Fire Within -Tododeku

Training regimes

"Shouto, I have news to tell you" Endeavor stood in his door, after opening it abruptly without knocking. Shouto was watching his usual science videos about human social nature with his airpods on, and he wondered if he should take them off. He did not. "I have been training a boy. He has a really powerful quirk, and I thought he would set an example for you. His potential is none other than extraordinary".

So this was what had been keeping him so busy. It was not the high crime rate, nor the fact that he decided to give him some peace due to him being way too prepared already.

It didn't make any difference, after all. He probably would never meet the boy, if he wasn't training here. He asked himself why he cared. He was just training some poor guy to surpass him, which they would never be able to. Shouto would already be in the recommended exams, and the chance of getting it was very high, if not already decided due to his father's social status.

"Cool" he said, as he replayed the video on his old phone. Endeavor was pressured by his own co-workers to buy him a phone, after he took him to his work place once and they saw all Shouto did was stare into the air without anything to do. It put his father into shame, and he ended up buying him one despite hating it and considering the device a great distraction.

Endeavor was furious facing this indifference, nonetheless, but he decided to just leave, not without banging the door first.

*

The rules were simple, he had said. Isolation from any external distractions to make him focus solely on the training: he is discouraged from engaging in unnecessary social interactions or leisure activities that distract from training. Tardiness is not excusable. Absolute obedience: Izuku would not dare to question any of Endeavor's decisions. Complaints are for the weak. If he did not like the training, he should give up on his dreams altogether. Training time must be utilized efficiently. Wasting time on non-essential activities is strictly forbidden. Constant Improvement: Endeavor expects Izuku to improve steadily. Plateaus in performance are viewed as failures. Hero Duties: When opportunities arise, Izuku must assist Endeavor in hero duties. This includes participating in real missions to gain practical experience.

The last one was the one that surprised Izuku the most. Endeavor didn't even take his own son to hero duties, Todoroki Shouto, well known to the media due to his boasting about his "perfect quirk, even if he was also training to be a hero. This made Izuku feel guilty, because he was sure he was going to create a gap between them. He didn't know their relationship, but he supposed it couldn't be too good if he was as harsh and indifferent to fans and people in general, as he was shown in the media clips where he wasn't aware that people were filming, which was dumb, because, why wouldn't they film the second best pro hero in the world? Endeavor didn't seem to be very intelligent, Izuku mused.
He still wasn't sure about the reason behind this training. Why would he help someone like him, some guy he didn't even know, instead of training his own son?

Izuku did feel bad for Todoroki Shouto. If Endeavor had set these rules for him, he couldn't imagine what he dared to set as a standard for his children behind closed doors.