"Hi, Inasa." Shouto stood in front of Inasa. He wasn't going to back down, "It's been a while since we last spoke." He didn't see Inasa frequently unless it was at the place where they work. "I didn't expect you to be here," Inasa admitted. "Me neither, but here I am." Shouto glimpsed at his old home, 'It appears that nothing changed.' Shouto catches the sounds of talking happening from inside. "Oh, you have company." Shouto glimpsed at Inasa, 'Is he dating again?' Inasa nervously chuckles, "I didn't anticipate you to visit any time soon." Shouto moves back, "I apologize for intruding." Shouto was about to leave, and then someone came to the door. "Shouto, honey, it's been a long time since we last saw each other," Inasa's mother said. "Come in," she tugged on Shouto's arm. "Yoarashi-san, I don't think that's-"

"I insist," she continued, "The whole family is here." Shouto turned pale when he heard Inasa's mother say that. "Mom, I don't think he wants to be here," Inasa said. She shook her head, "Shush, Inasa." She smacked Inasa behind the head, and Shouto laughed. Inasa rubbed the back of his head, "That wasn't necessary." Shouto forgot what he came here for when Inasa's mother dragged him to the living room. "You sit there," she ordered. Shouto sat down on the sofa and glanced around. She shuffled back to the living room and handed Shouto a cup of tea. He thanked her before setting his teacup on the table. He saw Inasa exit the house through the back door and excused himself. Inasa was sitting on the grass, observing the night sky. "Todoroki, you shouldn't be here," Inasa stated. He regarded the dual-colored boy alongside him. "Doesn't being here remind you of all the shit I did?"

"Inasa, you don't want me here?" Yoarashi sighed, "I'm surprised that you're able to stand in the same area as me. Why are you even here?" Todoroki sat in front of his past lover, "I loved you. I love you even though you hurt me. I want to know why you hurt me." Todoroki swallowed his fear as Inasa didn't know how to react. "Todoroki, you need to leave." Todoroki shook his head, "I'm not going to leave until I know the truth!"

Inasa grabbed his wrists, "I didn't love you, Shouto! I never did!" He saw the tears dwelling from Shouto's mismatched eyes. He let go of Shouto's wrists, "Y-You told me that you loved me. You lied to me." Inasa wanted to tell Shouto the truth, but he couldn't. Shouto wiped his tears, "You're a heartless bastard. I fucking hate you!" Shouto stood up and started to walk away until Inasa grabbed his hand. Shouto was shocked when Inasa pulled him close. Inasa had his arms around Todoroki's waist and kissed him. Todoroki returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around his neck. Inasa pulled away, "I lied, Shouto." Inasa tightens his hold around Todoroki's waist. 

"Your father," Inasa whispered when he tore away from the kiss. Shouto's eyes widen at the sudden detail. He realized the position they were in and removed himself. He hated that he still harbored feelings for his past lover. 'What the hell am I doing?' Shouto had a hand pressed against his lips before looking at Inasa. "Why did you kiss me?" Inasa rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't want you to leave. It was wrong of me to kiss you without your consent." 

"What do you mean by my father?" Shouto didn't understand what Inasa meant. His father didn't care about his relationships, "My father wasn't around as often." Inasa sighed, "Do you remember the day we went to the mountain?" 

*****

Todoroki giggled in excitement, "I can't wait!" Inasa smiled at Todoroki's gleeful mood, "When you told me that you've never gone mountain climbing, I thought you were lying." Todoroki rolled his eyes, "My old man never took my family out." Todoroki was packing for their trip up the mountain. "Your old man is an asshole," Inasa admitted. Shouto rolled his eyes, playfully, "You think I don't know that already?" Inasa chuckled at his lover's commentary. "We should get going before it turns dark." Shouto smiles and hands Inasa their bag, "I have everything we need packed." Shouto was happy to try out new things with Inasa. They've been together for three years. 

Inasa pecked a short kiss on Todoroki's lips, "Let's go." The trail to the mountain was an exciting trip for Shouto. Inasa enjoyed seeing the bright smile Todoroki had. His smile fell when he remembered what Endeavor told him. He shook his head and pushed it aside. He wasn't going to let it ruin their date. Shouto found the edge of the cliff and set their things down. "This is the place, right?" Inasa nods his head and allows Shouto to set up the blanket on the ground. He helped Shouto set up the things with a small fire lit in front of them. 

The two sat together on the blanket, "I'm glad that we met." Inasa grabbed Shouto's hand, "Yeah, I'm happy that I found you." Shouto leaned his head against Inasa's shoulder with a bright smile. Inasa watched the boy admire the stars, "You're beautiful, Shouto." The boy giggled and allowed Inasa to hold him. Inasa remembered Endeavor's words and glanced at the boy in his arms. He had to do this to protect Shouto and his mother from Endeavor.

"Sho, do you love me?" Shouto pulled away from Inasa, "Why are you asking? We've been dating for five years. Why wouldn't I love you?" Inasa placed his hands against Shouto's cheeks. "I love you, Sho. I love you more than anything." Inasa was afraid of hurting him, but maybe Shouto would understand. "Don't you love me?" Shouto saw the worry and anger lacing Inasa's eyes, "O-Of course!" Inasa grabbed Shouto's chin to face him. "Then say it," Inasa's voice sounded harsher. Shouto bit down the whimper, "I love you!"

Inasa pushed aside the heartache, 'You're doing this for Sho. Remember what Endeavor is putting on the line if you don't follow his orders.' He could remember Endeavor's words clearly and wished that the man had a heart. Endeavor was heartless when he told Inasa to follow his orders. 

*****

"Crush his spirts, Yoarashi. Shouto has a duty to run this company. I want you to hurt Shouto and make sure he stays in line. He has to learn to be more obedient towards orders." Inasa gripped the edge of his seat, "Endeavor, sir, I would never hurt Shouto on purpose. I don't care about your interests, so don't fucking think that I would easily obey your orders." Inasa wasn't going to hurt the one person that he cherished.

Endeavor smirked, "You seemed to care a lot about Shouto. That's why you're the perfect candidate to break Shouto. Shouto is like his mother and appears to have a big heart just like her. I want you to burn his love and crush it into ashes. I propose we make a deal, Yoarashi." Inasa wished that he was home with Shouto instead of this. Endeavor pulled out a photo of Shouto's mother, "If you fail to follow my orders, she'll die. I can easily roll it out as an accident. If you tell Shouto or anyone about this, Rei will die immediately. Your family is next on the list if you think of going against my orders." The lives of others were placed on Inasa's hand and forced him to decide. Shouto needed his mother. He was doing this for Shouto.

He hoped Shouto would understand. 

*****

Shouto stood frozen at Inasa's confession. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, "You're lying. You have to be lying!" Inasa shook his head, "I'm sorry, Shouto." Inasa had to be lying. Shouto didn't want to believe any of this. "He made you choose between hurting me or killing my mom. You were trying to keep her alive for me. I never connected the dots that she died in the same year we broke up. I-I killed my mom. I choose to leave with Midoriya that night. I-If I never did, she would've been alive." Shouto collapsed to the ground. "She's dead because of me."

"I couldn't tell you the truth. Endeavor would've killed your mom and my family if I told you. I had to hurt you to show him that I was following his orders. When you left that night, it was too late. Endeavor noticed that the changes and the distance set between us. He found out that we broke-up and had Rei killed. I couldn't tell you because of the guilt and angry I felt. That day when I asked you out, I was planning to tell you the truth. I didn't have the chance when you were avoiding me. I tried to stop it from happening, but I was too late. The doctors said that she died from an overdose from her medication pills." 

Shouto felt his tears slip down his cheeks, "I never got to tell her goodbye. The last time I saw her, she was so happy that she was going to go home after my 20th birthday. She died two months after my birthday. We broke up one week before her death, and now she's gone. She's dead because of me." Inasa sat down in front of the weeping boy and wiped his tears away. 

"It wasn't your fault, Sho. You didn't know what he was planning. It was my fault. I should've told you the truth, but I was terrified. He would've killed her before you could have the chance to confront him. I had to hide it from you. I tried to ignore the pain that I inflicted on you, but I couldn't. I hurt you so fucking much. I hated that I hurt you without blinking an eye. Each time when I hurt you, I regretted it so much. When you left that night, I was terrified of the outcome. You wouldn't answer my messages. When he found out, he killed your mother. I'm so fucking sorry. I know that would never be enough to bring her back or to rewind the pain I inflicted on you." 

Shouto was at his most vulnerable state when Inasa finished. He didn't know that Endeavor was part of the reason his mother was dead. He remembered the doctors telling his family that she died from an accidental overdose. He didn't know that this was an act of foul play. His father killed his mother. Shouto hugged himself tightly as he cried. Inasa held his arms out as he knew that he would be the last person Shouto would ever want to hug. Shouto didn't care anymore as he hugged Inasa tightly. He felt numb with feeling, "Why did she have to die?" He held tightly onto Inasa's shirt, "She didn't deserve to die!"  

*****

Todoroki spent a week with Midoriya after breaking up with Inasa. He ignored Inasa's calls and then noticed a missed call from Natsuo. He and Natsuo didn't have a close sibling relationship, so it was odd that Natsuo was calling him. "What's wrong, Natsuo?" He could detect the sounds of crying on the other line and realized that Fuyumi was crying. "Sho, you need to come to the hospital," Natsuo's voice sounded broken. "Natsuo, what's wrong?" 

Midoriya was in the kitchen, preparing lunch when he heard something dropping to the ground with a loud thud. He walked into the living room to see Shouto on his knees while covering his face. Natsuo's words repeated in his head. 

"Shouto, Mom died today." 

*****

Inasa rubbed Shouto's back while the boy continued to cry. He wondered if it was the right choice to tell Shouto the truth. He didn't care that Shouto was staining his shirt in his tears. He stayed by the boy's side and comforted him. Shouto couldn't hold himself up anymore and let his mask fall. Everything hurt inside of him, and the pain wouldn't go away. Inasa wasn't going to pull away unless Shouto was ready to stand on his two feet.

Inasa knew that Shouto deserved to know. Inasa was hurting him to protect him and his mother. He chose to leave Inasa. He didn't know that his mother was going to die because of him. If he stayed, maybe his mother would still be alive. It was his fault. He had no one else to blame except himself. He didn't deserve to live when his actions killed his mother. He didn't deserve to be happy. He didn't deserve Midoriya. The green-haired boy confessed to him, and Shouto chose to push him away. He didn't deserve to be loved. 

Shouto wished that he didn't know the truth. He didn't expect it to hurt him so much. He felt numb with feeling as he tried to process everything. At this moment, he didn't care that Inasa was holding him. He didn't think that the truth could be dangerous.