Chapter Text
By the time Natsuo’s quirk should presents, Enji is already resigned. He knows, just by looking at him, that he’s not the child he’s looking for, but the day his quirk was supposed to appear… nothing happened. No ice. No fire. Nothing.
Quirkless.
That’s what the doctors said.
From all things he had expected, having a quirkless kid was never an option.
Looking at the boy, he almost felt like laughing. He was young, but he could tell already he had a stronger complexion than Touya.
God, what was he even doing?
How many more kids did he need? He knew it was possible. He knew that with Rei’s quirk, he could… he could have what he was looking for. But looking at Natsuo, he couldn’t help to wonder if it’d be all for nothing. What if this kept happening? What if, instead of getting the perfect quirk, he kept getting defective children? Ice and fire were too different, their nature was to oppose each other, after all. What if the next kid was an ice user with a weakness for cold? At least an ice user with fire resistance had some potential but… Enji wanted his fire to keep burning. Like a torch he’d handle to one of his sons, like a symbol of passing over his strength. A way for Enji to reach the top, like a phoenix.
But, perhaps, that was always a foolish dream.
He wondered, for a moment, if this was how Touya had felt the day they discovered his own fire hurt him. A soul made of fire trapped in a body made for ice. What a sick joke.
They didn’t do this kind of thing often, but when Fuyumi had asked if they could have a picnic, Touya and Natsuo made it very hard to refuse.
So new they were here, sitting under a Sakura tree, with a large bento box open in front of them. Rei and Fuyumi had prepared it together the night before, apparently.
“I helped prepare the tuna!” Touya said, crossing his arms.
“And I ate a bunny!” Natsuo said proudly from his mother’s lap, as he reached for a bunny-shaped apple.
This felt like a waste of time, but it wasn’t that bad. April was a good month to come to the park and watch the Sakura trees in bloom. It was his free day and it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. All he could do was sit and watch his children play, knowing none of them would be heroes.
“Here…” said Rei with a small smile, offering him a plate with two rice balls and vegetables. “It was a nice idea to come here. Thank you,” she said.
A flower fell on her head. The pink resting against the white stood out beautifully. Rei was a very beautiful woman.
“It’s not bad to take a free day now and then” he said, softly, and raised a hand to take the flower from her head. She had expected her to flinch away, but instead, she remained still and leaned against his touch. It was the first time she did something like that.
She was always distant and had a nervous nature. Even when they laid in bed, she seemed tense. But, now that he thought about it, she seemed more relaxed, lately. She smiled more, too.
For a moment, Enji wondered what would happen if he leaned down and kissed her. There was a big chance of her welcoming the gesture, he realized, but the idea embarrassed him enough to not do it. After finishing their meal, the kids left the mat to play with the ball they brought.
Enji watched them from a distance. Since they came here in the middle of the week, the park was mostly empty, and only the voices of his children reached their ears as they played.
“Touya is doing a lot better,” Rei said, by his side. “I was… I was scared for him. I knew he was slipping away, and I had no idea how to help him. But you did. You have helped him so much…” she said.
“He… I thought he needed a distraction” he said.
“I think… he wanted to spend time with you, more than anything else” Rei said as she leaned against his arm. The day was a bit cold, but she was warm against his body.
That night, Rei opened to him like a flower.
Usually, whenever they did this, the room was dark, and it was quick. They slept together with a purpose. Whenever Rei laid with him, the expected end was a pregnancy.
But that night, as Enji reached over to caress her hair and she moved closer to him, he wasn’t expecting anything at all. As her soft, trembling fingers reached over to caress his face, Enji wondered if this was all a dream.
Her skin smelled like roses and he wondered why he had never noticed that.
Rei was… passionate. When he kissed her back and let his hands gently wander inside her shirt, the soft moan that escaped her mouth made him shiver.
Her breasts were soft and warm and yet, when he touched them, they didn’t break apart like he had expected. Instead, Rei seemed to awake in his arms as she moved to sit on top of him. It was the first time he looked at her like this: from above, taking the initiative, touching him without hesitation, making noises he had never heard before.
Rei was warm and tight around him and, when they moved together, it wasn’t rushed. Enji wasn’t wearing a condom and Rei wasn’t taking any pills, but he wasn’t thinking about it. All he could think of was Rei and how much he wanted this to last. He didn’t even think how, after almost nine years of marriage, this was the first time they had made love.
Enji was a bit lost.
Rei was pregnant again and she would give birth in a month, maybe less, but this felt different. This time, he wasn’t anxious about the birth. He didn’t count the days and didn’t start making plans. Judging by his previous attempts, he knew this baby wouldn’t have the perfect quirk. The thing was… he wasn’t even mad about it.
This last couple of months had been… nice. He was still the number two hero and none of his kids were going to surpass All Might any time soon. The idea still disappointed him a little and sometimes, on a bad day, it’d made him angry, but he wasn’t as desperate as before.
Touya had his little hands full: between his first aid classes and the Akido lessons, Enji had expected him to be distracted enough to not think about anything else. But, once again, he had surprised him. Ever since he heard Rei was pregnant, he didn’t even let her stand up for too long, even when she was in perfect health.
“Pregnant women fall down all the time! Didn’t you know?” he had protested. Enji really needed to ask his instructors to stop telling him horror stories about pregnancies. Or at least to stop answering his questions.
Touya followed Rei around like it was his duty to protect her. He had no idea where that came from, but Enji didn’t stop him. He also helped more around the house, now that he thought about it. If Natsuo cried, he was the first to calm him down, and remind him they should be good and not trouble their mom.
In exchange, Rei always caressed his hair and said:
“My precious little hero” before leaning down to kiss his cheek.
Enji thought that wasn’t a good thing to say to him. It was a sensitive topic, after all, but Touya didn’t seem to mind. He always blushed all the way up to his ears and cleaned his cheek with the back of his sleeve.
“Gross, mom” he said, but there was always a smile on his lips.
Everything was going fine.
Until it wasn’t.
Enji hadn’t realized all of that had been an act until Touya’s mask finally broke.
He had seen the flames from the bedroom. He woke up in the middle of the night with Rei comfortably resting against him.
Enji had looked at her in her sleep when a flash of light lit her face. Curious, he stood up and looked outside the window, just to find a red flame that came and went in the middle of the forest.
And he knew. He knew it was Touya. Who else could it be, but his son? His stubborn, foolish son.
In a blink, he was running barefoot in the middle of the night, following the bright light of the flames and, soon, the sharp sounds of his voice.
“Touya” he said, breathless, as he watched his son covered in smoke and reddening wounds. “What are you doing?!” he demanded.
“I- I almost got it” Touya said with a big smile on his face, but he didn’t seem happy. He looked… desperate. “It turned blue. It only lasted a few seconds, but it did! I can do it, I just need more practice” he said, quickly.
Enji looked down at his arms. They looked bad, but the scaring wouldn’t be too severe if they treated it right away.
“Look!” Touya said, but Enji held his hands before he activated his quirk.
“Touya, stop! You are hurting yourself” he said, as if it wasn’t obvious. Touya certainly acted as if he couldn’t see it.
“I can do it!” he said. “I really can! That’s why- that’s why you don’t need to replace me!” Touya said and now, the despair was in his voice, as well.
“Replace you? What are you talking about?” he asked.
“The baby” Touya said. “You think that I don’t notice, but I do! I know- I know why you had Natsuo and I know why mom kept… But I’m working hard! And if I- if I do it, then- then you’ll- you’ll be happy I was born, and you won’t need to have other kids. You- you’ll be happy with the ones you have!” he screamed, with tears in his eyes.
Touya’s quirk was made of fire, but it that moment, Enji felt his heart freeze.
He had been so obsessed, even Rei had said it once, didn’t she? Right before they started to try for Natsuo. She had said Touya could tell what this was about. He had thought that spending time with him and distracting him from his dream of becoming a hero would be enough, but it wasn’t.
“I am” Enji said, kneeling in front of him. “I am glad you were born” he said. “But I’m not happy about you, getting hurt”.
He had thought that was obvious, that he didn’t need to say it out loud. And yet, here they were.
“Touya, you don’t need to do all this. You are having a brother or sister… because married people… because that’s how families work” he said, awkwardly. “You don’t need to do this. You don’t need to be an extraordinary hero. Besides…” he said, thinking back of those words. The words he had heard but couldn’t understand.
“Besides, there are other ways of being a hero” he said, and, for the first time, he understood them. “Heroes help people, don’t they? So far, you are already doing that. You help your mother, you protect your sister, you even take care of my wounds. As long as you help others, that’s enough to make you a hero” he said.
That night, Touya cried against his chest until he fell asleep, but Enji didn’t dare to move. He had been so blinded by his ambition, that he hadn’t noticed how much Touya was hurting. Rei had seen it, then why? Why couldn’t he see it too?
With a sigh, he picked up Touya and brought him inside. This time, it was his turn to take care of Touya’s wounds.
The day Rei started labor, Enji was busy working, so it had been Rei’s mother who ended up driving her to the hospital.
He got the message as soon as he returned to the agency so, by the time he reached the hospital, the baby had already been born.
He was nervous. It was always nerve wracking to meet your new son. He was already wondering if he’d have a tiny red head, like Touya’s or a white one, like Natsuo, or maybe he’d have a mix of both, like Fuyumi.
Enji secretly hoped he had grey eyes, like Rei. She had beautiful eyes, after all. Either way, Enji would make sure to protect him.
It had almost been a month since he found Touya training in the forest and, since then, he had promised himself to do better.
He made a quick stop at the flower shop. He picked a bouquet of amaryllis and took the elevator towards her room.
Ever since they knew Rei was expecting, they had been thinking about baby names. Rei liked Kitaro, for a boy. Enji liked Akira, better. Akira Todoroki… It had a nice ring to it. Sure, it was a common name, but he didn’t mind. Even if his son was a common boy, he’d be extraordinary just for being his son. He could be an amazing doctor, or maybe even a recognized chef. He could be a model, if he looked anything like Rei, or perhaps he could become…
He could become…
Enji opened the door of the room, but he could barely move. This was-
After everything he had done…
In Rei’s arms, their baby, their son…
Enji had helped Touya. He had done a good action and now the gods were rewarding him, he thought, as he took a step towards them. He was looking at the baby in pure awe. He was as big as Natsuo when he was born. He didn’t look thin and small the way Touya had. This baby…
He was perfect.
He didn’t even have to wait for him to turn three, Enji already knew. Just looking at his hair: half red, half white. After all this time. It was finally here. His chance of surpassing All Might. It was finally here, in front of him.
“The doctor said he’s very healthy” Rei said, still looking down at the baby, marveled, but not for the same reasons as Enji. “Have you decided on a name?” she asked him.
“Shouto” Enji said, as he fell on the chair next to Rei. “Todoroki Shouto”.