Third person pov

Truth be told, Natsuo hadn't just 'been in the area'. Someone had spotted Kit and reported it to Twitter, and Natsuo being the obsessed Suzuko fan he was saw it immediately and raced off to go find them with his binder of evidence in tow. He knew he probably should've waited for them to contact him again and set up a formal meeting. He was sure they would've eventually. He just... well, he couldn't help himself. A part of him had really wanted to meet the people behind such a controversial company, and to talk to others who hated Endeavor just as much as he did. He'd never in his life seen a company so willing to go for his throat. They were brave. The subtle way in which they'd managed to word their obscure forum posts had drawn him in. He'd known they were a company when he first reached out, but finding out it was the infamous Suzuko was insane.

"My sister actually put most of this together. I haven't told her I'm in contact with you, to be honest. She'd have my head if she found out I took this." Natsuo gave an awkward little laugh. He felt... sweaty. His nerves were seriously through the roof. This wasn't something he'd talked about with anyone outside of his sister. Ever. It just wasn't something you could bring up. How did you tell someone your father, the Number Two Hero, was a piece of absolute shit? If something like that got out, the ensuing mess would make his mind spin. He could practically hear the media calling him a liar. His father would set him on fire and never look back. 

This was different, however. Or it felt that way at least. These weren't some college buddies who were going to blab to the whole student body. These were... kids. They were around Shoto's age, and they felt passionately about something not many their age would normally worry about. He sure wouldn't have when he was fourteen, fifteen. Kittrick Suzuko had successfully taken over his mother's business and melded it into something meaningful that was saving lives and making a difference. Natsuo had always fantasized about doing something about his father, but how would someone like him go about that?

This little band of teenagers had tackled the issue of Endeavor head on, and they were doing it with a stunning amount of subtlety. They dug out all the incidents he worked so hard to cover up and seemed to genuinely care about the people who'd been wronged by someone who was supposed to protect and serve. Natsuo was ashamed to say that he'd never really looked that hard at his father's hero career. He already knew what kind of person he was, so he hadn't even thought about it. He hadn't realized just how bad of a hero he was. He covered it up with mass amounts of money, but he couldn't silence people forever. This team of kids had proved that, starting a forum full of stories about all Endeavor had done. There were so many people who'd been wronged-- who'd lost homes, and loved ones, and friends. Who'd been injured so badly they couldn't ever be entirely healed. It was... It was awful. 

That's how Natsuo came to find out about the Chad project. He'd talked primarily with Izuku Midoriya-- a writer for the company who had a real way with words. He conveyed exactly what needed to be said in no short terms. His writing was something Natsuo really admired. He hadn't quite believed it when he found out the kid's age. He'd thought for sure he was in his upper twenties-- a young man with a progressive view who'd gone to college to specialize in issues like this and journalism. Apparently not. He was just a quirkless teenager who'd experienced far more hate than he should've. Enough to open his eyes up to the rest of the injustice in the world. His passion was truly something to behold, and he'd been quick to jump on Natsuo's offer to tell his story.

He was honest, and nice, and didn't sugar coat his questions. He didn't treat Natsuo like glass, but he was kind and sympathetic, and got mad on his behalf. You could tell he genuinely cared. He expressed his condolences and let him know he wasn't alone. Other people had been hurt by heroes too. Izuku made a friend out of Natsuo with ease. His charisma and general goodness made him easy to trust. Natsuo had been most eager to meet him. Of course he'd wanted to get to know the eccentric Kittrick Suzuko and his speedy photographer too, but he could argue that Izuku Midoriya was the one he was the biggest fan of.

Natsuo was scared, but he felt ready to finally open up and talk about everything. This needed to be said. Endeavor had to pay, and he... he wanted to help Shoto. He rarely got a chance to talk to the boy. He didn't make much of an effort to connect, and that was on him, yes, but that didn't mean he didn't care. He was going to do what he could to get his siblings out of there and away from the villain of a father they'd found themselves with. Shoto didn't deserve to have Endeavor looming over his shoulder for the rest of his life. Natsuo couldn't act like a scared little boy forever. 

"We thank you for taking the risks you have thus far." Tenya gave a brief bow as Natsuo sat himself down at one of the picnic tables at the park. Almost no one was around, giving them the privacy they'd be needing for this conversation. Kit slipped his phone into his... shirt? He slid it down the front of his shirt after shooting Izuku a text to let him know where they were and who they were with. Tenya gave him a weird look, glancing back to Natsuo. "This can't have been easy, but just know you are making a great difference just by meeting with us."

"What he said. Sorry you got stuck with a shit bag for a dad, though." Kit said in the most crass way possible. He had about as much censorship as a homemade porn video. Natsuo's hand flew up to his mouth to try and choke his laugh back. Tenya let out the loudest gasp Natsuo had ever heard in his life, his hand swinging at the shorter boy's head. Kit ducked, plopping down and smiling innocently whilst the Iida teen sputtered. Natsuo grinned widely. He liked these guys. He wondered if Shoto would be willing to talk to them. He hated Enji just as much as Natsuo did, and he could use some friends.

Kit could tell this Natsuo guy was going to be a huge help in their attempts to nuke Endeavor's career. He was clearly nervous, but not in a 'second-guessing' sort of way. The binder he'd brought with him was thicker than it should've been. It made Kit feel a little sick to look at it, and he had once had to pull a knife out of his own thigh, which was really gross. Tenya looked flummoxed by the amount of evidence that had been apparently incurred. Natsuo didn't look even a little disturbed. Did he realize just how awful that was, or was he just numb to it all at this point? Maybe it wasn't something he'd really realized. Kit still downplayed what his mother had done to him over the years, and Izuku didn't see how awful Katsuki's treatment towards him actually was. 

"Yeah, well, I don't really have to deal with him anymore now that I'm in college. It's my brother and sister I'm worried about." Natsuo frowned a little, looking down. "I know I mentioned it a few times in our emails, but Shoto... Shoto is the main receiver of the abuse. I... I-I don't want this to become another Touya incident, where Endeavor goes too far or pushes him too hard and he... h-he..."

Kit and Tenya shared a look at the furrowed look on Natsuo's face. He looked genuinely terrified that his little brother could bite the dust, which definitely wasn't something he normally should've had to worry about. They'd heard only a little about Touya. Before Shoto's quirk awakened, he'd been the one with all of Endeavor's attention. He'd gone through the same rigorous training as Shoto was going through now, but his quirk was a lot hotter than Endeavor's, and not nearly as easy to control. An incident that had resulted in half their home burning down took Touya's life when the boy was apparently only around their age. They never talked about it as a family apparently, but none of them were over it. None of them aside from Endeavor, seemingly. How tasteful of him.

The sound of crunching leaves caught their attention, drawing their gazes to the bushes they'd fought through to get to this table. Izuku came stumbling out with a pale face and wide eyes. He looked like he'd just watched a murder take place. Natsuo perked up immediately at the sight of him, brightening considerably at the arrival at of the boy. Izuku looked too dissociated from reality to respond to the excited, near adoring stare of his fan and interviewee. He had to practically drag himself over to them. Kit winced slightly at the blankness of his eyes. Tenya looked like he was genuinely considering getting his phone out and calling someone for help. Izuku didn't look good.

Izuku had been through the ringer. Existential crisis didn't even begin to describe what he was going through. If he still had that gun, he'd definitely shoot himself in the foot to see if this was even real. The mortification he felt was so strong that parts of him had actually gone numb. He had no feeling in his shoulders. Why? He didn't fucking know, but he was sure it was related somehow. He couldn't handle this. He wasn't built to withstand this kind of trauma. Kacchan leaving burn scars on him was fine, but this? He was never going to psychologically recover.

The freckled boy pulled himself over to them, squeezing onto their side of the bench right next to Kit. Kit squished himself up against his boyfriend so he could better take in their green-haired friend. He was slouched over like a moldy shrimp. Had the meeting with All Might not gone well? Had it actually not been the Number One Pro? Maybe it was a pedophile. Wait... had he had to shoot someone? Was that why he looked like he'd just watched a murder go down? Had he fucking committed one? Because that would be hilarious. But also like, not. Kit wasn't going to laugh if he had. At all. 

"I accidentally dropped the gun in front of All Might." He choked the words out like he was on his death bed. Kit whipped his head away to try and hide the way he had to swallow his laughter. Izuku slowly looked up at them. Tenya pressed his lips together at the pained expression. He patted Kit's head as the shorter boy hid his face in his boyfriend's side. "And then I kicked sand over it. And asked him what it was like to be the Number One Hero. And he just stared at me. I brought a gun to a meeting with the Number One hero."

Natsuo was dead silent, his eyes narrowed and his lips parted slightly as he processed what had been said. Kit inhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment to try and contain himself. He risked a glance up at Tenya. The Iida teen gave Kit an accusing glower that told him that yeah, perhaps giving Izuku a firearm hadn't been a great idea. Maybe a knife would've been better. A little more traditional. If anyone was going to get close enough to hurt him, something to shank with definitely would've been a better idea. Kit took mental notes for next time, focusing on keeping his breathing slow so he wouldn't burst into hysterics and get his ass whooped by Tenya. Not that he'd be against that. Purr purr and all that.

"Well, he clearly didn't kill you for it, so I'd call that good." Kit patted the boy in the back comfortingly, his voice coming out a little squeaky and strangled. Izuku looked vaguely offended. "Anyway! Izuku, meet Natsuo Todoroki. He's here for his interview!" 

Izuku's eyes popped open wide as saucer's as though he hadn't realized before, his head whipping towards Natsuo. The young man jumped slightly, offering an unsure smile whilst glancing between the green-haired boy, Kit, and Iida. There was a question in his eyes, but he wasn't about to humiliate himself by prying into something that clearly wasn't his business, no matter how curious he was. Izuku's face went red with embarrassment, apologies spewing from his lips. How had he not noticed?! He'd been so caught with All Might asking him to be his successor and the whole gun incident that he'd forgotten why Kit had texted him to come here in the first place. He could cry over his encounter with his idol later!

"R-Right! I'm sorry, Natsuo-san!" Izuku produced a notebook and pen from... somewhere. Kit squinted, leaning forward a little to try and find out where it had come from. Tenya pursed his lips as Izuku beamed at Natsuo with new vigor. "Tell me everything!"

Natsuo didn't hesitate. 

~~~~~~

Kit, Izuku, and Tenya were all huddled up across from Natsuo with the binder drawn close. The first part of it was dedicated to Touya's earlier injuries. Pictures taken on a camera that clearly wasn't very good displayed the results of Endeavor's brutal training. That was a huge issue for sure, but it wasn't what they were all caught up on. Natsuo watched in a perplexed manner as they all quietly stared at Touya's black eye. He was only nine years old or so in the photo, but Kit would know that bone structure and nose anywhere. Was there a good way to approach this? This felt like a crisis, but nothing was actually happening aside from horrifying realizations. They all kind of felt like idiots for not connecting the obvious dots sooner. 

"So we all know this is Dabi, right?" Kit whispered as lowly as possible. Tenya and Izuku both nodded with zero hesitation. Kit sucked in air between his teeth. Cool. Very wonderful. "That's really great. Glad we're on the same page. What the fuck do we do?"

"Ignore it?" Tenya suggested. Kit smacked his boyfriend's hand sharply. He drew it back with an offended huff. It wasn't that bad of an idea! What if they provoked him and he quit, or got his feelings hurt? If he didn't want to share he probably had a reason!

"We've got to ask him." Izuku hissed out lowly, looking uncharacteristically grumpy. "His whole family thinks his dead. Look at Natsuo-san. He's practically in tears!" 

They all looked up. Natsuo looked more confused than anything, but talking about his older brother clearly wasn't easy. He described Touya as someone he'd looked up to and who had protected them from their father's negative attention at all costs. It would explain why Dabi was so passionate about the Chad story and Endeavor's downfall. He'd never really given a clear reason why he hated him, but this would explain a lot. It only made Kit angrier to think about it. Dabi's story was tragic, and he could imagine he was too afraid to reach out to his family. If Endeavor found out what had become of his oldest son he'd surely throw a fit.

"He's going to run if we bring it up. We've got to trap his ass and force it out of him." Kit decided quietly, setting the binder down. Izuku nodded adamantly, but Tenya looked vaguely horrified. 

"I know how to waterboard." Izuku said rather loudly, breaking their little whispering spree and causing Natsuo's expression to twist with sheer confusion. Tenya let out a loud gasp, looking mortified. Kit gaze Izuku a raised-brow look. Izuku stared back innocently as though he saw nothing wrong with waterboarding someone to get them to talk about their traumatic past. Kit wasn't saying it wouldn't work. It probably would, but it definitely didn't seem like a very sensitive approach. Not that Dabi was that sensitive a person overall. 

"We're not waterboarding anyone!" Iida said loudly. He turned to Natsuo. "I apologize, Natsuo-san. Please, continue to tell us your story. This interruption was unprofessional of us."

Kit cleared his throat, nodding in total agreement even though he had no idea what the fuck Tenya meant by 'professional'. How was any of what they were doing professional? Tenya himself was in khaki's and a polo! Kit had already cursed like, a million times, and didn't have on shoes. Izuku and rolled up talking about firearms and All Might. Natsuo didn't look deterred at all. A miracle at this point. How he was still taking them seriously was a mystery. As teenagers, it was a lot harder for them to get people to talk to them bluntly and say it how it was. The fact that Natsuo had stayed this long told them he was probably desperate enough to stick around through anything.

"R-Right, well, after Shoto's quirk awakened, the dirtbag's attention shifted completely. Fuyumi normally treat's his injuries and always takes pictures. She's afraid of our father and really hopes he'll change, but I think she really wants to put an end to his reign over Shoto as well." He flipped to the more recent pages in the binder. The photo showed minor burns on his arms and a grumpy look. It definitely wasn't as severe as some of the other injuries Natsuo had described to them, but it was the most recent. Izuku leaned forward, blinking down at him. Iida nodded.

"Has your brother ever thought about modeling?" Kit asked. Tenya smacked him. Natsuo luckily seemed to find the question funny, giving a chuckle. He looked softly down at the photo of his younger brother. He wished Shoto would model, honestly. Get a hobby and make some friends. Branch out. It wasn't healthy for him to be alone all the time, but their father was anal about how Shoto spent his days. He had pretty much banned Fuyumi and Natsuo both from socializing with him too much.

There was also the issue of Rei Todoroki. Natsuo had talked about it a little in email. He still visited her at least twice a week, and she was doing well. Well enough that she honestly didn't need to be in that hospital. Endeavor was keeping here there. She'd harmed his 'masterpiece'. But their mom had gotten better. She thought about Shoto every day, and she was remorseful over what she'd done. Rei wanted nothing more than to see him and apologize. Natsuo knew Shoto didn't blame her for what had happened either. With all that had been going on at the time, it was hard to. It was surprising she hadn't broken sooner in all honesty.

"I'll ask him about it." Natsuo said in a joking tone. He sobered up shortly thereafter, looking at the three boys. "But one thing I really wanted to ask about is... w-well, do you think you could do anything for my mom?"

Kit's grin took more weight off Natsuo's chest than anyone could ever comprehend. 

~~~

The next chapter is out on Patreon's early access!