Yet, the same couldn't be said as he turned around to look at the kids. Toya was seated in the middle, frowning as he glanced at his sister and brother. Natsuo was dressed in dark blue swim trunks and a matching shirt, his face pressed against the vent that was blowing out the cold air. Fuyumi, at least, was trying to appear more mature as she sat there. She was wearing her school's one-piece swimsuit with a white and red stripped shirt over it that was two sizes too big for her. However, no one could miss the nervous glances she was giving the door handle. Like it was a serpent that would strike her the moment she touched it.
At the very least, Rei was the picture of calm. She sat there in the seat next to him, with Shoto in her arms breastfeeding him. Hisashi had not been keen to drive like this as, if anything happened to them on the road, Shoto could have gotten seriously hurt. Yet the sad truth was, if they wanted any peace in the car, Shoto had to be in his mother's arms. If she was anywhere in the vicinity and wasn't holding him, the little baby would begin crying up a storm. It was so bad that there was a running joke with the family that Shoto would grow up to be a mamma's boy.
Seeing he would have to make the first move, Hisashi got out of the driver's seat. Dressed in a red t-shirt and green trunk, the man walked over to the sliding car door to open it. As soon as the hot air hit the kids, Hisashi thought he heard them all hiss and groan.
"Come on," laughed the man, watching as they unbuckled their seat belts. "The sooner you get out of the van the sooner you can get to the water!"
This seemed to do the trick. Instantly the three kids scrambled to get out of the van, rushing towards the water right in front of them. Natsuo let out a scream as he tore off his shirt, tossing it to the side while he jumped into the water. While Hisashi was getting the cooler and towels, he looked over in time to see Natsuo closing his eyes while enjoying the feel of the water. Fuyumi, on the other hand, did her best to not look as desperate to get into the water. She found a spot near the waterfront where she then folded up her shit and then got into the water…
Only to then get splashed in the face by Natsuo.
As the two kids began to laugh, having a little splash war, Hisashi got to work making sure they would all be set for the day. He set out the beach towels and brought out a folding chair, parked in the shade for Rei. Once the woman took a seat, watching her kids while holding Shoto, Hisashi placed the cooler near her.
When he finished, he noticed something: Toya hadn't gone into the water. He just sat there in the shade with his legs pressed against his chest while watching his siblings play.
"Hey there," said Hisashi after approaching the eldest son of his boss. "Aren't you going to go take a dip or play around?"
"I," began Toya before he began to shift uncomfortably. "I don't think they want me here Uncle Hisashi."
Frowning gently Hisashi sat down next to Toya with a huff. "Oh, what makes you say that?" he asked. Though the man had a good idea of the answer.
"Because they hate me," Toya said, hugging himself a little tighter as he said so. "They're mad that I get special treatment from dad all the time. I'm the only one he trains to become a hero. I go to a special school and get special tutors. Everything I have is…special. And they don't like it."
"Hmm," replied Hisashi before he quickly wrapped an arm around Toya, surprising the boy as he got up.
"W-What are you doing?" he asked/yelled while kicking his feet.
"Not treating you like you're special," was all Hisashi said, laughing as he then tossed the boy into the lake water with the grace of a sack of potatoes. He watched as the boy flew through the air, arms and legs flailing through the air as he screamed until he hit the water with a loud smack. For a few moments, Hisashi stood there watching as Toya sank into the water before his head slowly popped out with a deadpanned look in his eyes. The sidekick nearly laughed at how intense his gaze was, like his father's whenever the pro hero was about to unleash a torrent of flames.
Hisashi was, thankfully, spared from such a fate by his allies. Laughing, both Natsuo and Fuyumi began to splash their older brother with water. This sudden 'attack' caused Toya to stumble backwards in the water, wiping away the additional water from his face. Then, suddenly, he reached backwards in a gesture that looked like he was going to throw a fireball at them only to instead dose the two in water. Both brother and sister shrieked as well as laughed at this, holding up their arms to block the water before retaliating.
Soon enough, all three of them were playing. Just like kids their age should. All thanks to their 'cool' Uncle Hisashi.
"Thank you again for doing all this," came Rei's voice. Turning around, Hisashi saw that the woman was sitting there in her chair still, holding little Shoto as he watched his family playing. "How did you ever convince Enji to go along with you?"
"Oh, it wasn't too difficult," said the man with a chuckle. "After he finished screaming at me over the phone for calling him while he was on duty, I just said that you all needed to get out for a bit. Can't take you to the public pool since you would get swarmed, making it harder to watch you so this would be the next best thing. And if he did, he might gain some brownie points with the kids."
Rei raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? That was all it took?" she asked in an incredulous tone.
Hisashi just shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much," replied the man. "He could have said no and then dealt with the kids complaining at him for not going to the beach. Or maybe it was to see if Toya liked it and could use this as motivation in the future. Like a reward for working so hard. Or, you know, he isn't a completely heartless man."
At first, Rei didn't say anything. She just kept her eyes on the kids playing out there in the water, splashing around and swimming like there was no tomorrow. Then, slowly, a hint of a smile appeared on her face.
"You have a point," she said. Before Hisashi could respond, she turned her attention towards him. "By the way, you know you could have brought your wife along. I've been dying to meet her for some time now along with that boy you can't stop bragging about."
"I don't brag about him that much…do I?" asked Hisashi. In return, both Rei and somehow Shoto shot him a deadpanned look.
"This morning you were bragging about how he spelled the word HERO with his letter blocks," responded Rei, her voice suddenly monotone. "Yesterday, you went on and on about how Izuku took two more steps than he did the day before. The day after that, I heard the 'exciting' tale about how he almost managed to pick up a spoon and feed himself. Then there was-"
"Ok, ok. I got it," said Hishasi, holding his hands up in surrender. "Sorry for being excited that my boy is growing up and being a proud father."
Rei held her expression for another few seconds before it broke, throwing her head back against the seat as she laughed. "I get it, I get it," she said with a voice full of humor. "I felt the same way with all my kids. Though you do remind me of Enji back when Toya was little. You should have seen him back then, recording how far Toya crawled all on his own and boasting about how strong he would be when he grew up." She then let out a sigh, like she was coming down from her emotional high. "But, seriously, when am I going to meet them?"
"No idea," replied Hiashi with a shake of his head. "I asked Inko, but she was just so nervous to bring Izuku out here."
"Well, next time you see her, tell her I don't bite," commented Rei with a grin. "I would love to get the chance to meet her and arrange a play date with our children."
With that, the two went back to watching the children playing in the water.
End Flashback
As Hisashi told his story, Itsuka really didn't know what to feel anymore. On one hand, Hishasi was clearly a parental figure for the Todoroki family. He went above and beyond doing what a bodyguard should do. He took care of their needs. Listened to their troubles and tried to help them in his own way. He was just there for them. And knowing that made Itsuka feel so very, very angry! Because he had done far more for the family of his employer than he did for his own! She knew he had not seen them in years, and actively avoided them! When was the last time he sat down with Izuku, listening to his troubles? Or took them to a freaking lake on a hot summer day? Instead, he was on the other side of the world. Sure he was working, but could he not take time off or give them a phone call?
On the other hand, if she took the story at face value, it was clear that Hisashi was always thinking about Izuku. He just seemed like one of those overly proud parents. And if that Shoto Todoroki was the same as the one on 1-A, perhaps they could have been best friends growing up. It would have been far better than growing up with Bakugo.
So the question now was: what happened? How did a guy who seemed so close to the Todoroki family, who was clearly doing his job well, and cared about his own family become the same excuse of a human being as the one sitting next to her? What happened to destroy all of that hard work?
As if reading Itsuka's mind, Hisashi continued.
"Then, one day, the dream ended and I was brought back to reality," said the man, new tears forming in his eyes.
Flashback
"Hey, sorry I'm late," said Hisashi as he walked into the Todoroki kitchen, wearing his official sidekick uniform. Though, to be honest, it didn't look that much different from the temporary one he had been given. The tracksuit had been replaced with a form-fitting material that was strong enough to protect him while also helping to keep him cool. But, that was pretty much it. Everything else looked the same, including the mask. The only other addition was the cape he wore because, well, capes were cool. Ok, it also doubled as a fire-resistant blanket to help people in fires as well as to protect him when facing other people with fire quirks. But…it was a cape! Capes were just too cool!
"I-It's fine," stammered Rei, looking like she was trying to keep herself composed. Both she and Enji knew that he would be late, both of them being notified that he had to drop off his family at the doctor's. Hisashi had explained that both he and Inko were worried because Izuku's quirk had yet to manifest. A concern that both Enji and Rei understood. Now, however, while there was still concern in Rei's voice Hisashi could tell it was split.
"What happened?" asked the sidekick, glancing down the hallway to where Rei was looking. Toya's room. As he did, warning bells began to blare in his head. He had seen Endeavor just a few minutes ago, stomping down the road and looking ready to burn everything that crossed his path.
"Dad has a new favorite," said Natsuo from out in the hallway. Hisashi turned to look at the boy, finding his hands in his pockets. He could see there was hate in the kid's eyes, though he could tell that it wasn't intended for Toya.
"Natsuo!" cried Rei, turning around to give her son a disapproving look.
"What? It's true," replied Natsuo before stomping away.
"Ah, what brought that on?" asked Hisashi, now sounding very alarmed.
"…We found out what Shoto's quirk is," said Rei slowly, clearly doing her best to keep her own emotions in check with the situation. "He has a perfect mix. Half-fire and half-ice. It's the quirk that Enji had been hoping one of his children would get as it would, in theory, help balance out our original quirks weaknesses."
"Ok," said Hisashi slowly. It was no secret around the agency that Endeavor was hoping that Shoto would get a fusion of his quirk as well as his wife's. He seemed to take the fact that Shoto's hair was split down the middle as a sign that it was true. But despite that, the man also knew it was not a guarantee and was waiting for it to become official. "So, does this mean that Shoto is going to be training with Toya from now on?"
At first, Rei sounded like she was about to say yes but stopped herself. "Kind of," she amended. "It's a little complicated. Enji…he's been noticing that Toya's flames are getting hotter and is overheating much faster. He's also beginning to burn himself. So, while we were confirming Shoto's quirk, we decided to double-check Toya. He…His body is more like mine and his siblings. There seems to be very little resistance to the fire and heat. Enji decided to address this sooner rather than later."
"Well that makes sense," agreed Hisashi with a nod. The last thing he wanted was for the kid to hurt himself with his own quirk. He was about to say this when he suddenly realized something. "He didn't tell him right after you all got home, did he?"
"Like I said: sooner rather than later," responded Rei with a heavy sigh.
"Oh man," sighed Hisashi. "I take it Toya didn't take it well."
"No one is taking it well," said Rei flatly. "Enji just wanted to put Toya's training on hold until he could get in touch with a few support companies to get gear that would help. Maybe a month or two. And if the gear didn't work then Toya would have to wait till we came up with a new plan. But Toya, he never let his father finish. Just felt like he was being kicked to the side just like Fuyumi and Natsuo. Some things were said and it quickly devolved from there. Last I saw, he ran into his room."
Without realizing it, Hisashi had brought a gloved hand to his face and was slowly sliding it down. Yeah, this was a mess. Over the past year, Toya had been having some slight panic attacks. Ones he had tried his best to hide from everyone. Heck, Hisashi wouldn't have been aware of them if he hadn't stumbled on the poor kid hunched in a corner talking to himself through his own tears. That day, he had sat by Toya, listening to him as the kid poured out his heart. How, while he didn't like being special, he was afraid that his father would toss him to the side just like how he had done to his siblings. That all that hard work, all that training, would be for nothing. A fear made all the worse due to all the additional burns he was getting along with not being able to train as long as he used to. When the boy had finished, he had begged his Uncle Hisashi not to tell his father fearing that this weakness would only cement this fate.
Hisashi was now kicking himself for making and keeping that promise. Mainly because he never thought this day would come.
"I hate to ask you this, but could you talk to him," continued Rei, pulling Hisashi out of his thoughts. "I've tried talking to him through his door but he just keeps telling me to go away. Maybe you could help?"
"Of course," replied Hisashi, flashing her a bright smile and giving her a thumbs up. "Leave it to me. I think have just the way to get Toya to see reason." In fact, he did. The kid needed to hear that his father wasn't giving up on him. That he wasn't going to flush years of hard work down the drain just because something shiny and new came around. Heck, he was still trying to beat the very first Mega Man game in the employee break room before going on to the next!
Just as he was about to explain this, the man's phone rang. Pulling it out, his eyes widened a bit when he saw it was Inko. Which was odd since she rarely ever called him at work.
"It's my wife," he said before looking over at Rei who also looked alarmed. "Do you mind if I take this call first?"
"No, no," replied Mrs. Todoroki as she eyed the phone nervously. "By all means."
Nodding, Hisashi accepted the call and brought the phone up to his ear. "Inko? Is everything ok?" he asked, hoping they hadn't been caught in a villain attack or there was an accident.
"Hisashi," sobbed Inko. "I-It's Izuku. W-We got his diagnosis. H-H-He's quirkless." At that, Hisashi felt like the world had been pulled out from under his feet. So much so that he almost collapsed right then and there. Quirkless? How? How was that possible? Both he and Inko were second generation! There should be no way that Izuku wouldn't be born with a quirk. Just no way.
"And," continued Inko with a choked sob. "He found out in the w-worst possible way. That d-doctor. H-He was horrible! Just slouching there with h-his hands on his stomach, s-sounding like he d-didn't g-give a damn. H-He even crushed o-our baby's dream, s-saying h-he couldn't become a hero." Hisashi was now bracing himself against the way, Rei watching him while looking extra pale. No doubt she was hearing everything with how close she was and how little Inko was able to keep her voice down.
"That bastard," growled Hisashi, not caring if Natsuo or Fuyumi heard him while his mind raced in a panic. "Maybe…Maybe this is a malpractice thing. The doctor sounds like he's sketchy. Should we get a different opinion?"
"He showed me the tests," cried Inko. "You should see Izuku right now. He…He just keeps watching that scary All Might video over and over while crying. I…I'm scared. I don't want to get his hopes up only to watch them shatter into a thousand pieces. It'll d-destroy our baby." Inko then let out another sob. "I don't know what to do. What if he asks me if he can still be a hero? How am I supposed to answer that?"
Hisashi could no longer form words as he stumbled backwards until his back hit a wall. He was aware that Rei was watching him with clear worry in her eyes, but he saw none of that. All Hisashi could see was his son crying. He wanted to find a way to fix this, to tell him it would be alright. But was that even possible?
Then, a horrible realization came to Hisashi. His son was quirkless…just like his grandparents.
Midoriya suddenly found his legs would no longer support him, falling to the ground in a heap as he almost started to hyperventilate. He could now see it, his son with his grandparents standing right behind him. God, was this some cruel twist of fate? Some sort of sick comic punishment for the way he behaved? And, if he had gotten away treating his own grandparents like that then what would his son's life be like? Would he…no, he wouldn't. But…
Hisashi's mind was a whirlwind as time seemed to lose all meaning until he heard that Toya was missing.
The next day…
"I WAS A FOOL TO TRUST YOU!" roared Endeavor, flaming beard and mustache three times larger than normal as he looked down at the smaller mine with eyes full of rightful anger.
Meanwhile, Hisashi couldn't meet the man's ire as his face was locked in a mixture of so many emotions. Disbelief. Horror. Sadness. Emptiness. Tired. The man's costume was caked in ash and dust, his voice almost non-existent from spending the night running through the forest that had suddenly caught on fire. A fire that had an eerie blue flame to it. And a forest where they had managed to track Toya to. All night, Hisashi had been doing everything he could to find the boy, screaming out of Toya until other heroes and police had to pull him out for his own safety.
Now, all that was left were the smoldering remains of a few trees. The rest ash. Not even the lake where he had once taken the family still remained, destroyed in a landslide. The picturesque landscape would never return to its glory. Only the memories of it and Toya remained.
"I," continued a seething Endeavor loudly. "I put my faith in you. I entrusted my family to you! And YOU let this happen!" Hisashi said nothing in his defense, just standing there with his head down. Once more the reality of the situation was crushing him. Toya was dead. Killed in a fire, just like his grandparents. All while he survived.
"Get out of my sight," growled Endeavor. "If I ever see you again…I don't think I'll be able to hold myself…" Unable to even finish his treat, Endeavor turned away with his sidekicks in tow. And only then did Hisashi fall to his knees.
End Flashback
"That was the day I lost everything," said Hisashi, fighting back fresh tears. "Inko, bless her heart, did her best to tell me that I did everything I could. That we would make it through everything. But I knew it was all my fault. Toya's death. Izuku being quirkless. It was all my fault."
"I," began Itsuka, but stopped herself in confusion. Toya's death was one thing where she could see him pinning the blame on himself. It was something he had the ability to prevent. But at the same time, she could argue he wasn't totally at fault. His head wasn't in a good place after getting his own dose of horrible news. There was no way he could have known that Toya would run away. Or that he would set the forest on fire for whatever reason. And, when he did find out, he had done everything in his power to try and save someone he saw as a nephew. Did all that erase the pain he felt? Probably not. But it would be something at she, as a hero in training would tell him.
On the other hand, him blaming himself for Izuku being quirkless was confusing. Had he done some drugs before he and Inko conceived Izuku? Ones that would have been powerful enough to impact Izuku's DNA? As far as she was aware, there were none.
"How do you figure that?" she asked slowly.
"It's a punishment," he said. "From my grandparents. It's the only thing that makes sense."
"No," responded Itsuka instantly, a frown appearing on her face. "That makes no sense. I get you're trying to make sense out of a few really bad instances. But, sometimes, bad things just sort of happen."
"You sound like Inko before I left," whispered Hisashi. "But it's the only thing that makes any sense to me. When I'm happy, it's the people around me that suffer. They lose their jobs, freedom, and even their lives. Izuku…there's no reason he shouldn't have been born without a quirk. None! His quirk was taken from him, punishing him to get to me. And Toya. That poor boy. How could I not see it before? My grandparents, I was so cruel to them. I made their lives a nightmare, taking away whatever joys they had. So, they are doing the same to me. Taking it away. Izuku and Toya. Quirkless and flames. It all became so clear to me.
"That's why I left. That's why I now live in a tiny, rat-filled apartment with barely anything to eat. Why I stay in a job that makes me hate my life. I need to punish myself. To never have a moment of true happiness. And, you know what? It's working! After ten years of misery, my son got his quirk back. He's happy. He has friends! Going to his dream school. I'm doing that for him!"
With that, Hisashi stood up and began to leave. But Itsuka, none of this was right. As she stared at the retreating back, she could finally see Hisashi as the person he truly was. A man so burdened by his sins, his failures, his feelings of shame that he clung to whatever he could to try and make it make sense to him. And this, this was what he had come to. It probably didn't help that it was only after years of being like this that he began to hear about all the good stuff going on with Izuku.
Hisashi Midoriya was someone who needed to be saved. But, how could she do that? Stopping a villain or rescuing someone buried under rubble were one thing. But this? This was something that All Might never taught them. And if Inko couldn't convince her husband, then what chance did she have?
Though, that didn't mean she wasn't going to try.
"You know you're wrong," said Itsuka as she stood, staring at the man's back. "Izuku…he's not completely happy. You not being there hurts him." That caused Hisashi to stop. "Even now, even after being away after all this time, Izuku still wants to spend time with you. Inko too! I know she still misses you."
"They'll be happier in the long run without me. Even if they don't realize it," was all Hisashi said. "I'd say something cheesy like take good care of my boy…but I have a feeling you'd do that no matter what I said. So, I'll continue to be miserable so that you two can find happiness." And with that, Hisashi continued to walk away.