So this is my first ever My Hero Academia fic. This story is Side story to my new MHA series, My Hero: Next Gen! Heroes.
(This story is based on an Au I saw on tumblr by BearsMushroom)
Enjoy!
Beloved Flower….
Chapter 1: A Flower and A Hero
Oh how I dream of this moment with you.
In a small hospital set in Chiba Prefecture, Japan,a newborn was just wrapped in a periwinkle colored blanket, was just handed over to the people who just became parents. The door shut quietly, the nurse leaving them alone, as the mother of the child swung her legs over the bed to sit next to her boyfriend. He held the tiny bundle in his arms, a tiny strand of black hair stuck out and touched the baby's cheek.
"He's got your hair." He said. It wasn't the color of red like his own.
"Yes, he does." She replies. Her hair was cut very short and was jet black like their baby's. "Have you seen his eyes, yet?"
"No."
"Me neither. I wonder what color they are?"
"Well, so far he looks exactly like you. The hair, the skin tone. He probably get your teeth?"
She chuckles. "Oh, you mean these shark teeth?" She says, flashing her sharp teeth.
He laughs. "But I like your teeth. I like your eyes… Maybe his are red, too."
"Maybe. But I wouldn't mind that he has your dark ones."
"Yeah." He couldn't help but laugh at a thought.
She raised an eyebrow. "What is it? What's so funny?"
"I can't believe it's a boy." His face softened at the sight. "I guess will have to paint the room blue now."
"Oh Honey, You don't want to give our son a pink room?" She joked. "Is it not 'manly' enough for you?"
"Pink can be a manly color…." He pouted, making a face. She laughing carried across the room so soothingly, the Hero couldn't help but smile. "So I guess that means the name Ichika is off the table."
"I believe so." She slings an arm around his back, leaning into his shoulder. Her red eyes looked at their son. "What should we call him then?"
He thought long and hard, till he thought of a name that would be perfect for their son. "What do you think of…. Eijiro?"
"Eijiro?" She smiles,seeing her son's face scrunch up a bit. Trying to wake up. "I love it."
"Yeah? Me too."
My Beloved Flower….
How could I have let this happen to you?
"No. No, No, No… This can't be happening." He said so quietly.
He left his son home with a neighbour after seeing the attack on the news. He couldn't believe it. The whole office building was coming down after being raided by villains, he didn't even want to watch the rest, he put on his hero costume and went to the sight as Crimson Riot.
"This can't be happening. You have to be okay."
He stepped foot into the parking lot, all eyes were on him, no other pro heroes have showed up yet, but even if they did, he wouldn't even care. He just felt a worried feeling in his chest, as he saw police trying to go inside the collapsing building.
"Mr. Crimson Riot, sir!" Yelled a police officer. The hero didn't even noticed that he wandered over. "There's still people in there! What do we do?"
The hero mentally slapped himself. He can't let himself cloud his mind, he had a job to do. "I'll go inside and get the civilians. Just get more pros here!" He starts running towards the building.
"But, sir! The building's unstable!"
CR entered one of the many holes in the building, steadying himself when it shook. There was falling debris and cracks started to enlarge as people's petrified screams filled the air. He used his quirk, hardening his head of red hair to protect himself from the debris, as he started rummaging through the rubble. He would lift, help the person up, and repeat. Telling them to head towards the exit before it was sealed shut.
"Keep going! Head for the exit!" He ordered.
Suddenly, the place violently shook. It was coming down. He quickly grabbed the people closest to him, and shielded them the best he could. It came down, the whole building came crashing down upon them. The sound was loud, waking the nearby neighbours. There was dust and debris in the air, as he slowly got up. Pain shot up his back, but he ignored it just like any hero would on the job.
"Are you okay?" He asked. They all nodded, some mumbled or even sobbed the answer. He pointed towards the police, and they wasted no time to leave the sight. His eyes followed them, looking around at the group of workers until he realized someone was missing from that group. That feeling of worried returned.
He whipped his head around. "Hana?!"
Nothing.
He squinted, trying to make out anything in the still dusty air. But at that moment he didn't care, he rushed further into the ruins. Out of earshot of the police. He ran, jumping over rubble, pulling up some to check under.
"Hana?!" He called out again. Still nothing. "Hana?!"
He spun around, changing directions, till he spotted something trapped. He rushed over, using his strength to pull the piece of ceiling up and away. His heart stopped at the sight.
His girlfriend was laying there,eyes shut, bleeding all over. Her face looked like she was in distress.
He dropped to his knees, pulling the cloth that covered his mouth down, laying it around his neck. "Hana?"
He slowly reached under her body, gently pulling her up into his chest. "Hana? No… Please.. No.."
He lightly touched her neck for a pulse. Nothing.
"No…"
He could feel the tears stinging his eyes, pulling her closer, wrapping his arms around her fragile form. "This is all my fault."
He shut his eyes tightly. "If I only got here in time, you'd still be here, Hana." His voice was breaking.
Tears rolled down his cheeks. He rested his forehead on hers. Her skin was cold to the touch, as he held her closer, believing he could warm her up with his body heat.
Now, he was begging. "Don't leave me alone here. I can't do this alone. Please, Hana."
He was now thinking that his son had just become motherless, and it hurts. It hurts a lot.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"
My Beloved Flower….
I can't do this without you.
And he couldn't. Not without her. The feeling that his heart would never be whole again. He swallowed, looking back at his son who was now just a couple months old. Six to be exact. It was cold outside, so he wrapped Eijiro up into a burrito, immediately cuddling up in the warmth of the blanket he was bestowed with. The periwinkle blanket. It had little daisies on it. He smiled sadly, seeing the stitching that Hana did, sewing Eijiro's name with black thread.
He sighed, lightly stroking his son's cheek with his knuckles. The baby stirred a bit, only to peek with his red eyes for a split second, before going back to sleep. "Eijiro. I'm sorry, I can't do this… I can't do this without your mother. I'm sorry. But, Papa still loves you."
He tucks his hand away,pulling the cloth up to hide his mouth, also pulling up his hood; his eyes looking up at the building ahead. This was his best choice for Eijiro, he knew it was going to be a safe place for his child. His feet walked over, standing at the door as he lightly knocked until he could hear someone coming.
"-My goodness! It's almost 3 am, who could've come here at such an hour?!" He heard someone say on the other side (must of been the owner of the adoption agency).
The door creaked open, and out popped a woman. "Yes, Um… How can I help you?" She asked, readjusting her glasses.
The father stood a bit straighter, the hood covering his eyes. It lightly began to rain as he spoke. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I found this kiddo in a trash can down the street." He handed her Eijiro, which she gladly took into her arms. "He was all alone, I didn't spot anything but this blanket."
A lie. But she didn't know. She just looked at the baby with concern. "Hi, honey. It's alright. You're okay." she said.
The hero held back tears, saying one last thing. "Please, take care of him."
He disappeared. He could see the woman was looking around frantically from his hiding spot. He watched her sigh,closing the door from the rain. He was alone, as slowly peeled the mask off.
"You will be safe here, Eijiro. I hope you'll forgive me this one day."
He sighs, looking at his reflection in the puddle by his feet. He looked defeated.
"I'm sorry. You're Papa is a coward."
My Beloved Flower….
It's been a while.
And I could still barely talk about you.
He couldn't believe he agreed to an interview. Even after all these years, he knew he was going to be asked about that day.
He sat in a chair, his arms crossed as the interviewer started rambling on. "-Even among heroes, you have a reputation for being a bit… reckless. Are you ever afraid in those situations?" She asked him.
He nearly stiffened, but kept his cool at those haunting words. Those words hurt a lot. She was implying to that day without even saying it. He knew that since so many interviewers always phrased it that way.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm afraid!" He replies, almost bitterly. He could feel so many eyes on him as she tilted her head, puzzled at his words, but her eyes encouraging him to go on. "I'm where I am now because I failed and somebody lost their life, because my spirit was weak. Yes, I'm frightened when I fight a villain, but there's something I fear more…"
Flashing of his lover crossed his mind. He remembers how distraught she looked when he found her. "... the look on someone's face as they die. I'm a hero,I swore to protect people; It's a vow I've written on my heart and it's one I'll die to keep."
Can he though? He felt like he was lying to himself at this point, but he kept going. "Do you want to know what chivalry means to me? Living a life with no regrets."
Does he have regrets? Regrets for giving his son up? "Having a strong spirit, it isn't a matter about being bold or confident or fearless. It's about staying true to yourself, that's what it means to me."
Is he be true to himself though?
The interviewer smiled, but her eyes showed a bit of pity. "Thank you Crimson Riot for those words, and I appreciate you being on the show. But, I just wanted to say, it wasn't your fault for what happened. The crime rates were extremely high back then, you shouldn't blame yourself." She says.
Maybe she was right, he shouldn't blame himself. Be he can't. Nobody knows the truth about the person who died, nobody knew it was someone he loved, and nobody knew that she was a mother of his child.
My Beloved Flower….
It's been sixteen years since then.
My hair's gone almost gray, and I'm slowly down in the business.
He sighed, holding up a cool beer to his lips, taking a sip. He was sitting at a bar by his house, paying no heed the bar getting packed to the gills.
"Yes! The Sports Festival's back on!" Someone shouted. The room erupted with cheers and joy.
"The UA sports festival, huh?" He sighs. "I forgot it was today, no wonder it's packed in here."
He heard a loud announcer speaks, but tried to drown it out by sipping more beer. He wasn't in the mood to deal with 'Hero-related' stuff. He sighs again.
"Oye! They're doing an arm wrestling match?!" Somebody else yelled.
"Well they're trying to decide a winner." another explained.
On the Tv, a woman spoke. "Next match up! It's: Eijiro Kirishima Vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"
He froze.
Did he hear that right? Did say Eijiro? For the first time today, his eyes traveled to the Tv on the wall. He saw the hero Midnight holding up her arm, standing next to two boys. One was shiny, silvery like metal; the other had spiky red hair…. Just like his.
"Eijiro?" He mumbled, staring wide eyed.
Midnight swung her arm down, starting the match. Both boys holding onto each other as they began arm wrestling. The crowd on Tv and in the bar exploded with cheers. Some shouted the name of who they were cheering for. He couldn't believe his eyes.
No. That's not his son. His son had black hair, not red. Besides, there's a thousands Eijiros out there, the possibility of that boy being his son seemed infinite. It was impossible. Yet, he couldn't take his eyes off the screen.
The match wasn't very long when the metal boy's face turned grimmed, and the redhead slammed his arm to the side. Midnight's voice broke through again. "Kirishima is the winner! Add him to the bracket!"
Kirishima screamed, raising his fist up into the air. And the older man finally saw it,
That when he smiled, he saw he had sharp teeth. Just like Hana. His mouth opened in surprised. His son had his mother's teeth. "Eijiro?" He stared at the screen, not taking his eyes off his son until he disappeared.
My Beloved Flower….
He's everywhere.
I've seen him everywhere over the years.
Yes, Years.
It's been a long time.
The hero Crimson Riot has officially disappeared off the raiders of the pros. There has been a bit of news coverage on him in a mighty long time. But for his son, he knows it all, watching from afar.
There was coverage on Eijiro, who graduated from UA as a pro hero. The sturdy hero: Red Riot.
"Red Riot, huh?" He thought when he saw the headline for the first time.
When asked about the name in an interview, Eijiro just flashed his pearly whites and replies: "It's homage to the hero: Crimson Riot. He was my idol growing up, and I wanted to honor that in someway."
"He named himself after me?"
He was flattered, but he didn't feel like he deserved it.
"If only you knew what I've done to you."
But he still watched and listened. Red Riot was popping up everywhere over the years. From interviews, pictures, videos, and news articles; Red Riot was everywhere.
It delights him that his son seemed to be doing okay, but it still hurts in more ways than one.
Today, he was walking around the park to clear his mind, a news article on his phone with the head line: Ground Zero and Red Riot take down major villain.
He smiled, chuckling at the picture of Ground Zero catapulting Red Riot into the air with his quirk.
He was finally updated on everything in his son's life…
Or so, he thought.
A little girl bumps into him, falling onto her back. He looks at her with elerted eyes. "Oh, jeez. Are you okay, little girl?" He asks.
He watches her get up, brushing her long, lavender hair out of her face, before looking up at him with big,red eyes. "I'm Fine! A hero always gets up! That's what my dad says!" She said in her cute, tiny voice.
He smiles down at her. "That's nice. Are you a superhero?" He asks.
"Yes! I'm the hero: Ground Riot!" Her eyes seemed to light up at the topic.
His eyebrows furrowed. "Ground Riot?" Now he was caught off guard, but not at the name, but at the blanket she was wearing as a cape. Tied around her neck, was a periwinkle blanket, covered in small daisies.
"Flowers? Wait… that blanket… it looks like.." he thought.
A voice broke through. "Hana! Hana where are you?"
The ex hero looked up, seeing a figure in the distance. The little girl's face lighting up, as she turns around and runs towards the figure. "Papa! Papa!" She shouted. CR watches as she runs up to him, recognizing who it was,
His son.
"Papa!" she said again.
Eijiro turns around, his worried face disappearing. "Hana! There you are! You know you're not supposed to run off like that." he said.
"Sorry, papa."
Suddenly, someone appeared next to them, someone with blonde hair who has holding his hands up like they were claws. "I'm here to destroy you, Eijiro!" He said.
Eijiro playfully screamed. "Oh no! It's a villain! Quick,Help me! Save me, Ground Riot!" He said, holding up his daughter at him. She pointed at the blonde.
"Stay back, evil doer! You'll never stop me!" She says.
"Oh, really? Try to stop me!" The blonde said. She playfully punched him in the chest, making him dropped to his knees, holding his chest. "Ah! You defeated me!"
She giggled. "I did it!"
"Yes, you did! Thanks for saving me." Eijiro said, hugging her. She hugs back. The blonde gets up, smiling. Eijiro uses his free hand to pull him close. "Nice acting."
"Thanks. Yours was not half bad." He replies, smirking now.
"Awe, You're so sweet." He pulls him into a kiss, and Hana covers her eyes.
"Ew." she said, making them laugh.
From afar, he watched while coming to a conclusion that he didn't know everything. His son was married, catching a glimpse at the gold bands on their fingers, and that he had a granddaughter. He couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his lips. He watched the family gather their things and leave, each adult holding one of their daughter's hands, walking away.
"Looks like he was doing just fine." he thought.
He turns and goes the other way. After looking over so many pictures, reading news articles, watching interviews, there was always a thought that lingered in the back of his mind,
Was the smiling real? Or was it just for show?
And today, it proved to him that it was real. The way he smiled at his daughter and Husband was definitely real. It warmed him up inside to know that his son was okay after all these years.
"Looks like you didn't need me after all."
Eijiro didn't need him. He didn't need to see him after all. He could finally stop worrying.
My Beloved Flower….
I was wrong.
I am worried. I can't stop worrying.
It's been years since I saw him. I thought I could stop worrying, but I can't. I blew my chance then, but not now…
I have to see him.
This was my only chance.
CR never planned on seeing his son, but when he went out on an errand, he finally saw him again after all these years. He saw his red hair across the street with a blonde man and lavender girl, heading towards the school building of UA. A banner hung over the entrance that said: Welcome Examines!
"His daughter must be trying out for UA." He thought.
He shook his head,coming to a decision that buying groceries will have to wait. Talking to his son comes first. He manages to blend into the crowd of people, going straight through the entrance, stopping to look around.
"Damn, This place is huge. How am I going to find them?"
He wandered around the courtyard, looking around.
"Eijiro, come on, give me a sign."
"Are you lost?"
He jumps, looking back. He recognized those lavender locks. She had gotten taller, more mature looking; She had a yellow backpack slung over her shoulder and her hair was tied up into twin pigtails.
"Are you lost? I can help you, I've been to this campus before." She asks again. Her sounded more adult like.
"Um…" He begins, straightening up. "I'm just looking for someone." He sees her squinting up at him. "Um… Can I help-"
She gasps loudly. "I know who you are! You're Crimson Riot!" He stares at her surprised. "I mean, you're hair's a different, but you can't miss the resembles! Are you him?" Her eyes sparkling.
He was surprised. His own own granddaughter was fawning over him. "I am." he replies.
"Wow! Cool! My Papa's told me all about you! He's a huge fan! I-"
"Hana!" Someone called.
The girl turns around, spotting her parents coming over. "Hana." The blonde said.
"Dad." she says.
"Are you coming inside?"
"Yeah… No, wait! I just met Crimson Riot!"
"Crimson Riot?"
"Yeah, He's-" She turned around and he was gone. "He's gone? But he was right here."
"Hana, no one seen Crimson Riot in quite a long time. Who knows if he's even in Japan anymore."
"But dad, I swear I saw-"
"Hana, you're going to be late for your exam. Let's go."
She sighs in defeat. "Okay."
The two of them started walking, quickly realizing Eijiro wasn't following. "Oy, Eijiro. You coming?" He asked.
"Go on ahead with Hana, Katsuki. I'll be there in a second." Eijiro said, looking away from them.
Katsuki shrugged, him and his daughter continued to walk towards the school. Eijiro looks around, everything in front of him was empty. After waiting for a while, he let out a sigh, and turned on his heels.
Then a twig snapped.
The redhead turned around, seeing a man. A hero, his childhood Idol, Crimson Riot. "Whoa… are you.. Crimson Riot?" Eijiro older man nods. "Oh wow! It's you!" Eijiro steps forward, a huge smile on his face, sparkles in his eyes. "Your Crimson Riot! I'm a huge fan! You've been my idol since I was a kid, you're-"
He watched his son express himself, animatedly. Babbling about how much of a great hero he was, letting himself smile. He couldn't help but feel sad at this moment though. He had his son right in front of him, but he couldn't help feel broken at all this. His son who was a father, a husband, a pro hero…
His son was his son, and he looked and sounded like his mother, the woman he loved. He could feel his heart breaking just like when he gave up for adoption. He didn't know what to say, but he did know what to do,
He hugged him.
Eijiro stiffened under his arms, confused at the sudden contact. "Um, Mr. Riot?" he asked.
The older man's eyes started to tear up, as he whispers, "You look so much like your mother." Squeezing him tighter.
Eijiro went wide eyed, his bottom lip quivering.
Silence was bestowed, till the redhead spoke so quietly,
"D-dad?"