[ 01. ]

2.7K 130 37
                                    

There was nothing fun about winning a chess game over a beginner. Todoroki Shouto knew this. He looked up at his sister, who was struggling to make a move. She was weaker than him in many aspects. He took a deep breath, drumming his fingers against the edge of the table.

"I know!" Todoroki Fuyumi yelled, causing Shoto to stop his finger drumming. She exhaled. "I know. I'll hurry."

"We have all day," Shouto said, the corner of his mouth ticking upward. "Not that you need it."

"I may not have the strength of your quirk, but that doesn't mean I won't beat your ass."

He could see her next move without the twitch of her fingers. It was in the skill book she was reading earlier after she challenged him. Shouto glanced upward toward the clock, noticing it was half-past four.

His father would be home soon.

He promised he would be a better man. That promise never came true. All he wanted was more power, better children, better everything. Shouto picked up a fallen pawn and twirled it in his finger.

"Do you know why Father is visiting so early today?" Shouto asked, breaking Fuyumi's concentration. He could hear her breath catching in her chest.

"No."

"You're lying."

Shouto narrowed his eyes at his sister. What was she hiding? He gently pressed the clock next to the chessboard, stopping her turn. Fuyumi pushed up her glasses and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm not telling you, Shouto." He could see words resting on the tip of her tongue. "I won't be the one to tell you."

He groaned. "This has to do with Father and his visions of grandeur again, doesn't it?"

Shouto stood from his knees and spoke again. "I won't do anything he tells me to."

"You have to listen to him." Fuyumi got to her feet too. "He'll... he'll.."

"He'll what, Fuyumi? He'll burn me too, take out my other eye?"

"Shouto!"

"What? I'm tired of this, I'm tired of being a pawn, I'm tired of this—"

"For once, this isn't about you!"

Shouto stopped. His eyes widened, turning to face his sister. She was heaving at the chest, tears beginning to puddle down her cheeks.

"This isn't about you." She wiped her face with one hand. "It's about me."

"Ane."

He wanted to act. Comforting wasn't his strong suit, but in a moment where he could use his words, he could think of nothing. He was trying to reconnect with his sister, to reach out to her. He wanted to hide her away from whatever his father was planning.

"I... Father, he's planning an engagement for me."

As he gazed at his sister, Shouto saw glimpses of his mother. Eyes filled with an incomprehensible fear. The unknown of the future. Hatred, like boiling water, bubbling over the pot.

"He said he knew you wouldn't ever allow it, so I told him I would. To protect you, Shouto. It's... it's the only thing I can do for you."

Powerless.

"That's not—"

"Not what? My job?" Fuyumi clutched her hands to her chest. Her tears fell like threads of silver. "We can't get out of this cycle but you.."

She started shuffling toward him. "Someday, you can make it out of here. You can be a hero and so much more. You can't have Father holding anything over you."

For the first time in a long time, Shouto felt his sister's arms around his body. He could barely breathe. Their father was forcing the same fate of his mother onto his sister. The sister who has always been kind. Who has always taken care of them, in place of their mother.

"Ane, I can't."

She sniffled, her arms loosening. "W-what?"

Shouto took a deep breath, his words quiet. "I won't let you end up like Mother."

"You... you can leave now.. you're almost graduated.. you can make it out and leave," her face contorted into anger, the tears running faster and faster. "Why can't you just leave us?! What did I ever do for you?! Let me have this... let me..."

Fuyumi sobbed, pounding her hand against his chest. It rattled his entire body. Shouto could feel the tears brimming in his own eyes, but he wouldn't let it show. He couldn't let it show. 

"Why can't you leave?"

He gently slid out of her arms. She wiped her face, her hands trembling. Fuyumi was just a teacher with a minor ice quirk, all that she had was their father's name. There was so much evil in the world and he knew this. The older Shouto became, the stronger his protectiveness of his siblings. He knew this is what his father wanted all along.

As she tried to pull herself together, his mind was blank.

He already made up his mind long before the conversation ended. He wasn't going to visit his sister in the hospital. He wasn't going to see her end up with the highest bidder. Her future children would not suffer as he did.

No one would end up like Mother.

No one.

( &&

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

( &&. sorry not sorry about the sadness, the chapters will also get longer, this is just a taste. )

Destroy Me [ ON HIATUS/TODOROKI ]Where stories live. Discover now