Top pic credit: sharl0ck

Song for this chap: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd.

*****

Violet POV: ~ ten years ago~

"Hurry, hurry, you two! Sit her down here!" Fuyumi exclaimed excitedly, impatiently gesturing for Natsuo and Touya to quicken the pace.

I kept my hands covering my eyes as I was strictly instructed to by Fuyumi-feeling a little nervous about trusting Touya to be my eyes for the temporary time being.

Let's just say....I won't be surprised if, instead of sitting wherever Fuyumi wants me to, I end up in the backyard pool, instead...

But, then again, I guess that's what Natsuo is for, right? To save me??

And even though both boys each had one hand resting atop my shoulders to lead me to whatever surprise awaited, I could only focus on Touya's hand above all else.

Sure, I didn't see which shoulder of mine he'd touched before closing my eyes. But, for some reason....I'm still able to know which one is him.

Natsuo's hand is soft. Incredibly soft, barely touching me.

Touya, however, has a firm grip on my shoulder-not a painful one, but one that lets me know he's here. There's something comforting about it. Something gentle, too. His hand is warm, able to close around the entire top of my shoulder as he carefully directed me through the Todoroki household.

I could feel his presence behind me. So incredibly close-and if that's not enough to get a thirteen year old girl excited and nervous around her crush, I dunno what is!

Ahhh, not that I have a crush on him. I'm just saying! What??

"I'm going as fast as I can," Touya groaned with a small huff of annoyance, before giving me a small push forward. "It's Grape who's got the slow feet. She sucks at everything, and now she even sucks at walking."

I could practically hear the teasing smile on his face.

My jaw dropped in mock offense to his words. Keeping my hands over my eyes obediently, I tried to turn my head back to face him, before I felt his other hand plop atop my forehead.

"Oh? Did I say you could turn around, dummy?" He questioned lightly, carefully forcing my direction forward once more before he directed us to continue walking.

"Well, it's not my fault I'm going so slow! How do I know you're not leading me into the ocean, or oncoming traffic, or something?!" I called out, causing a genuine snicker of amusement to erupt from Touya's throat at my accuracy of the statement, no doubt.

"Aw. Are you saying you don't trust me? Hey, careful how you answer-" he started off in a half hearted attempt to be intimidating, before I immediately cut him off.

"Ha! Of course I'm saying I don't trust you!!" I cackled, trying to turn around with my hands covering my eyes once more before Touya directed me forward again.

"Mmm........yeah, smart girl." He pointed out in humorous defeat, causing our laughter to mingle, as I felt him give my shoulder a small squeeze-

"Don't worry, Violet!!" The younger voice on my other side interrupted, causing me to jump slightly as I almost forgot he was there. "I'll make sure Touya doesn't throw you into the ocean."

"Kiss ass." Touya mumbled under his breath, causing the corners of my lips to turn up into an amused smile.

I heard Natsuo gasp in offense on my other side, before he practically yelled into my ear to ensure his brother would hear his next comment from a whole three feet away.

"Huh?! I'm a kiss ass cause I don't wanna murder her?!" The younger boy pouted out in annoyance, causing Touya to laugh obnoxiously.

"Yep, pretty much-ow! Hey, what was that for? You can't do that?!" He veered off after the sound of skin slapping skin was heard.

"It's for saying something mean to Violet!" Fuyumi defended in concern a few feet away.

I bet she's got her hands on her hips right now in that disciplinary manner. I can practically see it.

But, anyways, a sudden thought popped into my head.

"Oh. If we're going to smack Touya every time he says something uncalled for, we're gonna be giving him alottt of smacks." I pointed out in serious cluelessness, feeling a small flick to my forehead now from the emo boy next to me.

"Oop-" I peeped out, before Touya turned me around to face him on his own.

"Bold words for someone who can't see right now." He pointed out, as I still kept my hands obediently over my eyes.

But!!!

"Welll, I meannn-" I started off in my knowledge voice, causing Touya to immediately cut me off as he knew what was coming.

"No. Stop. I didn't ask. I don't care about whatever 'technically' thing you're about to go on about. I don't wanna hear it-"

"Technically, I can still see. I'm just choosing not to see. But, I will say, this whole situation definitely makes me appreciate my eyes more. I have so much admiration for blind people-"

"Goddd-Can we just sit her down already before she rambles us into another dimension? You remember last time." Touya let out with a mocking whine, spinning me back around forward like a rag doll, before I felt Fuyumi reach out and grab my hand.

"Careful. You're gonna make her puke from all the spinning." She scolded lightly, carefully dragging me out of the boys' arms to lead me the rest of the way.

A few seconds later, I heard a chair slide out of its place, before Fuyumi pressed down on my shoulders to make me sit in it.

"Okayyy...." she started off in anticipation as I heard her voice directly in front of me now. "You can remove your hands from your eyes......now!"

Eager to see what all this hype was about, I quickly removed my hands from face in excitement, already flashing a beaming smile for whatever would await me.

And my smile only got bigger upon seeing the sight.

In front of me was a cake-a homemade, beautifully decorated cake with frosted words atop it that Natsuo and Fuyumi exclaimed out loud in unison.

"Happy one year!" They sang out slightly, gesturing grandly to the cake on the table.

I stared at the cake in appreciative awe, letting out a small, touched laugh at the beautiful surprise.

"H-Hah, what?! O-Oh, wow..." I breathed out, feeling my cheeks starting to heat up as I began getting shy.

"It's officially your one year anniversary that you've been at the Todoroki household." Fuyumi followed up in case I wasn't sure, laughing warmly when she saw how much the gesture had affected me.

"A year too long, if you ask me." Touya followed up, yet it was easy to read the tease in his voice now.

Living in the same house with someone for a year will do that.

I chuckled genuinely at his words, unable to even come up with a comeback as I looked at the pretty cake through eyes that started to shimmer.

No one, except my mom, has ever done something so nice and kind for me.

My mom.

It's....it's just so nice-

"Oh, no-Touya. You shouldn't have said that-" Fuyumi started off worriedly as she saw me starting to tear up, causing me to sniffle and speak quickly to clear the air.

I didn't even realize I'd started to tear up.

"N-No, it's not that-Touya didn't do anything wrong, I promise. I just....I-I just..." I started off softly, smiling dreamily at the cake while I felt light tears breaking past my lids.

"My mom....she used to make me a cake every year for my birthday. She didn't.....well, as you guys obviously know...she wasn't around to make me one this year-a-and..." I tried, feeling my throat closing up slightly with a lump of tears that wanted to shoot up my throat and through my eyeballs.

I didn't even know I was feeling like this.

"I-It was just very nice of you. Y-You didn't have to....but....I'm so grateful." I forced myself to finish, stopping after that sentence when my voice started to become shaky.

I can't cry right now! I don't want to ruin anyone's mood. They made me this cake for something happy. It's not about me. It's about making sure they know I'm happy.

"Hey, it's alright. Uhhh....w-we were glad to." Fuyumi reassured with a worried smile, not quite knowing how to make me feel better.

Natsuo opened his mouth to speak, before closing it in confusion, clearly not knowing what to do either.

I jumped a bit when I suddenly felt two hands from the same person plop down on both of my shoulders from behind, causing me to start turning around in my chair to see who it was-before they gently faced me forward. Again.

"Hey. It's lemon flavored, you know." Touya murmured quietly, reaching his bandaged hand forward in my vision a bit to gesture to the cake.

And, sure, that comment might seem strange and random to most. It might seem like he was ignoring my unintentional pour-your-heart out session about my mom...

But, there was something special about that comment to me. There was a reason that Touya felt the need to say it...

Lemon cake is my favorite flavor. And he knows that.

"O-Oh, you're kidding-but, you hate lemon cake." I gasped slightly, feeling my mood brightening up once more as I turned back to the yellow frosted cake.

I heard him chuckle softly as he leaned down toward my sitting figure a bit, relaxing his grip on my shoulders to something warmer.

I saw Fuyumi from the corner of my eye place her hands over her mouth in subtle excitement at the sight, quickly throwing an arm around Natsuo to keep him in place so he couldn't come over and interrupt.

"Yeah, it's pretty disgusting. But, I'll live, Grape. Besides, I can't be eating cake when I'm trying to train. How else am I gonna catch up to Shouto and dad? It's for the best." He murmured out in reassurance, meaning to ease my doubts with his words.

....but, they only caused another twinge of pain to spark up in my soul, as my eyes subtly directed to his destroyed hands and arms.

He's training too hard. But, what else is new?

I don't know how to stop him. I want him to stop...

But, Touya and I have gotten to a point in our friendship now, where he will only talk with me about his training, because he thinks I'm the only one who will listen. He won't speak about it with Fuyumi. He stopped talking about it with Natsuo.

If he shuts himself off from me, too, then he'll have no one.

And someone like Touya? He needs someone. He needs someone who will pay attention to him and lift him up. Someone who will keep him somewhat grounded to reality, and realize there's still hope. Someone he can speak freely to and voice his frustrations and concerns, or his goals and wants.

Because if he doesn't have that with anyone, I don't know what he'll do.

"Well....alright, then..." I started off softly, making my daily wish that I would find a way to get through to Touya and make him stop training one day. For his own health.

Touya turned his head towards me slightly when he saw me sniffle and wipe away my tears, letting out a small hum of discontent at the sight of me crying.

He opened his mouth to speak again, before Natsuo's grumble for Fuyumi to let go of him caught his attention. His body froze when he remembered his siblings were still here, before he quickly backed away from me at lightning speed and cleared his throat.

"Agh, gross. Don't go making me all soft and prissy now." Touya mocked out with a fake whine to gain some of his uncaring exterior back, yet he still rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Fuyumi quickly stepped in before Touya's soft moment would be too noticeable, grabbing the cutting knife off the table and a small dessert plate.

"Let's slice it then, yeah? Violet get's the biggest piece-" She started off with a smile, causing my grin to quickly return as I waited for my piece.

That is, until a new, quiet voice from behind the group gained everyone's attention.

"C-Can I have some cake, too?" Little Shouto peeped out softly, causing the Todoroki trio and I to immediately turn around and face him in surprise.

Justified surprise, of course. No one has seen the poor kid in months. Endeavor doesn't allow it.

My jaw dropped a bit at Shouto's presence, almost feeling starstruck to see the little boy in person. However, I quickly got myself together when I saw how nervous he was to be out here talking with his siblings, standing up from my chair as I grabbed another dessert plate off the table.

"Oh! Of course you can, Shouto. I'll give you a nice, big piece-" I smiled, watching Fuyumi about to start cutting a piece before Touya chimed in.

"Why should he get any? You know dad wouldn't want him to have that crap. Are you going behind his back, Shouto?" He started off bitterly, before his own question caused his eyes to light up mischievously at the toxic thoughts that poisoned his head. "Ohhh-ho, man! Wait, are you? How would father feel to know his golden child is a little traitor? I bet it would break his heart and make him feel like a failure!"

I sighed softly at the abrupt newfound anger that had been brought out of Touya, upon Shouto's arrival, but I couldn't say I was surprised. After spending the past year with the eldest boy, I've learned that he has triggers. Certain things set him off when they're brought up, no matter what mood he'd been in previously.

His dad is one of these triggers. His quirk injuries are another. Shouto's entire presence is also a trigger, unfortunately.

I know why, even if Touya won't ever admit it to himself. Even though Shouto is quite a bit younger and has no interest in a competition with Touya, the older boy's eyes light up with anxiety and insecurity whenever Shouto walks into a room.

It's like the younger boy is just a walking reminder of Touya's own failures. Failures that he has no control of.

But, even so, the two brothers haven't ever had the chance to know each other. Endeavor pitted them against each other from the start. Sure, maybe it wasn't intentional on his part, but it happened and he didn't try very hard to stop it.

Maybe they just need baby steps...

"Touya, come on. It's just one slice of cake," I started off patiently, turning my attention to the glaring fifteen year old with my own smile.

Any semblance of the soft boy I'd been graced with mere seconds ago had vanished as Touya scoffed and rolled his eyes in irritation.

"One slice too many." He snapped impatiently, before turning his fiery eyes back on his little brother with an attitude. "Where is dad, anyways? I've been trying to get ahold of him for three days, but he won't respond to any of my calls. I want to show him a new move I've been working on. You got competition in me, you know, Shouto. I'm not too far behind now."

Obviously, this is not about the cake!

And while Touya's words were supposed to be a powerful justification meant to build himself up and intimidate Shouto....

....his voice came out shaky. Unsure. Anxious. Emotional.

Touya is a very emotional person. Especially when it comes to his triggers.

"D-Dad....went out to get more training stuff for me," Shouto started out meekly, eyes filling with tears at the words that now mirrored the ones forming in Touya's eyes, too.

Both of them are devastated over that sentence. But, for different reasons.

The older boy sucked in a harsh breath at the words, fists balling together in his own internal agony as he clamped his teeth.

Okayokayokay-that is enough baby steps for today!

I quickly walked over to Touya and placed a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the small clouds of smoke that started to emanate off his body.

"Just let me give him a piece of cake and he can take it back to his room," I reassured Touya softly so Shouto wouldn't hear, quickly adding onto my sentence when a new thought entered my head. "You don't even like lemon, so it's fine. It's not as if he'll be taking your piece, because you wouldn't have had it, anyways."

His look of anguish relaxed ever so slightly upon hearing my words, causing me to take my wins where I can get them.

"......fine. Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care." Touya followed up raspily, clenching his smoking fists together tighter.

He went from not daring to allow Shouto to have a piece of cake, to accepting it in the span of a few minutes. Sure, he's not happy about it, but I'll count it as progress, anyways.

Giving him a small nod and smile, I quickly made my way back over towards the cake, about to tell Fuyumi to proceed with cutting Shouto's piece....

....before the front door slammed closed and caused everyone's faces to pale.

"Huh?? Where the hell is that boy-Shouto!!!" Endeavor boomed from down the hallway, with his heavy, menacing footsteps pounding louder with every step closer.

My heart pounded in scared sync with his steps, causing me to quickly set the cake plate back on the table as Endeavor neared the corner of the kitchen.

Fuyumi and I, along with Shouto and Natsuo looked as if we were about to drop dead from fear right then and there as we saw the livid anger in Endeavor's eyes.

However, Touya on the other hand lit up with heartbreaking excitement like a Christmas tree.

"Ah!! Yes!! Dad!! Finally, I've been waiting for you for ages!!" Touya exclaimed, brushing past Shouto and I with a beaming smile on his face that I don't normally get to see.

As usual, Endeavor didn't even look in his direction, keeping his eyes glued to Shouto as he spoke.

"Shouto!! What are you doing over here with them?!? You know better than to talk to them!" He yelled out angrily, causing the half and half boy's tears to spill past his lids as he looked at his dad with hate.

"Dad!! Hey, dad, I'm talking to you!!" Touya said a little louder as he stopped in front of his Endeavor. "Listen, I-I've been working on a cool move! You know, it's similar to the one that you used on the sand monster a few years ago. S-Sure, I'm not as strong with it as you were, but I'm trying! I-I'm trying so hard-I bet I might be stronger than Shouto-"

But, Endeavor didn't care about what Touya had to say, roughly shoving him out of his way as he walked over to a trembling, angry Shouto with full attention.

Endeavor had shoved Touya in my direction, hard enough to make him stumble on his feet, yet the boy didn't care about that.

I grabbed onto his shoulders to steady him, watching the look of pained heartbreak and neglect paint across his face so vividly as he looked to his father.

"It's alright, Touya." I whispered so quietly, I doubt he even heard me.

"D-Dad-" Touya tried again through a shaky, devastated voice before Endeavor's louder, more powerful one broke through the words.

"Answer me now, Shouto!!" He screamed, causing Fuyumi to flinch and choke on a sniffle as she closed her tear filled eyes.

"Dad!!! Please!!" Touya screamed again, yet he made no effort to shrug my hands off his shoulders.

"I just wanted to come out of my room and see them!!! Just once!!! I only wanted to see them enjoy the cake!!" Shouto cried out in rage filled fear, glaring up at his dad to ensure he would be able to memorize the source of all his hatred.

Endeavor's blue eyes flashed with confused anger for a moment, before he abruptly turned around and found the pretty cake on the table.

"This one?" He asked rhetorically, clearly not needing an answer as he stormed over to it.

Fuyumi and I gasped as we saw where this was going, before Natsuo shouted out his own attempts to help.

"No, dad!! Don't!! That's not yours!! It's Vi-"

But, his plea fell on deaf ears as Endeavor took his fire consumed fist and slammed it down onto the cake, causing me to suck in a breath of hurt as I watched the poor thing erupt into flames.

Touya's jaw dropped in shock as steaming tears poured down his sizzling cheeks, while Fuyumi buried her sobbing face in her hands to hide.

Shouto's lips quivered as he turned to me in pure guilt, only causing more tears to pour down his face as he saw my hurt.

This is why you're not supposed to let them see you sad, Violet. They don't need you holding them down like that.

"I-I'm sorry, Violet. That was your cake. I-If only I'd...." Little Shouto cried out in apology, before I cleared my throat and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"It's not your fault, Shouto. It's alright. Don't worry about it." I whispered to him kindly, knowing Touya heard me and expecting him to say it was Shouto's fault.

But, he was too preoccupied with looking at his dad lifelessly to care.

It just shows that Touya's problems with Shouto stem completely from his father's actions. It has nothing to do with Shouto.

It has everything to do with Endeavor.

Wiping the remaining charred bits of the cake-and half the table cloth off his sleeve, Endeavor turned back around and grabbed Shouto by his arm, starting to drag him off to a world unknown to all of us...

....before Touya finally walked out of my hold and towards his dad.

"N-No!! Don't go-Just for a second! Please! Just let me show you what I've learned for a second, a-and then you'll see! Then you'll see that I'm not a mista-" Touya pleaded, before Endeavor turned around in irritation.

"I don't care!! How many times have I told you to stop training!? You're killing yourself, because your body's not strong enough to handle your quirk!! That's part of the reason I got you a future wife!!! So you could focus on being normal!!" Endeavor started off, before turning his eyes on me.

Right, because having a wife at fifteen is normal?!-

"And you, Violet!! Why the hell aren't you watching him?? Why are you letting him hurt himself!!?" The flame hero screamed at me, causing my eyes to widen in fear as I tried to wrack my brain for an answer.

But, Touya spoke first.

"It's not her job to take care of me!!! She's not my keeper!!!-"

"For fuck's sake-just have an ordinary life, Touya!! Have an ordinary life with Violet, and stop being so damn difficult!!" Endeavor screamed out, causing Touya's maniacal eyes to squeeze shut in pain to the words.

His hands went to his hair as he began rapidly shaking his head, looking up at his dad with tears of pure frustration.

"I don't want to be ordinary!!! I want to be a hero, like you!!! I will be a hero like you!! Y-You'll see!!!" He cried out, grabbing fistfuls of his hair and taking his anger out on himself since he had no other place to put it.

Yet, all Endeavor did was shake his head in denial and turn his back on him once again-literally and figuratively as he continued pulling Shouto down the hallway.

"No, you won't. At some point, you'll wake up and realize the truth, Touya. At some point, you'll accept it and move on." Endeavor called out over his shoulder, disappearing with Shouto around the corner.

And seeing Endeavor neglect Touya has taught me many things. But, the biggest thing it's taught me...

...is that Endeavor does not know what his son is capable of at all.

*******

"Lemon cake is gross, anyways, you know. It's not like you're missing anything special about it." Touya murmured to me lowly, half heartedly kicking a rock across the street as we walked.

I couldn't help but chuckle softly at his 'Touya' way of trying to fix things as I looked out towards the crowded street market ahead of us.

After Endeavor massacred my cake without mercy, Fuyumi immediately suggested that we go to the street market to buy a new one, instead. No one-not even Fuyumi herself was in the mood for such an idea, but the second eldest Todoroki didn't give anyone much of a choice in the matter.

And, sure, I wasn't too hyped about the idea when we were still back at the house. Frankly, I would have much rather gone to my room and cried until dinner...

But, now that we're here? Well, I'm glad she forced us to go.

The summer sunset was just starting to graze the horizon, illuminating the city streets with a calming tinge of yellow. The beach was to our right, with soft waves crashing against the sand, and the smell of salt water mixed perfectly with the scent of deliciously fried street foods coming from the vendors lined on both sides of the road.

Sounds of laughing children and chattering adults immediately elevated my mood with the reality that it was truly a beautiful day. Even Touya was feeling the effects of the better vibes, as he'd finally spoken again once we arrived here.

Sure, it was obvious to see he was still sad. But, he was no longer crying or literally smoking with anger.

Now, he was just deflated, tired, and quiet, reluctantly following along with whatever his siblings wanted to do. I don't blame him.

But, I'm glad he's talking again-and to me of all people.

"You think?" I started off nonchalantly, smiling softly when a perfect breeze of ocean air passed by us. "What flavor do you think I should get then?"

"Red velvet." He mumbled, keeping his eyes to the street asphalt as he spoke.

My brows raised in slight surprise for his immediate answer, causing me to make a mental note for the flavor.

"Ah, that was quick. That's your favorite flavor, I assume? I haven't seen you eat much cake." I admitted, reflecting back on the times that Touya refused to eat anything unhealthy, because he felt it would set his trainings back.

He shrugged his shoulders softly, trying to play off his likes.

"I mean....it's alright." He said stubbornly, causing me to chuckle as I turned towards him now with a bounce in my step.

"Let me rephrase the question-if you had to eat one cake flavor for the rest of your life, unable to eat anything else-"

"That would never happen-"

"Oh, just pretend it would! If you had to eat one cake for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I persisted with a laugh, feeling accomplished when I saw the corners of his mouth twitch with a light smirk.

Now he's feeling better.

"Well, it wouldn't be lemon. That's for sure." He mumbled, causing me to roll my eyes lightly.

"Because it would be red velvet." I confirmed in my own stubbornness to make him admit something.

He let a drawn out groan of fake annoyance fall from his lips as he finally directed his eyes to me and away from the asphalt.

I couldn't help but notice the way the soft rays of sun reflected into his eyes, making them bluer and brighter than I thought ever possible.

His eyes really are beautiful.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" He murmured with a light smile of amusement, keeping his gaze on me as we walked.

I chuckled softly at the words, throwing my head back happily when another breeze kissed our faces.

"Mmmmm, lemme think-yes. You do." I grinned, earning a happy hum of amusement from Touya as he continued staring at me.

Touya POV:

Because how could I look away?

Sure, grape has always been a cute girl. I'd be dumb not to notice that.

But, right now? With the setting sky and ocean as her backdrop....I can't look away.

With the way she's walking backwards, letting the breeze ruffle her hair forward into her face. With a smile so bright, it rivals the flecks of sun, that are currently mingling with the gold of her eyes to make them glow.....I can't look away.

And I don't even know if I'm mad about that.

But, I should be.

Violet just makes that impossible. She makes it impossible not to like her, because she is so good.

And being with her today. Right now....

It's actually making me happy. And I hate that, but I can't stop.

Violet POV:

"I said, hellooo? Uhhhh, Touya? Hey, you're about to-" I pointed out when he seemed incredibly distracted at the sight of my face, unable to warn him fast enough as he walked right into two kids who were conversing in the middle of the street.

His eyes snapped back to reality when he stumbled forward into the younger kids who were almost the same height as him, cursing to himself in annoyance as he lightly shoved their laughing faces aside.

I pressed my lips together to hide my amusement at the sight of his grumbling, watching him continue his walk forward once the children were out of the way.

"I hate kids." He stated grumpily, causing me to giggle a bit at his annoyance before I popped back to his side.

"Really?? But, they're so cute-in fact, I want a big house of kids when I'm older. Mom always said she wanted to give me a sister or a brother, but....well, my dad got sick and passed away before that could happen. Family makes me so happy though. I'd love to be a mom one day, and be there for my kids, just like my mom is for me." I beamed out hopefully, excited for the possibilities that the future could bring.

Touya crinkled his nose in light disgust to my words, letting out a small huff of annoyance as we continued walking.

"Well, you're not having that with me." He said blandly, causing me to laugh and look at him with playful challenge.

"And when did I ever say I'd be having that with you? Last I checked, I said I wasn't gonna marry you." I started off, causing Touya to turn towards me with a grin.

"No, I said I wasn't gonna marry you," he started off with tease. "Besides, you're a whole two years younger than me, you know. I'm already fifteen now, I don't want to marry some kid."

I lightly knocked his shoulder, rolling my eyes softly at his incredibly slow walking pace.

"I'm not a kid!-a-and, anyways, you're still a kid, too." I pointed out, instinctively linking my arm into his own to pull him along the street at a slightly faster pace.

He didn't push me off, allowing me to navigate us through the crowds of children and people as we tried to catch up to Fuyumi and Natsuo.

"I'm not gonna be a kid for much longer now. Besides, I'm a teenager, not even a kid. Three years away from becoming a professional hero like dad." He explained to me casually, tired voice perking up a bit at the hope he held for his own bright future.

I smiled softly at the sight of an adult Touya in the hero world, being able to picture the image pretty vividly.

"Ehhh, I don't feel like a teenager. I still feel like a kid." I admitted with a small pout, causing Touya to laugh a bit smugly as he nudged my shoulder with his own.

"Yeah, because you act like a kid." He smirked as my jaw dropped in fake offense.

"Obviously not, because you said you don't like kids. But, you like me-a-as a friend, I mean." I rambled before it could become weird, causing Touya to shake his head stubbornly.

"I tolerate you-And less everyday, at that." He said, trying to hide the smile in his voice.

"Liar."

"You can't prove anything, Grape."

My small laughter mingled with his as we continued walking through the street market, not realizing how far away we'd strayed from Fuyumi and Natsuo until we heard them calling our names from the side.

"Violet! Touya!" Fuyumi called out, with two wrapped up treats in her hands.

Natsuo followed closely behind, holding another two treats as well.

"We found cake!!" Natsuo exclaimed excitedly, handing me one of his treats while Fuyumi did the same with Touya. "And this cake is on a stick!"

My mouth formed on 'ooo' of anticipation as I took the cake stick and unwrapped the decorative paper-seeing, none other than a thick triangle slice of red velvet cake stuck atop it.

"Heyyy, look at that! It's your favorite flavor!" I said to Touya happily, causing Fuyumi's brows to raise in surprise as she spoke.

"Uhh-Red Velvet was all they had left-and, wait, Touya has a favorite cake flavor? I didn't know that."

"I didn't know that, either." Natsuo chimed in curiously, causing Touya's brows to furrow at being caught as he plucked the decorative wrapper off his cake.

"Huh?! I-I said it was alright." He corrected as his cheeks flushed slightly pink, waiting for everyone else to unwrap their cake before he would take a bite.

Seeing a trash can in the corner of the street, I decided to gather up everyone's cake wrappers and toss them. Cause you know, littering is bad for the environment!

"Let me throw these away and then we can walk and eat." I explained to the chattering sibling group, giving a quick parting smile as I separated from them and jogged towards the trash can.

"Don't take long over there in case of weirdos." Touya mumbled 'uninterestedly,' reluctantly turning his attention back to his siblings now.

Being too far away, I didn't answer him as I strolled up to the trash can, tossing the cake wrappers before turning on my heel to make my way back to the group.

That is, until I heard a soft, practically inaudible voice sound from the alleyway entrance next to the trash can.

"P-Please. I-I'm....I'm s-so hungry, I can't even think, anymore." The broken voice croaked out from the shadows of the alleyway, causing my brows to raise and my body to freeze as I took in the sound.

I quickly turned around to face the alleyway, looking straight ahead into the dark abyss and seeing no one.

Did I imagine it?

Pursing my lips in suspicion, I waited a few more moments before hearing nothing, slowly starting to turn around to head back to my group before the voice spoke again.

"I-I beg you. P-Please, help me. I'm sorry for bothering you. I'm just so hungry." They cried out a little more desperately, causing me to follow the sound of the voice to the ground it came from and finally make out the shape of someone sitting against the dirty floors of the alley.

It was a child. A boy who looked to be around my age.

He was looking up at me with incredibly sunken eyes and paling skin. Even though he was sitting hunched over, I could tell just from his jaw bones that he was probably emaciated, and a thick layer of dirt painted his entire appearance. The dirt had streaked slightly from the light layer of tears that had broken past his lids at the sight of my food, and he pulled the tearing rags he was wearing tighter against his shivering body when the warm ocean breeze brushed by him.

My eyes widened horrifically at the sight before I threw all caution to the wind and walked into the alleyway.

I didn't walk very far. I'm still visible from the entrance.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped softly, quickly dropping to my knees to get closer to his level. "Are you hurt?"

I removed the expensive cardigan the Todoroki's had bought me, placing the material around the shaking boy's shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry for bothering you. I'm so sorry." He simply breathed out, keeping his gaze to the floor in fear.

"It's alright, you're not bothering me. It's okay." I smiled sweetly, placing my hand atop his bony shoulder which caused him to flinch and whimper.

He's clearly been through a lot.

I quickly removed my hand so I wouldn't make him uncomfortable, opting to try a different tactic instead.

"Ohhh-Here. You can have this. It's really good, I bet." I uttered gently, carefully holding out my cake on a stick for him to take.

The sweet, confectionery smell of the frosting caused him to slowly look up at the item, before his dull eyes clouded with a new layer of tears at the sight.

"B-But, it's yours." He choked out shakily, yet he couldn't help himself from slowly reaching his trembling hand out towards it.

"Well, now it's yours." I smiled.

I encouraged him by hovering the cake closer to his reach, about to hand it to him before abrupt sounds popped up at the alleyway entrance behind us.

The homeless boy flinched at the sounds, quickly retracting his hands from the cake and hugging his knees to his chest with apology.

"I told you she ran in here!-what the hell are you doing, Violet?! You can't just disappear like that!" Touya reprimanded loudly, blue eyes wide with concern for my whereabouts before he looked towards the ground and found me.

Fuyumi and Natsuo quickly appeared behind him in a second, huffing and puffing with anxiety stricken faces before they found me.

"Violet! Thank goodness-we thought you got taken or something!" Fuyumi said worriedly, before her eyes trailed towards the boy in front of me.

"Uhhhh, who's that?" Natsuo called out curiously, gesturing to the homeless boy.

I quickly turned my attention back to the mystery boy in question, waiting for him to say something. Yet, he only lowered his forehead down onto his bunched up knees to hide himself.

My brows furrowed in concern, before I carefully reached over and placed my cardigan tighter around his shoulders.

"Oh, well...I'm not sure, yet." I said quietly so I wouldn't spook the boy, keeping a careful hand on his shoulder when I felt him stop shivering.

That is, before I felt a new hand wrap around my arm from above, and gently try to pull me up.

"Well, forget about it. It's getting dark, we need to get home." Touya said to me patiently, trying to give me another tug up when I refused to move.

The homeless boy started to tremble again at the words, causing me to look up at Touya in annoyance.

"Huh? No, I'm not leaving him. He's scared. He looks sick, and he hasn't even had the cake, yet." I pointed out firmly, before Natsuo chimed in.

"Oh, but that's your cake, Violet. It's why we came here, remember?" He questioned innocently.

"So what? He needs it more than I do-" I defended, as Fuyumi cut me off.

"Yeah, but you don't know him, Violet. What if he's just pretending? Or what if this is a setup, somehow?" She uttered worriedly, looking around the alleyway with discomfort as she pulled her nice jacket tighter against her body.

I looked up at the three Todoroki siblings with blank, disbelieving eyes for a moment, before the reality of my thoughts hit me.

They are Todorokis. Sure, they are good kids. They are kind kids-well, with the exception of Touya, sometimes. But, they are also privileged kids, born with money and constantly around it. They are Endeavor's kids, sheltered from the real world ninety-nine percent of the time-and while they most definitely don't inherit the majority of that man's bad habits, I guess there are still some flaws of his parenting that inherently stuck with them.

But, I'm not a Todoroki. And my mother always taught me that being kind and good is the most important part of being a hero-not the title.

And while I have no interest in entering the pro hero world, her life teachings stuck with me.

Gently yanking my hand out of Touya's hold, I looked at the Todoroki siblings with determination, not even stumbling on my words as I said...

"I'm staying. You can either wait, or go home without me."

None of them, not even Touya, said a word to my statement as I turned my attention back to the homeless boy.

And like the inherently good kids they are, the Todorokis didn't leave me in the alleyway, simply directing their attention to the mystery boy curiously as they watched me help him.

I gently gave his shoulder a small shake to try and make him lift his head again, holding the cake out in front of him once more.

"I think you should have a bite. It smells really good." I encouraged him, causing the boy to slowly lift his head once more in my direction.

His fearful eyes looked at me softly, before veering up a bit towards the Todoroki siblings who were standing above him a few feet away, and then back to me.

"A-Are you sure? They're right, it's not my cake." He asked me, voice just a little less shaky now that I've been here for a few minutes.

"I'm sure." I whispered, finally getting him to take the cake from my hands.

His fingernails were caked with dirt, and he apologized profusely when his fingers brushed mine and caused a black smudge to appear on my clean skin.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." I reassured, watching him immediately shove half of the entire cake into his mouth without a second thought.

His sunken face lit up at the taste, before his eyes clouded with more tears.

"Oh-is something wrong?" I said worriedly, before he quickly shook his head.

"N-No. It's....it's just so good. T-Thank you. Thank you so much." He cried out softly, starting to sob gratefully as he took another bite of the thick, layered cake.

I chuckled softly, relieved that he was so happy.

"Aw. Who knew cake could be so good?" Natsuo smiled, starting to warm up to the boy.

Touya simply crossed his arms, watching the exchange closely.

"So..." Fuyumi tried politely before settling on a good question. "What's your name?"

Starting to loosen up a bit, the homeless boy chewed his next bite of cake a little more relaxed, looking over at me for reassurance to answer Fuyumi's question.

"She's nice, it's cool." I smiled, causing him to nod slowly as he spoke his name now.

"My name's.....Akio. Akio Matsubara."

"And where are your parents?" Touya asked immediately, leaning against the wall of the alleyway as he looked down at the boy.

Apparently, that was a triggering question as this boy Akio's eyes widened with a million memories of his own, before his face scrunched up into traumatic pain.

"T-They're.....t-they're..." he tried with a whimper before I stopped him.

"We don't have to talk about it now." I suggested kindly, giving his shoulder a friendly pat of comfort.

The fear in his eyes had dulled back down into broken defeat as he nodded softly in agreement, before deciding to put himself out there and ask his own question.

"W-What's....um....what's your name?" He uttered barely audible, only speaking the question to me and not the others.

"My name's Violet, and these are my friends." I started off sweetly, gesturing to the Todorokis.

Upon looking up to them, I noticed the sun was almost completely gone from the sky, making me realize we really needed to get home.

I pursed my lips in guilt, not wanting to leave Akio here all by himself.

"Uhhh, I guess we really gotta get home though. Why don't you come with us? Maybe Endeavor will let you stay the night." I proposed, causing Touya to chuckle a bit at the suggestion.

"Yeah, maybe dad will let him stay in Shouto's room." He teased, yet seemed to have no other objections to the idea.

See? He's not all bad. He doesn't seem to mind Akio. I bet they could be friends.

Akio's eyes dulled out at my words, furrowing his brows in confusion to the name.

"Did you just say....Endeavor? Like the........hero?" He uttered out quietly, speaking the name blankly.

"Yeah. He's our dad." Fuyumi smiled, giving Akio a small wave to get up and join us.

His eyes flashed with hesitant memories once the name of the hero had been spoken, before he slowly shuffled back against the wall.

"No. P-Please. I....I can't." He mumbled quietly, clearly having thoughts of his own-but, I wouldn't take no for an answer.

"It's okay. I know he looks intimidating on the big screen, but..." I trailed off, realizing that Endeavor was actually even more intimidating in person...

"I doubt he would even let me stay." Akio said with surprising sureness, causing Touya to chime in smugly.

"Yeah, he's probably right about that." He chuckled, yet didn't deny the boy the option of coming with us.

I rolled my eyes lightly at his unhelpful comment, turning back to Akio with a smile.

"We won't know if we don't try. And, even if he doesn't let you stay, I'm not leaving you, anyways. I'm going to help you now, and I don't want you to stay out here by yourself." I pouted slightly, watching the boy's eyes fill with a growing curiosity that caused me to expand my sentence.

"Besides, we're friends now. And I always help my friends." I persuaded firmly, holding out my hand for him to take.

His sunken face slowly lit up at my words, before he looked down at my extended hand.

"Are....are you sure? I-I can't pay you back for the help." He uttered honestly.

"Of course I'm sure! I don't need payment. And who else can I give my cake to?" I chuckled, waving my hand around for him to grab.

Finally, the boy flashed a soft smile at my words and happy demeanor, slowly clasping his dirty hand in my clean one and allowing me to hoist him up to standing.

However, upon standing too quickly, he immediately began collapsing back down to the floor in fatigue and malnourishment...

That is, before Touya involuntarily came on his other side and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Sorry-I-I'm sorry." Akio quickly blurted out to Touya, causing the white haired boy to shrug boredly as he helped him stand.

"It's fine. Guess you're a pretty weak guy. We should probably take him to a hospital first." He suggested to me, causing Natsuo and Fuyumi to agree.

I nodded in my own agreement, happy to see that the Todorokis were finally onboard with helping Akio out.

Touya and I slowly began walking forward with Akio's arms lugged over our shoulders, before our new friend turned to me in quiet gratitude.

"You. Violet. You were the only one who was going to help me. Thank you....for saving my life. It's something I won't ever forget. I promise." Akio smiled gratefully-already looking a little less pale and sunken, thanks to some human kindness.

I felt a bubble of happy warmth blooming in my heart for my new friend. Being isolated at the Todoroki home, I don't get many friends.

I'm excited to see how this will go.

"There's nothing to thank me for, Akio. What else are friends for?"

***********************************************

A/N: Thank you for your votes and comments! I know I have been slacking on my comment replies, but I promise it's not because I'm ignoring you. Life has been busy, but I still love reading your replies and laughing with you XD

Next Chapter Title: The Night Is Young.