Our Broken Family

The Ugly Truth

Touya Tododroki could still remember the day he lost his hero. Until that day, he'd never thought about how harsh his training was; not until it was his baby brother on the receiving end. Hearing Shoto crying out in pain had put everything into perspective. Touya could see the truth now, and his respect for the man burned to ash. His hero, his father, was no one to look up to. These were the thoughts running through his mind as he snuck up to the training room.

Touya stood just outside with wide eyes as the truth he used to deny once again slapped him in the face. He listened in as his baby brother coughed and cried as their mother tried to intervene, begging their father to stop.

"Please! He's only five years old!"

"He can take it. Out of my way!" The sound of a slap brought tears to his eyes, but Shoto's scared, "Mommy?" was what had him running through the door to his mother's side on the floor.

"Mom!?" Touya rested a hand on her shoulder as she held her cheek, "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm alright, sweetheart," she looked back to her eldest son, giving him a weak smile, "It's okay, Touya."

The fifthteen year old bit his lip as he looked up to his father, who had already returned his attention to Shoto. 'No. No it's not okay. How did I ever think that this was okay? That that man was a hero?' he wondered, as his baby brother, still crying, wobblily stood back up.

When Shoto had first developed his quirk, Touya had thrown a huge temper tantrum, nearly burning his brother in the process. He'd known that his father would give up training him to focus all his attention on his baby brother. Touya knew better now, he had been the lucky one, not Shoto.

"Mom," he whispered, "I'm gonna distract him. You wait for an opening and get Shoto out of here"

"Touya"

"Please, Mom," he turned his gaze back to her, "I'll be okay." He didn't give her the chance to answer as he stood and made his way over to his father, "Dad?"

Enji barely glanced at him before once again returning to Shoto, "Not now. Take your mother and get out so Shoto can get back to his training."

Touya balled his fists and stepped between him and his brother, glaring into his father's eyes, "No. Shoto has had enough for today. He's just a kid!"

"You will not talk back to me!" he'd wanted his father's full attention and he got it, "I won't have you interfere with my masterpiece's training! Now, do as you're told!"

"No!" Touya shouted back, "He's not your 'masterpiece'! He's your son, my brother, and a human being! I won't let you push him as hard as you did me!" He heard shuffling behind him as his mother grabbed Shoto and rushed out of the room.

"You're weak and a failure! Shoto is my masterpiece! He'll be the number one hero, the one to surpass All Might!"

"Guess you'd have to settle for that, since you'd never be able to do it yourself!" Touya never saw the slap coming; one moment he was standing, the next he was hitting the floor.

"DON'T YOU EVER DISRESPECT ME, BOY!" A moment of silence passed as Enji finally noticed Rei and Shoto's absence. He glared down at his eldest son, "Let this serve as a lesson. Interfere with Shoto's training again, and you will be punished. He's my perfect masterpiece, and there's no amount of training that can erase your weakness. You've always been a failure, and you always will be." With that he stormed out of the room, leaving Touya crying on the floor.

And first chapter done!

Thank you for reading!