Touya's Redemption

Chapter 4

Shoto stared hatefully at the villain, balling his fists, as he tried to break away from the chains keeping him on the ground.

After many failed attempts he rested against the wall and felt nauseous once again, as he groaned in pain.

His stomach was empty for days now, so the only thing he vomited at this point was blood, which weakened his body even more.

"If you ever think that you'll defeat the heroes you're wrong. You will never get the chance to hurt one civilian, if there is at least one hero that will stop you-"

"How do you do it? Being a hero?"

Shoto looked at Dabi startled.

"What?"

"What is it like being a hero?" Dabi sighed, as he looked into the others eyes.

"I once wanted to become one too, but that never worked out because of several circumstances."
Dabi ran his fingers through his hair and chuckled bitterly.

Shoto answered, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Why would you even care?"

"I'm just curious about why you would stupidly risk your life for some civilians who probably don't even appreciate it."

Shoto looked at the ground and whined slightly out of pain.

"You're the ones that put them in danger. Unlike the heroes they can't protect themselves and lose everything they love."

Dabi sat down on a chair besides him and leaned back, as he thought about what the hero said.

"I guess you're right. Everyone wants to keep their loved ones safe and happy, as well as the world peaceful. But that kind of bullshit doesn't work out for every person."

Dabi placed his arms behind his head, as he looked at the ceiling bored.

"If I killed you right here and now, would anyone even really care? Family, friends or acquaintances?"

"I have people that care about me and love me. They support me no matter what I do. What about your family? Don't they judge you for doing all of this?"

Dabi sat down properly on his chair, as he pulled on one of the piercings in his scarred face.

"Bold of you to assume that I have a family. I ran away when I was around 16 years old. I bet my siblings barely remember me considering I left them when they were really young and I don't blame them."

"But maybe they want to see you-"

Dabi glared at Shoto hostile, causing shivers to go down the others spine.

"If I wanted someone's opinion on how to treat my own fucking family, I would have gone to a damn therapist and not some dumb twink like you."

"I just wanted to give some advice but suit yourself I guess."

Dabi rolled his eyes and stood up.

"You and I are going to have a lot of fun together."
He smirked, as he walked towards the door.

"Toga come in. You can have your way with him now."

Suddenly the door burst open and a giggling blonde girl ran inside the room, jumping onto Shoto's lap.

"We are gonna have so much fun, Shoto!"

Shoto opened his eyes yawning and running his fingers trough his hair.

He felt more relaxed than ever, because he finally got more than 5 hours of sleep as well as a sleepover with his brother Touya together.

Speaking of Touya, he was laying right beside him with messy bed hair and some drool on his cheek, still snoring peacefully.

Shoto giggled and jumped on top of Touya trying to wake him up in which he succeeded.

Touya woke up gasping for air winching in pain and rolling over.

„You idiot! Don't wake me up like that! I expected a hug and a kiss on my cheek and not the destruction of my body!"

„I would have kissed you on the cheek but you have drool over your face and I don't want to catch anything weird and get ill."

Touya looked at Shoto baffled for quite some time when he flipped them over and kissed Shoto's face until it was covered in drool and affection.

„STOP NO! DON'T SPREAD YOUR BACTERIA ON ME! I SAID NO!"

Touya laughed loudly and backed off wiping his own face walking out of the room.

„I have to take care of some things Sho. Could you ask mother if she can come to my room later? She should be in the kitchen."

Shoto nodded and stood up to get dressed. „I'll take care of it, Touya. But you have to promise me that we can have a sleepover again, okay?"

„We can have as many sleepovers as you want Shoto. We can maybe get Natsuo and Fuyumi to join in next time so it'll be even more fun."

A few moments later Shoto walked towards the kitchen humming and jumping around, hearing his mother's voice, as he walked inside yawning softly.

„I feel like I'm going crazy. I can't take it anymore."

She seemed to speak to someone on the phone as he stood by the stove, her back facing the door.

„Everyday the children seem more like him. And Shoto..."

Shoto looked up at the mention of his name and leaned slightly against the door, debating whether to speak up or to let her have some privacy and leave.

„... that child's left side sometimes looks unbearable to me. All I can see is his father."

Shoto's heart ached as he heard those words. He felt upset that his mother disliked him this much even though she was the one who told him to stay true to himself.

How could he be himself if even his own mother despised him for just the way he was?

Her voice grew more panicked, as the kettle got louder and louder.

„I can't raise him anymore. I want to run away from this life."

Shoto started tearing up as he gripped onto the door and spoke anxiously.

„Mom... what are you saying?"

Rei's head snapped towards Shoto, as she had an terrifying expression on her face with her hands gripping onto the counter roughly.

The kettle got unbearably loud as Shoto backed away slowly, falling onto the ground.

Suddenly he couldn't hear the kettle anymore due to his mother screaming horrifyingly.

She held the kettle with the boiling water in her hand, as she started to shed tears of pain and anger, walking towards her son who sat almost paralyzed on the floor.

The last thing Shoto saw before he writhed in unbearable pain was his crying mother pouring boiling water over his face.

He screamed in agony for help, when he couldn't feel the left side of his face anymore.

Shoto heard rapid footsteps running towards the kitchen, as he felt himself get lift up by strong familiar arms.

He felt himself lose consciousness, feeling tears fall on his face from the person carrying him.

„I'm so sorry Sho...I couldn't protect you..."