Chapter VIII.

Emerald Blaze

. . .

Enji sat up, his body tense, watching the green flames lick his grandchild's body.

Kagome came up and touched her father's steely shoulder; already knowing what was going through his mind, she whispered. "It's alright. His fire doesn't harm him."

The tension in Enji's body melted away instantly.

One would think that the impassive fire hero was immune to the sight of flames. The years of training, Shoto would make others think he could handle seeing flames on his flesh and blood.

But Shoto had refused to train his fire. The shift in his thinking had occurred recently, and he was still insistent about not being taught exclusively by him. Even though Enji got a thrill from witnessing Shoto use it, seeing half of his body on fire was a little unsettling.

He hasn't seen one of his own completely engulfed in flames since... Toya.

Enji could still hear the cries and smell the charred remains of his son when he closed his eyes at night. The reassurance he received from Kagome was very appreciated.

This wasn't Toya, he reminded himself.

As the blaze receded, Shippo's emerged as a fox. The fox before him was not natural in size nor appearance, easily reaching Enji's waist in this size. However, as soon as he transformed, the flames returned, and his adorable grandson was back.

"I can transform into a fox! But I can't hold it for long…." Shippo said mournfully as he combed his tail with his fingers with an embarrassed blush.

"That's why you have to practice, kit." Kagome smiled, giving her father's shoulder squeeze.

"And I'd be more than happy to help you." He offered, with a trace of a grin on his face. On the other hand, Shippo began trembling with uncontained joy.

"YES! TO BE TRAINED BY THE ENDEAVOUR! HELL YEAH!

"Language!" Kagome quickly countered.

"MAMA, I GET TO BE TRAINED BY THE NO.1 HERO OF JAPAN! WOOOOOOOOOOO-"

As the seven-year-old continued to yell and ran off to tell his friends. Enji, without even glancing at Kagome, spoke quietly.

"I didn't actually offer to train him as my intern, though?"

"Haha, you might as well have told him you were making him your protege and passing down your quirk to him." Kagome chuckled.

"What a ridiculous idea." But Enji laughed regardless. "Does he want to be pro by any chance?"

"Yeah, but I'm not crazy about the concept." She admitted, "I advised him to consider every path, but he has his heart set." Kagome quipped as she sat down on a park bench. "It doesn't help when your family is a bunch of pro-heroes, and his paternal family is also."

That was news to him. It explained why Shippo had such a strong quirk.

Enji caught on to the conversation's trajectory and saw the opportunity it presented.

Now was his chance to question.

"I hate to pry, but what happened to the father?" He asked quietly, sitting beside her. Enji hated to think that his child was knocked up and abandoned, but had he not done the same thing? He really couldn't give his opinion without critiquing his actions.

"He was involved for the first year of his life," Kagome admitted, not looking at Enji but at Shippo bouncing around the park with the neighbourhood kids. "A mere few weeks after he was born, he stopped calling, he stopped returning my texts, stopped visiting Shippo… even his family noticed something was wrong. But before anyone knew what happened, he just disappeared."

As she looked at her kid, Enji could tell the topic was difficult for her due to the apparent melancholy in her eyes.

"The next thing I knew, I was on a mission, and there he was, standing by a villain's side and holding hands with her." Enji's world stopped when his daughter said this. The father of his grandchild became a villain? Oh, he was so going to kill this boy-

"Thank goodness; he's already six feet under." Kagome interrupted his thoughts, and Enji saw the grief on her face, revealing that this was an open sore for her. "He almost killed me that day."

Enji's breathing faltered. Killed?

His child had almost died, and he hadn't known.

"Who that man was doesn't matter; I'm just grateful I can still be by Shippo's side." Kagome breathed a long sigh.

She looked so tired.

She was too exhausted for a 23-year-old, Enji told himself angrily.

"So it's just you and Shippo, then?" He asked.

"Pretty much, but I do have a partner. Maybe "boyfriend" is a more accurate term." Kagome mused with a gentle grin on her face.

A partner? Enji thought incredulously.

It's imperative that he talk with this partner as soon as possible.

"He's been in Shippo's life for a while; to him, he is his father. He stays over regularly but can't live with us due to his work. I'll arrange for you to meet him another time." She smiled slightly.

"I would appreciate that, Kagome." He said softly. Kagome looked at him, and she looked him in the eye; those beautiful turquoise eyes shined with mirth.

Right now, she felt so happy.

She was comforted that her dad was interested in her life.

For once, Kagome wasn't on her own.

"Would it be okay if I watched him for you sometime? Fuyumi can be there and Natsuo too." He offered, he needed to catch up on his grandfather's duties.

"For training?" Kagome questioned with a raised brow.

"No, family bonding. I have a lot to catch up on with being a grandfather."

Kagome paused.

"What about catching up on being a father?" She asked quietly, her bangs covering her eyes as she looked away.

"Isn't this bonding?" Enji asked honestly. "I figured you would find this type of interaction sufficient for the time being?"

"I'm not asking you to treat me the same as Shippo. However, I want priority. I want to be the one you prioritise developing a connection with. It's not that I don't wish for Shippo to have a bond with you; it's just-" Kagome stopped speaking, massaging her temples as she felt the rage, pain, and loneliness buried for so long rise to the surface.

"It's just that you never knew the girl that cried into her pillows every night crying for her parents," She fought back the tears as her voice broke, "who truly believed that if she could control her quirk, they would come to love her. That they would come to save her, to take her home."

"Every cold night in that awful punishment room. Every harsh word she said. How you don't love me! How you don't care for me!" Her sobs quickly wracked her body; Enji stared helplessly as his daughter broke down.

Enji breathing faltered once again.

His gut turned as a sickening thought sank into his head.

His mother, who had given him updates on his daughter's progress; who had told him she was doing great; who said to him that Kagome loved hearing about his hero work-

Had it all been a lie?

. . .

. . .

For the illustrated headers and scenes please go to either wattpad or AO3, under the same username!

A/N: THE PLOT THICKENS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS ARISE - and Kagome has a lot of trauma and abadonment issues so while she wants her son to have a relationship with her father. She doesnt like that most of his questions and intentions has shippo the focus. But to Endeavor his grandchild that he never knew about is the amalgation or pratically a living symbol of his failures so he believes that by establishing a grandfather role in his life and bonding with him is the approriate step to take into transitioning into Kagome's life. BUT KAGOME JUST WANTS TO BE HIS PRIORITY AS HIS DAUGHTER, NOTHING ELSE, NOT THE MOTHER OF HIS GRANDCHILD, NOT A PRO-HERO, JUST HIS KID.

she just wants to be daddy's little girl

also i find it fascinating no one really writes about Enji having trauma from Toya basically committing suicide. The boy burned himself alive and Shoto for many years refused to use his fire. So while he was thrilled to see Shoto break through that mental barrier at the sports festival, he hasn't prepared himself for the idea of fire being apart of Kagome or Shippo's quirks.

Next chapter is Endeavor fucking up lol not like he hasnt done that before