Faulty Peasant

A/N: Here's how Kasumi looks!! I drew her as her young self. uwu

This is the age group:

Toya: 12 years old

Kasumi and Fuyumi: 11 years old

Shoto: 10 years old

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"I said not to!" Toya exclaimed. "He's fine!"

Kasumi's eyes widened with a confused face. She didn't know that Toya reacting that way was due to his own jealousy.

Because it was her giving that attention to Shoto.

"I-I need to finish it..." She averted her eyes away from Toya. She stared at the ground as she was starting to feel cowardly again.

It'll scar if I don't.

"He's not screaming anymore, so it's fine," Toya argued. He shot a glance at Shoto. It somehow made him even angrier to see the way his brother seemed to shrink down under his gaze.

"But..." She started to bite onto her bottom strand of her hair anxiously. She hesitantly looked towards Shoto, who was sniffling loudly.

I want to try to be his friend.

She felt extremely bad for him.

"My name's Kasumi." She somehow managed to speak towards Shoto. She knew he didn't exactly ask her for an introduction. She even surprised herself for saying anything to begin with.

Maybe because she knew the feeling of others walking away from her. She wondered how many times anyone else wanted to say something for her sake, but didn't.

"I'm Shoto Todoroki," he replied. He didn't really feel like talking much, but she did help him. He would feel rude if he didn't.

Even though the pain wasn't as bad, he was still trembling badly. His heart wouldn't stop hammering ruthlessly against his ribcage.

Toya glared at Shoto. He takes everything from me. I won't let him take her, too!

"Say another word to her and I'll burn the rest of your face," Toya threatened. He felt slightly satisfied from the sight of Shoto flinching.

Kasumi lifted her sketchbook she had placed on one of the counters. She looked sad hearing Toya talk to Shoto like that.

"Toya, no. I want to be his friend too. He looks like he needs one." She hid behind her sketchbook to help her talk better. "M-maybe we can all read my comic together?"

"We can." Toya grabbed one of her hands, forcing her to show her face. "I don't want anything to do with him, though."

Shoto struggled to keep from sobbing again. He wanted so badly to be Kasumi's friend, but he was scared to say anything. He didn't doubt that Toya would attack him, and he didn't want to feel that horrible pain again.

He wished to see Kasumi's comic. Maybe it would bring him some sort of comfort. Something to think about other than what had happened to him. He didn't say that aloud.

Kasumi frowned at Toya. She didn't understand what it was like to have siblings or the conflict that came with the Todoroki brothers.

She didn't want to upset Toya anymore, nor did she want to leave Shoto out. She knew Toya hated Shoto a lot by him talking about him before with her.

But she didn't think Shoto was a bad person. Not with the way he looked at her in desperation.

Before she could reply to Toya, there was a booming voice that echoed in the room.

"What are you doing out here, Shoto?!"

Their attention turned towards the source. Kasumi somehow felt even more nervous than before.

There stood King Enji. Flames danced on his chin. His attire had very intricate details as a long robe draped from his shoulders. Armor was plated on different parts of his body.

He wore large black gloves that went up to his elbows. He was in the process of taking them off. His threatening eyes pierced towards Shoto. There were servants behind Enji, awaiting their orders.

Shoto's breath hitched. He tried to back away more, but he was already against the counter.

He didn't want to tell him about what happened with Rei. If he ever found her, he would be so angry. Shoto wished he could protect her, but lying was probably useless in that situation. There was enough physical evidence to say that Shoto didn't do all of that himself. Otherwise, he would have tried to take all the blame.

"Mom wanted to spend time with me," he managed to say. He tried to put on a strong front. "I chose to go with her, and then I upset her, so...it's my fault."

The large red burn around his eye was impossible to miss. So was the kettle on the floor. It wasn't hard to tell what happened just from looking at the room. At least, a basic idea of what happened.

Instead of showing him genuine concern to such an injury, Enji's face darkened in irritation.

"You know what to do." He snapped at one of the servants. Whenever Shoto would get hurt during their 'training', he would get medical attention.

None of his injuries would ever scar. This one was definitely the worst of it.

One of the servants hurried away and another went to Shoto's side wordlessly.

Enji had kicked out a servant once for even showing a smidge bit of a compassion to Shoto.

Then he turned his intimidating gaze towards Kasumi. She froze in fear, but the weird thing was...

Toya shown no signs of being scared at all? It was like he was anticipating Enji's attention.

"What the h* is a peasant girl doing in here\, Shoto?!" He immediately put the blame on his younger son. "For f*'s sake! Can't anyone do any s* right?!" The king was yelling loudly\, intensifying the flames on his face. "You know better! You're not allowed to waste your time playing!"

"Can't I just play with them for a little bit?" He pleaded. He tried to pull away from the servant, but was immediately held in place. He couldn't hold back the tears that once again began to fall.

Toya's eyes widened in a manner that almost made him seem insane. He smiled up at Enji. "I brought her in here. It was me."

"Not now, Toya!" Enji barked dismissively, ignoring Toya's statement. His eyes became bloodshot towards the servant. "No, you won't! Take him away now!"

The servant obeyed immediately, taking Shoto to get some medical attention. Shoto wasn't out of the room completely yet. Watching the horrors about to unfold.

Enji made his way towards Kasumi. Towering over her, she felt ever so small before him. Her heart raced at a high rate. She clung to her sketchbook as an attempt for comfort. The fear paralyzed her legs to stay ground from running away.

Their dad is so awful. I can't believe he's a king!

Her eyes began to sting, but she was too afraid to be angry.

Enji ripped the book out of Kasumi's hands, causing her to fall back onto her bottom.

"Witness this, Shoto. This is what happens when you have friends." Enji then threatened Kasumi in disgust. "Don't you show your face here again!"

The sketchbook completely became caught up in a harsh fire. It turned into ashes as she, Shoto in the distance, and even Toya watched in shock.

"This is your compensation for trespassing, brat." Enji scowled menacingly without a hint of remorse. Shoto was finally gone from their view.

All her drawings were gone. Just like that.

No... I didn't get to show anyone yet. I wanted to...!

At first, she was too shocked to cry, but then the droplets viciously came out. She tried to not sob loudly, but it only annoyed Enji further.

Despite the fact that Toya had made her shed tears before, he couldn't stand seeing Enji make her cry. He clenched his fists. First not paying him any mind. Then making Kasumi cry?

"Why are you mad at her?!" He screamed. "I brought her in! It's my fault she's here!"

He was so desperate for Enji's acknowledgment that he didn't care if he got hurt. He would rather that happen than to be ignored entirely.

"Shut up, Toya!" Enji practically hissed. "This isn't the business of a worthless failure such as yourself!"

How could he say that? Kasumi's anger started to rise up mixed in with her feeling of immense hurt. She wanted so badly to stand up for her friend. Cowardice overpowered her instead. Her eyesight became blurred.

To hear those words from a parental figure as a kid feels like the end of the world. There, in that kitchen, Toya's world was ending all over again. Like so many times before. He got the acknowledgment, but he still was hurt.

Why am I even alive? It was a question that haunted his mind often. If he was a failure, then why?

There was growing irritation towards Kasumi's sobs. Enji continued yelling at her. "State your name!"

She only kept crying as she struggled to do as she was told. Her stomach was getting upset.

"Name!" He snapped louder.

She didn't answer. His harsh tone only caused her to cry more. Crying was a huge nuisance towards Enji. He had hit Rei so many times before so this was no different. He raised his hand to strike Kasumi. She squeezed her eyes shut.

I can use it. I can-

But she became too afraid to use the offensive side of her quirk.

Toya got in between them. Enji's hand froze.

He grabbed Kasumi's hand once more and started to pull her away. The tears forming in his eyes didn't stop him from saying one last, "I hate you," to Enji before leaving the room.

Did he actually hate Enji? Toya had no clue. Probably not since he still wanted to be appreciated by him. Then again, feelings aren't always black and white.

"Fine. Take her! She's nothing just like you are, Toya! You two fit together!" Enji's voice echoed out from the distance. "You will always be nothing but a failure! Hate me all you want. It's the truth, you waste of space!"

Kasumi's frame was trembling. She was hurting so much as she held Toya's hand tighter. She was hurting for Toya more than herself.

Toya led her to another room and closed the door behind them. He finally let go of her hand and started to wipe away his tears.

He had his head lowered so that she couldn't really see that he was crying. She could only hear it.

Toya's frustration grew. He wanted to punch something, but he would get in trouble if he punched a wall. He didn't want to hurt Kasumi.

That was the second time she had seen Toya cry. Yeah, she always cries too. But it was making her face soaked seeing him like that.

She wanted to reach out to him and comfort him, but she was too scared to.

I always do this. I'm not able to do things I want. Why is it so hard to?

Why is it hard to be like the me in my stories? She isn't this scared to do anything.

Her sketchbook burning up didn't matter so much anymore even though that tore her apart. Her hatred towards Enji had just started.

She loathed bullies so much. She couldn't comprehend why they feel such a gain of power putting down others.

Just before, she was wanting a family to be adopted into. But wouldn't she be away from Toya if that were to happen?

She cried more audibly along with him. She wanted to ask him more about the things he was going through. She couldn't.

Just ask him. Nothing came out. Only the burning sensation filled her nostrils while she kept trying to swallow back her tears. She didn't want to cry any longer. She wanted to help Toya more than anything.

Hearing her begin to cry louder caused him to turn around. Before, he would get annoyed at her for crying. However, this was different. He could understand being scared of Enji to a certain extent. He himself wasn't scared of him, but he knew that Enji had the ability to intimidate most people.

For a girl who could hardly handle socializing at all, being threatened by someone like Enji must have been terrifying. Toya could at least see that much.

He gently placed a hand on top of her head. He was about to remove his hand, but then she started to cry louder. He had a deadpan expression despite his quiet sniffling. "What's your deal now?"

"You're hurt, Toya. Because of me, you're hurting." She blamed herself while not looking into his eyes.

What was she talking about?

She felt guilty that he was even patting the top of her head. His hand was so gentle and warm despite his gruff tone.

"I'm... sorry.." She hiccupped while crying. "I shouldn't have come today."

"It's all Shoto's fault!" Toya argued. "He..."

He trailed off when he quickly realized that wasn't helping. She didn't see things exactly like he did, so him blaming Shoto didn't make her feel any better.

"It's my fault," Toya corrected. That was the first time he ever admitted to being in the wrong about, well, anything. "I made things worse by being mean to Shoto. If I had just let you heal him, we could have left before my dad got back."

"But still... he...he..." She started to stammer a little bit while sniffling hard. "Your dad... He was really mean to you..."

Both of you. She wanted to say, but she didn't want to upset Toya further when it comes to Shoto. Shouldn't a father console his son?

Maybe if she could have told him she could heal Shoto... Would he have let her?

No. She could tell that man was difficult to reason with.

"I don't like that," she continued. She looked directly at him when she said that with her eyes glistening.

This dumb girl just had her sketchbook burnt to ashes and nearly got hit, and that's all she is thinking about? Me?

"There's nothing anyone can do about it," Toya grumbled. He pulled his hand back to wipe more tears away. His crying had slowed to sniffles already. His attention was more on her. "I won't let him hurt you, though."

Did Toya ever try talking to his dad about his feelings?

That was a dumb question she thought of. Was Enji really the type of person that would talk?

He denied Shoto from having friends, so why would he listen to Toya?

Even though he said that, she didn't want Enji to hurt Toya. Honestly, she was a little surprised with his softness regarding that.

Usually, he would say to suck it up or that she was being a big crybaby.

It felt like he was also opening up to her like she was to him. But that didn't last long.

She didn't realize she was balling her free hand - the one Toya didn't hold earlier - so hard.

When it released, there were parts of the ashes from her sketchbook. Her hand was smeared ever so dirtily with it.  "Oh..."

That sketchbook was clearly very important to her. Toya felt something like sadness within. He was feeling sympathy for her. He just didn't know it yet.

"You'll need to wash your hands," he stated bluntly. "Go do that at the orphanage. If you stick around here for too long, he might come looking for you."

Her lips quivered a little bit. She didn't want to leave him at all. Then there was something else troubling her.

"B-but..." She was having trouble trying to get the words out.

For once, Toya didn't interrupt her. He raised his eyebrows slightly in annoyance, but he didn't say a word.

"What about that crazy lady? I'm scared to go by myself..." She then lightly tugged on his sleeve without looking at him.

Toya looked down at her hand on his sleeve. There were ashes starting to get on his clean clothes from her hand. "You're ruining my clothes."

He said those words, but he didn't feel nearly as irritated as he tried to seem.

"Oh, sorry." She replied, feeling her shoulders deflate. She went to remove it, but his next words stopped her from doing so.

"The damage is already done, so it doesn't matter now." He pouted. "You can walk with me, but only because you're scared."

"Oh..." She felt even more confused, but she didn't let go at all. Expecting him to call her a 'wimp', he didn't at all.

He learned overtime that she's typically a very jumpy person. When she's really scared over dumb things, he would call her that.

Guess today was excusable.

"Who was that lady anyway?" She asked.

"That was my mom," he stated. It didn't seem that there was any emotional attachment to the woman. Only bitterness. "She has never hurt anyone before. I wonder what Shoto did to make her so upset."

"Your... mom did that?" Toya saw Kasumi's face started to pale a bit. He felt the tugging on his sleeve tremble a little bit.

She never heard Toya ever talk about his mom before. Only Shoto and his dad were the main topics.

It made her even wonder what Shoto did, too. Earlier, he looked so terrified. She could clearly tell he was innocent from whatever it was.

"Do you hate your mom, too?" She asked curiously.

He shrugged. "She doesn't matter to me. She was forced to marry my dad, so it's not like she wanted any of this to begin with. But she cares more about Shoto, too."

That wasn't exactly the case. Rei simply talked about Shoto a lot and had to pour more energy into caring for him due to the abuse he was put through. She didn't have favoritism towards any of her children, but she did tend to be a little more loving to Shoto. Not only was he the one who underwent the most physical abuse, but he was also the youngest.

It didn't change the fact that she wasn't always there for Toya or Fuyumi, but she did have good intentions. Toya misinterpreted it as her thinking Shoto was better than the rest of them. In reality, she was trying to make her youngest child a little more comfortable through the horrors that he faced.

Are all parents like this...? Is this what family is about? Kasumi didn't understand it. In the past, she saw happy families from outside the window before.

Nothing like this.

It made her very confused. Her pressed her lips together from asking anymore. She watched the back of Toya as she securely clung to his sleeve.

There was something also stirring inside of her that she couldn't understand either.

...

It had been two days since the incident. Part of Shoto's face was wrapped up from his burn injury.

He was isolated once more with servants who had paid no mind to speaking nor befriending him.

The queen had never returned from that day. Enji was more worried about his image more than his own wife to bring her back to him.

His soldiers searched, but unfortunately found her body. There was an indication she stabbed herself into her throat.

That was the unfortunate news. She was dead.

A suicide.

Enji didn't even bother going to see the body. News had circulated within the castle without the children knowing just yet.

People were bickering and bombarding the king with questions what or who could have caused this.

"Someone killed her." Enji put up a front to not make himself look bad. Even faked any sympathy for his wife's demise.

There was an uproar about who it was in question. He framed a mere servant and that servant was to be put to death.

Later on, Shoto heard Enji come into his room to tell him the news.

"Your mother is dead. I hope you're happy for causing her death." Enji put blame on him without missing a beat. Without letting the terrible news sink in with any hint of compassion.

It felt like everything stopped for a moment. Even Shoto's emotions seemed to be at a standstill, trying to figure out how to process the news. He gritted his teeth as tears filled his vision.

"It's your fault." Shoto looked him in the eye with pure hatred. "She wouldn't have hurt me if you had treated her right! She wouldn't have run away!"

"Watch your tone, tool." Enji reprimanded coldly. He started using gaslighting words towards him. "She killed herself because of you. Why else would she try to bring you harm? If you've never left the room with that harlot, none of this would have come to pass!"

Shoto suddenly went quiet. He wanted to continue arguing, but those words cut deep. He already felt guilty before, but hearing that she committed suicide made it worse.

One thing kept repeating in his mind. She wouldn't have died if he was never born. He wanted to say sorry to her for the pain that he caused, but he couldn't do that when she was gone already.

Seeing how Shoto was silent, but also at the brink of tears, Enji roughly grabbed his collar.

"Stop showing signs of weakness. A future king never cries." He could feel Enji's spit splat onto his face from barking so coldly. "This is what happens when you don't listen to orders! You need to stop being an embarrassment in the Todoroki lineage!"

He let go of Shoto abruptly, only to push him onto the ground with a strong force.

"Don't you get it, Shoto?! You need to straighten up!" He yelled mercilessly and gave him a kick into his leg.

Shoto tensed up, but he didn't cry out. Instead, he stood up despite the pain. "I don't want to be future king. I never did."

He wanted to break down crying, but that would only get him hurt further. He had to push his emotions down in order to avoid getting hurt worse. Still, the guilt and grief made that nearly impossible.

His mother was one of the few people who tried to keep him safe and happy. If even she couldn't handle being around him anymore, would anyone want to again?

"You will be future king! Toya was close to becoming king for having more firepower than I!" Enji kicked once more. "He had his mother's weak constitution. He was so close, but he was a failure. It has to be you, Shoto! Get up and be a man!"

This time, Shoto used his palms to allow himself to sit up. He didn't even attempt to stand again. "How can I get up if you keep kicking me down?!"

He meant the words in a literal sense, but they were true figuratively as well.

"You really are stupid, aren't you, tool?!" Enji continuously abused him. Not enough to damage him greatly, but enough to mark minuscule bruises.

When he was done, he slammed the door behind him without any exchange of words.

Shoto heard Enji's loud voice from the hallway outside his door. Something about finding his other children.

"They're playing outside, sir," a servant stuttered lowly.

Enji's voice soon had disappeared, indicating he was gone.

Finally, Shoto could cry. He no longer had to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. However, he decided that he should try to relieve the pain regardless. He pressed his right hand against the wounds that hurt the worst.

As he was trying to tend to his wounds, his tears started to steadily roll down his cheeks. He stopped before he had touched with his icy hand to all of the areas that brought him pain. He put his head down atop his knees and stopped trying to fight off the sobs.

That was just it. His mother was truly gone. A grief that a husband should also feel, but Enji had none.

...

"Eeek!" There was squeals hanging from the air. The game of tag was set into motion between Kasumi, Toya and Fuyumi.

They were playing in the courtyard area, away from the orphanage playground.

Kasumi would always receive glares from the other orphan children every time she went out, so the three children wanted to play amongst themselves. Toya and Fuyumi both knew the kids at the orphanage were mean to Kasumi.

After all, they all had a great bond with each other. Their own little group. Toya didn't want to include anyone else.

Toya was chasing Kasumi, but she was, of course, a little too slow.

Fuyumi's feet carried her as fast as she could force them. She rushed in front of Toya and managed to scoop Kasumi up. They were all surprised by her strength, but her moment of heroism didn't last long.

Toya wasn't able to stop running in time. He charged right into the group, knocking them all to the ground. They fell down in a fit of giggles.

Toya reached his hand over and tapped Kasumi's arm. "I got you!"

"Hey!" Kasumi exclaimed with a smile. "Come back here!"

Toya was already running ahead as Kasumi was 'it' this time. Fuyumi was caught by Kasumi as she knew Kasumi was a little slower due to trying to be careful not to trip.

She's too klutzy when she tries to run too fast.

Then there was catching Toya next. She was trailing way behind him, only for him to look back with a smug grin.

Toya's heart filled with warm. Never did he think that he would enjoy things as simple as playing tag. He always thought that training was the only way to feel fulfilled. He found that playing with them was the next best thing.

Toya's eyes shone with mischief as he laughed. "Slowpoke!"

Kasumi gave a great pout as she panted. It was hard for her to keep up. Toya would keep taunting her, but he stopped running when she stopped.

This calls for a secret weapon. Acting!

She tried to pick up speed again to chase Toya. When his head was turned around, she yelled a big, "Ow!"

She faked that she tripped and was curled up into a ball.

He slowed down his pace until he was fully stopped. He looked at her with suspicion. "Kasumi?"

When she didn't get up, he went to her side. "Come on. I know you're clumsy, but don't tell me you actually got hurt that badly from tripping."

He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually worried.

She didn't move for a brief moment. She waited until his foot was just close enough to...

"Got you!" She tapped his ankle, while looking up with a victorious smile. "Tag!"

Toya's jaw dropped. He didn't expect someone as shy as her to play a trick like that. It made him feel something like...pride?

He quickly tried to cover it up with a scowl. "You tricked me!"

"You're not mad that I won, are you?" She asked in concern when his expression changed. She knew from other games they would play together, if Fuyumi would win... well..

He didn't exactly take losing very well.

This was the first time she had won against him. She didn't think he would fall for it.

She didn't expect him to go towards her either, but he did.

He tried to continue looking angry, but eventually, his expression softened a bit. "It doesn't matter. Let's keep playing. You only got lucky!"

She stared at him like he had two heads. She actually couldn't believe that he was acting... nicer?

No calling me cheater? Nothing?

The gentle breeze started to kiss her cheeks as she started to space out. She was moved for the fact it was nicer of him to act like a good sport.

It was short-lived when she was literally tagged for having her mind in the clouds.

Well, a gentle flick in the forehead.

"Ah! Hey!" She frowned as she saw Toya already running away.

"You're too slow, you dork!" Toya grinned in victory.

When Fuyumi saw that Kasumi was tagged, she started to slow down like she did before. It wasn't enough to make it easy for Kasumi, but just so that she would have a little bit more of a chance. Toya, on the other hand, was running full speed.

He ran so fast that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going anywhere. He ran right into Enji, who had apparently gone to get them. He froze, unsure of what to do except step back.

Fuyumi and Kasumi immediately stopped what they were doing, too. Fuyumi felt a wave of fear wash over her.

"Come inside. Now." Enji's tone was very mean. His nose scrunched up hatefully. His large frame towered over them while his arms were folded.

Fuyumi noticed that Kasumi looked scared. She tried to give her a reassuring smile, but her lips quivered. "You can go back to the orphanage if you want. We'll find you later."

Instead of being scared, Toya felt excited. He wondered if maybe he would finally get some attention from his father. It wasn't likely, but he couldn't but hope. After all, it was one of the few things he cared about in life.

Finally. Maybe he can see that I've been working so hard-

That excitement slightly soured when Enji's threatening words came out of his mouth.

He glared at Kasumi, causing her to feel even more terrified being noticed.

"And you too, peasant brat. She isn't going back anywhere." He growled. "You're the other one at fault for this."

Fault..? For what? I'm scared! Is he going to hurt me? She felt like she was going to choke on her own heartbeat racing. She looked at the ground while already motioning herself to go inside with them.

As they walked inside, Toya was the closest to Enji. The other two stayed behind a little bit due to their fear.

Toya gave Enji an angry look. "What exactly are you blaming her for? She hasn't done anything."

"Yes, she has," Enji retorted back. He stopped them in an empty room to speak.

"After Rei's encounter with Shoto, the peasant must have played a part of what happened." He continued, making sure no one dared to interrupt him. "Since you failures have the decency to know this: Your mother killed herself."

Fuyumi could hear her heart pounding in her ears. How could it be possible that she would die like that? It was difficult for a child to understand.

It didn't take long for Fuyumi to start crying. She put her hands over her mouth to stifle her sob, but it wasn't working as well as she had hoped.

It was hard to tell how Toya felt. He himself didn't know for sure. No tears came from him. His only reaction was a mostly blank stare.

Kasumi couldn't comprehend what she just heard. She didn't understand the concept of suicide.

Regardless, learning that Toya's mother had died made her feel super upset for him.

Why would she die like that? She didn't know the lady, but she was hurting for Fuyumi and Toya.

She knew that her parents had died too. She didn't want her friends to experience losing a family member like that.

Her eyes welled up, but her thoughts were soon interrupted with a hard grasp on her wrist.

"If you didn't play with Shoto, she would still be alive!" Enji blamed her. Her eyes became widened with fear. She couldn't get herself to cry this time.

She would have been...? Kasumi believed it so easily. She was easily manipulated to think it was her fault.

"That's not true!" Toya snapped. His emotions were like a vicious tornado rampaging through his mind. There was a feeling that something was missing mixed with guilt. There was also anger towards Enji and Shoto.

Once again, Shoto was the easiest one to place the blame on. Toya didn't know, however, that Shoto was almost to the room. That he had seen Kasumi walk into the castle looking afraid. That he had found a way out of his area of the castle.

"Shoto killed her!" Toya screamed. Tears were finally released by him. "Shoto is the one who upset her, so he killed our mom!"

At that moment, another pair of footsteps were heard entering the room. It was Shoto. He appeared sad at first, but then he glared at Enji. "I heard part of the conversation. Kasumi didn't arrive until after mom hurt me. She didn't have anything to do with it."

"Shoto! What are you doing out of your room?!" Enji marched over towards Shoto, dragging Kasumi along with him.

Kasumi fear intensified. She tried her best not to cry.

It hurts...! Please, let me go! Was what she wanted to exclaim, but she felt too afraid to.

Shoto ignored the question. Instead, his eyes flickered from Kasumi to Enji. "You already said that it's my fault, so why are you blaming her now?"

As Toya was watching, the same strong hatred that he always felt for Shoto returned once again.

Look at me. Why aren't you listening to me?!

There was a twisted thought that he wanted to be the one to defend Kasumi.

I want to protect her. You're taking my spotlight!!

To Toya, Shoto really did get everything that he wanted.

Toya had tried to defend her against Enji, and hardly gotten a reaction from him at all. Yet as soon as Shoto showed up, Enji stomped in his direction. In Toya's eyes, that wasn't fair at all. He did almost the same exact thing and nothing happened.

Not fair. It's just not fair!

"Go back to your room now! If you don't do what I say, I'll break her limb off." Enji's hand tightened on her wrist, causing her to flinch.

She was trembling viciously at this point.

He's really serious...

She wanted to do something - anything - to get him away from her. She had no guts to.

Instead, she helplessly looked towards someone.

Of all the people who were in the room, she looked at Toya.

----

A/N: Please comment on what you think! You can comment on different parts of the story multiple times! We don't mind!

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