Even the once revered Todoroki Enji is now facing major backlash with that video that Dabi had released two weeks ago. The Todoroki family's painful secret had been forcibly shoved into the lap of the public. Had Shouto not been used to living under the constant curious eyes of the public and media, he would have buckled underneath the crushing weight as they had decided to descend onto him like vultures upon a dying animal. If he thought that they were prying and cruel even before the video, this is on an entirely different level for him.
                          
Perhaps he would have broken underneath everyone's scrutiny if it wasn't for Shinsou and Bakugou. Of course, Shouto is still close with Midoriya and his group of friends but even there, he can feel the shift in the atmosphere. Midoriya may be the glue that keeps them together; desperate to adhere them together and pretend that nothing has ever gone wrong, in this life or a previous life, but even glue can crack and lose what it once kept together.
                          
Or perhaps it's just his inability to properly read the atmosphere and Shouto is left to drown in an ocean of 'what ifs' and churning riptides of doubts and there's nothing actually wrong at all. With half of his vision stolen from him, perhaps he can't truly see their expressions and simply misreads everyone. Shouto's milky blue eye stares out into the world uselessly and blindly with nothing to brag about other than a grotesque trophy of a childhood he had fought through.
                          
"Young Todoroki?" All Might speaks quietly and Shouto once again looks up to the teacher. He can see the concern painted across All Might's face and Shouto glances away. He's been getting stuck in his own mind lately, spacing off and wondering about what other cruel jokes and jests the gods have in store for him. Shouto has made it a point to avoid the news, these days. He gets too wrapped up with constant worry over his family and frustration that he's powerless to fix anything or at least to slap a band-aid on the massive crevice that had cut through all of them. It leaves him with a lump in his throat and an aching heart. Shouto can't even wish for the golden days of his childhood because, to be frank, his golden days hadn't started until he reconciled with his mother, Natsuo and Fuyumi.
                          
He swallows thickly, throat suddenly constricting and for the first time in a long time- Shouto wants to cry. Despite how much Shinsou and Bakugou had helped him with getting back in touch with his stunted emotions, Shouto can't allow himself to openly weep in front of All Might. No matter how much he tries to keep the lid on on the figurative boiling pot of water in his mind, it continues to bubble and spew- scalding him as he continues to fight to keep everything in.
                          
"Excuse me." Shouto replies, his voice feels thick and sounds foreign to him. He jolts forward and fluidly stands up, not sparing All Might even a passing glance as he walks away. Of course, he hears the retired hero call after him they fall against deaf ears as Shouto feels tears begin to roll down his cheeks.
                          
He feels sick.
                          
-
                          
"I'm afraid that I don't understand." Fuyumi says slowly, lightly scratching at a particularly stubborn itch just under her jaw. Between the chaos that had been unleashed and her own misgivings about her life, she hadn't had the time to keep in touch with Shouto. Of course, she had tried. She had tried many times since their father's hospitalization and even well into the steady downfall of heroes.
                          
Fuyumi had suddenly come to a screeching halt in her own life when her personal information was leaked and rioters learned where she lived. They had swarmed around the apartment complex with all of their fury and fright. It took her landlady calling the police for them to finally leave, but not without threats that Fuyumi knows aren't empty.
                          
She was more than understanding when her landlady had terminated her rent contract. Fuyumi even thanked her frazzled landlady for being more than gracious for giving her a three day notice to leave. She bowed deeply and thanked her landlady even more profusely when she was given her security deposit and part of her last month's rent money back. It was a simple act of kindness, but kindness comes sparse these days.