The Scars Underneath | Dabi x Male Reader

~•¥Chapter Two¥•~

Y/N's POV

"I look over at Devon's chest. The air from the heat pump is making the sheet lift up just a bit. I look back at the Bambi video and put it back on the shelf. It's giving me a recess feeling in my stomach and I don't kno-"

  The sound of glass shattering downstairs causes me to startle and drop Mockingbird, one of my favorite works of literature. Heavy footsteps pound around before I hear a harsh thud and a groan.

"Stand up, Shoto!" someone yells.

  I sigh and pick up Mockingbird from the floor. They always start their nonsense when I'm trying to read, it seems, constantly disrupting my concentration. Not that it's out of the ordinary. In this household, there's never a moment of peace.
  Taking a deep breath, I lay the book on my shelf and head downstairs. When I reach the bottom, I see Shoto on the floor. His father Endeavor, the number one pro hero, towers above him. That's what he is to us. Endeavor, and nothing else. Not Dad, Father, or Pops, not even his own name. He's an endlessly working hero who lays his hands on his family like he would a villain.
  Behind him is my brother, Keigo, the number two pro hero, trying to calm him down. Though it only makes the situation worse, of course, because  Endeavor adores being told what to do.
  Crouching beside Shoto, I help him up and stare down his father in the process, which isn't easy, given his height.

"Leave him alone," says Endeavor. "You're a grown man, aren't you Shoto? Stand up and be what you claim you are." Pausing, he looks back down at me. "He can get up on his own."

  Ignoring him, I pull Shoto towards the stairs. Other than a welt swelling around his eye, he's unharmed. There's been much worse.
  Sometimes Endeavor reminds me of a bull, not wanting to turn my back on him, because before I know it, tension builds and I feel a burning sensation on my neck. As the collar of my turtleneck gets pulled backward, I yelp and fold my wings around me protectively. "Come here! Look at me!" Endeavor yells. He shoves me face-first into the kitchen counter, but I catch myself before my nose makes contact with the marble. There's a bottle in front of me, reeking of some sort of strange alcohol.
  I guess that explains the tantrum.
  I turn around to face Shoto's father. He stares at me.
It's such a horrible thing to do, to come home and look into these hate-filled eyes every night. His other children have to as well, though one is grown and off on his own while the other died a long time ago. They claim it was suicide, most likely to escape this hell, but his body was never found.
  They still place candles around his shrine.
  Grunting, I shove past Endeavor. He starts yelling behind me, so is my brother, but I ignore them. If I listened to everything they said, I'd be as much as a push-over as Keigo is now. I try to push Shoto towards the stairs, but he struggles against me. Turning around, he's panic-stricken and before I can tell him to just ignore the argument, I turn to feel a searing white-hot pain tear the skin above my right eyebrow. I lurch forward, causing both Shoto and I to crash against the stairs. Warm, red liquid flows over my eye and pools in my mouth.
  "Y/N!?" my brother yells. He crouches beside me and drapes his large, soft wings over my back, like the hero he is.
  He's always tried to protect me, but nothing gets in the way of Enji Todoroki's wrath.
  Pushing Keigo away and standing on shaken legs, I look to see pieces of glass shards on the floor. It was the bottle I noticed on the counter earlier, shattered before me. Raising a hand to my forehead, I push through my hair and pull a piece of glass out of a shallow cut. Throwing the piece on the ground, I spit a mouthful of blood and saliva at Endeavor's feet before Shoto pulls me up the stairs and into his room. My ears are ringing, my forehead is burning, and all I want to do is go back to my bed and continue exploring Mockingbird for the twelfth time.
  Shoto is there, hands on my shoulders, with worry covering his face.

  "Shoto, I'm fucking fine, alright?" I say as I push him away.

  "No, you're not." With his hands on my shoulders, he forces me to sit on his bed. "You're bleeding, and heavily."

  "All injuries to the head bleed badly. Trust me, it's a shallow cut. I'm fine."

  Like a healer from a movie, Fuyumi, his sister, walks in at a rushed pace with her red and white hair messily thrown into a bun. She carries a small medical kit in hand. Fuyumi has always been smart. There have been many times where she's told me she wants to be a rescue hero, help the injured. I guess now's time for her to practice.
  She crouches in front of me and pulls back my hair. Wiping away most of the blood with a cloth, she pours hydrogen peroxide over the gash. I clench my teeth to keep from hissing in pain and grip the bedsheets. Pushing my skin close together, she lathers it in a layer of medical glue and places a bandage over the top of it.

  "Thanks, Fuyu."

My voice sounds strained in my ears.
 
  She smiles slightly, gathers up her medical supplies, walks right back out the door. I turn to Todoroki to find him staring harshly at me.

"What?" I ask.

"I told you to quit getting involved."

  "Shoto, you were on the floor," I say.

  "It doesn't matter. I don't want you getting hurt."

  "What if I don't want you getting hurt? Have you ever thought about that?"

  "Y/N, I will be fine! My quirk is more...defensive than yours."

  I glance self consciously at my wings behind me. "I can take care of myself."

  "I know that, Y/N, but I am willing to admit that my...father is a strong man."

  He practically spits venom when he says when he claims Endeavor as his "father".

  "I can be stronger," I counter.
 
  I'm not sure if I believe it.

  "Don't be a fool!" he shouts. "He's a grown-ass man! And you're a short, scrawny sixteen-year-old."

  I stand up and stomp over to him. Staring him down is easier standing than sitting, even if he is taller.

  "Then let's just leave. Forget this pointless hero shit and leave this hell hole. It's easier than you might think. Shoto, we can't stay here, waiting everything out until we're eighteen..."

  "Y/N, you know how badly I want to be a hero. I want to be a hero with my right side. That's how I'll get my revenge."

  "Well, I rather live anywhere else than be stuck here, being forced to be a savior."

  I grab my old, busted phone shove him aside, stomping my way out of his room. He follows behind me.

  "If I don't come back tonight, I'll be at school tomorrow," I say.

  Shoto grabs my arm and forcefully turns me around to face him. "What do you mean? Where are you going to go? Y/N, it's under thirty degrees outside. I'm not letting you go out there."

  "I don't need your permission to leave a problem that isn't mine to deal with."

For a moment, I stand there in silence, realizing I contradicted my claim from earlier. I've always promised that I can be stronger than Endeavor and needed to protect Shoto, but safety lies out there, in the dark, where Endeavor's flames can't reach. Where his rage can't be heard. I've always known that, and if Shoto never realizes it, well, I'm tired of suffering with him.
  I turn around and march down the stairs, beelining straight for the front door. My brother is still trying to straighten the house while Endeavor rages on in the background. Creeping around the counter, I quietly open the front door. By the time Endeavor and Shoto are shouting at one another, I'm already lofted into the air and headed straight for the city.

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Already finished with the first chapter and many others are coming out shortly! This chapter is defiantly not the best one out of what is yet to come- the first two are always the hardest.
Please tell me your opinions, good and bad, on my chapters! If you have any writing tips, please share them in the comments below!!

~Dãmïán Scår