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It was the screams that drew Touya’s attention. He pushed his chair back with an alarming speed and tore the door of his room open. He sprinted towards the kitchen, and pulled the sliding door open with such force it was almost torn out of its place.
The sight that greeted him made his stomach lurch. In the middle of the kitchen there was his mother with his baby brother in her arms, desperately squeezing her hand onto the left side of his face with her quirk activated – the side that had their dad’s characteristics. The woman were chanting ’I’m sorry!’ as if it was a mantra that would solve everything. Of course, it didn’t.
For a brief moment, Touya turned his eyes away from them and what he saw made his eyes widen. Not far away from them, there was the tea knettle, hot water still dribbling from it. The pieces slowly, but surely came together, and he had to grab the door if he didn’t want to collapse to the ground.
When he looked back at them, the realization hit him like a truck. In that moment, the little boy on the floor was not Endeavor’s puppet. He was not the chosen one. He was not the one he was so jealous of that in his darkest moments he wanted to kill him. He was just a small child being abused by the person who should’ve protected him at all costs.
Touya felt anger bubbling up in his chest, directed at the person he never would’ve thought he would ever be angry at. He stepped into the kitchen, and walked up to them. As his shadow hovered over them, Rei looked up at him, her pupils blown wide, unfocused. Touya opened his mouth to speak up which already made his mother flinch. Somehow, he couldn’t feel bad about it in that moment.
”What the hell have you fucking done?!” He asked, drawling Shouto’s attention on himself. When he saw the angry, red scar on his little brother’s face, something in him snapped. He snatched Shouto away from their mother, pulling him close to his chest.
”Touya-nii,” the little boy sniffled, grabbing two fistfuls of his T-shirt.
”You should’ve protected him! You’re his fucking mother for fuck’s sake!” He yelled at the shaking woman, not being able to contain his anger anymore.
Out of the four of them, he was the one who looked like their father the most, but his mother had never tried to hurt him, not even once. Then why Shouto? Despite being the chosen one, he was only a small boy, and Touya knew better than anyone how traumatizing abuse in that young age could be. When his mother looked up at him, there were tears in his eyes, but what hit him the most were the words leaving her mouth.
”I’m sorry... Enji,” the woman whispered, and Touya felt the room turning upside-down.
He stormed out from there, taking his way towards Fuyumi’s room. He knew Shouto would be in good hands there. No matter how much he recoiled from the idea, he had to take care of his mother. He knew that what she had done was because of a mental breakdown – one that was long time coming – but it didn’t mean it was forgivable. He knocked loudly on his sister’s door, and when it was open, the girl let out a loud gasp.
”Oh my god! What happened to him?” She asked, trying to hold herself together.
”Mom had a mental breakdown,” Touya informed her, trying to push Shouto in her arms.
”No!” The little boy whined, cluching Touya’s cloth harder.
”Go in, I can handle mom,” Fuyumi said, ustering the inside. After the door was closed, Touya sat down on he bed, petting Shouto’s hair awkwardly.
”I’m sorry, Touya-nii,” Shouto mumbled into his chest, wetting his T-shirt with tears.
”For what?” The older inquired, trying to speak as gentle as possible.
”I made you hate me even more,” Shouto answered, and Touya felt a cold hand squeezing his heart. He didn1t think Shouto would pick on his feelings.
”I don’t hate you,” he started, and Shouto peeked up at him with wide, wet eyes. ”It’s complicated.”
”Uhu,” Shouto said with a nod, snuggling up to him again. It seemed like the knowledge of his big brother not hating him was enough for now.
As he was holding him in his arms, Touya realized something. He had not hated Shouto in the first place. He hated the situation his father enforced them in – himself feeling inferior, and directing his anger to someone who couldn’t do anything about how his life turned out. He pulled his baby brother closer to him, then kissed the top of his head.
In that moment he decided that no matter what would come, he would definitely leave his ill-feelings behind him, and would concentrate on protecting the little boy in his arms. There was no one else who would do it after all.