; 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐊 ## t.shoto x (gender neutral) reader

00.

— SOBS could be evidently heard from the ten year old todoriki shoto's room.

he had just finished another day of hard, merciless training on his fragile body.
that day particularly, his father didn't seem to be in a good mood — something about him not
being able to scout as many sidekicks as he originally wanted.

he lashed out all his stress and anger on his youngest son.
the day's training was tougher than others; shoto's body not being able to handle the drastic change in routine, fainted during the close combat fight.

endeavour was even more mad than he already was, to say the least.

"GET UP, WEAKLING. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THIS, HOW DO YOU PLAN ON BECOMING THE NUMBER ONE HERO?"

no response was heard from shoto, hands clenching his stomach and loud pants  from him filled the room.
endeavour let out a scowl and directed a harsh kick at his face.

the boy was thrown further away and let out a cry of pain, rolling around in the dirt, clutching his stomach harder.

"GET UP THIS INSTANT."

no response, again.

"STOP! STOP IT! PLEASE! HE CAN'T HANDLE IT ANYMORE!"

his mother came running from the kitchen, tears sliding down her face after seeing her precious son's broken state.

"STAY OUT OF THIS YOU USELESS BEING."

"PLEASE! JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

she pleaded, clutching onto endeavour's left arm, hoping to get some sort of mercy from him.
agitated, he lit up his flames and threw her, her back hitting the nearest wall.
her body lay there, unmoving.

endeavour took a glance at shoto and let out a 'tch' before folding his arms together and walking out of the room.

the two other older siblings who saw the whole scene unravel from the door, quickly moved out of the way when they saw endeavour heading towards them.
he ignored their presence and continued walking towards his room, head held up high and a frown on his flame lit face.

fuyumi immediately ran towards her mother, making sure she was okay while natsuo went towards shoto to pick him up and carry him off to bed, a sad smile plastered on his face while doing so.

"it's okay, shoto. everything will be okay soon."

—

shoto woke up a few hours later, a sharp pain near his waist area.
he got up from his bed only to hear his parents fighting, seemingly over him.

"HIS BODY CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! HE'S JUST A SMALL KID! LET HIM BEHAVE LIKE ONE!"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME HOW TO RAISE HIM. YOUR PURPOSE IN THIS HOUSEHOLD IS TO CLEAN, COOK FOOD AND LOOK AFTER THE OTHER TWO USELESS KIDS. I HANDLE SHOTO AND OTHER THINGS."

both of their voices could be heard throughout the hall.
before shoto could go in and interfere the scene in front of him, his sister escorted him back to his room saying that their argument will only last for a while.

they both stopped in their tracks after hearing their mother's ear-piercing scream.
both their mouths were held agape, small tears were seen prickling shoto's eyes.
fuyumi clenched her eyes close, covering her younger brother's ears before continuing to speed walk shoto to his room.

she bid him goodnight and headed on to her room.
for the next hour shoto sat near his door and cried his heart out.
he didn't want anyone to hurt anymore, especially his mother who showered him with all the love in
the world.

—

he opened his eyes the next morning to find himself in the same position as he was in last night.
his eyes took some time to adjust to the bright sunlight emitting from a window directly facing his door.

a knock.

shoto moved away from the way and opened the door for whoever was waiting on the other side of the door.
opening the door with a creak, he saw his mother.
her face had a few slap marks and a few burn marks could be seen on her palms, seemingly from the previous night.

"ah! shoto! you've already woken up."

he gave a nod as a response. despite the physical pain she felt all over her body, she gave him a smile.

"tell me, shoto, would you like to come and learn how to ice skating with me? your father canceled
training for today and i used to skate a lot when i was your age!"

the boy's face immediately lit up; eyes glowing and a huge smile adorning his small face.
he rapidly nodded his head and tackled his mother into a hug.

she let out a hearty laugh at his antics and held him in a warm embrace.
in that moment, it was only two of them with no one to destroy their peace.

but happiness doesn't last forever, right?