Destroy Me [ ON HIATUS/TODOROKI ]

[ 02. ]

➼

Saito Asami tore her screaming twin brothers apart.

"Stop it, both of you!" she yelled, the two four-year-olds grappling to hold on to each other. Asami didn't have much control over her younger brothers.

"Boys, listen to your sister."

Her father's voice echoed in the single room. The rattling of the nearby metro began to shake the windows. Asami's brothers fled the scene, yelling at each other and giggling. She sighed, pushing back her raven hair.

"Father, you're home from work early," Asami said, moving toward her father to embrace him. He accepted, but she could feel something wasn't right.

"Is— is everything okay?"

She had only seen her father cry twice. Once when they received her mother's diagnosis, and once at her funeral. He turned away from his daughter, wiping a few tears away from his cheeks. Her brows furrowed and her eyes widened.

"I..." he started, sniffing loudly. "I was laid off today."

Asami inhaled sharply. Ever since the medical bills and the cost of the funeral, they had been struggling to keep food on the table. Asami had a little job as a waitress but she had to take care of her twin brothers. She had graduated hero school months ago, deciding to put off any agency signings until she knew her father was better off.

"I can sign on with an agency, I.. I can get a second job. We can make this work," she said. The metro screamed by, her father's hand trembling.

"You won't need to do that."

"Why? I'm old enough now, I've graduated, I— I can do it for the family. For them." She stepped closer to him. Then, gently, she pressed a hand on his shoulder.

"Because— I... I."

His shoulders shook. He couldn't face Asami, he couldn't look his daughter in the eyes. "You can tell me, it'll be alright."

Asami looked at the envelope in his other hand. She released her hand from his shoulder and delicately slid it out of his hand. He stepped further away from her, setting his bag down on the one table they owned in the house.

The envelope was fancy and marked with an elaborate family crest. A fiery red color, with an elegant cursive t. Asami read the name on the cover of the letter.

◤ — Enji Todoroki
In regards to Daisuke Saito ◢

She opened the envelope, a check fluttering and falling to the floor. She reached down to pick it up, reading the title. The check had her father's name and a huge sum of money. In a shocked state, she pulled the letter out of the envelope.

「  Daisuke,

My son has finally agreed to this union. I hope your daughter will come to terms peacefully. If all goes well, there's more where this came from. Thank you for securing the Todoroki legacy.

Enji  」

Asami felt her heart stop. Her fingers trembled first until her whole body felt fresh blood coursing through her. Adrenaline. Fear.

Asami had grand ideas as to what love would be. She had seen it with her parents. They had met in a coffee shop. Her father was the barista and he had pronounced her mother's name wrong. They loved each other until the bitter end.

She fell to her knees. She would never know what that was like. A loveless life. One where she didn't have freedom of choice anymore. Her anger had depleted though. Asami was mourning.

She was mourning for a life she used to live, with her mother by her side. A life where her father would come home happy and cheerful, not going straight to bed. She was mourning her loss of love.

Todoroki.

That was one of the students at a different hero school. He was Endeavor's son. She felt her body tense up, hot tears rolling down her face. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, the sickening feeling engulfing her.

"Asami— it's the only thing... I could think of.. after I lost my job, I panicked."

His knees hit the floor and he engulfed his daughter into his arms. She gripped his shirt, crying into his shirt as she did so many years ago. The flat line beeps echoing in her ears.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He stroked her tangled hair, the letter crumping in her hands. She knew it was her duty as a daughter to be the best she could be for her family. As the eldest, she didn't have a choice. The job market for her father was becoming thinner and thinner. They couldn't afford to move.

"Please forgive me."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her little twin brothers watching. They clutched her hand me down teddy bear. They didn't know their mother. She had died when they were only two.

Looking at them, she saw their futures. If she rejected, what would happen to them? Where would they end up? They would be torn from her father.

Asami lifted her head from his shoulder. She held the letter in her hands and then placed it on the floor. She tucked her hair behind her ears and felt her face contort into sadness again.

She covered her mouth, stifling sobs. She would have to put away all of those manufactured dreams about roses and sweet first kisses. She had a family to think about.

Asami then opened her eyes, her father staring back. His eyes were sunken in, a five o'clock shadow resting around his mouth. His mouth was thinned into a tight line, holding back emotion.

"I've already forgiven you."

( &&. two sad in a row ?! also this wasn't very long either. )