Chapter Thirteen

The day before Aika's birthday found Denki walking down the street hand-in-hand with his kids, making inane conversation with his Pro-Hero bodyguard of the day, Kirishima.

It was late morning, somewhere around ten o'clock, but it was already another scorcher. The sun sat high overhead, not even reaching its apex, yet the sweltering air felt like a sauna. The sunlight reflected blindingly off of passing cars and the windows of the towering buildings around him, making Denki jealous of the large sunglasses his friend had worn in an attempt to disguise himself.

Today was Kirishima's day off. He'd meant to spend it relaxing, he'd told Denki, but when Denki found himself faced with the prospect of taking his kids back to their apartment briefly so they could gather up what they'd need for their extended stay with the Todoroki's, he'd figured he'd lend his friend a hand. It was, after all, the 'manly' thing to do.

Unfortunately, his friend was also the worst in their old class at disguising himself. He was even worse than Tokoyami or Shoji, and Denki hadn't even thought that was possible. He was wearing a pair of overly-large white sunglasses, a tacky golden chain, a bright pink Hawaiian print T-shirt, and a pair of baggy cargo shorts.

In essence, he looked just like a Western tourist - which of course meant that instead of blending in, he stuck out like a sore thumb, which had the exact opposite effect of what he was going for. People's eyes naturally gravitated towards him on the street, which meant he was recognized more often than he probably would have been had he not tried to disguise himself at all, which greatly slowed the group's progress towards Denki's apartment when they kept having to stop to sign autographs or take pictures.

As it turned out, Kyouka's attempt to pack for her children had been something of a pointless endeavor. Despite stereotypes indicating that mothers always know their children best, Kyouka's hectic work life had kept her from her kids enough that she was often forgetful of even the most basic of their needs. Oh, she remembered to pack clothes and their toothbrushes and the like - but she'd mostly grabbed old, ill-fitting clothes, or shoes they hadn't worn in years but had been kept in their closet for who knows what reason. There was also the issue of Aika's summer homework, most of which remained scattered about her bedroom, and Rai wanting to have his toys and video game console to give him something to distract him so that he didn't annoy his grandparents to death. And so, here they were, making the trek back to the apartment so they could gather up what they needed.

Still. As necessary as it was to have them along so they could even find the things they needed (hey, Denki had tried to search himself, but his kids' rooms were absolute pigsties. He… hadn't been as on top of them about cleanliness in the aftermath of his father's prison break as he maybe should have been), Denki was still concerned about making this trip. Taking his kids back out into public only seemed to be inviting disaster. Even with Kirishima there with him, there was an underlying level of tension that was keeping Denki twitchy and on his toes.

Thankfully, Kirishima was particularly adept at raising people's spirits. His infectious optimism and can-do attitude was the perfect way to distract Denki's kids from their father's practically palpable anxiety, and so far, the walk back to the apartment had been a light-hearted and otherwise uneventful stroll through the blistering morning sunshine.

As the group paused at a stoplight, Denki had actually allowed himself to relax a bit, starting to believe that nothing was going to go wrong after all and he was just being paranoid.

And just as he was thinking that, the crowd in front of him parted and he caught a glimpse of a very familiar earthworm-looking man crossing the street about fifteen meters ahead of him.

Denki's entire body went rigid.

He knew that man. He was one of the two who had attacked him at that convenience store, the one who had escaped because Tomahawk had attacked him by mistake.

A member of the PLF was right there, right in front of him… and he didn't seem to know that Denki was there.

His first instinct was to chase after him, but he was able to take ahold of himself before he let his selfish desires rule his actions.

Catching that man might be their ticket to finding his father. They couldn't let them get away. However, Denki was also with his kids. He couldn't very well start a brawl on the street with them standing right there. Plus, there was the whole 'he wasn't actually a licensed Hero' thing to contend with. But the longer he deliberated, the further and further that rogue PLF member was getting.

And in Denki's warped perception, it was like watching his father slowly escaping justice.

"Dad?" Rai asked, realizing that his father had stopped moving altogether.

When he didn't respond, Kirishima turned to glance at his friend and, upon noticing the expression on his face, went still.

"What's up?"

Denki licked his lips, uncertain how to explain this to Kirishima without causing his kids to panic.

"Up there, across the street," he said softly. "Do you see the guy whose head kind of looks like an earthworm?"

Kirishima turned, cupping his hand over his eyes to shade them from the sunlight (which was dumb, because he was wearing sunglasses). Aika and Rai both turned to look as well, with Rai hopping in place because he was too short to see that far, particularly with the streets as crowded as they were.

"...Yeah, I do. Is he…?"

"From the convenience store the other night," Denki confirmed.

"You sure?"

"Without a doubt."

Kirishima turned back to stare at the distant criminal, scowling as every step took him further and further away.

Finally, he cursed.

"Damn it… Kaminari, I can get him - but I'd have to leave you alone, and I don't think-"

"Do it," Denki cut in, trying not to let his anxiety show. "If you can catch that bastard, we might just… well, it could give us a lead to catching you-know-who. Don't let this opportunity pass."

But still, Kirishima deliberated, looking anxiously back and forth between Denki and his kids and the now almost out-of-sight villain.

"They won't be safe until we catch him," Denki pressed. "Go."

With a loud groan, Kirishima gave in, racing across the street in spite of the traffic, narrowly dodging vehicles under a cacophony of honks and angry shouts.

Denki watched his friend go, fighting down the panic that was now steadily rising within him as the cold realization that he'd just sent his kids' only source of protection away. He swallowed thickly, trying to convince himself he'd made the right choice as Kirishima's broad shoulders vanished from view amidst the crowd of pedestrians across the street.

"Dad…?" Aika asked, slowly reaching out to grab his hand, her tiny fingers trembling.

But Denki didn't answer. The shock of seeing a known PLF member on the street right in front of him, his one Pro bodyguard suddenly leaving him alone with his children, defenseless, had shaken him right down to his core. He was alone with his kids in the open. An attack could come from anywhere. He needed to get off the street. He needed to move.

Heights Alliance. If he could get to the Hero Offices, they'd be safe. It wasn't too far. And if he could hail any cop or Pro he saw along the way-

Denki turned, tugging on Aika and Rai's hands, nearly causing the younger to topple over, and prepared himself to set off down the street at a brisk pace when another figure burst from the crowd directly in front of him.

He drew his kids behind him instinctively, letting go of Aika so he could raise his arm, prepared to let loose with his Quirk if necessary, before recognizing their face.

"Emi?"

"Denki!" she gasped, out of breath, seizing the front of his shirt for support as she doubled over, wheezing. "W-wait! You need… to stop…!"

Denki shook her off, taking a step back, making sure his kids stayed behind him.

Of course she'd appear right now, right as Kirishima left, right as he was vulnerable. Sure, seeing Emiko was better than some other random PLF member or his father, but it still wasn't exactly comforting. Especially not when his children were with him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked without thinking, then shook his head and said, "I don't have time for this, Emi, I need to get my kids off the street-"

"It's a trap," she panted, straightening up. "They sent someone out alone to draw your Pro friend away. You can't go to the Hero office; they've got an ambush waiting for you."

Denki swallowed thickly. He wanted to ask how she knew this, but whether she was working with their father or not, she was still part of the MLA. He supposed it was possible she could have picked this information up by hearsay. In any event, now wasn't the time for that. He could grill her later when his children weren't in danger.

What she was saying had merit, however. That earthworm guy just 'happening' to be on the street right in front of him was possible - just not probable. There was a distinct possibility that she was telling the truth and that this was all a setup meant to separate him from his bodyguards, and if it was, then it was obvious that Heights Alliance is the first place he'd think of to go.

Only… now what? Did he call someone? Hope they could get to him before another PLF member found him and his kids on the street? Pray that another Hero just happened to wander by? What was the right move?

Behind him, Aika had taken her little brother in her arms protectively while the two peered cautiously around their father's legs at the newcomer.

After a moment, Aika said, "Hey… Aren't you the lady who saved Rai?"

Emi glanced down at her niece and nephew and seemed to hesitate almost as if she'd only just noticed them, half opening her mouth as though she intended to respond. Then she closed it with a snap and returned her attention back to Denki.

"We need to get off the street," Emi continued, not waiting for her brother's input. "I know a place - we can go to my hideout, they won't be able to find us there. But we need to hurry."

She turned as though expecting Denki to just follow her, but hesitated when Denki didn't budge.

Go to her hideout? She was kidding, right? Sure, he'd been given reasons to question his initial assumption that she had to be working with their father, and she had risked her life to save Rai… But trusting her was still a gamble. And he didn't gamble with his children's lives.

"No," he said instead, crouching down and scooping Rai up in one arm, taking Aika's hand again in his other and turning away from his sister. "I'm sorry, Emi, but I can't take that risk."

Emi spluttered incoherently for a second as Denki began walking away, then hurried after him.

"What are you doing?! I told you you can't go to the Hero office! That's where they're waiting for you!"

"That's not where we're going."

"Then what? You gonna hide out in a department store? After they torched your in-law's place like it was nothing?"

"No."

"Then what? Denki, I'm trying to help you here!"

Denki's pace was fast, plowing through the crowds on the street with little to no care for how rude he was being. Aika was forced to jog to keep up, her face pale and scared, her hand squeezing his tightly. Rai had his arms around his father's neck, and though he didn't know what was happening, he'd picked up on the mood. The feeling of him shaking and the memory of his body on that hospital bed only spurred Denki into moving faster.

He needed to get his kids somewhere safe. Somewhere with a lot of Pros. They were too far now from Todoroki's place, there was no way in hell he was going with Emiko, and if the Hero Office was off-limits…

Then there was only one place he could go.

The trip only took a few minutes, but to Denki, it felt like it took hours. He kept twisting his head this way and that, on the lookout for any potential PLF attacks, not even sure that he would recognize the faces of any members other than his father, but it didn't matter. Nothing wound up happening. Though his heart thundered in his ears and adrenaline coursed through his veins, nothing at all happened, and before too long, he had arrived in front of his apartment complex.

Tanjirou the security guard, the man who it seemed never took a day off, glanced up lazily from his phone. He looked surprised at first to see Denki and his kids, but his surprise turned to concern when he noticed Denki's expression.

"Kaminari? What's wro-?"

"Spotted a PLF member on the street," Denki cut in hurriedly, trying to keep his voice down so random passers-by couldn't hear him. "Same one from the attack the other night. Red Riot is on the pursuit, but I need to get my kids off the street."

Tanjirou had already inputted the code to unlock the doors before Denki had even finished speaking.

"I'll alert the head of security," he said in his deep, business-professional voice as Aika slipped in ahead of the others, "as well as any Pros who are currently at home, just to be safe."

"Thank you, Tanjirou," Denki said with a tight smile before turning to follow his daughter inside.

"What about her?"

Denki turned to see who Tanjirou was talking about only to then remember that Emi had been following them. She was staring up at the tall apartment complex with a mixture of dread and unease on her face.

Denki hesitated. If she was telling the truth and was also being hunted by their father, then leaving his little sister out on the streets where it was dangerous was the absolute last thing he could do. The likelihood of her lying and actually being on their father's side was still pretty high, however, despite what her recent actions seemed to be implying. Still, she was his little sister, and she had saved Rai…

"She's with me," he said to Tanjirou, then, turning to address Emi, he said, "You can come in if you want, but I'd understand if you'd rather go back to where you're staying."

For a moment, he thought she was going to do just that. She was looking at his apartment complex like it was a bear trap and she was being forced to deliberately stick her foot right in it. Eventually, however, her unease turned to determination, and, with clenched fists, she nodded and followed Denki inside, ignoring Tanjirou's suspicious eyes.

The elevator ride up to the floor his apartment was on was a tense and uncomfortable affair. They rode in complete silence, with the intercom repeating the morning weather forecast in a calm, robotic voice. He'd set Rai down when they'd entered, and now both of his kids were standing behind him, peering out around his legs and staring at Emiko with wide, cautious eyes like a pair of kittens being confronted with a dog for the first time in their lives.

Emiko wasn't doing much better. She kept fidgeting with her hands, adjusting her weight from foot to foot and casting her eyes about in every direction. Her gaze kept returning to the kids, however, and every time it did, she jerked her eyes away as though the sight of them burned her.

Finally, they arrived on Denki's floor, and after pausing a moment to extricate his keys from his pocket, he opened the door and ushered his kids inside.

He paused when he noticed Emi hesitating to follow.

"You going in?" he asked, wondering if she was suddenly going to change her mind now after refusing her chance to leave down on the ground floor. Instead of answering, she shot him a surly glare, as though him inviting her into his home was somehow rude, before brushing past him and stomping her way inside.

The old part of him that delighted at frustrating his little sister smirked.

While the kids were off in their rooms, gathering the things they'd need for their extended stay with the Todoroki's, Emi was left alone in the living room. Denki could just see her from his position in the kitchen, and in a way, it was sort of funny.

She was sitting rigidly on the end of the couch, her spine completely straight, her arms folded tightly across her chest, almost like she was afraid to touch anything. From the way her eyes bounced around from object to object, you'd think she'd never been in an apartment before.

Still, Denki had more important things to do than spy on his socially awkward younger sister.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and shot Kirishima a text.

Any luck?

A few minutes later, his friend responded.

I'm so sorry man he got away

Denki groaned softly, leaning forward against the counter. Just his luck, that slippery earthworm bastard had gotten away again.

Wait, was that discriminatory…?

Were U at?

Denki fought down his pathological need to correct his friend's spelling and instead focused on his response.

Home. Emiko showed up right after you left and said they had a trap waiting for us on the way to Heights Alliance, so we came home instead. Didn't see anything on the street though.

His response came almost instantaneously.

U serious? Im so sorry i shouldnt have left

It's alright, we're fine. You should probably get some Pros to help you sweep the streets near the office though just to be safe.

Already on it

Denki nodded to himself. Of course he was; Red Riot was a consummate Pro who usually ranked somewhere around thirteen on the billboards. If he was on the case, he and his kids had nothing to worry about.

Nothing except for the woman currently seated awkwardly on his couch.

If Kirishima had already alerted the Pros, however, then that meant Kyouka was bound to find out any second now. He needed to text her first before-

His phone buzzed in his hand, and a picture of his wife popped up on screen.

Great.

He answered the call with no little trepidation, and as soon as he did, his wife launched into her questions without even so much as a greeting.

"Denki? Are you alright? Where are the kids, are they safe?"

"Hun, they're fine-"

"Where are you? Kirishima said you were gone when he got back-"

"We went home. I figured it was safer there than waiting out in the open on the street corner."

"Good, good…" his wife replied, sounding frazzled, and then a moment later she took a deep, steadying breath. "Ok, that's… that's good."

A small smile crept its way onto Denki's face. She was so cute when she was anxious.

Sadly, that wasn't all he needed to say to her. She was going to find out from Kirishima soon if she hadn't already, and he assumed she hadn't, otherwise, she would have brought it up immediately.

"Um, also…" he began, struggling to find the best way to word this without his wife completely losing it. "There's, ah… See, right after Kirishima ran off, someone… Someone showed up and warned me of a trap set by the PLF, so I brought them with me, and… they're sitting on our couch."

There was a beat in which Denki could practically see his wife processing his words.

"...Denki, are you telling me you let your sister into our home with our children?"

Denki felt his wince reverberate throughout his entire body like he was bracing for impact.

"...Yes?"

He expected shouting. He expected insults. He expected her to repeatedly question his intelligence.

He didn't expect her to simply hang up the phone.

For a long moment, Denki could only stare at the now-silent device in his hands.

Well.

That can't be good.

He wasn't sure how to take this. Either she was sticking to her Hero duties and using her Quirk to scour the area for any of the PLF members who were lying in wait to ambush him… or she'd thrown all caution to the wind and was on her way here now to arrest his sister and possibly kill him in the process.

This was going to be a fun afternoon.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Denki headed towards the short hallway situated between the kitchen and the living room that lead to both the guest bathroom as well as both of his children's bedrooms so he could check on their progress packing. It wasn't until he'd reached the corner and he could fully see into the living room that he realized both of his children had apparently migrated there while he was on the phone.

He hesitated, hiding just behind the wall, suddenly morbidly curious as to how this interaction was going to go. He was uncomfortable leaving his kids alone with Emi, but he was also fairly confident that they were perfectly safe. If she'd intended to harm them, she wouldn't have saved Rai, after all. That, and if she tried anything, he was literally right there.

He watched Emiko watch Rai as he sorted through the basket full of toys and video games he kept beside their TV stand. Denki could tell that he wasn't really looking for anything in particular, however. He had that same look that he had on when he was supposed to be cleaning or getting ready for bed, which meant he was really just wasting time.

Aika, for her part, had seated herself on a chair and was rifling through some of the worksheets she'd been given for homework. There were only so many of them, however, and he knew his daughter well enough to know that she didn't actually care about them either. She was more interested in the mystery stranger seated on their couch.

After a moment, Rai stopped pretending to care about his toys and got to his feet, slowly walking towards Emi with his hands balled up in his shirt, looking for all the world like a nervous kid approaching a big animal at a petting zoo.

Emi, for her part, watched his slow advance like he was a train and she'd been tied to the railroad tracks.

Rai stopped next to the coffee table, about half a meter away, and opened his mouth.

"Um… Do you…um... Are you really the lady who saved me?"

Aika had stopped pretending to go through her homework and was watching the exchange as well.

Emi blinked owlishly, practically exuding discomfort, and finally said, in a weak voice, "Uh… Y-yeah, I am."

Rai's nerves disappeared, and all at once, his expression lit up like a new year's firework.

"Oh, wow!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down giddily and making Emi drawback, alarmed. "That's amazing! Are you a Hero?!"

"O-oh, no. No, no, no, I'm not- I'm not a Hero, I'm just…"

Here, she hesitated, glancing back and forth between Rai and Aika's expectant faces before noticing Denki peeking around the corner and shooting him a distressed look.

Denki smirked. She was so bad at lying.

The thing about lying, he'd learned during his stint as the traitor, was that you needed to keep it as close to the truth as possible, otherwise, the holes became too obvious.

"Kids," Denki cut in gently, stepping into the room. "This is my cousin, Emiko."

Aika shot Denki a confused look.

"You have a cousin?"

The memory of his and Aika's conversation the other week about him never telling her about his family shot through Denki's head, and he tried not to wince.

"Yeah, I do. But we haven't seen each other since we were teenagers, that's why you've never met her before."

"Yeah, exactly!" Emi chimed in, sounding relieved. Rai seemed to accept the answer without question, which made sense because he was four, but Aika, who was a little bit older, frowned.

Worried she'd begin asking questions he couldn't answer, Denki quickly changed the subject.

"Well, looks like we could be stuck in here for a little while… You guys want some lunch?"

The question prompted a loud "Yeah!" from Rai, who would get excited about anything, and allowed Denki to slip out of the room without having to answer any more awkward question from Aika.

Or so he thought.

Unfortunately for him, she followed him into the kitchen, claiming a seat at the bar while he rifled through the fridge and cupboards, looking for anything they might have that could be considered edible.

"Dad," she began, sounding unusually determined, "what's going on?"

A loud thunk and an 'ow!' emanate from the living room, and when Denki glanced up over Aika's head, he could see Rai leading Emi by the hand towards his basket of toys, which he immediately began pulling out one by one and describing to her. From the pained look on her face, it was evident she wanted to be anywhere else, but it seemed even she was powerless in the face of Rai's innocent enthusiasm.

He glanced back down at his daughter and opted for his most charming smile.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

Aika quirked a brow and Denki cursed himself internally. He never called her sweetheart unless he was hiding something.

"Why did Uncle Kirishima run off?" she asked, getting straight to the point. "And why did your cousin know we were in danger?"

Great. Why couldn't she be four like her brother and have the memory of a goldfish? She was going to be a pain when she was a teenager.

The best way to explain this would be to finally tell her… but her birthday was tomorrow, he didn't want to run the risk of ruining that for her. What if she spent the whole day terrified her estranged grandfather was going to burn the building down again?

Still, he had to tell her something. Best to keep it as close to the truth as he could.

"Well… Remember last week when I came home late because I witnessed a crime?" When she nodded, he continued. "One of the villains got away, but I saw him on the street today. That's why Kirishima ran off; he was trying to catch him."

That was all actually true, for the most part. Maybe he could do this.

Aika nodded along slowly, watching him separate the ingredients he'd pulled out on the counter and begin dicing the onions.

"So… Your cousin thought we were in danger because you witnessed a crime and saw the villain on the street?"

He wanted to tell her 'yes', but knew that wasn't going to cut it. She was too inquisitive for her own good. Or for his peace of mind.

"Um, sort of," he began, wracking his brain for a plausible answer. "The police… think he might be connected with what happened back at Grandma's house the other day. So just to be sure, we decided to get somewhere safe while the Heroes capture him."

He was prepared for the next question now. The one about how Emi knew they'd be in danger, and why some random villain Denki had allegedly 'just happened' to see do a crime would go so far as to burn their grandparents' house down when Denki wasn't even there. He had no idea how he'd answer them, but those would be the questions to ask next, and she'd already asked about Emi before.

However, that's not what she asked. Instead, upon hearing that the man he'd seen was connected to her brother almost dying in a fire, Aika's expression grew stony and she turned her gaze down away from her father's, directing it back at the homework she'd brought along with her.

"Oh," was all she said.

Denki blinked, confused. That was it? 'Oh'? No more questions? That wasn't like Aika at all. Had she come to some other incorrect conclusion about what had happened to her and her brother?

A better parent would have spent more time talking with his kids after such a traumatic event, but Denki had been devoting so much of his time to wandering the streets with Emi, playing at being a Hero, trying to find his father and put an end to this once and for all that he… hadn't been spending as much time with his kids as he should.

The problem was, helping Aika come to terms with what happened would require him coming clean about his past. And he'd already given himself a date to do that; the day after tomorrow, once Aika's birthday had passed. It was arbitrary, and stupid, and selfish, and cowardly, but… ignoring this for now would let him focus on what he needed to. Plus it would help him avoid this awkward line of questioning. He felt terrible, but… it was what he needed in order to do what needed to be done.

Aika didn't ask any more questions, and before long, Denki had finished cooking lunch. It was a somewhat plain, modest meal; rice, some grilled vegetables, a little bit of seasoning. Honestly, it was all they had in the fridge at the moment. He hadn't done any real shopping because his kids hadn't been staying here and he hadn't expected to have to cook. Still, it was good enough, and miraculously, no one, not even Rai, complained.

If the meal they had was normal, the situation they were in was anything but. Emi's presence stuck out like a sore thumb, and she looked uncomfortably awkward sitting in between Rai and Aika (they chose their seats after she'd already sat down).

Rai talked through the entire meal, spitting out flecks of rice every other word, completely enamored by this mysterious woman who had saved his life. Aika interjected every now and then either to correct her brother about something or to make a dry observation, but even that was more than she usually spoke when a stranger was around, which was a surprise.

For Emi's part, she mostly stayed quiet during the meal, using wordless 'oh's and 'mmm's to indicate that she was listening, but it was becoming increasingly apparent to Denki that his little sister's discomfort with the situation and the amount of attention she was getting from her niece and nephew was starting to wane.

By the time the meal ended and Denki got started on the dishes, Emi's smile had gone from awkward and lopsided to full-lipped and earnestly amused. It was like Rai's endless energy had soaked its way into her and melted her heart, at least a bit. When she returned to the living room after eating and Rai invited her to play video games with her, she agreed, and as Denki scrubbed the plates, the apartment was filled with the sound of their playful taunts and laughter.

Deep down, he knew he shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be letting his kids get so close to her. She could be a threat. She could be out to hurt him and his family.

But at the same time, there was a very real part of him that was hoping he was wrong. A part that had missed his old family, his little sister who he'd thought was dead for all these years, and he delighted at the thought of her being part of his children's lives.

The days they'd spent together, pounding the pavement, constantly on the alert for a possible attack… they had done something to him. It had been surprisingly easy to slip back into their old brother-sister dynamic of playful insults and quips. In the back of his head, he knew that she still couldn't be trusted - not as long as their father was free and the possibility existed that she could betray them - but that part of him was slowly being edged out by the part that just missed his sister and wanted her back.

Of course, none of that mattered now. They'd find Denki's father soon, and once they did, the truth about Emi's intentions would be made clear. And even if she was innocent, even if she really had come to him seeking help, that didn't mean that she wanted him to be a part of her life again.

And after what he'd done, he couldn't blame her.

Sometimes, he didn't want to be a part of his own life.

Not long after he'd finished cleaning up, he received a text from his wife, informing him that the search had turned up nothing and that the police had decided to send a car to pick him and the kids up to escort them back to Momo's. When he announced this to the room, Emi declared that she'd be taking her leave, and his kids both seemed upset. Particularly Rai, who was clinging to her pant leg while she put her shoes back on, tears in his eyes while he begged her to stay.

"I'm sorry, bud," she said, ruffling his hair and actually sounding like she meant it. "I really have to go now."

"But will you come back again?" Rai asked, throwing out his most killer puppy dog look, and Emi made a discomfited face.

"Um… Well, I don't know…"

This only made Rai more upset, but just as Denki opened his mouth to try to come up with some excuse for her, Aika cut in.

"You should come to my birthday party tomorrow."

Both Denki and Emi blinked.

"O-oh…? Your birthday… party?"

"Aika," Denki said quickly, "you know you can't just invite people over to Momo's house without asking-"

"So?" Aika challenged, not making eye-contact. "She saved Rai's life, and she's your cousin. Plus it's not like there won't be room - mom isn't going to make it anyway."

That plunged the conversation into an uncomfortable silence, and after a moment, Emi said, "Well… We'll see, ok? But no promises."

Aika nodded in acceptance, but Rai let out a cheer and threw both of his arms around Emi's legs in the tightest hug he could muster, nearly making her lose her balance.

Once she'd been extracted from her nephew's embrace, Emi left the apartment, leaving Denki alone with his kids.

He immediately rounded on his daughter.

"Aika," he said, using his quiet 'disappointed father' tone, "why would you say that about your mother? You know she's going to do her best to be there - she even said she asked for the evening off, just for you."

"She always says that," Aika muttered, turning away and heading back into the living room, following Rai, who had lost interest as soon as Emi was gone. "Maybe it'd be better if she didn't come anyway."

"Aika!"

What in the world had gotten into her? Only, it was right then that he received another text, this one from Kirishima, letting him know the police car had arrived for them and was waiting outside.

With promises that this conversation was not over and double-checking that they'd packed everything they needed, he ushered his kids out the door and back into the elevator.

Seriously, if it wasn't one thing, it was another.

When was life going to give him a break?