Third person pov

If there is one thing you should never doubt about Touya, it's that he loves his family. He absolutely adores his husband, and misses his siblings everyday. So yeah, maybe he was a little put out by the fact that he was going to be thrown into a room of vicious teens who wanted his head on a platter. But it was... well, he was almost glad. Because that meant Takashi could finally do what he'd been begging to all these years. He could get to Shoto. Even if Shoto hated Touya for all he'd done, or didn't remember him. At least Takashi could finally, finally act.

There was a big chance Shoto would say no. If that happened, Touya wasn't sure what they'd do. They could still open a case against Endeavor, even if it wasn't to fight for Shoto. But the redhead didn't want to go against his younger brother's wishes. Especially not now, after disappearing so long. Touya felt like maybe this mistake he'd made taking this job wasn't such a bad thing. He was definitely a shitty person, but... but now...

"You'll be moved into the dorms after your first day of class, so 1-A can properly meet you first." Nezu told him as he clipped on the bracelets. They were an odd, flexible metal that was a little less than a centimeter thick. He immediately felt them mold to the shape of his wrist, his quirk getting pushed back and out of use. It was almost a relief to feel the scalding heat flood out of his veins and back to its point of origin. 

"Right." Touya had no room to fight, and he wasn't about to try and make any. Especially not without Takashi's support. 

"Excellent! I'm glad we see eye-to-eye on this. You'll also won't be able to take those off at first during hero training. I hope you can understand why." Nezu nodded towards the bracelets. Touya could get behind that as well. It was agreeable all things considered. He had aided in a kidnapping, willing participant or not. He'd also almost burned the faces off a forth of the kids he was being thrown into a classroom with.

"Yes, sir." Touya agreed. His quirk was hard enough to control anyway. Maybe having it pushed back for a week or two would do it some good. That, or it would be the same as holding your thumb over the mouth of a running water hose. All the pressure would build and build until it came shooting out in a destructive blaze of blue fire. Touya shivered at the mere though of the chaos that would ensue.

There was a knock on the door that drew their attention. Touya felt his heart rate pick up slightly when he felt a faint tugging sensation in his chest. Takashi was on the other side of that door... but why was he crying? The thought of Shoto saying no crossed his mind again, and his throat tightened. What if... Shoto didn't want to have any contact? Couldn't accept that his older brother was a total scumbag, and just...

"Come in, come in!" Nezu urged with a smile. The door cracked open, and Aizawa slid in, closing it right behind him. Touya held his breath, glancing between the tired pro and the patient principal. He could tell Takashi's emotions were high. When they spiked, of course he could feel it vividly, though he had to be close by for him to get the full effect. And close by he was, because Touya felt near tears himself. It was an unsettling feeling. It felt almost as though the door were taunting him as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Shoto has agreed to meet Touya." Aizawa said simply, and the redhead almost deflated like a popped balloon out of relief. "And he's agreed to let Takashi open a case against Endeavor, which means..."

"This is rather serious." Nezu finished, though his smile didn't falter. He'd seen it coming, from how Takashi talked about the man. "We can worry about that later. Bring them in. The sooner we get this over with, the better. Don't you agree?"

Touya's mouth felt incredibly dry all of a sudden, but he nodded anyway. Anxiety began to crawl its way up his body. The urge to scratch at his scars felt nearly overwhelming as the world seemed to fall into slow motion. For the first time in years, he was going to see his baby brother again. The one he left, and the one who'd thought him to be dead up until today. It made his heart ache, and he realized that his biggest mistake wasn't taking that job. It was not going back the second he could to try and take Shoto out of there. His biggest mistake... was not listening to Takashi, and trying to get Shoto and Natsuo away, so that Fuyumi could leave, and so that they could have the life they deserved.

Aizawa opened the door, and Takashi popped his head in the door, hand clasped around Shoto's. The half-and-half boy felt almost like a little kid again as his brother-in-law peeked into the room beforehand. The brunette had cried and apologized a lot. Shoto had told him many times that it was okay, flushing with embarrassment at moments. Eventually he'd regained his composure and given Shoto a bright smile that assured the two-toned boy that everything would be just fine.

"Hey, honey." Takashi said quietly, pulling lightly on Shoto. Touya's heart skipped a beat, and he leapt out of his chair as Shoto stepped into the room. Immediately, his turquoise eyes went wide. It felt as though the air had been knocked out of him as his eyes met a pair of mismatched ones. Shoto froze, his grip on Takashi tightening somewhat as he stared at Touya. Touya who was... Dabi.

His mind flashed back to that night, and to Takashi's words he'd been told not even an hour ago. He recalled it being dark in those woods, their surroundings highlighted by blue. Touya had been sporting black hair back then, keeping his head low and muttering curses. It occurred to Shoto that maybe Touya hadn't been trying to keep their attention on him by evading and dodging, trying to keep them coming at him. Maybe he had genuinely been trying not to hit them. Maybe...

He looked different now. Not at all like the Dabi in the woods. His hair was a familiar red, and he could properly see the color of his eyes now. His body was heavily scarred, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. The more Shoto looked at him, the more details came back to him. Details from before Touya was proclaimed dead. The jawline was familiar, as he'd seen it on himself. The eye shape matched his somewhat, and the curve of his nose. He was familiar, but not. Still new, but...

The red hair especially. It was a shock. It sent jolts through his entire body, and made his back and shoulders tense considerably. It felt like a bucket of nostalgia had just been dumped over his head. He heart raced, skipping beats. He wondered if Touya's was doing the same. Somehow, Shoto could tell it was. Just looking at him. Meeting those eyes...

"Shoto?" Touya whispered. Seeing him here was so much different than he thought it'd be. He'd been nervous, but he'd already seen Shoto out in those damn woods. Was it because they were reuniting that it was different? He was so grown up now. He looked so... so tired for a teenage boy. Too tired. It hurt more than Touya ever could have imagined. His scars burned with unpleasant memories as he thought about all Shoto had gone through, and how much worse things probably were because he wasn't there.

"T...Touya..." Shoto breathed out, hand slipping from Takashi's grasp and falling limply to his side. The brunette stepped back to stand alongside a very calculative Aizawa. Nezu was silent, watching along curiously. It seemed this got more and more interesting by the second.

"I-I..." Touya felt tears fill his eyes. "I...I left you with him... Shoto, I-"

"You're alive." Shoto brought his hands up to cover his face. He didn't want his sensei to see him cry, but he couldn't help it. Touya was alive. Memories that had laid dormant rose the surface with the prompting his elder brother's voice brought. Touya felt his heart squeeze as his littlest sibling began to break down. "Y-You aren't dead."

He could remember so many things. Things he missed, and had slipped from his mind with time. He could remember not wanting to train, so Touya would grab him and walk out of the house without asking. And they'd go get ice cream together. Any flavor Shoto wanted, as many cones as he wanted. He could have asked to try them all and Touya would have made it happen.

He recalled all those times he'd have nightmares. Shadows of their father looming over him, flames getting closer and closer. He'd sneak into Touya's room when that happened. Touya would hold him for as long as it took for him to stop crying, and reassure him that it was all okay. 

Gazing at the boy in front of him, Touya had never felt such guilt. This was his little brother. Someone he loved with everything within him. Someone he had left in the hands of their abuser. Takashi had begged him to do something. To go back and to fight for Shoto, and he'd been too damn afraid. What was fear when this was on the line? When someone like Shoto was hanging in the balance? It wasn't anything! He should have... he could have...

"I'm so sorry." Touya stepped forward hesitantly, eyes flickering to Aizawa to see if he'd be stopped. When Aizawa made no indication that he'd be moving, he approached his brother carefully. "I... I'm a piece of shit, Shoto. A-And I left you with that flaming bastard, and I never should have. But I-I... I-I'm back now, okay? And I-"

Touya was cut off when Shoto launched forward, wrapping his arms around him and gripping on as tight as he could. A loud sob broke through the otherwise silent room, stunning Touya and Aizawa both. Somehow, Nezu and the underground hero had expected some sort of anger from the half-and-half student. But Shoto was breaking down instead, relief clear as his shoulders shook. His floodgates had opened. He was letting everything he'd locked away, out.

Aizawa was afraid. He wasn't a man who commonly felt fear, but he cared for his students. He was happy for Shoto, but to have this kind of reaction. To see his red rimmed eyes after he talked to Takashi had shaken him to the core. It had shaken him even more to learn that he'd agreed to let Takashi fight for custody. If Shoto had agreed to that... well, something was terribly wrong at home. Something Aizawa had missed.

"Takashi said y-you'd help me." Shoto's voice was small. Aizawa had never heard him sound so vulnerable and so broken, as he was usually the definition of cool composure. It was... rattling. "That... That I..."

"I promised I'd get you out, Shoto." Touya wrapped him in a hug as well, wiping his eyes on his forearm. Aizawa looked stunned, but Takashi could only smile as his husband finally reunited with his brother after all these years. "I-I'm sorry I'm late, okay, buddy? But don't worry. Takashi is going to get you out. We're going to get you out." 

Nezu and Aizawa shared a look. Clearly the Todoroki family wasn't all sunshine and rainbows like the press assumed. You could practically see Touya's doubts about this whole thing seep away as he hugged his younger brother, holding him like he was the most precious thing on this Earth. Even Takashi's relief was clear as he wiped his own tears. He'd been waiting for this for so long, and finally it was happening. They were going to help Shoto.

Touya extended an arm towards Takashi, and the brunette hopped to attention. Aizawa watched Touya pull him into the hug as well, burying his face in his soulmates hair and taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. Any doubts he had about Touya's honesty flew out the window. He sighed, and Nezu seemed relieved. The man before them was no villain. He never was, and he was never going to be. He was just a regretful and worried brother, a surprisingly-loving husband, and somewhat of an idiot.

"It's okay, Shoto." Takashi assured the boy as he wiped furiously at his tears, keeping one arm securely around his older brother as though afraid he may vanish again. "You're our family. We're both going to regret not acting sooner for the rest of our lives."

"He's right, Shoto, but don't worry. We're not going to leave you. I'll do anything and everything to get you under at least Takashi's care." Touya said, one arm over his husband's shoulders. The other was wrapped around Shoto, who really wasn't so little anymore. Touya took a deep breath, clearing his throat and releasing his baby brother so he could wipe at his tears. Nezu smiled at the sight. He wasn't a big fan of humans, but they had their moments. And this... well, this was one of those moments.

"Todoroki, why didn't you tell anyone..." Aizawa trailed off, startling the teen. Shoto tensed, stepping away from his brother and sucking in a breath. Touya watched sadly as he seemed to compose himself. He took some deep breaths, and he wiped as many of his tears away as he could. It was still painfully obvious that he'd been crying, and the pitiful attempt to hide it made Takashi's heart clench. Touya squeezed his husband's hand, pulling him closer as his younger brother turned around.

"Sorry, Mr. Aizawa. It's not of concern." He assured. Aizawa looked like he'd been slapped in the face at that, turning to look at Takashi and Touya with wide eyes. Takashi smiled sadly, and Touya kept his gaze directed downwards. At first he hadn't been sure of this whole reform thing. Sure, jail wasn't a better alternative, but now... he was all for it. He could do this. He had Takashi with him, and it was for Shoto. So Touya would do it, no matter how hellish it was.