"Come on, Natsu. When are we ever gonna get a chance to sneak in another movie night?" The fifteen year-old girl excitedly tugged at her younger brother's arm as she pulled him out of his bed. Limply, Natsuo was pulled onto the cold tatami despite his tight grip over his bedcovers.
"Fuyumi… you know we shouldn't." Natsuo groaned from his position on the tatami mat flooring of his room.
"Then why aren't you trying harder to stop me?" Fuyumi had her hands on her hips as she looked down to him. "Besides… d-dad—he's not going to be back until tomorrow." Her eyes cringed as she finished that sentence.
"Yeah and if he gets back from his business trip early? We've already tested the limits of Miss Nakamura's blind eye. The fact that both she and Shoto's instructor have no idea why we are separated besides that stupid excuse Endeavor gave them isn't making this easier," the twelve-year-old ground out.
Natsuo continued speaking as he was dragged across the room. "When he gets back and they give their reports to—to him… It's only going to get harder to sneak Shoto out of his room after he learns what we did. Endeavor's going to tell us that we're holding Shoto back and that'll be the last time we see him. And that isn't including the chance that both our babysitter and Shoto's tutor don't get fired and replaced after this…"
His voice rose and then fell to a low defeated sigh as the top of his head hit the bottom of the door.
"Natsu, did you know that Shoto's favorite toy was that stuffed crocodile I got him on his sixth birthday? He wouldn't stop talking about it yesterday when you snuck out to the pantry to get us snacks. Or the fact that he doesn't like strawberries… I should know these things."
Fuyumi leaned against the door to the hallway, her face was covered by her two-tone hair. Natsuo couldn't see her shadowed face even as looked up to her.
"But I don't know any of these things, and it's killing me… I just want to spend time with my baby brother. Get to know him more. You never know if you'll get another chance."
Her voice became strained and heavy at those words, her hunched shoulders shook, and Natsuo looked away from her. His large room felt emptier —No, it was emptier. He used to share it, but it was missing a second futon and another dresser… and another—
—Natsuo wasn't really comfortable being alone in his room anymore.
"Alright, but we've gotta make this one quick. We aren't going past two in the morning this time."
Natsuo finally let her pull him off the ground from his shoulders with Fuyumi's small hands. Her face sported a wide smile, her eyes completely dry.
He was going to regret this, he knew it.
They crept out of Natsuo's room, wincing at the creaky door, and tip-toed through the estate's dimly lit, winding halls. It took more time than Natsuo would have liked, but they needed to be stealthy.
"Tch. This is so shitty." Natsuo groaned as he slowly turned the door knob.
He was lightly smacked on the back of his head by Fuyumi. "Quiet you, if Shoto picks up your potty mouth, then we're definitely dead, when dad gets here."
"So what? He can just blame it on one of his classmates." Natsuo turned to her and then back into the dark room.
There near the end of the room, was a scarred eight-year-old boy, hiding under the covers of his comforter. Fuyumi could make out Shoto peeking out from the corner of the futon, he burst out a second later. No doubt trying to surprise them. However, the older girl had shushed him with a finger to her lips, despite that she was smiling ear-to-ear. Shoto stumbled over his comforter and slammed a hug into her stomach, wrapping his twiggy arms around her.
And in spite of his misgivings, Natsuo couldn't help but smile as he ruffled Shoto's hair.
Catching Shoto's attention, Natsuo jabbed a thumb behind him at the door. "Come on, let's go watch the sequel. Return of the Kings, I think it's called. Wasn't bad, but I slept through half of the movie when my art teacher put it on. So I wanna see what I missed, you game?"
"...Y-Yes, please."
The boy was still too timid for Natsuo's liking, but he quickly wiped the scowl from his face before he or Fuyumi could notice. Quietly, she crouched down and motioned for Shoto to climb onto her back in a piggyback ride. However, Shoto instead ran back to his bed to retrieve the stuffed toy lying near his pillow. Natsuo was going to tell Fuyumi to knock off the cutesy antics, but when he opened his mouth, she pinned him with her meanest glare.
So, he put his hands up in surrender as she picked Shoto up.
"Alright, alright, jeez let's go before it gets too late."
Under the cover of darkness, the three siblings crossed back into their section of the large home. To remove what he called any inane distractions that would halt Shoto's progress, Endeavor isolated Shoto in the other end of the house, with the Todoroki patriarch's room being the dividing line that separated them. Naturally, the entertainment room was on their side of the estate. Natsuo couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance at the thought as it crossed his mind.
Fuyumi lightly shoved him with her elbow, disguising the action as her galloping for her youngest brother. She had to shush the little boy's giggles as he held her shoulders. When Natsuo's eyes met hers, she gave him an expression that was a mix of understanding and reprimand. It was obvious that she didn't want him to spoil the mood… and she was right.
In the end, he'd be letting that man poison the precious little time with Shoto they'd have, so Natsuo let out a breath to reduce the tension in his body.
"Go on ahead you two, I'm going to sneak past Miss Nakamura's room to the pantry for the snacks… I'll be back in a sec." Natsuo added in a hushed whisper to the two of them, it was creepy as they both nodded simultaneously back at him in response. But he turned his back to them and took a detour to his next objective. Creeping through the halls, he heard the whoosh of the wind through the windows and when he got closer to his babysitter's room he heard the noise of the television as well as the soft, familiar voice of Miss Nakamura on the phone.
"—Yes, sir, I put the children to bed." Natsuo crouched low and shuffled past the slightly ajar door. The light of the television cast some light out into the hallway, but he was quick enough that it wasn't an issue.
Natsuo strained his ears, he could hear the sound of a reporter listing off the names of some people, but he couldn't quite make out who they were as he reached the pantry further away. He hated this part because the potato chips made so much noise when they were crinkled. But deflating the salty snack bags as well as the chocolate and depositing them into his now removed hoodie make-shifted into a larger bag. Made it so that he had one arm free, as he slung the impromptu container on his back.
Again as he crossed the woman's room, he heard the television as a reporter was speaking. However it was interrupted by the noise of a large explosion coming from the TV. Natsuo was tempted to peek through the crack in the doorway, but thought better of it. And he slunk back into the shadows and to the entertainment room.
The minor detour took more out of him than he thought, and as he opened the door, he caught his siblings working on a math problem on the low table.
"Seriously?"
Natsuo questioned with naked bewilderment. Roughly, the twelve year-old dumped his pilfered loot onto the table before Fuyumi could remove the notebook and writing utensils. An aggrieved 'Hey!' was her response, but he was too tired to care, and flopped down onto the couch between them. The remote next to Shoto shot up from the cushion as he landed and Natsuo caught it before it hit the ground and the batteries predictably flew under the table.
Leaning further back into the cushion, Natsuo asked his question without looking at his sister next to him. "Is the movie in the DVD player?" Natsuo asked as he flipped through the channels after turning on the TV, thoroughly bored.
"Duh. You took long enough." Fuyumi answered after turning the lamp off. Then, she pulled a large blanket out from behind the couch.
He expected her to share it but instead watched her lift one end and move it behind him so it could reach Shoto instead of putting it over them both. So, in revenge, Natsuo pulled out her favorite chocolates from the front pocket of his hoodie, he didn't even enjoy them, but he started noisily eating them in front of her face just to get back at her.
Fuyumi looked pained, wincing over the first bites as he hummed into false contentment.
"Okay—Okay! Stop, I get it!"
She spoke in an angry hushed whisper as she reached for the snacks, he leaned back and into the blanket that Shoto was draped under. His arm was raised away from her reach as he offered the boy the chocolates instead. "You want some of these Nagant Truffles, Shoto?"
The kid unfortunately did not get his joke of an offer, shaking his head with a seriousness that was eerie. So, Natsuo gave up and let his older sister snatch the chocolate from his drooping arm and he draped the blanket over himself when his hand was free. The nighttime news caught his eyes just as the indicator tumbled past channel four.
Again it was the same explosion he heard earlier, he planned on skipping, but there was a pale figure in the distance caught between mounds of rubble. Natsuo would have chalked it up to the average nightly news channel releasing whatever exciting bit of villainy they'd managed to record. It helped with their ratings, but in some part it desensitized him to any so-called tragedy or incident. Especially when All Might was out there to one-tap the issue.
Still, something stayed his hand as he continued to watch. It was difficult to see from the height of the helicopter, the young female reporter held a microphone up to her face. She pointed down for the camera-man to capture the speedy blur of a figure. Whoever it was, they were hurling bright-blue flames.
Short clips of a villain causing havoc in the Minato ward were montaged through the reporter's explanation of the last hour before returning to the live feed. Some officials he couldn't recognize were outside giving the reporters a quick rundown. However, as they stated, everything was vague because it was an ongoing issue.
Natsuo looked up to the ceiling to ponder and then went back to the TV. They weren't that far from central Tokyo on account of being in the Chubu region near Shizuoka. But still, no wonder Endeavor called Nakamura to make sure that they were in bed. Would his father call one of his sidekicks to their location to watch over them? He wouldn't put it past him to send his whole agency because he was currently on a business trip to America to take care of an international issue.
Maybe he'd even cut it short and come home early… Natsuo hoped not. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he only now noticed that Shoto was pointing to the figure from before. The one hurling blue flames at what he assumed to be a villain. It was one gigantic lightshow, with most of the heroes on the scene doing more to dodge than they could to fight back. A new point of view skipped over to a reporter on the ground. Natsuo's heart almost skipped a beat when he saw the familiar shape of Flashfire Fist: Hell Spider as it ripped through the ground and into the villain.
But it was… wrong, entirely too blue and bright. Endeavor, as shitty a person as he was, knew to keep his power dimmed to a controlled peak for power before he overheated.
The closest image they had of the figure was snapshotted. He was a thin boy, more of a teenager covered in bandages and burn marks, but he was fighting with the heroes. Natsuo recognised the Dog Hero: Hound Dog, but that was about it. As for the teenager, his face was a burnt, angry scowling thing and his eyes were clear blue, almost hidden by long white locks of hair.
Fuyumi gasped. Natsuo turned to her, but besides that one noise she watched the TV in transfixed silence.
The snapshot of the teenager faded as the feed cut to another reporter near an evacuation zone. The male reporter wore basic protective gear in the midst of a bunch of heroes on the way to the scene, frontline fighters and rescue heroes alike. A few retired pros were on the scene, too, whether for rescue or to curb the probable spike in crime following this incident. Apparently, there was a fire that was breaking out from the villain's earlier attack which caused a pseudo earthquake. As a result, a bunch of buildings nearby had been declared unsafe for habitation. Natsuo leaned towards Shoto, slipping an arm around his shoulders to pull him close.
Even if the kid was stone-faced and silent in the face of the news report, Natsuo felt it was his responsibility to at the very least offer some support, even if it felt a little awkward.
The feed suddenly cut to Endeavor. It looked like one of those military vehicles, like something out of a video game. The large man stood up, and spoke over his shoulder at the camera as the hatch opened. Natsuo couldn't stomach any more of the man.
He turned the channel over to the next, where a news reporter was announcing that All Might was currently rushing into the fray of a… terrorist attack? Some kind of bomb? Was it happening at the same time as the villain fight, or was this something that happened earlier in the day? Despite his curiosity, Natsuo forced himself to skip it. He could always read up on this later during class tomorrow, when Shoto wasn't here.
With a final click, Natsuo pressed play on the DVD player.
Fuyumi was still in thought, ignoring the intro of the movie in favor of crossing her legs, idly she was playing with the bag of chocolates. Shoto relaxed on the couch, he couldn't really blame the kid. Although the sight of Endeavor on the TV caused the kid to jump up as if he was startled. Shoto quickly calmed down. Natsuo thought it over and decided that it'll blow over. When was there ever an issue that All Might couldn't solve? By the end of the night, he'd wake up to find that All Might had defeated the villain and rebuilt the whole district before he could even get to school.
That's just how things went.
Natsuo leaned forward and tapped at Shoto's shoulder.
"Do you like any of these? I noticed that you ate most of the Samurai-sour gummies and the Ecto-taffy that I brought yesterday."
The assorted candy he'd grabbed consisted of their favorites, because Natsuo wasn't planning on returning any of them before they went back to bed.
Shoto nodded with a bashful nod and he returned it with a crooked smile. Natsuo elbowed Fuyumi's ribs. Her nostrils flared with jumpy annoyance, but she quickly let go of the irritation when he jerked his chin towards Shoto. Chastised and somewhat sheepish, she shook her head before telling Shoto that the tall blond elf who was currently on the screen was her favorite character. But not before offering them some of her potato chips.
Natsuo had his hand halfway in her bag of chips when he rolled his eyes at the bald-faced lie she was telling Shoto.
"It's obviously because he's handsome. Don't let her trick you."
"No, it's not just because he's handsome." After Shoto took some of her chips she continued, "It's because he is pure of heart, and he kicks ass."
"Pfft! Yeah, right. That's what it is. Not because of his 'pretty hair'" he quoted in a girlish voice.
"Yeah and what about it? That wig is immaculate, and those eyebrows." she said with a short laugh. "Miles better than your hair, that's for sure!"
Natsuo clutched his chest. "...Shoto. You see the things she says to me? They're terrible!"
The quick retort sent his mood back into comfortable familiarity, even when Shoto's eyes went wide at their back and forth. There were a ton of issues that he had no way of solving, but he'd gotten through it by ignoring what he could and getting whatever little small win each chance he got. And as the movie ended an hour or so later, they snuck back into Shoto's lonely room. Fuyumi eagerly waved back at the kid as he was tucked into bed. Natsuo's familiar scowl crept back up, his sister was too lost in thought to tell him to knock it off.
He finally noticed out in the courtyard it was one of Endeavor's sidekicks up on the roof. The masked man stood up to his full height, the glow of the moonlight back lit him. He hardly knew the man on a personal level, but he was one of his father's oldest employees. And he could recognize the flame motif even from a distance. Natsuo froze for a second, Fuyumi none the wiser as she went on ahead. But the masked man nodded his head to the twelve year-old and turned around, walking away as if he never saw the two siblings sneaking out.
With that small mercy Natsuo shakily rushed behind Fuyumi and he tugged her arm forward so that they could get back to their rooms as soon as possible, sneaking be damned. Even when he saw his older sister close the door to her room. Natsuo still had his hand to his heart as he rushed through the events that played out. They weren't allowed to own personal computers or televisions, Endeavor was a shitty father but when it came to restrictions and rules, he was the number one pro.
Natsuo's foot shook as he sat on his desk in the dark room in wonder.
When is Endeavor getting back?
He climbed down into his futon and contemplated their last actions with some apprehension; he wondered if the sidekick was going to spill the beans on their late-night escapade.
But as he woke up the next day and got ready for middle school, his father was nowhere to be seen. Fuyumi had heavy bags under her eyes as she held onto her school bag at the front of the door, her high-school dress uniform was crumpled. Shoto was already dressed and sent off to his own school earlier in the morning. Their chauffeur Kurumada was standing beside the familiar limousine, somewhat pensively, but he said nothing besides an eager reply from his and Fuyumi's tired greetings.
Natsuo wasn't sure what to feel, but as he was surrounded by the commotion from his classmates eagerly discussing what they dubbed to be the Minato Ward incident before his teacher shut them down to focus on today's class. He wondered how long it would take before he could have access to the library's computer, but from the excitement of the others. Natsuo felt like he'd have enough third hand information about it before lunch break ended.