Chapter Three - Peaches and Cream

Mama never shows, but the police do. They arrive with large, empty duffles and familiar smiles, like Fuyumi when she is making dinner from the fridge and doesn't want to ask for help.

They all obey those smiles and sit in the cars wuietly all the way home. Shoto fidgets with Riki's fingers. He gets a large smile and a lot of amusement. What else is he going to do, they won't let them take the puffy thing off of his eye!

Their house is as quiet as a grave. Shoto would know, he had seen great-grandma's. Mama isn't there, Father isn't either, though he might be at the office.

"Your mother is currently with her parents, at a hotel." One of the policemen is smiling at him directly and it's nothing like All Might's, not real at all. Instead, it feels like so many other harsh, sad, tired things. Shoto doesn't mean to, but he shrinks behind his sister. She pets his head and is just like Mama. He can almost believe it.

"You're going to collect your most important things and then we'll be taking you to your temporary residence."

"With Mama!" Shoto doesn't mean to insist but he hopes.

The man shakes his head. "No. You're all under investigation, so until we get leave to allow it, you won't be able to see her."

"What?!"

Shoto is supposed to respect police officers, he knows. But he can't help it. He hasn't seen mama all day and no one wants to protect her. They just want to protect us but father hates her! And it's not her fault that Shoto isn't what Father needs. Why won't anyone listen?

He stomps his foot and the man only looks at him with a shuffle in his steps and then walks away.

For a moment, Shoto wishes he was like his father because then his being mad would matter. Being mad would make people do what he wanted because otherwise, he would end up hurting them because he was mad.

Then he lets out a hefty sob and Hirose picks him up. He lets him cry and doesn't let Shoto admit that he hates himself more for doing it.

Something about this feels like forever.

Fuyumi packs each duffle dutifully, Riki at her side. "Dishes too?" he asks, hefting the drawers shut.

"Mm." It may not be forever lasShoto thinks. Fuyumi is relatively certain it will be as long as they decide to try and fight the second greatest hero in Japan. If he cares. She's only useful because she'll do the house things that mom sometimes can't do for a few days. "Not if they're not your favorite."

So it could be a while.

"Pack everything you don't want with you," she mumbles after a while. "And lock it in your closet."

Riki nods. "Good idea."

Their parents had never found their closet keys before and they weren't going to start now.

"Is, is he asleep?" She asks without looking up.

"Out like a light." Hirose sits on the sofa beside their little brother. "Right after that little tantrum there."

"Hiro."

Hirose glances at Riki, blue-grey eyes flaring brighter for a moment like they were in the sun. "Sorry. Just… been a long day."

Riki regards him for a moment more. Then be turns away to pack more things. There is a bit of extra force that almost sends the duffle flying. Fuyumi giggles a little behind her closed hand, before wincing in pain.

"Shouldn't do that too soon, huh?"

"Nope," she said with a weak smile. "Guess not. I'll head to my room."

Before either younger brother can stop her, she goes out of the hall and out of sight.

Riki sighs at the sound of her door closing. "We're screwed."

Hirose rolled his eyes. "Don't be dramatic."

"Says the guy accusing mom."

"She can freeze him." Hirose grunts. "She could divorce him. She could get us to spend more time with Grandma. She could talk to Fu-nee about her quirk… okay, maybe not that last one," he concedes. "Dad would try to force her to catch up on lost time. If he still can."

Riki snorts, opening another pocket of the duffle. The police are outside or in their parents' rooms, more than likely. "Don't give him ideas. She doesn't think anyone knows as it is."

"We know and that's it."

Riki is quiet. "I think All Might knows. He was awful nice this morning. She probably told him."

"We'd be here for summer homework if she hadn't.…" Hirose trails off, flicking fire around his fingers. "God… what are we gonna do?"

"Wait and hope bro." Riki exhales snowflakes. "Wait and hope."

None of them act like Shoto is awake. He doesn't want to admit it either.

Eventually, he has to wake up and pack his things. He doesn't want to, and drags his feet around the room. Riki watches with a weird smile, like it's funny.

"Things won't change if you're dragging your feet to face them," he says in his usual cheery voice.

Shoto, however, doesn't like it today. It's all smarmy and mean and gross. "How do you know?"

"Cause I tried to do the same thing with Dad a couple of times and training broke my fingers."

Shoto wilts in place. "I…"

Riki heads over to him and begins folding his sheets and the things his fingers are too small to reach. "I miss mom too," he says, cutting off whatever Shoto was going to say (and he doesn't really know what he was going to say). "But we can't see her for a while. I don't like it, but I don't think dad can either."

"Why not?" Okay, no one had told him that for some reason. Which is dumb, he's not a baby. Shoto, trying not to be mad because it didn't work before, picks up his school bag.

"Well." His brother works quickly next to him and Shoto stops to watch, fascinated. "Cause there's probably gonna be a trial for dad. And we'll have to talk. Remember how those guys came in last night?"

"Kinda?" He doesn't remember what he said but he knows they were there. "Nee-chan told you?"

"Yep." Riki snaps the blanket. "So they're probably going to have to do something to dad. No clue how much. He's the second best there is ever. Can't be too much or morale's down the tubes. It puts All Might in a bad place cause he helped us too. But mom will also be blamed for what dad's doing 'cause of what she's not doing. And even if she's not at fault, they want to make sure of her story first. And ours. And it'd be weird if our stories changed after we met her."

Shoto frowns. He's a kid, but he's smart, and none of his siblings exactly baby his brain. His body sure, but that's okay. "Do they think we'd lie to protect Mama?"

Riki opens his closet door. "Yep, or to get dad in worse trouble, and then the paparazzi would get at us like we're trying to ruin his career. That could happen no matter what, but it'll hit us less if we don't interact with her. Cause we're kids who shouldn't be involved."

Shoto nods slowly, beginning to pack again. "So it's not because Mama is bad, but because we want this to work."

"Yep. I think there might also be laws involved." Riki smiles at him. "Good work."

Shoto can't help but smile back, heart warm for a brief second. Then he deflates. "Ri-nii…"

"Mm?"

"I don't have a quirk, do I?"

Riki glances at him. Then he smiles sadly. "Nope. You're our favorite little odd ball that way."

"Is…" Shoto puts his pencil case down. "Is that why this happened?"

Riki walks over to him and squeezes his shoulder. "No. Dad's issues are why this happened. Dad and his crappy parents and his anger issues and inferiority complex are why this happened. Not you. Okay?"

Shoto nods because that's what he needs to do.

Then he hugs his brother because he actually wants to believe him.

Before they can separate, voices filter through the open window.

"I'm sorry, Todoroki-san, but you cannot enter until they are all finished."

"That is my home, not theirs. Are you telling me that I don't belong there?"

Father's voice was strangely quiet, almost nice. Or maybe it's because it's far away because the world has started spinning through his one seeing eye.

"You are forbidden to have contact with the victims, Todoroki-san."

"My children. They're my children. It's an obstruction of justice to keep them from me!" Endeavor's voice has risen slightly, but to Shoto, it still feels far away. Everything has gone seemingly quiet, as if he's up in a plane, far away from him. His eye hurts, but that's all.

He feels something around his waist and his body moving. He wants to resist but the feeling is soft and warm and fuzzy. He hears more talking but it's hard to tell what they're saying. He's not sure it matters.

When the world swims back into focus, he's outside, blinking at the light of the sun and at his father's face.

Shoto doesn't remember walking there but he must have. He stares at his father, who seems to look at him for a solid moment. Then he looks past him, up at someone. All the anger Shoto has feels like it's in someone else's body. He can't speak.

He walks past them, flames and smoke leaking from his face, the ground seems to shake, everything heavy. The door rattles as he slams it shut behind him. All four of them jump and suddenly everything is clear in his head again. Shoto can hear birds across the street.

It's that sound that makes him rush over to the nearest bush and throw up.

It's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's-

Father's eyes had told him so.

If he'd had a quirk, none of this would have happened.

A/N: Not to spoil but this week's MHA chapter... awwww yuuussss! I'm not gonna change character names at this point until that one thing gets confirmed or denied. But I'm pretty right, and I'm free to run with these things as I see fit. I will be using the name of Mama Todoroki, because she has one now, but as for the sibs... I'll hold off just a tad bit longer.

Anyway, enough squealing, see you next time!