The quiet of the morning was probably the time that Shouto had come to cling to the most.
In that quiet, he could pretend that his life was different.
That it was many years ago when there were six people who lived in the house and that maybe his brother Natsuo would sneak into his room with a grin, that the two of them could sneak away and watch as the sun rose over the forest before Endeavor woke up.
That his mother would be making something in the kitchen when they come back in with Fuyumi helping her with her own blissful smile.
Touya there and ready to ruffle his hair but too tired to bother with his sharp and often spiteful grin.
Other times Shouto ponders a different world, one where Touya didn't die and it was Endeavor that never came out of the burning training building.
One where their mother came back, still cold and distant but Fuyumi was happy to make up for her, both Natsuo and Touya bickering in the morning over something or who got what first during breakfast.
It was peaceful but often bitter.
Cause as much as he wished that was his life, Shouto would have to open his eyes to his dark room and get himself up.
Which was a hard-fought battle most days, made harder some days by his training.
It was very tempting to just stay in his bed, to stay where he was and pretend the world just doesn't exist by pulling his blanket over his head.
But as life with Endeavor was, Shouto would never be allowed such a luxury as sleeping in.
Especially not the day of the recommended exam for U.A.
So, Shouto got up and dressed himself without needing to turn on the lights, getting ready for his early morning run and left his room.
Carefully creeping away as to not wake anyone and left the house.
The brisk cold of the pre-dawn rolled over him, that made him stop to just enjoy it for a moment, then pushed onwards to leave down the trail on the grounds.
His heart pumping by the time he finished, little puffs of condensation coming out of his mouth as he returned to the main house, disappointment leaching into him as once again he hadn't managed to catch sight of Natsuo.
Natsuo's job was important and Natsuo had to go to college, Shouto understood that.
But that didn't stop how his heart felt painfully restricted everyday he didn't see even so much as a glimpse of his brother.
Unease seeping under his skin to the point he couldn't feel like he could actually breathe until the next time he saw Natsuo.
"Good morning Shouto, did you have a good run?" Fuyumi cheerfully asked as she offered him a cup of tea.
"It was fine." Shouto muttered before drinking the cup as the two of them headed towards the kitchen.
He wasn't surprised that Fuyumi had prepared for this day, she often made him big breakfasts on the 'important' days, especially when she knew that Endeavor was expecting something out of him.
"That's nice, are you excited for the entrance exam?" Fuyumi asked as she placed a plate in front of him.
Shouto scowled back at her.
No, he was not and if he had any choice in the matter then he wouldn't take any exam for U.A, much less by Endeavor's recommendation.
Hell, up until last night his plan was to boycott the recommended exam.
Not wanting to allow Endeavor to have any measure of control over his future career as a hero.
But as he remembered last night, fear gripped his throat to a suffocating degree, and he clenched hands, heat and cold building in them unconsciously.
Endeavor had entered his room without knocking, in another attempt to tell him that he would be taking the exam tomorrow, Endeavor had made many such speeches to him.
That last time was very different though.
Endeavor didn't yell or scream about him holding back as he had done dozens of times before, he hadn't even grabbed Shouto in order to force Shouto to look him in the eye or corner him.
No, last night Endeavor made him a promise that made his heart drop, giving him a threat that Shouto feared he'd hear since the day his mother was sent away.
"If you don't take the number one spot in the exam, then I'll cut that disappointment off and finally disown him boy." Endeavor coldly told him before he left Shouto's room.
As much as Shouto hated the thought of playing along with Endeavor's plans, the idea of never seeing Natsuo again or to be the reason that Natsuo couldn't finish college made tears well up.
He hated this, and he hated Endeavor for taking just another thing away from him, that he was smart enough to know that he could threaten Natsuo to force Shouto to comply with his demands.
"Shouto?" Fuyumi called bringing out of his thoughts.
Shouto didn't bother answering her and just started eating his breakfast, Endeavor would be up soon to take him to the exam.
And as he expected, Endeavor came into the room, the sudden rise of the temperature unmistakable and Shouto fought not to flinch as Endeavor walked around his left-side.
Endeavor would force him to train more if he had.
To make up for what his mother had done to his left eye.
Endeavor wearing his hero costume first thing in the morning like always, his face and shoulders lit up with his flames.
Fuyumi's cheer became subdued in an instant, and the three of them quietly ate, Fuyumi's usual and weak attempts to talk with Endeavor forgone this time.
The meal was finished sooner rather than later, Endeavor up and ready to leave in that moment.
Shouto was tempted to stay but knew better than to actually try that today, instead getting up and walking after Endeavor.
"Good luck Shouto! I'm sure you'll get in!" Fuyumi shouted out in a rush, staying by the entrance of the kitchen instead of following them all of the way to the door.
"If you use your fire then you wouldn't need any platitudes." Endeavor told Shouto under his breath, not missing the chance to jab at Shouto's continued refusal to use Endeavor's fire.
Shouto glared back at Endeavor.
Never.
Shouto may have promised not to use Endeavor's fire initially because of how it drove his mother to the brink.
But he re-swore that promise the night Touya died.
No matter how much his mother's ice bit at his skin, even when the day comes the numbness of only using her ice would become permanent nerve damage, he would not even think about using Endeavor's fire.
Because no matter what anyone said, he would never use the same fire that killed Touya and was continually tearing his family apart.
Shouto wasn't dumb enough to say that though, he learned to hold his tongue on what he really thought the same day Touya died.
Touya had always been there to take the brunt of Endeavor's rage so that he and Natsuo could pretend they weren't Endeavor's children for a little while.
But Touya wasn't here now, so the ride to U.A. went on quietly without speaking a single word. And when they arrived, he hardly paid any attention to the many people they passed by, he'd seen most of the heroes here during other events and he wasn't any more interested in speaking with them now.
And he held even less interest for the dozens of people his age that he passed by walking through the building, brushing the few who approached him off very quickly.
Shouto knew from experience most of them were only looking for an in with Endeavor through him and he didn't want to waste his time entertaining them today.
It would hardly matter in the end, only one of the others here would be his future classmate, so there would be no use trying to analyze all of them, he would do that later when the classes had been made.
Shouto couldn't let his focus drift from what he needed to do.
He needed to take the top spot in the exam.
Shouto could not afford to fail today.
The wait for the exam to start was tedious and having to stand right next to Endeavor did not make it better, it was a bit of a relief when it was time to start the written portion of the exam, if nothing else than to get away from Endeavor.
His intensive studies were conducive to the test, well it was until it got to the last part of the papers.
200. In a rescue scenario of your choosing, please describe how you could help below.
That one had been more difficult for Shouto to answer, though he had put down that he could stabilize structures and put out or isolate fires with his mother's ice.
Endeavor's training had briefly gone over rescue heroes but there had been no real discussion of the topic beyond what was needed for his studies.
He highly doubted there would be much he could really do in such situations, his mother's ice wouldn't offer much help, Endeavor's fire would only make whatever disaster worse.
Shortly after the written exam was over, he was given a number to place on his shirt as one of the examiners explained the physical portion of the exam.
An outdoor race, the run would be shorter than his daily one and with his mother's ice he would be able to clear the obstacles with relative ease.
Allowing his chest to feel just a little less constricted as his ability to secure the number one spot became even more likely.
Shouto felt even more comforted when neither of the first two groups passed through that quickly, almost double the length of his morning runs in most of the examinees' cases.
"Alrighty folks, let's see numbers 31, 16, 56, 23, 14, and 41 head on over to the starting line for our next group." the loud blonde one called.
Shouto took his place at the starting line, more than ready to get this over with, he'd still need to do an interview but for the most part Shouto was just content knowing that Natsuo would not be thrown out when they returned home.
He glided past on his mother's ice as soon as the starting shot was fired, clearing half the field in seconds.
Then just as he was about to cross the line, there was the hairs brush of a strong gale beside him.
Shouto felt his entire body lock up as his heart immediately dropped.
The other examinee was coming over on his left so he couldn't see who ever it was but a feral desperate part of Shouto prayed to whoever was listening that whichever examinee that was making the wind, they weren't as close to him as he feared.
Only for his hopes to be immediately dashed as the examiner shouted out.
"By a hair! Number 41 finishes first!"
For a moment Shouto stood completely frozen.
This, this couldn't be happening.
Please, this could not be happening, he could not have gotten second place, not today, not now when Natsuo's future was counting on him.
Shouto could not have failed.
"All right! I won!" The excited cheer of the bastard that stole first from him broke Shouto from his haze.
The reality of his loss immediately struck him hard, and like a lit match to a pool of gasoline Shouto's entire body was possessed with rage.
He clenched his fists along with his jaw, one hand just short of building frost and the other itching to burst into flames.
It took just about everything inside of him not to immediately turn around and scream at the bastard when he began trying to be so overly friendly with him.
"Shut up." he hissed, making sure to keep his head angled away from the other.
He didn't want to know what the boy looked like.
He didn't want to look at the face of the bastard that cost him the only family he had left.
"I just have to pass this test. I wasn't competing with you or anything. You're in the way." Shouto spat at the other boy before quickly walking away from him, the urge to do something more fitting of Endeavor increasing the longer he was in the boy's presence.
Not taking first even if only by half a second would be a serious blow to his chances of taking the top spot.
Unless the bastard did poorly on the written test and upcoming interview Shouto's chances of getting first on the test would be completely wiped away.
Endeavor would throw a fit as soon as the two of them were alone and no doubt force him to use his fire once they got back, but if Shouto was still able to take the number one spot then Endeavor wouldn't take Natsuo from him.
Stopping at a corner, Shouto sat down and tucked his head into his knees to hide it as tears started to form in his right eye.
Praying to whoever that could be listening that when the letters came a week from now his name would be on the top of the scoreboard.
He didn't want to be alone.
Considering what we know of Shouto and his character before the sports festival, the idea of the him willingly taking the recommended exam where his father would have sponsored him and therefore had even more involvement in him being a hero just doesn't make much sense to me.
So, I asked myself what could Enji hold over Shouto's head to make him take the exam.
Couldn't be more forced training since Shouto would have been used to that and therefore not moved by such a threat.
He doesn't have anything like a computer which could be taken from him since that would have been a 'distraction'.
But we do know that Natsuo's equally spiteful about Enji keeping them apart and he's no longer in the family home.
Sure that could be because he's in college and maybe it's too far away to stay in the family home.
However that will not stop me from headcannoning that Enji threaten to throw Natsuo out or cut Natsuo off if Shouto doesn't take and get the first place in the recommended exam for U.A.