Todoroki woke up with his back against Inasa's chest and his arms around his waist. He sighed in content when Inasa buried his face in his neck, 'Last night was a mistake.' He let Inasa touch him again like before. He felt sick to his stomach. He promised himself that he wouldn't fall back into Inasa's arms, but he lied. He tried to close his eyes and fall back to sleep. He didn't want to think about anything. Everything went black when he closed his eyes.

*****Dream****

"Why can't you move away?" Todoroki saw his younger self with a bandage around his left eye. "I don't-" The little boy shook his head, "Don't say that you don't know!" Todoroki noticed the tears spilling from the boy's right eye. He glanced down at the wooden floor, "I don't know!" Todoroki felt the chains restraining him from freedom. "Look at what you have become. Are you satisfied, Todoroki? Do you think she's happy? You're torturing yourself! Let go of your past!" Shouto couldn't look up at his younger self. The tears spill down his face when he heard footsteps walking away. "I can't let go!" Shouto's words echoed in his head. He couldn't let go. He was holding onto his past. The chains grew thicker around his wrists. He was refusing to let go of his past. His heart grew heavier at the thought of letting go of his past. He was bound to the past, and his mind was refusing to let go.

Todoroki saw the floor change into something different. A mirror appeared under him, and he noticed that he was younger, "Get up, Shouto! You're never going to accomplish anything if you lay there helpless." Todoroki trembled when he heard his father's voice. He couldn't face his father after all those years of abuse. He managed to glance up to see his father's glare. "You're just as pathetic as your mother." Todoroki attempted to cover his ears to shut him out. "Shut up!" His old man grabbed his wrists to look at him, "You're worthless! Useless!" He kicked Shouto down. "You will never amount to anything! Stop thinking that you will ever move on! You will never-"

Shouto caught his fist, "Shut up!" He swung his fist against Endeavor's face, knocking him off. Shouto stood up, "Fuck you!" Shouto eyes widen when he saw his figure changed into Midoriya. "Why did you hurt me?" Shouto's put his fist down when he saw the bruises on Midoriya's skin. "You're just like your father," Midoriya told him. Shouto ran to Midoriya's side, "Midoriya, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Midoriya coward away from Shouto, "Don't touch me!" Shouto witnessed the fear lacing Midoriya's emerald eyes. Midoriya disappeared when Shouto attempted to hug him. "This isn't real! I'm dreaming!" Todoroki refused to believe any of this, but it felt real. "Like father, like son. You're bound to make the same mistakes your father made," the voice shrieked. "Your father abused you! Your first lover swore that he wouldn't hurt you, but he hurt you! What makes you think that Midoriya won't hurt you?" Shouto felt the voice defeating him under his words. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He was drowning in his past. His thoughts were crushing him, and he knew his life didn't matter. His father held his life in his hands and controlled him.

"You're poison, Shouto!"

Shouto wanted to wake up from this nightmare. He couldn't escape in his dreams when his past followed him everywhere. "You hurt everyone you touch!" Shouto fell to his knees and gripped his hair. He didn't want to believe these thoughts, "No, I wouldn't hurt him!" The room was filling up with water as Shouto closed his eyes tightly. "You're drowning in your past, Shouto. Do you really deserve to be happy?" Shouto saw the water surrounding him and held his breath from drowning. "Who will save you, Shouto? Do you think you can ever love again? Just give up." Shouto felt the chains grow around his wrists, bounding him to the ground. "I'm not going to give up!" The water was draining away, "I'm not like my father. I will never be the person he was." Shouto needed to confront his past and prove that he could move past this. He wasn't going to give up.

"You don't deserve to be happy!"

Shouto's vision turned dark, and then he realized that he was on the cold tile floor. "No one will love you," Inasa's words echoed in his head. "You're worthless, slut. No one is going to save a freak like you! No one is going to love you as I do!" Todoroki's tears stream down his cheeks, "I'm sorry!" Todoroki choked against Inasa's grip and tried to get him off.

Shouto was reliving his past, and it was crushing his confidence. He looked Inasa in his eyes and saw the pain lacing his eyes. The memory replayed with the same events happening in the same order. Inasa stopped when he heard knocking, "Todoroki? Is everything okay?" Todoroki recognized that voice. "Help me, Midoriya!" Shouto didn't have enough time to react. Inasa punched Todoroki across the face, "Shut the hell up!" Inasa dropped Shouto onto the glass and cut him. Shouto felt the small shards digging into his palms. It was the same events replaying from that day Midoriya saved him.

Midoriya heard the screaming and yelling coming from the other side. He tried to open the door, "Don't worry, Todoroki!" Midoriya ran back and crashed into the door. His eyes widen when he saw Inasa grabbed Shouto's shirt with his hand raised in the air. Shouto looked terrified while sporting a few bruises.

Midoriya saved him.

Shouto smiled at the memory until he heard the hospital alarms. He saw his mother's lifeless body. He walked closer to her body to see the smile on her lips. "Shouto, you need to move on. Please, you deserve to be happy. You have to let him go. You have to let go of your past," Shouto saw her standing in front of him with a smile. "Don't be scared to love again." Shouto let the tears slip from his face and dropped to his knees. He felt his mother's hands on his cheeks, "Shouto, I love you. A mother's love will never die. I might be gone, but I'll always be with you." Shouto glanced to see his mother's smile, "I miss you so much!"

"It's my fault that you're dead!" Rei shook her head and wiped her son's tears away, "It wasn't your fault, Shouto. You're not the reason I'm dead. Don't blame yourself for your father's mistakes." Shouto hugged his mother tightly, "Sho, you deserve to be happy. Don't be afraid of falling in love again. You're not your father. Don't let him tell you how to live. You are you. No one can take that from you." Rei stood up, "I will always be by your side." Shouto watched his mother walk away from him. He felt the tears spill down his cheeks as he didn't want her to go. He grabbed his hair and screamed in his head.

He wanted everything to stop. He didn't want to feel this pain anymore. He wanted to be with Midoriya, but why was his mind struggling to accept this. He needed to stop! He needed to break out of these chains and find peace with himself. Todoroki accepted Inasa's confession and realized that he had to break out of the endless cycle. He couldn't let his father control his life. It was his life to live, not his. His heart was telling him to end this cycle and accept his past. He was confident that he was capable of accomplishing his goals.

"I love you, Shouto."

Shouto looked up to see the familiar green-haired boy. He was smiling at him with the same smile that cheered him up. "I won't hurt you, Shouto." The green-haired boy's words echoed in his head. "Todoroki, I know you're afraid. Inasa can't hurt you again. I won't let them hurt you again. I promise you that I would never hurt you. I love you." Midoriya was always by his side. Midoriya was his savior. "I promised you that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you again. I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you. I love you, Todoroki."

Midoriya was willing to save him from his past. He wouldn't hurt him like Inasa, and his father did. Midoriya was different from them. He wouldn't hurt him as everyone else did. Maybe he could move on. Midoriya was holding a hand out with a bright smile on his lips. "I won't leave your side, Shouto. Trust me when I tell you that I won't hurt you." Midoriya was standing in front of him, "I won't stop loving you. You deserve to be happy. Don't let your past hold you back. It might be hard, but I'll be there every step of the way."

"Can you trust him?"

Shouto wanted to move on. He didn't want his past holding him back any longer. His past couldn't hurt him any longer. He was Night-Flame, and he never backs down. He saw Midoriya standing in front of him, but this time someone else was standing beside him. Night-Flame's signature blue and black hair, "You're me, Sho. Our old man deserves to suffer, not us. Let go of the past. There's nothing to be afraid of when you have Midoriya by your side. You two are stronger together. Don't let your past chain you down. Midoriya isn't like Inasa or Endeavor. Choose the right choice for the future. Don't let the past bound you to them. You're stronger without them holding you back. Think about the person that's always been there for you when you had no one. Midoriya loves you."

Shouto wiped the tears from his face away. He wanted to move on. Shouto saw the chains around his wrists, holding him down. Night-Flame disappeared, leaving Midoriya standing there. He was holding his hand out for Shouto to take. He was willing to wait for Todoroki. Shouto needed to break out of these chains. His past couldn't reach him anymore. He wasn't afraid anymore.

"He's going to hurt you!"

"No, he's not going to hurt me."

"You can't run from your past, Shouto."

"No, my past will always remain a part of me. However, it's a chapter of my life that's ended. I won't let it hold me back. I deserve to be happy. I'm not afraid anymore."

"He'll leave you."

Shouto shook his head as the chains weaken, "I won't forget his promise. He was willing to wait for me." Todoroki wasn't going to let these chains hold him down anymore. He deserved to be happy. He wanted to spend it on the one person he loved.

Todoroki broke out of the chains and grabbed Midoriya's hand. He chose Midoriya. He wanted to be happy. Midoriya saw the smile on Todoroki's face, "I'm glad you chose me." Todoroki smiled as he let the tears run down his face. The tears running down his face were tears of joy.

*****Dream Over*****

Todoroki woke up and saw Inasa in the same position. He removed Inasa's arms from his waist and got up. 'I'm sorry, Inasa. I have to go.' Todoroki got dressed and walked out of Yoarashi's house. He remembered to leave a note behind for Inasa to find. He strolled down the sidewalk with a smile on his face. He needed to find Midoriya and felt free. He didn't have the chains bounding him. The memories couldn't blind him now as he smiled to himself.

He refused to let the memories hold him back. 'Midoriya isn't like Inasa or Endeavor. I won't let my past scare me anymore. I deserve to be happy. He won't hurt me like them. I trust Midoriya more than anything. I want to be happy again. I have to let go of my past. It won't hurt me anymore.' Shouto let his smile grow on his lips as he hurried to find Izuku. One thought remained on his mind, and he wasn't going to hide it anymore.

'I love you, Izuku.'