Enji really wasn't sure how to put this into words without hurting or offending Izuku. However he tried to formulate his arguments in his head, nothing sounded good.

"Um." Damn, was there any way of saying it in a considerate, delicate manner, without making it look like Enji did not believe in his smart, courageous, hardworking, kind son? "I really understand your motivation, Zuku, but this is how the world has always been working, in every field, in every place. You should use all the advantages you have got. You're not doing anything illegal, you're not cheating."

"I would be cheating someone out of their place in Yuuei if I'm not better than them."

Damn. Enji sighed. "Exams do not always test you the right way, Zuku."

"Dad, either I am good enough to pass the entrance tests on my own, or I am not. Will you be ashamed of me if I won't follow in your steps?" There was no accusation in Izuku's eyes, but he still was extremely serious.

"No, Zuku, I'd never be ashamed of you!" replied Enji fervently, horrified. "Never! You already are on par with some heroes! And you're the best kid that ever existed!"

"Oh, dad." A slightly amused, slightly touched smile appeared on Izuku's face. Enji felt relieved. He was terrified this delicate conversation might badly affect their relations.

"Dad, I won't have any special treatment in the future, so I don't want it now."

"But this is no special treatment, Zuku! Plenty of heroes recommend kids that they feel are good enough. It is normal. If there was something wrong with it, if it allowed kids that are not good enough into Yuuei, principal Nezu would not allow it. Aizawa-san would object to it, too."

Izuku turned away, looking determined, that particular light in his eyes telling Enji there was no talking him out of it. Dammit.

"Dad. Please."

Enji felt mutinous, fists clenching, lips tightened, pretty certain his face was a picture of what dictionary defined as 'pout'. "Okay, Zuku," he said nevertheless, even if he hated it.

Izuku turned to him.

"Don't be angry, dad."

"I'm not, Zuku, you know you never make me angry. It's just I want to give you everything I can. Yuuei is the best place to be prepared for heroics and-"

"Here is the best place to be prepared, dad. You've made sure of that. Even if I won't enter Yuuei, I still will be perfectly ready to tackle being a hero." He smiled warmly at Enji. "You made sure of that, dad. Don't worry. I already have it easier than most kids."

"Okay," sighed Enji.

"Tenya-kun's also taking the entrance tests, by the way."

Oh. Of course.

Izuku, as always, noticed Enji's emotions. "Dad, don't you pout at Tenya-kun! I would do it regardless of his decision."

"Okay, Zuku."

When he went back to his office he pulled out his phone and immediately searched for one of the contacts on it.

"Endeavor-san! Pleasure to hear you as always!"

"I'm sure it is, principal Nezu."

"Normally people reply something along the line 'the pleasure is mine'," chuckled Nezu.

"Normally people say 'What's wrong, Endeavor-san?" Enji answered, unimpressed. He liked and respected Nezu, but felt no need nor pressure to indulge his little jokes. And he knew Nezu liked the fact he wasn't one of the many buttlickers people changed into around the smartest animal in the world, who also had all the right to hold a grudge against humanity.

"Well then, if that's the case, what is wrong, Endeavor-san?"

Enji hesitated. What he had been calling with was definitely illegal and could also strain his relations with Nezu, or at least undermine the decent opinion the principal held on him. Still. He just needed to know. He wouldn't be able to sleep if he did not know.

"You know my Izuku is Quirkless."

"Is this the moment I should admit to sniffing around people's personal data?" Nezu was clearly grinning on the other side of the phone.

"Tell me frankly. Does he have any chances of passing the entrance?"

There fell a pause. So, Enji had done it, apparently. Served him right for being so bloody emotional and immediately running to do the first thing that had come to his head instead of thinking rationally.

But it appeared Nezu wasn't displeased nor disappointed in him, but rather simply considering. "I don't know your child, Endeavor-san. But yes, I think it is possible."

Enji felt the greatest relief.

"However," Nezu added, "it obviously will not be easy. Still the same holds for every kid trying to enter my school. We try to choose the best, regardless of their Quirk or lack of it, obviously, but it will not be easy."

"Of course."

"If the competition for the hero class is too heated, there is still the option of getting transferred there later."

"Is there?" There was nothing like this during his time in Yuuei.

"Of course. Once we get to know our students better we will not withhold the possibilities from them, if they are worth it."

"Thank you, principal Nezu."

"...will you be bothering Aizawa-san now about what exactly the entrance entails?" Nezu chuckled again.

"Who, me? Never."

"I thought not." Enji could almost hear the grin on Nezu's face. The rat had got to like him a lot, for some reason. Maybe because Enji was one of those heroes that proved to Nezu over and over again they could be counted on. Then something occurred to him and it made him like and respect the principal even more than he already had.

"I never mentioned Izuku wants to become a hero. Most people assume management or support at best."

"I, luckily, am not most people. Some doubt I am people at all."

Anger raised its head in Enji's heart at the thought of all the assholes that had been, were and would be looking down at the rat, who was better than them in everything, constantly needing to prove the world he was worth being treated as a person.

"...so," Nezu continued,"I am all against discrimination based on physiology, Endeavor-san."

"Of course. Thank you very much, principal Nezu."

"The pleasure, believe it or not, is mine. Cannot wait to welcome your son to my school."

Enji ended the call and scrolled through some more o his contacts.

"Had something happened?" he heard the drowsy, familiar voice. Was Aizawa sleeping? Ah, true, patrols during the night and lessons in the first part of the day left only the afternoons for sleeping. Enji, of course, should have known better then to call Aizawa at this hour, but of course, as usual, he had not thought things through, letting his emotions rule him.

"Sorry. I should have called you later."

"You should have." Aizawa was the last to cushion the truth. "But since I'm awake what did Izuku do?"

"Maybe this time it's not about Izuku."

"It isn't?"

"...it is. I know you're rolling your eyes, you know."

"I'm fully justified to do so," yawned Aizawa.

"We need to prepare Izuku for entrance tests. He has to pass them."

"Don't look at me, I failed them."

What?

"What?"

"I did. I was transferred into the hero course only after the Sports Festival. Everybody had been talking about it back then. I'm hurt you haven't heard about it."

Enji hesitated. "Nezu says he has a chance to pass them."

"Theoretically everybody has. And theoretically even with the best Quirk you can fail." Aizawa yawned again. "I'll tell you one thing, Chigira-san, though. I don't know if you noticed, but he is already well prepared. I can't think of a single thing we can do better. So, stop being a bakaoya."

"Never. Can you get me information about what will be on the tests?"

"I could, but we both know you're gonna prepare him for everything just in case anyway."

"Aizawa."

"I heard it's giant robots attacking a city. Points for destroying and points for saving people. Nothing we didn't prepare him for anyway. I haven't told you that, of course. And I'm telling you that not to make it easier for him to pass. I don't believe in cheating. I'm telling you that only because it really doesn't matter. He's going to be one of the best kids there, and we both know that."

Maybe, but Enji did not become a good father not to fret over his kid now.

888

Something rapped on the glass of the huge windows of his agency's office. At the top floor of a goddamn skyscraper that was his agency. Enji looked up from his laptop for his eyes to meet with golden, profusely adorned with mascara eyes of current Number Three.

Hawks grinned happily and waved at Enji.

Enji let his brows convey what he was thinking about this unannounced visit, but he went to open the window. He had met Hawks for the first time a couple of years ago, during some top secret and incredibly difficult operation of purging spies from Japanese secret services. He had, as had all the other heroes involved, been surprised they had been joined by someone that young. The teenager couldn't possibly have enough experience nor emotional stability to handle something that challenging, delicate and dangerous, they all had thought. Especially with the flippant behavior he had been showing. They had been wrong. The young prodigy could shift from being a joking, chilled, careless youngster to a serious, sharp, experienced professional in a split second. Had made Enji wonder about this special training program the HPSC had granted the boy.

So, Enji opened the windows, knowing better than to judge Hawks only from his current leisurely smile and laidback body language. He probably came here with something important, for Enji's ears only.

"Endeavor-san! Long time no see!" greeted him Hawks with his usual singsong voice, pronouncing Enji's hero name as if he enjoyed every syllable of it.

Enji managed not to sigh, but barely. There was one more side to Hawks – he was an Endeavor fanboy. Enji no longer loathed hero worship as he used to – he couldn't, not with his beloved Izuku being the greatest (and the purest) fanboy that ever existed – but he still found it irritating. And especially hard to comprehend in a seasoned hero who had already seen the behind the scenes of this grim job. Then again, Hawks was only twenty. No matter how experienced, knowledgeable and sharp he was, he was still young. Enji also was far from being mature when he was twenty, though in a completely different way than Hawks.

"Evening, Hawks. What do I need to know?"

"Um, the best yakitori place in Musutafu, for starters?" grinned Hawks.

"We can speak here. The place is clean."

Hawks blinked and smiled again. "No, I really mean it. I haven't come with any business to you today. I was in the town, which barely ever happens, and thought of staying for the weekend. Never had time to properly enjoy Musutafu. And I couldn't think of a more enjoyable way to get acquainted with the town than with very Endeavor-san!" He grinned, obviously very pleased with himself.

This time it was Enji who blinked. "...really?"

"Please, don't say no, pretty please. I want to share with the world the photos of us embracing the Musutafu's night life! Number Two and Number Three together! The amount of sex appeal on the photos will overload Instagram servers!"

Enji stared at him.

"...Hawks," he started slowly. "Do I. Do I really. Look like I'm twenty?"

"Yeah, pretty much yes." The brat dared to wink at him.

Enji did not groan, but it was a close call. He expected all sorts of shit happening on a Friday afternoon, just when he wanted to get back home to his Izuku, but not this. He reached for his phone, since he wouldn't be a Number Two if he didn't have the ability to quickly solve problems and wouldn't be a successful head of a huge agency, if he hadn't (finally) learned how to delegate unpleasant tasks.

"Here, I'll give you Present Mic's number. He's always up for these kinds of things."

Hawks made the most theatrically dejected face he apparently could muster, with a splash of sad puppy eyes.

"He knows the town and its... nightly pleasures far better than me, Hawks. You'll enjoy yourself."

"But I wanted to see Musutafu with your eyes, Endeavor-san," claimed Hawks sadly, wings drooped, eyes on the floor, he did not even fail to tug at the hem of his jacket.

Enji actually rolled his eyes. "Hawks, I have a kid at home I have-"

Then it hit him. He looked at Hawks again, appraisingly. The smart brat immediately grinned, probably realizing his chances suddenly went up.

"Anything for you, Endeavor-san, just say it. I'll bring it to you from the farthest end of the world in a golden cup."

"You and your bullshit," sighed Enji. "I suppose we could trade. I'll spend some time with you, that is if you won't be too much of a bother, and you could train my Izuku on Sunday."

"Deal!"

"However Saturdays I spend with my daughter, so you do whatever pleases you tomorrow."

Hawks looked beyond pleased with himself. Enji forced down another sigh. He was getting too old for this, he sometimes felt. Before he realized, more than two decades in this field had passed and suddenly he was surrounded with irritating brats who thought they could take over the world and shape the reality as they pleased. Not that he minded in general, but he minded if this reality involved him.

"I've got to call my boy I'm spending the afternoon with you."

"We can sightsee together," said Hawks. Now that was unexpected.

"I thought you wanted to see the night side of Musutafu? I am not going anywhere like that with my kid."

Hawks shrugged. "Honestly, if you haven't guessed yet,it's all about spending some time with my favorite hero, I couldn't care less about what we are going to do."

"You and my Izuku are gonna get along infamously," murmured Enji. "Fanboys."

Hawks merely grinned.

888

His Izuku was simply beyond himself with joy. Of course he would be. Twelve years old, had met so many heroes already, he had learned so much about heroics, often mundane, often tiring, often grim things, and he still kept that joy about him, joy to meet heroes, to learn about their Quirks, to discuss the developments in support. Would Enji have been like that when he had been in the middle if not for his mother? Or was Izuku taking this after his mom?

"...like echolocation in bats?"

"Yeah, pretty much the same thing, kid," replied Hawks, as Untenmaru was driving them to Amerikan Doriimu.

"So it's completely incomparable to any of our human senses! So cool! But can you overload them?"

Hawks chuckled. "Now, I can't tell you my weaknesses, can I now? We're going to be training on Sunday, I don't want you to use your knowledge against me."

"Well, it does make sense," Enji interjected. "However, Hawks, like all of us, had trained a lot to overcome this."

Hawks turned to him from over his wings that he had to fold in front of him on the back seat of Enji's car, his eyes serious for a moment, appraising, a glimpse of a man who had been through a lot to achieve his position. But a split second later it was gone and he was smiling as usual. "Yep. Actually I've been working on it since I was a little kid. The big city is loud, full of tremors, full of movements. Even only the cars are an incredible distraction."

"But it's quiet up there, right?"

Hawks turned back to Izuku, his smile now having genuine warmth. "Yep, kid. Up there is the best."

"Dad said you've been through some special program? What kind of training have you had?"

There was the tiniest flinch of the feathers. Enji wouldn't notice it if not for the fact he always had something for big birds and their wings. Since he had been a kid he was inexplicably attracted to the sight of swans, and cranes, and ravens. There was a beauty in their feathers' orderly arranged patterns, their gleam, their shape. Enji's therapist thought it had to do with the oppressive atmosphere in Enji's home – kid Enji liked wings, because subconsciously he craved freedom. And Hawks had bigger wings than any of the birds he had ever seen. So, Enji did notice. What the hell was that program? When he had heard about it for the first time, he, of course, wanted his Izuku to join it. If a teenager like Hawks had been already better than most professional heroes Enji knew, the program must have been incredibly well devised. However, all he got from HPSC had been the information that the program was aimed solely at children coming from highly disadvantageous family conditions, to give them a chance to become heroes they wouldn't have otherwise. It made sense, Enji had thought back then. It was good that someone at HPSC had decided to bridge a gap between kids that were born in well-situated families and those who didn't have such luck. But those few conversations he had with Hawks about the topic had sent him quite a clear message – the HPSC gave them their chance and the HPSC expected them to work extremely hard to prove they were worth having been granted it. Hawks was never a whiner, of course, he would just serenely mention the training had been tough and demanding, but he would always add it had made him who he was now and that he was grateful. Exactly the same was now, as he was explaining to Izuku some of the techniques he had to master when he was Izuku's age. So it was only those little things, the brief coldness in his eyes, the barely perceptible tick of his feathers, the smile dropping by the fracture of degree. It made him think of Shouto, back then, on his fours, vomiting. Would he end up like Hawks? Burying deep inside how gruesome his training had been?

"...ble level, dad, right?"

"Earth to Endeavor-san?"

Enji blinked.

"Penny for your thoughts, Endeavor-san? Ah, I'll even make it a buck, but I'm cutting my own throat here!"

"Sorry, been thinking about hero training."

"I was just saying, dad, that Hawks-san was so ahead of me in everything when he was my age! There is no way I am ever going to overtake him and become Number One!"

Ah, yes, Enji's genes had recently awoken in Izuku. He had never really told Enji that his dreams of becoming a hero had changed into dreams of becoming a Number One hero, but he'd sometimes slip it in the conversation, like now. Enji never commented, on one hand not being able to make himself believe those dreams were achievable – he himself had been working so hard, had sacrificed so much, harnessed his dangerous and so hard to control Quirk, and never managed to achieve that title - , on the other hand he felt he was a terrible parent not believing in his child, and a child that smart and hardworking too.

Hawks chuckled. "It really doesn't work like that, Izuku-kun. You can always achieve a level high enough to beat me. Besides, I don't care about being Number One at all. Will gladly help you on the path there, if you want that."

There weren't any literal stars in Izuku's eyes as he gazed at Hawks, but it was as close as it was realistically possible.

"Hawks-san," he sniffled. "You are... you really are... such a great person!" The actual tears of gratitude appeared in green eyes.

"And you're the purest boy out there, Izuku-kun!" laughed Hawks. "But I ain't gonna do it for free, you know." He sent Enji a mischievous look. Enji suddenly got a really bad feeling about all this. "I'm willing to drop by whenever I can to teach you as much as I can, Izuku-kun. But for every training session I want a date with your dad."

Enji stared.

Izuku stared.

Even Untenmaru stared at Hawks in the car mirror.

Hawks grinned, obviously ultimately pleased with his cunning plan.

"You've lost your mind, brat," said Enji before the part of him always concerned with Izuku could interfere. "There are limits to fanboying."

Hawks smiled blindingly, almost like All Might, pure innocence on his face.

"Oh, Endeavor-san, I don't mean real dates! Just hanging out together."

"Hanging out," repeated Enji. Izuku was still staring at Hawks and suddenly snorted goodnaturedly, for a reason completely unbeknownst to Enji.

"Ouch, Izuku-kun, that really hurt!" complained Hawks, grin on his face completely undeterred. "Am I really so inferior in your eyes to your dad you find the very idea ridiculous?"

"...I just imagined you two 'hanging out'," admittedly Izuku, unapologetic.

"I have no idea why the idea so wonderful made you snort," chastised Hawks.

Izuku grinned. "Okay, I agree to the terms of service!"

"Wonderful!" Both bra- a brat and his beloved Izuku high fived each other.

"Do I have any voice in this?"

"You have been outvoted, Endeavor-san. Downsides of democracy."

"Democracy should protect minorities," replied Enji irritably. "Seriously, Hawks, you're twenty years younger than me."

"And isn't it great? You'll learn the youngsters' lingo with me! You'll understand what Izuku-kun is talking about with his friends! I'll teach you how to be a cool parent!"

"You're not even a parent," Enji shot back, ignoring Izuku's giggling.

"Who knows, who knows, certainly not me."

Enji rolled his eyes. "I'm doing this only for my Izuku. You'd better keep your end of the promise."

Hawks beamed.

"And you're gonna behave."

Izuku started to actually laugh out loud.

"You're right, Izuku-kun, the vision of me behaving is indeed quite ridiculous." The brat dared to wink at Enji again. Enji groaned.

888

"Ah, that's good. Having different teachers is always beneficial for a student's development. And Hawks is extremely talented and skilled."

It was the truth. Another truth was Aizawa might be saying this, but Enji knew that deep inside he was happy there was someone to replace him whenever he couldn't be there for Izuku on Sunday, with teaching and having more and more missions as he got international recognition in hero circles for his so useful Quirk. Which partly might have been Enji's fault, since he would praise the man literally everywhere.

"He is. It's worth taking his bullshit when we're going out."

There was a pause, and Enji was sure there was a smirk on Aizawa's face.

"Don't give a shit about all this," the other man said nevertheless.

The media was having a field day with all the last weekend's paparazzi's photos of the always angry and grim Number Two and the always joking and light-mooded Number Three together in a restaurant. The theories grew in numbers, mostly dwelling on every angle of their potential romantic relationship. The internet was full of people comparing their sizes. Some people called him a pedophile. Everyone was lightly throwing Touya's name into all this, reminding the world Hawks was younger than Enji's oldest son. It was disgusting. Infuriating even.

"I don't," lied Enji. "I'm used to the media's bullshit."

"That's the hero's life. Once again, sorry for not being able to train Izuku next Sunday."

Enji smiled.

"Look at you, you care so much."

"Slander."

"How was the week at Yuuei?"

Aizawa groaned. "They're killing me. They will kill me, I really mean it. Two of my homeroom kids decided it would be fun to check whether they could make a controlled explosion with their Quirks combined. During a lunch break. In the toilets. They almost needed a skin transplant."

"Like I've said, you care so much."

"I care about not ending up in prison for neglect of duties."

"Well, better luck next week."

"Very funny."

Enji smiled as he finished the conversation. Then he noticed a notification that his Fuyumi had tried to reach him.

"Fuyumi, love?"

"Hey, dad. Are you really dating Hawks?"

Enji groaned. "Fuyumi, you know best not to believe the media."

"Really? Cause Hawks just shared on Instagram a photo of you two with, I quote ' As all the media have told you, we're 'dating'. For all you fujoshi fans of mine, I assure you I'm working on removing the apostrophes from 'dating'."

Enji fell silent.

"...I'm gonna carbonize him," he finally said.

Fuyumi chuckled. "I don't think he really means that. ... Or does he? Do you think this is going to be something serious?"

"Fuyumi! He's twenty! He's your age!"

"Okay, okay, was just curious. You... were so happy when you... weren't alone," she added now in a completely serious voice. Enji sighed. He knew Fuyumi hoped he would find a new love interest and happily marry again. He clearly remembered his Sparkle's last message, every word of it, and after some time had passed he had forced himself to look around. But the thing was, there was no one interested among the people he knew and liked. Aizawa was asexual and aromantic, to a point of being pretty much romantic-repulsed, as he himself liked to call it, the very thought of having to share his private life with anyone unbearable. Tensei had a fiancee he loved as much as Enji loved his Sparkle. Besides, both of them were a tad too young anyway. Untenmaru had never truly gotten over his beloved wife's death, and he wasn't gay or bi anyway. All people in his agency were truly friendly with him, but none showed any interest in taking things anywhere further than friendship. Of course, there were all sorts of dating sites and apps out there, even for asexuals like him, but he simply could not envision himself meeting strangers, going through the whole process of sorting through people, through the part that was checking whether you were compatible. For some reason even the very thought repelled him. And besides, it wasn't like he had much time on his hands anyway. Dating a fellow hero, and someone with kids too, might be best since they'd understand how little time could be carved out for your partner in such circumstances. But he knew no one like this, at least no one at least vaguely interested in him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how lucky he had been with Sparkle – he was exactly the right person who approached him in exactly the right way, and who had known Enji well beforehand knowing what to expect, and that's why it had worked so well from the very beginning.

"Fuyumi, if I find someone, you'll be the first to know."

"...does Hawks know you're not interested? Better to make these things clear, dad."

"I'm not a child, Fuyumi," he pouted a little. He was horrible in understanding people and social requirements, but oh come on, even he knew as much! "I've clearly told him that." He paused as he recalled something important. "And... what about your girlfriend?"

Fuyumi sighed.

"...you were right, dad." His heart squeezed. He had read all sorts of books about abusive parents and their influence on their kids and in every single one of them it said the kids tended to end up in abusive relationships. So from the moment he heard Fuyumi had a girlfriend he had been worried. And the more he pried from her, the more worried he had been becoming, finally, one day, openly telling Fuyumi that she wasn't being treated right by the other girl.

"We broke up. She's been cheating on me anyway, apparently."

Enji's fists clenched.

"Dad. Don't do a thing." Fuyumi, of course, would guess his reaction.

Enji kept silent. With his influence he could easily ruin the life of that little bitch who-

"Dad."

"Okay," he murmured grudgingly. "But if you ever change your mind, we can make her pay, love."

"I love you too, dad."

888

Hawks proved to be truly an invaluable teacher, the best Izuku ever had. The young hero knew how to perfectly combine incredibly demanding but useful exercises and challenges with a warm, encouraging demeanor. Both Tenya and Zuku were already on very high level for their age, thanks to Enji's, Aizawa's and Tensei's combined efforts, but Hawks was capable of making them even better. It was definitely worth having to listen to the Wing Hero's bullshit during their evenings out when the young man would interchangeably either mercilessly flirt at him with the subtlety of a bear in a beehive, or try to pull at Enji's strings with some stupid comments and behavior, watching Enji's reaction, waiting for Enji to blow up in one of his infamous anger fits, a shadow of approval when Enji didn't take the bait. All that would be completely unbearable if, one, not for Izuku, second, in between he didn't see the brat genuinely liked Enji. There were the smallest pauses and he'd catch Hawks' eyes then, radiating warmth and care and joy from being around his childhood hero. That also would be irksome, that hero worship in a grown up man, but during one of the first dinners Hawks casually mentioned it had been him, the Flame Hero, Endeavor, that had caught his villain of a father and released the little Hawks from his less than pleasant family situation. As far as Enji knew, nobody had the slightest information about Hawks' background, the young man keeping a very tight lid on that. Even to Enji he had not revealed all that much, besides the fact he had been saved from a rather shitty life, no details delivered on how exactly that life had looked like. So, socially inept as he was, Enji realized sharing even that little must have meant a lot to Hawks, it was a big sign of trust on the Wing Hero's part. So it was hard to be truly bothered by this hero worship when you thought of the small kid the other man once used to be, the kid that had been dreaming of being saved by a hero when the whole world looked the other way, as they usually did when little kids were being harmed.

So, it wasn't that terrible, he thought as he was watching Izuku and Tenya trying to catch one of his younger cats trying to catch one of Hawks' feathers, a weird and amusing but quite useful exercise in speed and agility. They were also supposed not to touch any of the other cats that also were pursuing Hawks's feathers all over the garden. All in all it looked like a mayhem loaded with cute cats and kids, and Enji was recording everything to share it with Aizawa later, knowing the man would appreciate every single minute of this, even if the other man would never admit to that.

"Chigira-sama," he heard Untenmaru's official voice. So, guests. On Sunday, too. Enji sighed. That was the life of a hero. "Who-" he saw Untenmaru's face. "What's wrong?"

"It's... it's Shouto-sama."

Enji did not even feel as his phone slipped out of his hand. One of Hawks' feathers cushioned its fall.

"Sh... Shouto?"

Untenmaru nodded, pale. He was the only servant left now here, in the residence, and the one most devoted to his family, despite gruff behavior. It had to move him too that Shouto had... Shouto had...

Enji tried to swallow, his throat suddenly dry, his mind empty. Why did the boy come to him? Was it to give Enji a chance? Was it because he needed something? Was it to spill what he was thinking about him? Whatever was the cause, Enji couldn't think of a single word he should say, a word that wouldn't be wrong, a word that wouldn't push the boy away.

"Dad?" he heard the kind voice. "You want me to go with you?"

"No," he heard himself saying, and then he cursed himself. He didn't want Izuku to think Shouto was more important, that he was some sort of an obstacle between Enji and Shouto. "I mean, maybe Shouto wants to talk only with me? I mean, I want you to meet your brother, but-"

"It's okay, dad." Enji shut up at the kind smile of Izuku. "We'll just continue training. Good luck, dad. It's going to be fine," his sweetest broccoli added with the most reassuring face. God, Enji really did not deserve this child.

"Okay, then, boys! Tired yet of this?" he heard Hawks' voice.

Enji headed towards the entrance, his heart thumping, head still empty, terrified that he was going to fuck this up. Terrified that Shouto had come to him with something horrible. Enji wasn't sure what that could be, but it could be anything. Maybe something had happened to Fuyumi and they had decided it wouldn't be right to inform him on the phone? He knew he was again spiraling down the bad scenarios, the thing they were working on with his therapist; he tried to force himself into calmness, into thinking logically, but, God, it was Shouto! His Shouto! After so many years! How could he not be terrified?

His middle son was standing by the bench in the garden, fists tightened, brows frowned, lips pursed, whole body language showing incredible tension. He was so deep in his thoughts he didn't notice Enji at first.

Enji realized he had no idea what to say. To start with an apology? To start with a simple hello? To start with saying how badly he missed him? Everything seemed wrong.

"Shouto," he finally said.

Shouto flinched and went even more tense as their eyes met. God, the boy was beautiful, just like Fuyumi and Rei, a part of Enji's mind noticed. He had seen him last time during Sparkle's final goodbye - only two years had passed but Shouto seemed to shift during that time from a cute kid, like most kids were, to a teenager that was promising to become not even handsome, but simply pretty. There wasn't anything of Enji in him, apart from half of his hair and the color of one of his eyes. And apart from the fact that, like Enji, he seemed to be struggling with what he wanted to say.

Enji vaguely realized he should help his son with that and cursed his own horrible people skills. Especially that this wasn't people, it was his son! But before he got any grip Shouto spat "Sorry I'm disturbing you."

Suddenly Enji's voice was back. "Shouto! You could never disturb me! I..." he hesitated. Shouto used the moment to reply. "Don't you lie to me, old man. I can see you don't want me here.'

"Shouto!" It wasn't like that! His behavior was because he was an idiot who was terrified of ruining things, not because he was angry! "I had always hoped you'd one day come with Fuyumi! I... miss you. I miss you all so much." There. There it was. But he didn't think Shouto would believe him. He saw that in the boy's angry features.

But Shouto said nothing to this, fists tightening even more, a range of emotions flickering on his face, hard to decipher to Enji who didn't even know his son anymore.

Shouto's features hardened again. "I haven't come here to forgive you or anything," he said coldly. Enji expected as much, but it still pained to hear, a tiny hope against all hopes crushed. "You... you were horrible." He looked straight into Enji's eyes, angry, condemning, and Enji couldn't help but look down, incapable of bearing that glare, even if it was fair, maybe exactly because it was fair.

"But..." There was a pause, as Shouto seemed to be struggling. "...I want to become a prohero."

Now Enji looked back at Shouto, stared actually. He again saw Shouto, on his fours, vomiting. He was sure the boy would be loathing heroes and heroing.

Shouto's stance changed into more defensive for some reason, as he saw Enji's look.

"I want to protect people. Good people from people like you!" he spat nevertheless even though there was something... vulnerable now in his eyes, something wary, raw? Enji had no idea what exactly was happening in his son's mind and he hated himself for this. But at least he knew one thing that was definitely the right thing to be said, no matter what Shouto was thinking right now.

"How can I help you, Shouto?"

"Don't play dumb," it seemed like an attempt to growl, but actually came more as an unsure murmur. Shouto seemed... surprised and somehow unbalanced by Enji's reaction. "I want you to train me. This is the least you can do for me. The only thing you've ever been willing to give me."

"Okay," answered Enji simply.

Shouto again looked somewhat thrown off and unsure with Enji's reaction. Maybe, despite the harsh words, the boy wasn't all hate, maybe he wasn't sure how to tackle this, meeting his father after so many years, Enji thought hopefully. So he added, "I'm really happy you came to me, of all."

"I only came because it's convenient. I'd go to All Might but he doesn't do this kind of training."

Harsh again, but Enji knew he deserved this.

"Okay," he repeated. "Do you want to start today? I- Izuku is training today with Tenya Iida and Hawks." He could tell Shouto tried to be impassive, but his eyes shone at the mention of Hawks. No wonder - all kids found him the second coolest hero after All Might, some even the first. He was extremely popular, and he could back this up with his skills.

"I-" This time it was Shouto who slightly stuttered. "I came without any notice. You don't- It's not have to be today."

"It's okay, unless you don't want to train with Izuku." He would have to bring up this subject anyway. Better sooner rather than later, so that he could know what was Shouto's preferred approach to his halfbrother. He would respect everything Shouto might want, even if he personally wanted nothing more than for boys to get along.

"No, I- I don't have anything against him. He did me no wrong." Enji noticed Shouto's brash, aggressive posture started to crack, giving way to nervousness the boy badly tried to hide as things developed as the boy wanted, now probably fully realizing he was going to be around his father and stepbrother, for the first time in years, or ever in Izuku's case.

"Okay. Come on. We're training outside today."

They reached the training ground in silence, Shouto stiff and tense, looking more and more uneasy, Enji not wanting to make it worse by some stupid words of his. It was suspiciously quiet in this part of his residence, and, unsurprisingly, Enji found the boys huddled around Hawks instead of training. They probably were discussing Enji's family situation, he was sure of that. It didn't irritate him – they weren't uncaring strangers after all.

"I- I'm back. This is my middle son, Shouto. He would like to be training with you, if any of you don't mind."

Shouto said not a word of self introduction, wary and nervous, visibly feeling out of place here, among Enji's new family and friends.

Izuku beamed at him nevertheless. Bless this saint child. "Hajimemashite, Todoroki-san. I'm so glad I can meet you! I hope you'll like training with us! Dad told me so many good things about you!" Enji did not tell Izuku all that much, really. This boy was a blessing. "I hope we'll get along!" He grinned even wider at Shouto staring at this overly warm welcome.

"Hajimemashite!" Tenya joined in, with a very official tone and body language. "My name is Tenya Iida. I am Ingenium's younger brother. Chigira-san is kind enough to let me train with Izuku-kun, Hawks and Eraser Head. I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. I hope we will get along well!" Of course he bowed as he ended, of course he would.

Shouto kept staring at the two boys, his frown deepening, and Enji realized from the boy's miffed expression he probably was thinking those seemingly exaggerated behavior was to mock him. He could tell cause he himself had been seeing mockery everywhere for the most part of his life.

"They are like that all the time, Shouto. You'll get used to it."

Izuku chuckle goodnaturedly at that.

"...Hajimemashite," replied Shouto in a cold voice, still looking unconvinced by Enji's words, his eyes taking in the bunch of cats watching him warily.

"So, what is your Quirk Todoroki-kun?" asked Hawks.

"...I have a double Quirk." Shouto shot an ugly look at Enji here. "Fire on the left side of my body and ice on the right side."

"Oh my god, that is so cool!" And there it was, Izuku's famous drooling over people's Quirks mode. It was so sweet, but also pained Enji, because he knew it was coming from the boy's Quirklessness. "So you don't have to worry about overheating, like dad! This is so neat! You must be so powerful! Are you capable of combining both Quirks and creating a stream of water? Does your body temperature vary depending on the side of your body? Do you control both ice and fire in the same way? Are you capable of controlling the density of your ice? Can you use it as a weapon? This is so cool!"

Shouto blinked as he was looking at his starry-eyed halfbrother. "...you don't have to try so hard," he replied, sounding uncertain. "I don't blame you for anything."

Now it was Izuku's turn to blink. "No, I really mean it, Todoroki-san. This is so cool to have two such powerful Quirks!"

"...it's what you are that makes you a hero, not your Quirk."

Izuku's grin was replaced by a warm smile. "I know. I will prove this to everyone."

Shouto did not seem surprised. Fuyumi probably told him Izuku was Quirkless.

"Okay, boys! Welcome to our little training club, Todoroki-kun. Today the boys are trying to catch a cat pursuing one of my feathers, while making sure not to touch any of the other cats."

Now Shouto stared at Hawks.

"It might seem weird, but you'll see it pushes your speed, agility and spatial awareness to your limits and beyond. Neither of them has managed to succeed yet."

"So it's about pursuing, not about catching?"

"Meaning?" asked Hawks with a gleam in his eyes.

Shouto shrugged. "I could simply surround the cat with ice and then catch it."

Hawks grinned. "That sounds like a solid strategy! I'd like you to implement it then. Remember however you cannot touch any other cat, even with your ice!"

"Ah." Shouto apparently realized it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"We could try to keep the other cats away!" Izuku chimed in.

"Great idea!" agreed Tenya.

"How are you going to do this without touching them?" Shouto sounded doubtful as he slowly approached the other boys.

"Well, I suppose we could-"

Enji felt a small smile blooming on his lips as the three boys started to discuss tactics, his Shouto still reluctant and distanced, but much less tense than before, genuinely invested in the exercise. That bode well for the future, hopefully. If they concentrated on their dream it would be easier for them not to think about things that were dividing them. Especially the fact Izuku loved Enji while Shouto hated him.

So he stayed away, watchful, voicing opinion only when asked, careful not to disturb a slow process of thawing between the boys, content just to be able to see his Shouto, hear his voice, watch his face that most of the time tried to keep the facade of impassiveness, but the boy was only twelve, of course it would crack during the training under the massively popular and likable Number Three, with a halfbrother who simply emanated acceptance and friendliness, trying to not be behind the boys who had much more extensive training than Shouto had had. The cracks showed Shouto was the same young teenager as the other kids were, even if having gotten through... what Enji had done. Of course he did have his own idiosyncrasies, sometimes he hesitated a lot before saying something most natural, sometimes he'd honestly blurt out things without thinking twice of the impact, but all in all it did not look like Enji had broken him. Thank god.

The hours went too quickly for Enji's liking, but that was life for you. Both adults let the boys discuss their techniques for a bit more, Izuku drowning Shouto with his ideas for the double Quirk, and Enji noticed with relief that Shouto, instead of taking this for showing off, actually seemed to realize Izuku honestly was in awe with the Quirk and truly wanted to be helpful. Enji doubted things could be repaired between him and his middle son, but if at least there could be friendship between both halfbrothers, he'd be happy with that.

"So, Shouto-kun, are you going with us for dinner?" asked Hawks.

Shouto tensed and glanced at Enji. "No. I'm having dinner at home."

Izuku looked a little disappointed, but did not press, for which Enji was grateful. Shouto already had made a huge effort coming here and agreeing to train with the boys.

The boy nodded to Izuku and Tenya, and thanked a little stiltedly to Hawks. Then he approached Enji, to Enji's surprise.

"You could just say outright you don't want to train me."

Enji stared at his boy. "What?"

"Don't play dumb again. You barely took part in this."

Enji immediately raised his hands in a placatory gesture, shaking his head. "No, Shouto, that is how it usually looks like. I rarely get involved, er, physically."

Shouto's brows rose. "Funny. I have quite clear memories of something very opposite."

The guilt grew, always there, in Enji's heart, but now especially strong, when he was looking into Shouto's angry eyes.

"I- I remember how I had been, Shouto... towards you, towards your mum. I... that's why I... prefer not to get involved too much." He did not know how he was supposed to explain this, he never had been good with words after all. "It's... I'm not refusing to train you. I prefer other heroes to train my kids and I just supervise."

Shouto's eyes narrowed as if searching for any false in Enji's. "Ridiculous," he finally judged. "Stupid."

Enji noticed Izuku tensing, but again the boy proved how emotionally smart he was by not interfering.

"You just jump from one extreme to another," finished Shouto.

Enji didn't know what to say to that.

"So, you are okay with me training with Midoriya-san and Iida-san."

"Um, you can call me Izuku," interjected Izuku, sounding a little uncertain of Shouto's reaction.

"Same here," added Tenya.

Shouto hesitated and Enji replied quickly, "Of course, Shouto. I will be very happy to provide you any help you might need."

Shouto nodded and simply turned away, no further words of goodbye towards Enji.

Enji sighed. His mind was a mix of emotions now. On the one hand, Shouto came to him! He could finally give his son something more than only money! On the other hand, of course, the pain intensified, as he again was reminded of how his son hated him, how fresh were his memories of what Enji had done.

"I don't think he really hates you, dad." Enji flinched as he heard the quiet voice. Deep in emotions he hadn't noticed Izuku getting nearer. Some prohero he was. "I think he isn't sure about many things, and he was very nervous to be here."

He smiled at Izuku. It would be nice if it was the truth.

"Izuku-kun is right, Endeavor-san. The boy is obviously posturing a lot, but you can tell he isn't fixed on hating you."

"You- you think so?" He heard his own voice, before he could stop himself. Like Hawks would know anything about Enji and his kids.

"Yep. I hate my dad, and that's not it."

"He has the right to hate me," murmured Enji, but he felt a tiniest hope ignite again.

888

Shouto did as he said, he came to Enji's place next Sunday, and the Sunday after that, and the following Sunday too. Fuyumi was in seventh heaven even if the relation between him and Enji did not change a iota – Shouto barely acknowledged him apart from listening to comments related to training. But Fuyumi firmly believed things were going the right way and Enji just had to be patient. She told him in secret that Shouto had approached her a couple of times to speak about Enji, and that he was more conflicted and unsure rather than simply hating Enji. This made Enji even more hopeful and happy. Shouto was also warming up to the boys, very slowly but visibly, the boys after some weeks calling each other by their first names, and finally the day had come when Izuku told him he was going to come back later from school, cause he was going out with Tenya and 'Shouto-nii'. Enji was so pleased to hear that! He wished nothing more than Izuku to have as many friends and family as the boy could! The boy so deserved that! And he was so happy his other kids did not hate this innocent child of his! Well, he knew nothing about Natsuo, but at least he could say that about the other two. Admittedly, it was hard not to like Izuku – he was beaming so much whenever he saw Shouto Enji not once and not twice had noticed the small warm smile blooming in response, immediately erased when Shouto realized Enji had seen it.

He was just thinking about all this instead of doing the paperwork he took home when he heard light knocking on the shouji's frame.

"Come in, Zuku."

"How's the paperwork, dad?"

"Somehow am distracted. Getting old I suppose," he laughed.

"You seem very happy recently, dad," smiled Izuku.

"Well, you know..." He felt wary of saying out loud how blessed he was to be able to see another one of his kids regularly. He did not want Izuku to feel he hadn't been happy before. "Things aren't bad."

Izuku smiled even wider. "I'm very happy too, dad."

"I know. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, broccoli hero."

Izuku of course snuggled for a hug and Enji welcomed with his whole heart such a reason to stop working. It was amazing the boy still did not mind physical affection. Enji would enjoy it as long as he could. They stayed like that for a while until Izuku finally said, "Um, dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be mad."

He hated when Izuku was saying that. He never was angry with this child, the boy never gave him reason to. Or maybe Enji stopped letting himself get upset with small things? Probably both.

"You hurt me, Zuku. When do I ever get mad at you?"

The smaller arms tightened. "I've met Toshinori Yagi. Do you know him?"

Ah, the name sounded familiar. Enji frowned. Then it clicked.

"One of All Might's secretaries?" He had met the man a couple of times. Looking like some sort of a All Might's twin brother, but Halloween version, he definitely had to be a part of All Might's close family. Nobody had admitted that out loud, since All Might kept a very tight lid on any information about his close ones, but it was obvious from the man's appearance. Yagi seemed timid, was extremely polite, similar to All Might in physique, but definitely not in character.

"He was... very impressed with me. He asked if he could help with my training in the afternoons."

"He isn't a hero though?"

"He knows a lot, dad. We already trained a little and I really liked it and think it will help me get even better."

So, his boy was worried about the entrance exam. Of course he would. It was still months from now, but it was natural he tried to learn as much and from as many people as he could.

"Okay, Izuku, if you think that's good for you. Can I oversee a session?"

"I'll ask," Izuku was looking uncertain now.

Enji rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't be an asshole to him just because he is working for All Might."

Izuku chuckled. "Don't break the promise."

"And how did you meet him?"

Izuku went tense. Enji put a kiss on the green hair to assure he doesn't have to be wary of his dad.

"...there was this villain," Izuku finally admitted.

Now it was Enji's turn to go stiff.

"Don't be mad, dad..."

"I'm not, love, what happened?"

"He attacked Kacchan, and nobody wanted to help him, so I..."

"You did."

"I did. But I was okay, dad! I attacked its weak point with my knives and bought us some time, and then All Might came. Yagi-san saw all this and thought... Well, he told me later I have what it takes to be a great hero, dad."

The cold was still dwelling in his heart. But could he scold his son for trying to save someone?

"I'm glad you got out of it safe, love." He hugged him tight.

"I won't die on you, dad, I promise."

'You can't promise me that,' thought Enji, his father's dead body before his eyes, Touya's face before his eyes, Sparkle's funeral before his eyes.

"Promise me you'll try not to get involved, when it isn't absolutely necessary, though, okay, Izuku? I know you have great skills and you're smart, but you're still so young."

"I promise."

888

"Good afternoon, Endeavor-san," the other man smiled sheepishly, scratching his scalp nervously. Well, no wonder, Enji wasn't known for being an All Might fan.

"Good afternoon, Yagi-san. My son has been telling me nothing but praises about you."

"Ah, is that so?" Yagi chuckled, but the sound still betrayed he wasn't all that relaxed around Enji. Oh, well.

"My Izuku is telling me your training is a valuable addition to his already existing routine."

"I most sincerely hope so! I don't have any experience as a teacher, but I'm doing my best!"

"So, what exactly are you doing?"

"I thought cleaning this beach will be challenging, good for muscles and stamina, and also good for the community, which is the most important thing for a hero!"

"Yeah, dad, so far I was only helping myself during my training, now I can both improve my body and the environment!"

Enji stared. "You're... cleaning the beach as training for Yuuei entrance," he repeated, making sure he understood everything right.

Yagi looked even more anxious now.

"Yagi-san also tells me a lot about All Might's techniques, strategies, and managing the agency!" Izuku rushed to add.

Enji fell quiet, wondering if it would be a good idea to tell them that he could simply pay the specialized company to clear the beach and then his boy could spend his time doing something actually useful.

Izuku of course read him like an open book, of course he did. "Daad, I love it, it's something else!"

"...and you're going to do it until you clean it all."

"Well, yeah," admitted Izuku.

Enji fell silent. All this looked like one big waste of his kid's time.

"I'm sure young Midoriya is going to clean it in no time, with the strength he already had built up, and then we'll move to other... things."

Enji couldn't help, but glare at Yagi. The man obviously was just making up this teaching thing as he went.

"If this is how Izuku wants to spend his time and it makes him happy, I have nothing against it," he said nevertheless. "However I'm not sure I think I see the point."

"Learning you sometimes have to do things that seem pointless is also important when you're a hero," Yagi argued in a very meek tone.

"Well, as long as he likes it," replied Enji, completely unconvinced.

Izuku beamed.

888

"Can I speak with you?"

Enji stared at his Shouto, speechless, then forced his brain to work again.

"O- of course!"

Shouto said his goodbyes and they both headed towards the entrance, a storm of emotions in Enji's head. What could this be about? Whatever it was, he probably should concentrate on not fucking it up, since it definitely had to be important. Shouto had been coming to their training sessions for a couple of months now, but this was the first time he wanted to speak with Enji alone.

Shouto sat down on one of the benches, lips tight, eyes fixed on some unseen point, apparently focusing on the right words. He was a lot like young Enji in this. Unsure what to say, and ending up blurting out too honest things. He'd prefer if Shouto did not have this trait of his. It was always making his life more difficult.

Finally Shouto seemed to make up his mind and looked straight into Enji's eyes.

"Why were you treating mom like that? Why were you a cold and hateful father towards us?"

Yes, painful honesty. But at least Shouto decided to ask, to see Enji's perspective. Though Enji had no idea what to say not to seem like he was spewing a bunch of excuses.

"I... I was horrible towards you all, I know that, Shouto."

"Why? How could you?"

"I mean, I don't want to excuse myself and pretend it's not my fault..." He hesitated. He was thankful for his therapy, it was only thanks to the fact he had already been speaking many times about these things with Jun'ichiro-sensei that he could put the mess he used to be, and still was to some point, in words.

"But?"

Enji stared at the ground. Even if he knew what to say, it still was difficult.

"I... The only thing I knew most of my life was anger. I... never learned to manage my emotions and just got angry with things. I thought it was good. I thought it was thanks to anger that I went so far, even though... I used to be a very timid, scared of people teenager."

Shouto stared, then blinked.

"You? Shy?"

"...it was a long time ago."

Shouto replied nothing.

"There was... a lot of hurt in me, and low self-esteem, plenty of bad experiences... But I really wanted our family to... work? To be happy. Happier than me. And then..."

Shouto kept silent.

"..and then Touya started to hurt himself, and I did not know what to do. I expected your mother to fix him, somehow. She couldn't, she was no psychiatrist, and I, instead of thinking, started to feel."

"I don't understand."

"I let my negative emotions take over, I was terrified he's going to maim himself or worse, and... and whenever I was overwhelmed with bad emotions I just turned them into anger. So I blamed your mother and started hating her."

Shouto was staring at him, he tried to seem impassive, but Enji saw in the boy's eyes he was uncomprehending and appalled.

"But. You were his father too! How could it be only mom's fault?!"

What could Enji say to that? That whole his life he had been blamed for everything by his own mother, for the tiniest of things, so when he had finally had escaped from home he had jumped into an extreme that was complete inability to take blame for anything?

"I was an asshole, Shouto. I... just did not want to admit I was to blame for anything back then."

Shouto kept staring at him. Then he shook his head.

"You were. But assholes don't change. You were a monster that destroyed our family, and now you're a loving father and husband mourning after his lost love. I just don't get it. Why didn't you see the problem then and you see it now? How can you just say 'I was an asshole'? Do you even begin to understand what you've been doing to us?"

It hurt so much to hear those words. But all this was nothing but truth.

"I started therapy."

"And that's it? You needed some shrink to tell you obvious things? You aren't stupid, old man, I know you aren't. You're the Number Two, you've got a gigantic agency. So don't tell me some bullshit that you needed someone to tell you what you've been doing."

"...there are all sorts of types of intelligence, Shouto," he replied quietly. "I never understood people well. I was alway too buried in my emotions to be able to judge mine and others' actions right."

Shouto frowned and turned away, looking angry. Enji could see he wasn't buying any of his words. Maybe there was something he should have said differently. Or maybe there were no words that could bridge the gap he had created so long ago.

A silence stretched.

"Have you ever even thought of apologizing to anyone?" asked Shouto suddenly.

That surprised Enji. "No... I thought... These are only words. It wouldn't change a thing. Wouldn't you think I just seek easy forgiveness?"

"You don't apologize to be forgiven. You apologize because you owe it to people," replied Shouto angrily.

"Then I will... but I can't call or meet your mother. Natsuo won't want to speak to me either." Then it occurred to him.

"I am sorry, Shouto. I am sorry for how I was treating you. I will always hate myself for what I've done, I will. I am sorry I haven't apologized the moment I saw you, but I just thought... you'd be angry with me."

"I am angry with you. I was and will be, with apology or without it. Why did you do this? How could you do all this to us?"

Enji fell silent. There really was nothing he could say.

"...Izuku keeps saying you're a 'good dad' now. Was it so hard to be a good dad to us back then?"

"I... I trained you harshly because I was terrified you'd die like Touya... and... I always thought Fuyumi and Natsuo secretly hated me, that your mother was poisoning their minds. I couldn't see everything you have felt towards me was caused by me. That's why I... couldn't be kinder, more loving, because I saw your mother's hatred towards me in you. I just saw what I wanted to see. But... I do love you all, Shouto. I am so sorry."

But Shouto just shook his head.

"I don't know what I expected to hear," the boy said coldly. "But all this makes no sense."

"I understand," replied Enji quietly. "I don't know what I can do for you, but I'll do anything you need, Shouto."

Shouto was quiet for a moment.

"All I need from you is the training."

Enji simply nodded. He was a fool to think that this bridge could be rebuilt.

888

The weeks were passing, and then the months too. His hero work was busy, as always. Izuku was a young teenager now, so he was spending a lot of time with his friends or on training with Yagi or on his computer discussing things with other teengers online or playing games, so they were spending less time together than they used to, but it was normal, though of course Enji missed the times when his broccoli boy had been still a little child, clinging to Enji. Their relation kept being great, though, no signs of a teenage rebellion yet, Izuku always eager to show his affection towards Enji whenever they did spend time together. Fuyumi had already started her bachelor's in pedagogy and also had a little less time for Enji than before, her visits shorter, sometimes moved onto another day. That also was to be expected. She was a young woman now, diligently studying, having a part time job in a preschool to gain more experience in the field she loved, having her own romantic life and friends to meet. It ached to see her all grown up, because it meant that before he realized all his other kids would be grown ups too. But that was the nature of things. Enji just hoped they would be functional, happy adults, despite the setback he had provided them. Shouto kept coming for the training sessions and he honed his double Quirk amazingly. He was so talented! They got along great with Izuku now, and Enji could even see him sometimes genuinely smiling or uttering the quietest of laughs. He was still cold and distant towards Enji, but Enji couldn't sense anger or loathing. Maybe Shouto simply did not care at all anymore. Probably it was good for the boy to get over his past. And if it pained Enji? Well, he deserved it.

So, time was passing, and before he realized, it was New Year's Eve, and the Yuuei entrance exam was looming on both his kids and Tenya. Shouto seemed unphased, certain of his abilities. Tenya, on the other hand, got extremely nervous, pressuring the boys into spending every single free moment studying or training, criticizing every slightest miss he or the boys would do, being honestly a bit of a pain you know where. It was a little amusing to watch, especially when his Shouto would pour oil to the fire with carefully chosen remarks that were making Tenya spiral even more into pre-exam panic. Enji suspected Shouto found it amusing, his boy apparently having the tiniest evil streak in him. His Izuku combined both the attitudes, on one hand he behaved incredibly optimistically, on the other he was very happy to be overworking himself along Tenya (and more grudging Shouto), and it was only Enji that was making sure his boy was eating and sleeping the right amounts (he kept reminding this to other boys too).

So it was nothing unusual when he got home to find Izuku wasn't there. What was the day? Ah, Monday. So, training with Yagi. And probably meeting with the other two boys later.

'Shall I wait for you with the dinner?'

A text came almost immediately. 'I'll be home in an hour. Yagi-san is coming with me. Hope you don't mind.'

Now that was new. Izuku never brought Yagi over and Enji did not see why he should start now. The other man seemed kind and nice enough, he obviously liked his Izuku, but there wasn't any particular friendship between him and Enji. Enji had his life, Yagi his. But maybe his Izuku wanted them to get acquainted better. ...or maybe he wanted to hook him up with the man? His boy asked him a couple of times if there was anyone special in Enji's heart, and knowing Izuku he was fully capable of devising some cunning plan to make his father happy again. He was a lot like Fuyumi that way.

He sighed.

'Anything Yagi-san can't eat?'

'He's got his stomach removed.'

Oh shit, really? Would explain why the man looked like a skeleton walking.

'He says he doesn't want to trouble us, but I know there is this restaurant 'All Health', they have appropriate food, dad.'

'Okay.'

He ordered the take out, made some simple preparations like a proper host and then sat down with his laptop. He was just browsing the hero network, when his phone received a message that Izuku's set of keys were used. He got up to welcome his boy and his guest, but the words died on his lips as he saw their nervous faces.

Oh.

Oh.

So it wasn't just a courteous visit. He should have guessed something had to go wrong if Yagi suddenly was coming over.

"Hey."

"Hello, dad!" Izuku was smiling, but Enji knew his boy too well not to see the tension.

"Good afternoon, Endeavor-san."

"Good afternoon. What happened? I promise I won't be irritated."

The other two immediately got even more nervous.

"Um, I think it will be best to show you, dad. Let's go to our gym."

"Okay," agreed Enji, though his voice betrayed how he hated not knowing immediately, this very moment, now, whatever the fuck went wrong during the training with Yagi. They wouldn't have come here together, if it wasn't anything serious. Admittedly his boy looked fine, no limping, both arms moving freely, so it couldn't be anything maiming, but their faces clearly showed something went wrong. The minutes it took them to reach the gym seemed to stretch forever.

"Um, so, dad. I promise we'll explain everything after I show you, okay? Try not to be shocked."

Oh god.

Izuku put away his backpack and shed down the parka and the sweater he wore. Then he moved towards their punching bag, Enji watching him, uncomprehending. The boy took a punching stance, brought his lead arm up rotating his body as if for a hook and then...

...then Enji heard a familiar crackling. The electricity of an emerald color surrounded his boy's arm and fist, muscles tensing, looking even bigger than usual, and then the boy punched.

The bag broke from its hook and hit a wall with such power it cracked in half, all the sand flowing out.

Enji stared, his mind blank.

Izuku turned to him, looking excited, but his joy was immediately replaced by worry as he saw Enji's face.

"Um, maybe I should be the one to take over the explanation from now on," he heard Yagi's voice.

"What was that?" he heard himself asking.

"Ah, well," Yagi tried to smile, but, like his Izuku, he seemed very wary of Enji now. "It is my Quirk. It is transferable."

Enji blinked.

"You mean... you can temporarily move your Quirk onto someone?"

"No. It is permanent."

What?

"This Quirk has been passed down for generations. I, myself, was born Quirkless, just like your Izuku."

Enji had never heard of anything like this before. No one had ever heard of anything like this before. The transferable Quirks simply did not exist... unless it was the only one of its kind. With the enormous variety of Quirks out there... it was possible.

Which meant...

"You gave my Izuku your Quirk?" His voice was hoarse for some reason.

"Yes, I think he deserves it and he'll make great use of it, I'm sure of it. It is a powerful Quirk."

Enji blinked. And blinked again. And then turned back to his Izuku, who was looking at him clearly worried.

"Zuku," he said quietly. "Were you really afraid I'm going to be angry that someone gave you a Quirk?"

"Well, I was supposed to be the first Quirkless Hero, and..."

"Zuku." He moved towards his boys and buried him in arms. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. Without Quirk, with Quirk, I don't care. I just want you to follow your dreams."

But Izuku's hug was stiff, to Enji's surprise. Something still wasn't right. "What's wrong? Does this Quirk has some serious drawbacks?"

"No, it's just-" His boy hesitated and threw a silent plea for help towards Yagi. Why? Why couldn't his boy just tell him what's wrong? He looked inquiringly at Yagi.

Yagi sighed. "I suppose the boy is right, the demonstration is sometimes easier than the explanation. Please, Endeavor-san, don't be shocked."

"With what?"

Yagi looked at him apologetically and then he grew, instantaneously, in seconds, great muscles filling his skeletal body, the previously too big clothes suddenly stretched tight, even the hair looking smaller in comparison to the great mountain of a man that was...

...All Might.

888

Notes:

You probably noticed but Shouto is older than Izuku by some months, so I gotta get my gear together and finally correct it, because somewhere in this fic I mentioned he was younger, I don't know why I did that.

Thank you for your favs :)