Her Friendly Neighborhood Hero Academia

Ch14: Burn Wounds

Note: Hey everyone! Been a while! Just wanted to say a few things before getting started. First off thanks for reading this far! And a big thanks to everyone who has voted and saved this story to their reading lists!

Second of all, this chapter does contain some child abuse as it focuses on Todoroki's backstory... So if that does bother anyone I'd definitely skip to the beginning of the fight and I'm terribly sorry.

I hope you guys enjoy...

CHILD ABUSE CONTENT WARNING/DISCLAIMER: If you wish to skip, the first text in bold type is a good place to start.

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In every memory of my mother... I only see her crying.

Shoto took a deep breath in and began to clear his mind. All nonessential thoughts were momentarily erased as he exhaled, leaving only the thoughts of his past as his motivation. He began to mentally sift through the bitter memories that harboured his reservoir of anger and resentment.

He remembered all the times he was forced into isolation away from his brothers and sister.

"Ignore them Shoto... They are from a different world than the one I'm training you for... They're failures..."

More memories replayed in his mind... All of them were dreary and shrouded in sorrow and hatred.... For he had seemingly lost the ones that would truly help him... The ones of his mother before her breakdown.

He had forgotten so much of the things she used to say to him...

Instead, all he could see were the images of his father pushing and battering him at such an unbelievably young age.

He remembered the first and only time his mother had tried to step in and intervene as his five year old self was hunched over on his knees as he clutched his stomach. A large pool of vomit laid underneath him as more dripped from the edge of his quivering lips.... The result of a violent gut punch dealt to a child by a grown man. Tears streamed down his cheeks as there was no end in sight to the physical pain brought on by his training sessions with his father.

"Get up!!! You'll NEVER live up to your purpose if you get injured that easily!!!"

He tried to stand but his body had lost too much fluid, leaving him weak and shivering on the floor. He suddenly felt the foot of his father strike his ribs, forcing him to vomit once more, but he was too dehydrated for anything else to exit his body. Suddenly he heard the door open and he saw the feet of his mother move quickly in front of him.

"STOP IT!!! PLEASE!!! HE'S JUST A CHILD!!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!! YOU'LL KILL HIM!!!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!! HE CAN TAKE IT!!! HE HAS TO!!!

That particular memory made him mentally wince... But not as much as the next one...

The boy sat silently against the wall the training room as his father angrily cursed his mother for her actions. Bandages were wrapped around his head, covering his left eye. His mother had finally been pushed into madness. During her psychotic break, he had interrupted her phone call to her own mother pleading to be saved from her life of hell they had sold her into. In the midst of her meltdown, she grabbed the kettle from the stove and removed the lid... And slung the boiling contents inside onto his face, scalding his left eye.... It was the last time he would see her.

"Where did momma go?"

"She hurt my masterpiece, so I sent her to a hospital... She's an unnecessary risk at this point... We don't need her anymore."