Chapter Text
Izuku gawked at the question.
“Of course I know who Endeavor is! He’s the #2 Hero!”
“Alright, so you’d agree he has a considerable amount of power that could, hypothetically, be taken advantage of by him and his family.”
“Um…I guess…?”
Dabi grinned, “Since you were truthful about your situation, I’ll be truthful about mine. My name isn’t actually Dabi.”
“O-oh, it’s not?” Anxious, he fidgeted.
“Nope, just a nickname-slash-alias I use to avoid recognition. My real name is Touya Todoroki, and Endeavor is my father.”
Izuku felt his brain crash. “What.”
“Yeah, sorry if I tricked ya. But-”
“YOU’RE TOUYA TODOROKI?! THE TODOROKIS ARE RICH, WHY ARE YOU IN A SMALL APARTMENT?!”
“Yeah, I’m Touya Todoroki. I go by Dabi when I’m incognito, though, cuz I’m sure you know how reporters are.”
Izuku slapped a hand over his mouth. “I am SO sorry. I’ve been leeching off of you and I just yelled at you I am SO S-”
“Woah, woah, it’s okay, it’s fine.” Dabi- Touya?- raised his hands placatingly. “I did all of this willingly. And I chose to help you. Remember, my hellhound assaulted you. So don’t worry about it, alright?”
“Okay…okay…”
Something made a little tapping noise against the window. Hotaru barked viciously.
“Ugh, seriously?” Touya got up and peered outside, “It’s just a bunch of kids, you doofus. Hey!” He stuck his head out the window briefly, “Don’t throw stuff which-way-when, or I’ll sic my dog on ya!”
Hotaru snarled helpfully.
Izuku glanced back at his phone.
Sagiri: So is the dude who’s house you’re staying at chill? I heard Great Danes are super scary
Izuku: Hotaru is scary, but he’s actually kinda sweet too
Sagiri: <3 always wanted a dog, but my mom is allergic
Hitoshi: Always wanted a dog, I got one
Sagiri: You do?
Hitoshi: Yeah, you
Sagiri: I will march over to your house and-
Izuku sputtered at the vulgar threat she had typed in.
Izuku: SAGIRI!!!
Hitoshi: Okay 🙄
Sagiri: 🧍♂️🔫
Hitoshi: I’m a cat person anyway so screw you
Sagiri: Oh, REALLY
Sagiri: [A picture of a kitten. It’s a Siberian with scruffy white fur and blue eyes.]
Sagiri: Say hi to Leek! I’m never gonna let you see her ever again <3
Hitoshi: SINCE WHEN DO YOU HAVE A CAT
Sagiri: Since yesterday. My little brother brought her home and my parents said we could keep her :3
Hitoshi: I hate you
Sagiri: oh the misery, if only there was a snarky insomniac with a bad attitude and addiction to coffee out there who could love me </3
He looked up, “Todoroki-san, can I tell my friends who you are, or is that too personal?”
“Yeah, I don’t care as long as they don’t go blabbing to the press where I live.” Dabi replied, petting Hotaru’s head, “And just call me Dabi or Touya, it’s less ear-perking than Todoroki.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Izuku: hey guys, it turns out that the owner is not exactly who I thought he was but in a good way
Hitoshi: Do tell.
Izuku: First promise you won’t tell ANYONE
Sagiri: Cross my heart and hope to die!
Hitoshi: Wouldn’t that be nice. I promise too as long as it doesn’t put you in danger
Sagiri: You are literally the worst
Izuku: He’s the son of Endeavor. Touya Todoroki.
Hitoshi: WHAT
Sagiri: 😧😧😧
Sagiri: No way!!
Izuku: Yeah
Sagiri: The son of Endeavor has a Great Dane and lives in an apartment?
Izuku: He goes by an alias and doesn’t wanna be swarmed by the press so plz don’t leak this info
Sagiri: My lips are sealed
Hitoshi: Same here
A sort of weight lifted off of his chest. It was comforting, knowing that his friends were aware of his situation and were going to support him.
‘I hope Neito will be okay.’
He decided to wrap up the conversation.
Izuku: He says he’s going to help me and Neito
Sagiri: Well YES then!! Finally some justice! Sic ‘em, Izuku!
Hitoshi: Let us know how it goes
Izuku: I will. Thank you guys so much 💚
Sagiri: :D
“You ready?”
Izuku looked back at Dabi, who seemed to have just finished texting someone as well. “Yeah.”
“Alright. Here’s the plan.”
~
“I can’t believe the nerve of that Quirkless, useless-”
Neito flinched at his father’s outburst. They had waited all night for Izuku to come home, which he thankfully didn’t. His mother rubbed circles on her husband’s back.
“It’s alright, dear.” She said, “We’ll make things right. Besides, I doubt he passed the exams in the first place. Neito said there were robots! And Izuku is such a skinny thing…”
“I suppose you have a point. Still, I’ll have to teach him a lesson.”
Mother nodded, walking over to him and placing her hands on his shoulders, “Don’t worry, Neito. This doesn’t change anything. You’re still going to become a hero.”
“Izuku’s been more of a hindrance than a help these days.” Father growled, “I’m going to get rid of him.”
Neito felt his face drain of color, “D-Dad, get rid of him? You can’t! H-” He took a moment to fall back into his facade, “…How would that look on my record?”
“It’s no problem. It won’t be on your record at all. No one cares if some Quirkless kid dies in an accident.”
Mother sighed, “What a bother…What kind of accident are you thinking?”
“Maybe a fall from the stairs, or I could have him touch a bare wire.”
“Th-that’s morbid.” Neito gasped.
Father shrugged, “I don’t like it either, but he needs to go.”
“Why don’t we just shove him off to a different foster home? That would get rid of him, wouldn’t it?” He suggested weakly.
“You’re going to be such a great hero, Neito.” Mother crooned, “He might try to leech off of you later. And if he really does have a Quirk…well. We can’t let that happen.”
Neito shivered, trying to keep his expression level, “He has the extra toe joint. It’s impossible for him to have a Quirk.”
“Even so, he’s a threat to you, so Mommy and Daddy will take care of him. In return, you’ll take care of us when you become a hero.”
That was what they always said. We raised you, so you owe us. When we get older, take care of us.
He wouldn’t have minded at all if they weren’t like this.
“Ah! I almost forgot.” Mother began to usher Father out the door, “We’re going to look for Izuku and bring him back. In the meantime, Neito, can you disable the house cameras and…destroy them?”
“D-destroy them?”
“Yes, completely. They were installed in every part of the house to keep watch for burglars and such, but it’d be better to get rid of them. They probably recorded this conversation, after all. You wouldn’t want that to be on your record, would you?” She posed the question with a bright, manipulative smile.
“A-absolutely not. I’ll handle it, Mom.” He said as a possible, awful idea began to take form in his mind, “W-when will you be back?”
“Probably in…three hours? What do you think, dear?”
Father hummed, “Around 4:30. You’ll have the house to yourself for the next few hours. We’ll be looking for Izuku and running a few errands in the meantime.”
“Okay. See you later.”
They closed the door, and he exhaled shakily. Five hours. He had five hours.
Neito began to take down the house cameras and sort through the footage. He found the conversation he’d just had with his parents. Going back further, he found the time Father had hit Izuku over the head for “talking back”, the time Mother had sent him outside for the whole night with no food or water, the time they’d both yelled at him for ten minutes because he’d come home late, bruised and tired.
It was evidence. Incriminating evidence.
He could take it to the police.
Neito held his head in his hands. Would they listen? Would they believe him? If this failed, he’d incur his parents’ wrath. He’d have to run away from home, too. But at least then he could be with Izuku.
Neito spent the next two hours downloading all the necessary clips onto a USB. Then he stuffed the cameras into his backpack and set off towards the police station.
~
“Mom! Dad! Natsuo! Shouto!” Fuyumi sprinted as fast as she could into the living room, skidding to a stop and catching her breath.
“Yumi?” Natsuo propped himself up on the couch so he could see her better, “What happened? Did Hawks contact you for a date or something?”
“What? No!” She snapped, “It’s about Touya!”
“What happened to Touya?” Enji Todoroki asked immediately, standing up.
Rei put a hand on his arm, “Is it bad news?”
“No, not for him. He just texted me something crazy! Look!”
She pulled her family into a tight circle and scrolled through her messages.
Touya: So this kid gets bowled over by Hotaru, right?
Fuyumi: I’m sorry WHAT
Touya: Hear me out, so Hotaru sees a squirrel, decides it’s a great day to yank the leash out of my hands, and crashes into a kid and starts kissing him
Fuyumi: YOU LET HOTARU GO?!?!??!
Touya: No I didn’t. Anyway I get Hotaru off and turns out the kid is in a tough spot. Phone’s dead and clothes ruined, so I bring him to my apartment to wash up and stuff
Fuyumi: This is all very concerning information but go on.
Touya: I learn he ran away from an abusive foster home. I guess he’s a real late bloomer- impossibly late- and he thinks his fosters are gonna kill him for applying to UA without their consent. Specially because their son is already planning to go there
Fuyumi: Oh my god
Touya: Yep.
Touya: The kid’s name is Izuku Midoriya. His foster parents are ones he’s afraid of, but their son is on his side, I think.
Touya: Tell the old man for me. I know he has an emergency foster license
Fuyumi: Wait, why didn’t you just text him yourself?
Touya: Cuz you can make a good scene out of it so everyone hears :)
With each new piece of information, her family’s brows furrowed, and Fuyumi could’ve sworn she saw her father start to literally go up in flames. Rei casually kept a hand on her husband’s back so she could soothe the fire that kept threatening to blow up.
Shouto blinked slowly, “Does this mean I finally get a little brother?”
Natsuo coughed from the emotional whiplash, “We don’t know yet.”
“Know what?”
“If he’s younger than you.”
“I was born in January, so I think he is.”
“Unless he was born in January too.”
Shouto shrugged in reply.
Rei’s lips were tugged downwards, “You should go to the station, Enji. Get Tsukauchi on the case.”
“Good idea. Hopefully it’ll go smoothly and quickly if he’s with us.”
~
“Why are you doing so much to help me?” Izuku cried.
Touya ruffled his hair, “I may not be a hero on paper, kid, but I want to do all I can to help.”
“But why do you believe me? You just met me!”
No one but his mother and his friends had ever believed Izuku before. Not his classmates, not his teachers, not strangers, and certainly not Touya Todoroki of all people.
“I’d rather believe you and be wrong than risk a kid getting hurt.” He said, as if it was obvious, “No one deserves to go through that, and no so-called foster parents who neglect their children should ever have a license.”
Hotaru trotted up to Izuku and started licking his tears. He squeaked and shielded his face, but he really did appreciate the effort.
“You’ll…you’ll help Neito, too?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Touya glanced back at his phone when it rang with another notification. “Don’t worry, Midoriya-kun. This’ll be a breeze.”
“How can I pay you back? I have to return the favor somehow!”
“Alright, I know exactly how you can pay me back.”
“How? I’ll do anything!”
His savior grinned, “When you meet my little brother, the one that’s your age, make friends with him.”
Izuku waited. Nothing else was said.
“Is…is that it?”
“‘Course.” Touya shrugged, “It takes some effort to be friends with Shouto. He’s the densest kid you’ll ever meet!”
Chapterly Omake!
Shouto: *sneezes*
Natsuo: “Someone must be talking about you!”
Shouto: “How do you know that?”
Natsuo: “Um, it’s a superstition-”
Shouto: “Do you have a second Quirk after all?”
Natsuo: “No, it’s just a-”
Shouto: “Mom, Natsuo made me sneeze.”
Natsuo: *facepalms*