strangled

¹⁶representation of red koi

fourteen years prior

Shouto was having an incredibly hard time trying to keep up with the older girl his father forced him to fight.

He had already been told by Enji that your quirk was strong. The spar was supposed to occur with no usage of quirks. That made him only a bit more confident that he might actually win this time. He can't deal with another loss.

His father was standing outside the ring, observant blue eyes watching his every move. There was no way he could allow himself to lose.

Yet, somehow, even without your quirk being utilized, you were able to move like a superhuman. Shouto just couldn't keep up.

Your reflexes were on a higher tier than he could ever attempt to compete with. Every punch he threw got blocked or swatted away by your arms. Then, a noise of pain would emerge from his mouth when a counter strike landed on one his weak points. If he didn't figure out a way to turn this fight around Enji definitely would punish him harshly for losing... to a girl.

A roundhouse kick to the head sent the little boy flying to the corner of the ring. His back slammed into the ropes, spine making a gruesome cracking sound upon impact.

"(F/n), you are rather skilled in hand to hand combat."

Enji's booming voice pulled you out of the fighting mindset you put yourself into. It's a mentality where you ignore everything, your surroundings, your thoughts, even your opponent. Only focusing on where the little boy's hands and legs would try to attack. Nothing else matters more in this situation than keeping the upper hand in the ring. That's what you had been taught by--

"I've only been training you for a few months and you are showing improvements."

"I was already excelling before I came here, Mr. Endeavor. Though, I am still very appreciative of you training me."

"Don't call me Mr. Endeavor." The ginormous man gets into the ring to rest a huge hand on your shoulder. His agitated glare bores into your uninterested one. "Enji is fine."

You shake your head. "I'd rather stick with the formalities, sir. I don't want to intrude on the family. You remind me almost everyday that I'm not truly apart of it."

He firmly nods, turning his back to you so he can glower down at his bruised son. "Good..."

"I-I'm sorry!" Shouto screamed apologizes. The corners off his lips twitched as his eyes started to pool with tears. He wrapped his arms tight around his body as if he was trying to shield himself from the older man. "I tried! I tried as hard as I could! Please don't be mad!"

Endeavor yelled so loud that you and Shouto flinched, "WELL IT WASN'T ENOUGH!"

Shouto broke out into sobs. As he rubbed his overflowing eyes with the backs of his hands, his voice came out strained and raspy because of how dry his throat was.

"I-I want to go to mommy! Please let me go to h-her!"

Enji yanked his youngest son up by the collar of his t-shirt. A whimper of fright echoed through Shouto's throat. His father kept lifting him until his feet were dangling in the air. The scowl on Enji's face was a sight engraved into your mind. That look was always directed at one of his children. Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, Shouto... every single day they received a undeserved blaze of hatred from their father.

He never looked in your direction with the expression.

Which only annoyed you.

What type of man treats a partial stranger better than his own family, his own blood. The Todoroki children were never disrespectful. They never gave him a reason to be so aggressive. Even Touya--who always got treated terribly by the man--admired him more than anything else.