Asylum [BNHA]

Chapter Five

Toya & Tira- 13 Years Old

Fuyumi- 12 Years Old

Natsuo- 9 Years Old

Shoto- 5 Years Old

Enji had trouble sleeping that night, he felt sick with himself. He'd lost his temper, like always. In his blind fury, he'd hurt Tira by mistake. It had been the first time she'd said a word to him in years, and he'd struck her. He ran trembling hands through his mussed-up crimson hair as he'd been doing every few minutes for the past several hours instead of sleeping. There were now creases in his hair from where he'd incessantly raked worried fingers.

He had Rei admitted to a hospital for Shoto's protection but also possibly in a meager attempt to keep her safe from his own rage. After hours of sitting at his desk in his study he gave in with a sigh and got to his feet. It was the middle of the night, Rei was already checked in at a nearby hospital that had a suitable psychiatric ward so she could get the help she needed, and the children were all sound asleep in their beds. Enji quietly made his way to Tira's room.

As he walked to her room, he mentally kicked himself as he worried over how much irreparable damage, he'd caused to her fragile psyche this time. Would she ever speak to him again? Could he face her after this? He quietly opened the door to her bedroom and felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he realized it was empty. There was no sign of Tira anywhere, it didn't look as if her room had been lived in or touched in ages. Before panic could take hold, he glanced across the hall at the door to Toya's room.

He slowly opened the door and peered inside. Moonbeams spilled in from the window showering the bed in pale moonlight. He breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted Tira sound asleep, swaddled in blankets and wrapped in Toya's arms. It took all he had to stop himself from yelling at them, they were far too old to still be doing this but he knew he was to blame, he'd made this a home where Tira didn't feel safe. His heart clenched in his chest as he noticed what looked like frozen tears clinging to her pale cheeks, glittering in the moonbeams. His stomach churned unpleasantly as she turned her head in her sleep revealing nasty looking bruising from where he'd struck her.

Enji rubbed his temples as he contemplated what to do. They were too old to be sharing a bed, and from the looks of Tira's room, she hadn't really lived in it in years. At thirteen, this was completely unacceptable, they were teenagers now, with hormones they didn't quite understand, it wasn't right. What would people think? He frowned at this thought before another clouded his mind. What would people think if they knew the children of the number two hero didn't feel safe in their own home? Sighing, he backed away slowly and closed the door, it was a problem for another day, if he tried to tackle it now, he'd just end up upsetting Tira further.

The next morning the Todoroki children assembled for breakfast, like they did most mornings. Fuyumi looked worriedly between her older sister and her youngest brother as she noticed bandages covering Shoto's left eye and even more bandages wound around Tira's head and right arm. It appeared that Tira had become withdrawn again, she barely lifted her head to acknowledge any of her younger siblings. She stuck to Toya's side like glue.

"Where's Mom?" Natsuo asked softly as he realized the dining room felt oddly empty without their mother's smiling face.

"I put her in a hospital." The gruff reply of their father, as he entered the room, made them all jump in fright.

Tira tightly gripped Toya's arm and buried her face into his shoulder. Fear and panic gripped her and she trembled as she clung to her twin wishing they could both just disappear. Enji frowned as he noticed his eldest daughter's reaction.