of being a better hero than others still didn't prepare him for what he had to face as he returned to consciousness.

Coming to, Endeavor saw the rain come down on him as someone else approached him from out of the rain. He alone was the only one conscious enough to hear what the stranger dressed in all black said when they approached the hero.

"... Hey dad."

That alone put Endeavor as the sole recipient of whatever was being said.

"I always imagined how much I would scream and shout at you when I would see you again… But he was right… I feel nothing."

More of the truth poured out of the person who kept speaking to him as the rain kept pouring.

"You don't have to matter to me. I can choose that for myself."

Those words stung for Endeavor. Whoever was speaking had quite the influence on the hero.

"Goodbye, dad. I hope you find something better for yourself."

Present Day

Lying in the hospital bed that the medical professionals put him in, Endeavor felt himself waste away as the memory of who spoke to him. This kept eating at him as his memories of being a father added to the burden of who he was in the past.

His guilt as a human being was just now starting to bear down on him. This revelation of him being a selfish human being revealed many memories of a past he wanted to forget. Things that he wanted to avoid in order to create the illusion that he deserved the goals he thought he achieved.

"D-"

Before he could properly identify who entered his hospital room, Endeavor saw his youngest son open the door and then argue amongst his siblings ove what needed to be done next. The moment of vulnerability that he displayed was shared with his children. This moment then stretched on and uprooted more about the man than he was comfortable with. It introduced things that were outside of his realm of development.

"I created a monster… My own flesh and blood, which I failed… I can't… I just…"

"You can't what?"

From the entrance of his hospital room came the woman who he wronged from the very beginning. The one person Endeavor knew he wronged from the start.

"... Rei?"

"... Yes, it's me."

The one person who commanded so much respect out of the former number two hero of the country. With so many of his children next to her, Rei knew that this was more than just applying some sort of dominance in her marriage. This visit put so much of her struggles with Endeavor that exceeded her relationship with the difficult man.

Many Years Ago

The start of the marriage felt nothing short of a business transaction that put Endeavor as the winner of the deal.

His wife to be had been a person in her own right, yet this ideal didn't measure up to the goal he had in mind. She still didn't measure up to what he saw as an appropriate goal for him to pay any attention to.

One walk next to a pond had his wife interact with a man he felt embittered about after seeing her interact with him after twenty minutes. His presence made Endeavor feel defensive with how well they bonded with the woman he was to be wed with.

This one interaction created a friendship that bonded his wife to the person he would come to truly hate. What grew from this then evolved further into a complicated history that put Endeavor as the villain of the family. Someone who puts more obstacles up than removes them.

All the children who were born to the Todoroki name were all well looked over. It had been out of the desires of only one person that this delicate balance found itself shattered.

When Shoto was born, there were three people in the family who would be forever changed by his existence. The perfect balance between Rei and Endeavor's quirks cast aside Touya as the one to inherit his father's mantle of becoming a hero.

Since then, his oldest son felt like a stranger to Endeavor. All the lessons that he put into the child from the very beginning were out of his desire to see something that would exceed the development he found himself unable to grow past. This goal he once had for the naive Touya created the perfect storm that one man needed to prevent. A storm that needed to be addressed by those who knew better

It was the one day that the boy finally snapped that things kept getting worse for the family.

Many times, Nakamura brought Touya back home after treating the child for burn wounds in the past. Every single interaction between Endeavor and Haru threatened to escalate to a full blown fist fight as Nakamura berated the father repeatedly for being so horribly neglectful of the boy. These arguments were only diffused when somebody else in the family approached the two men. On more than one occasion they would already be trading blows outside of the house by the time Rei would come to break them up.

Haru always knew where to find the oldest son. In the forest nearby the family estate, Nakamura would catch the boy continuously practicing his quirk to push its limits. He would stay with the boy and talk with them until they were ready to come home.

Inside, Haru felt helpless as he tried his best to be there for the lost soul. Knowing what it felt like to feel inadequate to those you looked up to put him as the only person who would be able to share the emotions that plagued Touya. Much of their time was spent just sitting in silence as Touya took comfort in knowing he wasn't completely alone in his misery.

He would always regret not doing something else. To say something to the child that would give them the courage to look past their need for their father's approval. This would be the first time Haru failed the family, though little did he know that it wouldn't be the last either.

In the early years of Touya's life, both he and his father were in the hallway of their family estate while Endeavor looked upon his child with fear in his heart.

Even more scars were present on his son's body. They were increasing with every passing day after the birth of the most recent Todoroki. Much of Endeavor's methods in raising his children had him put those he valued the most on a pedestal. He thought it was all to develop the potential his children possessed from within. Short sightedness on Endeavor's part made him ignorant of the consequences of depriving a child of the love they once held as the sole purpose of their existence. It was all Touya knew before Shoto had taken his place as the favorite.

"Why… Why won't you look at me, Endeavor?"

Using his father's hero name caught the man by surprise. A dream that he felt was his purpose had been stolen from him. His whole world, gone in a puff of smoke.

"Look at me, Endeavor!"

In a moment of blind rage, Touya vaulted over his father's squatting form and lunged for those who were silently looking on from the background. One person in particular had the ire of his wrath more than the others. Rei had the infant Shoto cradled in her arms while Natsu and Fuyumi were huddled around the corner at the terrible sight of their older brother acting in such a deranged manner.

A flaming hand reached out for the baby that he saw as the one that took away everything he held near and dear to his heart. His arm was caught by someone before he could even manage to get close enough to Rei.

Dropping off Touya again to the Todoroki household, Haru had been outside while smoking to help calm his nerves. Watching a boy like Touya become so broken up over his father's neglectful behavior had him angry enough to just drop off the boy without facing anyone in the home. He wasn't even sure if Rei could stop him if he laid eyes upon Endeavor.

Things were starting to feel wrong for him when he overheard the shouting in the home. Picking his concern over his anger, Nakamura snuffed his smoke before entering the family home uninvited. This choice ended up paying off as he saw Touya suddenly leap past his father with malicious intent to hurt Shoto.

Hanging from his arm, Touya looked up at the man who stopped him from making a horrible mistake.

"... N… Naka-"

There were so many tears in his eyes as the child realized what he was about to do. That break in his heart was more than enough reason for Haru to bring the boy into a hug while carrying the boy in his arms.

One arm kept Touya up while the other gently cradled the child's head against his shoulder. Haru's long sleeved shirt had tears, mucus, and saliva staining a spot on his right shoulder as he kept whispering to the boy that it was alright. Babbling out apology after apology was all Touya could do as he sobbed pitifully against the man who saw how agonizingly empty they felt.

"Shhh, shhh; It's okay. It'll be okay. I see you just fine, kiddo. You are seen. You really are…"

He took the broken up Touya to a different room in the house. Neither Rei or Endeavor approached the man who prevented a tragedy taking place inside of their own home for quite some time. Only the sounds of sniffling and gentle words indicated to the rest of the Todorokis that the two were even still in the house. Nakamura asked Rei where the boy's bedroom was before tucking the child into the sheets. Standing in the doorway, Rei saw what should have been Endeavor take one last sorrowful look at Touya as he wished the child sweet dreams. Haru clicked the lights off as he exited the room.

It felt so jarring to the mother for how quickly the saddened man who clearly cared for someone who wasn't even his own to the oppressive wrath that could be felt coming off of him like a river's flow. He didn't even see Rei as his eyes started to turn down the hall for one person he wanted to fuck up more than anything.

She had to push back Nakamura a bit and pull his gaze down to her to get him to snap out of his rage. Those eyes which she knew to be so loving when looking at her and the children were terrifying to look at as they were now searching for the one person Nakamura wanted to personally kill with his bare hands.

"Haru! Haru, stop! Please, stop for just a moment! The kids are still here!"

Finally, Rei managed to get the man to stop hunting for her husband. For a few moments, Nakamura simply stood there with his head drooping downwards. It hadn't been intentional when she realized how close she and Haru were when she managed to stop him in his tracks. She had both harms on his broad chest while the musk of his cologne gave her a faint lightheadedness with every breath she took in. When she started to back away ever so slightly, Haru spoke in a hushed voice that she could hear from how close she was already.

"... I could have done something."

Looking back up at him revealed how forlorn Haru looked as he reflected on the many times he found the child all alone. All those chances for him to step in and just say something. Alas, there was one significant barrier that prevented him from approaching the child about such matters. One detail that kept him away from interfering with this family.

He wasn't actually a part of it.

Fighting the urge to just guide Touya felt impossible to do every time he was reunited with Touya. Seeing how much of that bright and ambitious boy was being starved because of their father. All he could do was offer his sympathies along with his open ears to alloy the boy to vent. After their energy drained itself dry, Haru would then treat the boy's injuries to the best of his abilities before going to drop him off back at home.

If only he told the boy something different. If only he intervened and made it his business to interfere. Those two words drove him absolutely insane for how much they weighed heavily on him now.

If only…

"... I know."

These two stood there in absolute silence, wallowing in their guilt over how their inaction had left Touya starved for a new purpose in life. Rei bumped her forehead against Nakamura's chest and silently shared in the misery of failure with the man who had no responsibility for what happened in the first place.

Five Years Later

Now that Touya had been given a few years to straighten himself out, the same maddening torture he put himself through all those years ago found itself petering out in frequency. There were still times where he would sneak off to the mountains and keep developing his abilities in secret, yet none of it filled the void left behind by his father. For the most part he managed to remain on good behavior and even looked to be acting normal for the most part. Very few people knew about the embittered glare Touya would give one section of his own home whenever it came into view.

His obsession over his father's affection even started to keep him up at night. Natsu even had to listen to his older brother late into the night about the thoughts that plagued Touya. One night, he was far too tired after another night of being awoken by his brother for another restless sleep.

"Bro… I promise I'll listen to you tomorrow; but can't we just sleep this off for tonight?"

Touya took great offense to a kind request given by the younger brother. Being so single minded put all other thoughts disagreeing with him as the enemy.

"You're telling me to buzz off, too? Only you get me, right?! All the women in this house are just worthless!"

Stomaching the incessant nights of being woken up was something Natsu could easily stomach. That one comment about his mother and sister went too far. A punch erupted from under the sheets as Natsu started a fight with his older brother for him to take it back. It got bad enough that Endeavor needed to get involved to break them up.

Ever since then, a wedge had been driven between the two brothers. One felt isolated and betrayed, while the other felt angry and bitter. This still paled in comparison to the one that Touya tried to drive between himself and his mother.

Rei saw her son start to pick back up on his self training more and more as the winter for the year started to settle in. His lack of interest in talking about his personal life in combination with his cagey aggression were plenty enough evidence that he started back up on some old habits. With nothing else at her disposal, Rei tried to confront the teenage Touya as he was about to leave to go outside by himself again.

As expected, he told her off while trying to wrench his jacket free from her grasp. She tried to do what she could to share her feelings with her child. Giving her son her words of wisdom only set him off from his already unstable grasp of normalcy.

"What the hell do you know, mom?"

A bitter bite at the last word in that question dug deep into Rei. This boy had finally put it out for all to see and let his anger dictate what he did or said.

"I know grandma's family was poor. They sold you off so that they could live some sort of crappy retirement. I don't need you to spout some parenting book bullshit to me when you're just as guilty for all this!"

The sliding door was pulled open by Touya as he shot his mother the insult he had saved for her. He turned to exit, only to bump into someone standing in his way outside of the doorway. Stumbling back a meter or so, Touya caught himself from falling to look at who it was that blocked his exit. He fell deathly silent as Rei also noticed who it was that had been standing outside the Todoroki home when the teenage boy spoke his mind. Standing in the boy's way was the one person he didn't want to hear what he had said to Rei. Anybody else felt better than him.

Silence sat in the air like lead as Haru looked at Touya with a deathly serious look on his face. The child didn't know what to say or do in the face of Nakamura after he heard Touya badmouth his own mother.

"N-N… Nakamu-"

"Follow me. Now."

He didn't need to raise his voice to get Touya to follow him. Rei could only watch with a look of pure shock at what her son just said to his own mother. How she managed to get her son to hate her that much escaped her at that moment. She slumped to the floor as her heart began to break ever more slightly than it already had.

Meanwhile, both of them were already walking a dirt trail that Touya knew very well at this point in his life. He knew that this path would take them up to the spot in the mountain he frequented for his training. Why it was that Nakamura voluntarily brought the boy up to this place escaped the boy. For how much of their time was spent in this spot, Haru made it abundantly clear to Touya how much he hated to see the boy there. He knew that finding Touya there would usually mean that the boy would be sporting more self-inflicted burn wounds.

Arriving at the familiar clearing was Nakamura and Touya. Haru sat on an elevation while shuffling through the plastic bag he brought along with him. It had been hanging from the man's arm since his first appearance at the Todoroki home. This was the first time that Haru interacted with the bag since his arrival.

All it had inside of it were just a few boxed lunches and drinks. He placed one box where he wanted Touya to sit; right next to him.

"Sit."

It hurt how Nakamura didn't look at him. Touya wasn't even sure if he wanted to know what that would feel like with how serious that look on the man's face was. Being on the opposite end of that expression would have felt far worse than being the target of such a harsh stare.

Both sat in silence as they ate their meals. Inside of the lunchbox meant for Touya was an assortment of his favorite dishes. Nakamura came to visit to have lunch with the boy in particular.

Once in a while, the strangely generous man came over to visit the Todorokis while bearing gifts when he arrived. That gift usually entailed him treating the kids to a delicious meal he made custom to each child. Sometimes he would make meals for all of them, with Endeavor throwing a fit over how he thought the training he gave his son was being interrupted by Nakamura. Haru didn't give a shit about the man over something so minor as a meal. Police were strangely unhelpful in keeping Haru away from his property.

Other times, he would only treat one of them to talk to the child about any issues that were bothering them. Unknown to even Endeavor were the phone calls that Rei made in secret to Haru. Endeavor's paranoia drove him to isolate Rei to an unhealthy degree; making Nakamura one of the few windows into the outside world.

Touya now found himself isolated with the man he deeply wished he didn't disappoint. Finding Haru on the other side of the door after yelling all those depraved things at Rei only served to make the current situation even more nerve wracking.

"...N-"

"Eat first. Then, we'll talk."

Even though his appetite felt ruined just a moment before now, tasting the custom meal put into perspective how little he's eaten for the past few days. The whole thing disappeared within minutes.

Nakamura still kept eating at a leisure pace, even after Touya finished his meal. Sipping idly at his water bottle, Touya sat in silence until Haru spoke while eating.

"... Is she so useless to you? Even after all the tears she's spilled for you? After all the love she invested in you?"

"Nakam-"

"Don't…"

He never spoke above a calm tone. This didn't detract how much presence he had as Touya simply obeyed the command without question. Unlike his father, Haru was someone he didn't want to cross.

"She was on your side from the very start. She never asked to be sold off like property when she married your father. What you did…"

Popping sounds came from the chopsticks that Haru had been using to eat his meal. Touya watched as the wooden eating instruments slightly bent in the man's grip.

"... I understand how you feel. But still, do you think that it justifies what you did? Can you tell me that you were in the right to do something like that to my face?"

Returning his eyes upon Nakamura's face told Touya how the man that never abandoned the boy truly felt.

Never has he ever seen an adult look so vulnerable in his entire life.

"... You know I'm never one to compare people, but I can't just sit here and listen to all this."

The last morsel was quickly swallowed on Haru's plate before he shut the box and got up from where he sat. Watching on in confusion, Touya saw Nakamura start shedding the jacket he wore before he started to shed the white t-shirt he had on as well.

"You think that all this is your need to live. Why don't we compare what it means to think you need something to survive…"

Turning to Touya; Nakamura looked like something that Touya saw in a story book one time when he was still seven. It registered that Haru looked like the illustration of a brave warrior he thought was extremely powerful just by looking at him. That picture was a cartoon in comparison to the actual visage of someone who was a true warrior at heart. Muscles that were seemingly made of steel cables rippled under the skin that covered Haru.

"... Versus what it means to actually survive?"