Age 5
By the time the triplets turned five, the Todoroki household had begun to feel like a house built on thin ice and always one step away from cracking.
Toya's training incident was the first shatter.
He had always been explosive in spirit, carrying a fire inside him that was far too volatile for his own good. Desperate for his father's approval, he pushed himself harder and harder, ignoring pain, ignoring warnings, ignoring his limits. Until one day, he went too far.
The blaze that erupted in the mountains was visible from miles away. When the fire was finally extinguished, all that remained was a scorched wasteland and a fragment of jawbone. The press declared him dead. The public mourned a gifted boy lost to a tragic accident. And in the Todoroki household, a new silence settled. A silence that said to not ask questions and move on.
Enji Todoroki did just that. In his eyes, there was no more time for failure or distractions; only Shoto. The perfect fusion of fire and ice. The last hope. He doubled down, tripled even, on the boy's training. Harsh drills. Daily routines. Obedience. Strength. Shoto was no longer just his son, he was a project.
The siblings saw their brother less and less until not at all.
Rei, once a gentle presence in every room, began to shrink inwards. Her smiles were shorter now, her glances longer. She flinched more often. Her hands trembled when she thought no one was looking. Sometimes, she lingered outside Shoto's training room, her fingers curled into the sleeves of her sweater, unable to knock.
Natsu could feel it. The house felt heavier, and it was their fathers fault. After the incident in the living room the prior year, he could feel the cold war between his parents. And with Toya gone, he felt even more upset. Although they weren't particularly close, he was still a brother. And now his mother cried more than she used to.
'Shit..' For the first time in his life, he felt like he had no real way of helping.
Gray, ever observant, watched everything unravel. The walls were still standing, but the foundation was splintering. And none of them at their current state knew how to hold it together.
—-
Rei was no longer the same mother who had once doted on them with songs and warm hands. Her kindness hadn't vanished, but it had dulled, worn thin from something no one dared name. Her gaze lingered on Shoto for too long now, a flicker of sorrow crossing her face every time she looked at the red and white of his hair.
Their fathers obsession with Shoto had only intensified. From dawn to dusk, he drilled him, pushing him harder than any child should be pushed. The rest of the children were afterthoughts. He didn't ignore them completely, but his eyes passed over them like they were furniture in a room. Shoto was the chosen one, the "perfect creation," and it showed in everything.
Gray had come to understand the world well enough by now, and it didn't take a genius to see the imbalance. Their father may have had six children, but he only parented one. It was strange. Unequal. The only one who truly seemed to carry the weight of parenting was their mother.
Even Fuyumi, sweet and responsible, had stepped in more and more. Helping with meals. Reading bedtime stories. Picking up the slack her parents left behind.
Gray didn't speak of it, but he noticed everything. The way Rei flinched when Shoto cried. The way her hand trembled when touching a warm kettle. The way Shoto had stopped asking questions.
Truth be told, Gray didn't know how to help. He was only five physically and no one would take him seriously. He looked at Natsu, who seemed carefree. But he knew he was also holding back for now.
—-
One evening.
Natsu ran down the hallway wearing one of his shirts as a mask.
"Ninja! Nin nin!"
As he took off in a full sprint with his arms out behind him, he noticed Shoto walking towards him. He noticed Shoto looked extremely tired and sad, his body had some faint bruising, no doubt from all the training. Natsu came to a screeching halt right in front of him, his feet skidding across the floor until he was just barely standing in front of Shoto.
Natsu pulled his makeshift mask down with a huge grin on his face.
"Hey Shoto! Let's go get a snack from mom!"
Shoto simply nodded his head.
The two of them walked into the kitchen where Rei was on the phone. In front of her was a kettle of boiling water.
"Hey mom!" Natsu shouted. Rei looked towards her kids with haggard, wide eyes. Natsu became defensive, his instincts kicking into overdrive, feeling something was wrong with his mother at this moment. Natsu and Rei locked eyes for a moment. It was then, Natsu realized something snapped. She quickly averted her gaze to Shoto and Natsu's heart sank as he noticed the downward shift in her demeanor get even worse upon looking at Shoto. As Rei reached for the kettle of boiling water, Natsu's instincts kicked in.
"LOOK OUT!" Natsu shoved Shoto out of the way. Shoto fell on the floor next to Natsu as a quart of boiling water washed over Natsu's head. Natsu stood still as the water dripped down from his head, with steam rising from his hair. The boiling water didn't hurt at all. But he felt something else hurting inside of him.
Rei immediately snapped out of her trance and screamed.
"N-No! I-I didn't mean-" She rushed to Natsu's side and tried to grab his face, but Natsu stopped her before she accidentally touched the boiling water remaining on his face. Gray rushed into the kitchen but paused at the sight seeing Shoto on the floor and Natsu drenched in boiling water.
" I'm fine. The heat doesn't hurt me. So boiling water is just like regular water." Natsu looked over to Shoto. "But I don't think Shoto has that yet. Why would you do that to him?"
"It's not her fault…" Shoto added suddenly. He looked sadly at Natsu. "During training today…mom intervened and dad struck her…"
"I-I'm so sorry Yakuto…Shoto…" Rei sat on the floor starting to cry. "You're both the spitting image of your father and I just…I shouldn't be around you kids anymore…"
Natsu's wet hair immediately started to steam. The water evaporated extremely quickly, leaving Natsu's hair completely dry in moments. He heated up his right hand and grabbed a handful of his hair that was covering his forehead, using his hand like a makeshift iron to spike his hair back.
Rei looked at Natsu in shock. She could see clearly in his eyes a look of pure anger.
"Gray…" Natsu looked at Gray. Gray had the same deadpan expression on his face.
—
The following night.
It was almost as if it was a repeat of what had happened when Toya left. Rei was on the floor of their living room, her eyes filled with fear and dread. Endeavor stood above her with Shoto desperately shouting at him to stop. Fuyumi and Natsuo cowered in the corner of the room.
Enji continued to shout at Rei.
"I heard it all from that maid! Boiling water?! Really?! Don't you dare try to scar the future face of the number one hero! I'll have you put away for a long time you crazy bitch!"
Enji winced in pain as something hit him dead on the nose out of nowhere. Surprised by this, he took a step back as a loud crack echoed through the living room. Enji looked at broken glass on the floor. It was a family picture that was thrown at him. Small but quick footsteps got his attention again as he looked up to see Natsu and Gray standing in front of Shoto and Rei.
Enji felt his rage build even further and glared at his children. However, neither one of them backed down and returned a deathly glare at him. Both Natsu and Gray had veins on their foreheads with looks of pure rage. At that moment, Enji felt a slight shiver run down his spine. 'There's not a hint of fear in those eyes…Are these really kids?'
"WHAT KIND OF DAD BEATS HIS FAMILY!" Natsu roared, the glass in the building rattling from his sheer voice.
Gray's hair began to stand up as frost started to form around his body.
"Someone like you, shouldn't have the right to call himself our father."
Enji's rage snapped him out of his momentary falter to Natsu and Gray's demeanor. "You're all just failed creations!"
"Shut the hell up!" Flames erupted from Natsu's feet and he propelled himself towards Enji.
Enji's eyes widened at the sudden display of speed. 'He just got the emitter part of his quirk a year ago. I haven't trained him at all…he can do that already?!'
Enji reached forward to grab Natsu by the face, only for Natsu to flip upside down to dodge it. Endeavor suddenly felt a force on his forehead as Natsu's foot connected with him.
"Fire Dragon Talon!"
Enji stood in a momentary daze. Not because the attack hurt. But at the level of fighting skill that was displayed.
'Did he…read that?'
Natsu continued his barrage.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu threw a punch at Endeavor' hitting him in the stomach. However, Enji did not flinch this time but looked down at Natsu. The rage in Enji's heart subsided fleetingly. Looking at his son fight back against him, he felt a strange surge of pride.
Natsu glared back up at Endeavor and continued to punch Enji as fast as he could, propelling his fists with his flames and striking Endeavor's stomach multiple times.
"Crimson Lotus! Fire Dragon Fist!"
Enji stood there, looking down at Natsu and taking the full brunt of his attack. Despite the power coming from his quirk, these were still only the punches of a five-year-old compared to the built physique of a pro hero.
"Fascinating. But, I'am the number 2 ranked hero Endeavor. "
Enji suddenly grabbed Natsu's left arm. He lifted Natsu until he was eye level with him. He glared at him as Natsu glared back.
"Not bad, but a feeble attempt."
With a tight squeeze, a crack echoed through the room.
"AAAAGHH!" Natsu screamed in pain. Enji, still rage filled, stared at Natsu eye to eye, having somewhat of a respect for his technique.
"I see you can do things…but you need to learn some respect, you impudent brat!"
At that moment a realization hit Enji. Gray was nowhere to be found.
"Ice Make: Cannon!"
Enji turned around just as a huge chunk of ice was launched out of an ice cannon. Enji raised his free hand up at the ice chunk. A blast of flames hit the chunk, melting it immediately. Enji shook his head.
"I'll deal with you later you fail-" Suddenly Enji winced in pain and dropped Natsu. Engi reeled and held his side. He noticed a huge rock on the floor next to him and looked back up at Gray.
'He knew I was going to melt his ice so he put a rock from the garden inside that chunk? That brat has that kind of foresight?!'
Enji's eyes filled with more rage and he glared at Gray. Natsu ran to Gray's side.
"How's your arm?" Gray asked.
"I can deal with the pain." Natsu grumbled.
"You're right. This bastard needs to be taught a lesson."
Enji began walking towards his two kids. 'I felt his arm crack…any child would be crying in pain right now, begging for mercy…but he looks like he wants to fight me more now?!'
"Normally, a grown adult shouldn't have to exert even a small fraction of their power to discipline their unruly children. But clearly…I was mistaken with you two. You both will learn respect…and suffering will be your teacher!"
Natsu smirked.
"I don't know who suffering is, but I'll kick his ass too!"
Enji suddenly stopped walking and paused at the statement. 'What?'
"What?" Gray turned.
Natsu took a deep breath in, puffing his chest out as his cheeks filled with flames. He put both hands in front of his mouth creating a funnel.
"Fire Dragon Roar!"
A small torrent of flames shot towards Enji. Enji stood still, taking the flames unfazed.
"Pathetic. This isn't even close to Shoto's flames." Enji took a step closer.
"Ice Make: Geyser!"
Gray slammed his palm into the ground. A tower of ice spikes erupted from the ground in front of him.
Enji swung his hand, melting and breaking the tower of ice immediately. As the ice broke, he saw Gray already forming another attack.
"Ice Make: Cannon!"
Gray shot another huge chunk of ice at Enji. Enji raised his palm towards the chunk.
'This time I'll use a stronger blast to melt both the ice and the rock! That insolent brat…'
Enji blasted the chunk with a ray of flames. To his surprise, a figure was still moving towards him in the ray.
"What?!"
Suddenly, the flames were sucked up into a single point, which was right into Natsu's mouth. Enji's eyes widened as he realized what had happened.
Natsu, now shrouded in Endeavor's flames, shot forward at blinding speed, boosting himself even faster with his fire.
Natsu clad his entire body in flames and rammed straight into Endeavor.
"Fire Dragon Sword Horn!"
The image of two balloons popping was ingrained into Endeavor's head from the worst imaginable pain he had ever felt. Endeavor's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he hit the floor, grabbing his crotch.
Natsu stood over Endeavor's curled up body and Gray walked up next to him. The two of them fist bumped each other.
"No more kids for you to torture!" Natsu grinned.