No sound of any tv, no sound of any computer, no sound of dishes clinking, no voices, no laughter, no cries. The large residence was silent, empty, still, servants hiding away not to cross his path.

They were gone.

His children were gone.

He stood in the genkan, taking in the screaming, ripping void that surrounded him and wanted to scream and rip things apart himself.

'The best we can achieve is to make sure you will be able to see your children as often as possible.'

No. No.

He was going to fight. He was going to take this to court and bring his children back. He wasn't going to let her tear them away from him. Never. He was the Number Two Hero in Japan, for God's sake, he was one of the most influential, powerful, richest men in the country! He had faced so many adversities in his life, so many perils, and he always had overcome it all! He was going to win. He had always been winning and he was going to win this terrible fight too. The stakes had never been as high as now, and he was going to put all he had, all his intelligence, cunning, experience, determination, anger into this, the most crucial for him, battle.

He headed to his office, his fists tightened white, flames burning around his head like an ominous halo, eyes filled with fury and steely resolve. He needed to sit at his desk and plan it all out like he had planned so many critical hero operations before, but this time not to save strangers, but to save himself. Since he was sure he would go insane if he lost his kids.

His kids.

He buried his face again in hands. The familiar hardness of his wooden desk, comfort of the big armchair, light scent of old, high-priced books had been usually helping his head clear, enabling him to throttle the overwhelming whirlwind his emotions so often had been, but he couldn't feel that now. Rage, despair, horror, pain, scraps of memories, horrible words of Mishima, it all was spinning in his mind and no amount of deep breaths, no amount of desperate efforts to focus on the path leading him back to his children worked. He felt he was spiraling down into the abyss of desperate roaring feelings that strangled his mind and heart so tight there was nothing but piercing pain.

He couldn't think, like this.

He had to.

But he couldn't.

He just couldn't. The pain was too much.

He did not know how long he had stayed like that, behind his desk, his face in his hands, nothing but ache resounding in his whole being. But it must have been many hours, since the first shades of dawn coloured the dark sky. What his efforts weren't able to achieve, exhaustion did, and finally the emotions simmered down a bit. Still, all the night spent here, and he did not reach any decision on what to do next, apart from waiting for Mishima to speak with Rei's lawyer. Pathetic. So many years as the professional hero and he still let the emotions wreck him up and cloud his logical thinking.

He sighed. His eyes fell on the desk. The paternity test results were still there, the reason for the whole ordeal. Right, Izuku. He managed to forget about the child whose existence caused this all. He sighed again, rubbing his temples. Right. He had intended to take Izuku here, into his care, before all this had blown up in his face. Now however, in these circumstances, he doubted it was a good idea. He did not know how things were going to proceed and it definitely would be better for the, already traumatized by mother's death, child to come to the stable environment, when everything will be settled. Not mentioning he could hardly imagine being able to take care of his son now, in this state of mental turmoil.

If Bakugous really had been close friends to both Midoriyas it might be wiser to let the boy stay with them a little longer. It might be good for Izuku too, to be around the familiar faces for now, instead of being moved into the home of the man he did not even know, adding one shock to another. Still, he needed to speak with Bakugous about it, see for himself if Izuku truly was in good hands, and also, last but not least, make sure they had enough money to take care of an additional child. They definitely weren't poor, but it did not mean they should have to pay for his child. He decided to go there today. Maybe it will also help to clear his mind a bit, if he will have to think about someone else other than his children for a moment, and allow him to get back to the harrowing situation a bit calmer later.

888

The Bakugou woman watched him warily as he entered their house. She offered him a seat and sat opposite, stiff and high-strung, not bothering to offer him tea.

"First of all, I want to thank you for taking care of Izuku now and helping them both all those years." He had no idea what exactly that help had entailed, but Bakugou seemed sincere when she had shouted these words into his face. And it definitely would not harm to start this conversation off on a friendlier note.

The woman shrugged. "We had always been good friends, with Inko, she always supported me when I was younger, so it was only normal to help her back, right? That's what normal people do."

He wasn't sure if this was a jab or not, and decided to ignore it anyway.

"I am very grateful that after losing his mother Izuku did not end up with strangers."

She replied nothing, but her eyes were as cold as before. She wasn't going to buy any kindness from him. Well, she did not know him, after all. She had no idea what kind of man he was and what kind of father he would be to Izuku.

"I shall pay for all the expenses you had."

She rolled her eyes. "I've got plenty of money, I don't care. All I care for is Izuku's wellbeing."

He nodded. "So do I."

She did not seem to believe him.

"That is why I came here today. I have told my wife about... having another son and... she wants a divorce and to keep our children." Only he knew how much it cost him to say it calmly, as if he were just delivering relevant information and not speaking about what was tearing him apart from inside. "I thought it might not be best for Izuku to move into my home before the things are settled."

He saw the slightest surprise in her eyes. Did she not expect him to be thoughtful at all? To care for his own child for real?

"You weren't against him staying with you before-"

"Sure, Zuku can stay with us as long as needed. Honestly he can stay with us forever, I've already told you that. You have your wife and children."

"No," he said in a voice harder than he intended. "This is my child. He won't be growing up fatherless."

"We would be-"

"No!" he barked, before he could stop himself. 'Fuck, Enji, calm down.'

Her eyes narrowed, but she said, "Okay, then. Zuku can stay with us as long as needed. But I want to be able to visit him afterwards too," she added in a rather menacing tone. He liked it. She did not intend to just hand over the child of her friend to some guy who just happened to be his biological father and forget about everything. She was a good woman. He decided to make sure he was going to show his gratitude better, after everything was set to rights.

"I would be grateful for that."

"Sure."

"Can I speak with Izuku?"

She sighed, clearly having expected that, but still not liking it.

"Sure. It's just... Inko-chan had been always telling Izuku his dad's working in US. I'm not sure what you should tell him. He's a great hero fan, you won't hide from him the fact you're Endeavor and that you've been here, in Japan, all this time."

Oh.

"If he was older...", she added.

Yeah, if he was older, he would understand why his father, who had another family, hadn't been in contact with them. Well, 'understand' was a big word here, and definitely did not mean accept and forgive, that for certain. But a kid that small?

"I'll think of something."

"I don't want you to make Inko-chan a liar. She was a great girl, a great mum! You can't do that to her and to Zuku."

He nodded pensively. 'A great hero fan', huh? The idea already dawned in his mind.

"I know what to tell him, at least for now."

She frowned, but nodded. She led him to one of the bedrooms on the upper floor where he found the father of the family playing peacefully with two five year old boys he had already seen in the window the other day. They all stopped, both kids staring at him with big eyes, and father looking worried.

He forced a smile, even though he suddenly got nervous as if it was his Yuuei entrance exam.

"Are you Endeavor?" the Bakugou boy piped up.

"Yes," admitted Enji.

"Oh my god, that's so cool!" squeaked his Izuku. Something shifted in his heart.

"Bullshit, All Might's better!" snapped the other boy as he attempted to smack Enji's son on his head. The father stopped his hand though while the mother shouted "Told you to behave yourself, you little brat! Wanna be a hero or not?!" The little boy grumbled something back angrily. "And no grumbling! I told you a thousand times!"

Something was off. He could feel these kinds of things from kilometers away, was practically allergic to this. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was overreacting now, being shaken with all the hell he was being put through since yesterday.

"Come, Katsuki, Endeavor-san wants to talk with Zuku."

"This is my room!" shouted Katsuki.

"Geezus, just for a second, for god's sake!" she snapped as she smacked the boy on the head. "Told you to behave!"

Enji went ice cold, all the blood in his veins seemed to stop.

"THIS. IS. MY. ROOM!" shouted Katsuki, struggling against his mother, so she grabbed his hair which elicited a scream. Then she noticed Enji's arctic look.

"Oh my god, don't tell me you're one of those people, who believe a slap will break a kid."

Enji very carefully chose his words, aware he had a trial incoming, and that for a very short time, as short as was possible, he might need these people.

"I was lucky to have children that did not need any... spanking."

"Well, lucky you," she rolled her eyes. "Katsuki here is a little devil."

('This is a devil's Quirk!') He shook away the memory, as he had millions of times before.

"I'll just speak with Izuku outside, maybe. This is the kid's room after all," he said very calmly.

His Izuku needed to leave this place, he knew that now, his family situation settled or not. Bakugou might be a good person in general, but definitely a one who did not see what she's been doing to her kid, probably just repeating how she had been raised. Which was no excuse, he thought angrily.

The boy followed him into the garden. They sat on the swing bench, Izuku still watching him with very big, overawed eyes.

Enji struggled for a moment. How was he supposed to speak with this tiny child about such grim, adult matters?

"You're really so big!" Izuku piped up.

He couldn't help but smile at it.

"I saw you catching Red Crow! That was so awesome!"

Warmth crept into his aching heart. The only child that had been truly thrilled with his hero job had been Touya... The pain intensified.

"And so easily too!"

"It just seemed easy. This is a difficult and dangerous job."

"I wanna be a hero too! Like All Might!"

He didn't growl at that, he was past this, and even managed not to frown. Fucking All Might. Fucking up children's minds all over Japan. Enji had done the same with Touya and it got his precious boy killed. He was young and stupid then, but All Might... All Might still kept pretending their job was glorious and happy, making small, naive kids eagerly swallow this bullshit. Endangering them.

He hummed. It gave him an idea. "It is very dangerous. However, if you are really decided, I can train you."

Izuku's eyes were big, as big as Inko's, some western blood in their veins, obviously, but now they seemed to take up most of the kid's face.

"No way! Really?! I gotta tell Kacchan!" He jumped off the bench, but Enji stopped him.

"Wait, Izuku."

The boy looked back at him with excited sparkles lit up in his eyes.

"Come, sit back."

The boy sat.

Fuck, it was hard.

Izuku looked at him patiently.

"Your mum told you your dad is in the US, right?"

His heart broke when he saw all the joy and enthusiasm snuffed out in a second. The boy bowed his head and small hands started to crumple the shirt.

"Mum's... gone."

Small tears dropped, one, two, three, ten, and the boy dissolved into quiet sobbing. He could feel his pain almost as if it was his. He barely handled his son's death, it almost made him insane, and he was an adult. How much worse it must have been for this small child to have the most dear person in the whole universe disappear entirely? This wasn't an age in which worlds should crumble for anyone.

He hesitantly reached out and stroked the green hair. The child leaned into his touch, unlike his other children, so after some more reluctance he took the boy into his embrace. The child was so small for his age, he noticed, much smaller than Natsuo had been and smaller even than Shouto. He practically drowned in Enji's muscular arms. They stayed like that; with Enji, as usual, not knowing what to say to help. He had always been so bad at words. Deeds came easier to him.

But the boy calmed down after not such a long while.

"You're hot," he claimed out of the blue. "S'that because of your Quirk?"

"Yes."

"Cool," the boy grinned, his eyes still wet though, after all the crying. "Do you ever get a fever?"

"Not really. I don't notice such small changes in temperature. So I don't catch colds or anything like that. The malig- bad bacteria and viruses won't survive in my body."

"That is SO COOL!" repeated the boy. God, this child was so pure and sweet. "Do you get snots?"

Enji snorted. "No, I don't," he answered, chuckling.

"So-"

"-cool," he finished smiling.

"Yeah!"

It would be so nice to sit like that with Izuku for hours, talking trivia, watching him grin the grin his other children were never giving him. He loathed to get back to the subject.

"So, you think your dad is in the US?"

The boy nodded.

"He... isn't."

"No? But mom-" the little face crumpled dangerously.

"Your dad's a hero."

"What?!" That got Izuku's total focus. "Really?!"

"Yes. Your mum never told you, because heroes have enemies."

"Villains!"

"So you two could be safe."

"Which hero is he?!" Now Izuku was bouncing on the bench with excitement.

"...me."

Izuku's eyes widened. "But, but you're Number Two, Endeavor!" he actually shouted.

"Yeah..."

Izuku stared and stared, then squealed. "MY DAD'S NUMBER TWO! I gotta tell Kacchan!"

"Izuku, stay." Izuku got back onto the bench somewhat poutingly. Enji's heart got much lighter than it was before this conversation. For years now he had hated hero worship, he never had expected it would come to his aid in such a situation.

"Um, I'm sorry I never visited you before."

"You're a hero! You're my dad! Number Two!" Izuku did not seem to be able to focus on anything else, though. Enji couldn't help but smile, even if the dark part of his mind tried to remind him of Touya and his self-destructive enthusiasm.

"So I'd like you to live with me. We could train if you want to become a hero."

Izuku's eyes beamed with joy and exhilaration. He knew what the answer was going to be and he felt relieved it went that easy.