Stronger

The following birthday party will go down in the life of Akiho as the worst birthday of his.

The two empty seats were a constant reminder of the problems in the family.

Nobody spoke the whole time, not to mention he was completely out of it. She tried to put up a strong front but sometimes she just stared into nothingness.

Worst Akiho caught her touching the left side of her face where still a faint mark remained.

So all in all the whole thing was depressing. In the end with mutual consent, it was decided the birthday cake is not for today.

After the short birthday celebration, everyone went on their way, needing some alone time.

Akiko decided against trying his quirk today, he couldn't bring himself to concentrate for some reason.

In the end, he just went up to his and Shoto's room and started to study. It tied down his attention so he didn't have to think.

<[=]>

"Yawn!"

It already turned dark outside when Akiho yawned and looked from the bug book he was just reading.

"It's already so late!"

After looking at the clock on the wall he stretched his muscles and then stood up, ready to shower and then finally go to bed.

*Click*

But before he could go anywhere the door slid open and a tired, sweaty Shoto came in through it.

Without saying a word Akiho run to him and hugged him tightly.

"Onii-chan..." Shoto weakly said, on the verge of tears.

"It's okay, you are safe now, you can let it out here!"

Akiho gently said while patting the back of his twin brother, encouragingly.

"Hick, I was so scared... Hick, he forced me to run then..."

Like floodgates being broken Shoto started to tear up while talking about the inhuman training of his father.

Akiho could only silently listen while hugging his physically and mentally tired brother.

Shot cried for a good five minutes after which they took a quick shower where Akiho again confirmed the craziness of his father, after noticing the bruises on Shoto's body.

"Good night Sho!"

Akiho said and turned the light beside his bed down after the two of them finally got into the bed, ready to sleep.

"Good night Aki...!" Shoto said as well.

Akiho hid under his blanket and hugged his Blåhaj tightly. But still every time he closed his eyes his father's smirking face appeared in his mind.

"Mhhm, brother...?"

Looking up, Akiho noticed his brother standing beside his bed with his pillow and Djungelskog in hand.

"Yes?"

Akiho asked although he was more or less sure what his brother wanted.

"Nii-chan can we sleep together?!"

Without saying a word Akiho lifted the other side of the blanket. Shoto put down his pillow, laid down, and hugged his Djungelskog tightly.

In no less than five minutes, in the dark room, the only sound that could be heard was two boys' low snoring.

<[=]>

"Yawn!"

The next day, early morning Akiho groggily opened his eyes, sit up, and yawned.

"This is child abuse!"

Noticing the cold bed beside him, he murmured after waking up from half-sleep.

'Pure Shoto he probably had to start training still in dark!'

The mixed feeling of anger and helplessness filled him.

*Paf-paf!*

"I shouldn't let Shoto get ahead of me!"

Waking up from his dark thoughts Akiho slapped his cheeks twice and said full with determination.

He stood up and went to the bathroom where he quickly did his morning routine.

After coming out of the bathroom he stood before a big wardrobe with a mirror on it.

Just as he was about to open its door Akiho suddenly stopped and took a double take of his reflection in the mirror.

"Did I drink an extra strong protein shake, or what?!" Akiho looked at his body with wide eyes like an anime protagonist.

Yesterday's childish body with baby fat all over it was now nowhere to be seen.

Everywhere Akiho looked muscles bulged, and almost no fat remained. But his body overall still kept its leanness and flexibility.

"Wow, I look like a lean Schwarzenegger, hehe!"

Akiho laughed at his bad joke but still couldn't take his eyes off his body.

It took him 5 minutes to tore of his gaze from his body. When he finally did, he quickly dressed into some plain clothes before he could fall again to his narcissistic temptation.

Going down the stairs, he went into the dining room where already some breakfast waited for him, made by the Todoroki family's exclusive head chef.

After finishing the breakfast Akiho quickly stood up and run outside with excitement. Running through the garden, finally, after ten minutes he arrived at the place he selected before, for training.

It was a beautiful clearing with a clear pond in the middle. Surrounded by a dense bamboo forest giving the place good privacy.

"This will do it for now!"

Akiho murmured to himself satisfied, after looking around making sure nobody is around.

"Okay, let's start with the quirk testing!"

He happily said and pulled out a notebook and a from somewhere in his clothes.

He opened the notebook and started to intently study it.

"First of, enchanted strength, stamina, and agility..."

Akiho read the first line in the book out loud. He didn't have to think about it for long looking at his fit body.

"Check but further study is needed." He put a checkmark in the box beside the first line.

But although he knew he was stronger and during running, he confirmed his increased agility but he wasn't too sure about his limits. As for stamina, he didn't even break a sweat after 10 minutes of sprinting, so the growth was clear here as well.

"Next, enchanted senses..." Akiho read the next line out loud again.

'Hmm, my eyesight clearly got way better!'

He noted after focusing on two big disgusting cicadas mating in the grass...

Akiho closed his eyes and focused on his other four senses.

"I'm not too sure about touching and tasting but my hearing and sense of smell got better! So check!"

He concluded after being able to hear the wing flipping of a butterfly and being able to differentiate between every smell of the flowers in the clearing. Satisfied he put another checkmark next to the second line.

"Third is the healing factor..."

After reading the next line out Akiho frowned a little. He never liked pain (well duh) not to mention self-harm...

But still, after some hesitation, he moved his thumb into his mouth and bit in Naruto style.

"My childhood was a lie!"

Akiho shouted after one minute of trying he still couldn't bite through his skin. In the end, he gave up and decided to postpone the experiment.

"Finally, the last and most important: the quirk!"

After putting a question mark next to the third line Akiho moved to the last line. His face was slightly flushed with excitement as he closed the notebook and hid it under his clothes, ready for the real test.

"Finally it's time to test my strongest power, my quirk!"

Akiho said as his smile stretched wide while in his outstretched hand, a hot ball of flame appeared!

[IMPORTANT! A/n: I'll cut this chapter short today because although I have my own ideas I still would like to know your ideas for what Akiho's quirk would be like. (Obviously, ideas please be fire related...)]