Itsuki Todoroki/Relationships

## Enji Todoroki

Like his other children, Enji viewed young Itsuki as a tool to surpass All Might.

Itsuki being born with pink hair and smoky eyes took Enji off guard. He couldn't safely predict what quirk the newborn would manifest and it threw a wrench in his plans. To be on the safe side, Enji continued having children while waiting for Itsuki's fourth birthday. This lead to Shoto's birth and their father no longer had a clear use for Itsuki. His expectations were further muddled when his steam quirk manifested. While Itsuki had potential to be a powerful hero, it was unlikely he could surpass All Might.

However, Enji realised Itsuki's steam could be used for temperature control, which would be helpful in Shoto's training. Instead of dumping him into Rei's sole care, he was used as a "backup" to Shoto. With Enji's permission, Itsuki was the only child allowed to move through both halves of the house. When Shoto needed a training dummy, Enji would drag Itsuki up to the dojo. He would be dragged into roughly a third of the lessons. When he was no longer needed, Itsuki was sent back to his older siblings.

After Rei was hospitalised, Enji feared his masterpiece would be stunted without emotional support. To prevent this, Enji got Itsuki to replace Rei's role in Shoto's life. To get Itsuki on his side, Enji told him about the incident of Toya attacking his infant brother. His father said he wanted Itsuki to protect Shoto from his "jealous siblings" and entrusted him with this important role.

On Itsuki's side, his father was elusive figure before his fourth birthday. He didn't remember any good moments, unlike Toya and Fuyumi. He only associated his dad with hurting or ignoring his loved ones. Due to this, Itsuki didn't grow much of an attachment to his father. Instead of a person to bond with, Itsuki saw Enji as an obstacle to navigate around. While Shoto responded to Enji's violence with growing resentment, Itsuki dissociated and concluded how absurd the whole situation was. Itsuki never respected his father and silently questioned all his ramblings. Why did Endeavour did need a kid to fulfil his dreams? Why was it so important to surpass All Might at all? Itsuki concluded that Enji was a manchild and a lost cause.

Despite having no good memories of Enji, he was still Itsuki's father. While not wanting to, the steam user had a slight desire for Enji's approval. His father's expectations and manipulations muddled Itsuki's self worth. With his focus on Shoto, Enji was never clear if he wanted the steam user to become a hero or not. Itsuki felt strange that he was present at the hero training, yet he wasn't expected to use those skills. While Itsuki told himself that he didn't care about his father's opinions, he did internalise some of it. Enji repeatedly said that Itsuki's role was to support Shoto and he was incapable of becoming Number 1 himself. Itsuki "accepted" that he was a second best and didn't bother to push himself.

Additionally, Enji gave Itsuki trust issues with the rest of his family. Itsuki couldn't fully relate to his sibling's constant neglect, nor Shoto's constant beatings. He was caught in an awkward middle ground. When Enji explained the incident of Toya lashing out, Itsuki would hear a contrasting version from Natsuo. Itsuki didn't know which family member was saying the truth. So he learnt to dodge these topics entirely, to avoid siding against anyone. Itsuki simply knew that Enji, Rei and Toya hurt somebody at some point. He didn't care about figuring out which one was worse. He decided to be wary of them all, in case they might hurt him too. Itsuki could inadvertently downplay Enji's abuse due to this, as he avoided thinking about his family history in depth. He struggled to realise how Rei's and Toya's motives all traced back to his father.

As Itsuki's personality developed, him and Enji would have a clear dynamic. While originating from his abuser, Itsuki took his role as Shoto's protector seriously and did it on his own terms. The pink-haired boy didn't want to become like Rei; protesting Shoto's training and getting beaten for it. Instead, Itsuki's disrupted Shoto's lessons in more subtle ways. He'd cheer Shoto up with jokes and try to waste Enji's time with distractions. Though Itsuki ensured he didn't take it too far, to avoid being thrown out or backhanded. His father began labelling Itsuki as a "clown" and an "annoying brat". Eventually, Enji got used to Itsuki's tricks. He stopped reacting to his third son's goading, either ignoring him or telling him to shut up.

The time spent training with Itsuki, eventually rubbed up on Enji. While he was a cold man set on his goals, he couldn't bury his parental instincts entirely. While he didn't want Fuyumi and Natsuo's lives to be endangered, he didn't otherwise care about them. Additionally, Shoto had no intention on letting his walls down around his father. Out of his five children, Itsuki had the closet to a causal relationship with Enji. But this was little more then Enji quietly tolerating his presence. However there were fleeting grins when Itsuki cracked an especially good joke. When Enji caught himself, he immediately went back to his serious persona. He didn't want to encourage his son's silly behaviour. However, Itsuki noticed these moments and longed to recreate them. It created a self-fulfilling prophecy, where Enij called Itsuki a clown and his son leaned into it, thinking it could help somehow. However, he'd end up annoying Enji, nine times out of ten.

As Itsuki reached his teenage years, he'd developed unhealthy ways to cope under his father's tyranny. He drunk underaged, to make himself more confident and forgetful of his circumstances. While he got passing grades, Itsuki would sometimes ditch class and go to parties. As someone obsessed with work, Enji was irritated that his son dabbled into deviancy. While he made off-handed remarks that Itsuki should improve, his father didn't bother to take it further then that.

Eventually, his dad's unclear expectations of him reached a boiling point. By the end of middle school, Itsuki needed to decide whether he'll take a hero course or not. He directly confronted Enji about it: Did he belong in the world of heroes or not? Yet Enji responded that he didn't care whether way and Itsuki shouldn't childishly depend on his parents for answers. This gave Itsuki emotional backlash and questioned the point of the brutal training he went through. Enji pointed out that the training was always for Shoto's sake and he already knew that. He's only there to assistant the family's masterpiece. Swallowing back the tears, Itsuki insisted he'll study to become a pro as it's his clear path to a stable future.

Since Itsuki was applying to a hero school, Enji laid out serval conditions. He didn't want Itsuki to get easy approval ratings simply for being Endeavour's son. He thought Shoto had already proven his talent in training, but Itsuki had yet to do so. Therefore, the steam user would have to prove himself as a stand-alone hero. That meant no piggybacking off the Todoroki surname or free jobs at the Endeavour agency. Enji forced Itsuki to sign up to hero schools with Rei's maiden name and hide their blood relation in public. It was a mixture of Enji's misguided "tough love" and he wanted the public to solely associate him with Shoto.

When Itsuki graduated with his full license, Enji started to keep a closer eye on him. The flame hero wanted to ensure that Itsuki's true identity wasn't leaked and badgered him to get a somewhat respectful ranking. He didn't want his third son to a complete embarrassment. Itsuki was equally embarrassed by his obviously insecure father. Since Shoto was three years behind, it would be awhile before he could join them as heroes. For the time being, Itsuki was the only family member who could understand Endeavour's world. Since Enji still had a vague hope of surpassing All Might himself. he wanted honest feedback about how he could achieve that. However, Itsuki simply wanted to be left alone, so he gave him generic compliments, hoping it would be enough. Enji would grit his teeth at these answers, knowing they weren't practical feedback.

As fellow heroes, Itsuki and Enji had opposite approaches to their jobs. The steam-user favoured rescue and rehabilitation, being able to extinguish fires by cooling his steam into rain. With the public, he was laid back with fans and loved to hype up a party. Once or twice, Endeavor ratted Itsuki out for underaged drinking, as he thought the fines would be a harsh lesson. Behind closed doors, Enji stilled treated Itsuki like a wayward teenager. When they were amongst other heroes, Enji was forced to have a professional decorum with his son. Not used to being treated as his equal, Itsuki would get awkward and jumpy. When Itsuki saw Hawks' friendship with the flame hero, he regretted not having the same dynamic. It seemed like the idealised version of their family bond. Hawks wasn't scared of Enji and could confidentially tease him. On top of that, Hawks advised him about public perception, despite being much younger.

When Enji eventually hinted that he wanted to atone, Itsuki was flabbergasted. To handle their hellish training, Itsuki took solace in Shoto emerging as the future Number One. If Shoto could save hundreds of lives in the future; Perhaps their suffering had some kind of meaning. Yet it turned out, Enji was capable of stopping his obsession on his own. Why had it taken him twenty years to do so? It felt more ridiculous when Enji admitted his turnaround was due to technicality on the rankings.Itsuki openly scoffed at his father, but internally, he was hysterically laughing. He decided to humour Enji's atonement out of pity. But in reality, he had little faith in him. Even if he did improve, Itsuki would forever consider his father pathetic.

## Dabi

> "Your pink hair - Your steam quirk - You're hardly recognizable as a Todoroki. Your own body isn't a constant reminder of the past. But you like it that way, don't you? Daddy can give you a good career, while nobody expects you to uphold his legacy. You're a leech, as a hero *and* a brother. Did you feel like the better person, with all that fence sitting? What did I expect anyway? You let yourself be used as training dummy. No ounce of self-respect." - *Dabi's monologue when he reveals he's alive*
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As children, Itsuki and Toya had a layered dynamic. They got along a majority of the time, often playing games together. Itsuki admired his eldest brother's aloofness and determination. He wasn't bothered by kiddish things and seemed to understand grown-up topics. In turn, Toya could causally listen to Itsuki's excitable ramblings without hushing him up. Toya flipped flopped between envying and pitying his brother's naivety.

While the brothers were polite towards each other, they struggled to understand each other's deeper issues. Their father's actions inevitably put a wedge between them. When Enji decided to use Itsuki as Shoto's backup, he wanted the steam user on his side. So Enji told Itsuki about Toya attacking baby Shoto. The Number 2 claimed he needed Itsuki to protect his youngest brother from their "jealous siblings'". After hearing that story, Itsuki could never truly trust Toya.

For a long time, he didn't bring up the attack to avoid needless drama. But one day, Itsuki overheard Toya partly blaming Enji for the attack. Itsuki asked his eldest brother; how someone else was responsible for an act he committed with his own hands. Toya and Natsuo angrily countered Itsuki's question until he became silent again. Hating that kind of tension, the steam user never got involved in Toya's rants again.

Unlike Natsuo, Toya didn't feel like he could emotionally vent to Itsuki. For a short time, Natsuo insisted his twin could get involved in their deep discussions. Since Itsuki could move between both parts of the house, he heard contradictory testimonies from different family members. At that point, Itsuki learnt to dodge serious topics with jokes.

On top of that, the two have vastly different opinions on their family situation. Toya was hyperaware about complex social factors around their family and was adamant he could win their father's favour again. Toya felt insulted by Itsuki's nonchalant attitude about being trained by their father, almost considering it a privilege. Meanwhile, Itsuki didn't understand why Toya cared so much about Enji. He only remembered their father as an unchanging manchild, not worthy of their respect. He believed the siblings should focus on their own self preservation and forge their own lives away from Enji.

When Toya died, Itsuki had mixed feelings. He didn't know whether he should side with Natsuo or Fuyumi's conclusions on his death. Was it a blameless accident or Enji's reckless actions? Itsuki didn't feel like he could express his feelings around Toya's death, in fear of upsetting his relatives. Often he wonders what Toya would have been like as a grown up. Would he outgrown his dangerous grudges to become a better person? Or would he have stayed on that path and become like their father?

Itsuki's questions were cruelly answered when Dabi revealed himself as Toya. Having years on fester on his childhood memories, Dabi strongly judged his brother. As he monologued on Gigantomachia's back, he listed his grievances about Itsuki. He considered Steampunk an embarrassment to the hero profession. Despite having a powerful quirk and good resources, Itsuki never cared about pushing himself. He was willing to settle for 76th place on the hero rankings. Dabi thought Itsuki was a worse puppet then Shoto and a freeloader off Enji's success. He accused that cowardice existing when they were kids, as Itsuki never choose a side for the family arguments.

Itsuki didn't freeze up in shock to Dabi's announcement, like Enji and Shoto. Instead, he began hysterically crying and shouting. He questioned why Dabi had to tell his family he was alive in the worst way possible. Why did he have to waste his miraculous revival and not become a hero like he always preached? Dabi points out Itsuki sounds regretful that he didn't die on the mountain, but was alive as a villain. The League member tries goading Itsuki into killing him, as he desperately tries to protect Shoto.

After the war, Itsuki took Dabi's broadcast the hardest. Itsuki didn't join his family in the hospital to unit against his eldest sibling. Instead, he quit being a hero and got drunk in an abandoned apartment. Itsuki assumed the Todoroki children would naturally forge their own lives over time and dramatic confrontations with their parents weren't needed. However since Dabi publicly exposed them, the family was forced to confront the past, whether they wanted to or not. Itsuki was haunted by Dabi laying out his weaknesses, one after the other, especially his temptation to kill the villain. When Fuyumi and Natsuo took a small piece of blame for Toya's downfall, Itsuki wouldn't do so. He insisted he was only an eight-year-old at the time and Dabi choose to become a villain himself. Itsuki refused to hunt Dabi down. He didn't want to indulge his brother and didn't want to risk his life for something he didn't feel responsible for.

Around the same time, Itsuki's one-night-stand was inspired by Dabi's broadcast. She publicly announced that she was pregnant and Itsuki was hesitate to support her. In a rare moment of twisted empathy, Dabi attacked his drunken brother after hearing that news story. He accused Itsuki of turning into their father. Upon discovering his alcoholism, the villain decided to ironically spare Itsuki. He claimed the steam user was already killing himself anyway. Dabi thought it would hurt Enji more if a second son kill himself, then a simple murder. Even if Itsuki lived longer, his baby could witness his true weak self and learn to not get attached.

After his murder attempt, Itsuki numbed any feelings he had towards Dabi. He refused to let his would-be-killer guilt or scare him anymore. Especially when Itsuki bumped into the families of Dabi's victims and realised the scoop of the suffering. He was apathetic whether his brother lived or died. Itsuki felt the Todoroki family was a lost cause and decided to focus on his unborn child. When he returned to hero work, he took jobs that didn't include his brother. When the two briefly glimpsed each other on the battle field, Itsuki ignored Dabi and went to fight other villains.

## Fuyumi Todoroki

Itsuki and Fuyumi have an amicable relationship. On an everyday basis, the two have pretty different personalities. While Fuyumi is modest and worrisome, Itsuki is outgoing and impulsive. Despite this, they know when to tone it down and have polite conversations. They don't share many hobbies, but they can lengthy gossips during gatherings. Due to being so strait-laced, Fuyumi can easily get flustered from silly things. Itsuki takes this to his advantage and loves to wind up his sister.

When Fuyumi took over Rei's material role, Itsuki took her slightly for granted. He struggled to remember their mother being around before the age of eight. He relied on Fuyumi to always be a steady presence within his life. Amongst the Todoroki siblings, Itsuki and Fuyumi probably argue the least. They share somewhat similar sentiments towards their family's future. Fuyumi wants everyone to reconcile and move forward as a normal family. Meanwhile, Itsuki isn't fussed about forgiveness and thinks everyone is better off with independent lives. When Natsuo yelled during Fuyumi's dinner, Itsuki tried acting as a mediator. He suggested the two don't get in each other's way: Fuyumi could be satisfied with a few relatives getting along and Natsuo shouldn't force himself to come to these events.

However, their lack of conflict can also be a weakness. They share a fear of rocking the boat. This can lead to them not expressing their true feelings and not allowing their relationship to progress. When Dabi revealed himself, it forced Fuyumi's and Itsuki's raw emotions to come pouring out. Both of them were surprised, but ultimately impressed they manged to present their truer selves. Fuyumi wanted Itsuki to find his own way in the world, by going to university and she wanted to enjoy her free time as a young adult more. After burdening herself for many years, Fuyumi wanted her own space to grow.

## Natsuo Todoroki

Itsuki and Natsuo have a rough-and-tumble dynamic that many brothers have. They used to play competitive games as boys, which turned into playful teasing as adults. Itsuki and Natsuo sharing a laugh was always important to them. As twins, they share certain traits, while differing in others. They were laidback social butterflies, but had polar opposites when it came to self-control. While Natsuo wanted to avoid trouble and ensure everyone was relaxed: Itsuki would be loud and encourage people to go wild. Itsuki got Natsuo to loosen up, while Natsuo kept the reigns on Itsuki. Together, they complemented each other's weaknesses.

Outside their causal interactions, they trust each other more then anyone. The two are open and direct, not hesitating to call each other out. After high school, Itsuki grew jealous of Natsuo's college lifestyle. At nineteen, Itsuki didn't feel ready for a fulltime job yet. He wanted the free time and guidance that students seemed to have. When Itsuki began indulging heavily in parties, Natsuo tries to keep him on the straight and narrow. Eventually, Natsuo suggests to pause his hero career and go to college himself, since he needs a space to mature. There were moments where Itsuki would advise his twin instead. The steam user suggested that Natsuo shouldn't force himself to go to Fuyumi's dinners, after blowing up at Enji. It wasn't healthy for himself or those around him.

On a deeper level, their mentalities parallel each other. Despite only being kids, Natsuo and Itsuki took the burden of being therapists for specific relatives. The twins are strong believers in accountability. For Natsuo, he has a righteous anger towards Enji and holds him solely responsible for their family's downfall. He draws a distinct line between a deliberate abuser and the criminally insane, especially due to his medical welfare degree. Natsuo believes Rei and Dabi's actions were beyond their control.

Unlike his twin, Itsuki retorts to quiet judgement towards wrongdoers. The Steam user focuses on the bigger picture and thinks about the potential nuances. Itsuki will assign blame to multiple people, holding them accountable, even if he acknowledges their mitigating factors. Because of this, Itsuki holds Rei and Dabi accountable for hurting others, not just Enji. Itsuki's opinions on Dabi was the biggest disagreement the twins ever had. Natsuo felt shocked and betrayed when Itsuki confessed he preferred Toya dying at thirteen, then surviving to become Dabi.