My Hero Academia: Of Blood and Flames

Chapter 6: Of Parents and Children

"How is she?" asked Endeavor, standing behind Dr. Cauterize as he administered an exam on Himiko. The girl had collapsed after successfully activating his Quirk. He hadn't expected such an impressive result so early in the process. It had been just as much of a surprise when she'd fallen over. Catching her had been an easy, instinctual action for him, but he didn't like how fast his heart had been beating at the sight.

Dr. Cauterize glanced over from the examination table. "I can't run blood tests or such without parental or guardian approval, but an initial examination seems to show everything is good. It's just a minor fever from Quirk overuse. Nothing worth using my Quirk to heal, the pain isn't worth it. She'll be good as new after a good rest."

"Good," said Endeavor looking at the sleeping girl. She was still in the extra-large examination gown. "Dress her and I'll take her back to her room."

"Slave driver," said Dr. Cauterize with a laugh. Endeavor turned away as the doctor grabbed Himiko's clothes and got to carefully dressing her. "Reminds me of dressing my daughter. She always insisted that I do so."

"How is she?" asked Endeavor. Small talk was a waste of time, but it's not like he could leave until the doctor was done.

"No clue," said Dr. Cauterize. "Haven't talked to her since her mother took her to live across the country."

"I see," said Endeavor. Yet another reason why it was good to avoid these types of conversations.

"What about you?" asked the doctor. "You ever help your kids change?"

"Touya and Fuyumi," replied Endeavor. "Natsuo and Shoto preferred their mother. I was also too busy training Touya by that time. It worked out."

"I see…" There was a pause for a moment, then, "all ready."

Endeavor turned around and Himiko was dressed again in workout clothes. He carefully picked her up from the examination table. "Thank you for the help."

"Any time for the little miss," said Dr. Cauterize. "Make sure she gets something good to eat once she awakes. And if you continue Quirk training, build up her stamina and base Quirk use before she uses other Quirks."

"Understood," said Endeavor, walking out of the doctor's office. The girl was light, so it was easy for him to hold her cradled in one arm while he opened doors and pushed the buttons on the elevator. In a few minutes he had Himiko in her bed next to that ridiculous stuffed Endeavor she'd brought home. After he draped the blanket over her, he took one last glance to make sure she was sleeping soundly before heading out.

The morning was almost done as he got into his office to check on the status of all his sidekicks. Once he was sure nothing big was going on that needed his attention he checked in with the secretaries at the front desk. The only message of note was from the agents on Himiko's case. They were still having trouble getting responses from Himiko's parents on return of the girl. They'd judged that it would be safe to return her, under observation, but her parents hadn't acted on this approval yet. Endeavor had already been planning to visit them today, so he had a secretary send over a message that he'd visit to get everything sorted out.

Endeavor stood and stretched. All the tedious managerial work had taken about an hour. With it out of the way he headed back to Himiko's room. He probably could've been quieter as he entered since the girl finally stirred from her rest. She sat up, groggily wiping her eyes as she looked at him. "Endeavor?"

"Here," he said, walking over. "You passed out. You're in your room."

Panic filled the girl's face. "I messed up?"

He shook his head. "No," he said, his tone strong, and maybe a little too harsh. "You performed better than I expected." Visible relief settled over the girl. She was bad at keeping her feelings hidden. "Quirk sickness. It happens frequently for children who push their Quirks too far to start. You'll get better soon enough."

"Will I be able to use my Quirk more?" asked Himiko.

"With training," replied Endeavor. He remembered the doctor's advice. "Are you hungry?"

"A little…," a growl, "a lot…"

Endeavor turned away. "I'll get you something."

"Something soft," said Himiko. "Like pudding."

"We'll see." With that, he exited the room.

At the cafeteria Endeavor got two bowls of ramen for Himiko and himself, plus a pudding cup. He didn't pay much attention to what went on in his own cafeteria, but his chefs were always well prepared. His staff was large with many sidekicks, a doctor, a support tech, secretaries, logistics squad and custodians. They also had frequent guests in other heroes, the police, businessmen and just random visitors. He'd been long ago strongarmed into opening the cafeteria to the public like All Might did for his Café, and that meant random civilians would just wander in when they needed a quick place to eat. It was a decent source of income.

Endeavor brought the food back to Himiko's room where she was once again sleeping. Her arms were now wrapped around the plushie, and she was nibbling absently on his arm. He placed the food tray down on an end table and contemplated whether to wake her or not. He decided not to and instead focused on eating his soup instead. Steam was still coming off it as he downed the broth, but that was no obstacle for him. He was used to much hotter.

Endeavor had long finished his soup by the time that he heard the girl stir. "Smells good…," said Himiko, sitting up again. She looked over at him. "More ramen?"

"Do you want something else?" he asked, standing from his seat.

Himiko shook her head. "Ramen is good." She was still flushed with fever, her eyelids dropping with exhaustion. He brought her the bowl to eat in bed. She took a sip. "Cold…"

"Give it here," said Endeavor, holding out his hand. Himiko placed bowl in his large land. With a quick exertion he sent a burst of heat into the soup. He passed it back. "Be careful."

The girl carefully took the soup and took a tentative sip. Her face lit up. "Perfect!" She looked at Endeavor. "Will I be able to do that?"

"Eventually. Now eat." Himiko didn't need to be told twice. He noted the possibility that her Quirk took a lot of calories. Something to keep an eye on. As she drank the broth, a question came to mind. "Do you currently desire to drink blood?"

Himiko paused and thought for a moment. "Not really? I feel nice and warm."

Endeavor nodded and considered that. So, it wasn't a constant need. Just a small amount could satiate her. Her Quirk brought dozens of questions to his mind about how it worked both physiologically and psychologically, but he didn't know anyone with a similar enough Quirk to ask. His and Rei's Quirk's worked in opposite fashions, so he'd been able to advise all his children in their usage. There was a lot to consider.

"Do you want to light things on fire?" asked Himiko.

The question caught Endeavor off guard for a second. "No." He considered further elaboration. "But I did seek warmth as a child. A sunny spot or too close to a flame."

"What about your children?"

A pause. "Fuyumi and Natsuo have ice Quirks from their mother. One time we woke up to find Fuyumi missing. It turned out she'd wandered outside to sleep in a snowbank. Natsuo would stick his head into the freezer."

"Do any of your children use fire?"

"Shoto can use both ice and fire, but I don't know if he prefers one source over the other."

A pause.

"And Touya?" asked Himiko quietly.

Endeavor's heart clenched in his chest. "How do you know that name?"

Himiko looked away. "You called me Touya when I was being bad…"

He realized his fist was clenched over the bed frame. With some mental effort he loosened it and responded. "Touya was like me. He liked to get too close to fire."

"Is he a bad kid?"

"What did you say?" growled Endeavor.

There were tears in Himiko's eyes. "I'm a bad kid, and you called me Touya, so I just thought he must be too…"

Endeavor processed such childish logic. He took a deep breath, then let it out. A small flame was released from deep inside him, calming him for a moment. "I did not call you Touya because either of you are bad kids."

"Then why did you?"

"Other reasons."

A pause. Then, "can I trust you?" asked Himiko.

"You can. I'm a hero."

Himiko wiped away her tears, took a large drink of her broth, then glanced at him sheepishly. "Could you tell me about Touya?"

Endeavor turned away. "Another time. You need to finish eating and get some rest."

"Promise?"

"Eat."

Himiko did so. Soon enough she was done, and Endeavor took her bowl. With warm food inside of her it didn't take long for her to cuddle up to her plushie and pass out again. Once Endeavor confirmed that she was soundly asleep he readjusted her blanket and headed out from the agency. He told the front desk to let him know if an emergency happened while he was gone then flew away to his next mission.

No trouble caught Endeavor's watchful eye as he flew over the city and into the suburbs. It didn't take long before he landed in front of the gate to the Toga household. Instead of going over, this time he pushed the button on the gate to announce himself. It took a few seconds before a woman responded.

"Who is it?"

"Flame Hero Endeavor," he said. "I've come to talk about your daughter."

A pause. Then, "we've already talked to the police about her."

Endeavor frowned in agitation. "They sent me with further questions. May I come in?"

Another pause. "Enter."

He pushed past the gate and to the front door. As he approached it opened and the couple were waiting for him. Their expressions were neutral but strained. They clearly didn't want to talk to him. The feeling was mutual.

"What do you need to talk about?" asked Himiko's father.

Endeavor stopped just outside the door. He doubted they were going to invite him inside. That was fine with him. "Child Protective Services said you could pick up you daughter. When are you coming to retrieve her from my agency?"

The couple shared a glance. "We're still working out some details before we can bring her back," replied Himiko's father.

"What details?" This was a waste of his time. He had more important matters to get to.

"How we're going to deal with such a dangerous Quirk," said Himiko's mother.

Endeavor frowned. "You know what her Quirk is?"

A nod. "It's something to do with bloodsucking." Himiko's mother scowled. "Such a horrid Quirk. I don't know who she got it from…"

"Not my side," said Himiko's father. "It's a mutation." He was glaring at the woman, and it seemed like he was holding back on saying more.

Endeavor was sick of the foolishness. "We tested her Quirk," he said, drawing the pair's attention. "She has a transformation Quirk. It takes a small amount of blood to activate, but she can become a perfect copy of a person."

The couple's faces drained of color. "Neither of us can do that."

"We don't drink blood either," interjected the other.

"I don't care," said Endeavor. "Your daughter has the perfect Quirk to be a hero and has expressed an interest in such. After I return her to your care, I'm willing to offer lessons to train her once a week. For free."

The couple glanced to each other. They looked shocked. "You want to train our daughter?" asked Himiko's mother. "Is this a sick joke?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Himiko's father took a step out of the door towards Endeavor, a desperate look on his face. "I looked you up. You're the Number Two Hero. You would really take the time to train her?"

Endeavor crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the man. "Yes."

Himiko's Father took another step forward. "That's great!" He quickly glanced at his wife. "But one day a week isn't that much time. She might forget or be lazy on her days off."

"We can increase as she gets older and used to the training."

Himiko's father shook his head. "No, no I don't think there's any need to wait. If you're so sure, why not train her every day you can?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Why don't we pass over full guardianship of the girl to you, and she can live over there instead?" The man's smile after that suggestion was much less charming than that of Himiko. "Save on transportation time and everything?"

Endeavor glared down at the man, and he took a step back. "Do you know what you're saying?"

The man shook his head. "Of course. I just thought it would make more sense. Becoming a great hero like you is difficult after all." He turned to his wife. "Isn't that, right?"

The woman nodded. "Exactly," she replied. "That girl is a handful…we don't know how to deal with her. But you, you're a great hero. You could straighten her out and keep that urge and Quirk under control and in check, right?"

"Do you have children?" cut in the man.

"I do."

"Then you already know what to do! There's no one better."

"And she'll have playmates," said the woman. "We don't have any other children and I'd be worried that around here she would be unable to find friends…"

"It would be best for her."

Endeavor had heard enough. He had expected this to be a hard sell or discussion. He hadn't expected this result. They were practically selling Himiko to him. He thought briefly of the first time he'd met Rei. That melancholy on her face as she'd left her family with him. They were right, this was exactly what he'd wanted. Better than he'd hoped. Why did it not feel good to get what he wanted?

"Fine," said Endeavor. The couple both took a step away from him. "If that's what you want, then I will agree. I will have a guardianship form sent over to you. Pack any personal belongings you think that Himiko will want and personally bring them over tomorrow to my agency when you let her know that she will be staying with me. Understood?"

There were now bright smiles on both faces. "Thank you so much," said the man. "This will help her so much."

"Your reputation is unfair," said the woman. "You're truly a kind hero."

"Enough," said Endeavor. "Any further questions or comments can be redirected to my agency." With that he turned and walked out the gate of the Toga house. As soon as he was clear he shot into the air and away from the rank air of that dwelling. Endeavor silently prayed that some villain attacked so that he could vent the inexplicable frustration he was feeling. If not, he suspected that he was going to need to order some new gym equipment very soon.

No villains appeared on his return to his agency unfortunately. He itched all over, the faces of his wife and children rotating in his minds. None of them were happy. Touya was yelling at him once again for abandoning him. He gave orders to his staff to prepare and send over the papers to the Togas. They didn't ask questions. He also told them to let Himiko's case worker know to call him in an hour. Endeavor wanted to head directly to the gym, but Touya's crying face melted in his mind into Himiko's. Before he realized it, he'd pushed the elevator button to head to the dorm floor. His feet carried him into Himiko's room. The lights were off, and he guessed she was sleeping. He walked over as quietly as a man his size could. The pudding cup had been eaten and sat inside the empty soup bowl.

"You're back." Endeavor looked up to see glowing golden eyes staring at him in the dark. The girl struck him as strangely cat-like.

"I am." He turned to face her. "How are you feeling?"

"Still sleepy…"

"Then sleep," he said.

"I need to train to be a hero," said Himiko, her head falling back against the plushie.

Endeavor didn't tend to ask about other people, but the question came unbidden to him. "Why?"

"Because then mommy and daddy won't be scared of me…" Himiko trailed off as she fell once again to sleep.

Endeavor left the room and walked quickly to the gym. The itching was worse than before and Touya's face refused to leave his mind.