Chapter 9: A Better Son/Father
Mitsuki was throwing the door open before the car had even properly stopped. Masaru couldn't blame her, he too had seen the flash of white and red hair at the door to the complex and it was enough to take his breath away. He'd hit the breaks, not that he'd been going fast, and Mitsuki jumped out and started running.
He watched as the door to the compound was pushed open and his son took a step towards her before she snatched him off the ground, lifting him up and giving a crushing hug against her body. Masaru looked over his shoulder to his other son, catching the expressions that flickered across his face. Anger, rage, frustration, disgust, disbelief... Masaru didn't know what he could say to the boy to offer him some solace, but he couldn't stay here with him. "Stay in the car." He spoke as harshly as he could, and the boy looked at him in shock. He couldn't wait any longer for a response. He took off his seat belt, opened the door to his car, and raced to join his wife and child.
Mitsuki was still holding him, he doubted she would ever truly let go of him again if she could, but she had returned him to the ground, resting on her knees as she looked him over, brushing his hair aside and peppering him with kisses. Masaru was at her side in an instant, greedily taking his own hug, clutching his child, his son through everything but blood, against him. Katsuki's tears stained his shirt and he whispered apologies and love into his ear.
He could see, through teary eyes, that Endeavor's children were looking at them, watching them. He wiped the blurriness from his eyes, and waved them forward, the two younger children approaching warily. As soon as they were close enough, Mitsuki reached out and pulled them into a hug, thanking them over and over again, kissing their cheeks. They didn't look like they knew how to react, not just to the kisses or the thanks, but to the hug itself. His heart broke and he moved Katsuki to one arm so he could join in the hug.
They seemed confused by it, unsure what to do. They were crying, but smiling too. The girl wrapped her arms around Mitsuki and his wife squeezed her just a little bit tighter, drawing a sob out of the girl. He pulled the other boy closer, murmuring his thanks. Small arms wrapped around him, hugging him as tightly as they could, tighter even than his son had, and he just didn't let go. Masaru pulled back and ran his hands through the boy's hair, leaned in, and kissed his brow.
Had they ever been hugged like this? By anyone? Ever?
Only the sound of a car door opening behind him broke the moment. Masaru turned, catching sight of Shouto as the boy fled into the night. His heart sank, breath catching. He could chase after him. He should chase after him, but he couldn't bring himself to. The boy had rejected him and Mitsuki. It wasn't fair, wasn't right, but their child by blood didn't want either of them. He couldn't bring himself to force the child to stay with them. He only hoped that, wherever he went, whatever happened, he would be safe.
He turned back and caught sight of the older brother. The one who had reached out, the one who had given him this chance to be with his son again. The child watched them, face unreadable. Masaru reached out to Mitsuki and passed the children to her then rose to his feet and approached him.
He needed to thank him especially, but he also needed to know. He bowed low before the boy, offering his sincerest thanks, and received a mumbled acceptance in return. He rose to find the boy staring at him in incomprehension. Masaru wondered when had he last been praised? Had it ever happened before? What sort of beast was Endeavor?
But he already knew the answer to that. He was the sort that would tear a family apart. The type that would reject a child who loved him because he wasn't his blood. The type who would hurt his children.
"Will you be safe here?" It pained him to ask. He shouldn't need to ask that about any father, but Endeavor had already proved himself to be anything but. "Will your father hurt you?"
The boy, still just a child, looked away, "I can take it."
Masaru's heart sank. He shouldn't be surprised. He knew he shouldn't. But the thought of the man ranked as the second-best hero in the country hurting his child turned his stomach. "You shouldn't need to."
The boy looked back to him, face contorting in anger, "Just get him away!"
Masaru nodded, but knelt down on one knee, "I was afraid you were going to say yes." He looked the boy in the eye, "I'm sorry he hurt you. I'm sorry that you needed to risk getting hurt to help us." It was now or never. "If you aren't going to be safe here, I can bring you with us."
As much as he had detested the thought, he had learned that Endeavor was abusing his child. He wasn't a fool. He knew that if the man was abusing one child, he had likely abused others. He had already talked to Mitsuki, asked her if she could open her heart to the children that were returning their son to them. She wouldn't have been the woman he'd married or the mother of his child if she had said no.
It had complicated making arrangements, not knowing how many children they would be bringing with them. He burned through vast amounts of the compensation they'd received from the hospital to arrange the fake identities they may not even need, just in case. He'd prepared multiple means of transport out of the country in the event they needed more seats than the four he had expected. He refused to allow the heroes who were returning his child to him to come to harm.
The boy's eyes widened and he trembled, and Masaru received the barest of nods. The boy looked over to his siblings. "Go with them. There's something I need to do."
"Wait, I'll help." The boy shook his head, but Masaru stood up anyway, "Whatever it is, we need to do it quickly." They needed to be out of the country before anyone realized, or they'd never be able to leave.
The boy scowled at him, and he turned inside the gate and into a courtyard beyond. Masaru followed, stopping only when the boy did. It wasn't because the boy had turned to stop him either. As Masaru watched, flames burst from the boy's hands, blue tendrils spreading up his arms. A sweep of his hands and fire burst towards the place he had lived all his life.
Masaru took a step back, hissing from the intense heat. The boy was shouting, throwing flames into the building. Wood burned and charred, stone and glass melted and paper walls shriveled into ash. And still more flames were added to the inferno, hotter, more intense. Years of hate and pain inflicted on him were being poured into a building that had never been a home. There was no warmth or affection for the building or the memories that had been formed there, just seething hate.
Masaru knew this was bad. There would be alerts. Heroes and firefighters would be coming. Endeavor would return. But none of that mattered as he saw the boy's hands shriveling and charring under blue flames. Guttural screams poured from the boy's mouth, right up until the moment Masaru tackled him, wrapping his arms around the boy and knocking him to the ground.
"Let go!" The boy said in a panic, but Masaru refused, no matter how much his arms hurt from his own burns.
"No! Not while you're hurting yourself!" Masaru shouted, and pulled the boy into a roll, the flagstones smothering the flames even as his own skin started to blister.
"I have to destroy it! I have to hurt him!" The boy's voice was almost a shriek, but Masaru held him tight, refusing to let go.
"Enough!" Masaru shouted into the boy's ear, as he forced him into a roll, "Enough! You'll be free of him! Don't let him destroy you now!"
The flames flickered and died. The inferno roared and the building began to collapse. Masaru held onto him, "You've already won. You're escaping him. You've saved my son. You're a hero, and I'm going to do everything I can to repay you."
It stung when the boy reached up and grasped his arms. There were no flames. The boy's fingers were rough and scratchy, leaving small trails of blood from where the skin had split. It mingled with Masaru's. "You-You're hurt." The boy murmured.
"Yes," Masaru whispered.
The boy shook his head, tears streaming down his face, "Why?"
"Because this is what a father should do."
Epilogue:
Endeavor returned to his home only to find ashes. The life he had built had burned away with it. There was no sign of his children, no trace of his creations, failed or otherwise. His past, his present, and his future had all gone up in flames.
He was stomping back towards the gate to leave when he spotted the boy, sitting on a piece of stone by the entrance, kicking the air. He approached, the boy smiling at him as he did. "Where did they go?" He demanded.
The boy stopped swinging his legs, looking up and smiling at him. "They left."
"Yes," He hissed, flames intensifying, "but to where?"
The boy just shrugged, "I don't know. I ran away before they could tell me."
The flames that covered Endeavor made the firefighters and investigators turn, an entire crowd watching him stare down a child.
A child who refused to back down or even stop smiling.
"Then why are you here?" Endeavor roared, ignoring the stares, forgetting the consequences.
If anything, the boy's smile grew even wider as sweat covered his brow from the intense heat. "I'm the only one who wanted to stay."
It took a moment for the flames to recede, but as they watched, the flames ebbed and broke, receding to normal levels. Endeavor glowered down at the boy, lip twitching. "Come Shouto." He ordered, and the boy jumped up without hesitation to follow him.
He would need to find a place to train him.
Author's Note: Amazingly, this is my first completed multi-chapter fic in over a decade. I'm glad I finally finished one. This was always the intended ending, essentially swapping families at the end. The document on my computer was originally Swap Back, but I felt that would give things away too quickly. Everyone got what they wanted besides Endeavor, but Endeavor really doesn't deserve good things in this story anyway. Sadly, Bakugo (canon Shouto) will never go to UA, but Dabi won't exist either. Having a loving and caring family will help all of them heal.
The title of this chapter is based on a song: Rilo Kiley – A Better Son/Daughter. It's a good song, but it has no particular relevance to the story. I hope you all enjoyed!