The hospital room was thick with tension, the air so heavy it felt like it could crush anyone who dared to breathe. Hisashi Midoriya sat beside the bed, his hands trembling slightly as he looked over at Enji Todoroki-Endeavor-who was similarly bandaged and silent. The usually proud and towering figure of the Number One Hero seemed diminished, weighed down by something far heavier than the physical injuries he had sustained.
For a long while, neither man spoke, the only sound in the room being the faint hum of the hospital equipment. Finally, it was Hisashi who broke the silence, his voice low and strained.
Hisashi:Endeavor... Enji...
He hesitated, searching for the right words.
Hisashi:I don't know what to say. I've failed as a father, and now... now I've lost my son.
Enji looked over at Hisashi, his eyes dark and unreadable. He shifted slightly in his seat, wincing as the movement caused pain to flare up in his battered body. But the pain wasn't just physical-there was something deeper, something that had been gnawing at him for a long time.
"Hisashi," Enji began, his voice rough, as though the words were being dragged out of him.
Enji:We've both failed.
Hisashi looked at him, surprised.
Hisashi:What do you mean?"
Enji let out a long, slow breath, leaning back in his chair. He stared at the ceiling, his expression one of profound regret.
Enji:I failed my son, too. I failed Touya... Dabi. I was so obsessed with surpassing All Might that I pushed him beyond his limits. I... I drove him to madness, and in doing so, I lost him.
Hisashi's eyes widened as he listened. He had heard rumors about Endeavor's family troubles, but he had never expected to hear this kind of confession from the man himself.
Enji:And it wasn't just Touya
Enji continued, his voice thick with emotion.
Enji:I failed Shoto and Shiori, too. I thought... I thought if I just let them be, if I just stayed out of their way, they would grow up without the scars that I inflicted on Touya. I thought I was protecting them by being distant, by not interfering.
He clenched his fists, the knuckles turning white as the memories flooded back.
Enji:But I was wrong. So wrong. I ignored my children, just like you ignored Izuku. I let them become... well, too much like me. The arrogance, the superiority, the cruelty... They inherited it all from me. And I did nothing to stop it.
Hisashi listened, the weight of Enji's words pressing down on him like a ton of bricks. He had been so consumed with his own guilt, his own failures, that he hadn't considered that others might be going through the same thing. But hearing it from Endeavor-the man who was supposed to be the symbol of strength and victory-only made it all the more real.
Enji:I knew Shoto and Shiori were bullying Izuku
Enji admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
Enji:Rei... my wife... she told me so many times to talk to them, to discipline them. But I didn't listen. I thought they were just kids. I thought they'd grow out of it, that it was just a phase.
Hisashi's hands tightened into fists.
Hisashi:And now...?
Enji:And now, I realize that I was wrong
Enji said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Enji:I didn't stop them, and because of that, Izuku suffered. He suffered because of my neglect, just like he suffered because of yours. And now... Now he's become something that neither of us can control, something that we both had a hand in creating.
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Shattered Light: A Neglected Izuku Story
FanfictionIzuku Midoriya, neglected and bullied due to his lack of a quirk, endured abuse from his family and friends, especially his twin sister Izumi and Katsuki Bakugo. One fateful day, when locked outside his home, Izuku was kidnapped and taken to a secre...
