Then.

The hero commission is very much against bonds being built between their uprising heroes in this new program, and Touya Todoroki is very much aware of that. He's a chaotic good type of child with his own strong opinions on "right" and "wrong" and his wild mind is not limited to the rules. The young Todoroki has already made up his mind regardless of what the hero program rules state concerning this. One glimpse of those red wings and the decision was made.

The plan is simple, Touya thinks. He'd melt his way into the room to his left once the program announced lights out. Thirteen year old Touya has a bit of trouble keeping himself awake for so long; his eyelids felt heavy and muscles beg for rest. But Touya is determined. When the lights go out and the locks fasten on all the doors, Touya tip-toes into his closet and presses his scarred hands, hot but not ablaze, to the wall. The paint melts in seconds, but the cement takes a little longer. Still, before long, there's a small hole, large enough for Touya to slip through.

Keigo Takami never had trouble sleeping when he lived with his parents. Sleeping was all he could ever do since his father drilled agoraphobia into his head since the day the winged boy was born. Keigo was always drained, always exhausted, and so when even the slightest bit of drowsiness knocked on his door, he would accept it without hesitation and drift into a dream-filled world. Things are different now, though, because Keigo no longer lives with his parents. His abusive father was arrested for murder and robbery, and his mother had signed her son's life away to the hero commission.

So here he is, legs draped over the side of his bed, eyes dull and body limp. He can't sleep without the sound of breaking glass bottles and drunken curses; without kicks to his ribs and lack of food and water for days on end. Sleep is far away, and no matter how much Keigo calls for it, it never comes. Maybe it's because of the haunting silhouette of his father lurking in the corners of his new room. Keigo ignores it, though, and instead stares into the darkness of his closet. Maybe if he looks hard enough, a portal will appear to suck him into a better world. 

No, that's wishful thinking. Unrealistic. At the raw age of twelve, Keigo knows better. His reality is this institution; his reality is an abusive, criminal father and a mental unstable, neglective mother; no, his reality is no family at all. Things will never lighten up.

Or so he thought. Because just as Keigo's eyelids threaten to dip closed, a tinge of blue can be seen in the closet. The cement begins to melt away, forming an entrance of some sort. Keigo squints, trying to tell whether or not this is real. He hops off his bed, gripping his sharpest feather in his hand as he nears. When the hole is big enough, a leg slips through. Then another. There's a torso, a bit of awkward twisting, and then a boy stands in front of him. With wild red hair and icy blue eyes, Touya flashes Keigo a toothy grin, and a tradition is born.