"So Midoriya isn't really your sibling then?" is the first thing Shouto says to Dabi the next day.
If it were up to him, none of the Todoroki's would be prancing around his flat like they belong there but unfortunately, things are almost always up to Izuku. That morning he'd blurted that they would be visiting this afternoon upon their own request. Dabi had half the mind not to strangle Izuku right then and there.
So his siblings wanted to talk to him. Great. As usual, Izuku pitted them against him while he danced away to school. When he came home, it was with him decked out in his Revite gear and all the Todoroki kids in tow. The worst part was that Izuku chose to shut himself away in his room to work on the Endeavor article, leaving Dabi alone. Not even Hawks, who was busy making a grocery trip, could help him out.
Scratch that. The worst part was that no one was saying anything. Minutes passed by in silence as the tension in the room only thickened. If they'd asked to come here, then why weren't they speaking? Didn't they have any questions? Opinions? What about non-verbal communication? Someone should definitely be either punching him in the face or trying to hug him by now.
Perhaps that's why he was so relieved when Shouto broke the silence with his ridiculous question.
"What?" he asked, baffled.
Shouto sighed and clarified. "If you're our brother, Midoriya isn't really your sibling then, right?"
When Shouto was younger, young enough that Dabi was still in his life, he'd ask all sorts of questions. At dinner, he'd ask how the cow felt about giving up it's beef for them. During the day he'd ask why the sky was blue. He'd ask Fuyumi why she got to be older and would ask Natsuo why he wanted to be a doctor. He asked Dabi and Rei the most questions though. Anything from how to make the colour purple to why he couldn't join Touya-nii in his training.
Dabi hears him ask that question now and wonders if he's still the same curious creature he was back then. Had Endeavor muted that part of him somehow?
"No," he answers honestly. "Izuku and I aren't brothers. One day he decided to drag my ass into his life as a big brother figure and it stuck. The kid's persistent."
Shouto hummed as if to agree. He mumbles, "Cool," before giving him the faintest of smiles.
Dabi knows it's not enough, that Shouto shouldn't have that forgiving look in his eyes like he's already made peace with who Dabi is. Of all the people in this room to accept him, he didn't think standoffish Shouto would be the first.
Suddenly, a hand is pressed to his chest and he's shoved back, stumbling. Eyes wide, he stares at Fuyumi's scowl as she pushes at him. She grits out through clenched teeth, "So you have time for some random kid but not your own family. Is that it?"
"Fuyumi, I--" he starts but doesn't finish. He can't. He doesn't know what to say. That Izuku came to him years later? That it started out as a business interaction? How could he explain that he didn't let Izuku in immediately while he blocked them out without revealing Revite?
"You what?" she snapped. She pinched her nose and shook her head. "Touya, I can't-- I don't know what you want us to say to you. You left us. We thought you were dead but turns out you've been gallivanting about playing vigilante this whole time? How are we supposed to react, Touya?"
As pin pricks prod at his skin, he grumbles, "My name is Dabi."
Her lips purse and only then does Dabi notice the wobble to them, how her eyes water at the edges to pair. He glances at Natsuo beside her. He won't even look at him, eyes trained to the floor instead. Shouto stays the same, expression blank and almost bored; oblivious to Fuyumi's fists tightening at her sides.
Taking a good look at his siblings, he understands once again how broken they all are. Each of them a piece belonging to a different puzzle. They're messily slapped together, edges never quite aligning. His cut never fit well next to Fuyumi's and these years of damage have only enhanced that.
She holds back the tears in her eyes while he fails to give any of his own. Her hands shake but his just feel numb.
"What do you want from us, Dabi?" she asks. Her voice trips over the words.
He replies, "To help."
She laughs bitterly. He remembers her real laugh, if only faintly. She never did laugh a lot, only early in the morning or late at night when Natsuo would rant about his fantasies or Shouto would grab at her fingers from within his crib. He can recall how she'd smile through her giggles, showing off spaces where teeth were missing. He used to watch her laugh from afar, his father always keeping him an arms length away from the childhood his siblings had.
He feels the same pain in his chest now when she laughs fakely.
"To help?" she mocks. "No, if you wanted to help us you wouldn't have left. When you left everything went to shit, more than it already was. Dad was harsher on Shouto. Mom went crazy. Natsuo and I were alone! You would've helped if you'd stuck by your family instead of running away like a coward. Did you ever stop to wonder if maybe we needed you?"
He shakes his head solemnly. "You didn't need me."
"Yes, we did! You were our brother! You were supposed to protect us! Why do you get to decide if we needed you or not? How come it was up to you to leave me alone to look after everybody? I've spent so many years trying to keep this family together for your sake but turns out you never cared!"
Pained, he looked away from her.
"Can you even pretend to be sorry? Did you have fun watching us act clueless to who you really were? I bet these past few days have been a blast for you. Poor Todoroki family can't even recognize one of their own." She sighs. "Christ, Touya. Why bother telling us?"
"My name isn't Touya," he bites out.
When his gaze returns to her, he notices her ram-rod straight stance. She stares at him blankly before her face twists back into a scowl.
"You're right. Touya would have cared."
"The only thing Touya cared about was getting out of that hell hole," he snapped. Natsuo flinches back. Quickly, guilt invades him and he lowers his head, taking a deep breath. Calmly, he states, "Touya wasn't who you thought he was. I was. . . I wasn't the perfect brother you have in your head."
"You were never perfect," Fuyumi mumbles. "But that didn't matter, even if you were always blind to what Dad did."
He frowned. "No. Not always. I didn't care about anything but pleasing him, you know. You saw how I threw myself at training like some pathetic kid. When that was gone I didn't care about anything but getting stronger. It nearly killed me in the end. Fuck, so much so that I could play it off as my own death."
Shaking his head, he pushed back the memory threatening to take over. He'd thought enough about that night. Instead, he meets Fuyumi's eyes dead on.
"I don't want to be Touya because he wasn't a good person. He didn't live a good life either. I want to be me, Dabi, because I'm the one who's living for myself and not for Endeavor." He clenches his hands at his sides. "Fuckin' hell. I'm the one who actually gives a damn about the three of you whether I like it or not."
In the corner of his vision, he sees Izuku standing in the bedroom threshold. He makes a spinning motion with hands, urging him to continue. Cursing Izuku's influence on him, he presses on.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to put everything on you, Fuyumi, but I can't go back and fix all the stupid shit I've done. You don't have to forgive me or even like me, just let me help."
He understands that they're never going to be siblings like they were. No one's forcing their pieces to fit together anymore and none of them know what kind of things that means for them in the end. He thinks he wants to find out. Maybe.
After a moment of silence, Dabi's surprised to find himself being tackled by a set of arms. His breath catches in his throat as he barely manages to maintain his balance whilst hands wind around his mid section and a face buries in his shoulder. Baffled, he gawks at Natsuo's form clinging to him.
"I'm glad you're not dead," he mumbles into his neck.
Dabi's hands hover awkwardly, uncertain of where to rest. He panics, eyes flitting back to Izuku. The kid just shrugs, a small smile gracing his lips. Dabi glares at him. Some help he is.
Carefully, he pried Natsuo's arms off of him. His younger brother took the hint and stepped away from him. Dabi cleared his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, me too. Being dead isn't on my bucket list."
Izuku coughed into his fist. Dabi narrowed his eyes. That cough sounding a little too much like the word anymore.
The Todoroki's all swung around at the sound, Izuku's lurking no longer unnoticed. The kid quickly slipped the bottom half off his mask up fully again before anyone could see. He waved at them and said, "Hey. Uh, just checking in?"
"Does checking in normally involve listening in on conversations?" Shouto asked, tilting his head. Ah. His questions haven't stopped then, they're just weaponized now.
Izuku scratches at the back of his neck. "Um. Not normally, no."
"So you were eavesdropping?"
"I guess you could call it that."
Dabi rolls his eyes at their methods, leaving them to themselves. He doesn't want to get involved, especially now knowing about Izuku's little infatuation. Given the chance, he'd bleach his brain of any memory regarding that conversation.
Fuyumi ignores them too, facing Dabi again. She holds her arms close to herself, her glasses glinting in the window light. She says, "I'll let you help. I don't get why you left and I'm still mad but for what it's worth, I'm glad you're not dead too."
He doesn't say anything, choosing to only nod and pray it conveys what he's thinking. They won't be the same and maybe that's for the better. He can work with this though, even if it's all he'll ever get.
The door to the flat opens at that moment. Hawks enters, a bag of groceries cradled in each arm and face covered by a mask, sunglasses, and beanie. He places the grocery bags down on the table before finally looking up. His eyes widen comically as he takes in the room. He exclaims, "What did I miss?"
-:-
The rest of the evening continues on business per usual. Mostly. Some things are a little different. Like Fuyumi offering to help him unload the groceries or Natsuo always hovering within a few meters of Dabi. It's not just the Todoroki's though. Hawks and him still bicker and poke fun but each joke feels a little warmer, and every nudge and tap seems to linger longer than necessary. Even Izuku is slightly off, bouncing between positions in the flat as he asks different people for input on his article. Usually he locks himself away for a few hours to write, not speaking to a soul till the article is finished.
At one point, the Hawks has his new phone out (curtsy of Katou) and shows the group a recording of a hero fight several blocks away from them. Another Nomu attack. The Nomu was put up against shield hero Crust. Hawks whispered to him that the area used to be on his patrol route. Selfishly, Dabi was thankful he wasn't the one having to face the Nomu with chainsaws protruding through it's skin.
When the fight ends in favour of the hero side, they go back to work. Natsuo stays by his side on the couch, chatting idly about school with Hawks. Dabi sends the bird-man a thankful look. Natsuo's still too upset with him to hold a conversation but it appears Hawks can worm enough information out of him for Dabi to have some semblance about what's going on in his life.
When Natsuo finally stops lingering by him, falling victim to Izuku's questions instead, Shouto takes his seat next to Dabi on the couch. On the other side of him, Hawks stands up abruptly and excuses himself to the washroom. Dabi knows it's to give them space.
Once Hawks is gone, Shouto blurts, "He looks up to you." Dabi must look confused for Shouto tacks on, "Natsuo, I mean."
Dabi followed the youngest Todoroki's gaze to where Natsuo points at Izuku's screen. Izuku says something that makes the other boy beam. It's hard to push aside the way Dabi's mouth tastes sour. "Does he now."
"He does."
Shouto has this way of putting things that grabs hold of anyone listening. He's blunt, painfully so, and often more sarcastic than not. He knows what will keep you listening, how to egg you on. Izuku told him that most of the time Shouto's seemingly harmless words are attacks. Dabi doesn't think this is an attack. It's an observation. He phrases his words like he wants him to pry more. He's asking for conversation.
"And how do you know this?" he asks.
Shouto shrugs. "He talks about you a lot. He's always telling me about what you were like and how he thought you were the best big brother. Though, whenever he did Fuyumi got this look."
Dabi knew exactly what look he was talking about. The quiet upturned smile and unhappy eyes that reflected a better understanding. When Dabi talked about their father she used to get that look, like she was sad to see him so passionate. She knew he was being naive.
"So you figured he was stretching the truth," Dabi filled in.
Again, Shouto shrugged. "Maybe. Didn't change the fact that he thought it was true."
When he glanced at him, Dabi had the displeasure of meeting his two toned eyes. Ocean blue and sunset red. Natures finest colours put in Endeavor's perfect child.
"He said I reminded him of you but with less determination."
He scoffed at that. While he may not like it, he could see how it'd be true. Out of all their siblings, they were raised the most alike. If any of them were to be like him, it'd be Shouto. Strange it is to admit that after all these years of hating the boy. Even stranger to peel back that hate only to find it was a mask for his anger towards everyone but Shouto. He hated him because he was him and like he said, he didn't like who he was when in Shouto's position.
"Fuyumi said it wasn't less determination but less obliviousness," Shouto added.
Dabi winced at that, knowing full well it was deserved. Oblivious is one way to put it. Blind feels more fitting.
Crossing his legs and leaning back more into the couch, Dabi said, "What's your point?"
"They may not act like it for a while, but both of them are happy to see you." Shouto glances down. "When you walked away yesterday they were so in shock they ended the call. Fuyumi started crying out of joy and Natsuo had to leave the room. They aren't happy with you, at all, but they still care and will do anything to keep you with them. They want their big brother back."
Dabi wants to say that he can't be their big brother anymore but he can't find the words. His tongue feels weighed down by a dozen different emotions piled on top of one another. For so long he'd kept any thought of them behind a barricade that now he felt vulnerable without it.
"And what about you?" he says, distracting himself.
Shouto doesn't look at him when he says, "I'll let you know when I figure that out myself."
For some reason, Dabi feels most content with that response. It wasn't an answer, not really, but for the first time in what feels like forever, he found a puzzle piece that clicked with his own. Shouto clicked.
He didn't get much time to think on the revelation before Izuku shouted a cheer, drawing everyone's attention back to him. He pointed excitedly at his screen, exclaiming, "It's done!"
Shouto and Dabi exchanged a quick look. A grin pulled at his lips knowing the same thought was running through his brothers head.
Let's roast this bitch.
-:-
Endeavor : Who He Isn't
Hero Name: Endeavor
Quirk: HellFlame
Ask almost anyone and they'll tell you Endeavor is a great hero. Most will praise their number two hero and share stories about his victories. Maybe that's the issue. While everyone takes pride in his fame, he tucks away his flaws and faults where no one can see them. Digging up any controversy on Endeavor isn't something people want to do, but unfortunately it's necessary if justice is to be claimed.
Endeavor is the definition of licensed villain. He uses his fame to avoid facing his mistakes. It's no secret that Endeavor has a high rate of damage but has anyone ever seen him take account for his destruction? He utilizes his brashness as his brand but when he mistreats the public, who calls him out on it? Has anyone ever heard of how he disregards his employees, most especially his analysts? When he so clearly works with other licensed villains, does anyone pick up on it?
For years, Endeavor has fallen under the radar entirely because of his title. His damages were repaired by Alloy, allowing him to avoid public reprimand for them. Besides, with what Alloy was paying him, who wouldn't want to wreck a few buildings? And with Conium, he assisted in burning down the dozens of forests she destroyed. As an investor in her logging company, he gained just as many benefits as she did from illegally harvesting wood.
Helping licensed villains might as well make him one himself but his acquaintanceship with these heroes is not what faults him. No, Endeavor taints his image enough with his own actions.
Heroes are supposed to put saving citizens at the top of their priorities. Endeavor rather be the top himself, the best of the best, number one, and he's willing to do anything to get there. This includes breaking moral codes and laws, treating his fellow heroes with disrespect, and of course participating in an arranged quirk marriage.
Quirk marriages are widely known for their purpose of creating strong quirk bloodlines, something perfect for Endeavors long con plan. At one point, he must of realized he'd never surpass All Might in ranking so he decided to create someone who would: his champion. What better way than through a quirk marriage?
Rei Todoroki, wife of Endeavor, was chosen to mother his children because of her ice powers which mixes with Endeavors own fire quirk to make a powerful combination. In 2XXX - the year which the two married - Rei's family was payed monthly by the flame hero for unknown reasons. To this day, Endeavor continues to transfer money from his accounts to her family's. Rei Todoroki and Endeavor's union was sudden and within the first year, she already had a child on the way.
Aside from being forced into a marriage, there's evidence pointing towards the idea hat Rei faced abuse from her husband. She withdrew herself from all her social groups after they married and seized to leave the house. By her fourteenth year of marriage, Endeavor admitted her to an asylum under the claim that she was insane though she showed no record of being so prior to her arrangement with Endeavor.
While these may all be coincidences, her children say otherwise. Fuyumi Todoroki, her second oldest child and only daughter, shares that her mother used to leave the room with Endeavor only to come back crying and refusing to talk to them. Fuyumi believes that while her mother surely went at least a little insane, it wan't without a cause. She even spoke of a time when Rei had attempted to break out of the asylum only to be put in a new one with higher security under Endeavor's rule.
Rei's dabble with insanity isn't the only part to her story. As Endeavors chosen wife, it was her job to give him the perfect child for his goal. Every few years, Rei would have another child with a quirk that reflects Endeavor's and her own. The children - Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto - were the purpose of her marriage. However, while they were the purpose they weren't always treated so preciously, most especially Natsuo and Fuyumi.
Throughout their childhood and even into present day, the two middle children of the Todoroki family faced immense neglect from their father. Their quirks - both ice powers - were not what Endeavor was looking for in his champion and so they were pushed to the side. In a household centered around power and heroes, they were put as bottom priority. They're homeschooling lacked in comparison to their brothers'. They only received the scraps of attention not gifted to Touya and Shouto. They were simply the other children.
Several studies have been done (see here for sources) on how positive attention affects the development of children. Positive attention helps children improve self image, confidence and belief in achieving goals. The neglect that appears without it interferes with how our brains develop and process information causing risk to cognitive, emotional, attentive and behavioral disorders. Endeavor put his children in a position to be at risk to these very disorders.
Endeavor's 'champions' were faced with a different challenge. While they held the entirety of their father's attention, they were crippled by his need for them to thrive. Regardless of what they wanted, he pushed them to be heroes. He trained them from the moment their quirks came and never stopped. They mastered their quirks quickly and came to have the makings (at least physically) of heroes by the time they were teens. Endeavor needed perfect children so he made sure that's what they were.
Like with neglect, studies (sources here) have also been done to prove the affect parental pressure to succeed has on children. Parenting like so tends to trigger several mental issues like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and anger management cases, as well as physical issues like sleep deprivation and over-training syndrome.
Endeavor constantly pushed his chosen children past their limits so they could surpass him one day. Shouto, his youngest son, has been forced to go through rigorous training because of his father's demands and was isolated from his peers. His lack of contact with others was driven by his father's desire for him to master his skills. This can and likely did affect Shouto's ability to interact with others.
Shouto has been outright in saying that his father mistreated his siblings in himself. During a conversation with him, he stated, "I don't think we were ever anything but tools to him."
While Shouto figured this out on his own, it took Touya much more to see so.
Touya, the first chosen champion and eldest son to Endeavor, is perhaps one of the best kept Todoroki secret. He's so detached from the rest of his family that few know that Endeavor had four children rather than three and that's for good reason. Of all the things Endeavor has to be ashamed of, Touya is among the top of them.
When Touya's quirk came in, Endeavor seized the opportunity to train him. Touya was more than happy to for he looked up to his father more than anyone. During his training, he was kept from his siblings and, like Shouto, not to associate with his peers. The biggest difference between Shouto and Touya was that while Shouto's quirk was made for him, Touya's hurt him.
Endeavor's skin is resistant to fire just as Rei's is resistant to ice. Shouto's quirk adapted so he was resistant to both whereas Touya's adapted to be resistant to only ice despite having a fire quirk. This led to him receiving severe burns whenever he used his quirk. Endeavor pushed him anyways.
When Shouto's quirk came in, he became the much more favorable option and Touya was set aside. Touya convinced himself that if he grew strong enough, Endeavor would turn his attention back to him and thus came the over exhilaration that caused his demise. Nearly a year after Shouto's quirk came in Touya Todoroki was declared dead, his flames having consumed him.
Touya may be one of the Todoroki's best kept secrets but the fact that he never actually died is the true mystery.
Nowadays, Touya goes by the name Dabi and works as a vigilante who acts as a record for all that Endeavor has done. Over the past few months, he and I have dug up proof for the vile acts Endeavor has committed. We can't stay quiet about it anymore.
All and any proper proof we have, including recordings, blood tests (for Dabi), files, transactions and reports, are all being sent to the Musutafu police department as I write this. Any other evidence can happily be found in the archives of the Commission's hero database.
Since the beginning, the Hero Public Safety Commission has been aware of Endeavors situation - both hero and home life - but has failed to do anything about it. Instead they continue to place him in the limelight, year after year bestowing upon him the honour of being called number two hero. Meanwhile they hideaway the heroes who deserve to be seen. Heroes like Slash who save millions of people without damage by talking villains out of their actions rather than fighting them. Or Wrex who sits below top five-hundred in rankings because she focuses on smaller crimes over large ones but ends up saving and improving just as many lives. Or any underground hero who does not get a drop credit for the safety they provide.
Endeavor may be the focus of this article but it's no stretch to say that his actions act as an example for the entire hero system. If people like him are being pushed to the top while the ones acting as true heroes are dragged through the mud, what does that say about the ways things are now?
But maybe that's a topic for another time. For now, let me ask you this. Who is Endeavor? Is he a fraud? Is he an abuser? Is he a licensed villain? That's up to you. I'll tell you who he isn't though: A hero.
In the end, that's all it comes down to.
-Revite.
[A/N: Please understand that while this fic (and this chapter specifically) targets Endeavor and shits on him a lot, it doesn't reflect my opinions of his character in cannon. While he's a shit father for the most part, he's actually a decent hero and his development is quite well done. I like the way his character is heading and his heroic persona is growing on me (still can't excuse his abusive behaviors even though he's getting better but you get the point). Same with other characters like Dabi, who his cannon version I love for the character complexity but hate as a general person. He's a dick and did horrible shit to his family and other characters yet I choose to not depict him as so in here. Just a friendly reminder that fan fictions don't always reflect authors opinions. (Basically anyone who likes Endeavor - don't pop off at me in the comments. Thx).