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Todoroki Rei left her hospital four days after Tenko’s attack. Natsuo had gone to visit her and told her all about Tenko’s little adventure, and before a week was up, she was standing in the living room, saying that Fuyumi needed to go to work and couldn’t stay home all day to look after Enji.
She’d tried not to make too many comments on the bandage around his head, but she’s only human. A few slipped through here and there, only serving to embarrass Enji into a silent sulking session.
“Hi, mom,” Fuyumi greets as she walks into the kitchen. “Need any help?”
“Could you set the table for me? Did your brothers say whether they can make it?”
“Natsu and Shoto are coming. I told Natsu to ask Tenko to tell niisan, but he hasn’t said anything.” Fuyumi grabs the plates and huffs. “If he’s just avoiding us, I swear I’m going to go over there myself and smack him upside the head.”
“Now, Fuyumi, there’s no need for such drastic measures. He’ll come around eventually. It’ll be nice to have a proper family dinner again, won’t it?”
Fuyumi nods. “Yeah.”
“I want to meet this Tenko, too. I’ll ask Natsuo over dinner.”
Fuyumi snickers. “That should be fun.”
Shoto laughs as soon as he walks into the house and sees Enji sitting at the table. “I heard you got your ass handed to you, huh?”
“Shoto,” Fuyumi scolds softly as Shoto joins them. “Be nice.”
“This is nice.”
There’s silence at the table for some time.
“So, Natsuo,” Rei eventually says, “when can I meet Tenko?”
Natsuo chokes on his water. Shoto pats his back. “What? Why?”
“Well, because I want to.”
“Why are you asking me like that? You make it sound like we’re dating!”
“Aren’t you?” Fuyumi asks, frowning.
“No! What do you even know about dating, you loner?”
“I am not a loner! I’ve dated before! You never have! If anyone’s the loner, it’s you!”
“I’m dating someone,” Shoto says, raising his hand like he’s in class.
“We know!” Fuyumi and Natsuo shout.
“Oh,” Rei says, smiling. “How is Dynamight doing?”
Enji sits upright. “Wait, since when was that a thing?”
Shoto sighs. “We’ve been dating for three years, old man. Keep up. I can’t believe I’m the only one in this family with a stable relationship.”
“Untrue,” Natsuo says, ignoring Enji’s wince. “Apparently, Touya-nii has been dating Hawks for the last five or six years.”
“What?!” Fuyumi cries. “Rumi didn’t tell me that!”
“Oh, Rumi, is it?” Natsuo teases.
“Who’s Rumi?” Rei asks.
“Mirko,” Natsuo sings.
Enji frowns. “Since when were you dating a pro hero?”
“I’ve had one conversation with her!”
“Oh yeah?” Natsuo asks. “Then how come you’re so red all over?”
“I am not!”
“Natsuo,” Rei says, “did Touya not want to come for dinner today?”
Natsuo shrugs. “Tenko said he got grounded for asking, so I’m gonna go with no, he didn’t want to. Not that I blame him.”
Enji busies himself studying the ceiling when Natsuo shoots him a look
“Who’s Tenko?” Shoto asks.
“Noxious,” Fuyumi says. “And the guy that concussed Dad.”
Shoto nods appreciatively. Natsuo elbows him and, grinning slightly, shakes his head.
“What’s wrong with the two of you?” Enji asks, looking at Natsuo and Fuyumi.
They stare at him, frowning.
“Well, your big brother is apparently in a relationship and your little brother is in a relationship, so . . . why are the two of you arguing about dating at the table when neither of you are in a steady relationship?”
All four of them blink at Enji.
“What? I’m just asking.”
“Big words from the guy that nearly drove his wife off the edge,” Shoto says.
To everyone’s surprise, Enji doesn’t bite back. The door suddenly needs studying.
“Nevermind that,” Fuyumi says quickly. “I want to know whose kid Kumi is.”
“Who’s Kumi?” Shoto asks. Rei nods as he asks.
“Her name is Hinotori Kumi and she is the sweetest kid I’ve ever met. Wait, I’ve got a picture.”
Natsuo fishes his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through his gallery before handing his phone to Shoto, who leans around the corner of the table to show Rei.
“Isn’t she adorable?” Fuyumi asks.
“Oh, so this is Kumi?” Rei asks.
“That’s totally Hawks’ kid,” Shoto says.
“Nuh uh,” Fuyumi says. “When Tenko came around to attack Dad, he said that Kumi was his baby.”
“That’s just because he loves her,” Natsuo says. “Tenko told me she’s his niece.”
“A couple years ago,” Enji says, “I saw Dabi — well, Touya — buying baby formula at a convenience store in the middle of the night.”
“What were you doing at a convenience store in the middle of the night?” Rei asks.
“Nothing!”
“He was buying microwave chocolate cake,” Fuyumi says. “Because he doesn’t know how to bake and I told him I wasn’t gonna bake him anything until he bought me a house.”
“Hey! That was a secret!”
“It’s been like five years, Dad. Where’s my house?”
“You can have this one when I die!”
“Oh, when is that happening?” Natsuo asks eagerly.
Shoto masks a snort as a cough.
“Natsuo!” Fuyumi hisses.
“Not as soon as you’d like,” Enji says casually. His calm response surprises Fuyumi, who isn’t sure what to say.
“I’m telling you,” Shoto says, “that kid belongs to Hawks. Look at her eyes. She’s got those little marks.”
“Yeah, and how do we know she didn’t ask Toga to put them there with eyeliner or something because she wants to be like Hawks?” Fuyumi asks. “Nope. She’s Tenko’s.”
“No way! He wasn’t lying when he told me she’s his niece!”
Rei clears her throat. “Have we considered that she might be Mr Compress’ daughter? Or Twice’s? Or Toga Himiko’s?”
“No way,” Fuyumi says. “Toga would’ve been seventeen or so when Kumi was born.”
“I was nineteen when I had your brother,” Rei points out.
Enji has the decency to lower his head, pretending to be interested in his food. Natsuo glares at him.
“Okay,” Shoto says, “but she doesn’t look like Toga. She looks like Hawks.”
“Hawks isn’t even a villain with the League,” Natsuo says. “She could be Twice’s kid, though. I saw them shopping once.”
“Well, from what I’m hearing, it sounds like he is living with them! His apartment burned down a couple years ago, didn’t it? Maybe Dabi felt sorry for him.”
“Hey, wait a second,” Enji says. “Why is no one even arguing whether Touya is her father or not?”
Fuyumi snorts. “I think he has enough on his hands having to ground Shigaraki Tomura to go and have a kid.”
“But I saw him buying baby clothes about a month after Hawks’ apartment burned down. Well, he probably stole them, but my point stands.”
Shoto gestures to Enji. “See? He felt bad about burning the apartment down and to make up for it, he replaced the baby’s clothes.”
“Let’s place a bet,” Natsuo says.
“How much?” Shoto asks curiously.
“Nuh uh. Winner gets to ask for whatever they want.”
“Fine,” Fuyumi says. “When I prove that Tenko is her father, I want my house.”
“Okay,” Enji says, “and when I prove that Touya is her father, then I want enough cake to make up for the last five years.”
“If it’s Twice,” Natsuo says, “I want a car. A nice car.”
“Mom?” Fuyumi asks.
“Hm. I think I’m going to place my bet on Toga.”
“Why?” Natsuo asks.
“Well, I’ve actually seen her with Toga and I think I’m qualified to identify maternal behaviour.”
“When did you see her with Toga?” Enji asks curiously.
“At the hospital,” Rei says. “I think Toga knows someone who works there.”
“And you were just going to keep that a secret?” Shoto asks. “People are still looking for the League.”
“I know. But she seemed harmless enough. She even spoke to a few patients. Clearly, she visits often enough to be friends with them and show off her baby to them.”
“Fine,” Natsuo says. “What do you want?”
“If it is Toga, you all have to put your little heads together and figure out a way to bring Touya around for a family dinner and I want you three to invite Tenko, Rumi and Katsuki.”
“That sounds like a disaster,” Shoto says, “but fine.”
“And what do you want?” Rei asks Shoto.
“If it’s Hawks,” Shoto says, turning to Enji, “you’re paying for my entire wedding and the honeymoon trip.”
Fuyumi slams her cup down. “You’re engaged?!”
“Not yet. But I will be by next month.”
“Oh, that’s lovely,” Rei says, smiling.
“Hang on,” Enji says, “are we just going to ignore that they’re all villains?”
“Yes,” everyone says together.
“Oh. Okay.”
Shoto folds his arms the moment he walks into the living room. “You do know I actually have to work, right?”
“I know,” Enji says, “but this is important.”
“More important than my patrols?”
“Shut up,” Natsuo says, “we have your patrol schedule memorised. You’re not even on duty today.”
“Fine. What?”
“Dad has a photo of niisan with Kumi.”
Shoto raises his eyebrows and catches the phone Fuyumi tosses him.
“So? I have footage of Hawks with Kumi. This is irrelevant. Besides, this has to be at least a year or two old. Kumi in Natsu-nii’s photo looks a lot bigger.”
“This was last week!” Enji cries.
Rei shrugs. “You always looked really small until someone picked you up. Maybe the opposite is true for Kumi.”
“Fine,” Shoto says, “then I will raise you my Hawks footage where he’s flying with Kumi. Hawks never flies with people. Obviously, he must be incredibly close with Kumi.”
“He’s incredibly close with Touya-nii too,” Natsuo grumbles. “Fuckin hickeys.”
“What?” Enji asks.
“Nothing,” Natsuo says quickly.
“No, you said — are Touya and Hawks . . . no, that can’t be right.”
Fuyumi raises her eyebrows. “You’re really gonna argue with the guy that’s banging the guy that lives with them?”
“I am not banging Tenko!” Natsuo cries, mortified.
“That hickey begs to differ,” Fuyumi says with an innocent smile.
Rei pretends to be very busy looking at Enji’s photo of Kumi. Enji looks everywhere but at Natsuo.
“Ew,” Shoto says, wrinkling his nose.
“You don’t get to talk. You wanna marry the guy who blows up if you look at him funny.”
“Yeah, but at least he has a skincare routine.”
“Tenko has a skincare routine! You just haven’t seen him in six years!”
“How would you know if he has a routine?” Fuyumi asks. She grins. “Ooh, have you slept over?”
“You better behave because I know Tenko and Tenko knows Hawks and Hawks knows Mirko, so if you’re not careful, Mirko will find out you cosplayed as her for Halloween three years ago and you’ll have to lie your way out of it or show her the photos and I know you want to keep those photos buried deep under your mountain of embarrassments.”
“You are so mean,” Fuyumi says, huffing.
“Ew,” Shoto says again. “Why couldn’t you pick a hot villain?”
Natsuo rolls his eyes. “I am not sleeping with him! We’re just friends! We hang out because Kumi and Daichi are best friends, that’s all!”
“I’m going to make some tea,” Rei says.
Enji follows her into the kitchen. “I’ll help.”
“If you’re making tea, I’m getting out of here.”
Fuyumi’s mouth drops open and Natsuo snorts. Shoto looks somewhat proud of himself.
Rei and Enji squeeze into the frame of Enji’s phone and watch as Natsuo flips the camera around.
“See?” Natsuo says, pointing to the kids’ shoes. “Twice is buying her stuff again.”
Fuyumi rolls her eyes in her little screen. “Natsu, we used to take Shoto shopping. This means nothing.”
“Yeah, and it looks like Twice is just flirting with that attendant,” Shoto adds. “Maybe he takes Kumi shopping because it’s an excuse to keep going back.”
“What would you know about flirting?” Natsuo sneers. “Your boyfriend randomly demanded you date him without any prior indication he even liked you.”
Shoto starts to argue but Enji is nodding along with Fuyumi. “You guys suck. And for the record, I did flirt with Katsuki.”
“You told us you told him he looked nice once,” Fuyumi says. “That is not flirting.”
“Yeah, that’s just a fact.”
Shoto brings his phone close to his face and narrows his eyes. “Natsu-nii, get your eyes off my boyfriend or I’ll arrest yours.”
“I’m just saying! Objectively! Dynamight’s hot!”
“Who said I’m hot?” Katsuki asks from somewhere outside Shoto’s camera.
“My brother,” Shoto says, looking to his left.
“Oh. Tell him to fuck off. You have patrol.”
“Bye!” Shoto says cheerfully, disconnecting without another word.
“Why are you pink?” Fuyumi asks.
“I’m embarrassed!”
“Oh. I thought you were thinking about cheating on Tenko.”
“I AM NOT DATING TENKO!”
Fuyumi glances away from her screen. “I have to go. Lunch is nearly over and I need to count all my kids before I start class again. Mom, do you need me to get anything on the way home?”
“Eggs,” Rei says, “and ice cream. I want some ice cream.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later. Bye, Natsu.”
Fuyumi hangs up and Natsuo bids his parents goodbye before he hangs up too. He glances at Twice and Kumi, who are arguing about something. The attendant that Twice had been flirting with watches fondly.
Natsuo resolves to get real proof that Twice is Kumi’s father. He really wants a nice car.
“I went to the hospital today,” Rei says when they’re gathered for another family dinner. “I made a few friends there that I wanted to visit.”
“Let me guess,” Fuyumi says. “Toga was there with Kumi?”
“Mhm. They came to visit Nurse Yanase. Apparently she and Toga are dating.”
“Oh, good for them,” Natsuo says.
“Kumi seemed really comfortable with Yanase, as though Toga had brought her often to meet her.”
“Irrelevant,” Fuyumi says. “Kumi is comfortable with anyone her family introduces her to. I have a student that was adopted from a foster home in Hiroshima. He knows Kumi and he says that Kumi really likes the foster mother there, Hamasaki Ichika. I gather it’s because someone took her there to meet Hamasaki. Not to mention, Kumi was comfortable around me when I babysat Daichi that one time because I’m Natsu’s sister.”
“I still think she’s Touya’s daughter,” Enji says.
“I think you’re an idiot,” Shoto says. “She’s Hawks’ kid.”
“She has a flame quirk,” Enji says.
“Quirks can mutate,” Rei says.
Shoto gestures to his mother. “See? I mean, look at Deku. His father has a flame quirk and his mother has a telekinesis quirk, but Deku has . . . whatever that is.”
“Deku’s father has a flame quirk?” Fuyumi asks. “Is it like Dad and Touya-nii’s?”
“No, it’s actually like Kumi’s.”
The table gets really silent for a moment.
“No one is allowed to change their bets,” Shoto speaks up.
“No one even said anything!” Natsuo cries.
“You were all thinking it.”
“I mean,” Fuyumi says slowly, “if Kumi is six, then she was likely born back when the League was active. I wouldn't put it past them to have kidnapped a kid and then grown attached to her.”
Rei frowns. “Okay, but I watched a lot of interviews and Deku clearly said that his father has been in America since Deku was about three or four. So she can’t be Deku’s sister or half-sister, because she would’ve had to have been born in America.”
“Right,” Natsuo says, “and it can’t be anything about passed-down quirk genes because Deku would’ve been, what? Fifteen or sixteen when Kumi was born?”
“I think we’d know if our classmate had a kid,” Shoto says.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Fuyumi sighs. “In other news, I babysat Daichi again on Saturday because Tenko got grounded and Natsu just had to go and see him, and Rumi told me that Kumi is very close to Tenko.”
“So?” Enji says. “Some of your students are very close to you but that doesn’t make you their mother.”
“So, what I’m hearing is that none of us have yet to find proof?” Natsuo asks.
They all grumble in defeat and acceptance.
Shoto had to swear on his boyfriend’s life that he wouldn’t tell a soul about Touya before Touya agreed to come over for dinner.
So there they sit, five out of six Todorokis, waiting for Touya to arrive. Rei and Fuyumi prepared a feast and they’ve just finished laying the table when there’s a knock at the door.
Enji refuses to get up. “Last time I opened that door, I got a concussion. Someone else do it.”
“This is it,” Natsuo says as Fuyumi gets up. “We’re gonna ask him whose child Kumi is and settle the bet once and for all.”
Shoto grins smugly. “I’m going to have so much money to spend on Katsuki with you paying for everything.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Rei says, “have you proposed yet? When are you bringing Katsuki for dinner?”
“Soon,” Shoto promises. “And . . . soon?”
Enji fiddles with his plate. Rei drums her fingers on the table. Natsuo fidgets in his seat. Shoto stares in the direction Fuyumi had gone in. They’re all waiting with bated breath for Fuyumi to open the door.