The Darkness Within - Part II

Hello hello! Mimmy here with the second entry for the October event! This is a continuation for yesterday's story, but it can be read as a standalone as well!

Also, I'll be posting The Flame's Shadow later today, if anyone wants to check it out!

#LeaderReview

Word count:

693

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Touya stood in the middle of it all, trees towering around him, the only eyes on him now were the squirrels and bunnies that lived in Sekoto Peak. He had been forbidden to use his quirk just a few days back when the fire burned his hand, but that hadn't been his fault! His father had neglected his training, only allowing it once in a while when he couldn't get away, so he still struggled with his fire sometimes. He was getting better, though, and he was going to get even better before showing anyone what he could do.

His mother had been busy with Fuyumi and Natsuo, and Shoto was asleep the entire time. And his father... well, he was lucky if he saw him for more than a few minutes at the dinner table. He had been acting even more distant since Shoto was born. And Touya knew why.

The flames sprouted out of him, crackling softly as he tried to gain full control over them. He had just leant that his emotions fuelled his power but made it harder to contain, so he just had to keep himself calm and he would master his quirk in no time!

He watched the flames, almost mesmerised as they lit up the darkening forest. He caught a glimpse of an owl that hid back in a tree's bark at the sight of the fire. He loved owls, so alert all the time, so smart... That was why he trained in Sekoto Peak, to control his flames better under pressure. So many animals lived there and, if he lost control, he would kill them all. He didn't want that, so that thought kept him on his feet.

At least the first few months...

As time ed, Touya felt his anger slowly but steadily growing, threatening to spill over. Everything he did, everything he was... no one cared, everyone overlooked him. His father was in awe of Shoto, something Touya knew he had never been worthy of in Endeavor's eyes. His mother was always paying attention to Shoto and Natsuo, never him. And Fuyumi... well, she was a girl, she couldn't understand.

That anger began to fuel bigger flames whenever he trained at Sekoto Peak, the heat scaring off the animals and burning his skin. But... there was something liberating about it. The fire was soothing, and the burns were rewarding in a way. They meant he was getting stronger, they meant he was already capable of getting his father's attention back.

And he tried.

He'd waited until nighttime, waiting for Endeavor to get home to tell him just how good he was getting, to ask him to see his power. But that wasn't what he got. He had approached Endeavor, his excitement spilling over as he heard the front door close. He leaped from his bed and rushed over.

Endeavor didn't like that. And Touya snapped.

That was the first time he snapped.

Everyone he knew was going to go to U.A. and become heroes, and they all expected him to be the Number One. He couldn't let something as stupid and useless as Shoto take that away from him.

He'd claimed he wasn't thinking when he was yelled at afterwards, but he was thinking far more clearly than he had in a while. He wanted Shoto out of the picture, and the best way he had to get rid of him were his flames.

He was quiet for a while about it. He wanted them to think he was over the whole hero thing, that he had realised he didn't need to be a hero in order to succeed in life... but that was the furthest from the truth.

He kept training and ranting to Natsuo, crying whenever it all got too much to bear. And he was so glad he could talk to him now that they were older. Endeavor seemed to have forgotten he existed and Touya's anger only continued to grow. And, while he kept it contained as he did everything else, he knew something would spill one day, and he knew that it would get ugly when it did.