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Touya sighed as he shifted his car into park and killed the engine. He'd been called to U.A. High by his former homeroom teacher, Aizawa, regarding some sort of situation concerning his little brother. He had no idea what it could be about, and it was safe to say that he was more than a little concerned.Walking up to the entrance, he was immediately greeted by All Might waiting at the gates for him."Dabi, it's good to see you. I wish these were better circumstances, but what can you do? Aizawa's out on important business right now, but he texted me and said he'd be back soon and asked me to fill you in for now," The former number one hero spoke."Right. Good to see you too, All Might," Touya nodded politely as he allowed the man to lead him to his office, sitting down on the couch across from him and preparing to listen intently."So... I'm not fully aware of the situation, I only know what Aizawa told me when he was filling me in, just bear with me here," The blonde sighed, "Apparently Young Todoroki's behaviour has seen some concerning changes lately. We don't know for sure what's causing it, so we hoped we could get you to take him home with you and let him take a bit of a break, maybe figure out what the source of all this is.""Shoto's behaviour? Has he gotten into another fight? I'm still not sure why the one at the licensing exam happened, but maybe if I talk to him I can-" The younger hero attempted."No, no, that's not what I meant. Young Todoroki gets along well with most of his classmates, he hasn't started or been in any fights at all," All Might interrupted, "Aizawa mentioned some of his friends telling him that Young Todoroki has been acting off recently. They say he's gotten a bit more reclusive, and he's barely said a word on his own without prompting. His appetite has taken a hit, he seems exhausted, and he's been acting a bit distracted and almost paranoid. He's gone to see Recovery Girl a few times, and she's checked him over for any sign that he might be getting sick, but she says nothing seems out of the ordinary, aside from slight weight loss, but that's to be expected if he hasn't been eating properly. No one's gotten any sort of explanation as to why all this is happening, and no one's really sure when it started, so we can't pin down a reason on our own, either.""Oh, shit. That kind of concerning. And no one knows when it started?" Dabi questioned."No, no idea, as far as I know. The kids said they originally thought that he was stressed out about his supplementary classes, but since Young Bakugou has been coming back completely unscathed and his behaviour hasn't changed a bit, they aren't so sure anymore," The retired pro informed.Before they could get any further with the conversation, there was a knock on the door, and upon being allowed entry, Aizawa came in."I'm guessing you've been filled in as much as possible, Touya, so I'd like to suggest you come back to the dorms to see Shoto for yourself," He spoke, gesturing for the two to follow him as he headed to Height's Alliance.They made it to class 1-A's dorm building, seeing the class mostly going about their business as usual, except for Midoriya, who'd been pacing near the front door. The green-haired boy lit up upon seeing the three heroes enter."Midoriya, any luck?" Aizawa inquired."No, nothing, sorry. A few of us have tried to get Shoto to tell us what's wrong, but he won't give us anything. Nothing's worked, no matter what we try. The farthest we've gotten is being let into his room. He won't talk to us, but he's willing to let a few of us sit around with him. The only new thing I've got is that he flat-out refuses to interact with Kaachan at all, he won't even let him in the room," The teen divulged, worry evident through his tone and expression."He won't go near Young Bakugou?" All Might asked."Mhm. I mean, it's not the first time I've noticed that he's wary of Kaachan, near the beginning of the year he used to tense up sometimes, didn't like getting too close to him, and got pretty protective around him, especially when I was also in the room, but I think most of it was just because he doesn't like loud noises. He's never been avoidant of him though," Midoriya elaborated."Did something happen between the two of them during their supplementary classes?" The retired pro speculated."No, I don't think so. Kaachan seems just as confused as the rest of us," The green-haired boy denied."I don't think that's the issue here. The avoidant behaviour is definitely a sign that something is wrong, but we need to look at all of the evidence here. I believe I may know what's going on, but I'm not one hundred percent sure, and I still have no idea what could've caused it," Aizawa chimed in."What are you thinking? I still haven't seen him at all yet, so I've got no idea," Touya piped up."The behaviours he's showing now aren't new to him. He's acted this way before. Not in a long time, as far as I'm aware, but the last time I recall him doing this was when I first took the four of you in. For the first few months I was fostering you, Shoto behaved just like this. He only spoke when spoken to, and even then a proper response was rare, he was constantly paranoid, exhausted, and had no appetite, and on the rare occasion he agreed to go outside, he'd lose it whenever he heard any sort of loud noise or yelling," The homeroom teacher explained."I remember that, when no doctors could find anything we wound up taking him to a psychiatrist and he was diagnosed with C-PTSD. You're thinking something might've triggered him then?" Dabi responded."I can't know for certain, but it is a possibility. It would certainly explain the shift. All of those 'concerning behaviours' we've been observing are symptoms, especially the avoidance, considering Shoto's history," The tired man confirmed."That... doesn't surprise me as much as it probably should, and I don't like that," Midoriya mumbled, "Should I go get him, Aizawa-sensei?""Yeah, tell him his brother's here, please," Aizawa instructed.The teen nodded and ran for the elevators."Young Todoroki has PTSD?" All Might questioned. Most of the staff were well aware of the Todoroki siblings' situation, having met them before when Touya was a student, but All Might had only joined the staff that year, so he was understandably out of the loop."Yeah, it's bad. We consider it a miracle when he's able to sleep without vivid nightmares for a few days at a time. I'll take him home with me and take a few days off to see how long it takes for him to tell me what's up. Once I know what's bothering him, I'll get in touch with our therapist and see if she can help him work through it. I know how to handle the symptoms, but I can't do much about the problem itself," The younger pro sighed, "Can't believe I'm saying this, but days like these make me miss chaotic troublemaker Shoto. I can handle him being annoying for no reason, it's what siblings do. What I can't handle is my youngest brother being unable to function due to trauma. The former is always either annoying or funny, but the latter is always just sad and scary and I need to prepare to get no sleep for the next who-knows-how-long.""Make sure you're taking care of yourself, too. Shoto won't be able to get better if you get sick or exhausted in the process. You could always call Fuyumi and Natsuo for backup, or if neither of them can take time off of work or school, then call me. I can't leave the problem children myself, but I'd be willing to bet that if I asked, one of them would be willing to head over and give you a break," The homeroom teacher instructed, "I could send one over to your place with their homework for the next few days and have them babysit while you get some sleep.""Good idea, I've raised the kid for ten years now, but even I can admit I'd be way in over my head trying to help him myself, especially since I'm the only one living in the house right now," Touya agreed.I'm sure Young Midoriya would happily volunteer if asked, especially since he's just come off of his work-study," All Might suggested."And it'd let him heal properly and prevent him from breaking his bones again," Aizawa rolled his eyes."Fair enough, I forgot they were doing those now. I'd be happy to have him around if he wants to help out, I'm sure Shoto would appreciate it too," Dabi replied.The elevator dinged, revealing Midoriya, gently pulling a very dishevelled, very skittish-looking Shoto through the room, keeping his hand firmly grasped in his own as he led him over to his older brother and their teachers. They weren't kidding. Shoto was an absolute disaster, his two-toned hair unkempt and sticking out in all angles, his skin pale, and there were prominent bags under his eyes, even slightly visible against the scar tissue over his left eye."I've got him, Aizawa-sensei," The green-haired boy announced, coming to a stop in front of them."Good, thank you, Midoriya," The tired man acknowledged."Hey, Sho. How're you doing, buddy?" Touya greeted gently.Shoto gave a weak hum and shrugged, staring in the direction of the ground."Not great, huh? Sorry, bud. We're gonna get you home and help you sort this out, okay? Hopefully, you'll feel a bit better then," He returned, placing a gentle hand on his little brother's head."Midoriya, we were just talking, and we were wondering if you'd be willing to go with Shoto and Touya to help out. We'd give you the homework and notes so that you don't fall behind, and you'd get a break from the chaos after your work study. Touya could use a bit of help so that he doesn't forget to take care of himself in the process. What do you think?" The underground hero offered."Really? I'd be happy to come help out if you think I'd be useful! I'll make sure all my work gets done while I'm gone, I can even help Shoto with his!" Midoriya agreed."We thought you might. You go pack a bag, I'll go visit Recovery Girl and ask her for a list of things you need to do to keep up with your treatment. Make sure to take your notebooks and textbooks with you, we'll ask the other teachers to e-mail you the work throughout the week," All Might instructed, ruffling the boy's green curls."Got it, I'll be back in a few minutes!" The teen replied, letting go of Shoto's hand and bolting back to the elevators.Shoto stayed silent, moreso than usual, and seemed to curl in on himself once Midoriya let go. Well, there was a good thing and a bad thing to note there.The bad thing? He seemed to be unable to function on his own at the moment, and he needed someone else to keep him from falling apart.The good thing? Touya knew his little brother had serious trust issues, and if what Midoriya had said earlier about avoidance was any indication, the fact that he seemed upset to be without his best friend's contact meant that he trusted him.Touya took the timid body language as a sign to pull him in for a hug, allowing the younger to nestle in as close as he could. All Might quickly exited to speak with Recovery Girl as he'd said, hoping to get the information as soon as possible so that they wouldn't keep them there any longer than was necessary.Shoto made a small noise, almost as if he were attempting to talk, but his voice wasn't letting him."Hm? What's up, Sho?" The older Todoroki asked."What's gonna happen while you're at work, Touya-nii? Am I gonna be home alone?" The two-toned boy mumbled, his voice sounding a little raspy and quiet from disuse."Nothing's gonna happen, Shoto. I'm taking time off while you're home, and even if I leave the house for a little while, I won't be gone long, and Midoriya's gonna come with us to keep you company, okay? You won't be alone, promise," Dabi assured."Izuku's coming with us?" The younger Todoroki asked, sounding the slightest bit more hopeful with this information.Hmm, it seemed he hadn't paid attention while they were busy talking without him."Yeah, bud. He's coming with us," The pro confirmed.Shoto seemed to relax slightly.The elevator opened once again and Midoriya walked back out carrying both a duffel bag and his school backpack."I have my stuff, is All Might talking to Recovery Girl?" The older teen inquired."Yeah, if you're ready to take off, we can head over to her office now so you can get the rundown and ask any questions you might have for her before we go," Touya answered, letting Shoto out of the hug before huffing a laugh as his little brother immediately clung to his sleeve instead, prying his hand off so that he could properly hold it instead."Okay, I'm ready. We can go now Dabi," The green-haired boy responded."Just call me Touya, kid. Let's get going. Thanks for calling me, Aizawa. I'll keep you updated and let you know if anything new happens," Dabi bowed slightly to his former homeroom teacher and guided the teens out the front door.Aizawa nodded and headed deeper into the dorms, most likely in search of Iida so he could update the class rep on the situation so the class wasn't completely in the dark.They made it to Recovery Girl's office just as All Might exited the room, waving them over and handing Midoriya a folded-up sheet of paper."These are for you, Young Midoriya. Recovery Girl told me to keep you from doing any proper training for now until you're fully healed, but she has given some suggestions for what you could do in the meantime, as well as what to avoid. Remember what we talked about, don't overdo it. Recovery Girl is a professional, don't go past your limit, you'll only tire yourself out and harm your progress," The retired pro instructed."Right, thank you, All Might!" The green-haired boy returned."He'll be fine. I can keep an eye on both of 'em. I'll go over the list and see what exercise he's allowed. We have far more space than we know what to do with in our backyard and a training room with a bunch of equipment in the basement. I'll keep him away from what he shouldn't be doing, and let him use anything he needs for whatever he can do. Nobody's getting hurt if I can help it," Touya assured."Thank you, Dabi. I suppose you're all set then?" All Might addressed the group."Yeah, we're ready to head out now. I'm assuming Aizawa's letting the rest of his students know what's going on, so all that's left to do is get the rest of the staff in the loop, and someone'll have to let Gang Orca know that Shoto's going to miss a few supplementary classes," The younger pro replied."I'll handle everything here, you just take the boys back to your place and focus on helping Young Todoroki. I'm going to be the one chaperoning Young Bakugou to the supplementary classes for the rest of their duration, so I'll let Gang Orca know that Young Todoroki won't be in attendance due to special circumstances. We'll have to figure out a way for him to make up for the classes he misses once he's able to return, but that's for Aizawa and me to worry about. For now, the focus should be on giving him the time he needs to get back on his feet again," The blonde insisted."Okay, thanks. I guess we'll be leaving now then," Touya responded, looking at the two teens.Midoriya nodded back at him, while Shoto seemed to be more interested in the floor than the conversation."Right, the three of you have a safe drive back home. Best of luck," The retired hero nodded."Bye, All Might! I'll keep you updated!" The green-haired boy waved off his idol as the three of them left the building.When they got out to Touya's car, the hero opened the back door to let Shoto in first before opening the trunk for Midoriya to put his bags in, climbing into the driver's seat once he made sure both teens were in the car and ready to go."Alright, all ready to go?" He asked."Yep, we're ready," Midoriya answered for both of them."Good, let's get home then," The older Todoroki responded, getting the car started.The drive home was mostly quiet, though Touya appreciated that Midoriya seemed to keep talking to Shoto to keep him checked into reality. He was more just talking at him, Shoto didn't make any moves to respond, but it was clear the younger teen was doing his best to listen, and he looked a bit calmer than before.When they arrived back at the Todoroki residence, Touya helped the boys settle in, putting Midoriya's things in one of the guest rooms and making sure it was properly prepared. Once that was done, he made a quick stop to his room to grab something and then headed back to the living room to talk to the teens."Alright, the first order of business here, Shoto, you should try taking a nap, you look like you're about to drop dead any minute now, I know you're tired," He spoke, immediately raising a finger to stop the teen the second he reacted, "I know you don't want to, but I figured it'd be easier to catch up on sleep while it's still daytime than it would be to try to sleep at night. I know you're worried you'll have another nightmare, but Midoriya and I are still going to be here the whole time. Neither of us is going anywhere."The older Todoroki pointedly looked away from his little brother as he pouted at him slightly, simply holding up a device to show him instead, "No, I'm not looking at you, because I know you're making that face again. I know I always fall for the sad, pouty face. We have these for a reason. I'll turn it on and keep it on me the whole time you're asleep, and if something happens, I'll come running, I promise. Please just try to take a nap, okay?"Shoto sighed and stood up from the couch, collapsing into his big brother's arms for a hug and then turning to wave at his best friend, who stood up and hugged him as well, before heading up to his room.Once he was gone, Midoriya took a look at the device that Touya was in the process of turning on."What exactly is that, if you don't mind me asking?" The green-haired boy questioned."Baby monitor," Touya shrugged, "We bought these after we moved out of the manor. Shoto told you all how I used to wake up in the middle of the night when he had nightmares so that I could calm him down and put him back to sleep before he woke Dad up. Turns out, that wasn't gonna stop happening once we removed Dad from the equation. He wakes up with nightmares almost every night. When he was little, that wasn't limited to nighttime, either. He'd wake up from naps in the middle of the day screaming, and unlike at night, the three of us would be scattered around the house, so there was a chance we'd miss him waking up entirely. We got these so we could turn them on and keep them with us every time he slept so that we'd hear it if he woke up from a nightmare and go help him instead of leaving him there having a panic attack for who-knows-how-long until one of us hears him.""Ah, I see. That makes sense. Will he be able to hear us, or is it just a one-way monitor?" The teen questioned."We can hear him, he can't hear us. If he could hear us but not see us, it'd only make any panic attacks worse," The hero replied.The monitor made a staticky sound, indicating that Shoto had turned his on, and the older Todoroki pocketed it."Alright, I think it'd be fair to do a little information exchange here, yeah? You agreed to help me take care of Shoto, so I'll tell you what to look out for and basically what we should be doing to help him out, all that fun stuff, and since you're in my care while you're here, I'll take a look at the paper you got from All Might and Recovery Girl and we can go over a list of exercises you're allowed to do, sound good?""Oh, yeah! That sounds good! Here's the list," Midoriya agreed, retrieving the paper from his pocket and handing it over."Cool, let's see what we're working with here. Recovery Girl says heavy weights are a no, so I'd advise against weights, leg presses, and all the heavy stuff, but she says cardio is good. We have a treadmill, and elliptical, if Sho feels any better I could take you two for a run around town, but if not, you can do laps around the backyard, sit ups are good, maybe a few pushups here and there, but I'd be careful, and we'll have to see about any other things to add to the list. If there's anything you want to work on, ask me first and I'll give you an answer, sound fair?" The hero instructed."Yeah, that's fair. I did come here to help you and Shoto anyway, so between that and my schoolwork, I probably won't be focused on too much physical activity, aside from keeping up some semblance of my usual routine, anyway. I'll probably go outside for my usual morning run, but I obviously can't keep an exact one-to-one of my usual routine, so that'll have to wait," The green-haired boy complied."That's perfectly fine. You're free to keep up whatever sort of exercise routine you feel most comfortable with, so long as you stay on the property and avoid exercises Recovery Girl says you can't do. Obviously, I'm not trying to be overbearing or overprotective or anything. Still, in light of all the villain attacks, U.A. doesn't want their students roaming the streets all alone, and it's already going to be a lot taking care of Shoto like this, so unless I'm supervising, we'll have to limit you to the house and the backyard," Dabi assured."I get it. You definitely don't seem overprotective or overbearing, though. If you want to see either of those, you should see my mom. Before the dorms, I'd come home with even just a bandage and she'd freak out and keep asking me if it's really safe for me to be at U.A. She almost banned me from going back when the dorms were suggested because she thought it'd be too dangerous. I really do love her, and I know she's just a mom doing mom things, but it can be a bit much sometimes," Midoriya giggled, "Makes more sense since it's just her and me in our apartment, and I've always been accident prone. She worries a lot, but I know it's justified, so I let her.""Yeah, no kidding. I think that's just moms in general. Most of them worry to some extent, especially the moms of only children, I feel like the more kids they have, the more experience they get and the less they worry about it. Our mom still worries a lot, but obviously, she's entirely different. She worries, but she keeps it to herself, for the most part. The four of us have to keep reassuring her that it's not hypocritical of her to get anxious like any other good parent would. Our mom isn't as overtly anxious and overbearing, but she has four of us, and she knows we can handle whatever happens, and with all due respect to her, much better than she could. Two of us are in the hero industry, and that both reassures her and scares the hell out of her, obviously, it scares the hell out of me too, and I'm in the hero industry, but being one of the 'backup parents' in the family, I immediately go into panic mode whenever something happens to my siblings. All the villain attacks at U.A. scared the crap out of me too, and obviously, I still worry for Shoto, but I let him keep going back because I was a U.A. student too, while some parts of its system can be severely flawed, I do trust Aizawa with my life, I know U.A. knows what they're doing, I know Shoto can handle himself for the most part, and I know that as a hero, I can stay closeby, observe, and step in if something goes wrong. U.A. has been amazing for Shoto. This year is the first he's ever been to school, he's making friends for the first time in his life, he's getting more independent, and I can see that he's starting to heal from some of his trauma. Taking him out of U.A. would only make things worse for him," Touya responded."That's kinda what I said to my mom, too. I told her I was improving at U.A. and that taking me out would hurt more than it would help. Luckily, All Might got through to her, he apparently felt it necessary to get on his knees and formally apologize to her for everything that happened at U.A., and then assured her that he'd rather die than let anything happen to his students. Somehow, I was actually surprised to see that it worked," The hero-in-training agreed, "My friends all lost their minds when I told them that they were the first ones I'd made friends with in years. They thought I was joking at first, but nope. Middle school was rough, so ending up at U.A. was the best thing that had ever happened to me after that. I have no idea what I would've done if my mom didn't let me go back.""I hear you there, U.A. was a godsend for me, in more ways than just one. Y'know, people in elementary and middle school used to pick on me for having what they saw as a 'useless' quirk. They always asked what the point of having such a strong quirk was if it just backfired on me every time I used it, some even said I might as well just be quirkless. I almost beat a kid up in elementary school because he said I might've been less of a disappointment to my Dad if I hadn't been born with a quirk at all. All of it was fucked up. First off, discrimination is just gross on so many levels, second, I thrive off of being a disappointment to my father, thank you, and third, what were they trying to do? I was a kid with a stupidly strong quirk that activated against my will when I got emotional, had no control over said quirk, and had severe anger issues. Like what, were they trying to bait me into committing a murder or something?" The oldest Todoroki rolled his eyes."Oof, I feel that. I was a late bloomer, my body wasn't ready for my quirk to manifest, so it just didn't up until recently, so I just got bullied pretty hard for being quirkless. It was rough. It's why I like analyzing quirks so much, and I guess that's where my hero obsession came from. I always wanted to be one, but I was told it was impossible, so I just kinda sat back and observed all the things I was told I couldn't have," The green-haired boy shrugged."Yeah, the way they treat quirkless people is disgusting. The system needs to be trashed and rebuilt without all those biases. Quirklessness, mutant quirks, 'villain quirks', 'useless quirks', 'boring quirks', we need to get rid of all that and just have 'people', with or without quirks. Sure, some jobs are easier with quirks, doesn't mean those without them are completely unable to be functioning members of society, or just because some people can easily take advantage of their quirks to do shitty things doesn't mean they're completely incapable of being good people, and people with mutant quirks aren't what scare me, it's the people who take one look at someone and immediately decide whether or not they should be allowed to exist in society that scares me. That's one of the many reasons I became a hero. My quirk can easily kill literally anybody, even me, but I'm a hero, aren't I? I'm number eleven in the rankings. I climbed pretty high with my 'useless quirk', and the only reason I'm not higher is that I prioritized raising my family and not killing myself over my number of solved cases. Hopefully, more people see me and realize that I am not the exception, I am the rule. Anyone can be a hero as long as they work hard for it, case closed," The hero ranted."Yes, finally, someone else says it! Thank you! Quirks are only scary if the person with the quirk makes them scary. Any quirk can be useful in some way, even the villains! Like Shigaraki! With his quirk, he could've been a rescue hero! He could've surveyed areas before, during, or after natural disasters and helped people evacuate! For example, he could decay rubble from fallen buildings to save people trapped underneath, he could've decayed unstable rocks on top of mountains to prevent landslides, he could decay trees that are in danger of falling onto people's property, he could've even used it to decay active explosives to prevent them from going off and causing harm! He could've used it for lots of things! Or Toga could've easily used Transform for espionage missions to gather intel! Anyone can use their quirks for good things, they just need to put in the work and actually believe they can, which isn't likely to happen when seemingly everyone else tells them they'll never amount to anything! On another note, only twenty percent of the world's population are quirkless, which means they're so few and far between that they aren't likely to meet in person, so it's hard for them to get support even from each other in the first place," Midoriya huffed."God, finally someone outside this family with common sense. Natsu and I have had this conversation so many times it's not even funny. He once called me after he did a class on quirk studies in college and it turned into an angry, one-sided rant about how bullshit the system was and how the entire class all he wanted to do was find whoever wrote some of those theories and biased studies and deck them. We were on the phone for two hours and I was only talking for like thirty minutes of it. Yumi, on the other hand, the angel that she is, has come home looking so proud of herself after mentioning that she managed to stop one of her students from picking on a quirkless student of hers and got the one picking on them to understand that nothing was wrong with the quirkless kid, and then after everyone but us two went to bed, proceeded to break down and cry over how unfair it was thinking about how much of that kid's life might end up like that after they're gone from her class. Shoto's never encountered a quirkless person before, or if he had, he hadn't known it, but he'd definitely witnessed the quirk discrimination, and with the sense of justice that kid always had, every single time an issue like that came up, he got just as angry as the rest of us. Quirk issues were always big in our family, so we used to get pretty testy whenever they were brought up, especially on my end. Less so now, since we've all been in therapy dealing with issues for years, but you get the picture. You could see the anger issues come out with Shoto whenever quirks were brought up, if you told him at the beginning of the year that he was 'lucky' to have both of his quirks, he'd fight you," Touya snorted."Oh, he did. I mean, I don't think I ever told him he was lucky to have two quirks, but I'd be lying if I said that didn't sound exactly like me at the beginning of the year. I don't think I ever talked to him until he decided to declare war on me specifically in the middle of the boys' locker room right before the sports fest started in front of several of our classmates. I might've mentioned out loud in a random conversation that it was cool that Endeavour was his dad, but if I did, I'm officially rescinding that statement as of the beginning of time. I have regrets. The more I wind up integrating into hero society as opposed to being a casual observer the more I learn just how much it needs to change. It's also pretty new to be on the complete opposite end of where I used to be. I grew up believing I was quirkless, but then out of nowhere I just kinda manifested an extremely powerful quirk. Now I get a bunch of comments that I used to give other people. Kirishima once told me he wished he had a flashy quirk like I did because he says it's tough to stand out with his Hardening quirk. A member of one of the gen-ed classes told me I was lucky to have such a strong physical quirk because people said his brainwashing quirk was more fit for a villain than a hero. It gave him trouble when he tried to enter U.A.'s hero course because of the exam bias. It kinda makes you think because I definitely wasn't lucky growing up, so it's weird to see people insist that life must've been easy just having it. I realized just how often I did the same thing, just casually assuming that things were great for other people just because they had cool quirks. I obsessed over hero culture so much that I never really realized that there was more to it than that. It's weird to have such a strong perspective shift out of nowhere," The teen replied."Oh, for sure, I was the same way. I got hit hardcore with that realization when I was younger. Before we discovered my quirk's weakness Dad always praised me for how strong it was, saying that I'd have no trouble at all succeeding and even surpassing him in no time with the right training. I had it pretty great back then, and then all of a sudden we find out its drawbacks and boom, life sucks and I no longer exist as a human being. I figured that meant if you were weak, you just didn't exist to people, so those who seemed 'strong' just automatically had perfect lives. When Shoto was born with two perfectly functioning quirks, I immediately assumed that meant he was set for life and hated him for it. I thought he had it easy compared to the rest of us who were all just shoved aside and ignored. Reality hit again when I spent time with him for the first time and realized he wasn't exactly privileged or an asshole. Try taking care of a sick toddler with two perfectly polarized temperature-related quirks. Attempting to take care of a little Shoto with a dangerously high fever is one of the worst things I've ever been subjected to as an older brother and I do not miss those days. It did not get better as he got older, either, sick Shoto is still a nightmare that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. Okay, maybe I would just because it'd be funny to see them struggle to deal with the chaos, but I still wouldn't solely because I definitely don't wish sickness on Shoto," The hero agreed.The green-haired boy winced, "Ouch. Poor Shoto needs a break from... I'm not even sure at this point, all of it? Everything? Everything sounds about right. I don't envy him, that's for sure. I mean, he's my best friend, and I'd gladly do whatever I could to take some of his pain away, but I'll also gladly keep my own life over going through even a fraction of that. He's stronger than me, that's for sure, there's no way I would've survived any of that.""Shoto's stronger than a shocking amount of pros I know, myself included, honestly. He's definitely one of the very few reasons I've made it this far... Which is exactly why I spent years trying to figure out how to properly take care of him. He's a difficult one on the best of days, and I won't lie, there have been times when I've questioned if I made the right choice taking on raising my siblings myself, but the further along I got, the easier it got to see why I was doing it. Taking care of him is one of the most physically and emotionally draining things I've ever done, but it's worth it to see him slowly getting better," Dabi responded, huffing a laugh, "Sorry, I make it sound like I hate taking care of my siblings or something. I do love 'em, and honestly, I enjoy my job as their guardian more than I do being a hero, which is saying a lot, because I love my job, but too many people only talk about the positives of caretaking. When you're taking care of someone, could be anyone, you have to remember that you're automatically taking care of at least two people; them and yourself. If something happens to you, it'll all be for nothing, so you have to keep yourself at least decently well cared for. Remember to eat, hydrate, shower, sleep, et cetera. The way I taught Natsu to do it was to think of it as a video game. Watch their stats and your own. Don't let either run low.""That's an interesting way of thinking about it. Did it ever work with your brother?" Midoriya questioned."You kidding? The kid wound up playing a shit ton of simulation games like he was studying for it or something, and then when we first let him take care of Shoto on his own, he was a natural. He was the one who took care of all of us when we got sick. He was a little unsure of himself at first, since Shoto's his only little sibling, and Sho's always been... fragile, but I put it into terms he understood and he picked it up like it was nothing. Now, obviously, that may work for basic needs, but we're taking care of a severely traumatized kid here. It's still Shoto, he's not completely helpless, but he is vulnerable right now, so we do have to be careful. He still forgets to take care of himself sometimes, and if something triggers him, he'll be thrown straight into a panic attack, which may activate Half-Hot. If that happens, he'll spiral big time. You've seen that happen, but I wanted to go over it just in case," The older Todoroki replied."Yeah, I remember. I know a lot of his triggers, but I'm not a hundred percent sure I know all of them. I know about his pyrophobia, and I know he hates the sound of the kettle. He hates certain words, he hates Endeavour, yelling, people who are loud and aggressive, um... If there's anything else, I'm completely forgetting," The hero-in-training listed, "Is there anything specific I need to know how to do? Should I have one of the monitors to listen for him at night?""Oh, definitely not. I'll give you one to keep with you during the day if he falls asleep at any point, just in case I need to sleep during the day, but I'll take care of him at night. I'm already of the opinion that U.A. needs to hire a personal therapist for your class, I appreciate your willingness to help, but I don't want to further traumatize you by making you wake up to Shoto screaming bloody murder about five times a night, thanks. If you happen to be awake, by all means, go ahead and help out, but I trained myself to be a light sleeper so I could listen for him and wake up when he needs me, I've been doing it for most of his life, it's terrifying to have that be what you wake up to in the middle of the night," The hero responded, "What I will let you in on is how to deal with his panic attacks because if he has one while I'm asleep, we'll be a bit screwed. It's important that you always ask for permission to touch him when he has a panic attack because you can never be too sure when he does and doesn't want it, and who he does and doesn't want to touch him. He does trust you more than enough to initiate contact while he's not in the middle of a panic attack, in fact, he immediately got upset when you let go of his hand back at the dorms when you left to get your things, but just double-check when he's freaking out. He likes hearing people's voices, so talking to him is a good way to calm him down, so long as you're keeping the volume down and talking gently to him. Mom used to sing lullabies to calm him down when he was really little, Yumi, Natsu, and I do it sometimes too, it helps him focus on something that isn't whatever he's anxious about. You don't have to do that, I'm just listing things here. Uh... what else? Oh, try to move slowly while he's panicking, sudden movements just freak him out more, and he may lash out to defend himself on instinct. When he gets to the point where he's starting to settle but needs help to calm down the rest of the way, try to get him to match your breathing. Just take a few deep breaths and see if he replicates it. Once he does, just keep doing it for a few minutes until he's breathing normally on his own. Other than that, my only advice for panic attacks is to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. He usually doesn't actively try to cause any damage to himself, but sometimes he subconsciously activates Half-Cold and covers himself in frost by accident because cold temperatures feel safer to him than the heat. If he starts trying to ice himself over, just brush it off if he lets you touch him, or just put your hand over it and melt it, that works too.""Got it. I guess I didn't think about the whole nightmares thing. I've already managed to activate my quirk in my sleep and shatter my dorm window because of a weird dream I had, I don't think it's a good idea to test my anxiety. I'll stick to watching Shoto during the day. At the very least, it means I'll get as much sleep as possible at night so I can take over while you get some sleep during the day. It's like taking shifts! It'll be fine," Midoriya responded, attempting to reassure himself more than anything."Sounds like a plan. By the way, if you want a good place to study or do your homework, you can use the library. That's what both of my brothers do. It seems to work well for them, so feel free to test it out for yourself. It is pretty good for filtering out the noise from the rest of the house, so it might be a good place to have Sho chill out too. I'll probably be in my office downstairs doing paperwork on the rare occasion I'm not passed out or helping Shoto, but feel free to interrupt if you need anything, yeah?" Touya informed.The hero-in-training was about to respond, but could only nod before they both jumped at the sound of the monitor. They could only hear shifting on the other end, but Shoto had been relatively quiet up until that point, so it had them both a little on edge."Please don't be awake," The pro muttered repeatedly under his breath.The noise from the monitor stopped, making Dabi sigh."I'll be right back, I'm just gonna check on him real quick. I don't know if the moving around was him trying to get comfortable, waking up, or starting to get distressed.""Got it," The hero-in-training nodded.Once the oldest Todoroki had disappeared from the room, Izuku let out a sigh.He was confident he could help his best friend to some degree, he was pretty good at comforting people, that was -in his opinion- one of his only good traits, but he'd never been tasked with comforting someone with severe PTSD before.Well, not until extremely recently, but Eri was another story. He could help little kids with no problem, but Shoto? Yes, Shoto was technically still a child, but he was a child only six months younger than Midoriya himself. Helping someone his age who'd gone through more than he could even begin to fathom long before Izuku had even learned what the word 'trauma' meant. He was a little afraid that he might do something wrong and either hurt Shoto worse or make the two-toned boy hate him. How would that happen? The green-haired boy had absolutely no idea, but he had a history of getting on people's bad sides without having to do much other than exist, so he was having a hard time quieting that part of his brain.It definitely didn't mean he wouldn't try his hardest to do as much as he could, but he was struggling to convince himself everything would work out.No. Get it together Izuku. Your best friend needs you. He's more afraid than you are right now. What kind of hero are you if you get nervous about this? Think of it as part of your training! Yeah, that's it, this is just sensitivity training! It's a test to see how well we do with trauma victims we come across in the field! That makes it less scary, right? C'mon, you've done this before. Just think of Eri! Don't baby Shoto, obviously, but just be patient and gentle with him and things will be just fine! Besides, All Might recommended you for this! He wouldn't do that if he thought you were unqualified for it, would he? And Touya loves Shoto more than anything, it's clear that his safety is his priority, why would he agree to let you come help if he thought you couldn't do this?Izuku's train of thought was interrupted when Touya re-entered the room, a clearly exhausted, clearly awake Shoto clinging to his shirt."That didn't last long, huh?" He asked, giving the brothers both a sympathetic look."Couldn't sleep..." Shoto mumbled, just barely audible.For what it was worth, Shoto did at least look a little guilty for being out of bed and giving up on the 'task' Touya had given him."Aw, sorry to hear, Shoto. Maybe we could hang out here and watch a movie! It might help you unwind a little," The older teen suggested."You like that idea, Sho? I can get you guys some popcorn and you can both get set up in here and watch something," The pro asked.The younger Todoroki nodded in response. It was hesitant, but it was a start."Yeah? Okay, if you want, you boys can go get some blankets and I'll start up some popcorn. How's that sound?" Dabi offered.Shoto nodded again and let go of his brother's shirt, instead taking Izuku's hand and leading him up to his room.The older teen had to admit that it hurt a little to see his best friend's room. Shoto was a clean, organized person by nature. All of his things had a place, and they were very rarely out of that place. Obviously, not having been home in a while, his bedroom was clean. Nearly spotless.The only thing that wasn't neat and organized was his bed. There was a pillow on the floor, his comforter was almost completely thrown off, and his sheets were tangled. It was evident that he had been trying to sleep, but he'd been tossing and turning too much. It was admittedly adorable to see a stuffed penguin sitting safely beside the remaining pillow on the bed, though. He had seen it before, it was usually in his dorm room. Shoto had mentioned that it was the first stuffed animal he'd ever had, and it had been passed down to him from Fuyumi.It definitely didn't hurt as much as seeing his dorm room had the few times he'd been allowed in since Shoto's mental state worsened seemingly out of nowhere. His entire room back at U.A. had been a disaster. It was clear he'd been living in it but just didn't have the energy nor the desire to touch anything he didn't need to. He'd grab what was necessary, and then when he was done with it, it would go on the floor, his bed, or on his desk. He hadn't been able to bring himself to keep the room tidy at all, which had been hard to see.The younger teen started grabbing blankets, allowing Izuku to take a few from his arms so that he could grab a few pillows as well, turning to leave until he paused to glance back at his bed contemplatively, sighing and grabbing the stuffed penguin as well before leading his best friend back to the living room.They both worked to set up a comfy spot on the couch, with Izuku telling Shoto to pick the movie while he went to see how Touya was doing with the popcorn so that he could stay away from the loud noise and make sure that the movie wouldn't be too much for him (Izuku didn't blame him with the popcorn thing, embarrassingly enough Shoto and a few of their other classmates had been around to see him attempt to make popcorn himself, only to watch him get startled by the first pop and jump halfway across the room. Loud noises weren't his favourite either)."Oh, hey Midoriya. Popcorn's almost finished in here, I'll bring it out when it's done. After that, do you think you two would be okay on your own for a bit while I pass out? I dunno how well he's gonna sleep tonight, so hopefully I can prepare for any potential chaos ahead of time," The pro asked."Yep, no problem! Usually, during our class' movie nights at least a handful of us wind up falling asleep, so maybe Shoto will take a nap after all! If he does wind up falling asleep, I won't move him just to make sure he stays asleep for as long as possible. I know he usually doesn't wake up when we pick him up to move him back to his room, but I don't wanna push it since he's been having trouble falling asleep lately, and it'll be easier to keep an eye on him if he stays with me anyway," The green-haired boy accepted."Good. Thanks, kid. Just remember, if either of you need me for anything, come wake me up," Dabi instructed."Right. If anything comes up, I'll try to handle it on my own, but if I can't, I'll come get you," The hero-in-training agreed.Touya nodded and pulled the popcorn out of the microwave, allowing the teen to exit the room to check on Shoto."Hey, Shoto! Did you pick a movie?" Izuku asked.The younger teen nodded from the couch, already buried under layers of comfortable blankets, pointing at the TV screen that was currently displaying an animated movie they had watched on one of their movie nights with the class."Perfect! Your brother is almost done with the popcorn, so we should be all set. He said he was going to take a nap once we're settled in, do you think you'll be okay if it's just the two of us for a while?" The green-haired boy questioned.The younger teen nodded. He'd been somewhat okay without Touya until this point. As long as he wasn't alone, he would be perfectly fine.Well, maybe not perfectly fine, but fine enough.Fine-ish.Instead of overthinking yet again and potentially preventing his brother from resting for longer than he already knew he would be for the next who-knows-how-long, he opened the blanket he was wrapped in, inviting the other teen to sit down next to him. He'd made it a point to sit on the left side of the couch next to the armrest like he always did during the class' movie nights, because some of his friends (mostly Izuku, Ochaco, and Tsu) liked to lean against his side while the movie played, and he always liked to wrap himself in blankets, so he'd make sure whoever was leaned up against him was on his right side to prevent them from overheating under them. It was comforting for more reasons than just familiarity.Izuku complied with the unspoken request, sitting down next to him and adjusting the blanket so it was wrapped around both of them, leaning into Shoto's side as usual.Touya finally returned from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn, setting it down on his little brother's lap and ruffling his hair."There you go. You can make more if you want after that's gone, or we have other snacks in the kitchen, help yourself. I'm going to take a nap, but remember you can both come get me if you need me. Shoto, I'll text our group chat to shoot you a message if they're coming home just in case so no one comes in unannounced, but it's the middle of the week, so the only people we might get coming over are probably just Keigo and Rumi. Keep your phone on you just in case though, okay?" The pro instructed.Both boys nodded, with the younger Todoroki digging into his left pocket to pull his phone out, show his brother, and place it on the side table next to him."Good, I'll see you both later when I wake up then. Have fun with the movie," Dabi then left the room, heading upstairs as he'd said to go to his room."Mmm, popcorn," Izuku spoke, reaching into the bowl and throwing a piece into his mouth, "Alright, let's start up the movie, yeah?"The two-toned boy nodded and grabbed the remote, selecting the movie he'd been hovering over and settling into the couch, idly picking at the popcorn.Both teens were completely content watching the movie, and it turned out, Izuku had been correct earlier, Shoto had been lulled to sleep as they reached the middle of the movie, and the older teen had had to readjust, placing the popcorn beside him so it wouldn't fall off of Shoto's lap and ever-so-carefully pulling the sleepy two-toned boy to lie down in his so he wouldn't hurt his neck. He was able to continue comfortably watching the movie from there, still snacking on the popcorn.Unfortunately, it didn't last. When the movie started reaching the climax, Shoto was startled awake. From what? Izuku had no idea. It was either the movie or a nightmare, but that could wait. Shoto had immediately jolted, shooting up off of his best friend's lap and was thrown straight into a panic attack, shaking and hyperventilating.Luckily, this wasn't the type of panic attack he had witnessed when Touya had come to U.A. to teach their class, Half-Hot was dormant for now, still activated beneath Shoto's skin as it always was, but right now, Half-Cold was taking control. Also fortunate for them was the fact that the entire room hadn't been turned into a winter wonderland. All Half-Cold seemed to be doing at the moment was creating frost across Shoto's skin, his right cheek and hand being the first to start freezing over.Well, maybe it was a good call for the teachers to recommend Touya bring extra help home with them after all.Again though, not important right now."Hey, hey hey! It's alright, Shoto, it's alright! I'm here, I've got you!" Izuku immediately flung himself into caring for the younger teen as he'd been instructed, frantically running through what Touya had told him earlier in his head as he first helped Shoto get his bearings, "Can you hear me, Shoto?""Zuku?" The two-toned boy half-answered, slurring slightly as his body attempted to process both the lack of sufficient oxygen being sent to it and the fact that he was no longer asleep.The green-haired boy thought the accidental nicknaming was adorable, but again, not the time.He absolutely would be adopting that nickname later if his best friend would willingly continue calling him that, though."Yeah, yeah it's Zuku. I'm right here, Shoto, it's okay. Is it okay if I touch you, or no?"The younger teen nodded once he'd processed the question, mismatched eyes going in and out of focus."Alright, c'mere. It'll be okay, I know panic attacks are scary, I get them sometimes too, but it won't last. I'll help you through it, okay?" The older teen soothed, pulling his best friend in for a hug and rubbing his back.He continued murmuring words of comfort and reassurance into the other boy's chest (curse his height) until Shoto seemed like he was gaining lucidity."Hey, Shoto? Do you think you can take a few deep breaths for me? Just try to match my breathing, okay?" Izuku instructed, proceeding to take a few deep breaths himself, exaggerating them slightly so he could be sure the other could feel them.The two-toned boy did as he was asked after a moment."There you go, you've got it! Do you think you'd be able to keep doing that on your own for a few minutes? While you do, I can go get a few things that might help you calm down the rest of the way, how's that sound?" The green-haired teen requested.Shoto nodded and hesitantly let go, allowing his best friend to leave the room as he kept up with the deep breathing.Meanwhile, Izuku began his mission, first going to the kitchen and looking around, quickly finding some hot chocolate mix. He started up the -thankfully electric- kettle and got a mug down from one of the cupboards, preemptively scooping some of the mix in. It took a few minutes, but before long, the kettle was done and he could pour the hot water in. Izuku decided he'd make some for himself as well, just because, but he didn't take either mug with him just yet.He wasn't about to give Shoto a hot liquid while he was in the middle of a panic attack for several reasons, so he decided to continue his mission and come back for the drinks once they'd cooled significantly. He could always ask Shoto to heat his back up with his quirk, and the two-toned boy could easily control the temperature of his own to ensure he was comfortable with it.His next stop took him back up to Shoto's room, immediately coming up with two potential solutions, though one he may have to look elsewhere for. He knew Shoto liked weighted blankets, and he knew there was one around here somewhere, but he couldn't spot it in the room, so he might have to look elsewhere. Oh well, there was another solution in the room, so he could handle that first.Gently approaching the bundle of fluff perched on one of Shoto's beanbag chairs, he made sure the feline spotted him before attempting to get any closer just in case he frightened her."Hey there, you must be Soba," The green-haired boy greeted in a whisper, holding his hand out for the cat to sniff, "I'm Shoto's friend Izuku. Shoto's a bit upset right now, do you think you could help me calm him down?"Izuku was about to internally question why he thought conversing with the chimera would do much of anything, and possibly begin questioning his sanity while he sat there talking to a cat, but before he could, Soba meowed and got up, ever-so-gracefully hopping up on his shoulder and settling back down so that she could be delivered to her master to carry out her new mission. Hm, she was smart."Thank you, Soba. I can see why Shoto loves you so much, you're a good girl," The hero-in-training spoke, rewarding the ragdoll's kindness with some ear scritches as he carefully stood up, not wanting her to fall off. Soba purred in response.He left the room and looked around for any potential clues as to where the weighted blanket could be until he spotted a hall closet that Touya had probably left open at some point. It looked to be full of linens, so he decided to start there. Internally apologizing to the Todorokis for going through it without permission, he took a look at the sheets and blankets folded neatly in piles until he found what he needed. He was almost certain the blanket was Shoto's, considering the pretty royal blue colour of the fabric. It was Shoto's favourite colour, and while Izuku could admit that quite a lot of items in that closet were blue, Shoto had divulged his and his siblings' way of claiming things in the house to the rest of the class when they were all coming up with dorm rules so that nobody accidentally stole each other's things. (The rest of the class accepted the method without much hesitation. Izuku had personally claimed ownership of the colour forest green, not to be confused with Tsu's emerald green. Luckily no one in their class was colourblind, quite a few people had claimed different shades of the same colour.)He grabbed the blanket from the pile, ensuring that he didn't unfold any of the other linens or pull anything else out of the closet by accident, went back downstairs, and re-entered the living room. Shoto was still curled up on the couch with his eyes closed, continuing to take deep breaths as he was instructed."Alright, Shoto. I got your weighted blanket and made some hot chocolate -I'll go get that in a minute- is there anything I haven't gotten that you think might help?" Izuku questioned, wrapping the blanket around the younger teen's shoulders, "Oh! Before you answer that, look who came with me to check on you!"The older teen crouched down in front of the couch so that Soba could get off his shoulders without having to jump onto her owner and potentially startle him more. Luckily, the feline sensed Shoto's anxiety and seemingly understood what she needed to do next. She carefully padded from Izuku's shoulders to Shoto's lap, placing her front paws on his chest as she sniffed his face, let out a little 'mrrrr?' and then pressed her face up against his neck, settling herself in comfortably on top of him. She even let out a few contented purrs. Izuku was immediately reassured as the two-toned boy began -ever-so-slowly and shakily- petting his beloved chimera.Hey, at least someone knew what they were doing here. Izuku was also subconsciously reminded of an article he read somewhere that stated that cats provided excellent therapy since their purrs were able to calm anxious individuals, and the feline companions could even promote better physical health....Maybe he should look into getting a cat."Hang on one sec, Shoto. I'll go get the hot chocolate. It should be a bit warm, but it's not hot. You can change the temperature if you'd prefer it to be hotter or colder, don't worry," The green-haired boy spoke, standing and leaving again briefly to go retrieve the drinks.When he came back, he set the drinks down on the coffee table and sat back down beside his best friend, "Hey, Shoto? What exactly caused the panic attack? Do you know? You were sleeping pretty soundly before that, was it a nightmare? Did the movie startle you?"Shoto hummed and stared at the screen where their movie had been paused for a while now."...Both, sort of. I wasn't exactly having a nightmare, but..." The younger teen trailed off, "I couldn't wake up on my own. Guess the movie did for me.""Hm," Izuku replied, leaning into the taller boy's side, mindful of the cat resting on top of him, "What do you mean about the nightmare, though? What was it if it caused you to have a panic attack like that when you woke up?""I mean... I guess it still kinda counts as a nightmare, but I just kinda... relive memories sometimes. It's a nightmare in the sense that I'm seeing bad things in my head while I sleep, but it's not in the sense that it's... things that actually happened instead of a normal dream where none of it is real. I don't know how to describe it. My therapist says it's normal for people with PTSD though," The two-toned boy attempted to elaborate."Kinda like a flashback?" The green-haired teen inquired."Mhm," The other confirmed."Did it have anything to do with whatever triggered you?" Izuku asked."...No, it didn't. It was just... more memories of my father, that's all," Shoto denied, with the slightest bit of hesitance, the other noted."Aw, I'm sorry, Shoto. Do you want to talk about it?" The older teen questioned."No, not really. Not because it's bothering me or anything, it's just... tiring to think about him too much. I'd rather forget about him for as long as possible," The younger teen answered."That's fair. I'm always here if you want to talk, but you don't have to if you don't want to, and if there's anything you aren't ready to talk about, then you can wait as long as you need, I'll still be here when you're ready," Izuku responded, "Do you want to keep watching the movie, or would you rather do something else now?""I don't know if I can right now, I'm a bit... on edge. I don't want to have another panic attack," Shoto replied."That's okay! Don't push yourself to do anything you aren't sure about. Hm... Your brother mentioned that listening to other people's voices helps you calm down, how about that? I mean, I'm not a singer by any means, so that's definitely out, but maybe I could read you a book! Would you like that?" The older teen offered."I think I would... What about the book you recommended to me last month? The fantasy one?" The two-toned boy suggested back."That's a great idea! I have it in my bag, I'll go get it!" Izuku agreed, heading to the guest room where Touya had put his bags to find the book. Once he'd grabbed it, he made his way back downstairs. He tried not to feel too bad about leaving Shoto by himself a few times, but it was a bit difficult when his best friend looked a bit miserable until he noticed him re-enter the room. He instead decided to justify it by telling himself he was only leaving the room out of necessity, and that everything he left the room to go get would make him much happier than if he hadn't left at all. Yeah, that worked. Kinda."Here it is!" The older teen exclaimed, settling back down on the couch beside Shoto, allowing the younger to wrap the right half of the weighted blanket around his shoulder and lean into his side.The two-toned boy was still a little shaky and dissociated, but he seemed intent on listening to the story as he curled up and rested against the other, moving Soba to curl up comfortably between the two as Izuku opened the book and turned to the first page.-----------------When Touya woke up and left his room, it was pretty quiet. He assumed that was a good thing, the house hadn't burned down while he was asleep, and neither of the boys had come to wake him up, so they should both be fine, right?He was about halfway down the stairs when he heard a quiet voice. Okay, so the boys were still alive, and no one was panicking. Also a good sign.The voice was definitely Midoriya's. It lacked his usual energy, but he didn't sound distressed or upset, just calm and soothing. He decided to stop by the living room to check up on them anyway.The boys were curled up together on the couch, wrapped in a weighted blanket. Shoto had a mug of hot chocolate in one hand while the other occupied itself petting Soba, who was passed out, purring away between the teens. Midoriya, on the other hand, had one arm around the younger teen, and the other was holding a book. The green-haired boy was reading out loud. So that's what they were doing. They both seemed content. He had nothing to worry about at all.He made sure both of the boys realized he was in the room, taking a moment to sit down on another couch as the teens looked up, Midoriya pausing his reading."Oh, hey Touya! How was your nap?" The hero-in-training inquired, marking his place with a bookmark and setting the book aside."Pretty good. You two finish your movie?" The older Todoroki asked.Shoto got up from the couch and left the room, presumably to use the bathroom or something. Touya and Izuku both watched him leave, but neither wanted to bother him or coddle him while he was doing things by himself, so they didn't say anything. Once he was gone, Midoriya answered his question."We... actually didn't finish the movie. It turns out I was right, Shoto did fall asleep somewhere in the middle of it, but he had a nightmare. Then a loud noise from the movie woke him up and sent him straight into a panic attack, so I calmed him down and got him to breathe like you said. I went and made some hot chocolate for us both, found Soba and his weighted blanket, and then came back and read to him since you mentioned he liked listening to people's voices. Oh, but don't worry, I let the hot chocolate sit out while I got everything else ready. I figured he would heat it back up if he wanted it hot, but I didn't want to give him a hot drink while he was all shaky and anxious just in case.""Perfect, thanks, kid. It's not great that all this is happening in the first place, or that no one's got any idea what's causing it, but it's nice to have someone else here who's able to help him out when he needs it," Touya responded."I've been pretty worried for Shoto since we first started seeing the change in his behaviour, so I'm just relieved I can be of any help at all. I know I'd get way too anxious and overbearing trying to help him by myself, so I'm glad I'm doing it with you since you've known him his whole life, and you've been the one to care for him like this for years. Hopefully, getting positive updates from quite possibly one of the most anxious people in our class will help reassure the others at least a little," The hero-in-training replied."Yeah, I'm gonna have to update the rest of my siblings on the situation. That's not going to be fun, we might see a concerned Fuyumi pop up at some point and then refuse to leave until her class needs her again. Or we could go even further down the chaotic route and have Hawks or Mirko show up and fuss over him a little. The only person I'm about ninety-nine percent sure we won't see is Natsuo, but he's at college out of the city and still doesn't own a car, so even if he did come back, it wouldn't be for long. On the subject of your classmates, though, have you talked to any of them about Shoto's behaviour at all? Have they said anything noteworthy at any point?" Dabi questioned."Yeah, we've all talked about it a few times trying to figure out what was up, but no one had anything. I've been with him pretty much constantly since he started noticeably getting worse, so I think the only one who would have anything that could potentially help us is Kaachan. Shoto's been avoiding him, sure, but he's at least been out in the open and easier to observe while they've been in their supplementary classes. I could try texting him to see if he's seen or noticed anything at all," Izuku sighed."We should start there. I think it's best if we at least know what's been going on with him at all times. Doesn't matter how insignificant it seems, it could potentially help. If Bakugou noticed something off with him at any point, we could ask him what was happening around the time it happened, and then we might be able to piece something together from there. I think unless Shoto tells us himself, it's the best we've got," The older Todoroki decided.The green-haired boy nodded and took his phone off the coffee table, quickly unlocking it and shooting his childhood friend a text.-Direct Message >>>> KaachanIzuku: Hey, Kaachan, Touya and I need your help with something.Izuku: We were both wondering if you noticed anything off with Shoto while you two were at your supplementary classes.Izuku: Did anything change with him at any point? Was anything off at all? We know everything about the way he's been acting has been 'off', but was there anything that the rest of us haven't seen at all? It doesn't matter how small it seems, anything will help.-"I sent Kaachan a text and asked him if he noticed anything. Hopefully, he'll respond at some point, but until then, we only have what we already know," The hero-in-training spoke, placing his phone back down."Alright, we can handle things until then," Touya replied.Shoto came back and sat down, and the three of them decided to turn on another random movie. They'd gotten halfway through the second movie by the time Touya needed to start making dinner, so Shoto and Izuku finished it on their own. They'd gotten about three-quarters of the way through a third movie by the time they were called to eat. Touya set the table and instructed them to sit down, bringing out their bowls before he joined them at the table."Here you go," The pro spoke, placing down their servings in front of them, "I made miso soup. Sorry, it's nothing crazy, I'm not Fuyumi, but I like to think I'm at least a decent cook. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it, we have other things I can make, but on the other hand, if you do like it, there's more in the kitchen, so have as much as you want.""It looks good, thank you!" Izuku responded."I like your cooking, Touya-nii," Shoto chimed in."Thanks, Sho, and no problem, Midoriya," Dabi replied to both teens as he sat down.They gave their thanks for the meal and started eating."Hey, Midoriya, are there any foods you like in particular? I'll see if I can make a few so we can avoid making anything you don't like while you're here," The older Todoroki asked."Katsudon is his favourite," The two-toned boy piped up before the older teen could say a word."I don't think I ever actually told you that, Shoto. How did you remember?" The green-haired boy questioned."I remember everyone's favourites," The younger Todoroki shrugged, "Everyone in the Dekusquad, anyway. Yours is katsudon, Tenya's is beef stew, Ochaco's is mochi, and Tsu's is jelly. You always order katsudon from the cafeteria, so I just assumed it was your favourite. Also, you cried the first time Bakugou made it for dinner because he used your mom's recipe, and he felt the need to clarify that he didn't make it for you."Izuku sighed, "Yeah, that's fair...""How'd Bakugou get his hands on your mom's katsudon recipe?" Touya inquired."Kaachan is different around Mom, it throws me off every time I see it. It's not even an act or anything, she already knows exactly how he is usually, he's like that with everyone but her. Mom was friends with his parents in high school, so we grew up together by default. I call his parents 'Auntie Mitsuki' and 'Uncle Masaru', and he calls my mom 'Auntie Inko'. He most likely just asked her for her recipe. She definitely would've given it to him," The green-haired boy answered."Huh, I knew you guys were childhood friends, but I didn't know you knew each other for that long. Guess that makes more sense then," The pro reasoned."Mhm, anyway, I'm not picky, I'll eat just about anything. The only food that I can think of that I dislike is calamari, honestly," Izuku responded."Nothing to worry about there, I hate seafood in general with a burning passion, and the only seafood Shoto can stand is grilled fish, but even then, only certain kinds. He and Fuyumi aren't all that adventurous when it comes to food, they aren't up for picking things up to find new meal ideas, and Fuyumi actually likes seafood. That's Natsuo's thing. Natsu and I are the ones who like trying things, but I'm not about to start scavenging the ocean to see what's edible and what isn't. It's all equally gross to me," Dabi assured."I don't like a lot of things about most kinds of seafood. Most of them are either hard or slimy, it smells gross, and I don't know why anyone would think it's a good idea to eat raw meat," Shoto chimed in, apparently feeling the need to defend his food preferences."I get it. Seafood isn't my favourite, but I do like it. I understand why some people are so put off by it, though. I'm not all that eager to try the more creative dishes. I'll eat foreign meals with no problem, but I most likely won't be eating any... 'exotic' dishes. I have my limits," The older teen replied.The three of them continued to conversate as they ate, with Shoto having become surprisingly animated, as opposed to the silent, skittish behaviour he'd been displaying for the past few weeks. He was eating more too, and he didn't even need to be prompted to do so. Perhaps it was because he felt safer at home. The dorms were still a relatively new development, especially for someone like Shoto, who'd never so much as had sleepovers before. He wasn't used to being away from home for so long, and even as he slowly got acclimated to living at U.A. and started getting used to calling Heights Alliance 'home', it still wasn't the same. For years Shoto had described 'home' as the flat where he lived with his siblings, occasionally shared with Keigo and Rumi, but now he had more than one home. He still wasn't used to his class, either. Well, he was used to them as a class, but he wasn't used to them as individuals yet. He had the Dekusquad, all four of his fellow members he considered extremely close friends, and he had a few people outside of the four of them that he could maybe call friends, the only reason he hesitated to do so being the fact that he hadn't heard them refer to him as a friend and he didn't want to assume, but outside of that, the rest of the class were all acquaintances to him. That didn't mean he didn't like them, he did love all of his classmates (except for maybe Mineta, who made Shoto severely uncomfortable), he just didn't interact with them as much.Now, though, in the comfort of his home, the one he was used to, with his big brother and his first (and best) friend to keep him company (and his precious feline companion as a bonus), he felt he could let his guard down, even just a little. The bad feelings didn't completely vanish, throughout the day he'd continue to flinch at random, unexpected sounds or movements, and he was still a bit more sensitive than normal, but Touya and Izuku could slowly see the life and energy returning. It was gradual, but it was there.Luckily, that behaviour would persist through the week. Shoto would be content, if not exhausted and a bit jumpy, but he would eat fine, with some assistance from Izuku for his sleep-deprived brain he would be able to complete his schoolwork without much trouble, and Touya would take them on runs around the block in the morning to keep their stamina up before he went and crashed in his room for an hour or two.Unfortunately, Shoto's improvement only showed itself in the day. At night, when everyone went to bed, the nightmares would return and his paranoia would follow in full force, leading to several sleepless nights for him and Touya, with Izuku sleeping peacefully in his guest room, completely oblivious until the next morning when both brothers would wake up dead on their feet. He always felt a little bad that he was getting all the rest he needed while the two of them were unable to, but that guilt was quickly assuaged when he got to be the one spending time with his best friend during the day while Touya was catching up on rest.Also unfortunate was the fact that Bakugou hadn't responded to the texts he'd been sending yet. After a few days, he'd started to get concerned that something had happened in their absence, but when he questioned the class group chat, he'd been assured that everything was fine and that Bakugou was simply preoccupied with schoolwork, training, and his supplementary classes. Luckily, Kirishima told him that he'd pass the message along and tell the blonde to check his phone as soon as he had the time.The green-haired boy quickly found a sense of rhythm in the routine they'd created and even made himself useful by making lunch for the three of them, doing the dishes after meals, helping Shoto with his schoolwork, and even keeping the younger's mind occupied by throwing ideas for new moves he could work on once he was up for it, or new upgrades he could think about adding to his costume for him to fight more efficiently.By Sunday at the end of the first week, they hadn't gained any new information, and they were starting to wonder if they ever would.That was, until after lunch.Touya had instructed Shoto to take a nap while he and Izuku did the dishes.Once the younger Todoroki had disappeared up the stairs and into his room, they were able to talk freely."I'm gonna guess last night was pretty bad, yeah?" The hero-in-training asked."What made you think that? Was it the fact that we were passed out on top of each other on the living room couch this morning?" Dabi joked."Something like that," The teen returned."Yeah, he had another nightmare-induced panic attack, and then refused to go back to sleep afterwards, so I took him down to the living room and made him some hot chocolate. Turns out Natsu was up for some reason so we were on call with him for a while, and then after that it only took about half an hour before Sho passed out again, so I just laid there with him and fell asleep instead of moving him," The pro explained."I didn't realize nightmares were so common for Shoto. We knew he got them sometimes, he said as much when our class first started having sleepovers in the common rooms after villain attacks, but everyone gets nightmares sometimes, and that's without adding all of the scary stuff that's happened this year alone, I didn't think it happened that often," The teen responded."Yep, that's definitely a Shoto thing to do, and if I know my brother -which I definitely do- I'm gonna guess he only admitted to having nightmares to reassure someone else that they were a normal thing to experience, even as a hero, right?""Yep, I think it was Ashido who admitted she was having nightmares first since she was the one to suggest the class sleepovers, but she and a few others in the class said they felt silly talking about it because they 'hadn't been through as much as the rest of us' and we were 'handling it much better'. Shoto said he had nightmares a lot too and that just because scary things had happened directly to some of us didn't mean they didn't also experience some of those scary things as well," Midoriya confirmed."U.A. needs to hire a therapist," Dabi muttered, "He is right, witnessing something traumatizing happening to someone you're close to is still trauma, and it's just as valid of an experience. Also, two people can have the same experience and have vastly different responses to it, it doesn't make either experience or response any less valid. Trauma is trauma. Hell, my family is a prime example of that. We all witnessed and experienced some form of abuse. Did any of us handle it even remotely well? Fuck no. Did we all have the same response to it? Fuck no. Mom had to be institutionalized, meanwhile, the rest of us just require a shit-ton of therapy. Same abuser, similar abuse, vastly different responses.""Yeah, it depends on the person," The hero-in-training agreed, "On the other hand, people who go through different experiences can have pretty similar reactions to it as well. I found that Shoto kinda acts similarly to the little girl I helped save during the work-study mission I came back from a few weeks ago.""Oh yeah? That was the Shie Hassaikai raid, right? I heard a bit about the mission, but I was busy with a whole bunch of cases, so I didn't get the whole rundown, and I couldn't actually help out at all. What was that whole thing about?" Touya inquired."Yeah, that's right. The little girl was the daughter of the head of the Yakuza. A villain named Overhaul. He was using Eri -that's the little girl's name- for her quirk. He can disassemble and reassemble matter, living or non-living, by touching whatever it is he wants to reconfigure, while her quirk, Rewind, can revert the physical state of anything she touches, as long as she has the energy stored up to do so. He was using her DNA to make bullets that erased people's quirks by attacking their quirk gene directly. I found her while I was on patrol with one of our upperclassmen, and I was one of the ones to take down Overhaul and save her," Izuku explained."Oh, that's..." Touya trailed off, "Disturbing as shit. I don't think I would have been able to participate in that mission, honestly. Drug rings? Black market shit? Sure, been there, done that, but that... I don't think I would've done well with that one.""Hm? Why not?" The teen questioned."Part of being a hero is awareness, not just situational awareness, but self-awareness. Sure, sometimes if you run into a case out of nowhere you won't have a choice and you'll have to step in, but if it's something like this, where there's a choice to join in? You have the right to say no. You need to know what you're personally comfortable with, and sometimes, you'll come across missions that are too much, and participating in them will only make you a liability, you'll be detrimental to the case. You have to know when to sit things out and wait for a case you'll be more confident in. In this case, I'm talking specifically about how close to home that hits. If I got everything from your explanation down right, a child was being abused by her father and essentially used for her quirk as a means to achieve his goal. That's essentially what happened to Shoto; it was just a different type of abuse for a different goal. He was bred to have his quirks and then was horribly abused just so that he could become the perfect weapon for our father. This Eri kid might not have been created to have the quirk she did, but if I understand the significance of their quirks correctly, she was being taken apart by her father to become the weapon. Same experience, different fonts kinda deal. As Shoto's older brother, I've seen what happened to Shoto, and I've seen the aftermath. I know all the nitty-gritty details of just what 'abuse' can entail firsthand, and the effect it can have on people, especially little kids. I wouldn't have been able to go into that case and see that little girl for who she is, and I definitely couldn't have been in that situation as a pro-hero. I would've gone into that case and seen my little brother being hurt all over again and let my emotions and my trauma get in the way and compromise the mission. When you think personal feelings and experiences will get in the way, let someone else handle the situation, because if you don't, things could go wrong very easily," Dabi explained."Ah, I get it now. I'll be honest, I almost compromised the mission before it even started. Eri ran into me by accident trying to run away while Togata-senpai -the upperclassman I was with- and I were patrolling, and she kept flinching when I tried to help her up and make sure she was okay. We both knew something was up with her, but we weren't sure what. Then Overhaul came up and started... acting at us. He tried to make it seem like she was just his daughter throwing a tantrum and being petulant, but she was petrified. As soon as he showed up she went from being afraid to let me touch her to throwing herself into my arms. She begged us not to go. She went back with him willingly once he told her to, I know now that it's because she was used to him killing people right in front of her and telling her he killed them because of her, so she was most likely trying to protect us from him, but I um... I got agitated and started asking him... things I wasn't supposed to. Togata-senpai made me stop talking and attempted to play it off so he wouldn't get suspicious and we could come back for her after we had a plan, but I wanted to save her then and there. I tipped him off that we knew something was up. To be honest, the only reason we even won against him is because I had Eri on my back, and her quirk activating out of stress rewound all the injuries I was giving myself, so I didn't need to hold back. I was able to go all out because Eri undid all the damage, and her quirk wasn't dangerous for me because I was giving her more to rewind faster than she could heal me," Izuku responded."Don't beat yourself up over it. It was your first work-study mission and you were thrown straight into the deep end. You did what you thought was best on instinct. Even if it went a bit south, it's good that you realized something was wrong and that some sort of action needed to be taken. Your upperclassman was right too, when you don't know the enemy or his capabilities, it's best to get backup and do your research first before rushing in headfirst. There isn't a single hero to ever exist who could do everything by themselves, especially right from the beginning of their careers. Not even All Might. I mean, you did your work-study with his former sidekick, yeah? That right there should be proof enough. You just got your license, every hero is bound to make some mistakes in the beginning, I know I did, give it some time and a bit more experience and you'll be nailing it, promise. You rescued the kid in the end, right? Focus on that instead of what you could've done," The pro advised."I think it went more than a bit south. We were all pretty severely injured, Kirishima was completely unconscious, Fatgum lost all of the energy he had stored, Amajiki-senpai was barely standing, Aizawa-sensei was stabbed, Rock Lock was knocked unconscious for a while, and judging by the fact that Toga was able to transform into him, he was stabbed as well, Ochaco, Tsu, Hado-senpai, and Ryukyu had a lot of energy drained, and since Ochaco and Tsu were both busy escorting the people who were badly injured, they were both covered in blood that wasn't even theirs, Togata-senpai was unconscious and lost his quirk, I was pretty badly injured, even with Eri's help, Eri gave herself a fever from quirk overuse, and Sir Nighteye died. The situation was a bit more complicated than that," The green-haired boy explained."I heard. Well, some of it anyway, but you're right. The situation was more complicated. For a mission that big and that risky, that sort of outcome is to be expected. It sucks, it never gets easier to witness, and I'm sorry that that was your first exposure to hero work, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It's impossible to save everybody, as depressing as that is, but you did save the one you were supposed to, so the mission was still successful. Sometimes, you have to take the wins with the losses, otherwise, you'll go insane picking apart every little thing that goes wrong, and that, my friend, is how you get people like Endeavour. We don't do that shit here, instead, we take mistakes and failures as learning experiences, and we move on. You're allowed to be upset that not everything went according to plan, and you're allowed to grieve what you've lost, but you're also allowed to be happy that you won in the end, and you're allowed to be happy that you survived. Being a hero is hard, and things like this are just part of the job, but you shouldn't let it get to you. Acknowledge the negatives, but focus on the positives. Like... how's the kid doing?" Touya assured."Oh, Eri's doing better! She was discharged from the hospital recently, now she lives in the teacher's dorms with Aizawa-sensei, he's officially taken her in. She's still recovering, and she's obviously still traumatized, but she's slowly coming around. Togata-senpai and I would always visit her in the hospital when we had time, she seemed to like that. Now since she's officially discharged from the hospital, Togata-senpai takes care of her when Aizawa-sensei is busy teaching since he can't exactly attend classes right now. They're going to get her to start training her quirk to get it under control once she's more stable, and she seems determined to try to help Togata-senpai get his quirk back once she's ready, so that's good. She's really sweet," Izuku immediately perked up with the question."That's good. How old is she anyway?" Dabi inquired."I think I remember the heroes who were gathering information saying she's around... six? She wasn't much help in that department considering she was never given much of an education, but Togata-senpai says he's going to start helping her with that as well. She seems pretty eager to start learning new things, though I guess it's natural for kids her age to be curious about things they don't know," The hero-in-training replied."Oh my god, she is like Shoto. Well, Shoto was always extremely intelligent for his age, academically speaking, since he wasn't allowed to do much other than train and study, but when it wasn't school-related, he was lost. Granted, he didn't like asking questions considering he was still in his quiet, 'don't ask questions otherwise you'll get in trouble' phase, but once we finally got him to understand that questions were perfectly fine and we'd do our best to answer them, he did it a lot. Going back was no longer a possibility, he just questioned everything. It was cute, and he was just trying to make sense of things since everything was so new to him, but holy shit, it was hard to keep up with. I feel bad for our mom for having to put up with that four times over," The older spoke, "Anyway, how're your classmates doing now? The ones who were on the raid, I mean.""They're doing alright. The four of us are a bit shaken up still, but we've all recovered physically. With the way the mission went, I'm confused as to how some of our classmates thought we were handling things better than they were. We weren't allowed to tell anyone about the mission before it happened, but it was after we'd learned all of the details and what the plan was, so we were all just sitting there quietly with the knowledge of exactly what was happening to Eri and had to attempt to act like everything was normal. I straight up cried during lunch once, and I couldn't even tell anyone why, so to Shoto and Tenya we were just eating lunch like usual until I broke down out of nowhere. I felt bad because they both wound up getting worried about me and then decided that since they weren't going to get a reason why, they'd just share their lunch with me and hope that I'd stop crying eventually," Izuku admitted.The pro snorted, "Yep, that's a Shoto thing to do alright. No idea how to comfort people, so he just gives them food and hopes it'll make them happy. Nice of 'em, though, they're trying. It's always the 'not telling anyone' that's the most difficult.""Luckily we were able to tell everyone after the mission, so I was able to let Shoto and Tenya know why I was acting so different and that they didn't need to worry about me anymore. I told them both that I was upset about having to wait to save Eri and all that and they both understood. They were both pretty upset hearing about what exactly we were saving her from and told me they would've been the same way if they'd been part of the mission," The green-haired boy assured."Yeah, I'm glad Shoto couldn't go on that one. Knowing him he'd try to get in on the mission and then lose it in the middle of it. If I wouldn't be fit for that mission, he definitely wouldn't have been. He still needs to work on regulating his emotions on the field. I love him, and he's already a great hero, but if he managed to get into a fight during the licensing exam that completely threw him off, he needs a bit of extra time to figure out how to keep his emotions in check. I'm still not even sure what that fight was about or who it was with, the only time it was mentioned was when we heard he failed the exam. He was the only one who was mad about it, but he wouldn't answer any questions," Dabi responded."I didn't catch much, but from what I saw, to be fair on Shoto's part, it did seem a bit like a pointed attack towards him. He was fighting with a student from Shiketsu. If I remember right, his name was... Inasa Yoarashi? He had a wind-related quirk, I remember that for sure. He seemed generally friendly, he was pretty loud and energetic, but as soon as he saw Shoto he just ignored him and walked away. Shoto tried to ask him if something was wrong after he finished the first round, but that was before any of our class finished, and he wouldn't tell me what he said, so I dunno. Then during the last round, everything was going fine until Gang Orca showed up. Then it was like a switch flipped and he started interfering with Shoto's attacks. Shoto got pretty fed up and started fighting back. They eventually worked together and did fine for the rest of the exam, but they both still failed. Kirishima says he was right next to Shoto after the exam and that Yoarashi came up to him and apologized to him for sabotaging him, and then said that he 'still doesn't like him, but he's looking forward to taking lessons with him'. That was a bit weird, but apparently, Shoto accepted it and apologized for fighting with him as well. The only thing he's told me about it is that he's upset about what happened at the exam, but that he didn't blame Yoarashi and was going to keep working until he got his license too. Maybe once Kaachan finally decides to respond to my texts I can ask him if he knows what's up," The hero-in-training elaborated."Huh. That's... weird. He was only like that with Shoto?" The pro questioned."Yep. I dunno why, but he was relatively friendly with the rest of us. He just had it out for Shoto for some reason," Izuku shrugged.The two of them both finished the dishes, Izuku putting the last of them away while Touya dried his hands off before they moved to the living room. Once they sat down, Izuku immediately checked his phone for any new messages. Luckily, his prayers had finally been answered and it seemed Bakugou had finally texted him back."Oh! One minute, Kaachan responded," He informed, opening his phone.-Direct Message >>>> KaachanIzuku: Hey, Kaachan, Touya and I need your help with something.Izuku: We were both wondering if you noticed anything off with Shoto while you two were at your supplementary classes.Izuku: Did anything change with him at any point? Was anything off at all? We know everything about the way he's been acting has been 'off', but was there anything that the rest of us haven't seen at all? It doesn't matter how small it seems, anything will help.-Unread Messages-Kaachan: Only thing I can think of is him fuckin following me around during our supplementary classes like he's you or somethin and then fucking off and refusing to exist around me once we're back at the dorms.Kaachan: Also gave his number to Utsushimi 'cause she asked for it and the dumbass didn't realize she was flirting.Izuku: Okay... Well, that last part was irrelevant, but thanks Kaachan! One more thing. Do you know anything about what happened between him and Yoarashi at the exam? I know Yoarashi was pretty hostile to him, but I don't know why. Or anything else about him, really.Kaachan: Who, Baldy? Apparently, he took U.A.'s recommendation exam and placed above Icyhot but then he withdrew his application and fucked off to Shiketsu, but I dunno why.Kaachan: He's got a grudge against Endeavour or somethin too. Dunno what's up with that, but I overheard 'em talking and he said Icyhot looked like 'the man he hated' or some bullshit.Izuku: Ah. That would be a good reason for Shoto to act the way he has been.Kaachan: How's Icyhot doing anyway?Izuku is typing...Kaachan: Not like I care or some bullshit like that, it's just fuckin weird being the only U.A. student stuck with a buncha extras. 'Sides, I still want that rematch and I won't win fair and square if that bastard doesn't keep training.Izuku: Ah, of course Kaachan. Shoto's... Well, he's fine for the most part. Ever since Touya took him home he's been eating properly again, he's been talking just fine, he's been keeping up with schoolwork, heck, we even did a bit of hand-to-hand sparring in their backyard yesterday.Kaachan: So then why the hell aren't you both back yet if he's doing fine?Izuku: It's nighttime that's the main issue. Whenever he goes to sleep he gets really bad nightmares and wakes up having a panic attack. He and Touya have both been napping during the day because according to Touya, he's woken up screaming a few times. Last night was bad. Touya said he refused to go back to sleep once he'd calmed down from his panic attack. I found them both passed out on the couch together this morning.Izuku: It makes sense though, before Touya took us both to his place, he and Aizawa-sensei said that Shoto was diagnosed with C-PTSD when he was about seven after he started acting the same way. I calmed him down from a panic attack on the first day and he mentioned that rather than having nightmares like usual, he sometimes relives memories instead while he's asleep. He didn't explain what memory he saw, just that it was about Endeavour.Kaachan: Well, fuck. You thinking he's remembering all that 'cause Baldy compared them or some shit?Izuku: Maybe. Shoto said his dad wasn't the reason he was acting weird, but maybe he still wasn't necessarily lying. Maybe the comment set him off, and then something else made it worse. Either way, it's the only possible cause we have to work with right now.Izuku: This helps a lot, thanks Kaachan.Kaachan: Yeah yeah, whatever nerd.-"I think we've got some answers now," The green-haired boy announced."What'd Bakugou say?" Touya questioned."I'm not a hundred percent positive that it's what caused all this, but it answers what happened at the licensing exam. Kaachan said that Yoarashi was the top candidate for U.A.'s recommendation exam. He placed ahead of Shoto, but for some reason, he withdrew his application and went to Shiketsu instead. I might have the reason for that now too. Kaachan overheard the two of them talking, and it turns out, Yoarashi has some sort of grudge or something against Endeavour. He overheard him telling Shoto he looked just like 'the man he hated', or something like that. The comment may have set him off at first, but something else may have made it worse. On the first day we got here, Shoto did say that Endeavour wasn't the reason he's been acting so off, but I can guarantee that the comment did affect him in some way," Izuku divulged."Goddamnit. There's no way that didn't fuck with him. Now the fight makes sense, and the weird, unexplained hatred. Did Bakugou say anything else?" The pro inquired."He said the only thing that seemed off about him during the supplementary classes was that he'd stick by him pretty closely while they were at the classes, but then when they'd get back he'd immediately avoid him. I assume he's been avoiding him at the dorms for the same reason he's disliked him since the beginning of the year; he's loud and aggressive. I noticed he tends to hate people like that. But I imagine he's stuck by him during the supplementary lessons because he's the only one Shoto knows and can somewhat trust there. There's a possibility he's trying to get as far as possible from Yoarashi, so he sticks by Bakugou since he tends to chase people off pretty easily. It'd make sense, since Yoarashi's pretty loud and has an active grudge against Shoto, and by actively comparing him to Endeavour to his face, he may associate the two in some way now," The hero-in-training theorized."Yeah, that logic tracks. Putting up with one potential threat to chase off what in his mind is an even bigger threat. Bakugou's loud and aggressive, but he trusts him enough to know that Bakugou wouldn't hurt him for no reason, and he's shown at least once that he cares enough about his wellbeing to back off when Shoto's vulnerable. This Yoarashi kid, on the other hand, went out of his way to aggravate Shoto, on top of comparing him to Endeavour, so Shoto doesn't feel safe around him," Touya agreed.Izuku's phone dinged again. When he re-opened his phone, the notification showed a text from Mirio. The two had exchanged numbers during their work study together, and the upperclassman had readily taken advantage of it, sending him pictures of Eri and letting him know how she'd been doing, knowing that he cared for the little girl as well and wanted to know she was okay, even when he couldn't see her for himself.Meanwhile, Shoto came back downstairs, not saying a word as he sat down on the couch next to Izuku."Ah, Togata-senpai messaged me. The Big Three are watching Eri right now, so he sent me an update," The green-haired boy spoke."Oh, really?" The older Todoroki asked."...How's she doing?" Shoto questioned softly."Togata-senpai says 'Hey, Midoriya. We're taking care of Eri again today. Hado went out yesterday to find some new clothes for her and I think she really likes this one! She seemed excited to show you and couldn't wait until you got back, so I took a picture,'" The older teen read out loud, scrolling down a bit to see the attached picture.Just like Mirio had said, there was a little picture of Eri in a white, long-sleeved blouse, a red overall dress, some black leggings, and a pair of boots with a little cross-body purse, all no doubt from Nejire. She seemed content, even through her awkward, slightly strained attempt to smile for the camera. Oh well, she'd have plenty of time to work on it. Izuku turned the phone to show both of the brothers, the older of whom huffed a laugh at the adorable little girl while the younger stared at the picture with a blank expression for a moment."She's cute," Dabi commented."Is she okay?" Shoto inquired, now looking somewhat concerned as he scanned the photo."She's alright! She's just trying to smile for the camera, but she's still not quite sure how just yet. She'll get the hang of it eventually, she just needs time," The green-haired boy assured.The younger teen didn't look entirely convinced so Izuku paused to think for a moment, "Here, I can ask Togata-senpai how she's been doing, how about that?"The two-toned boy nodded and waited patiently as his best friend started typing.-Direct Message >>>> Togata-senpaiTogata-senpai: Hey, Midoriya. We're taking care of Eri again today. Hado went out yesterday to find some new clothes for her and I think she really likes this one! She seemed excited to show you and couldn't wait until you got back, so I took a picture.Togata-senpai: Attatched an imageIzuku: Awe, she looks cute! Tell her I said I like her new outfit!Izuku: How's Eri doing? I'm with Shoto and his brother right now, and Shoto wanted to know.Togata-senpai: Will do!Togata-senpai: She's doing great! She's slowly starting to come out of her shell, she's getting a bit more comfortable talking to other people, but she still isn't talking to everyone just yet. So far she only really talks to the two of us, Hado, Tamaki, Kirishima, Uraraka, Asui, and Aizawa, but I'm sure she'll get better over time. Aizawa says it'd be best if we introduce her to more people slowly and make sure she has someone she trusts with her while she's meeting new people so that she doesn't get too overwhelmed.Izuku: That's good! Thanks for the update, Togata-senpai! Maybe it might be nice to introduce Eri to Shoto. I was talking with his older brother earlier and when I described Eri to him he said Shoto was pretty similar when he was her age, and Shoto's a lot calmer and quieter, so maybe he'd know how to handle her better. I'd have to ask Aizawa-sensei what he thinks about the idea, he knew him when he was that young, and he's the one who took Eri in, so I think he'd be a better judge than I would.Togata-senpai: I can pass the idea along! She could use someone who can be patient with her and won't overwhelm her, it sounds like a good idea! As long as Eri and Todoroki are both alright with it, I'd be on board to introduce them!Izuku: That'd be great, thanks! I have no idea when the two of us will be back at U.A, but it might be nice for Eri to meet someone who understands her a little better, and it might be nice for Shoto to meet someone like him. I think it'd help both of them out a bit! If Aizawa-sensei likes the idea, then we can check in with both of them and see if they'd be up for it!Togata-senpai: Sounds great! Tell everyone I say hi! Eri says 'Tell Mr. Deku and his friends I said hi too'. Hope everything goes well over there!Izuku: I will! Tell everyone I say hi too! Thanks a lot!-"What'd Togata-senpai say?" Shoto asked once Izuku put his phone down."Well, first up, he told me to tell everyone he says hi, and then he also says that Eri told him to 'tell Mr. Deku and his friends she says hi'," The older teen relayed."Aw, sweet kid. When you can, give 'em a 'hi' from me too, yeah?" Dabi replied.The younger Todoroki nodded in agreement, making a mental note to return the greeting next time he saw his upperclassman, and to ensure that Eri's greeting was returned as well, "All the kids you've saved wind up calling you that, don't they? Your hero name, I mean.""Eri's precious, I agree. I always tell kids to call me by my hero name because my family name is long and can be harder for them to remember. Anyway, Togata-senpai said that Eri's doing great! He said she's slowly getting used to talking with other people, but for now, she's only gotten comfortable talking to Aizawa-sensei and the handful of us work-study students who helped rescue her. Aizawa-sensei said that it might be best to have someone she already trusts with her while slowly introducing her to more people so she doesn't get overwhelmed. You think you'd be okay with meeting her, Shoto?" Izuku informed.The younger teen was quiet for a moment, staring off into space before he nodded. No words were spoken, just a nod."I think it's a great idea, Sho. You'd get to help her out a lot! It might be nice for her to meet someone who's been through similar things to her and gotten out of it. It'd be nice for her to see that there are people who experience trauma like she has who were able to escape the abuse and get better, don't you think? Might give her a bit more hope. That's what you told me you wanted to do when we first talked about being heroes, wasn't it?" Touya encouraged.The two-toned boy nodded again, a bit less hesitant this time."Togata-senpai said he could run it by Aizawa-sensei if you were up for it, so if he thinks it's a good idea, then all we have to do is ask Eri how she feels about it and we'll be good to go!" The older teen responded."Okay," Shoto agreed.They still had to wait until Mirio texted back with the verdict from Aizawa-sensei, so the subject was dropped for the moment. However, even after they switched topics, Touya and Izuku could both see a change in Shoto's demeanour. At first, they wrote it off, he had just woken up before joining in on the conversation, so maybe he was still tired.It didn't change, though. The day continued, but the behaviour didn't go away. They had clung onto the weak hope that the lack of sleep he'd had lately was just catching up to him, but it seemed more and more unlikely the later into the day it got. Luckily, he still ate when dinner rolled around, but he seemed to be getting right back into his shell after he'd spent so long out of it.By the time the three of them were ready to get to bed, Touya had just about had it with the changes. He wasn't in any way upset with Shoto, and he didn't blame him for it, but it was hard to watch his baby brother get so close to recovering only to relapse all over again, and then proceed to fluctuate between 'almost fine' and 'not even remotely okay'. Was it really so much to ask for the universe to just give the kid a break already? Regardless, he assured Izuku that he'd talk to his little brother, wished him goodnight, and sent the older teen off to bed before making his way down the hall to Shoto's room, finding him sitting on his bed, already in his pyjamas, with his knees pulled up to his chest. He shut the door behind him and made his way over."Hey, bud, got room for one more in there?" He questioned, gesturing to the bed.Shoto blinked up at him for a moment as he processed, moving over wordlessly once he did.The man sat down and sighed, attempting to figure out how to start this conversation without potentially setting off his little brother, "How are you doing, Shoto?"Nice, that had all the subtlety of a car alarm in the middle of a library. Way to go, Touya."Fine," The younger Todoroki mumbled.Yep, just as he thought. That was not a proper response. It wasn't even a correct one, either. This wasn't gonna work. He decided it'd be best to start up a casual conversation instead."So... You excited to meet that Eri kid?" He asked. Earlier, Izuku had gotten yet another text from their upperclassman informing him that their homeroom teacher had accepted the idea of introducing the two, agreeing that doing so would benefit both of them in some way."...No," Shoto replied quietly, not looking at the other."Why not? I thought you wanted to meet her, what's up?" Dabi questioned."I do, it's just..." The two-toned boy paused, attempting to find the right words, "She isn't going to like me.""What? What makes you say that?" Touya inquired, not quite expecting this conversation."I can't even talk to people my age, how will I be able to talk to a six-year-old girl with trust issues who's afraid of everyone and everything? People always say I look scary or mean or intimidating and I never understand half the things people usually say. I only understand things that are related to school or heroics, and I don't even know anything about kids, so how do I talk to one who's never even been to school? She'll just think I'm scary and an idiot, especially with my scar," Shoto elaborated, tearing up a little."Oh, Shoto..." The older Todoroki muttered, pulling his little brother in close, "You should listen to yourself when you talk, y'know that? First off, who says you're 'scary' or 'mean' or 'intimidating'? I mean, intimidating I get, you're not intimidating to me, but I could see it from someone else's perspective. Scary and mean, though? Really?""...One of the students from Shiketsu told me I look like Father. He said that my eyes looked just like his and that I was just like him," The two-toned boy confessed."So I've heard," The pro sighed, "So you're afraid of meeting Eri because you're convinced that you're just like Dad and that you'll hurt or scare her without meaning to. That about right?"The younger Todoroki nodded. He hated how easily his brother could figure him out sometimes."Shoto, listen to me. You're nothing like Dad, okay? I meant what I said when we were kids. You could never be like him even if you tried. The kid who told you that doesn't know you, especially not as well as I do. You couldn't be further from being like him. If he took personal offence to one meeting that you can't even remember, then that's his problem. Everyone has bad days, and everyone acts a little off sometimes, but that's not who you are. What he did was petty, and he shouldn't have provoked you the way he did, it makes him no better than he claims you to be. That didn't make it okay to fight him back, but I understand that you reached your limit and that you tried to sort it out beforehand. I'm proud of you for that, okay? About everything else you said, I think all that stuff makes you the perfect person to talk to Eri. Just think about it. She doesn't understand kids her age all that well either. She won't think you're an idiot for not understanding things she never had a concept of, to begin with. And a little kid with trust issues who's afraid of everyone and everything? Sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?" Dabi responded.Shoto nodded again. He knows that kid, he was that kid."Exactly. You two have more in common than you realize. Right now, she needs someone like that. She needs someone she can talk to who understands her. You were in the same place she was, so you have the patience, the empathy, and the experience to talk to her the way she needs. She probably has a whole bunch of people who talk to her every day and see her as 'the traumatized girl we rescued'. What she could really use is someone to see her as just 'Eri'. If you can go in there and talk to her like a normal person, she might start to feel more normal. Who knows? You just might too. She might be a little intimidated at first, just because you're new to her, but the girl was taken in by Aizawa. That man is the king of intimidation, and she talks to and trusts him just fine, doesn't she? You're not nearly as prickly as Aizawa is, you'll do just fine. Don't worry about your scar, either. The kid's seen people get killed right in front of her, she'd probably just be relieved that you survived whatever gave you that," Touya assured.The teen shifted himself in his brother's hold, moving to rest his head on the older's shoulder."Y'know, Midoriya told me all the details of the raid while you were napping after lunch. I told him I wouldn't have been able to join in on that mission. I know we both agreed that we'd save a lot of people like us back when we were younger, but I'm not ready just yet. I told him I wouldn't have been able to see her in there, I'd just see you back in the manor getting hurt all over again and I'd lose it," The pro spoke.Shoto didn't respond to that. At first, Touya thought he'd fallen asleep, but after a minute he realized his little brother was crying when he felt a tear fall on his shirt."That's what had you so upset this whole time, wasn't it? First the licensing exam, then the rescue. The Yoarashi kid's comment had you thinking of Dad, then failing the exam because you finally lost your temper had you thinking that you were like Dad, and then it hit a bit too close to home when you found out about Eri, right? A kid was being abused and you couldn't save her because you lost control," Touya questioned.He felt Shoto nod."I know, sometimes things don't go the way we plan them to. I know you're worried about her, and I know you want to help her in any way you can, so once you get back to U.A., do that. A hero's job isn't done after the rescue, y'know, they still have to make sure that the people they save will be okay afterwards, and you have a set of skills that'll be perfect for helping her out now. Even if you couldn't help rescue her, you can still help her now, okay?" The older Todoroki comforted."Why does this keep happening? Why would they hurt her like that, she's just a little girl. What could she possibly have done for them to think that she deserved that? How could they do that to her?" Shoto finally broke.Touya could hear the unspoken question lying just underneath the choked-out sobs.What did we do to deserve that?"I don't know, buddy, I wish I did. Sometimes people don't need a reason, they just want to hurt people. She didn't do anything wrong, and she shouldn't have had to go through all that. Nobody should. You shouldn't have, either. You didn't do anything to deserve any of that either. You were just a little kid too, you should have been safe, just like Eri, but you weren't, and I'm sorry, but you both are now, okay? I'm right here, and you know I won't let anyone or anything hurt you again, alright? Aizawa's going to do the best he can to protect Eri and take good care of her, just like he did for us, okay? And you can too. You can help her understand that she's safe now. You can help her feel safe and happy again, okay? You're both going to be just fine, you got that? I know you don't feel okay now, but you will eventually. I won't stop trying until you do. Do you understand me? I promise you I'll do my best, so you promise you'll do the same for her, okay?" Dabi replied."...Okay," The two-toned boy agreed.Obviously, he wouldn't be okay right away. He still had a few things to sort through. No one ever said that healing was a linear process, there were bound to be a few setbacks and relapses along the way, but eventually, he could learn to handle them on his own. Soon enough, he'd be able to use his pain for the good of others. He already had the empathy and the passion for it, all he needed now were time, patience, and control. He was still young, though, he still had plenty of time to develop those skills on his own.And if he didn't? Well, no one ever said he had to do it on his own.After all, that's what big brothers were for.