Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shouta hadn’t planned for Hitoshi. He hadn’t planned for children at all. At eighteen (almost nineteen, but that meant shit all) he could barely be considered an adult himself. He wasn’t even legally able to drink. All he was concerned with was his work as a Pro Hero, and making sure he ate and slept enough for Hizashi and Nemuri to get off his back.

But life didn’t give a single fuck about what Shouta wanted, just ask Oboro.

So, instead of Shouta’s easy plan for the night (finishing his patrol, choking down whatever leftover Hizashi had left in his fridge, then summarily passing out on his futon), he was at the emergency room. Watching, unblinkingly, as the ER staff tended to a worryingly small toddler. Where else was he supposed to be after he found the kid wandering the streets of Tokyo, out of his mind with a fever.

And a muzzle locked around his head.

Sheer anger still thrummed through his veins, his eyes narrowed at the innocent hospital workers as they checked for infections. They needed to wait for an oral surgeon to get on site, since apparently the kid’s fucking mouth was wired shut as well. Cold metal around his eyes- sores from uncleaned material and sweat- harsh words from teachers and students alike- Whatever this kid’s (toddler’s) quirk was, it was not one that the world was kind to.

Once the attending surgeon arrived, the ER doctor pulled Shouta to the side, a grim understanding in his eyes as he made sure to remain in the kid’s line of sight, “I’m not going to sugar coat it, Eraserhead-san.” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the doctor sighed, “This situation isn’t good, and it isn’t the first time we’ve seen Hitoshi-kun here.”

Shouta’s eyes flickered between the doctor and the kid- Hitoshi, his name is Hitoshi-, nodding curtly for him to continue. With pursed lips, the older man grimaced, “This is the first time it’s been so severe, but none of his foster homes have been too kind to him since his quirk developed…”

“What could be so bad they’d muzzle a child ?”

A pained look now, “Brainwash, I believe they call it? Limited mind control requiring a verbal call and response. The last time he was here, we called his foster home and they said they had no interest in ‘raising a future villain’...”

He growled low in his throat, ignoring the shocked look on the doctor’s face, “... He’s not going back to the bastards that did this to him.”

“... While I understand your concern, Eraserhead-san, it’s most likely he’s just going to end up back in a different foster home. The fact you found him wandering the streets… It’s most likely Hitoshi-kun’s current foster family already doesn't want him back…”

Shouta watched as the attending carefully inspected Hitoshi’s now free jaw. Unbidden, memories from school, of a small pitiful cat, surfaced with a scowl. A child and a kitten weren’t anything to compare to one another, but-

I’m powerless- I’m powerless- There’s no Oboro to save him if I turn away. There’s no Nemuri waiting in the wings who’ll take him in-

“You could do just about anything if you put your mind to it.”

Closing his eyes, Shouta squared his shoulders, “Alright then.”

--

The process to get custody of Hitoshi was… depressingly easy. No other foster home in the system, even with the 72,000¥ monthly allowance, wanted to take in a ‘future villain.’ So by the end of the process, the Foster Care office was basically tripping over themselves to get Shouta registered to take Hitoshi in as soon as possible. They even went as far as registering him as a Specialized Foster parent. He only made so much working as an Underground Pro, so the extra 123,000¥ a month was appreciated. Even still, it left an ashy taste in his mouth.

He only needed to be ‘specialized’ because of all the shit Hitoshi went through under their watch, after all.

In the end, it didn’t matter. In the end, what mattered was the relief of seeing the kid safe in his shitty one room apartment tentatively inspecting the barebone furnishing. He had managed to find a kid’s futon at a local thrift store, but decided for everything else it would be better to bring Hitoshi along. They definitely needed to stop at a clothing store, going by the woefully small and light bag the kid had come with.

As Shouta flopped down on one of the zabuton, Hitoshi froze and stared at him wearily. Carefully, slowly, he moved over to the other cushion and took a seat, bowing his head. He fought to keep his poker face as he stomped down his anger. It wasn’t the kid’s fault that he reacted like a kicked dog, and he wouldn’t understand that Shouta’s irritation wasn’t his fault.

“You wear your stress all over your sleeve, and drag down the people who need saving.”

Nakaoji’s words bouncing around his head, Shouta let out a slow breath, “So, Hitoshi-kun.” The kid flinched at his words and Shouta wanted to scream, “Hey, you’re fine. I was just gonna say, once you get your bearings we can go shopping.”

Hitoshi frowned, eyes darting around the small apartment. Even with his evident confusion, the kid still said nothing.

“I got you a bed and a place to put your clothes,” Shouta pushed past the sheer confusion on Hitoshi’s face, “But I don’t know what type of clothes, or toys, or whatever you like. So we can go to Daiso or wherever we need.”

Wildly, Hitoshi shook his head as his frown only deepened. He just frowned back at the child, “‘No?’ Why not? I’ve got the money, and this is gonna be your home too. We’ll stop at Sunshine too, we can grab foods that you like.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh, “I don’t know much about cooking, but we’ll figure it out…”

An overwhelmed look overtook the kid’s face, his small hands fisting into his pants. Seeing the sheen of tears in his eyes, Shouta leaned forward and placed a hand on the ground before him, “I know it’s a lot. It doesn’t feel real. But I’m-“ blowing a breath out his nose, he gave the kid his best smile, “I’m gonna be right here, doing my best to protect and support you, Hitoshi-kun. Well after it starts feeling real to you, alright? I’ve got you.”

A small hand came to rest in his hand, the kid giving him a tentative nod.

An exhale. Ok, it’s a start.

--

It turned out that going clothes shopping with a kid who refused to speak and express his opinions and an adult(?) who only wore his hero uniform or pajamas was… difficult. Sure, the essentials like underwear and socks were easy enough, even pants were straight forward. But both he and Hitoshi were stuck as they came to the shirt and jacket section.

There were so many colors and patterns hanging from each rack. Shouta wore black, the only real ‘pop’ of color being his yellow goggles, he didn’t know the first thing about what colors a kid should wear. All he knew was a voice that sounded too much like Nemuri rang in his head sternly, You cannot dress a kid in only black, Shouta!

Clearing his throat, he looked down at Hitoshi, “... Do you want to pick out your own shirts?”

The look Hitoshi gave him seemed to yell, I’m four, remember?

Groaning, Shouta rubbed his chin, “Can you at least show me what colors you like…?” Hitoshi was still staring at him, and the feeling of shopping housewives staring at him had begun to weigh on him. Crouching down to Hitoshi’s level, Shouta sighed, “Do you like bright colors or darker colors?” He held up a hand for each option, looking at the kid imploringly.

After a second of Hitoshi eyeing him, the four year old tapped the hand for ‘darker colors.’ Ok, I can work with this. Nodding, Shouta curled that hand closed, “Alright. Do you want black like I wear, or do you want something else?”

The hand for ‘something else’ gets tapped this time.

“Alright… do you like reds or blues more?”

‘Blues.’

A small grin spread across Shouta’s face, “Ok, one more… Do you want solid colors or patterns and stuff?”

Hitoshi hesitated, hand frozen in front of him as he looked between Shouta and the clothes around them. Softly, Shouta murmured, “If you want both, you can tap both of my hands.”

Nervous purple eyes stared at him as Hitoshi carefully tapped both of his hands. Shouta gently squeezed the small hands, giving the kid a nod, “Both it is. Let’s go look, Hitoshi-kun.”

After that, Hitoshi slowly opened up more, even scrunching his nose unhappily as Shouta picked out a shirt the kid didn’t like. By the time they got to Daiso, Hitoshi trotted a few meters in front of Shouta, either pointing to toys he wanted or just grabbing something and placing it in the cart.

Hitoshi was less interested in the plates and utensils, but brightened up when they got to the cups. Looking at the options, Shouta’s eyebrows furrowed, “.... Do you need a sippy cup?”

When he glanced down, Hitoshi’s face was outright insulted, his nose wrinkled tightly as he shook his head. Shouta huffed at the kid, “How am I supposed to know, kid? You still need training chopsticks, it’s not a far guess.”

He sniffed at Shouta, pointedly picking up an All Might cup on the shelf and dropping it with the rest of their purchases. With a roll of his eyes, Shouta ruffled the kid’s hair, “Ok, I got it. You’re still getting those partitioned plate things though.”

Staring at him, Hitoshi nodded slowly, as if saying Yes, since I’m four.

--

Two days later, Shouta and Hitoshi were in their apartment’s small kitchen contemplating a pile of ingredients. The kid was sitting on the counter, looking between the food and Shouta with a doubtful look.

Wrinkling his nose, Shouta rolled up his sleeves, “Don’t give me that look, Hitoshi-kun, I can do this.”

Poking an egg on the counter, he nodded slowly at Shouta. Rolling his eyes, Shouta grabbed the egg pointedly, “How hard can it be? I’ve survived this long, I’m sure I can make oyakodon.”

Hitoshi shifted further away on the counter, looking pointedly at the stove. Shouta pulled a face at the kid, “I know how to cook well enough to not cause a fire. Have some faith, will you?”

The kid stuck his tongue out at him, his nose scrunched up as the front door clicked open. And Hizashi’s familiar loud voice rang out, “Yo, yo, yo! Shouta! You haven’t been answering your phone, bud! Well, more than usual that is! Nemuri even said you haven’t replied to her Sushi pictures!”

They move quickly, Shouta clicking the stove range off when Hitoshi jumped and stumbled off the counter to cling to Shouta’s pants. The two of them froze and stared, as Hizashi stopped in the genkan. Lowering his shoes slowly, the blond pursed his lips at them, “... Hey, Shouta, who’s the kid…?”

Crouching down, he gave his friend a pointed look before carefully wrapping an arm around Hitoshi. Whispering softly, he squeezed the kid, “Hey, it’s ok. I know he’s loud, but he’s safe. He’s a Pro Hero too.” Trembling, Hitoshi’s purple eyes stared at him pleadingly, “His name’s Yamada Hizashi, his hero name is Present Mic. He’s my friend.”

Once Hitoshi’s trembling calmed down, he picked the boy up and held him to his chest as he made his way to Hizashi. Taking the cue, Hizashi met them halfway in the center of the apartment, giving Hitoshi a tentative smile, “Hey little listener, what’s your name?”

Small hands tightened in Shouta’s shirt as he sighed, “... This is Shinsou Hitoshi. I’m fostering him.”

Hizashi’s brow furrowed, “Is he not old enough to talk, Shouta?”

Hitoshi flinched, Shouta smoothing a hand through his hair, “... Sit down, Hizashi. It’s a long story.”

By the end, Shouta could see Hizashi fighting to conceal his anger. His own brow was pinched, the memories reviving the heat of rage he’d felt when he found Hitoshi. He bit it back however, as the kid pulled on his sleeve and motioned to his stomach pointedly. Nodding, Shouta stood up, “We were in the middle of making lunch. We can keep talking while I cook.”

“... You’re going to cook, Shouta?” Hizashi gave him an incredulous look, Hitoshi immediately copying the expression.

Narrowing his eyes, Shouta waved his hand, “Don’t you start too, I’m perfectly capable of cooking.”

“Uh-huh, how about, instead, since I intruded on you two, I’ll cook instead?” Before Shouta could even retort, Hizashi was in the kitchen pulling on an apron. Shouta would have protested, if he hadn’t felt Hitoshi sag in relief into his side. Instead, he just sighed and carried the kid over to sit on the counter again so they could watch the other man cook.

As he chopped away, Hizashi hummed, “So have you signed Hitoshi-kun up for kindergarten yet? He’s the age for nenshou right?”

“...?” Shouta tilted his head, “Kindergarten’s optional, right?”

“Well, yea, when you got someone at home watching your kid, Shouta! You at least gotta figure out a sitter or even find a public daycare. Plus, Hitoshi-kun here’s gotta get socialized with other kids!” Shouta and Hitoshi both eyed Hizashi wearily, the blond shaking his head, “Probably a private daycare, honestly. It’s way past the enrollment time for a kindergarten, and the amount of kids at a public one would probably freak the little listener out.”

Picking up one of Hitoshi’s cat plushies and handing it to the kid, Shouta leaned on the counter, “How do you know so much about this, Hizashi?”

As he continued to prepare the food, Hizashi waved a hand, “My mom would complain about it to me when she had to sign my little sibling up.”

Nodding, Shouta hummed, “What do you think, Hitoshi-kun?” Once the kid looked up from his plushie, Shouta raised his hands, “Do you want me to try and find a small daycare, or is a big one fine?”

Hitoshi contemplated his hands as Hizashi frowned, “You’re gonna have him decide, Shouta?”

Keeping eye contact with the kid, Shouta nodded, “Yea. He’s gotta know I’m gonna take what he wants into account when it comes to decisions, right? Hitoshi-kun?”

Looking up, a small smile flickered across Hitoshi’s lips. After a moment of silence, a small hand tapped ‘small,’ and Shouta nodded, “Alright, sounds good. I’ll do my best, Hitoshi-kun.”

Hitoshi made a soft happy noise before he wriggled on the counter, pulling on Shouta’s sleeve. Once he tilted his head, the kid pointed to his pile of toys in the corner, “Gotcha, gotcha, kid. Hold on…” After Shouta placed him on the ground Hitoshi went to play, leaving the adults alone.

Glancing back, Shouta caught an odd look in Hizashi’s eyes that quickly disappeared, replaced by a smile, “You really figured out a communication system with him, huh Shouta?”

“Mmm yea…” folding his arms, Shouta leaned his chin down, “One day he’s gonna be comfortable enough to talk again.”

Shaking his head, Hizashi laughed, “With you there? I don’t doubt it, bud.” Reaching over the counter, he gave a small tap to the top of his head, “Let me help you, yea?”

Shouta mumbled, “You didn’t sign up for this, I did, Hizashi.”

“Mmm yea, but even if we’re not a hero team, we’re still a team right?”

Glancing up, Shouta stared at his friend before nodding slowly, “... Yea I guess you’re right.”

“Awesome! So first order of business, making sure you don’t accidentally poison the kid!”

“My cooking is not that bad!”

--

They fell into an easy pattern after that, once Shouta got Hitoshi enrolled in a nearby daycare. They’d wake up, eat a simple breakfast, get Hitoshi dressed and dropped off at daycare, and Shouta would be off to do his patrols around the city. Then, once it was time for pickup, Shouta would get Hitoshi and go home, where they’d have dinner, watch TV or play with the kid’s toys, wash up for the night, before eventually falling asleep to do it all again the next day.

It was easy enough to say, but that didn’t mean it worked out all the time. Shouta was still a pro so his schedule was unpredictable at the best of times. So sometimes, Nemuri or Hizashi would have to go pick Hitoshi up for Shouta, if he was delayed for too long. Or he’d have to ask a neighbor to keep an eye on the kid if an emergency came up after daycare.

Their lives were hectic and unpredictable, but it was theirs.  

Shouta did his best with Hitoshi, giving him a heads up whenever he thought he might not be able to pick up the kid himself. Or explain the best he could why he needed to leave to go help other local heroes. And while the kid still didn’t speak, Shouta liked to think he knew Hitoshi well enough by that point. That the nod he received was of understanding and acceptance when he needed to leave. That the bright smile when he came back safe and sound was one of happiness at his return.

One night, as Shouta fought his insomnia, trying to get any sleep, he heard Hitoshi stir. Rather, he heard soft muffled whines and whimpers coming from the boy. Sluggishly lifting his own head, Shouta watched quietly as the small lump under the other futon shivered.

A nightmare, then…?

Quietly pushing out of his futon, Shouta slowly padded over to Hitoshi, only stopping briefly to pick up one of the kid’s stuffed toys. Carefully, he laid down on the ground beside the futon and placed the plushie near the opening of the blanket. Stretching one of his arms over the top of the futon, Shouta let out a soft reassuring hum, “You awake, Hitoshi-kun…?”

A startled noise was the only response he received, but it was enough, “Hey, it’s fine. A nightmare or bad memories got to you, right?”

Hitoshi made a soft affirmative sound.

“I get it… they’re scary right? I get them too.” Staring at the ceiling, Shouta sighed softly, “Whatever you need, I’m here.” Shifting his hand, he gave the cat plushie a tap, “I brought Himechan too, so you can hug her.”

Small arms snaked out of the covers, wrapping around the toy. As Shouta waited, eventually purple hair and eyes peeked out to stare at him. Smiling softly, he tilted his head into the crook of his arm, “There you are, Hitoshi-kun.”

The kid wriggled under his covers, his teeth catching his lip. “Mmm, c’mere, I’ll tell you a story, ok?”

Shifting, the kid squirmed to rest against Shouta’s chest. Wrapping his arm to cradle Hitoshi, Shouta closed his eyes, “There you go, Hikkun.” Humming softly, he began, “Once upon a time, there was an old woodcutter and his wife…”

By the time Shouta finished the story, Hitoshi was snoring quietly on his chest. Face lax, the four year old’s small hands were loosely fisted in Shouta’s shirt. With a quiet hum, Shouta pressed a soft kiss to the crown of his kid’s head, “G’night, Hikkun.” Before falling asleep himself, knowing the crick he would have in his neck the next morning was well worth it.

--

Shouta had not meant to leave Hitoshi alone for this long. At all, ideally, but things had not gone as he had planned. They had been making dinner when Shouta realized they were out of milk and soy sauce. Normally he would have just brought Hitoshi out to the store with him, but the kid was tired, pleasantly overwhelmed from the time he had spent with Nemuri before Shouta got home.

So, he had thought foolishly, Hitoshi would be fine alone at home in the ten minutes it’d take him to run to the conbini and back. And if he had anyone’s luck other than his own, it would have been fine. But no, he was Aizawa Shouta.

And life did not give a fuck about what he wanted.

When he got to the conbini around the corner, he found that it was closed for renovations. Fine, no problem, there was another one five minutes away. Hitoshi was a good kid, he’d be fine in the time it took for him to get to the other one and back.

Which is why, of course, on his way to the other conbini he saw a villain being chased down. Which delayed him by half an hour, since he had to stop and help. And then that conbini was out of milk, somehow. So he had to run to the next closest conbini, where they didn’t even have the brand of soy sauce Hitoshi liked. But by that point he’d been gone for over an hour and needed to get back to his kid.

Hitoshi was a good kid, he wouldn’t get into trouble on purpose. But the kid didn’t talk, not to mention calling out if he was in trouble. Images of shattered glass and his kid bleeding out, or him slipping in the bathroom and hitting his head, or ( gods forbid ) a villain attacking the apartment building in his absence all spun in Shouta’s head as he ran home.

The building was still standing when he rounded the corner, but that didn’t slow the pounding of his feet or heart as he dashed up the stairs. There was no villain, no fire, no crying that he could hear as he burst through the front door panting for air, his eyes searched the apartment, “Hikkun, I’m sorry I took so long-!”

There, in the center of their apartment Hitoshi crouched unharmed, staring at him with his wide purple eyes. That was fine. That was a relief! What wasn’t expected was that Hitoshi wasn’t alone.

Four kids sat with his kid, grey and blue eyes staring at him with varying levels of weariness and fear. White and red haired, scuffed and dirtied kids, frozen in the middle of wrapping a bandage poorly around one of the boy’s arms. The only girl shook, the roll of cloth falling out of her hands as she whimpered softly.

A boy barely bigger than Hitoshi was curled up on his kid’s futon, clutching onto a plushie as shudders wracked his body. 

Once the door fell closed behind him, Shouta watched as Hitoshi slowly stood up and walked over to him. A small hand reached up and curled around his fingers, pleading purple eyes turned up to him. As a small voice, soft and weak from disuse, spoke, “Help them… Please, dad.”

As Shouta’s son asked him to help these hurt and lost kids.

Closing his eyes, he dropped to his knees and clutched Hitoshi to his chest, “... Yea… Yea, ok, Hikkun.”

Chapter Text

Telling Hitoshi that he would help the kids was easier said than done, Shouta found out. Whatever the situation was that pushed the four onto the streets was not one that lent itself to trust. The largest boy had positioned himself between Shouta and the toddler, constantly readjusting whenever Shouta moved around the apartment.

Even as he started tending to the burns and cuts on the skinnier boy, the girl hovered close by with unblinking eyes. All while the injured boy trained a burning sharp glare on Shouta as he worked.

“... Alright,” tying off the last bandage around the kid’s forearm, Shouta looked up at the kid, “Anything else?” Confusion flickered over the boy’s face before distrust reclaimed its place as Shouta shook his head, “Injuries, are there any more? On you or your siblings.”

The kid’s lips pressed together, silent, until the girl leaned forward to murmur, “Nii-san… Shouchan…”

He sighed, before he rubbed an unbandaged hand over his face, “...My little brother… his temperature’s all out of balance.”

Shouta’s brows furrowed, “How? The weather’s been mild recently.”

With a snarl, the boy tried to lurch to his feet, “If you’re not gonna help him-”

“I never said that,” Standing, he motioned to Hitoshi, “Hikkun, go grab your pajamas and an extra set for your friend.”

His son gave him a confused look as he stood to go to his dresser, “Why?”

Even with his gaze locked on the toddler, he still saw the synchronized flinches and worried looks the siblings gave them. Fuck , “A lukewarm bath is our best bet to get him feeling better with his temperature. Might as well get your’s out of the way at the same time.”

As he pulled the clothes out, Hitoshi’s nose wrinkled, “... I don’t wanna bathe… ‘M still hungry.”

Cringing, Shouta gave his kid an apologetic smile, “We’ll make it quick, Hikkun. And we can order take out, alright? What we have isn’t enough now that we have guests, anyway.”

“... Okay, dad,” Hitoshi gave him a small smile before making his way to the bathroom with the clothes.

Motioning towards the other toddler, Shouta looked at the white haired siblings, “C’mon, let’s get his temperature back in order.” When all he got was confused stares, he heaved out a sigh, “You’re not going to trust me alone with him, right? Or to pick him up? So I need one of you to bring him with us.”

Eventually, the girl scooped the small kid up and they all followed Shouta to the bath. Crouching down to start the water, he let his head thunk against the tiled wall. This is definitely not included in the hero license test.. . Once the temperature was right, he motioned to the tub, “That should be good, if you want to put him in.”

After Hitoshi and the kid were both in the 10cm of water, he got to work under the careful gaze of the older kids. His eyes narrowed as he realized the kid was both hot and cold, his gaze flickering towards the older kids, “You never answered me, why is his temperature like this?”

Exchanging nervous glances, the bandaged boy crossed his arms tightly as his siblings looked away, “... You won’t believe us. No one ever believes us.”

“...” after carefully pouring the water over Hitoshi’s hair, Shouta sighed, “... Did Hikkun speak at all before I came home?”

The girl frowned at him, before shaking her head, “No… he said he knew somewhere safe for us but didn’t say anything else…”

Bright purple eyes blinked up at him before Hitoshi giggled at Shouta’s fond smile, “... I found Hikkun on the streets with a fever and a muzzle locked around his head. His last foster home did that to him before kicking him out.” Glancing up from his son, Shouta looked at the kids, “No one wanted to take care of him ‘cause he had a ‘villain quirk.’ No one believed me when I told them teachers were forcing blindfolds on me because of my quirk, either. 

“So, try me. What won’t I believe?”

The siblings were quiet as Shouta carefully poured the water over the kid, watching as awareness slowly returned to his (mismatched? Heterochromia?) eyes. Finally the boy who had sat beside the toddler spoke haltingly, “Our father… he trained him and nii-san in their quirks… but it’s more than just training…”

The bandaged boy scoffed, his brows furrowed, “He didn’t give a shit that Shouchan is just three and needs breaks. Or that my body wasn’t made for my quirk so it hurts me…”

“...So those burns on your arms?”

“From him… and my quirk…”

Frowning, Shouta carefully began working shampoo into Hitoshi’s hair, “... If your quirk burns you, probably fire or similar, but it’s not made for it…” Shouta’s mind ran through the facts, taking in the bright red of the toddler’s hair and the blue eye he shared with his brother, “... Your brother has that… and whatever quirk your body is made for?”

The girl squirmed, her voice soft as she chewed her lip, “Ice and fire…”

Puzzle pieces fell into place as Shouta groaned softly, “... What’re your names, kids? I’m not liking this picture I’m starting to see.”

The oldest growled at him, blue eyes narrowed, “Only if you swear not to tell the police.”

“I’m literally a pro hero, kid.”

“I don’t give a fuck, if you tell the cops they’ll bring us back to him-!”

Rubbing his face, ignoring the soapy water getting in his hair, Shouta shook his head, “Like fuck I’m letting you go back to an obviously fucked up situation. I promised my son I’d help you.”

Three sets of eyes stared at him, the weight resting heavy on Shouta’s shoulders as he watched Hitoshi show the other, now lucid, toddler a bath toy. Finally,

“Todoroki Touya.”

“Fuyumi.”

“Natuso. That’s Shouto.”

Of course, of fucking course. Even if Shouta didn’t care for the man, he would have to be blind to not recognize the signature blue eyes and red hair of the current Number Two hero. Even if ‘Todoroki’ was a common surname, paired with those features…

“Fuck.”

--

After dinner, and once the toddlers had been put down for bed, Shouta sat down with Touya, Fuyumi and Natsuo. Fed, warm and clean, the three seemed far more agreeable, the oldest occupied with braiding his sister’s hair instead of glaring at him.

Sighing, Shouta rubbed a hand over his face, “Alright, tell me how you got here.”

“We already did,” Touya glared at him, over his sister’s head. So much for that…

“No, you told me Shouto’s quirk and your situation back with your parents. Not what led to you running away now,” he watched as the three mulled over his words, until Touya finally sighed and looked at him.

“Do you know about Quirk marriages?” 

Nodding slowly, Shouta frowned, “Yes, it’s considered unethical now. That doesn’t stop the elite however…” Looking over the children in front of him he groaned, “...Of course… Fire and Ice…”

Fuyumi nodded, her lip caught between her teeth, “Father married mother so he’d have an heir who could use fire and regulate their temperature with ice…”

Narrowing his eyes, Touya huffed, “My fire’s hotter than his, but I have no heat resistance. Yumi-chan’s got mother’s ice but she’s resistant to fire. Natsu can make uh…” the kid’s eyebrows furrowed before he looked at his brother.

Rubbing his neck, Natsuo shrugged, “I can like… cover stuff? In a layer of ice? It’s not really useful. I’m resistant to the cold.”

“And Shouchan has fire from his left side and ice from his right.”

“Why was he so hellbent on this quirk?” Shaking his head, Shouta frowned, “To train his kids at such young ages…”

Natsuo laughed at him, a wry twist to his smirk, “No, he only trained Touya-nii and Shouchan. Father ignored Yumi-nee and I. And mother was so busy taking care of Shouchan…”

As Shouta’s eyes widened, Touya smiled grimly, “While we got the shit kicked out of us, they got neglected. Shouchan hasn’t even seen Yumi-chan and Natsu before yesterday, ever since his quirk came in.”

“Father, he…” gulping, Fuyumi closed her eyes, “He always wanted to surpass All Might… so he always said that’s why Tou-nii and Shouchan were born. We would just be distractions, that we were in different worlds from one another.”

“Yesterday… He caught mother showing Shouchan a documentary on All Might. It was one of her more lucid moments but… he dragged Tou-nii and Shouchan into the training room, after…” Natsuo looked lost, his gaze turning to his older siblings.

“... After he hit mother, he wanted me to spar with Shouchan. I refused, but… usually, in the past when I’d refuse he’d just ‘train’ me. Except this time…” Shaking his head, Touya cringed, “He made me sit and watch as he ‘trained’ Shouchan himself. Anytime I moved to stop him he’d blast fire at me…”

“By the end… he left, saying he had a mission he needed to deal with… When we went to go check on Tou-nii, Shouchan was throwing up this clear liquid that he said burned…”

Touya’s hands tightened in the material of his sleeves, his eyebrows pinched, “Stomach acid. There was blood in it too.”

Fuyumi nodded, tears welling in her eyes, “Seeing Shouchan like that… and Tou-nii too…”

“We told them they should run away, get away from father,” Natsuo frowned at the floor, “But Touya-nii said he wouldn’t leave us with him. Even if he ignored us now, he didn’t know what he’d do if we were the only ones left…”

“So I said we should all run.”

Meeting Touya’s fierce expression, Shouta sighed and looked at the bag in the corner, “Were you planning on running, Touya? Awfully prepared for a last minute decision.”

The boy squirmed before giving a nod, “I…thought about it. A lot. I kept a bag packed, and hid my allowance there… It uhm… It kept me going… so we just had to throw everyone’s clothes and money in and we were able to run…”

Closing his eyes, Shouta let out a slow breath between his teeth. Fuck- Ok- This is so fucked- “Alright, so what’s your plan?”

Wide eyes blinked at him once Shouta opened his. Finally, Touya frowned, “Uhm… Get away from Shizuoka Prefecture?”

“Ok, and then?”

“Uhm…”

“How were you going to eat? Bathe? Clean your clothes? It’s the middle of November, what about the winter?” As the oldest boy stuttered, Shouta shook his head, “Well… it’s a good thing Hikkun saw you, you’ll be safe here while we figure this out.”

“And how do we know we can trust you, huh?” Touya’s arms crossed tightly, his defenses raised once again.

“I’d point out that I’m a Pro Hero, but seeing as where you all came from…”

“And where’s the proof you’re a pro? I’ve never heard or seen anything about you.”

Shouta rubbed his eyes, “Good.” As Touya growled, he rolled his eyes, “I’m an Underground hero, Touya. I don’t do media, rankings or anything like that.”

Confused expressions returned to the three faces as Shouta sighed, “... You didn’t even know that was an option, huh?”

Fuyumi shook her head, “How do you… How does that work?”

“I don’t have a flashy quirk, like All Might or others. And I’m pretty nondescript. All I can do is erase other people’s quirks and make them fight me quirkless,” shrugging, Shouta gave them a wry smirk, “Mostly I just patrol and catch local criminals or villains.”

Chewing his lip, Natsuo looked at him curiously, “Since you’re a pro… what does that mean? For us? What’re you gonna do?”

“Well… We need to get someone involved,” As the three all moved, expressions ranging from anger to fear, Shouta raised his hand, “Hear me out. I already said I’m not letting you end up back in an abusive situation, right?”

As they calmed down and nodded, Shouta continued, “As a hero, I have to follow the law. If I were to hide the fact you four ran away, or lie to anyone about knowing about you I could be charged with a felony.” Sighing, he shook his head, “My hero license isn’t even the issue, even though that would be forfeit, my custody of Hikkun would be gone since technically I’m only a foster parent.

“But, that doesn’t mean I’m just going to hand you over to your parents.” Watching the relief in their eyes, Shouta smiled softly, “We’ll figure it out. But for now it’s late, and we should all go to sleep.”

Fuyumi looked around the small apartment, confusion clear on her face, “Where exactly are we supposed to sleep…?”

Standing, Shouta went and grabbed his futon as well as the spare, “We recently washed and aired them out. So two of you can share one, I guess…”

As he set them up, Natsuo frowned at him, “Then where’ll you sleep?”

“I’ve slept in worse conditions. Plus, I have a sleeping bag,” motioning to the futons, Shouta went to set up his own bed for the night and turn off the light.

As he settled, he watched the three siblings look between each other and the beds. Finally, Touya crossed his arms and pointed to Shouta’s futon, “Yumi-chan can sleep in that one. Natsu and I will share the spare one.”

Natsuo’s nose wrinkled at his brother, “I have to share with you, Touya-nii?”

Shoving his brother’s shoulder, Touya climbed into the futon, “Shuddup, we shared a room so this is fine. Yumi-chan’s a girl so she should get her own bed.”

Grumbling, the boy crawled after the older boy, “Something feels wrong about that, but sure…”

Once the kids had all settled, Shouta closed his eyes. There were too many thoughts running through his head for there to be any hope for sleep, but he might as well let his eyes rest. Soon, the sound of slow deep breathing filled the room.

Everything was still and quiet until Shouta felt a small hand gently tap against his cheek. Opening his eyes, Hitoshi’s purple gaze peered at him. Humming softly, Shouta pulled a hand out of his sleeping bag to pass it over the boy’s hair, “You ok, Hikkun?”

Hitoshi nodded before pulling on the sleeping bag’s zipper. Shouta watched, bemused, as his son wriggled into his space and zipped it back up so they were both laying together. Chuckling softly, he wrapped his arms around the boy, “Better?”

“Mm.. g’night, dad.”

Squeezing him, Shouta pressed a kiss to his head, “G’night, Hikkun.”

--

If Shouta had ever thought that getting up in the morning with Hitoshi was hard, it was nothing compared to a morning with his son and the siblings. Hitoshi had woken him up as he wriggled out of the sleeping bag to go to the bathroom, and something in the boy’s movement had woken up Shouto. 

Shouto, who hadn’t recognized where he was and promptly began to cry. Which woke up Fuyumi, who, in her rush to get to Shouto, stepped and tripped on Natsuo. Who accidentally elbowed Touya in the face as he startled awake.

The screams of children filled his apartment as Shouta stared up at the ceiling. Oboro, give me strength to deal with this… Climbing out of the sleeping bag, Shouta helped Fuyumi onto her feet before going to check on Touya’s nose. The girl rushed to Shouto as Natsuo wailed apologies to Touya, who’s eyes were crossed as he tried to staunch the blood with his hands. 

Clucking his tongue, Shouta wiped Touya’s face clean with his sleeve, “Noses bleed a lot but it’s not the worst thing, Natsuo. You alright other than the shock, Touya?”

Once the older boy nodded, Shouta looked at Natsuo, “Can you put a layer of ice over Touya’s nose? It should help with the swelling.”

With the boys calm, he went over to Fuyumi and Shouto. The boy was hiccuping into Fuyumi’s shirt as she rocked him. Crouching down beside them, Shouta carefully felt the toddler’s temperature, “... You’re doing good, Fuyumi. Thank you for getting to him.”

Blinking up at him with wide eyes, Fuyumi nodded, “O-Of course, he’s my little brother so…”

“Mm… yea, you’re all great older siblings,” Standing, he looked up as Hitoshi re-entered the room. “All good, Hikkun?” Once he nodded, Shouta walked over to him, “C’mon, let’s brush your teeth then you can watch me get breakfast ready.”

Shouta was used to Hitoshi watching as he cooked, but once all the kids were ready for the day he apparently had an audience of five. Shouto and Hitoshi sat on the counter as Touya, Fuyumi and Natsuo leaned against it and watched his every move. As he made the eggs, he looked up at the kids, “Anything I should know? Likes? Dislikes? Allergies?”

Touya looked at him wearily, before he chewed his lip, “... I hate fish.”

“... Well good thing we ran out yesterday. Miso soup, eggs and rice alright with everyone?” After they all agreed, Shouta went back to cooking. “We have milk, water, apple juice, and tea. So let me know whatever you want.”

As he finished cooking, Shouta turned and grabbed Hitoshi’s training chopsticks and looked at the toddlers. “Can Shouto use these?” Once Touya nodded, he hummed softly, “Ok. Hikkun, Shouto-kun. Which chopsticks do you want to use?”

Shouto looked at him in confusion as Hitoshi’s brow furrowed in thought. Finally his son nodded, “The kitty, dad!”

Nodding, Shouta started to hand over the pair before Hitoshi’s nose wrinkled, “Not that one.”

The siblings stared at them, frozen, as Shouta pulled the chopsticks back, “What’s wrong with these ones, Hikkun?”

“I don’t want the black kitty. I want the red kitty.”

Pausing, Shouta scanned the kitchen before nodding, “Got it, I’m gonna have to wash them, since you used the red ones last night. But I’ll do that before we eat, ok?”

Hitoshi gave him a thoughtful look before nodding, “Ok.”

Turning his attention back to Shouto, the kid still looking confused, “Alright, Shouto-kun. Which one do you want? We’ve got the black kitty, the bunny, the chicken, and the deer.”

After a long stretch of silence, finally the small boy murmured, “The bunny…”

“Sounds good, kid. Wanna hold onto them until breakfast?” Once he nodded, Shouta handed the chopsticks over and began plating the food. “Fuyumi-chan, Touya-kun, can you help Hikkun and Shouto-kun to the floor? Natsuo-kun, can you get the table out?”

The kids move, following his requests even as they send confused glances over their shoulders. Eventually, as they sat down at the low table and Shouta helped Hitoshi get his grip on the chopsticks, Touya’s brow furrowed, “I’m confused.”

Picking up his own utensils, Shouta nodded to Touya, “What’s up?”

“You- It-” the boy made a frustrated noise, looking at his siblings.

“We’ve never seen… Well… You gave Hitoshi-kun and Shouchan a choice…?” Natsuo looked just as confused as his brother.

Even helping Shouto with his own training chopsticks, Fuyumi looked baffled, “And then Hitoshi-kun changed his mind…”

Chewing on some rice, Shouta shrugged, “He didn’t though.” They all frowned as he hummed, “Hikkun told me he wanted the cat chopsticks, that doesn’t mean he meant the ones I was holding.”

“But the red ones were dirty…”

“Yea, and I could clean them.” Scrubbing a hand through Hitoshi’s hair, Shouta smiled softly as the kid giggled, “Even small kids like them need the chance to make decisions for themselves. Give them some control over the situation.”

The rest of breakfast passed quietly, the three older kids mulling over Shouta’s words as they all ate.

Later, as Shouta washed the dishes, the kids spread out across the apartment. Shouto and Hitoshi played with toys, small bursts of giggles coming from them. Fuyumi fussed over Touya’s nose, checking for any breaks or bruises, as Natsuo snooped through Shouta’s lackluster bookshelf.

Once he was done cleaning, Shouta figured he could start talking to the kids about what they should do. He had some ideas and leads that would probably serve them well-

Click. “Yo, yo, yo! Shouta! Little Listener! How are you this fine morning-”

Or Hizashi could come to visit.

Shouta groaned as he stepped out of the kitchen, watching as his friend froze once again in the genkan. And as fire came to life in Touya’s hands and ice began to spread from Fuyumi and Natsuo both. Activating his quirk, he strode across the apartment, “Stop it, he’s annoying but he’s not a threat.”

Touya stared in confusion down at his hands as Fuyumi looked at him in a panic. Squaring his shoulders, Shouta raised an eyebrow, “Promise to drop the quirks?” Three nods. “Alright.”

Releasing his quirk, Shouta met Hizashi where he still stood frozen. Dazed, the blonde mumbled, “Shouta… your kid multiplied.”

“That’s not how it works, and you know it, Hizashi. Now what’re you doing here?”

“I remembered Hitoshi-kun had off today and figured I’d swing by, hang out. Where’d you get three more-” a burst of giggles sounded from the corner, “-scratch that. Where’d you get four more kids?”

Shouta rubbed his forehead, heaving a sigh, “It’s… another long story, Hizashi. C’mon, let’s sit down.”

Once the story was done, his friend leaned back and let his head thump against the wall, “Geeze… Endeavor… really?”

“You know it doesn’t matter, being a piece of shit isn’t exclusive from a fancy title,” Shouta sighed, looking over at the children on the other side of the apartment.

“Yea, no, obviously. You’d just wish that type of stuff wouldn’t happen at the top…” scrubbing his face, Hizashi groaned, “Except it’s more likely there… well, except for All Might.”

“We’d have to know anything about All Might to make that call.”

“You’re not wrong, bud.”

A heavy silence fell between them.

“This apartment is too small for six people…”

“I mean, you can’t actually mean to like… what, Shouta? Hide them here?” Hizashi’s face was incredulous, a confused twist in his lips.

Groaning, Shouta closed his eyes, “I can’t hide them… if it gets figured out, it’d be a felony case and no one would give a shit about why they ran. Just that I harbored them.” Shaking his head, he sighed, “But I can’t not help them. Hitoshi spoke , Hizashi…and with everything they’ve told me…”

“I know, bud…” Chewing his lip, Hizashi shot him a thoughtful look, “You know… I think there is someone who could help… but it’d be like making a deal with the devil…”

Shouta frowned, “I’m not doing anything illegal, Hizashi.”

Waving his hands, his friend huffed a laugh, “No way, we’re heroes, you know! But well… 

“Have you considered giving Principal Nedzu a visit?”

Chapter Text

The meeting with Nedzu went about as Shouta expected it to go. The same unreadable smile, as always, plastered on the principal’s face as he sipped tea and listened to the truly horrific things the siblings told him. 

As Nemuri escorted all the kids out, chatting away about Lunch Rush’s food, Nedzu turned his serene smile back on Shouta and Hizashi, “Now, we are in quite an interesting position, don’t you agree?”

Hizashi leaned forward, his hand restlessly pushing through his hair, “We can’t let them go back to Endeavor, right, sir? And what they said about their mother…”

He looked thoughtfully at them, “If what they say about their mother’s ‘lucid’ moments is true, then it would seem she would not be currently fit to take custody.” Taking a sip of his tea, Nedzu hummed, “Who’s to say, even if she was willing to be separated from Todoroki, how she would behave alone with her children. 

“No, without a proper psych eval and medical attention, we can’t know how stable of a home she would be for them,” setting his tea cup down, he sighed, “It’ll be hard to get them away from their father, with his status. However, if we manage to angle it in such a way with a promise of secrecy…”

Shouta frowned, “So prioritizing their safety over Endeavor answering for how he treated his family.”

“I dunno, Shouta…” Glancing over at him, Hizashi shrugged, “They said his main goal was to ‘create’ a successor to surpass All Might. If we manage to get his kids out of there, and get his wife out of that situation…”

“It’ll be unlikely that he will be able to further pursue his goal, exactly Yamada-kun,” Nedzu smiled at them, folding his paws in his lap. “It’ll either be that or everything is made public and he loses his license and can’t even pursue his goal himself. Maybe he’ll even learn that was what he should have been doing all along!”

Rolling his eyes, Shouta slumped back into the sofa, “Unlikely.”

“Mmm, yes. But we can always wish for the best, Aizawa-kun.”

“Best case scenario, we get them out and get their mother some help, where will they go? They don’t have any immediate family that they’d feel comfortable with…” Blinking, Shouta frowned at the growing grin on Nedzu’s face, “... What?”

Nedzu’s paws steepled together, “Well, it’s awfully convenient that we have a Specialized Foster Parent who also happens to be a Pro Hero, no? And one who can cancel any volatile quirk accidents at that!”

Blinking wildly, Shouta shook his head, “You’ve got to be joking. I-”

The four of them being separated- The fear and habitual flinching- The abuse Hitoshi went through in the system-

Weakly, Shouta frowned, “I don’t have enough space for five kids…”

“You’d be getting 738,000¥ a month, surely you could upgrade your living situation to accommodate them.”

Shoulders scrunched inward, he huffed, “I’d be a single parent to five, sir. I’m only 19, and with my work schedule…”

Hizashi interrupted this time, humming as he tapped his chin, “Well, I mean… We could move in together. I’m over all the time helping you with Hitoshi, plus then we’d have my hero and DJ incomes as well!”

Shouta blinked at his friend, “This isn’t- It isn’t something like Nemuri taking Sushi, Hizashi. You’d be- This would be raising five kids .”

Hizashi grinned at him, bright and blinding, “Yea! And us together would do awesome! We’re a team after all!”

“This- You know it’d affect your dating life, right? Explaining ‘yea I live with my friend and we co-parent five kids we’re fostering,’ probably won’t be well accepted.”

A strange look flickered over Hizashi’s face before his grin was back in full force, “Eh, I barely date as it is! My free time is usually spent bothering you or Nemuri, so I might as well live with one of you, right?”

As Shouta frowned, Nedzu’s paws clapped together and cut him off, “Excellent! Then we can get the paperwork started to register Yamada as a Specialized Foster parent as well, so you can have joint guardianship.” Picking his tea back up, Nedzu hummed, “This will be most interesting.”

---

While their case was being handled in family court, Touya and his siblings were stuck in a group home. Nedzu had explained that while their custody was up in the air, they had to be in a ‘neutral’ location. And while Touya hated all the noise the other residents made, how the detergent they used made his skin itch, and how bland the food was, Touya couldn’t complain.

His siblings were with him and they were safe .

It helped that Aizawa or Yamada would visit them everyday, usually bringing Hitoshi with them to play with Shouto. They’d either help with their homework, or just listen to them complain about their situation. The men would tell them updates about the case, give them whatever gift they could afford to tide them over, and promise that one of them would be back the next day.

Then, the first week of January, Aizawa came alone and sat Touya and his siblings down. Lacing his fingers together, the man ( teenager, he’s just nineteen, Touya’s mind whispered) gave them a tired smile, “The judge came to a verdict today.”

Touya felt Fuyumi stiffen beside him, his own gaze searching the hero’s face, “... So? What did they decide?”

“With the evidence we were able to find, as well as what you four provided… Well…” Sighing, Aizawa rubbed his eyes, “I’ll start with Endeavor. In order for us- Hizashi, Nedzu, Nemuri and I that is- In order for us to not go public with any of the information, he took a deal. He’ll retain his hero license, but forfeited his custody rights to you four.”

Flames of anger licked the back of Touya’s throat, his teeth gritting together, “No way in hell it was that easy for him to give up Shouchan.”

Fuyumi and Natsuo nodded beside him as Aizawa inclined his head, “You’re not wrong, I am simplifying it. It was two months of court proceedings after all.” Waving a hand, he sighed, “Thankfully, his insistence only over one child actually hurt his case in the end, however there are some caveats when it comes to Shouto-kun.”

As Touya opened his mouth, his brows pinched, Aizawa held a hand up, “Let me tell you, and then you can ask any questions, Touya-kun. Alright?” Once he begrudgingly nodded, the man smiled, “Thank you. As I was saying, he has no right to custody. He’s not allowed to initiate communication with any of you, but you are allowed to contact him if you so wish.

“He’s also not allowed to be alone with you except in the circumstance that he’s acting in the capacity of a hero. Meaning, if you were in danger and he is the hero who responds, then he is allowed to help you by whatever means that would be. However, once immediate danger has passed he’ll be expected to leave you in the care of either another hero on the scene, a sidekick, or nearby EMS.”

Natsuo squirmed in his seat, leaning forward, “Then… w-what’re the caveats for Shouchan?”

Sighing, Aizawa frowned, “While you three are free to change your names whether by choice or adoption, Shouto-kun will have to remain on his koseki and use the Todoroki family name until he’s reached twenty. Then, if he so wishes, he may change his name.” An annoyed sneer appeared on the man’s face as he shook his head, “He also had it written that if Shouto-kun decides to be a hero, that several of the rules be considered forfeit if he decides to intern under Endeavor for his studies.”

Touya growled, his hands fisting into his pants, “That bastard-!”

Aizawa gave him a grim look, “It is a lot, but thankfully it does hinge on Shouto-kun’s choices. He can’t force him to enter a hero course, nor can he force him to take an internship with him.”

As he slumped back into his chair, Fuyumi looked up at Aizawa, “And… And our mother?”

“Ah…” Aizawa rubbed his eyes before nodding, “She has also forfeited custody, but her parameters are far less restrictive.” Chewing his lip, he continued, “By her own admission and the work of some mental health professionals, we found out that her… non-lucid moments were far more dangerous than we had first suspected.”

Looking at Touya, Aizawa’s gaze was apologetic and soft, “She admitted that while Touya-kun’s hair was still red, and when she looked at Shouto-kun’s left side, all she saw was Endeavor. And that recently she had been battling very intense intrusive thoughts that came with that.” Lacing his fingers once again, he sighed, “She has self admitted into a psychiatric hospital in Musutafu, one recommended by Principal Nedzu. Hopefully there, she’ll be able to get the help she needs to recover from the abuse.”

“D-Does that mean we can’t see mother?” Fuyumi muttered, her hands fidgeting with her skirt.

At that Aizawa finally smiled softly once again, “No, it doesn’t. Unlike Endeavor, you and she can initiate contact with each other. At the beginning of her treatment, it will be under the supervision and approval of her medical team, but she'll have a phone and tablet you all can text, call, or video call. You four, Hizashi and I will be on her visitation list as well, for when she's up to physical visits. She also, again based on her mental health, can seek custody again once she’s in a better place. And if you four agree to it.”

Quiet filled the room as Touya, Fuyumi and Natsuo took in the news. Finally, Touya looked up, “So what happens now…?”

“Well…” Aizawa sighed, crossing his arms, “You have two options. One, you enter the foster system and end up wherever they can fit you. Two… Hizashi and I foster you four.”

As they blinked at him with wide eyes, he leaned forward, “It’s ultimately your choice, but hear me out. Remaining in the system, there’s no guarantee they’ll keep you four together. I’ve also seen how cruel the system is when I was getting custody of Hitoshi. Conversely, you already know Hizashi, Hitoshi and I.”

Natsuo frowned, “But… your apartment… to fit all of us…”

“With the foster stipend, my income and Hizashi’s income we’d be moving to a bigger apartment. It’s nothing compared to your previous home, but it’d be more than one room.” Waving a hand, Aizawa shrugged, “It’s all lined up, all we have to do is sign the lease and it’d be ready for us to move in within two weeks.”

Tugging on his shirt, Touya frowned, “Why… why would you want to take us? You’d be… You’re not even twenty yet. To take on four more kids…”

Aizawa's smile was warm, as he nodded slowly, “I know but… I guess I got attached. But, like I said, it’s up to you.”

Sharing a look with his siblings, Touya chewed his lip. It was a big decision, but seeing the expressions on his siblings’ faces… Sighing, Touya looked at the man, “...Two weeks, you said? We can wait two weeks.”

--

It’s a few days past Touya’s twelfth birthday when they can finally move into the new apartment. Instead of the cheap apartment in Adachi-ku that they had first met Aizawa and Hitoshi at, the car came to a stop in a side street of Shibuya-ku. 

As they clambered out of the car, wide eyed, Yamada smiled at them, “Do you guys wanna check out the apartment first, or the neighborhood?”

As Natsuo bounced, Fuyumi smiled up at Yamada, “U-Uhm… the neighborhood? Are our schools nearby?”

Yamada hummed and nodded, “Yep! The elementary school you and Natsuo-kun will be attending is just a two minute walk from here. So is Hikkun and Shouto-kun’s kindergarten.” Looking over at Touya, he tilted his head, “The middle school you’ll be going to in April is nearby too, but it’s a bit further of a walk, Touya-kun.”

Waving his hand, he shrugged, “I’ll look some other time, I want to check out the apartment anyway.”

Nodding, the man handed him a key ring, “Shouta is up in the apartment with Hikkun. He can show you everything!” Turning, Yamada waved to Touya’s siblings, “The apartment number is on the keys! C’mon, little listeners! Let’s go on an adventure!”

When Touya eventually found the right apartment number and entered, Aizawa’s familiar voice floated from inside, “Hey, welcome home.”

Turning to follow the voice, Touya entered what looked to be the living room. On one side, a couch and armchairs circled a coffee table near a TV, in the corner a sound system sat near a collection of CDs and vinyl. On the other end, a dining table was set up with eight chairs. Two of which were already strapped with booster seats.

Sitting in the center of the room, Aizawa watched as Hitoshi played with his toys. Looking up, the man smiled at him, “Hey, Touya-kun. How was the ride?”

Touya shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked around, “Alright… I usually get motion sick, but Yamada’s a decent driver I guess.”

Standing slowly, Aizawa nodded, “That’s good. Do you want a tour? The moving company set everything up for us.” Once Touya gave a small hum in agreement, the man scooped Hitoshi up and motioned for Touya to follow. Motioning behind him, he began, “That’s the balcony. It doesn’t have much of a view, but the side street’s pretty quiet.

Walking past the dining set up, he opened the doors and led Touya through. The room was smaller, opening up into the kitchen. Bookshelves, toys, and a kotatsu filled the space. “This is the family room, obviously that’s the kitchen.” Walking through, Aizawa pointed to the different doors in the familiar hallway, “The washing machine and dryer are here, that’s one of the toilets, the air conditioner is in that closet.”

Stopping by one of the doors, the man opened it, “This is the main bathroom. And over here are the bedrooms…” He nodded to the doors, motioning for Touya to explore on his own.

Opening one of the doors, a relatively small room greeted Touya. Two futons sat folded in the corners, one side oddly decorated while the other was bare. As Touya looked back in confusion, Aizawa hummed, “Hizashi and I’s room.”

“...This can’t be the main bedroom, it’s way too small.”

“Correct.”

Touya’s frown deepened, “Then why are you two in here?”

Aizawa shrugged, shifting his hold on Hitoshi as the toddler’s big purple eyes watched them, “We have weird schedules, so it’s better if we’re closer to the apartment’s entrance. Plus we don’t need that much space, we’d rather you all have room to move about.”

Closing the door, Touya made his way to the corner room. Inside, a simple western bed sat in the corner along with bookshelves and a single desk. At his look, Aizawa hummed, “Fuyumi-chan’s room.”

Touya nodded and moved onto the next room, still similarly sized but with toddler beds and toy chests. Frowning, Touya looked at Aizawa once again, “Hitoshi and Shouchan aren’t in the main bedroom?”

Chuckling, Aizawa tilted his head, leading Touya to the final room. Inside were two simple western beds, desks on either side. From the entrance Touya could already see the private bathroom and larger closet that came with the room. All that space, just for him and Natsuo…?

As Touya stared at everything, Aizawa crouched and let Hitoshi down, “Hikkun, do you want to go play in your room?”

“Yea, dad.”

“Mkay,” scrubbing a hand through the kid’s hair, he hummed, “Touya-kun and I will be in here, ok? Keep your door open.” Once the toddler wandered off, he looked back at Touya, “Hey, I don’t mean to overwhelm you even more, but I did want to talk to you.”

Blinking the daze away, Touya nodded slowly and took a seat on one of the beds. Sitting down at the nearest desk, Aizawa frowned, “While we were going through the court, Endeavor kept saying something that I found curious. Even as abusive and negligent as he was, I never expected him to get one of his kids’ names wrong.”

Touya froze, his spine stiffening as he stared at Aizawa. The man continued, maintaining eye contact with him, “Of course, things were said and your paperwork also has some interesting information. But, I want to hear what you have to say. Whatever you tell me, right here right now, that’ll be our truth.”

Clutching his shirt, Touya’s eyes darted around the room. The room he was sharing with Natsuo, not Fuyumi. How the door was still open, his escape route clear if he decided to run. Gulping, his eyes finally settled back on Aizawa, “...It… It was Otouya, right?”

“Mmm… I found it odd how he added a syllable to your name.”

His fingers twist, “I’m… I’m not a girl . Yumi-chan’s a girl. Mother is a girl. I’m a boy , I’ve always been a boy. Just like Natsu-kun and Shouchan.”

Aizawa nodded at him, a soft smile on his face, “And your name is Touya-kun.”

“You… It’s ok?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Frowning, Aizawa tilted his head, “I can’t say I… one hundred percent understand what you’re going through or feel. But I don’t need to, right? I just have to make sure you’re happy.”

“What are… What’ll you do about… m-me?” Touya’s fingers twisted further into his shirt, his heart beat steadily slowing down.

Rubbing his chin, his guardian gave an absent shrug, “Well, we’re supposed to get you all in therapy… So we’ll make sure the one we find for you will have some experience with gender stuff… We probably will need to make a specialist appointment too…”

“...F-For what?”

A fog of confusion was over the man’s eyes as he frowned, “I don’t really… know a lot about this stuff, it’s more Nemuri’s wheelhouse but… There’s supposed to be puberty blockers right? And the doctor will know when you should start hormones… I’ll have to give Nemuri a call, she’ll probably know a good doctor.”

Touya blinked, “You’re going to… to help me physically change?”

He snorted, “Well- Yea? Do you need a- what was it that Nemuri called it… A binder? We’ll research that stuff when Hizashi gets back. Probably start putting money aside for any surgery right…?”

As Aizawa stood and wandered out of Touya’s bedroom, the boy stared after him. Slowly a warm bright feeling flooded Touya’s chest, tears welling in his eyes unbidden.

Oh…So this is how it feels…

--

Later, after they all had settled in, they were seated around the dining table with take out boxes scattered across the surface. As they ate, grabbing whatever they wanted from the center, Fuyumi bounced in her seat beside Touya.

“Wait until you see the elementary school, Tou-nii! It’s so close to home!” Grinning, she motioned with her chopsticks, “You can see the Shibuya river from it too! And Shouchan and Hikkun’s kindergarten is right next door!”

Chuckling, he tapped her hand, “Don’t point with your chopsticks, Yumi-chan.” As she pouted at him, he smiled, “It’s good you like it. Aizawa showed me where the middle school is, too. It’s a twelve minute walk from here, right near Hirookita park.”

Natsuo looked up from his plate, his head tilted at the adults, “That reminds me… what do you want us to call you? The teachers will be mad if we just call you by name…”

Yamada and Aizawa looked up from Shouto and Hitoshi respectively. Wiping Hitoshi’s face, Aizawa hummed, “I don’t really care what you call me, really. Aizawa, Shouta, dad, brother. Whatever works…”

Nodding, Yamada spooned some more food onto Shouto’s plate, “Same. Yamada or Hizashi is fine with me, your teachers should have gotten an explanation about the situation, so if they give you trouble just let us know.”

“Just don’t call us by our Hero names, I guess,” Aizawa shrugged, leaning back into his chair.

Nose wrinkling, Natsuo scoffed, “I already put up with people knowing about Endeavor, I’m fine with not telling people I live with Present Mic…” Blinking, he sat up straight and looked at Yamada, “Not that you’re not cool! You’re super cool! I- That is-! It’s different!”

Laughing Yamada waved his hands, “Nah, nah, I got it, Little Listener! It’s a lot of attention! And some kids might be mean and think you’re saying it for attention! I know I’m super cool!”

Aizawa rolled his eyes, his hands forming an odd motion at Yamada that caused the man to laugh more. As Touya’s brows furrowed, Fuyumi leaned to get a better look at the dark haired man, “Actually… What is your hero name, Aizawa? You told us you were underground but…”

“You still don’t fully understand that, right? Since Endeavor was always flashy?” As Fuyumi nodded, the man sighed, “Underground heroes deal with things that don’t get as much press, or shouldn’t get press. The less people know about me, the better for my work.

“I mentioned before that I catch small-time criminals, right? I also do information gathering and infiltration. I don’t really have the persona of a hero like All Might, or the rest, and my quirk isn’t flashy so it’s easy to hide.” Tilting his head back, Aizawa closed his eyes, “My hero name is Eraserhead, not that anyone would or should know it.”

Grinning, Yamada winked at them, “I came up with his name, he was too lazy to go with anything else!”

Aizawa, eye’s still closed, made a hand motion at Yamada again that left the man cackling.

“What is…” frowning, Touya looked between them, “Those hand things, what do you keep doing?”

With a blink, the men were looking at him. With an… embarrassed(?) look, Aizawa huffed and looked away. Grinning, Yamada rubbed his neck, “Ahh… So you know how my quirk is Voice?” As they all nod, the blond hummed, “Somewhere, along the line, it hurt my ears. I wear hearing aids.”

Sighing, Aizawa rubbed his eyes, “We learned JSL back at UA. It’s in part so we can communicate on missions without having to whisper, but also…”

“Sometimes I just don’t want to wear my hearing aids, you know?” Yamada laughed, rubbing his neck.

The siblings looked at each other, thoughtful looks on their faces. Swinging her feet, Fuyumi blinked at their guardians, “C… Can we learn JSL too? So we can talk to you when you don’t wanna wear them?”

The two men blinked before a warm smile spread across Yamada’s face, “Heck yea you guys can! I’ll get some books! This’ll be awesome!”

Their chatter calmed down after that, one of them occasionally asking about different words in JSL that the adults were happy to teach them. The soft warmth of family and safety settled over them on their first night in their new home.

Chapter Text

April came quickly, and before they knew it the first day of the new school year had come. As Fuyumi woke to the noise of her alarm, she nearly tripped out of her bed upon seeing the time. They had to get Shouto and Hitoshi to the preschool program before their kindergarten opened, she and Natsuo had to get to the opening ceremony for the elementary school, and Touya needed to get all the way to a different school for his first day of middle school.

All before 7:50 and it was already ten past seven. There was no way, she couldn’t get herself and four other kids ready and fed by then. Why had her alarm gone off so late?!

Stumbling out of her bedroom, she blinked wide-eyed as Yamada strolled out of the toddlers’ bedroom carrying a fully dressed Shouto. The blond smiled brightly at her, readjusting his hold on her sleepy brother, “Good morning, Fuyumi-chan! You’re just in time, I think Shouta’s just about done getting Hikkun ready in the bathroom. Then it’s all yours.”

“I-... Natsu-kun and Tou-nii…?”

“Shouta said he woke them up first a bit ago… I was about to go check on them, since I got Shouchan here ready,” Grinning, the man tweaked her brother’s nose, “Right, little listener?”

Shouto’s nose wrinkled, a startled giggle escaping him, “Mmm!”

“T-Then, uhm…” Looking around, Fuyumi fumbled, “Then, breakfast still needs to be made…?”

A look of soft understanding flickered across Yamada’s face before he ruffled her hair, “Shouta started the rice cooker already, and I was going to go make eggs and toast with Shouchan here. After making sure the boys were awake, of course.”

Overwhelmed, her hands fisted in her pajamas, “Then… what should I do…?”

A door clicked open as Aizawa left the bathroom, Hitoshi trotting after him, “Get ready for school yourself, Fuyumi-chan. You were going to wear that outfit Nemuri helped you pick out, right?”

Dazed, she nodded slowly, “Yes- Right… I’ll get ready then…”

By the time she made it into the kitchen, fully dressed and her hair combed, breakfast was spread out for them. Touya’s hair was a mess, as usual, and Natsuo had food smeared up his cheek, but they were already there and ready .

As she sat down at the open place setting, she watched Yamada hand Natsuo a napkin. From his seat between Shouto and Hitoshi, Aizawa hummed, “Now that we’re all here, let’s review real quick.” 

Touya yawned, eyes narrowed over his bowl of miso soup, “D’we gotta? ‘S early…”

Aizawa gave him an amused look, “Humor me, Touya-kun. So since today’s the first day…”

Perking up, Natsuo grinned, “We’re all gonna walk together! After you drop Yumi-nee, Shouchan, Hikkun and me off, you two are gonna walk Touya-nii to school.”

Smiling, Aizawa nodded to her brother, “Good job, and after school…”

Slowly remembering, Fuyumi chewed her lip, “Natsu-kun and I go get Shouchan and Hikkun from their after school program.”

“And then they wait for me to pick them up,” Touya nodded at her, “I should get there by the time they’ve gotten Shouchan and Hikkun.”

Yamada nodded at them, a proud smile on his face, “Exactly! And then you’ll walk home. One of us should be back home before five but if not…?”

Natuso furrowed his eyebrows, “Give either of your agencies a call, and call Kayama. Touya-nii and Yumi-nee are in charge until you get home.”

“Good job,” picking up the empty plates on the table, Aizawa hummed at them, “Unfortunately, with our schedules we can’t always guarantee we’ll be able to walk you to school, but we’ll try our best.”

“A-And uhm, getting up in the morning…” Maybe it was a special case, this morning? Maybe Fuyumi would go back to having to wrangle her siblings in the future?

Aizawa frowned from the sink, “You three are fine getting yourselves up, right?” He sent a pointed look to her brothers, both Touya and Natsuo laughing in response, “Even if we can’t walk with you, Hizashi or I should be here in order to get Hikkun and Shouchan ready in the morning. If you have any personal issues, just let one of us know and we’ll figure it out, alright Fuyumi-chan?

Sharing a quick baffled look with her brothers, Fuyumi slowly nodded, “Y-Yea, sounds good, Aizawa.”

The man hummed, “Alright, now eat up, Hizashi wants to take ‘first day of school’ photos so we need to leave soon.”

---

School was usually a trial for Natsuo. Growing up with the number two hero as a father, all his classmates just assumed he was his favorite hero or make him be Endeavor when they played heroes. They didn’t care that he didn’t even have fire like the old man, and the one time he’d tried to explain how much he didn’t like Endeavor hadn’t gone well for him.

But at this new school, no one knows him as Todoroki Natsuo. And even if they did, they wouldn’t know that it meant he was related to Endeavor of all people. No, after a long conversation with Aizawa and Yamada, he and his siblings had all been registered under the Underground Hero’s name.

(Except poor Shouto, but 16 years couldn’t take that long, right?)

So when in class they talked about their families, Natsuo felt excited. His teacher, a warm older woman, turned her soft smile on him, “Alright, Aizawa-kun, can you tell us about your family?”

Nodding, he grinned, “Uh-huh! I’ve got four siblings, two older and two younger! My big brother is 12 and in middle school, my sister’s 11! She’s in her last year here! And my little brothers are 4, they’re in kindergarten.”

One of the kids near his desk blinked wide-eyed at him, “Your little brothers are twins?!”

Natsuo frowned, “… No… We’re being… fostered? By our two new dads, while mother’s getting better. Hikkun and Shouchan just happen to be the same age!”

His teacher gave him a concerned look, though he wasn’t sure why. Everything he said was true, it was how Touya and Fuyumi had explained it to him. As she moved on to the next kid, a few of his classmates gave him curious looks.

Later, as Natsuo was debating what ball he wanted to play with for recess, the kid from earlier and a few of his (hopefully soon-to-be) friends ran up to him. Smiling he bounced on his heels, “Hi! What’s up?”

One of them rocked back on his heels, his head tilted, “Earlier in class, you said a word… 'fostered.' What does it mean?”

Natuso’s face screwed tight as he tried to remember, “It’s like… the step before adoption! They decided that they wanted to be our parents!”

Another one pouted, kicking a pebble, “So they decided they wanted you guys and now you get two dads and a mom?”

Natsuo grinned, “Yea!”

The kid who sat near him whistled, “Wooooow you’re so lucky!” Hopping for a second the boy looked around, “D’you wanna play heroes? Who’s your favorite hero? We all like different ones so we all get to be our favorites.”

“Who’re your favorites?”

He smirked, thumping his chest, “Mine’s Best Jeanist!”

One of the others bounced, waving his hand excitedly, “Crimson Riot!! He’s so cool!”

The third boy rubbed his neck, “Mine’s a super new hero like Best Jeanist… Edgeshot? He’s like a ninja!”

Natsuo blinked, a grin slowly growing on his face. No one back in Musutafu ever wanted to be anything except All Might or Endeavor. But here… rubbing his nose, he laughed, “I like a new hero too, but I think he only debuted a year or two ago… He's called Present Mic!”

As the boys grin and pull him along, yelling excited questions about this new hero, Natsuo smiled to himself. Yamada was an awesome hero, but he and Aizawa had saved him and his siblings. Including Hitoshi. Not Present Mic. Not Eraserhead.

Yamada and Aizawa had saved them. They were his heroes, but he could just settle for saying one of their hero names for now.

---

Having Hizashi helping him with the kids, Shouta realized the first summer they all lived together, was a blessing. If it had still been just him and Hitoshi it would have been fine, easy. On his own, the newly turned five year old wasn’t dissimilar to Shouta’s own temperament. But with the addition of four more kids, well, another set of eyes was more than necessary.

It was a rare day off in the middle of summer, when both Shouta and Hizashi were free for the whole day to take the kids on a small trip. Despite the circumstance, Shouta would be damned if he didn’t make sure his kids got to just enjoy their childhoods. And Inokashira Park Zoo seemed like a good choice to go with.

It was only an hour away by train, it had good ratings everywhere Shouta had looked online, and tickets would only cost 800¥ since all of their kids were twelve and under. Hizashi had even offered to take the older kids, leaving Shouta with the toddlers. His wonderful, quiet, well behaved sons.

Shouta adored all the kids, don’t get him wrong, and Hizashi was his best friend for a reason. But he was a quiet man and sometimes he needed the peace of his quietest children. So that morning, as they left for the train he looked forward to a peaceful day.

The Shouta of that morning was a fool.

“Dad! Dad! Daaaaaad ! Look at the penguins! Penguins dad!”

“Why do raccoons have people hands? Dad, this is important. Why? Dad? Dad? Dad?”

He couldn’t even appreciate Shouto calling him ‘dad,’ with how focused he was on not letting the two pull his arms off. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the pleading eyes of his sons, “I see the penguins, Hikkun, they’re very cool. And I don’t know Shouchan, maybe once Hikkun’s done with the penguins, we can read the information next to them.”

Purple eyes narrowed at him, “That penguin swallowed a fish whole , dad! That’s super duper cool.”

White and red eyebrows furrowed, “But why do they need people hands?” After a pause, a look of understanding settled across the boy’s eyes, “It’s for the secrets, right dad?”

“...” blinking, Shouta focused on Shouto, “... What secrets, Shouchan?”

The two shared a look, Hitoshi going so far as to shake his head in disappointment, “If you don’t know, dad…”

“Then you wouldn’t get it…”

“What- No, what secrets? What raccoon secrets do you two know?” Shouta felt like he was going insane, trying to make sense of these two. Especially when they just shook their heads in disappointment and just pulled him towards a different exhibit.

Later, he slumped back into a bench as he watched Shouto and Hitoshi run around the zoo’s playground. They were on the see-saw, seemingly determined to find out who could kick off the hardest. He just prayed to whatever god would listen to him that they’d wear themselves out.

It’s Natsuo’s familiar whoop of excitement that let him know the rest of the family had arrived. He watched absently as Touya ran with his younger brother for the jungle gym and Fuyumi settled on the swings nearby. A familiar presence settled beside him on the bench and Shouta closed his eyes in relief, “How were they?”

Hizashi hummed, “Touya-kun and Natsu-kun got into an argument, cause Natsu-kun wanted to go on one of the spinning rides and Touya-kun wouldn’t go on with him.”

“Well, yea, Touya-kun gets motion sick.”

“Mmm, that’s what I said, but Natsu-kun didn’t want to go alone and I couldn’t cause I’m too old for admission…”

“Fuyumi-chan?”

“She was preoccupied with another exhibit…”

“Ah…” looking over (their- the- my- what is wrong with me?? ) the kids, Shouta frowned, “They seem to be getting along well now.”

Hizashi cringed, “…. I got them ice cream.”

Letting out a slow breath, Shouta shot a look at Hizashi, “Which means we’re gonna have to get ice cream for Shouchan and Hikkun…”

“Yeep.”

Shouta sighed, “Great.”

“What about you?” Hizashi motioned to the toddlers as they chattered to Fuyumi, “How were the boys?”

“You mean Thing One and Two?”

Hizashi blinked, a startled laugh escaping him, “Oh?”

“You knew, didn’t you? What little gremlins they are together,” Shouta narrowed his eyes at his friend. “If they weren’t trying to pull my arms off in every direction, it was something else…”

Patting him on the shoulder, the blond chuckled, “Did Shouchan tell you one of his conspiracies?”

“You know about them? How does a four year old even have conspiracies?” Rubbing his eyes, he shook his head, “And, no, he and Hikkun just kept saying ‘if you don’t know…’ and never gave me a straight answer.”

“Mmm… You just have to pretend to be in on it, and they end up telling you everything,” Hizashi laughed, grinning at Shouta. Despite his exasperation, he couldn’t help but smile back at his friend. Sitting with Hizashi and watching their kids, a soft warmth-

(No- No- What was that? They’re not our- He’s just helping me make sure they’re fine-)

Standing abruptly, Shouta looked over to the see-saw, “Hey! Hikkun, Shouchan!” Ignoring Hizashi’s confused stare, he focused as his youngest boys looked over to him, “Hizashi said he’s gonna get you ice cream!”

Their eyes widened as they scrambled off the see-saw, rushing for Hizashi as he stood up. The blond gave him a wry smile, “Fair enough, Shouta.” Catching the boys as they collided with him, he laughed, “Alright, little listeners! Let’s go get you some ice cream!”

Watching them leave, Shouta didn’t notice as Fuyumi came to stand beside him or the small fond smile that found its place on his face. When she pulled on his sleeve, curious grey eyes met his, “Are you ok, Aizawa? Your face is pink, did you get sunburn?”

She frowned in worry as he touched his cheeks in confusion, “Oh no, are you getting heat sickness? Natsu-kun or I could make ice for you…”

Blushing, Shouta shook his head, “No- I’m fine, Fuyumi-chan. C’mon, let’s get Touya-kun and Natsu-kun.” Ignoring her confused look, he went to collect the rest of his children.

Maybe he did get sunburned, why else would his face be so warm?

---

For the last two years, Hizashi had whined at and tried to cajole Shouta into attending the annual Hero Gala, to actually socialize with their fellow heroes for once. Shouta always said there was no need, that underground heroes didn’t need to bother with nonsense like the pageantry of a gala. After the last year or so of cohabiting with him however…

Well, Hizashi was grateful for the small break from being around his crush. His embarrassingly long-lived, just getting worse every day he woke up and saw Shouta’s sleeping face, how-has-this-lasted-four-years crush.

Nemuri gave him a pitying look over her champagne flute, a wry twist to her lips, “He’s not even here and you’re pining, Hizashi?”

He groaned, “Is it that obvious?”

“Only because I know you, and what to look for,” she snorted.

After a moment, he sighed, “I’m in deep, Nemuri. I think I’m losing my mind…”

“Oh, hun…” Laughing, she gave his shoulder a pat, “Not to say I told you so, but…”

“Neeeeem,” she had told him. The moment they had told her their plan, she’d given him a look and later had called him an idiot. With a pleading look, he whined, “He’s just so handsome… and sweet and attentive to the kids… He cares so much about them.”

“Well with all the effort he put into getting them away from their father, I sure fucking hope he cares about them,” both of them looked to the front of the gala hall, eyes narrowing darkly at Endeavor’s table.

After a moment, he pulled her attention back, “Did Shouta tell you that Touya-kun’s binder finally showed up the other day?”

Brightening, she grinned, “Oh! That’s great! How did he like it?”

“Mmm… He cried, happy tears of course…” Hizashi smiled softly, the memories of the moment flooding his mind, “He hugged Shouta and I, kept saying thank you to us. And then ran around the apartment and kept on…” motioning to Nemuri, he skimmed his hands over his own chest in imitation.

“Yea, he was probably marveling over how flat it was.” Leaning on her hand, she hummed, “Thankfully he has you two, so he never developed that much before getting puberty blockers. I remember Chatora-kun telling me what a pain it was when he had to bind…”

Hizashi froze, blinking slowly at Nemuri. Of course, he knew Chatora. How he had come back from Thailand looking completely different but still wearing his team’s uniform with pride. How cold the usually bubbly rescue team would get if anyone dared to refer to him incorrectly. But…

“You know what the old bastard used to say, Yumi-chan… I’m only good for training Shouchan.”

“But you always wanted to be a hero, Tou-nii! I’m sure Aizawa or Yamada or Kayama-san could help you…”

“Who would take a hero like me seriously? My quirk isn’t right for my body, hell I’m not right for my body…”

Grabbing her hand, Hizashi leaned close to Nemuri, “Hey, do you think… Do you think Touya-kun would like to meet Chatora-san?”

He could see the moment it clicked in her head, her eyes widening, “Oh my god… how didn’t we think about this?” Looking around, she stood and pulled him with her, “I think I saw their group over there…”

In the end, Chatora needed little convincing. All Hizashi needed to do was explain how amazing Touya was, how confident the boy had grown even in the last year. But even with the full support of his family, he still didn’t have someone who knew exactly what he was going through. The rescue hero had eagerly agreed to meet up after that, tears in his teammates’ eyes.

Which is how Hizashi ended up leading a confused Touya to a local cafe. Maybe he could have told the kid a bit more, but in his excitement over surprising him all he’d told Touya had been ‘just wear the outfit that makes you feel the most you.’

If that turned out to be some all black bastard child of angura kei and punk, well, it made his chuunibyou son happy.

As they rounded the last corner, Touya tugged him to a stop and frowned at him, “Yamada, can you please tell me what’s going on?”

Chewing his lip, Hizashi looked between Touya and the cafe, “Alright- Ok so-” Pulling him to the side, he sighed, “So, you remember how I went to the Gala the other night with Nemuri?” Once Touya nodded, he continued, “While we were there, we ran into a friend of hers that I thought you might like to meet.”

“A hero…?” Hizashi winced as Touya’s lip curled, “Why would I want to meet someone from the Gala?”

“Ok- I get it, but, I promise they’re not a rank chaser. Have a little bit of trust in Nemuri and I, ok?” After a moment, Touya nodded slowly and followed as Hizashi led him the rest of the way.

Chatora was easy to spot in the small shop, the man easily towering over the rest of the patrons. Guiding Touya along, Hizashi smiled at his fellow hero, “Chatora-san! Thanks again for meeting with us!”

Laughing, the man grinned, “Of course, after you and Nemuri-chan explained the situation, I had to say yes.”

Smiling, Hizashi looked at Touya, “Well, I’ll get introductions out of the way so we won’t waste any time. Chatora-san, this is Touya-kun, Shouta and I’s oldest son. Touya-kun, this is Chatora Yawara-san, also known as the Pro Hero Tiger. He’s a member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats hero team.”

Taking a seat, Touya inclined his head as Chatora grinned, “It’s nice to meet you, Touya-kun.”

“It’s nice to meet you too…” Frowning, he looked between Hizashi and Chatora, “I don’t know that much about that team, but aren’t they an all women team?”

Chatora leaned forward, his grin widening, “We were before I publicly transitioned.”

Hizashi could see the moment it clicked in Touya’s head, stars coming to life in the boy’s eyes. As he leaned forward, questions falling from his lips, Hizashi sat back and watched with a fond smile.

---

Touya had an idea.

It was a crazy idea, insane even. Eleven years as Endeavor’s disappointment had cemented in his mind that this idea was completely out of his reach. One year away from that was no reason to change the rules of reality. But-

“You’re a good big brother, Touya.”

“Endeavor was wrong, about all of you.”

“You deserve to have a childhood, to be happy.”

“Touya’s our eldest son.”

“It’s not easy, being a hero and being the real me. But I’m also the happiest I’ve ever been, I get to help and save people all while being me.”

Aizawa, Yamada, Kayama, and Chatora’s words all whirled in his mind in a never ending playlist. Support, affection, acceptance filled his lungs in tandem with air. The fact that he was allowed to dress however he wanted, Fuyumi got to relax and not worry about them, Natsuo was flourishing under the genuine attention of their guardians, and Shouto was actually allowed to be a kid…

Looking up from his book, Touya took in the family room. Natsuo was showing Fuyumi the video game that Aizawa and Yamada had gotten him as an end of school year gift. They had all gotten gifts like that, a book series Fuyumi had been excited about, new toys for Shouto and Hitoshi, and a gift card to a pop-up punk store at the 109 and a promise to go that weekend for him. The youngest two were playing next to him, Hitoshi’s precious Himechan perched on the table between them. Aizawa and Yamada were in the kitchen, signing to one another as they prepared dinner.

So many impossible things in an impossible home, full of warmth and promise.

Steeling himself, Touya got off the couch and made his way to the kitchen. Yamada gave him a blinding smile once he noticed him, “Hey Touya-kun! Dinner should be ready soon, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Aizawa inclined his head, “If you’re done with your book and don’t mind, do you want to set the table?” Touya knew Aizawa was being genuine too, that if Touya said ‘no,’ the man would nod and go set the table himself. There’d be no lecture, no reprimand. At most, he’d just ask why so he could understand .

Taking a deep breath, Touya nodded slowly, “I will, I wanted to ask something first.” The two turned completely to him, their attention undivided. “...You said that whatever we want to do, you’ll support us as best you can, right?”

“Of course, Touya-kun.”

“What if I- That is, if I decided to be… Do you think…” Touya gripped his wrist as he squeezed his eyes shut, “Dad, Pops, do you think I could be a hero?”

Silence answered him, until he opened his eyes and saw Yamada’s crying face and Aizawa’s wide gaze. Meeting his eyes, Aizawa nodded firmly, “You’d be an amazing hero, Touya. If you set your mind to it, you’d be great at anything you decided to do.”

Ignoring the feeling of his nails digging into his skin, Touya chewed his lip, “But my quirk hurts me. How can I save anyone like that…?”

“We can get you support equipment! That’s what school’s for, figuring that out!” Yamada burst out, bouncing on his heels, “Sorry, I just- I’m excited- Which one am I? Am I Pops or Dad?”

Aizawa elbowed Yamada sharply, “Now’s not the time, Hizashi.” A soft gaze turned to him, Aiz- his dad smiling warmly, “If that’s what you want to do, Touya-kun, we can work some quirk tests into your schedule. See what support equipment might help you.”

“I-... Y-Yea! O-Ok…” Ignoring his own tears, Touya glanced at Yamada, “... You’re Pops, Aizawa’s Dad.”

Pops looked at dad with teary eyes, his voice reverent as he whispered, “I’m ‘pops,’ Shouta…”

From behind, Fuyumi spoke up, “Oh! Are we finally calling them our dads?”

“Finalllyyyy, I’ve been calling them that at school all year.”

Touya laughed, smirking over his shoulder, “You didn’t have to wait on me y’know.”

His sister walked over and bumped their shoulders, “Well, duh, but we wanted to.”

Natsuo joined them, “Uh-huh! Also, you’re gonna be a hero, Touya-nii?”

Glancing at their dads, Touya nodded slowly, “I’m gonna try… Dad said they’d help me find a way to use my quirk without hurting myself.”

Blinking, Fuyumi tilted her head, “Could I… I mean my ice hurts me too but… could I be a hero? Fa… Endeavor always said my ice wasn’t enough…”

Natsuo leaned against the counter, staring at them, “He always said mine was weak. But if Touya-nii and Yumi-nee can do it… We can all be heroes, right!?” Eyes widening, his little brother shook Touya’s arm, “We could be a hero team! All five of us! If Hikkun and Shouchan want, of course.”

Wiping his eyes, Pops gave them a watery smile, “Y-yea. We’ll figure something out, book a quirk training gym and see what you guys need. I can contact the agency that makes my support equipment too… we’ll figure it out.”

Their dad reached out, ruffling both Touya and Natsuo’s hair, “For now, how about you heroes-to-be go set the table.”

When he texted Chatora later, telling the hero what he and his siblings had asked their dads, all the other hero could do was send a tidal wave of celebrating stickers.

Chapter Text

Shouta watched as his kids explored the quirk gym he and Hizashi had booked for the afternoon. ‘His kids’... that was still so new. Of course, in the last year or so he’d thought of them as such, but hearing them call him and Hizashi ‘dad’ and ‘pops’... For them to come to them and ask them if they can be heroes, too…

Oboro, are you watching? Are you proud of us?

It felt odd, thinking of Hizashi and himself as dads, as a team. The three of them had wanted to be a hero team, yes, but to be parents together? To wake up in the same room, the quiet conversations once all the kids were asleep, the divvying of chores and parental responsibilities for the schools. Waking up to Hitoshi curled up next to him in his futon, and looking up to find Shouto curled up in a circle of Hizashi’s arms.

Hizashi. His- friend? My partner? Isn’t that too intimate? Co-parent sounds too clinical. What even are we-

“Dad.”

Blinking, Shouta looked down to find Touya standing in front of him. Natsuo and Fuyumi were still exploring the room, Hizashi sitting to the side entertaining Shouto and Hitoshi. Tilting his head, he nodded, “Touya-kun, was I spacing out?”

The boy nodded, chewing his lip, “Yea… Why are Shouchan and Hikkun here?”

Ah… that makes sense . Shouta had known they would have to treat this carefully, considering Touya and Shouto’s past with ‘training.’ Seeing his little brother in a training room again… Giving a soft hum, Shouta carefully placed a hand on Touya’s shoulder, “They’re just here so Hizashi and I can take turns watching them. They’re not going to be taking part in anything.”

After a moment, Touya nodded, “Okay. What are we gonna do, anyway?”

Calling Fuyumi and Natsuo over, Shouta looked his children over, “Alright, so today we’re just going to do an assessment and see what your quirks can do. If it looks like you’re going to hurt yourselves or each other, I will cancel your quirks.” Taking in their anxious looks they exchanged, he crouched down and gave them a serious look, “If I have to use my quirk, it’s in no way a sign that you failed, or did poorly. It’s just a safety net, understood?”

Once they all nodded, he smiled at them, “Alright, we’ll go Touya-kun, Yumi-chan, and then Natsu-kun, alright?”

Natsuo frowned, his lip jutting out in a pout, “Why do I gotta go last?”

“Since Touya-kun, unfortunately, has experience using his quirk we’ll be quick. Since we know less about you and Yumi-chan, I wanted to give enough time to each of you,” scrubbing a hand through Natsuo’s hair he grinned, “After that I just figured age order was fine.”

He huffed before nodding slowly, “Alright… But I’ll be right here watching!”

Shouta nodded, and once Natsuo and Fuyumi were situated nearby, he turned to Touya, “Ok, how about you tell me your limits, Touya-kun?”

His son blinked, “I mean- I can do better- I just have to tough it out, right?”

Fuck.

“Mmm…” Shouta hummed, “That’s what support equipment is for. Hizashi’s speaker, my goggles and eye drops, those let us push past our limits without hurting ourselves. They also let us supplement the areas we might be lacking, like with how my capture weapon helps me in physical fights.”

Touya chewed his lip, “... And you won’t be mad?”

“I won’t be mad, promise. I’ll only be upset if you don’t listen to Hizashi or I and really hurt yourself, and even then it’ll be worry, not anger.”

Slowly, he nodded and held up his hand, a small flame flickering in his palm, “I can’t really control the temperature of my fire, it’s always the hottest possible. If I maintain it for longer than fifteen seconds my hand starts to go numb… longer than that I start getting burned.” Snuffing out the flame, Touya shook his hand with a furrowed brow, “I can do blasts, cover myself in fire, and make walls.”

Carefully catching Touya’s hand, Shouta looked it over. The palm was pink, a sheen of sweat coating it, his fingers still flexing to get feeling back. Carefully massaging the boy’s hand to get the blood flowing, Shouta nodded, “And you said you’re resistant to ice?”

“Yea, touching Yumi-chan’s ice feels the same as grabbing a drink from the fridge. I know it’s cold, but it doesn’t sting or anything. I can also walk around in winter with just a t-shirt and shorts. I don’t stick to frozen things either.”

Shouta frowned, “How did you find out you didn’t stick to frozen things?”

“... Natsu-kun dared me to lick a pole in winter two years ago.”

“... Sure,” rubbing his chin, Shouta tilted his head, “Does your body still react to the cold, otherwise? Like when Natsu-kun ices your nose, or a bruise.”

“Mm… The swelling goes down a bit, but not as much as it should.”

“Ok, just one more question I think, Touya-kun.” Once he nodded, Shouta asked, “If you hold something, or touch it, can you heat it up without producing a flame?”

“Without a flame…?” Touya fidgeted with his shirt, before nodding slowly, “Kinda? Not for long. Temperature control is hard so sometimes I’d melt what I was holding.”

Shouta smiled, “Thanks for telling me, Touya-kun.” Shifting his weight, he looked over to Hizashi, “Sounds like practice in temperature control, quick bursts over sustained flame, and precision to minimize excess quirk usage.”

The blond nodded from his spot against the wall, “A cooling system wouldn’t go amiss either, because of Touya-kun’s ice resistance they could probably use liquid nitrogen or something, after some tests. Also, a gel for topical use, yea?” Tapping his chin, Hizashi hummed, “Probably can be infused with a healing and cooling quirk.”

He nodded back, “Agreed.” Looking back to Touya, he smiled, “Anything else, Touya-kun? If not, You can go watch with Natsu-kun, or go hang out with Hizashi.”

Touya blinked, “That’s it?” He looked around, his brow furrowed, “But- That can’t be it…”

“Today’s just about figuring out your quirks and your needs, Touya-kun.” Ruffling Touya’s hair, he smiled, “Next time, we’ll go through more exercises and work on preparing you for the entrance exams. But Hizashi and I need today so we can make sure it’s safe for you three.”

After a slow nod, the boy walked over to join Hizashi and the toddlers in a daze. Motioning to Fuyumi, he waited for her to join him, “Now, Yumi-chan, you have less experience using your quirk, right?”

The girl nodded, rocking on her heels, “Endeavor told me that my ice wasn’t enough for hero work, dad. So the most I’d use it for would be icing bruises and making ice baths…”

“Ok,” stepping to the side, Shouta motioned to the gym floor, “Try and make your largest piece of ice, without hurting yourself.”

He asked her a few more questions, having her demonstrate a few more things before he nodded, “So we’ll work on finesse and creating more ice without it hurting you as well… also begin some self defense training.”

Hizashi spoke up then, giving Fuyumi a gentle smile, “Heating gel, probably, then? Also with a healing component like Touya-kun’s, right? A heating system isn’t as important right now, since Yumi-chan’s still got all of middle school before any entrance exams.” Blinking, the man snapped his fingers, “What about something like your capture weapon, Shouta?”

Crossing his arms, Shouta closed his eyes, “Mmm… it would be beneficial, but let’s get the basics down first.” Opening his eyes, he smiled to his daughter, “Any questions, Yumi-chan? Or do you want to join your brothers and Hizashi?”

Rubbing her arms, Fuyumi pursed her lips, “You… really think it’s enough? It’s not really spectacular like Tou-nii or Shouchan’s…”

“I wouldn’t lie to you guys,” humming, Shouta made a point in catching Natsuo’s eyes as well, “Being a hero is dangerous, I wouldn’t encourage you to do this if I didn’t think you could. Frankly, if you told me you wanted to be a teacher or an office worker, I’d be just as happy. What matters though, is your own happiness.”

Slowly, she nodded before going to join Touya and the rest. Before Shouta could even look for Natsuo, the boy was in front of him thrumming with energy, “My turn! My turn, right, dad?”

Laughing, Shouta scrubbed a hand through Natsuo’s hair, “Yea, yea. Go ahead, Natsu-kun, show me what you’ve got.”

Watching Natsuo create layers of ice over the floor and the targets, Shouta frowned in thought. Before he could go for another target, Shouta stopped him, “Natsu-kun, have you ever tried to generate ice in the air?”

He received a frown in return, “But my ice only coats things. I can’t create slabs or spikes like Yumi-nee or Shouchan.”

“Mmm… This might be complicated, but try to follow me, ok?” Once the boy nodded, Shouta pursed his lips, “Everything, even air, is made of stuff called molecules. So, theoretically, you might be able to freeze those molecules in the air.”

Furrowing his brow, Natsuo turned his gaze to the air in front of him. After a moment, his head cocked to the side, “I think… it looks like glitter in the air, dad.”

Hizashi met Shouta’s wide gaze with one of his own, blinking at each other, “Diamond dust…?”

The boy perked up, jumping, “What’s that, what’s that?”

Chewing his lip, Shouta sighed, “It's a fine crystal like ice, at high speeds it can be very sharp… We’ll need to do more experiments, see what you can do with your ice, Natsu-kun. We’ve got a while before you need to worry about school, so we’ll focus on figuring out your limits and teaching basic self defense, ok?”

Grinning, the boy nodded, “Yea! Sounds good, dad!” before running over to his siblings.

Rubbing his temples, Shouta sighed. He and Hizashi had a lot of planning they needed to do.

~~~

“Next for introductions we have… Aizawa-san?”

Looking up from her desk, Fuyumi stood and smiled, “It’s nice to meet everyone, I’m Aizawa Fuyumi. Let’s help each other out.”

Before she could take her seat again, her teacher’s brow furrowed, “Aizawa… Do you have an older brother, Aizawa-san?”

“Ah, yes? Touya-nii, he’s in his second year.”

“Of course! The white hair should have been a give away,” her teacher smiled at her brightly, “I taught him last year, he was a good student.”

With a strained smile, Fuyumi gave a small bow, “I’m glad you had a good experience, sensei.” Once she sat down and the teacher moved on, she sighed. Hopefully, the next three years wouldn’t be filled with all their teachers constantly bringing up Touya.

Though- I suppose, if we all go to UA then by the time Shouchan and Hikkun… They’ll have to deal with the legacy of three siblings…

By the time lunch came around, Fuyumi had forgotten about her homeroom teacher’s comment. Classmates had asked to eat with her, some of the others remembering her from the last year of elementary school. She didn’t have to waste time going to the cafeteria either, just having to reach into her school bag and-

“Oh no…”

One of her classmates blinked at her, “Aizawa-chan? Is everything alright?”

Fuyumi sighed, “My lunch isn’t in my bag…” Who’s bag had it ended up in? Before, as long as it wasn’t Touya she could easily go get her bento. But now… what was the likelihood that it wasn’t Natsuo, Shouto or Hitoshi?

“Oh no, do you have enough in your coin purse to get something…?” The girl didn’t look convinced even as she said it, chewing her lip.

“Mmm, maybe…? I don’t usually carry a lot-”

“Yumi-chan.” 

The classroom quieted, Fuyumi looking up to see Touya leaning into the classroom. With his usual look of indifference, Touya looked over her classmates before he finally saw her and walked over.

“Tou-nii? What’s up?”

“Pops put your lunch in my bag,” shrugging, her brother placed the bundled bento on the desk in front of her, “Came to bring it to you when I realized.”

She smiled up at him, “Ah, thank you, Tou-nii! I’ll make sure to double check in the mornings.”

He shrugged again, “Eh, as long as it’s not Natsu-kun, Shouchan or Hikkun, you’re fine. See you after school.”

As he turned and walked away, she called after him, “See you after school, Tou-nii!” She laughed as he lazily waved over his shoulder at her and left the room.

Turning back, she finally saw the wide eyed stares of her companions. Blinking, she looked around, “Is everything alright…?”

One girl leaned forward, her voice barely a whisper, “Aizawa-chan, your big brother’s so hot.”

Her nose wrinkled, Fuyumi pulled out her bento and chopsticks, “Gross.”

~~~

“Nooooooooo!”

Touya stared at the ceiling as Shouto continued to wail. He was supposed to get the five year old ready to go to the barber with him and dad, but the moment he’d mentioned haircut…

“No- no- no- Nooooooooo!!!” 

Shouto had thrown himself on the floor, only half in his pants and tears streaming down his face. What was he even supposed to do? His brother wouldn’t respond to anything he said, would flail and cry harder when he tried to touch him at all, and dad would be coming back soon-

“What’s going on, Touya-kun?”

Nope, dad was back now. Rubbing his face, Touya gave him a lost look, “I told Shouchan we needed to get ready, and then he started crying. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do-”

But the older man just nodded and went to sit next to his brother, expression soft as he looked the boy over. Carefully, he smoothed a hand over red and white hair, “Hey, Shouchan…”

His brother sniffled, watery eyes opening to stare at their dad, “No-!”

An instinctive part of Touya flinched while dad just nodded in understanding, “Alright, ‘no’ it is. Can I know what’s ‘no,’ Shouchan?”

Touya and Shouto both blinked at him, confused. Unbothered, their dad continued, “I have to know what’s making you feel so unhappy, Shouchan. Once we figure that out, then we’ll know for the future, right?”

Sniffling, Shouto’s tears began to slow down, “... No haircut, don’t wanna.”

With a smile, the adult nodded, “That’s a start, thank you. Can you tell me why?”

The kid squirmed, “Don’t like- The scissor sounds in my ears. An’ how they push my head…”

“Thank you for telling me that, Shouchan. Is that all, or are there any other feelings?”

Shouto shot a look at Touya, the toddler chewing his lip, “... Wan’ long hair, like Yumi-nii an’ dad an’ pops…”

Smiling, he scooped Shouto up, giving the boy a hug, “No problem, bud. We’ll talk to Hizashi and figure it out, ok?”

As their dad finished dressing Shouto, Touya furrowed his brow, “Dad…”

“Mm, yea, Touya-kun?”

That’s just how their dad was, wasn’t it? He was never upset with them over their emotions, always trying to listen and give options to them. If Touya, Fuyumi or Natsuo said they were tired from training he'd always end it there, or take a break. If they didn’t understand their homework, he’d sit and help them, and if they wanted to be alone he would leave but make sure they knew where he was.

He and pops always listened and actually acted on what they said…

Tugging on his shirt, Touya looked to the side, “C… Could I dye my hair, actually…?”

A moment of silence before- “Sure, what color?”

He blinked, “Eh- That easy? You agreed so quick…”

Dad snorted, gently combing Shouto’s hair with his fingers, “Well, yea. You’re a kid, now’s the time for you to experiment with that stuff. Plus it’s your hair. We’ll have to make a different appointment, we’re only booked for a cut today… but we can talk to them about dye afterwards.”

“O-Oh! C-Cool, awesome, yea!” Rocking on his heels, Touya grinned, “I was thinking- Uhm, black?”

Carrying Shouto, the kid nodding off from the energy his tantrum took, dad cocked his eyebrow at him, “You were worried about asking to dye your hair the most common color…? My hair color?” Laughing, he ruffled Touya’s hair, “Yea sure, c’mon, let’s get going.”

“Mm, ok, dad!”

~~~ 

Hitoshi was six years old and Shouto was his best friend. He was also his brother, but both were so amazing he could never choose what to call him. Two years ago, if you had told him he had a best friend and a brother he wouldn’t have believed you.

Not even to mention that he actually had three brothers and a sister. And two awesome amazing dads.

But Shouto was his best friend in the whole entire world. Tou-nii, Yu-nee and Na-nii were all great big siblings, but Shouto was always with him! They shared a room, went to school together, and they always played together.

And he was an older brother, too! Which meant he was in charge of protecting Shouto when it was just them, according to Tou-nii. So it was Hitoshi’s job to get in the way when too many people crowded around his brother, and make sure he had ‘room to breathe.’ Whatever that meant.

Shouto helped him too! Whenever another kid or a teacher made a comment about his quirk, Shouto would be the first to defend him.

He loved his brother so much, he loved all his siblings and his pops, and he loved his dad the absolute most. It was hard for Hitoshi to remember before dad had found him, it was mostly a haze of bad feelings that would come back when he had nightmares. What he did remember was dad bringing him to the doctor and a few days later being in a new home with him.

He remembered his dad’s soft patience and voice during those months. How he’d always listen even when Hitoshi couldn’t talk, couldn’t force the words out. How, even now, whenever he had a bad dream dad would pull him into a hug and stay until morning to keep the bad dreams away.

That wasn’t important right now though, the point was that Shouto was his best friend ever. He even let him play with his precious kitty stuffie, Himechan. Even pops wasn’t allowed to move Himechan without being watched.

It was one afternoon, late in February, when Hitoshi and Shouto were bored. Tou-nii, Yu-nee, and Na-nii all had ‘finals’ and ‘homework’ that they needed to study for or do and had left them alone to play. 

The thing was they didn’t know what to play.

Shouto’s arms were crossed, his eyes squeezed tight in thought, “Mmmnnnn…”

Shifting his weight on the floor, Hitoshi tilted his head, “Have you come up with anything?”

His brother shook his head, his longer white and red hair ruffling in the air, “No… my eyes just hurt now…” Opening them back up, he turned his gaze to Himechan, “Has Himechan had any ideas?”

Carefully, Hitoshi picked up the well loved stuffie, stroking his fingers over the white and brown fur, “Hmm… maybe we’ll think of something on the balcony?”

“Didn’t dad say not to go without him?”

Standing, Hitoshi grinned, “Yea, but Tou-nii and Na-nii’s room can see the balcony!”

“Oh… right!” Standing Shouto stepped towards the balcony before turning, “You should wear a jacket though, it’s cold out there, Hikkun!”

“You’re so smart, Shouchan!”

To be honest, the balcony was rather boring. They didn’t have anything out there except a few potted plants and the clothes line. But maybe the different location would spark something for him and Shouto to do.

As he was about to give in and suggest they go back inside, Shouto frowned and held up a hand, “Do you hear that, Hikkun?”

Pausing, Hitoshi looked around, “Hmm…” Straining his ears, his eyes widened, “Oh-!”

There, from the side street that lined their apartment, he and Shouto could hear-

“It sounds like kitties, right? Hikkun?”

Nodding wildly, Hitoshi bounced, “It does! But… we can’t see them cause of the wall…”

After a moment, Shouto tilted his head, “If we’re just going to the side alley… and make sure to get back quickly…”

“Then pops and dad won’t know and won’t get mad!” Sharing grins, the two ran back into the apartment, hurrying to the front door. “Wait!” Hitoshi looked around, until he found the dish of keys, “If we’re going out, we gotta be like Tou-nii and Yu-nee and remember to bring keys.”

Nodding seriously, Shouto stood on his tiptoes and blindly grabbed one of the key rings, “Ok! Let’s go see the kitties!”

Carefully placing Himechan next to the key dish, Hitoshi gave her head a soft pat, “Watch the house, Himechan,” before following Shouto out the door.

Once on the street, the meows became louder, easily leading Hitoshi and Shouto to a cardboard box. Eyes widening, Hitoshi stared into the box, “Shouchan! There’s two kitties!”

They both peered inside, watching as the two kittens walked around the box and occasionally meowing up at them. Pointing at one of them, Shouto giggled, “That one’s all white! Like Tou-nii and Yu-nee!”

Hitoshi grinned, “Yea! And that one’s black and white! Like Shouchan’s red and white!”

After watching them for a little bit longer, Shouto stepped back and frowned at the box, “Hey, Hikkun, there’s something written on the box…”

Looking for himself, Hitoshi frowned as well, “Ta… Tada… de?” Looking at Shouto, he tilted his head, “For Free?”

“...Ah! They don’t have a home!” Mismatched eyes sparkled as he looked at Hitoshi, “Like we didn’t until dad found all of us!”

“So if we take them…”

“We’ll be saving them like dad and pops saved us!”

“And we’ll be heroes!” Grinning, they looked back at the box. Nodding, Hitoshi motioned, “We should carry them up still in the box, they might get scared if we pick them up and hurt themselves.”

“Yea!” Carefully, they each took a side of the box and slowly carried it back to their apartment. As they pushed their front door open to shuffle in with the box, the upset voices of their siblings greeted them.

“-kun doesn’t go anywhere without Himechan, Natsu-kun! The fact that she’s just there-!”

“Ohgod ohgod, dad and pops are gonna kill us, we’re dead, we’re so dead.”

“Ito-san next door said she hasn’t seen them, where the hell could they have gone-”

“Tou-nii! Yu-nee! Na-nii!”

“Look what we found!” Shouto and Hitoshi both grinned at their siblings, carefully balancing the box as the kittens squirmed around inside.

Their siblings froze, staring at them from the living room until Fuyumi rushed over to them, “Hikkun, Shouchan! Where did you go!? We were so worried!”

Touya was next, sliding to a stop in front of them, “You could have gotten hurt-!? Are… those kittens?”

Hitoshi grinned, “Uh-huh! We saved them!”

As Fuyumi and Touya stared at them, Natsuo finally made his way over, “...We lost them and then they came home with kittens… Dad and pops are so gonna kill us.”

“Why are we going to kill you, Natsu-kun?”

Grinning, Shouto and Hitoshi held up the box to their dads, “Look! We saved kittens!”

As dad’s eyebrow slowly raised, quietly Hitoshi’s older siblings hissed in unison, “Shit…”

They got to name the kittens Rina and Yoru, and Hitoshi loved them so much.

Chapter Text

The psychiatric hospital that their mother had been admitted into was nicer than Touya had imagined initially. Eleven years old and scared, Touya had latched onto what he’d seen on TV; suffocating white walls, clipped and unfriendly staff, and drugged out patients floating around.

Instead, when Touya and his siblings had first visited her, they’d found their mother in a simple but pleasantly decorated hospital. The nurse that had checked in on them had even been kind and warm to them, bringing water and tea as they visited. 

Usually they all visited together, but Touya and dad had been visiting Nedzu at UA while the rest of his siblings were still in Tokyo with pops. Because of the dangers Touya’s quirk posed to his own well being, they could apply for a medical exception to the ‘no support items’ rule for the physical entrance exam. It just took a lot of paperwork that most people didn’t know about, so once they were done dad had suggested they visit mother since they were nearby.

It was the first time Touya would see his mother alone since they ran away.

As he entered the hospital’s day room, Touya’s mother looked up from the window with a soft smile, “Otou- No, Touya, what a surprise.”

Taking a seat, he gave her a small smile of his own. In the hell of the estate before dad and pops had taken them in, Touya hadn’t exactly had a chance to come out to mother until their first visit after the trial, “Yea, Dad- Er, Aizawa and I were in the area, so…”

Mother’s gray eyes had an odd look before her smile settled once again, “That’s great, I love seeing you all, whether planned or as a surprise.”

Relaxing, Touya hummed, “It’s good to see you too, mother. Sorry that the others aren’t here as well.”

Waving her hand, she shook her head, “I’m happy to see you , Touya. Now, tell me, what brought you and Aizawa-san to Musutafu? A bit of a trek from Tokyo, isn’t it?”

“Mm, yea, it is. About a two hour train ride…” Chewing his lip, Touya sighed, “We were uhm, visiting Principal Nedzu, at UA.” Scratching his cheek, he shot a glance at his mother, “About uhm… well, possible accommodations for the entrance exam.”

Placing a hand to her cheek, mother looked at him thoughtfully, “Your education was rather abnormal… So I see why you might need extra care for the exam, UA does have an extensive process for all of its courses…” A slight crease furrowed between her brow, “Are you struggling in any specific subject? Aizawa-san and Yamada-san haven’t said anything about any of your grades…”

Swallowing, Touya squirmed in his seat, “Ah… No, it’s not for any of the written portions… It’s for the practical portion for the hero course.” As she blinked at him, he pushed on, “There was paperwork, so I can use support gear during the exam. We were getting it started today.”

“The hero course, Touya…?” Flinching, he looked away as mother frowned at him, “With how your quirk hurts you, you still want to follow the path he made for you?”

Touya’s stomach twisted, “It-” What could he say? Technically, mother was right, he was still just walking the path that Endeavor had made for him and Shouto. He was just pushing back against the inevitable, ignoring the constant pain whenever he used his fire.

Except…

“It’s my dream now, mother.” Looking up at her, he gave her a slight grin, “Aiza-... No, Dad and Pops, they’ve gotten me support gear and have been training me, and I can use my fire now without it hurting me. Even when it turned blue, they made sure I was never hurt. I want to become a hero like them.”

Quiet gray eyes studied him before his mother sighed, “...I don’t want to see you hurt, Touya. Not again… I already failed you four for so long…”

Touya blinked at mother, “...Pops says that you were hurting too, with him. That there was only so much any of us could do on our own.”

A wry smile twisted her lips, “Even still, I was the adult, I should have done something long ago…” With a sigh, she looked out the window, “‘Dad’ and ‘Pops’... I’m glad they’ve been such a positive influence on you Touya.”

Fighting a blush, he shook his head, “You’re not mad…? That we call them our dads?”

Mother turned her serene smile back to him, “How could I be mad? Without them, I never would have been able to see your smile again. Or get to know you properly, Touya.”

Rubbing his neck, Touya laughed, “Ah, y-yea, of course, mother. I… I’m going to become an amazing hero, mother. I promise.”

With a nod, she laughed, “I’ll be cheering for you, I’ll be your number one fan, Touya!”

~~~

Shouta and Hizashi had been living together for almost three years. Living together, raising children together, scheduling their days and work around each other. They were best friends, sharing a room together, Shouta was rather certain he could say he knew everything about Hizashi.

Which is how he knew that in almost three years, Hizashi hadn’t gone on a single date.

It was none of Shouta’s business of course, Hizashi could do what he wanted. But he knew that his friend wasn’t disinterested in relationships. Back in school, he’d caught the tail end of conversations about Hizashi’s crushes with Oboro or Nemuri. The blond never seemed to want to talk about it with Shouta, so he left it alone, but he knew a few things;

1. Hizashi’s crushes were usually men
2. They were in the hero course back in school
3. They never seemed to reciprocate Hizashi’s feelings

Which, honestly, sounded like they didn’t deserve the other man’s affection. Maybe Hizashi just had bad taste? Even if he did, that didn’t mean Hizashi needed to be alone just because he was helping out with the kids. 

Now, to just get Hizashi to actually sit down and talk to him about it.

The opportunity ended up presenting itself a sleepy Sunday morning in the middle of summer as the kids all slept in. It was Hizashi’s turn to prepare breakfast as Shouta filled out reports, the atmosphere just so unbearably domestic. The blond deserved better than sharing such an intimate moment with a friend.

Setting the paper down, Shouta rubbed his eyes, “Hizashi.”

Looking up from the stove, Hizashi grinned, “Hm? Yea, Shou? What’s up?”

“...I’ll cut to the chase, I know I brought this up when this all started but I thought of it again… Are you sure all of this hasn’t fucked up your dating life?”

Shouta watched as an odd look coupled with confusion settled on the other’s face, “Like I told you, I don’t really date, Shou. So really, it’s fine.” Turning away, he hummed, “Don’t worry about it, ok?”

Shaking his head, Shouta stood up, “That’s bullshit, Hizashi. I know you had crushes back in school, even if you don’t have one now. You can’t be content to just hang around and help me like this.”

“Hey!” Turning around, Hizashi frowned at him, “I’m not just ‘hanging around and helping,’ they’re my kids too at this point.”

Rubbing his face again, Shouta nodded, “Fine- Yes, sorry. I didn’t mean to imply they weren’t. But my question still stands, Hizashi. I haven’t even heard you mention a group date or anything like that.”

“... Just drop it, Shouta, I don’t want to talk about this.” As Shouta opened his mouth to comment, Hizashi waved his hand and turned away again, “Can you go make sure Yumi-chan is up? She said she wanted to get ready before breakfast so she could meet up with some friends.”

“Hizashi-” with wide eyes, Shouta watched as Hizashi placed his hearing aids on the counter pointedly. Clicking his mouth shut, Shouta left the kitchen.

He’d just need to get answers somewhere else.

**

“Nemuri.”

“If it isn’t Papa Eraserhead!”

“Don’t… ever call me that again, Nemuri.”

She smirked at him as he settled on the roof ledge next to her, “Hmm, I’ll consider it. What brings you to my office, Shouta?”

Rolling his eyes, Shouta sighed, “I’m worried about Hizashi.”

Blinking, she leaned closer, “Hizashi? Is everything alright? He was alright the last time we talked, did something happen?”

“He’s fine physically…” propping his chin on his fist, Shouta took in the city below them, “We’ve been living together for a while now, but he hasn’t gone on any dates or talked about anyone he’s interested in…” Looking back, he frowned at the blank look Nemuri was wearing, “What? We’re young, he should be going out, right?”

“...Wow it’s worse than I had thought.”

“See? You agree, help me out-”

Nemuri shook her head, “No, you’re worse than I had thought, not Hizashi.” As he blinked at her, she plowed on, “You really have no idea, do you?”

Shouta frowned, “I know he likes men, and that his crushes back in high school never reciprocated.”

Rubbing her face, Nemuri sighed, “Ok that’s… partially right.” After a moment, she tapped her knee, “Alright, I’ll help you but I need you to go through a thought experiment with me.”

“How is a thought experiment going to help Hizashi?” At her pointed look, he huffed, “Fine, ok sure.”

“Thank you. Now, first, it’s not crushes. It’s singular, just one crush,” folding her hands, she looked him over, “Normally, I wouldn’t do this, but I’m tired of this song and dance soooo… I’ll tell you some stuff about him, and we can see if you can figure it out.”

His frown deepened, “Can’t you just tell me? It’s not someone like Sensoji, right?”

Snorting, she waved a hand, “It’s definitely not Sensoji. No, if you can’t figure it out, then all hope really is lost.” Stilling her hand, she began counting off her fingers, “He was in your class at UA, he transferred from the general studies course, he’d eat lunch on the rooftop, he found Sushi first-”

Waving his hands, Shouta cut her off, “Stop making jokes, Nemuri. I’m not stupid, I know you’re describing me.” Rolling his eyes, he leaned back, “If you weren’t seriously going to help me-”

“I am seriously helping you, Shouta.” Crossing her arms, she shook her head, “I’m so tired of watching Hizashi pine over you, and your dumbass not noticing.”

“You’re acting like it’s obvious, if you’re even right.”

“... Shouta, Principal Nedzu still texts me asking for updates on his ‘favorite romcom,’ ever since you two moved in together.”

Snorting, Shouta waved his hand dismissively, “Yea, I’m sure, Nemuri.”

Nemuri frowned, “I’m being serious, Shouta. I swear to Sushi. Do you think someone who’s ‘just a friend’ would move in with you and co-parent adopted kids?”

“He’s just helping me out, Nem-”

“No, what I do is ‘just helping,’ Shouta. You know, babysitting, showing up when I’m needed and then going home .” Pointing at him, she groaned, “Hizashi showed up everyday practically, brought you food, the whole nine yards, and that was when it was just Hikkun.”

“I-”

“No, listen to me, Shouta. Hizashi has always gone above and beyond for you, and yea it’s cause he’s a great guy. But it’s also because his limit for you is so different!”

Pressing his lips together, Shouta turned his gaze back out to the city. Hizashi’s doing all this because of me…? “... Let’s say you’re right-”

“Because I am.”

“Let’s say you’re right, why would he like me?” Sighing, Shouta watched a car on the street below, “There’s probably someone who would better match him.”

She blinked, “Would better match him…? What does that even mean?”

“I dunno, someone who’s as bright as him? Cheerful and loves music? Someone not…” he motioned to himself dismissively.

“Ok, first, I’d ask you not to shit talk yourself. That’s one of my best friends you’re talking about.” Rubbing her neck, she sighed, “And, I can’t speak for Hizashi but… aren’t opposites the best for long lived relationships? You know, to balance each other out? If he’s got his head stuck in the clouds, then you bring him back to Earth, yknow?”

Shouta made a disbelieving noise, fidgeting with his capture weapon, “… then at the least he deserves someone who likes him back.”

“Ah that is important…” leaning back, she looked at him thoughtfully, “So you don’t like him?”

“He’s my best friend, Nem-“

“Well, who do you like? Or liked?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? People always brought up crushed around him, going on about how their hearts beat and immediate attraction… “I don’t know, what does it feel like?”

“…. Eh? Shouta, you’re twenty one, surely you’ve had a crush.” At his blank look she rolled her eyes, “Even you’re not that oblivious, Shouta.”

“I dunno, Nemuri. In UA I was so focused on getting into the hero course, then it was figuring out what I wanted and then with Oboro…” shaking his head, he sighed, “And before high school, no one really wanted to bother with a kid who could erase quirks…”

“Oh… ok well…” swinging her legs, she hummed, “Well… outside of the usual heart racing and nervousness… I guess in the end they feel like home? Like when they’re with you you can finally relax. They’re someone you never want to lose from your life, that you’d trust with your most important treasure.”

Hizashi sitting next to him at the zoo and him finally closing his eyes-

The confusion and relief when Hizashi said he’d move in to help with five kids-

Peaceful mornings waking up to Shouto in Hizashi’s arms-

Choking on a cough, he looked away, “And how is that different from friendship?”

“Well… try to imagine me in that spot, I guess? I know you don’t have any feelings for me like that.”

Shouta frowned, glancing at her, “And how do you know that?”

“… Shouta, we met with me parading around naked. You only cared when I had pictures of Sushi,” rolling her eyes she motioned at him, “Well? Think about it.”

Sighing, he closed his eyes- Nemuri admitting she gave the kids ice cream- Her asking to move in- waking up to her-

“Ah-! Stop thinking about it! I feel like you’re about to grit your teeth to dust-! Was imagining me as your partner that bad-!?”

Opening his eyes, Shouta sighed, “The thought of seeing you 24/7 was… infuriating.”

“But with Hizashi…?”

He blinked, with Hizashi-

Oh.

“Oh… I can’t imagine my life without him…”

Throwing her hands up, Nemuri let out a whoop, “Fucking finally!”

**

Shouta’s sure that Nemuri had hoped that after his rooftop realization, he’d go straight home and tell Hizashi everything. Probably some dramatic scene that she could ( apparently ) regale Nedzu with. But that wasn’t logical, or fair to Hizashi.

Sure, Shouta knew he couldn’t imagine life without Hizashi somewhere in it, but did that mean he liked his friend like that?

No, what would be more unfair than leaving Hizashi to continue with his feelings would be to give him false hope. So, what were the facts?

1. Hizashi was Shouta’s best friend, he had had a copy to Shouta’s key long before he’d taken in Hitoshi.
2. Even when Shouta’s mind was hellish and all he wanted was to be alone, being alone with Hizashi was just as good.
1. (Even during their third year, when Shouta had been standoffish and rude to everyone in the midst of grief, Hizashi had been the only one to be welcomed past the charade.)
3. Shouta had learned JSL so he could always talk with, or at least listen to, Hizashi even if he didn’t want to wear his hearing aids that day.
1. (Shouta had even learned about the bands the Hizashi loved, because it made the blond smile just so-)
4. He couldn’t imagine being “dad” without Hizashi there as “pops.”

Ok, so I like my best friend…

As Shouta sighed over the revelation, Natsuo blinked up at him, “Are you alright, dad?”

“Ah, yea, sorry, Natsu-kun,” smoothing his hand over Natsuo’s forehead, he gave him a wry smile, “You were telling me about a game you and your friends were playing, right?”

At ten, Natsuo was too old for bedtime stories, but even as the boy had insisted he didn’t need them anymore he’d looked sad. So Shouta and Hizashi took turns sitting with Natsuo and listening to whatever he wanted to talk about before falling asleep. At least from what they could see, it helped ease any ‘middle child’ feelings he might end up with.

Natsuo frowned at him, taking a furtive glance at Touya’s sleeping form in the other bed, “Yea… Uhm, dad, can I ask you something?”

“Mmm, of course, Natsu-kun.”

“Are you… Uhmm…” Blinking, the boy chewed his lip, “Are you and pops fighting?”

Shouta blinked, “... What makes you think that?”

“Uhm, well… I dunno, you both seem tense around each other… and pops isn’t joking as much with you…”

After a moment, Shouta sighed and ruffled Natsuo’s hair, “You’re way too perspective, Natsu-kun. We’re not fighting, but we did have a small misunderstanding. I was actually going to talk to pops about it soon, ok?”

“... Alright, dad,” wriggling further into his covers, the boy grinned, “Yumi-nee always forgives Touya-nii and me if we make her cupcakes, you should make pops cupcakes.”

Chuckling, Shouta tucked Natsuo in, “Alright, Natsu-kun, I’ll keep it in mind. Good night.”

“Mmm, good night, dad. Love you.”

Natsuo’s eyes were already closed as Shouta blinked at him, a small smile twitching over his lips, “Yea, love you too, kid.”

After leaving the boys’ room, finding Hizashi was easy enough, the other man looking over reports on the couch. Growing blond hair loose around his neck, glasses slightly askew-

Handsome- Ah…

“Hizashi.”

Blinking, he looked up and grinned, “Ah, Shou! All the kids in bed?”

Sitting across from him, Shouta nodded, “Mm, just tucked Natsuo in.”

“That’s good… I was thinking, do you think we should take them on another trip this year. Before summer ends, you know? Maybe something outside of Tokyo?”

Shouta smiled, “Mm… sounds good. We can ask them if there’s anywhere they want to see…” Tapping his knee, he steeled himself, “... Hey, Zashi, we should date.”

Hizashi froze, blinking wide eyed at him, “Huh-!?”

“I’m sorry, that it took me so long to figure everything out. And I’d get it if I took too long, and you’re not interested. But… well, I finally put it all together, how you feel about me and how I feel about you so…” Shrugging, he gave Hizashi a hapless smile, “We should date.”

“I- That is-” rubbing his eyes, Hizashi shook his head, “This isn’t some… logical ruse, or a dream, right?”

Rubbing his neck, Shouta sighed, “I really must have fucked up if me asking you out only seems plausible in your dreams, Zashi. If you don’t want to-”

“ No ! No, no, Shouta, I’m not-” Laughing, he gave him a bewildered look, “There’s no way I’d say no after waiting this long. Hell yea, let’s give it a try, Shou.”

“This’ll be my… well, you know I’ve never dated or anything, so…”

Cutting him off, Hizashi grabbed his hand with a grin, “We’ll figure it out together, right? Shou?”

A slow smile spread across Shouta’s face, “Yea… together. We’re partners after all, Zashi.”

Hizashi's bright laugh filled the room, “Yea, partners to the end, Shou.”

Chapter Text

“And you have everything, right? Your cooling system, ice gel, athletic clothes-”

“I’ve got everything, don’t worry, Pops.” 

Hizashi gave Touya a pinched look, his hands fluttering around uselessly, “I’m sorry the heat sinks weren’t ready in time, Touya-kun. The support company told me it’d be quick, but apparently a component went on backorder…”

Shaking his head, Touya waved a hand, “Really, this is more than most people even get, Pops. And I’ve got your and dad’s training, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright…” with a sigh, Hizashi pulled Touya into a side hug, “We’re all rooting for you, remember that. No matter what happens today, we’re proud of you.”

Pausing his steps, Touya chewed his lip, “Even if I fail and end up in General Studies?”

“Shouta started in General Studies, you know. Now look at him,” giving Touya’s shoulders a squeeze, he smiled at him, “You ready, bud?”

Closing his eyes and letting out a breath, Touya nodded, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

~~~

“For your practical exams, you all will be going through a mock city emergency. There will be several manufactured obstacles and faux villains that you all will need to handle, all assigned their own point value.”

Touya leaned on his hand, watching the expression of the other students around him. A few were frantically reading the instructional sheets they had been given, others listening to the presenter with rapt attention.

“Attacking other participants is strictly prohibited, now is the time to show us your resolve to become heroes. There will also be obstacles and faux villains worth no points, so engage with critical thought.”

Looking further around the room, Touya blinked. In another section, someone with branching antlers on top of their head was scanning the room similarly to him. Catching their eyes, they blinked slowly at him before inclining their head and turning away.

Weird .

“The screen behind me shows each of your assignments. Please take note of the testing ground you need to go to, and proceed.”

Once in front of testing site gamma, Touya fidgeted with the cooling tubes around his wrists. If he knew one thing from his brief experiences with Principal Nedzu, there was always some implied but unexpected twist. There’d have to be something more than just obstacles and faux villains.

Well, whatever, he sighed as he rolled his neck. As long as I get enough points it should be fine, right?

As the proctor called them to the gate, Touya caught sight of antlers out of the corner of his eye. So they’re in the same section as me? He had little time to think about it before the gates were open and he was running, all other participants at the back of his mind.

Quickly, it became clear what they had meant by ‘mock city emergency.’ Along with the participants, robots marked by numbers rampaged and people with ‘civilian’ written on their shirts screamed from the rubble.

“Shit, alright.”

Thankfully, the robots weren’t fireproof, but with Touya’s own limitations he couldn’t take down as many as quickly as the others. Even still, he was doing pretty decently if he did say so himself. Everything was going smoothly, except-

“Keep moving-! The building is going to cave in-!”

The antler girl from before was trying to rush the civilians out of a collapsing building, someone hanging off her shoulders-

Shit they’re actually bleeding, someone got hurt-

She wasn’t going to make it, the person’s weight slowing her down. But what could he do-

“A hero’s job isn’t to beat villains, it’s to save people. Your ‘reward’ shouldn’t be glory, or fame, but knowing that someone is going to live to see their family because you were there.”

“... Fucking damnit, alright.” Turning on his heel, Touya grit his teeth. He didn’t have enough ice gel or coolant left to really do this move, but it was his best bet. Running as fast as he could at the building, he jumped and shot his flames out of his feet as he cried out, “Hold them tight!”

The girl blinked at him wide as he hurtled past them, “What-!?”

Using his fire to turn, he planted his feet on the rubble falling towards them and kicked off with a burst of flame.

Shit shit shit this hurts like hell-!

The momentum helped propel him, the girl, and hurt civilian out of the way of the falling building. Tumbling onto the asphalt of the road, he groaned as time was called for the exam, everything fucking hurts.

“How do you have 1st and 2nd degree burns and have a fire quirk?”

Opening his eyes (when did I close them?) he frowned at the girl, “Awfully fucking personal of a question after I saved your ass.”

Shrugging, she rummaged in her pockets, “Whatever, I’m pretty sure I have a burn cream on me somewhere…”

“I should have an emergency tube on my belt. On the left.”

As she grabbed the tube, she clicked her tongue at him and began applying the salve, “Anyone ever tell you that you’re weird?”

Touya groaned, “Anyone ever tell you that you have horrible bedside manners?”

Once the medical bots finally arrived, she helped him lean against one that wasn’t carrying a gurney, “All the time.”

**

“So tell me again what you were thinking, Touya-kun?”

Groaning, Touya rubbed his arm, “That a hero would save them, Shuzenji-baa-san.”

Rolling her eyes, Shuzenji turned from him, “You have good instincts, Touya-kun, but you can’t do that at your own expense. I won't always be there to heal you, nor will that girl for that matter.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Looking him over, she finally sighed, “Well, in the end the damage isn’t significant, and ideally you’ll have better support gear when you’re actually doing hero work.” Waving a hand, she turned away, “Get going, I’m sure Yamada-kun is waiting for you.”

Standing up from the bed, he gave her a nod, “Thank you, Shuzenji-baa-san.”

“Yes, yes, remember that if you pass these exams…?”

“It’s Recovery Girl or Shuzenji-sensei.”

“Good boy, now out with you.”

As Touya left the school, a now familiar voice called out, “Hey, weird fire guy.”

With a sigh, Touya turned around and watched the girl approach. Out of the exam, he could finally see something other than her antlers. She was definitely a heteromorph, not only with her antlers, but also a pair of deer ears and cloven hooves to match. Pale green hair hung loose and messy as her sharp pink eyes focused on him.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Touya arched an eyebrow, “What is it?”

With a sour look, she looked away, “... My name’s Shibuya Hisoka. I don’t like owing people, so just know we’re even.”

Touya blinked, “Even? How are we even?” Ignoring him, Shibuya kept walking away, “Oi-! How the fuck are we even-!?”

**

The wait for the letter from UA was nerve wracking to say the least. So when the envelope finally showed up in the mail, Touya could barely contain his excitement.

As he sat in the living room, dad leaned forward in his chair with a thoughtful look, “You don’t have to open it in front of all of us, Touya. I know how anxious you must be.”

Taking a deep breath, Touya nodded, “I am but… I’d rather be with you all.”

Pops smiled from his seat, as Fuyumi squeezed him in a hug. From his seat next to dad, Natsuo grinned, “The soba tonight is gonna taste so good when you get in, Touya-nii!”

Giving a tense smile, Touya nodded and finally opened the envelope and placed the holo-disk on the coffee table. As the device whirled to life, the presenter from the exam appeared before them. 

“Aizawa Touya-san, thank you for applying for the Hero Course at UA. As you are well aware, like other hero courses here in Japan, we are a very competitive program.”

Sighing, pops shook his head, “Even after all this time, they still have no sense of delivery…”

“Shush, Hizashi.”

“Starting with your written results, you received a four out of five. In regards to your practical…” As the man spoke, video footage of Touya fighting in the exam appeared beside him, “You received 32 villain points, coupled with your rescue points…” Now the video feed zoomed out, showing the ‘civilians’ who had been saved as Touya fought the robots.

I didn’t even notice them there…

“For those, you received 20 rescue points. Placing you at 52 points.” Shuffling some papers, the presenter looked up in the feed, “However, something else needed to be accounted for, Aizawa-san.” Motioning, the video changed to when he had saved Shibuya, “In this case, Shibuya-san had already been counted as saving that civilian, but as I said at the exam, we were seeing your resolve as a hero…

“It is UA’s belief that a true hero would act for the best interest of others, not for their own benefit. It took much deliberation from us teachers, but based on your actions to genuinely save Shibuya-san and the civilian, we have awarded you another 20 points. Placing you at 72 points.” A smile finally grew across the presenter’s face, “So, let me be the first to welcome you, Aizawa Touya-san, to UA’s Hero Course. You’ll find further information enclosed in the envelope you received this holo. See you at the opening ceremony, Aizawa-san.”

As the holo turned off, silence rang in Touya’s ears. Finally softly, he mumbled, “I… got in.”

With that, the floodgates opened as Natsuo and pops cheered, Shouto and Hitoshi joining along from the floor. Fuyumi giggled as she squeezed him harder, “I knew you’d get in, Tou-nii!!”

Dad grinned at him, pride evident as he leaned forward to ruffle Touya’s hair, “Your path to becoming a hero starts here, Touya-kun. We’ll talk about that stunt you pulled some other time, alright?”

Laughing, he nodded, “Yea, I know, dad. That move definitely made me motion sick, don’t worry.”

Jumping up, Natsuo waved his hands, “Nevermind that! Let’s have sansai soba! To celebrate Touya-nii!”

“Can we have zaru soba, instead?”

Crouching down to scoop Shouto up, Touya smirked, “When you get into UA, Shouchan, then we can celebrate with zaru soba.”

As they made their way to the kitchen, Hitoshi cheered with a grin, “Then when Shouchan and I get into UA we’ll have piles of zaru soba!”

“Yea, Hikkun! We’ll be the best!”

Dad laughed, shaking his head, “What about you two worry about elementary school first.”

Chapter Text

Three years since they moved into the Shibuya apartment.

Three and a half years since Shouta took in Hitoshi.

Half a year since Shouta and Hizashi started dating.

Had someone told Shouta when he graduated UA that this would be his life at twenty two, in a relationship with five kids, one of which about to enter high school, he would have never believed them. Yet here they were, a few days before Touya’s first day at UA, watching Fuyumi and Touya bicker over his uniform as Natsuo entertained Hitoshi and Shouto nearby. 

It was nearly picturesque in how domestic they all were. Except, their kids had no idea that Shouta and Hizashi were in a relationship.

At first it was so new, they didn’t want to tell the kids in case it didn’t work out.

(But they had known each other for years now, been friends since they were in their second year. Sure a romantic relationship was a completely different animal, but…

Mourning a friend at such a young age together and fighting alongside one another lent itself to better communication, after all.)

After the first few months however, telling them kept being put on the back burner for whatever reason. The kids’ cultural festivals were happening, they had exams, it was the holidays, it was three birthdays closely back to back, and then it was Touya’s entrance exam. By the time they had realized it had been months, and they had still not told the kids.

Sharing a look with Hizashi, Shouta cleared his throat, “Kids.”

Looking away from Touya, Fuyumi huffed at Shouta, “Dad, tell Tou-nii that he needs to wear his tie to school!”

Pushing his sister out of the way, Touya made his way over, “And you tell her that it’s not that big of a deal! It’s not like they’ll expel me for not wearing my tie.” As he flopped onto one of the seats, he paused with a frown, “They won’t, right?”

“They definitely will, UA’s prestigious for a reason, Tou-nii,” Fuyumi sniffed as she took a seat as well.

From the floor, Natsuo perked up, “If we’re talking about school rules, does that mean Touya-nii is gonna need to stop dying his hair? Since usually that’s a rule too?”

Touya’s nose scrunched up, “I’m not getting rid of my hair color.”

“If it’s a school rule, Tou-nii-”

“What do uniform rules matter!? My skill to become a hero should be the important bit-!”

“Okay- Okay! Settle down, listeners!” Quieting down, the three oldest turned their gazes towards Hizashi. Smiling, he waved a hand, “Shouta and I have something to tell you, but to answer your questions… Touya-kun, I’d recommend you wearing your tie, at least loosely. UA isn’t as strict as regular high schools, or places like Shiketsu, but they still have a certain standard.”

Nodding, Shouta hummed, “As for your hair, it should be fine. They won’t blink an eye at you having black hair instead of white.” Looking between then, Shouta sat forward, “Anything else or?”

After a pause, the three shook their heads. Tapping his knee, Shouta nodded to them, “So, there’s something Hizashi and I have been meaning to tell you, but it kept getting pushed back for one reason or another.”

“Nothing to worry about, of course!” Laughing, Hizashi rubbed his neck, “We just figured with Touya-kun going to high school now, we should all be on the same page.”

Curious blue and gray eyes all stared at them, even Shouto and Hitoshi pausing in their conversation to watch them. Rubbing his face, Shouta sighed, “I’ll get straight to the point. Hizashi and I are in a romantic relationship, we didn’t want to keep it from you.”

With a wry smile, Hizashi gave a weak laugh, “What a romantic way to put it, Shou…”

Giving Hizashi a dry look, Shouta turned back to… three blank looks. Finally Fuyumi gave them a tight smile, “Ah, good! Congrats!”

Nodding slowly, Natsuo grinned, “That’s great, dads! Thanks for telling us!”

Covering his mouth, Touya made a noise of agreement, “Mhmm, that’s really cool-”

“ That’s what you needed to tell us?”

Freezing, they all looked over to find incredulous looks on both Hitoshi and Shouto’s faces. Hitoshi’s nose wrinkled in confusion as he pet Rina, “Even we knew that, dad. I’ve known since you took me in.”

Sniffing as he pulled Yoru into his arms, Shouto side eyed them, “Are we supposed to be surprised or…?

As Shouta and Hizashi blinked, Fuyumi shushed at the two, “Let dads have this! They obviously built up a lot to tell us!”

Rubbing his face, Touya sighed, “If you just say it like that, doesn’t it also take it away from them, Yumi-chan?”

“Oh- huh, I guess…”

Frowning, Natsuo crossed his arms, “I mean… isn’t Dad an Underground hero…? He should be better at the whole cover up stuff then…”

“... Are you five done?” Groaning, Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose, “We haven’t been together since I took you in, Hikkun.”

The boy’s nose wrinkled even further, “Bullshit.”

“Ay, language, Hikkun.”

“Sorry, pops.”

“Hizashi and I only recently entered a relationship,” looking between their incredulous looks, he groaned, “I’m not lying, stop looking at me like that.”

Glancing at her brothers, Fuyumi chewed her lip, “I’m sorry, dad, it’s just… We figured with you two sharing a room, and taking in kids together…”

Clapping his hands, Hizashi smiled at them, “And that’s a great instinct. When you’re a hero, you’ll find that Occam’s Razor is usually a good basis to work with.”

Waving his hand at the confused looks, Shouta sighed again, “It’s an english phrase. It means that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. He’s saying that’s a good instinct to foster for hero work. Just in this case… it was even simpler.”

Nodding, Hizashi motioned, “Shouta only put it together last summer, so what you were picking up on was probably my feelings for him.”

Shouta blushed, narrowing his eyes, “ Hizashi , they don’t need to know that-!”

“Yea too much info, pops,” Touya looked away, his shoulders hunching in, “Are we done? Is there anything else we need to know, dads?”

Rubbing his face, Shouta sighed, “…. There was another thing, unrelated to that but, well, no time like the present.” Tapping his knee, he looked over their kids, “You all remember when we explained the foster stipend? And why we couldn’t just adopt you outright?”

Shifting on the floor, Natsuo nodded slowly, “Cause, since you two were so new to hero work, you needed the money so you could support us…”

Catching on, Hizashi snapped his fingers with a smile, “Right! You’re so smart, Natsu-kun. Well, since my radio show’s become more popular, and we’ve become more established as heroes, our incomes have become a lot more stable.”

Lacing his fingers, Shouta looked between the three eldest, “We looked over our budgets, and realized we can afford to, well, officially adopt one of you right now.”

Leaning forward, Hizashi smiled, “Of course, we’re gonna adopt all of you once we can afford it, but we thought-“

Sitting up straight suddenly, Touya stared at them, “It’s gonna be Hikkun, right?”

Nodding, Fuyumi motioned to the seven year old, “It’s gotta be Hikkun first, dads.”

Natsuo’s grin grew, “He’s been with you the longest, so it’s only right.”

“Eh? Eh?” Blinking, Hitoshi looked around them wide eyed, “But Tou-nii’s the oldest! Shouldn’t he get adopted first?”

Crossing his arms, Shouto nodded, “No, they’re right, Hikkun should definitely be adopted first. We wouldn’t be here without him!”

As they argued, Shouta and Hizashi couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. Finally quieting, Touya looked at them pointedly, “Well? Who is it, dads? You wouldn’t bring it up if you didn’t already have an idea.”

Wiping at his eyes, Hizashi nodded, “Mm, we did but, well…”

“We were going to ask your feelings on us adopting Hikkun first,” Shouta couldn’t help his fond smile as he shook his head, “But you four definitely answered it for us. Like ‘Zashi said, we’re planning on all of you but finances as they are…”

Fuyumi smiled, moving over to give a dazed Hitoshi a hug, Rina jumping away, “Isn’t that great, Hikkun!”

Laughing, Natsuo, Touya and Shouto all joined the hug, lavender eyes staring at Shouta as a slow confused smile slowly grew across his face. From under his siblings, he piped up, “Tou-nii needs to be next, ok dads?”

Chuckling, Hizashi nodded, “Understood, Hikkun.”

~~~

It’s just UA, you’ve been here tons of times before.

Swallowing, Touya stared up at the school building. How many times had he come to UA for one reason or another in the last three years? What, of all things, made today different?

That today was his first day of high school, and his first step to his future.

Taking a deep breath, he began to make his way to the building when-

“Ah, hey, weird fire guy!”

Snarling softly to himself, Touya looked over his shoulder as Shibuya made her way over to him. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he tried to continue on, “What do you want, Shibuya?”

Much to his chagrin, the girl kept pace with him, “Wow you’re rude, anyone ever teach you how to actually talk to a person?”

“Did anyone teach you ?” Shoving his feet into the school slippers, he eyed her hooves, “… how do you not track shit everywhere you go?”

Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms, “It’s rude to ask someone the particulars of their mutation, not that you care.”

Pushing past her, Touya waved a hand, “You just called me rude anyway, so might as well. You’re the one who approached me, or did you forget?”

Catching up, she walked with him as he made his way to the classroom, “True enough, still not gonna talk about that.”

“Fine, whatever.” Frowning, Touya glanced around the hall, “Why are you following me?”

She blinked, “I’m not following you, get over yourself.”

Bristling, Touya began to walk faster, “Sure, of course.”

“Who would follow you around? I’m going to my class, for all I know you’re following me.”

“I’m literally walking in front of you!”

Sniffing, she flicked her hair over her shoulder, “A likely excuse, I’m sure.” Coming to a stop, she turned and pushed open the classroom doors, “If you’ll excuse me-”

“Of fucking course you’re in 1-B too,” groaning in annoyance, Touya shoved past her into the classroom. Ignoring her affronted noise, he quickly found his desk and settled in.

Thankfully Shibuya left him alone after that, finding her own desk as the rest of their class filtered in. As the teacher walked into the classroom, all Touya could hope was that he wouldn’t have to deal with Shibuya too much.

**

Touya wanted to scream.

It was the first day, when you’re supposed to get to know your teachers, get acclimated to the new school. But no, Hamasaki-sensei had decided that he needed to get a personal assessment of their abilities and quirks. So he could better teach them, of course. And what better way than a quirk free for all obstacle course?

That was fine! Touya could handle that!

What wasn’t fine was that it was a team obstacle course, and he was stuck with Shibuya once again. Along with two others, since they were teams of four, but his main issue was with having to deal with her.

As the first team went, one of his teammates shifted on her feet and looked at the rest of them, “Uhm, well… since it’s a team exercise, we should probably introduce ourselves and our quirks? So we can work together, right?”

The other boy nodded, pumping his hands in the air, “Ah yea! We should. My name's Furukawa Hiro, I’m from Kyoto! A lot of people think my quirk is a speed quirk, but it’s actually time dilation! I can make an area around myself that slows everyone except me down. I’m working on being able to speed people up with me. It’s called Half Speed!”

Bouncing the girl grinned, “Then, I’ll go next! I’m Ishioka Kanae, with the character for ‘precisely’! And, since you said it… I’m from Niigata. My quirk is called Enthalpy, I can change the state of matter something is in. Ah, but it has to be in order of solid to gas to liquid to solid. I can’t go gas to solid.”

Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Touya sighed. No matter how much Shibuya annoyed him, that didn’t mean these two deserved it… “My name’s Aizawa Touya, from Tokyo. I live in Shibuya-ku to be exact. My quirk’s Cremation, I can make blue fire. Right now the hottest it burns is around 1000°C.”

Furukawa’s mouth hung open, “Wow! That’s… No wonder you call it Cremation! That’s hotter than a cremation oven!”

Waving a hand at him, Ishioka laughed, “Furukawa-kun! We can talk about our quirks soon, let our last member go!”

Looking over to her, Touya watched as Shibuya sighed, “... Shibuya Hisoka. I’m from Nara, but I live in Osaka. My quirk is Diagnosis, I can see people’s medical needs in order of urgency.”

“Ah! We’re from near the same area, Shibuya-kun!” Grinning, Furukawa bounced where he stood, “We’ve got a really interesting team!”

Tilting her head, Ishioka frowned, “If you don’t mind me asking, Shibuya-chan, how did you pass the entrance exam? It’s really offensive quirk focused.”

Shibuya crossed her arms, “... Rescue points, mostly. I am surprised I got in, however. I tried to give Aizawa my points since he saved me, but here we both are.” Sighing, her ears pressed back, “Apparently ‘sacrificing’ my points like that was a very heroic action.”

As Ishioka and Furukawa blinked, Touya frowned, “I didn’t need your points. I got twenty points extra from the judges for saving you.”

“Great for you, Aizawa.”

As a low growl built in Touya’s throat, Furukawa waved his hands with a laugh, “Ahah well, that’s great you two know each other! But let’s focus on how to use our quirks for this test.”

Taking another deep breath, Touya rubbed his eyes, “Well… it’s an obstacle course, so mobility will probably be the key factor. And Hamasaki-sensei said he wanted to see our quirks outside of how we used them at the entrance exam, so limited fighting most likely.”

Clapping her hands, Ishioka beamed, “Wow! That’s a good analysis, Aizawa-kun!”

“Yea, super impressive since we’re on our first day!”

Shibuya looked him over slowly, “I noticed that too, in the entrance exam. You act faster than everyone else, you’re not secretly a vigilante are you.”

“A vigilante- What, no.” Shaking his head, Touya groaned, “Absolutely not, my dads would kill me. No, my dad’s an-” Stopping short, Touya frowned. Back in middle school, dad and pops hadn’t wanted him bringing up their status as heroes. But, surely at UA that rule would be different? Especially since Nedzu already knew the situation.

But, did Touya want the status of the son of a Pro on him again?

Was it different now?

Leaning forward, Ishioka stared at him wide eyed, “Your dad’s a what? Aizawa-san?”

“...” Sighing, Touya scrubbed his hand through his hair, “...My dad’s an Underground pro. He’s been teaching my siblings and I analysis since we told him we wanted to be heroes.”

As Furukawa and Ishioka gasped, Shibuya looked at him critically, “If he’s your dad, he must have a flashy quirk like you. How could he possibly be an Underground hero?”

“What is your problem with me, seriously!?” Groaning, Touya glared at her, “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m adopted. Same with my siblings. Now can we fucking focus on this obstacle course!?”

They ended up failing spectacularly on the obstacle course.

**

The walk to the train station after school hung over Touya’s head as he left that day. What would he tell his dads? That he wasn’t able to keep his shit together long enough to do a stupid obstacle course? Just because some random girl kept heckling him?

Maybe Endeavor was right-

“Aizawa, wait up.”

Gritting his teeth, Touya tried to hurry in pulling his shoes on, but even as he rushed out the front doors Shibuya caught up to him. Gods damned hooves…

“What do you want, Shibuya. I don’t feel like having an argument again with you.”

Taking a deep breath, pink eyes met his, “I wanted to apologize, can we talk?”

“... You have one chance.”

Nodding, she motioned towards a quiet corner of the front courtyard, “I’m sorry that I kept antagonizing you. I’ve got my own hang ups, but that doesn’t mean I need to take it out on you for having a flashy quirk.”

Crossing his arms, Touya leaned against the wall, “It doesn’t, but why the sudden change of heart.”

Sighing, she rubbed the base of her antlers, “...I’m adopted too, I told myself that my dad was the only hero type I’d accept. So when you said your’s was a pro, I figured he had to be similar to you. But…” groaning, she scuffed her hoof, “that’s not how my dad would want me to act.”

Eyeing her, Touya sighed, “Who’s your dad?”

“... Shibuya Hiroshi. He’s called EMH, the Emergency Medical Hero. He suggested I apply here to learn under Recovery Girl.”

“... My dad’s Eraserhead. He took my siblings and me in after finding us as runaways on the street.”

Blinking, she looked at him wide eyed, “My dad found me treating people in back alleys, after I’d ran away too.”

Running his hand through his hair, Touya sighed, “Look, lets… Let’s just start over, yea?” Holding his hand out, he looked her in the eyes, “My name’s Aizawa Touya. My favorite heroes are Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Tiger from the Wild, Wild Pussycats. It’s nice to meet you.”

Taking his cue, Shibuya took his hand and gave it a shake, “I’m Shibuya Hisoka. My favorite heroes are Recovery Girl, EMH, and Thirteen. It’s nice to meet you, Aizawa.”

“You too, Shibuya.” Dropping her hand, Touya shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking towards the station, “C’mon, we don’t want to be late for our trains.”

Trotting alongside him, Shibuya smirked, “Don’t tell me what to do, Aizawa.”

“Ugh, can’t you go a minute without being abrasive?”

“Mm, no I think I’ll implode if I do.”

“Of fucking course.”

Chapter Text

So, I had hoped I wouldn’t have to do this, that I’d have a chapter by now. But unfortunately inspiration, motivation and mental health stuff have all coincided that’s keeping me from writing right now.

I still love this AU and want to return, but giving myself a deadline and set day to update only served to increase my anxiety. So until I’m well enough to return this will be on hiatus. I just didn’t want to leave those who have enjoyed wondering what happened.

To everyone who has commented, kudo’d, read, bookmarked, what have you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.