Of course he had to leave for Russia the next day after the conversation with his Izuku, when he had so much on his mind. He couldn't decline though - he knew well Russians almost never asked for international support, so the villain they needed help to apprehend must have been particularly dangerous. He suspected many of their local heroes had already died, before the call for aid had been issued, even if the Russians would not disclose that to anyone. So, instead of personally overseeing preparing his home for his new child, he had to leave that to his servants. One good thing was the whole mission definitely took his mind off things, his and many other lives depending on him being able to focus. His emotions often took the better of him, it had always been like that, but not during his hero work. There was too much at stake. And he'd have never become Number Two if he couldn't shut out that part of his mind when saving people.
Now he was heading back to Musutafu, anxious to check up on Izuku as soon as possible. His phone buzzed. It was Mishima. Good, he probably had got in touch with Sakamoto, Rei's attorney.
"Yeah?"
"I have spoken with Sakamoto-san and he presented your wife's conditions for mutual consent divorce without involving the court nor the media."
But Enji had already reached a decision.
"No."
"Todoroki-sama?"
"I will fight in court for my children. I will not let her take them away."
There was a pause. "Todoroki-sama, I understand how horrible this situation is for you, but the chances to win this case and keep the children with you are less than minimal."
"She will not take my children from me, while I'll just be agreeing peacefully! I shall not just surrender them! They're everything to me! If I lose my job... the risk is worth it. These are my children, Mishima! They're all that truly matters!"
"...you do realize dragging your children through the court trial can't be the best for them?"
Enji had not thought about it.
"What do you mean? Won't they just be questioned by child psychologists, and this will be all?"
"The media exposure, Todoroki-sama."
"The media will be blaming me! What does it have to do with my kids?!"
Mishima actually sighed audibly, very unprofessional in Enji's opinion. He was his best client, damn it!
"You're their father, Todoroki-sama, everyone will look at them and think about the divorce case that will be all over the media. About their Number Two Hero father. The reporters also won't give-"
"Shut it!" barked Enji and immediately regretted that. Mishima was not to be spoken to like that. He knew the other man's worth and position in the legal environment meant he expected to be respected, even by rich clients. "I am sorry." He couldn't lose Mishima now.
"It is okay, Todoroki-sama, I am a parent too, I understand your feelings at the moment. But you should think it through. It might not be the best to consider the situation in terms of a battle that can't be surrendered. This is not a heroic fight with a villain. It is not about giving up, but about making the decision best for you and your children."
Enji's fists clenched.
"I can't just agree to this, Mishima, I just can't."
There was a pause.
"I understand. Then, I am going to prepare our case to the best of my abilities." His tone was highly neutral now, obviously hiding his judgment on Enji's decision. But Enji just couldn't go down without a fight. It was about his children!
"However, I must inform you Sakamoto claims your children, having to choose one parent, prefer staying with their mother."
"She poisoned their minds, I'm telling you!"
"The court will listen to their testimonies and take into account their will."
Enji hid his face in hands for a moment.
"But won't the psychologists see they're just brainwashed?"
Mishima was quiet for a moment. "These things are of delicate nature, Todoroki-sama. Psychologists will judge with which parent the children will have better care in all its aspects. But, as I have told you, it usually is the mother. And that the children prefer exactly this won't help us."
"Mishima..." there was pretty much a plea in his voice.
The other man fell silent and finally said. "Rethink it, Todoroki-sama-"
"I have thought about it enough!"
Another pause.
"Alright, let us not talk about it anymore right now," decided Enji. He had thought he had reached a firm decision on this matter, he had been determined to fight to the end, chanced high or low, but the conversation with Mishima stirred a turmoil in his mind again. They do not want to be with him. His children do not want to be with him. What court can force them against their will? He would have to prove Rei was an unfit mother, but could he do that? Well, one of their children already died under her care... But was he willing to drag Touya back into all this? But he had to. He had to do everything to get his children back!
"I understand. So that would be all for now, Todoroki-sama."
"No, there is one more thing. This illegitimate child of mine. I need legal custody over him. The paternity test has already been done. How lengthy is the procedure?"
"The procedure is theoretically quick and simple..."
"...but?"
"Does the child have any other family?"
"No. Grandparents are dead and the mother was a single child."
"That is good. However... ...you do realize, Todoroki-sama, in the upcoming trial Rei-san will aim to prove you are an abusive husband and father and in the case of losing it, you most likely shall lose your custody over this child as well?"
What?
"What the hell?! This is my child! Where else could they take him?!"
"To a children's home or foster care, I'm afraid. This shall be a very public case with your position in the hero community, and the media shall sniff out every detail, public opinion putting pressure on the judge not to sway in your favor."
'Shouldn't it be the other way round?' he thought desperately. Shouldn't the years of saving people be the very reason it should be swayed in his favor?! All he had sacrificed to saving strangers was going to result in him being even more scrutinized and criticized than your average Tanaka? Of course it would, it always had been like that.
"They would take the child from his only family and put him in a bloody children's home?!"
"It happens all the time with abusive-"
"I'm not an abusive father!" he shouted, completely losing it. He wasn't like his parents! He wasn't!
"...I know that, Todoroki-sama, I know you. But the court-"
"I see." His voice was hoarse and broken now. God. "I'll... I'll think it through again."
God.
888
Izuku looked sad, his head bowed, eyes on the little worn All Might plushie he was gripping tightly.
"He... took it quite badly when we started packing things from their apartment," explained Bakugou. "Been crying and sniffling ever since. It was his and his mum's home all that time. He probably finally realized all that is really over."
His heart squeezed seeing his boy dejected like this. He crouched down by him.
"Hey," he said.
"Hello," Izuku answered, the enthusiasm from a couple of days before gone. Enji had been an idiot to delude himself this would be easy just because the child was a hero fanboy. His son lost his beloved mother and now was leaving the home he grew up in, the home probably filled with many happy memories, and to make things worse was also leaving the family that he was close friends with to stay with, yeah, a Number Two hero, but still a man who was pretty much a stranger to him in a place he never had seen before. Belatedly Enji thought that maybe he should have started with inviting him over a couple of times, while letting him spend the nights at Bakugous, in the well-known environment, before plucking him from the familiar ground. But he was in such a hurry for his child to leave the place!
"You're sad."
"...yeah," admitted his kid. Well, it made things easier. At least the boy was willing to talk to him about how he felt. His other children wouldn't, not really.
Honestly, Enji feared this conversation, feeling completely out of his depth despite the experience of raising four kids – well, admittedly Rei did most of the raising – but he knew it was his responsibility now, no one else's.
"You miss your mum."
"Mm." The tears filled those pretty emerald eyes.
"I miss my son too. He too is gone."
Izuku looked at him with wide eyes.
"I know it is horrible."
"Why?"
Why? What could be replied to this? And to a kid five years old? "Because you can never see them again, speak with them, laugh with them."
"No," Izuku shook his head. "Why didn't you save him? You're a hero."
That was a knife right through his heart. The pain flared, sharp and overwhelming, the burden of guilt unbearable.
"I wasn't there," he whispered, anguish in his voice.
Izuku watched with big eyes, tears still clearly visible.
"You were saving someone else?"
"Yes."
Izuku's eyes were back on his All Might plushie. Through all the memories of that horrible day, the worst day of his life, another memory broke through, much older than those.
(He was standing among the gawkers, staring at his father's body, realizing he had not saved him, realizing it was too late now, cause he did nothing, he couldn't do a thing!)
And another one.
(He was staring at his own mirror, his eyes grim, angry, determination carved in his features. He's going to be a better hero than All Might. He is going to always be there. He is going to always be on time. No one is going to die on his watch.)
Laughable, naive, sad. He hadn't been able to even save his own son.
But he could imagine what was going on in this little boy's head. And he wasn't wrong, because the boy said quietly.
"I will be a hero. I will be there, when other heroes are somewhere else."
He was too young to be told it was impossible. Too young to properly understand how horrible the hero road was. Besides, would he listen to Enji? Touya didn't. Enji tried so badly to convince his oldest son to abandon his dream. And what? Touya died even before becoming a hero.
So he just took the boy into his embrace and put a long kiss on each of these wet eyes. The boy actually leaned into his touch, again. His mother probably had showered him with physical affection, teaching him to be nurtured by it, completely unlike Enji's. Which was not going to stop him from giving his son what he needed. So he kept him in a tight hug.
"I promise I'll help you to become a great hero."
"You promise?"
"I do."
888
The boy was looking with very wide eyes at Enji's huge residence.
"Looks like a ryokan!"
Enji smiled.
"There is a playground in the backyard."
"Wanna see!"
The playground elicited plenty of excited sounds. Admittedly Enji never spared any money on his kids, so their yard had everything that ever crossed his mind, including a proper tree house. Izuku's eyes almost literally sparkled with stars.
"Can I invite Kacchan, dad?!"
Dad.
"Sure."
"SO COOL."
Then something shifted in Izuku's eyes and he again started to look down.
"What's wrong, Izuku?" he asked, crouching by the boy again, stroking the bush of green hair.
Izuku hesitated.
"...Kacchan said you have a mum and kids and you don't want me."
Fucking little Bakugou asshole. He wasn't really ready for this conversation yet. But these were children for you. You never were ready for anything, really. Often he thought the hero's work was easier. But now that the subject was on the table he would have to deal with it the best he could, this little kid's wellbeing the most important thing on his mind.
"Kacchan is just jealous your dad's such a cool hero."
That actually did lift Izuku's mood a bit.
"And I want you very much. ...other kids no longer live here. I would be very lonely without you."
"You're lonely?"
"Yeah."
"Me too," admitted Izuku sadly.
"I'll try to help you not be that lonely, and you'll help me, okay?"
"Okay. I will be your hero." The boy smiled hopefully. "Mum..." The smile wavered and disappeared again. Enji sighed. It will be a long road to help this little one be truly happy again. But it was his job to make it happen.
"...mum always said I am her hero."
"I'm sure you were. You will be mine now."
But Izuku still looked sad. Something crossed Enji's mind.
"Want to see my agency tomorrow?" Now that was a brilliant idea – Izuku's eyes immediately lit up.
"For real?!"
"Of course."
"So cool! You're working with Sparkle, right? He's so cool! I love how he's using his Quirk! And Nightfire! Will I see Nightfire? Can she use the energy from the Sun? And will I see..."
Yeah, that was definitely a good idea, thought Enji as he listened to his son now completely absorbed with the next day and the heroes he was going to meet, his eyes bright and happy grin warming Enji's heart.
It took quite a while before the kid stopped spouting praises about every hero working in Enji's agency, proving he knows an unbelievable amount of details, and asking Enji a bazillion questions he gladly answered. The child definitely got distracted and Enji supposed it was good. It was good to see there are still things to be enjoyed in life, not only pain of loss. He hoped the kid would be better at concentrating on those than Enji himself.
There was a pause and Enji realized he had never asked.
"So what's your Quirk?"
Aaand there it went again. All the happiness was gone.
"I don't have a Quirk," murmured his child.
Oh.
"We went to the doctor and I have that bone."
He stroked his hair gently.
"It's better than some Quirks, Izuku."
"What? No Quirk?" he stared at him wide eyed.
"Sure. Some Quirks can kill you." He knew that well. Too well.
"What? Like, your own Quirk?"
"Yeah. So it's not the end of the world."
Izuku of course did not seem convinced. It was probably hard to be a kid with no Quirk among children that all had theirs. And he wasn't wrong, since Izuku said, "...Kacchan said you can't be a hero without a Quirk."
Enji started to have his doubts whether he wanted to see said boy visiting Izuku.
"Of course you can. It won't be easy, but you can."
"Really?!"
"Of course. You heard of Eraser Head?"
"YEAH! He's so COOL! His Quirk's so cool!"
"His Quirk does not work on everyone and isn't giving him any boosts. He often fights basically Quirkless."
Izuku's eyes again were wide.
"You really think I can be a hero, dad?"
Dad.
"You can. I will help you. But it won't be easy. We have to train a lot."
Izuku grinned and started to bounce happily.
"I wanna train today!"
He smiled at his eagerness, even though something unpleasant lurched in his heart, sending him the image of his Shouto, on his fours, vomiting. 'How harsh is it?' he heard Mishima's voice, he saw the other man's grim eyes. But it was necessary! It was! He couldn't see his child die again!
"Dad?"
He forced himself to concentrate on Izuku again.
"You okay?" The sweet boy seemed to worry for him.
"Sure. Want to unpack your toys?"
888
It was the middle of the night and Enji stared and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. Mishima's words were playing on repeat in his head.
'...you do realize dragging your children through the court trial can't be the best for them?'
'your children prefer staying with their mother'
'you most likely shall lose your custody over this child as well'
He turned and turned in his futon, his mind a mess, emotions raging, the quiet of the house screaming into his ears about the future in which he won't be living with his children.
His children.
He sighed and got up to check up on Izuku. The day in the end went much better than expect, Izuku easily distracted and impressed with everything, enjoying the playground, the games Enji borrowed from Natsuo's room, peppering him with questions about his hero work, showing Enji all his toys (not many) and his little notebook (the boy already knew more than one hundred kanji! At five! He was as smart as his other kids! Enji was so proud. Also impressed and guilty thinking about the boy's mother. It must have been hard to raise the child alone and work to make ends meet, but still managing to take such good care of his son. He seemed so bright and happy!). Before he left Bakugous, Izuku's 'aunt' gave him a lengthy list of everything he might need to know about Izuku – what he loves to eat, how to best put him to sleep, what he's afraid of, what he enjoys, and 'you absolutely can't lose or throw away his favorite All Might plushie!'. That was rather moving and it did help him a lot. She also called him to make sure everything was alright and even spoke with Izuku, promising he could visit them whenever he wanted.
She wasn't that bad. His first thought, when he had seen her behavior, was to call the social service when his case in court would be over, as if any decent hero should, but now he hesitated. It was easy to break a family. It was easy to intervene and feel better about yourself. It was more difficult to actually consider what would be best for them. The Bakugou woman definitely wasn't a bad person. How much she cared for Izuku showed she had to care for her own son even more. So, he had to be more delicate about tackling that problem and helping the other boy (even if he was a little asshole). Still, it was definitely a future problem. He had to take care of his own children before thinking about other people's.
He quietly approached the shouji leading to Izuku's bedroom and froze as he heard quiet sniffling. He left the boy sound asleep and went to take care of the paperwork he could access remotely. When he got tired, he checked on the boy again to make sure everything was okay. The child slept peacefully.
Evidently he woke up in the middle of the night.
"Izuku?" he asked quietly.
No reply.
He gently pushed open the shouji.
"Hey." In the light of a small All Might themed night lamp he saw the boy curled around his favorite plushie, sniffling softly.
It would be stupid to ask what's wrong, so he just laid by the boy's side and hugged him tightly.
"Wanna go home," he heard the tiny whisper.
"To your auntie?" Bakugou told him the boy can stay at their place whenever he'd need it, 'even tonight if you won't be able to put him to sleep' (like he wasn't a father of four- three kids, and even if it had been Rei's job, he also had tried to be there whenever he could).
Still the boy had to get used to his place.
"No," came a sad reply.
Ah.
"We can visit your home tomorrow, after the trip to my agency."
That perked the boy up a bit.
"And I'll see Sparkle?"
"Yes."
"Will he show me an illusion?"
"If you ask nicely."
"I will!"
The little body uncoiled a bit, tears started to dry up, as he started to ask the same questions he had already asked before, and Enji patiently answered them all again. Bakugou had told him Izuku loved human interactions and loved listening about heroes, especially before going to sleep. It was apparently calming him down.
So Enji talked and talked about his agency, watching the big green eyes getting more and more sleepy, ignoring his own growing fatigue. Finally Izuku fell asleep in his arms and Enji did not even for a moment consider going back to his own bedroom. He should have stayed with the boy in the first place, during that first night in a strange, huge home.
He was stroking the bush on the little head. When was the last time any of his children slept in his arms? When was the last time they hugged? So long ago. It was all Rei's fault. For so many years now he's been sleeping alone, no kids, no wife by his side... His mind returned to his previous thoughts.
'...you do realize dragging your children through the court trial can't be the best for them?'
'your children prefer staying with their mother'
'you most likely shall lose your custody over this child as well'
And he realized with painful clarity he just couldn't risk that. He gazed at the tiny figure in his arms that had no one but him in this world and he knew he just couldn't put his little son's future on the line. He wanted to fight to get his children back more than he wanted to live, but he just couldn't risk that the boy, who already had lost so much, would lose everything else.
This little boy was the reason his family fell apart and was now the reason he couldn't fight for his children, he realized.
But he wasn't to blame. It was Enji's fault in the first place. He shouldn't have ever slept with that woman. He shouldn't have ever done that.
But he would never let the boy suffer for his mistakes. He planted a light kiss on the little forehead and finally fell into uneasy dreams, the final decision weighing heavily on his mind even during his sleep.
888
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Notes:
Ah, so I fracked up the timeline, cause Touya died when he was 13 apparently, so I had to go back and rewrite some little things, that is the kids are one year older and since Shouto is five, not four, I had to include in the second chapter the fact that Enji already started the more harrowing part of the training with Shouto. Actually I think it is gonna be a good thing for the plot.
Thank you for your kudos and bookmarks, it is only the feedback that stops me from procrastinating (well, _sometimes_ it stops me *looks guiltily at Alternative and Heihachi WIPs).
Also, sorry if you find Enji ooc with all that loving parenting, but my headcanon of Enji is that he always loved his kids and that everything went to hell when Touya started acting up and that fucked up his mind and all the shit going on in this household was centered on Enji abusing Rei, not Enji abusing his kids. Well, actually if you read manga it is more of a canon than headcanon, at least this is how I saw it.